St Crispin’s day has been
A bloody day in
history
Famous for being a
day
When battles were
fought
High in the cost of
life
Among these, in 1893
The Battle of Shangani
In the First Matabele War
When a British column
Was attacked by a large force
Of Matabele warriors.
The British repulsed them
With heavy loss of life
To the Matabele force.
The battle is best noted
For being the first battle
In which the Maxim gun
Was used to great effect
In the month of January
Of
the year eighteen seventy nine
Lord
Chelmsford,
The
General Officer Commanding the British forces
Without
the sanction of the British Government
By
crossing over the great Buffalo River
Invaded
KwaZulu,
In
Southern Africa
The
British entered the Sovereign Kingdom
In
response, the fiercely independent AmaZulu people
Mobilized
their armies against the invaders
Chelmsford,
ignoring intelligence received
Arrogantly
committed a fatal error and split his force
With
the result that on the 22nd of January
A
British force, seventeen hundred strong,
Was
attacked by King Cetshwayo’s Impi’s
At
a place called Isandhlwana
An
isolated hill in Zululand
The
British force encamped at the foot of the hill was attacked
By
an army of about 10,000 Zulus,
The
flower of Cetshwayo’s warriors
And
destroyed The British
Who
were quickly overwhelmed and routed
In the mayhem the camp was lost
The British tried to hold together
But any kind of discipline among the British and
colonial ranks
Was lost along with the camp
As the remnants retreated before the superior force
Lieutenant’s Melvill and Coghill
Tried in vain to save the queens color
But when there horses were shot from under them
They were hacked to death by their pursuers
The
few hundred who survived the battle
Had
to fight a running battle with the Zulu
Skirmishing
for there lives with blood thirsty warriors
Who
did not take prisoners
During
the retreat Private Samuel Wassall,
Of
the eightieth regiment
Stopped
to save a drowning soldier from the Buffalo River
He
dismounted his horse and left it on the Zulu side
And
swam out to rescue his comrade
Dragging
him to safety under a hail of gunfire
Thirteen
hundred soldiers died
Both
British and natal native contingent
Their
corpses all mutilated by the victors
In
the aftermath of their great victory
It
was the heaviest defeat ever inflicted
By
a native force on an organized army
Encouraged
by the momentous events at Isandhlwana
Cetshwayo’s
brother, Dabulamanzi took his impi
The
four and a half thousand strong undi corps
Intending
to cross the buffalo river
And
take his warriors into natal
But
first he wanted to crush the meager British force
That
remained at the small supply post
Eight
miles North West of Isandhlwana
Close
to the buffalo river crossing
The
post was known to the British as Rorke's Drift,
Which
the AmaZulu called KwaJimu
The
post had formally been a trading store and a mission station
This
consisted of a house and a chapel
And
some dilapidated out buildings
The
house was being used as a field hospital
While
the chapel was the quartermasters store
Not
much of a target
Of
such little value
Not
much of a prize for the Zulu
Of
no strategic value
Not
much honor to be had
In
crushing such a small force
Not
much of a victory to be had
Outnumbering
the British forty to one
Hardly
a fair fight
Not
much worthy of defending by the British
Why
did they stand?
