In Africa with the Union Jack, etc

Preface

. The story of the British arms in Africa has a fascination all its own. Britannia has sent her sons into the Dark Continent on enterprises varied in character, and on each occasion their doings have been followed with a great amount of interest and anxiety. Among us new wonders are constants spoken of, far-reaching developments are in progress ; the extent of the future connection of England with Africa is food for widespread and unceasingspecu lation. In the following pages special prominence is given 10 military operations as being the most attractive to the youth of the age. War forms, indeed, the main feature of our earliest acquaintance with peoples and tribes living in the Dark Continent. Diplomacy has played quite a secondary part. CONTENTS. CHAI\ PAGK I. English and French in Egypt I II.

Fighting the Kaffiks 18 III. The Abyssinian Wae 32 IV. In the Fobests of Ashantee . .... 50 V. Dash foe Coomassie 67 VT. At Wae with the Zulus 82 VII. Fall of King Cetywayo 104 VIII. A Melancholy Stoey 127 IX. Foe England and Empiee 147 X. Battles in the Easteen Soudan . . . .175 XI. Along the Nile Valley 205 XII. Too Late foe Goedon LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Geneeal Goelon Frontispiece In the Foeests of Ashantee . ... To face page 52 Zulus peepaking foe Wae ,, 91 The Attack on the Hospital, Roeke's Drift . . ,, 101 Burning of Ulundi ,, US British Soldiers at El Teb . . . . ■ ,, 184 The British meeting an Aeab Force at the Second Battle of El Teb ,, 188 The British Forces working theie way up the Nile ,,

Chapter I. English And French In Egypt

Over the burning sands and around old-world cities of Egypt ; upon the bosom of the restless Nile ; in arid and forbidding deserts of the Eastern Soudan ; among the rocky, towering heights of Abyssinia ; amid deadly swamps of the West Coast and the jungles and forests of Ashantee ; in the bush, across the swell ing rivers, and along the mountain-brows of ever broadening South Africa, has been borne " the meteor flag of England," our Union Jack. We would like to flatter ourselves that the Union Jack has always been carried to victory. We cannot, unfortunately. At intervals the savage has carried all before him. Yet never has the Union Jack been " trail'd in the dust." Within view of the national emblem, whether yielding to the wind upon some craggy height, or hanging limp upon the staff in sum B scorched lowland and desert of the Dark Continent, nothing has occurred to make men and youths at home fear that the indomitable pluck which won for England, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the admiration of the world, has in any degree lessened in our days, just as it did not in those of our fathers and grandfathers.

Yes ! deeds as valiant as were ever performed in Europe, America, and Asia have been witnessed during British operations in Africa. Fighting within the shadow of Union Jack and regimental flag has been of the most daring, reckless and romantic character. It is worthy of special remark that the first landing in force of British troops in Africa and the first hoist ing of the Union Jack were almost simultaneous. The latter took place on New Year Day, 1801 ; two months afterwards a large body of soldiers, under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, arrived off the coast of Egypt, disembarked in Aboukir Bay, and gallantly won the battle of Alexandria. The adoption of the Union Jack as the national ensign was in consequence of the legislative, or parliamentary, union of Ireland with England and Scotland, the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick, the patron saints of the respective countries, being blended upon the flag as we see them to this day.

Strictly speaking, there was a Union Jack before this — one issued by pro clamation of James I. when England and Scotland were united. The ensign bore the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Let us inquire now into the circumstances that brought about the landing of British troops in Egypt. At the close of the eighteenth century the struggle between England and France for supremacy in India was decided. The splendid genius of Clive and Coote, and the heroism of their Britons and Sepoys had been too much for the French commanders, La Bourdon nais, Dupleix, Lally, and their fighting men ; the English were supreme, the French very far behind. Not content with this state of things, the Government of France determined upon undermining the power of Britain in the East, to strike at her by way of Egypt and Syria.

