on sunday, the 1st of june, general wood with a small escort was out reconnoitring in advance of his column, which was about five miles in front of the force of general newdigate. the morning was clear and fresh, the ridges of the hills on either side were dotted with buller’s horsemen. they crossed the river by a ford, and having ridden about another mile forward they observed some of the vedettes on the high ground signalling that horsemen were approaching.
riding on to see who they could be, they were joined by colonel buller and a dozen of his men, and together they rode forward to meet the five men who were seen approaching. in a few seconds lieutenant carey and four troopers of bettington’s horse rode up, and when they had told their story english soldiers had the shame and humiliation of knowing that an english officer and four english troopers had escaped unwounded from a zulu ambush, in which they had left a gallant young prince, the guest of england and the hope of france, to be barbarously slain.
early in the morning the prince had learnt that a patrol was to be sent out in advance of the column, and had applied for and obtained permission to accompany it. colonel harrison, acting as quartermaster-general, granted the permission, and had an interview with the prince.
six men of bettington’s horse and the same number of shepstone’s basutos were to form the party; but unfortunately the basutos did not come up at the appointed time, and the patrol consisted therefore only of the prince, lieutenant carey, the six men of bettington’s horse, and one zulu. considering the importance of the safety of the prince, a grave responsibility attaches to the staff-officer who allowed him to go with so small a party.
after an hour’s ride they reached the crest of a hill and dismounted to fix the position of some distant points by the compass. here colonel harrison overtook them, and remarked that the whole of the escort was not with them, and that they had better wait for the basutos to come up. the prince said—
“oh, we are quite strong enough—besides, we have all our friends around us, and with my glass i can see general marshall’s cavalry coming up.”
unfortunately colonel harrison did not insist that the party should wait until the basutos arrived, and they proceeded another seven miles, and then halted in an isolated kraal in a valley. a worse spot could not have been selected for a halt, as it was surrounded by long grass, six or seven feet high; here the saddles were taken off the horses, and coffee was prepared. without any search being made they sat down to make coffee, although it was clear, from the burnt embers, bones, and other débris, that the place had been but recently occupied.
the zulu was the first to see the enemy in the long grass, and the horses were at once saddled. the escort stood ready by them, and just as the prince gave the word, “prepare to mount,” the zulus’ war-cry burst out, and some guns were fired from the grass.
the horses started at the outburst, and some broke away. never were a body of troops in an enemy’s country so unprepared for the attack. not a carbine was loaded! not a sentry placed! each of the troopers, including the officer, was seized with a wild panic, and thought only of flight,—one indeed had fallen at the first shot. the prince’s horse was ill-tempered and badly broken, and, frightened by the firing and yells, he was so restive that the prince was unable to mount. had one of those men stood for an instant at his head the prince might have gained his saddle, but all had galloped away, leaving him alone. running by his horse, he in vain endeavoured to mount; he had not had time to tighten the girth, the saddle slipped round, and the horse galloped away. unfortunately the prince’s revolvers were in the holsters, so he was unarmed, save with his sword, and with this he stood bravely at bay, and died nobly facing his foes, who pierced him with assegais at a distance.
according to zulu accounts afterwards obtained, there were but five or six men engaged in the attack, and had the englishmen accompanying the prince, nay even had one of them, possessed but the smallest amount of presence of mind and courage, the prince imperial might have been saved. there is no blacker page in the annals of english military history.
the feeling of indignation, shame, and regret in the english camp, when this shameful episode was known, was indescribable. of all the party the friendly zulu was the only one who came out with honour; he had gone towards the river to fetch water when he discovered the enemy, and might have instantly taken flight. he returned, however, and gave warning that the zulus were lurking round. even then it does not appear that he attempted to fly, but fought the foe until overcome by numbers. his body was afterwards discovered not far from that of the prince, riddled with wounds, together with a number of his own assegais broken, but stained with the blood of his assailants.
