Editing Battle of Rorke's Drift

{{Short description|1879 battle of the Anglo-Zulu War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Rorke's Drift
| partof            = the [[Anglo-Zulu War]]
| image             = Alphonse de Neuville - The defence of Rorke's Drift 1879 - Google Art Project.jpg
| image_upright = 1.0
| caption           = ''The Defense of Rorke's Drift'', by [[Alphonse de Neuville]] (1880)
| date              = 22–23 January 1879
| place             = Rorke's Drift, [[Colony of Natal|Natal]]
| map_type          = South Africa#KwaZulu-Natal
| map_caption       = Location in present-day South Africa
| coordinates       = {{Coord|28|21|29|S|30|32|12|E|type:event_region:ZA-KZN|display=inline,title}}
| result            = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] victory
| combatant1        = {{Flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
| combatant2        = [[Zulu Kingdom]]
| commander1        = {{plainlist|
* Lt. [[John Chard]]
* Lt. [[Gonville Bromhead]]}}
| commander2        = Prince [[Dabulamanzi kaMpande]]
| strength1         = {{plainlist|
* 139–141 [[British Army]] regulars
* 11 colonial troops
* 4 civilians<ref>Knight, Ian. ''Zulu: Isandlwana, Ulindi and Rorke's Drift'', 1992, pp. 107–108.</ref><ref>Holme, Norman. ''The Noble 24th'', Savannah Publications, {{ISBN|1-902366-04-2}}, 1999, p. 265–369, 383.</ref><ref>Whybra 2004, pp. 68–69.</ref>
* 100 [[Natal Native Horse|NNH]] cavalry<br><small>(briefly engaged, then fled)</small>}}
| strength2         = 3,000–4,000 Zulus:<ref>Estimates vary: Colenso 1880, p. 305, gives 3,000; Knight 2003, p. 37, gives "in excess of 3,000"; Lock and Quantrill 2005, pp. 231–232 gives 3,000, p. 231; Morris 1998 gives over 4,000.</ref>
* iNdluyengwe ibutho: 500 to 700 men
* uThulwana, iNdlondo, uDluko amabutho: ''c.'' 3,000 men<ref name=Knight23>Knight 1996, p. 23.</ref>
| casualties1       = {{plainlist|
* 17 killed<ref>Porter 1889, p. 33, "17 killed and 10 wounded" (including one killed by 'friendly fire' while fleeing the garrison at start of the battle)</ref>
* 15 wounded}}
| casualties2       = 351 confirmed killed<ref>Colenso 1880, p. 305</ref><br>About 500 wounded<ref>Lock and Quantrill 2005, excerpt from private journal of Lieutenant Colonel John North Crealock, Crealock states "351 dead were found and 500 wounded".</ref>
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Anglo-Zulu War}}
| units1            = [[British Army]] ([[South Wales Borderers|24th Regiment of Foot]] and [[Royal Engineers]]) <br> [[Natal Native Contingent]]
| units2            = [[Impi]]
}}

The '''Battle of Rorke's Drift''', also known as the '''Defence of Rorke's Drift''', was an engagement in the [[Anglo-Zulu War]]. The successful British defence of the [[mission (station)|mission station]] of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants [[John Chard]] of the [[Royal Engineers]] and [[Gonville Bromhead]] of the [[24th Regiment of Foot]], began once a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force during the final hour of the British defeat at the day-long [[Battle of Isandlwana]] on 22 January 1879. They travelled {{convert|6|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on|order=flip}} to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and continuing into the following day.

Just over 150 British and colonial troops defended the station against attacks by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive but [[wikt:piecemeal#English|piecemeal]] attacks by the Zulu on Rorke's Drift came very close to overwhelming the much smaller garrison, but were consistently repelled.<ref>Knight 2003, p. 37.</ref> Eleven [[Victoria Cross]]es were awarded to individual defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours.

==Prelude==
Rorke's Drift, known as {{lang|zu|kwaJimu}}<ref>Morris, p. 168.</ref> ("Jim's Land") in the [[Zulu language]], was a [[mission (station)|mission station]] of the [[Church of Sweden]], and the former [[trading post]] of [[James Rorke]], a merchant from the Eastern Cape of Irish descent. It was located near a drift, or [[ford (crossing)|ford]], on the [[Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)|Buffalo]] (Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] and the [[Zulu Kingdom]]. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under [[Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford|Lord Chelmsford]], arrived and encamped at the drift.

On 11 January, the day after the [[Anglo-Zulu War#Terms|British ultimatum]] to the Zulus expired, the column crossed the river and encamped on the Zulu bank. A small force consisting of B Company, 2nd Battalion, [[South Wales Borderers|24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot]] (2nd/24th) under Lieutenant [[Gonville Bromhead]] was detailed to garrison the post, which had been turned into a supply depot and hospital under the overall command of [[Brevet (military)|Brevet Major]] Henry Spalding, [[104th Foot]], a member of Chelmsford's staff.

