The Book of the V.C.: A record of the deeds of heroism for which the Victoria Cross has been bestowed, from its institution in 1857 to the present timeHaydon, A. L. (Arthur Lincoln)
History
The Book of the V.C.: A record of the deeds of heroism for which the Victoria Cross has been bestowed, from its institution in 1857 to the present time
Haydon, A. L. (Arthur Lincoln)
Great Britain -- History, Military; Victoria Cross
Lord William met with a sad end to his career. As may be remembered,
he died in 1900 from the effects of an accident received in the
hunting-field.
* * * * *
With the V.C.’s won in Zululand I may well couple those which were gained
in the brief Basuto rebellion of 1879. The Basutos, an offshoot of the
Bechuanas and a very warlike race, believed themselves to be threatened
with a British invasion from Natal, and took up arms. A punitive force
from the colony had therefore to restore them to order.
One or two encounters with the rebels taught the latter a severe lesson,
but retreating to the hills they made a determined stand upon a mountain
called after their chief, Moirosi. This stronghold the Basutos made
almost impregnable by a long series of stockades on the one side of the
mountain that was accessible. On the other three sides it was perfectly
perpendicular.
After several vain attempts this stronghold was successfully stormed,
Moirosi himself being shot and large numbers of Basutos captured. What a
terrible task the Colonials had in fighting their way up the steep slope
will be understood when I say that the troops had to storm some twelve
or fourteen of the high stone walls, or stockades, which the Basutos had
erected, the walls being loopholed for rifles.
In the ascent Trooper P. Brown and Sergeant Robert Scott, both of the
Cape Mounted Rifles, did deeds of daring which singled them out from
their comrades for distinction. The former left his cover under a most
heavy fire to carry his water bottle to some wounded men who were crying
piteously for water. He was wounded twice as he was in the act of
stooping over the sufferers, one of the enemy’s bullets shattering his
right arm and rendering it permanently useless.
Sergeant Scott was a no less brave man, though his exploit was of a
different kind. At one barricade that the troops reached the fire was
so merciless that it seemed impossible to advance against it. But
the sergeant thought of a way out of the difficulty. The enemy must
be dislodged from their position by fuse shells. Volunteering for
the dangerous work, he took some shells and ran swiftly towards the
barricade. As has happened often before when one desperate man takes his
life thus in his hands and braves a hundred, he escaped being hit. Then,
crouching under the wall, he tried to throw a shell over into the midst
of the Basutos.
The first attempt failed, but the second succeeded. Taking a third shell,
he flung this after the others, but owing to some faulty adjustment
of the fuse it burst almost immediately after leaving his hands. The
explosion was terrible. One hand of the sergeant--his right one--was
completely shattered, and he received a severe wound in his right leg.
Fortunately for his comrades, he had ordered his party to retire under
cover, a precaution which undoubtedly saved many lives.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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