The Natal Native Pioneer Corps, commonly referred to as the Natal Pioneers, was a unit of the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces which served in the Anglo-Zulu War. The pioneers were raised by levy from the black population of the Colony of Natal in November 1878; they provided a force of men to carry out military engineering tasks during the British invasion of Zululand. They were formed into three companies of around 100 men and issued with old British Army jackets, white short trousers and blue pillbox hats. The non-commissioned officers of the unit were armed with a rifle, and the other men were issued with tools. White officers were supplied by the government of Natal but, where possible, were supplemented with British regulars.
No. 1 Company was assigned to Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford's No. 2 Column, the principal British force during the first invasion of Zululand, and a small detachment fought at the Battle of Isandlwana. After this defeat, the company joined Evelyn Wood's Flying Column for the second invasion and participated in the Battle of Ulundi, the final pitched battle of the war that ended in a British victory. No. 2 Company was assigned to the Right Column during the first invasion and fought at the Battle of Inyezane before being besieged at Eshowe for 10 weeks. During the second invasion it formed part of the 1st Division and escorted wagons along the lines of communication. No. 3 Company was assigned to Colonel Anthony Durnford's No. 3 Column but did not join the first invasion; it was posted to an important river crossing to guard against a Zulu counter-invasion of Natal.
The Natal Pioneers improved tracks throughout the war for the British logistics train, particularly at river crossings; they also constructed forts and field entrenchments. During the Siege of Eshowe, No. 2 Company distinguished itself in scouting, foraging and raiding. The force suffered from some disciplinary issues; during the first invasion the men of No. 2 Company were punished for looting. In the closing stages of the war in August, No. 1 Company protested at being kept on active service longer than the other black Natal levies. In September the company mutinied but returned to duty after being arrested and punished. The Natal Native Pioneer Corps was disbanded in October 1879.
Background Boers settlers had established the Natalia Republic in 1838 on land near Port Natal (modern-day Durban, South Africa) ceded by the Zulu king Dingane. The republic grew with further land ceded by Dingane's successor Mpande kaSenzangakhona. The Boers submitted to British rule in 1842 and the District of Port Natal was created in 1843, initially as part of Cape Colony to the south; the Colony of Natal was established in 1856.
Natal bordered the Zulu Kingdom (commonly known as Zululand) and the relative security provided by British oversight made it a refuge for fugitives fleeing from conflicts in Zululand. As a result the black population of the colony rose from around 20-42,000 in 1840 to 320,000 in 1879. British migration to the colony was low and many of the original Boers emigrated to new territories such as the independent South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal). By 1879 the white population of the colony numbered around 27,000 and there were around 17,000 Indians. Black emigrants from Zululand remained largely in their chiefdoms (known in the Bantu languages by the prefix "ama") which were allocated territory within the colony, but these were overcrowded and located on the least desirable land. The British recognised 99 hereditary chiefs by 1878 as well as 46 appointed chiefs or head men of lower status. The chiefs' power was gradually eroded as British law took the place of traditional tribal law and taxation was imposed.
In the late 1870s, the British High Commissioner for Southern Africa, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, attempted to form a confederation of British possessions in the region. As part of this ambition, the annexation of Zululand was planned. In 1878, the senior British military commander in the region, Lieutenant-General Frederic Thesiger (later and more commonly known as Lord Chelmsford), began gathering forces in Natal for an invasion of Zululand. Chelmsford's plan called for an advance by five columns of troops, although manpower shortages required him to reduce this to three. The Right Column (formerly No. 1 Column) under Colonel Charles Pearson was to advance along the eastern coast, the Left Column (formerly No. 4 Column) under Colonel Evelyn Wood was to launch a feint on the west flank, and Chelmsford's Centre Column (comprising the combined Nos. 2 & 3 Columns) was to advance on the Zulu capital at Ulundi. The former No. 5 Column under Colonel Hugh Rowlands was assigned to the recently-annexed Transvaal Colony to defend its border with Zululand.
The majority of British supplies were carried by ox-drawn wagons. There were no roads in Zululand and the existing unimproved paths were used only by traders; they turned to quagmires in the rain and were occasionally broken by steep-sided dongas (dry river beds). River fords (locally known as drifts) were impassable in high water and quickly ruined when trafficked heavily.
Formation
Chelmsford, guided by the commander of No. 2 Column, Colonel Anthony Durnford — a seasoned South African campaigner — raised a force of pioneers from the black subjects of Natal to assist the columns with engineering tasks such as improvement of the tracks. This was a development of the Natal government's long-established isiBhalo levy system by which men were pressed into duty to carry out road repairs. Durnford had formed similar forces during the 1873 rebellion of the Hlubi chief Langalibalele in Natal.