On 20 January, after reconnaissance patrolling and building of a track for its wagons, Chelmsford's column marched to [[Isandlwana]], approximately {{cvt|10|km|sigfig=1}} to the east, leaving behind the small garrison. A large company of the 2nd/3rd [[Natal Native Contingent]] (NNC) under Captain William Stevenson was ordered to remain at the post to strengthen the [[garrison]].<ref>Knight 1996, p. 23, "The post was guarded by one company of 2/24&nbsp;... and a company of the NNC&nbsp;...".</ref> This company numbered between 100 and 350 men.<ref>Estimates vary: Thompson 2006, p. 65, gives 100. Knight 1996, p.  27, gives 100 to 300. Knight, Ian. Greaves, Adrian, (ed.). ''Redcoats and Zulus'', 2004, p. 116.</ref>

Captain Thomas Rainforth's G Company of the 1st/24th Foot was ordered to move up from its station at Helpmekaar, {{convert|16|km|0|sigfig=2}} to the southeast, after its own relief arrived, to further reinforce the position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talana.co.za/html/map.html |title=Map |publisher=Talana.co.za |access-date=2012-11-09 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317184009/http://www.talana.co.za/html/map.html |archive-date=17 March 2012}}</ref> Later that evening a portion of the No. 2 Column under Brevet Colonel [[Anthony Durnford]], late of the [[Royal Engineers]], arrived at the drift and camped on the Zulu bank, where it remained through the next day.

[[File:Military Map of Zulu Land.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|British Army "Military Map of Zulu Land", 1879. Rorke's Drift is at the convergence of the red, green and blue border lines, Islandlwana is slightly to the right]]
Late on the evening of 21 January, Durnford was ordered to Isandlwana, as was a small detachment of No. 5 Field Company, [[Royal Engineers]], commanded by Lieutenant [[John Rouse Merriott Chard|John Chard]], which had arrived on the 19th to repair the [[Pontoon bridge|pontoons]] that bridged the Buffalo. Chard rode ahead of his detachment to Isandlwana on the morning of 22 January to clarify his orders, but was sent back to Rorke's Drift with only his wagon and its driver to construct defensive positions for the expected reinforcement company, passing Durnford's column ''en route'' in the opposite direction.

Some time around noon on 22 January, Major Spalding left the station for Helpmekaar to ascertain the whereabouts of Rainforth's G Company, which was now overdue. He left Chard in temporary command. Chard rode down to the drift itself where the engineers' camp was located. Soon thereafter, two survivors from Isandlwana – Lieutenant [[Gert Adendorff]] of the 1st/3rd NNC and a trooper from the [[Natal Carbineers]] – arrived bearing the news of the defeat and that a part of the Zulu [[impi]] was approaching the station.

Upon hearing this news, Chard, Bromhead, and another of the station's officers, Acting Assistant Commissary [[James Langley Dalton|James Dalton]] (of the [[Commissariat and Transport Department]]), held a quick meeting to decide the best course of action – whether to attempt a retreat to Helpmekaar or to defend their current position. Dalton pointed out that a small column, travelling in open country and burdened with carts full of hospital patients, would be easily overtaken and defeated by a numerically superior Zulu force, and so it was soon agreed that the only acceptable course was to remain and fight.<ref>Knight 1996, p. 25.</ref>

=== Defensive preparations ===
Once the British officers decided to stay, Chard and Bromhead directed their men to make preparations to defend the station. With the garrison's 400-odd men<ref>Knight 1996, p. 28, "With 400 men to build them&nbsp;..."</ref> working diligently a defensive perimeter was quickly constructed out of [[mealie]] bags, biscuit boxes and crates of tinned meat.<ref name="Army Museum - Rorke's Drift">{{cite web|url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/defence-rorkes-drift|title=Defence of Rorke's Drift|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=22 January 2024}}</ref> This perimeter incorporated the storehouse, the hospital, and a stout stone [[kraal]]. The buildings were fortified, with [[Loophole (firearm)|loopholes]] (firing holes) knocked through the external walls and the external doors barricaded with furniture.

At about 3:30&nbsp;p.m., a mixed troop of about 100 [[Natal Native Contingent#Natal Native Horse|Natal Native Horse]] (NNH) under Lieutenant Alfred Henderson arrived at the station after having retreated in good order from Isandlwana. They volunteered to picket the far side of the [[Oscarberg]] (''Shiyane''), the large hill that overlooked the station and from behind which the Zulus were expected to approach.<ref>[[Ian Knight (historian)|Knight]] 1996, p. 36.</ref>

[[File:Dabulamanzi.jpg|thumb|upright|Prince [[Dabulamanzi kaMpande]]]]
With the defences nearing completion and battle approaching, Chard had several hundred men available to him: Bromhead's B Company, Stevenson's large NNC company, Henderson's NNH troop, and various others (most of them hospital patients, but 'walking wounded') drawn from various British and colonial units. Adendorff also stayed, while the trooper who had ridden in with him galloped on to warn the garrison at Helpmekaar.<ref name="autogenerated401">Morris 1998, p. 401</ref>

The force was sufficient, in Chard's estimation, to fend off the Zulus. Chard posted the British soldiers around the perimeter, adding some of the more able patients, the 'casuals' and civilians, and those of the NNC who possessed firearms along the barricade. The rest of the NNC, armed only with spears, were posted outside the mealie bag and biscuit box barricade within the stone-walled cattle kraal.<ref name="autogenerated401"/>

The approaching Zulu force was vastly larger; the uDloko, uThulwana, and inDlondo {{lang|zu|amabutho}} (regiments) of married men aged in their 30s and 40s and the inDlu-yengwe {{lang|zu|ibutho}} of young unmarried men mustered 3,000 to 4,000 warriors, none of them engaged during the battle at Isandlwana.<ref>Morris 1998, p. 370, "played no part in the battle"</ref> This Zulu force was the 'loins' or reserve of the army at Isandlwana and is often referred to as the Undi Corps. It was directed to swing wide of the British left flank and pass west and south of Isandlwana hill itself, in order to position itself across the [[line of communication]] and retreat of the British and their colonial allies in order to prevent their escape back into Natal by way of the Buffalo River ford leading to Rorke's Drift.

