The regiments entitled to bear this distinction on their colours and appointments are the
King's Dragoon Guards.
17th Lancers.
Buffs.
King's Own Lancasters.
Somerset Light Infantry.
Royal Scots Fusiliers.
South Wales Borderers.
Scottish Rifles.
South Staffords.
Northamptons.
Middlesex.
King's Own Royal Rifles.
Wiltshires.
Connaught Rangers.
Argyll Highlanders.
The campaign was undertaken with a view of punishing the Zulus, a powerful tribe bordering our Colony of Natal, for continual violations of our territory. The Zulus were undoubtedly the most powerful tribe in Southern Africa, and on more than one occasion they had defeated the Boers. We unfortunately entered on the campaign with our usual contempt for the forces opposed to us. The General in command was Major-General Lord Chelmsford, an officer who had considerable war experience, and who had held the highest staff appointments in India, both in war and in peace. He had served in the Crimea, first as a regimental officer in the Grenadier Guards, and subsequently on the staff. Exchanging into the 95th (Derbyshire Regiment), he served with that fine old corps in Central India, and in 1867 he was Adjutant-General to the Abyssinian Expeditionary Force.
The invasion of Zululand was to have been carried out by five columns, the Commander-in-Chief exercising a general supervision of the whole, but at the outset moving with the two centre columns.
No. 1 column was under the command of Colonel Pearson, of the Buffs, and consisted of the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs, the 99th (Wiltshires), a strong naval brigade, and some native levies. It numbered 4,750 men, with four guns.
No. 2 column was under the command of Colonel Durnford, of the Royal Engineers. It consisted entirely of native levies, commanded by British officers, and was 3,300 strong. Its commander had considerable colonial experience, and was generally looked upon as the best officer in South Africa for dealing with native questions.
No. 3 column was under the command of Colonel Glyn, of the 24th (South Wales Borderers). It consisted of both battalions of that unfortunate regiment, one of native levies, with six guns. Its strength was 4,700 men.
No. 4 column was under Colonel (better known as Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn) Wood, V.C., C.B., of the 90th (Scottish Rifles). He had with him the 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), his own corps, and native levies, including a regiment of Frontier Light Horse, under Colonel Redvers Buller, V.C., C.B. Its strength was 2,270 men, with six guns. In composition and leadership there is no doubt that this was the best organized of the five columns.
No. 5 column was under that exceptionally fine soldier Colonel Hugh Rowlands, V.C. It consisted of the 80th (South Staffords), with a number of native levies, bringing up its strength to 1,600 men, with three guns. The duty of this column was to watch the western frontiers of Zululand, and to keep a watch over another recalcitrant chieftain, Sekukuni, who had to be dealt with in the near future.
The army crossed the frontier in three columns—No. 1, under Pearson, following the easternmost road, near the sea, to Etshowe; Nos. 3 and 4, with the Commander-in-Chief, crossing the Tugela River at Rorke's Drift; whilst Sir Evelyn Wood took a more northerly course. On January 22 Lord Chelmsford, leaving Colonel Durnford at Isandhlwana, within the Zulu border, moved forward to reconnoitre. No means were taken to keep touch with Durnford's column, which was attacked by an overwhelming force of the enemy, and the whole force annihilated, the 24th losing no less than 25 officers and 591 non-commissioned officers and men. To the credit of the corps it must ever be remembered that not a man fell back; all died at their post. The colours were borne away at the distinct orders of the commanding officer by two young officers, Lieutenants Coghill and Melville, whose dead bodies were found some days after in the bed of the Tugela River, with the blood-stained standards lying safe beside them. A few hours later the Zulus followed up this success by a vigorous attack on the post at Rorke's Drift, on the Tugela River, held by one company of the 24th. Its commander, Lieutenant Bromhead, came of a famous fighting family, and he was associated with a sapper officer, Lieutenant Chard. The post was defended with unsurpassed heroism. After some hours the Zulus, unable to stand against the accurate shooting of the 24th, fell back, and so the communications with the Cape were maintained, and the Commander-in-Chief, who, although within hearing of the firing, was ignorant of the true state of affairs, was enabled to fall back and to reorganize his army.