Rorke's Drift is situated 46 km southeast of Dundee and is the site of amongst the most notable struggles of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. The scenery near to Rorke's Drift is unspoilt and serene. Irishman James Rorke originally established a trading place nearly 1 mile from the drift (crossing point) on the Buffalo River and had been identified by the Zulus as KwaJimu (Jim's place). Later on, a mission station was set up by the Reverend Otto Witt from the Swedish Missionary Society. He built a little church, mission house and cattle kraal at the foot of a rugged hill that he gave the name Oskarberg.
Lord Chelmsford, had 'taken control of' Rorke's Drift just before his traversing of the Buffalo River. He employed the house as an infirmary and the chapel for a storage facility. Throughout the combat it was utilised as a medical facility. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift followed the British Army's loss at the Battle of Isandlwana earlier on the morning of 22nd January 1879. The awesome Zulu attack on Rorke's Drift came tremendously near to defeating the tiny garrison, and the British defiance is regarded as one of history's most admired defences. The 11 Victoria Crosses given for valour at Rorke's Drift remain more than for any other military action of all time.
The moment Lord Chelmsford, the commander-in-chief of the British military in Natal, moved into Zululand on 11th January 1879, he set up camp on the other side of the Buffalo river, 16km to the east, under the mountain peak at Isandhlwana. Three columns invaded Zululand, from the Lower Tugela, Rorke's Drift and Utrecht respectively, their main objective being Ulundi, the Royal capital of the Zulus. On 9th January 1879 the central column under Lord Chelmsford arrived and made camp at Rorke's Drift.
At day break on 22nd January 1879, the main Zulu impi launched an attack on the British camp at Isandlwana. Lord Chelmsford had taken part of his soldiers off in a different course in the hunt for the Zulu impi. Hopelessly outnumbered, the British and indigenous forces were wiped out by the Zulus and only close to fifty men get away with their lives. The rest of the thousand strong force were killed. Later on that day, over four thousand zulus commanded by Dabulamanzi attacked a modest garrison of the 24th Regiment at Rorke's Drift. These Zulus had missed out on the fighting at Isandlwana and needed to prove themselves in battle. King Cetshwayo had clearly instructed his warriors not to cross the Buffalo River which acted as the border amongst Natal and Zululand. Regardless of this order, the Zulus took the weapons off the bodies of the dead soldiers and made for Rorke's Drift. It was manned by 97 fit soldiers, housed 36 wounded, 14 valuable natives, five officers and 2 lieutenants, one of which was fresh to the region. The Battle of Isandlwana was perhaps the most humiliating defeat in British colonial heritage and just hours later that day, at Rorke's Drift, 139 British troopers defended their position against an intensive assault by over 4,000 warriors.
What is usually disregarded is that the Battle at Rorke's Drift could have resulted in an identical terrible way as Isandlawana, except for just one essential factor: Rorke's Drift was a depot, which means the British soldiers who fought there were able to count on a near limitless source of ammo. It's believed that between 20,000 and 25,000 rounds were fired during the defence of Rorke's Drift, the overwhelming majority of the rounds having missed their targets altogether so that, conservatively speaking, every 25th round fired by the defenders at Rorke's Drift led to an ultimate Zulu death, and each and every 50th round was a kill shot. The British knew the Zulus were coming nevertheless they decided to stand and fight. Wounded men would certainly had to have been placed onto wagons and Zulu warriors would quickly have found them in the open. Instead, they decided to fight on ground of their choosing.
On top of having numbers that crushed a force five times that size hours earlier, the Zulu warriors now had the Martini-Henry rifles captured from the British dead, offering them an even greater advantage over the British.
Henry Hook and five other privates were ordered on the afternoon of 22nd January to defend nearly thirty patients not able to be transferred away from the temporary hospital at Rorke's Drift station. Lines of defence were constructed between the 2 complexes and the infirmary and the store room. Inside this border, an additional line of defence was built connecting the 2 complexes and this proved vital in the battle. The Zulus attacked the infirmary setting fire to the roof. Hook and others battled for several hours, actually hacking through walls and finally getting most out of the hospital and over to the inner defences near the store. Wave after wave of Zulu warriors armed with spears and rifles crashed against the makeshift lines of defence at Rorke's Drift. The conflicts continued all night and in the morning the British defences still held out and the Zulu warriors in the end withdrew.
Following witnessing the carnage of Isandlwana, Chelmsford believed that Rorke's Drift had fallen and it was only the sound of cheering from the mission station convinced him otherwise. eleven VC's were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne was among five men to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the rare honour of a commission. Of course, his army pay was his only source of income had he believed he could not financially afford to become an officer so turned down the commission. Fittingly, he was the last survivor of Rorke's Drift to pass away on 8th May 1945 and VE Day. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Edward Bourne OBE, DCM was 91 years old.
