The origins of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 had deep roots, but it stemmed from the basic principle that the British were trying to convert the Muslim and Hindu soldiers to Christianity. Rumours were circulated that cartridges were greased with beef and pork fat and that the powdered bones of pigs and cows were added to the ration flour, which of course offended both Muslim and Hindus alike serving in native Sepoy regiments. The Mutiny began in Meerut and spread rapidly across British military installations from Agra, Lucknow and the infamous Cawnpore. Wolseley participated in the relief of Lucknow and garnered admiration for his composure under fire in a few engagements. This was to mark Wolseley’s last service as a regimental officer, for he was to serve as a staff officer or commander on future campaigns. He was also promoted to Brevet Major in 1858 and served as Quartermaster General to Major General Sir Hope Grant. At the conclusion of the Indian mutiny campaign, Wolseley was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, which made him the youngest colonel in the British army, and the most rapidly promoted officer of this time period.7
Wolseley was called upon for an expedition to China, which was initiated to ratify the Treaty of Tientsin that had been agreed after the siege of Canton in June of 1858. Sir Hope Grant commanded the expedition and Wolseley again served on his staff as Quartermaster General. The campaign was a joint venture between British and French forces, focussing on the Taku forts, which fell after a brief engagement. Wolseley was engrossed in logistical planning of the campaign and especially the aftermath.8 The peace treaty was finally signed in 1861, but there was another threat that was rising, the Taiping Rebellion, later crushed by Wolseley’s friend Charles Gordon.9
After China, Garnet took eighteen months’ leave, and took care of family affairs. He was then ordered to Canada by the War Office and given the duty of Assistant Quartermaster General. Wolseley reached Halifax on 5 January 1862. The American Civil War was raging in the United States and this interested Wolseley very much, especially in the prosecution of a modern industrialised war on such a large scale. Wolseley used his time wisely and took two months’ leave to observe the Confederate armies close up. He had a letter of introduction and travelled with The Times correspondent Frank Lawley, meeting up with the Confederate army at Fredericksburg. Wolseley visited Robert E Lee’s headquarters at Winchester, where he met Lee himself, and his two Corps commanders, ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and Longstreet. This made quite the impression on the young Colonel. He wrote an article for Blackwood’s Magazine about his visit to Lee’s army. This led to later biographical works on Union General William Sherman and Confederate General Nathan Forest. He learned many valuable lessons during his visit of American Civil War battles, which was the only major industrialised war that he witnessed in person. However, Garnet mistakenly still held his belief in the use of cavalry in large-scale operations on Civil War battlefields, a stalwart concept in the arme blanche school that prevailed in many quarters until the First World War.10 Wolseley himself later switched his ideas on cavalry and derived an immensely more practical idea on the use of horses on the modern battlefield, which was more in line with Havelock and Denison’s theories11 on mounted infantry.12 There was a scare that the Union forces would invade Canada after they defeated the Confederate forces. This was quickly dispelled when it was realised this was not the intention of the North.
Wolseley wrote the first edition of his The Soldiers Pocket Book for Field Service during his time in Canada, a work that was greatly improved by his new wife’s grammatical input, Wolseley having married Louisa Erskine in 1867. Wolseley was able to put his theories to practical work when he was given command of the Red River expedition on 5 April 1870. In November 1869 French-Canadian residents rose up in rebellion to British rule and the Hudson Bay Company in Fort Garry, Manitoba under the leadership of Louis Riel. This afforded Wolseley his first independent command. He commanded the British regular force of the 1st Battalion, 60th Rifles and a battery of Royal Field Artillery and the Canadian Militia, which consisted of the 1st Ontario Rifles and 2nd Quebec Rifles. The expedition was meticulously planned and it succeeded with the bloodless capitulation of Riel. This expedition was the origin of the first ‘Wolseley Ring’,13 which was to be a powerful clique in the late Victorian army. Initially, it included Colonel John McNeill, Captain Redvers Buller, Lieutenant William Butler and Lieutenant Hugh McCalmont. Wolseley would widen his circle to other officers such as Henry Brackenbury, George Colley, Frederick Maurice and Evelyn Wood in the Asante campaign, which more properly marked the real beginning of the ‘Wolseley Ring’ and its arguably undue influence on the late Victorian army.
