Why was Captain Nolan Blamed as the Messenger Of Death? (Charge of the Light Brigade.)

The Charge of the Light Brigade has a schoolboy romance for all of us. I had heard of the words long before learning what the event was about. Even then, I believed the Errol Flynn view of the charge for many years. I was convinced, in my schoolboy world, it was some vintage British high ideal. An act of extreme honour and heroism. I never knew it was a good old fashion mess up. One that a few individual brave men survived. Yet most would perish in this fruitless action. What a catastrophic cost for a gift-wrapped Retro Brit myth.

Louis Edward Nolan was born in Ontario, Canada, to Captain John Babington Nolan, and Eliza Harleston Hartley. They had been married in Scotland 1813. Eliza had been married before and had two other sons from previous marriages.

In 1819 John Babington Nolan and his family returned to Scotland. Not too much is recorded about the years back in Scotland, but in 1829 Louis Nolan was eleven and he was living with his family in Milan, Italy, which was then ruled by the Austrian Empire. Because his family had to stand in diplomatic circles, young Louis Nolan was able to join the Austrian Imperial Army.

In 1832 he was entered as a cadet in the Royal Friedrich Wilhelm III – a prestigious Cavalry Regiment. He did three years training and was posted with his regiment to Hungary and then Poland. He attained the rank of a Senior Lieutenant in 1838. In this year the young officer of the Austrian Cavalry took leave and went to Britain to see young Queen Victoria crowned Queen of Britain and all her Empire. He decided to stay and join his own nation’s army.

Nolan joined the 15th King's Hussars and went to India to serve the Empire. On arrival in India, he fell ill and was sent back to Maidstone, Kent in England. When he got well, he became a riding master. He returned to India in 1843 and began duty in the jewel nation of Britain’s Empire and became the Riding Master in his regiment because of his training at the pristine Austrian Cavalry school. In 1850 he became a Captain and returned to Britain in 1851. He wrote a book titled, The Training of Cavalry Remount Horses: A New System.

In 1852 he led his regiment in the Duke of Wellington's funeral procession and wrote his second book, Cavalry: Its History and Tactics, which was published in 1853.

In 1854 Nolan was sent to the Ottoman Empire to purchase horses for use in the Crimean War. Captain Nolan travelled to many Middle East lands including Syria and then to Varna in Bulgaria with hundreds of horses. From here he went to Crimea where the most ominous of destinies awaited him.

Of all the many good things Captain Nolan did during his military career, he is remembered because of the last twenty minutes of his life – a sequence of events that would lead to a disaster – that would lead to bards writing poems – artists painting pictures – storytellers marvelling at a show of outstanding bravery - all from a disastrous mistake.

He was upon the hill with Lord Raglan’s men, overlooking the area where the Light Brigade waited for orders and it was he who was given the message to deliver to Lord Cardigan, in charge of the Light Brigade. The order was misinterpreted and the Light Brigade began to advance into a valley in order to attack Russian artillery at the end. However, there were enemy guns upon the scarps on either flank. Cannon in front, to the right and to the left. It is believed that when Captain Nolan fell into joining the charge he was horrified when he realised that they were charging the artillery positions at the end of the valley. Maybe they were supposed to attack guns on one of the scarps. He tried to gallop to the front of the column in order to divert Lord Cardigan away from the suicidal charge. As he rode in front of the advancing horseman, he was killed during the first Russian salvo. The Light Brigade rode over his dead body and attacked the Russian positions riding a gauntlet of cannon fire from front and to the sides – six hundred plus - all men of the horse. They managed to overrun the Russian guns at the end of the valley but were driven off by a superior Russian cavalry force. It was a pointless action and of the six hundred plus men of the Light Brigade only around one hundred and ninety-five returned. Over four hundred were killed, wounded and captured. After the war, there were other recorded survivors from the famous charge who were released from captivity.

For a long time, Captain Nolan was blamed for the catastrophic event, but over the years, history has become more sympathetic to the cavalry officer, who never survived the charge to tell his side of the story. Incidentally, Lord Cardigan who led the charge at the head of his men returned with survivors after overrunning the Russian guns. Captain Nolan occupied the pages of history as the ill-omen 'messenger of death' for a long time and although he is still considered in this term, the attitude today is; "Don't shoot the messenger."

Light Brigade survivors of the charge

There is also an in-depth account of Captain Nolan in a book called:

MESSENGER OF DEATH by David Buttery