Chapter IX: Part 9

The Amnesty had scarcely been proclaimed among the Griquas, before a far more formidable conflict began with the Basutos, who had been at peace with the British since the action at Berea 1852. In 1868, Basutoland was declared to be a portion of Cape Colony, and this was confirmed by an Act of the local Parliament in 1871. The Basutos are divided into tribes, and at this time were supposed to number about one hundred and fifty thousand. The troubles began with an old warrior called Moirosi, and his son Dodo, chief of a tribe known as the Baphutis; who resisted the payment of a hut tax, which they had agreed to pay, in return for the protection of the Government. After a trifling skirmish with the Cape Mounted Rifles, Moirosi and his people retired to an almost inaccessible mountain near the Orange River, which some time before he had strongly fortified and provisioned, and now believed to be impregnable. Three sides of this mountain were perpendicular, and the fourth was protected by a series of walls, and traverses from eight to ten feet high, loopholed for musketry. The Baphutis were excellent marksmen, artillery proved useless against their traverses, and Moirosi for nine months defied the whole forces of the Colony. Several gallant attacks in this stronghold were repulsed, but at length an old brass mortar obtained from the Cape Town Museum, made such havoc among the defenders, by the shells thrown from it over their walls, and exploding behind them, that the place was stormed with but little loss, and Moirosi was among the slain. Dodo escaped, but the Baphutis were decimated; the fortifications were blown up, and the mountain abandoned to its pristine solitude.

An Act for the disarming of the native tribes, kindled the flames of war fiercer than ever. The musket of a Basuto is dearer to him than wealth, wife, or child, and he will consent to part with it, only when reduced to the last extremity. The Colonial Government had made a great error in allowing firearms to be sold to the natives, “but blinded by a desire to secure cheap labour,” about four hundred thousand muskets and rifles, many of them breechloaders, had been conveyed into the country. The Basutos proved themselves to be admirable horsemen; very skilful in the construction of stone defences, and fought with much more courage and daring than had been expected. The Imperial troops in the Colony in 1879, were the 3rd. Buffs 2nd. battalion, 1st. battalion of the 13th. (Somersetshire Light Infantry), 1st. battalion 24th. (Warwickshire Regt.), and some Artillery, but other regiments soon arrived from England, and before the war was ended, the Imperial and Colonial forces in the field amounted to fifteen thousand men. Early in the contest, the Basutos till that time considered loyal, joined their countrymen, and the Tambookies, a tribe numbering over ninety thousand, also helped to swell the ranks of the rebels. In fact, the whole of the native tribes were in a state of dissatisfaction and ferment, and a racial war seemed to be imminent. The Frontier Armed Police, which had been changed into the Cape Mounted Rifles, about six hundred and fifty strong, under Colonels Carrington and Bayley, were the first in the field, but their numbers were too few to act with effect against the overwhelming force of the enemy. The first skirmish was with the followers of a rebel chief named Letherodi. The Rifles routed the enemy, but the latter being strongly reinforced, surrounded and besieged the Colonial troops at a place called Matafeng, which they made desperate attempts to carry by storm. Their attacks failed, and Matafeng was relieved by a force under Colonel Clarke. Colonel Bayley was surrounded at Maseru, in October, but after several hours fighting, the Basutos retreated. On November 10th. Colonel Carrington severely defeated the enemy at Golah Mountain, and the war afterwards was little more than a succession of skirmishes; in which a few hundreds of white men with native allies more or less doubtful, withstood the onset of thousands of Kaffirs, repelling their attempts to beleaguer them, and routing them in the open field, generally with great loss, with wonderfully few casualties among themselves. Some of the rebel chiefs were slain, others fled, and Letherodi who was one of the principal instigators of the revolt, was anxious to submit to the Government. In April 1881, a treaty of peace, and general amnesty was proclaimed, by which the Basutos gained nearly all they demanded before the commencement of the war.

THE ZULU WAR, 1879.

