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Show Lord liolixiiiorU's Itoporf. LardoM, 11. Fallowing is the full1 strength of the liritiah column, part of which was attacked by Zulus: Xo. 3 column, headquarters at Help-makaar, Help-makaar, near llorke's drift, commanded com-manded by Colonel (jilyn; first battalion bat-talion Twenty-fourth reyiuient arid lery, N. batiery, Filth brigade roval ' artillery with a seven-pounder gun. j Infantry seven comp-uieo: First battalion, Twenty-fourth regiment ' and secoud battalion, Twcnty-fc ur;h rcgimpnt under L'tutenant Colonel; Detacher; .Natal mounttd police and volunteers'; Natal carbineers; Builalo bord-r gu ir 1; Newcastle mounted r;tl a, ad im unted and averaging ! forty men each, vud a native conlin-j eut of 1,000 men under Comtnacd-ant Comtnacd-ant Lonadale, late of the Seventy-) fourth Highlanders. The loliowing communication has been received at ihe war oltice from ' Lord Chelmsiord: I regret to have to j report a vt-ry disastrous engagement on tli e 22 of January, between the Z ilus an! a portion ot No. o column, i which was 1- lt to guard tiie camp. I About ten m lea in Iront of RorkeV drift the ZmIus came down in over J whelming numbers, nnd in spite of, ibe gallant reHUtance by five com-! panics of the firs1, battalion, Twenty-' fourth rrgimont, one company of the Eecond battalion, Twenty-fourth regiment, regi-ment, t wo guue, t wu rocket tube, 101 mounttd men, and about S0J in-itivt-e, thty overwhelmed them, j Tne camp, containing all thr. eurplus ammunition and the transport of No. o column, waa taken anil but few of its deleuders escaped. Our los?, ! fear, must ho net down at thirty' otlicers and about 500 uon commissioned commis-sioned oliicers, rank and tile, im-j perial troops, at.d seventy non com-. missioned oDicers, rank and file,' colonial troops. A court of inquiry I has been ordered to apsernb'e to collect ' evidence rogardiug turn unfortunate' allair, which will bo forwarded to you ' as soon aa received. Full particulars, ! as far aa can bo received, have been sent in my dispatch, which will reach , you by next mail. It would seem lhat the troops were enticed away j from their camp as the action toox j place about a mile and a quarter out- side it. The remainder of Colonel, Clynn's column reoccupied the camp after dark the same night, with me j twelve miles away all day. On the following morning we arrived at Parke's drift post, which for twelve hours had been attacked hy from 3,000 to 4,000 Zulus. Its defense by some eighty men of the Twenty-fourth Twenty-fourth regiment was moat gallant, 370 bodies lay close aroui.d the post. I compjto the Zulus' loss at 1,000 here lalone. At the camp where the disaster dis-aster occurred tbe lots of the enemy is computed at over 2,000. Colonel Pearson, commanding No. 1 column, had been attacked, but he repulaed the Zulu3. |
