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2. Mobilization – The First Regiment, Pioneers and Mounted Troops
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Chapter 2 MOBILIZATION – THE FIRST REGIMENT, PIONEERS AND MOUNTED TROOPS The call-up and organization of the Contingent The High Commissioner was determined to remove the threat of the war-like Zulu in order to secure a confederation of settler colonies under the aegis of Britain. Disputes and incidents served to produce a crisis. By the late spring of 1878 the prospect of war was very real. In early November the Lieutenant General got from the Supreme Chief the authority to raise the Natal Native Contingent on a regimental basis.1 The Contingent was planned in detail, called into service, and prepared for battle within the next two months. It had a vital role to play as scouts and skirmishers when the imperial columns invaded the Zulu country. General Orders giving the regulations for the Native Contingent were issued on November 23rd. Further orders, on November 28th, designated three regiments of infantry and their commanders.2 The Lieutenant General wrote to the Secretary of State for War that when the contingent was mobilized he would be ready to invade Zululand.3 Colonel Durnford superintended the arrangements for raising and organizing the contingent. An officer from Britain with staff experience was specially assigned to help him.4 Placards were put up5 and notices were placed in the newspapers,6 inviting colonists to apply to be officers and noncommissioned officers. The Lieutenant General would select and the Lieutenant Governor and High Commissioner would approve the candidates.7 Equipping the contingent stimulated the economy of Pietermaritzburg. Several businesses worked round the clock, with extra help, to fulfil contracts for belts, cartridge boxes and other items. One firm had a large order for harnesses and belts, another for water tins and powder flasks, yet another for tents – for the officers, not the men.8 On December 11th the High Commissioner’s ultimatum to the Zulu King was delivered. Rejection was expected, war would follow in due course; however, the Zulu King was given until the end of the month to make a definite reply and until January 10th to comply with its terms.9 The climate of war descended upon Natal. British troops arrived and took position on the various lines of advance.10 Delays with tents held up mobilization of the contingent, then delays getting officers and noncommissioned officers,11 but finally the preparations were complete. The first General Orders calling the Native Contingent into service were issued on December 11th.12 The government estimated there were 64 794 able bodied men suitable for military service in the Colony.13 Of these only 7550 were to form the Natal Native Contingent – 7000 infantry, 250 cavalry, 300 pioneers.14 The Supreme Chief gave them to the Lieutenant General for service with the British army. Thus they entered the imperial service and left the service of the Colony. They would be paid and paid for by the British government. They would serve for as long as it required.15 Would the chiefs respond positively? Would the men come forward willingly? There was some doubt. The government did not want any coercion, yet there were reports of it in the Lower Tugela and Umgeni divisions.16 As we have seen, the misgivings of the Europeans were unfounded. The chiefs were loyal and the men came forth willingly. A sharp distinction was made between the foot soldiers on the one hand and the mounted men and the pioneers on the other. The infantry man remained as naked as he came, except that he was to be issued a blanket – blue for 1st Battalion, grey for 2nd Battalion, green for 3rd Battalion, in each regiment. One man in every ten would be issued a muzzle-loading rifle.17 Some European settlers regarded firearms in natives’ hands as more dangerous to them than to the Zulu and the authorities doubted that many would know how to use them. They issued them largely to raise morale, for the enemy was known to have guns in quantity. One rifle for every tenth man did not seem dangerous.18 In addition to the firearms and spears there were tools – a hundred pick-axes, shovels, and cane knives for each Battalion, which also came to one-in-ten; and fifty hand axes and bill hooks, which in a desperate situation could be used as weapons. The Natal Native Contingent in the Anglo-Zulu War 1879 17 A twenty-two pound cooking pot was provided for every ten men, and the daily ration per...