THE ANGLO-ASANI'Z biAK OF 1873-1874

A NARRATIVE AND ANALYSIS

by

Pe te r Barton Ki.lby

B. A . , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1960

A THESIS SIII3iiITTED I N PARTIAL FULFfLLI.Ii3fIT OF

i n t h e Department

of

His to ry

EXAMINING COMMITTEE APPROVAL

Alexander Peter Kup Senior Supervisor

P h i l i p St igger Examining Committee

B r i a n H a r r i s o n E ~ a m i n i n ~ ; Commit tee

PARTTAL COPYRIGIIT LICENSE

I he reby g r a n t t o Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y t h e r i g h t t o lend

my t h e s i s o r d i s s e r t a t i o n ( t h e t i t l e of which i s shown below) t o u s e r s

o f t h e Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , and t o make p a r t i a l o r s i n g l e

c o p i e s o n l y f o r s u c h u s e r s o r i n r e s p o n s e t o a r e q u e s t from t h e l i b r a r y

of a n y o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y , o r o t h e r e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n , on i t s own

b e h a l f o r f o r one of i t s u s e r s . I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t pe rmiss ion f o r

m u l t i p l e copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be g r a n t e d

b y me o r t h e Dean of Graduate S t t ld ies . It is unders tood t h a t copying

o r p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l n o t be a l lowed

w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n pe rmiss ion .

T i t l e of T h e s i s / ~ i s s e r t a t i o n :

A u t h o r :

( s i g n a t u r e )

(name )

( d a t e )

The purpose of t h i s s tudy i s two-fold. F i r s t , it i s i n -

t ended t o be t h e n a r r a t i v e of a war which r e s u l t e d i n a r a d i c a l

change i n B r i t i s h p o l i c y on t h e Xest Coast of Af r i ca . Second,

it i s an a t t e m p t t o a s s e s s , i n m i l i t a r y t e r m s , t h e manner i n

which t h e B r i t i s h conducted t h e i r campaign a g a i n s t t h e Asarite i n

1873-1874.

The in format ion upon which t h e s t u d y i s based was secured

p r i m a r i l y from t h e Co lon ia l O f f i c e Conf iden t i a l P r i n t , t h e Ses-

s i o n a l Pape r s of t h e B r i t i s h Pa r l i amen t , and s e v e r a l e d i t e d co l -

l e c t i o n s of document s- -notably t h o s e compiled by J . J . Crooks,

G.8. Metca l fe , and C.W. Mewbury. I n a d d i t i o n , however, works

pub l i shed by many o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s themselves proved t o be

i n v a l u a b l e . Although s t u d i e s pub l i shed by X.F!. C l a r i c g e , U.

Kimble, and U.B.F. Ward were used somewhat e x t e n s i v e l y , secondary

m a t e r i a l s provided l i t t l e more than background i n f o r m t i o n .

A s an i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h e growth of B r i t i s h involvement on

t h e Gold ~ o a s t and t h e development of t h e Anglo-Asante d i s p u t e

i s t r a c e d from t h e t ime o f t h e f i rs t B r i t i s h c o n t a c t v i t h t h e

r e g i o n up t o t h e v e r y eve of war. The s tudy then procezds t o

examine i n d e t a i l t h e conduct o f t h e campaign a g a i n s t t h e Asante.

F i n a l l y , because t h e o f f i c i a l docunonts and much o f t h e primary

sou rce m a t e r i a l p r e s e n t a d i s t o r t e d view of t h e r o l e s played by

t h e v a r i o u s p a r t i c i p a n t s , an a t t e m p t is made t o r e - e v a l u a t e t h e

performance of t h o s e p a r t i c i p a n t s .

T h i s approach h a s r e v e a l e d t h a t much of what was w r i t t e n

o f t h i s war was e i t h e r b i a s e d o r i n c o n p l c t e . For example, Colo-

n e l R.U. Har ley, t h e Admin i s t r a to r of t h e Gold uoas t u n t i l Octo-

b e r 1873, was a man who r e c e i v e d l i t t l e r e c o g n i t i o n f o r h i s r o l e

i n t h s war y e t he is r evea l ed as a man who acconp l i shed much i n

t h e f a c e of a lmos t overwhelming odus. S i ~ r i i l a r l y , t h e F a n t i

t r i b e s m e n , who were c o n s i s t e n t l y r e v i l e d f o r t h e i r l a z i n e s s and

cowardice a t t h i s t i m e , emerge i n a cons ide rab ly b e t t e r l i g h t .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r o l e which Capta in John Glover, R.V., p layed i.n

t h e war i s proven t o have been much more s i g n i f i c a n t t h a n h i t h e r -

t o acknowledged. Above a l l , &la jor-General S i r Garnet T,lolseley,

who i s o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o as one of 3 r i t a i n ' s g r e a t e s t generals ,

i s proven i n t h i s i n s t a n c e t o have been a s o l d i e r o f fa r l e s s

m e r i t t h a n p r e v i o u s l y supposed.

CHAPTER PAGE

I . THE DEVELOPXLNT OF APT GLO-ASANrE IIELATIOMS

TO 1873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

. . . I n i t i a l European Impact on t h e Gold Coast 1

. . . . . . . . . . The R i s e of ) 'ant i and Asante 3

The Asante on t h e Coast and I n i t i a l

Anglo-Asante R e l a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . 6

George Xaclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Growth of C r i t i s h I n f l u e n c e on t h e

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gold Coast 20

. . . . . The War of 1g63 and i t s Consequences 26

'I'he S e l e c t Committee of 1865 and

t h e Continued Growth of B r i t i s h I n f l u e n c e . . 28

The Cession of t h e Dutch F o r t s . . . . . . . . 37

. . . . . . . . . . . . The F a n t i Confederat ion 42

T h e E v e o f \ ! a r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

I1 . STALSIUTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

. . . . . . . . . . . The Asante Plan o f At tack 1+8

. . . . . . . . I n i t i a l F a n t i - B r i t i s h React ion 5 1

. . . . The B a t t l e o f Dunkwa and I ts Ai'terrnath 70

The B a t t l e o f ;ukwa and t h e c o l l a p s e

o f t h e F a n t i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Inc reased 3 r i t i s h involvenent and

A c t i v i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

CHAPTER

. . . . . . . . . tiommodore C;om:lerellls Defea t 95

. . . . . . . . . . . Colonel Harley Replaced 97

. . . . . . . . . . . 111. THE 'PROTECTORATEt CLEAKED 99

. . . . . . . . The Appointment o f S i r Garnet 100

R e c r u i t i n g E f f o r t s Along t h e West 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coast o f A f r i c a 104

. . . . . . I n i t i a l bleasures on t h e Gold Coast 106

. . . . . . . . . . . . T h e B a t t l e ofEsarnan 1 2 1

. . . . . . . Amankwa T ia t s Withdrawal Begins 128

Abrakrampa and Subsequent Ope ra t ions . . . . 135

. . . . . . . . . The ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' t i leared 147

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . I V . TI IEDRIVETOKU1. iASI 150

. . . . . . . . P r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e Invas ion 1 5 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . The A u x i l i a r y ~0l~ITm.s 159

. . . . . . . . . . . Transpor t Problems Begin 163

. . . . . . The Advanced-Guard c r o s s e s t h e P r a 168

. . . . . . . . . . . The Kain Eody Advances 174

. . . . . . . . . . . . The B a t t l e of Amoafu 1g0

Kofi K a r i k a r i ' s F i n a l Diplomat ic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I n i t i a t i v e 192

. . . . . . . . . . . . . The B a t t l e o f Odasu 194

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kumasi Taken 198

. . . . . . . . . . . The Kcturn t o Cape Coast 200

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A T r e a t y Signed 207

- v i i -

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. CONCLUSICXS 209

F O O T N O T E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 4 . . 321

AWENDIX A - E x t r a c t From Colon ia l O f f i c e

Orders t o S i r Garnet Vo l se l ey , 1 0 September,

1 8 7 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

APFEIJDIX B - War O f f i c e Orders t o S i r Garnet

. . . . . . . . . Wolseley - 8 September, 1873 337

APPENDIX C - F u r t h e r I n s t r u c t i o n Fron t h e

C o l o n i a l Office t o S i r Garnet !'folseley -

APPENDIX D - I n i t i a l L e t t e r s From Kofi

K a r i k a r i t o S i r Garnet Wolseley. . . . . . . . 343

- viii - LIST OF TABLZS

TABLE PAGE

I. B r i t i s h Troop A r r i v a l s - December 1873 . . . . . 296

11. Percentage of b lo r t a l i ty t o S t reng th f o r

t h e Campaign . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

111. T o t a l S ick , Inva l ided , llounded, Died,

and Ki l l ed f o r t h e Campaign. . . . . . . . . 319

LIST OF BIAPS

PAGE

Vest A f r i c a "c i r ca tT 1G65. . . . . . . . . . . . . x

. . . . . . . Gold Coast - Chief T r i b a l D i v i s i o n s 251

. . . . . . . . . Post-TiTar E x p l o r a t i o n , 1815-1821 345

. . . . . Clapper ton , Lander , and t h e Lower Niger 345

Ske tch t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e Act ion a t Esarnan,

. . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 t h o f O c t o b e r , 1 8 7 3 . 122

Diagram o f B r i t i s h d i s p o s i t i o n s a t t h e B a t t l e

. . . . . . . o f Amoafu, 3 l s t - o f January , 1874. 308

Sketch t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e a c t i o n a t Amoafu,

31st o f January , 1874 . . . . . . . . . .. . . 183

Elap t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e

Ashan t i s up t o t h e i r r e p u l s e frcnl Abrakrarnpa

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . i n ~ o v e m b e r 1873. ; 346

9. General Kap of t h e Gold Coast and Ashant i . 347

10. Nap of t h o s e p a r t s o f Ashant i and t h e B r i t i s h

P r o t e c t o r a t e which f o r a e d t h e t h e a t r e of

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . war i n 1873-1874. 348

WEST AFRICA circa 1865

Bathurst European (and Lrberian) possessions underlined

1 1 I I 1 I I 1 1 I I I I I Areas under European rule and direct influence - --- - -- Approximate boundaries of certain African states FUTA JALON Names of African states and tribal areas

Approximate Northern limit of tropical forest

G u l f # f G u i n e a il

The s t o r y of t h e c i r c u ~ n s t n n c c s and e v e ~ t s which l e d t o

t!le 2.nglo-Asante v n r of 1873-18'74 i s cociplex and. o f t en c o n f ~ s i n g .

M&d the Asante been a c o a s t a l people , ou t l . i n ing t h e cai;ses of

t i l a i r d i s p u t e w i th t h e B r i t i s h would no doubt be o much s i m p l e r

t a s k . I!ovever, Asante was an i n l a n d s t a t e and because of t h i s ,

t h e t r : ~ c i v g of t h e development of t h e Anglo- f i sn~te d i s p u t e Ln- t

voivev t h e t e l l i n g of a p a r a l l e l s t o r y . That i s , t h e s t o r y o f

t h o g r o w i ~ f ; invo1veiiler.t of t h e B r i t i s h i n tile affairs of t h a

CoRstal s t a t e s on t h e Gold Cbas t , For had the B r i t i s h n o t b e e m e

involved i n t h e se t t le t lenl t of d i s p u t e s bet wee^. t h e c o a s t a l s t a t e s

the;nsel.ves and between. t h o s e s t a t e s a n d the Asante , t h e r e would

e v e n t u a l l y occu r r ed ,

3y t h e begiy!qiqc; of' t h e ~ i n e t e e n t l l c e n t u r y , hov.-2-ier, a

s u b t l e c h a ~ g e h r i begun t o t a l i e p l a c e i n t h e r o l e o f t h e "Uuro-.

p z a m on t h e Gold ~ o a s t . 4 T h i s change began t o o c c u r when t h e

growi.ng c o a s t . s l t r a d e l e d t o t h e r i s e of new ursban se t t l e : : ; ?n t s

n e a r t h e walls o f t h e v a r i o u s f o r t s . In d e s z r i b i r g t h e e f f e c t s

of t h e s e new A f r i c a n se t t le r r?ev . t s , J ,I). Fage w r o t e ,

The l i m i t s of t h e s e ( n e w urban s e t - t l e n e n t s ) t o o k no a c c o u ~ t of t h e bound- a r i e s ' o f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l n a t i v e a u t h o r - i t i e s . T h e i r i n h a b i t a n t s i n c l u d e d Sot11 permanent awl t r a n s i e n t e ; , i i ~ r n n t s from a number o f s t a t e s , soine cjf ther !~ prob- a b l y i n t h e r e x o t e i ~ t e r i o r . The eco- n o ~ n i c a l l y less s u c c e s s f u l o f thsih~ were a p t t o make t h e i r l i v i ~ . ~ by p ~ r f o r n i n g s e r v i c e s o f v ? r i o u s k i n d s f o r t11e oc- c u p m t s o f t h e f o r t s o r e v m by f i n c i i ~ g regular . er!l;)lo;ri:?cnt a s a r t i s a n s , s c r v a n t s , o r s o l d i e r s v i t h i r ! t h e n . . . , The Euro- pean l a ~ g u a g e , cwt;oins, 2nd r e l i g i o r ! t h e comnunity a s a ~ ~ h o l c Iiad i n con::non.

There were i n d i g e r o u s m y s i n v ~ h i ch t h e A f r i c a q s c o u l d s o l v e t h e d i v i s i m s and crsr.l"licts of a u % h o r i t y aris:'i?g i n s u c h c o s i n o p o l i t a ~ c o i m u ~ i t i e s , b u t ir, t h e l a s t r e s o r t , p r t i c u l a r l y w h e ~ i t camp, t o t h e d e f e z c e o f t h e cornrilu~ity a g ~ i n s t o u t s i d 5 r s , a u t h o r i t y n n t u r a l l y t e n d e d t ; ~ resist i%ii th t h e coi::inander o f t h e f o r t s and i t s s o l d i e r s and guns, a3d t h e i n h a b i t s n t s t ~ o ~ l d a l s o n a t u - r a l l y t e n d t o s i d z w i t h t h e i r o m par - t i c u l - a r g roup of Zuropeans i~ c o n f l i c t s betrieen tile v a r i o u s Europzan n a t i ~ n - a l i t i e s , 5

mora l o b l i G z t , i o n f o r tile Europeans t o pro:ect t h e s e .4f r icarLs who

r, ha(]. ] .oj t t h e i r t m d i t i o r a i c ~ e ~ ! v . ~ 0 ; i,l*ot,ectior s ~ n i r s t t h e dogre-

a t l o r : s lowly L u t s ~ r e l y drew t h e 2 r i t l s h nizrclmnts and sukse?u2rt-

ly t h e Government i y t o t i le rmi?y.streax of Gold Coast p o l - i t i c s .

E v e n t u a l l y t h o ~ ro1 : th i n ecor;onic and p o l i t i c a l i r n p o r t a ~ c e of

t h e s e sett.1.-::lr:nt:: aTd t h e s u b s c q u e ~ t . c la ims t o sove re ign ty over

t;hen e v e g t u a l l : ~ proved t o be one o r t h e major prc~bleins i n h ~ ~ 1 . a -

Asante r e l a t i c n s .

- , ~n t h e rncantirne, however, t h e r e was y2 t a n o t h e r r a s u l t of

t k e Europe2 .~ impact on t h e A f r i c m s i t u a t i o n wllich c r e a t e d the

re:;ior. of !:est Africa. I n a co:r?.:~ent on t h i s r e v o l . ~ . t i o n , J . E .

Facie wro te :

I n t h e b r o a d e s t se-se, t;ixt was happe3j.n.g t o t h e Gold Coast , a d t o Yiest Af r i ca i n g e r e r a l , (i? t h e six- t e e ~ t h , seven te2nth and e i " h t e e ~ t h ce r tc ! r ies ) was that i t was b e i r . ~ t u rned about - f ace . Tiith t h e develop- ment of European m a r i t i i ~ e t r a d e on tlie c o a s t , new f o c i o f e c o ~ o m i c aLd p o l i t - i c a l . cliani;e were evo lv ing i n t h e sou th , i n tile c o a s t l a n d s and i~ the a d j a c e n t f o r e s t c o u r t r y , i ~ s t e a d o f , as h i t h e r t o , i n t h e ~ o r t h e r n savanna coun t ry borclcr- i n g i h e Sahara 1,:ith i t s arnel-borne t r a d e x i t h ITort'n Af r i ca . 8

A s a r e s u l t of t h i s c'na::gint t r a d e p a t t e r n , two s t a t e s

Cc~nverseJ .y , the A~;~, - l te had , by t h p e r d of t h e e i ~ h t e e n ' ; h c e ~ t u r y ,

sccured c c - t r o l over t h c s u p p l y of s l a v e s aard go1.d t o the coast;~l

r sac l les o f the Tra ~ i v e r . ~ . The s i t u a t i o r ! was one whicll could e v e n t u a l l y l e a d on ly

t o c o n f l i c t f o r as t h e Asante E i :~p i re c o r t i n u e d to grow i n S c t h

power a ~ ! d inf l -vence, i t could nct a c c e p t its l a c k o f d i r e c t ac-

cess t o t h e sea.' It i s t r u e t h a t th9 Asanto had, by virtie 21. '

t h e i r c a p t u r e f'rzi;~ the nen:;ycl-o of t h e Dctcil Fo t e4 f o r Xli,lira

Cast;l.e, been brou.gl~t; i r , t o clirec;; c o n t a c t w i t h t l i ? c o z s t a.5 ea r l y

as 1'700. 10 1io~:evei-, o h ~ e r s l l i p o f the V o t e did pot i n any r:ay

g~i?~'ant~c iinir:lpeded a c c e s s t o t h e coast a t E1:nina because t l i p

Far?.i;j. t r i b e s occupied t h e t e r r i t o r y which l a y betweer. the :;cut-h-

e rn port,j.on of' t h e 1 rir,g of s t a t e s ' which cor:.prised provl.7 c i ~ l

~sanl;e'' and t h e cc;st. It :,as only n s t u r d , t,he:-ofore, Tor t h e

Asante t o eventually under take a d r i v e to t h e sea i n an eyfort;

to e15.r.linat e the coe s t a L n i d d l e m n . Conversely, hovever , t h i s

Was a m v e .i~',:ich t h o s e midcll.emsn ca12.d n o t ard i - iould 20% permit

Withcut a s t r u g g l e .

r i t o r y md-c? t h e Asante very c a u t i o u s ir. ';ilc>ir hand l ing of t h e

s i t u a t i o n . Ever! SO, by 1765, t e3s io r . s had incr-ecsec? t o .such ar?

e x t e ~ t that; a c l a s h b e t v e e ~ . t h e tilo peo;nles appeared unavoidable .

I n f a c t , ec?rly i n 1765 t h e Astrntehene, Osci KO j o , a c t i ; a l l y began

t o g a t h e r h i s army f o r an i n v a s i o n of F a n t i t e r r i t o r y i n r e t r i -

but ior , f o r hat he viewed a s a F a v t i a c t of t r e a c h e r y . Th i s

puzl i t ive e ~ p e d i t ~ i o n was a b a n d o ~ e d a t tile l a s t n l n u t e because

Gsei Kojo d i e d b e f o r e he could coxp le t e h i s p r epc t r a t i o r s . A

~ u b s e q ~ i e n t twcnty-year pe;.iod cf s u c c e s s i o n a l disputes tiler. m d e

i t imposs ib l e f o r t h e A s c ~ t e t o o r g a ~ i z c s u f f i c i e c t f o r c e s t o

c a r r y o u t t h e o p z r a t i o n . F e v c r t h e l e s s , t h i s eras o ~ l y a pos t -

poT.euent.

.Osei 3onsa becniiie Asart;cher.e ir! 1800 and by 1696 he had

corn,n:eted a s e r i e s of p,~un.it;ive wars w i t h i n t h e Ex_r,ire i:hich s e -

cured h i s p o s i t i o n as Asar?.t;e'iler.e and r e - e s t ab l i shed . h i s suz5rai.n-

t y o v n r tile ' p rov inces ' of t h e ~ m ~ i r e . ' ) He w s t h u s rezid; t o

p ick up Ose i I:ojols q u a r r e l and vhen the F a n t i r e f u s e d t o s u r -

r emle r a f u g i t i v e froi.1 t i le ,!!santshenefs j u s t i c e , he had a l e ~ i t -

yr h a t e excuse f o r i:aging v:ar. ~3vcr. a t t h i s s tn -e he was r e l u c -

t a n t t o engage t h e F a n t i i n open warfare. ?!ever theless a f t e r

C ( Several. f u t i l e a!;;;expts at, ~ e ~ o t i a t i o n , bne Asante c rxy was f i n a l -

1 4 l y launched i n t o F a n t i t ;c:rritory e a r l y in 1805.

%he r e s ~ x ? . t a q t c i - : ; n p i p wn:; shcr'i a?<! d e c i s i v e . The

Asan te r i m s e v e r l ~ l sriall v i c t c r i o s i? tie bordcr C O \ I P ~ T ~ ' a"(! t h e n

advanced s n i . f t l y t , m a r d t h e s o n . By :hy 3.606, t h e sain F a n t i

army had beer r:;ct and u t t e r ) - y defe-l ted : : i t b i n f o u r m i l e s of '3s2s

C o a s t , near t h e t o 1 i ~ ~ o f Abom. The n i l i t n r y re?utn . t ior . o f t h e

F m t i a s t h e s t r o n ~ e s t 30 :~e r i ~ , c o a s t p c l i i i c s was a t t e r l y de-

s t . roycd and the Asante array swept vi.ri;uall;. uni::lpec!ed f rm o ~ e

e ~ d ol" t h e c o a s t t c t h e o t h e r . 1.5

D r i e f f l a r e - u p s of F . m t i r e s i s t n n . c o r c q c i r e d fo l low-up

campairns i n 1211 a t . d 1$11,, but t h e 1CC6 i n v r ; s i o z had c l e a r l y

d e c i d e d t h e i s s u e and t h e b a l a n c e o f p o x r on t h e c o a s t had been

comp:otely altered. Not oply had t h e m i l i t n r y p o a e r o f tobe F a n t i

beer br02sn b u t so also had ti:+t of Akin and Akxapii:. l6 I n ad-

d i t i o n , t h o Asan tehene had ~ a . i n e d , by s i g h t o f c o y q u e s t , t h e

motes f o r c e r t a i n of t h e c o a s t n l f o r t s t h u s f o r c i n g t h e Dutch

and t h e 21.it isIi t o reco;;!>ine Asante sl:pra:;lacy by v i r t u e of phy-

i n g t h e s t t p u l n t e d r e n t t o i:uxasi. I I o r e o v ~ r , t h e F a r t i c o u n t r y

Was f o n o n l - l y i n c o r p s r a t e d i n t o t h e Xsnnte Z!n)iile by bein[; placed

u"der t i l e ri1l.e o f Asnc te ~ o v o r - o r s . 17 -1 L n e resalt o f a l l this

was p o l i ~ i c n l c;:aos; b u t worse 1.ros y e t t o cu:s.

i 7 1 ~ t o A f r l c ~ hacl become i i 1 c ~ r ; l . A t first, tile C o c i p ~ y inade an

u n s u c c e s s f u l atte7;lpt t o h ~ v z t h e a p p l i z : ~ t l o n o? t h s A b c l i t i o n

Act & K ) s . L ~ G E ~ c ~ . 18 T h i s was c LO,_LJA,.A 7 1 r r r - , r T by ar, a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e GOV-

ernraent Tor an i r c r e a s c d g r ~ n i ; ~ r h F l e ffinni,:iqg a g e r e r a l t e n d e r of

t h e i r ( t h e Cmipnny' s ) se i -v ices i n t i l e ~ x e c n t i o ~ o f xha . tcver po l -

i c y t h e Goverrment s h o u l d d e c i d e t o pursue i n t h t p a r t o f A f r i c a

i.3 t h e f u t u r e . d 9 . I n t h e c i rcurmt ;ances , i t i s r a t h e r s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t;he

r ) r i . t i sh G o v z r n ~ i i e ~ t d i d n o t d e c i d e t h a t i t had no f u r t h e r usc f o r

t h e Cold ~ m s t F o r t s . 20 The A b o l i . t i o n i s i s , horiever, w e r e s t r ; m r + - L,

l y opsosed t o reducic;; t h e Z r i t i s l i i n t e r a s t s i n Af:-ica. Zachary

i4a.cnulay, 21 a?d t,hose ;vho t h o u g h t l i k e hirii, m t h e r ;:is1,- .:ed t o s e e

B r i t i s h i r f l - u e n c e ex tended t o promote t h e c i v i l i z a t i o n o f A f r i c a ,

P a r t i c d n r l y by f o s t e r i ~ t ; r.ew b ranch2s oi f l e g i t i n i a t e T z?d l e s s

h a m f u l t r a d e , 22 It \;as i n r c s p o n s e t o t h i s prompi;ir.g t h a t t h e

Golrei-merit d e c i d e d t o s e l d a Corniilission o f i n q u i r y t o t i i s Gold

Coas t i n o r d e r t o c o l l e c t i n f o r i m t i o n abou t t h e p o t e v t i a l i t i e s

of Tiest A f r i c a . Thc ~o!n:iiissionars r e p o r t e d i n J u l y 1811, and a l -

tf!out;h t h e y recoxinended t h a t c e r t a i n o f t h e f o r t s be g i v m up,

t? iey were i n a g r e e n e n t t h a t t h e D r i t i s h p r e s e n c e s h o u l d be m i n -

t a i p e d on t h e coast i n o r d a r t o e-sure t h a t p o s i t i v e s t e p s wsre

t a k e n t ~ s t o p t h e s l a v e t r a d e . 2 3

chi-ef t r a d e had ceased t o mist, a n d v h a t m y Sc ca lZeQ t h e

Asht?nt i ?u+3st ion c a m :jar c arc? m r e t o occu;~y t h e i r a t t t e r t io r? . 'I 2 lk

Cer ' i ;&inly some form of af;recment had not? t o b e reached betwcei?

t h e B r i t i s h 2r.d t h e Asz?t,e if t h e Co:.lpan:,r \;as t o a c h i e v e i t s

p r i m o b j e c t i v e : t h e a s s u r a n c e o f s t e a d y ' l e g i t i n a t e ' t r a 6 e a d

open t r a d e r o u t e s . Thai; i s , a m a n s had t o be found where\);. t h e

p e r p e t u a l t h r e c ~ t o f new t2sant;c i n v a s i o n s caused by d i s + t e s w i t h

t h e c o a s t a l s t a ies over l a rge yet vague and u n s e t t l e d c l a i ~ x t c j

a u t h o r i t y , t r i b u c e o r c o n p e n s a t i o n , cou3.d be removed.

The first move toward f i n d i 3 ~ s o a e for!n of s e t t l e x e n t

came s o ~ l e t i i n e a b o u t 1310. A t t h a t -Lime t h e Assr,tehene ask& t h e

Govzrnor of Cape Coas t C a s t l e t o scnd an o f f i c e r t o r e s i d e i n

Kunas i . F o r r e a s o l s wliich have n e v e r been nade c l e x , t h i s i n -

i t i a t i v e was n e v s r act;ed upon. '5 There t h e 2 foll.owed a p z r i o d

of solac 1;:lznty y e a r s of c o n f u s i o n b e f o r e t h e s i t ; m t i o n was even

p a r L i a l . 1 ~ c l a r i f i e d . Unsuccess fu l a t t e m p t s were ciade i n 1817

2nd 1820 t,o n e g o t i a t e an Anglo-Asante t r e a t y which would s e t t l e

the p r c b l ~ ; , i . 26 The f a i l u r e o f t h e B r i t i s h t o honour t h o s e t r c a -

t i e s so a n z e r e d tile k s a n t e : ~ e n e that i n u id - IS20 h e o r d e r e d the

Asante trad.31-s t o cease v i s i t i n 5 Cape Coast C a s t l e and o t h e r

B r i t i s h f o r t s , and t o t r a d e o n l y w i t h the Danes and t h e Ddich. 27

ni 1lli.s a c t i o n t l ien pronpted t h e C r i . t i s h t o beco::e ciore and Inore

c o n c e ~ m e d ~ F t h , t h e p ro t ; cc t ion of t h e i r own t r a d e r s arc1 t h e c o k s t -

t r ibes - . - . in pa r l ; i c l i l a r t h e Fa>l;i--frcn r ~ h a t i ~ i g h t p;ssi.bly have

been a n i l ' n ' e s i s t i b l o Asznic d r i v c to t h e sea.

D e s p i t e t h c passa;;e o f t i m , t h e s i t u a t i o n rerlain.zd un-

i n p r o v e d . Thn d e s p a t c h e s wr iL ten by i.Ir. John IIope-S:nith, t h e

G a v e r ~ o r - i n - C h i e f from 1G16 u n t , i l 1622, c l e a r l y i l -1 -us t ra te how

4' L' colnplc te ly a t v a r i a n c e were t h e f u n d a m - t a l assumpt..ions oi ~17.e

t 1 i ~ 0 p ~ r t . i e s . *' On t h e one h m d , ',he Governor f i r l . ; l y den ied t h a t

t h e Asante had any j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r Cape Coas t . On t h e o t h e r

hand, t h e Asantehene i n s i s t e d t h a t t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f Cape Coast

vlcre a's much h i s s u b j c c t s a s t h e r e s t of t h e F m t i . 29 Y e i t h e r

s i d e r.wulc! concede a n y t h i n g a ~ d t;racie, trhLch t h e A s ~ , ? t e i ~ e n e ( s

b lockade had a l r e a d y cai:aed t o dwindle t o a l r m s t noth in t ; , ceased

a l t o g e t h e r d u r i r , ~ t h e f i r s t montlls o f 1621. I n t h e v i m o f Zr,

30seph Cu:)uis, o n l y p o s i t i v e n v o t i a t i o n a t t h i s s'iaoe cou ld

have avcrtcd open w a r f n e w i t h t h e Asante . 3' ~ n f o r t w . ; : t e l y ,

t h e s e n e g o t i a t i o n s d i d n o t t a k e p l a c e because a neii e l e n e n t was

i n j e c t e d i n t o ti:e s i t u a t i o n .

In t h e i r r e p o r t s , t h e 1816 and 1817 S e l e c t Cori;;:iit'iees had

r e corrr:ie.rded t,]iat tl.le Corq~aqy shou ld c o n t i n u e t o adl.lir i s t e r t h e

Gold C o a s t , b u t t h a t t : ~ e Governor s h o u l d be a p p o i n t e d by t h e

31 r, C r o ? . ~ . ~ h e s e reconr. icndat io?s, coriib.ined w i t h t h e a d v i c z cf s e t -

kno:uledgeable 2nd i n . f l u e n t i a 1 p e r s o r s , convinced t h e Govern-

ment that ~~i ! l t ? ' ;h in t 11zd t o be done. It was t h e r e f o r e d e c i d e d t o

a b o l i s h t h e Coi.;pny and institute Governmnt c o r t r u l o f t h e Gold

C o a s t f o r t s . I n J u l y 1 3 2 1 t h e t r a n s f e r a a s e f f e c t e d , av.6 t h e

Gold Coast ~ e t t l e : ~ l e y t r IS:.^ p l a c e d und-r t h e Goverr.o:- of Sierra

On his z r r l v n l . al; Cape C w s t i n Ap;.il 1C22, KacCarthy

t h c r e f o r e i a!-ieritcd t i le s t r o n g p r o b a b i l i t y o f a g a r xiti! Asiinte.

t, a v m s o , he xade T?G o v e r t u r e s t o K u x i s i because hc f e l t the

Asantt? b1oc::ade t o 'ue mere ly a l o c i l l quayre1 n o t a f f e c i i ? ~ t l ~ c

I j r i L i s h g z i ? e ~ - s l l y . Ir? t i l e f a c e o f t h i s l a c k o r diplo:,lni;ic i!iit;i-

a t i v e , it; requj.r-ed o n l y onc spay:: t o d e t o n a t e t h e cxlJcssive s i t -

u z t i o n , T h i s spa rk was provldc:i. by t h e Asante a t Anonatu -.;hen

they a r r e s t e d a Fa.9t.i ser , - ;e~&nt i n t h e 3 r i t ; i s h s e r v i c e t h e r e . 3 1t

T h i s u ~ f o r t , u n n t e ( s e r g e a n t ) su1n:ned up t h e c o r ? f l i c t i n h i s o m person . A S a s o l d i e r he was a s u b j e c t o f King George. As an Anoxabu he w s s c l a i n c d as a s g b j e c t o f

m t h e Asaqtehzne. he p r e s i i ~ e o f e i t h e r power was so i n v o l v e d t h a t neither c o a l d adtilit Lhe o t h e r ' s c l -a lx . F o r t h e S r i t i s h a clixb-dovm would h;.,ve corc?t.:i?ed thc ; r ! t o c ~ r t i n i l e i n t h e f o r t s nere3.y on s u f f e r - e r c e : f o r t h e A s a ~ t e t i e ~ e i t trzuld have been t h e s i g n a l f c r t h e d e z e c t i o n a r n o ~ g s t t h e r e c e n t l y ccr? quercc? ard s t i l l r e s t l e s s t r i b e s . 35

Al though i v i t i a l l y ir, f a v o u r o f a passive approach t o ';.he

t h e d i s p u t e x a s coi , lp lc te ly c h a n ~ e c l , f o r such cn of'f'er a c t t i a l l y

c o n s t i t ~ l t c d a rcvo1.t agc?..S~ct t h e Xsante s u z e r a i n t y e s t 2 , b l l s h e d

i n 1807. U n f o r t u ~ z t e l y , t L e new Governor does n o t appzzr t o have

uncle]-stood tl-ils ayd tEle o f f e r wss a c c e p t e d v i t h tile r e s u l t t h a t

t he a l l i a n c z soon i n c l u d e d a l l o f t h e c o a s t a l s t a t ~ s e x c a p t

E l ~ n i n a . Su'csecjue-tly , t h e a l l i a n c e a s s u r x d evev g r e a t e r sii;?i-

f i c a ~ c e vhen t h e i ~ l a n d s t a t e s of '.:asaw and Derkyern a l s o writ

i n t o r 5 b e l l i w by j o i n i n g t h e a l l i e s a f t e r t h e a l l i e d r e p u l s e

of a r a t h e r t e r t a t i v e l l s a ~ t e i r v a s i o n o f t h z c o a s t a l r e s i o n i n

h u g u s t 182? .36

I-, tile f a c e of th:s po;r;ular sup;.,c,rt, Xa.cCnri;'ny f e l - t t h a t

t h e Asan te !:ov.ld coriie t o t e r n s and t h a t ar! e a r l y p a c e t i o d d 5e

a r r i v e d .st, Thus he c lear1 .y misunders tood thc: i r : i p l i c a t i c n s c;f

h i s polic;: f o r t h e Asante c o u l d n c v e r a c c e ? t t h e l o s s o f t h e i r

newly a c q u i r e d s o u t h e r n p r o v i n c e s s o c a s u a l l y . I n d e e d , t h e y

r e a c t e d in1:ned:lately t o t } \ e l a t e s t d e f e c t i o r . . Asan te ar:nles r:;oved

s o u t h e a r l y in 1824 and or, t h e 2 1 s t o f J a n u ~ r y , t h e y met and de-

f e a t e d a sr,laZl f o r c e under Sir Cl la r i e s h i m s e l f a t Ada~";m-~so. S i r

C h a r l e s v:as k i l l e d i n a c t i o n a n d t h e Asan te , who ntu~bex-eci n o r e

t h a n 10,OC10, vrer;t on t o c r u s h any and a l l r e s i s t a n c e . 37 They

t h e n r ~ ; n a i n e d i n , t h e s u u t h ur.ti.1 J u l y lg2l+, when t h e c o m b i ~ e d e f -

fects o f t h o r a i n s , sr;allpox, d y s ~ n t e r y , and t h e news t k a t t h e

Danish S o v e i c o r cf C h r i s t i a n s b o r i ; vias orGan.i.zing ar. e x p e d i t i o n

i n t o Akilii t o a t t a c k thee on t!le f l a r k , d e c i d e d tiioni t o abx!don

t h e i r cn:.iprign a3d r e t u r n t o i;u:iasi. 38

secoqc! ti!oq;]?ts about; t h e a : lv i s ; ib i3 i ty of' r emain ing on the 2@1d

Coast;. The Govcrn~.lcyt i n Cr,gland now w i s h e d or?!-y t o p t c h up the

pe<z~ce wi t - , h Asar.te a?d r e d u c e t h e i r c o a s t e s t a b l i s h m e n t s t o Ca:;e

Coast C a s t l e and Accra, General Turner q u e s t i o n e d i f ' ever- t h e s e

Were worth k e z p i n g and h e s u g ; e s t e d t h a t t h e o ~ l y e f f e c t i v e d t e r -

r.a';ive t o coinplete ' wit;hdral,ml w a s t o s e c u r e c o n t r o l o f t h e whole

c o a s t l i n e and d e t a c h t h e Gold Coas t fro111 S i e r r a Leore . Ilotrevar,

the C o l o n i a l O f f i c e was ~ o t p r e p a r e d t o c o n i d e r e i t h e r t o t a l

Earl of B a t i l u r s t , 40 was ir. t h e p r o c a s s o f p r e p a r i n g a r e w Comis-

of h i s h a n d s by e v e n t s on t h e c o a s t . I t 1

I n January 1626 , a new Asznte arri:y iyvaried t h e F m t i

c o u n t r y . A f t e r f o r a g i ~ g unchecked up 2nd dovm t h e l anL f o r sevcn

ism be an. y. L ieu~ ,cnan t -Colc - . f i Furdon, t h e A c t i n g S c v e r ? o r , b2.d

ig?.ored !:is ordoi-s, t;a!.:er t l i e f i e l d 8.6, v i t h saxe of t::e e n s t e r i -

Augtist 7Lh, 1825.4'' I n : i s r d ' s words, t h i s coi ip le te d e f e a t o f t h o

rl 45 main k s a ~ t e arrtiy "decided the f a t e of t h e Gold Coast . A f t e r t h e b a t t l e o f K 3 t m a ~ s u , the Asante r e t u r ~ e d t o

K u ! ~ s i anti ~c l o r g series of a b o r t i v e n e g o t i a t i o n s b e ~ a r . ].ate i r ,

1827. A t f i r s t i t appeared t h a t peace would be e a s i l y e s t a b l i s h -

ed. IIotievcr, t h o a l l i e d c h i e f s d i d no t thjn,k t h i s a fittips t i n e

to o f f e r t e r m t o Asarte and r e f u s e d t o e r t e r i n t o ~ e i , o t i & t i . ~ ~ s .

rt 1: a estx opposzd to abando:~fi~?nt , to drop its plans for d i s e ~ ~ a ~ e -

1 . l a c l e a n . f ~ first; i;z.!.s! on a r l - i v i n g a t Cape Coast i n Februtiry

l g 3 0 was t o con.clud2 peLce n a g o t i n t j - o n s w i t h t h e Asa?.te; a task

which was fir,al-1.y a c c o : . ~ y l i s l ~ e d f . ~ A p r i l , 1631. Aside fro: a pro-

v i s i o n c a l l i r g fol* a 'bond t o k e c p t h e peace ' and h o s t q e s , t h i s

t r e a t y c o n t n i n z d s e v s r a l . a r t i c l e s t h a t were of v i t a l ir.~-nport;arlce

t o f u t ~ r e A n ~ l o - A s a n t e r e l a t i o n s . These p r o v i d e d t h s t ( a ) tracle

i n g on o r by any p e r s o n o r t h i n s whateverT1 were f o r b i d d e n : ( b )

Denkycra, A s s i n , " a ~ d o t h e r s f o r m e r l y h5s s ~ b j e c t s ~ ~ ~ * were f r e e

frorn any a l l e g i a n c e t o t h e Asantehene , b u t were p r o h i b i t e d from

i n s u l t i n g bin,: ( c ) a l l q u a r r e l s were t o b e d e c i d e d as a l r e a d y r

a g r e e d by t h e p a r t i e s . - ' 3 The s i g n i 5 c c n n c e of t h i s l a s t p r o v i s i o n

was t h a t i t m u t u a l l y b ~ u n d " t h e t l z r i e p a r t i e s , B r i t i s h , k s i l a ? t i

and P a n t e a l l i e s , by p r e c i s e r u l e s , and t h e s u p e r i o r a ~ t h o ~ i t y of

t h 2 f o r m e r i s d e f i r i t e l y a c k n o ~ j l e d g e d b:r t h e i m p l i e d a p e a : n e n t of

the o t h e r two t o a c c e p t t h e Governor a s r e f e r e e i n a n y c a s e of

d i spu te : . There was a l s o a t a c i t u:?derstandin.g t h a t t h e a l l . i e s

would be affo;-ded z r i t i s h p r o t e c t i c ? . i n t h e e v e n t of m y f u r t h e r

a&l;ressior! on t h e p a r t o f A s h s ~ t i . 11 5 It

i i i t h t h e signil7.2 of tllis t r e a t y , r e l a t i o n s between t h e

Asante on t h e one h s n d , ar.6 D r i t i s k i and t h e c o a s t a l s t a t e s on t h e

O t h e r , were o s t e n s i b l y s e t t l e d and peace was r e s t o r e d . I n f a c t ,

r ~ i t h t h e exce; , t ion of s e v e r a l q u a r r e l s which a h o s t l e d t o 01:W

w a r f a r e , t h e s e a c e re , : la ind ~ m b r o k e n f o r more t h a n t h i r t y y e a r s .