Napoleon Bonaparte had risen rapidly to fame. He was the idol of the French, and was regarded as the man for heading the great enter prise. In the month of May, 1798, therefore, a fleet, consisting of sail-of-the-line, frigates, and transports, left Toulon, in the south of France. Bonaparte was on board the L 'Orient, the flagship of Admiral Bruyes. In crossing the Mediterranean, the French captured Malta as likely to prove an important and useful station to them. On the 30th June they were before Alexandria. Here Bonaparte and Bruyes learned something that startled them. It was that Nelson, having with him several British ships crowded with fighting men, was in search of the French fleet, firmly resolved to destroy it and prevent any landing upon Egyptian soil. To increase the alarm, the signal, " Vessels of war coming on," was sent up by one of the French captains.

Not doubting but that the ships were those of Nelson, Napoleon Bonaparte sadly exclaimed, " Fortune, why hast thou favoured us so long to aban don us now, when former successes only add to the strength of our misfortune ? In a few moments Alexandria would have been ours, and the whole of the transports would have been safe." Luckily for the French, the vessels signalled belonged to them. Nelson was scouring the Mediterranean without re ward. He was coming up rapidly, however, with the French fleet. In face of a great storm, over thirty thousand of Bonaparte's troops were disembarked. Marching against Alexandria, they took the city after terrible slaughter, defeated the Turkish and native troops (Egypt belonged to Turkey) at Shibirres, and, pro ceeding to Embabah, the French won what is known as the Battle of the Pyramids, and became masters of the proud capital of Cairo.

The loss of life on the side of the Mamelukes, or defenders of the country, was tremendous. Nearly sixteen thousand men were killed outright or were wounded. Napoleon had be come, in a remarkably short space of time, master of Lower Egypt, and was contemplating a descent upon Syria as the second part of his grand scheme. Meanwhile Sir Horatio Nelson discovered the whereabouts of the French fleet. The delay in finding the enemy served to increase the vexation of Nel son, and, caring not for the superior forces of the enemy, nor for the fact that night was fast approaching, he, on the 1st August, opened the attack in Aboukir Bay. In the words of the great admiral, who won his peerage by the event, nothing could withstand the valour of the seamen and marines of the English fleet. The French ships, carrying ten thousand men, and drawn up in the form of a crescent, were utterly destroyed or captured in that awful night of fire and blood.

" Five thousand " was put down as the loss on the side of the French ; nine hundred of our brave fellows lost their lives or were wounded. Admiral Bruyes was killed, with nearly all on board, by a frightful explosion on the L 'Orient. Who does not know the story of Casabianca, the lad who so nobly lost his life on the burning deck of this famed ship ? By the glorious victory of Aboukir Bay the power of the French in the Mediterranean was completely shattered, the position of the troops in Egypt was gravely imperilled, and the failure of the expedition to Syria — including the futile attack on the coast fortress of Acre, where Sir Sydney Smith and a naval force assisted the Turks and Syrians in their successful resistance — convinced Napoleon that there was no further hope of Eastern conquest.

In the summer of 1799 he hastened back to France, leaving the able General Kleber in command of the army of occupation in Egypt. In a position at length to send an army to Egypt in order to drive the French from the land, the British Government despatched some eighteen thousand troops, under the veteran Sir Ralph Abercrombie, to the Mediterranean, a landing being effected from Aboukir Bay, and not far from Alexandria, on the 2nd March, 1801. Malta had then been wrung from the French, and was taken advantage of as a station by the English fleet ; but, in spite of every provision there and by the Turks upon their own shores, the British suffered severely from sickness, gales, and postponements of operations, so that by the time they entered Africa the force was much reduced. Still, the landing was carried out with vigour, and in the teeth of terrible difficulties.

