Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford

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General The Right Honourable

The Lord Chelmsford

GCVO
Frederic Thesiger, c. 1870
Born(1827-05-31)31 May 1827
London, England
Died9 April 1905(1905-04-09) (aged 77)
London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1844–1905
RankGeneral
Battles/wars
Awards
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
  • Mentioned in Despatches
  • Order of the Medjidie (Ottoman Empire)
Other work

GCVO (31 May 1827 – 9 April 1905) was a British Army officer who rose to prominence during the Anglo-Zulu War, when an expeditionary force under his command suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of a Zulu force at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879. Despite this defeat, he was able to score several victories against the Zulus, culminating in the British victory at the Battle of Ulundi
, which ended the war and partly restored his reputation in Britain.

Early life

Frederic Augustus Thesiger was born 31 May 1827, the eldest child of

Baron Chelmsford. Thesiger was educated at Eton College.[1]

Thesiger's great-uncle Sir Frederick Thesiger was aide-de-camp to Lord Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

Military career

He wished to pursue a military career. In 1844, after unsuccessfully trying to obtain a place in the

Sir Edward Blakeney, from 1853 to 1854.[1][2]

Crimean War

In May 1855, he left for the Crimean War, in which he served firstly with his battalion, then as aide-de-camp from July 1855 to the commander of the 2nd Division, Lieutenant-General Edwin Markham, and finally as deputy assistant quartermaster general from November 1855 on the staff at Headquarters, being promoted to brevet major. He was mentioned in dispatches and received the fifth class of the Turkish Order of the Medjidie and the British, Turkish and Sardinian Crimean medals.[1][2]

Indian Rebellion of 1857

In 1857, he was promoted to captain and lieutenant colonel, and transferred (1858), as a lieutenant colonel, to the

Companion of the Order of the Bath and made an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria in 1868. He was Adjutant-General, India from 1869 to 1874.[1][2]

Thesiger returned to England in 1874 as colonel on the staff, commanding the forces at Shorncliffe Army Camp, and was appointed to command a brigade at Aldershot, with the temporary rank of brigadier general, in 1877. He had however requested a posting overseas in order to benefit from the cheaper cost of living.[1][2]

Anglo-Zulu War

Lord Chelmsford sketched by another officer at the Battle of Ulundi
Defeat at Isandlwana

Thesiger was promoted to major general in March 1877, appointed to command British forces in the

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in November 1878. His experiences fighting against the Xhosa created a low opinion of the fighting capabilities of African soldiers, which later led to disastrous consequences during the Anglo-Zulu War.[1][2]

In January 1879, the official Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a personal friend of Chelmsford, engineered the outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War by issuing the Zulu king Cetshwayo an ultimatum to effectively disband his military. Cetshwayo refused this ultimatum, an act which led to an outbreak of war between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. A British expeditionary force under the command of Chelmsford invaded the Zulu Kingdom, heading in three columns towards the Zulu capital, Ulundi. The force was attacked by a Zulu force at Isandlwana, during which the Zulus overran and destroyed the central column of Chelmsford's separated forces. The engagement was an unexpected victory for the Zulus, which threw British war plans into disarray.[3][4][5]

Afterwards, the British government, anxious to avoid the Zulus threatening

Garnet Wolseley.[6] However, this order could not be implemented until the arrival of Wolseley, and in the meantime Chelmsford ignored diplomatic overtures from King Cetshwayo[7] and made plans to capture Ulundi, aiming to defeat them in a decisive engagement and salvaging his reputation before Wolseley's arrival.[b] The Battle of Ulundi took place on 4 July 1879, being the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. After a half-hour bombardment by the Royal Artillery, Chelmsford attacked a Zulu army massed at Ulundi, making full use of concentrated small arms fire from Gatling guns and rifles, leading to the destruction of the Zulu force. The British Army's casualties after the sharp but brief engagement was ten killed and eighty-seven wounded, in exchange for nearly sixty times that number of Zulu dead. Hall 1978 quotes the London Standard reporting 473 counted dead and another 1000 or more wounded. Chelmsford ordered Ulundi to be burnt, after which he handed over command to Wolseley on 15 July at the fort at St. Paul's and left South Africa by ship for England two days later. The defeat of the Zulus at Ulundi allowed Chelmsford to partially recover his military prestige after the disaster at Isandlwana, and he was honoured as a Knight Grand Cross of Bath.[8] However, he was severely criticised by a subsequent enquiry launched by the British Army into the events that had led to the Isandlwana debacle,[9] and did not serve in the field again.[10]

Later career

Lord Chelmsford became lieutenant general in 1882,

Church Lads' Brigade, a post he retained until his death.[1]

Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

Personal life

His sister,

John Eardley Wilmot Inglis (1814–1862)[14] who commanded the British forces during the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. She later wrote of her experiences during the siege in her diary, which was later published.[15]

In 1867 Thesiger married Adria Fanny Heath (1845-1926). The couple had six sons, two of whom died in infancy.

First World War and was also a Page of Honour for Queen Victoria. The diplomat Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who served in Addis Ababa in 1916, was another son, and father of the author and explorer Wilfred Thesiger.[1] He was the uncle of the actor Ernest Thesiger
.

Death

Chelmsford had a seizure and died while playing

billiards at the United Service Club in London on 9 April 1905 in his 78th year. His body was buried in Brompton Cemetery in London.[2]

Arms

Coat of arms of Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford
Crest
A cornucopia fesswise the horn Or the fruit Proper thereon a dove holding in the beak a sprig of laurel also Proper.
Escutcheon
Gules a griffin segreant Or within an orle of roses Argent barbed and seeded Proper.
Supporters
On either side a griffin Or winged Vair
Motto
Spes Et Fortuna (Hope and Fortune) [16]

In popular culture

Peter O'Toole portrayed Chelmsford in the film Zulu Dawn (1979), which depicted the events at the Battle of Isandlwana.

Notes

  1. ^ Junior Guards officers of that era held rank in the Army one rank higher than in their own regiment
  2. ^ "... everyone understood that he would try and end the war before he was superseded ... that 'poor Lord Chelmsford' might get a chance, win a battle ...". [6]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36464. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Greaves 2011, pp. 161–163.
  3. ^ Thompson 2006, p. 75,"Thus ended the first British invasion of Zululand."
  4. ^ Knight 2003, p. 27, Map titled: "First invasion of Zululand".
  5. ^ Pollard 2002, p. 117.
  6. ^ a b Colenso 1880, p. 455.
  7. ^ Colenso 1880, p. 456.
  8. ^ Lock & Quantrill 2015, p. 283.
  9. ^ Lock & Quantrill 2015, Ch 9.
  10. ^ Gump 1996, p. 99.
  11. ^ "Birthday Honours". The Times. No. 36921. London. 10 November 1902. p. 10.
  12. ^ "No. 27493". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 November 1902. pp. 7161–7163.
  13. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36955. London. 19 December 1902. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Hon. Julia Selina Thesiger". thepeerage.com. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  15. ^ Inglis 1892.
  16. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1865.

Bibliography

External links

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Military offices
Preceded by Adjutant-General, India
1869–1874 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of the Sherwood Foresters
1898–1900 		Succeeded by
Sir Mark Walker
Preceded by Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards
1900–1905 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Chelmsford
1878–1905 		Succeeded by
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