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The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the
Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...
. The successful British defence of the
mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
and Gonville Bromhead of the 24th Regiment of Foot, began once a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force during the final hour of the British defeat at the day-long
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 invaded the Zulu Kingdom, Zululand ...
on 22 January 1879. They travelled to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and continuing into the following day. Just over 150 British and colonial troops defended the station against attacks by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive but piecemeal attacks by the Zulu on Rorke's Drift came very close to overwhelming the much smaller garrison, but were consistently repelled. Eleven
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
es were awarded to individual defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours.


Prelude

Rorke's Drift, known as ("Jim's Land") in the
Zulu language Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language of the Nguni languages, Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, ...
, was a
mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
of the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...
, and the former
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
of James Rorke, a merchant from the Eastern Cape of Irish descent. It was located near a drift, or ford, on the Buffalo (Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of Natal and the
Zulu Kingdom The Zulu Kingdom ( ; ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of So ...
. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under Lord Chelmsford, arrived and encamped at the drift. On 11 January, the day after the British ultimatum to the Zulus expired, the column crossed the river and encamped on the Zulu bank. A small force consisting of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot (2nd/24th) under Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead was detailed to garrison the post, which had been turned into a supply depot and hospital under the overall command of Brevet Major Henry Spalding, 104th Foot, a member of Chelmsford's staff. On 20 January, after reconnaissance patrolling and building of a track for its wagons, Chelmsford's column marched to Isandlwana, approximately to the east, leaving behind the small garrison. A large company of the 2nd/3rd
Natal Native Contingent The Natal Native Contingent was a large force of auxiliary soldiers in British South Africa, forming a substantial portion of the defence forces of the British colony of Natal. The Contingent saw action during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The Nat ...
(NNC) under Captain William Stevenson was ordered to remain at the post to strengthen the
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
. This company numbered between 100 and 350 men. Captain Thomas Rainforth's G Company of the 1st/24th Foot was ordered to move up from its station at Helpmekaar, to the southeast, after its own relief arrived, to further reinforce the position. Later that evening a portion of the No. 2 Column under Brevet Colonel Anthony Durnford, late of the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
, arrived at the drift and camped on the Zulu bank, where it remained through the next day. Late on the evening of 21 January, Durnford was ordered to Isandlwana, as was a small detachment of No. 5 Field Company,
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
, commanded by Lieutenant John Chard, which had arrived on the 19th to repair the pontoons that bridged the Buffalo. Chard rode ahead of his detachment to Isandlwana on the morning of 22 January to clarify his orders, but was sent back to Rorke's Drift with only his wagon and its driver to construct defensive positions for the expected reinforcement company, passing Durnford's column ''en route'' in the opposite direction. Some time around noon on 22 January, Major Spalding left the station for Helpmekaar to ascertain the whereabouts of Rainforth's G Company, which was now overdue. He left Chard in temporary command. Chard rode down to the drift itself where the engineers' camp was located. Soon thereafter, two survivors from Isandlwana – Lieutenant Gert Adendorff of the 1st/3rd NNC and a trooper from the Natal Carbineers – arrived bearing the news of the defeat and that a part of the Zulu
impi is a Nguni word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from large militarised homesteads (). In English is often used to refer to a ...
was approaching the station. Upon hearing this news, Chard, Bromhead, and another of the station's officers, Acting Assistant Commissary James Dalton (of the Commissariat and Transport Department), held a quick meeting to decide the best course of action – whether to attempt a retreat to Helpmekaar or to defend their current position. Dalton pointed out that a small column, travelling in open country and burdened with carts full of hospital patients, would be easily overtaken and defeated by a numerically superior Zulu force, and so it was soon agreed that the only acceptable course was to remain and fight.


