This volume reproduces the Cabinet Confidential print of January 1855, a time of crisis in British Government, when the Aberdeen Ministry, heavily defeated on a vote of confidence, was eventually replaced by Lord Palmerston’s Ministry. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James Graham, survived the change and the print reflected his decision to use the Vice Admirals commanding the principal theatres of war, the Baltic and the Black sea, as scapegoats for the failure of his overly ambitious, under-funded strategy. While Sir James Dundas went quietly Sir Charles Napier fought back.

While the two collections provide a sound introduction to the key issues of the campaign, including the capture of Bomarsund, plans to attack other Baltic fortresses, the economic blockade, the bombardment of Odessa, the invasion of the Crimea and the disastrous loss of shipping of Balaklava in November 1854 this collection should be read in conjunction with the other official and private correspondence.