'Battle of Balaclava. Brilliant charge of the Scots Greys, Oct. 25th, 1854'

Coloured lithograph by Augustus Butler, published by Stannard and Dixon, London, 6 January 1855.

During the Crimean War (1854-1856) the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) were part of the Heavy Brigade (alongside the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Dragoons) under Major-General The Honourable James Yorke Scarlett (1799-1871). At the Battle of Balaklava a large body of some 3,000 Russian cavalry threatened the road to the harbour of Balaklava. Seeing the Russian horsemen halted, and thus vulnerable to attack, Scarlett immediately charged uphill with three of his squadrons, being successively reinforced by the remaining seven squadrons of his Brigade. Reeling from this series of attacks, the Russian cavalry retired in disorder a few minutes later.