Painting of the battle of rorke's drift which took place in natal during the anglo-zulu war in 1879. De neuville based the painting on eye witness accounts and it depicts several events of the battle occurring at once. Defenders depicted in the painting:
lieutenant john chard (to the right at the barrier in pale breeches with rifle)
corporal scammell of the natal native contingent incorrectly shown in the uniform of the 24th or corporal william allen (handing cartridges to chard)
corporal ferdinand schiess (wearing a bandoleer and stabbing a zulu at the barrier with his bayonet)
chaplain george smith (bearded man handing out cartridges from a haversack)
acting assistant commissary james dalton (sat in foreground with a wounded shoulder)
surgeon james reynolds (attending to dalton's wound)
lieutenant gonville bromhead (standing in the centre of the painting pointing to his left)
private frederick hitch (standing behind bromhead)
private henry hook (carrying private john connolly on his back away from the burning hospital)
assistant commissary walter dunne (to the left holding a biscuit box)
(sources: david, saul [2005] zulu: the heroism and tragedy of the zulu war of 1879 isbn 9780141015699; knight, ian [1996] rorke's drift 1879: 'pinned like rats in a hole' isbn 9781855325067). Object Type: painting. Genre: history painting. Date: 1880. Dimensions: height: 2,610 mm (102.75 in); width: 3,770 mm (12.36 ft). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Art Gallery of New South Wales. Alphonse de Neuville - The defence of Rorke's Drift 1879 - Google Art Project
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