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The First Christening The Season Of 1841


Comments Upon The Young Queen By A Contemporaneous Writer In Blackwood

The Queen's First Visit To Scotland

The Queen's First Visit To Scotland



The Proroguing Of Parliament The Visit To Guildhall And The Coronation

Reign Of Queen Victoria


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The Condemnation Of The English Duel

The Queen's Sympathy During The Illness Of President Garfield


Marriage Of The Princess Royal

Failing Health Of Prince Albert

Distribution Of Victoria Crosses By The Queen

Allies From Afar And Death And Absence

Prince Albert

Queen Victoria Absence From The Coronation Of William Iv

The Emperor And Empress Of France Visit Windsor

Distribution Of Victoria Crosses By The Queen

For a long time the Turkish empire had been gradually falling into decay,
and the possessions of the Turk--the 'sick man,' as he has been aptly
termed--had excited the greed of neighbouring countries. Russia especially
had made several attempts to put an end to the 'sick man' by violent
means, and seize upon his rich inheritance.

The year 1853 seemed to the Czar Nicholas to be a favourable time for
accomplishing his designs against Turkey. Great Britain and France both
vigorously remonstrated against the proceedings of the Czar; but believing
that neither of them would fight, he commanded his armies to cross the
Pruth into Turkish territory. By this step the 'dogs of war' were once
more slipped in Europe, after a peace of forty years' duration. The
Russian forces pushed on for the Danube, doubtless expecting to cross that
river and take possession of the long-wished-for prize of Constantinople
before the western powers had made up their minds whether to fight or not.
To their disappointment, however, the Russians met with a most stubborn
resistance from the Turks, and utterly failed to take the fortress of
Silistria, where the besieged were encouraged and directed by some British

Meanwhile, the queen of Great Britain and the emperor of France had both
declared war against Russia, March 28, 1854. Before long, our fleets were
scouring the Baltic and the Black seas, chasing and capturing every
Russian vessel which dared to venture out, bombarding the fortresses, and
blockading the seaports. Two armies also were sent out to the assistance
of Turkey; the British force being commanded by Lord Raglan, and the
French by Marshal St Arnaud.

The Turks having repulsed the Russian armies on the Danube, the allies
resolved to invade the peninsula of the Crimea, and make an assault upon
the Russian fortress of Sebastopol. The great fortress was a standing
menace to Turkey; and to effect its destruction seemed the likeliest means
of humbling Russia and bringing the war to a close. Accordingly a landing
of the allied forces--British, French, and Turkish--to the number of
54,000 men, was made on the Crimea, at Eupatoria, no opposition being
offered by the enemy. The army then set forward along the coast toward the
Russian stronghold, the fleet accompanying it by sea. In order to bar the
progress of the allied forces, the Russian army of the Crimea was strongly
posted on a ridge of heights, with the small stream of the Alma in front,
September 20, 1854. After a severe struggle the heights were gallantly
stormed, and the Russians retreated towards Sebastopol.

The allied armies now laid siege to Sebastopol. It went on for a year,
during which the invaders were exposed to many hardships from the assaults
of the foe, and the severity of the climate during the winter months.
Before the year was out, also, both Lord Raglan and the French general
died, and their places were taken by others. Nor did the Czar Nicholas
live to witness the result of the war which he had commenced. His son,
Alexander, made no change, however, but trod in the footsteps of his sire.

In the early days of the siege, and before the allies had got
reinforcements from home, the Russians made several formidable attacks
upon the camp. Their first attempt was directed against the British lines,
with the design of capturing the port of Balaklava, October 25, 1854. They
were gallantly repulsed, however, chiefly by Sir Colin Campbell and his
Highlanders, who firmly stood their ground against the charge of the
Russian horse. The British cavalry, advancing to the assistance of the
infantry, cut through the masses of their opponents as if they had been
men of straw. It was in this battle that the famous charge of the Light
Brigade took place, when, owing to some misunderstanding on the part of
the commanders, six hundred of our light horsemen, entirely unsupported,
rode at full gallop upon the Russian batteries. It was a brilliant but
disastrous feat; in the space of a few minutes, four hundred of the
gallant men were uselessly sacrificed. 'It is magnificent, but it is not
war,' was the remark of a French general.