Being aware of the coming of the English, the French made every endeavour to meet it. Along the shore of Aboukir Bay where landing was feasible, ridges were raised by the French and heavy guns were mounted upon them, while cavalry and infantry were drawn up in battle array at every point. At the onset, after dis embarking, our soldiers, marines, and sailors, fired scarcely a shot — they reserved their ammunition for close quarters, marching steadily on and on from the boats, along the shore, amid a storm of musket balls and shells. When within bayonet distance the instrument was plied with murderous result, shots became general, and the French were in full retreat, General Moore, afterwards Sir John Moore, of Corunna fame, being very prominent in the fighting and pursuit. The British could not at once follow up the advan tage gained.

All the troops meant for service in Egypt had not landed ; tents and baggage, and stores of war material were still aboard. How could they be got ashore when the French were threatening in such numbers, when forts commanded the beach, when tempests raged, and when there was so much of uncertainty . Now, however, that the French were beaten off and nature alone had to be reckoned with, uninviting though she was, operations were pushed on for bringing the necessaries to land, headquarters were established, armed gunboats were launched upon Lake Aboukir, and something like organization was observable on every side. Along the whole course to Alexandria, whither the British headed in the second week of March, they were harassed by the French who hung everywhere upon their flanks ; General Menou — who had succeeded the brave Kleber, assassinated by a maniac — commanded in person.

Hundreds of lives were lost to Sir Ralph Abercrombie in this way. To render the situation more unenviable it was found that defences of the stoutest and artillery of the heaviest calibre had been raised by the enemy out side Alexandria. Moreover, General Menou's forces were added to by the arrival of thousands of native soldiery. Taking everything into consideration, Aber crombie likewise set up strong defences, collected all the guns that could be spared from the ships in Aboukir Bay, as well as his field-pieces, and so arranged his men, cavalry and foot, as to be able to resist any attack on the part of the French. General Menou had indeed determined not to await the assault of the British upon the forts and walls outside Alexandria. He made disposi tions for attacking his foe, and that most bitterly.

His avowed intention was to drive the English, if not into the sea, at any rate into the lake near Aboukir Bay. On the French came in the dead of night, trusting to wily tactics and to superior numbers, thinking, too, their enemy would not be prepared for them. Everybody was on the alert, however, and when Menou's forces advanced stealthily and then in full shock they found awaiting them at each point men even more resolute and brave — men who returned bayonet thrusts, and musket-shots, and cannon-balls with compound interest. Fighting commenced upon the left of the British position, and for a short time a battery was in possession of the French. It was taken by a rush out of the gloom, and after a daring camel ride was joined in by a force of about one hundred and fifty French troops across the Alex andria canal and then along the bed of Lake Mareotis.

Next the English right was attacked and that with a suddenness really extraordinary. The French had hoped, indeed, that by breaking in upon our left with the camel regiment in no large numbers, our fellows would throw their strength upon that side and thus leave the other faces exposed to their fury. The feint did not succeed. When company after company were hurled against the British right the reception was so terribly hot that they were glad to fall back upon the reserves. Oh, how stubbornly the British fought ! How gallantly they battled shoulder to shoulder, by scores, by hundreds, by thousands ; darkness had no terrors for them, just as the several surprises of the enemy fell far short of what was intended. The Mamelukes fought des perately against Napoleon and his legions upon that and neighbouring plains, but not more heroically, nor did they more nobly die, than Sir Ralph Abercrom bie's warriors.

They performed deeds unsurpassed in the annals of warfare. Sir Ralph himself, while riding hither and thither unattended, and cheering on his men, was fiercely assailed by two or three of the French cavalry, and it was only by the greatest personal courage that, wounded as he was, he was enabled to drive them off. On into the morning, through the breaking of the day, fought English and French, each side conscious that their fate in Egypt trembled in the balance — that it was being decided, practically, by that awful struggle. At last ! at last ! seeing that neither his cavalry nor his infantry could make any impression upon the British lines and that, if he was to have further opportunity of trying conclusions with the new invaders, he must withdraw his warriors, Menou commanded the grand attack to cease and his men to fall back behind the defences they had set up.