the next morning the cavalry rode out to find and bring in the prince’s body. when it was discovered, it was tenderly brought into camp. it was afterwards taken over to england, and laid by the remains of his father at chislehurst. a court-martial was held on lieutenant carey. the sentence was kept secret, but it was generally understood that he was dismissed from the service with ignominy. he was sent home under arrest, but on his arrival there the proceedings of the court-martial were declared null and void on account of some technical irregularity, and he was ordered to resume his duties. it was reported that this extraordinary leniency was shown by the special desire of the empress, who made a personal request to the queen that nothing should be done in the matter.
early in june some messengers arrived in lord chelmsford’s camp from cetewayo. lord chelmsford told them that before any negotiations could be entered into, the whole of the spoil taken at isandula, especially the two captured 7-pounder guns, must be restored.
considerable delays now took place, and for three weeks a force of englishmen sufficient to march through and through zululand in every direction was kept doing nothing at a distance of three days’ march from the enemy’s capital. so extraordinary and unaccountable was the delay that the english government appointed sir garnet wolseley to go out to supersede lord chelmsford. upon the receipt of this news preparations for an advance were at last made. on the 21st general newdigate’s column reached the right bank of the umlatoosi. general crealock, who commanded the division which was operating by the sea, also moved forward about this time, but met with such difficulties, owing to the sickness which attacked his transport-train, that he was unable to co-operate with the first division, although his force did service by occupying a large number of the enemy, who would otherwise have been free to act against the main column.
between the 24th and 26th general newdigate’s and wood’s columns advanced but six miles. but buller with his horse scouted ahead, and cut up a number of zulus who were engaged in burning the grass, to hinder the advance of the horses and cattle. on the 26th colonel drury-lowe, with the light cavalry, 450 of buller’s men and two guns, went out and attacked and burnt five large military kraals. on the 27th the column advanced five miles towards ulundi, leaving their tents behind them, and taking only 200 ammunition-waggons and ten days’ rations; 500 infantry were left to guard the stores.
on the afternoon of that day some messengers came in from cetewayo, bringing 150 of the cattle captured at isandula, together with a pair of elephant’s tusks, and a letter written in english by a trader captured at isandula. the letter said that the king could not comply with all lord chelmsford’s commands, as the arms taken from us at isandula were not brought to him, and that it was beyond his power as a king to order or compel any of his regiments to lay down their arms. he said the cannons should be sent in, and on the receipt of the cattle and these weapons the english must retire from zululand. the trader had written in a corner of the letter, in pencil, a few words of warning, and an intimation that cetewayo had with him at ulundi a picked force of 20,000 men.
lord chelmsford refused to receive the tusks, and told the messengers to inform cetewayo, that before he should think of retiring, all the conditions must be complied with, and the zulu regiments lay down their arms. late in the evening several large bodies of the enemy, amounting to some thousands, were noticed moving from the direction of ulundi, passing by their left flank.
the next morning general wood moved forward as far as the left bank of the white umvolosi, and newdigate’s column followed in the afternoon. wood’s division bivouacked on the farther side of the river, newdigate’s halted on the right. the most vigilant watch was kept, with pickets in every direction, and patrols of cavalry beyond these.
at daybreak on the 27th the main body crossed the river, and joined wood on the left bank. they were now but fifteen miles from ulundi, and the king’s five kraals were visible to the naked eye. three days were given to cetewayo to comply with the conditions, but the original terms were altered so far, that lord chelmsford consented to receive 1000 captured rifles instead of insisting upon the regiments laying down their arms. while waiting, the army remained on the umvolosi, having retired to the right side, pending the decision of peace or war.
during these three days the zulus had made many hostile demonstrations against us. on the first and second they kept up a scattered fire at distant ranges at our men, and on the third, growing bolder, pushed their skirmishers down to the rocks on the opposite side of the river, and fired upon the men, as they were watering their horses in the stream. one horse was killed and several men wounded.
buller therefore asked and obtained permission to make a raid on the other side. a couple of guns were brought into requisition to defend his crossing, and two or three rounds of shrapnel sent a crowd of zulus, who had approached the opposite heights, straggling in all directions. buller’s horse, the mounted infantry, and baker’s horse dashed over the river at once. at full speed they raced across the country; baker’s men, guided by their leader, inclined to the left front, by buller’s orders, to carry and hold a hillock which commanded the ford.
