CHAPTER XXIV.

SOUTH AFRICAN WARS, 1847-1885.

Kaffir Wars of 1847-1848 and 1850-1853-Captain Tylden and his Native Levy -Attack on the Sappers under Moody at Koonap Hill-Zulu CampaignComposition of the Columns of Attack-The Isandlwana Disaster-Death of Colonel Durnford-Defence of Rorke's Drift-Advance of Pearson's Column on Ekowe-Wynne's Diary-Wood's Column-Advance on and Battle of Ulundi-Close of the War-Fraser at Majuba Hill-The Bechuanaland Expedition under Major-General Warren, in 1885—Advance to Mafeking-Water Supply-Church Built by the EngineersWarren's Reception at Capetown.

IN all the earlier wars in South Africa the Royal Engineers bore their part, but owing to the peculiar character of the campaigning they were but seldom called on to render that professional assistance which is their special province. It seems therefore scarcely necessary to do more than allude to the work performed by them during the successive Kaffir wars, especially those of 1847-48 and 1850-53. In both of these the duties they carried out were principally those of ordinary infantry officers. We find them sent out in command of patrolling and escort parties, or, as in the case of Captain Tylden, placed at the head of a force of local levies. Others, like Captains Jesse and Stokes, served on the staff of the army as Assistant Quartermaster-Generals.

So much was this the case that, when the question was mooted before Lord Sandhurst's Committee as to the capability of the Engineers to serve on occasion as ordinary infantry, these wars were quoted to prove their utility in that respect. It is true that here and there they were engaged in road-making and bridging, though these were but very subordinate portions of their work. Thus a small party of Sappers assisted by linesmen were employed, under Lieutenant Stokes, opening a road for wagons in the Amatola mountains, and throwing a temporary bridge across the Keiskama. On another occasion a few Sappers under Captain Walpole transported men and stores across the Kei on a raft of casks which they had constructed. Services such as these were, however, but seldom called for; and a study of the Kaffir wars shows that the principal duty of the Engineers was to act in combination with the troops of the line.

The despatches of Sir Harry Smith are full of the employment of Engineers in this capacity, of which the following extracts may be taken as specimens:

"While these operations were in progress I detached Captain Moody, Royal Engineers, with a strong detachment, from King William's Town to post himself between Murray's Krantz and the Isele Berg, to intercept fugitives driven before Colonel Eyre."

"I at the same time detached from King William's Town Captain Robertson, Royal Engineers, in command of a patrol of 250 men to complete the work of devastation through the Isele Berg."

Captain Tylden had been placed at the head of a large body of men raised at Whittlesea, with which he did good service. He and his levy formed one of four columns ordered by Major-General Somerset, to converge to a common centre in a combined movement into the Amatola Mountains. This was effected between the June 26th and 30th, 1851, and proved perfectly successful. We also read in one of Sir Harry Smith's despatches

"Captain Tylden, R.E., whose force from Whittlesea was attached to Major General Somerset, thus reports: The party who ascended the left flank and first turned the cattle were led by Commandant J. Holden Bowker and Lieutenants Mason and Warner, and that on the right by Captain Austen and Lieutenant Arnold, North Victoria Native Levy; and I have on this occasion brought the names of these officers to your notice on account of the gallant and deliberate manner in which 950 head of cattle and 50 horses were wrested from the enemy in the face of a powerful resistance."

In the month of May, 1852, a serious disaster befel a party of Sappers under Captain Moody, who were escorting an ammunition train from Graham's Town to the frontier. At a spot called Koonap Hill they were attacked by the enemy, who were lying in ambush. Captain King, 74th Highlanders, in his "Campaigning in Kaffirland," thus describes the incident :

"At Fort Brown, whither the dead and wounded had been conveyed, we found a fatigue party digging graves for those who had fallen. The wagons which had been brought off, riddled with balls, stood in the square. From Captain Moody, R.E., the officer commanding the party at the time of the attack, I had a full account of the affair. It appeared that when nearly half way up the hill a volley was suddenly fired on the escort from the bush on the lower side, into the advance guard, killing four of them at once. The attack then became general, the Sappers fighting gallantly under their Captain, making a fresh stand as they were driven from wagon to wagon, till, overpowered by numbers, and having seven killed and nine wounded out of thirty, they were forced to retreat to an empty house near the ruins of old Koonap

Post. There they barricaded themselves and remained for about an hour, when relief arrived from Fort Brown, where the sound of the firing had given the alarm to the garrison.

Many of the

enemy, who were principally rebel Hottentots, had been killed in the skirmish" (pp. 236, 237).

Captain King makes several allusions to the Engineers in his work:

"A large native force under Capt. Tylden, R.E., was also placed in position in the Windvogelberg, in order to prevent them making for the country beyond the Kei" (p. 55).

"In a few minutes the clattering of horses was heard rapidly approaching, and the challenge of the sentinel, from whose platform we looked on a mass of horsemen, was answered by the familiar voice of the gallant Tylden. He had come, with a large force of mounted men, to be in readiness to move with us in the combined attack on the Waterkloof, to which we were anxiously looking forward" (p. 212).

"Whittlesea, which is our most remote Frontier Post, has been rendered famous by a series of attacks which it sustained and gallantly withstood under Capt. Tylden, R.E., who no fewer than thirteen times defeated and put to flight large attacking bodies of Tambookies and Rebel Hottentots" (p. 285.)

