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lt. Melvill
garywilson


Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 46
Location: Romania
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Hello, i have recently joined and i am sorry if this covers old ground . I am becoming interested in the actions of Melvill , does anyone know where the bodies of his men where found , i.e. were they pretty much together or does it appear they were routed and scattered about the camp ? I am of the opinion that if his men died pretty much as a unit it was his duty to stay with them .

Also, i think i have read somewhere that Col. Pulleine was killed quite early in the battle ? If this is confirmed then who was in charge , who would issue an order to save the colours ?
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Gary

Yes, it has been covered in great detail many times on the forum (on the old one , which is still accessible, and on the new) and you'll find the discussions interesting and informative, but there is no reason why a new contributor shouldn't ask any question he/she likes.

You mention "the bodies of his men", but I don't think he had any men. He was serving at the time as the adjutant, not as a company commander. It can be - and has been - presumed that he was in close contact with Pulleine during the battle when both were alive, for obvious reasons.

As far as I know, there is no strong evidence suggesting Pulleine died early in the battle - mind you, the battle was not a long one, and if one takes into account the protracted defensive fighting in isolated groups towards the end up until 2 to 2.30, then it could be said he died some considerable time before the end. There are eye-witness accounts from fugitive survivors recording the fact that they knew he had died, but there is no extremely strong evidence either way as to when and where he died, although a number of clues suggest where his body may have been recognised on the night of the 22nd/23rd, and calculations can be made as to when he was almost certainly still alive. However, it is certainly not "confirmed" - as you ask - that "he died early in the battle."

There is no evidence that I know of to suggest he was not - or could not have been - alive when Melvill left with the Colour. A single unattributed account records that Pulleine gave the order direct to Melvill. This may or may not be a reliable account (published anonymously some weeks later in the Kaffrarian Watchman) but there is enough to suggest that it may have been. (See previous threads). It would be difficult to prove its unreliability. There is no specific evidence that I am aware of to suggest that Pulleine did not, or could not, have given this order direct.

However, with or without a direct order, it seems unlikely that Melvill will have required specific instructions if he judged the situation correctly. As a regimental officer, and as adjutant, it would have been an inconceivable dereliction of duty for him to allow an opportunity to save the Colour to pass, whether it involved the loss of life - his or others - or not, once he knew it was in danger of being lost. Ditto Pulleine. You'll find some fascinating material on the day-to-day care of the Colour in earlier threads, contributed by those with first hand knowledge. Melvill would, of course, have had a much better chance of surviving the flight had he not been encumbered by the Colour all the way from the camp to the river, then in crossing the river itself, at any point at which he could have jettisoned his life-threatening load.

Indeed, if he had originally left the camp in an attempt to save his life, then I would have thought he would have continued up the Natal bank as long as he was able to do so, even hampered by the lame Coghill, if it extended his chances of survival. However, having lost the Colour some minutes earlier - and thereby believing at that time that his attempt at saving the regiment's honour had failed - I can quite understand, exhausted, his then lack of drive and his reluctance to leave Coghill, who had returned from safety to assist him.

I'm also not aware of any reliable historian who, having assessed all the facts, has attempted to suggest Melvill may have made the decision himself and made the wrong one. Wolseley, of course, passed his own comments a few months later, and some unbalanced modern accounts have unsuccessfully attempted to suggest all was not as it seems. Higginson's account does have its problems and Glyn's report could - and has been - said to be rather "convenient" but this overlooks the fact that any regimental officer may have done likewise if found in the same position with the Colour in danger. Witness the many other 19th century examples.

It is perhaps sad that he died believing that he had failed in his duty - or, to be more accurate and fair, failed in completing the task which reflected his duty - when, of course, he had done no such thing, as his action resulted, after all, in the recovery and rescue of the Colour.

Peter
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garywilson


Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 46
Location: Romania
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Peter

Thankyou for your interesting reply, i was under the false impression that Lt. Melvill was a company commander - i think i got this from " Zulu Dawn" Embarassed

I happily stand corrected.
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Johnny Hamman


Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 214
Location: Dundee, KZN
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Gary,

You can, if you have not already, buy Mike Snook's book How Can Man Die Better, The secrets of Isandlwana revealed, over the Internet, which will be much cheaper than buying it in a bookshop, in which he reconstructed the last moments of the battle, and Lt. Melvill's possible movements in those last minutes

Johnny Hamman

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garywilson


Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 46
Location: Romania
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Johnny,

Thanks , i will have a look at that.
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lt. Melvill
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