. . H a ~ e v e r , t h e l a c k of d i r e c t al-ned c o n f l i c t notwithstz+-!mn~,

I"ui;ure e v e n t s would prove t h a t t h e seeds cf d i s c o r d had beer, sotln

by t h e v e r y t r e a t y which made t h i s peace p o s s i b l e .

T h i s w a s m i n l y due t o t h s f a c e that t h e 1631 m y

t r e a t y f crmally recrect ted a se:.~blan ce of t h e p o l i t i c a l o r p ~ i z a -

t i m which had e x i s t e d p r i o r 50 t h e war of 1607. That i s , t k r e

once illore e x i s t e d t h e t h r e e p o l i t i c a l g r c ~ p i n g s of A s m t e , F a r t i

avd t h e S r i t i s h f o r t s . 5 5 "irere n c r a , !~oviever, s e v e r a l v i t a l

ckm.i;es I:? t h e s i t u a t i c . n . k,sapi;e had becn d3privecl of t:le f r u i t s

of t i le 1807 car:;paip and had evan l o s t s e v e r a l t e r r i t o r i e s ~ h i c k i -

she had ccr,s.idel-ed h e r okrn eve11 before t h a t .ccsnfl:~ct. .L? adci i t io? ,

t h e Fc;..r,tj. no l o n g e r e~ , j o j ; ed tile m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l . poxer -i:hicl?

they hnd p;.oviously possessed f o r t h a i r pro-lt?07 1nS.1itar.y and pol-

i t i . c n l un5. Ly no l o n g e r e x i s t e d . Fir!all.y, and of e q u a l i x p o r t m c e ,

t h e C ~ i t i s h s i t u a t i o n had cilanged cons idzl -ably . The EcSt ixpor -

t a ? k o f I ; : ~ s a charges was t h e o f f i c i a l a s suap t i c r . o f t h e r o l e of

a r b i t e r ir, any f u t u x d i s>u t ;es bet~yeer! t h e Afr ica? s i g n a t o r i e s tr,

t k t r e a t y . A l . 3 0 . of ma jar ixpo i - ta rce , ko:iev-;r, : /as t h e r e c ~ c - i -

tic!l o f t h e f a c t t;:~at; a s a r e s d l t of tl:e v i c t o r y c f I:ataxns:l, t h e

Brit&;, had b - 2 ~ 0 ; ~ ~ t h e ovn;ers of t h e l aqd on \:I.;ich t h e i r I 'ol- ts aci:

C 2 s t i . e ~ s tood . ~ h u ~ t:le ;,ajT:i.2nts of ~ ~ - 0 i l r . d rent; or. t h e ";'isa, 55

~ ~ h i c h had bet? suc:l a sourca of t r o u b l e i n t h e :last, czased.

I.l.-. I t L r e ncw opzrati.r:g fror.1 a p o s i t i o n of socie s t r e n g t h , were b e t t e r

able t o e x e r t s a x j.ni'luence over t h e c h a o t i c co r?c ! i t io~s i n t h e

im-.iediate c o a s t a l h i q t e l - l a n d . Secozd, t h e s t r i f e - t o m and f a c -

t i o n r idder . c o a s t a l . l - e ~ i o n as t;urning i n i t s weak~ess ;:lor2 an6

more t o t?ie B r i t i s h i n t i le j-r s e a r c h f o r s s o l u t i o c t o b o t h t h , ? i r

i n t e r n a l p r o S l e n s <?.nd t h e c o n s t a n t t h r e a t fro13 . t h e Asar.te.

T h i r d , t h e Asante t h e n s e l v e s ha rboured a deep-soa ted rescntin.snt;

o v ? r t h e loss of t h e i r lsoiltkierr, provS.ncesl m d t h e a c c e s s which

t h s e provi? .ces Lave t o t h e c o a s t .

ed solely o r ::riclr-anfs r e p u t u t i o n a s a wise m d honest; m n . T!le

3rit is3 Gove mi,lert had expre s ~ l - p fo rb idden any ex t ens ion ~f 3rit - cr

i s h t o r r i t o 1 ~ ~ 5 ~ nr.d t o ensu re c o ~ i i n h c e had r e s t r i c t e d i 3 c l e C ~ ' s

of eve ry r a n k and s t a t i o n expanded ra*~id. ly--he possessed r o l e s a l

a u t h o r i t y beyond t h e f o r t s . Even sc;, :jc.rd r e f e r s t o t h e region

r ~ i t h i i . ~i 'nici l 1:acleanfs t de f a c t o f po;l;;r and i n f l u e n c e d?ve lcped

a l s o be t h e t e rw used i n t h i s s t udy .

The a r e a o f t h e 'P ro tec toraCet was Sounded on the e a s t

f a r as tile :,sorl;e Border. IYot e v e r y t r i b e i n this are- accep t ed

Eos t o f t h e Accra p l a i n s were ~ r d e r Danish i ~ f ' l u e ~ c e , and X n i i n a , Axifi: and o t i l e r t o m s were under Dutch i n - f luence. . O n t h e obher hanci, c e l t a i n a r e a s t o t h e west o f t h e P r a i n c l u d - i n g Wassaw, A p o l l o r i a and DLxccve , were ir. t hc B r i t i s h sphc re . Rough1.y speak ing , however, \:e m y r ci:ard t h e B r i t i s h sphcre as r each ing f r o n t h e P r a t o tiie V o l t a , a d i s t a n c e of about 100 m i l e s , ayd fran t k sea-shore i n -

The l i r n i t a t i o r s c r ;.iaclec.nTs n u t l r o r i t y and h i s r.aec! t e

r e l y h e a v i l y on p e r s o n a l Xvlfluence r e q u i r e d t h e t he be mst

~ i r c u ~ ~ s p e c t i~ h i s a p p l i c a t i o n of any poi:.e.;- which t h e A f r i c m s

c o n s e n t e d t o g i v e him. For t h i s r e a s o n he r e f u s e d t o h t e r f e r e

i n t h e c u s t o n s o f t r i b e s f i ~ e n who wzrc n o t D r i t i s h s u b j e c t s u n l e s s

he t h o u ~ h t t h a t such c u s t m s were dangerous s o c i a l e v i l s . 6 1.

The s u b t l e t i e s of Eia.clean's p o s i t , i o n were l o s t cn iilar~y

p e o p l e i n ~ n ~ l a n d , ~ ~ i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e a n t i - s l a v e r s . A s a r e s u l t

of c c a p l a i n t s i n s p i r e d by t h i s l a c k of u n d e r s t a n d i n g and also be-

cause o f s e v e r a l o t h e r e o ~ , l p l a i r , t s lodged a c a i n s t Tkiclean person2. l -

l Y b 3 a n d a g a i n s t h i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Lord John ~ u s s e l l , ~ ~ t h e

C o l o n i a l S e c r e t a r y a t t h a t ti::;e, d e c i d e d t h a t t h e o n l y m y t~ zn-

s u r e t h e prompt a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e laws a g a i n s t t h e s l z v e t r a d e

was f o r t h e Government t o resucie c o n t r o l of t h e f o r t s . A t t h e

u r g i n g o f t h e T r e a s u r y , hovjovcr, he agreed t o p o s t p o n e t2k i r .g

any acLion unt ; i l a s p e c i a l c o n ~ l i s s i o n e r had v i s i t e c i I:est A f r i c a

a9d r e p o r t e d on t h e s i t u a t i o n t h e r e . 65

NacleanT s new 2 o s t steminecl d i r e c t l y froa t he secmtl Con-

most f a v o c r a b l y impressed v i t h T.:aclean's work i n the exte?sicn of'

had resulted frci.: ::;).clean's efforts he regularized in soxe iXin-

n e r . 70 To irnplerrlent t h i s recorr,nendation, tlie Govcrr.xent u t i l 5 z e d

Firs!; s i i ;nsd by e i g h t c!li c f s , inclildLn, t h o s e o f Ded:p:a,

Anoi?labd, C::pe Coast a n d Lssin , the Dond c1.2?2-1.:,7 and si::::)l.y 1 . ~ ~ 2 2 . -

". ?.. i z o d a?(! d c f l l c d ::nclenn's : l i i i . c~* t ,o irfon,:31 j i . ir*isdi.ctj a? . - . ! c

al;;.cc!;ic?nt bcu?d t!ie Af'ricm r ~ i l c ; * s t c p r o t e c t t?::? rig:-it.,; of in-

d i v i d1.1.d-s a?J c f p r - a ~ ~ ~ ~ - t , ~ r ; t o abolish si;c!2 ' a ,~ .~ -La ;~o~~s c ;:S$L>;.,-.S 2s

h m n n sncr.i.f i c e s a r d pa-y2ri,-i-c; art1 to a::tilo:-jb:;tt D l - i a - : ' ' .

i,...Sil J1l::FCS

t o h~1. i ) t i i m t l 'y c r j I its SIJC:~ 2s I * ; ri>:!!;t? i-1.) s o t . i i>, t t h c

C ~ ~ S ~ . C J ; I ~ of t h e co:;n"sry traii1.d bccoi-:a :.:cultlcci t o ';he gen::-al p ~ i n -

c i p 1 . e ~ of 3 r i t i s ' n la.,,ii. 73 By 161+9 t h e ,',kin Abu-.::::,?, mny d i v i -

0 sio:ls of t l ic Akiil i :otoku, t T , ; , , , t h e h ; o c . ~ ;;rd o i , i l~ i - s o L i l : ~

ati ions tci:.rcen t:ic ssca ar.d tl:e u p j x r Prn ha:i c l s o si,r?ed

Bond. The nu;.i?)cr of co;?st,al stat23 a<ilerj.qg t o tile n;:-.i: wa:; i2-

Crt.aseJ evcn Z : O Y ~ j.3 1 $ 5 C , I n t;hnt; ya3ar t h e D:? I I I s~ I ~ O I ' L S we:.-.

purchased a-d nltl-!ou&:l t f ~ e 31-itish oply inhc.rif,e;! l:?l;.t had L?en

a vai;l~t. nn?i:;?i i p r l ~ : e n c i , over $;l,:npiri azc! kki:.: :.~l:ic?l :;'as p o t m-

Aftcr i;hc sigr~lr, i ; olr t;?ie Bond, t,!:? senrc ; l f o r a so l l~ t . i o r .

t o t,l~i? f .ic>r,nc in1 jlroblc::,ls (-I? t : i e !jl-itisf~ a u t h o r i t i e s oo It?lc ci;tist

l e d t o L:ir? n e x t d c s r c c of i n u c 1 v c z e n . t . 3l;e b a s i c :)rollc-:.: w i t i !

rtlsycct; t o f i ~ n i i s :.:as t ) . l : l t . , s u c c e z d i ~ i ; ; 3rii;is:i gov:r?,:ler.tz :%:ere un-

;.!il!.irig k;. h::vc; t:iqir t:lx;!::;-2;-s pl-iividc r.;ore ..ionc;l f o r t::~

C: a s t cid:~~i?i : ; :x . ;~~ior t;llar, t!ls ~ ; , in r i ;n~ l : .~ nezc?ed f o r ti12 saicir ies of

1 f ; s o.';i,ci:t*~,77 ev;:n I . ti:? i n crc;sed f u n d s iicre d e s i r e d

,,,(I of E r l t is1-! ir:ii:c? c e , S U I C ; ~ . ~ ~ t:,;:!~:~\::;~~, 3;; a 1*,?;51:] t.: 0: L i l ~ ~ I ~ O ~ . ? ' . '

F i n a l l y , in an a t t e ~ n p L to s o l v e this dile;-.:t,la, t:ic C ; . i t i sh

a u t h c r i t j.c s a t t e n i p t e d t o persuade t h e rulers of the con:;t;a:, c:;r~t.os

i n i ; revenue. The r;!nc'ii.~g :ran o t t c ~ ~ , d z 3 by a 1a1-c~ nu::i'u?i* of P:.rti

He st; .;LC? s ,

t h e bes t d e f c n c c .

P r a and estah1i:;hed dz fences tl;ere b u t the Asa!:tehe?e d i d not re-

T ncw the a t t ~ i c k an6 the i n v a s i o n novel- tool : i dncc . &nstozd, t.ke

d i s e a s e s endemic to t h e f o r e s t czcsed unncce~%~ble c3sualt i e s z. rJ

t h e e n t i r e f o r c a of re inforce~: :er , ts was vi thdrawn r o t o-l:r fro.9 t h e

Pra but a l s o fror; t he c e u n t r y .

This war l e y t t h e Gold Coast i n a 1n:xntab lc s i c t e . . Trade 113s at an abso1ut;e stards4,i1.1. Tl!e Dritis:~ 2nd Asante v ~ e r ~ :

and Lord Stanley, c a r r i e d a i.iotic? f o r a

I n q u i r y i r l to the ';,'es'; Xfric;r. Se t t i e : i e~! ; s 3

at : ,cn t io r to t l rc Cold ~ c n s t .?' T h i s Cor:.;i.t-

cornpl-ete v d t k d r a ~ : a l , and t h e p o l i c y favoured by t h e o f f i c i a l s on

t h e coast; ~ ; h o urged t h e r.lc7,ini;er.ancc arc]. cxpar?sior! o f th:: C r l t i s h

p o s i t i o n against t h e Asante przssurc. 93 ~ h c cos!proi~iso :.ecom-

~nenclat ion sLa ted t l ~ t it was % o t possible t o t ~ i t h d r a ~ r 'c.l?e E r L t -

i s h G o v e m m n t , who13 y 01% ir ,~,: :ediate ly, f rom any set t le: . ;e?ts o r

cngagerr;ents on t h e '.,Test Afric:,.? C o n s t v * 9 b ~ t t h a t "all Z'wiher

e x t e n s i o n o f t e r r i t o r y o r a s ;ur,:ption o f G~vernrxcnt o r r m t re fA-

ties o f f e r i r , ~ arLy p r o t e c t i o n t o n a t i v e t r i b e s , w o ~ l d be Inexps-

d i e n t v ; and t h a t t h e Govemrlierit should six a t p a t i c a l l y ; ~ i t h -

d r a l ~ i n g f r o n a3.1 f o u r areas o r B r i t i s h se i ; t l e i .~en t e::ce?,jt pi-otaS1y

T h i s co~nprmnisc was acce;) tcd tljr t h e B I - i t i ski Govsimnl,~eTt

b u t whethcr o r n o t i t wo::ld h v e w r k e d i s c7 moct p i n t f o r it

was n e v e r g i v e n a chancc t o o p e r a t e . FTeve~%l:?less, i t d i d l e a d

t o s e v e r s 1 e v e n t s o f genera l c a n c e x on t h e G c l d Coast--n3t the

l e a s t of which l,m.~ ti12 p e r u a s i o n o f tile c i , l e f s a?.d pccp le o f tile

F:mtl t r i b c s by sor:le o r t h 2 i r Zaro;-ean-c2uc~tec! ini:r,her.s t o cr,r,-

s i d c r o r ' g a n i z i ~ i ; a g o v e r n m n t which would be able t o t ake over

fror,i t h e R r i t i s i l when tiley l e f t , a s it was assumed t h e y .event;-

u d l y would do. Even s o , i t s i~!lportance i ~ i t l ? respct to h g l o -

Asante r e l a t i o n s stems more fro:n the f a c t t l ~ ~ t , it l e d t o c e r t a i n

a l ready d c l i c z t e situation.

T h e Corx~iiLtee ' s 1-econ:xn:lat i c n s had c l e a r l y ernpixs ized

100 S x c o n r i n i n c occuprt t ion t o Ca2e Coast while i 'a jor S.!,'. "uackal-1,

t,;ie new Govnmor-in-Chief at Sierra Leone, v:as so wor r i ed about;

t h e Asante tilat he ~ i o ~ i l c l have preferred t o abmdon i : l~ t p o s t as

well. . Alt.'noui;h ne i t 'qcr of t h e s e s t e p s were t nkc : : , t h e inves-

tii;at i o n s cf t;hs Connit tcc at l e a s t ensu red t!xt it :;as a t l a s t

un6e r s tood that, i f t h e y s t ayed , t h e British would be b ~ u n d t o

i n t e r f e r e t o saiilc extent; 5.3 l o c a l a i ' f a i r s . The q u e s t i o ~ v:as,

within what lini", were t h q t o i r L t 9 r f e r e ?

o f o b l i g a t - i o n s but t h e s u ~ ; ~ c s t i c n w i t h r . ; p r d t o t h e Dutci: l,cs--

s e s s i o n s r ecc ivcc? f a v o u r a b l e a t t , e n t i u n . ''3 i r o ~ i c ~ l l y , . i t J:as

t h e ?3ritisi: arstioy taker , OE t h e bas i s c f t h i s reco:n!;;endaticn,

which was i t s z l f i r . s p i r c d by t h e s p i r i t of t h e recor;ii.;er,i~t i o n s

of t h e 1865 Coi-m:it,tee, t i n t scalt?d t h e f a t e o r tile v e r y p o l i c y

a d v o c a t e d by t?:e 1865 C o r m i t t e e . It a l s o proved t o b e a i'actcr-

wh i . ch c o n 3 r i b a t e d i n 1aq ;e measure to* t h e Anglo-A:;n?te :.Jar sf

1873-1671+. f o r it wzs e v e n t u a l l y t o l e a d t o circu~rs ' , : :r .ccs -;::lich

l e f t t h e C r i t i s i ~ a s t h e s o l e Suropesn por':ei- 02 thi. c o z s t ; t h ~ s

e n s u r - i ~ g t h a t it would be t h e I 3 r i t i s h who had t o l a c e any Asan,te

move:; i n the future.

a t o t a l o f four f o r t s . The S ~ i t i . : j h c e d e d LO t h e Dutch a l s o t h e i r

3 . c : ~ ~ h i c l i this e r r o r o f o:!iission caurec: p rove2 that i t \!as ar:

o v e r s i i ; h t of t t l ~ f irst ;lia;;nitucie for t h e p o l i t i c a l ra~. : i f ic?. .? t lons

7 . were n o s t s e r i o u s , For exar:,yle, Derkyera a n d ,.c?ssav had beer, a l -

Thus tihe 2 ~ i t i s h o f f i c i a l s were ozce azairl f a c s d w i t 1 1 t h e

con t in f i in l ; a n o r n l y c f t h e i r p o s i t i o n or, t h e Gold C o s s t ; t h e y ?icd

f' &i.atitxilly assur.~ed, al?d c o ~ t i n u a l . l y e x e r c i s e ~ l , s o m n y i*ii;!l~f, s 02.

j ~ i r i s d i c t i o r . t h a t t h e y llad coine t o b e l i e v e t i l s t t'r:ey aka he7.d

~.i:;i~t s of s o v c r c i ~ r . t ; ; . lot, The co?seqsoncc of t h c i r or 'c1i trni-y

a c l . i o r WAS d i s ;? : ; t r~ :~ t an2 c l i r i n ~ tile succecdi.n; y c a r s t !se t?ro-

t.ec t o r n t e \ ins a l - ~ m s t t o m a l c i r t . S~.~blir ,w? y &;:.c~rx:t c-y t.1112

whir1wir.d t h a t v~as abou t t o descend upon t h m , t h e C u r s ; - : ~ n n s se'i

t h e t r a n s f e r d a t e Tor 1st J a n u a r y Ib'Gd, and ir. t h e e a r l y day:; o f

J anua ry t h e f o u r e a s t e m 2uui;ch f o r t s ;?ere du ly !lar.ded over kc, th;.

B r i t i s h v i t h o u t cng- t r o u b l e . Dut wlier! Lhe j o i n t An~1.o-3ut.c:l

Co~rmissj.on lnoved beyond E l ~ ~ ~ i n a and t r i e d t o t ra? . s f e s t h e f c u r

B r i t i s h T o r t s , t r o u b l e began a t once. I. 07

The c r u x of t h e problein was t h e r e f u s a l o f t h e i:ol:~i.ler,ci~

people t o a c c e p t t l ie Dutch f l a g . T h i s d i s p u t e bsgan a l o n g :'sr

b e t v e e ~ t h e J l ~ t c h and t h e %omend2 rv;~ich t h s Z ~ t c h \:ere unab le

t o b r i n g t o an end. Tho i:o:.u.lenda plundered t h e Z l i a i ~ z vil1a;es ;

t h e Dut ci: made u r s u c c e s s f u l a t t e ~ . : ) t s t o recaptw-e t h e toerr1 of

Komenda i t s e l f , bo th by l a n d a n 3 nava l expeditions; a?< evcn tu -

a l l y t ! ~ e 1:oime:tda rmn b e c a m s o b o l d that t h e y c a r r i e d ~ u c r r i i l s

warfare r i g h t up t o t h e o u t s k i r t s o f El lnina i t s e l f . lo$

I'leanrihilc, a wides:jread Africar? ,iovt;raer?.t was s t a r t e d t o

h e l p t h e i:o:.r;enda i n their r e s l s t a n c c , and t o h e l p a1 s o nr,;. c t h e r

t r i b c t h a t s h o d d be f o r c e d t c a c c e p t =Iutch a u t h o r i t y c ? z ~ ? i n s t i t s

will. An asseinbly w a s h e l d a t Iiankessi:!:, a t which t h e F n n t i

c h i e f s a n d peo:,le a g r e e d t o he l l ) Kosiiocnda a&air.st C I - w i x i . , nqci i n

a s h o r t t irne a F m t i Army ap:,eared b e f o r e Zlnir ,a am1 biccl:aded tht?

town. The statics r e p r e s c q t e d a t : b n k e s s i x i~c luc l ec ! so:2s o f t h e

p r i n c i p a l F a n t i s t a t e s , as wel.1 as Xss in , Vassav; and Perll:y?rn. 109

A t f i rs t Cape Coast d j d r o t jo i r , b u t Anorxibu c l id . Aor;zvor, i n

A p r i l 1.263 t!le paop2.c or Ca9e Coost Scca7.ie i n f a r i o t e d by a-

E l m i n n a t t a c k on orle o f t1 :c i r vil-iages, and a Czpe Coast co- t i r -

gen t a t once r:~rtrcher! out to J o i n the bloc't;ndini; arixy. 11•‹ 1n this

way t h e F a n t i Co*:federatio~! was born.

T!le e v e n t which p r e c i i 3 i t a t e d th'.s cl lan~ec! s i t w t i o n w s

the Dutch d c c i s i o n t o l e a v e t h e Gold Coast f o r good and s e l l

mi . t h e i r . f o r t s t o t;ie S r i t i s l l . ~ ! : l s decj.sior, had Lzer pro:.:iii,ed by

t h r o t t l e d t he i r . t r a d e , Th2y vrc.~-e u t t c ~ l y un'3ble t o p u t a s t 0 2

t o t h e guerril .1 a i c a ~ f are of t h e Ko~wen.da xen. At,jie:ilpon, li:l~cse

march frorn Axim a1.o~;; tht. c c a s t t o El::iir,a had beer, a c ly:ir.ied

had no c o n t r j l whatsoevel- o v e r t h e "Lli:~i-.z p e o p l e 2nd the knov?-

l e d g e t h a t a s t r o n g co-.tinc:;:lt was on its v:zy fror.1 i;ui;iasi t o re-

i .n force h i l : ~ m d e a n y hope o f res lor in; : Dutch n u t h o r i i y a ve ry

remote p o s s i b i l i t y . 1.20

r e a s o n f o r t h e p r o t r a c t e d n a t u r e 02 thrse n e j o t i a t i o r . ~ , 2nd rhe

the s t a t u s o f 3lr i1ira. So~-~ieiiilnt surpris i?:;:ly, t h e u l f i c i a l s at

Cape Coast d i d not; view t h e ques t io r ! of t h e si;at;~;s o f Elr . : ina 3:.

'?' 111 a pcrtert i n 1 sou;-ce o f s e r i o u s troub3.e wi'ih t h c As:lmi;e .&'- ~ ; e n c r a l , t h e y viewed t h e q u e s L ion i n its r;:orc p o s i t i v z f;o,r~,!~;.

the;^ felt t:lat il the B r i t i s h cor . t ro l l .cd t h e r.:liolc coas;;l . ine f'rori

r jcyin t,o %eta ii ; would be f a , i r l y ea sy t o s t o p the c o n t f n ~ i a l fl:-?it,- - in^ bct\rec:l E1i:lina and the Far,ti towns, t o impose a u n i f c r n i cus-

t o n s t a r i f f , and t o s t o i ~ smg , l i ng . They f e l t t h a t the o l d 2.1-

l i a ~ c e between t h e 3ritis!: arLd t h e rest err. s t a t e s c o u l d be re -

suned a ~ d t h a t under a l l o f t h e s e c i rcu ies tances , :.s:~te i ~ t r i c u e

on Lhe coos?. would be niuch e a s i e r t o col t ] -01. :.lorzcvo:-, ::Lth tile

c a s t l e i n B r i t i s h hzrtds, tile AsanLc conkro l o f Sl:5.na to:.,^ would

be k;i-cztly r ~ e a k c ~ e d .

i n the s i t u , ? t i o n seel-led sc; g r e a t tha t8 t ;hc Covcrrinent was d e t e r -

mined n o t to take o v e r X l~n ina unless t h e I l ~ l t c h ac, t ! icr i t ies c ~ u 1 . d

s a t i s f y t1lcr.l t h a t they had a socd title, ar.6 t h a t 1;',1e .clsz;,rte

c1ai.r;:~ t o a r ; y t ' : i n ~ rnore t h a n f r i e n d s h i p and allia~ce \.:ere m-

t i le B r i t i s h t i l exsc lves had r e c o p i z e d t h e r ighi ; of' t::e Eisa-td!;e-c

t o c o v t r o l i:lc Zlr,:ina people, 2nd had secured a guarar l tce fi-or.] 3 r

llici t h - t SI:.ii-a siiould r o t iiioke var on Cape ~ o s s t . ' " ) I? a d d i -

t i o n , a f t e l ? t h e 3ni;l;le o f Katar.:an.su, Lhc .isanto!icne i i ~ d nade j t

c l e a r t o 2 lckot t : ; t l l n t he regarded it a s t r sac i :e ry G- t i ie p s r t o f

t h e B r i t i s h and F a n t i t o c o q t i r u e b l o c k a c ' i r i C l o i n a d z l - i ~ i ; an

ar1; i i s t ice h i llcl had unders tood t o lzc l l ;da a l l h i s S G ~ : j ~ c t . 3 ,

arilong whcrn he corn--tied t h e E1r:li.x people . 126 1 I o r e o v e ~ , t h c r e were

l e t t e r s on f i l e i n which t h e A s a ~ ? ; e i ~ r : n ~ r ~ f e r r s d t o t h e Slci ina ns

h i s ~ f f r i s n c ' ! s and r e l a t i op . s t l and i n ed!ich 11s stated t:iat " t h e

Dutch had delivered Elmlna t o him as h i s ownv. 127 Ard, f i n a l l y ,

when t i le I l s n n t e h n e heard of t h e proposed s a l e , hz :;:rote t o I;r.

Uss!~cr, t h e i2dt:linistrat;or of tl ic Sold Coas t , t o re:r.ir.d hi;..: t h z t

Elniinn rias his by r i ~ h t ~ t and t o e x ; r e s s ti12 hopo t : ~ t Pl.i::ira m.s

not; ir:cl.uded i.r, L!le prcposed cessicm. 128

I n t h e f a c e oT t h i s , i t i s n o t s u r p i s i ~ g t h a t the I 3 r i t i s h

r e q u i r e d the Dutch t o s e c u r e froin Xu:,iasi c o ~ l ' i r ~ r ! a t i o n of t h c f a c t

t h a t Elininn was qot: sub j o c t t o t h e Asnr?teiie?e behore t;:ey rrou2.d

r a t i f y t h e t r e n t y o f coas ion . Bccordim.gly, a :.k. Kwsi ?lr;nge

werL t o i;c:~as.i;l ar.:? brou"ilt bac!: t h e r e n u n c i a i l o n aL:ed f o r , and

i s e d t;c double tlle s?nnual pa;rr:;enf; t h a t t l le 3 u t c h had beer, r;;al:in6;

f o r so l o n g . 132 Pope-:ien~i.ssy also reopened the roecis to L s a n t e

wl~lc l l had t e e n c lo sed f o r s e v e r a l yeai's ar,d thus o b l i g i n g l y :mde

J. L,l,e 7, efZ'eci tl!cit; t11e or . ly q ~ ~ c s t i o n s t i l l out,st;i?,r?dir.~ vzis t h e r ansox

t o be p a i d I'o? t h e cap;i;-c r ; ~ i s s i o r ? a r i ~ s . '33 Sver i q Gl:.~ira itself,

the s i t u n t i.on l o o k e d proini s i n s . Kobinz Xcl jan13'+ had been deposo2

by the Dutch b e f o r e t h e t r - a ~ s i ' e r haci t aken p h c e z ~ c ! the Afr i can

leaders t he,.l:;clves had p u b l i c l y stated t h a t t h e y apiiroved of t h e

t r a r , s r c r t o t h e Iki>isl!. 135

sidcrable unrest. A scrious r io t ; moved f.:r. Pope- i Ie~r?essy t o r e -

i n s L a t s i:o'r;lr.;~ Zd jan a s c i l lef o f Z1.1:iinn. T h i s i i as an un<er-

standable b ~ t ~i.n. i i ise ; love , for Kobira rras just as s t r o n ~ l y opposei!

as e v e r t o a c c e p t i n 2 Z r i t i s h r u l e and 5y re tu rn in ; ; hi.:;] t o porrer

Pope-I!cnncssy had ir . e f i ' ec t re-cstab3.Lshed t l i z Asanti-: e ~ c i i i v e i n

F'anti cour?Lr;v.,

I:ir. Pope-IIe;.~.e:;sy mis j u c f ~ e d t h e iZs,~nt.e sit ~ '1 ' ,, L , . L O ~ -: 2 s bc?-dJ-y

a s he had t h a t j.r. Elmina :or. t i l e Asante r m * e not; zeal.:; - s o q u i e s -

c e n t as he b e l i e v e d . ,211 p o s s i 5 i l i t ; y of war had r o t bzen d i s -

posed o f by t h e proinises m d e t o t h e A:;artehe~.e or, t : l e o c c a s i o r

o f t h e t r m s i ' e r n7tl t h e r e were ot;her a a t L e r s t c s i d e s t h a t of' t he

c a p t i v e : n i s s i o n a r i e s i l l ~ l c h r a n k l e d in t h c h e a r t s of' the Xsatite. 137

biost of t h e g r i evanLces v:hi.cil l e d t o t h e 1263-1.834. c o r . l l i c t iiad

n o t been r e d r e s s e d because t h e war was s t i 1 . l t e c i m i c n l l y i n 21-og-

r e s s . These Erievonceo13C w e r e o n l y f u r t h c s inflamed 'sy t'm

t h r e a t e n e d l o s s of El.:-lina and t h e cJ.osinl; of' the r o a d s t o A s m t e

t r 2 d . e ar.d the blockading o f Elr;iJ.na by t ! w F a n t i . 3ven i n t h e

t h e a b s o l u t z l y unaccep tab l e clemnd f o r t h c rc?; lrr . t o the As?*;te-

h e n e l s a l l e g i a n c e o f all t h e t r i b e s i n t h e t F r o t e c t o r ~ . L e ~ . 1.33

t:..-;n:;ec', t;2~3 TcnLi;i C;i-.f'el:<?:-;it,li?r. A!Lt;lldilL:i-~ :,he ?;,?ti Ci;y.?e~t?'.; '~t!.i 'n

d5.d :.(st, bcc~ : , ; e a fnc:..:)l> iy, ,'L~glo.-:,cn:-.t,t: -relatS.lj?s, ii; .'is . . - - - " ' . .L- u~~

Indeed , t ? l e a u t h o r s o f t l ~ e cons i i t ; u t i on soui:llt the reco;r iiio?,

a d v i c e nr.d support. o f t h e 13 r i t i sh Govcrxiimt i n c d e r t o ::;die it

work succesuf u l l y , 1 . 5 l h e 3 r i t i s h r c ~ c t i o n t o tiiis r e q u e s t f o r

he3.p proved 2. m d e shock t o t h e Xf r i cz?s . f i t f i r s t L5e o X i c i . a l s

at Cape COZSL act:ivaly opposed t h e s chz rx 116 b u t 2s ti-e passed 9

rrnd t h e mountin:.-, t an s io r ! : ; i th Asan te ) ; t f i 2 B r i t i s h sir.:ply nei;-

lect. ,ed t o l e n d any si..~;)port t o t h e n:over;i~vli; and it slovriy b u t su re -

l y xit;hc.red on ki ie v i n e . The on ly cvider ,ce w:\ich appears t o ex- P

p l a i n the I3riti:;l.i reason f o r t!lis atti.!,ude i s t o be f o ~ ~ q d i n t h e

Cc3 onicil O f f i c e desp=lt;ch o f 1 6 t h J anua ry 1872. 'i?\.is d z s p n t c h

cl,.j.+ brcizc: ; -- t h e h a s t e which l e d t h e p r o : , ~ o t e r s of t h e sche;ne t o a c t

iljrcn it; a s a s e t t l e d i n s t i L u t i o n b e f o r e s u b i ~ i i t t i n g it t o Tk.

Salrmn , t i le A c t - . i ~ g Xdr.lir.istr;itor. Zut i t s main critic is:^ i s that.

frsorne of t!-le Art , icles i n t h e Const;it;ution or" t h e Confede ra t i on

were p r a c t i . c d l y i n c o n s i s t e n t irFt;h t h e j u r i s c l i c t i c r . o f t h e Z r i t , i s ! i

Covcrninent i n t h e p r o t e c t e d t e r y i t o r y t t . 147 Rere in l i e s t h e of-

S i c i d ex;,ress:ion o f tlic chzm.;ed D r i Lish a t t i t i . ~ d e . I n 1665, j11-

risclic'i.ion was c I . e a r l y def'iR?.ed a s b c i r g f i r i h i l y r e s t r i c t e d t o t i le

f o r t s arld t h e t e m s of t h e Doncis b u t less t h a n sever y e a r s l a t e r

t h e l - : r i . t ish were cla!~ai.?g the ri@hl; t o j . r . terfere i n Llia p 0 1 i t i c ; i l

a l f a i r s o f t h e c o a s t x l stat3s. 11,s

n Clca:-ly, t:ie 0:I.y Juri . : ;dict ion e r j o j r e d by t h e ;;~-lt.i.sli I n

t e r l - i tor y cjutsicle of t h c f arts il2.S %he r e s t i r i c t c d ju t i icLal :~l.;tli~r-

i t y c>f the 9rit::Lsli cot i r t s , iX:i ch ikvas c;c<:i>ciscd i n accci-dar .cc w i t h

t h e Zonds o f 1Glklt. and t h e F o y e i ~ z J u r i s d i c t i o n Act o f 1.6;+3.

Thsre v:c.rc sinpl.;. R O grounds t o s u p p o r t arly c l a i l a t o pol.;-t ical.

a u t h o r i t y . C e s p i t e tilis, ho;.iaver, and i n t h e f a c e of t h e r e c c n -

fr0i.1 C a r c l ~ i e l l t c Conran and t!lc c l c s p ~ t ~ i i oT 1663 f r c l m C r z n v j - l l e

t o ~ e r ; n e d ~ , l ~ ~ a l l of which s t m i - s o d t h e a v o i d a r c e c f a n y r o a l o r

i n g d r i f t on t h e p a r t o f t h e 3 : - i t i sh o f f i c i a l s s c r v i r ~ G?? t!le

coas t , t o exter.cl. what a ~ i l o u ~ t c d t o n v e r y t e n u o u s ' 3 r i t , i sh i n f l u -

ence i n t o an i l l e ~ i t ~ i ~ n r l t e j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r pol.i'iic.1 a f f a i r s i n

t h e ' F r o t e c t o r a t e ! . 150

t h e most o u t s t a n d i n g and inost r e c e n t ; , lnnifest ;~i i ; ion o f t h i s c'ievel-

T opi;icni;. ,t i s i:nportnrlt because alt: loush tht? 3 r i t i s h iverc r o t

y e t arrai-e o f i t , t h e r e n u q c i n t i o n o f t h e Conf e d c r ~ t i or, ei?f ac t ivc l : , -

d e s t r o y e d t,he o n l y p o s s i b l e hope of t h e c o a s t a l t r i b n s lornicg an

- eI ' ?ec t ive p r o t e c t i v e a l l i a n c e . md?,?d , t h e 2 r i t i s i i hzd ru lec! out,

t h e ~2s;1."t3 2nd t h e y ware socn t o f i n d t h a t t h e y had a s s m e d t h e

scme f ~ t ; u r e d a t e . Gns of t h e p r i n - cipa2 object; o r t h e Z n ~ l l s h i n ac- qu: t r ing E l x i n a and tIio ot!icl- DuL ch Sett;lei:lmis had bcerr t o p u t ar, end to t h c wsrL'are on t h e Coas t , b u t nevi t h e co:fi~:~or, fate of woil!L(:>-t;e perice- rnakcrs \<as t h e i r s and tliajr f o u n d tllcm- s e l v e s s c ~ r i o u s l y involved.

i n 2 p o l i c y adopted , o r a n y s t r ~ j n , e r p o l i c y WLS ur,5aclieti by t h e pu;;er t o e n f o r c e coi. ;plic. ,?c~ ~ r i t l ! l e g i t i:natc. de:ixnds, t h e g r e 2 t e r t i ic d i f f i c u l - t i e s S c c a n 3 a ~ d t : ?~ 1ilOL'E d i d thc As'na~tis l e a r n t o des1)ise t h e po::zr o f t h e English and hava increasci ! f a i th i n Liieir o:m s~:p:msed i n v i n c i - b i l - i t y . So f a r ilad t h l s p r o c e s s zl- ready gc;ne, ar!d s o i~c.ul i : :x . a n d ciif- f i c u l 3 l , , ;o~id have be?? bi12 s i t u a t i o n , even i f a t r c c t y cau ld now hzve been made betvlcen tv:o n a t i o : ? s s o w i d e l y sepa:*al;ed i n Liie sca1.e o f c i v i l i z a - t i o r , t h e ril0r-e ba rba rous of ;;!ilch was l o c a l l :~ t h e inore pcj7~~:er-f ul, t h a t t h e d e f i n i t e c o n ~ u e s t cT Ashan t i c c u l d no l o ~ . ~ c ~ * b e deferra2. l -51

T h i s comicni; i s r:;ade : ~ i l ; l i t l le bc?nef it; o f h i ? d s i g \ l t , iiowzver , zr 2

t h e s i t u a t i o n was n0.t so c l e a r c u t vhen t i le X s a ~ t e al*itiy c r o s s e d

the ? r a i n Ja;?uary 1673. IP fac t ; , t h e I31*itis!l m r c r.oL c v c r l : ~

con.cerneci :.d!er, t h e y were f i r s t infolxec? t h a t Cie A s m t e t?:.i.ly !lad.

i ~ v a d c d the l?roteck:)r '~ te ' f o r t ,ley f e l t tEia t t h e coasl;c?4i t r i b e s

woul-c! be a b l e t;o h a n d l e t h e s i t u a t l o r , . Soxe ir.or?tiiu m r c t o pas;

be fo re the t r u e s i t t i a t i o n was r e c o g n i z e d and o n l y t h e n d i d t h e y

cormi t the;rlseI.ves t o a f u l l - s c a l e war w i t h t h e Asar?ie.