colonel raaff, with a portion of buller’s horse, was halted near the kraal of unodwingo to act as a reserve, and buller, with 100 of his best mounted men, pushed on with the intention of exploring the ground as far as possible towards ulundi. he knew that the bulk of the king’s army was away upon lord chelmsford’s right flank, and thought therefore that he might push on to ulundi without opposition. the country consisted of a plain, across which ran some stony undulations, and at one point were two hollows, united at a right angle. the zulu general disposed his men in shelter, and as buller with his little band of horsemen rode up they rose and poured a very heavy fire into the ranks of the horsemen. sudden and unexpected as was this attack, buller’s men were too well used to native fighting to evince the slightest confusion. in the most perfect order they began to fall back in alternate ranks, keeping up a steady fire upon the enemy, who were eagerly advancing. raaff and his men rode up to the assistance of the hotly-pressed party, and baker’s horse, upon their hillock, opened a steady fire upon the zulus. gradually and steadily the cavalry fell back towards the river, the two guns on the opposite bank aiding them by their fire of grape and shrapnel upon the zulus, who pressed forward with extreme bravery.
many gallant deeds were done. lord william beresford, who had accompanied the party as a volunteer, distinguished himself by his bravery and coolness. seeing upon the ground a dismounted and wounded trooper, surrounded by a dozen zulus, he wheeled his horse and dashed down among them, knocking over three with the rush of his horse, and cutting down two with right and left strokes of his sabre; in another moment he had the wounded man on his horse behind him, and carried him off in safety.
commander d’arcy, also seeing a wounded man on the ground, tried to carry him off, but his horse, being restive, reared and fell back upon him, so that the unfortunate trooper was overtaken and assegaied; while d’arcy, who was severely bruised by falling on his revolver, was able to get back safely, but was unable to take part in the next day’s fight.
a little before daybreak wood with his flying column crossed the river, followed by the main army. the whole of the baggage was left in charge of the 24th, and nothing was taken, save the ammunition and water-carts, each man carrying four days’ supply of biscuits and preserved meat in his haversack. the crossing of the river was made without any opposition, but the movements of the troops were watched by a party of zulus from a hillock on the left.
as soon as favourable ground had been reached, wood was signalled to halt and wait for the main body, and when the junction was effected the order was given to form a large hollow square. inside this square were two companies of engineers, together with the ammunition-carts, water-carts, and ambulance waggons, carts with intrenching tools, stretchers and bearers, together with two gatling-guns in a reserve. the front face of the square was formed by the 80th regiment, with two gatling-guns in their centre and two 7-pounders on their right. the right face of the square was formed of seven companies of the 13th regiment. next to these came two 7-pounder and one 9-pounder guns; four companies of the 58th completed the line on this side. the rear face was composed of two companies of the 21st, and three companies of the 94th, with a 9-pounder gun. on the left or west flank were three companies of the 94th, two 7-pounder guns, eight companies of the 90th, and two 9-pounders. buller’s cavalry were away, scouring the country on the flanks. colonel drury-lowe, with two squadrons of the 17th lancers and captain shepstone’s basutos, formed the rearguard. the square moved forward for a few miles, when they began to near the smaller kraals. towards the left front the zulu columns could now be seen across the plain, with the sun glancing down upon their long lines of white shields. upon reaching the first kraal the square was halted while it was fired. the next kraal was a very large one, called unodwingo. this was also fired; but, as it was found that the smoke drifted across the plain so as to act as a screen to the zulus, lord chelmsford ordered its extinction. strong columns of the enemy could now be seen moving out in good order from ulundi, and the square halted on some slightly-rising ground.
the zulus soon opened a dropping fire on the right front, and from a strong force operating on some broken ground near unodwingo on the left. by nine o’clock the zulu attack was fairly developed. buller’s men then made a strong demonstration on the left, driving the zulus from the hollow where they were sheltered back to the unodwingo kraal. this movement was well supported by shepstone and the basutos.
