The Naval Brigade in South Africa During the Kafir and Zulu Wars 1877-79

Sailors and Assegais



During the long years of Queen Victoria's reign there was little or no opportunity for the Royal Navy to reprise the role it had played in the great days of the age of sail and Nelson. Britannia ruled the waves and the job of the Royal Navy was to police the seaways and give support to land based campaigns. However, the blue jackets did come ashore often in the company of their beloved guns as naval brigades and their actions in the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny and other conflicts are renowned-as are the names of the vessels associated with them, H.M.S. Pearl, H.M.S. Shannon and others. Written by one of their number, an officer and doctor, this book principally concerns the activities of the men of H.M.S. Active and their service in South Africa. In the 1870s the ongoing unrest that prevailed in the colony was a continuation of the warfare, that had prevailed for many years, with the so called kafir tribes. From their arrival in 1877 the men of the Active were involved in ongoing campaigns to protect colonists, but their principal challenge came in 1879 as war broke out between the British and the martial Zulu tribe under their king, Cetywayo. The slaughter at Isandlwhana quickly established that these were foes of a differently quality and this account features the siege of Ekowe in some detail. Accounts of sailors serving ashore are always fascinating and this one is no exception. It is, of course an essential addition to any library of the Zulu War.

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