- h9 - secu red , t h e main body--a d i v i s i o n of some f i f t e e n t o twenty

thousand w a r r i o r s d i r e c t l y under t he command of t h e Supreme Com-

mander, Amankwa Tia, Chief o f Bantame--was t o advance due sou th

a l o n g t h e Prasu-Cape Coast road . H i s miss ion was two-fold. He

was n o t o n l y t o r e - e s t a b l i s h Asante s u z e r a i n t y ove r t h e c o a s t a l

s t a t e s which had been l o s t by v i r t u e o f t h e T r e a t y o f 1831, b u t

he was a l s o t o e i t h e r b r i n g t h e E n g l i s h t o t e r m s o r expe l them

from t h e c o a s t .4

Adu Bofol s d i v i s i o n marched f irst . Fol lol i ing t h e 1lsnsu.-

Inkwanta road , t h i s f o r c e c ros sed t h e Ofin i n t o Sefwi and march-

ed on FJiosu. From Wiosu it bore s o u t h and a f t e r s e v e r a l b r i e f

and s u c c e s s f u l e n c o u n t e r s , concen t r a t ed i n t h e r eg ion o f Apol-

l o n i a m 5 The army's r i g h t f l a n k had t h e r e f o r e been r a t h e r e a s i l y

s ecu red , Such was n o t t h e c a s e on t h e l e f t f l a n k . Due t o t h e

s low c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f some l e v i e s , Kofi Ben tuo l s d i v i s i o n d i d n o t

move u n t i l some seven weeks a f t e r Adu Bofo 's d e p a r t u r e and F u l l e r I

r e p o r t s t h a t he w a s r e c a l l e d even b e f o r e he had e n t e r e d Akim Ter-

r i t o r y . The Asantehene had hea rd " t h a t t h e Denkeras had hidden

t h e i r he i r looms i n a f o r e s t c a l l e d Yinabafora , c l o s e t o Imbraim,

and s e n t Bentuo t o r e c o v e r them. n6 A s a r e s u l t , Kofi Ben tuo l s

miss ion was neve r accomplished because b e f o r e he could be d i v e r t -

ed from h i s ' t r e a s u r e h u n t ' , d i s a s t e r had s t r u c k t h e main army

under Amankwa T i a .

A t t h e t ime o f Kofi Bentuof s r e c a l l , however, t h e r e were

n o i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e eas tward t h r u s t could n o t be c a r r i e d o u t

once t h e Kenkyera t r e a s u r e had been recovered . Indeed , d u r i n g

t h e i n i t i a l s t a g e s of Amankwa T i a f s campaign, t h e r e was some

j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r b e l i e v i n g t h a t t h e e a s t e r n o p e r a t i o n might be

q u i t e s a f e l y c a n c e l l e d e n t i r e l y . When t h i s powerful c e n t e r d i v i -

s i o n l e f t Kumasi j u s t one week a f t e r Adu B o f o f s d e p a r t u r e , it

gave eve ry impress ion o f being i n v i n c i b l e e 7 And i t s e a r l y oper-

a t i o n s l i v e d up t o t h e promise o f t h a t e a r l y impress ion.

Amankwa T i a f s d i v i s i o n began c r o s s i n g t h e P r a a t A t a s i

on t h e 22nd o f January 1873 and f i v e days o f con t inuous f e r r y i n g

were r e q u i r e d b e f o r e t h e army was f i n a l l y concen t r a t ed on t h e

s o u t h bank o f t h e pra.* The southward d r i v e t h u s began on t h e

28 th o f J anua ry when t h e Asantes f i rs t p lundered and burned sev-

e r a l Assin v i l l a g e s and engaged i n a minor s k i r m i s h a g a i n s t a

body of some one thousand Ass ins . I n t h i s a c t i o n one Asante

p r i s o n e r was t aken and two more were k i l l e d . The p r i s o n e r was

k i l l e d and a l l t h r e e heads were s e n t t o King Anfoo Otoo a t

Abrakranipa as proof of t h e a c t u a l i t y o f t h e i nvas ion . It was

from King Anfoof s l e t t e r r e p o r t i n g h i s i n fo rma t ion and a message

f rom Chibu t h e King o f Ass in , bo th of which r eached Cape Coast

on t h e 31st o f J anua ry , t h a t t h e Government f irst l e a r n e d o f t h e

i n v a s i o n . 9

Colonel Har ley , t h e Gold Coast Admin i s t r a to r , lo was ac-

t u a l l y conduc t ing n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r t h e r e l e a s e o f t h e European

M i s s i o n a r i e s when he r e c e i v e d word of t h e i n v a s i o n and he was

caught comple te ly o f f guard. I n r e p o r t i n g t h e i n v a s i o n t o t h e

Adminis t ra tor - in -Chief a t S i e r r a Leone, M r , Pope-Hennessy, " he

c l e a r l y exp res sed h i s shock and bewilderment when he s a i d :

-'I need s c a r c e l y convey t o your Exce l lency t h e profound as ton ishment w i t h which I have r e c e i v e d t h e s e t i d - i n g s , a s no th ing b u t t h e most amicable r e l a t i o n s have e x i s t e d between t h i s Governnent and Ashantee f o r some t i n e , and a s s u r a n c e s o f l a s t i n g peace and goodwi l l have been s e n t down by t h e k i n g e v e r e my assumption of t h e Government.

Har ley a l s o exp res sed annoyance a t what he viewed as Asamte

t r e a c h e r y i n a t t a c k i n g wi thou t p rovoca t ion whi le envoys were ac-

t u a l l y a t Cape Coast conduc t ing n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r t h e removal o f

t h e " l a s t cause f o r c o n f l i c t between ( t h e ~ r i t i s h ) and t h e

~ s h a n t e e s . "I3 D e s p i t e h i s s u r p r i s e and c h a g r i n , however, Hs r l ey

was d e s t i n e d t o move q u i c k l y and p o s i t i v e l y t o conf i rm t h e f a c t

of t h e i n v a s i o n and t a k e measures t o c o u n t e r it,

M r . IIennessy, who had been Adininis t ra tor- in-Chief f o r

b a r e l y e i g h t months, r e c e i v e d Colonel Har l ey ' s despa t ch on t h e

8 t h o f Feb rua ry and h i s r e a c t i o n verged on t h e h y s t e r i c a l . No

doubt t h i s was due i n l a r g e p a r t t o t h e f a c t t h a t shou ld t h e i n -

vas ion be s e r i o u s , Hennessy's diplomacy on t h e Gold Coast would

be e n t i r e l y d i s c r e d i t e d . l4 As a consequence, he mainta ined u n t i l

t h e day h e l e f t West A f r i c a t h a t t h e c o n f l i c t was a l o c a l i z e d

"border sk i rmi sh . l t l 5 H i s d e s p a t c h e s t o t h e Colonel S e c r e t a r y ,

t h e E a r l o f Kimberley, and h i s d i r e c t i v e s t o Colonel Har ley ,

c o n s i s t e n t l y r e p e a t e d t h i s theme w h i l e a d v i s i n g and o r d e r i n g

t h a t t h e Asante h a d , t o be d e a l t w i t h c a r e f u l l y t o avo id expand-

ing t h e c o n f l i c t . He c o n t i n u a l l y blamed Colonel Harley f o r t h e

d i f f i c u l t i e s and t h e s e n i o r n a v a l o f f i c e r on t h e c o a s t , Commo-

d o r e Commerell, R.M., as w e l l a s some f u n c t i o n a r i e s a t Cape

~ 0 a s t . l ~ suppor t ed him b o t h i n h i s view of t h e i n v a s i o n and h i s

condemnation of t h e Admin i s t r a to r . H i s de spa t ch t o Lord

Kimberley on t h e 1 3 t h of February c o n t a i n s t h r e e paragraphs

which c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e h i s p o s i t i o n . He wrote:

4. A t t h e same t ime , t h e Conui~odore (Commerell) appeared t o t h i n k t h e a f f a i r was much exaggera ted .

5. 'Fror;! what he saw a t Seccondee, he b e l i e v e d t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s t h e r e were t h e r e s u l t of t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r ~ s speech a t Elmina about t h e n a t i v e customs.

7. A l l t h e p r i v a t e correspondence I have seen from t h e Coast conf i rms t h i s view; and i t i s i n e n t i r e accord w i t h my own opin ion . 17

M r . Hennessy' s op in ion no twi ths t and ing , Colone l Har ley

immediate ly began t o t a k e measures t o c o u n t e r what h e viewed as

a s e r i o u s t h r e a t t o t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' and t h u s t h e Anglo-Asante

Wa.r o f 1873-1$74 was w e l l and t r u l y under way. The subsequent

campaign f a l l s i n t o t h r e e d i s t i n c t phases . The f i rs t phase cov-

e r s t h e p e r i o d from 1 February , 1873 u n t i l t h e a ~ * r i v a l of S i r

Garnet V o l s e l e y i n S e p t e ~ l b e r 1873. Phase two b e g i n s w i t h

Wolse ley ' s a r r i v a l on t h e Gold Coast and ends w i t h t h e complet ion

of t h e Asante wi thdrawal a c r o s s t h e P r a R i v e r l a t e i n November

1873. The t h i r d phase i n v o l v e s t h e p r e p a r a t i o n f o r and execut loi l

o f t h e s u c c e s s f u l B r i t i s h i nvas ion o f Asante t e r r i t o r y , t h e sub-

sequent wi thdrawal from Kumasi and t h e evacua t ion o f t h e Ewzopean

t r o o p s from t h e Gold Coast i n February 1874.

Phase one was dominated by Colonel Har ley t s a t t e m p t s t o

cope w i t h f o u r b a s i c problems. I n t h e f irst p l a c e , he had t o

c l e a r l y and f i r m l y d e f i n e B r i t i s h p o l i c y f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f t h e

c h i e f s i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' . He t h e n had t o ensu re t h e secu-

r i t y of t h e f o r t s s c a t t e r e d a long t h e c o a s t l i n e . T h i r d l y , he

had t o encourage and suppor t t h e t r i besmen of t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e '

i n t h e i r e f f o r t s t o h a l t t h e Asante i nvas ion . F i n a l l y , some

means had t o be found t o d e a l w i th t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s p r e s e n t e d

by Elmina and a l l o f t h e o t h e r s e t t l e m e n t s which had p r e v i o u s l y

been under Dutch c o n t r o l , many of which sympathized w i t h t h e

Asantes . The f irst s t a t emen t on B r i t i s h p o l i c y was given on t h e

3 0 t h of J anua ry when Colonel Har ley responded t o King Anfoo

O t o o T s n o t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e Asante i nvas ion . The Admin i s t r a to r

f irst expres sed h i s s t r o n g doubts over t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a

massive i n v a s i o n b u t t hen went on t o c l e a r l y i n t i m a t e what t h e

B r i t i s h a t t i t u d e would be should an i n v a s i o n prove t o have t a k e n

p l a c e . He wro te :

You and t h e o t h e r k i n g s of t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e may r e l y upon t h e Govern- ment g i v i n g you a s s i s t a n c e i n arms and ammunition, i n t h e event o f your be ing a t t a c k e d ; bu t you must b e a r i n mind t h a t it i s a l i k e your i n t e r e s t and du ty t o defend your own f r o n t i e r s , and t h a t n o t h i n g b u t an u n i t e d and dec ided system o f de fence , which t h e k i n g s shou ld a l l a g r e e upon, i s l i k e l y t o r e n d e r your e f f o r t s s u c c e s s f u l i n r e i s t i n g and overcoming your enemy. 18

One day l a t e r , t h e Admin i s t r a to r r e c e i v e d s u f f i c i e n t ev-

i d e n c e t o s h a t t e r h i s somewhat corilplacent a t t i t u d e . He responded

by immediate ly convening h i s L e g i s l a t i v e c o u n c i l .I9 A f t e r due

d e l i b e r a t i o n , t h e Counci l a g r e e d unanimously t h a t a l l f u t u r e ac-

t i o n s o f t h e Admin i s t r a to r and t h e Council would be guided and

c o n t r o l l e d by t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s i s s u e d on 23 June , 1864, by t h e

t h e n S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r t h e Colonies , M r . Cardwell . 20 The

most impor t an t p o r t i o n o f t h o s e i n s t r u c t i o n s s t a t e d t h a t :

. , . . . t h e p rope r c o u r s e , t h e r e f o r e , i s t o t a k e every p o s s i b l e means f o r b r ing - i n g t h e c h i e f s t o a u n i t e d and dec ided system o f de fence , and f o r t h i s purpose t o g i v e them a d v i c e , t o supp ly them j u d i c i o u s l y w i t h m i l i t a r y s t o r e s , and , i n c o n c e r t wi th t h e o T f i c e r commanding t h e f o r c e s , t o f u r n i s h them w i t h assist- ance as he may be a b l e t o a f f o r d , w i thou t expos ing h i s o f f i c e r s and men t o any pro- t r a c t e d r e s i d e n c e i n t h e i n t e r i o r , espe- c i a l l y a t t h e unhea l thy s e a s o n , and wi th- o u t weakening h i s f o r c e upon t h e Coas t , s o as t o endanger t h e sa e t y o f t h e S e t t l e m e n t s themselves . h

The e s s e n c s o f t h e s e i n s t r u c t i o n s was i n c l u d e d i n a Proc-

l a m a t i o n i s s u e d by t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Counci l on t h e 3 1 s t o f J anua ry

and was immediate ly d i s t r i b u t e d th roughout t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' .

Colonel Har ley was f i r m l y suppor ted i n t h i s a c t i o n by bo th Mr,

Hennessy and t h e Co lon ia l S e c r e t a r y h i m s e l f , Lord Kimberley . 22

Indeed , M r . Hennessy was most anx ious t h a t t h i s p o l i c y should be

. pursued because o f h i s f i r m c o n v i c t i o n t h a t t h i s was o n l y a bor-

d e r d i s p u t e o f minor import . I n p a s s i n g Har l ey ' s r e p o r t s on t o

Kimberley, he s t a t e d most f o r c e f u l l y t h a t any d i r e c t B r i t i s h

i nvo lveuen t would s e r v e on ly t o i n f l ame t h e Asantehene and pre-

c i p i t a t e a f u l l - s c a l e i n v a s i o n of t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' and t h a t

t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e p o l i c y of non-involvement was t h e on ly

cou r se t o be adopted. 23

B r i t i s h p o l i c y was t h u s c l e a r l y s t a t e d from t h e v e r y

o u t s e t , Should any doub t s have r ena ined , however, Nr. R. I!,

~ a a t e , ~ ~ Hennessyt s rep lacement , removed t h e n i n a conc ise s t a t e -

ment o f p o l i c y which he communicated t o Colonel Har ley on t h e

1 8 t h of February. I n t h i s despa t ch he s a i d :

I d e s i r e , however, e s p e c i a l l y t o draw t o your a t t e n t i o n t o a despa t ch from S i r Ar thur Kennedy o f t h e 8 t h June 1869, i n which h e t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e o t h e r a c t - i n g Admin i s t r a to r f o r h i s guidance a Des- p a t c h from t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e , d a t e d t h e 1 7 t h Nay 1869, i n which t h e p r i n c i p l e i s e x p r e s s l y l a i d down w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e c h i e f s , t h a t ' t h e wars i n which t h e y engage themse lves a r e t h e i r wars, and n o t t h e wars of t h i s coun t ry (Grea t B r i t a i n ) ; t h a t t h e y must r e l y on themse lves f o r s u c c e s s i n t h e i r wars, and t h a t t h e B r i t i s h Government i s unable t o make i t s e l f r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i r defence i n c a s e t h e y s h u l d prove unable t o defend themsa lves . ' 25

T h i s a y p w a c h was e v e ~ t u a l l y t o prove coinpletel j . ~miiork-

a b l e b u t solne iiwnths were t o pass b e f o r e t h e B r i t i s h r e a l i z e d

t h i s . I n t h e i n t e r i n , Colonel I Iar ley strucgled--wit! ; what w s ,

under. t h e circurllstc7,nces, a considerable degree o f success--tic,

d e a l w i t h t l i e t;kiree s e r i o u s problercs which s t i l l rerilair.ed t o f a c e

hilil. Indeed , upcn i ~ v e s t i g a t i n g t h e s e p r o b l e m one beg ins t o

r e a l i z e how d o u b t f u l i t i s , under t h e circu:nst,ar.ces p r - e v a i l i ? ~ in

ea r ly 1673, th:;c t h e s i t u a t i o n d u r i n t t h i s e a r l y phase o f t h e \;ar

would have developed any d i f f e r e n t l y even had t h e C r i t i s h adopted

a p o l i c y oi' d i r e c t i - t c ~ v e n t i o n . FTo r m t t e r i i i : ~ t p o l i c y t h e y

n i ~ h t have chose-., t!ie 3 r i i i s h were s i n p l y n o t capab le o i d c i r g

muc?l narc t h a n t h e y actua1l .y d i d d : l r i n ~ t h e e a r l y mor.'ilis cf t h e

war.

IQ kecpiqg w i t h an i ~ f o r r , i a l b u t t h e - h o n o u r e d t r a d i t ic r . ,

t h e 7 t A s h a r t i s had c a u ~ ~ h t t h e Goverr1.1ent i n i t s h a b i t u a l s t a t e of

unpreparednes:; . t t26 I n t:ie e r t i r e t e r r i t o r y tilei-e irore on ly 176

o f f i c e l + s avd :,lw ava i l ab l e f o r f i e l d du ty artd even t l l is sx211

f o r c e was spl-cad o u t i n 'penny p a c k e t s ' as garrisons a t Cape

Coast C a s t l e , Accra, Seconde2, A:ciic m:'; 9 i i i l i ~ a . The:€ v c r e some

ser .viceL~'s ie f i c l d - a r i i l l z r y p i e c e s a v a i l a b l e b u t t h e y v e r e v i r -

t u a 1 . l ~ u s e l e s s duc t o t h e aLsen,ce of t r a i n e d gun crct:s a ~ d a lac!:

of ar:inlunition. Sven r o c k e t s , t h e most p o r t a b l e and e a s i l y a t i -

- 1 7 r n r l i z e c l f or111 of art:-,..-t. 1.7, wore i n cxcevd i ~ c l y s'i-iort svl;;;l;: . ~ i l e r c

- \rere o n l y l$ o? t h e e n t i r e cocsl;. ~ v c n ir,orc. s ~ r i o u s , :?o;!cv?T,

b ~ a s t: e s:lort;lgc 0; pc r so?a i ; i cc?po~s . The stores a t Cq:c C O L S ~

C a s t l e con ta ined only 380 f l i n t - l o c k muskets and 190 muzzle-

l o a d i n g ( M . L . ) E n f i e l d r i f l e s . F o r t u n a t e l y , t h e r e was a reason-

a b l y l a r g e q u a n t i t y o f gunpowder, M.L. c a r t r i d g e s and l e a d w i t h

which t o supply t h o s e t r ibesmen i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' who a l r e a d y

posses sed t h e i r own f i r e a r m s . 27

These a p p a l l i n g s h o r t a g e s and t h e l a c k o f suppor t from

Hennessy and Cornmerell no twi ths t and ing , Colone l Har ley was f a c e d

w i t h t h e monumental t a s k o f hav ing t o d e v i s e sone method whereby

he could defend t h e f o r t s and s t i l l g i v e a i d t o t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t a '

c h i e f s . Undaunted, t h e Admin i s t r a to r th rew h imse l f i n t o t h e t.as?c

and had soon dev i sed a s imple th ree-phase p lan which u t i l i z e d t h s

meagre s u p p l i e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e i r b e s t advantage wh i l e adhe r ing

t o t h e l i m i t a t i o n s p l aced on h i s freedom o f a c t i o n by t h e ar.-

nounced B r i t i s h p o l i c y .

The f irst s t e p was t o c a r r y o u t a r econna i s sance i n o r d e r

t o d e f i n e t h e scope and i n t e n t of t h e i n v a s i o n and i n o r d e r t o

a s s e s s t h e s p i r i t o f t h e t r i b e s i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' . On t h e

b a s i s o f t h e i n fo rma t ion c o l l e c t e d , t h e d e c i s i o n would be made

as t o what s u p p l i e s o f arms and a m w n i t i o n could b e spa red f o r

i s s u e t o t h e t r i b e s . Accordingly, t h e proc lamat ion i s s u e d by t h e

L e g i s l a t i v e Counci l a t i t s meeting on t h e 31st o f J anua ry , 1873

was d e l i v e r e d t o t h e c h i e f s by D r . Rowe, t h e c o l o n i a l surgeon, 28

who was s e n t t o them as a s p e c i a l commissioner. The proc lamat ion

e x h o r t e d t h e t r i b e s t o u n i t e and f a c e t h e i nvade r and itowe was

d i r e c t e d t o encourage t h e c h i e f s as s t r o n g l y as p o s s i b l e whi le

a t t e m p t i n g t o a s s e s s t h e i r s p i r i t o f de t e rmina t ion . 29

D r . Rowe r e p o r t e d r a t h e r f a v o u r a b l y on t h e a t t i t u d e pre-

v a i l i n g among t h e ch ie fs3 ' and Colone l Har ley was impressed w i t h

what he viewed as a s p i r i t o f en thus iasm pervading a l l c l a s s e s

o f t h e Afr icans . The s p i r i t o f Cape Coast was exempl i f i ed by

t h e prompt o f f e r o f t h e i r s e r v i c e s by t h e 250 members o f t h e

Cape Coast ~ o l u n t e e r s ~ ~ and i n t h e i n t e r i o r , t h e Kings o f Abrah,

Anambo, Mankessim and Assin a l l d e c l a r e d t h e i r i n t e n t i o n t o

f i g h t and r e q u e s t e d a s s i s t a n c e i n t h e form o f arms and ammuni-

t i o n . I n f a c t , t h e response was s o good t h a t t h e Admin i s t r a to r

e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e r e would be w u p ~ t a r d s of 60,000 men i n t h e Pro-

t e c t o r a t e . . . more o r l e s s a c t i v e l y engaged i n t h e coming s t r u g -

g l e , and who (were) a l l p repared t o demand Government a i d . (132

C e r t a i n l y t h i s e s t i m a t e appeared t o be w e l l j u s t i f i e d when j u s t

one o f t h e C h i e f s , Chief B e n t i l l of Murnford o f f e r e d t o t u r n o u t

20,000 men. 33 T h i s h i g h l y encouraging p i c t u r e l e d Colone l

Har ley t o i s s u e h i s small s t o c k o f arms and ammunition t o t h e

e x i s t i n g t r i b a l f o r c e s i n l i m i t e d but--by European s tandards34-

adequa te q u a n t i t i e s s o t h a t he would be a b l e t o supply t h e ex-

pec t ed new l e v i e s as t h e y came i n t o s e r v i c e .

The second phase of t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r ' s p l an was t o pro-

v i d e some c o n c r e t e y e t q u a l i f i e d proof of t h e B r i t i s h i n t e n t i o n

t o s u p p o r t t h e t r i b a l a l l i e s , To ach ieve t h i s , t h e L e g i s l a t i v e

Counci l agreed t h a t t h e a v a i l a b l e detachment of 50 Hausa

be s e n t t o Dunkwa. However, wh i l e t a k i n g t h i s a c t i o n , t h e Coun-

c i l made it c l e a r t h a t t h e airn o f t h e move was n o t t o p rov ide a

f o r c e t o s t a n d and f i g h t t h e Asante i nvade r s . I n h i s l e t t e r t o

D r . Rowe, Colone l Har ley asked him t o make it c l e a r t o t h e c h i e f s

t h a t h i s " o b j e c t i n sending f i f t y armed p o l i c e (Hausas) t o

Dunquah i s n o t i n any way t o be regarded as more than a demon-

s t r a t i o n i n f a v o u r o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , and my d e s i r e t o have t h e

l a w en fo rced a g a i n s t marauders and p l u n d e r e r s i f they can be

t a k e n , b u t t h e y w i l l , as a m a t t e r o f cou r se , defend themse lves

i n ca se o f a t t a c k . Should, however, t h e r e be any chance of t h e i r

be ing outnumbered and a t t a c k e d by such a f o r c e as t h e y a r e n o t

s t r o n g enough t o r e p e l , t h e y w i l l a t once f a l l back on Cape Coast

Castlev. 36

The p l a n ' s t h i r d phase c a l l e d f o r a g e n e r a l s t r e n g t h e n i n g

o f t h e B r i t i s h p o s i t i o n on t h e c o a s t , Consequently, t h e Adminis-

t r a t o r r e q u e s t e d a i d from S i e r r a Leone i n ar. a t t empt t o b u i l d up

h i s g a r r i s o n and r e p l e n i s h h i s g e n e r a l s t o r e s and magazine. He

reconmended t o M r . Hennessy t h a t 300 of t h e new breech- load ing

(B.L. ) S n i d e r r i f l e s be s e n t t o t h e Gold Coast f o r t h e purpose

of re-arming t h e Hausas. He would t h e n be enab led t o arm t h e

Cape Coast Vo lun tee r s w i t h t h e M.T,. E n f i e l d s t h u s r e l e a s e d . Re-

i n fo rcemen t s o f at l e a s t conpany s t r e n g t h were a l s o r eques t ed s o

t h a t t h e f o r t s cou ld be comple te ly g a r r i s o n e d w i t h r e g u l a r t r o o p s

of t h e Second West I n d i a Regiment ( 2 WIR) .37 T h i s move was i n -

t e n d e d t o bo th s t r e n g t h e n t h e g a r r i s o n and r e l e a s e t h e e n t i r e

Hausa f o r c e f o r d u t y as a form o f r e se rve . F i n a l l y , he asked f o r

o f f i c e r s t o comiand t h e v a r i o u s o u t p o s t s . He s p e c i f i c a l l y r e -

ques ted t h e s e r v i c e s o f a L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins, 2 W I R , t o t a k e

charge o f t h e Hsusas. 3* Thus r e a l i s t i c and p o s i t i v e s t e p s were

planned by Colonel Harley. Unfo r tuna t e ly , however, h i s p lan wcs

somewhat f r u s t r a t e d from t h e v e r y o u t s e t .

Although immediate arrangements were made t o p rov ide f o r

t h e g r a n t i n g of t h e s e r e q u e s t s , M r . Hennessy was l o a t h t o a u t h o r -

i z e t h e shipment of t h e men and s u p p l i e s concerned. He s tubborn-

l y c lung t o t h e i d e a t h a t t h e whole a f f a i r was be ing g r e a t l y ex-

a t ;gera ted . He c o n t i n u a l l y and vehemently denounced Colonel

Har ley and used every s c r a p o f evidence he could g a t h e r t o d i s -

c r e d i t t h e Gold Coast ~ d r n i n i s t r a t o r . ~ ~ H i s v e n d e t t a had gone s o

f a r by t h e middle o f February t h a t he was a c t u a l l y p repared t o

r e l i e v e Colonel Har ley o f h i s d u t i e s O 4 O He was f r u s t r a t e d i n

t h i s a t t e m p t , however, by t h e t i m e l y and f o r t u n a t e a r r i v a l o f h i s

own rep lacement , Idr. R . Keate. 41

On h i s a r r i v a l a t S i e r r a Leone, Governor Keate found t h e

s i t u a t i o n s o confused t h a t he s e n t on ly t h e arms and ammunition

t o t h e Gold Coast whi le r e t a i n i n g t h e t r o o p r e i n f o r c e m n t s i n

S i e r r a Leone. He dec ided t o ho ld t h e r e in fo rcemen t s and proceed

t o t h e Gold Coast w i t h M r . Loggie , t h e Inspec tor -Genera l o f Po-

l i c e , i n an a t t e m p t t o c l a r i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n and a s c e r t a i n wheth-

e r o r n o t t h e t r o o p s were r e a l l y needed. 42

The Governor and t h e consignment o f arms and ammunition

a r r i v e d a t Cape Coast C a s t l e on t h e 7 t h of March and a l t hough he

d i e d w i t h i n t e n days o f ' h i s a r r i v a l , Governor Keate was a b l e t o

w r i t e two despa t ches which were t o be o f c o n s i d e r a b l e importance.

The f i rs t o f t h e s e despa t ches was of g r e a t importance ir:

London as it c l e a r l y s t a t e d t h e e x t e n t o f t h e Asante menace and

t h e p o l i c y which was t o b e . pursued by t h e Gold Coast o f f i c i a l s 5.3

t h e f a c e o f t h a t menace. The Governor s t a t e d t h a t s i n c e he hs.d

become b e t t e r acqua in t ed w i t h t h e f a c t s , he could no t bu t concur

i n t h e o p i n i o n exp res sed by a l l people o f consequence on t h e Gold

Coast t h a t t h e i n v a s i o n was t h e most s e r i o u s o f any t h a t had e v e r

been made i n t o t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e f . He f u r t h e r commented t h a t t h e

p o l i c y b e i n g pursued was comple te ly i n l i n e w i t h p a s t i n s t r u c t i o n s

which r e q u i r e d t h a t t h e B r i t i s h Government should i n no case be-

come a p r i n c i p a l i n r e p e l l i n g a t t a c k s upon t h e n a t i v e s o f t h e

t P r o t e c t o r a t o ' ' . 4 3 The second despa t ch , which r e p o r t e d an Asante

v i c t o r y a t Yankumasi F a n t i , was of v i t a l importance t o Colonel

H a r l e y ' s p l a n s because it a u t h o r i z e d t h e movement of t h e 100-nan

re inforcement company o f 2 T/!IR t r o o p s , who had been on s t andby

a t S i e r r a Leone, t o t h e Gold These a d d i t i o n a l t r o o p s

a r r i v e d a t Cape Coast C a s t l e on t h e 2 0 t h o f Narch, and proved t o

be b u t t h e first i n s t a l m e n t i n a s t e a d i l y growing f l o o d o f sup-

p l i e s .

The s e r i e s o f despa t ches r ece ived i n London up t o t h e

1 0 t h o f March had been caus ing i n c r e a s i n g concern on t h e p a r t o f

t h e Gladstone Government. Indeed , by t h e 20 th o f March t h e Col-

o n i a l O f f i c e was s o convinced of t h e s e r i o u s n e s s o f t h e s i t u a t i o n

t h a t it i s s u e d a menlorandurn t o t h e War O f f i c e which made r e f e r -

ence t o t h e f a c t t h a t '? the i n v a s i o n of t h e p r o t e c t e d t e r r i t o r y

by t h e Ashantee may be prolonged and t h e r e may be some d i f f i c u l t y

i n h o l d i n g t h e f o r t s i n B r i t i s h occupa t ion . v45 Never the l e s s , t h e

Government was f i r m l y opposed t o t h e i d e a o f sending an expedi-

t i o n a r y f o r c e t o t h e Gold Coast . 46 Under such c i rcumstances , t h e

o n l y a l t e r n a t i v e a c t i o n was t o adhere t o t h e e x i s t i n g p o l i c y and

a t t e m p t t o e n s u r e t h e con t inued o p e r a t i o n o f t h e a l l i e d a rmies by

p rov id ing s u f f i c i e n t q u a n t i t i e s o f arms and ammunition t o keep

them i n t h e f i e l d .

T h i s t h e Government r e s o l v e d t o do and t h e Vlar O f f i c e de-

c i d e d on t h e 2 0 t h of March t o s h i p c e r t a i n mun i t i ons t o t h e Gold

Coast . The Government's unde r s t and ing of t h e urgency of t h e mat-

t e r i s exempl i f i ed by t h e f a c t t h a t a s p e c i a l t r a i n was made up

t o c a r r y t h e consignrmnt t o t h e docks s o a s t o ensu re t h a t t h e

shipment was d e l i v e r e d wi th t h e l e a s t p o s s i b l e de lay . 47 AS a

r e s u l t , 700 M.L. E n f i e l d r i f l e s and 210,000 rcunds o f b a l l a m u -

n i t i o n a r r i v e d a t Cape Coast C a s t l e on t h e 7 t h of A p r i l . 48 Frorli

t h i s p o i n t onward, t h e p rov i s ion o f s u p p l i e s f o r t h e Gold Coast

n e v e r posed a s e r i o u s problem even though t h e o f f i c i a l s on t h e

Gold Coast d i d n o t become aware o f t h e s e deve lopnents u n t i l t h e

arms and s u p p l i e s a c t u a l l y began a r r i v i n g .

As on ly t h e s u p p l i e s and r e i n f o r c e ~ e n t s r eques t ed from

S i e r r a Leone had been v i t a l t o Colonel Har l ey ' s p lnn , t h e i r ar-

r i v a l , combined w i t h t h e a p p a r e n t l y s u c c e s s f u l c a l l f o r a u n i t e d

e f f o r t on t h e p a r t of t h e t r i b e s of t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' should

have s i g n a l l e d t h e beg inn ing of succes s f o r t h e B r i t i s h p lan .

Unfo r tuna t e ly , such was n o t t o be t h e ca se f o r t h e v e r y premise

upon which t h e B r i t i s h had based t h e i r pol icy-- the a b i l i t y o f t h e

F a n t i t o u n i t e e f f e c t i v e l y i n t h e f a c e o f t h e Asante t h r e a t -

proved t o be f a l l a c i o u s . Thus, w i t h b u t one e x c e p t i o n , t h e p a t -

t e r n of t h e e a r l i e r i n v a s i o n s was once more t o be r epea t ed . I n

t h e coming campaign t h e enemy would be a b l e t o engage and d e f e a t

t h e s e v e r a l t r i b e s one a f t e r t h e o t h e r , d r i v i n g be fo re them t h e

f u g i t i v e s from t h e f irst b a t t l e s t o d e n o r a l i z e t h o s e whom t h e y

had n e x t t o encounte r .

There were t h r e e b a s i c r e a s o n s f o r t h e l a c k o f F a n t i un i -

t y . F i r s t , t h e F a n t i w e n t r a d i t i o n a l l y a d i v i d e d people who

c o n t i n u a l l y q u a r r e l e d amongst themse lves and whose q u a r r e l s had

become e s p e c i a l l y d i v i s i v e as a r e s u l t of t h e Anglo-Dutch agree-

ment on t h e c e s s i o n o f t h e Dutch f o r t s . Second, t h e t a c t i c s t ra -

d i t i o n a l l y used by t h e F a n t i were no t des igned f o r o f f e n s i v e ac-

t i o n and t h e y were n o t conducive t o t h e fo rma t ion o f a l a r g e ar-

my f i g h t i n g f o r broad s t r a t e z i c goa l s . Th i rd , t h e B r i t i s h , by

v i r t u e o f t h e i r Gold Coast p o l i c y , had n o t o n l y undermined t h e

one r e c e n t a t t e m p t made by t h e F a n t i t o u n i f y themselves , 49 bu t

had a l s o p l aced Colonel Har ley i n t h e p o s i t i o n where n o t even he

could supply t h e deg ree o f suppor t and l e a d e r s h i p neces sa ry t o

e f f e c t i v e l y u n i t e t h e t r ibesmen. Th i s t h i r d f a c t o r has a l r e a d y

been d i s c u s s e d a t some length5' b u t t h e o t h e r s have n o t . It i s

t h e r e f o r e n e c e s s a r y t o b r i e f l y review t h e f i rs t and second f a c -

t o r s a t t h i s p o i n t .

It i s known t h a t t h e F a n t i s e t t l e d i n t h e r e g i o n o f

Mankessim n e a r t h e end o f t h e f i f t e e n t h cen tu ry and t h a t between

about 1660 and 1690, p a r t l y because of popu la t ion p r e s s u r e , p a r t -

l y w i t h a view to . e s t a b l i s h i n g a t i g h t e r c o n t r o l over t h e i n -

c r e a s i n g l y l u c r a t i v e t r a d e between t h e Europeans and t h e i n t e r i o r

p e o p l e s , and p a r t l y because of p o l i t i c a l r i v a l r y , t h e d i f f e r e n t

c l a n s began t o move o u t t o ca rve ou t kingdoms f o r themse lves i n

r e g i o n s fo rmer ly occupied by t h e E t s i i . Each of t h e s t a t e s t h u s

formed cons ide red i t s e l f independent , though it d i d i n t h e o r y

r ecogn ize t h e Braffo o f Nankessirn as i t s supreme head. Thus even

though , by t h e end of t h e t h i r d decade of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y ,

t h e F a n t i had expanded f r o n t h e i n t e r i o r and occupied o r e s t a b -

l i s h e d t h e i r c o n t r o l over t h e whole c o a s t s t r e t c h i n g from t h e

mouth o f t h e P r a i n t h e west t o t h e b o r d e r s of t h e Ga kingdom

i n t h e e a s t , t h e r e was no u n i f i e d F a n t i s t a t e . Each small Oman

j e a l o u s l y guarded i t s independence and c o n f l i c t s between t h e v a r -

i o u s F a n t i kingdoms were r e l a t i v e l y comrnon. There was t h e r e f o r e

a s t r o n g c l i m a t e o f mutual s u s p i c i o n among t h e F a n t i and it r e - . q u i r e d an e x c e p t i o n a l l y s e r i o u s e x t e r n a l t h r e a t t o b r i n g them i n -

t o a l l i a n c e . 51

T h i s s i t u a t i o n was exacerba ted by t h e Anglo-Dutch r i v a l -

r y on t h e Coast . T h i s r i v a l r y had t r a n s m i t t e d i t s e l f t o t h e

c o a s t a l t r ibesmen w i t h t h e r e s u l t be ing t h a t t h e i r n a t u r a l an-

tagonism became i n t e n s i f i e d . I n f a c t , du r ing t h e s p r i n g of 1873,

most of t h e q u a r r e l s t h a t l e d t h e people t o f i g h t amongst them-

s e l v e s r a t h e r t h a n marching t o oppose t h e advancing Asante , were

t h e r e s u l t o f d i s p u t e s between t h o s e who had a lways been under

B r i t i s h p r o t e c t i o n and t h o s e who had u n t i l v e r y r e c e n t l y been

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e Dutch. These d i s p u t e s , two examples o f

which were t h e r i o t s a t Sekondi and B u t r i du r ing t h e middle o f

J anua ry , comprised Colone l Har l ey ' s f o u r t h problem. However,

a l t h o u g h t h e s e q u a r r e l s and o t h e r s l i k e them were t o be a con-

s t a n t sou rce o f worry t o t h e B r i t i s h , t h e y never ach ieved t h e

deg ree o f s e r i o u s n e s s reached by t h e t h r e a t posed by King Kobina

Edjan and h i s a d h e r e n t s a t Elmina.

lM,l.e i n v e s t i g a t i n g v a r i o u s d i s tu rbances a t Sekondi and

B u t r i , t h e B r i t i s h o f f i c i a l s found t h a t Kobina Edjan waS exer-

c i s i n g a powerful in f luence over t h e c h i e f s of many of t h e towns

t h a t had formerly been under Dutch in f luence , and was, i n f a c t ,

encouraging a s p i r i t of d i s a f f e c t i o n wi th B r i t i s h r u l e . 52 H i s

o b j e c t was apparen t ly t o c a r r y out t h e o r i g i n a l scheme f o r which

Atjiempon had been s e n t t o Elmina--a 'general r i s i n g of t h e west-

e r n t r i b e s l e d by t h e Elminas as soon as t h e Asante army reached

t h e neighbourhood of t h e coas t towns. 53 By t h e f i rs t week of

March, h i s conduct had bacome so susp ic ious t h a t Colonel Harley

decided t o t e s t h i s l o y a l t y . To accomplish t h i s , a meeting was

he ld i n Elmina Cas t l e on t h e 1 1 t h of March. A l l of t h e Chiefs

a t t ended , t h e oa th of a l l e g i a n c e was read and i n t e r p r e t e d , and

Kobina Edjan was then c a l l e d upon t o s e t a n example t o h i s Chiefs

by being f i rs t t o s ign it. This he f l a t l y re fused t o do as d i d

two o t h e r Ch ie f s , Kwamin Ekum and Tando IbIensa. A l l t h r e e men

were t h e r e f o r e a r r e s t e d and s e n t t o Cape Coast where they were

imprisoned i n t h e Cas t l e and from whence they were subsequent ly

deported t o S i e r r a Leone. 54 The B r i t i s h had no t ime t o c e l e b r a t e

t h e i r apparent defus ing of t h e Eln ina a f f a i r , however, f o r even

be fo re t h e t h r e e Chiefs had been a r r e s t e d , news was rece ived of

y e t another Asante v ic to ry .

