The total Zulu force is estimated at 20,000 warriors and consisted of elements of various regiments under the command of Ziwedu, Cetshwayo’s brother. He was supported by three battle-experienced indunas, Mnyamana Buthelezi (the Zulu prime minister), Prince Dabulamanzi (commander at Rorke’s Drift) and Ntshingwayo Khoza (commander at Isandlwana). Their casualties are difficult to assess as accounts vary; an average suggests that about 1,500 dead warriors were found around the battlefield. Buller claimed that a further 500 were killed during the far-ranging pursuit.
APPENDIX C
The Referee’s poem on Rorke’s Drift
RORKE’S DRIFT
There was an old soldier named Dan’el
He fought until his clothes were in rags,
So the Government gave him a flannel,
And also a new pair of bags.
And the news it went over the Channel,
Through Europe it’s chaff for the wags,
That we honour our heroes in flannel,
And clothe their achievements in bags.
’Tis a blot on our glorious annals,
Oh, who were the elderly hags,
Who suggested those charity flannels
And ordered those beggarly bags?
When the public its jury empanels,
’Twill suggest, ere the interest flags,
That the Tories for skirts take the flannels,
And they might put their heads in the bags.
APPENDIX D
Deaths Caused by Disease at Fort Melvill
Figures are as follows – gaps denote information unknown:
Regiment
or Corps
Brigade or
Battalion
Regimental
No
Rank and Name
Age
Date
of death
Cause of
death
24
2
Private J. Williams
05.02.79
Dysentery
24
2
Private G. Evans
23.02.79
Fever
24
2
1407
Private Farr
04.03.79
Fever
24
2
1320
Private C. Foster
06.03.79
Fever
24
2
Private P. Murphy
08.03.79
Fever
24
2
1146
Private T. Jones
25
10.03.79
Fever
24
2
1067
Sergeant D. Jones
21
10.03.79
Fever
24
2
1605
L Corporal C. Frower
19
12.03.79
Fever
RE
Sapper J. Russell
20.02.79
Fever
Newcastle
Rifles
Trooper Dixon
12.01.79
Drowned
24
2
605
Colour Sergeant W. Cuthbert
23
12.03.79
Fever
24
2
1046
L Corporal J. Haslam
18.03.79
Fever
This number excludes 2nd Lieutenant Franklin of the 24th who, while seriously ill, was moved to Helpmekaar on 22 February. He died shortly after arriving there and is buried in the Helpmekaar cemetery. Initially the soldiers’ bodies were buried in the Rorke’s Drift cemetery alongside those who had died in the fighting; when the total reached 25, the remainder were buried in a small cemetery across the river from the fort which, over the years, became totally overgrown and forgotten. It was even omitted from military maps of the area, possibly due to the fact that it contained the bodies of fever cases rather than those killed in battle. During 2001 the cemetery was restored and repaired.
APPENDIX E
Award of Zulu War Medals
Queen Victoria was a great believer in bestowing rewards for loyalty and merit, especially in the military where every campaign during her reign saw the issue of specially designed medals and ribbons in recognition of brave or loyal service. Although Queen Victoria had instituted the Distinguished Conduct Medal for other ranks at the start of the Crimean War, she acknowledged the need for an award for outstanding bravery, one that could be bestowed regardless of rank. The resulting bronze cross, fashioned from the metal of captured Russian guns from Sebastopol, was first presented in June 1857, but there were very few opportunities to win this coveted award. Those officers who did found the road to promotion considerably easier and, as a consequence, many volunteered for active service with the possibility of a VC in mind. Considering the short duration of the Zulu War and its long periods of inactivity, the number of VCs awarded was exceptionally high. Apart from the politics involved, there was another reason. The Zulus did not possess artillery or effective firearms and so most of the fighting was highly visible and close combat, perfect warfare for the brave.
The award of so many VCs to one regiment for the Rorke’s Drift action was unprecedented although more VCs were awarded in total for each of the following battles:
19 for Inkerman; 5 November 1854 – 10 hour battle
20 for Great Redan; 18 June 1855 – battle lasted 5 hours
12 for Great Redan; action on 8 September 1855
17 for Sikandar Dagh; action on 16 November 1857
Figures kindly supplied by the Victoria Cross Society.
Zulu War Medals in campaign order
ISANDLWANA 22 January 1879
Victoria Cross. Private S. Wassall 80th Regiment.
Note
a In 1907 two further awards were made to Lieutenant Coghill and Lieutenant Melvill of the 24th Regiment who died after crossing back into Natal from Isandlwana. At the time of the Zulu War there was no provision for posthumous awards.
b In 1882 Trooper Barker of the Natal Carbineers was recommended for the VC by Maj. Gen. Sir Evelyn Wood VC for his actions at the Buffalo river. The recommendation was rejected.