Not
much of a command
Some
one hundred and fifty men
Though
only 104 men were fit enough to fight
The
men at Rorke’s drift had been warned
By
retreating survivors of Isandhlwana
That
the Zulu were coming
But
they stayed anyway
Only
one survivor of the defeat at Isandhlwana
Stayed
to help defend
Rorke’s drift
A Lieutenant James Adendorff of the NNC
Left
in overall command of the post
Was
Lieutenant Chard of the Royal Engineers
And,
commanding a company-strength
Was
Lieutenant Bromhead of the 24th Regiment of foot
But
it was a volunteer, acting assistant commissary
James
Dalton, a former Staff Sergeant,
With
some twenty two years military experience
Who
took control of the defenses
He
ordered the construction of barricades
Connecting
the two buildings with sacks of corn,
And
an inner barricade with biscuit boxes
And
determined the position of a redoubt
Where
they would make their final stand
Dalton
kept the men well occupied
Giving
them little time to dwell on the situation
Or
contemplate the impending assault
They
heard the approaching Impi’s
Long
before they could see them
The
sound was like that of distant thunder in the hills
Drawing
ever close and louder
Then
a brief silence, very brief
When
the fearsome Zulus finally attacked,
Wielding
their short stabbing assegais,
They
were unable to reach the soldiers
Who
from behind the barricades blasted the Zulu warriors
With
rifle fire at point blank range
Undaunted
the Zulu kept coming
Wave
upon wave, Charge upon charge
Eventually
by sheer weight of numbers
They
began swarming up the barricades
But
Most of those who did mount the breastwork
Were
repulsed by the bayonets of the defenders
Many
of the Zulus were armed with rifles,
Some
Taken from the dead at Isandhlwana
But
many were obtained from Boer traders
Although
they were older than the army issue Henri-Martini
Rifles
they were
And
a bullet from an old weapon kills just as efficiently
As
from a new one
They
took advantage of the high ground
And
were able to pin down the gallant defenders
Again
Wave upon wave of warriors charged the defenses
And
again and again they were repulsed
Then
After numerous unsuccessful attacks
And
with many Zulu dead the attackers withdrew
But
only to regroup and not for long
There
was barely time to repair the walls
And
take a much needed drink when they came again
Each
attack varied slightly concentrating on different points
Probing
for weaknesses
But
again the redcoats held firm
By
late afternoon they turned there full attention on the hospital
Where
with four other men the Privates, Robert and William Jones,
Defended
with valor the hospital door at bayonet point
Unable
to break though the redoubtable Privates defense
The
attackers set fire to the hospital’s roof,
And
broke in through the burning thatch
The
savage warriors began to spear the patients,
Mercilessly
killing the sick and the lame
A
private named Alfred Hook,
A
Gloucestershire man,
Kept
them at bay with his bayonet while his comrade
Private
John Williams hacked holes in the wall
That
separated one room from another
Then
he dragged the patients through one by one
Once
they had made there escape to the adjoining room
Hook
continued to fight off the Zulu’s
As
the patients were bundled out the window
The
last man had dislocated his knee.
Williams
had to break the other one
To
get him through the window
Before
the burning roof finally fell in
Once
through the window and into the yard
The
barricades offered them some protection.
The
Fighting went on all night in the fitful glare
From
the blazing hospital
As
the Zulus made charge after charge on the barricades.
Both
sides fought with desperate courage.
A
patient from the hospital,
A
Swiss born adventurer Christian Schiess,
A
corporal of the Natal Native Contingent
Stabbed
three Zulus in quick succession after clambering over the breastwork
In
the yard Surgeon General Reynolds
Tended
to the wounded, seemingly oblivious
To
the life and death struggle going on all around him
Those
too badly hurt to shoot propped themselves up
And
reloaded the guns for those who were still on their feet.