The second f a c t o r which m i t i g a t e d a g a i n s t t h e e f f e c t i v e

u n i f i c a t i o n of t h e F a n t i w a r r i o r s - - t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l m i l i t a r y

o r g a n i z a t i o n and tac t ics - -was neve r f u l l y unders tood by t h e B r i -

t i s h and it was f o r t h i s reason more than any o t h e r t h a t t h e

F a n t i r e p u t a t i o n f o r cowardice ga ined credence. The B r i t i s h d i d

unders tand t h a t eve ry F a n t i v i l l a g e and town had i t s own w a r r i o r

o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e Asafo. They a l s o knew t h a t i n t i m e s o f emer-

gency, t h e Asafo o f each s t a t e came t o g e t h e r under a comrnander-

i n - c h i e f known as t h e Sah in , and formed a wel l -organized f i e l d

army w i t h i n which each Asafo had a s p e c i f i c f u n c t i o n . What t h e

B r i t i s h d i d n o t r e a l i z e , however, was t h a t t h e Asafo were orgrn-

i z e d f o r t h e purpose of defending t h e i r homes; n o t f o r a g g r e s s i v e

purposes . N e i t h e r d i d t h e y r e a l i z e t h a t even though t h e v a r i o u s

Asafo might be involved i n o p e r a t i o n s as p a r t o f a F a ~ t i - w i d e

army under t h e command of a Sah in , t h e i r pr imary r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

was t o t h e i r home-vil lage o r town. It was n o t a p p r e c i a t e d , t h e r e -

f o r e , t h a t t h e Asafo would l e a v e t h e f i e l d i f t h e i r hones were

t h r e a t e n e d r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e consequences t o t h e F a n t i as a

whole. 5 5 Thus it was p o s s i b l e f o r a s i z e a b l e F a n t i army t o d i s -

i n t e g r a t e i n t h e f a c e of a determined enemy a t t a c k more as a r e -

s u l t of t h i s c i rcumstance r a t h e r t han as a r e s u l t of a complete

l a c k o f courage.

T h i s i s n o t t o s a y t h a t f e a r p layed no p a r t i n t h e F a n t i

r e l u c t a n c e t o a t t a c k Amankwa Tia and i n t h e subsequent d i s i n t e -

g r a t i o n o f t h e Fanti . arniy. Indeed , t h e F a n t i had every r ea son

t o be a f r a i d of t h e Asante who had s u c c e s s f u l l y invaded and l a i d

waste l a r g e p o r t i o n s o f t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' on p rev ious occas ions .

The Asante r e p u t a t i o n f o r i n v i n c i b i l i t y which had a r i s e n as a

r e s u l t , o f t h e s e p rev ious i n v a s i o n s no'doubt had a s t r o n g e f f e c t

on F a n t i mora le and was, i n p a r t , r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e s lowness

o f t h e F a n t i response t o Colonel H a r l e y f s c a l l t o arms and f o r

t h e i r poor showing subsequent t o t h e b a t t l e o f Dunkwa. The i n -

t e n t i o n of t h i s b r i e f review of t h e t r a d i t i o n a l F a n t i m i l i t a r y

o r g a n i z a t i o n i s n o t t o d i s c o u n t comple te ly t h e B r i t i s h c la ims o f

F a n t i cowardice. R a t h e r it i s in t ended t o s!lov t h a t t h e r e was

an i n h e r e n t weakness i n t h e Fant i m i l i t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n which

c o n t r i b u t e d e q u a l l y t o t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s encountered i n a t t empt -

ing t o o r g a n i z e a u n i t e d F a n t i r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e i nvas ion .

T r a d i t i o n a l F a n t i d i v i s i o n s , t h e i n h e r e n t weakness i n t h e

F a n t i m i l i t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n , and t h e d i b i l i t a t i n g e f f e c t s o f B r i -

t i s h p o l i c y on t h e Gold Coast were a l l e v e n t u a l l y t o i n t e r a c t i n

v a r i o u s s u b t l e ways t o b r i n g about t h e c o l l a p s e of F a n t i r e s i s t -

ance. I n i t i a l l y , however, t h e o v e r a l l e f f e c t was s imply t o r e -

t a r d t h e assembly of t h e F a n t i army. The re fo re , a l t hough t h e

A s s i n s had c o l l e c t e d a t Yankuniasi Assin by t h e 7 t h o f February ,

t h e y were no t s t r o n g enough t o check t h e Asante advance unaided.

However, as t h e F a n t i Sah in , Chief B e n t i l of Mudford, had s e t -

t l e d on Yankumasi F a n t i as t h e p l a c e t o make a s t a n d , t h a t a i d

was no t for thcoming. A s a r e s u l t , t h e Ass ins were l e f t a lone t o

f a c e t h e enemy and when Amankwa Tia a t t a c k e d on t h e 9 t h o f Feb-

r u a r y , t h e Ass ins were d e f e a t e d and d r i v e n back whi le t h e Asante

army occupied Yankumasi Ass in , 56 .

A f t e r t h e i r d e f e a t a t Yankumasi Ass in , t h e Ass ins had

r e t i r e d t o Mansu, a d i s t a n c e o f some twenty m i l e s , where t h e y

were jo ined by a small f o r c e under t h e King of Abrah. The bulk

of t h e t r i b e s were s lowly c o n c e n t r a t i n g around Dunkwa, however,

and under g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g Asante p r e s s u r e , t h e t r ibesmen a t

Mansu moved back t o Yankuniasi F a n t i . 57 Colonel Har ley was by

t h i s tinlo becoming thoroughly a larmed over t h e d i s c o r d among t h e

t r i b e s and over t h e f a c t t h a t t h e F a n t i s were n o t advancing t o

meet t h e enemy, A s a r e s u l t , he adopted two measures i n a des-

p e r a t e a t t e m p t t o s t i f f e n t h e F a n t i r e s i s t a n c e . He despa tched

L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins w i t h 100 Hausas who had r e c e n t l y a r r i v e d from

~ a g o s , ~ ' t o j o i n t h e 50 man detachment a l r e a d y a t Dunkwa. Lieu-

t e n a n t Hopkins was o rde red t o a c t i n t h e way he might deem b e s t ,

w i t h t h e view o f g i v i n g e v e r y moral a i d t o t h e Ass ins and F a n t i s

i n r e s i s t i n g t h e p r o g r e s s of t h e enemy. He was a l s o d i r e c t e d ,

shou ld he f i n d h imse l f i n a p o s i t i o n t o do s o , t o a i d t h e Ass ins

i n d r i v i n g t h e Asantes beyond Mansu and ho ld ing t h a t p l a c e ,

However, he was o rde red no t t o employ t h e Hausas i n any way s o es

t o endanger t h e i r s a f e and d i r e c t c o n c e n t r a t i o n a t Cape Coast i n

c a s e t h e Asantes should make a f u r t h e r advance beyond Dunkwa. 59

C l e a r l y , t h e impor tan t o b j e c t of h i s command was t o cover Cape

Coast from any sudden a t t a c k . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h i s f i rs t measure,

Colonel Har ley s e n t Mr. Thompson, a Government i n t e r p r e t e r , t o

rouse t h e F a n t i s t o a c t i o n . A f t e r complet ing h i s t o u r , Idr .

Thompson r e p o r t e d t h a t , i n h i s o p i n i o n , t h e y were determined t o

u n i t e and d r i v e t h e Asantes away, b u t t h a t "delay was t h e e v i l :

t h e y wou1.d n o t go t o f i g h t and d r i v e t h e k ing away; t h e y s a i d ,

l e t him come and we w i l l f i g h t him'! 60 O f course t h i s was t h e

normal t a c t i c adopted by t h e F a n t i s b u t t h e B r i t i s h f a i l e d t o

a p p r e c i a t e t h e f a c t and t h e view t h a t t h e t r i besmen o f t h e coas t

were cowards began t o g a i n credence from t h i s p o i n t on.

L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins moved h i s Hausas from Dunkwa t o

Yankumasi F a n t i on t h e 1st of Narch. On h i s a r r i v a l t h e r e , he

assembled t h e k i n g s and c h i e f s and managed t o g e t them working

w i t h a w i l l t o form a n - e x t e n s i v e c m p on t h e r i g h t and l e f t o f

t h e road , i n advance o f t h e v i l l a g e . Even s o , he was unable t o

i n s p i r e them t o t a k e t h e i n i t i a t i v e and go o u t i n s e a r c h o f t h e

enemy. 61 E v e n t u a l l y , however, v e r y e a r l y on t h e 1 0 t h of Elarch,

a small p a r t o f t h e F a n t i army d i d f i n a l l y advance i n s e a r c h of

t h e Asante f o r c e b u t it soon gave up t h e e f f o r t and r e t u r n e d t o

t he a l l i e d l i n e s j u s t as t h e camp was beginn ing t o s t ir . A t

t h a t v e r y moment t h e main body of t h e Asante army f e l l upon them.

Caught comple te ly by s u r p r i s e , a l l o f t h e t r i b e s except t h e

also retired, As a c o r s e q u e n c a , L ieu? ,e~ .an t I ioykins , c c n s l d s r i n g

that; lij-s spec i a l d u t y was to ccvcr a ~ d p r o t e c t Cnpc Coas t f m r i i

any suclc!en a t k a c k , f e l l back on Cape Coast, 62

n r. c r t n ~ a t e l y , Ar.lsn!:i:a "a d i d r?ot e x p l o i t tliis succzss ar?d

o f t h e r e i n f o r c i n g 2 W I R t r o o p s from S i e r r a Leone and t h e 100

a d d i t i o n a l Hausas from Lagos had made it p o s s i b l e t o p u t a r e -

s p e c t a b l y s i z e d c o n t i n g e n t of Hausas i n t h e f i e l d i n suppor t of

t h e Afr ican a l l i e s . The a l l i e s themse lves were beg inn ing t o

g a t h e r i n c o n s i d e r a b l e numbers around Dunkwa.. And f o u r s h i p s o f

war were anchored i n t h e road o f Cape Coast C a s t l e . 64 It should

t h e r e f o r e n o t bs s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e A r r i v a l on t h e 7 t h o f A p r i l

o f t h e l a r g e s p e c i a l co~s ignrnent o f arms and arnmunition which

had been shipped from London on t h e 21s t of Llarch, shoc ld l e a d

Colonel Har ley t o comment on what he viewed as a " f e e l i n g of

complete s e c u r i t y ( a t Cape C o a s t ) and a long t h e Coast". 65

D e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t he p ro fe s sed a "complete f e e l i n g

o f s e c u r i t y , " one should n o t f e e l t h a t Colonel Har ley was b l i n d

t o t h e problem he f aced w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e A f r i c a n a l l i e s i n

t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' . A s e a r l y as t h e 1 5 t h o f biarch he was begin-

n i n g t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e cont inued adherence t o p u r s u i t o f t h e

p o l i c i e s l a i d down i n 1864 and 1869 was no t n e c e s s a r i l y p r a c t i -

c a b l e . I n a despa t ch w r i t t e n on t h a t day he wro te ,

7. The t r i b e s of t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e a r e now as.;ccrbling at; Dunquah, and I have i s s u e d a f r e s h supply of arnrnunition. . . . It i s d i f f i c u l t t o r e s i s t t h e demands which a r e made as a r i g h t , no t as a f a v o u r , on t h e p a r t o f t h e n a t i v e k i n g s and c h i e f s f o r muni t ions o f war, men, and money, as t h e y s t a t e t h a t t h e y a r e a ~ d have been l o y a l s u b j e c t s of t h e Queen, and as such should r e c e i v e p r o t e c t i o n . I confes s t h a t t h e p o s i t i o n i s one of some embarrassment; f o r , wh i l e on t h e one hand t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s of t h e S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e ( ' v i d e ' Despatch of

t h e 23rd June 1E%4) a r e d e f i n i t e and s p e c i f - i c as t o t h e e x t e n t of t h e a s s i s t a n c e t o be g iven t o t h e t r i b e s of t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e upon such an emergency r i s i n g a.s t h e p r e s e n t , it i s d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d t h a t t h e s e i n s t r u c t i o n s have been impressed o r even communicated t o t h e people a f t e r t h e c l o s e of t h e war of 1864; s o t h a t t e n y e a r s o f an i n d o l e n t e a s e h a s been a l lowed t o p a s s wi thout t h e t r i b e s t a k i n g any a c t i v e measures, s o f a r as I can a s c e r t a i n , f o r t h e i r defence. Indeed , t h e f a c t d e c l a r e s i t s e l f o p e ~ l y , as t h e y a r e a s h e l p l e s s now a s t h e y were found t o be i n 1863, when t h e Ashcantees invaded t h e Pro- t e c t o r a t e .

There can be no doubt t h a t t h e y r e q u i r e l e a d e r s capab le o f d i r e c t i n g them, and, above a l l , s t a y i n g f o r t h e p r e s e n t t h e angry and b i t t e r j e a l o u s i e s which e x i s t among them, s o as t o p r s e n t an u n i t e d and dec ided course of a c t ion . b%

Colonel Har l ey ' s d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n was echoed by L ieu ten -

a n t Hopkins. Upon h i s r e t u r n t o Dunkwa, Hopkins once more t r i e d

t o imbue t h e t r ibesmen w i t h some a g g r e s s i v e s p i r i t , However, he

a g a i n encountered t h e o l d d i f f i c u l t y o f s t i r r i n g t h e n a t i v e c h i e f s

t o . t a k e t h e i n i t i a t i v e . I n f a c t , he was h a r d l y a b l e t o g e t them

t o complete t h e minimum works r e q u i r e d f o r d e f e n s i v e o p e r a t i o n s

l e t a l o n e a c h i e v i n g any p rog res s towards t h e adop t ion o f any o f -

f e n s i v e measures. The bush was c l e a r e d i n t h e a r e a s e l e c t e d f o r

t h e b a t t l e l i n e 6 ? b u t d e s p i t e promises made on t h e 4 t h and 5 t h o f

A p r i l , no advance was made a g a i n s t t h e Asantes . I n a t t e m p t i n g t o

overcome t h i s r e l u c t a n c e t o t a k e t h e i n i t i a t i v e , Hopkins even

went s o far a s ' t o t a k e h i s Hausas and Cape Coast Vo lun tee r s t o

t h e f r o n t as i f t o a t t a c k t h e enemy wi thout w a i t i n g f o r t h e a l - 68 l i e s . Even t h i s s t r a t e g e x f a i l e d and by t h e 8 t h o f A p r i l ,

Colonel Har ley wrote t h a t t h e a l l i e s simply could n o t be induced

t o a t t a c k and t h a t t h e i r whole conduct might be s u r i e d up i n t h e

Spanish ph ra se 'P?lanZnat. Even s o , t h e Admin i s t r a to r was not over-

l y d i scouraged f o r he b e l i e v e d t h a t though t h e y could n o t be i n -

duced t o a t t a c k , t h e F a n t i s were i n good s p i r i t s and he had every

conf idence t h a t t h e y would f i g h t v i g o r o u s l y i n defence o f t h e i r

coun t ry i f t h e y were themse lves a t t a c k e d . 69

The A d m i n i s t r a t o r ' s conf idence was on ly p a r t i a l l y v in-

d i c a t e d . A t t h e v e r y time he was w r i t i n g , t h e Asantes were t a k -

i n g t h e i n i t i a t i v e and were themse lves a t t a c k i n g t h e F a n t i s .

About sever, o ' c lock on t h e morning o f t h e 8 t h o f A p r i l t h e y a t -

t acked t h e F a n t i camp a long i t s whole f r o n t . On t h i s f i r s t day

o f t h e b a t t l e , however, t h e F a n t i s h e l d t h e i r p o s i t i o n a t eve ry

p o i n t and fough t t h e Asantes t o a s t a n d s t i l l , t h u s f o l l o w i n g

t h e i r normal- proceedure and proving t h e i r a b i l i t y t o f i g h t a de-

f e n s i v e b a t t l e . Immediately on r e c e i v i n g word o f t h e b a t t l e , Colone l

Har ley s e n t fo rward a l a r g e supply o f ammunition, and, even more

i m p o r t a n t , he despa tched a supp ly o f Hale ' s r o c k e t s and an expe-

r i e n c e d a r t i l l e r y o f f i c e r , M r . ~ 0 , g ~ i . e ,70 t o t h e b a t t l e f i e l d .

The a r~mun i t i on was d e l i v e r e d and N r . Loggie was i n p o s i t i o n b e f o r e

dawn on t h e 9 t h o f A p r i l and as soon as it was l i g h t enough, Lieu-

t e n a n t Hopkins urged t h e people t o f o l l o w up t h e i r s u c c e s s o f t h e

p r e v i o u s day. His e x h o r t a t i o n s were t o no a v a i l f o r t h e y would

no t advance b u t r a t h e r were r e so lved t o await a c o t h e r a t t a c k . 71

A s a r e s u l t , a s i d e from some c o n s i d e r a b l e exc i tement w i t h i n t h e

F a n t i camp i t s e l f on t h e 1 3 t h of ~ ~ r i l , ~ ~ no th ing happened u n t i l

t h e 1 4 t h o f A p r i l .

A t e i g h t o ' c lock on t h e morning of t h e l k t h t h e Asantes

renewed t h e i r a t t a c k on t h e F a n t i camp a long i t s e n t i r e l e n g t h

and a l t h o u g h t h e b a t t l e raged f o r some e l even hour s no d e c i s i v e

r e s u l t was ach ieved . The F a n t i t r o o p s fough t a good d e f e n s i v e

b a t t l e even though nurrtbers o f t r ibesmen, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e Cape

Coast people , had proven most u n r e l i a b l e . The r o c k e t s had a l s o

proven p a r t i c u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e i n h a l t i n g t h e Asante a t t a c k . I n

f a c t , t h e determined s t a n d o f t h e a l l i e s th roughout t h e two ba t -

t l e s , combined wi th t h e d e s t r u c t i o n wrought by t h e r o c k e t s , had

caused Amankwa Tia t o g i v e up t h e a t t e m p t t o f o r c e t h e Cape Coast

road and he began t o wi thdraw from t h e f i e l d du r ing t h e e a r l y

h o u r s o f t h e 1 5 t h . The F a n t i s were no t aware o f t h i s , however,

and a t t h e v e r y moment when t h e Asantes were beg inn ing t h e i r

wi thdrawal , t h e F a n t i s began t o r e t r e a t t en masset toward Cape

Coast . L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins and t h e u b i q u i t o u s D r . Rowe t r i e d

t h e i r best; t o t u r n them around b u t t h e i r e f f o r t s were i n v a i n

and before l o n g t h e whole o f t h e t r i b e s were i n f u l l r e t r e a t t o

t h e c o a s t . L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins t h e n had no cho ice but t o withdravr

h i s command t o Cape Coast C a s t l e . Amankwa T ia r ece ived news of

what was happening j u s t a f t e r he had begun t o move northward. He

promptly t u r n e d h i s army abou t and occupied ~unkwa.73 A s a r e s u l t

of t h i s r e v e r s e , Colonel Harley was f o r c e d t o r e p o r t t o Lord

Kimberlcy i n t h e fo l lowing ve in :

2, I r e g r e t t o have t o in form your Lordsh ip t h a t f o r t h e p r e s e n t , defens ive o p e r a t i o n s on a l a r g e and combined s c a l e a r e a t . an end, as t h e F a n t e e s have d i s - pe r sed t o t h e i r hones , and141 f e a r , a r e s a d l y d e x o r a l i z e d ; . . . .

T h i s break-up of t h e whole o f t h e F a n t i army caused c o n s i d e r a b l e

apprehens ion and confus ion a t Cape Coast. The Admin i s t r a to r r e -

ques t ed t h e s e n i o r n a v a l o f f i c e r , Comrsander S tubbs , R.?!. , t o send

a gunboat immediate ly t o Elrnina as he r e a l i z e d t h a t bo th E l n i n a

and Cape Coast C a s t l e were now uncovered and i n danger of s u f f e r -

i n g an Asante a t t a c k . These were t h e on ly e x t r a p r e c a u t i o n s

t aken though, f o r t h e A d n i n i s t r a t o r f e l t that ; t h e f o r t s were ade-

q u a t e l y gar r i soned75 and t h a t t h e navy could prov ide s u f f i c i e n t

s u p p o r t i n g g u n f i r e i n t h e even t o f an a t t a c k . H i s main concern

was o v e r t h e c o n d i t i o n o f t h e Af r i can a l l i e s . He s e r i o u s l y con-

s i d e r e d t h e fo rma t ion of y e t a n o t h e r war camp bu t D r . Rowe ad-

v i s e d him t h a t it would be imposs ib le t o u n i t e t h e whole o f t h e

F a n t i t r i b e s i n one camp u n t i l a f t e r t h e c l o s e o f t h e r a i n y sea-

son , A s an a l t e r n a t i v e , he sugges t ed t h a t something might w e l l

be done t o u n i t e t h o s e who were n e a r t o each o t h e r , o r whose i n -

t e r e s t s weye e s p e c i a l l y co;ilnon, i n l a r g e r bands t h a n t h e y would

o the rwi se form, Such s m a l l e r u n i t s could p o s s i b l y p reven t t h e

r avages o f small bands o f Asante p l u n d e r e r s even though t h e y

could n o t p reven t t h e approach of t h e Asante army, 76

I n t h e f a c e of t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s which e x i s t e d , t h e Admin-

i s t r a , t o r once more took s t e p s t o p repa re some form o f d e f e n s i v e

system w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l s a t hand. Measures were taken t o imple-

ment D r . Rowe's sugges t ion f o r t h e fo rma t ion o f small camps. f4r.

Loggie , w i t h s i x t y Hausas, was s e n t t o Annalnaboe t o form t h e nac-

l e u s around which t h e Annamaboes, Cormantines, Sa l tponds , and

Winnebahs could be induced t o r a l l y . The Ass ins , Abrahs, and

Akims c o l l e c t e d i n ' s m a l l numbers a t Assayboo, and t h e Cape Coast

people promised t o j o i n them. Around E l n i n a was drawn a cordon

of l e s s e r c h i e f s , who promised t o oppose any advance on t h e par%

o f t h e Asantes and t h e King o f Comnendah promised t o r e s i s t ; t h e

enemy shou ld he advance i n h i s d i r ec t ion .77 With t h i s , Colonel

Har ley had t o be con ten t .

These new e f f o r t s s a y much f o r t h e f l e x i b i l i t y and inge-

n u i t y of t h e Admin i s t r a to r and t h e o t h e r o f f i c i a l s on t h e Gold

Coast b u t as m a t t e r s developed, n e i t h e r t h e f r u i t o f t h e i r l a b o u r s

among t h e a l l i e s n o r t h e f o r t s were p u t t o t h e t e s t . Amankwa T i a

had s u f f e r e d h e a v i l y a t Dunkwa, as h i s i n i t i a l wi thdrawal from

t h e f i e l d i n d i c a t e s , and, if he was t o ach ieve h i s aim, he would

r e q u i r e bo th r e s u p p l y and re inforcement . 76 A s a r e s u l t , he f a i l -

ed t o d r i v e f o r t h e c o a s t i n an e f f o r t t o e x p l o i t h i s somewhat

marg ina l v i c t o r y . I n s t e a d , he concen t r a t ed h i s army a t Dunkwa

and w i t h i n days o f t h e i r s e t t l i n g i n t h e camp b u i l t by t h e a l l i e s ,

h i s t r o o p s were i n wretched p h y s i c a l and psycho log ica l c o n d i t i o n .

Re ly ing on t h e ev idence g iven by s e v e r a l Asante p r i s o n e r s cap-

t u r e d on t h e 23rd o f A p r i l , Capta in L.L. B r e t t , 2WR, t h e O f -

f i c e r Comnancting t h e Troops, Gold Coas t , comxented on t h e s t a t e

o f t h e Asante encaraprnent as f o l l o w s :

. . . i n t h o s e two engagements ( t h e 8 t h and 1 4 t h o f A p r i l ) t h e y s u f f e r e d most s e v e r e l y , and e s p e c i a l l y from t h e H a l e ' s r o c k e t s s e rved by t h e Hausas.

They a r e now i n posses s ion o f t h e l a t e Fantee camp, b u t , n o t f i n d i n g an enemy, t h e y imagine t h e Fan tees have gone around them; t h e y a r e no\v a f r a i d e i t h e r t o advance o r r e t i r e , n o t knowing i n t h e bush when t h e y may meet t h e Fantees .

The Ashantee camp i s i n a most wretch- ed c o n d i t i o n , a l a r g e q u a n t i t y o f them su f - f e r i n g from wounds and f r a c t u r e s .

Small-pox h a s broken o u t d r e a d f u l l y amongst them. They a r e s t a r v i n g ; a plan- t a i n , t h e p r i c e o f which i s u s u a l l y about 2d. a dozen, now s e l l i n g f o r t h e same sum each p l a n t a i n ; and b e s i d e s t h e r e i s an abominable s t e n c h from dead b o d i e s s c a t - t e r e d th rough t h e bush i n a l l s t a g e s o f d e ~ o r a ~ o s i t i o n . 7 9

I n s p i t e of t h i s r e p o r t , one must n o t jump t o t h e conclu-

s i o n t h a t t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e k s a n t e a rny was hope le s s . So f e r -

t i l e was t h e coun t ry ,b0 and s o s c a t t e r e d t h e i r F a n t i opponents ,

t h a t t h e y were a b l e t o remain i n t h e F a n t i coun t ry f o r a n o t h e r

six months. As one camp became denuded of p r o v i s i o n s , t h e y s i m -

p l y moved t o a n o t h e r and extended t h e range o f t h e i r f o r a g e r s .

Auankwa T i a was c l e a r l y fo l lowing t h i s age-old t a c t i c when he

broke camp a t Dunkwa n e a r t h e end of May and, as he hoped t o c a r -

r y o u t h i s o r d e r s t o punish t h e King o f Denkyera and t o e f f e c t a

j u n c t u r e w i th f o r c e , began s lowly moving h i s

eas tward toward t h e Denkyera town o f Jukwa. 8 1.

I n t h e f a c e of t h i s new t h r e a t , t h e Denkyeras immediately

asked t h e B r i t i s h f o r a s s i s t a n c e i n arms and ammunition.82 These

were s u p p l i e d and D r . Rowe t r i e d once a g a i n t o induce t h e a l l i e s

t o reassemble and make y e t a n o t h e r s t a n d . However, t h e F a n t i s

c lung t o t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l m i l i t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n and p lan . On

e v e r y s i d e he encountered a f i r m r e s o l v e on t h e p a r t o f each

c h i e f t o defend on ly his own hoine83 f o r t h e complete l a c k of any

r e l i a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e as t o t h e enemy movements had r e s u l t e d i n

a v e r i t a b l e o rgy o f rumours which had t h e Asante army t h r e a t e n i n g

eve ry conce ivab le p o i n t a t once. Under t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s t h e r e

was v e r y l i t t l e hope o f o rgan iz ing any u n i t e d e f f o r t on t h e p a r t

of t h e t r i b e s of t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' .

E v e n t u a l l y , however, a cons ide rab le f o r c e mustered a t

~ b a k r a m ~ a * ~ and moved t h e e i g h t m i l e s t o Jukwa a t t h e end o f t h e

month o f Nay. On t h e 3 r d and 4 t h of June t h e Asantes a t t a c k e d ,

b u t o n l y some d e s u l t o r y f i g h t i n g took p l a c e on t h e o u t s k i r t s of

t h e t o m . On t h e 5 t h , however, t h e Asantes a t t a c k e d t h e p l a c e

i n f o r c e . They met w i t h on ly t h e most f e e b l e r e s i s t a n c e . I n -

deed , t h e King o f Denkyera h imse l f f l e d from t h e f i e l d a t t h e

v e r y beg inn ing of t h e b a t t l e and t h u s s e t t h e example f o r t h e

o t h e r t r i b e s n e n . The r e s u l t was even worse t h a n a t Dunkwa.

T h i s t ime t h e F'anti army was f i n a l l y c rushed as an e f f e c t i v e

f o r c e and t h e t r i b e m e n wit;hdrew p r e c i p i t a t e l y over t h e twelve

m i l e s of b u s h . t r a j - 1 t o Cape Coast . These t e r r o r - s t r i c k e n f u g i -

t i v e s soon i n f e c t e d t h e e n t i r e coun t rys ide w i t h pan ic and between

15,000 and 20,000 people were e s t ima ted t o have sought t h e pro-

. t e c t i o n o f t h e C a s t l e guns w i t h i n hours o f t h e b a t t l e . Capta in

Reade d e s c r i b e d t h e r e s u l t a n t scene i n t h e f o l l o w i ~ g t e r n s :

It was a most p i t e o u s s i g h t . Many were emaciated by farnine o r d i s e a s e : some were c a r r y i n g t h e i r aged p a r e n t s on t h e i r backs, o r l e a d i n g t h e b l i n d ; t h e wayside was l i t t e r e d w i t h co rpses , w i t h t h e dy ing , w i t h women b r i n g i n g f o r t h c h i l d r e n e 8 5

The pan ic became even worse when Amankwa Tia fo l lowed up h i s suc-

c e s s a t Jukwa by moving f u r t h e r sou th t o Mampon and E f u t u s e v e r a l

days a f t e r t h e a c t i o n o f t h e 5 t h o f June. He was now approxi -

mate ly t e n m i l e s from b o t h Cape Coast C a s t l e and Elmina and t h e

on ly e f f e c t i v e t r o o p s l e f t t o oppose him i n t h e f i e l d were t h e

two o r t h r e e hundred Hausas and s e v e r a l hundred Cape Coast Volun-

t e e r s . 86

A t t h i s c r i t i c a l moment news was r ece ived o f t r o u b l e i n

t h e Ves t e rn d i s t r i c t s . A t jiempon had f i n a l l y appeared i n t h e

neighbourhood o f Elrnina and t h e Asante sympath izers t h e r e had r e -

v o l t e d . They openly jo ined t h e enemy and were soon busy supply-

i ng bo th A t jiempon and Amankwa Tia w i t h food and wate r . B r i t i s h

a c c e s s t o Elmina by road was cu t o f f a lmos t i ~ m e d i a t e l y and ru-

mours were soon c i r c u l a t i n g t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e Shamas and

Elminas were p r e p a r i n g t o a t t a c k Konenda. 87

The s i t u a t i o n was e x t r e a e l y s e r i o u s and on t h e 6 t h o f

June , Colonel Har ley made a d e s p e r a t e e f f o r t t o r e v e r s e t h e t r e n d .

He c a l l e d a meet ing o f a l l t h e Kings and c h i e f s , from which t h e

King o f Anamabo was t h e on ly a b s e n t e e , and proceeded t o p o i n t o u t

t o them t h a t t h e i r f a i l u r e had been clue t o a l a c k of u n i t y and

t h a t t h e reason f o r t h e Asante succes s had been t h e i r a b i l i t y t o

a c t under one head. He suggested t h a t t h e F a n t i s should f o l l o w

t h e Asante example, e l e c t one of t h e i r number as commander-in-

c h i e f , and form a new war-camp i n a p l a c e of t h e i r cho ice i n

p r e p a r a t i o n f o r y e t a n o t h e r c o n f r o n t a t i o n wi th t h e Asante army. 88

I n t h e i r r e p l y t o t h i s sugges t ion , t h e Kings and c h i e f s

f i r m l y t o s s e d t h e problem back t o t h e Adminis t ra tor . The i r l e t -

t e r , which was pub l i shed i n t h e West Af r i can Herald on t h e 26 th

of June, s t a t e d t h a t :

They ( t h e Kings and c h i e f s ) do no t f e e l a b l e t o t a k e t h e management o f a f f a i r s . It would be imposs ib le f o r them t o do s o ; n o r could t h e y e l e c t one t o be t h e i r Chief King; t h a t power must come from t h e Governor, . . . 89

It t h e r e f o r e becomes c l e a r t h a t an impasse had been rench-

ed. Colonel Har ley had obv ious ly done a l l t h a t could be don2 w i t h

t h e ava i l - ab l e r e s o u r c e s i f he was t o adhere t o t h e l i m i t s o f B r i -

t i s h p o l i c y as expressed i n h i s i n s t r u c t i o n s f r o n The C o l o n i a l

Off ice . Conversely , t h e F a n t i s had a l s o reached t h e l i m i t o f

t h e i r r e s i s t a n c e . No doubt t h e d i s p u t e s between t h e TIDutchv and

lfEnglishT1 f a c t i o n s a l o n g t h e c o a s t - l i n e d i d much t o weaken t h e

F a n t i r e s i s t a n c e bu t t h e r e were o t h e r f a c t o r s which combined t o

make it v i r t u a l l y imposs ib le f o r t h e F a n t i s t o u n i t e and once

more t a k e t h e fielc! as t h e y had done a t Dunkvra where t hey had

been ab le t o assemble a f o r c e o f over 56,000 men. 90

One major f a c t o r was t h e e f f e c t o f t h e high c a s u a l t y r a t e

d u r i n g t h e b a t t l e o f Du-nkwa. 91 Yet a n o t h e r was t h e demora l iz ing

behaviour of t h e King of Denkyera d u r i n g t h e b a t t l e o f Jukwa.

O f even g r e a t e r importance than t h e s e two, was t h e wi thdrawal of

t h e Asafo, af tsr t h e b a t t l e o f Dunkwa, s o t h a t t h e y might assume

t h e i r prime r o l e as t h e de fende r s of t h e i r home-vi l lages from

t h e d e p r e d a t i o n s of t h e invading Asantes . It was, however, q c i t e

possib3.y t h e i n c r e a s i n g inc idence of famine and s i c k n e s s due t o a

conibina$ion o f t h e growing p r e s s u r e be ing e x e r t e d on t h e country-

sid.e w i t h i n a f i f t e e n - m i l e r a d i u s o f Jukwa by Asante f o r a g i n g

p a r t i e s and t h e u n u s u a l . 1 ~ seve re r a i n s , which proved t o be t h e

major f a c t o r i n p reven t ing any f u r t h e r co-ordinated e f f o r t on

t h e p a r t o f t h e F a n t i s .

I n t h e end a n a l y s i s , however, n e i t h e r Colonel H a r l e y ' s

a t t e m p t s t o r a l l y t h e t r ibesmen n o r t h e i r i n a b i l i t y t o r a l l y were

t o provc o f any g r e a t s i g n i f i c a n c e . Dec i s ions t aken i n England

as soon as t h e d i s a s t e r a t Dunkwa became known, were d e s t i n e d t o

change t h e e n t i r e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c o n f l i c t . I n e a r l y May, Lord

Kimberley dec ided t h a t t h e f o r t s were no doubt l i a b l e t o be i n -

v e s t e d by t h e Asante army and a l t hough he f e l t t h a t t h e e x i s t i n g

f o r c e s were s u f f i c i e n t f o r a s h o r t s i e g e , he b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e -

cont ingency of a prolonged a t t a c k a g a i n s t E ln ina o r t h e o ther

f o r t s had t o be provided a g a i n s t . 92

The Co lon ia l Off ice and t h e 'Jar O f f i c e agreed t h a t t h e

s i t u a t i o n war ran ted t h e immediate despa tch o f an a d d i t i o n a l war-

s h i p ; 110 o f f i c e r s and men o f t h e Royal EIarine L igh t I n f a n t r y

(R.M.L.I. ) and t h e Royal Marine A r t i l l e r y (R.M.A. ) under t h e con-

mand o f L ieu tenant -Colone l F e s t i n g , R.M.A. ; as w e l l as l a r g e ad-

d i t i o n a l q u a n t i t i e s of ammunition and r o c k e t s and a p o r t a b l e

f i e l d gun. A t t h e same t ime it was dec ided t h a t a re inforcement

of f o u r companies and a ' f u l l reg imenta l s taff from t h e 2YIR would

be t r a n s f e r r e d from t h e West I n d i e s t o t h e Gold Coast a s qu ick ly

as p o s s i b l e . 93

P r o v i d e n t i a l l y , t h e Royal I -h r ine r e in fo rcemen t s and t h e

muni t ions a r r i v e d j u s t when t h e y could be of t h e most p r a c t i c a l

and psycho log ica l va lue . H.M.S. Bar racoota , w i t h Capta in

F reman t l e , R.N. , i n command, reached Cape Coast w i th t h e t r o o p s

and s u p p l i e s on t h e 8 t h o f June. Twenty-four hours l a t e r t h e

t r o o p s and s u p p l i e s were a sho re and were immediately b e i n g u t i -

l i z e d i n a t t e m p t s t o s t a b i l i z e a s i t u a t i o n which had been grow-

ing s t e a d i l y worse i n t h e wake of t h e debac l e a t Jukwa. 94

Colone l F e s t i n g assumed r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e defence

of t h e f o r t s and t h e c o o r d i n a t i o n of any f u r t h e r m i l i t a r y moves

i n v o l v i n g B r i t i s h t r o o p s and he began t o p l an o p e r a t i o n s a lmost

immediately. On t h e 1 1 t h of June , he , D r . Rowe and Captain

Fremant le c a r r i e d ou t a reconna issance of E h i n a and confirmed

t h a t t h e i n h a b i t a n t s or" t h e q u a r t e r fornler ly c o n t r o l l e d .by Kobina

Edjan were supply ing t h e Asante w i t h s t o r e s of v a r i o u s d e s c r i p -

t i o n by way o f Sa l tpond . This i n t e l l i g e n c e was t r a n s n l i t t e d t o

t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Counci l on t h e 1 2 t h of June and t h e members of

t h e Counci l dec ided bo th t o p roc la im martial law i n t h e town of

Elmina and t h o s e sur rounding d i s t r i c t s occupied by t h e Asante

and t o r e q u i r e t h e r e s i d e n t s i n t h o s e p l a c e s t o g i v e up t h e i r

arms. 95

I n o r d e r t o ensu re s u r p r i s e , Colonel F e s t i n g took a 500

man f o r c e o f Hausas, I~Ia r ines , and 21liIR t r o o p s and marched f o r

Elmina t h a t same n i g h t . Supported by b o a t s from f i v e of t h e war-

s h i p on t h e c o a s t , he planned t o en fo rce t h e proclamat ion i n

t h a t c e n t e r o f d i s a f f e c t i o n . I n t h e r e s u l t a n t a c t i o n , t h e town

o f Elrnina was bombarded by t h e s h i p s and a body o f some 2,000

Asantes was engaged immediately t o t h e west of t h e town and de-

f e a t e d by t h e B r i t i s h t r o o p s . The B r i t i s h thought t h a t t h e y had

s u c c e s s f u l l y d r i v e n t h e enemy from t h e immediate v i c i n i t y and

had begun t o p repa re t h e i r mid-day meal when a body o f Asantes

e s t i m a t e d a t a s t r e n g t h of between 2,000 and 3 ,000 men suddenly

began t o advance on t h e l o y a l q u a r t e r from t h e n o r t h . I a v a l gun-

f i r e was used t o suppor t t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e and a f t e r a s h o r t en-

gagement on an open p l a i n t o t h e north-west of t h e f o r t , t h e

Asantc were d r i v e n away a t a c o s t o f sone 200 enemy k i l l e d as

opposed t o B r i t i s h l o s s e s of one k i l l e d and f o u r wounded. 96 The

expedi t ion had been most s u c c e s s f u l because it n o t on ly n e u t r a l -

i z e d t h e t h r e a t posed by Asante sympath izers i n Elmina, bu t be-

cause it a l s o e f f e c t i v e l y prevented any renewed a t t a c k on t h e

f o r t s by t h e Asantes .