Zululand lies to the north-east of Natal, and its inhabitants are the most warlike of all the Kaffir tribes. Chaka, who became chief of the Zulus in 1810, established a military despotism, which converted the whole manhood of the tribe into a disciplined army, obedient to the will of one man. These warriors in battle fought with desperation, as on their return from an expedition, all cowards were ruthlessly massacred. Chaka found the Zulus a pastoral unimportant clan, and left them the most martial native race in South Africa. In 1828 this ferocious chief was assassinated by his brother Dingaan, who succeeded him. Dingaan, who did not possess the military ability of his brother, waged an exterminating war against the Boers; but at length being utterly defeated by them under Andreas Pretorius, in 1840 he fled for refuge among the Swazies, who received and murdered him. His brother Panda, who had revolted against Dingaan with a portion of the tribe and joined the Dutch, was then proclaimed King of the Zulus, and wisely preferring trading to warfare, continued on friendly terms with the Boers and the English till his death in 1872. Panda was succeeded by his son Cetewayo, and at the request of the Zulu nation, Sir Theophilus Shepston was present at his installation as King, representing the British Government. But Cetewayo was ambitious, and soon abandoned the pacific policy of his father, to follow the militant example of his predecessor Chaka. He re-organised the old regiments, and formed new ones, trained and disciplined by means of torture and death. He armed his men with guns, instead of only shield and assagai, and perfected the peculiar Zulu formation for attack in three divisions; two “horns” to assail the flanks and rear of an enemy, and a main body to advance and complete the victory. In 1878 this army numbered over fifty thousand men, eager for battle, commanded by an ambitious and savage chief, a menace and cause of apprehension to all its neighbours. Another savage chieftain, and an ally of Cetewayo, named Sekukuni (of whom more, presently) who defied the Colonial Government, and had in 1876 repulsed an attack of the Boers on his stronghold, gave rise to a common saying among the natives, “If the bull-calf (Sekukuni) has to be left alone, what will happen when the elephant (Cetewayo) attacks the white man?” In August, 1878, two sons of Sirayo, a favourite chief of Cetewayo, with a party of Zulus, made an incursion into British territory, and seized two women whom they claimed as runaway wives of their father Sirayo. Resistance was useless, and the women were carried across the river Buffalo and slain. The surrender of the offenders was demanded by the Colonial Government, and a fine of five hundred cattle as a reparation for the violation of the Natal territory. Neither being forthcoming, Sir Bartle Frere sent an ultimatum to the Zulu King, requiring among other things, the disbandment of his army, and freedom of marriage among his people; also informing him that unless he complied with the terms on, or before December 31st., he would be invaded by a British army to enforce these demands. The time allowed by the ultimatum being expired, and Cetewayo making no sign, on January 11th., 1879, the British forces under the command of Lord Chelmsford, crossed the Buffalo and Tugela rivers, and the war began. The army was divided into three columns, with two smaller bodies of troops under Colonel Durnford, R.E., and Colonel Rowlands, V.C., the whole being intended to effect a junction near Ulundi. The first column commanded by Colonel Pearson of the 3rd. Buffs, was composed of the 2nd. battalion 3rd. Buffs, Lieutenant-Colonel Parnell, and afterwards six companies of the 99th. Regiment; a detachment of Royal Artillery with four guns, one gatling and a rocket battery, under Lieutenant Lloyd, R.A.; a Naval Brigade of one hundred and seventy seamen and marines from H.M.S. Active, under Captain Campbell, R.N., one hundred mounted Infantry under Captain Barrow, 19th. Hussars, some mounted Volunteers, and one thousand natives under Major Graves, 3rd. Buffs. Second column, Colonel Glyn, 24th. Regiment, commanding. Seven companies 1st. battalion 24th. Regiment, and 2nd. battalion of the 24th., under Colonel Degacher, a detachment of Royal Artillery with two seven-pounders under Major Harness, a body of Natal Mounted Police under Major Dartnell, and Mounted Volunteers, with a native contingent of one thousand men under Commandant Lonsdale, formerly of the 74th. Highlanders. Third column, Colonel Evelyn Wood, V.C., commanding; comprising the 90th. Regiment and 1st. battalion 13th. Regiment, Royal Artillery with four seven-pounders and two rocket tubes, under Major Tremlett, one hundred mounted Infantry under Major Russell, Frontier Light Horse, two hundred strong, under Major Redvers Buller, one hundred volunteers, and a body of five thousand Swazies. There was also a contingent of Boers, all crack shots, under Commandant Piet Uys.

The total strength of the army, including the garrisons, was about sixteen thousand men, with twenty guns; the European portion of which, much under one half, being the only reliable, as the Native Contingent was not equal to the enemy in bravery, and after the disaster at Isandhlwana almost useless. Colonel Pearson’s column on the 18th. of January began its march into the interior, and on the 22nd., near the Myezane river, attacked and defeated a body of Zulus, estimated at from five to seven thousand men.

On the following day the column arrived at the deserted mission station of Ekowe, when it received news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, on the day previous. Pearson decided on holding the position with the British portion of his force; the Native Contingent, and the Mounted Corps, being sent back to the Lower Tugela. Lord Chelmsford sent him instructions to do the best he could with the troops under his command; and under the direction of Captain Wynne, R.E., the post was fortified and rendered impregnable to the attacks of any force without artillery.

On January 10th., Colonel Glyn’s column, with whom was Lord Chelmsford, encamped at Rorke’s Drift. On the 12th. a portion of the force, after a smart skirmish, burnt Sirayo’s kraal, and captured a large number of cattle. On the 20th. the column encamped near the isolated hill known as Isandhlwana, and on the 22nd., Lord Chelmsford and Colonel Glyn, with the second battalion of the 24th. Regiment, the mounted men, and four guns, set out in search of a large body of Zulus, reported to be near a place called Matyan’s kraal; leaving in camp five companies of the 1st. battalion 24th., one company of the 2nd. battalion 24th., about seventy artillerymen with two guns, and part of the Native Contingent, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pulleine. Colonel Durnford, who had been left at Rorke’s Drift with five hundred natives and a rocket battery, was ordered up to take command of the camp. The commander-in-chief who had neglected to fortify his camp at Isandhlwana, either by throwing up entrenchments or “laagering” his waggons, proceeded to encounter the enemy, who retired as he advanced. Meanwhile a force of from fourteen to twenty thousand Zulus, including some of their best regiments, led by Dabulamanzi, the king’s half-brother, were preparing for an attack upon the camp.

About nine o’clock on the morning of the 22nd., Colonel Durnford arrived, and took over the command from Colonel Pulleine. The mounted men, with the rocket battery, under Colonel Durnford in person, advanced some four miles from the camp, and began to skirmish with the enemy, being unaware of their vast superiority in force. The rocket battery was suddenly surrounded and destroyed to a man; the mounted men fled towards the camp, pursued by thousands of Zulus, who came on in regular order in battalions eight deep, and all the troops in the camp rushed to their arms. For a time the enemy were checked by the tremendous fire with which they were received, and their ranks showed signs of wavering, when the Native Contingent broke and fled, making a fatal gap in the lines, through which the Zulus poured like a torrent; and about the same time the right “horn” of their attack having swiftly worked round to the rear of the hill beneath which the camp was pitched, took the position in reverse, and launched about four thousand bounding and leaping warriors on the flank of the devoted British force. In an instant all was confusion, two companies of the 24th. not having time to form rallying squares were annihilated, the gunners of the Mountain Battery were assegaied; Major Smith, R.A., being killed while endeavouring to spike one of the guns. Some of the mounted natives managed to escape, but the soldiers of the 24th., the Mounted Police, and Volunteers, in groups, or back to back, kept their foes at bay while their ammunition lasted, and then fought hand to hand till the last man fell where he stood.[78]

In the midst of the carnage, Lieutenants Coghill and Melville made a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to save the colours. They escaped from the field, but in swimming across the Buffalo, Melville’s horse was killed, and Coghill returning to assist his comrade, who was clinging to a rock, his horse was also shot, and the colours fell into the river. The two officers reached the Natal side safely, but were overtaken and slain about three hundred yards from the river’s bank. Their bodies were found lying side by side, and the colours which they had died to save, were found ten days afterwards in the rocky bed of the river.