Returning to England to become Assistant Adjutant General at Horse Guards under the Crimean veteran Adjutant General Sir Richard Airey, Wolseley’s arrival coincided with the reform-oriented administration of the Liberal Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell. Cardwell faced the monumental task of improving the efficiency, organisation and social strata of the army, while simultaneously reducing the overall budget. Wolseley’s position was potentially influential since, under the then present structure of the British army, the most important staff officers under the Commander in Chief were the Military Secretary and Adjutant General.14 Some of the major reforms that were implemented were the abolition of purchased commissions, the adoption of short service, the creation of a more efficient reserve system, and the localisation and linking of battalions. The Commander in Chief, the Duke of Cambridge, and also the Queen herself opposed these reforms. Wolseley, who became associated with Cardwell, believed that the army was a naturally conservative institution and by its nature tended to resist reform due to its myriad of inhibitions such as adherence to discipline, deference to civil authority and respect for tradition, especially regimental tradition.15 Wolseley declared that reforms would only go forward after temporary setbacks, ‘Discipline is apt to make parrots of us all; we have much less individuality than the members of civil professions.’16 Wolseley and his ‘ring’ were linked to reforms in the army but not without other competitive ‘rings’, such as that soon associated with Roberts. The further rivalry and competition for staff appointments between the ‘rings’ supporting Roberts and Wolseley merely emphasised that the army was not a monolithic body. The movements in favour of reform were split, with Roberts advocating proposals that differed radically from those of Wolseley inasmuch as they reflected his own military experience and strategic priorities shaped by (Roberts’) service on the Indian subcontinent.17
Wolseley made an impact on army reform but, more importantly, he was the impetus to further propel this reform movement after Cardwell’s tenure as Secretary. He pushed further for professionalisation of the army and went loggerheads with the Duke of Cambridge on many occasions. Wolseley no doubt was in favour of Cardwell’s reforms and he rarely agreed with the Duke of Cambridge’s opinions. In fact, he challenged the Duke’s leadership, position, values and stalwart conservatism, which Wolseley felt stagnated the growth of the army in a very dynamic period of industrial growth and rapid change in the application of technology on the battlefield. Wolseley understood that modern weapons made the defensive more favourable than the offensive and the ignorance of these principles would incur unacceptable casualties on the battlefield. He also urged the use of defensive entrenchment, and indirect fire in artillery, so as not to expose the artillery battery to counter fire from both the opposing artillery and infantry. Wolseley understood modern massed rifle firepower and its increasing killing range, which was ever expanding from 1870 to 1900. However, not all his prescience was readily accepted and only after some sore defeats and heavy casualties were Wolseley’s reform ideas adopted into the army, after the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), which was indicative of a steep learning curve in staff work.18 The Wolseley ‘ring’ was said to be the ‘young school with advanced ideas’, and this propelled many of its members on to successful careers, such as Wood, Brackenbury, Colley and Maurice. However, this personal ambition could vitiate the enthusiasm for reform and in
some cases the ‘ring’ members would placate the conservative establishment, the Duke of Cambridge.19
The Asante campaign was considered the campaign that made Wolseley’s name familiar in the Victorian household,
But the name and services of Sir Garnet Wolseley would have remained in comparative obscurity had not one of those crises arisen which this country, with her vast colonies and dependencies, has so frequently been called upon to meet, and once again ‘the hour brought forth the man’.20
The Asante king, Kofi Karikari, ordered his army to attack the British protectorate at Elmina, which would provide the Asante access to the ocean. This attack was considered intolerable and the Gladstone government was determined to drive the Asante back to their own country. Wolseley put forward a plan to expel the Asante from British territory which was approved by both Cardwell and the Colonial Secretary, Lord Kimberley. Wolseley had a succinct and precise plan with clear-cut objectives, as outlined in his memorandum of August 1873:
The first object to be attained, as I understand the circumstances existing on the Gold Coast at present, is to free the Protectorate of its Ashanti invaders; and secondly, having accomplished this, to advance into the Ashanti territory, and by the seizure and destruction of Coomassie, strike a decisive blow at the Ashanti power, not only directly by the loss and secure punishment inflicted upon its Government, but, by the moral effects of a great victory, to destroy for ever it military prestige and influence over the neighbouring nations.21
He arrived in Cape Coast Castle on 2 October 1873 and went straight into preparing logistically for the military campaign. He raised two regiments of native soldiers under the command of Colonel Evelyn Wood (90th Foot) and Major Baker Russell (13th Hussars). Wolseley’s selection of his staff is considered the origin of the Asante or Wolseley ‘ring’, with Buller, Wood, McNeill, Butler, Brackenbury, Colley and Maurice all participating. They were a competent group of men that proved themselves in battle but were not always the best in command of soldiers themselves. Colley comes to mind as a great military mind but a not so competent leader at Majuba Hill. The ‘ring’ was a high-quality staff, which was essential for success due to the fact that Wolseley had very little information on the terrain, and the few surviving members of the expedition of 1864 could only give scant details of the country and the enemy’s numbers and capacities.22
Wolseley began the campaign against the Asante-controlled villages on 13 October and moved forward with reasonable rapidity. The native troops (Fante tribesmen and ‘Hausa’) employed proved to be unreliable in battle and created problems so that Wolseley sent an expected message to Cardwell that British troops would be needed to reach the Asante capital of Kumase. Wolseley requested two (later three) battalions of infantry, and a detachment of Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, the whole amounting to approximately 1,450 men. Wolseley stated:
There is, but one method of freeing these settlements from the continued menace of Ashanti invasion; and this is to defeat the Ashanti army in the field, to drive it from the protected territories, and, if necessary, to pursue it into its own land, and to march victorious on the Ashanti capital.23
The Cabinet met and dispatched the 2/23rd Foot (Royal Welsh Fusiliers); the 42nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) made up to strength with 170 men from the 79th Highlanders; and the 2nd Rifle Brigade. One of the main problems was the desertion of the native carriers and this had to be overcome on the spot. Wolseley reluctantly imposed his power to enforce conscript labour, through his position as Civil Governor. Now that transportation was more secure the campaign was able to move ahead in January. The largest battles were for Kumase. Wolseley made careful preparations with a halt at Fommanah to replenish his supplies and ready his men; it also gave King Kofi Karikari time to sue for peace as he inferred he would do.
The battle at Amoaful on 31 January 1874 was the battle that enabled Wolseley to advance through to Kumase and the final defeat of the Asante. The 42nd Highlanders took the brunt of action and casualties at Amoaful, and were highly praised by Wolseley:
It is impossible for me to speak in too high terms of that magnificent regiment the 42nd Highlanders; their steadiness and discipline, the admirable way in which they were kept in hand by their officers, and the enthusiastic gallantry with which each charge was executed exceed all praise.24
He occupied and then destroyed Kumase, completing what he outlined as a successful campaign,
I believe that the main object of my expedition has been perfectly secured. The territories of the Gold Coast will not again be troubled with warlike ambition of this restless Power [Ashanti]. I may add that the Flag of England from this moment will be received throughout western Africa with respectful awe.25
Wolseley’s return to Britain was triumphant and it secured his reputation as a highly successful field commander: he was promoted to Major General and given £25,000 from Parliament for his services in Africa. However, the question of reform was still of paramount concern to Wolseley, and he felt that, with the resignation of Cardwell, after Disraeli’s government took over in early 1874, reform would not be implemented and most likely blocked by the Duke of Cambridge. The new Secretary of State for War, Gathorne Hardy, played into the Duke’s hands and Wolseley thought that India might now be the best location for him to improve and reform the British army, but he was appointed Inspector General of Auxiliary Forces at home. His