Illustration of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift

J. Nash

1879

Wood engraving

The Graphic (15 March 1879): 268–269.

This dramatic and disturbing image shows the aftermath of the Defence of Rorke’s Drift. The fighting took place aover a period of 12 hours, with the most ferocious engagements taking place overnight; the morning revealed how many Zulus had been killed. The Africans are shown as an undignified tangle of limbs while the British are symbolically placed above them, despite the fact that most of the fighting was face-to-face. The two central figures are Chard and Bromhead. The uniforms are inaccurately depicted, but the image crystallizes the emphasis on British courage and, though horrifying, acts as propaganda rather than journalism.

Image scan and text by Simon Cooke [Click on image to enlarge it.]

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