Lord Chelmsford, had 'taken control of' Rorke's Drift just before his traversing of the Buffalo River. He employed the house as an infirmary and the chapel for a storage facility. Throughout the combat it was utilised as a medical facility. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift followed the British Army's loss at the Battle of Isandlwana earlier on the morning of 22nd January 1879. The awesome Zulu attack on Rorke's Drift came tremendously near to defeating the tiny garrison, and the British defiance is regarded as one of history's most admired defences. The 11 Victoria Crosses given for valour at Rorke's Drift remain more than for any other military action of all time.
The moment Lord Chelmsford, the commander-in-chief of the British military in Natal, moved into Zululand on 11th January 1879, he set up camp on the other side of the Buffalo river, 16km to the east, under the mountain peak at Isandhlwana. Three columns invaded Zululand, from the Lower Tugela, Rorke's Drift and Utrecht respectively, their main objective being Ulundi, the Royal capital of the Zulus. On 9th January 1879 the central column under Lord Chelmsford arrived and made camp at Rorke's Drift.
At day break on 22nd January 1879, the main Zulu impi launched an attack on the British camp at Isandlwana. Lord Chelmsford had taken part of his soldiers off in a different course in the hunt for the Zulu impi. Hopelessly outnumbered, the British and indigenous forces were wiped out by the Zulus and only close to fifty men get away with their lives. The rest of the thousand strong force were killed. Later on that day, over four thousand zulus commanded by Dabulamanzi attacked a modest garrison of the 24th Regiment at Rorke's Drift. These Zulus had missed out on the fighting at Isandlwana and needed to prove themselves in battle. King Cetshwayo had clearly instructed his warriors not to cross the Buffalo River which acted as the border amongst Natal and Zululand. Regardless of this order, the Zulus took the weapons off the bodies of the dead soldiers and made for Rorke's Drift. It was manned by 97 fit soldiers, housed 36 wounded, 14 valuable natives, five officers and 2 lieutenants, one of which was fresh to the region. The Battle of Isandlwana was perhaps the most humiliating defeat in British colonial heritage and just hours later that day, at Rorke's Drift, 139 British troopers defended their position against an intensive assault by over 4,000 warriors.
What is usually disregarded is that the Battle at Rorke's Drift could have resulted in an identical terrible way as Isandlawana, except for just one essential factor: Rorke's Drift was a depot, which means the British soldiers who fought there were able to count on a near limitless source of ammo. It's believed that between 20,000 and 25,000 rounds were fired during the defence of Rorke's Drift, the overwhelming majority of the rounds having missed their targets altogether so that, conservatively speaking, every 25th round fired by the defenders at Rorke's Drift led to an ultimate Zulu death, and each and every 50th round was a kill shot. The British knew the Zulus were coming nevertheless they decided to stand and fight. Wounded men would certainly had to have been placed onto wagons and Zulu warriors would quickly have found them in the open. Instead, they decided to fight on ground of their choosing.
On top of having numbers that crushed a force five times that size hours earlier, the Zulu warriors now had the Martini-Henry rifles captured from the British dead, offering them an even greater advantage over the British.
Henry Hook and five other privates were ordered on the afternoon of 22nd January to defend nearly thirty patients not able to be transferred away from the temporary hospital at Rorke's Drift station. Lines of defence were constructed between the 2 complexes and the infirmary and the store room. Inside this border, an additional line of defence was built connecting the 2 complexes and this proved vital in the battle. The Zulus attacked the infirmary setting fire to the roof. Hook and others battled for several hours, actually hacking through walls and finally getting most out of the hospital and over to the inner defences near the store. Wave after wave of Zulu warriors armed with spears and rifles crashed against the makeshift lines of defence at Rorke's Drift. The conflicts continued all night and in the morning the British defences still held out and the Zulu warriors in the end withdrew.
Following witnessing the carnage of Isandlwana, Chelmsford believed that Rorke's Drift had fallen and it was only the sound of cheering from the mission station convinced him otherwise. eleven VC's were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne was among five men to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the rare honour of a commission. Of course, his army pay was his only source of income had he believed he could not financially afford to become an officer so turned down the commission. Fittingly, he was the last survivor of Rorke's Drift to pass away on 8th May 1945 and VE Day. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Edward Bourne OBE, DCM was 91 years old.
About the Author:
The action at Rorkes Drift is one of the more well known in British army history and is just part of a fascinating story.. Unique version for reprint here: The Brave Defence of The Mission Station at Rorke's Drift.