By the time the Undi Corps reached Rorke's Drift at 4:30&nbsp;p.m., they had fast-marched some {{convert|20|mi|km|-1|order=flip}} from the morning encampment they had left at around 8 a.m., then to spend some 11.5 hours continuously storming the British fortifications at Rorke's Drift.

[[File:ZuluWarriors adj.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Historical picture of Zulu warriors from about the same time as the events at Rorke's Drift]]Most Zulu warriors were armed with an {{lang|zu|[[assegai]]}} (short spear) and a ''[[nguni shield]]'' made of cowhide.<ref>Archer, Christon I. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bfcfOrihAvAC&dq=zulu+rifles&pg=PA462 ''World History of Warfare'']{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} University of Nebraska Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-8032-1941-5}}, p. 462 "They had a national army of twenty-five thousand men equipped with cowhide shields, assegais and clubs." Lock and Quantrill 2005, p. 62: John Shepstone, Acting Secretary for Native Affairs at the time, on the Zulu army – "Equipment: Each man carries his shield and assegais, and a kaross or blanket if he possesses one, he may also have a war dress of monkey skins or ox tails, this is all."</ref> The Zulu army drilled in the personal and tactical use and coordination of this weapon. Some Zulus also had old muskets, antiquated rifles, and some captured [[Martini-Henry]]s as used by the defenders, though their marksmanship training was poor, and the supply of powder and shot was low, and of poor quality.<ref>Knight 1996, pp. 33, 38, 39.</ref>

The Zulu attitude towards firearms was that: "The generality of Zulu warriors, however, would not have firearms – the arms of a coward, as they said, for they enable the [[wikt:poltroon|poltroon]] to kill the brave without awaiting his attack."<ref>Bourquin, S. Military History Journal, V. 4, No. 4, ''The Zulu military organization and the challenge of 1879'', South African Military History Society, {{ISSN|0026-4016}}, Dec. 1978.</ref> Even though their fire was not accurate, it was responsible for five of the 17 British deaths at Rorke's Drift.<ref>Bourquin, S. section 'War of 1879', subsection 'Weapons'</ref><ref>Knight 1996, p. 38, "Although the Zulu position was a commanding one – a squad of good shots armed with efficient rifles could have made Chard's position untenable within minutes – the Zulus were neither good shots, nor well armed."</ref>

While the Undi Corps had been led by {{lang|zu|inkhosi}} kaMapitha at the Isandlwana battle, the command of the Undi Corps passed to Prince [[Dabulamanzi kaMpande]] (half-brother of [[Cetshwayo kaMpande]], the Zulu king) when kaMapitha was wounded during the pursuit of British survivors from Isandlwana. Prince Dabulamanzi was considered rash and aggressive, and this characterisation was borne out by his violation of King Cetshwayo's order to act only in defence of Zululand against the invading British soldiers and not carry the war over the border into enemy territory.<ref>Knight 2003, p. 33.</ref> The Rorke's Drift attack was an unplanned raid rather than any organised counter-invasion, with many of the Undi Corps Zulus breaking off to raid other African kraals and homesteads while the main body advanced on Rorke's Drift.

At about 4:00&nbsp;p.m., [[James Henry Reynolds|Surgeon James Reynolds]], Otto Witt – the Swedish [[missionary]] who ran the mission at Rorke's Drift – and army chaplain [[George Smith (chaplain)|Reverend George Smith]] came down from the Oscarberg hillside with the news that a body of Zulus was fording the river to the southeast and was "no more than five minutes away". At this point, Witt decided to depart the station, as his family lived in an isolated farmhouse about {{convert|30|km|mi|sigfig=1}} away, and he wanted to be with them. Witt's native servant, Umkwelnantaba, left with him; so too did one of the hospital patients, Lieutenant Thomas Purvis of the 1st/3rd NNC.

==Battle==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2010}}
[[File:Rorke's.Drift.Post.jpg|thumb|Contemporary drawing of Rorke's Drift Post, from ''The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers''.<ref name=Porter31/>]]
At about 4:20&nbsp;p.m., the battle began with Lieutenant Henderson's NNH troopers, stationed behind the Oscarberg, briefly engaging the vanguard of the main Zulu force.<ref>Knight 1996, p. 36, and on p. 88 this is described by Knight as "the first shots of the battle".</ref> However, tired from the battle at Isandlwana and retreat to Rorke's Drift as well as being short of [[carbine]] ammunition, Henderson's men departed for Helpmekaar. Henderson himself reported to Lieutenant Chard the enemy were close and that "his men would not obey his orders but were going off to Helpmekaar".<ref name="autogenerated401"/>

Henderson then followed his departing men. Upon witnessing the withdrawal of Henderson's NNH troop, Captain Stevenson's NNC company abandoned the cattle kraal and fled, greatly reducing the strength of the defending garrison.<ref>Morris, p. 402. Chadwick, G.A. . Military History Journal, V. 4, No. 4, ''The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879'', ''Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift'', South African Military History Society, {{ISSN|0026-4016}}, Jan. 1979. "This reduced the strength of the defenders drastically&nbsp;..."</ref> Outraged that Stevenson and some of his colonial NCOs<ref>Knight 1996, p. 45, Corporal Scammell of the NNC is noted as remaining.</ref> had also fled from the barricades, a few British soldiers fired after them, killing Corporal William Anderson.