Unfo r tuna t e ly , t h i s succes s d i d l i t t l e t o b r i g h t e n

o the rwi se gloomy p i c t u r e . Thousands o f r e f u g e e s from a l l p a r t s

o f t h e coun t ry , cowed and despondent a f t e r t h e i r d e f e a t a t t h e

hands of t h e Asantes , had cont inued t o descend on Cape Coast .

They jammed i n t o t h e a l r e a d y over-crowded town and many were

f o r c e d t o s l e e p i n t h e s t r e e t s . Food became i n c r e a s i n g l y s c a r c e

as suppl . ies from t h e bush were c u t o f f by t h e Asante f o r g i n g

p a r t i e s o p e r a t i n g i n t h e t r i a n g l e formed by Jukwa, Cape Coast

and Elrnina, and t h e t e r r i f i e d people r e f u s e d t o v e n t u r e o u t of

t h e town even t o c u t f i rewood. A t t h i s p o i n t t h e a l r e a d y heavy

r a i n s s e t i n w i t h unusua l s e v e r i t y and t h e r e fo l lowed a n a lmos t

con t inuous heavy downpour f o r s e v e r a l weeks. The r e s u l t a n t fam-

i n e , s i c k n e s s , exposure and r e g u l a r ou tb reaks o f pan ic a t eve ry

rurnour of an Asante advance, t u r n e d Cape Coast i n t o an unbe l iev-

a b l e c e n t e r o f f i l t h , d e a t h and t u r m o i l which t h e Admin i s t r a to r

and h i s s taff could do l i t t l e t o change. 97

A s one would e x p e c t , t h i s dep re s s ing s t a t e of a f fa i r s

was n o t r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e c i v i l sphere . La rge ly because o f t h e

wea ther , t h e m i l i t a r y s i t u a t i o n was a l s o r a p i d l y d e t e r i o r a t i n g .

I n i t i a l l y , t h e h e a l t h of t h e t r o o p s had cont inued t o be good da- . -

s p i t e t h e wea ther b u t towards t h e end o f June, s i ckness - -pa r t i cu -

l a r l y dysentery--began t o break o u t among t h e marines and s a i l o r s .

I n f a c t , by t h e end o f june, t h e t r o o p s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e Adminis-

t r a t o r were i n poor c o n d i t i o n , O f t h e more t h a n one hundred bia-

r i n e s a t Elmica, j u s t under one-half were on t h e s i c k - l i s t . O f

t h e 273 2!51R men s t a t i o n e d a t t h e f o u r major f o r t s , on ly s l i g h t -

l y o v e r 200 were f i t f o r s e r v i c e . The Iiausas numbered 210 a l l

r a n k s , of which 32 men were i n h o s p i t a l . The Cape Coast Volun-

t e e r s cou ld muster on ly 70 o r 8 0 men a t any g iven t ime . Adrnit-

t e d l y t h e r e were approximate ly 400 mar ines and seamen o f t h e

f l e e t who cou ld p o s s i b l y be s e n t a s h o r e i n an b u t by

t h e I s s t o f J u l y , t h e O f f i c e r Comnanding t h e Troops on t h e Gold

Coast would be hard p re s sed t o r a i s e a t o t a l o f 1 ,000 men even

w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e men from t h e f l e e t . 99

Without doubt t h e B r i t i s h and t h e i r a l l i e s were i n v e r y

poor c o n d i t i o n b u t t h e r e was some c o n s o l a t i o n t o be found i n t h e

knowledge t h a t t h e enemy was no b e t t e r o f f . The Asantes had re-

mained encamped w i t h i n approximate ly t e n m i l e s o f Elmina a t

Mampon, E f u t u and t h e sur rounding v i l l a g e s , and though b e t t e r o f f

t h a n t h e F a 2 t i s , t h e y were i n a bad enough p l i g h t themselves .

As t h e B r i t i s h had no control . over t h e Elrnina h i n t e r l a n d , t h e

Asantes had f r e e a c c e s s t o a l l t h e farr~~s l o c a t e d t h e r e and a l s o

drew s u p p l i e s of food r e g u l a r l y from t h e i r sympath izers i n

Elrnina; b u t even w i t h t h o s e advantages , food was none t o o p l e n t i -

f u l , I n a d d i t i o n , t h e heavy r a i n s , t h e swanpy ground, t h e un-

s a n i t a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e i r camps, t h e ravages of small-pox and

dysen te ry , and t h e d e s t r u c t i v e e f f e c t s of t h e i d l e n e s s of camp

l i f e on men who va lued t h e i r f a m i l y l i f e but; were f a r from home,

a l l combined t o d i s h e a r t e n them and make them thoroughly raiser-

a b l e . The s t a t e o f t h e i r morale was i n d i c a t e d by t h e i n c r e a s i ~ g

numbers o f d e s e r t e r s who were g i v i n g themse lves up a t t h e d i f -

f e r e n t f o r t s . loo F i n a l l y t h e c h i e f s f o r c e d Rmnnkwa Tia t o p e t i -

t i o n t h e Asantehene t o r e c a l l t h e army. The r e q u e s t was sen% t o

Kumasi b u t Kofi K a r i k a r i had f e l t from t h e v e r y beg inn ing t h a t

he had been f o r c e d i n t o t h e war by t h e ambi t ion o f t h e s e ve ry

c h i e f s and he showed h i s resen tment of t h i s by r e f u s i n g t o snnc-

t i o n any withdrawal . 1 0 1

By l a t e June, t h e r e f o r e , bo th s i d e s had sunk t o t h e i r

l owes t ebb. It i s ha rd t o imagine what t h e coming d r y season 102

would have brought had n e i t h e r s i d e made a move d u r i n g t h e r a i n s

b u t as t h i n g s t r a n s p i r e d , t h e B r i t i s h d i d n o t a l l ow m a t t e r s t o

s t a n d as t h e y were. The a r r i v a l on t h e 6 t h of J u l y of t h e f i rs t

con t ingen t of t h e 21IIR re inforcec len ts promised by Lord Kimberley

i n his d e s p a t c h o f t h e 1 2 t h o f bky, a l lowed t h e B r i t i s h t o beg in

t a k i n g t h e i n i t i a t i v e . Co~nmodore Commerell, R .N . , a r r i v e d on t h e

5 t h aboard H.N.S. R a t t l e s n a k e t o f i n d H.M.S. 1s Bar racou ta , Druid

and Merl in a l r e a d y i n t h e r o a d s a t Cape Coast and H.M.S. Argus

a t Elmina. On t h e 6 t h of Ju ly , t h e Himalaya a r r i v e d w i t h t h e

h e a d q u a r t e ~ s , 13 o f f i c e r s and 360 men of t h e 2Vlii and a L ieu ten -

a n t A.H. Gordon of t h e 9 8 t h Foot who was t o r e p l a c e L i e u t e n a n t

Hopkins, who was a t t h i s t ime su . f f e r ing from f e v e r , as Conlma~dant.

o f Hausas. This re inforcement r e l i e v e d t h o s e of Colonel F e s t i n g ' s

Marines who were a t Cape Coast C a s t l e and t h u s p e r m i t t e d t h e con-

c e n t r a t i n g of a l l of t h e Marines a t Elmina, 103

The a r r i v a l of t h e s e f r e s h t r o o p s caused some r e su rgence

o f conf idence on t h e p a r t o f t h e B r i t i s h on t h e Gold Coast and

because of t h i s , i t was f i n a l l y dec ided t h a t something could now

be done t o r e c t i f y t h e h i t h e r t o a p p a l l i n g l a c k of a c c u r a t e i n t e l -

l i g e n c e abou t t h e Asante d i s p o s i t i o n s and moverients, It was a

h a r d f a c t t h a t wh i l e eve ry movement t h e B r i t i s h made was a t once

known i n t h e Asante camp, lo4 t h e on ly in format ion gained by t h e

B r i t i s h which was o f any va lue a t a l l was t h e s c a n t y f a r e de-

r i v e d from p r i s o n e r s . This was mainly because t h e s c o u t i n g par-

t i e s h i r e d by t h e B r i t i s h from among t h e a l l i e s d i d no a c t u a l

s c o u t i n g and upon t h e i r r e t u r n t o camp a f t e r a supposed mis s ion ,

l i e d f r e e l y i n o r d e r t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e y were pa id . For example,

Chief A t t ah o f Cape Coast was employed t o s end ou t s c o u t i n g par -

t i e s and it was proven t h a t h i s s c o u t s seldom went f u r t h e r t h a n

a mi l e from t h e town. And it was f u r t h e r proven t h a t once t h e y

were ou t of s i g h t , t h e y retcained s a f e l y hidden u n t i l t h e y had

f i n i s h e d t h e i r p r o v i s i o n s a t which t ime t h e y wou1.d r e t u r n t o s p i n

whatever t a l e t;hey though t would s a t i s f y t h e B r i t i s h . 105

I n o r d e r t o c o r r e c t t h i s s e r i o u s m i l i t a r y d e f i c i e n c y ,

L i e u t e n a n t Gordon and h i s Hausas conducted a s e r i e s o f reconna is -

sance p a t r o l s a long t h e c o a s t between Cape Coast and Elmina and

from Cape Coast i n t o t h e i rmned i~ te h i n t e r l a n d . The aim of t h e s e

p a t r o l s was t o a c c u r a t e l y a s c e r t a i n t h e s t r e n g t h and p o s i t i o n o f

t h e Asante f o r c e but t h e c o n s i s t e n t l y bad wea ther prevented t h e

complet ion of t h i s rnission.lo6 However, t h e importance o f t h e

p a t r o l s l a y i n t h e f a c t t h a t t h e y s i g n a l l e d t h e beg inn ing of a

more a g g r e s s i v e s p i r i t on t h e p a r t o f t h e B r i t i s h f o r from t h i s

p o i n t onward, t h e y began t o assume more and more r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

f o r t h e d i r e c t i o n and p rosecu t ion of t h e campaign.

T h i s growing s p i r i t of a g g r e s s i v e n e s s was a l s o exempli-

f i e d by t h e B r i t i s h response t o e v e n t s which occur red i n t h e

Western d i s t r i c t s l a t e i n J u l y . A t t h a t t ime Adu Bofo ' s d i v i -

s i o n had e f f e c t e d a rendevous w i t h t h e f o r c e o f 3 ,000 men which

had been s e n t sou th from Kumasi under t h e command of t h e redoubt-

a b l e A t jiernpon , lo' The Asantehene had o rde red t h a t t h i s j o i n t

f o r c e was t o assist t h e Amahi a g a i n s t Blay and then r a i s e a l a r g e

army from amongst t h e former Dutch s u b j e c t s i n Takorad i , Sekondi

and Sharna wi th a view t o c r o s s i n g t h e P r a and j o i n i n g t h e Elminas

and Arnankwa ~ia."' Of course t h e scheme s tood an e x c e l l e n t

chance o f s u c c e s s because o f t h e g r e a t an imos i ty which s t i l l ex-

i s t e d between t h e r e s i d e n t s i n t h e fo rmer ly Dutch t e r r i t o r i e s

and t h o s e who had a lways been under B r i t i s h p r o t e c t i o n . 109

Up u n t i l t h e 20 th of J u l y 1873, however, t h e B r i t i s h had

n o t even r e c e i v e d any r e l i a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e as t o t h e e x i s t a r c e

o f t h i s p a r t i c u l a r Asante f o r c e l e t a l o n e i t s i n t e n t i o n s . But

on t h a t day d e s p a t c h e s were r e c e i v e d which r e v e a l e d t h i s new

Asante t h r e a t f o r t h e f i r s t t ime. It was r e p o r t e d t h a t two t o m s

be long ing t o t h e l o y a l King o f Blay ha.d been des t royed and t h a t

b o t h Dixcove and Sekondi were t h r e a t e n e d , 'lo Obviously Adu Bofo

and Atjiempon had begun t h e i r campaign b u t , i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e i r

e a r l i e r approach, t h e B r i t i s h d i d n o t respond t o t h e emergency

by a t t e m p t i n g t o rouse and arm t h e t r i b e s under a t t a c k . The i r

expe r i ence wi th t h e F a n t i s and t h e i r knowledge of t h e s t r o n g

Dutch sen t imen t i n t h e r e g i o n convinced t h e men a t Cape Coast

t h a t such e f f o r t s would be f u t i l e . Accordingly, t h e y dec ided t o

c o n c e n t r a t e t h e i r e f f o r t s on defending and ho ld ing t h e f o r t s .

On t h e 2 1 s t of J u l y , Hausa detachments were s e n t t o r e -

i n f o r c e a l l t h r e e of t h e t h r e a t e n e d f o r t s and a t t h e same t ime

100 men o f ZT:!IR were s e n t t o t h e t h r e a t e n e d area as a shock f o r c e ,

About 50 o f t h e West I n d i a n s were subsequent ly l e f t a t Sekondi

wh i l e t h e remainder r e t u r n e d t o Cape Coast C a s t l e on t h e 24th . 111

These moves e f f e c t i v e l y counte red t h e Asante t h r e a t and, w i th

one e x c e p t i o n , t h e enemy f o r c e s i n t h e r eg ion playec! no s i g n i f i -

c a n t r o l e i n t h e o p e r a t i o n s which were t o fo l low. Frola t h i s

p o i n t onward, t h e major e v e n t s of t h e war were d e s t i n e d t o occur

a long t h e a x i s of t h e Prasu-Cape Coast road.

T h i s s u c c e s s f u l r e i n f o r c e ~ n e n t o f t h e f o r t s i n t h e Western

d i s t r i c t s was immediately fo l lowed by f u r t h e r B r i t i s h i n i t i a t i v e s .

On t h e k t h of August, Colonel Har ley c a l l e d a s t a f f conference a t

which it; was dec ided t o t a k e s t e p s t o d i s l o d g e t h e A s a ~ t e s from

t h e i r p o s i t i o n a t Mampon. It was a l s o agreed t h a t a neces sa ry

p r e l i m i n a r y t o t h i s o p e r a t i o n would be t h e e s t ab l i shmen t o f sev-

e r a l s e c u r e forward b a s e s between t h e c o a s t and Mampon. 112 Lieu-

t e n a n t ' Gordon and h i s Hausas were s e l e c t e d f o r t h e t a s k of e s t a b -

l i s h i n g t h e s e o u t p o s t s and on t h e 6 t h of August Cordon depa r t ed

f o r t h e v i l l a g e o f Napoleon w i t h 100 Hausas, 20 members of t h e

Gold Coast R i f l e Corps, and 100 l a b o u r e r s . He was t o throw up

a redoubt and form an encampment i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n b e t t e r i n f o r -

mation of t h e enemy's p o s i t i o n and s t r e n g t h and t o r e s t o r e t h e

conf idence of t h e F a n t i s . The p o s t was a l s o in tended t o s e r v e

as an assembly a r e a once a g e n e r a l move a g a i n s t t h e enemy cou ld

be mounted. '13 Within a week o f l e a v i n g Cape Coas t , Gordon had

completed t h e r edoub t , i n s i t ~ l t e d a r e g u l a r and r e l i a b l e syst.eln

o f p a t r o l l i n g ove r a r a d i u s of some seven m i l e s and had msdz it

p o s s i b l e f o r t h e v i l l a g e s between Cape Coast and Hapoleon t o be

reoccupied by t h e i r former

The p a t r o l l i n g was

coun t ry was a v a i l a b l e from

i n h a b i t a n t s . 114

o f e s p e c i a l importance. No map of t h e

any source and t h e p a t r o l s made it

p o s s i b l e f o r L i e u t e n a n t Gordon t o complete a rough b u t adequa te

t r a c i n g of t h e count ry which was subsequent ly used e x t e n s i v e l y . 115

The p a t r o l s a l s o g a t h e r e d in format ion of g r e a t immediate m i l i -

t a r y va lue , Frcm t h e i r r e p o r t s i t was d e f i n i t e l y a s c e r t a i n e d

t h a t no Asantes c r o s s e d t h e Sweet R i v e r ; t h a t t h e l e f t q f t h e

Asante s t a n d i n g camp was a t E f u t u , where t h e i r numbers were few;

t h a t g r e a t nunbers were a t Karnpon, whence t h e y extended westward

towards Agoonah a.nd Aquafoo; t h a t a l a r g e body o f them--perhaps

s e v e r a l thousand--was a t Simeo; and t h a t t h e y fo raged f o r pro-

v i s i o n s i n t h e gardens o f d e s e r t e d v i l l a g e s between Sirneo and

t h e Sweet R i v e r . It was a l s o e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e Asantes com-

municated r e g u l a r l y w i t h Elmina by way o f Simeo, 116

The e f f o r t a t Napoleon succeeded s o w e l l t h a t Colonel

F e s t i n g o rde red L i e u t e n a n t Gordon t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y

o f repea t i .ng t h e p roces s somewhere between E l n i n a and blampon.

Gordon t h e r e f o r e began a d e t a i l e d reconna issance of t h e area west

o f Napoleon on t h e 1 1 t h of August. While c a r r y i n g ou t t h i s recon-

n a i s s a n c e he l e a r n e d t h a t t h e nor th-south t r a i l s were h e a v i l y used,

b u t t h a t t h e r e was no l a r g e body o f Asante t r o o p s i n t h e r eg ion

between Elmina and Mampon. He a l s o l e a r n e d t h a t t h e c e n t r a l l y

l o c a t e d v i l l a g e of Simeo had r e c e n t l y been evacua ted by a l a r g e

Asante f o r c e and as it was s t r a t e g i c a l l y l o c a t e d and t a c t i -

c a l l y sound f o r t h e t y p e o f o u t p o s t d e s i r e d by Colonel F e s t i n g ,

Gordon determined t o s i t e h i s second redoubt t h e r e , 118

Napoleon was t h e n g a r r i s o n e d by a new detachment of mixed

Hausa and 21~1~' t r o o p s and Gordon began h i s move on t h e 1 6 t h o f

August. He was f o r c e d t o abandon Simeo, however, because h i s

Gold Coast Riflemen f l a t l y r e f u s e d t o go t h a t c l o s e t o t h e Asante

main camp. A s a r e s u l t , he moved t h r e e mi l e s c l o s e r t oSElmina

and began c o n s t r u c t i o n a t Abbaye, 119 The new redoubt was b e g m

on t h e 1 8 t h o f August and wi th in t e n days t h e s u c c e s s f u l p a t t e r n

e s t a b l i s h e d a t Napoleon had been r e p e a t e d , Brackenbury corrunented,

Gordon c a r r i e d on a system o f pa- t r o l s and s p i e s and he d a i l y cap tu red Ashant i p r i s o n e r s who weke forwarded t o h e a d q u a r t e r s . Bes ides s topp ing t h e d i - r e c t communication between Mampon and Elrnina, t h e occupa t ion of Abbaye r e - s t o r e d l a r g e p o r t i o n s o f f r u i t f u l l a n d t o t h e F a n t i s , and covered t h e lower Sweet R i v e r and Sirowee from t h e enemy. 120

The e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e s e two forward p o s t s were s o l i d ach ieve-

ments and were of i n e s t i m a b l e va lue f o r detachments under B r i t i s h

c o n t r o l and l e a d e r s h i p were a t l a s t prov ing t h a t t h e y could go

i n t o t h e bush and f u n c t i o n e f f e c t i v e l y ,

These modest bu t impor tan t acconpl ishments i n t h e f i e l d

were paral le1.ed by a tremendous i n c r e a s e i n t h e q u a n t i t y and

q u a l i t y o f r e s u p p l y from England, The s u p p l i e s which had come

w i t h Colonel F e s t i n g ' s Marines had been bu t a sample of what was

i n s t o r e . A b r i e f review of t h e f o u r month p e r i o d ending on t h e

3 0 t h o f August w i l l i l l u s t r a t e t h e i n c r e a s e d r a t e a t which t h e

l o g i s t i c suppor t was growing. The mail-packet which l e f t England

on t h e 1 8 t h o f May brought a d d i t i o n a l h o s p i t a l s u p p l i e s i n quan-

t i t i e s p r e v i o u s l y on ly dreamed o f . It a l s o brought s u f f i c i e n t

s u p p l i e s t o r e p l a c e a l l t h e s t o r e s i s s u e d from t h e Imper i a l maga-

z i n e s a t Cape Coast C a s t l e a ~ d S i e r r a Leone f o r t h e use of t h e

C o l o n i a l Government as w e l l as l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of such g e n e r a l

s t ;ores as e n t r e n c h i n g t o o l s , b l a n k e t s , t e n t s , Rortonl s tube-

w e l l s 121 and k i t c h e n equipment. 12* Xeanwhile, it was dec ided a t

a conference t o send out; H.N.S. Sirnoom wi th 200 R.1:I.L .I. and

R.1I.A. t o i n c r e a s e t h e e x i s t i n g establishment and f i l l any va-

c a n c i e s due t o d e a t h o r i n j u r i e s . 123 The Simoom s a i l e d on t h e

1 7 t h of J u l y , The nex t day, 21+0,000 rounds o f S n i d e r ammuni-

t i o n , l50,OOO rounds of E n f i e l d ainrnunition and a q u a n t i t y o f

powder and l e a d were sh ipped o u t t o g e t h e r w i t h two 7-pounder

mountain-guns and 300 rounds pe r gun. 124' On t h e 30 th o f J u l y

two G a t l i n g guns w i t h 10 ,000 rounds p e r gun were sh ipped o u t by

mai l -packe t . A t t h e s ane t i m e , a l a r g e demand f o r such s t o r e s

e n t r e n c h i n g t o o l s , accoute rments , e t c . , which had been made

Commissary Marsden inmedia te ly on h i s a r r i v a l a t Cape Coast

t h e beg inn ing o f Junc, was complied with.125 F i n a l l y , f u r t h e r

q u a n t i t i e s o f h o s p i t a l s t o r e s were despatched on t h e 30 th c f

August. 126

Th i s f l o o d o f s u p p l i e s began t o a r r i v e when H.X.S. Sirnoom

dropped anchor a t Cape Coast on t h e 9 t h of August. 127 The Sirnoom

was r e t a i n e d on t h e c o a s t a s a h o s p i t a l s h i p and was g iven t h e

a d d i t i o n a l t a s k o f d i s t i l l i n g wate r . 128 Because of t h e preva-

l e n c e of f e v e r , t h e F a r i n e s were no t l anded u n t i l s e v e r a l weeks

had passed. Aourever, t h e poor h e a l t h of Colonel F e s t i n g ' s o r i g -

i n a l cont,ir.gcnt of Blarines caused t h e s taff t;o i n s t i t u t e measures

f o r t h e immediate evacua t ion of t h e b u l k of t h e command. E i g h t y

men had a l r e a d y s a i l e d f o r England on t h e 4 t h o f August and, w i t h

t h e a r r i v a l of t h e r e in fo rcemen t s , t h e remainder were s e n t t o s e a

f o r a s h o r t r e c u p e r a t i v e c r u i s e be fo re be ing once no re co~nrnitted

t o a c t i o n . 129 Aside f roril t h e m i l i t a r y s t o r e s and re inforcemer . t s ,

however, t h e Sinloom c a r r i e d a l a r g e supply o f r i c e which had been

s e n t o u t t o h e l p meet t h e enormous demands which were then be ing

made on t h e Admin i s t r a to r by t h e s t a r v i n g populace. 13' From t h i s

t ime onward, s u p p l y s h i p s a r r i v e d a t r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s and t h e

v a r i o u s magazines and commissaries were soon beg inn ing t o f i l l

w i t h all. manner of arms, amnunit ion and equipment.

T h i s s t e a d i l y b r i g h t e n i n g p i c t u r e was marred by only one

s e r i o u s r e v e r s e . On t h e 7 t h o f August, a r e p o r t had a r r i v e d

from Dixcove t h a t Amankwa Tia was t r y i n g t o move h i s army a c r o s s

t h e P r a i n t o t h e Vassaw coun t ry i n o r d e r t o j o i n f o r c e s w i t h Adu

Bof o and A t jiempon . 131 his move was thought t o be i n pre 'parat ion

f o r a n a t t a c k on Dixcove and Sekondi and w i t h i n a week Commodore

Cornrnerell was a t Sekondi i n comiand of r e1a t ive l . y sma l l f o r c e of

armed and manned b o a t s from t h e Argus and t h e R a t t l e s n a k e . On

t h e l k t h h e l e d t h i s s m a l l f l o t i l l a t o Shama where he anchored,

went a s h o r e , and h e l d a p a l a v e r w i t h t h e k i n g s and c h i e f s , hoping

t o o b t a i n t h e i r a s s i s t a n c e t o d r i v e t h e Asantes from t h e i r c ros s -

i n g p l a c e . The Shama p r o t e s t e d t h a t t h e i r o n l y d e s i r e was t o

ma in t a in an a b s o l u t e n e u t r a l i t y . They r e f u s e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n

t h e e x p e d i t i o n and t h e y even r e f u s e d t o p rov ide p i l o t s f o r t h e

b o a t s t h a t were t o ascend t h e r i v e r .

Undaunted, t h e Conmodore proceeded a c r o s s t h e b a r agd up

tkIe r i v e r wi thout Sharna a s s i s t a n c e bu t be fo re t h 9 b o a t s had gone

two m i l e s upstream, it became obvious why t h e Sharna had n o t want-

ed t o acco::lpany them. Without any warning, s h o t s r ang o u t from

t h e Shama s i d e of t h e r i v e r and a h a i l o f s l u g s came pour ing i n -

t o t h e b o a t s a t about t e n y a r d s range. The f i r e was such t h a t

t h e f o r c e had t o withdraw dovn t h e r i v e r t o t h e town where it was

found t h a t t h e t o ~ ~ i s p e o p l e had a t t a c k e d a small reinforcement o f

F a n t i be ing landed f o r s e r v i c e i n t h e f o r t . The Corn-

modore promptly had t h e .town s h e l l e d and reduced t o a heap o f

bu rn ing rubb le . The Br j - t i sh l o s s ir, t h i s u n f o r t u n r t e a f f a i r was

f o u r men k i l l e d and s i x o f f i c e r s and f o u r t e e n men wounded, 133

T h i s B r i t i s h r e p u l s e a t t h e hands o f t h e Asantes caused

t h o s e former Dutch s u b j e c t s who had h i t h e r t o been h e s i t a t i n g i n

t h e i r a l l e g i a n c e and ma in t a in ing an outward seab lance o f l o y a l t y

t o b reak o u t i n t o open r e b e 1 l i 0 n . l ~ ~ The i n h a b i t a n t s o f Takorad i ,

Dutch Sekondi and many o t h e r p l a c e s took up arms and d e c l a r e d

a g a i n s t t h e Government. 135 The on ly way t h a t t h e s e i n s u r r e c t i o n

could be d e a l t w i th was through t h e o l d medium of gun-boat per-

s u a s i o n , Consequently, d u r i n g t h e succeeding weeks, n a v a l ves-

s e l s c r u i s e d up and down t h e c o a s t , s h e l l i n g and burn ing a v i l -

l a g e h e r e and t h e r e as ou tb reaks of d e f i a n c e were r e p o r t e d . Of

cour se t h i s w a s l i m i t e d i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s because on ly t h e v i l -

l a g e s were d e s t r o y e d wh i l e t h e i n h a b i t a n t s u s u a l l y escaped un-

s c a t h e d i n t o t h e bush and cont inued t o c a r r y on a campaign of

har rassment a g a i n s t t h e v a r i o u s f o r t s . Throughout t h e month of

August, t h e e n t i r e c a a s t l i n e from Axim t o Sharia was d i s t u r b e d by

s p o r a d i c c l a s h e s between t h e 'Dutch' people and t h e l o y a l t r i b e s -

men and t h e s h e l l i n g o f d i s l o y a l t owns was a r e g u l a r o c c u r r w c e . 136

Commodore Corninerell's d e f e a t s t rongl-y i n f luenced Colonel

H a r l e y ' s t h i n k i n g w i t h r ega rd t o t h e s t r a t e g i c coriduct of t h e war,

He had f i n a l l y become convinced t h a t it was no l o n g e r p r o f i t a b l e

t o con t inue ru sh ing back and f o r t h a long t h e c o a s t i n f r a n t i c ef-

f o r t s t o c o u n t e r every t h r e a t posed by t h e enemy. A s a r e s u l t ,

he proposed t o Lord Kimberley t h a t t he B r i t i s h should r e a l l y t s k e

t h e i n i t i a t i v e by a t t a c k i n g and t a k i n g Kwnasi. He sugges ted t h a t

a f o r c e composed of 300 Nar ines , 600 West I n d i a n s , a b a t t a l i o n o f

r i f l e s (European) no t l e s s t han 800 s t r o n g , 200 Gold Coast Ri f le - .

men and 10 ,000 n a t i v e a u x i l i a r i e s could accomplish t h e miss ion

q u i t e e a s i l y a f t e r a " l e i s u r e l y march o f t e n days f r o n Cape Coastw

on t h e P r a s u road. 137 Colone l F e s t i n g recognized t h e dangers

i n h e r e n t i n t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r ' s scheme and f i r m l y s t a t e d h i s d i s -

a p p r o v a l o f it. He c l o s e d h i s memorandwn on t h e m a t t e r by s a y i n g ,

"As an o f f i c e r w r i t i n g w i t h r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , I cannot permit n y s e l f

t o t h i n k l i g h t l y of an unde r t ak ing involving; unknown hazards .

Tha t it i s p o s s i b l e t o a s s e r t t h e s o v e r e i g n t y of ou r count ry on

t h i s c o a s t I f u l l y b e l i e v e ; b u t n o t , i n my humble op in ion , w i th

t h e i n s u f f i c i e n t m a n s proposed i n your Exce l lencyr s despa t ch . 11138

I n t h e

p l an . On t h e

- 98 -.

end, no th ing was done t o inlplement t h i s p a r t i c u l a r

11th of September, t h e mai l -packet a r r i v e d from

England b r i n g i n g Capta in Glover , R.N. ,139 and i n s t r u c t i o n s from

t h e Government. These i n s t r u c t i o n s s t a t e d t h a t S i r G a r n ~ t

Vlolseley was abou t t o proceed t o t h e Coas t , i n o r d e r t o assume

t h e duties of c i v i l a d m i n i s t r a t o r and m i l i t a r y commander, and

t h e y d i r e c t e d t h a t no extended o p e r a t i o n s should be undertaken

pending h i s a r r i v a l . 140 Colonel Har ley was t h u s s w m a r i l y r e -

p l a c e d , and t he second phase of t h e war was about t o beg in .

pcdit;:ionai.j; f o r c e . ' i n the p a s t , such f o r c e s had proved u n p i ; ) c l e r

subscque~t , l -y prove a fnj.11xrc a s i n t h c c x e o f I;acarthy and ths

of o f f i c c .

wrote :

S i r Garnet was s e r v i n g i n t h e War O f f i c e as A s s i s t a n t

Adjutant-General : D i s c i p l i n e Drmch , a t t h i s t ime and he r e c e i v e d

h i s f i rs t i n t i m a t i o n as t o what was a f o o t from t h e PJar S e c r e t a r y ,

I&, Cardwel l , i n J u l y of 1873. Cardwell conf ided t o S i r Garne t

t h a t t h e r e was a p o s s i . b i l i t y of an e x p e d i t i o n being s e n t t o t h e

Gold Coast and t h a t he would work f o r Wolse l ey t s appointment t o

head such a f o r c e . He adv i sed t h e young c o l o n e l t o p repa re f o r

such a n e v e n t u a l i t y by s u b m i t t i n g t o hirn an a p p l i c a b l e m i l i t a r y

T h i s S i r Garnet proceeded t o do, and he emerged w i t h a

d e t a i l e d p l an a t t h e very moment when Lord Kimberley, who was

working c l o s e l y w i t h Cardwel l , decided t o appo in t a s o l d i e r as

m i l i t a r y and c i v i l head of t h e Gold Coast t e r r i t o r y . The \Jar

S e c r e t a r y immediately s e n t t h e p l an t o Lord Kimberley w i t h a n o t e

s a y i n g , " S i r Garnet t l o l s e l ey , who s o s u c c e s s f u l l y went t o t h e Red

R i v e r , i s now ready t o cap tu re Ktunasi. tt 6

This o r i g i n a l scheme was disa.pproved by t h e Duke of

Cambridge, who was n o t i n f a v o r of u s ing European t r o o p s , and it

a l s o came under f i r e from s e v e r a l o f f i c i a l s i n t h e Government f o r

v a r i o u s o t h e r r ea sons .7 Undeterred, S i r Garnet immediately s e t

about producing y e t a n o t h e r p l a n which took i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n

the v a r i o u s o b j e c t i o n s which had been r a i s e d . His r e v i s e d schexe

c a l l e d f o r h i s immediate d e p a r t u r e w i t h a group o f s p e c i a l l y s e -

l e c t e d o f f i c e r s t o survey l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s and t o o rgan ize a

f o r c e o f f r i e n d l y n a t i v e s t o d r i v e t h e Asante back over t h e Pra .

Should t h e n a t i v e l e v i e s prove inadequa te f o r a f i n a l t h r u s t

a c r o s s t h e r i v e r t o Kumasi, two f i r s t - r a t e whi te b a t t a l i o n s and

n e c e s s a r y suppor t e lements , h e l d i n a s t a t e o f r e a d i n e s s a t home,

would be s e n t o u t upon r e q u e s t t o complete t h e work, Because of

t h e dead ly c l i m a t e , S i r Garnet promised t o u se t h e s e men wi th a l l

p o s s i b l e speed d u r i n g t h e b e s t season between December and Feb-

r u a r y , A good road would be c o n s t r u c t e d t o t h e P r a beforehand,

w i t h s u i t a b l e s h e l t e r s e r e c t e d a t each h a l t i n g p l ace . Once t h e

Asantehene had been fo rced t o t e n n s , o r h i s c a p i t a l a t Kumasi

d e s t r o y e d should he r e s i s t t o t h e end, t h e wh i t e t r o o p s would be

h u r r i e d back t o t h e t r a n s p o r t s . Wolseley promised t o c a r r y o u t

t h e e n t i r e o p e r a t i o n f o r l e s s t han •’150,000. 8

The f i n a l d e c i s i o n as t o t h e adopt ion o f t h i s p l a n and

t h e appointment of S i r Garnet t o i t s command was reached a t a

l e n g t h y and somewhat acr imonious meeting i n t h e War O f f i c e on

t h e 1 3 t h of August, 1873. S e n i o r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f v a r i o u s

Governmental depar tments , and high-ranking n a v a l and m i l i t a r y o f -

f i c e r s were i n a t t e n d a n c e and t h e n a v a l con t ingen t , suppor ted by

a t l e a s t one unnamed m i n i s t e r of t h e Government, a c t i v e l y o y y s s d

t h e i d e a o f an e x p e d i t i o n and argued s t r o n g l y f o r a c o n t i n u a t i o c

of gunboat diplomacy.9 Lord Kimberley, i r r i t a t e d by t h e obvi-

o u s l y inadequa te p r o p o s a l s by t h e Admiralty and exaspera ted by

t h e cross-examinat ion of a n o t h e r M i n i s t e r , f i n a l l y l o s t h i s tern-

Per . Thumping a t a b l e , he d e c l a r e d t h a t e i t h e r t h e Wolseley plan

would be adopted o r he would r e s i g n . S i r Garnet was t hen asked

i f he was prepared t o t a k e over c i v i l a s w e l l as m i l i t a r y au thor -

i t y provided he was n o t expected t o remain i n A f r i c a a f t e r s e t -

t l i n g t h e Asante a f f a i r . He r e p l i e d t h a t he was prepared t o ac-

c e p t t h e pos t on t h o s e te rms and it was t h e n agreed t h a t he would

be appo in t ed t o execu te h i s own p l an w i t h t h e c l e a r unde r s t and ing

t h a t "nothing b u t a conv ic t ion of n e c e s s i t y would induce Her Elaj-

e s t y ' s Government t o engage i n any o p e r a t i o n s i nvo lv ing t h e pos-

s i b i l i t y of i t s r e q u i r i n g t h e s e r v i c e of Europeans a t t h e Gold

Coast . tr 1 0

Two days a f t e r t h i s c r u c i a l meeting, i t was anpounced i n

t h e London newspapers t f i a t S i r Garnet was t o l e a v e f o r Plest A f -

r i ca a s soon a s p o s s i b l e t o under take t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e c i v i l

and m i l i t a r y a f f a i r s t h e r e w i t h t h e l o c a l rank o f major-general . 11

The move was d e c r i e d n o t on ly by t h o s e who d i d n o t approve o f

W o l s e l e y t s r o l e i n t h e Cardwell refor ias , and by t h o s e o f f i c e r s

s e n i o r t o WoLseley who f e l t t h a t t h e y should have had t h e comand ,

b u t a l s o by t h e 'Old. Afr ica Hands' who had begun t o condemn t h e

v e r y though t of u s ing European t r o o p s on t h e Gold Coast when t h e

format ion of a Gold Coast e x p e d i t i o n was f irst rumoured. However,

t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of younger o f f i c e r s i n t h e army and much of t h e

g e n e r a l p u b l i c approved of t h e appointment. l2 Wolseley himself

c a r e d l i t t l e f o r what anyoce though t , however, and once he had

r e c e i v e d h i s ir.structions, l3 he immediately began making p repa ra -

t i o n s f o r t h e execu t ion o f h i s p lan .

The implementat ion of h i s r e v i s e d p l an r e q u i r e d t h a t S i r

Garnet g a t h e r around h imse l f an a b l e s t a f f f o r on ly d e d i c a t e d ,

e n e r g e t i c and competent s t a f f - o f f i c e r s could hope t o c a r r y o u t

t h e d i f f i c u l t d u t i e s which l a y ahead. He was l i m i t e d t o s e l e c t -

i n g t h i r t y - s i x s t a f f and s p e c i a l s e r v i c e o f f i c e r s from t h e moye

than two hundred v o l u n t e e r s who answered h i s c a l l . Rever t l i e lese ,

when h i s s e l e c t i o n was complete , he had assembled what Alan Lloyd

d e s c r i b e s as a 'Iremarkable c l i q u e of young e n t h u s i a s t s T 1 conpr i s -

i n g an "odd mix ture of u n t r i e d s taff t h e o r i s t s and proven d e r r i n g -

d o e r s , u n i t e d t o a man i n t h e i r devot ion t o Volse ley and t h e 'mod-

e r n t m i l i t a r y school11, l4 Thi s group was s c o r n f u l l y dubbed t h e

' l ~ o l s e l c y Ring' o r t h e 'Ashant i RingT by t h e s k e p t i c s and, t o

some degree t h i s skept;icisri was t o prove j u s t i f i e d bu t t h e mem-

b e r s of "Ring" sti l l . were a b l e , and i n some few c a s e s , b r i l l i a n t

men. 15

With h i s s taff s e l e c t e d and r a p i d l y assembling, Wolseley

t u r n e d t o t h e t a s k of complet ing t h e d e t a i l e d p lanning f o r t h e

coming o p e r a t i o n s , l6 With in t h r e e weeks t h e p lanning job had

been completed and on t h e 1 2 t h of September, 1873, S i r Garnet and

his staff boarded t h e s teamer "Arnbriz" and depa r t ed f o r t h e Gold

Coast i n what one obse rve r desc r ibed as a "hol iday moodv. l7 The

t r i p was no h o l i d a y , however, f o r t h e General had made p l a n s t o

use t h e s e a voyage t o good e f f e c t by conduct ing an i n - t r a n s i t

t r a i n i n g s c h o o l f o r h i s s taff .

