The Battle of the Gwanga, Cape of Good Hope, June 8th 1846
Coloured aquatint by J Harris after H Martens and Capt Carey, No 2 in the series 'Kaffir Wars', published by Rudolph Ackermann, 1 Sep 1852. From a sketch on the spot by Capt Carey, Cape Mounted Rifles.
The 7th Frontier War began in March 1846 with the massacre of the escort for a Xhosa prisoner accused of the theft of an axe. When the Rharhabe Xhosa chief, Sandile, refused to surrender the murderers, a punitive expedition under Colonel Henry Somerset was sent to destroy his kraal in the Amatola Mountains; it was repulsed and the Xhosa began mounting raids which resulted in considerable loss of life and property.
On 8 June, Somerset's mounted column encountered a large force of Xhosa - which had made the tactical error of crossing open country in daylight - on the Gwanga, a tributary of the Keiskamma River. The country was ideal for a cavalry charge and the Xhosa were routed by a troop of 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards wielding sabres, Cape Mounted Riflemen firing carbines, and mounted volunteers.
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1971-02-33-191-1
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum, London
Location
National Army Museum, Study collection
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1971-02-33-191-1