With the Zulus nearly at the station, the garrison now numbered between 154 and 156 men.<ref>Whybra (2004) gives the most up-to-date analysis of the numbers present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift. He counts 154 definite participants, with 2 others listed as "possibles".</ref> Of these, only Bromhead's company could be considered a cohesive unit. Additionally, up to 39 of his company were at the station as hospital patients, although only a handful of these were unable to take up arms.<ref>Whybra 2004, pp. 65–67.</ref> With fewer men, Chard realised the need to modify the defences, and gave orders that biscuit boxes be used to construct a wall through the middle of the post in order to make possible the abandonment of the hospital side of the station if the need arose.<ref name=Porter31>Porter 1889, p. 31.</ref>

At 4:30&nbsp;p.m., the Zulus rounded the Oscarberg and approached the south wall. [[Frederick Hitch|Private Frederick Hitch]], posted as lookout atop the storehouse, reported a large column of Zulus approaching. The Zulu vanguard, 600 men of the iNdluyengwe, attacked the south wall, which joined the hospital and the storehouse. The British opened fire when the Zulus were {{convert|500|yd|m|round=50|order=flip}} away.

[[File:Elizabeth Southerden Butler, Lady Butler (1846-1933) - The Defence of Rorke's Drift - RCIN 405897 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''[[The Defence of Rorke's Drift]]'' by [[Elizabeth Thompson|Lady Butler]] (1880).{{efn|Lieutenants [[John Chard]] and [[Gonville Bromhead]] (centre) commanding, behind them Padre [[George Smith (chaplain)|George Smith]] hands out ammunition, Private [[Frederick Hitch]] (right, standing) handing out ammunition while wounded; Surgeon [[James Henry Reynolds]] and Storekeeper Byrne tending to the wounded Corporal Scammell (Reynolds kneeling; Byrne falling, shot). Possibly Corporal [[Ferdinand Schiess]] at centre background at the barricade, left of Chard and Bromhead, face not shown.}}]]
The majority of the attacking Zulu force moved around to attack the north wall, while a few took cover and were either pinned down by continuing British fire or retreated to the terraces of Oscarberg. There they began a harassing fire of their own. As this occurred, another Zulu force continued to the hospital and northwestern wall.

Those British on the barricades – including Dalton and Bromhead – were soon engaged in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The British wall was too high for the Zulus to scale, so they resorted to crouching under the wall, trying to get hold of the defenders' [[Martini–Henry]] rifles, slashing at British soldiers with [[assegai]]s or firing their weapons through the wall. At places, they clambered over each other's bodies to drive the British off the walls but were driven back.

Zulu fire, both from those under the wall and around the Oscarberg, inflicted a few casualties, and five of the 17 defenders who were killed or mortally wounded in the action were struck while at the north wall.

=== Defence of the hospital ===
Chard realised that the north wall, under near constant attack from the Zulus, could not be held. At 6:00&nbsp;p.m., he pulled his men back into the yard, abandoning the front two rooms of the hospital in the process. The hospital was becoming untenable; the loopholes had become a liability, as rifles poking out were grabbed at by the Zulus (who were still shot) yet if the holes were left empty, the Zulu warriors stuck their own weapons through in order to fire into the rooms. Among the soldiers assigned to the hospital were Corporal [[William Wilson Allen]] and Privates Cole, Dunbar, Hitch, Horrigan, [[John Williams (VC)|John Williams]], Joseph Williams, [[Alfred Henry Hook]], [[Robert Jones (VC)|Robert Jones]], and [[William Jones (VC)|William Jones]].

Now low on rifle ammunition they decided to switch to [[Beaumont–Adams revolver|revolvers]]. Privates Horrigan, John Williams, Joseph Williams and other patients tried to hold the hospital entrance with bayonets and revolvers. Joseph Williams defended a small window, and 14 dead Zulus were later found beneath said window. As it became clear the front of the building was being taken over by Zulus, John Williams began to hack a way of escape through the wall dividing the central room and a corner room in the back of the hospital. As he made a passable breach, the door into the central room came under furious attack from the Zulus, and he had time only to drag two bedridden patients out before the door gave way.

The corner room into which John Williams had pulled the two patients was occupied by Private Hook and another nine patients. John Williams hacked at the wall to the next room with his bayonet, as Hook held off the Zulus a firefight erupted as the Zulus fired through the door and Hook returned fire – an assegai striking his helmet and stunning him.<ref>Private Henry Hook's account in ''[[The Royal Magazine]]'' 1905.</ref>

Williams made the hole big enough to get into the next room, occupied only by patient Private Waters, and dragged the patients through. The last man out was Hook, who killed some Zulus who had knocked down the door before he dived through the hole. John Williams once again went to work, spurred on by the fact that the roof was now ablaze.

After 50 minutes, the hole was large enough to drag the patients through,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/defence-rorkes-drift|title=Defence of Rorke's Drift &#124; National Army Museum|website=www.nam.ac.uk}}</ref> and most of the men were now in the last room, defended by Privates Robert Jones and William Jones. From here, the patients clambered out through a window and then made their way across the yard to the barricade. Privates Waters and Beckett hid in the wardrobe, Waters was wounded and Beckett died of assegai wounds.