The victory of the Zulus cost them dear, between two and three thousand of them being killed in the battle, or died afterwards of their wounds.

The British loss was terrible, fifty imperial and colonial officers, and over eight hundred non-commissioned officers and men having perished around that fatal hill. Five entire companies of the 1st. battalion of the 24th. fell, with ninety men of the 2nd. battalion, and hundreds of natives. Upwards of one hundred waggons, fourteen hundred oxen, two seven-pounders (afterwards retaken), eight hundred Martini-Henry rifles, and a vast quantity of stores of all kinds, fell into the hands of the enemy.

Meanwhile the column under Lord Chelmsford, after a slight skirmish, was returning towards the camp, and about four miles from it met with the Natal Native Contingent, which had halted in a state of dismay at the turn affairs had taken. Half an hour afterwards a solitary horseman came up. It was Commandant Lonsdale, who had unsuspiciously ridden into the captured camp, and escaping a shower of bullets, brought the almost incredible news that the camp was in possession of a Zulu army. The General immediately sent an order for Colonel Glyn’s troops to join, and on their arrival marched at once towards Isandhlwana hill.

The daylight was fading, and darkness had set in before the column, unopposed, reached the fatal camp, which they found silent, and deserted by all but the dead. The tents were upset, the waggons destroyed, and the whole place strewn with the dead bodies of men and horses.

After a sad bivouac, Lord Chelmsford marched at dawn for Rorke’s Drift, expecting to find it in the hands of the enemy, but to his surprise and gratification found it still in the possession of an heroic handful of the 24th.

On the advance of the centre column, a company of the 24th., and a small body of natives, under the command of Lieutenant Bromhead, had been left to guard some sick men and stores at Rorke’s Drift. “A worse position,” says one present, “could hardly be imagined. Two small thatched buildings, about thirty yards apart, with thin walls, commanded by rising ground in the south and west, completely overlooked on the south by a high wall. On the north side an orchard and garden gave good cover to an enemy up to within a few yards of the houses.” The place had formerly been a Swedish Mission Station. One of the buildings was filled with stores, and the other had been converted into a military hospital. Some fugitives bringing tidings of what had happened at the camp, Lieutenant Bromhead and Lieutenant Chard, R.E., who was with him, at once set to work to strengthen the position. The buildings were loopholed and barricaded, and connected by defences formed by a few waggons sacks of “mealies,” and Indian corn, and biscuit boxes. The natives, terror-stricken, fled, and the garrison was reduced to the company of the 24th., consisting of about eighty men; the total number within the defences—including thirty-five sick in the hospital—being one hundred and thirty-nine all told. The place was soon surrounded by three or four thousand Zulus, who commenced a series of desperate attacks. They set fire to the hospital, which the garrison defended room by room, but five sick soldiers perished in the flames. Such was the fury of the assault, that the garrison were forced to retire to an inner line of defence. Six times the Zulus got inside the barricades, but each time they were hurled back with loss. At length, after a conflict which lasted from five p.m. on January 22nd. till four a.m. on the following morning, the Zulus retired defeated and disheartened, leaving three hundred and seventy dead around the post. Their whole loss was probably about five hundred, while the heroic defenders had but seventeen killed and ten wounded.

The left column, under Colonel Evelyn Wood, after the Isandhlwana disaster, by order of Lord Chelmsford, fell back to a strong position at Kambula Kop, about twenty miles from the Blood river, where was formed an entrenched camp. From this position a series of dashing raids upon the Zulu kraals and stores was made by the Frontier Horse, under Colonel Redvers Buller, and the Dutch Burgher troop of Piet Uys, which inflicted great damage on the enemy, who were astonished by the daring and range of these expeditions.

About the end of March, Colonel Wood received a letter from Lord Chelmsford, to the effect that he was taking steps for the relief of Colonel Pearson, at Ekowe, and directing Wood to make a diversion in the direction of the Zlobani to distract the enemy. His force had been strengthened by a body of Mounted Infantry, and some Border Horse, commanded by Colonel Weatherley, formerly of the 4th. Dragoons. About twelve miles from the camp was a precipitous, thickly-wooded, and almost inaccessible stronghold of the Zulus, known as the Zlobani, or Inhlobani mountain, at which place they had gathered together great herds of cattle—their chief wealth—thinking it impregnable. This fastness Colonel Wood resolved to attack, with his mounted men and natives, operating simultaneously against the mountain on both sides. His force was divided into two columns, under Colonels Buller and Russell.

Buller’s force, with whom was Colonel Wood, attacked the mountain at dawn on March 28th., and under cover of the mist gained the summit with trifling loss; the Zulus retreating into caves, with which the place abounded. Colonel Russell’s column had scarcely reached the westward side of the mountain, when he was aware of a Zulu army of twenty thousand, marching rapidly, with the object of cutting off Buller’s retreat. Russell abandoned some cattle he had taken; sent his native troops back to Kambula, and formed up his mounted men at the foot of the mountain, to cover the retreat of Buller. The Zulus on the mountain seeing the advance of their warriors, came out of their hiding places, and harassed the movements of Buller’s men, who had no alternative but to descend the rugged side of the mountain by paths “utterly impracticable for even led horses.” The retreat soon became a rout, for the Zulus occupied the rocks; pouring a hot fire at point blank range into the struggling mass of men and horses, and using their assegais with fatal effect. But for the heroic efforts of Colonel Buller, Major Leet, and Commandant Darcy, the force would have been exterminated. How Buller escaped was almost miraculous, he saved the lives of six of his men at least, personally, and was one of the last down the rocks, where only one horseman could pass abreast, called the “Devil’s Pass.” Once clear of this precipitous path, the worst was over; the retreat being covered by Colonel Russell, and the remainder of the force reached Kambula, with a loss of over one hundred killed and wounded, including thirteen officers. Colonel Weatherley and his son, a lad of fifteen, and the whole of his Border Horse, except eight, were slain. Captain Barton, of the Coldstream Guards, who lost his life in endeavouring to rescue a wounded trooper, and eighteen of his men perished; also the gallant old Boer leader, Piet Uys,[79] whose father and uncles had fallen in the wars against Dingaan.

