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James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan KCB (October 16, 1797 – March 28, 1868) commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.
He was born in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire and educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. He was MP for Marlborough in Wiltshire from 1818 to 1829, before inheriting the earldom from his father in 1837. By this time he was a serving army officer, having joined the 8th Hussars in May 1824 at the age of 27. He made extensive use of the sale of commissions system then in use and became a Lieutenant in January 1825, a Captain in June 1826, a Major in August 1830 and a Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1830. In 1833 he was forced to resign from the 15th Hussars because of conflicts with fellow officers, but in 1836 he took command of the 11th Hussars, using his own fortune to improve its performance (it was in this role that he was portrayed in the historical fiction Flashman novel by George MacDonald Fraser). He was prosecuted in 1841 for a duel with one of his own officers, but was acquitted. After scandalising society by leaving his first wife he married Adeline de Horsey whom Queen Victoria refused to receive.
His most notorious exploit took place during the Crimean War on October 25, 1854 when, in command of the Light Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, he led the Charge of the Light Brigade, reaching the Russian guns before returning, personally unscathed, in a maneuver that cost the lives of 110 out of the 674 men under his command who took part in the charge.
Lord Cardigan's guilt is unproven, since he attacked only after expressing his doubts and receiving a direct order in front of the troops from his immediate superior Lord Lucan, Commander of the Cavalry Division.
It was during his service in the Crimea that the cardigan sweater was named after him.
The British historian Cecil Woodham-Smith's The Reason Why (1953) did serious harm to the Earl's posthumous reputation. A 1968 film was based on Woodham-Smith's research. Another critical assessment of Cardigan and his career is The Homicidal Earl, by Saul David, a British military historian.
| Preceded byRobert Brudenell | Earl of Cardigan 1837–1868 |
Succeeded byGeorge Brudenell |