Music cover for 'The Ashantee March', composed by J Pridham, 1874 (c)

Lithograph after Alfred Concanen, published by Brewer and Co, 1874 (c).

Soldiers of the West India Regiment parade before British officers on the cover of sheet music published to mark General Garnet Wolseley's campaign against the forces of Kofi Karikari, King of the Ashanti, during the 2nd Ashanti War (1873-1874). As well as the West India Regiment, Wolsely's force included African levies of the Hausa Constabulary. In an age before television and radio, musical interpretations of imperial campaigns were a popular form of entertainment and news.