how far Essay

Submitted By archie00000000001
Words: 518
Pages: 3

How far sources 2 and 3 support the impression of the Charge of the Light Brigade given in source 1?
Source 1 was written by William Russell for the Times Newspaper on the 14th November 1854. On the face of the source it seems that William Russell is explaining that although there were great losses in the charge, it was worth it due to the astonishing bravery and courage that was displayed on the part of the British. Although from researching Russell and his agenda in the Crimean it can be taken that this source is in fact sarcastic, and that he is belittling the British high command that sent the soldiers into the fatal charge. The tone of the source is one of anger, Russell is angry that lives have been lost for what he can see as being a totally futile reason. This is a view that has been shared over time by many famous Crimean war historians and witnesses, such as in Lord Tennyson’s poem of the charge one famous line says ‘There’s not to reason why, there’s but to do or die’.
Sources 2 disagrees with source 1. Timothy Gowing, who was a serving sergeant in the Crimean war, reflects on the charge, in his book ‘Voice from the ranks’ published in 1895. Gowing doesn’t necessarily disagree with what Russell is saying about the charge, he agrees that it was terribly bloody ‘The field was soon strewn with the dead and wounded’, but Gowing doesn’t sound angry in his source, just saddened by the loss of men, this may be that he can understand better than Russell the nature of warfare, and sometimes in the heat of battles wrong decisions are made, due to the fact that he was a serving soldier and Russell was only a reporter, so he could only see things from a reporters view.
Source 3 is an extract from Mrs Duberly’s War: Journal and Letters from the Crimea 1854-6. Here she describes the events of the events of the 25th October 1854. She describes the charge as