ISANDHLWANA

 

In eighteen hundred and seventy-nine

The British marched in ordered line

A January morning on the eleventh day

Over the Buffalo River they made their way

The British force Lord Chelmsford led

As on Zulu land his troops did tread

The Zulu king sees this as an act of war

With broken word and broken law

Lord Chelmsford then his force divided

General Pulliene to make his camp decided

At Isandlwana the British camp was made

Pickets and defenses set against a Zulu raid

But after eleven days in the Zulu’s land

The British had to make their stand

The warriors then the camp surround

After exploiting any weakness found

The Zulu impi many thousands strong

Defeat the British in the ensuing throng

Over seventeen hundred souls are lost

As after the battle they count the cost

Also, countless numbers of Zulu’s dead

How many wives and children left unfed?

An organized army of foot and horse

Suffers the worst defeat by a native force