"A party of Engineer officers being ordered to proceed with a small escort to the drift on the Caledon River, some miles in front, to survey its practicability and the nature of the country in case of our further advance, I accompanied them as a volunteer After the drift had been carefully examined by Siborne, R.E., who swam his horse across the swollen stream, and Tylden and Stanton had taken the necessary points and bearings for their survey of the country, &c., &c." (p. 318).

It may also be recorded that Captain Jervois, R.E., was employed in an extended survey throughout the scene of the war of 1846-7, a work of considerable danger, which he performed in an admirable

manner.

The Engineers engaged in the various campaigns were as follows:

In 1834-5.-Lieutenant Montgomery Williams.

In 1846-7.-Lieutenant-Colonel Walpole, Captains Gibb and Howarth, Second Captains Bourchier, W. Jervois, Owen, and J. Stokes.

In 1850-3.-Lieutenant-Colonel Cole, Captains Stace, Fenwick, and Robertson, Second Captains Jesse, H. C. Moody, J. Stokes, and Tylden, Lieutenants J. Inglis, Stanton, Belfield, J. H. Smith, Fowler and Siborne.

The development of our possessions in South Africa was from this time continuous, and culminated in the annexation of the

Transvaal in 1878. In consequence of this transaction we became involved in difficulties with the Zulus, which led to the disastrous war of 1879, many of the details of which are of much interest to the Engineer.

It having been decided that an advance should be made into Zululand for the attack of Ketchwayo and the capture of Ulundi, two field companies of the Engineers (the 2nd and the 5th) embarked for South Africa on December 2nd, 1878, and landed at Durban on January 4th, 1879, for the reinforcement of the corps in South Africa. This had previously only consisted of the 7th Company, commanded by Major F. W. Nixon, who had under him Lieutenants F. H. MacDowel and J. Clarke.

Colonel A. W. Durnford, assisted by Captain A. H. Hine, who was at the time Colonial Engineer, had organized and equipped three Companies of Native Pioneers. These each consisted of 1 Captain and 2 Subalterns (European), and 4 Serjeants and 96 Sappers (native). In each company twenty-five men were armed with the Martini-Henry rifle, the remainder bearing assegais and shields. Each man also carried a tool slung. The equipment of tools, forges, dynamite, &c., was loaded in two-wheeled ox-carts. The officers were gentlemen employed in the Colonial Engineers department.

When the expeditionary force was organized, Colonel Durnford took command of the entire Natal Native Contingent, consisting of three battalions of 1,000 men each, with 450 mounted men and a rocket battery under Captain Russell, R.A. From long residence in the colony and from having commanded similar contingents during previous outbreaks, Colonel Durnford had acquired great influence over the natives of Natal and Basutoland, and it was felt that no one else was so well qualified to handle this auxiliary force.

Colonel Hassard was Commanding Royal Engineer, and Lieutenant J. C. Baxter was Adjutant. The other officers and Companies were divided amongst the three columns which were intended to penetrate into the district from different points.

Colonel E. Wood commanded that which was to start from Utrecht; with him was Major Moysey. Colonel Glyn's column was to start from Helpmakaar and Rorke's Drift; with him was the 5th Field Company Royal Engineers, with Captain W. P. Jones, Lieutenants R. M. Chard, R. Da C. Porter, and C. E. Commeline, also two Companies of Native Pioneers commanded by Lieutenant F. H. Macdowel.

A third column, under Colonel Pearson, was to cross the Tugela river near its mouth. With him was the 2nd Field Company,

with Captain W. R. C. Wynne, Lieutenants D. C. Courtney, H. B. Willock, and C. E. Haynes; also one Company of Native Pioneers under Lieutenant T. R. Main.

Lieutenants V. J. Yorke and Brice were appointed Assistant Engineers, and took charge of the bridge equipment for crossing the Tudela. Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford was in command of the combined force.

The main Engineer interest in the campaign centres in the catastrophe of Isandlwana and the defence of Rorke's Drift, in the former of which Colonel A. Durnford met his glorious death, and at the latter Lieutenant Chard made an equally glorious and at the same time successful resistance to an attack by overwhelming numbers of Zulus. The column under Colonel Glyn, which the Lieutenant-General Commanding accompanied, crossed the Buffalo river at Rorke's Drift on January 20th, advanced as far as Isandlwana and there encamped. On the same day Colonel Durnford arrived at Rorke's Drift with five troops of the Mounted Natives, Russell's rocket battery, and two companies of the contingent infantry. On the morning of the 22nd he received an order from Lord Chelmsford to move up to Isandlwana camp with his mounted men and rocket battery. He started for that point at about 8 a.m. and reached his destination at 11 a.m. There he found that a number of Zulus had been seen on the top of the adjacent hills, and that an attack was expected. The troops at Isandlwana at the time consisted of six companies of the 24th Regiment, two guns of Royal Artillery, and a few mounted men. The remainder of the column had moved on with Lord Chelmsford some miles to the front, with the object of attacking a Zulu Impi supposed to be collected in the vicinity.

The mounted men of Lonsdale's Native Contingent were on outpost duty as scouts, and messages were constantly being received from them:-"The enemy are in force behind the hills to the left;""The enemy are in three columns; ""The columns are separating, one moving to the left rear and one towards the General.

Durnford now decided on quitting the camp with his mounted men, and endeavouring to prevent the column referred to from joining the Impi which it was imagined was at the time engaged with the troops under Lord Chelmsford. He sent two troops of the Mounted Natives on to the hills at the left, to ascertain more clearly the enemy's movements, and he himself with the remaining two troops, and Russell's rocket battery escorted by a Company of the Native Contingent, moved to the front. Having proceeded some distance he received a report that an immense Impi was behind the hills to his left, and almost immediately afterwards the