t was determined to
submit the letters with the whole of the circumstances connected with the
case, to the consideration of the Colonel of the regiment, Prince Albert.
The Prince, on receiving the papers, laid them before the
Commander-in-Chief, Lord Hill, for his opinion thereon, when it was
resolved, by the latter, to let the matter come fairly before the public,
in the shape of a court-martial, which was, shortly afterwards, held at
Brighton. This court confined itself chiefly to the consideration of the
second letter written by Capt. Reynolds, which they conceived to be
couched in a spirit so insubordinate, ungentlemanly, and insolent, as to
afford the writer no sort of excuse, or palliation for his conduct, on
the alleged grounds of previous provocation on the part of his commanding
officer, and they adjudged that Capt. Reynolds should be cashiered (Oct.
20).

It certainly was not from a wish not to fight a duel that Lord Cardigan
thus acted with regard to Capt. Reynolds (and no one who remembers his
heading the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, can question his
courage), for he challenged and fought with Lieut. Tuckett, on 12th Sep.;
a duel which was thus reported in the papers:

In consequence of the Earl of Cardigan having ascertained that certain
letters published recently in the _Morning Chronicle_, reflecting, as his
lordship supposed, on his character as an officer and a gentleman, were
written by Lieut. Tuckett, late of the same regiment (11th Hussars), the
noble lord sent him, through Captain Douglas, of the 11th, a challenge,
which was at once accepted, and Capt. Wainwright (half-pay) was the
friend selected by Mr. Tuckett to arrange the preliminaries. An apology
was demanded by the noble lord, to which the reply was, that if he would
deny the allegations contained in the letters referred to, it should be
given. Lord Cardigan declared that certain portions of those letters
were true, but that the greater part were calumnies. On this, the
apology was refused, and a meeting was the consequence. It took place on
the afternoon of the 12th Sep., on Wimbledon Common. The first shot was
ineffectual, on both sides; but, on the second fire, Mr. Tuckett received
his adversary's ball in the back part of the lower ribs, which traversed
round to the spine. The ball was extracted, and Mr. Tuckett, after a
time, recovered.

Subsequently, warrants were issued, and Lord Cardigan and his second were
broug