Light Brigade Charge

In 1854 the legendary Florence Nightingale received a letter from the Secretary of War asking to organize a corps of nurses to clean and tend to the sick soldiers in the Crimea. Haltingly, young Florence and the nurses were shipped over to Scutari where the British base hospital was located. On the fourth of November in 1854, arrived in Turkey and witnessed the poor care for soldiers that were being treated by a worn out medical staff. Conditions were unbearable to her, soldiers lying in their own excrement through the hospital's hallways, the hospital was infested with rodents and bugs. The most common medical supplies such as bandages and soap were nowhere to be found. Outraged by the way the health of the common soldier was being treated

In close analysis of this cartoon, the main point to take away is that anyone can purchase themselves into any position in the army. A prime example of this was in the Charge of the Light Brigade and The Duke of Cambridge the commander in chief, he was able to rise the ranks of the military purely through army commissions. This caused fatal in the Charge of the Light Brigade. The purpose of the charge was to chase a retreating Russian artillery company. Due to miscommunication between the soldiers and the general, instead of being met with a small retreading company they faced a heavily armed and more prepared army. The British cavalry was heavily outgunned, 700 men on horses against 30 artillery guns. Lord Cardigan although also rising the ranks through the use of army commissions identified the immense difficulty of this plan and reported it to the Duke. Without hesitation, the Cardigan received the order to charge. Out of 700 men, 156 men were wounded and 122 were wounded. (https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2013/10/24/charge-of-the-light-cavalry-brigade-the-battle-of-balaclava-25-october-1854/) In close evidence of both these primary sources, we can clearly see the connection between the magnitude of failure that the purchase of army commission caused on the Army. Having generals and officers that completely lack the ability to plan and conduct a war coupled with the rapid modernization of