‘Life in camp before Sebastopol. No. 4 The midnight alarm’, 1854 circa (litho)

‘Life in camp before Sebastopol. No. 4 The midnight alarm’, 1854 circa. Coloured lithograph after unknown artist , No 4 in the series of six prints 'Life in Camp Before Sebastopol' published by Read and Company, 22 November 1854. The Cavalry Division was posted near Balaklava, guarding the British army’s lines of communication. During October 1854, false alarms were numerous, as Lieutenant Edward Seager of the 8th (The King’s Royal Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) complained: ‘The cavalry have been worked very much, as we do all the outpost duty, night and day. We cover Balaklava, being encamped in the valley leading to the town and we have to find patrols, pickets, and vedettes for all the country around our position. We are protecting the rear of our position from attack, and what annoys us the most is there is scarcely a day passes that it does not sound turn out the whole, and away we have to go to look at a few cossacks; perhaps to remain there for many hours’.