Alas ! that the brave Abercrombie was mortally wounded in the engagement, and that the loss on our side was to be reckoned at fourteen hundred ! How magnificently the British sought will be inferred when it is stated that the French lost in the battle of Alexandria about three thousand five hundred men. General Hutchinson, Abercrombie's successor, could not win Alexandria at the moment. He did the next best thing, namely, to isolate, or cut off, the French there, and so deprive them of supplies from the land, and, at the same time, reinforcements. This was the method adopted, and a most remarkable one, too : Rosetta, standing on the coast, to the east of Alexan dria, was attacked, captured, and made a base for operations on that side, and a communication between the sea and the great Lake Mareotis was established, by which a number of British gunboats were brought up, and Alexandria was still further open to assault.

The scheme worked so admirably that it hit at a force of over three thousand French at Ramleh, severing them from any help likewise. Indeed, seeing that no assistance was likely to reach them, the French division at Ramleh fled as best they could, leaving a great quantity of stores and ammunition to the British, who were only too eager to seize upon them. Matters were rendered the more desperate for the French, too, from the fact that the Turkish Government, jealous of their presence, despatched upwards of twenty thousand men in the direction of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, then held by General Belliard. General Hut chinson joined the force at his disposal with that of the Turkish commander ; a large body of troops from India — General Baird in charge — came upon the scene from Suez ; and Belliard and the French in Cairo were completely hemmed in.

Nay, within a period of three weeks the French gladly laid down their arms, and not in the capital only, but at Alex andria, where starvation had begun its horrible work, and where General Menou had been subjected to harassing attentions from besiegers upon land and ocean. In the early part of September Menou and his troops were en route for Europe. The British little thought when, in the spring of 1803, they evacuated Egypt another force would be sent thither four years afterwards. Napoleon had, however, turned his speculations once more towards the East, and was endeavouring to enlist the sympathy of the Turks in Constantinople. Our forefathers were still determined to checkmate him. Accordingly, General Fraser and five thousand men were sent out from stations in the Mediterranean towards Alexan dria.

On the 21st March the city fell ; exactly six years before, the battle of Alexandria was fought, and Abercrombie died. Unfortunately, the strongholds of Rosetta and Ramleh were then held by the Turks — against whom the British were fighting principally — and a portion of the garrison of Alexandria and a body of the men from the fleet under Sir John Duckworth, then in Egyptian waters, were told off for the capture of them. The members of it stormed the outworks of Rosetta and took them, but when the advance was being made into the town, such a tempest of shot and shell met them that they were compelled to retire, less three hundred of their number killed or wounded. General Wau choj.e, who had directed the operations, was among the slain. To be repulsed was irritating enough to the sur vivors on the side of the English ; they had yet to learn that the heads of many of their comrades were stuck upon poles to be jeered at by mocking multitudes.

Naturally, intelligence of the outrages created the utmost indignation, and preparations were made for another and more successful attack upon Rosetta. It was to be taken at all costs, and the outrage-mon gers punished. Further, while Rosetta remained with the enemy, Alexandria itself was not safe. Not more than a thousand troops engaged in the unsuccessful attack upon Rosetta — nearly three times the number were paraded for the second attempt. Generals Stewart and Oswald shared the command. In the meantime, and to the mortification of the English, the Turks and natives in the town were largely reinforced, so that when the British stormed the place they were greeted in a manner too hot for them to withstand. Gallantly the storming parties fought ; as gallantly were they driven back. Thoroughly wearied, and supports expected from the direction of the stronghold El Hamed not arriving, owing to treachery on the part of natives, the besiegers fell back from the walls of Rosetta and retreated on Alexandria.

In this sad reverse the English lost about a thousand men, not a few of whom were, alas ! led into captivity, the heads of others being impaled and exhibited in the public market-places. Truth to tell, the taking of Alexandria was the solitary success of the campaign of 1807. Inconsequence of continued war in Europe, the Government at home could not spare any additional troops for the East, necessary provisions could not be obtained, and the Turks and Mameluke forces becoming united and vastly strengthened, General Fraser was obliged to sign a treaty for the evacuation of Alexandria. Egypt was left a prey to the designs of ambitious beys, or governors, and the strong measures launched by the Sultan of Turkey. In the great struggle, Mehemet Ali, a most wonderful man, played an important part.