RORKE’S DRIFT 22 January 1879
Victoria Cross. Lieutenant J.R.M. Chard RE; Lieutenant G. Bromhead, 2/24th Regiment; Surgeon J.H. Reynolds, Army Medical Department; Acting Commissary J.L. Dalton, Commissariat and Transport Department; Corporal W.W. Allen, 2/24th Regiment; Corporal F.C. Schiess, Natal Native Contingent; Privates F. Hitch, A.H. Hook, R. Jones, W. Jones and J. Fielding (alias Williams) of the 2/24th Regiment.
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Colour Sergeant F. Bourne, 2/24th Regiment; Corporal F. Attwood, Army Service Corps; Wheeler J. Cantwell, Royal Artillery and Private W. Roy, 1/24th Regiment.
Note Corporal M. McMahon of the Army Service Corps was also awarded the medal but it was subsequently withdrawn following his conviction for theft and desertion.
An interesting postscript concerning Chard’s Victoria Cross occurred in 1999. Stanley Baker, who played Chard in the film Zulu, acquired Chard’s pair of medals at auction in 1972. Although the campaign medal was genuine, the Victoria Cross was catalogued as a copy and, as a consequence, Baker paid the comparatively modest sum of £2,700 for the pair. On Stanley Baker’s death, the Cross changed hands three times until it ended up, lodged for safety, with Spinks of London who decided to check the nature of Chard’s ‘copy’ medal; its metallic characteristics were tested by the Royal Armouries. The test results were compared with those of the bronze ingot kept at the Central Ordnance Depot, from which all Victoria Crosses are cast. The tests revealed that the ‘copy’ had come from this same block and there was no doubt that it was the genuine article. No price can be put on this authenticated VC belonging to such a famous recipient.
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NTOMBE RIVER 12 March 1879
Victoria Cross. Sergeant A.C. Booth, 80th Regiment.
HLOBANE 28 March 1879
Victoria Cross. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel R.H. Buller, 60th Rifles; Major W. Knox-Leet, 1/13th Regiment; Lieutenant H. Lysons, 90th Regiment; Private E. Fowler, 90th Regiment.
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Corporal W.D. Vinnicombe, Frontier Light Horse; Trooper R. Brown, Frontier Light Horse; Private J. Power, 1/24th Regiment; Bugler A. Walkinshaw, 90th Light Infantry.
Note Captain Duck of the Veterinary Corps, for bravery at the Devil’s Pass, was recommended by Buller for the VC. It was turned down on the grounds that ‘he should not have been there’.
KHAMBULA 29 March 1879
Victoria Cross. Lieutenant E.S. Browne, 1/24th Regiment.
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Troop Sergeant Major Learda, Natal Native Horse; Acting Sergeant E. Quigley and Private A. Page, 1/13th Regiment.
MFOLOZI RIVER 3 July 1879
Victoria Cross. Captain Lord W.L. Beresford, 9th Lancers; Captain C.D.
D’Arcy and Sergeant E. O’Toole, Frontier Light Horse.
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Troop Sergeant Major S. Kambula, Natal Native Horse.
ULUNDI 4 July 1879
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Colour Sergeant J. Phillips, 58th Regiment and Gunner W. Moorhead, Royal Artillery.
The alternative gallantry award was the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which carried a gratuity of £15 for sergeants, £10 for corporals and £5 for privates. The Zulu War saw as many as twenty-three Victoria Crosses awarded compared with just fourteen DCMs. One wonders why only five DCMs were awarded for the defence of Rorke’s Drift when there were so many acts of gallantry displayed. Indeed, one could argue that some of the Victoria Crosses awarded for this action probably merited the DCM instead. But then other motives were at work to lessen the impact of Isandlwana on the British public. The Rorke’s Drift recipients of the ‘Silver Medal’, as it is sometimes known, were Corporal Francis Attwood, Army Service Corps, Gunner John Cantwell, Royal Artillery, the celebrated Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne 2/24th and Private William Roy 1/24th who was one of the defenders of the hospital. Private Roy left the army but could not settle; he emigrated to Australia where his health deteriorated. In 1887 a military concert was held in Sydney for his benefit as he was ‘almost blind and helpless’. He lived out the remainder of his life in an institution. The fifth recipient was Corporal Michael McMahon, Army Hospital Corps, who subsequently had his award taken away for theft and desertion.
The South Africa Medal was given to all who were involved in the war effort and covered the period from 25 September 1877 to 2 December 1879. Army Order 103 dated 1 August 1880 specifically excluded the award of clasps to those who did not cross into Zululand. Curiously, those members of B Company who fought at Rorke’s Drift but did not cross the border into Zululand nevertheless received bars to their medals, whether by omission or design is not known.
APPENDIX F
Bromhead’s Letters
Both of the following Bromhead letters are unabridged and unaltered. For further details see my book Rorke’s Drift (Cassell 2002).
