"Ah!" replied the Duke, "his Royal Highness is our Sovereign, and can
do what he pleases; but this I will say, the cavalry of other European
armies have won victories for their generals, but mine have invariably
got me into scrapes. It is true that they have always fought gallantly
and bravely, and have generally got themselves out of their difficulties
by sheer pluck."

The justice of this observation has since been confirmed by the charge
at Balaklava, where our cavalry undauntedly rushed into the face of
death under the command of that intrepid officer Lord Cardigan.


MARSHAL EXCELMANN'S OPINION OF THE BRITISH CAVALRY


Experience has taught me that there is nothing more valuable than the
opinions of intelligent foreigners on the military and naval excellences,
and the failures, of our united service. Marshal Excelmann's opinion
about the British cavalry struck me as remarkably instructive: he used
to say, "Your horses are the finest in the world, and your men ride
better than any Continental soldiers; with such materials, the English
cavalry ought to have done more than has ever been accomplished by them
on the field of battle. The great deficiency is in your officers, who
have nothing to recommend them but their dash and sitting well in their
saddles; indeed, as far as my experience goes, your English generals
have never understood the use of cavalry: they have undoubtedly frequently
misapplied that important arm of a grand army, and have never, up to
the battle of Waterloo, employed the mounted soldier at the proper time
and in the proper place. The British cavalry officer seems to be impressed