Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/206

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176 GENERAL CAMPBELL'S ATTACK.


CHAP. VII. Todleben's jioliey. General Campbell killed. Colonel Shadforth killed. Courses that might lie taken by the 57tli men. mean to allow. It was mainly to ward off all fighting of the hand-to-hand sort that he plied his great Art. He might, and he would cause his adversaries to die, or fall wounded, but not under those conditions of reciprocal action which men call a 'fight.' On the contrary, he would strike down assailants with his favourite re- source of ' mitrail ' before they could come to close quarters. General Campbell was very soon killed. His authority devolved on Lord West (then on duty at the head of the reserve), and the next in com- mand on the spot was Colonel Shadforth, the chief of the 57th men. At nearly the same time, however, Colonel Shadforth was killed ; and this simultaneous loss of not only the chief but also of him who — at least on the spot — had stood the next in command was of course such an accident as — if not even causing discouragement of a seri- ous kind — might well break asunder the thread of any settled design which till then had been guiding the troops. These men of the proud 57th might soon find death under the fire that began to be greeting them from the moment when, turning the para- pet, they emerged on the open ground ; but, to satisfy the exigency of their great Albuera tradi- tion, they needed to be at close quarters with an enemy so as not to be dying like saints, but rather fighting like men;* and, approachable as it was

  • An allusion to the famous command, ' Fifty-seventh ! die

' hard ! ' which was addressed to the regiment at Albuera by