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Cranston Fine Arts  Military Art and Artists 19th Century Military History Zulu War  Zulu War Print List |
[UP] - Battle of Ulundi - Battle of Isandhlwana - Battle of Rorke's Drift - Zulu War Print List |
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To the Meallie Bags, Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Ulundi 4th July 1879 - Charge of the 17th Lancers by Jason Askew. The British force of 17,000 British and native troops, under the command of Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford engaged over 22,000 Zulu warriors on 4th July 1879 at Ulundi. During the battle several thousand Zulus surrounded the British infantry which formed a square with the 17th Lancers at its centre. When the Zulus attack faltered the 17th Lancers passed out of the back of the square and were ordered to charge. The impact of the charge broke up what was left of the Zulu formations and the Zulu army dissolved in flight. The British casualties at the Battle of Ulundi were 3 officers and 79 men. but it is believed the Zulu losses were around 1500. |
Battle of Isandhlwana by Charles Fripp. On the 11th January 1879, a British Force under the command of Lord Chelmsford crossed the Buffalo River into Zululand. A small garrison was left at Rorkes Drift. The force consisted of 1600 British troops, mainly from the 1st and 2nd Battalions 24th Regiment, and 2500 native soldiers. A tented camp was established at Isandhlwana Hill. At 4am on the morning of 22nd January, Lord Chelmsford took half his force to reconnoitre to southeast in search of main Zulu army. Just after 8am a force of 25000 Zulu warriors attacked the remainder of the force in the camp. Surprised, outnumbered by more than six to one, in a position offering little defence, the defenders were soon overpowered and a dreadful slaughter ensued. A few men escaped and re-crossed the Buffalo River to safety. Victoria Crosses were awarded to Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill, who saved the Queens Colour of the 1st/24th and to Private Wassell, 90th Foot, who saved a comrade while escaping across the Buffalo River. |
This Heroic Little Garrison, Defence of Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. Men of the 24th of foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the conclusion of the battle, hundreds of Zulus lay dead. According to official figures the British lost 25 men, 11 Victoria crosses were awarded. |
The Defence of Rorkes Drift by Alphonse De Neuville. (PC) By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 24th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. No text for this item |
Last of the 24th by Stuart Liptrot. At the end of the Battle of Isandhlwana, the last few soldiers of the South Wales Borderers, 24th Regiment of Foot, hold out till their last rounds of ammunition in the foothills of the mountain. |
The Battle of Isandlwana by Jason Askew. The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of some 10,000-12,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional Assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and old rifles though they were not formally trained in their use. The British and colonial troops were armed with the state-of-the-art Martini-Henry breech-loading rifle and two 7 pounder artillery pieces as well as a rocket battery. Despite a vast disadvantage in weapons technology, the numerically superior Zulus ultimately overwhelmed the poorly led and badly deployed British, killing over 1,300 troops, including all those out on the forward firing line. The Zulu army suffered around 350 killed, and up to several hundred wounded. The battle was a crushing victory for the Zulus and caused the abandonment of the first British invasion of Zululand. |
John Chard, 1879 by Mark Churms. (P) Study for the original painting Eve of Distinction. |
Battle of Ulundi by Brian Palmer. After coming out of the British Square The 17th Lancers charge by the 58th Regiment. The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4th July 1879. Ulundi became the last battle to be fought during the Zulu war and the British victory finally broke the military power of the Zulu Nation. The battle began at 6 a.m. when Buller led out an advance guard of mounted troops and South African irregulars. The British force comprised of five companies of the 80th regiment in square in four ranks, with two Gatling Guns in the centres, two 9-pounders on the left flank and two 7-pounders on the right. The 90th Light Infantry with four companies of the 94th regiment made up the left face with two more 7-pounders. On the right face were the 1st Battalion of the 13th Light Infantry, four companies of the 58th Regiment, two 7-pounders and two 9-pounders. The rear face was composed of two companies of the 94th Regiment and two companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 21st Regiment. In the middle of the square were headquarters staff, No. 5 company of the Royal Engineers whhich was led by Lt John Chard who had commanded the troops at Rorkes Drift, the 2nd Native Natal Contingent, fifty wagons and carts with reserve ammunition and hospital wagons. Bullers horsemen protected the front and both flanks of the square. A rearguard of two squadrons of the 17th Lancers and a troop of Natal Native Horse followed. In total the British force stood at just over 5300 against the Zulu warrior regiments in total over 15000. The Zulu warriors charged again and again at the square but with the strong British firepower of tifle and gatling gun, they could not get close. As the Zulu warriors strength weakened, Lord Chelmsford ordered the cavalry to mount, and the 17th Lancers and the 1st Kings Dragoon Guards along with colonial cavalry were ordered to charge the now fleeing Zulus. The Zulus fled towards the high ground with the cavalry in pursuit. The Lancers were checked at the Mbilane stream by the fire of a concealed party of Zulus, causing a number casualties before the 17th Lancers overcame the Zulu resistance. The pursuit continued until not one living Zulu remained on the Mahlabatini plain, with members of the Natal Native Horse, Natal Native Contingent and Woods Irregulars slaughtering the Zulu wounded, done in revenge for the massacre at Isandlwana. |