Three companies of pioneers were raised, with a nominal strength of 5 white officers (1 captain and 4 lieutenants), 4 black non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and 96 men. It had originally been intended that each company would be commanded by a regular British Army officer of the Royal Engineers, but there were too few to spare, so Durnford had to turn to the Natal government to supply suitable men. The colony's acting Secretary for Native Affairs, John Wesley Shepstone, selected the three chiefs who would be responsible for providing the men for the unit. Levies were also being taken for men to form the Natal Native Contingent (NNC), which had been raised as an auxiliary fighting force, and Durnford instructed that the best men from these levies also be sent to the Natal Pioneers.
The Natal Colony supplied the equipment for the pioneers: each man was provided with a pickaxe, shovel or crowbar and the non-commissioned officers were issued with a rifle. The men were issued uniforms of cast-off pre-1872 British Army frock jackets, knee-length white canvas trousers, a blue pillbox hat with a yellow band and a British Army greatcoat. The pioneers were issued a cooking pot for every ten men and supplied with a daily ration of a of mealie (maize) meal, of fresh meat and of salt. Their pay was £1 () a month, with NCOs receiving an additional five shillings (£0.25, ).
The Natal Pioneers were raised from November 1878 and ordered to assemble at Fort Napier in Pietermaritzburg in early December. They served throughout the Anglo-Zulu War of the following year and were disbanded in October 1879, after the Zulu capitulation.
No. 1 Company Formation and first invasion No. 1 Company was commanded by Lieutenant W. J. Nolan and numbered 80 men. The company was formed of men supplied by Chief Mbozana of the amaNgangoma from the Verulam district. Together with a detachment of the amaNgcolosi, assigned to No. 3 Company, they were the first men to report for duty with the pioneers and arrived at Fort Napier on 23 December. They spent around a week being drilled by Nolan in the town engineer's yard. The pioneers of No. 1 Company were generally older, married men.
No. 1 Company was inspected by Frere and Chelmsford on 6 January 1879 and were afterwards assigned to No. 3 Column. They left Pietermaritzburg for the front on 11 January, the same day the column crossed the Buffalo River into Zululand at Rorke's Drift. No. 1 Company was put to use almost immediately as the marshy ground in the vicinity of the Bashee River proved impassable to Chelmsford's wagon train, heading to its first camp in Zululand at Isandlwana. The company worked from 14 to 19 January on construction of a corduroy road across the soft ground and improving fords across a number of streams. They were assisted by men of the NNC and some British infantry.
At Isandlwana the company occupied a position adjacent to the track that ran through the southern portion of the British position; at night they supplied a guard detail for the track. Chelmsford left the camp with around half his troops on the morning of 22 January 1879 to conduct a reconnaissance in force around the Mangeni Falls, where elements of the Zulu army had been spotted. Nolan and the majority of No. 1 Company joined the vanguard of this force to help clear a route for the artillery and assist in the crossing of several dongas. A small detail of one officer and ten men was left behind at the camp which was overrun by the Zulu during the Battle of Isandlwana later the same day. Second invasion
After Isandlwana, No. 1 Company was reassigned to Wood's Left Column. During the second invasion of Zululand, which began in May, it was assigned to Wood's Flying Column which marched on the flank of Chelmsford's 2nd Division, advancing on Ulundi. The company participated in the British victory at the Battle of Ulundi on 4 July, the final pitched battle of the war. Nolan had by then been promoted to captain and commanded 4 officers and 46 men. The company was positioned in the centre of the British square and helped to entrench the position while under Zulu fire, raising a high embankment. They suffered no deaths in action, although Lieutenants Hickley and Andrews were wounded, one of them struck on the head by a bullet.
There was some discontent in No. 1 Company later in July as the Natal Native Horse and Wood's Irregulars (Swazi levies) had been disbanded following the victory at Ulundi and the pioneers also wanted to return home. The explanation that they were being kept because they were so useful to the British only partially mollified the men. The company accompanied British patrols across Zululand, searching for the Zulu king Cetshwayo; the king was captured on 28 August. On 2 September No. 1 Company was reviewed by Frere at Ulundi and complimented on its discipline and "workmanlike appearance". On 6 September Nolan reported to his superiors that the men wanted to go home and had said they would refuse orders that would taken them via the Middle Drift as they would have to carry out work to make this route viable. Colonel Charles Clarke, Nolan's superior, ordered the company to be arrested by British infantry, had two men flogged for insubordination and others fined, which ended the mutiny. No. 1 Company continued to be deployed with Clarke's column for the rest of the campaign, improving tracks as it marched back to Natal via Eshowe and the Middle Drift.
No. 2 Company Formation and first invasion No. 2 Company was commanded by Captain G. K. E. Beddoes and comprised 104 men. It was formed of men supplied by Chief Mahoyiza of the amaQanya from the Msinga district. Mahoyiza's levies were slow to arrive as he was not popular among his people and three of his five head men refused to send any men. A white settler, unwilling to lose his labour force, also intervened to prevent men from being sent away. The resident magistrate of the area called on other chiefs to provide labour but, before this could be actioned, Mahoyiza succeeded in raising the men required of him.