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 Balaklava 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.

James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of Cardigan
(1797 – 1868)