Tending the Wounded at Rorkes Drift by Chris Collingwood. (P) No text for this item |
Isandhlwana 22nd January 1879 by Stuart Liptrot. Battle of Isandhlwana. Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about 100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out the Zulu army camped at Isandhlwana, while patrols searched the district. After receiving a report, Chelmsford set forth at half strength, leaving six companies of the 24th Regiment, two guns, some Colonial Volunteers and a native contingent (in all about 1,800 troops) at the camp. Later that morning an advanced post warned of an approaching Zulu army. Shortly after this, thousands of Zulus were found hidden in a ravine by a mounted patrol but as the patrol set off to warn the camp, the Zulus followed. At the orders of the Camp Commander, troops spread out around the perimeter of the camp, but the Zulu army broke through their defences. The native contingent who fled during the attack were hunted down and killed. The remaining troops of the 24th Regiment, 534 soldiers and 21 officers, were killed where they fought. The Zulus left no one alive, taking no prisoners and leaving no wounded or missing. About 300 Africans and 50 Europeans escaped the attack. Consequently, the invasion of Zulu country was delayed while reinforcements arrived from Britain. |
Defence of Rorkes Drift by Lady Elizabeth Butler. On January 22nd 1879, during the Zulu War, the small British field hospital and supply depot at Rorkes Drift in Natal was the site of one of the most heroic military defences of all time. Manned by 140 troops of the 24th Regiment, led by Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, the camp was attacke by a well-trained and well-equipped Zulu army of 4000 men, heartened by the great Zulu victory over the British forces at Isandhlwana earlier on the same day. The battle began in mid afternoon, when British remnants of the defeat at Isandhlwana struggled into the camp. Anticipating trouble, Chard set his small force to guard the perimeter fence but, when the Zulu attack began, the Zulus came faster than the British could shoot and the camp was soon overcome. The thatched roof of the hospital was fired by Zulu spears wrapped in burning grass and even some of the sick and the dying were dragged from their beds and pressed into the desperate hand-to-hand fighting. Eventually, Chard gave the order to withdraw from the perimeter and to take position in a smaller compound, protected by a hastily assembled barricade of boxes and it was from behind this barricade that the garrison fought for their lives throughout the night. After twelve hours of battle, the camp was destroyed, the hospital had burned to the ground, seventeen British lay dead and ten were wounded. However, the Zulus had been repulsed and over 400 of their men killed. The Battle of Rorkes Drift is one of the greatest examples of bravery and heroism in British military history. Nine men were awarded Distinguished Conduct Medals, and eleven, the most ever given for a single battle, received the highest military honour of all, the Victoria Cross. |
Plugging the Gap by Mark Churms. Lt Gonville Bromhead stands over Private Hitch, B Co. 2/24th. Rorkes Drift, front barricade |
Isandlwana 1879 by Stuart Liptrot A solitary soldier of the 24th Reg. fights off the Zulu warrior in hand to hand combat with bayonet fixed as many more advance on him to seal his fate. Last stand of the 24th South Wales Borderers at Isandhlwana during the Zulu War. The battle of Isandhlwana, a Zulu victory over the British forces on 22nd January 1879 about 100km north of Durban. Lord Chelmsford led a column of forces to seek out the Zulu army camped at Isandhlwana, while patrols searched the district. After receiving a report, Chelmsford set forth at half strength, leaving six companies of the 24th Regiment, two guns, some Colonial Volunteers and a native contingent (in all about 1,800 troops) at the camp. Later that morning an advanced post warned of an approaching Zulu army. Shortly after this, thousands of Zulus were found hidden in a ravine by a mounted patrol but as the patrol set off to warn the camp, the Zulus followed. At the orders of the Camp Commander, troops spread out around the perimeter of the camp, but the Zulu army broke through their defences. The native contingent who fled during the attack were hunted down and killed. The remaining troops of the 24th Regiment, 534 soldiers and 21 officers, were killed where they fought. The Zulus left no one alive, taking no prisoners and leaving no wounded or missing. About 300 Africans and 50 Europeans escaped the attack. Consequently, the invasion of Zulu country was delayed while reinforcements arrived from Britain. |