Vessels of war bearing the Union Jack were on a warlike mission again off the North African coast, in the year 1816. Years before, bands of pirates sailed the blue waters of the Mediterranean, making sad havoc of trade by their depredations — by their murders and general excesses. No ship was safe from the onslaughts of these robbers of the sea, who, in their light, fast-sailing, well-manned and armed cruisers, darted from points upon the Algerine coast, to return to their rock fastnesses laden with booty. Various European Powers had endeavoured to lessen the evil from time to time, but to bttle effect. Eng land would have taken the greater share in the attempts at suppressing the pirates, but she had more than enough to fight with in other directions. WTien Waterloo was fought, when Napoleon Bonaparte finally surrendered, and the rulers of Britain were enabled to act with severity towards the rovers of the great inland sea, it was felt that action must really be started.

Punishment was to be inflicted for something more than outrages upon the water ; stories of Christians made slaves, and of their terrible sufferings in the interior, reached our country, rendering men doubly indignant, and causing them to cry out with increased bitterness for revenge. The British Consul in Algiers was tortured and assassinated in 1816, and in another place no fewer than three hundred Italians were put to death. They were coral-fishers, and it was said the Dey, or Governor of Algiers, was well aware of the per petration of the awful business. Lord Exmouth was commissioned to proceed, in charge of some eighteen war-ships, to Algiers, to bombard the city, and to obtain every possible satisfaction. Becoming aware of Lord Exmouth's errand, the Dey caused his army to assemble, and they, added to by forces despatched by friendly chiefs, prepared to offer a very formidable resistance to any landing that might be attempted.

Algiers was put in a complete state of defence likewise, the walls being specially looked to and remounted with guns, and the harbour was covered by ships carrying engines of war. Forts and batteries accommodated at least two hundred and fifty cannon. The Dey, the pirates, and the Algerines at large had, in a word, gathered the whole of their strength and that of their Barbary friends. Prior to opening fire upon the great stronghold Lord Exmouth offered the Dey a chance of coming to terms. The offer was made under a flag of truce, but it was laughed at by the despot and the bad men around him. They would make no promise that they would abolish Christian slavery ; they would not deliver the captives held by them ; neither would they make compensation nor offer any apology for what had been so unlawfully done.

" Take the con sequences!" was Lord Exmouth' s reply, and the Alge rines venturing to fire wp on the English fleet, which had gradually neared the fortress, the shot was returned with considerable interest. Broadside after broadside was directed against forts and batteries, troops and sailors cheering and working with a will ; ships were swung round, steadied in new positions, and from port-holes and from decks were poured numberless volleys upon defences and ships in the harbour, while hundreds of those on board the various craft were picked off by our marksmen, delighted to have the opportunity of slaying the perpetrators of countless outrages. Shrieks and yells and shot fired in return had no effect upon our fellows, nor for Dutch allies who manned six sloops-of-war, and who had joined Exmouth's squadron for the purpose of operating with him.

No ; every one under the ensigns of England and Holland fought bravely on. To do them justice, the Algerines were far from betraying any craven spirit. When, however, orders were given for board ing the principal craft of the enemy, they were borne down ; their ships were captured or fired. Upon land, forts and batteries were silenced one after another, the red flags of the Dey were knocked over or taken down. When the darkness of that August night had settled upon the capital of the Dey, Algiers was a wreck, the task of British and Dutch fully accomplished. Nor by shot and shell alone was terror struck into the hearts of the people of Algiers and not a few of the pirates. Thunder and lightning ensued upon a sustained attack of nearly twelve hours' duration from the foreign ships, and rain descended in tor rents.

