The Crimean War: History & Collectables

Britain’s Forgotten War

The Crimean War (1853–1856) occupies a peculiar place in British military history. It was the first major European conflict since Waterloo, fought against Russia in alliance with France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. It produced some of the most iconic moments in British military history — the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Thin Red Line, the nursing revolution of Florence Nightingale — yet its strategic purpose has baffled historians ever since. For collectors, the Crimea offers a rich material culture, from the first British campaign medals with clasps to some of the earliest conflict photography.

Strategic Background

The war’s immediate cause was a dispute over the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, then part of the Ottoman Empire. The underlying cause was the long-running Eastern Question — the struggle between European powers over the declining Ottoman Empire’s territories and influence. Russia’s ambitions to control Constantinople and the Dardanelles threatened British and French interests. When Russia occupied the Ottoman Danubian Principalities (modern Romania) in July 1853, Britain and France intervened in support of the Ottomans.

The decision to invade the Crimean Peninsula and capture the Russian naval base at Sevastopol was taken in the summer of 1854. It was expected to be a short, decisive campaign. It became a gruelling eleven-month siege, testing the British Army to its limits and exposing catastrophic failures of leadership, supply, and medical care.

The British Expeditionary Force

The British force was commanded by Lord Raglan, a 65-year-old veteran who had lost an arm at Waterloo — his last (and only) experience of major combat, forty years earlier. The army comprised approximately 27,000 men organised in five infantry divisions and a cavalry division. Key units included:

• Guards Brigade: Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Fusilier Guards
• Highland Brigade: 42nd (Black Watch), 79th (Cameron Highlanders), 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders)
• Light Division: Including the 7th (Royal Fusiliers), 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers), and rifle regiments
• Heavy Brigade: Scots Greys, Inniskillings, 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards
• Light Brigade: 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, 8th and 11th Hussars, 17th Lancers

Key Battles and Engagements

The Battle of the Alma (20 September 1854)

The first major engagement of the campaign. The allied army attacked Russian positions on the heights above the River Alma. The British infantry, advancing uphill under heavy fire, stormed the Russian positions in a frontal assault that succeeded through sheer determination rather than tactical finesse. Casualties were significant — approximately 2,000 British killed and wounded — but the way to Sevastopol appeared open. The failure to pursue and potentially capture the city immediately remains one of the great “what-ifs” of the campaign.

The Battle of Balaclava (25 October 1854)

Balaclava produced two of the most famous episodes in British military history, both occurring on the same day:

The Thin Red Line: The 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, under Sir Colin Campbell, formed a two-deep line (rather than the conventional square) to repel a Russian cavalry charge. William Howard Russell of The Times immortalised the scene as “a thin red streak topped with a line of steel” — later shortened to “the thin red line.” The Highlanders held firm and repulsed the Russian cavalry.

The Charge of the Light Brigade: A confused order led Lord Cardigan’s Light Brigade — approximately 670 men of the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, 8th and 11th Hussars, and 17th Lancers — to charge straight down a valley flanked by Russian artillery on both sides. The result was predictable catastrophe: 118 killed, 127 wounded, and approximately 60 captured, with over 350 horses lost. Tennyson’s poem made it the most famous military disaster in British history.

The Battle of Inkerman (5 November 1854)

Known as “the soldiers’ battle” because fog and broken terrain made command and control impossible, leaving the fighting to company and platoon-level initiative. Russian forces attacked the British positions in overwhelming numbers — approximately 42,000 against 8,000 British troops initially engaged. Savage close-quarter fighting, much of it hand-to-hand with bayonet and musket butt, eventually repulsed the Russian assault. British casualties were approximately 2,500 — a devastating toll for the units engaged.

The Siege of Sevastopol (October 1854 – September 1855)

The siege of Sevastopol lasted almost a year and consumed the British Army. Conditions in the trenches were appalling — cold, disease, inadequate supplies, and constant bombardment. The Russian Army defending Sevastopol was skilfully led by Admiral Nakhimov and Colonel Totleben, whose engineering expertise repeatedly frustrated Allied attempts to breach the defences. The final assault on 8 September 1855 captured the Malakhov bastion, making further defence untenable. The Russians evacuated the city.

Disease, Supply, and Florence Nightingale

More British soldiers died of disease (predominantly cholera, dysentery, and typhus) than from enemy action — the ratio was approximately four to one. The logistical system broke down almost completely during the first winter. Soldiers lacked warm clothing, adequate rations, medical supplies, and basic equipment. The scandal, reported by Russell and exposed by Nightingale, led to fundamental reforms in military medicine, supply, and administration that transformed the British Army.

Collecting Crimean War Militaria

The Crimea Medal

The Crimea Medal 1854 was issued with up to four clasps: Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol. The medal is named on the rim in a variety of styles depending on the unit and period of issue (impressed, engraved, or officially renamed). Key pricing indicators:

The Turkish Crimea Medal

The Sultan’s Crimea Medal was awarded by the Ottoman Empire to all British troops who served in the campaign. It exists in two varieties: the Sardinian die (more common) and the British die. The Turkish Crimea Medal is unnamed and considerably less valuable than the British medal — typically £60–£150.

Weapons and Equipment

• Minié rifle (Pattern 1851/1853): The Crimea saw the widespread introduction of the rifled musket, giving British infantry a significant range advantage. A genuine Crimean-era Enfield costs £800–£2,500.
• 1853 Pattern cavalry sword: The standard heavy cavalry weapon. £800–£2,000 depending on condition and markings.
• Uniform items: Crimean-era tunics, shakos, and equipment are rare survivors. Genuine examples command high prices and require expert authentication.

Art and Photography

The Crimea was the first war significantly documented by photography. Roger Fenton’s photographs, though posed and sanitised, provide invaluable visual records. Original Fenton photographs — albumen prints from the 1850s — appear at auction occasionally and are extremely valuable. Lithographs, engravings, and paintings depicting Crimean scenes are more accessible to collectors and provide impressive display pieces.

Documents and Personal Effects

The Crimea generated a vast quantity of personal correspondence — the penny post was well established, and soldiers wrote home regularly. Crimean War letters describing conditions, battles, and daily life are available at auction and from dealers, typically priced from £50 for a routine letter to several hundred pounds for one describing a major action. Diaries, paybooks, and discharge documents are scarcer and correspondingly more valuable.