The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879

The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 - Queen Victoria

In our series of Who’s Who in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and hopefully introducing some of the players to the readers of our blog I have decided that it is prudent to start at the top and introduce those of our readers who do not know all the in’s and out’s of the Wars.

We should therefore start with the two Monarchs who, although they did not take an active part in the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift themselves were certainly instrumental in the shaping of the events that took place.

We start with Queen Victoria, whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901. Strangely enough, at birth she was only the fifth in the line of succession yet at age 18 she was crowned the Queen of the British Empire. Until recently she was the longest reigning British Monarch but that, of course, has now been eclipsed by Queen Elizabeth II.

She married Prince Albert of Saxe-Colburg & Gotha in 1840 and had nine children. Famously Prince Alfred died in 1861 which set off a new fashion trend as the Queen proceeded to wear only black for the rest of her life. She also changed the traditions and practices around mourning and burial that affected all her subjects.

The Victorian Era was marked by her strict standards and personal morality that resulted in a prudish society obsessed with “moral” values.

The British Empire expanded exponentially under her reign. However, this expansion and annexation of countries was only done, according to the Queen, in order to protect the peoples of those countries from other warring nations. The official stance was that expansion was not undertaken “unless we are obliged and forced to do so.”

She was succeeded by her son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.

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Lady Florence Caroline Dixie (1855 -1905)

Image from Vanity Fair Magazine Lady Florence Caroline Dixie (1855 -1905), daughter of the 7th marquess of Queensberry. Authoress, war correspondent and traveller. From an early age Florence showed a fondness for sport and travel together with a facility for writing. After marrying, she combined these talents in a journey to Patagonia and published Across Patagonia in 1880. In 1879 she was the war correspondent for the Morning Post , covering the Anglo Zulu war in Southern Africa. Arriving too late, she justified her visit by interviewing the defeated King Cetshwayo. Impressed by his dignity she returned home to successfully campaign for his re-instatement. She had strong views on African politics, publishing In the Land of Misfortune in 1882. Dixie played a key role is establishing the game of women's association football, organising exhibition matches for charity, and in 1895 she became President of the British Ladies' Football Club, stipulating that &quo

Books About Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana Battles

After 12 years of navigating the battlefields of Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana it was time to start updating and revamping our information. First in line has been our List of books on the Battles and we were amazed how that list has grown over the years. We are also sure that our guests, past and present would benefit from this update and what better way to do this than through our blog. Over the next few weeks I will give you lists of the books, a few at a time with a little bit of background of each one. This is of course so that you can start your own collection of books, or start a reading marathon or even use the subject for a book club. For your convenience I am linking each one of the books to the place that you can buy it online, most of which will be Amazon and if its not available on Amazon I will try to track down where it's at. First on our list is The Horns of the Buffalo by John Wilcox a fiction novel and the write up on Amazon describes the book

The Defence of Rorke's Drift - Private Frederick Hitch

Private Frederick Hitch 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot "It was chiefly due to the courageous conduct of these [Allen and Hitch] men that communication with the hospital was kept up at all. Holding together at all costs a most dangerous post, raked in reverse by the enemy's fire from the hill, they were both severely wounded, but their determined conduct enabled the patients to be withdrawn from the hospital, and when incapacitated by their wounds from fighting, they continued as soon as their wounds had been dressed, to serve out ammunition to their comrades during the night."

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