Louis Nolan - Crimean War and Death

Crimean War and Death

In 1854 Nolan was gazetted ADC to Brigadier-General Richard Airey, before being sent to the Ottoman Empire to purchase horses for the army for the Crimean War. Nolan travelled around Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. He arrived in Varna, Bulgaria, in July, with nearly 300 animals.

On arriving in the Crimea, Nolan continued serving as Airey's ADC, and as an interpreter between the British and the French. Airey was Lord Raglan's quartermaster-general in the campaign, and wrote an infamous series of confusing orders for Raglan during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854. Since landing in the Crimea, Nolan had become increasingly bitter at the conduct of the campaign, particularly his perception of the misuse of the cavalry division in its failure to pursue the retreating enemy during the Battle of Alma. From the hilltop vantage point where Raglan and Airey could see the whole battle, Nolan delivered the controversial 'Fourth Order' for the Light Brigade in the valley below to charge. Lord Cardigan, commander of the cavalry division, afterwards reported that Nolan had added his own verbal interpretation of the order: "He, in a most significant but disrespectful manner, pointing to the further end of the valley, 'There, my Lord, is your enemy; there are your guns.'" Joining in the charge, Nolan galloped to its front in a possible attempt to reach Cardigan to try to change the direction of the charge towards the wrong guns. He was killed by shrapnel from the first Russian artillery salvo before his true intentions could be shown. Initially unaware of Nolan's death, Lord Cardigan was angered by Nolan's insubordinate behavior, and accused him of both attempting to usurp command of the charge and of cowardice, saying to Major General James Yorke Scarlett, "Imagine the fellow screaming like a woman and riding to the rear!" "Say no more, my Lord," Scarlett entreated, "For I have ridden over Nolan's dead body." The newspapers refused to allow Nolan's memory to be tarnished. William Howard Russell, war correspondent, paid tribute in The Times of London, writing : "A braver soldier than Captain Nolan the army did not possess. A matchless horseman and first rate swordsman. God forbid I should cast a shade on his honour."

His death prevented any definitive explanation of his role and motives in the tragedy that saw the Brigade almost annihilated. Numerous books, such as Mark Adkin's The Charge (1996), have been written seeking to explain the "reason why" the brigade was lost.