principal job was to organise the Militia, Volunteers and the Yeomanry units. The goal was to prepare these home defence units to defend Britain. After less than a year as Inspector General, Wolseley was sent to the Natal Colony as High Commissioner and GOC to further the government’s plan for a federation between the British and Afrikaner colonies in southern Africa by securing amendment to the Natal constitution. The largest perceived threat to Natal was from the highly militaristic and organised tribe of the Zulu. Wolseley brought his ‘ring’ officers with him to form his staff, principally Colley, Brackenbury and Butler. Colley was sent out to reconnoitre the Transvaal and the Boer frontier settlements. Butler was sent to the Orange Free State, the other independent Boer republic, to surmise the native problem. Having secured the constitutional arrangements, Wolseley returned to England after a short time, and Colley was posted to India as Military Secretary to Viceroy Lord Lytton: Colley would be back in South Africa fighting the Boers with tragic results at Majuba Hill.26
With the possibility of war with Russia looming in 1878 over Russia’s Balkan ambitions, Wolseley was designated as chief of staff to any potential British expeditionary force but was then sent to the island of Cyprus, which had been recently ceded by the Sultan of Ottoman Turkey to Britain in preparation for any conflict with Tsarist Russia. It proved a quiet posting as the possibility of conflict was brought to an end at the Congress of Berlin in July 1878. Meanwhile, conflict started to flare up in South Africa with the Zulu and Lord Chelmsford led British forces into Zululand in January 1879, two members of the ‘ring’, Wood and Buller, serving under him: Buller commanded the Frontier Light Horse, an irregular volunteer unit, and Wood one of Chelmsford’s columns. Chelmsford’s own column came under a devastating attack from a Zulu army 10,000 strong at Isandlwana with disastrous results. Wolseley was sent out in April 1879 to supersede Chelmsford. He landed in Cape Town on 23 June 1879 and was greeted with two alarming pieces of news. The first was that a Zulu raiding party had killed the Prince Imperial of France, serving with the British forces in an ambiguous semi-official capacity. The other was that Chelmsford’s second invasion force was nearing the Zulu capital at Ulundi. Wolseley wanted to consolidate his forces, but Chelmsford had disobeyed orders to wait for Wolseley to arrive before engaging in any battles and moved on Ulundi. Chelmsford defeated a much larger Zulu army with his force of 5,000 men. This was a much-welcomed victory for Chelmsford if not for Wolseley, who wanted to conclude the campaign himself, but Chelmsford did not follow up and capture the Zulu chief, Cetshwayo. Thus, Wolseley set up camp at Ulundi and finally captured Cetshwayo on
28 August 1879. This was to mark the end of the Zulu War but with its end came new problems with the Boers. Imposing a settlement on Zululand, Wolseley left the Transvaal question and pending Boer issues in 1880 to his friend, Colley. This was to lead, of course, to some dire circumstances at Majuba Hill a year later.27
Wolseley was hoping to secure the chief command in India, but was offered instead a War Office position as Quartermaster General. Moreover, he only received the GCB for concluding the Zulu War, which was the same award given to Lord Chelmsford. Wolseley was hoping to at least maintain the local rank of General which was conferred upon him when he went to the Natal Colony, but this was not retained for reasons that did not reflect his service and professionalism as a soldier, but rather the political and highly personal nature of the British army of this era. As Quartermaster General, Wolseley attended the German autumn military manoeuvres. This was considered an honour for Wolseley and he met the German Emperor Wilhelm I, the Crown Prince, and Count von Moltke (the Elder). This was thought-provoking after the recent Franco-Prussian War victories, considering the interest Wolseley had in modern warfare.28
However, 1881 proved to be a disastrous year for the British army in the Transvaal. Colley suffered a defeat at Laing’s Nek on 28 January 1881. The Colonial Office ordered Colley to either defeat the Boers succinctly or end hostilities before the war spread throughout the region. Colley was defeated and killed at Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881, news that echoed loudly throughout the British empire. Wolseley had lost a good friend and felt the government-negotiated peace was an insult to Colley and his men. Wolseley was not happy with Wood, who had signed the Pretoria Convention Peace Treaty,
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