In all, eight hundred sailors, soldiers, and marines were killed or wounded on our side — a grim proof of the manner in which the enemy fought- — ■ and on the other twice that number were killed or maimed. The Dey and the pirates were confessedly humili ated. They brought out for liberation over a thousand Christian slaves, and paid great sums of money to the Governments directly interested in the captives thus set free. Further, other states upon the coast of North Africa, mainly Barbary powers, opened the doors of their prisons for the freedom of the Christians within their dismal, heart-crushing walls. C

Chapter II. Fighting The Kaffirs

The course of events leads us to South Africa. For a long season after the meeting of the forces of Lord Exmouth and the Dey of Algiers not a shot was fired in North Africa, nor upon its coast, from within the shadow of the Union Jack. In the southern limits of the Dark Continent the presence of the British has been continually experi enced throughout the century. Look at any map of the world, and you will easily see how this has come about. You will notice that, the Suez Canal not being constructed, ships flying our national flag were bound to pass the south coast in order to voyage from England to India, or from India to Great Britain ; or, at any rate, to take a very roundabout course. This was out of the question. English men interested in. the far East could not think of it for one moment.

The Dutch, then furthering trade with the East Indies, saw the importance of founding a calling station in South Africa as far back as 1649, and they fixed upon Cape Town. Under colonisation the place went on increasing. Dutchmen drove the Hottentots before them farther inland, and wide stretches of territory accrued to them. In the closing years of the last century the Prince of Orange, who was expelled from Holland, came to London, and on his behalf a claim was made by England on Cape Colony. The Government saw how well adapted the country was for emigration pur poses, how valuable its harbours for ships and men engaged in the Indian trade and the acquisition of lands in the East. A British protectorate over one hundred and twenty thousand square miles of land was declared in 1797 — one maintained until the Treaty of Amiens was signed in 1803, when Holland took back the entire colony.

Troubles with the Dutch settlers, or Boers, and with the Hottentots led the English to resign their hold upon Cape Colony more readily than would otherwise have happened. In fact, the first British protectorate was not estab lished without trouble and serious expenditure. The Dutch militia and Hottentot friendlies gathered to prevent the landing of the English in Simon's Bay. It was performed in face of a galling fire ; and not until a body of troops from India came upon the scene would the Dutch Governor relin quish his hold upon Cape Town and the surrounding country. Scarcely three years elapsed and we find England again laying claim to Cape Colony, dispossessing the Dutchman and the Hottentot, and establishing more than one calling station for Indian merchantmen. The hoisting of the Union Jack meant freedom to the bondmen in Cape Colony, as in other parts of the world — freedom to the poor Hottentot captured and held down by the Dutch Boers.

The latter resented the abolition of slavery, rose against and harassed the English, and the tall, well-built Kaffir warriors, moving from the eastern borderlands into Cape Colony, matters became threatening for the British. Not all the Kaffirs who crossed the limits of Cape Colony — as fixed by English commissioners — were bent on fighting. Numbers were for peace. They wished to farm and hunt — nothing more. But officials were afraid of the tribesmen, and in 1811 a policy, aiming at driving back the Kaffirs, was begun. They retired very reluctantly. There were thousands of them, old and young, some of whom had raised dwellings for themselves, cultivated gardens and fields, and become attached to the land upon which they lived. Still there was small show of mercy or pity for them. Their growing numbers were feared, and back, back across the Great Fish River the dark skins were pushed.

Not a few were followed on to lands belonging to tribes with whom they sought refuge. Thus increased bitterness against the Eng lish was created. Labouring under a sense of injustice, and going on and on before the march of the troops appointed to drive them out of Cape Colony, it was not unlikely a stand would be made somewhere by the native Africans. It was made upon the banks of one of the forks of the White River, and at the foot of great mountain passes. One of the magistrates of the dis trict attempted to pacify the Kaffirs who had taken up a threatening attitude. Accompanied by a few white men he went into their midst, but while he was talking the wild war-cry of the Kaffirs was started, and a fell massacre of the whites ensued. Then came acts of vengeance on the part of British and Dutch, and a war that dragged on for months, to the loss of the Kaffirs — certainly not to the honour of the British name.