In an event alternately described as one of the most heroic or disastrous episodes in British military history, Lord James Cardigan leads a charge of the Light Brigade cavalry against well-defended Russian artillery during the Crimean War. The British were winning the Battle of Balaclava when Cardigan received his order to attack the Russians. His cavalry gallantly charged down the valley and were decimated by the heavy Russian guns, suffering 40 percent casualties. It was later revealed that the order was the result of confusion and was not given intentionally. Lord Cardigan, who survived the battle, was hailed as a national hero in Britain.
Also on This Day
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- American Revolution
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- Civil War
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- Cold War
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- Disaster
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- General Interest
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- Hollywood
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- Literary
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- Music
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- Old West
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- Presidential
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- Sports
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- Vietnam War
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- World War I
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- World War II
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Oct 25, 1854:
Charge of the Light Brigade
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This Week in History, Oct 25 - Oct 31
- Oct 25, 1415
- Battle of Agincourt
- Oct 25, 1854
- Charge of the Light Brigade
- Oct 25, 1929
- Cabinet member guilty in Teapot Dome scandal
- Oct 26, 1825
- Erie Canal opens
- Oct 26, 1944
- Battle of Leyte Gulf ends
- Oct 26, 1984
- Infant receives baboon heart
- Oct 27, 1659
- Quakers executed for religious beliefs
- Oct 27, 1858
- Teddy Roosevelt born
- Oct 27, 1914
- Dylan Thomas born
- Oct 27, 1994
- U.S. prison population exceeds one million
- Oct 28, 1886
- Statue of Liberty dedicated
- Oct 28, 1919
- Congress enforces prohibition
- Oct 29, 1618
- Sir Walter Raleigh executed
- Oct 29, 1929
- Stock market crashes
- Oct 30, 1908
- Queen of American high society dies
- Oct 30, 1975
- Juan Carlos assumes power in Spain
- Oct 30, 1995
- Quebec separatists narrowly defeated
- Oct 31, 1926
- Houdini is dead
- Oct 31, 1961
- Stalin's body removed from Lenin's tomb
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