Private
hitch and Corporal Allan although wounded
Dragged
ammunition around to the men on the barricades
In
between engagements work continued rebuilding barricades
And
constructing the redoubt, for the final stand
When
the time came to form up on the redoubt
Each
row fired there volley in turn
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Then
each in there turns fired another volley
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Then
another and another
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Volley
after deafening volley
Until
the Zulu stopped coming
When
the last echo faded all around were Zulu dead
Heaped
upon each other
When
dawn came at last, the Zulus withdrew
Taking
their wounded with them and leaving the dead where they fell
Around
the barricades
Not
because they could not crush the meager British resistance
The
defenders were desperately short of ammunition
And
exhausted from the long battle
They
could not have held out much longer
Despite
the heroic stand against overwhelming opposition
It
was Lord Chelmsford’s arrival on the scene
With
a fresh column of British Soldiers
That
finally tipped the balance
In
the aftermath of that January day
A
terrible revenge was exacted against the Zulu nation
Chelmsford
on the Mahlabatini plains
Comprehensively
defeated Cetywayo’s
Twenty thousand strong Impi’s
Then after the battle Ulundi Cetywayo’s royal kraal was burned
The
Zulu have never again been one nation
However
for the defenders of the drift
The
highest honors where bestowed
Gunner John Cantwell
Private William Roy
Colour-sergeant frank Bourne
Second corporal Francis Attwood
And Private Michael McMahon
All
received Distinguished Conduct Medal’s
While
Victoria crosses were awarded to
Lieutenant, John Rouse Merriott Chard
Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
Acting assistant commissary James Langley Dalton
Corporal William Wilson Allen
Private Frederick Hitch
Private Alfred Henry hook
Private Robert Jones
Private William Jones
Surgeon General James Henry Reynolds
Corporal Ferdnand Christian Schiess
Private John Williams,
In
addition for his gallantry at Isandhlwana
A
VC for Private Samuel Wassall
For
selflessly putting his life at risk to save a fallen comrade
At
the time posthumous medals where not given
So
it wasn’t until 1907
When
for attempting to save the queens color
From the field at Isandhlwana
Lieutenant Teignmouth Melvill
And Lieutenant Neville Josiah Aylmer Coghill
Were
finally honored for their courageous act
When
they were awarded the Victoria Cross
For
valor
In
these changing days
It
not PC to have military heroes
You
will be told of Rorke’s drift
How
the honors were not earned
You
will hear things belittling the efforts of the defenders
The
medals were awarded only to save face
To
put a positive spin on the days events
Don’t
listen to them
Don’t
let them blacken the memories of our heroes
They
could have abandoned the post,
They
chose to stand
They
could have fled to natal
They
chose to stay
A
courageous act by courageous men
Remember
them with pride
Slavery was born of Empire
But
not a European one
Slavery
existed for centuries
In
fact thousands of years
Way
before Europe rose to the fore
Even
the Romans came late to the party
Following
in Greece’s footsteps
Peoples
were enslaved
From
around the globe
Where
there were trade routes
There
was slaving
Arabs
traded slaves bought
From
African tribesmen
Muslims
enslaved slavs
Turks
enslaved Ukrainians
Mongols
reached into the heart of Europe
And
took slaves by the thousand
White
Europeans became involved
Black
enslaved black
White
has enslaved white
I
don’t know if it will ever end
I
certainly hope so
But
what I do know is
That
the British didn’t invent it
In
the month of January
Of
the year eighteen seventy-nine
Lord
Chelmsford,
The
General Officer Commanding the British forces
Without
the sanction of the British Government
By
crossing over the great Buffalo River
Invaded
KwaZulu,
In
Southern Africa
The
British entered the Sovereign Kingdom
In
response, the fiercely independent AmaZulu people
Mobilized
their armies against the invaders
Chelmsford,
ignoring intelligence received
Arrogantly
committed a fatal error and split his force
With
the result that on the 22nd of January
A
British force, seventeen hundred strong,
Was
attacked by King Cetshwayo’s Impi’s
At
a place called Isandlwana
An
isolated hill in Zululand
The
British force encamped at the foot of the hill was attacked
By
an army of about 10,000 Zulus,
The
flower of Cetshwayo’s warriors
And
destroyed The British
Who
were quickly overwhelmed and routed
In the mayhem the camp was lost
The British tried to hold together
But any kind of discipline among the British and
colonial ranks
Was lost along with the camp
As the remnants retreated before the superior force
Lieutenant’s Melvill and Coghill
Tried in vain to save the Queen’s color
But when their horses were shot from under them
They were hacked to death by their pursuers
The
few hundred who survived the battle
Had
to fight a running battle with the Zulu
Skirmishing
for their lives with blood thirsty warriors
Who
did not take prisoners
During
the retreat Private Samuel Wassall,
Of
the eightieth regiment
Stopped
to save a drowning soldier from the Buffalo River
He
dismounted his horse and left it on the Zulu side
And
swam out to rescue his comrade
Dragging
him to safety under a hail of gunfire
Thirteen
hundred soldiers died
Both
British and natal native contingent
Their
corpses all mutilated by the victors
In
the aftermath of their great victory
It
was the heaviest defeat ever inflicted
By
a native force on an organized army
Encouraged
by the momentous events at Isandlwana
Cetshwayo’s
brother, Dabulamanzi took his impi
The
four and a half thousand strong Undi corps
Intending
to cross the buffalo river
And
take his warriors into natal
But
first he wanted to crush the meager British force
That
remained at the small supply post
Eight
miles North West of Isandlwana
Close
to the buffalo river crossing
The
post was known to the British as Rorke's Drift,
Which
the AmaZulu called KwaJimu
The
post had formally been a trading store and a mission station
This
consisted of a house and a chapel
And
some dilapidated out buildings
The
house was being used as a field hospital
While
the chapel was the quartermaster’s store
Not
much of a target
Of
such little value
Not
much of a prize for the Zulu
Of
no strategic value
Not
much honor to be had
In
crushing such a small force
Not
much of a victory to be had
Outnumbering
the British forty to one
Hardly
a fair fight
Not
much worthy of defending by the British
Why
did they stand?
