Then a portion of this force stealthily advanced, seeking to
take the British by surprise.
The first to discover the presence of the enemy was Hedley Vicars.
With great judgment he made his men lie down till the Russians were
within twenty paces. Then, springing to his feet, he shouted:--
"Now, 97th, on your pins and charge!"
His force was about 200, that of the enemy nearly 2000! Wounded in the
breast at the first onset, he still led the charge. "Men of the 97th,
follow me!" rang out his voice above the din of battle, and leaping
the parapet of the entrenchment he charged the enemy down the ravine.
"This way, 97th!" was his last command--still at the head of his
men. His sword had already dealt with two of the foe, and was again
uplifted, when a musket shot, fired at close quarters, severed an
artery; and the work on earth of this gallant man was over.
Hedley Vicars was a true soldier and earnest Christian. The last words
he wrote, penned the night before he died, were: "I spent the evening
with Cay. I read Isaiah, xli.; and he prayed. We walked together
during the day, and exchanged our thoughts about Jesus.
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