Encouraged by this success, next day the Zulu army, numbering twenty-five thousand men, made a most determined attack upon the entrenched camp at Kambula, which was manned by detachments of the 18th., 80th., and 90th. Regiments, with a battery of Royal Artillery, under Major Tremlett, and some Volunteers. For more than four hours raged a desperate conflict, during which the enemy, in spite of enormous losses, madly rushed on with deafening yells, till their assegais clashed against the British bayonets; but finding all their efforts of no avail, and mowed down by the deadly fire, lost heart, and began to retire in confusion. A ringing cheer arose from the camp, the mounted men sprang into their saddles, and led by Buller and Russell, pursued the enemy for seven miles, strewing their way with the bodies of hundreds of Zulus, and amply avenging the disaster of the previous day. General Wood on seeing the panic-stricken flight of the enemy, exclaimed, “Oh, for two regiments of British cavalry!”

The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was variously estimated from three to four thousand; fifteen hundred dead bodies were lying around the camp at nightfall, of which many were carried away before morning, but the victors were occupied for two days in burying their dead foemen. The wounded that were captured, were kindly treated, and their wounds dressed.

The British loss was two officers[80] and twenty-three men killed, and eight officers and fifty-seven men wounded.

A week or two before this, another disaster, similar to the affair at Isandhlwana, but fortunately of lesser magnitude, befel Captain Moriarty and a company of the 80th. Regiment, encamped on the bank of the Intombe River; who were surprised in the early dawn, by an overwhelming body of Zulus, and two-thirds of the party slain on the spot. Lieutenant Harvard, the only surviving officer, leaving the remnant of his men to shift for themselves, galloped off to Luneberg for help; and it was only by the exertions and bravery of Colour-Sergeant Anthony Booth, that a man escaped. For this service, Sergeant Booth well won, and obtained, the Victoria Cross.

All this time the force under Colonel Pearson remained blockaded at Ekowe. Pearson had made some successful raids on the enemy; but his stock of provisions was rapidly diminishing, and he was anxiously expecting relief.

On March 29th., Lord Chelmsford, with a force of three thousand three hundred English soldiers and seamen, from the “Shah,” “Tenedos,” and “Boadicea,” with gatling guns and a rocket battery, and about two thousand two hundred Natives, set out from Fort Tenedos for Ekowe. On the 2nd. of April he was attacked by the Zulu army, under Dabulamanzi, at Ginghilovo. The enemy fought with desperation, but their frantic attacks were repulsed with enormous loss, and after a very sharp action of about one and a half hours, they fled in disorder, hotly pursued by the mounted men, under Captain Barrow. Eight hundred Zulus were buried on the field, and their total loss must have been over a thousand men. The British casualties were trifling.

Ekowe was relieved two days after, the works destroyed and the post abandoned; the whole force returning to the Lower Tugela.

In the meanwhile large reinforcements arrived from England, including the 1st. Dragoon Guards, the 17th. Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the 58th., 91st., and 94th. Regiments, and drafts for other corps in the Colony, the whole amounting to over ten thousand officers and men. Among the new arrivals was the unfortunate Prince Imperial, who reached Durban two days after the conflict at Kambula, and was appointed an extra A.D.C. on the head-quarter staff.

An immediate advance into Zululand was decided on, and organised in three divisions. The first under General Crealock, C.B.; the second under Major-General Newdigate; and the third—a flying column—under General Wood; with whom was Lord Chelmsford, acting in advance of the second division; Ulundi being the object of the combined operations. For a time the invaders were almost unopposed, the enemy seeming to realise the uselessness of attacking, with assegai and shield; entrenchments, and squares of men armed with breechloaders, gatlings, and rockets; but they had gained wisdom by experience, and avoiding fighting, overran defenceless territory and carried off cattle, at the same time as a _ruse_, sending messengers with proposals of peace.

At the commencement of this final stage of the war, occurred another untoward accident, which cast a gloom over the whole campaign, and thrilled the heart of England with shame and indignation. On June 1st., the Prince Imperial of France, Louis Napoleon, while out on a reconnoitring expedition with Lieutenant Carey of the 98th. Regiment, and six troopers of Bettington’s Horse, was surprised and killed by a party of Zulus. As an officer in the camp wrote:—“The news of his death fell like a thunderbolt on all.” His body was next day recovered and sent to England.

On June 5th. was a smart cavalry skirmish, in which Lieutenant Firth, of the 17th. Lancers, was killed.

Lord Chelmsford, with General Newdigate’s division and Wood’s flying column, kept steadily advancing; establishing posts, and securing his communication as he moved forward. On July the 3rd., Colonel Buller, with five hundred cavalry, pushed forward to the Umvalosi River, on the road to Ulundi, to reconnoitre the country. He crossed the river, but had advanced but little beyond it, when he was suddenly assailed in front and flank by five thousand Zulus, who attempted to surround him and cut off his retreat. Buller retired, not without loss, hotly pursued, and would have suffered much, but for the fire of the nine-pounder guns of Major Tremlett, which checked the enemy. In this affair, Lord William Beresford, of the 9th. Lancers, who had obtained six months’ leave from India, and had come to Africa from sheer love of fighting, gained the Victoria Cross for his gallantry in rescuing from the pursuing Zulus a dismounted trooper of the Frontier Light Horse.

