This traditional Irish song relates to the Crimean War, 1853-1856. The Kerryman miraculously emerges unscathed from the Battles of Alma, in September 1854, Balaklava (in which the British Light Brigade was nearly completely destroyed), in October 1854, and Inkermann, in November 1854. On June 18, 1855, he is seriously wounded while assaulting Radan. He's sent home with a wooden leg to live on half pay.