He brought dozens of books on t h e h i s t o r y and geography

of West A f r i c a f o r t h e u se of t h e s t a f f and Captain Kaur ice he lp -

ed i n t h e s e a r c h f o r knowledge by making a compendium o f t h e var -

i o u s works. These were d i s t r i b u t e d among t h e members o f t h e

s t a f f , a l o n g w i t h a t a b l e o f adv ice on h e a l t h w r i t t e n by t h e

c h i e f medical o f f i c e r and each day Cap ta ins Huyshe and Bracken-

bury pu t t h e i r n o t e s i n shape and l e c t u r e d t h e o f f i c e r s on t r i b e s

and t e r r a i n . 18

S i r Garnet u t i l i z e d h i s own t ime a t s e a t o f i n a l i z e h i s

g e n e r a l p l a n f o r t h e call~paign. He viewed t h e o p e r a t i o n a s break-

ing down i n t o two phases : ( 1 ) what was t o be accomplished b e f o r e

t h e Europeac t r o o p s a r r i v e d ; ( 2 ) what was t o be done once t h e

European t r o o p s had been concen t r a t ed a t Prasu . Commenting on

t h e f i rs t of t h e s e phases , he wrote:

Number one d i v i d e d i t s e l f i n t o two ob- j e c t i v e s which must be accomplished be- f o r e number two could be begun; t h e y were as f o l 1 . 0 ~ ~ : -

( a ) To c l e a r o u t t h e Ashantees from t h e p r o t e c t o r a t e wi th what- e v e r n a t i v e t r o o p s I could r a i se ;

( b ) The c o n s t r u c t i o n of a road f rom Cape Coast t o Prahsu---a d i s t a n c e s a i d t o be s even ty - f ive miles--and t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f good s h e l t e r f o r t h e whi te t r o o p s a t h e s e l e c t e d h a l t i n g - p l a c e s . 18

Obviously one of t h e major t a s k s f a c i n g t h e General and

h i s s taff would be t h e r ec ru i tmen t of Afr ican t r o o p s . A f t e r

it would be b e s t t o avoid r e l y i n g t o o h e a v i l y on t h e F a n t i s and

t h e o t h e r C o a s t a l t r i b e s as a source of manpower, Accordingly,

a comprehensive plan was devised f o r t h e a c q u i s i t i o n of r e c r u i t s

from o t h e r p o i n t s i n Ves t A f r i c a ; r e c r u i t s who would be f a r t h e r

f rom t h e i r homes and whom S i r Garnet t h e r e f o r e b e l i e v e d would be

l e s s l i k e l y t o d e s e r t t h e i r p o s t s . 20

Although t h i s p lan was o f ques t ionab le m e r i t , it was be-

gun immediately upon t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e vAmbr*izv a t S i e r r a Leone

on t h e 27 th of September. Capta in Furse a n d L ieu tenan t Saumders

were s e n t by boa t n o r t h t o t h e Gambia t o e n l i s t f i g h t i n g men from

among t h e Noslern t r i b e s t h e r e . L i eu t enan t Gordon of t h e 93rd

Highlanders remained behind i n Freetown i n an e f f o r t t o r e c r u i t

v o l u n t e e r s , e s p e c i a l l y pens ione r s from t h e Ves t I n d i a regiments . 21

It was a l s o hoped t o e n l i s t men from t h e w a r l i k e Kossoo (14ende)

t r i b e a t Sherboro where M r . Loggie , who was by t h i s time s t a t i o n -

ed a t Sherboro as t h e c o l l e c t o r o f customs, was p re s sed i n t o s e r v -

i c e as t h e r e c r u i t i n g agent . It was in tended t h a t t h e s e n a t i v e

l e v i e s from t h e Gambia, S i e r r a Leone and t h e Sherboro would u l t i -

ma te ly form two reg iments which were t o be corxnanded by L i e u t e r -

ant-Colonel Wood, V .C . , and Major Baker Russe l l . 22

Aside from t h e s e r e c r u i t i n g e f f o r t s , s e v e r a l o t h e r s t e p s

were t a k e n t o b u i l d up t h e f o r c e , Arrangements were made wi th

Capta in ~ t r a c h a n , R . N . , t h e Admin i s t r a to r o f Lagos, who was ther.

i n S i e r r a Leone, f o r t h e t , rans fe r o f 150 Hausas t o t h e Gold Coast

i n exchange f o r h a l f t h a t number of men from t h e 2!.tIit. I n addi -

t i o n , EIa j o r Home, t h e Co!manding Royal Engineer ( C R E ) , succeeded

i n o b t a i n i n g a body o f 33 c a r p e n t e r s and nzsons and 20 l a b o u r e r s

i n S i e r r a Leone, A t t h e same tirim he had a s c e r t a i n e d t h a t more

a r t i f i c e r s could be ob ta ined a t Accra s o it was dec ided t h a t

L i e u t e n a n t Eol.ton, l.!'.IIH, would proceed t o Accra immediately upon

t h e a r r i v a l of t h e An1bri.z a t Cape Coast w i th a view t o h i r i n g

more of t h e bad ly needed c a r p e n t e r s a ~ d masons t h e r e . It was

a l s o decided t h a t he would c o ~ t i n u e on t o Vinneba and t h e r e a t -

tempt t o e n l i s t more f i g h t i n g men f o r use i n e i t h e r R u s s e l l ~ s

o r Wood's regirrlents. The f i n a l recruit in^; rnissicr, was c a r r i e d

o u t a f t e r t h e Ambriz s a i l e d from S i e r r a L e o ~ e when Comclissary

OtConner was landed a t Cape Palmas wi th i n s t r u c t i o n s t o e n l i s t

Krumen, whose r epu ta t io r ! a s wi l . l i ng workers caused Wolseley t o

b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y would be a v a l u a b l e a c q u i s i t i o n a s c a r r i e r s . 23

Once OtConner had been s e t a s h o r e , t h e Ambriz s a i l e d d i -

r e c t l y t o Cape Coast and e a r l y on t h e morning of t h e 2nd of Oc-

t o b e r , she dropped anchor i n t h e Cape Coa.st Roads. 24 S i r Garnet

and t h e mernbers of h i s s t a f f had l o s t none o f t h e i r enthusiasm

d u r i n g t h e i r uncomfortable voyage and Brac1:enbury comments t h a t

f a r from be ing depressed by t h e d i smal a s p e c t p re sen ted by t h e

town, a l l and sundry viewed it a s " the Land of Promisev. 25 in

keeping w i t h t h e t r a d i t i o n s of t h e Gold Coast , t h i s enthusiasm

was put t o t h e t e s t a lmost i m ~ e d i a t e l y , Fii thin h o u r s of t h e i r

a r r i v a l , t h o General a ~ d h i s s t a f f were q u i c k l y made airare o f t h e

f a c t t h a t n e a t l y designed p l a ~ s conceived i n London by men igno-

r a n t of t h e c o n d i t i o n s of l i f e on t h e Gold Coast were o f t e n knock-

ed awry when t h e i r execut ion was a t tempted . .

For example, S i r Garnet had c o m t e d h e a v i l y on f i n d i n g a t

h i s command some 300 t r a i n e d and d i s c i p l i n e d Hausas, armed w i t h

S n i d e r r i f l e s . To h i s chag r in , he found t h a t Colonel Har ley had . a l lowed Captain Glover t o t a k e a l l of them away t o Accra f o r em-

ployment i n h i s expedi t ion .26 The r e s u l t of t h i s was t h a t t h e

o n l y r e l i a b l e t r o o p s r e n a i n i n g i n t h e neighbourkood of t h e main

camp o f t h e Asante army, were s e v e r a l smal l detachments o f t h e

a ? I R . What w a s worse , evcn the small complement o f 2XIR t r o o p s

s t i l l a v a i l a b l e was f u r t h e r reduced by t h e need t o p o s t f i f t y

men t o Lagos i n keeping w i t h t h e agreement w i th Captain S t rachan .

When one deducted t h e Lagos con t ingen t and t h e g a r r i s o n s o f S i e r -

ra Leone, A x i m , Dixcove, and Secondee, t h e numerous s i c k , and t h e

men a b s o l u t e l y r e q u i r e d f o r g a r r i s o n d u t i e s and n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r

t h e f i e l d , t h e e n t i r e f o r c e which could be deployed a t Elrnina,

Cape Coast Castle, Beulah and Napoleon was under 400 s t r o n g . 27

Th i s s h o r t a g e of o the r - r anks m s exceeded on ly by t h a t o f o f f i -

c e r s . S i r Garne t had a l r e a d y s e n t back t o England f o r an addi -

t i o n a l twelve s p e c i a l - s e r v i c e o f f i c e r s when he was i n Freetown

b u t he had a l s o counted on us ing some of t h e o f f i c e r s a l r e a d y a t

t h e Coast f o r s p e c i a l duty . Upon h i s a r r i v a l a t Cape Coast, how-

e v e r , he found o n l y t l l i r t e e n o f f i c e r s a v a i l a b l e f o r s e r v i c e w i t h

t h e 2WIR and as that, number was no t even s u f f i c i e n t f o r normal

requi rements , he dashed o f f y e t a n o t h e r u rgen t demand suppor t ing

h i s Freetown r e q u e s t and a s k i n g t h a t it be g r a n t e d w i t h a l l spe-

ed. 28

T h i s was a l l a s e r i o u s blow t o S i r Garne t ' s p l a n s as h e

had been coun t ing h e a v i l y on t h e Hausas, t h e West I n d i a n s and t h e

l o c a l B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s t o a c t a s a nuc leus around which t o form

h i s Af r i can l e v i e s . Under t h e s e c i rcumstances , it was f o r t u n a t e

t h a t t h e Genera l had t h e suppor t o f Captain Fremantle and t h e

n a v a l squadron even though t h e c a p t a i n ' s freedom of a c t i o n was

s e v e r e l y l i m i t e d by t h e * i n s t r u c t i o n s l e f t behind by Cormodore

Commerell. The Commodore had had l i t t l e l o v e f o r Colonel Harley

and h e had l e f t s p e c i f i c i n s t r u c t i o n s t h a t u n l e s s Captain Fre-

mant le should r e c e i v e s p e c i a l o r d e r s from t h e Admiral ty , no o f -

f i c e r s o r men were t o be landed f o r s e r v i c e on t h e c o a s t , no r

were t hey t o proceed up any r i v e r s u n l e s s a b s o l u t e l y neces sa ry

f o r t h e protect j .on of B r i t i s h l i f e and p r o p e r t y * 29 Never the l e s s ,

Cap ta in Frernantle promised h i s f u l l e s t suppor t t o S i r Garnet w i th -

i n t h e scope of h i s powers. A s a r e s u l t , t h e Gene ra l ' s de spa t ch

of' t h e 1 0 t h of October conta ined t h e comment t h a t he b e l i e v e d

t h a t n o t on ly might ape Coast C a s t l e be p r o t e c t e d , b u t t h a t any

enemy att;ack could be " repulsed wi th much m a t e r i a l l o s s t o t h e

enemy and c o n s i d e r a b l e rmra l b e n e f i t t o t h e B r i t i s h and t h e i r

Af r i can a l l i e s t t . 3 O of course i n making t h i s s ta tement he was

reanonably s a f e as Colonel Harley had a l r e a d y proven t h a t t h e ex-

i s t i n g f o r c e was capable of meeting and r e p u l s i n g a reasonably

s t r o n g enemy a t t a c k on Elmina.

The l a c k of t h a t v i t a l ' s t i f f e n i n g ' which S i r Garnet k n e ~

t h e Hausas, t h e 2WIR t r o o p s and t h e i r o f f i c e r s would have provided

f o r t h e p r o j e c t e d Afr ican l e v i e s proved t o be only one o f t h e

problems which he found a w a i t i n g him. Somewhat t o t h e i r s u r p r i s e ,

t h e s t a f f d i s cove red a g r e a t sho r t age of t h e s u p p l i e s and arms

n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e equ ipp ing of t h e lev ies - - should t h e A f r i c a n s en-

l i s t i n any numbers. Although q u a n t i t i e s of camp s u p p l i e s and

r e l a t i v e l y soph j . s t i ca t ed weapons had begun a r r i v i n g as e a r l y a s

August, and a l t hough S i r Garne t ' s own s t o r e s were e n r o u t e , t h e

q u a n t i t i e s of r i f l e s , anmunit ion and b a s i c accou te rnen t s n o r ~ n a l l y

i s s u e d t o t h e Af r i cans were s t i l l no t i n s t o r e s . I n h i s r e p o r t

of t h e 4 t h of October , t h e Deputy-Controller s t a t e d t h a t t h e r e

were on ly n i n e t e e n Sn ide r r i f l e s i n t h e i m p e r i a l s t o r e s and 400

E n f i e l d r i f l e s i n t h e c o l o n i a l s t o r e s , t o g e t h e r w i th a few Dutch

r i f l e s f o r which t h e r e was no ain~nunition. P o s s i b l y ever. more

i m p o r t a n t , however, he e s t i m a t e d t h a t h i s r e s e r v e of r a t i o n s was

o n l y equa l t o f o u r days ' i s s u e f o r t h e f o r c e of r e g u l a r t r o o p s

on t h e c o a s t . 31

F o r t u n a t e l y f o r S i r Garnet , he was n o t d e s t i n e d t o oper-

a t e under t h e heavy r e s t r i c t i o n s which had b e j e v i l l e d Colonel

Har ley , and he was t h u s a b l e t o rdove qu ick ly t o coun te r many o f

t h e s e p r o b l e ~ o s ; something t h e former Adminis t ra tor could n o t do.

The General had v i r t u a l l y u n r e s t r i c t e d a c c e s s t o t h e f u l l r e -

s o u r c e s of a now thoroughly aroused B r i t i s h Government and a s a

f i rs t s t e p t o w r d s o l v i n g t h e immediate problems, a p p l i c a t i o n

was immediately made by way o f Idadeira f o r 500,000 pounds of

s a l t beef i n small packages i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e q u a n t i t y o r i g i n a l -

l y i nden ted f o r whi le t h e s taff was s t i l l i n England. Pending

t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e s u p p l i e s a l r e a d y a t s e a , s a l t meat and b i s c u i t s

were ob ta ined from t h e ships-of-war i n p o r t . With t h e food prob-

lem t h u s a p p a r e n t l y coming under c o n t r o l , t h e General t u rned t o

t h e quest ion of weapons. I n a b i t of high-handed ch icanery , he

s imply d e t a i n e d t h e s t o r e - s h i p "Gert rudev, which a r r i v e d a t Cape

Coast on t h e 6 t h of October c a r r y i n g s u p p l i e s f o r Captain Glover,

and removed 300 S n i d e r r i f l e s t o r e p l a c e t h o s e which had been

t aken away w i t h t h e Hausas p rev ious ly panyared by Glover. 32

While a t t e m p t i n g t o d e a l w i t h t h e s e s h o r t a g e s i n s u p p l i e s ,

equipment and d i s c i p l i n e d t r o o p s , S i r Garnet a l s o proceeded t o

make t h e p r e p a r a t i o n s necessary f o r t h e execu t ion of t h e p l a n s

on o p e r a t i o n s , which he had forloulated i n London and on board t h e

"Ambrizft. On t h e 3 rd of October , t h e General o rdered work t o

begin immediat,ely on t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f adequa te beach-head fa-

c i l i t i e s a t Cape Coast and f o r a s t a r t t o be made on t h e survey

and improvelIlent of %he Cape c o a s t / ~ r a s u road.33 T h i s a c t i o n was

t a k e n even before any a t t e m p t s were made t o r a i s e an Af r i can army

i n t,lle t P r o t e c t o r a t e t because u n l i k e t h e t a s k of r a i s i n g Afr ican

l e v i e s , t h i s problerfi was a r e l a t i v e l y simple and s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d

m a t t e r o f m i l i t a r y l o g i s t i c s and because S i r Garnet a l r e a d y had

s u f f i c i e n t s t a f f - o f f i c e r s and s k i l l e d tradesmen t o s t a r t work

on t h e p r o j e c t w i thou t i nvo lv ing an appea l t o k t h e Afr ican l e a d e r s

f o r a s s i s t a n c e .

The major problem o f o f f - load ing and s t o r a g e f a c i l i t i e s

was t h e f i rs t t a s k t o engage the a t t e n t i o n o f t h e s taf f because

c o n s i d e r a b l e work was r e q u i r e d be fo re Cape Coast would be capab le

of s u p p o r t i n g t h e p r o j e c t e d invas ion . One d i f f i c u l t y l a y i n t h e

l a n d i n g and s t o r a g e of s u p p l i e s and s t o r e s . The s h i p s a r r i v i n g

from England had t o l i e n e a r l y a mile from t h e sho re and every-

t h i n g had t o be landed i n su r f -boa t s which were s u p p l i e d a t i n -

f l a t e d p r i c e s by l o c a l c o n t r a c t o r s . It was t h e r e f o r e dec ided t o

e s t a b l i s h a b o a t - s e r v i c e which was independent of c o n t r a c t and

w i t h i n t w o weeks such a s e r v i c e was i n ope ra t ion . There was al .sc

a great s h o r t a g e of s t o r a g e space and cons ide rab le confusion i n

t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e e x i s t i n g s t o r e s due t o t h e c o n s t a n t chang-

i n g o f c o n t r o l o f f i c e r s . 34 To overcome t h i s , t he e n g i n e e r s inune-

d i a t e l y began t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f proper s t o r a g e sheds and by t h e

7 t h of October , t h r e e l a r g e double h u t s were a l r e a d y completed

and i n use. Thi s a d d i t i o n a l accommodation and t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t

of a f u l l - f ledgod c o n t r o l departnlent qu i ck ly so lved bo th prob-

lems. 35

Off-loading and s t o r a g e f a c i l i t i e s were only p a r t of t h e

P i c t u r e , however. Adequate t r a n s p o r t and communications were

a l s o v i t a l t o t h z o p e r a t i o n , I n i t i a l l y , t r a n s p o r t was n o t a sz -

r i o u s problem as a co rps o f some 600 n a t i v e c a r r i e r s had a l r e a d y

been e s t a b l i s h e d , Even s o , s t e p s were taken t o improve t h e o r -

g a n i z a t i o n o f t h i s body ar.d p l a n s were made f o r i t s augmentation

by assigning t o it t h o s e Krurnen r e c r u i t e d a t Cape Palmas, 36 The

s i t u a t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o cornrnunications was no t s o encouraging.

A s w i f t and r e l i a b l e means of co:lmunicatj.on s i n p l y d i d n o t e x i s t

w i t h i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e T . The s t a f f a t t empted t o c o r r e c t t h i s

d e f i c i e n c y by e s t a b l i s h i n g a system o f p o s t a l communication wi th

t h e v a r i o u s o u t p o s t s . A l i n e o f po l i ce - runne r s was formed and a

headqua r t e r m i l i t a r y p o s t - o f f i c e e s t a b l i s h e d a t Cape Coast . R u n -

n e r s were pos ted a t t h e d i f f e r e n t s t a t i o n s , and a t about s i x mi l e

i n t e r v a l s on t h e s e c u r e p o r t i o n o f t h e Cape coast./" r r a s u road ,

A s s i s t a n t p c s t m a s t e r s were appoin ted a t t h e r~la jor o u t p o s t s w i t h

o r d e r s t o r e p o r t d a i l y t o h e a d q u a r t e r s , ( T i n e - s l i p s ' were g iven

t o each runne r , cn which t h e hours o f d e p a r t u r e and a r r i v a l a t

each p l ace were n o t e d by t h e pos tmas t e r ; and f i n e s were i n s t i t u t e d

t o i n s u r e r e g u l a r i t y i n t h e t r a n s i t of l e t t e r s . 37 U n f o r t u m t e l y ,

a l t hough t h i s system vas reasonably e f f e c t i v e , it was neve r expand-

ed t o p rov ide adequa te cornnlunications a s t h e a r e a o f o p e r a t i o n s

s o u t h of t h e Pra s lowly i n c r e a s e d i n s i z e ,

F i n a l l y , i n t h e f a c e o f t h e p e r s i s t e n t rumours of a f o r t h -

coming Asante s t e p s had t o be taken t o i n s u r e t h e secu--

r i t y of Cape Coast and i t s e n v i r o n s , L ieu tenant -Colone l F e s t i n g

was p laced in'cornmand of the t r o o p s a t Cape Coast and was charged

w i t h r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e defence of Cape Coast and i t s imme-

d i a t e env i rons . By t h e 5 t h o f October , he had prepared a c m p r e -

hens ive and d e t a i l e d p l an of defence which made t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e

u se n o t c n l y o f t h e weap0n.s and t r o o p s inm1ediatel.y a t hand bu t

a l s o of t h e s a i l o r s , marines , guns and r o c k e t s o f t h e f l e e t an-

chored i n t h e Cape Coast ~ o a d s . ~ ~ The p l an was never put t o t h e

t e s t bu t i t s cunning use of s h e l t e r - t r e n c h e s and t h e f i r e p o w r

of t h e guns, r o c k e t s and S n i d e r s g i v e one eve ry i n d i c a t i o n t h a t

any Asante a t t a c k would have r e s u l t e d i n a bloody r e p u l s e .

With t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e suppor t a r e a t h u s growing and

s e c u r e , t h e s taff devoted more o f i t s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e v i t a l

q u e s t i o n of t h e proposed ,m in supply r o u t e ( M S R ) f o r t h e inva-

s i o n , t h e Cape ~ o a s t / ~ r a s u road. The road had long been an es -

t a b l i s h e d t r a d e r o u t e from t h e i n t e r i o r and even be fo re S i r

G a r n e t ' s a r r i v a l , L i e u t e n a n t Gordon and h i s Hausas had done much

t o improve it as fa r as Yankumasi F a n t i , a d i s t a n c e of some twen-

t y m i l e s . Indeed , L i e u t e n a n t Gordon s u b a i t t e d a most o p t i m i s t i c

a p p r a i s a l o f h i s achievcrnents i n t h i s respec tLto bu t Capta in Huy-

s h e , t h e Deputy A s s i s t a n t Quar te rmas te r -Genera l on t h e s t a f f , c a r -

r i e d o u t h i s own i n s p e c t i o n o f t h e road on t h e 8 t h and 9 t h o f

October .

H i s r oad - r epo r t i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e road-naking c a r r i e d

o u t s o f a r had c o n s i s t e d on ly o f c l e a r i n g t h e pa th t o a cons id-

e r a b l e w id th . . He cornmer,ted t h a t a s S i r Garnet cons idered i t v e r y

impor t an t t h a t t h e t r o o p s should rrlarch dry-shod and wi th t h e

l e a s t p o s s i b l e f a t i g u e t o t h e P r a , much work remained t o be done. 41

The t a s k of b u i l d i n g such a road f e l l t o Major Home, t h e CRE, and

t h e s m a l l detachment o f Royal Engineers under h i s command. T h e i r

job was n o t t o be an easy one f o r i t was in tended t o make t h e

road as n e a r l y d r y as p o s s i b l e , twelve f e e t wide, and c l e a r o f

stumps and r o o t s . T h i s meant t h a t i n a d d i t i o n t o normal c l e a r i n g ,

swamps had t o be e i t h e r d ra ined o r avo ided , o r causeways had t o

be b u i l t th rough them, whi le c u l v e r t s had t o be made where neces-

s a r y and a l l s t r eams had t o be br idged.

The o r d e r s r e c e i v e d by Major Home on t h e 4 t h of Oc%oSer

d i r e c t e d him t o i np rove t h e e x i s t i n g road and ex tend it as f a r

as p o s s i b l e t o t h e Pra . However, it was n o t u n t i l t h e a r r i v a l

o f a small detachment of t h r e e o f f i c e r s , one s e r g e a n t and f i v e

s a p p e r s o f t h e Royal Eng inee r s on t h e 1 0 t h o f October t h a t work

could a c t u a l l y beg in . The CRE broke h i s small group o f e x p e r t s

i n t o f o u r s p e c i a l i z e d p a r t i e s and a l l o t t e d t o them a l l of t h e

Af r i can l a b o u r e r s he was a b l e t o g e t . 42 However, t h o l a c k o f

s k i l l e d l a b o u r and t h e c o n s t a n t t h r e a t o f an Asante ambush slowed

t h e work down c o ~ s i d e r a b l y . I n f a c t , it was due s o l e l y t o t h e

i n i t i a l . work done by L ieu tenan t Gordon t h a t t h e CRE could r e p o r t

on t h e 1 5 t h o f October t h a t he had reached Yankumasi F a n t i and

t h a t t h e road t o t h a t p l a c e , w i t h t h e excep t ion of a f o u r rnile

s e g n e n t immediately s o u t h of Assayboo, was c l e a r e d t o a width o f

some f i f t e e n f e e t , and was pas sab le f o r t r o o p s marching i n forcla-

t i o n . 43 Even s o , it was becoming obvious by t h e end of October

t h a t t h e road work was n o t proceeding as r a p i d l y a s it should.

However, S i r Garnet was by t h a t t ime f u l l y i m e r s e d i n h i s opera-

t i o n s and t h e 1ogis t ; ics prob1e:ns t iere l e f t l a r g e l y i n z b e y a ~ c e .

T h i s was soon proved t o have been a major e r r o r on t h e Genera l ' s

p a r t . . As t h e s e p r e p a r a t o r y measures were be ing t a k e n by t h e

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e and Quar te rmas te r b ranches of t h e s t a f f , t h e

General and h i s o p e r a t i o n s pe r sonne l were busy on o t h e r m a t t e r s .

Immediately upon having a s s u r e d h imse l f t h a t adequa te s t e p s had

been t a k e n f o r t h e s t a r t of t h e development and p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e

beachhead and t h e MSR, S i r Garnet t u r n e d t o t h e c o l l e c t i o n and

o r g a n i z a t i o n of a f o r c e o f A f r i c a n s which were t o be d r a m from

t h e F a n t i s and t h e o t h e r c o a s t a l t r i b e s . On t h e 4 t h o f October ,

a f u l l - d r e s s ' p a l a v e r ' was h e l d on t h e grounds o f Govermnent

House and Wolseley add res sed t h e assembled k i n g s and c h i e f s i n an

a t t e m p t t o s t ir t h e n i n t o p rov id ing men f o r t h e coming s t r u g g l e .

C l a r i d g e comnlents t h a t :

S i r Garne t , be ing bound by h i s i n - s t r u c t i o n s , had once more t o r e p e a t t h e o l d r i d i c u l o u s a s s e r t i o n t h a t t h e war was a p u r e l y n a t i v e w a r and n o t Her I4aj- e s t y v s , b u t p r ~ ~ n i s e d t h a t , i f t h e people would only e x e r t themse lves , t h e y could be g iven every p o s s i b l e a s s i s t a n c e a g a i n s t t h e enemy. . . . (Concre te o f f e r s of as- s i s t a n c e were made and ) t h e C h i e f s r e t i r - ed t o c o n s u l t t o g e t h e r , p ror i i s ing t o r e -

t u r n w i t h t h e i r answer on t h e 6 t h . . . when t h e y r e t u r n e d on t h e b t h , . . . one and a l l exp res sed t h e i r w i l l i n g n e s s t o c o l l e c t t h e i r men i f t h e y were g iven E n g l i s h o f - f i c e r s t o accompany and assist them. They were i n no g r e a t h u r r y t o s t a r t , however, even a f t e r t h e i r r e q u e s t had been grarl ted. L e t t e r s were a l s o s e n t t o t h o s e Kings who had no t a t t e n d e d t h e m e t i n g suimoning them t o c o l l e c t t h e i r men and march t o Dunkwa, vhe re t h e o t h e r con t in e n t s had been o r d e r - ed t o assemble .4 t

The r e a s o n s f o r t h i s f a r from e n t h u s i a s t i c response t o

y e t a n o t h e r B r i t i s h c a l l t o a r m a r e n o t hard t o f i ~ d . I n t h e

f i r s t p l a c e , t h e s e A f r i c a n s had saen similar ap;:eals and prom-

i s e s cone t o no th ing and they had no proof t h a t t h i n g s would be $

d i f f e r e n t on t h i s occas ion . I n f a c t , i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r war,

which t h e y f e l t had been caused by t h e B r i t i s h a c q u i s i t i o n of

E l n i n a and not by t h e n , 4 5 and i n which t h e y had s o f a r borne t h e

b r u n t of t h e f i g h t i n g , B r i t i s h suppor t had been even more f e e b l e

t h a n it had a t any p rev ious tinie. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e i r u t t e r de-

f e a t a t Jukwa and t h e t e r r i b l e p r i v a t i o n s which t h e y s u f f e r e d i n

t h e wake of t h a t d e f e a t were s t i l l f r e s h i n t h e i r minds. Therc-

f o r e t h e F a n t i were unders tandably r e l u c t a n t t o once nore engage

an enemy whom t h e y had every r ea son t o b e l i e v e was s t i l l capable

o f d e v a s t a t i n g r e t a l i a t i o n should t h e y have t h e t e m e r i t y t o a t t a c k

him. F i n a l l y , t h e y f e l t t h a t no such c o n f r o n t a t i o n was n e c e s s a r y

because t h e war was a c t u a l l y over . They knew t h a t Anankwa Tia

had ceased a l l major o f f e n s i v e o p e r a t i o n s and was only a w a i t i n g

t h e Asantehene 's permiss ion t o withdraw t o Kumasi. 46 They t h e r e -

f o r e had no d e s i r e t o f o r c e a b a t t l e when a l l t hey had t o do was

l e a v e t h e enemy a l o n e and he would e v e n t u a l l y l eave . The B r i t i s h

d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o engage t h e enemy w i t h a view t o t e a c h i n g him

such a l e s s o n t h a t he would never aga in be tempted t o invade t h e

' P r o t e c t o r a t e f sim?ly had no v a l i d i t y i n t h e i r minds,

S i r Garne t , who was aware of t h i s a t t i t u d e and who had

r e a l l y ' d o n e no th ing new t o change i t , s t a t e d i n h i s despa tch of

t h e 9 t h of October t h a t i n view o f p a s t B r i t i s h per forn~ance it

was s c a r c e l y t o be expec ted t h a t w i thou t something more than

mere v e r b a l a s s u r a n c e s ' ' the whole o f a much-dispersed and d i s p i r -

i t e d people w i l l suddenly come t o b e l i e v e i n o u r s e r i o u s i n t e g -

t i o n v i g o r o u s l y t o a i d thernu.47 The General b e l i e v e d i t neces-

s a r y f o r t h e B r i t i s h t o t a k e some form of e n e r g e t i c , o f f e n s i v e

a c t i o n i f t h e r e was t o be any hope o f encouraging t h e A f r i c m s

t o a c t wi th t h e speed t h a t was n e c e s s a r y i f t h e y were t o be of

any use i n t h e for thcoci ing o p e r a t i o n s . However, i n t h e l i g h t of

h i s c o n ~ ~ e n t s about t h e A f r i c a n s a t t h i s t ime and c o r s i d e r i n g h i s

s l o m e s s t o adopt aqy new o r more e f f e c t i v e means t o encourage

g r e a t e r F a n t i p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e war, one wonders i f t h i s was

t h e t r u e motive behind t h e Gene ra l ' s subsequent a c t i o n s , The

f a c t t h a t he s e r t f o r t h e European t r o o p s a f t e r t a k i n g on ly n i n e

days t o a s s e s s the Af r i can p o t e n t i a l - , l e a d s one t o t h e conc lus ion

t h a t he was r e a l l y more i n t e r e s t e d i n j u s t i f y i n g h i s r e q u e s t f o r

t h e r e l y l a r t r o o p s r a t h e r t h a n s t i r r i n g t h e Af r i cans i n t o a c t i o ~ ,

N e v e r t h e l e s s , d e s p i t e h i s t r u e mot ives , s t e p s were immediately

t aken t o advert ; isc a more a g g r e s s i v e B r i t i s h s p i r i t .

A s a n e c e s s a r y p re l imina ry s t e p t o any o f f e n s i v e move on

h i s p a r t , S i r Garnet s e t about s t r e n g t h e n i n g h i s i n t e l l i g e n c e

s e r v i c e . He c r e a t e d a s m a l l i n t e l l i g e n c e o f f i c e w i th in h i s s t a f f ,

r e i n f o r c e d t h e e x i s t i n g o u t p o s t s a t Abbaye and Napoleon and ES-

t a b l i s h e d now o u t p o s t s a l o n g the Cape ~ o a s t / ~ r a s u road. Unfor-

t u n a t e l y , however, he d i d n o t h i n g t o e s t a b l i s h a p r o p e r p a t r o l

system. N e v e r t h e l e s s , by t h e 8 t h o f October , t h e t o t a l number

o f o u t p o s t s t h u s f a r e s t a b l i s h e d were as fo l lows : Abbaye w i t h a

detachment of two o f f i c e r s , 100 o the r - r anks of t h e 2'iIR, end

125 Gold Coast Riflemen; Napoleon, w i t h one o f f i c e r and 48 o t h e r -

r a n k s o f t h e 2i:IR; Accrofu l , w i t h one o f f i c e r and 1+9 o the r - r anks

o f t h e 21!IR ; Dunkwa, w i t h one o f f i c e r and 20 Hausas and Yankumasi

F a n t i , w i t h one o f f i c e r , 15 Hausas and 35 Gold Coast Riflemen. 48

I n t h i s way a s e l n i c i r c l e of what could be d e s c r i b e d as p a t r o l

b a s e s l a y between t h e Asantes and t h e Coss t and t h e sou the rn por-

t i o n o f t h e Cape ~ o a s t / ~ r a s u road , bu t e f f e c t i v e p a t r o l l i n g was

neve r conducted from them.

When combined wi th t h e v a r i c u s s t e p s t a k e n t o defend El-

mina and Cape Coas t , t h i s cordon of o u t p o s t s completed t h e prep-

a r a t i o n of a r ea sonab ly adequa te de fens ive system. C e r t a i n l y

t h e r e was l i t t l e doubt i n anyone ' s mind t h a t any f o r t i f i e d pos t

h e l d by d i s c i p l i n e d t r o o p s armed w i t h breech- load ing r i f l e s

cou ld w i t h s t a n d an Asante a t t a c k f o r an i n d e f i n i t e t i n e . How-

e v e r , no s t e p s had been taken wi th regard t o o f f e n s i v e o p e r a t i o n s

o t h e r t h a n t h e a t t e m p t s t o c o l l e c t men and t h e advance o f p a r t i e s

a long t h e main road as f a r a s Yankurilasi F a n t i i n o r d e r t o t h r e a t -

en i n d i r e c t l y t h e l i n e o f com~!unicat ions between Amanha T ia t s

army a t Jukwa and Prasu .