For The Colours, Still Work On! by C Dudley Tennant For Victory! - No, all hope is gone; for life! Let that go too; but for the colours, still work on! The chance is left with you. |
Eve of Distinction by Mark Churms. Lt. John Rouse Merriot Chard, Royal Engineers.At about 3.30 on the afternoon of 22nd January 1879, Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot Chard, Royal Engineers, was supervising repairs on the military pont on the Mzinyathi river, at the border crossing at Rorkes Drift, when survivors brought news that the advanced British camp at Isandhlwana had been over-run by the Zulus, and that a wing of the Zulu army was on its way to attack Rorkes Drift. Chard ordered Driver Robson to pack up the wagon and return to the mission station, where a stockpile of supplies was under the guard of B Company, 2/24th Regiment. Chard, in consultation with his fellow officers, made the historic decision to make a stand at Rorkes Drift. |
Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne DCM by Stuart Liptrot Colour-Sergeant Frank Bourne of the 24th Regiment at the Defence of Rorkes Drift during the Zulu attack on Rorkes Drift. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne, 2nd battalion South Wales Borderers. Frank Bourne was born on the 27th April 1854 in Balcombe Sussex. When Bourne was 18 he joined the 24th Regiment in 1872, being promoted to Corporal in 1875 and Sergeant in 1878. Sergeant Bourne was promoted to Colour Sergeant soon after the rgeiment arrived in Natal. Colour Sgt bourne was part of B company whose job was to guard the hospital at Rorkes Drift. Colour Sgt Bourne played a major role in keeping the defending troops effective. Colour Sgt Bourne was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his role in the defence and it is surprising that he was not awarded a Victoria Cross as 11 were awarded for the defence. Col Sgt Bourne retired form the army in 1907 but joined again for WW1, serving in Dublin. He was the last survivor of Rorkes Drift passing away at the age of 91 on the 8th May 1945 by coincidence being VE day. |
The Defence of Rorke's Drift by Jason Askew. The Battle at Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an action in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22nd January 1879, and continued into the following day, 23rd January. 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by approximately 2000 Zulu warriors. The intense and noisy Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the tiny garrison, but were ultimately repelled by blasts of Martini-Henry rifle fire-and some smart bayonet work-with some guts behind the bayonet thrusts! Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours. Of particular note in the painting is the dog 'Pip' - he survived Isandlwhana by retreating along the fugitive's trail to Rorke's Drift. During the Zulu attacks on Rorke's drift, Pip did his part in the defence - by jumping on the mealie bag parapets and barking at Zulus- who were hiding in the long grass and sneaking up to the defences, then biting any Zulu who came within range. Unfortunately Pip was not officially recognised for his part in the action. He was not awarded a VC, on the basis that he was a volunteer canine that accompanied an officer, rather than a War Office issued canine. Conversely, if Pip had been killed, then he would not have been officially listed as a casualty, as he accompanied the army in a strictly private capacity. British army horses were in a different category as they were War Office issue, therefore the loss of a horse in action, or to disease, carried a financial liability for the War Office. |
The Defense of Rorkes Drift by Alphonse De Neuville. By about 6pm the Zulu attacks had extended all around the front of the post, and fighting raged at hand-to-hand along the mealie-bag wall. Lieutenant Chard himself took up a position on the barricade, firing over the mealie-bags with a Martini-Henry, whilst Lieutenant Bromhead directed any spare men to plug the gaps in the line. The men in the yard and on the front wall were dangerously exposed to the fire of Zulu marksmen posted in the rocky terraces on Shiyane (Oskarsberg) hill behind the post. Several men were hit, including Acting Assistant Commissary Dalton, and Corporal Allen of the 24th. Surgeon Reynolds treated the wounded as best he could despite the fire. Once the veranda at the front of the hospital had been abandoned, the Zulus had mounted a determined attack on the building itself, setting fire to the thatched roof with spears tied with burning grass. The defenders were forced to evacuate the patients room by room, eventually passing them out through a small window into the open yard. Shortly after 6pm Chard decided that the Zulu pressure was too great, and ordered a withdrawal to a barricade of biscuit boxes which had been hastily erected across the yard, from the corner of the store-house to the front mealie-bag wall. In this small compound the garrison would fight for their lives throughout most of the coming night. |
Rorkes Drift January 22nd, 1879 by Stuart Liptrot Defending the barracades, men of the 24th of Foot, or 2nd Warwickshire regiment (later in 1881 to become the South Wales Borderers) repel the massed Zulus attempting to smash through the mealie bag entrenchment. At the end of the battle, hundreds of the Zulu warriors of the uThulwans, iNdlondo and uDloko regiments lay dead. According to official figures the British lost 25 men, 11 Victoria crosses were awarded for the defence of Rorkes Drift. |
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