THE IMPERIAL VISION OF HEROISM 85
Horse Guards? The answer may lie in the sequence of events leading up to
the admission of posthumous VCs. Once again, Roberts was at the heart of
the matter, even though he was still in Britain at the time.
Contrary to Victorian military conventions, Frederick Sleigh Roberts had
married in 1859 at age 26, while still a lieutenant. Only three of his children,
however, survived into adulthood, two daughters and a son. Frederick
Sherston Roberts duly followed his father’s footsteps into a military career,
gaining a commission in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps.^46 The winter of 1899
found him in the field against the Boers. Freddy Roberts was a well-liked
young officer who tried hard to live up to his father’s reputation. He was
with General Sir Redvers Buller’s staff on 15 December 1899 at the disastrous
Battle of Colenso.
Colenso has been rightly condemned as one of the most ineptly conducted
actions in the annals of British military history and more generally as a
prime example of how not to fight a battle. Its role in the evolution of the
Victoria Cross as an institution is less well known. A split-second decision
by a lieutenant precipitated a complete reversal in the interpretation of the
Victoria Cross warrant, and led to an incident of favoritism unparalleled
since the Havelock VC of the Mutiny.
Lack of proper reconnaissance led Buller to believe the town of Colenso
was deserted, or at the worst, only lightly defended.^47 When it became
apparent that this assumption was wrong, Buller lost control of the battle
and instead became obsessed with trying to save the guns of the 14th and
66th batteries.
These guns had become exposed and then had to be abandoned due to
the rashness of the battery commander, Colonel Charles Long. His own
philosophy was ‘the only way to smash those beggars is to rush in at
’em.’^48 Appropriate, perhaps, for a cavalry regiment, recommended, even,
when dealing with a savage or aboriginal foe, but hardly sound doctrine
when facing an enemy equipped with modern rifles.^49 Buller had given only
ambiguous orders for the deployment of the artillery; Long’s best judgement
was to gallop past the advancing infantry for a full mile and unlimber his
guns in a completely exposed position, taking care to dress his formation
to parade ground perfection before opening fire.^50 The horses and limbers
were sent back to shelter in a large donga (a dry wash) some 800 yards to
the rear.
Long’s guns fired more than 1000 shells within an hour and ran short
of ammunition. The gunners took 25 percent casualties in the process, but
managed to silence the Boer artillery across the Tugela. Long was wounded
and command devolved to Major A. C. Bailward, who ordered the crews
lily
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