Posted on 08/22/2006 10:26:50 AM PDT by Marius3188
British soldiers fighting the Zulus experienced appalling conditions similar to the muddy killing fields of World War I, it has emerged.
Archaeologists have revealed details of soldiers' battle for survival during a bloody siege in the Anglo-Zulu War.
The colonial war in 1879 was dramatised by Michael Caine in the film Zulu.
Historians lacked detailed evidence of the troops' daily lives, but a team of experts from Glasgow have now uncovered a forgotten British fort.
The site at KwaMondi, Eshowe, in South Africa, has been hailed as a treasure trove of historical information which sheds light on the heroism and skill of the Royal Engineers.
The group from Glasgow University was headed by Dr Tony Pollard, star of the popular BBC's Two Men in A Trench series, and used metal detectors to survey the site.
The fort was built by the British army following the invasion of Zululand in January 1879 and was besieged by a huge Zulu force for more than two months.
Dr Pollard, Dr Iain Banks and their team brought to light the endeavours of men such as Captain Warren Wynne, who built the fort and surrounding roads under the threat of an overwhelming Zulu attack.
They also discovered that heavy rains during the siege turned the fort into a polluted quagmire leading to an outbreak of typhus which killed large number of men.
Iconic locations
Dr Pollard said: "During the rains of January to March, the interior of the fort would have been very wet and prone to waterlogging.
"The presence of 1,700 men and their horses would quickly turn the soil into a muddy mess, little different from the mud that their sons and grandsons would face in the trenches of Flanders.
"The artefacts provide an insight into the lives of men who lived in the fort for the duration of the siege.
"They show the value of metal detecting as a technique and also of the less well known sites that have been pushed into the background by iconic locations such as Rorke's Drift or Isandlwana."
Dr Pollard said the story of the fort provides a testament to the skill of the Royal Engineers and particularly of Captain Warren Wynne.
He added: "It is a story without the stuff of legend but nonetheless a story of achievement under difficult and testing conditions; the remains of the fort are a memorial to the men who built and served under such trying circumstances.
"My favourite find is undoubtedly a Martini Henry bullet converted into a plumb bob.
"You can imagine the row when it was discovered there wasn't one in the tool box and Wynne the engineer commanding one of his men to make one - if he didn't make it himself.
"Its also interesting archaeologically to have something designed to kill transformed into something constructive."
Before arriving at Eshowe, the relief column under Lord Chelmsford fought off a 12,000-strong Zulu force.
http://www.troy-in-england.co.uk
You may not be speaking of the one I am familiar with, but there are a few well-known gun/knife makers in my area. I am acquainted with the gentleman that made Quigley's knife; the one shown in the beginning of the movie, shown as he sheaths it.
He also makes replica guns and spurs. His work is high dollar and well respected.
I was referring to the Shiloh outfit somebody else referred to.
I didn't know anyone made Sharp's guns on an individual level. I thought they were machine tool products.
I do know there are a lot of great muzzle-loading gunmakers ( I hoped to be one before I got married - but marriage ended that) and Knife and swordsmiths out there today.
LOL, because there could never have been another Sir Admiral Lord Nelson. "Kiss me, Hardy!"
Then again, I am an Englishman eight plus generations removed, and my mother was a Nelson!
I've been a wrestling hold all my life.
I fear you may be right. Or, once again as so many times in the past, the 30 per cent who know what's going on, want to defend liberty, and have the courage to do so, will carry the weight of the 60 per cent who are clueless and hate liberty or don't care one way or another.
I doubt that television distorts history any more than Homer did. Popular history tends to simplify and romantize events, no doubt, but it will also inspire some to dig deeper to examine the underlying evidence.
It's more a question of education. Why aren't schools teaching history? Generally speaking, I seriously doubt anyone in Hollywierd has the knowledge, let alone the desire to acquire the knowledge to tell history as it happened. By that I don't mean taking the necessary 'license' to translate a WW II story into a manageable 90-minute timeframe, but just the basic facts of that particular story they want to recount. I really don't think anyone anywhere takes Hollywierd as a credible source of instruction.
The upswing, of course is if anyone's imagination was sparked enough by that movie, I'm sure they did some independent research and learned the truth. And the open sewer that is Hollywierd of the last forty years looses a few more patrons.
Before I step off my soapbox, I thank your father for his having the courage and moral clarity to plant his feet and beat back the barbarians at the gate of his generation. My father was in the Pacific Theater and Im still astounded by the scope of that war.
Yes, that's very true. I wasn't aware that was what you were looking for.
I'm trying to get some sense or understanding of how Americans feel about their own culture and how its projected through Hollywood...
I can't speak on behalf of all Americans, but this one is immeasurably proud of our history and culture. Let me be the first to say we've made many mistakes and we have gone a long way in correcting those mistakes. 600,000 dead Americans and a South more throughly devastated than Germany after the Second World War is payment for the evil of slavery. I'm sick to death of race baiter's and non Americans throwing Jefferson and slavery in our faces as if it weren't rectified yet. You could make a very good argument that being born in America (or anywhere else in the West) and not Africa is a very good thing. Same goes for Indians. They were fratricidal and every bit as fallen as other men. They lived in balance with nature out of sheer necessity, not out of some altruistic love of nature. Who can say how long they populated the Americas? Where are their inventions? Literature? This is one quarter Cherokee talking, mind you.
I believe that the U.S., as defined by the Declaration of Independence and written Constitution is the greatest flowering of Western Judeo-Christian expression in history due to the aforementioned values held by the Founding Fathers and their willingness to learn from histories examples, both failed and successful. Not because Americans are intrinsically superior. With real leadership, the West will rise again. rant/
As to how American history is portrayed through Hollywierd's diseased mind's eye. It's very leftist/socialist and it's a rare film in the last 45 years that tries to tell an uplifting story about America or even the West. Facts are often suborned to either further the point a film maker is trying to make, made up out of whole cloth, or ignored.
The most recent films I've seen that didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth are the Ken Burns PBS series on the Civil War, Glory, The Zodiac and Gettysburg, in addition to the two you mentioned. As you might guess from my tastes, I'm a long standing history/true crime student. All are very well done and, I think most importantly, done by people who genuinely care about the history being depicted.
My pleasure. Enjoyable 'speaking' with you, too (common heritage separated by common language aside). :D
Almost every male member of my family has served, back to the time we were shooting Red Coats. All those who are still alive love and honor you Brits and your military. I have a friend now serving in the US Air Force stationed in the UK.
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