Defensive preparations

Once the British officers decided to stay, Chard and Bromhead directed their men to make preparations to defend the station. With the garrison's 400-odd men working diligently a defensive perimeter was quickly constructed out of mealie bags, biscuit boxes and crates of tinned meat. This perimeter incorporated the storehouse, the hospital, and a stout stone
kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...
. The buildings were fortified, with loopholes (firing holes) knocked through the external walls and the external doors barricaded with furniture. At about 3:30 p.m., a mixed troop of about 100 Natal Native Horse (NNH) under Lieutenant Alfred Henderson arrived at the station after having retreated in good order from Isandlwana. They volunteered to picket the far side of the Oscarberg (''Shiyane''), the large hill that overlooked the station and from behind which the Zulus were expected to approach. With the defences nearing completion and battle approaching, Chard had several hundred men available to him: Bromhead's B Company, Stevenson's large NNC company, Henderson's NNH troop, and various others (most of them hospital patients, but 'walking wounded') drawn from various British and colonial units. Adendorff also stayed, while the trooper who had ridden in with him galloped on to warn the garrison at Helpmekaar.Morris 1998, p. 401 The force was sufficient, in Chard's estimation, to fend off the Zulus. Chard posted the British soldiers around the perimeter, adding some of the more able patients, the 'casuals' and civilians, and those of the NNC who possessed firearms along the barricade. The rest of the NNC, armed only with spears, were posted outside the mealie bag and biscuit box barricade within the stone-walled cattle kraal. The approaching Zulu force was vastly larger; the uDloko, uThulwana, and inDlondo (regiments) of married men aged in their 30s and 40s and the inDlu-yengwe of young unmarried men mustered 3,000 to 4,000 warriors, none of them engaged during the battle at Isandlwana. This Zulu force was the 'loins' or reserve of the army at Isandlwana and is often referred to as the Undi Corps. It was directed to swing wide of the British left flank and pass west and south of Isandlwana hill itself, in order to position itself across the
line of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...
and retreat of the British and their colonial allies in order to prevent their escape back into Natal by way of the Buffalo River ford leading to Rorke's Drift. By the time the Undi Corps reached Rorke's Drift at 4:30 p.m., they had fast-marched some from the morning encampment they had left at around 8 a.m., then to spend some 11.5 hours continuously storming the British fortifications at Rorke's Drift. Most Zulu warriors were armed with an (short spear) and a '' nguni shield'' made of cowhide. The Zulu army drilled in the personal and tactical use and coordination of this weapon. Some Zulus also had old muskets, antiquated rifles, and some captured Martini-Henrys as used by the defenders, though their marksmanship training was poor, and the supply of powder and shot was low, and of poor quality. The Zulu attitude towards firearms was that: "The generality of Zulu warriors, however, would not have firearms – the arms of a coward, as they said, for they enable the poltroon to kill the brave without awaiting his attack." Even though their fire was not accurate, it was responsible for five of the 17 British deaths at Rorke's Drift. While the Undi Corps had been led by kaMapitha at the Isandlwana battle, the command of the Undi Corps passed to Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande (half-brother of Cetshwayo kaMpande, the Zulu king) when kaMapitha was wounded during the pursuit of British survivors from Isandlwana. Prince Dabulamanzi was considered rash and aggressive, and this characterisation was borne out by his violation of King Cetshwayo's order to act only in defence of Zululand against the invading British soldiers and not carry the war over the border into enemy territory. The Rorke's Drift attack was an unplanned raid rather than any organised counter-invasion, with many of the Undi Corps Zulus breaking off to raid other African kraals and homesteads while the main body advanced on Rorke's Drift. At about 4:00 p.m., Surgeon James Reynolds, Otto Witt – the Swedish
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
who ran the mission at Rorke's Drift – and army chaplain Reverend George Smith came down from the Oscarberg hillside with the news that a body of Zulus was fording the river to the southeast and was "no more than five minutes away". At this point, Witt decided to depart the station, as his family lived in an isolated farmhouse about away, and he wanted to be with them. Witt's native servant, Umkwelnantaba, left with him; so too did one of the hospital patients, Lieutenant Thomas Purvis of the 1st/3rd NNC.