Not
much of a command
Some
one hundred and fifty men
Though
only 104 men were fit enough to fight
The
men at Rorke’s drift had been warned
By
retreating survivors of Isandhlwana
That
the Zulu were coming
But
they stayed anyway
Only
one survivor of the defeat at Isandhlwana
Stayed
to help defend
Rorke’s drift
A Lieutenant James Adendorff of the NNC
Left
in overall command of the post
Was
Lieutenant Chard of the Royal Engineers
And,
commanding a company-strength
Was
Lieutenant Bromhead of the 24th Regiment of foot
But
it was a volunteer, acting assistant commissary
James
Dalton, a former Staff Sergeant,
With
some twenty-two years military experience
Who
took control of the defenses
He
ordered the construction of barricades
Connecting
the two buildings with sacks of corn,
And
an inner barricade with biscuit boxes
And
determined the position of a redoubt
Where
they would make their final stand
Dalton
kept the men well occupied
Giving
them little time to dwell on the situation
Or
contemplate the impending assault
They
heard the approaching Impi’s
Long
before they could see them
The
sound was like that of distant thunder in the hills
Drawing
ever close and louder
Then
a brief silence, very brief
When
the fearsome Zulus finally attacked,
Wielding
their short stabbing assegais,
They
were unable to reach the soldiers
Who
from behind the barricades blasted the Zulu warriors
With
rifle fire at point blank range
Undaunted
the Zulu kept coming
Wave
upon wave, Charge upon charge
Eventually
by sheer weight of numbers
They
began swarming up the barricades
But
Most of those who did mount the breastwork
Were
repulsed by the bayonets of the defenders
Many
of the Zulus were armed with rifles,
Some
Taken from the dead at Isandhlwana
But
many were obtained from Boer traders
Although
they were older than the army issue Henri-Martini
Rifles
they were
And
a bullet from an old weapon kills just as efficiently
As
from a new one
They
took advantage of the high ground
And
were able to pin down the gallant defenders
Again,
Wave upon wave of warriors charged the defenses
And
again, and again they were repulsed
Then
After numerous unsuccessful attacks
And
with many Zulu dead the attackers withdrew
But
only to regroup and not for long
There
was barely time to repair the walls
And
take a much-needed drink when they came again
Each
attack varied slightly concentrating on different points
Probing
for weaknesses
But
again, the redcoats held firm
By
late afternoon they turned their full attention on the hospital
Where
with four other men the Privates, Robert, and William Jones,
Defended
with valor the hospital door at bayonet point
Unable
to break though the redoubtable Privates defense
The
attackers set fire to the hospital’s roof,
And
broke in through the burning thatch
The
savage warriors began to spear the patients,
Mercilessly
killing the sick and the lame
A
private named Alfred Hook,
A
Gloucestershire man,
Kept
them at bay with his bayonet while his comrade
Private
John Williams hacked holes in the wall
That
separated one room from another
Then
he dragged the patients through one by one
Once
they had made their escape to the adjoining room
Hook
continued to fight off the Zulu’s
As
the patients were bundled out the window
The
last man had dislocated his knee.
