The Charge of the Light Brigade | Victorian, Crimean War, Battle of Balaclava | Britannica
- ️Invalid Date
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Charge of the Light Brigade, poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published in 1855. The poem, written in Tennyson’s capacity as poet laureate, commemorates the heroism of a brigade of British soldiers at the Battle of Balaklava (1854) in the Crimean War. The 600 troops of the brigade followed ambiguous orders to charge a heavily defended position though they knew they had little chance of survival.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.