Battle

At about 4:20 p.m., the battle began with Lieutenant Henderson's NNH troopers, stationed behind the Oscarberg, briefly engaging the vanguard of the main Zulu force. However, tired from the battle at Isandlwana and retreat to Rorke's Drift as well as being short of
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...
ammunition, Henderson's men departed for Helpmekaar. Henderson himself reported to Lieutenant Chard the enemy were close and that "his men would not obey his orders but were going off to Helpmekaar". Henderson then followed his departing men. Upon witnessing the withdrawal of Henderson's NNH troop, Captain Stevenson's NNC company abandoned the cattle kraal and fled, greatly reducing the strength of the defending garrison. Outraged that Stevenson and some of his colonial NCOs had also fled from the barricades, a few British soldiers fired after them, killing Corporal William Anderson. With the Zulus nearly at the station, the garrison now numbered between 154 and 156 men. Of these, only Bromhead's company could be considered a cohesive unit. Additionally, up to 39 of his company were at the station as hospital patients, although only a handful of these were unable to take up arms. With fewer men, Chard realised the need to modify the defences, and gave orders that biscuit boxes be used to construct a wall through the middle of the post in order to make possible the abandonment of the hospital side of the station if the need arose.Porter 1889, p. 31. At 4:30 p.m., the Zulus rounded the Oscarberg and approached the south wall. Private Frederick Hitch, posted as lookout atop the storehouse, reported a large column of Zulus approaching. The Zulu vanguard, 600 men of the iNdluyengwe, attacked the south wall, which joined the hospital and the storehouse. The British opened fire when the Zulus were away. The majority of the attacking Zulu force moved around to attack the north wall, while a few took cover and were either pinned down by continuing British fire or retreated to the terraces of Oscarberg. There they began a harassing fire of their own. As this occurred, another Zulu force continued to the hospital and northwestern wall. Those British on the barricades – including Dalton and Bromhead – were soon engaged in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The British wall was too high for the Zulus to scale, so they resorted to crouching under the wall, trying to get hold of the defenders'
Martini–Henry The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Mar ...
rifles, slashing at British soldiers with assegais or firing their weapons through the wall. At places, they clambered over each other's bodies to drive the British off the walls but were driven back. Zulu fire, both from those under the wall and around the Oscarberg, inflicted a few casualties, and five of the 17 defenders who were killed or mortally wounded in the action were struck while at the north wall.


Defence of the hospital

Chard realised that the north wall, under near constant attack from the Zulus, could not be held. At 6:00 p.m., he pulled his men back into the yard, abandoning the front two rooms of the hospital in the process. The hospital was becoming untenable; the loopholes had become a liability, as rifles poking out were grabbed at by the Zulus (who were still shot) yet if the holes were left empty, the Zulu warriors stuck their own weapons through in order to fire into the rooms. Among the soldiers assigned to the hospital were Corporal William Wilson Allen and Privates Cole, Dunbar, Hitch, Horrigan,
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, Joseph Williams, Alfred Henry Hook, Robert Jones, and William Jones. Now low on rifle ammunition they decided to switch to
revolvers A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
. Privates Horrigan, John Williams, Joseph Williams and other patients tried to hold the hospital entrance with bayonets and revolvers. Joseph Williams defended a small window, and 14 dead Zulus were later found beneath said window. As it became clear the front of the building was being taken over by Zulus, John Williams began to hack a way of escape through the wall dividing the central room and a corner room in the back of the hospital. As he made a passable breach, the door into the central room came under furious attack from the Zulus, and he had time only to drag two bedridden patients out before the door gave way. The corner room into which John Williams had pulled the two patients was occupied by Private Hook and another nine patients. John Williams hacked at the wall to the next room with his bayonet, as Hook held off the Zulus a firefight erupted as the Zulus fired through the door and Hook returned fire – an assegai striking his helmet and stunning him. Williams made the hole big enough to get into the next room, occupied only by patient Private Waters, and dragged the patients through. The last man out was Hook, who killed some Zulus who had knocked down the door before he dived through the hole. John Williams once again went to work, spurred on by the fact that the roof was now ablaze. After 50 minutes, the hole was large enough to drag the patients through, and most of the men were now in the last room, defended by Privates Robert Jones and William Jones. From here, the patients clambered out through a window and then made their way across the yard to the barricade. Privates Waters and Beckett hid in the wardrobe, Waters was wounded and Beckett died of assegai wounds. Of the 11 patients, nine survived the trip to the barricade, as did all the able-bodied men. According to James Henry Reynolds, four defenders were killed in the hospital: one was a member of the Natal Native Contingent with a broken leg; Sergeant Maxfield and Private Jenkins, who were ill with fever and refused to be moved were also killed. Reportedly, Jenkins was killed after being seized and stabbed, together with Private Adams who also refused to move. Private Cole, assigned to the hospital, was killed when he ran outside. Another hospital patient killed was Trooper Hunter of the
Natal Mounted Police The Natal Mounted Police (NMP) were the colonial police force of the Colony of Natal created in 1874 by Major John Dartnell, a farmer and retired officer in the British Army as a semi-military force to bolster the defences of Natal in South Africa ...
. Among the hospital patients who escaped were a Corporal Mayer of the NNC; Bombardier Lewis of the Royal Artillery, and Trooper Green of the Natal Mounted Police, who was wounded in the thigh by a bullet. Private Conley, with a broken leg, was pulled to safety by Hook, although Conley's leg was broken again in the process.


