Private John Duffy, a soldier of the
57th Regiment of Foot in
Queen Victoria’s British Army: my great-great-great Grandad.
Born in Dublin, Ireland; Duffy followed the thousands of his
fellow countrymen and joined the British Army. Many of these soldiers joined not out of
pride or honour to wear the red tunic, but for the steady money they were paid
which could fund their families up keep back home.
The British, unlike today were the dominating power; holding
footholds across the globe – from India, Australia, Afghanistan, the
Mediterranean , Central Africa, North Africa and of course South Africa. In
order to control these countries a large military was needed and in that period
the British military was one of the most modern and most capable.
The sheer vastness of area to govern meant flashes of conflict
could spark up without little warning. The Anglo-Zulu war was in full swing in
the 1870’s, however it was not seen as a major conflict as it lasted only one
year and more pressing matters for the government and monarchy back home was the
second Anglo-Afghan war.
The scale of the conflict in troop numbers resulted in an excess
of 30,000 troops at one stage; these numbers consisted of British regulars,
Natal native contingent (Africans recruited from tribes – many had experience of
fighting against the Zulus). The British were to come up against some 35,000 Zulu warriors.
The awful massacre of 1300 British troops out of the original
1700 of the two whole columns at the infamous Battle of Isandlwana shocked the
commanders of the Army, subsequently they called for more to troops to be
stationed in South Africa to take down the threat of the Zulu to their
expansionist campaign and imperialism across the African nations to the
south. One of the soldiers in the regiments of men brought in happened to be my ancestor; Private Duffy.
John Duffy’s service with the 57th In South Africa meant he was to see
action at the Battle of Gingindlovu. His regiment formed the relief force sent
to break the Siege of Eshowe. The battle took place on April 2nd 1879. The commander, Lord Chelmsford
positioned his men on a ridge and ordered them to laager (dig in, in a tight
formation with their wagons and trenches for protection) for the night. When
morning came the weather had halted any attempts to manoeuvre troops as it was
impossible to move the wagons from the mud and tough ground.
Native Natal troops were sent to draw the Zulu impi
into attack while the British had the best ground.
The Zulus whose strength was measured at 11,000 against a British
force of 5,000 personnel. The impi attacked in their well-known and predictable
bull horn formation. The first horn of the attack was seen off into the long grass from a hail of Gatling gun
bullets. They re-appeared, and so did the centre chest and right horn of impi;
who made their full scale attack on the well dug in British contingent. The
charging buffalo all came in at a running speed to try and evade the modern
Martini Henry rifles and galting gun untl they could come into range of the camp
and try to break through the British lines and use their well-honed hand to hand
fighting skills that their spears allowed for, their cowhide shields were no
match for rifling rounds however could protect the zulu warrior from a British
bayonet.
The laager’s defences were holding strong and despite the
courageous attempts from the Zulu in their persistent drives to get within
stabbing range. The battle was over in merely 20 minutes. The mounted troops were
ordered to pursue the fleeing Zulus. The grim and haunting task of killing the
wounded Zulu was undertaken – marking the end of the battle and a victory for
the British. The Zulu lost 1000 men with only 11 soldiers killed on the British
side. The differences in fatalities showed what an effect modern firepower and
well planned defences could have against an old fashioned and ill equipped army
of Zulus.
It begs the question; I wonder whether my ancestor felt pity for
the men he was fighting against, after such courage was shown by them to run
towards an inevitable end. Their fate coming during the heat of battle or for
some Zulu warriors as they lay wounded on the ground after the fighting had
ceased. Conflict in the region would only last a year after the renewed efforts
to disband the nation of the Zulus. Yet the problems in South Africa would strike up again 20 years later in
the second Boer war against the Dutch settlers, a bloodier and fiercer match for
the British. A war my great-great Grandad, Henry Fowler saw action in at tender
age of 15, when he signed up as a Drummer boy.