S i r Garnet r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e e s t ab l i shmen t o f o u t p o s t s

and a t t en lp t s t o once more rouse t h e Af r i cans should no t be t h e

l i m i t o f B r i t i s h a g g r e s s i v e a c t i o n , F o r two v e r y good r ea sons ,

he rnade up h i s rnind t o f o r c e an encounte r w i t h t h e enemy. I n t h e

f i rs t c a s e , he had cone t o Africa a l r e a d y convinced t h a t on ly

B r i t i s h t r o o p s could e f f e c t i v e l y f i n i s h t h e war. He was t h e r e -

f o r e most anx ious t o conduct an e a r l y t e s t of t h e n e g a t i v e opin-

i o n he had a l r e a d y formed as t o t h e combat c a p a b i l i t i e s of t h e

t r o o p s which were t o be r a i s e d by t h e k i n g s and c h i e f s o f t h e

' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' s o t h a t B r i t i s h t r o o p s could be asked f o r a t t h e

e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e moment, Secondly, he r e a l i z e d t h a t Af r i can

morale was a t a dangerous ly low l e v e l and t h a t some s u c c e s s was

needed t o reawaken t h e i r conf idence i n t h e B r i t i s h and t h u s en-

courage them t o answer h i s c a l l f o r a s s i s t a n c e . 49

The Elrnina a r e a was s e l e c t e d a s t h e s i t e most s u i t a b l e

f o r an encounte r o f t h e t y p e envisaged by S i r Garne t , The Asantes

encamped a t Mampon and Efu tu were s t i l l drawing t h e i r s u p p l i e s

from t h e v i l l a g e s around Elmina and t h e v i l l a g e r s , e s p e c i a l l y t h e

people o f Ampeni, d e f i e d t h e B r i t i s h a t eve ry t u r n . I n f a c t ,

B r i t i s h c o n t r o l i n t h e r eg ion was s o tenuous t h a t p a r t i e s of

Asantes were a b l e t o approach w i t h i n a few m i l e s o f E l x i n a i t s e l f

and f i r e on t h e survey p a r t i e s engaged i n nmpping t h e a r e a . It;

was e s s e n t i a l t h a t s ~ m e t h i n g be done i f any semblance o f B r i t i s h

a u t h o r i t y and p r e s t i g e was t o be maintained.. The re fo re , by

s t r i k i n g a t t h e s e v i l l a g e s , t h e General f e l t t h a t he would be

a b l e t o ach ieve t h e t h r e e - f o l d aim o f i n s p i r i n g t h e t r ibesmen o f

t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e 1 , p a c i f y i n g t h e Elmina d i s t r i c t and caus ing

t h e Asantes " g e n e r a l l y t o f e e l t h a t a new s t a t e o f t h i n g s had

,, 50 a r i s e n . Even b e f o r e t h e o p e r a t i o n could be mounted, however, Sir

Garnet had a l r e a d y e l i m i n a t e d one of t h e r ea sons f o r c a r r y i n g i t .

o u t . On t h e 1 1 t h of October he r e v e a l e d t h e f a c t t h a t h i s a t -

t empt s t o r a i s e F a n t i l e v i e s were r e a l l y more sham t h a n r e a l i t y ,

f o r he dec ided t h a t he d i d n o t need t o t e s t t h e w a r l i k e capab i l -

i t i e s o f t h e tribesmen o f t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' . H i s p r e v i o u s l y

h e l d convicti .on as t o t h e va lue of Af r i can t r o o p s and what he had

seen and hea rd s i n c e h i s a r r i v a l had convinced him t h a t t h e y were

o f l i t t l e o r no use t o him. Accordingly, he r e so lved n o t t o g i v e

them a chance t o prove him wrong. A s a r e s u l t , he wrote t o t h e

C o l o n i a l and liar O f f i c e s on t h e 1 3 t h of October r e q u e s t i n g t h a t

t h e p r e v i o u s l y a l l o t t e d European t r o o p s be despatched t o t h e

Gold Coast. I n t h e s e despa t ches he claimed t h c t t h e r e was l i t t l e

o r no hope o f s e c u r i n g peace except by i n f l i c t i n g a s i c n a l d e f e a t

on t h e Asantes ; t h a t t h i s c e r t a i n l y c o u l d n o t be done wi thou t t h e

a s s i s t a n c e o f European t r o o p s ; t h a t t h e y would n o t be r e q u i r e d t o

s e r v e on t h e Coast du r ing t h e unhea l thy season ; t h a t eve ry th ing

would be prepared f o r t h e i r r e c e p t i o n be fo re t h e y a r r i v e d , and

t h a t t h e r i s k t o t h e i r h e a l t h would be f a r l e s s t h a n commonly

supposed, l o s s e s i n p rev ious under tak ings having been due mainly

t o causes t h a t would be e f f e c t i v e l y guarded a g a i n s t on t h i s oc-

ca s ion . 5 1

There was, of cou r se , no gua ran tee t h a t h i s r e q u e s t would

be g r a n t e d and even i f it were, t h e o t h e r mot ives g iven above

s t i l l made t h e Slmina a t t a c k neces sa ry . S i r Garnet was s t i l l r e -

so lved t o c l a a r t h e Ashantees from t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e w i th t h e a i d

o f whatever Af r i can t r o o p s he could r a i s e . To r a i s e t h e n e c e s s a r y

l e v i e s he s t i l l had t o do something t o b o l s t e r Afr ican morale and,

o f cou r se , t h e r e were s t i l l t h e q u e s t i o n s of t h e Asante presence

n e a r Elmina and t h e r e c a l c i t r a n c e of t h e t r ibesmen i n t h e Elmina

a r e a which had t o be d e a l t wi th . He t h e r e f o r e cont inued t o make

h i s b a t t l e p l a n s and by t h e morning of t h e 1 4 t h o f October a l l

was ready . Secrecy had been main ta ined u n t i l t h e v e r y l a s t mo-

rnent5* and t h e column of some 500 men which began t o move o u t o f

Elmina a t 5 :30 t h a t morning, ach ieved complete s u r p r i s e when it

descended u p o ~ t h e Asante detachmsnt q u a r t e r e d i n t h e v i l l a g e o f

Esaman n i n e t y minutes l a t e r . The ensu ing b a t t l e was v i o l e n t bu t

b r i e f and r e s u l t e d i n a cornplete v i c t o r y f o r t h e B r i t i s h . The

t r o o p s r e s t e d b r i e f l y and t h e n began a twenty-one n i l e t r e k

th rough t h e btish which r e s u l t e d i n t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e t h r e e

a d d i t i o n a l v i l l a g e s o f Ankwanda, Brenu Ankinim and Ampeni. The

r e t u r n of t h e t r o o p s t o Bln ina a t 8:OO F.I4., t h a t same day s i g -

n a l l e d t h e end of an a c t i o n which was f a r more impor tan t t h a n i t s

s i z e would l e a d one t o b e l i e v e . 5 3

O f prime importance was t h e e f f e c t i v e d i s r u p t i o ~ of a

major Asante source of supply. Not on ly had t h e a t t a c k depr ived

Amankva T ia of h i s main source o f s u p p l i e s on t h e coas t54 b u t it

had a l s o e f f e c t i v z l y d i ssuaded o the rwi se sympathet ic v i l l a g e r s

from o f f e r i n g any he lp . O f soalewhat l e s s importance i n t h e l i g h t

o f h i s p r i o r r e q u e s t f o r European t r o o p s , was t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

a c t i o n confirmed S i r Garnet i n many of h i s p rev ious ly h e l d opin-

i o n s as t o t h e q u a l i t y of t h e t r i b a l s o l d i e r s and supposedly

proved many o f h i s t h e o r i e s on t h e n a t u r e o f bush f i g h t i n g . P!ot

s u r p r i s i n g l y and somewhat conven ien t ly , as he had on ly Hausas and

2WIR under comnand, e v e r y t h i n g he observed convir?ced h i n of h i s

wisdom i n r e q u e s t i n g t h e European t r o o p s . For example, he found

t h a t " l i t t l e r e l i a n c e can be p l aced on even t h e b e s t n a t i v e t r o -

ops i n t h i s bush - f igh t ing , where it is imi:jossible t o keep them

under t h e irmnediate c o n t r o l of European o f f i c e r s v . He was a l s o

convinced t h a t "a small body o f v e r y h i g h l y d i s c i p l i n e d t r o o p s ,

w e l l s u p p l i e d wi th s e l e c t e d o f f i c e r s , would be o f f a r g r e a t e r

s e r v i c e f o r w a r f a r e i n t h i s coun t ry , t h a n a much l a r g e r number de-

" 55 But p o s s i b l y t a i l e d f o r s e r v i c e i n t h e o r d i n a r y t o u r of du ty .

sf even g r e a t e r h p o r t ; a c e :v2s t : ~ e r e a l i z a t i o n t k t Zuropan t r o -

ops had ca1-ried oct, n relc3tivt?.l.y der.landin;: l i i i sc ion dur-ing t h e

heigii i of t h e l e s s e r o f t h e two annua l r a i n y i:it:i b u t

few cases o f i l l n e s s o r eshausl; lon. 57

points, pnr t , ly because of subse;ut~nt e v e n t s , and p z r t l y because

Sir Garnet neve r e x p l o i t e d t h e s i t u a t i o n was t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

v i c t o r y r e s u l t e d i n soi:ie 1.h.i Led r e s t o r a t i o n of p u b l i c c o ~ i ' i d e 7 c e

a~aihy.5' p:ot sor;,ria-jni;li , sir Garnet d i d n o t see tilc prolii3:i

i n i s 1 , I n h i s v i e v , e -~er , tilough he had r e a l l y fou:;;!lt b u t

one sma l l a . c t i o n a ~ a i ~ s i ; sonieib~at l c s s then 1 , 0 0 3 eneai;. t r o c p s ,

he b e l i ~ v e c l t h a k t h e Esaxan ac.Lior! had c i v e n drar; int ic i)rc;cf t h a t

he not; or.l;i inte:i.ded t o attac:.: the Asantes i n the tush b ~ t , a l s o

tha t - he was ca*~able of bea t in2 t ham, and t h e lac:: of Af r i can 1-2-

spor.se V E ~ S t h e r e f ~ r e inexcusab le . Consaque!:tly, t h e F a n t i r e p u -

tatior, f o r cowai-dice and l . a z ines s b e c a m r:iore f i i - i d y roo t ed t h a n

eve r .

Unfor tuna t e ly , t h e r e c r u i t i n g i n t h e nc ighbour ing s e t t l e -

ments had been e q u a l l y unsucces s fu l . The on ly men ob ta ined were

66 from S i e r r a Leone, 120 Nende from t h e Sherbo, 100 men from t h e

Gambia, 53 Opobos, 1 0 4 Bonnys and 100 Krumen who were t o s e r v e as

c a r r i e r s only . S i r Garnet formed t h e s e men, t h e Cape Coast Vol-

u n t e e r s and some o f t h o s e t r ibesmen who had ga the red a t Dur.!:wa,

i n t o two u n i t s and d e s i g n a t e d them as Wood's and R u s s e l l ' s Regi-

ments r e s p e c t i v e l y . 5 9 The f o m a t i o n of t h e s e u n i t s l e f t an ir-

r e g u l a r and u r ~ d i s c i p l i n e d f o r c e of no t more t h a n 1 ,500 a l l i e d

t r i besmen a v a i l a b l e f o r - s e r v i c e . R e a l i z i n g t h a t t h i s would be

probably t h e best he could hope f o r , and be ing h i n s e l f e i t h e r un-

a b l e o r unwi l l i ng t o d e v i s e more e f f e c t i v e methods of r e c r u i t -

ment, t h e General i n c r e a s e d h i s r e q u e s t f o r European t r o o p s t o

t h r e e b a t t a l - i o n s . I n h i s l e t t e r of r e q u e s t , d a t e d t h e 24th of

October , he wrote:

I have seen t h e days p a s s by s i n c e I h e l d a r e c e p t i o n of t h e n a t i v e Kings and C h i e f s , and no n a t i v e l e v i e s of any importance have t aken t h e f i e l d . Apathy, i f no t cowardice, seems t o have enveloped t h e people of t h e s e t r i b e s . I had hoped t o r a i s e l a r g e n a t i v e l e v i e s from e v e r y p o r t i o n o f t h e Coast ; bu t a few s c o r e s of men from each t r i b e amount- i n g a l t o g e t h e r t o a few hundred, seem all t h a t I ara l i k e l y t o o b t a i n . I have seen t h e danger o f depending on i l l - d i s c i p l i n e d l e v i e s i n bush-warfare. I have l e a r n e d t h a t t h e 2nd \lest. I n d i a Regiment, on which I had r e l i e d as an e f f e c t i v e b a t t a l i o n , i s unable t o f u r n i s h rno e t h a n abou t 100 bay- onets f o r t h e f i e l d . SO

The b i t t e r d isappointnient which he s a i d he now f e l t over

t h e r e l u c t a n c e of t h e t r ibesmen t o r a l l y t o t h e cause was sorne-

what s o f t e n e d by good news from t h e Nes t e rn D i s t r i c t s . Irnrnedi-

a t e l y b e f o r e and a f t e r S i r Ga rne t ' s a r r i v a l , t h e navy had been

doggedly pursu ing i t s t a c t i c o f p a t r o l l i n g t h e c o a s t and occa-

s i o n a l l y bombarding t h e r e b e l v i l l a g e s 6 1 b u t w i t h i n one week o f

h i s a r r i v a l , t h e Genera l had been impressed w i t h what he termed

t h c t r s i n g u l n r l a c k of succes s enjoyed by ( t h e gunboat

By t h e middle of October , he was r e l u c t a n t l y coming t o t h e con-

c l u s i o n t h a t he m i ~ h t cqnce ivab ly be f o r c e d t o a t t e m p t t h e r e -

nioval of t h e t h r e a t posed t o h i s l e f t f l a n k by t h e r e c a l c i t r a n t .

Western t r ibesmen and t h e Asante arr!l:r which was o p e r a t i n g i n

t h t i r suppor tb3 be fo re he could do any th ing f u r t h e r about Anankwa

T i a f s f o r c e . He had even ass igned s e v e r a l rrlembers o f h i s s t a f f

t o s tudy t h e p r o b l e ~ : ~ when news was r ece ived which made such an

o p e r a t i o n unnecessary. On t h e 20 th of October a despz t ch was

r e c e i v e d from Axim r e p o r t i n g t h a t Atjiempon had d i e d of consump-

t i o n , a c c e l e r a t e d by a wound i n t h e s i d e , and t h a t t h e remnants

o f t h e Asante arrny under h i s command were beg inn ing t o withdraw

t o t h e n o r t h . 64* It was r e p o r t e d t h a t v a r i c u s Asante p r i s o n e r s

c la imed t h a t t h e arrny was a c t u a l l y r e t u r n i n g t o Kwnasi on o r d e r s

f rom t h e Asantehene . 6 5 The problem o f moving a l a n d f o r c e i n t o

t h e Western D i s t r i c t s was t h e r e f o r e dropped and t h e problem of

p a c i f y i n g t.he troubl-esorne t r ibesmen of t h e r e g i o n was a l lowed t o

remain i n t h e hands of t h e Royal Navy and t h e g a r r i s o n s o f t h e

v a r i o u s f o r t s a long t h e c o a s t l i n e . 66

While t h e s c e v e n t s were i n p r o g r e s s , S i r Garnet was a l s o

complying w i t h t h a t p o r t i o n of h i s i n s t r u c t i o n s which r e q u i r e d

him t o communicate w i t h t h e Asantehcne. 1mmedi.ately a f t e r t h e

Esaman b a t t l e , he wrote a l e t t e r t o Kofi K a r i k a r i and had t h r e e

c o p i e s forwarded by s e p a r a t e messengers on t h e ll+.th, 1 7 t h and

1 8 t h of October . I n t h i s l e t t e r he a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e i nvas ion

was wi thout j u s t i f i c a t i o n bu t t h a t he was w i l l i n g t o d i s c u s s

t e rms of peace prov ided t h e Asantehene would, w i t h i n twenty days ,

comp1.y wi.th t h r e e c o n d i t i o n s . F i r s t , a l l Asante f o r c e s were t o

withdraw from t h e 'P ro t ec to ra t . e ' . Second, a l l p r i s o n e r s were t o

be su r r ende red irimediate1.y. Th i rd , gua ran tees were t o be given

f o r t h e payrnert of compensation. The l e t t e r c lo sed w i t h a f i rm

s t a t e m e n t t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t non-acceptance o f t h e B r i t i s h t e r m

would r e s u l t i n n t h e f u l l punishment which your ( t h e A'santehene ' s )

deeds have mer i t ed . tf 67

Two c o p i e s of t h i s l e t t e r f e l l i n t o t h e hands of Am.mkr;a

Tia and t h e t h i r d went a s t r a y somewhere between Cape Coast C a s t l e

and Ku~nasi and was never recovered . There i s no r e c o r d o f what

Kofi R n r i k a r i ' s response would have been t o S i r Garne t ' s dernands

because Amankwa Tia, i n s t e a d of forwarding t h e l e t t e r s which he

had i n t e r c e p t e d or. t h e 20 th o f October , took upon h imse l f a r igh t , f

which was Kofi ICar iknr i l s a l o n c , and r e p l i e d i n t h e Asantehene 's

name. This response6' made it c l e a r t h a t even though he had ask-

ed t h e A s a t e h e n e t s permiss ion t o withdraw from t h e 'P i -o t ec to ra t e ' ,

he had no i n t e n t i o n of complying w i t h t h e B r i t i s h c o n d i t i o n s .

Th i s was no doubt due t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e Asante g e n e r a l

had w r i t t e n h i s l e t t e r b e f o r e r e c e i v i n g any i n t e l l i g e n c e a s t o

t h e B r i t i s h occupa t ion and f o r t i f i c a t i o n of Dunkwa and Nansu.

Although he had been aware of B r i t i s h p a t r o l s a long t h e Cape

~ o a s t / ~ r a s u road f o r somo t i m e , it w a s no t u n t i l someti1:le a f t e r

t h e 20 th of October t h a t he had confirrnat ion of t h e B r i t i s h i n -

t e n t i o n t o i n t e r d i c t t h e road sou th of Kansu t o h i s army. 69

However, w i th h i s l i n e of r e t r e a t t h u s t h r e a t e n e d , S i r G a r n e t ' s

l e t t e r , t h e d e f e a t a t Esaman and t h e weakened c o n d i t i o n o f h i s

army due t o i t s long s t a y i n Nampon assumed much g r e a t e r import -

ance than was p r e v i o u s l y t h e case . Recognizing t h e dangers , t h e

Asantes became thoroughly alarmed and even though t h e Asantehenets

permiss ion t o withdraw had no t y e t been r e c e i v e d , Amankwa Tia

dec ided t o break camp and p u l l back Lo t h e P r a be fo re he could be

t r a p p e d by t h e suddenly a g g r e s s i v e ~ r i t i s h . ~ ~

Had t h i s d e c i s i o ~ been made a month e a r l i e r , it i s most

p robable t h a t t h e Asante army could have l e f t t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e '

w i thou t encoun te r ing any B r i t i s h f o r c e s , By t h e l a s t week o f

October , however, Atnankwa Tia had l o s t t h i s op; ior tuni ty . By t h a t

t ime t h e newly established b u t sonlewhat rudinlentary i n t e l l i g e n c e

depari;:nent under Capta in D u l l e r was beginning t o b u i l d up a r ea -

sonab ly accui-a te p i c t u r e of t h e eneir,y s i t u a t i o n i n s p i t e of t h e

l a r g e number o f u n r e l i a b l e r e p o r t s t h a t were r e c e i v e d . Conse-

q u e n t l y , a f t e r much c o n f l i c t i n g and dubious informat i o n had Seen

c a r e f u l l y s i f t e d and e v a l u a t e d , t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e s t a f f had Seen

a b l e t o p repa re a r e p o r t on t h e 1 6 t h o f October which t e n t a t i v e l y

f o r e c a s t t h e irnminent wi thdrawal of t h e Asante army from 14arnpon

no r thwes t t o t h e Cape ~ o a s t / ~ r a s u r0a.d and then n o r t h t o t h e

P ra . 71

Undeterred by t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t Captain B u l l e r ' s as-

sessment o f t h e s i t u a t i o n might be wrong, S i r Garnet decided

t h a t immediate s t e p s would have t o be taken t o p r o t e c t t h e road

s o that; t h e job o f improving it could be c a r r i e d out w i thou t i n -

t e r r u p t i o n . A s a r e s u l t , on t h e 1 6 t h of October it was dec ided

t o e s t a b l i s h a n o t h e r o u t p o s t between Napoleon and Dunlwa. The

v i l l a g e o f Abrakrarnp was s e l e c t e d f o r t h i s purpose and by t h e

1 9 t h t h e town was b e l i e v e d s u f f i c i e n t l y g a r r i s o n e d and f o r t i f i e d

s o as t o a c t as an e f f e c t i v e roadblock t o any Asante move i n t h a t

d i r e ~ t i o n . 7 ~ The survey p a r t i e s which had moved as f a r n o r t h as

Mansu were a l s o r e i n f o r c e d on t h e 1 9 t h , and by t h e 2 1 s t t h a t t o m

was f u l l y f o r t i f i e d and had been r e d e s i g n a t e d as F o r t Cainbridge.

I n a d d i t i o n , Colonel. F e s t i n g was o rde red t o Dunkwa t o t a k e corn-

niand of t h e cainp s e t a s i d e f o r t h e Af r i can f o r c e s a s sembl ins

t h e r e and t o assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a l l o f t h e advanced p o s t s

.73 a l o n g t h e road.

By t h e 22nd o f October ; t h e r e f o r e , t h e B r i t i s h had some-

what f o r t u i t o u s l y adopted measures t o cope w i t h t h e Asante wi th-

drawal even before t h a t wi thdrawal was f u l l y undertray. C e r t a i n l y

t h e d e f e n s i v e s i t u a t i o n looked b e t t e r t h a n it e v e r had b e f o r e .

A l l . was q u i e t a t ESmina and Cape Coast. The bush o u t p o s t s a t

Abbaye, Napoleon and Abrakrampa were i n good c o n d i t i o n and were

engaged i n a t t e m p t i n g t o g a t h e r i n t e l l i g e n c e . And t h e main road

o u t p o s t s a t Akrofu, Dunkwa and Mansu were s u f f i c i e n t l y f o r t i f i e d

and g a r r i s o n e d t o be capable o f r e s i s t i n g a t t a c k and p r o t e c t i n g

t h e road crews supposedly engaged i n t h e v i t a l t a s k o f p r e p a r i n g

t h e main road for t h e coning invas ion . 74

While t h e B r i t i s h had bee? con t inu ing t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e i r

ou tpos t s , e t c . , i n fonna t i o n cont inued t o t r i c k l e i n which i n d i c a t e d

more and more s t r o n g l y t h a t a g e n e r a l Asante movement was be ing

made t o v a r d Dunkwa. It was n o t u n t i l t h e 23rd of October , how-

e v e r , t h a t any completely r e l i a b l e word was r ece ived as t o t h i s

movement. On t h a t day, a r econna i s sance by L ieu tenan t Gordon and

h i s Hausas confirmed t h a t l a r g e b o d i e s o f Asantes were moving

th rough Ainsa a long t h e "Haunted Roadv t o Dunkwa. 75 The fo l low-

i n g day t h i s i n t e l l i g e n c e was confirmed and added t o when a young

F a n t i woman, t h e s lave-wife o f one o f t h e Asante c h i e f s , escaped

from t h e r e t r e a t i n g army and came t o t h e B r i t i s h headqua r t e r s .

She gave a complete and d e t a i l e d and v a l u a b l e account of Amankwa

T i a t s p l a n s and o f t h e cond i t i on of h i s artily. Brackenbury s t a t e s

t h a t ,

Her manner, t h e c i r c u m s t a n t i a l n a t w e o f h e r ev idence , and t h e ab- sence o f ally c o n t r a d i c t i o n when care - f u l l y examined a second and t h i r d t i m e , p laced it p r a c t i c a l l y beyorid al.1 doubt t h a t t h e Ashant i camp a t Marnpon was broken up; t h a t t h e army had t h e i n t e n t i o n o f r e t r e a t i n g ; t h a t it in t ended t o move i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f Dunquah ( ~ u n k w a ) , and then s t r i k e t h e main P rah road. 16

The General he ld a s t a f f con•’ e rence i i m e d i a t e l y and be-

f o r e t h e day was out a p l an o f o p e r a t i o n s had been dev i sed , which

i n d i c a t n d t h a t S i r Garnet was f i n a l l y becolning aware o f t h e r e a l -

i t i e s o f h i s p o s i t i o n and adop t ing h i s t a c t i c s accord ing ly . It

was g e n e r a . 1 1 ~ ag reed t h a t because o f t h e numer ica l weakness of

t h e r e l i a b l e B r i t i s h f o r c e s , a head-on c l a s h with t h e Asante main

body had t o be avoided a t a l l c o s t s . A t t h e same t ime , however,

i t was a l s o a g r e e d t h a t t h e enemy had t o be prevented from ga in-

i n g t h e use o f t h e Cape ~ o a s . t / ~ r a s u road and t h a t e v e r y e f f o r t

shou ld be made t o ensu re t h e " g r e a t e s t p o s s i b l e d i s p l a y o f t h e

. European f o r c e i n v a r i o u s d i r e c t i o n s ~ . ~ ~ I n h i s despa t ch o f t h e

31st o f October , 3ir Garnet exp la ined h i s t h i n k i n g t o t h e a u t h o r -

i t i e s i n London. He wrote ,

I d e s i r e n o t on ly t o has t en t h e enemy's r e t r e a t , which i s neces sa ry be- f o r e I can advance beyond IiIansu, b u t t o appea r t o be d r i v i n g them ou t o f t h e coun t ry , i n hopes t h a t I may t h u s i n - s t i l l some s p i r i t i n t o t h e F a n t i s , and induce them t o r i s e and h a r a s s t h e r e - t i r i n g enemy, as , would t h e y do s o , t h e y might i n f l i c t ve ry heavy l o s s e s xpon him. A t t h e same t i n e , I ha.ve done a l l i n ny power t o Spare t h e Guropean t r o o p s undue f a t i g u e .7

The b a s i c i d e a was t h e r e f o r e n o t on ly t o p r o t e c t t h e

road b u t a l s o t o p r e s s i n on and h a r a s s t h e Asante army as it a t -

tempted t o c a r r y o u t i t s withdrawal-. I n accordance wi th t h i s

p l a n , o r d e r s were s e n t t o L ieu tenant -Colone l Vood, a t t h a t t ime

t h e O f f i c e r C o n ~ ~ a n d i n g a t E l n i n a , on t h e 25 th of October d i r e c t -

i n g him t o beg in pushing h i s regiment toward Abbaye as soon as

t h e Capta in o f H.14.S. Druid had t aken over t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r

g a r r i s b n i n g t h e coniplex of f o r t s a t Elrnina. Once he bad e s t a b -

l i s h e d a firm base a t Abbaye, Colonel Wood was t h e n t o move t o a

p o i n t approximate ly half-way t o Idampon, survey t h e s i t u a t i o n ,

and d e v i s e h i s otm p l an f o r t h e harassment of any rear -guard which

might; have been l e f t a t blampon. Me was t o be suppor ted by a r e -

conna issance p a r t y which had s imul taneous ly been ordered o u t of

Napoleon i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of Mampon . 79

On t h e 2 6 t h o f October , S i r Garnet h imse l f began march-

i n g t o Dunkwa w i t h re inforcements o f 100 men from R u s s e l l ' s Regi-

ment and 250 men from t h e Naval Brigade. Th i s p a r t y camped a t

Assayboo on t h e n i g h t of t h e 26th. While t h e r e t h e General l e a r n -

ed t h a t L i e u t e n a n t Gordon had once more d e t e c t e d s t r o n g Asante

f o r c e s moving eas tward on t h e Haunted Road between Jukwa and

Dunkwa. S i r Garnet r e a l i z a d t h a t , should he advance wi th h i s

f o r c e t h rough Abrakrampa and on t o Assanchi, he could h i t t h e

Asante column i n t h e f l a n k ; and should Colonel F e s t i n g march si-

mul taneous ly w i th t h e whole of h i s a v a i l a b l e f o r c e westward a1or.g

t h e Haunted Road, he could t a k e a d v a n t a p of the confusion which

would r e s u l t f r o 3 t h e f l a n k a t t a c k . There was no doubt i n t h e

G e n e r a l t s mind t h a t t h e i ~ s y c h o l o g i c a l and n a t e r i a l e f f ec - t on t h e

Asantes would be c o n s i d e r a b l e should such an a c t i o n prove success -

f u l . C o n s e q u e ~ t l y , d e s p i t e t h e dange r s i n h e r e n t i n t h e exhaus t ion

o f h i s t r o o p s , t h e l a c k of r e l i a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e , and t h e s lowness

o f communica t io~s between t h e v a r i o u s detachments s c a t t e r e d a l o n g

t h e road , t h e neces sa ry o r d e r s f o r a aove on t h e Haunted Road

were i s s u e d w e l l b e f o r e sunse t . 81

Both of t h e B r i t i s h colurms moved o u t on t h e 27 th b u t ,

n o t s u r p r i s i n g l - y , t h e o p e r a t i o n d i d n o t work o u t i n q u i t e t h e way

it had been planned. S i r Garnet found t h a t t h e weather and t h e

f a t i g u e d c o n d i t i o n of h i s s a i l o r s and rnerines made it i m p ~ s s i b l e

f o r I l i ~ n t o r each Assanchi i n one day. He t h e r e f o r e abandoned h i s

a t t a c k and remained i n Abrakrampa r a t h e r t h a n push ing on t o As-

samchi. Colonel F e s t i n g f s colurnn d i d n o t have t h i s problerri ar?d

it .moved o u t o f Dunkwa i n s e a r c h o f t h e enemy. Contact was made

w i t h a Asante camp of sorne 4,000 men about one mi l e e a s t o f

I s c a b i o and F e s t i n g t s f o r c e p r o n p t l y a t t a c k e d . The ensu ing a c t i o n

was confused and f o r sorne t ime t h e outcome was i n doubt bu t w i th

t h e a i d o f Rai t t s a r t i l l - e r y , t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e f i n a l l y d i s p e r s e d

t h e Asantes and complete ly d e s t r o y e d t h e i r camp. Colonel F e s t i n g

s u f f e r e d ve ry few c a s u a 1 t i . e ~ and h i s t r o o p s were back i n D1inkt:a

b e f o r e n i g h t f a l l . 82

Unaware of Colonel F e s t i n g ' s succes s , S i r Garnet made

p l a n s f o r y e t a n o t h e r s i m i l a r combined d r i v e on t h e r e t r e a t i n g

Asantes . L a t e on t h e 27 th , he i s s u e d o r d e r s which r e q u i r e d bo th

. h e and Colonel F e s t i n g t o move on I s c a b i o on t h e 28th . The

Wolseley column was t o move t o Assanchi and t h e r e await t h e sound

o f f i r i n g from t h e d i r e c t i o n of I s c a b i o which would i n d i c a t e t h a t

t h e F e s t i n g column had engaged t h e enemy t h e r e , Once t h e f i r i n g

was hea rd , t h e Wolseley column was t o move e a s t a long t h e Haunted

Road azd t h u s c a t c h t h e enemy between two f o r c e s and d e s t r o y him.

The p lan m i s c a r r i e d . The General a r r i v e d a t Assanchi but t h e

sound o f f i r i n g was never h e a r d because Colone l F e s t i ~ g had been

unable t o induce h i s Afr ican a l l i e s t o l e a v e Dunkwa and he q u i t e

w i s e l y dec ided t o cance l t h e o p e r a t i o n r a t h e r t han r i s k t h e de-

s t r u c t i o n of h i s small f o r c e of d i s c i p l i n e d t r o o p s i n t h e bush.

A f t e r w a i t i n g s e v e r a l hours , S i r Garnet t u r n e d h i s column about

and marched back t o Abrakrampa. $3

An e x c e l l e n t o p p o r t u n i t y t o i n f l i c t a c rush ing d e f e a t on

an el-ement o f t h e r e t r e a t i n g Asante army was t h u s missed and S i r

G a r n e t ' s conduct of o p e r a t i o n s r e f l e c t s l i t t l e c r e d i t on his

p r o f e s s i o n a l a b i l i t y . It i s p o s s i b l e , however, t h a t t h e f a i l u r e

of t h i s o p e r a t i o n was a c t u a l l y a b l e s s i n g i n d i s g u i s e , Had Sir

Garnet succeeded ir , engaging t h e enemy f o r c e s i n t h e Assanchi-

I s c a b i o a r e a w i thou t having f i r m i n t e l l i g e n c e as t o t h e enemy

d i s p o s i t i o n s , he might w e l l have i n v i t e d an a t t a c k by t h e Asante

main body tfnich unbdcnovmst t o him, w a s r a p i d l y approaching h i s

r e a r . C e r t a i n l y such ar. a t t a c k would more- than- l ike ly have r e -

s u l t e d i n a r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e Macarthy debac le o f 1822. it i s

i n d i c a t i v e of t h e inadequacy o f S i r Ga rne t ' s ar rangements f o r

s c o u t i n g and r a p i d cormunicat ion t h a t it was n o t u n t i l h i s r e -

t u r n t o Abrakrampa t h a t he was infolmed of t h e presence of t h e

main body of t h e Asante army a t Zssecroorn and of Aclankwa Tial s

i n t e n t i o n t o move a g a i n s t Abrakrarnpa and t h u s el ir i i inate a s ~ r i -

ous t h r e a t t o h i s f l a n k . 84 This p l aced t h e General i n a d i f f i -

c u l t p o s i t i o n . H i s detqchmenl o f f a t i g u e d s a i l o r s and marines

c o n s t i t u t e d h i s on ly d i s c i p l i n e d r e s e r v e b u t t h e f e a r o f s i c k -

ness m a n t t h a t he cou1.d no t r e t a i n them a t Abrakrampa f o r an i n -

d e f i n i t e p e r i o d o f t ime o r u n t i l it p l eased Amankwa T i a t o a t -

t a c k . Accordingly, he dec ided t o withdraw t h e bulk of t h e 3uro-

peans from Abrakrampa and by t h e 30 th of October t hey had been

re-embarked on board t h e warsh ips i n t h e roads . 85

A g a r r i s o n o f twenty- f ive s a i l o r s and marines was, how-

e v e r , l e f t a t Abrakranlpa, under t h e command of L i e u t e n a n t ?:Jells,

R.N. Th is f o r c e was l e f t t h e r e t o form a rrucleus o f r e l i a b l e rrlen

i n c a s e t h e p l a c e should be a t t a c k e d . Eh jo r R u s s e l l was l e f t i n

o v e r a l l comniand, and h i s regirne2t was i n c r e a s e d t o a s t r e n g t h of

n e a r l y 200. He had a l s o about 80 Hausas under L ieu tenan t Gordon

and more t h a n 300 Abrahs i n t h e g a r r i s o n . A s t h e p o s t was w e l l

p rov i s ioned and s t r o n g l y en t r enched , w i th t h e bush w e l l c l e a r e d

around i t , it was cons ide red t h a t it was q u i t e capable of r e s i s t -

i ng an a t t a c k by any number o f t h e enemy. 86

Although d i sappo in t ed over h i s i n a b i l i t y t o c l o s e w i t h t h e

enemy a long t h e Haunted Road, and cons ide rab ly sobered by t h e f a c t

t h a t h i s f a i l u r e had probably saved h imse l f and h i s f o r c e from

d e s t r u c t i o n , S i r Garnet had no i n t e n t i o n o f abandoning o f f e n s i v e

o p e r a t i o n s . Indeed , irnrilediately p r i o r t o h i s r e t u r n t o Cape

Coas t , he had made f u r t h e r p l ans f o r engaging t h e enemy. A f t e r

n e a r l y a month o f f u t i l e a t t e m p t s t o r a i s e African f o r c e s o f s u f -

f i c i e n t strength t o a l l ow an encounte r w i t h Amnnkwa T i a ' s array,

t h e General was f i n a l l y coming t o t h e r e a l i z a t i o n that; h i s numer-

i c a l i n f e r i o r i t y made it inipossible f o r him t o engage t h e main

Asante army w i t h o u t t h e r i s k of l o s i n g t h e few d i s c i p l i n e d t r o o p s

hc possessed a s w e l l as much o f t h e p r e s t i g e he had worked s o

ha rd t o g a i n . IIe t he re fo re ' announced h i s dec i s io r? t o adop t t h e

hi t -and-run t a c t i c s of bush war fa re . 67 Brackenbury e x p l a i n s t h a t

t h e movements o f t h e enemy determined t h e n a t u r e of t h e o p e r a t i o n s

whi ch were subsequen t ly under taken.

To h a r a s s him ( t h e enemy) by means o f c o n s t a n t r a i d s from Dunquah and Abrak- rampa, bo th of which p l a c e s must be s t r e n g t h e n e d by an i n c r e a s e d g a r r i s o n , and t o p r e s s , s o f a r a s p o s s i b l e upon h i s rear , w i t h n a t i v e d l i e s from Napoleon and Abbaye, was t h e cou r se p r e s e n t i n g it- se l f as t h e most s u i t a b l e under t h e un- f o r t u n a t e c o n d i t i o n of our i n a b i l i t y t o a t t a c k b o l d l y h i s main body, caused- by t h e p a u c i t y o f t r o o p s a t o u r d i s p o s a l . 88

From t h i s t ime onward, t h e B r i t i s h began t o i n c r e a s e b o t h

t h e d i p l o n a t i c and t h e m i l i t a r y p r e s s u r e on t h e Asantes. On t h e

first o f November, S i r Garnet once more took t h e i n i t i a t i v e i n

t h e d ip loma t i c sphe re by sending t o Kumasi ye t a n o t h e r copy of

h i s o r i g i r a l l e t t e r t o t h e Asantehene. This t ime t h e l e t t e r ar-

r i v e d a t i t s d e s t i n a t i o n b u t i t was g r e a t l y de layed en rou te ,

The Asantehene d i d n o t r e c e i v e it u n t i l t h e 20th of November by

which t ime t h e twenty days a l lowed f o r a r e p l y had a l r e a d y ex-

p i r e d . 89 Even s o , it a r r i v e d a t an opportune moment.

The f a i l u r e of ddu Bofo and Atjiempon i n t h e ' J e s t e rn d i s -

t r i c t s and t h e d i s c o n c e r t i n g l y f r a g w n t a r q r and d i s t o r t e d news of

Amankwa Tiats r e v e r s e s i n t h e sou th had a l r e a d y caused great

concern i n Kuras i . A s e a r l y as t h e 27th of October a g r e a t meet-

i n g of t h e Counci l had bean he ld a t Amankia, a suburb of Kumasi,

a t which t h e Ch ie f s now urged Kofi K a r i k a r i t o r e c a l l t h e iirmy,

Unimpressed by t h e C h i e f s ? arguments, he a g a i n po in ted ou t t h a t

it had been t h e y and n o t he who had clamoured f o r war. He t h e r e -

f o r e r e f u s e d t o do a s t h e y asked u n l e s s t h e y guaran teed t o r2fund

t h e l a r g e sums cf nioney t h a t he had a l r c a d y expended on t h e car,-

paign. T h i s t hey e v e r t u a l l y ag reed t o do and t h e message o f re-

c a l l had t h e n been s e n t t a Amankwa T i a who was a l r e a d y withdraw-

ing. 30

The copy o f S i r G a r n e t ' s t h r e a t e n i n g l e t t e r was t h u s

bound t o have riluch more impact a r r i v i n g when it d i d t h a n t h e

o r i g i n a l would have had. For c e r t a i n l y t h e l e t t e r w r i t t e n i n

mid-October would have a r r i v e d wh i l e t h e Asantehene and h i s Coun-

c i l s t i l l f e l t t h a t t h e i n i t i a t i v e l a y w i t h t h e i r f o r c e s . Inme-

d i a t e l y upon tile r e c e i p t o f t h i s copy of tine B r i t i s h d e n m d s , :IT.

Dawson was c a l l e d t o r e a d and i n t e r p r e t them t o t h e Asantehene

and h i s assembled c o u n c i l m c ~ who L i s t ened i n profound s i l e n c e . 91

The c a p t i v e m i s s i o n a r i e s were a t t e n d i n g t h i s assembly and Ram-

s e y e r and Kuhne r e p o r t t h a t t h e subsequent speeches r e f l e c t e d

considera .ble concern over t h e manner i n which t h e war was prog-

r e s s i n g . 92 Tho l e t t e r s which t h e Asnntehene wrote i n r e sponse

t o t h e B r i t i s h demands r e f l e c t e d t h i s concern and c l e a r l y i l l u s -

t r a t e d t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e h s a n t e f e a r e d an i n v a s i o n , t h e y d i d n o t

r e a l l y b e l i e v e t h a t one would t a k e p l ace . However, t h e s e l e t t e r s

were n o t r e c e i v e d by S i r Garnet u n t i l l a t e i n December and i n t h e

i n t e r i m , t h e s i t u a t i o n s o u t h o f t h e P r a was changing r a d i c a l l y ,

The Genera l had n o t wa i t ed f o r a r e p l y t o t h i s second

l e t t e r b e f o r e i n c r e a s i n g t h e tempo of h i s m i l i t a r y moves I n t h e

' F r o t e c t o r a t e ' . On t h e 1st and 2nd of November, b o t h Abrakranpa

and Dunkwa were r e i n f o r c e d t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e former had a

EScrrison o f so;,!e 900 men and t h e l a t t e r had one i n e x c e s s o f

1,500, A t t h e same t ime t h e g a r r i s o n a t 1Japol.eon was r e l i e v e d

by a s m a l l e r f o r c e and Colonel Vood was pushed or, t o t h e v i l l a g e

of Beulah. The aim of t h i s move a p p a r e n t l y be ing t o g i v e a more

forward base f r o n ~ h i c h t o use Wood's f o r c e and some l e v i e s t o

s cou t f u r t h e r t o t h e n o r t h - e a s t i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of Essecroorn

and Abraltrarnpa. Also on t h e 1st o f November, Colonel F e s t i n g

was inforiricd t h a t t h e bulk of t h e enernyTs f o r c e was d e f i n i t e l y

between t h e Sweet R i v e r and Dunkwa. He was o rde red t o make a

r econna i s sance i n f o r c e each day, a t t a c k i n g t h e enany whenever

he had an o p p o r t u n i t y , hanging on t o him and h a r a s s i n g him a s

much as p o s s i b l e . S i m i l a r o r d e r s were i s s u e d t o Xajor R u s s e l l

a t Abrakrampa. 93 F i n a l l y , on t h e 3 rd o f Novelabcr, t h e newly ar-

r i v e d Lieu tenant -Colone l Irc'ebber assumed command of t h e 25IR and

marched w i t h a re inforcement of 100 2UIR t r o o p s t o Ilansu where

he was t o t a k e cormawl of t h e g a r r i s o n . 94

Despi te t h e s e p l ans , S i r Garnet f u l l y r s a l i z e d t h a t even

t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of e f f e c t i v e l y fo l lowing and h a r a s s i n g t h e enemy

was d o u b t f u l . Thc a l l o c a t i o n o f t h e European t r o o p s h2d n o t y e t

been confirmed and even if t h e i r use was a u t h o r i z e d , t h e y could

n o t be expec ted u n t i l t h e first wzek i n December a t t h e e a r l i e s t .

The few r e g u l a r s t h e n on t h e Coast were i n s u f f i c i e n t f o r t h e work

to be done, and t h e Afr ican a l l i e s , who might have provided an

adequa te f o r c e and i n f l i c t e d a s e v e r e d e f e a t on t h e enerny, were

s t i l l n o t responding t o S i r Garne t ' s i lnpass imed c a l l Lo ar:ns i n

t h e n e c e s s a r y nunbers .

Any a t t empt t o f o l l o w and a t t a c k t h e Asantes w i t h t h e

s m a l l f o r c e a t h i s d i s p o s a l would have involved a t e r r i b l e r i s k

and S i r Garnet,who s t i l l f a i l e d t o u ~ l d e r s t a n d - t h e F a n t i a t t i t u d e ,

made one l a s t d e s p a i r i n g e f f o r t t o i n c r e a s e F a n t i r e c r u i t i n g .