Bromhead’s letter to Lieutenant Godwin-Austen
Rorke’s Drift
19th February 1879
My Dear Austin, [sic]
I can’t tell you how grieved I was to hear on the return of the Column on the 23rd of January that your brother had been left in that fateful camp. He had been attached to B Co at Freetown and we got on so jolly together that he told me he should ask the Col. to let him stay with the Company, but I am sorry to say it was not to be. The night before the Column transport crossed the river it came out in orders that B Company were to remain here and your brother was sent back to G Company and Griffiths who was Company Officer as usual was posted to the Company. Your brother who was knocked up from over work at the ponts, where he had been working day and night, to get troops across the river had to go sick, but still he march [sic] with the Column. I have not got over the dreadful news we received yet, in fact can hardly believe it. We had an awful night of it here as you may fancy. We heard the camp had been taken, and were also afraid that the Column had received a heavy blow, and the Zulus came at us in such force and with such fierce pluck. I thought we should never pull through it, but the Company behaved splendidly [word illegible] as our ammunition held out and we held them back till daylight. We were on the Natal side of the Buffalo but can do nothing as far as I can see until we are fitted up again. I hope they are going to send us out some more troops or you wont [sic] see many of us again. The Zulus are so strong we stand a poor chance against them, as it is we expect to be attacked any day.
I hope the wound is better, and that you do not suffer from it.
Yours sincerely,
G. Bromhead
Bromhead’s letter to his sister
This was written towards the end of February and it received limited publicity in Britain:
I fear you will be very anxious about me as no doubt we are rather in a fix. I am getting over the excitement of the fight and the sickness and fury at our loss. It is not so much the poor fellows being killed as the way the savages treat them. Having been left alone we have built a mud fort, which I think we ought to hold against any amount of Zulus, till we get help from England. I send you a paper with the report of the fight and the remarks of the General on the behaviour of my company which are flattering. If the Government gives all the steps [promotions] of the poor fellows killed I shall most probably get my company into the 1st Battalion who are to go home directly after the war is finished. I have not got over the wonder of there being one of us left. God was very good to us in giving us a little time to get up a defence, or the black fellows would have taken us by surprise, which they will find hard to do now.
APPENDIX G
Lord Chelmsford’s Telegram
From:Lieut General Lord Chelmsford KCB
To:Rt. Hon Secretary of State for War
I regret to have to report a very disastrous engagement which took place on the 22nd instant between the Zulus and a portion of No 3 Column left to guard a camp about 10 miles in front of Rorke’s drift – the former came down in overwhelming numbers and, in spite of the gallant resistance made by six companies of the 24th regiment, 2 guns, 2 Rocket – tubes, 104 mounted men and about 800 natives, completely overwhelmed them. The camp, containing all the supplies ammunition and transport of No 3 Column, was taken, and but few of its defenders escaped. Our loss, I fear, must be set down as 30 officers and about 500 non commissioned officers, Rank and File of the Imperial troops and 21 officers and 70 Non Commissioned officers and Rank and File of the Colonial Forces.
A court of enquiry has been ordered to assemble to collect evidence regarding this unfortunate affair, and will be forwarded to you as soon as received.
Full particulars, so far as can be obtained, have been sent in my despatch of this day’s date which will reach you in the next mail. It would seem that the troops were enticed away from their camp, as this action took place about one mile and a quarter outside it –
The effects of the reverse have already been very serious. Two whole regiments of natives have deserted and it is to be feared, that the rest will follow.
A panic is spreading broadcast over the Colony which is difficult to allay.
Additional reinforcements must be sent out: At least three Infantry regiments and two cavalry Regiments with horses are required and one more Company of Engineers.
The Cavalry must be prepared to act as Mounted Infantry and should have their Carbines slung on their shoulder, and a sword shorter than the regulation pattern fastened to the saddle.
Chelmsford.
Courtesy of the National Army Museum
APPENDIX H
Map of the Excavation of Isandlwana in 2000
ORIGINAL GRAVE SITES
A to B: Site of camp, 22 January 1879
1/24th Regiment
M
ounted Camp (Mounted infantry, Natal Carabiniers, N.M.P., N.M.R.)
Col. Harness’s battery
2/24th Regiment
Natal Native Contingent
Natal Native Contingent
C
Col. Durnford, R.E., Capt. Wardell (1/24th Regt), Lt Dyer (2/24th Regt), Lt Scot (Natal Carabiniers), Lt Bradstreet (N.M.R.) Quartermaster Hitchcock (N.M.R.), 1 Officer unrecognisable (24th Regt), and about 150 men (mostly 24th Regt) buried here.
D
Capt R Younghusband (1/24th Regt), 2 unrecognisable officers (24th Regt), and about 60 men (24th Regt) buried here.
E
Black’s Kopjie
About 100 white bodies buried on nek below, close to road, also many single bodies along road which runs at head of camp as far as B.
F
Isandlwana Rock
Crossing the Buffalo Page 35