Field Marshal Lord Raglan

Mezzotint engraving by Henry Cousins after F Grant. Published by Henry Graves and Company, 1854.

Field Marshal Lord Raglan (1788-1855) was the British commander during the Crimean War (1854-1856). He had last seen active service at Waterloo in 1815 and had spent 25 years at a desk as military secretary at the Horse Guards. At 65 years old he had never led an army in the field.

His selection as commander of the Army in the East had been influenced by his skills as a diplomat - considered highly significant in developing a working relationship with Britain's French allies - but the talents that recommended his appointment were to cause difficulty in the field. Raglan's habit of phrasing commands as polite requests rather than orders caused confusion and life-threatening delays at the Battle of the Alma (20 September 1854) and his ill-phrased orders to Lord Lucan contributed to the destruction of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaklava (25 October 1854).