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Chapter 11 WAR IN THE THORNS Guardian of the Gates of Natal Of all the places in Natal perhaps the most beautiful is Umvoti County. Gentle downs, steep escarpment, and the rugged valley of the Thukela form a study in contrasts. The vistas from the escarpment into Zululand are among the sublime sights of southern Africa. Into this panorama, against the backdrop of staggered hills, looping river, and wild scenery, penetrated the forces of war. The warfare was largely confined to the low borderland, in the country called ‘The Thorns’. During the afternoon of Thursday, January 23rd, reports filtered across the border into Umvoti of the disaster which had befallen the British invading column in the Zulu country. Captain Barton, Durnford’s staff officer, took charge of the No.2 Column, which was in camp near Kranskop.1 The two battalions of the 1st Regiment were the only imperial force of any size in Umvoti County. They occupied a position blocking the most likely invasion route, via the Middle Drift and Kranskop, into the heart of Natal.2 Every morning at three o’clock the men stood to arms. They remained in silence until daylight. The officers slept in their clothes, rifles and ammunition beside them.3 Commandant Montgomery had promised to tell the men of the 1st Battalion everything, good and bad. He formed them in a square and told them part of the army had been eaten up by the Zulus, but both sides had suffered heavily. ‘The Queen must win in the end, and she will send plenty more white soldiers; your officers and sergeants will stick to their colours.’ He pointed to the crown on the battalion’s banner. ‘You, my children, I also look upon as brave soldiers of the Queen, but I like you to express your confidence.’ There was a pause. The head men talked to those in the ranks. Then they said: ‘We will follow you to the [Middle] Drift at once.’ The commandant replied that he must wait for orders. He called for three cheers for the Queen. This the battalion gave most heartily.4 Two companies of the 1st Battalion apparently deserted soon after Isandlwana, but afterwards desertion was negligible,5 although officers still harboured doubts about the reliability of their men.6 The deserters were caught and flogged.7 Health remained good.8 Meanwhile the infantry battalions and the company of pioneers with them were put to work fortifying the camp. The camp was on the crest of a hill with a gentle slope, and the open ground all round gave a good field of fire. As in the case of the 2nd Battalion’s fort in the Msinga, the work went on for some time. The resulting ‘Fort Cherry’, named after the commandant of the 3rd Battalion, was an earthwork ultimately covering 8800 square yards with a parapet 350 yards in length. From the top of the parapet to the bottom of the surrounding ditch the distance was twenty feet. The earthen wall was ten feet thick. Except possibly for the fort at Eshowe, it was the strongest fort built during the war. It was considered impregnable against a Zulu attack.9 Perhaps partly because of this the enemy did not take the offensive along the middle border. There were rumours of an impending raid and these culminated in a report on February 3rd that Zulus were crossing the river in force thirteen miles to the north. The settlers of Umvoti County poured into their stone laagers, leaving the defence of the county to the Native Border Guard. The garrison at Fort Cherry could do little more than the settlers, trusting to their fortifications and supposing the Zulus could not go far beyond them. The scare ended without an incursion of any sort.10 The main problem faced by Captain Barton and the commandants was bringing the two battalions up to full strength. There were 130 officers and non-commissioned officers and about 900 men altogether. There should have been twice that number of men. The 1st Battalion had lost the three Ngwane companies at Isandlwana. The 3rd Battalion was incomplete when the war began and amounted to no more than a couple of companies. Efforts to bring the amaNgwane back came to nothing. The 1st Battalion’s strength remained at just over 700.11 Efforts to recruit the 3rd Battalion came to nothing, and the battalion actually lost some men, probably from sickness, declining from 210 in...

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