Next day, in the early morning,[81] Lord Chelmsford crossed the Umvalosi, with a total strength of four thousand Europeans, and about eleven hundred natives, with two gatlings, and twelve guns. In the front were the 80th., 90th., and 13th. Regiments, with four seven-pounders, two nine-pounders, and two gatlings; the 58th. and 94th. Regiments, with two seven- and four nine-pounders; and in the rear the Scots Fusiliers, with three squadrons of the 17th. Lancers. About eight o’clock he reached the King’s kraal at Ulundi, and was attacked by the Zulu army, variously estimated at from fifteen to twenty thousand men. The troops were formed in a hollow square four deep, which the furious and repeated charges of the enemy, who advanced with the utmost bravery, in spite of a murderous shell and rifle fire, utterly failed to break, and at no point did they succeed in approaching nearer than thirty yards. In forty minutes the Zulus were in full flight, pursued by Colonel Drury Lowe, and the 17th. Lancers, who did terrible execution, literally cutting them up with lance and sabre.

The British loss in this battle, which virtually ended the war, was Captain Wyatt-Edgell (17th. Lancers) and ten men killed, and about seventy officers and men wounded.

The loss of the enemy was upwards of fifteen hundred killed, there being no wounded on the field, as the native contingent despatched all they could find with their assegais.

Sir Garnet Wolseley, who had arrived at the Cape at the end of June from London, now superseded Lord Chelmsford in the command, who with Generals Newdigate and Crealock, Sir E. Wood, Colonel Buller, and the principal officers, returned to England. Sir Garnet despatched two columns in pursuit of Cetewayo, under Colonel Clark of the 57th. Regiment, and Colonel Baker Russell, C.B., of the 13th. Hussars. For sixteen days the fugitive king baffled his pursuers, but on August 28th. he was captured in a kraal in the almost impenetrable Ngome Forest, by Major Marter of the 1st. Dragoon Guards.

On the 1st. of September, 1879, the sixth anniversary of the day when Cetewayo was installed King of the Zulus, by Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and on the same spot, was held a meeting of chiefs; who in the presence of Sir Garnet Wolseley, acknowledged the sovereignty of Queen Victoria, abolished the military system, and gave up the importation of arms into Zululand. They also agreed to condemn none of their subjects to death without a trial, and their men were also to be free to marry when they pleased. Fugitives from justice were to be given up, and in all disputes the decision of the British Resident was to be final.

The cost of this war was estimated to be about £5,230,000.

OPERATIONS AGAINST SEKUKUNI,
1878–79.

Sekukuni was a chief of the Basutos, who in his fastness in the Lulu mountains, between the Oliphant and Steel Poort Rivers, had defied the Colonial Government, successfully resisted the Boers, and allied himself with Cetewayo. Occupying a mountain range of fifty miles in length, he was surrounded by all the lawless and warlike spirits in the district, attracted by the hope of plunder; and like one of the robber barons of the Middle Ages, he despatched them in all directions to ravage and lay waste the surrounding country. In February, 1878, some of his men made a raid on a chief under the protection of the English; and Sekukuni, encouraged by Cetewayo, in reply to the complaint of the British Commissioner, answered that “the English were afraid to fight—that the country was his, not theirs, and that he was quite ready for war.”

In October a small body of one hundred and thirty men of the 13th. Regiment, some Frontier Horse, and Mounted Infantry, commanded by Colonel Rowlands, V.C., advanced to attack Sekukuni, but through the roughness of the country, want of water, and the smallness of his force, he could effect nothing, and was obliged to retreat. War in Zululand now being imminent, operations against this formidable chieftain were for a time suspended, but after the capture of Cetewayo, a new expedition against him was organised by Sir Garnet Wolseley.

Sekukuni’s chief stronghold, called his “Fighting Koppie,” and deemed impregnable by the Basutos, was a tremendous natural fortress rising from the plain several hundred feet. Boulders and vast rocks piled one over another formed the sides, the interior was honeycombed by caverns and crannies innumerable, and the base of the hill was covered with trees and jungly brushwood. It was occupied by a population of about twelve thousand, but only five thousand were fighting men. The British force consisted of two thousand two hundred Europeans, of whom fourteen hundred were detachments of the 21st., 94th., and 80th. Regiments, and about ten thousand Swazies, under Major Bushman (9th. Lancers) and Captain Macleod, the whole being commanded by Colonel Baker Russell.

Sir Garnet Wolseley having completed his arrangements, the attack on the stronghold was made November 28th., 1879, at four a.m., in three divisions. Commandant Ferreira, with his colonial troops, carried the heights on the south; Major Carrington, of the 24th. Regiment, commanding the left attack, occupied the heights to the north; and Major Bushman, with his Swazies, gained the top of the ridge commanding the “town,” and combining with Carrington’s attack, poured down on the central kraal, which was soon wrapped in flames. The “Fighting Koppie” now being completely surrounded, was shelled by two Krupp guns, and two seven-pounders, directed by Captain Knox, R.A., and at ten a.m., was stormed by the centre column, consisting of the English infantry under Colonel Murray. The kraals below were burning fiercely; Ferreira’s men rushed up on the right, and with the Volunteers and Swazies, raced with the red-coats to be first in the Koppie, but after an obstinate struggle, the men of the 21st. and 80th. gained the summit of the hill, and the place was taken.

The position was captured, but the resistance of the defenders was not at an end. Hundreds of them sought refuge in the caverns with which the hill abounded, and from them kept up an intermittent fire till they were hunted out and slain. Sekukuni for some days escaped capture, but being surrounded on all sides, his supply of water cut off, and his caverns blown up, he surrendered on December 2nd. to Major Clark, and was conveyed a prisoner to Pretoria.

