The Zulu War 1879 History
In the 19th century it was unusual for a regiment to have both its battalions serving in the same theatre of war but this was the case for the 24th Regiment during the Zulu War of 1879. The 1st Battalion had been in South Africa since 1875, campaigning in West Griqualand in 1875 and in the Galeka War of 1877-78. The 2nd Battalion which was raised in 1858 had seen service in Burma, the Andaman Islands and Madras. They arrived in Natal just in time to take part in Lord Chelmsford's invasion of Zululand in January 1879.
Chelmford's field force was initially divided into 5 columns, 3 of which would advance towards the main Kraal of King Cetshwayo at Ulundi. They were to be led independently and be supplied by their own transports. Both battalions of the 24th had companies in the 3rd column, led by Colonel Richard Glyn, an ex-CO of the 24th. Chelmsford and his staff accompanied Glyn's column but both commanders were some miles away from the battle so avoided the fate that befell the men in the camp at Isandhlwana.
Isandhlwana, 22nd Jan 1879
Present at the battle of Isandhlwana were five companies of the 1st/24th: A, C, E, F and H Coys (407 men). The 2nd/24th were represented by G Company (170 men). A further 8 men of the 1st Battalion were detailed to assist the Rocket Battery RA and an unspecified number serving in the Mounted Infantry. Out of these 585 men (plus the MI) only two survived, bandsmen Bickley and Wilson.
Last Stand at Isandhlwana
The camp was set up on 20th January but strangely it was not fortified against Zulu attack. Prior to the start of the campaign, Lord Chelmsford had made careful preparations and given instructions that any camp set up, for however long or short a period, must be laagered with a central circle of wagons as a last chance citadel, and an outer perimeter entrenched and protected with stones and thorn bushes. As an extra precaution, broken bottles were to be scattered around to welcome the barefoot Zulus. None of this was done at Isandhlwana. Chelmsford himself was too concerned about a report from Major Dartnell of the Natal Mounted Police who had been involved in a skirmish with 1,500 Zulus 10 miles to the southeast. Colonel Glyn and Lt-General Lord Chelmsford busied themselves in this area while the main force of 20,000 Zulus approached Isandhlwana from the northeast.
The total force in the camp numbered 1,800 made up of colonial troops, Natal Native Contingents, artillery, sappers and ancillary troops, and the 24th, the only British regular infantry regiment. The camp came under the command of Colonel Durnford RE from 10am on the 22nd when he arrived in camp. Up until then the camp had been commanded by Colonel Pulleine of the 24th and in reality remained in his command. At around 1pm the Zulu hordes surrounded the camp losing many of their number to the artillery grapeshot and the steady firing of the Martini-Henry rifles. The Zulus wavered at one point and were about to give up but the men ran out of ammunition and had difficulty in being re-supplied. So the attack continued and ended with desperate hand-to-hand fighting. Many of the Natal troops ran away but according to testimony given by Zulus after the war, the red-coated men of the 24th stood their ground and fought bravely to the last. The only survivors on the British/Natal side were 300 who had managed to flee towards the southwest over the Buffalo River to Helpmakaar. Lord Chelmsford repeatedly disregarded the desperate messages he was receiving from the battlefield and did not arrive with his contingents until nightfall. They spent a nervous night on the battlefield and were ordered to leave before dawn so that the troop would not be demoralised by the sight of stripped and mutilated bodies lying all around.
Rorke's Drift, 22nd-23rd Jan 1879
The bulk of the 2nd Battalion accompanied Lord Chelmsford several miles away from the doomed camp at Isandhlwana but B Company was detailed to the less glamorous task of guarding the supply depot and hospital at Rorke's Drift. The two main buildings, with kraals, were not fortified as an attack was not expected. The officer commanding B Coy was 35 year old Lieutenant Bromhead, but slightly senior to him was Lieutenant Chard RE who was responsible for building a pontoon bridge over the Buffalo River, a quarter of a mile away.
Rorke's Drift
At around lunchtime on 22nd Jan 1879 the garrison became aware that something was happening at Isandhlwana and an hour or so later an officer of the Natal Native contingent rode up to tell them that the camp had been overrun by a huge Zulu impi and that they were on their way to destroy Rorke's Drift. Chard and Bromhead immediately set everyone to building barricades with biscuit boxes and mealie bags. Mealie was corn used to feed animals and native troops. At first there were a large number of Natal troops who helped build the defences but most of them beat a hasty retreat leaving only 113 men of the 2nd/24th, 10 men of the 1st/24th, 4 men of the RA, 2 men of the RE, and 24 others, total: 153. Some of these were patients who were either capable of firing a rifle or too ill with fever.
