The Charge of Scarlett's 300 or Heavy Brigade at Balaclava 25th October 1854. Reproduction of a watercolour after Stanley Berkeley, c.1890, published by S. Hildesheimer and Co, c.1894. National Army Museum, 1952-04-1-1 (identified as out of copyright).
The reproduction is in the Museum's study collection, and links to other depictions of horse in warfare. It shows the British Heavy Brigade under Major-General (later General) The Honourable (later Sir) James Yorke Scarlett charging uphill with three of his ten squadrons to take advantage of a pause in the Russian attack on the British position there. With the other squadrons coming on in support one after another, Scarlett's cavalry were able to rout the Russians and secure the road to the harbour.
The serried ranks of horses break up only in the foreground as the attack begins, and enemy soldiers and their unfortunate horses are toppled. One horse veers away at the left, reins dangling, apparently riderless. The human and animal cost of war is clear, but the overwhelming sense here is of galloping horses, brandished swords, and invincible onward movement. — Jacqueline Banerjee
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Bibliography
The Charge of Scarlett's 300 or Heavy Brigade at Balaclava 25th October 1854. National Army Museum. Web. 16 October 2020.
Created 16 October 2020