In this brilliant affair the British loss was three officers and seven men killed, and six officers and forty-three men wounded. The Swazies had nearly a thousand killed and wounded, and the five thousand defenders of the Koppie were nearly all slain, as our native allies gave no quarter.

Among the officers who distinguished themselves was Major Herbert Stewart, who shewed great energy and tact in dealing with the Native Contingent, and who in January, 1885, as General Sir H. Stewart, in command of the Gordon Relief Expedition, was mortally wounded, near Metammeh, on the Nile.

The regiments engaged in these harassing operations were: the 1st. Dragoon Guards, 1879; the 17th. Lancers, 1879; the 3rd. and 4th. Foot, 1879; the 13th., 1878–9; 21st, 1879; 24th., 1877, 1878, and 1879; 57th., 1879; 58th., 1879; 60th., 1879; 80th., 1878–79; 88th. and 90th., 1877, 1878, and 1879; 91st., 1879; 94th., 1877, 1878, and 1879; and the 97th., 99th., 1879.

The Afghanistan Medal.
]

Every incident in these campaigns, which greatly consisted in patrolling and skirmishing in all directions, has not been narrated in detail; yet enough has been stated to show that the military power of Great Britain has seldom contended with more obstinate and braver enemies than the half-civilised Kaffirs and Zulus; and no medal has been more hardly earned than that granted for services in South Africa.

THE AFGHANISTAN MEDALS, 1839–1880.

For services in Afghanistan from the year 1839 to 1880 ten medals altogether have been granted, including those given for the storming of Ghuznee, and the defence of Jellalabad and Kelat-i-Ghilzie. The Ghuznee medal[82] was given by Shah Soojah, the restored King of Afghanistan, to the British troops present at the storming of that place, under Sir John Keane, July 22nd. and 23rd., 1839. This medal is silver, having on the obverse a view of the fortress, with the name “Ghuznee” underneath. Reverse: A laurel wreath, encircling a mural crown, with the date, “23rd. July,” above, and “1839” below. Ribbon, half crimson and half green; no clasp. Permission was granted by the Queen in 1841 to wear this medal. For the successful defence of Jellalabad two medals were given. The first was granted by Lord Ellenborough, Governor-General of India—silver. Obverse: A mural crown, with “Jellalabad” inscribed above, on the reverse the date of the victorious sortie, “VII. April, 1842.” The second Jellalabad medal, designed by Wyon, was issued by the English Government, and was intended to be worn in place of the first[83], but from its rarity it seems that but few men took advantage of the offered exchange. Obverse: Head of the Queen, crowned, with the inscription, “Victoria Vindex.” Reverse: Victory, with the Union Jack in her left hand, and laurel wreaths in her right, flying over the fortress of Jellalabad; above the figure are the words, “Jellalabad, VII. April,” and in the exergue, “MDCCCXLII.” Ribbon: Rainbow pattern for both medals; no clasp. The Kelat-i-Ghilzie medal was also granted by Lord Ellenborough to the defenders of that place—silver. Obverse: A laurel wreath, encircling a shield, inscribed, “Kelat-i-Ghilzie,” surmounted by a mural crown. Reverse: A trophy of arms, inscribed “Invicta,” with the date MDCCCXLII. underneath. Ribbon, rainbow pattern. For services at Ghuznee, Cabul, and Candahar, five distinct medals were distributed, all having on the obverse the head of the Queen, with the legend, “Victoria Vindex,” but the inscription on the reverse varying as follows:—

(1.) “Candahar,” “Ghuznee,” and “Cabul,” 1842, under each other, given to those men who served during the whole campaign.

(2.) “Candahar,” 1842, given to men who were engaged with the enemy from January 1st. to August 10th., 1842.

(3.) “Candahar” and “Ghuznee,” given to men present at both places only.

(4.) “Ghuznee” and “Cabul,” given to the troops who went with General Nott from Ghuznee to Cabul, 6th to 17th of September, 1842.

(5.) “Cabul,” given to those who reached Cabul after September 16th, 1842; no clasps; ribbon, rainbow pattern. The reverse of these medals, excepting that for Ghuznee and Cabul, are alike in design, the names “Candahar,” &c., being inscribed within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown, with the date 1842 below. The medal for Ghuznee and Cabul has the names inscribed within a double wreath of laurel, with the crown over, and in the exergue “1842.” The obverse of this medal, and of that given for Cabul, has a laurel wreath surrounding the Queen’s head. The authority for these medals to be worn by the Queen’s troops was notified to the army in India, January 25th, 1843. The medal given for the campaigns of 1878, 1879, and 1880 is of silver. Obverse: Head of the Queen, veiled and crowned, with the inscription, “Victoria Regina et Imperatrix.” Reverse: An elephant bearing a mountain gun; in foreground a mounted British officer, cavalry with lances, following on the march; in the background, mountains; above, the word, “Afghanistan,” and the dates 1878, 1879, and 1880 in the exergue. Clasps inscribed “Ali Musjid,” “Peiwar Kotal,” “Charasia,” “Kabul,” “Ahmed Khel,” and “Kandahar,” were also granted, the greatest number worn with the medal being four. Ribbon, green centre with crimson borders.

For the march of General Roberts from Kabul to Candahar a bronze star was given, made from guns captured at Cabul. The star is of five points, suspended from an Imperial crown; in the centre a monogram, composed of the letters “V. R. I.,” surrounded by the words “Kabul to Kandahar,” with the date 1880 underneath. Ribbon, rainbow pattern. On the reverse of the star is engraved the rank, name, and corps of the recipient.

THE FIRST AFGHAN WAR.
1839.

