Manuscript Journal and Ledger of Colonel Henry Fanshawe Davies 1879

This Journal has just appeared for sale on ABE and looks like a new discovery. It is way out of my price range though.

Davies commanded the replacement drafts for the 24th aboard the Troopship Clyde.


"Bookseller: M Benjamin Katz FineBooksRareManuscripts
(Toronto, ON, Canada) Price : £4,356.70

Book Description: FORT MARSHALL ZULU KINGDOM SOUTH AFRICA, 1879. Book Condition: Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a super, original 1879 manuscript relic of British colonial campaigns being a journal and ledger regarding the Anglo-Zulu War fought between the Zulu Empire and Britain. The 8.5 x 5.5 inch approximately 250 page books is handwritten by Colonel H[enry] F[anshawe] Davies [1837-1914] of the famed Grenadier Guards [see BIO NOTES] with some entries in another hand details the Campaign from the mundane and practical to the historically significant. The book begins with a four page index and table of contents with page numbers. Entries on the contents pages include "to know what coal has been collected", "letter respecting drunkenness in camp", "oxen sent to Koppie Alleine", "escort duty between F.N. (?) and Fort Marshall", "Zulus reports on having seen", statistics such as "Return of Troops in the Field 6 July 1879" and "Statement of Supplies" - including Brandy, Port Wine and Sherry. A number of pages are taken up with copies of letters from Davies and others presumably received by him. Some of the entries are brief, others more detailed: i.e., a Convoy Road Report which runs to five closely written pages. We note book's front cover, which has been bent back and cracked, Davies has written "Should have been written with greater care". Researchers and historians will no doubt agree that the material in this journal and ledger provides a unique if not unparalleled perspective regarding the day-to-day doings of this British battle regiment at a pivotal junction in British colonial history in Africa. BIO NOTES: One online source: Lieutenant-General Henry Fanshawe Davies of Elmley Castle, Worcestershire was born in 1837. Appointed Midshipman in the Royal Navy in 1852 he served with the Navy in the Burma War and in the Baltic. The family had a long history of association with the Grenadier Guards and with the death of his brother Lieutenant F.B. Davies in the trenches before Sebastopol, H.F. Davies resigned his Naval Commission and continued with the family tradition by taking a Lieutenancy in the Grenadier Guards in 1854. Promoted Captain in 1857, he was advanced Colonel in 1870 and sailed for the Cape, for service in the Zulu War, in March 1879. Davies commanded the drafts of the 24th Foot, on board the Troop Transport Clyde; which sank after running onto the reefs off Dyers Island and was in charge of all the troops at the wreck, ensuring their eventual safety. Having arrived in South Africa he joined Major-General Newdigate's Staff and was appointed Officer Commanding of an advanced depot at Conference Hill, May 1879 and was appointed Officer Commanding of Fort Newdigate, the advanced post for the assault on Ulundi (M.I.D. London Gazette 7.5.1879). He commanded the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, 1880-85; Major-General Commanding Cork District, 1889; Lieutenant-General 1893; retired 1898 and was made Honorary Colonel of the Lincolns, 1908. He is buried at Elmley Castle, near Evesham. Approximately 16 South Africa 1877-79 medals, all with '1879' clasp awards were issued to the Grenadier Guards. Davies was the Senior Officer present during the campaign." Overall G. Manuscript. Bookseller Inventory # 0001906"

Steve

Hi Steve .
Thanks for the link much appreciated , Also out of my price range as well
Cheers 90th.