Of the 11 patients, nine survived the trip to the barricade, as did all the able-bodied men. According to [[James Henry Reynolds]], four defenders were killed in the hospital: one was a member of the Natal Native Contingent with a broken leg; Sergeant Maxfield and Private Jenkins, who were ill with fever and refused to be moved were also killed. Reportedly, Jenkins was killed after being seized and stabbed, together with Private Adams who also refused to move. Private Cole, assigned to the hospital, was killed when he ran outside. Another hospital patient killed was Trooper Hunter of the [[Natal Mounted Police]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wood|first=M.J.|title=Leaders and Battles: The Art of Military Leadership|year=2009|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|page=138|isbn=9780307537034|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GCkXtLTgs6UC&q=%22Trooper+Hunter%22+%22Natal+Mounted+Police%22&pg=PT202}}</ref> Among the hospital patients who escaped were a Corporal Mayer of the NNC; Bombardier Lewis of the Royal Artillery, and Trooper Green of the Natal Mounted Police, who was wounded in the thigh by a bullet. Private Conley, with a broken leg, was pulled to safety by Hook, although Conley's leg was broken again in the process.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clammer|first=David|title=The Zulu War|year=1973|publisher=David & Charles|isbn=0-7153-5672-0|page=111|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRwiAAAAMAAJ&q=conley+%22broken+leg%22}}</ref>

===Cattle kraal and bastion===
The evacuation of the burning hospital completed the shortening of the perimeter. As night fell, the Zulu attacks grew stronger. The cattle [[kraal]] came under renewed assault and was evacuated by 10:00&nbsp;p.m., leaving the remaining men in a small bastion around the storehouse: the British troops had withdrawn to the centre of the station, where a final defence had been hastily built.<ref name="Army Museum - Rorke's Drift"/> Throughout the night, the Zulus kept up a constant assault against the British positions; Zulu attacks began to slacken only after midnight, ending by 2:00&nbsp;a.m., and replaced by harassing fire from Zulu firearms until 4:00&nbsp;a.m.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

By that time, the garrison had sustained 14 dead. Two more were mortally wounded and eight more – including Dalton – were seriously wounded. Almost every man had some kind of wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of 10 hours and were running low on ammunition. Of 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission, only 900 remained.<ref>Machanik, Major (Dr) Felix. ''Military History Journal'', V.4, No.6, ''Firepower and Firearms in the Zulu War of 1879'', South African Military History Society, {{ISSN|0026-4016}}, Dec. 1979.</ref>

==Aftermath==
As dawn broke, the British could see that the Zulus were gone; all that remained were the dead and severely wounded.<ref name="autogenerated1905">Private Henry Hook's account in ''The Royal Magazine'' 1905. Also Colenso 1880 and Crealocke in Lock and Quantrill 2005.</ref> Patrols were dispatched to scout the battlefield, recover rifles, and look for survivors, many of whom were killed
when found. At roughly 7:00&nbsp;a.m., an [[impi]] of Zulus suddenly appeared, and the British manned their positions again.

No attack materialised, however, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle and had not eaten properly for two. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and they were several days' march from any supplies. Soon after their appearance, the Zulus left the way they had come.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

Around 8:00&nbsp;a.m., another force appeared, and the defenders left their breakfast to man their positions again. However, the force turned out to be the vanguard of [[Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford|Lord Chelmsford]]'s relief column.

At the end of the fighting, 351 Zulus lay dead on the battlefield. 17 British were killed, and almost every man in the garrison had sustained some kind of wound.<ref name="Army Museum - Rorke's Drift"/>

Breakdown of British and colonial casualties:<ref>Whybra 2004, pp. 62–64</ref>
* 1st/24th Foot: 4 killed or mortally wounded in action; 2 wounded
* 2nd/24th Foot: 9 killed or mortally wounded in action; 9 wounded
* [[Commissariat and Transport Department]]: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded
* [[Natal Mounted Police]]: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded
* 1st/3rd NNC: 1 killed in action
* 2nd/3rd NNC: 1 killed;<ref>Also, as mentioned, one member of Stevenson's 2nd/3rd NNC, Corporal William Anderson, was killed by British fire while fleeing the station just prior to the arrival of the Zulus.</ref> 2 wounded

The number of Zulu casualties is subject to widely varying estimates. It has been estimated that, including wounded Zulus who were killed after capture, at least 500 were killed.<ref name="autogenerated1905"/><ref>Lock and Quantrill 2005, p. 232, "...&nbsp;it is possible that all the Zulu wounded were put to death.".</ref> Having witnessed [[Battle of Isandlwana|their own dead at Isandlwana]], the members of Chelmsford's relief force had killed the captured, wounded Zulus they came across,<ref>Thompson 2006, p. 69</ref> as did the station's defenders. Trooper William James Clarke of the Natal Mounted Police described in his diary that "altogether we buried 375 Zulus and some wounded were thrown into the grave. Seeing the manner in which our wounded had been mutilated after being dragged from the hospital&nbsp;... we were very bitter and did not spare wounded Zulus".<ref>Lock and Quantrill 2005, pp. 231–232</ref> [[John Laband|Laband]], in his book ''The Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879'', accepts the estimate of 600 that Shepstone had from the Zulus.<ref>Laband 1992, p. 108.</ref>