Shah Soojah-ool-Moolk had been driven from the throne of Afghanistan, and his kingdom divided among several chiefs. A Persian army besieged Herat, on the Afghan frontier, and the court of Persia claimed an extensive portion of territory, which, lying between India and Persia, appeared to menace the safety of the British dominions in the East Indies. These circumstances, and the unprovoked attack made on a British ally, Runjeet Singh, by Dost Mahomed Khan, occasioned a tripartite treaty to be concluded between the British, Runjeet Singh, and Shah Soojah, for the purpose of effecting the restoration of the dethroned monarch, and a British force designated the “ARMY OF THE INDUS,” was assembled to effect this object. In addition to the native corps, it comprised the 4th. and 16th. Dragoons, (the cavalry being commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, G.C.B., then Major-General,) and the 2nd., 13th., and 17th. regiments of the regular army. The Bengal column was placed under Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton, K.C.B., and the Bombay one under Major-General Willshire. General Sir Henry Fane was to have commanded the whole, but on information being received in October, 1838, that the siege of Herat had been raised by the Persian monarch, who had marched therefrom towards his capital, the force was reduced, and the second Bengal division was left at Ferozepore. Lieutenant-General Sir John (afterwards Lord) Keane, was consequently appointed to the command.

The plan of operations was thus arranged:—Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton was to march near Scinde, through the Bolan Pass to Candahar, and proceed thence to Ghuznee and Cabool. The Bombay division of the army commenced its march from the mouth of the Indus, through the country occupied by the Ameers of Scinde, who, refusing permission for the troops to pass through their territory, a passage had to be effected by force. Hyderabad, the capital, was captured; Kurrachee was occupied; and the Ameers were brought to submission early in February, 1839. The army then continued its march, passed the Indus on a bridge of boats near the fortress of Bukkur, which had been delivered up as a place of arms during the war in Afghanistan, and entered upon regions never before traversed by British troops, but which are interesting from their association with the operations and reverses of Alexander the Great.

Advancing from Shikarpore the troops arrived in the middle of March, at Dadur, situated a few miles from the Bolan Pass, through which they marched between mountains covered with snow. In these wild regions bands of Beloochees lurked to avail themselves of every opportunity to follow their predatory habits, and they murdered several camp followers, and plundered some baggage. Issuing from this gloomy defile of more than fifty miles in length, the army entered the Dushi-be-doulut, or the unhappy desert, and halted a short time at Quettah, situated in the centre of the valley of Shawl, of which it is the capital. Supplies of provisions could not be procured in these sterile regions; the issue of grain for the horses ceased, the soldiers were placed upon half rations, the native followers upon quarter, and several men, who were searching for forage at a distance from the camp, were sacrificed by the natives, who availed themselves of every opportunity of destroying small parties.

All these hardships were borne with fortitude, and in the early part of April the army commenced its march through the vale of Shawl; it descended the picturesque height of Kotul into the valley of Koochlak; forded rivers; and passed the height of Kozak, where the men had to drag the artillery over the precipice with ropes. Surmounting every obstacle with patient perseverance, the troops continued to press forward; the rulers of Afghanistan, struck with dismay, fled from the capital, leaving the country to the Sovereign whom the British were advancing to restore. As the army proceeded on its way, various classes of individuals tendered their submission, and on the 27th. of April it arrived at Candahar, the capital of western Afghanistan, where provisions and repose were obtained. The tents were pitched in the grassy meadows, among enclosures covered with crops of grain. The watery exhalations from the low grounds however proved injurious to the health of the men, and the great heat experienced in the tents, with a saline impregnation in the water, augmented the number of the sick.

CAPTURE OF GHUZNEE.
23RD. JULY, 1839.

Breaking up from Candahar on the 27th. of June, to reduce the remainder of the Shah’s dominions to obedience, the army advanced along a valley of dismal sterility to the Turnuk river; then proceeding up the right bank, traversed the country of the Western Ghilzees, and arrived on the 21st. of July before Ghuznee, a strong fortress garrisoned by three thousand Afghans under Prince Mahomed Hyder Khan, who were well provided with stores and had determined on a desperate defence, having blocked up every gate with masonry excepting one.

Not having a battering train of sufficient power to proceed by the regular method of breaching the walls, Lieutenant-General Sir John Keane resolved to storm the place without delay, and a reconnoissance was made on the 21st. of July, when it was determined to blow open the gate, and accordingly during the night of the 22nd. of July a quantity of gunpowder was secretly brought to the one not blocked up with masonry, which was to be destroyed by an explosion before daylight on the following morning.

To the 13th. Foot was assigned the duty of covering the operations, in blowing open the gate, and they paraded at two o’clock, a.m. Three hundred pounds of gunpowder (in twelve sandbags) were used for this purpose. The regiment proceeded in advance of the storming party to the causeway of the gate under cover of the darkness of the night, and the fire of the batteries of the assailants, six men of the leading company being told off to assist in carrying the powder-bags. On reaching the causeway, the 13th. extended in light order along the ditch, and by their fire distracted the enemy’s attention from the gate. After the explosion a company of the regiment, under Lieutenant Jennings, moved up with the engineer officer to ascertain if the operation had been attended with success; on which the light company of the 2nd. (or Queen’s Royal,) No. 9 company of the 13th., under Captain Vigors, the light companies of the 17th., and of the Bengal European Regiment, which had been named to form the advance of the storming column, immediately pressed forward under the command of Brigadier Dennie, and despite a heavy fire gained an entrance into the fort. These were quickly followed by the main storming column under Brigadier Sale, (who was severely wounded on this occasion,) which consisted of the 2nd. Queens, under Major Carruthers, and the Bengal European Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Orchard; to these succeeded the 13th. Light Infantry, under Major Fraser, as they collected from the duty of skirmishing, with which they were directed to commence, and the 17th., under Lieutenant-Colonel Croker. The whole were soon established in possession of the fort.