Shortly afterwards occurred the desperate fight of Inkermann, November 5,
1854, where about 8000 British troops bravely stood their ground for hours
against 40,000 Russians. Upon their ammunition running short, some of our
brave men, rather than retreat, hurled volleys of stones at the foe.
Ultimately, a strong body of the French came to their aid, and the
Russians were driven from the field.

Not long after this encounter, the besiegers met with a disaster which did
them more harm than all the assaults of the Russian hordes. A terrific
storm swept across the Black Sea and the Crimea, November 14, 1854. A
great number of the vessels in Balaklava harbour were wrecked, and there
was an immense loss of stores of all kinds intended for the troops. The
hurricane also produced the most dreadful consequences on land. Tents were
blown down, fires extinguished, and food and cooking utensils destroyed.
The poor soldiers, drenched to the skin, and without so much as a dry
blanket to wrap round them, had to pass the dreary night as best they
could upon the soft wet ground. For some time afterwards there was a great
scarcity of food and clothing and other necessaries, and much suffering
was endured during the long dreary winter. When tidings of these
misfortunes reached England there was much indignation against the
government, and especially against the officials whose duty it was to keep
the army properly supplied with stores. The prime-minister, the Earl of
Aberdeen, resigned, and was succeeded by Lord Palmerston. Vigorous steps
were now taken to provide for the comfort of the troops, and in a short
time the camp was abundantly supplied with everything necessary.

All through the following summer the siege operations went on. Nearer and
nearer approached the trenches towards the doomed city, which at intervals
was subjected to a terrific bombardment from hundreds of guns. The allied
armies had been strongly reinforced from home, and had also been joined by
a Sardinian force, so that the Russians no longer ventured to attack them
so frequently. At length the advances of the allies were completed, and
the final cannonade took place, and lasted for three days. The storming
columns then carried the main forts; and the Russians, finding that
further resistance was useless, evacuated the town during the night, and
the following day it was taken possession of by the combined armies. With
the capture of Sebastopol, 8th Sept., 1855, the war was virtually at an
end, though peace was not formally declared till six months afterwards by
the Treaty of Paris.

The Queen and prince watched intently every movement of the tremendous
drama. In the terrible winter of 1855, the Queen's thoughts were with her
troops, suffering in the inclement weather, amid arrangements that proved
miserably inadequate to their needs. On 6th December 1854, the Queen wrote
the following letter to Mr Sidney Herbert, Secretary of War. 'Would you
tell Mrs Herbert that I begged she would let me see frequently the
accounts she receives from Miss Nightingale or Mrs Bracebridge, as I hear
no details of the wounded, though I see so many from officers, &c., about
the battlefield; and naturally the former must interest me more than any
one. Let Mrs Herbert also know that I wish Miss Nightingale and the ladies
would tell these poor, noble, wounded and sick men that no one takes a
warmer interest, or feels more for their sufferings, or admires their
courage and heroism more than their Queen. Day and night she thinks of her
beloved troops; so does the prince.' With her own hands she made
comforters, mittens, and other articles of clothing, for distribution
among the soldiers, and she wrote to Lord Raglan that she 'had heard that
their coffee was given to them green, instead of roasted, and some other
things of this kind, which had distressed her, and she besought that they
should be made as comfortable as circumstances can admit.'

The little princes and princesses contributed their childish but very
pretty drawings to an exhibition which was opened for the benefit of the
soldiers' widows and children. As the disabled soldiers returned to this
country, the Queen and the prince took the earliest opportunity of
ascertaining by personal observation in what condition they were, and how
they were cared for. And when the war was over, Miss Florence Nightingale,
the soldier's nurse and friend, was an honoured guest in the royal family,
'putting before us,' writes the prince, 'all the defects of our present
military hospital system, and the reforms that are needed.' On 5th March
1855, the Queen wrote to Lord Panmure suggesting the necessity of
hospitals for sick and wounded soldiers, which eventually took shape in
the great military hospital at Netley.

Victoria Crosses were distributed by the Queen in Hyde Park, 26th June
1857, to those soldiers who had performed special acts of bravery in
presence of the enemy. This decoration was instituted at the close of the
Crimean War, and has since been conferred from time to time. It is in the
form of a Maltese cross, and is made of bronze. In the centre are the
royal arms, surmounted by the lion, and below, in a scroll, the words 'For
Valour.' The ribbon is blue for the navy, and red for the army. On the
clasp are two branches of laurel, and from it the cross hangs, supported
by the initial 'V.'

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