Samuel Pitt, who served as a private in B Company during the battle, told ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|The Western Mail]]'' in 1914 that the official enemy death toll was too low: "We reckon we had accounted for 875, but the books will tell you 400 or 500".<ref name="autogenerated232">Lock and Quantrill 2005, p. 232</ref><ref>Smith, David. ''Rorke's Drift'',''[[The Guardian]]'' 21 April 2009, gives "about 400 Zulus" killed.</ref><ref>Carroll, Rory. ''Legendary Battle of Anglo-Zulu War marred by brutal aftermath'', ''[[The Guardian]]'' 29 April 2003</ref> Lieutenant [[Horace Smith-Dorrien]], a member of Chelmsford's staff, wrote that the day after the battle an improvised gallows was used "for hanging Zulus who were supposed to have behaved treacherously."<ref name="autogenerated232"/>

==Awards==
{{Main|List of Zulu War Victoria Cross recipients}}

Eleven [[Victoria Cross]]es were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, seven of them to soldiers of the 2nd/24th Foot – the most ever received for a single action by one regiment. (The most awarded in a day is 16 for actions at the [[Battle of Inkerman]], on 5 November 1854; in a single action, 28 were awarded as a result of the [[Siege of Lucknow|Second Relief of Lucknow]], 14–22 November 1857).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24717|pages=3177–3178|date=2 May 1879}}</ref> Four [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]]s were also awarded.

This high number of awards for bravery has been interpreted as a reaction to the earlier defeat at the [[Battle of Isandlwana]] – the extolling of the victory at Rorke's Drift drawing the public's attention away from the great defeat at Isandlwana and the fact that Lord Chelmsford and [[Henry Bartle Frere]] had instigated the war without the approval of Her Majesty's Government.<ref>Edward M. Spiers, ''The Scottish Soldier and Empire, 1854–1902'', Edinburgh University Press, 2006, p. 41. {{ISBN|978-0-7486-2354-9}} Also: Ian Knight, ''Zulu War'', Osprey, 2004, p. 9, "By late 1878 Frere had manipulated a diplomatic crisis with the Zulus&nbsp;..." Colenso 1880, pp. 261–262, "the terms&nbsp;... are evidently such as he (Cetshwayo) may not improbably refuse, even at the risk of war&nbsp;... to preclude you from incurring the delay&nbsp;... involved in consulting Her Majesty's Government upon a subject of so much importance as the terms&nbsp;..." Also: Ian Knight, ''Zulu War'', Osprey, 2004, p. 11, "...&nbsp;an ultimatum with which, Frere knew, they could not possibly comply."</ref>

Sir [[Garnet Wolseley]], taking over as commander-in-chief from Lord Chelmsford later that year, was unimpressed with the awards made to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, saying "it is monstrous making heroes of those who, shut up in buildings at Rorke's Drift, could not bolt and fought like rats for their lives, which they could not otherwise save".<ref>ed. Preston A. (1973) ''Sir Garnet Wolseley's South African Journal''. Cape Town: Balkema. pp 256–257.</ref>

Several historians{{clarify|date=February 2023}} have challenged this assertion and pointed out that the victory stands on its own merits, regardless of other concerns. [[Victor Davis Hanson]] responded to it directly in ''Carnage and Culture'' (also published as ''Why the West Has Won''), saying, "Modern critics suggest such lavishness in commendation was designed to assuage the disaster at Isandhlwana and to reassure a skeptical Victorian public that the fighting ability of the British soldier remained unquestioned. Maybe, maybe not, but in the long annals of military history, it is difficult to find anything quite like Rorke's Drift, where a beleaguered force, outnumbered 40 to one, survived and killed 20 men for every defender lost".<ref>Hanson, V. D. (2001). ''Why the West Has Won: Carnage and Culture from Salamis to Vietnam''. London: Faber. p. 333. {{ISBN|978-0-571-20417-5}}.</ref>

===Victoria Cross===

'''Source:'''<ref>Whybra 2004, pp. 71–72.</ref>
[[File:Victoria Cross Winners- Pre 1914. Q80569.jpg|thumb|Picture taken about 1884 at the site of the battle, allegedly showing VC recipients including Bromhead and Reynolds. Man in rear wearing Foreign Service helmet is not Corporal Schiess but [[Alan Richard Hill]] V.C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.1879zuluwar.com/t1014-cpl-christian-ferdinand-schiess|title=Cpl. Christian Ferdinand Schiess|website=www.1879zuluwar.com}}</ref>]]
* Lieutenant [[John Rouse Merriott Chard]], 5th Field Coy, [[Royal Engineers]]
* Lieutenant [[Gonville Bromhead]]; B Coy, [[South Wales Borderers|24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot]] (2nd/24th Foot)
* Corporal [[William Wilson Allen]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Private [[Frederick Hitch]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Private [[Alfred Henry Hook]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Private [[Robert Jones (VC)|Robert Jones]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Private [[William Jones (VC)|William Jones]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Private [[John Williams (VC)|John Williams]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Surgeon-Major [[James Henry Reynolds]]; [[Royal Army Medical Corps|Army Medical Department]]
* Acting Assistant Commissary [[James Langley Dalton]]; [[Commissariat and Transport Department]]
* Corporal [[Christian Ferdinand Schiess]]; 2nd/3rd Natal Native Contingent

