October 25, 1854

25 October 2012, 16:14

Rusty

October 25, 1854

"The Charge of the Light Brigade",-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

quote:

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

2.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

3.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

4.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

6.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.

Rusty
We Band of Brothers!
DRSS, NRA & SCI Life Member
"I am rejoiced at my fate. Do not be uneasy about me, for I am with my friends."
----- David Crockett in his last letter (to his children), January 9th, 1836
"I will never forsake Texas and her cause. I am her son." ----- Jose Antonio Navarro, from Mexican Prison in 1841
"for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Arbroath April 6, 1320-“. . .It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

26 October 2012, 03:14

kidd

Rusty,
Great stuff. Enjoyed it, must of been one hell of a ride. Probably a lot of sideways glances when the order was given.
Thanks
Kidd

27 October 2012, 07:28

Norman Conquest

For those who have not read it,I recommend "Flashman at the Charge" by George Macdonald Fraser. Good historical fiction with a bit of humor while still retaining the facts.I envy anyone who gets to read it for the first time.

06 November 2012, 20:41

Idaho Sharpshooter

those were the days when a man would ride to his death in defense of his country. It is comforting to know that I served in RVN with men of this caliber, and that, today, in Afghanistan, such men still answer the call...

07 November 2012, 08:50

Anjin

quote:
Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
those were the days when a man would ride to his death in defense of his country. It is comforting to know that I served in RVN with men of this caliber, and that, today, in Afghanistan, such men still answer the call...

Hopefully, much of that philosophy went out of favor after WW1, when an entire generation of young British men were wiped out, largely through the despicable incompetence of military leaders.

Fraser's Flashman books, while otherwise very entertaining, certainly stressed that incompetence over much of the late 19th Century. (I forget how many decades were covered, but I know the US Civil War and Custer's Last Stand were also included.)

Also hopefully, there is a better breed of leaders in recent years. Personally, I do wonder about the Vietnam era, at least in the very top levels. No disrespect to those who served, of which I knew a few.