After this the garrison rushed some to the citadel and others to the houses, from which they kept up an annoying fire, when the 13th. and 17th. regiments were directed against the former, which unexpectedly was found evacuated. Large supplies of grain, ammunition of all kinds, and several guns with about two thousand horses, fell into the hands of the victors. A company of the 13th., under Lieutenant Arthur Wilkinson, succeeded in capturing the redoubt, (or outwork,) and took two standards and about sixty prisoners. A standard was captured by the 17th., but was afterwards lost by the wreck of a transport, in which a part of the regiment was embarked.

The loss sustained in the assault of Ghuznee by the Queen’s regiments, (the 2nd., 13th., and 17th. Foot,) was limited to five men killed, and six officers and sixty-three men wounded.

When the Afghan horsemen, who had assembled in the neighbourhood, learnt the fate of the fortress, they abandoned their camp equipage and baggage, and fled towards Cabool, the capital of Eastern Afghanistan, in the direction of which city the British forces immediately advanced.

Dost Mahomed Khan, the ruler of the country, assembled a formidable host in position near Ughundee; but ascertaining that his soldiers had resolved to abandon him, he fled with a body of select cavalry, leaving his artillery in position; and the British army advancing to the capital, replaced Shah Soojah-ool-Moolk, on the 7th. of August, in the possession of the palace of his forefathers, from which he had been an exile many years. The conquest of a kingdom was thus achieved with trifling loss, and the troops pitched their tents in a rich valley near Cabool.

An order of merit was instituted by the Shah, called the Order of the Dooranée Empire, the decorations[84] of which were conferred on the general and field officers. The following regiments of the Queen’s army were engaged in this service:—the 2nd. Queen’s, the 13th. and 17th. Foot, and the Bengal European Regiment, (now the 101st.,) the 4th. Light Dragoons, and the 16th. Lancers.

Shah Soojah’s government became so unpopular, that the Afghans determined to expel the British, by whose aid he had been reinstated, and whose presence in Cabool was rendered necessary to support him on the throne. The crisis arrived in 1841. In October the Afghans broke out into open insurrection; the British envoy, Sir William Macnaughten, and Sir Alexander Burnes, were treacherously murdered, and the troops, including the 44th. regiment,[85] which occupied Cabool, being compelled to evacuate that place, and retreat towards Jellalabad, were cut to pieces on the march, Dr. Brydon of the Shah’s forces, being the only officer who succeeded in reaching that place. It is remarkable that this officer was one of the heroes of Lucknow.

The 13th. regiment was more fortunate; under its gallant Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir Robert Sale, (serving with the local rank of Major-General), it reached Jellalabad, having at the breaking out of the insurrection been detached from Cabool with a force in order to reduce the insurgents, and after much hard fighting in the passes, had taken possession of Jellalabad, the successful defence of which by his small garrison, forms so bright a feature in this terrible and gloomy history. Before describing this heroic defence, only equalled by that of Lucknow, it is necessary to show the manner in which the gallant band reached the place of safety. The 13th. and other troops left Cabool on the 11th. of October, in consequence of a body of insurgents having possessed themselves of the Khoord Cabool pass,[86] about ten miles from the capital, with a view to expel the rebels, and re-open the communication with India. On the 12th. of October the pass was forced, the troops under Sir Robert penetrating to Khoord (Little) Cabool.

Major-General Sir Robert Sale, Captain Hamlet C. Wade, (Major of Brigade,) Lieutenant George Mein, and Ensign Oakes were wounded. Lieutenant Mein being dangerously wounded, was obliged to be sent back in a litter to Cabool. Upon Sir Robert Sale being compelled to quit the field from the severity of his wound, the command of the troops devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Dennie, C.B., also of the 13th. The regiment then faced about, to return through the pass according to the plan for executing the operation, leaving the other corps at Khoord Cabool. Possession was then taken of Bootkhak, where the regiment was stationed until the 18th. of October. During this delay, incessant night attacks were made by the enemy, called by them Shub Khoon, (night slaughter;) Sir Robert Sale’s precaution in ordering the men to lie down on their alarm posts, as soon as the fire was opened on the camp, prevented much loss: his orders prohibiting any return-fire likewise saved many, and all the enemy’s attempts to force an entrance therein were successfully resisted by the bayonet alone. Meanwhile the rebellion continued of a formidable character, and the 13th. were ordered to march to Tezeen, where they arrived on the 22nd. of October, and were engaged with a body of insurgents, whom they drove from some heights and strong positions.

In consequence of orders from Cabool, the force under Major-General Sir Robert Sale marched for Gundamuck, and were continually pressed day and night, by insurgent bands hovering on their flanks and rear, which occasioned the fatigues and duties of the troops to be particularly harassing; the way led along defiles and over mountains, and when the soldiers halted, breastworks had to be thrown up to defend the bivouac ground from sudden attacks of the Afghan cavalry.

On the 29th. of October the rebels were found in force at the Jugdulluck Pass, and for some time they checked the advance of the column; but the skirmishers of the 13th. sprang forward, and driving the Afghans from almost inaccessible heights protected by breastworks, enabled the British force to surmount every obstacle in the defile, and to arrive at Gundamuck on the following day.

Sir Robert Sale remained at Gundamuck with his troops until the 5th. of November, when they proceeded and captured the fort of Mamoo Khail in the neighbourhood, and returned on the 6th. to Gundamuck. There intelligence was received of the breaking out of a violent insurrection at Cabool, on the 2nd. of November, and of the probability that the rebellion would become general. Under these circumstances, two forced marches on Jellalabad were made, with a numerous enemy pressing on the flanks and rear; a body of insurgents were beaten at Futtehabad by the rear-guard under Lieutenant-Colonel Dennie; and Jellalabad, the chief town in the valley of Ningrahar, was seized by the British troops on the 12th. of November, to establish a post upon which the corps at Cabool might retire, if necessary, and thus restore a link in the chain of communication with India.

MEDAL FOR THE CAPTURE OF GHUZNEE.
]

DEFENCE OF JELLALABAD.
12TH. NOVEMBER, 1841, TO 7TH. APRIL, 1842.