Queen Victoria to the Earl of Clarendon

Windsor Castle, 9th November 1854.

The Queen returns the letters from Lord Cowley and Count Walewski. No consideration on earth ought to stand in the way of our sending what ships we can lay hold of to transport French reinforcements to the Crimea, as the safety of our Army and the honour of the Country are at stake. The Queen is ready to give her own yacht for a transport which could carry 1,000 men. Every account received convinces the Queen more and more that numbers alone can ensure success in this instance, and that without them we are running serious risks.

Footnote 59: The Count wrote that France was ready to send 20,000 men to the Crimea, if England could furnish transports. Lord Clarendon added: "We have not a single available steamer, as all must be left in the Baltic until the ice sets in, and the stores, ammunition, and clothing for the Army are going out in sailing vessels."