In 1879, there was no provision for the posthumous granting of the Victoria Cross. Private Joseph Williams, B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot, was killed during the fight in the hospital and was [[mentioned in despatches]] that "had he lived he would have been recommended for the Victoria Cross."<ref>Snook 2006, pp. 96–99.</ref>
{{clear}}
<gallery heights="160">
File:Image-John Rouse Merriott Chard2.JPG|[[John Chard]], VC, as a [[lieutenant-colonel]]
File:Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.jpg|Lieutenant [[Gonville Bromhead]], VC
File:Défense de Rorke's Drift.jpg|Corporal William Allen, VC [right foreground] handing cartridges to Lt Chard
File:VCFrederickHitch.jpg|Private Frederick Hitch, VC
File:Photo of Albert Henry Hook VC.jpg|Private Henry Alfred Hook, VC
File:VCRobertJones.jpg|Private Robert Jones, VC
File:VCWilliamJones.jpg|Private William Jones, VC
File:Victoria Cross Winners- Pre 1914 Q88647.jpg|Private John Williams, VC
File:VCJamesHenryReynolds.jpg|Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds, VC
File:Defense of Roark's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville - Detail - Possibly Ferdinand Schiess.jpg|Corporal Ferdinand Schiess, VC
</gallery>

===Distinguished Conduct Medal===

'''Source:'''<ref name="Julian Whybra 2004 p. 72">Whybra 2004, p. 72.</ref>
[[File:Frank-bourne.jpg|thumb|upright|Sgt [[Frank Bourne]], DCM, in 1905]]
* Gunner John Cantwell; N Batt, 5th Brig [[Royal Horse Artillery]] (demoted from bombardier wheeler the day before the battle)
* Private John William Roy; 1st/24th Foot
* Colour Sergeant [[Frank Bourne|Frank Edward Bourne]]; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot
* Second Corporal Francis Attwood; [[Royal Army Service Corps|Army Service Corps]]

On 15 January 1880, a submission for a DCM was also made for Private Michael McMahon ([[Army Hospital Corps]]). The submission was cancelled on 29 January 1880 for absence without leave and theft.<ref name="Julian Whybra 2004 p. 72"/>

== Memorial ==
A memorial was erected on the site shortly after relief. A cemetery was also established where the bodies of the dead were buried.[https://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/rorkesdrift_monument.htm]

The battlefield, Rorke's Drift Battlefield, Dundee Area, KwaZulu Natal, is a tourist attraction with set hours and guides. It is located off gravel-surfaced R68 from Dundee to Nqutu and the gravel-surfaced R33 from Dundee to Pomeroy. The site is located northeast of Ladysmith and south of Nqutu, Umzinyathi District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.[https://www.battlefieldsroute.co.za/place/rorkes-drift-battlefield/]

== Depictions and dramatisations ==

The events surrounding the assault on Rorke's Drift were first dramatised by military painters, notably [[Elizabeth Thompson|Elizabeth Butler]] (in ''[[The Defence of Rorke's Drift]]'' (1880)) and [[Alphonse de Neuville]] (also titled ''The Defence of Rorke's Drift'' (1880)). Their work was very popular in their day among the citizens of the British empire.

[[File:The true story book illustration at page 139.png|thumb|upright|left|Illustration by [[C. H. M. Kerr]] for Haggard's story, 1893]]
[[H. Rider Haggard]]'s true account, "The Tale of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift", published in [[Andrew Lang]]'s ''True Story Book'' (1894),<ref name="Haggard1893">{{cite book |last1=Haggard |first1=H. Rider |last2=Kerr |first2=C. H. M. (ill.) |editor1-last=Lang |title=The true story book |date=1893 |publisher=Longmans, Green |location=London; New York |pages=132–152 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_true_story_book/The_Tale_of_Isandhlwana_and_Rorke%27s_Drift |chapter=The Tale of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift}}</ref> names many important figures but omits Surgeon Reynolds, who played a crucial role in the defence.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1894|title=The Defence of Rorke's Drift|jstor=20227493|journal=The British Medical Journal|volume=1|issue=1729|pages=373}}</ref>

In 1914, a touring English [[Rugby Football League|Northern Union]] rugby league team defeated [[Australia national rugby league team|Australia]] 14–6 to win [[The Ashes (rugby league)|the Ashes]] in the final [[Test match (rugby league)|test match]]. Depleted by injuries and fielding only ten men for much of the second half, the English outclassed and outfought the Australians in what quickly became known as the "[[Rorke's Drift Test]]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Kearney|first=L. H.|title=40,000 Cheered When Wagstaff's 1914 Team Beat Australians With Eleven Men|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98260266|work=[[Sunday Mail (Brisbane)]]|date=16 March 1940}}</ref>

The Edison Company made a two-reel silent film titled ''Rorke's Drift'' (1914) starring [[Richard Tucker (actor)|Richard Tucker]].