Cattle kraal and bastion

The evacuation of the burning hospital completed the shortening of the perimeter. As night fell, the Zulu attacks grew stronger. The cattle
kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...
came under renewed assault and was evacuated by 10:00 p.m., leaving the remaining men in a small bastion around the storehouse: the British troops had withdrawn to the centre of the station, where a final defence had been hastily built. Throughout the night, the Zulus kept up a constant assault against the British positions; Zulu attacks began to slacken only after midnight, ending by 2:00 a.m., and replaced by harassing fire from Zulu firearms until 4:00 a.m. By that time, the garrison had sustained 14 dead. Two more were mortally wounded and eight more – including Dalton – were seriously wounded. Almost every man had some kind of wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of 10 hours and were running low on ammunition. Of 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission, only 900 remained.


Aftermath

As dawn broke, the British could see that the Zulus were gone; all that remained were the dead and severely wounded.Private Henry Hook's account in ''The Royal Magazine'' 1905. Also Colenso 1880 and Crealocke in Lock and Quantrill 2005. Patrols were dispatched to scout the battlefield, recover rifles, and look for survivors, many of whom were killed when found. At roughly 7:00 a.m., an
impi is a Nguni word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from large militarised homesteads (). In English is often used to refer to a ...
of Zulus suddenly appeared, and the British manned their positions again. No attack materialised, however, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle and had not eaten properly for two. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and they were several days' march from any supplies. Soon after their appearance, the Zulus left the way they had come. Around 8:00 a.m., another force appeared, and the defenders left their breakfast to man their positions again. However, the force turned out to be the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford's relief column. At the end of the fighting, 351 Zulus lay dead on the battlefield. 17 British were killed, and almost every man in the garrison had sustained some kind of wound. Breakdown of British and colonial casualties: * 1st/24th Foot: 4 killed or mortally wounded in action; 2 wounded * 2nd/24th Foot: 9 killed or mortally wounded in action; 9 wounded * Commissariat and Transport Department: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded *
Natal Mounted Police The Natal Mounted Police (NMP) were the colonial police force of the Colony of Natal created in 1874 by Major John Dartnell, a farmer and retired officer in the British Army as a semi-military force to bolster the defences of Natal in South Africa ...
: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded * 1st/3rd NNC: 1 killed in action * 2nd/3rd NNC: 1 killed; 2 wounded The number of Zulu casualties is subject to widely varying estimates. It has been estimated that, including wounded Zulus who were killed after capture, at least 500 were killed. Having witnessed their own dead at Isandlwana, the members of Chelmsford's relief force had killed the captured, wounded Zulus they came across, as did the station's defenders. Trooper William James Clarke of the Natal Mounted Police described in his diary that "altogether we buried 375 Zulus and some wounded were thrown into the grave. Seeing the manner in which our wounded had been mutilated after being dragged from the hospital ... we were very bitter and did not spare wounded Zulus". Laband, in his book ''The Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879'', accepts the estimate of 600 that Shepstone had from the Zulus. Samuel Pitt, who served as a private in B Company during the battle, told '' The Western Mail'' in 1914 that the official enemy death toll was too low: "We reckon we had accounted for 875, but the books will tell you 400 or 500".Lock and Quantrill 2005, p. 232 Lieutenant Horace Smith-Dorrien, a member of Chelmsford's staff, wrote that the day after the battle an improvised gallows was used "for hanging Zulus who were supposed to have behaved treacherously."


