Personal info
- Name: John Augustus CONOLLY
- D.O.B: 30th May, 1829
- D.O.A: 26th Oct, 1854
- D.O.D: 23rd Dec, 1888
- Award: Victoria Cross
- Occupation at time of action: Lieutenant, 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division
- Book: The Complete History - Volume 1
The Battle of Little Inkerman, Russia 26 October 1854
26 October 1854
The Crimean War
On 26 October 1854, the day after the Battle of Balaklava, a Russian force commanded by Colonel Federov advanced out of the Karabel Faubourg, the eastern suburb of Sevastopol, crossed the ravine running north to Careenage Bay and marched east along the foot of Mount Inkerman, before turning south at right angles to attack Sir George de Lacy Evans’ 2nd Division which was camped on the high ground above. On the slopes of Shell Hill they encountered a picket of the 49th Regiment and fierce fighting began. The Russians, then being pounded by the British artillery on Home Ridge behind Shell Hill, were eventually forced to retreat. Meanwhile, a smaller Russian force had advanced up the Careenage Ravine to attack the 2nd Division from the flank. Here they were halted by sixty volunteer sharpshooters, commanded by Captain G L Goodlake, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, who drove them back. The Russians were also repulsed from the Lancaster Batteries which overlooked Careenage Ravine from Victoria Ridge to the west.
Citation
In the attack by the Russians against the position held by the Second Division, 26th October, 1854, Major Conolly, then a Lieutenant in the 49th Regiment, while in command of a company of that regiment, on outlying picket, made himself most conspicuous by the gallantry of his behaviour. He came particularly under the observation of the late Field-Marshal Lord Raglan, while in personal encounter with several Russians, in defence of his post. He ultimately fell, dangerously wounded. Lieutenant Conolly was highly praised in General Orders, and promoted into the Coldstream Guards, as a reward for his exemplary behaviour on this occasion.