The film ''[[Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu]]'' (1964), produced by [[Stanley Baker]], portrays the Battle of Rorke's Drift.<ref>{{cite book |title=Zulu: The True Story |last=David |first=Saul |series=British History in Depth |publisher=BBC|access-date=29 September 2011|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/zulu_01.shtml}}</ref> The film received generally positive reviews from the critics. Some details of the film's account are wrong (in the movie the regiment is called the [[South Wales Borderers]], but the unit was not called that until two years after the battle, although the regiment had been based at Brecon in South Wales since 1873).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rrw.org.uk/museums/brecon/faq.htm |title=The Royal Regiment of Wales |website=Rrw.org.uk |access-date=2012-11-09 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323111043/http://www.rrw.org.uk/museums/brecon/faq.htm |archive-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> While most of the men of the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot (1/24) were recruited from the industrial towns and agricultural workers of England, principally from [[Birmingham]] and adjacent southwest counties, only 10 soldiers of the 1/24 that fought in the battle were Welsh. Many of the soldiers of the junior battalion, the 2/24, were Welshmen.<ref>Lock and Quantrill 2005, p. 37</ref> Of the 122 soldiers of the 24th Regiment present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 49 are known to have been English, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish, one was a Scot, and three were born overseas. The nationalities of the remaining 21 are unknown.<ref>Norman Holme (1999). ''The Noble 24th''. p. 383.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Military history of South Africa]]
* [[Rorke's Drift Art and Craft Centre]]
* [[Rorke's Drift (video game)|''Rorke's Drift'' (video game)]]
* [[Battle of Chakdara]] - Similar battle during the [[Siege of Malakand]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== General and cited references ===
{{Refbegin}}
* [[Frances Colenso|Colenso, F. E.]] ''History of the Zulu War and Its Origin'', London, 1880.
* Greaves, Adrian, ''Rorke's Drift'', Cassell, London, 2002.
* Knight, Ian, ''Rorke's Drift 1879, "Pinned Like Rats in a Hole"''; Osprey Campaign Series #41, [[Osprey Publishing]] 1996, {{ISBN|1-85532-506-3}}.
* Knight, Ian, ''The Zulu War 1879'', Osprey, 2003, {{ISBN|1-84176-612-7}}
* {{Cite book|last=Laband|first=John|title=Kingdom in Crisis: The Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|year=1992|isbn=0-7190-3582-1}}
* Lock, Ron; Quantrill, Peter. ''Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up''. Greenhill Books. 2005, {{ISBN|1-85367-645-4}}.
* Morris, Donald R. ''The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879''. Da Capo Press, 1998, {{ISBN|0-306-80866-8}}.
* Morris, Roy Jr. (August 2005), ''[[Military Heritage]]'', Volume 7, No. 1, p.&nbsp;8).{{Full citation needed|date=June 2022}} Discusses Rorke's Drift and the politics of the Victoria Cross.<!-- "https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2015/12/01/the-politics-of-military-heroes/" https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2015/12/01/the-politics-of-military-heroes/ ? I cannot confirm that that this is the same article -->
* {{cite book |last=Porter |first=Whitworth |author-link=Whitworth Porter |year=1889 |contribution=South African Wars, 1847–1885 |title=History of the Corps of Royal Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FqdBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA24 |volume=II |location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. |pages=24–43 |access-date=2008-08-14}}
* Snook, Lt Col Mike, ''Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift''. Greenhill Books, London, 2006. {{ISBN|1-85367-659-4}}.
* Thompson, Paul Singer. ''Black soldiers of the queen: the Natal native contingent in the Anglo-Zulu War''. University of Alabama Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8173-5368-2}}.
* {{cite book | last = Whybra | first = Julian | title = England's Sons: a casualty and survivors' roll of British combatants for the battle of ... Isandhlwana  | publisher = One Slice Books Ltd | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-908901-94-1 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Battle of Rorke's Drift}}
* [http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/roll.htm The Roll of those present at Rorke's Drift 22/23 January, 1879]
* [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/19thcentury/rorkesdrift/default.aspx Gilbert Padilla, "The Battle of Rorke's Drift"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022031059/http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/19thcentury/rorkesdrift/default.aspx |date=22 October 2007 }}
* [http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/chard_map.htm Lt. Chard's Map]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=7121720 Catalogue description of papers relating to rewards for gallantry for Rorke's Drift], [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]].
* [http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/rorkes-drift.htm The Battle of Rorke's Drift]
* [http://victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=10529&p=53873&hilit=noman#p53873 Victorian wars Forum on Rorke's Drift]
* {{SAHRA site|id=924060006}}

{{Royal Welsh}}
{{military navigation
|style=wide
|raw_name= Anglo−Zulu War
|state= {{{state|}}}
|title   = [[Anglo-Zulu War]]
|listclass=hlist
|group1=Battles
|list1=
* [[Action at Sihayo's Kraal|Sihayo's Kraal]]
* [[Zungwini Mountain skirmishes|Zungwini Mountain]]
* [[Battle of Inyezane|Inyezane]]
* [[Battle of Isandlwana|Isandlwana]]
* Rorke's Drift
* [[Siege of Eshowe|Eshowe]]
* [[Battle of Intombe|Intombe]]
* [[Battle of Hlobane|Hlobane]]
* [[Battle of Kambula|Kambula]]
* [[Battle of Gingindlovu|Gingindlovu]]
* [[Zungeni Mountain skirmish|Zungeni Mountain]]
* [[Battle of Ulundi|Ulundi]]
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Rorke's Drift}}
[[Category:1879 in the Colony of Natal]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Zulu|Rorke's Drift]]
[[Category:Battles of the Anglo-Zulu War|Rorke's Drift]]
[[Category:Battles in 1879|Rorke's Drift]]
[[Category:History of KwaZulu-Natal]]
[[Category:January 1879]]
[[Category:Last stands|Rorke's Drift]]
[[Category:South African heritage sites]]