"The Charge of the Light Brigade" is a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, commemorating a disastrous attack by British cavalry in the midst of the Crimean war. The poem itself has outlasted the events of the battle which inspired it, and has since become a potent statement on the glory and folly of war.
The Charge
The charge itself took place in the midst of the Battle of Balaclava on October 25th, 1854. The Light Brigade, consisting of 673 British cavalrymen, rode into a valley dotted with Russian cannon.
The Casualties
Though the Light Brigade was able to engage the enemy, it took grievous casualties in the process. Exactly 118 men were killed, and another 127 were wounded.
The Poem
Tennyson published the poem on the December 9, 1854; it was soon distributed among the troops in the Crimea. It uses Tennyson's extraordinary gift for poetic verse to highlight the emotional power of the charge.
The Meaning
The poem walks a thin line between praising the gallantry of the troops and condemning the folly of their charge. It is laced with admiration for the men themselves, as well as expressing sorrow at their final fate.
The Message
In presenting the Charge as it did, the poem makes for a stunning encapsulation of war as an emotional state: both the brave and selfless deeds that war fosters, and the sickening slaughter it engenders.
