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Our Sailors; Gallant Deeds of the British Navy during Victoria's Reign, a non-fiction book by William H. G. Kingston |
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Chapter 27. The Zulu War |
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_ CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. THE ZULU WAR Cetewayo had for many years been training a large army of warriors, and had intended, unquestionably, to use them for an attack upon his neighbours the Boers of the Transvaal, who, indeed, had given him more than sufficient cause, by constantly violating the frontier, squatting upon Zulu territory, and committing raids upon Zulu cattle. Upon our taking over the Transvaal, however, the prospect of great plunder and acquisition of territory vanished, and the king and his warriors remained in a state of extreme discontent. So large and threatening was his army, that Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor of the Cape, considered it absolutely necessary to bring matters to a crisis. A commission sat upon the disputed frontier question between the Zulus and the Boers. They had also to investigate charges of a raid into Natal territory by some Zulu chiefs. Their decision was in favour of the Zulus against the Boers; and, in respect of the raids, they ordered that a fine should be paid and the offenders given up. At the time that this decision was announced to the Zulus, Sir Bartle Frere called upon Cetewayo to disband his army, to abandon the custom of universal conscription, and of the refusal of marriage to the young men until they had proved their prowess in battle. To this demand Cetewayo returned an evasive answer, and an ultimatum was then sent to him. Preparations were made to enforce the British demands, and, as the British force in Natal was not large, the ships of war on the coast were asked to furnish a contingent. Sailors being always ready for an expedition afloat or ashore, the demand was gladly complied with, and a brigade with rockets and gatling guns was at once organised. This brigade was attached to the column which, under the command of Colonel Pearson, was to advance by the road nearest to the coast. On the 12th of January, no answer having been received to the ultimatum, the column crossed the Tugela. The sailors had been at work at this point for some time. They had established a ferry-boat worked by ropes, and by this they transported across the river the stores and ammunition needed for the expedition. The column advanced slowly and carefully, and upon the 23rd they were attacked at the Ebroi River by the enemy. These had placed themselves upon high ground, and opened a heavy fire. The sailors at once got the gatlings and rockets to work, and so great was their effect that the rush of the Zulus was checked, and they were unable to carry out their favourite tactics of coming to close quarters. Three hundred of them were killed, and the rest retired. The column now marched on to Ekowe, and upon reaching that place a messenger from the rear brought the news of the terrible disaster which had befallen Lord Chelmsford's column at Isandhlwana. The British camp at that place had on the advance of the main body been rushed by a large Zulu force, and the whole of the British and native troops, numbering over 1000, were killed, only a few, scarce 50 escaping. It was a hand-to-hand combat against thousands, and from the Zulus themselves, for no white man saw the end, come the accounts of how firmly the soldiers stood. The Zulus, who had a keen appreciation of gallantry, tell many tales of how our men stood fighting till the last. "How few they were and how hard they fought," they said; "they fell like stones, each man in his place." There was only one sailor in the camp. He belonged to HMS _Active_, and throughout the terrible fight displayed the utmost courage. At last, when all was nearly over, he was seen in a corner of the laager, leaning against a waggon wheel, keeping the Zulus at bay. One after another fell as he stabbed them with his cutlass. The savages themselves were lost in admiration at his stern resistance. At last a Zulu crept round at the back of the waggon, and stabbed him through the spokes of the wheel. It would have been the height of rashness to have advanced farther, as the column would now have been exposed to the whole force of the Zulus. Colonel Pearson determined, therefore, to fortify Ekowe, and to maintain himself there until reinforcements came up. The cavalry and the native contingents who had accompanied the column were therefore sent back, the sailors being retained to assist the regular troops in holding the place. The first step was to erect fortifications, and, as the enemy attempted no attack, these were made strongly and massively. Here for many weeks the little garrison held out. The Zulus surrounded the place closely, but never ventured upon any sustained attack upon it. The garrison, however, suffered severely from fever, heat, and the effects of bad food and water. For some time they were cut off entirely from all communication with Natal; but at length an officer, upon the top of the church, observed one day, far among the hills to the south, a twinkling light. From the regularity with which it shone and disappeared, he came to the conclusion that it was caused by signallers endeavouring to open communications. The flashes were watched, and were found to be in accordance with the Morse alphabet; and the joyful news was spread that their friends were telegraphing to them. After some trouble, a mirror was fixed and signals returned, and from that time, until relief, regular communication was kept up by this means. There was disappointment at first when it was found that some time must elapse before a relieving column could advance; but as the news came of the arrival of ship after ship, laden with troops from England, confidence was felt that relief would arrive before the exhaustion of the stock of provisions. The garrison on their part were enabled to send to their friends accurate information of the state of their stores, and the time which they would be able to hold out. At length, on the 28th of March, the news arrived that the column would advance upon the following day. The relieving force was attacked at Gingihlovo, near the river Inyanzi, and there the Zulus were defeated with great loss. With this relieving column was another Naval Brigade, consisting of men of the _Shah_ and _Tenedos_. The _Shah_ was on her way to England when, upon arriving at Saint Helena, the news of the massacre at Isandhlwana reached her. Captain Bradshaw, who commanded, at once determined to take upon himself the responsibility of returning to Natal, where his arrival caused the liveliest satisfaction, as at that time none of the reinforcements from England had reached the spot, and strong fears were still felt of the invasion of the colony by the Zulus. The Naval Brigade bore their part in the fight at Gingihlovo, and were with the relieving force when it entered Ekowe. The garrison of this place, small as they were, had been prepared upon the following day to sally out to effect a diversion in favour of the column, should it again be attacked in its advance to Ekowe. The garrison was now relieved. Few of those who had formed part of it were fit for further service. Ekowe was abandoned, and the Naval Brigade returned to Natal. The brigade took part in the further advance after the arrival of Sir Garnet Wolseley; but the defeat of the Zulus at Ulundi occurring a few days after the start had been made, hostilities ceased, and the Naval Brigade were not called upon for further exertions. _ |
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