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Date	Original Topic
28th May 2005	Where Were Captain Bradstreet's Mounted Men ? By Coll I know several Carbineers were on vedette duty, away from the camp, but, probably wrongly, I thought the N.C., N.M.P., MI. etc., under Captain Bradstreet remained, possibly 'in reserve' in the camp area. However, after reading through one of Ian Knight's books, there is a mention that Brickhill claimed to have seen Bradstreet and this mounted force near the Native Horse and the Guns, at the foot of the hills, but the time of this is unknown. Apparently, Malindi, a soldier in Lonsdale's N.N.C. Company, saw them pass up the slope to his left, at about the same time as Mostyn ascended. Can anyone clarify their position(s), before the point where they went to assist Durnford at the donga ? Coll PS. I apologise if this has been covered previously.
Date	Replies
28th May 2005	Julian whybra Coll The Carbineers under Lieut Scott supplied men for the vedettes on the 22nd. The others, it has been assumed, because of the reasons for their being left behind, were in the camp area (packing up, in hospital, engaged in various duties). No-one knows precsiely the whereabouts of the composite mounted force under Bradstreet BEFORE they were led out by Gardner to join Durnford. You are quite right about the 'sightings' you quote but nothing more than this is known. They may have assisted the retreat down the spur (but Malindi could simply have seen some of Scott's vedettes), they may have been held in reserve once action had started near the guns behind the lines (but Brickhill may have seen them en route to somewhere else or may have seen Scott's vedettes and mistaken Scott for Bradtstreet) - we just don't know.
29th May 2005	Coll Julian Thanks for your reply. I was just wondering. As mounted men could play quite a significant role in the AZW, it did make me curious on where exactly this unit of men would have been, as they must have been engaged with the Zulus at some point earlier, rather than being held back as a reserve, before going to assist Durnford. Otherwise, the mobility of Bradstreet's force would have been wasted, if remaining inactive in the camp area. Coll
15th June 2005	Michael Boyle Coll, I just came across an account by Brickhill that is somewhat confusing : http://users.skynet.be/hendrik/hall/Hal-Kincade.html Where he states "...The Durnford's Horse, at the southern end were now drawing the Zulus down the southern nek in very large numbers. Those to the north retired to a crest which joins Isandlwana to the Ingutu. Leaving the horses well sheltered here, they held this crest splendidly, keeping up a galling fire which, with that of the White Mounted Force on the right, checked what was at first a very determined advance..." and goes on to say "...The mounted white force now went down to their [Durnford's] assistance and these together held the plains so determinedly that the Zulu lines actually swerved once, and sought to mass together under cover of a kraal. A well-placed shot from one of the field pieces caused considerable havoc and scattered them from there." I'm not sure by this whom Bradstreet ("the White Mounted Force") was to the right of before joining Durnford but it seems to indicate that he was already involved rather than in reserve. Best Michael
15th June 2005	Michael Boyle I may not have been too clear on my confusion ; Brickhill seems to indicate two seperate mounted troops, the one on the crest with their horses sheltered [Scott?] and "the White Mounted Force" to their right [Bradstreet?] who aided them prior to joining Durnford.
15th June 2005	Coll Michael I've been trying to place Captain Bradstreet's mounted force, prior to assisting Durnford at the donga. Apparently, when the N.N.H. were conducting a fighting withdrawal on the ridge, heading towards the spur, there was a concern that the two companies (Mostyn and Cavaye) would be cut off from the camp. The N.N.H. dismounted at the bottom of the slope, putting their horses in a donga and forming a skirmish line started to make their way back up the slope firing at the small parties of Zulus that had neared the top. However, on reaching the plateau, Raw noticed the Zulu force was increasing in number and probably knew his force wouldn't be able to stem the attack much longer. During this time it is possible that the two companies were told to retreat or in the process of retreating, while Captain Bradstreet' force positioned themselves alongside the N.N.H. to basically keep the door open for Mostyn and Cavaye to get back to camp, all the mounted men falling back soon after, becoming part of, or supporting the firing line on the left flank. During this time it would have been apparent what was happening on the right flank in Durnford's donga. Pulleine, needing a force to assist Durnford, must have considered the mounted force under his command, for it's mobility and speed to reach this position before things worsened. As the N.N.H. at the north of the camp, maybe under Shepstone's command were part of Durnford's force, Gardner would have seen the left flank was reasonably secure, but with the N.N.H. having conducted their fighting withdrawal, they might have been low on ammunition and horses may have been tired, whereas Captain Bradstreet's force had fresh horses and more ammunition. Therefore, their selection would be more practical, in order to be able to assist Durnford. Brickhill's comment, mentioning he saw Bradstreet's mounted force near to the N.N.H. and the guns, may have been after they had retreated down the slope. Malindi's mention of Bradstreet's force could have been when the mounted men were heading up to support the N.N.H. at the top of the slope. I hope this hasn't confused matters more, but I'm starting to think this is what happened. Coll
15th June 2005	Michael Boyle Coll, Thanks, trying to place the various units in my mind's eye is difficult, particularly with the different available interpretations. I've been trying to get a good topo map to help me visualize the possibilities but the best I've managed so far is a 1: 500,000 ONC which is okay for the campaign but not nearly good enough for the battle. (I'm falling back to the old board-gaming days of my youth by trying to spread out a large map and use markers to experiment with but that requires a map of adequate scale with accurate topo detail.) Best Michael
15th June 2005	Coll Michael I've got a fairly detailed map of the Isandlwana battlefield pinned up on the wall at my desk, which is a reasonably large foldout taken from the book 'Narrative of the Field Operations Connected to the Zulu War 1879'. I hated removing it, but it means that while I'm viewing my books I can get an idea of where events took place quite quickly, so it is very convenient to have it nearby. It may not be the best map, but it is not bad either. Coll
15th June 2005	Michael Boyle That's great, I'm currently awaiting delivery of that self-same book! (Hope it still has the map.)
16th June 2005	Keith Smith Michael Official (Ordnance Survey) topo. maps of Isandlwana/Rorke's Drift are available in scales of 1:50000 and 1:10000. The smaller scale is No. 2830BC, Rorke’s Drift, 1981. The larger scale maps, for which you would need several to cover the whole battlefield, are Nos. No. 2830BC, 9, 10 and 13 thru 15. See the offical SA Survey and Mapping site at http://w3sli.wcape.gov.za/. KIS
16th June 2005	Michael Boyle Keith, Thanks yet again, ONCs for North and Central America can be had in larger scale and have served me well in my studies of U.S. campaigns (where of course there is generally less disagreement on troop dispositions) (aside from the Mexican-American War!). I was disappointed not to be able to find them for S.A. OS maps would be the ticket, should have thought of that. (Off to map store now!) Best Michael