Jahleel Brenton Carey (1847–1883) was a British officer who became notorious for his alleged responsibility for the death in action of Napoléon, Prince Imperial (1856–1879), at the hands of Zulu warriors in South Africa.
Biographical background
Jahleel Carey was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, on 18 July 1847. He was the son of Adolphus Frederick Carey, Vicar of Brixham, Devon, a member of the Carey family of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Like many sons of the Guernsey Carey line, Jahleel was educated at
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Normandy. By 1864 he was a cadet at
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...
, and was gazetted as an ensign in 1865. He joined the 3rd West India Regiment in 1865, and served with the expeditionary force in British Honduras in 1867, where he was mentioned in despatches. In 1868 he was made a lieutenant in the 98th Regiment of Foot.
The Death of the Prince Imperial
During the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, an incident took place which was to drastically alter the hitherto promising military career of Jahleel Carey. The British had already been shaken by the embarrassing defeat inflicted on their force at the
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) 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 Zulul ...
by the Zulu Impi on 22 January 1879.
The 23-year-old Prince Imperial was a 'guest' of the British army in its theatre of conflict in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Anxious to gain military experience, he was permitted to take part in scouting parties in May, but had alarmed Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, the Commander in Chief, by his habit of enthusiastically pursuing any Zulus he saw during these mounted reconnaissance patrols. He was consequently 'grounded' by Lord Chelmsford. Despite this, the Prince Imperial was allowed to accompany an eight-man mounted patrol on 1 June 1879, led by Lieutenant Carey. Carey had been given the task of the 'care' of the Prince Imperial, it has been supposed, because of his 'French' background, and his speaking fluent French.Donald Featherstone, 'Captain Carey's Blunder: The Death of the Crown Prince Imperial June 1879', London, 1973
It was at noon, about 3pm, that a break was ordered for coffee in a deserted
kraal
Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of th ...
. After about an hour's rest, the Prince gave the order to remount; at this moment they were fired upon by a party of about 40 Zulus. In the melee that ensued, Carey said in his report that he gave the order to saddle up and retreat. However, a strap under the Prince Imperial's saddle broke, and the Prince was obliged to engage the leading Zulus: two shots were fired from his revolver, before he was cut down at close quarters by the Zulus' deadly weapon, the
assegai
An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber languages, Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", French language, Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, ...
.
Outcomes
Carey was subsequently court-martialled on 12 June 1879, being accused of 'Misbehaviour before the Enemy'. He strenuously defended himself, pointing out the crucial factor that he was not in effective command of the patrol. It has since been recognized that Carey was placed in a dangerously ambivalent position, given the social deference expected from a junior officer vis-à-vis the status of the Prince Imperial and the consequent ambiguity of command. However, not all commentators – contemporary or modern, informed, partially informed, or uninformed – have been so balanced. See also the Wikipedia article Napoléon, Prince Imperial The guilty finding was soon withdrawn, and Carey was acquainted of the fact by
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...
, in a letter dated 16 August 1879. In the same letter, Carey's promotion to captain, effective from 6 June 1879, was confirmed. Carey, however, never recovered the promise of his early years, and died soon after, at Bombay in 1883.
Jahleel Brenton
Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, 1st Baronet, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, KCB (22 August 1770 – 21 April 1844) was a British officer in the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary Wars, F ...