Introduction
On January 22nd, 1879, some 150 British soldiers repelled an attack by several thousand Zulu warriors on a tiny garrison at Rorke’s Drift. It was a gallant action in an otherwise dubious war: the British colony of Natal had picked a quarrel with King Cetshwayo of the Zulus as an excuse to annex his realm. Frances Colenso, daughter of the Bishop of Natal, appreciated the Zulus’ restraint.
THE first great battle in that Zulu war was that of Isandhlwana,* which so many a home in England as well as in Zululand has sorrowful cause to remember. For ten days our invading armies worked their will in Zululand, meeting no army, yet burning the homes, killing the men, and sweeping off great herds of cattle. But on January 22, 1879, the Zulus were victorious on their own soil, and then, at Cetshwayo’s bidding, stayed their hand, and did not ravage Natal, which lay open and helpless at their mercy.
It is sometimes urged that the colony owed its safety at that time to the brave stand made by British troops at Rorke’s Drift. What are the facts? At Rorke’s Drift was a farmhouse used as a military post and hospital. It was some fourteen miles further along the river, on the Natal bank, and it was attacked by the Zulus at the close of the Isandhlwana battle, as forming part and parcel of the invading army. The defence was a successful one and a gallant one. Major Chard, who was in command, gained there the Victoria Cross, and the Zulu detachment lost heavily before retiring.
* On the afternoon of January 22nd, 1878, over 20,000 Zulu warriors confronted barely 1,800 soldiers of the British Army, and unsurprisingly soundly defeated them. The name means ‘little hand’.
* Exulting in their victory at Isandhlwana, the Zulus pressed their advantage by an assault on a small garrison at Rorke’s Drift (ford) a few miles away. The fort, chiefly stores and a hospital, put up a remarkable resistance, some 150 soldiers and civilians managing to hold upwards of 5,000 Zulu warriors at bay until the morning, when the weary Zulus withdrew, about an hour before the British relief column came in sight.