Williams
had to break the other one
To
get him through the window
Before
the burning roof finally fell in
Once
through the window and into the yard
The
barricades offered them some protection.
The
Fighting went on all night in the fitful glare
From
the blazing hospital
As
the Zulus made charge after charge on the barricades.
Both
sides fought with desperate courage.
A
patient from the hospital,
A
Swiss born adventurer Christian Schiess,
A
corporal of the Natal Native Contingent
Stabbed
three Zulus in quick succession after clambering over the breastwork
In
the yard Surgeon General Reynolds
Tended
to the wounded, seemingly oblivious
To
the life and death struggle going on all around him
Those
too badly hurt to shoot propped themselves up
And
reloaded the guns for those who were still on their feet.
Private
hitch and Corporal Allan although wounded
Dragged
ammunition around to the men on the barricades
In
between engagements work continued rebuilding barricades
And
constructing the redoubt, for the final stand
When
the time came to form up on the redoubt
Each
row fired their volley in turn
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Then
each in there turns fired another volley
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Then
another and another
Then
reload and await the command to fire
Volley
after deafening volley
Until
the Zulu stopped coming
When
the last echo faded all around were Zulu dead
Heaped
upon each other
When
dawn came at last, the Zulus withdrew
Taking
their wounded with them and leaving the dead where they fell
Around
the barricades
Not
because they could not crush the meager British resistance
The
defenders were desperately short of ammunition
And
exhausted from the long battle
They
could not have held out much longer
Despite
the heroic stand against overwhelming opposition
It
was Lord Chelmsford’s arrival on the scene
With
a fresh column of British Soldiers
That
finally tipped the balance
In
the aftermath of that January day
A
terrible revenge was exacted against the Zulu nation
Chelmsford
on the Mahlabatini plains
Comprehensively
defeated Cetywayo’s
Twenty thousand strong Impi’s
Then after the battle Ulundi Cetywayo’s royal kraal was burned
The
Zulu have never again been one nation
However,
for the defenders of the drift
The
highest honors where bestowed
Gunner John Cantwell
Private William Roy
Colour-sergeant frank Bourne
Second corporal Francis Attwood
And Private Michael McMahon
All
received Distinguished Conduct Medal’s
While
Victoria crosses were awarded to
Lieutenant, John Rouse Merriott Chard
Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
Acting assistant commissary James Langley Dalton
Corporal William Wilson Allen
Private Frederick Hitch
Private Alfred Henry hook
Private Robert Jones
Private William Jones
Surgeon General James Henry Reynolds
Corporal Ferdnand Christian Schiess
Private John Williams,
In
addition, for his gallantry at Isandhlwana
A
VC for Private Samuel Wassall
For
selflessly putting his life at risk to save a fallen comrade
At
the time posthumous medals were not given
So,
it wasn’t until 1907
When
for attempting to save the Queens color
From the field at Isandhlwana
Lieutenant Teignmouth Melvill
And Lieutenant Neville Josiah Aylmer Coghill
Were
finally honored for their courageous act
When
they were awarded the Victoria Cross
For
valor
In
these changing days
It
not PC to have military heroes
You
will be told of Rorke’s drift
How
the honors were not earned
You
will hear things belittling the efforts of the defenders
The
medals were awarded only to save face
To
put a positive spin on the day’s events
Don’t
listen to them
Don’t
let them blacken the memories of our heroes
They
could have abandoned the post,
They
chose to stand
They
could have fled to natal
They
chose to stay
A
courageous act by courageous men
Remember
them with pride
Frederick Hitch was born a shoemaker’s son
In Southgate, a hamlet to the north of London
It was eighteen fifty-six on a November day
Born to a large Victorian family as was the way
Fred didn’t wish to follow in his father’s trade
So as a builder’s laborer his way was made
But when he was barely twenty years of age
He was finding it tough to earn a decent wage
So, to petty crime as extra income he sought
But he soon found himself up before the court
To the judge he pleaded guilty for his crime
His sentence joins the army or serve prison time
A Victorian prison was the harshest punishment
So as Hobson’s choice he chose to join a regiment
Two days later private Frederick Hitch was put
In the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot
Very soon they were on their way to South Africa
And they all set sail on the Troopship Himalaya
Reaching Simon's Bay and East London town
They were sent on trains to King William's Town
This was known locally as "White Man's Grave".
