Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery
Photo added by Peter H

Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery

Eshowe, King Cetshwayo District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

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  • Get directions Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    Coordinates: -28.89471, 31.49626
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The Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery was established in 1879, after British forces occupied the abandoned KwaMondi Mission Station in Eshowe following the Battle of Nyezane on 22 Jan 1879. The mission station had been founded in 1869 by Rev Ommund Oftebro, known by the Zulus as 'Mondi', of the Norwegian Mission Society during the reign of King Mpande who had allowed the Christian missionaries into Zululand. The Mission Station was renamed Fort Eshowe and British forces dug deep trenches around the perimeter and converted the church into a hospital for those wounded in the battle. Within a few days, the British Commander Colonel Pearson found himself surrounded by Zulu impis and besieged for 10 weeks. By the time relief arrived on 3 Apr 1879, some 28 British officers and soldiers had died due to the lack of adequate medical provisions. The Norwegian Cemetery is beside the old Mission Station/Fort Eshowe. The British established a separate cemetery about 200m south of Fort Eshowe on sloping ground. When the fort was evacuated after the seige, the Zulu burnt it to the ground. The military cemetery was in use for about 20 years. Today the deep trenches dug by the British are all that remains of the fort. The Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery has a memorial listing 48 burials and a further 34 unknown soldiers also buried there.
The Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery was established in 1879, after British forces occupied the abandoned KwaMondi Mission Station in Eshowe following the Battle of Nyezane on 22 Jan 1879. The mission station had been founded in 1869 by Rev Ommund Oftebro, known by the Zulus as 'Mondi', of the Norwegian Mission Society during the reign of King Mpande who had allowed the Christian missionaries into Zululand. The Mission Station was renamed Fort Eshowe and British forces dug deep trenches around the perimeter and converted the church into a hospital for those wounded in the battle. Within a few days, the British Commander Colonel Pearson found himself surrounded by Zulu impis and besieged for 10 weeks. By the time relief arrived on 3 Apr 1879, some 28 British officers and soldiers had died due to the lack of adequate medical provisions. The Norwegian Cemetery is beside the old Mission Station/Fort Eshowe. The British established a separate cemetery about 200m south of Fort Eshowe on sloping ground. When the fort was evacuated after the seige, the Zulu burnt it to the ground. The military cemetery was in use for about 20 years. Today the deep trenches dug by the British are all that remains of the fort. The Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery has a memorial listing 48 burials and a further 34 unknown soldiers also buried there.

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  • Added: 12 Apr 2023
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2775850