Redwood Natal [i.e. Province of KwaZulu-Natal] and Zululand Album. 1879-80

137 x 205 mm. Showing the stone cross erected in 1880 by the Empress Eugenie on Queen Victoria's behalf at Ityotyosi. The inscription reads 'This cross is erected by Queen Victoria in affectionate remembrance of Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Prince Imperial, to mark the spot where, while assisting in a reconnaissance with the British troops, on the 1st June 1879, he was attacked by a party of Zulus, and fell with his face to the foe.' The Prince Imperial, son of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie, took refuge in England with his parents after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Entering the army in 1872, the Prince Imperial managed, after some political opposition, to join the army in South Africa in an unofficial 'spectator' capacity. On June 1 he was sent out (or rather requested permission to go out) to continue making sketches of the ground covered by Harrison's column during the second invasion of Zululand. The land being considered free of Zulus, a small escort under Lieutenant J.B. Carey was sent with him. It appears that Carey acceded to the Prince Imperial's request to rest in a badly chosen spot - a deserted kraal on the banks of the Ityotsi surrounded by mealies (maize or Indian corn) and it was here that the group were attacked by a party of Zulus. The Prince Imperial and two other men were killed in the panic that ensued. The impact of the death was enormous and Carey was later found guilty of misbehaviour in the face of the enemy, although this sentence was later quashed. The last lines of the inscription on the grave are a bitter reference to Carey's supposed cowardice.

For a portrait of the Prince Imperial, see Y3058B/1. For views of the embarkation of the Prince's body at the Point, Durban, see Y3058A/12 and Y3058A/14.

Indexed

CN 3306.