The regiment marched from here for several days
To find the Galekas and the rebellion crush
Soon they skirmished in the dense Petrie Brush
There were further battles on that day before
Chief Sandili was defeated in the last, Kaffir War.
For several months stationed at Mount Kempt
There were few things, for a young man to temp
It was a tough way of life to earn a penny a day
But Fred still sent some home to mother anyway
By this time the Zulu nation had reached its peak
No other African tribes had any strength to speak
Only the “red soldiers” could ever be a threat
And soon the 24th foot would their orders get
Lord Chelmsford led the army to the other side
To wage a war across the buffalo river wide
Defeat at Isandlwana and Chelmsford’s shame
Then too Rorkes Drift the victorious Zulu’s came
At the drift a hospital and Swedish mission stood
To be defended by only a few if they could
Less than one hundred and fifty made the stand
To fight the Zulu impi of more than four thousand
Young private Frederick Hitch was one such man
Who with his comrades stood fast and never ran
Fred was ordered to the roof to act as a lookout
Firing the first three shots at the enemy without
During the fray comrade’s fell to left and right
As wave upon wave of warriors came to fight
Private hitch was shot through his shoulder blade
And a comrade helped him as his dressing made
Doing his best to help his soldier brothers
He then began serving ammunition to the others
Then exhaustion washed over him like a flood
And finally, he collapsed from loss of blood
He awoke confused finding himself in a stable
With victory won and awaiting the surgeon table
After Durban hospital care neath the southern star,
He was finally sent home aboard the ship Tamar
He was at Netley Hospital on his return to England
His Victoria Cross was given by Victoria’s own hand
But yesterdays hero was tomorrows unemployed
A medical boards decision Fred could not avoid
Unfit for duty and discharged from his regiment
With his medal and a pension, he had to be content
In July of eighteen eighty-one he married Emily
They move to Portchester Square to raise a family
Working at the Imperial Institute as Commissionaire
His V.C. was stolen while his tunic hung on a chair
After twenty years and just as many occupations
Fred with his family growing changed vocations
He invested in a hackney carriage and horse
Then a little later he owned a motor car of course
Fred finally received his replacement Victoria Cross
Three pounds, seven shillings and sixpence the cost
Only the second person ever to receive a duplicate
But the first to be charged a fee even to this date
On January 5th 1913 Fred Hitch died in his sleep
Leaving behind eight children and a wife to weep
At his funeral his coffin on gun carriage borne
With dignity and reverence the people mourn
Thousands came despite the cold and the biting rain
To say goodbye to the hero and remember him again
The gun carriage was flanked by Army outriders
Fred's cab came next manually pulled by taxi drivers
A boy scouts’ troop and the Chiswick firefighters
And a firing party from the South Wales Borderers
Two thousand cab drivers bringing up the rear
Respects and Tributes to pay from far and near
A memorial was erected to mark Fred’s Grave
At Chiswick cemetery befitting a soldier brave
On top of granite block some seven-foot in height
The Union Jack carved with a sun helmet in site
The helmet bears the badge of Hitch's old regiment
Finally, in bronze the cross and palm leaf represent
After more than eighty-five years of standing sentinel
The magnificent monument fell victim to a criminal
The memorial found vandalized when visitors went
Even the sun helmet stolen that adorned the monument
Also, years had left stonework lackluster on the edifice
And the once bright bronze work tainted by verdigris
Thanks to Chiswick Council and the British Legion
The monument restored and fit for rededication
In Nineteen ninety-nine on Rorkes Drifts day of glory
The gathered crowd remembers the Fred Hitch story
