James Brudenell, 7th Earl of CARDIGAN (1797-1868)

Autograph Letter Signed (“Cardigan Lt. Genl.”) to an unnamed correspondent responding to a request for his autograph.
1½ pages 8vo, with integral blank leaf, Deene, 25 March 1865. 
“At the request of my friend Dr. O’Callaghan[?] I have much pleasure in sending you the specimen of the Autograph of the person you are pleased to call the leader of the 600 at Balaklava.”
The Earl of Cardigan, vain and irascible, but certainly brave, led the catastrophic Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava on 25 October 1854, losing 409 out of 607 men. As he led his men towards the Russian guns he was heard to mutter “here goes the last of the Brudenells”. Responsibility for the debacle remains a matter of some debate, but despite this Lord Cardigan was hailed as a national hero when he returned to England.
One or two words have been “gone over”, probably by Cardigan himself, where the ink is weak. The lower, blank, half of the second page is rather yellowed.

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