In one battle, twenty thousand Zulu warriors annihilated about 1,500 troops, with only about 50 British soldiers escaping with their lives. In another battle, 150 British troops held off 4,000 warriors for a night. More Victoria's Crosses (the British Metal of Honor) were awarded in these battles than any other in the country's history. Fugitive's Drift is the crossing where the soldiers managed to escape and the name of the lodge.
The mountain on the upper left loomed over the battlefield where the English were defeated. It resembled a sphinx, and filled the soldiers with foreboding. Ironically, the symbol of the regiment was the sphinx -- they had fought in Egypt. The regiment is from Wales, and one of their current captains was at the lodge. He will serve in Iraq shortly.
The Zulus said the British fought like lions and fell like stones (they did not retreat). The Zulus fought with shields, spears, a long stick and a sword. They would run up to 40 miles in a day. Their general superbly appraised the situation -- the weak British camp -- and deployed his soldiers with great wisdom to defeat the British. The Zulus were equally valiant -- 4,000 of them died in the battle. A famous general rallied one of their regiments, standing tall in battle, losing his own life to inspire his troops.
The Zulus would win the next major battle, but lost the war in a subsequent series of battle. Sadly, until this war, they and the British had lived amicably as neighbors, with much mutual respect.
The picture on the right is the monument to the fallen British soldiers. Six to eight British are buried under each pile of white stones. The regiment wished to bury its own men, and it took several years for the monuments to be erected. An equally moving monument to the Zulu stands there as well. As you can tell, this writer was much moved by the heroism displayed on both sides.