the zulus now brought up a strong reinforcement from the right, so as to assist those engaged with the cavalry. buller’s men fought in the dutch fashion, in two ranks; the first mounted and ready to dash in a moment upon any weak point in the enemy’s line, the second on foot, using their saddles as a rest for their rifles. as soon as the front rank became too hardly pressed, they cantered to the rear and dismounted and opened fire, while the second rank mounted in readiness to charge. gradually buller and shepstone fell back, the zulu column pressing upon them until well within reach of the gatlings and martinis. the cavalry then took refuge in the square, and over the ridges of the front and left the zulu column with loud shouts swept down upon the square. the british infantry now opened fire. gatlings and rifles poured in their deadly hail of fire, while the guns swept the zulu ranks with shrapnel and grape. terrible as the fire was, the zulus pressed bravely forward, filling up the gaps made in their ranks, their wild war-cry rising even above the roll of the rifle-fire. the fiercest attack came from the unodwingo kraal. forming under cover of the kraal, a large body, led by a chief on a white horse, and formed in a hollow square, dashed at the right rear angle of the british formation. tremendous as the fire was, they pressed forward until it seemed as if they would come to close quarters with the column; but, brave as the zulus were, it was impossible to withstand the fire which the 21st, 94th, 58th, and royal engineers poured into them. the square was broken up, and after a moment’s pause the zulus turned and sought shelter from the leaden hail.
while the fight was raging here, another zulu column had attacked the front; but here the assault was speedily repulsed, the cool and steady fire of the 80th having so deadly an effect that the zulus never attempted to make a rush upon them. it was now a quarter to ten—but a quarter of an hour from the firing of the first shot, but the combat was virtually at an end. the zulus, astounded at the storm of fire by which they had been received, were everywhere wavering; lord chelmsford gave the order, and the two squadrons of lancers burst from the square, greeted with a loud cheer from the infantry, and with their pennons fluttering in the breeze, and their long lances in rest they dashed upon the flying zulus, and drove them headlong into a little ravine. but flanking this, and hidden by the long grass, half a zulu regiment had been posted to cover the retreat, and as the squadrons of lancers came on a volley was poured in, which emptied several saddles and killed lieutenant wyatt-edgell, who was leading his men. in another moment the line of lancers dashed down upon the zulu ranks, and before the level line of lances the enemy went down like grass. shattered and broken in an instant, the zulus fought in stubborn knots, stabbing at the horses, throwing themselves on the men, and trying to dismount them.
in a mêlée like this the lance was useless, and the troopers drew their swords and fought hand to hand with the foe; and now a troop of the king’s dragoon guards and buller’s horse took up the charge, and the flying zulus were cut down in scores before they could gain the crest of the hill. the zulus here fought with far less determination than they had exhibited at kambula. there for four hours they had striven in vain to carry general wood’s strongly-intrenched position; here they made one great effort, and then all was over. their force was estimated at 23,000, and of these they lost only about 1500, of whom at least one-third were killed in the retreat. the battle over, the remaining kraals were burnt. most unfortunately, the day after the battle of ulundi, the news of the arrival of sir garnet wolseley reached the front, and the movements of the army were paralysed by the change of command. instead therefore of a vigorous pursuit of the enemy, nothing was done, and the army halted until the new commander-in-chief should arrange his plans of action. lord chelmsford at once resigned command of his column, and left for england.
the two boys had been present at the battle of ulundi. they had, during the weary weeks which preceded the advance, made the acquaintance of most of the officers of the cavalry, and colonel lowe had repeated the permission given them by general marshall. they had therefore, when on the morning of the fight the column marched out, attached themselves to shepstone’s mounted basutos, and had fought in the ranks of that corps during the cavalry action which preceded the attack on the square.
after the action was over, great quantities of cattle and corn fell into the hands of the troops, and so large a transport-train was no longer necessary. orders were therefore issued that a certain number of the waggons could take their discharge from the service, and the lads at once applied to be placed on the list of those whose services could be dispensed with.
two days later they started for the rear with a convoy of sick and wounded, and in due time, without further adventure, arrived home, to the great delight of their parents.
the victory of ulundi virtually put an end to the war; a great portion of the troops were sent home; the zulu chiefs came in and surrendered with their followers, almost to a man. cetewayo succeeded in concealing himself for some time, but after a long chase he was captured by major marter and lord gifford, and was sent a prisoner to the cape.