“Cannons to the left of me … “

171 years ago today a misunderstanding led to the loss of many lives in the Battle of Balaclava. The event would be forever immortalized in a poem (and an episode of the Little Rascals). The poem – The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous British calvary charge on October 25, 1854, during the Crimean Way. Roughly 600 light cavalrymen, led by Lord Cardigan, charged a Russian artillery battery by mistake. A misunderstood order from their superior, Lord Raglan, resulted in the Light Brigade being sent into a heavily defended valley, leading to heavy casualties despite their bravery in reaching their objective. 

Lord Raglan intended for the Light Brigade to stop the Russians from removing captured guns from a Turkish redoubt. However, the order was miscommunicated and misinterpreted, resulting in the brigade being directed to charge directly into a well-prepared Russian artillery battery at the end of a valley. 

Led by Lord Cardigan, the Light Brigade charged for about a mile and a half into the “valley of death”. They were met with heavy fire from Russian guns on three sides and suffered devastating casualties. 

The cavalry reached the battery, scattering some of the gunners, but were forced to retreat immediately. The charge was a military failure, resulting in very high casualties for the British and no strategic gains. In total, 607 men went into action while only 198 returned. 409 men lost their lives during the charge (67% of the men).

The event became a symbol of senseless waste and military blunder, famously immortalized in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, which honored the soldiers’ courage while questioning the leadership error. The poem was written 2 December and published on 9 December 1854, in The Examiner, praised the brigade. He wrote the poem inside only a few minutes after reading an account of the battle in The Times, according to his grandson Sir Charles Tennyson. It immediately became hugely popular, and even reached the troops in the Crimea, where 1,000 copies were distributed in pamphlet form.

Before I share the funny Little Rascals moment, here is Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade:

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In the 1936 Our Gang Comedy “Two Too Young,” Spanky and Alfalfa con Buckwheat and Porky out of some firecrackers during recess. Alfalfa stuffs the firecrackers in his back pocket as recess ends and they go back to class. Porky finds a magnifying glass outside and brings it into the class room.

The teacher asks the class to recite their recitations for the class. Alfalfa is the only one who knows his – The Charge of the Light Brigade.

While standing, the firecrackers can be seen in his back pocket. Porky pulls out the magnifying glass and is able to light the wick of the firecrackers. Almost as if it is planned, they begin to go off at an appropriate point in the poem.

Here is the whole episode. The poem is at the 7:56 mark in the video.

In high school we had to pick a poem to discuss in front of the class. I chose The Charge of the Light Brigade – but I left the firecrackers at home!