Awards

Eleven
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
es were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, seven of them to soldiers of the 2nd/24th Foot – the most ever received for a single action by one regiment. (The most awarded in a day is 16 for actions at the Battle of Inkerman, on 5 November 1854; in a single action, 28 were awarded as a result of the Second Relief of Lucknow, 14–22 November 1857). Four Distinguished Conduct Medals were also awarded. This high number of awards for bravery has been interpreted as a reaction to the earlier defeat 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 invaded the Zulu Kingdom, Zululand ...
– the extolling of the victory at Rorke's Drift drawing the public's attention away from the great defeat at Isandlwana and the fact that Lord Chelmsford and
Henry Bartle Frere Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a British Empire, British colonial administrator. He had a successful career in British Raj, India, rising to become Governor of Bombay (1862–1867). However, a ...
had instigated the war without the approval of Her Majesty's Government. Sir Garnet Wolseley, taking over as commander-in-chief from Lord Chelmsford later that year, was unimpressed with the awards made to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, saying "it is monstrous making heroes of those who, shut up in buildings at Rorke's Drift, could not bolt and fought like rats for their lives, which they could not otherwise save". Several historians have challenged this assertion and pointed out that the victory stands on its own merits, regardless of other concerns.
Victor Davis Hanson Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an American classics, classicist, military historian, and conservative political commentator. He has been a commentator on modern warfare, modern and ancient warfare and contemporary politics fo ...
responded to it directly in ''Carnage and Culture'' (also published as ''Why the West Has Won''), saying, "Modern critics suggest such lavishness in commendation was designed to assuage the disaster at Isandhlwana and to reassure a skeptical Victorian public that the fighting ability of the British soldier remained unquestioned. Maybe, maybe not, but in the long annals of military history, it is difficult to find anything quite like Rorke's Drift, where a beleaguered force, outnumbered 40 to one, survived and killed 20 men for every defender lost".


Victoria Cross

Source: * Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard, 5th Field Coy,
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
* Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead; B Coy, 24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot (2nd/24th Foot) * Corporal William Wilson Allen; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Private Frederick Hitch; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Private Alfred Henry Hook; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Private Robert Jones; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Private William Jones; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Private
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds; Army Medical Department * Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton; Commissariat and Transport Department * Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess; 2nd/3rd Natal Native Contingent In 1879, there was no provision for the posthumous granting of the Victoria Cross. Private Joseph Williams, B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot, was killed during the fight in the hospital and was
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
that "had he lived he would have been recommended for the Victoria Cross." File:Image-John Rouse Merriott Chard2.JPG, John Chard, VC, as a lieutenant-colonel File:Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.jpg, Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, VC File:Défense de Rorke's Drift.jpg, Corporal William Allen, VC ight foregroundhanding cartridges to Lt Chard File:VCFrederickHitch.jpg, Private Frederick Hitch, VC File:Photo of Albert Henry Hook VC.jpg, Private Henry Alfred Hook, VC File:VCRobertJones.jpg, Private Robert Jones, VC File:VCWilliamJones.jpg, Private William Jones, VC File:Victoria Cross Winners- Pre 1914 Q88647.jpg, Private John Williams, VC File:VCJamesHenryReynolds.jpg, Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds, VC File:Defense of Roark's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville - Detail - Possibly Ferdinand Schiess.jpg, Corporal Ferdinand Schiess, VC


Distinguished Conduct Medal

Source:Whybra 2004, p. 72. * Gunner John Cantwell; N Batt, 5th Brig
Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...
(demoted from bombardier wheeler the day before the battle) * Private John William Roy; 1st/24th Foot * Colour Sergeant Frank Edward Bourne; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot * Second Corporal Francis Attwood; Army Service Corps On 15 January 1880, a submission for a DCM was also made for Private Michael McMahon ( Army Hospital Corps). The submission was cancelled on 29 January 1880 for absence without leave and theft.


