The Destruction of Lord Raglan was published by Longmans, Green in 1961 and won the Heinemann Award for Literature. The book covers the Crimean War from the British perspective, focusing on FitzRoy Somerset, first Baron Raglan — Wellington’s former military secretary, who was given command of the British expeditionary force to the Crimea in 1854 despite having no experience of independent command and no familiarity with the army he was leading.
Hibbert’s sympathy for Raglan is genuine but not uncritical. He portrays a man of courtesy, courage, and fundamental decency trapped in a system that valued aristocratic connections over military ability, that had not reformed its logistics or staff organization since Waterloo, and that was entirely unprepared for the reality of modern industrial warfare. The disasters — the Charge of the Light Brigade, the collapse of the supply chain during the winter of 1854-55, the ravages of cholera and exposure — were not primarily Raglan’s fault, but they destroyed him nonetheless. He died at his headquarters in June 1855, worn out by responsibility, grief, and public vilification.
Hibbert’s narrative method — vivid, character-driven, based on extensive primary research but wearing its learning lightly — would define his career through over fifty subsequent books. The battle descriptions are among the finest in military history writing: clear, tactically precise, and alive with the confusion and terror of combat.
Collecting The Destruction of Lord Raglan
First edition (Longmans, Green, London, 1961): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good/very good: $15–$40