Men were posted around the perimeter and six were placed in the hospital to help the patients. As the garrison was greatly depleted after the Natal troops ran away, the perimeter defences had to be reduced in size. The attack began after 4.30pm from the south, around the west end of the Oscarberg mountain. The men found that the charging Zulus were not deterred by their fellows falling dead besides them. Some Zulus took up positions on the side of the mountain and fired down on the defenders from the cover of a stone ledge. The area was completely surrounded and assaulted continuously up until 6pm. The Zulus broke into the hospital, killed some of the patients and set fire to the roof. The hand-to-hand fighting of the men in the hospital, and their saving of the patients is one of the more exciting parts of the Rorke's Drift story and was reflected in the awards of VCs that went almost exclusively to the hospital detail.
The bravery of the men around the perimeter was no less remarkable. The bayonet was used frequently, especially as the Martini Henry rifles proved so difficult to use. The recoil was very heavy causing the men to suffer badly bruised shoulders, and in the words of Private Alfred Hook VC:
Three VCs of the 24th
'I need hardly say that we were using Martinis, and fine rifles they were too. But we did so much firing that they became hot, and the brass of the cartridges softened, the result being that the barrels got very foul and the cartridge chamber jammed. My own rifle was jammed several times and I had to work away with the ram-rod till I cleared it. We used the old three-sided bayonet and the long thin blade that we called the lung bayonet. They were fine weapons too, but some were very poor in quality, and either twisted or bent badly. Several were like that at the end of the fight; but some terrible thrusts were given, and I saw dead Zulus who had been pinned to the ground by the bayonets going through them.'
The Zulus did not generally fight at night so there was a lull in the fighting as the night wore on. At first the burning hospital illuminated the attackers making it easier for the defenders to shoot them, but when the fire died down the attacks stopped and the men spent an uneasy night watching and waiting, but at daybreak the Zulus could see Lord Chelmsford's column approaching and decided to withdraw. The Zulu force numbered about 4,000 according to Chard's account. He counted 351 of their dead but later more bodies were found, and there was no way of knowing how many Zulus had died of wounds. The figure may be more like 400. The 24th lost 10 men killed plus two that died of their wounds, and 11 wounded.
After Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift
The 2nd Battalion remained at Rorke's Drift after arriving there to relieve B Company. They spent a miserable time without tents and covering and had to sleep on muddy ground. This state of affairs lasted 3 months during which time 12 men and one officer died of sickness and 13 men and 2 officers were invalided. The battalion was then split for various duties including building Fort Warwick on the Itelezi ridge. They did not take part in the Battle of Ulundi but when Lord Wolseley took over command, two companies, F and H provided his escort. After that the same companies had to go to Isandhlwana and bury the dead. At the end of 1879 the battalion was ordered to Gibraltar which they reached on 12th Feb 1880.
B Company
The 1st Battalion, having lost 5 companies at Isandhlwana, needed to be re-formed. In England the news of the disaster had stirred the nation and there was no shortage of volunteers from other regiments to transfer to the 24th. Men from 17 regiments were taken on so that 520 new soldiers were sent out to southern Africa on the 'Clyde', setting sail on 1st March 1879. Unfortunately the Clyde hit a reef between Dyer's Island and the mainland on 4th April. The men were disembarked, but before the baggage could be unloaded the tide rose and the ship sank. They eventually reached Durban on the 11th and marched to Dundee where they were united with D and G Companies who had been posted at Helpmakaar at the time of Isandhlwana.
For the rest of the war the 1st Battalion was in the 2nd Division under Major-General Newdigate. They were required to built a stone fort on the River Umvelosi and remained there while the battle of Ulundi took place. They were ordered back to England in July 1879 and on 27th Aug they embarked at Durban on the 'Egypt'. They were commanded by Colonel R T Glyn, their strength at that time being 767 privates, 11 drummers, 36 corporals, 46 sergeants and 24 officers. They arrived at Portsmouth on 2nd Oct and went into barracks at Gosport.