Memorial

A memorial was erected on the site shortly after relief. A cemetery was also established where the bodies of the dead were burie

The battlefield, Rorke's Drift Battlefield, Dundee Area, KwaZulu Natal, is a tourist attraction with set hours and guides. It is located off gravel-surfaced R68 from Dundee to Nqutu and the gravel-surfaced R33 from Dundee to Pomeroy. The site is located northeast of Ladysmith and south of Nqutu, Umzinyathi District Municipality, KwaZulu-Nata


Depictions and dramatisations

The events surrounding the assault on Rorke's Drift were first dramatised by military painters, notably Elizabeth Thompson, Elizabeth Butler (in '' The Defence of Rorke's Drift'' (1880)) and Alphonse de Neuville (also titled ''The Defence of Rorke's Drift'' (1880)). Their work was very popular in their day among the citizens of the British empire. H. Rider Haggard's true account, "The Tale of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift", published in
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...
's ''True Story Book'' (1894), names many important figures but omits Surgeon Reynolds, who played a crucial role in the defence. In 1914, a touring English Northern Union rugby league team defeated
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
14–6 to win
the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...
in the final test match. Depleted by injuries and fielding only ten men for much of the second half, the English outclassed and outfought the Australians in what quickly became known as the " Rorke's Drift Test". The Swedish
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...
band
Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...
composed the song ''Rorke's Drift'' based on these events. The Edison Company made a two-reel silent film titled ''Rorke's Drift'' (1914) starring
Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...
. The film '' Zulu'' (1964), produced by Stanley Baker, portrays the Battle of Rorke's Drift. The film received generally positive reviews from the critics. Some details of the film's account are wrong (in the movie the regiment is called the South Wales Borderers, but the unit was not called that until two years after the battle, although the regiment had been based at Brecon in South Wales since 1873). While most of the men of the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot (1/24) were recruited from the industrial towns and agricultural workers of England, principally from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and adjacent southwest counties, only 10 soldiers of the 1/24 that fought in the battle were Welsh. Many of the soldiers of the junior battalion, the 2/24, were Welshmen. Of the 122 soldiers of the 24th Regiment present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 49 are known to have been English, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish, one was a Scot, and three were born overseas. The nationalities of the remaining 21 are unknown.Norman Holme (1999). ''The Noble 24th''. p. 383.


See also

* Military history of South Africa * Rorke's Drift Art and Craft Centre * ''Rorke's Drift'' (video game) * Battle of Chakdara - Similar battle during the Siege of Malakand


Explanatory notes


References


Citations


General and cited references

* Colenso, F. E. ''History of the Zulu War and Its Origin'', London, 1880. * Greaves, Adrian, ''Rorke's Drift'', Cassell, London, 2002. * Knight, Ian, ''Rorke's Drift 1879, "Pinned Like Rats in a Hole"''; Osprey Campaign Series #41,
Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...
1996, . * Knight, Ian, ''The Zulu War 1879'', Osprey, 2003, * * Lock, Ron; Quantrill, Peter. ''Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up''. Greenhill Books. 2005, . * Morris, Donald R. ''The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879''. Da Capo Press, 1998, . * Morris, Roy Jr. (August 2005), '' Military Heritage'', Volume 7, No. 1, p. 8). Discusses Rorke's Drift and the politics of the Victoria Cross. * * Snook, Lt Col Mike, ''Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift''. Greenhill Books, London, 2006. . * Thompson, Paul Singer. ''Black soldiers of the queen: the Natal native contingent in the Anglo-Zulu War''. University of Alabama Press, 2006, . *


External links


The Roll of those present at Rorke's Drift 22/23 January, 1879

Gilbert Padilla, "The Battle of Rorke's Drift"



Catalogue description of papers relating to rewards for gallantry for Rorke's Drift
The National Archives.
The Battle of Rorke's Drift

Victorian wars Forum on Rorke's Drift
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Rorke's Drift 1879 in the Colony of Natal Rorke's Drift Rorke's Drift Rorke's Drift History of KwaZulu-Natal January 1879 Rorke's Drift South African heritage sites