Broadside ballad entitled 'Rise Up Noble Britons, Bundle an' Go'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'Curse on this Indian war that ere it began, / And wae to the savages that formed the plan'. There are no publication details included on this sheet.

The 'Sir Colin' referred to in the text is Sir Colin Campbell who lead the 93rd Regiment, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, into battle at Balaclava in 1854. Their brave, unorthodox and successful single line stance - the 'thin red line' - instead of a square, against the Russian's cavalry charge, delighted the British public and ensured their lasting fame. Previous to this the 93rd were stationed in Canada, the West Indies and after this, in 1855, they went on to distinguish themselves in India.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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