On h i s r e t u r n from Abrakrampa, he pub l i shed a proc lamat ion 95

which he f e l t was a p l a i n s t a t emen t of t h e c o n d i t i o n of a f f a i r s

exp res sed i n t e rms which would have a ' p o s i t i v e e f f e c t on t h e

t r ibesmen. However, t h e r e was s t i l l no reason f o r t h e F a n t i s t o

respond any more v i g o r o u s l y t h a n t h e y a l r e a d y had, and t h e c a l l

ach ieved no th ing .

The G e n e r a l ' s comments i n many subsequent despa t ches

c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e t h a t t h i s appea l f a i l e d and t h a t he had l i t t l e

unders tanding as t o why it had f a i l e d . For example, on t h e 5 t h

of November, he wrote:

It i s imposs ib le t o exaggera te t h e cowardice and f e e b l e n e s s of t h e conduct of ou r n a t i v e a l l i e s . They remain ab- s o l u t e l y i n t h e r e a r , abandoning our o f f i c e r s and f i r i n g w i l d l y i n t o t h e a i r a t n o t h i n g ; then a sudden pan ic s e i z e s them, and t h e y r u s h p a n i c - s t r i c k e n home when no Ashantee i s nea r them. Near Beulah a pan ic o f t h i s k ind occurr-cd because t l ley came a c r o s s sorne dead Ashnntees . Fron Abra raapa similar scenes a r a repor ted .9 g

TO t h e v e r y end of t h e campaign t h e B r i t i s h r e t a i n e d t h i s view of

t h e P a n t i . They made no a t t empt e i t h e r t o a s c e r t a i n t h e under-

lying r e a s o n s f o r t h e F a n t i a c t i o n s o r t o u t i l i z e t h e t r ibesmen

i n a manner b e t t e r s u i t e d $0 t h e i r methods of war fa re and tc:nper-

017 t h e 3rd o f Movember. s t r o n g p a t r o l s were s e n t o u t from

Beulah, A b r a k ~ w ~ p a and Dunkwa. The two l a t t e r a l o n e caxe upon

t h e enemy, and on ly Colonel F e s t i n g l s p a t r o l from Dunkwa found

them i n any g r e a t numbers. The D u n h a p a t r o l becaxe engaged i n

a f i e r c e encoun te r ~ : i t h a body of some 3,000 Asantes j u s t on t h e

o u t s k i r t s of I s c a b i o bu t t h e bu lk o f t h e u n t r a i n e d Af r i can l e v i e s ,

who composed more t h a n n i n e t y p e r c e n t ,o f t h e column i r n m d i a t e l y

f l e d t o I)unkwa and ever, beyond it. The s t e a d i n e s s o f t h e m a l l

detachment o f :'lest I n d i a ~ s a l o n e saved t h e s i t u a t i o n , and a f t e r

t h e a c t i o n h2d l a s t e d two h o u r s t h e e n e n y t s f i r e s lackened enough

t o a l l o w t h e t r o o p s t o f a l l back upon Dunkwa. 97 T h i s a c t i o n com-

b i n e d w i t h t h e r e l a t i v e q u i e t around Abrakrampa t o convince S i r

Garnet t h a t t h e main body of t h e A s m t e army was go ing t o go a-

round Abra1cra:npa and a t t e m p t t o debouch on t h e main road scme-

where n e a r Dunkwa. Indeed, d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e was vil*-

t u a l l y no s c o u t i n g be ing c a r r i e d ou t i n t h e immediate v i c i n i t y

of Abrakrampa, he was s o convinced t h a t t h e r e was t o be no a t -

t a c k on Ahyakrampa t h a t he o rde red t h e r e t u r n of t h e marines and

s a i l o l - s from t h e r e t o Cape Coast on t h e 4 t h o f November. 98

~ o r t u n a t e l y , Major R u s s c l l misread99 t h e s e o r d e r s and d id

not; p r e p a r e t h e t r o o p s f o r t h e i r r e t u r n t o C2pe Coast u n t i l t h e

a f t e rnoon of t h e 5 th . Thus it happened t h a t a t t h e ve ry moment

when t h e mar ines and s a i l o r s were forming up t o begin t h e i r t r e k

t o t h e c o a s t , t h e l ong -p red i c t ed Asante a t t a c k was made. The

b a t t l e began a t 3:30 F.F.I., and it raged on u n t i l l a t e i n t h e even-

i n g when t h e Asantes f i n a l l y r e t i r e d a f t e r having been unable t o

b reach t h e defences . S i r Garnet r e c e i v e d word of t h e f i g h t i n g

d u r i n g t h e n i g h t and a r e l i e f c o l u m composed of t h e Genera l , h i s

s ta f f , and 22 o f f i c e r s and 303 men of t h e Naval Brigade began

marching f o r t h e bes ieged town e a r l y on t h e morning of t h e 6 t h .

The t r o o p s were thoroughly exhausted By t h e march and l e s s t h a n

h a l f o f t h e o r i g i n a l con t ingen t was p r e s e n t when t h e c o l u m ar-

r i v e d a t its d e s t i n a t i o n around s u n s e t of t h e same day. Upon h i s

a r r i v a l , S i r Garnet found t h a t t h e enemy had on ly j u s t broken o f f

t h e a t t a c k a ~ d withdrawn from t h e f i e l d . I n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f y e t

a n o t h e r engagement, he ordered t h e r e l i e v i n g t r o o p s t o man t h e

entreRchments s o t h a t t h e exhausted de fende r s might r e c e i v e some

r e s t be fo re t h e y would be once more r e q u i r e d f o r coxbat . 100

The n i g h t passed q u i e t l y and on t h e nex t morning, t h e 7 t h ,

had happened by 2:00 P .N . , it began t o appear t h a t t h e enemy must

be r e t r e a t i n g and i n o r d e r t o c l a r i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n , S i r Garnet

o rde red t h e 1 ,000 nen of t h e Cape Coast l e v y which had a r r i v e d

j u s t t h a t morning, t o advance i n t o t h e bush. It i s n o t s u r p r i s -

i n g , when one c c n s i d e r s t h e i r l a c k of t r a i n i n g and p r o f e s s i o n a l

l e a d e r s h i p , t h a t t h e t r ibesmen r e f u s e d t o c a r r y o u t t h i s o r d e r

d e s p i t e t h e v igo rous a t t e m p t s on t h e p a r t of s o m B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s

t o f o r c e them t o do s o , La t e t h a t sane a f t e r n o o n , however, scver -

a1 wounded Asantc were t aken p r i s o n e r and t h e y r e v e z l e d t h a t

Amankwa Tia and h i s c h i e f s had dec ided t c break-off t h e b a t t l e

and t h a t t h e Asantc army had begun t o withdraw toward Ainsa e a r l y

on t h e morning o f t h e 7 t h . 1 0 1

Had he b u t r e a l i z e d i t , S i r Garnet was now p r e s e q t e d w i t h

a n e x c e l l e ~ t opport.unit,y t o s e v e r e l y h u r t t h e r e t r e a t i n g Asante

a m y . Vi3h t h e de fend ing f o r c e from Abrakranpa worn o u t from

t h e l o n g b a t t l e and w i t h t h e u n t r a i n e d , u n d i s c i p l i n e d , and i n -

a d e q u a t e l y l e d Afr ican l e v i e s obvious ly i ncapab le o f c l o s i ~ g ,

and/or u n w i l l i n g t o c l o s e wi th t h e enemy's rea r -guard , t h e t i r e

had conic f o r t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of t h o s e harassinent t a c t i c s which

t h e Genera l had supposed ly adopted on t h e 31sL of October. S m l l

Scou t ing p a r t i e s composed of t h e s p e c i a l s e r v i c e o f f i c e r s , nec

fror;7 2!IIR, Hausas, i(ossoos, and soue of t h e Assiys, cou ld havp,

been formed and despa tched a long t h e t r a i l be ing used by t h e

Asante. These patro1.s cou ld have r r m i n t a i ~ e d c o n t a c t w i t h t h e

enemy w i t h a vie t i t o keeping t h e General informed as t o t h e i r

l o c a t i o n x d a c t i o n s so t h a t he could t hen s l i p an ambushirg pa r -

t y around t o t h e n o r t h th rough Durkwa and a t t a c k t h e f l m k o f t h e

Asan te co1ur.v~ at a time ar.d p l a c e o f h i s own choosing. For tun-

a t e l y f o r t h e Asante , t h e General f a i l e d t o g r a s p t h i s oppor tu-

n i t y . I n s t e s d , he dec ided t o adhere t o t h e v e r y p o l i c y which

had a l r e a d y f a i l e d s o mi se rab ly .

A t daybreak on t h e morning of t h e 8 t h ) columns composed

a lmos t e x c l u s i v e l y o f Afr ican l e v i e s l o 2 were s e n t o u t on b o t h

t h e Anasrnadie and Ainsa roads w i th o r d e r s t o h a r a s s t h e e n e n y f s

r e a r . However, a l t h o u ~ h t h e s e unbelievabl-y inadequa te p a t r o l s

c l o s e d w i t h t h e r e t r e a t i n g enemy n e a r t h e v i l l a g e o f Ainsa , t h e y

accomplished a b s o l u t e l y n o t h i n g , Indeed , when it was dec ided t o

d i sengage from t h e f i r e - f i g h t which had broken o u t as soon a s

c o n t a c t had been made w i t h t h e Asante rea r -guard , t h e A f r i c a ~

l e v i e s c u t and r a p f o r Abrakrampa as t h e y f e a r e d t h a t t h e Asante

were f o l l o w i n g and sun-ounding then .

It was o b v i ~ u s from t h e s e e v e n t s t h a t t h e con t inued use

of t h e l e v i e s i n t h i s rilmner would accomplish v i r t u a l l y no th ing .

S i r Garne t r e f u s e d t o see t h i s , however. I gno r ing t h e obvious

d e f i c i e n c i e s i n t r a i n i n g , d i s c j - p l i n e , and l e a d e r s h i p i n t h e A f r i -

can l e v i e s , he cor. tcnted h imse l f w i t h c o n t i n u i n g t o f ~ l l o w what

WCis by t h i s t ime t h e s t a n d a r d B r i t i s h approach: b l a m t h e coward-

l y b l a c k s b u t bash on r e g a r d l e s s . ''3 Accordingly , n e i t h e r he n o r

any member of h i s staff r , l~de any a t t emp t t o adap t t h e i r t a c t i c s

t o t h e r e a l i t i e s of t h e s i t u a t i o n .

The p o s t a t Abbaye was c lo sed down and t h e t r o o p s from

t h e r e t i e re used t o r e i n f o r c e tile now redundant "advancedn p o s t s

a t Beul-ah, Yapoleon, and Abrakrampa. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e s e t h r e e

P o s t s as w e l l as A::rofu, Dl;r.kwa, and Hansu, were a l l f o r t i f i e d

and prepar-ec! t o m e t any Asante a t t a c k . I n t h i s way, Hausas and

t r o o p s froin 2\!Itl were co,:unitted t o g a r r i s o n du.ty i x p o s t s which

a s t u d y of t h e map r e v e a l s were i n a l l l i k e l i h o o d coinpletely s a f e

f r o n enemy a t tec ) : . Thus t h e t r o o p s most suitqb3.e f o r use i n

s c o u t i ~ g and harassment o p e r a t i o n s were rernoved from t h e f i z l d

a t j u s t t h e nlornent when t h e y could have been most e f f e c t i v e l y

emplcyed. Not c o n t e n t w i t h t h i s , however, t h e Genera l t h e n o rde r -

ed t h a t p a r t i e s con~posed a l r m s t e x c l u s i v e l y o f t h e A f r i c m l e v i e s

p r e s s upon t h e Asante r e a r from Beulah and Abrakrampa a ~ d h a r r y

t h e Asantie f l a n k s from t h e d i r e c t i o n o f Dunkwa and Kansu. 110 a t -

tempt was maclc t o head t h e Asante wi thdrawal . The main o b j e c t i v e

had become s imply t o deny t h e eneny t h e use of t h e Cape Coast/

P r a s u road and t o speed h i s movement a c r o s s t h e P ra . 104

The v e r y composit ion o f t h e s e h a r a s m e n t f o r c e s made it

very unlikely t h a t t h e y would be a b l e i n any way t o o p e r a t e e f -

f e c t i v e l y , As m a t t e r s developed, however, t h e y n e v e r had t h e

O p p o r t m i t y t o prove o r d i sp rove t h i s p o i n t f o r S i r G a r n e t ' s f a i l -

ure t o c r e a t e an e f f e c t i v e s c o u t i n g f o r c e i n ~ n e d i a t e l y a f t e r

Abrakraiapa r e s u l t e d i n a l l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e enemy b e i n g l o s t .

c o n s t a n t r e p o r t s a ~ d rumours of enemy a c t i v i t y betweer, Dunkwa an2

Mansu. Somewhat s u r p r i s i n g l y , t h e main body of t h e Asante a r n y

remained i n t h e bush r a t h e r t h a ~ ~ break o u t on to t h e Cape Coast/

P r a s u road . F i n a l l y , on t h e 20 th of November, it was a s c e r t a i n e d

t h a t Amnnkwa T i a had bypassed b o t h Du~ltwa and Elansu and was a l -

r eady t o t h e nor thwes t of Diansu. On t h e b a s i s o f t h i s inforrna-

t i o n , c o n s t r u c t i o n was begun on a new pos t a t Acrofumu on t h e

2 l s t , and on t h e 23 rd , Colonel rilood took com~nand of bo th t h e new

p o s t and t h e advanced guard i n t h e o p e r a t i o n s s o u t h of t h e P r a , 105

On t h e 26 th , Colonel Wood moved s o u t h t o y e t a n o t h e r ou t -

post which had been e s t a b l i s h e d j u s t s o u t h o f Su ta . There he

l e a r n e d t h a t t h e Asante army had f i n a l l y debouched on to t h e road

at S u t a and Fesu on t h e n i g h t of t h e 25th/26th and t h a t it was

noving s lowly toward Prasu . lo6 On t h e morning o f t h e 27 th , l e t -

t e r s were r e c e i v e d from h e a d q u a r t e r s i n s t r u c t i n g him t o h a r a s s

t h e enemy i n h i s r e t r e a t , and a u t h o r i z i n g him t o proceed beyond

S u t a i f he shou ld t h i n k it d e s i r a b l e . He a c c o r d i n g l y dec ided t o

march t o e i t h e r Ahtoh I n s u o r Fesu depending on t h e cj-rcum-

s t a n c e s , 1•‹7 T h i s d e c i s i o n l e d t o t h e b a t t l e o f Fesu which proved

t o be t h e l a s t engagement w i t h t h e A s a ~ t e s s o u t h of t h e P r a .

The b a t t l e bega3, w e l l f o r t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e s bu t a minor

t a c t i c a l wi thdrawal caused t h e Hausas and Mende i n t h e f o r c e t o

Pan ic and t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of t h e Afr ican t r o o p s r an f o r t h e i r

l i v e s . F o r t n q a t e l y , t h e enemy d i d n o t p r e s s tllem ve ry c l -ose ly

d u r i n g t h i s r e t r e a t , o r t h e r e s u l t might w e l l have been d i s a s -

t r o u s . lo8 Evan s o , a g r e a t d e a l was made of t h e a f f a i r though

it was n o t n e a r l y t h e d i s a s t e r t h a t t h e B r i t i s h p r e s s subse-

q u e n t l y t r i e d t o make of it.lo9 Indeed , t h e s t a f f e v e n t u a l l y

l e a r n e d th rough a p r i s o n e r t h a t f a r frorn be ing a t o t a l f a i l u r e ,

t h e a c t i o n had f i n a l l y produced t h e d e s i r e d e f f e c t . T h i s p r i s -

one r r a p o r t e d t h a t a s soon a s t h e Asan tes had .given up t h e i r

p u r s u i t o f t h e r e t r e a t i n g B r i t i s h f o r c e , t h e y broke up t h e i r

camp, and f l e d t h r o ~ i g h t h e n i g h t by t h e l i g h t of t o r c h e s , s c a r c e -

l y s t o p p i n g i m t i l t h e y reached t h e banks of t h e Pra . c o l o r e l

Wood was n o t aware of t h i s , however. H i s un t r a ined s c o u t s were

unab le t o p a t r o l e f z e c t i v e l y and even though t h e mi se rab l e conai-

t i o n o f t h e Asan tes was c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

dead and dy ing , t h e s cou t s . s i rnp ly r e f u s e d t o push on p a s t Fesu. Ill

Consequent ly , he was unable t o foral an a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e of t h e

enemy1 s l o c a t i o n . AS a r e s u l t , it was n o t u n t i l t h e 4 t h o f Dec-

elilber t h a t Color.cl yood had suf i ' i c ien t in for laa t ion t o perini t h i s

advancing beyond Su ta . 112 By t h a t t i n e , a l l o f t h e Asan tes m r e

a c r o s s t h e r i v e r and n o t a man was t o be seen upon t h e n o r t h bank,

The r e t r e a t i n g army d i d no t r each Kunasi u n t i l t h e 22nd

of December, and it;s r e t u r n was f a r d i f f e r e n t from t h e t r i u r l p h a l

P r o c e s s i o n s so o f t e n s een be fo re . I n s t e a d of t h e u s u a l l o n g

l i n e s of p r i s o n e r s and s l a v e s 1oad.d w i t h v a l u a b l e l o o t a l d t h e

nunierous jawbones o f t h e enemy' s s l a i n , o n l y e i g h t y p e r s o n s now

r e t u r n e d w i t h t h e army and t h e jawbones t h a t were d i s p l a y e d were

n e a r l y a l l v e r y o l d . I n a d d i t i o n , b a t t l e , f a a i ~ e , and d i s e a s e

had f e l l e d f u l l y h a l f o f t h e some 40,000 men who had gone f o r t h

t o t h e war . Nore t 3 a n 280 c h i e f s had f a l l e n and o t h e r s who had

gone o u t w i t h t w e n t y men now r e t u r n e d a l o n e c a r r y i n g t h s i r bun-

d l e s on t h e i r heads . Under t h e s e circumstances, t h e r e can be

3 - i t t l e wonder t h a t a c i t y which had b u t t w e l v e s h o r t months Se-

f o r e echoed w i t h t h e joyous send o f f g i v e n t o a seemingly i n v i n -

c i b l e army, s h o u l d now be f i l l e d w i t h t h e sounds of "mourning and

l a m e n t a t i o n s . "113 Even s o , one must n o t draw t h e conc lus io r . f rom

t h i s t h a t t h e m i s e r a b l e c o n d i t i o n o f Arxinkwa T i a l s army was s o l e -

l y t h e r e s u l t of S i r G a r n e t ' s o p e r a t i o n s . I n f a c t , a l t h o ~ l - g h t h e

G e n e r a l and h i s c h r o n i c l e r s would i n t i m a t e t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n s

c o n d u c t e d a f t e r t h e end of .Oc tober were l a r g e l y r e s p o r . s i b l e f o r

t h e d e p l e t i o n of t h e Asante f o r c e ; most of t h e darnage was i n -

f l i c t e d by C o l o n e l H a r l e y , t h e F a n t i s , t h e r a i n s , d i s e a s e and

famine. I n d e e d , a l t h o u g h t h e a c t i o n s o f S i r G a r n e t ' s f o r c e s

were undoub ted ly one of t h e m o t i v e s prompt ing Anankwa T i a ' s 6e-

c i s i o n t o wi thdraw, t h e y i n f l i c t e d heavy c a s u a l t i e s on o n l y one

CJCcasion--Abrakr.ampa. The Genera l a c t u a l l y missed h i s one op-

P o r t u n i t y t o s e v e r e l y maul Amapkwa T i a t s army a t l i t t l e c o s t t o

h i m s e l f when he n e g l e c t e d t o p r o p e r l y c a r r y o u t h i s p r o P s e d

hal*ass ing o p e r a t i o n s a f t o r t h e b a t t l e a t Abral:ra;npa.

N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e second phase o f t h e v a r drew t o a cl-ose

w i t h t h e bedraggled Asante army once more back i n Eumasi a r d t h e

B r i t i s h f o r c e c l o s e d up on to t h e s o u t h bank o'f t h e P r a ar.d it was

a t t h i s t ime t h a t S i r Garnet r ece ived t h e Asantehene 's r e p l y t o

h i s l e t t e r o f t h e 1st of November. Had he e n t e r t a i n e d any doub t s

as t o whether o r n o t an i nvas ion would rea.3.ly be n e c e s s a r y , t h e

t o n e o f Kof i K a r i k a r i t s r e sponse s e t t l e d t h e i s s u e . The answer

t o S i r G a r p e t ' s l e t t e r and a subsequent one w r i t t e n irninediately

a f t e r t h e b a t t l e a t Fesu, were r ece ived on t h e 24 th of December

and once he had s t u d i e d . them bo th , t h e General was convinced t h a t

an i n v a s i o n was absolutely n e c e s s a r y i f t h e Asante people were t o

be t a u g h t a "proper lesson".114 However, t ime was of t h e essence

as t h e n e c e s s m y European t r o o p s had t o be used d u r i n g t h e pe r iod

of tirne betweep December and February. 3;Tith t h e month of Decern-

b e r a l r e a d y p a s t t h e r e remained b a r e l y enough tirne t o r e a c h K u m s i

and t h e n e f f e c t a ~; i t ; hd rawa l t o Ca:,)c Coast before t h e end of Feb-

r u a r y . Every e f f o r t had t h e r e f o r e t o be made t o acconiplish t h i s

I ~ l i s s i ~ ~ w i t h i n t h e s t i p u l a t e d t ime l i m i t . Thus i t t r a n s p i r e d

t h a t t h e t h i r d phase of t h e war, some p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r which had

a l r e a d y been under\ray s i n c e t h e a r r i v a l of S i r Garnet and h i s

s ta f f , began i1anunediately a f t e r t h e ' ? r o t e c t o r a t c ' was d e c l a r e d

free of t h e enemy.

WHE D H I V X TO KUiTA31

The t h i r d phase of t h i s war tras f i rs t and f o r e m o s t a r a c e

a g a i n s t t i t l e . Even b e f o r e Ananhra T i a had completed h i s w i t h -

d.rawal from t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' , S i r Garne t had been becoming i n -

c r e a s i n g l y alar.med o v e r t h e r a p i d l y dwind l ing ' d r y ' season. ' F o r

t h i s r e a s o n , a l t h o u g h he had r e c e i v e d no a s s u r a n c e s t h a t European

t r o o p s rierc t o be s e n t t o t h e Gold Coast , he had b e m d r i v i r g the

members of h i s s ta f f e v e r s i n c e t h e i r a r r i v a l i n Oc tober i n order

t h e expecLed r e i n f o r c e m e n t s a r r i v e d . On t h e 9 t h of December t h e

a l r e a d y s e r i o u s t i m element b e c a w even more v i t a l . On t h a t

day , S i r G a r n e t , w:lo was s t i l l up-country , r e c e i v e d word t h a t the

f irst c o n t i 9 g c p t of European t r o o p s had a r r i v e d a t Cape Coas t . 2

The G e n e r a l was t h a n k f u l t h a t t h e Glads tone A d m i n i s t r a t i o n

had g r a n t e d h i s r e q u e s t b u t he was u n j u s t i f i a b l y c r i t i c a l of t h e

t h i n y ; o f t t l e a r r i v a l of t h e t r o o p s . He b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e y ar-

r i v e d t o o l a t e t o a t t a c k and d e f e a t t h e A s a n t e s w h i l e t h e y were

S t i l l n e a r t h e c o a s t and t l le reby d e s t r o y t h e i r army b e f o r e it

p r i o r warn ing , t h e i n v a s i o n p r e p a r a t i o n s c o u l d have been pushed

more v i g o r o u s l y a n d h e would li~!ve bcen r e a d y t o t a k e up t h e pur -

s u i t w h i l e t h e eneifiy was s t i l l o f f b a l a n c e a 4 -Hoi:ever, such was

n o t t h e c a s e and as it was of prir,ie in ipor tance t h a t t h e w h i t e

t r o o p s n o t be exposed t o t h e \ Jes t A f r i c a n c l i m a t e any l o n g e r than,

a b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y , he was f o r c e d t o o r d e r t h e s h i p s t o s e a un-

til t h e end o f t h e y e a r , by which t i m e it was e s t i m a t e d t h a t e v e r y -

t h i n g would b e r e a d y f o r t h e march t o t h e P r a .

Thus t h e a r r i v a l of t h e European B r i g a d e , compl ica ted as

it was by t h e r a p i d l y a p i ~ r o a c h i n g r a i n y s e a s o n , and t h e a b s e n c e

of a n y i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e Asantehene was p r e p a r e d t o a c c e p t t h e

B r i t i s h te r l ' l s , s u d d e r . 1 ~ r e v e a l e d a major shor tcoming i n t h e Gen-

e r a l ' s corlduct of o p e r a t i o n s t o t h i s p o i n t . It was a l l a t once

c l e a r l y appa . rent t h a t even though v i g o r o u s i n i t i a l s t e p s had been

t a k e n , t h e s t a f f had n o t k e i t u11 t h e teriipo o f t h e prepara t ions

f o r t h e o x p a c t e d i n v a s i o n of Asante t e r r i t o r y . Consequen t ly , a l -

though t h e t r o o p s had a r r i v e d w i t h i n t w e n t y - f 0 w h o u r s of when

he had f o r e c a s t t h e y r;ould a l - r ive S i r Garne t was n o t y e t r e a d y

fo r them. He t h e r e f o r e e x e r t e d & r e s t p r e s s u r e on a l l concerned

in a n a t t e l n p t t o makc up f o r l o s t t i m e ; a s t e p which was made

even more v i t a l by tile f a c t t h a t he had a l r e a d y s e t t h e 1 5 t h of

January , 187h, as t h e d o t o f o r t h e i n v a s i o n t o bcg in .

On t h a t d a t e h e p lanned t o l a u n c h s e v e r a l columns s imul -

t a n e o u s l y a c r p s s t h e P r a and have them converge on Kumasi w i t h a

v iew t o weakening t;he arrily which would oppose- h i s Main Body by

f o r c i n g t h e detachment froln t h e A s a n t e h e n e t s army of t h e c o n t i n -

g e n t s o f t h o s e C h i e f s who would f i n d t i h e i r own d i s t r i c t s t h r e a t -

ened by t h e a u . x i l i a r y colurnns, The Main Body, c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e

European b r i g a d e , t h e Naval B r i g a d e , ?Joodl s and F iusse l l ' s Reg i -

ments and R a i t f s A r t i l l e r y , under S i r G a r n e t h i m s e l f , was t o ad -

vance a l o n g t h e Prasu-Kurnasi r o a d ; Cap ta in Glover was t o l e a d h i s

f o r c e t o w a r d s J a b i n from t h e e a s t ; w h i l e a t h i r d c o l u r a conposed

of Akins under Capta.in B u t l e r , was t o o p e r a t e between G l o v e r ' s

f o r c e and t h e main body, A f o u r t h colunln was t o o p e r a t e on t h e

G e n e r a . 1 ' ~ l e f t f l a n k under C a p t a i n Dalrymple who was t o advance

w i t h a f o r c e of W a s s a w , Denkyeras, and Komendas, and c r o s s t h e

In t h e l i g h t of t h e p r e v i o u s d i f f i c u l t i e s wi.t;h t h e A f r i -

can and t h e v i r t u a 1 l . y insurmountab le problems o f com-

m u n i c a t i o n , t h i s was a h i g h l y a m b i t i o u s p l a n . N e v e r t h e l e s s , it

w e r e underway. PJow t h a t t h e European t r o o p s had a r r i v e d , n o t

Only t h e 0 rgan iaa i ; ion of t h e a u x i l i a r y colurnns, b u t a l s o t h e con-

P l e t i o n o f t h e r o a d t o t h e P r a , t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a g i n g

and t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t r a n s p o r t , a l l of which were f a r

beh ind s c h e d u l e , had t o be r a p i d l y pushed f o r w a r d , i n o r d e r t o

ach ieve a maxirnun p e r i o d of tirile f o r "dryv o p e r a t i o n s . Thus t h e

s h o r t d r y p e r i o d w a s t o be f u r t h e r reduce<? by v i r t u e o f t h e f a c t

t h a t S i r G a r n e t ' s f a i l u r e t o p r o p e r l y e x p e d i t e t h e s e i n v a s i o n

p r e p a r a t i o ~ s would ult ,f lnately r e s u l t i n t h e l o s s o f p r e c i o u s time

s p e n t i n comple t ing t a s k s which should , and cou ld , have been

completed e a r l i e r .

The b u i l d i n g of t h e bb in Supply Route from Cape Coast was

of b a s i c importance t o t h e fo r thcon ing o p e r a t i o n , F o r t u n a t e l y ,

c l e a r i n g and g e n e r a l s u r f a c e inprove~nont had been pushed on a s

r a p i d l y as t h e r e t r e a t i . h g Asantes had per ta i t t ed and by C h r i s t z a s

Day, Na.jor IIome was a b l e t o r e p o r t from Pra su t h a t t h e road was

completed t o t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n s s e t e a r l i e r by S i r Garnet . 6

E i g h t s i t e s weye a2proved and d e s p i t e the l a t e

S t a r t and severa l c m s t r u c t i o r , problems, t h e t h r a e office.^'^ d i -

r e c t l y res i lon3 ib le f o r t h e p r e p r a t i o n o f t h e c m p s had ~~~~~~~~ted

t h a i r t a s k b y . t h s 26 th of ~ e c e ~ n b c r . ~ While t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e

r c a d had ensu red t h a t t h e men shou ld m r c h t o t h e P r a w i t h d r y

f e e t , t h e c snps were des igned t o p rov ide f o r any o t h e r con t in -

gency. For exa11lp2.e) s h e l t e r from t h e sun and r a i n W ~ S ensured

by t h e b u i l d i r g of h u t s ; by m a n s of guard-beds, t h e t r o o p s were

r a i s e d two t o t h r e e f e e t above t h e damp ground; a supply o f pure

d r ink ing -wa te r was ensured by t h e c a r e f u l s e l e c t i o ? o f t h e camps

and t h e abundance of f i l t e r s ; and l a s t l y , an ample supply o f

good food was ensu red by t h e r a t i o n which had been f i x e d on t h e

r e c o m ~ e n d a t i o n of D r . Home, t h e P r i n c i p a l Nedica l Off'icer. Good

o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r a b l u t i o n were provided a t a l l t h e s t a t i o n s ;

s u p p l i e s o f d r i e d wood were c o l l e c t e d f o r t h e purpose of f i r e s

f o r cooking, and a l s o t o enab le f i r e s t o be l i g h t e d a t n i g h t i n

t h e h u t s o r i n t h e doors a s smudges and f o r warmth. A good ar-

rangement f o r s u r f a c e d r a i n a g s was e s t a b l i s h e d a t each camp; and

a small body of s a n i t a r y p o l i c e and scavengers was formed f o r

t h e s o l e purpose of ca:np conservancy. 1 0

Desp i t e al.1 of t h e s e measures , hoxever , it was a p p r e c i a t e d

t h a t s i c k n e s s t rou ld be r e l a t i v e l y h igh axon6 t h e Europeans through-

ou t t h e cmpni t ;n and t h a t t h e r e would be b a t t l e - c a s u a l t i e s once

the i n v a s i o n began. Imrfiediate a t t e l t i o n had t h e r e f o r e t o be

Given t o t h e c r e a t i o n of a sjrstenl of t r e a t m e n t and evacua t ion f o r

t h e s i c k and wounded, It had a l r e a d y bee? decided be fo re he l e f t

England t h a t S i r Garnet would be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r medical m a t t e r s

Only up u n t i l t h e tinle t h a t c a s u a l t i e s were marked f o r evacua t ion

back t o England and t h a t once i t had been dec ided t o send a man

horn?, he becand t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e Royal Navy and t h e Home

11 Government.

D r . Home was t h e r e f o r e concerned on ly with l o c a l o r firs^

eche lon medical, p l a ~ n i n g and he had a c t u a l l y dev ised a n a p p l i -

c a b l e medical p lan wi th in two weeks of h i s a r r i v a l on board t h e

Ambri z . 12 The p r e s s u r e of t i n e , however, e n t a i l e d some rmdi f i -

c a t i o n o f t h i s p lan 2nd i n t h e end proper h o s p i t a l s were con-

s t r u c t e d on ly a t C a p Coest , Iktnsu, Akrofu and Prasu. A t a l l of

t h e o t h e r staging-ca:.lps tile procedure fol lowed was sir,iply t o i m -

prove t h e b e s t of t h e b a r r a c k s and s e t t h e x apart f o r t h e s i c k

and wounded a f t e r t h e t r o o p s had marched through. I n a n t i c i p a -

t i o n of a heavy dei;iand, t h e p lan a l s o provided f o r f u r t h e r ac-

conurmdation of c a s u a l t i e s aboard c z r t a i n s h i p s . H.bI.3. V i c t o r

Emxinuel was s e n t ou t from ~ n g l a n d f i t t e d t o s e r v i c e 240 pa-

t i e n t s . H.I.T.S. Himalaya and W.PI.S. Tamar, l y i n g i n t h e roads ,

Could accommo&qte 100 each; b e s i d e s which, t h e o t h e r t r a n s p o r t s

could-- in ca se of need--take conva le scen t s , and provide p r o p e r l y

f o r rnon n o t r e q u i r i n g a c t i v e medical t r ea tmen t . 13

ed a t hi& p r e s s u r e , was c o n s i d e r e d c a p a b l e of moving 1 , 4 2 5 c a s -

u a l t i e s a montli and h i s nicnzoranduri? on t h i s m a t t e r i s a c o n c i s e

and r e a l i s t i c d i r e c t i v e which p rov ided f o r the most e f f i c i e n t use

of p o r t e r s arid l i t t e r s . Of h i s work i n t h i s f i e l d , Brackenbury

w r i t e s :

Only a b r a i n s p e c i a l l y g i f t e d w i t h o r g a n i z i n g power, and o f remark- a b l y c l e a r j u d p ? n t , cou ld have a r r a n g - ed w i t h s u c h s i n g u l a r e f f e c t i v e n e s s f o r t h e p r o b a b l e c o n t i n g e n c i e s o f a campaign i n t h i s c l i m a t e . A l l D r . HonleVs c a l c u - l a t i o n s were s u b s e q u e n t l y found t o be most w o n d e r f u l l y c o r r e c t ; and h i s suc - c e s s o r s found o r g a n i z e d and r e a d y t o t h e i r hand a c o n p l e t e systeina14

The r o a d , i n - t r a n s i t t r o o p accoin:nodation and t h e medica l

a r l q i l n p m c n t s x e r c t h e r e f o r c r a t h e r r a p i d l y p r e p a r e d . U n f o r t u n a t e l y

a n a j o r problem p r i o l * t o t h e i n v a s i o n b u t which a l s o became a

c h r o r i c d i f f i c u l t y t h r o u g h o u t t h e campaign. T h i s was p a r t l y be-

c a u s e S i r G a r n e t d i d n o t h i n g t o r e l i e v e t h e problem u n t i l it had

the C0rnplnini;s of t h e A f r i c a n s s o t h a t t h e o n l y e f f e c t i v e s y s t e m

E v e n t u a l l y , however, t h e B r i t i s h were f o r c e d t o acknowl-

edge t h z t humn p o r t e r a g e was t h e only answer t o t h e t r a n s p o r t

problem. Th i s n e a n t t h a t t h e corps of sone 650 c a r r i e r s found

on t h o Coast wile^ S i r Garnet a r r i v e d , 1 7 would have t o be i n -

c r e a s e d t o more t h a n t e n t i a e s t h a t nuinber b e f o r e t h e d r i v e on

Kumasi c o t ~ l d be I.aunched.. However, by t h e l g t h o f fi?ovember, t h e

t o t a l t r a n s p o r t c o r p s was r e p o r t e d to' be a t a s t r e n g t h of on ly

1,323.18 I n a n attempt t o swe l l t h e s e nunibers, s e v e r a l r i i s s i o n s

were s e n t t o v a r i o u s k i n g s and c h i e f s i n t h e hope t h a t t h e n m b e r

be lef% f o r t h e p r e s e n t , relriaining a v a i l a b l e t o be t aken and en-

plojred a s c a r r - i e r s a t sone subsequent d a t e . U n f o r t ~ ~ n a t e l y , t h e s e

m i s s i o n s were on ly p a r t i a l l y s ~ c c e s s f u l , ~ ~ and S i r Garne t% f a i l -

made it n e c e s s j r y n o t on ly t o d isarm some of t h e Af r i can a l l i e s

l i t t l e t i m e f o r o r g a n i z i n g , pay ing , c o u n t i n g , and c a r i n g f o r c a r -

r i e r gangs . S i r Garne t r e a l i z e d t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n was one of t h e

p rob lems b u t t h e s i t u a t i o n was s o o u t o f hand. t h a t he was a l m o s t

d e s p a i r i n g of f i n d i n g a s o l u t i o n when a s e n i o r o f f i c e r i d e a l l y

s u i t e d t o h a n d l i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n a r r i v e d aboard t h e Samar i t an on

t h e 1 8 t h of December. L i e u t e n a n t Colonel George C o l l e y was w e l l

known t o t h e G e n e r a l who s a i d of him,. . .

He was- -a l l round--one o f t h e v e r y a b l e s t r!len I e v e r knew. P e r f e c t as a man o f b u s i n e s s , I n e v e r s e r v e d w i t h any one who cou ld s o a b s o l u t e l y e v o l v e o r d e r from c o n f u s i o n o r s t r a i g h t , e n o u t t h e most t a n g l e d web o f d i r ' c u l t i e s s o e f f e c t u a l l y as h e 43 c o c l d .

No t i m e was l o s t i n a p p o i n t i n g t h i s new a r r i v a l as D i r e c -

t o r o f T r a n s p o r t and a s s i g n i n g him t o t h e cormnand and o r g a n i z a t i o n

of t h e t r a n s p o r t s e r v i c e . The move was a good one f o r n o t o c l y

had C o l o n e l ~ o l l e y f o r so.:~e c o ~ s i d c r a b l e t i m e devo ted h i s a t t e n -

t i o n t o q u e s t , i o n s of army o r g a n i z a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g t h e v i t a l ques-

t i o n s o f t r a n s p o r t a n d s u y p l y , * 3 b u t he a l s o b rough t t o t h e j o b

an abundance of e n e r g y and a g r e a t c a p a c i t y f o r h a r d work.

The neti D i r e c t o r of T r a n s p o r t l e f t f o r I.lansu or, t h e 1 9 t h

Of December ap,d ~ j i t h i n a weel, he had s u b a i t t e d t o t h e Deputy-

C o n t r o l l - o r a inemorar.dw,l u h i c h p rov ided f o r t h e s y s t e m a t i z a t i o n o f

th% t r a n s p o r t . T h i s memorandum, a n a d a p t i o n of normal army t r a n s -

p o r t o r C a n i z a t i o q , was a c c e p t e d and i t s reco;:::aendations imrwdia-

t;ely implemer t e d . 24 ~ h c f a c t remained, however, t h a t t h e systern

would work o n l y if s u f f i c i e n t manpower was a v a i l a b l e 2nd l~ianpower

was s t i l l i n s h o r t s u p p l y . The t o t a l number o f c a r r i e r s r e q u i r e d

by t h e f o r c e f o r t i le march nor thwards iron: t h e P r a , without , p ro -

v i s i o n s , b u t c a r r y i n g r e g i m e n t a l r e s e r v e o f f i f t y rounds o f am-

m u n i t i o n p e r mar,, amount,ed t o more t h a n 3,500 a e ~ . 25 I n a d d i t i o n

t o t h e s e 3,5CO men, t h e r e would a l s o be a r e q u i r e m e n t f o r 5 , 0 0 0

s t a t i o n . c a r r i e r s who were needed t o c a r r y up s u p p l i e s of food and

ammunit ion, a n d t o c a r r y back t h e s i c k and womded. 26 1t was ap- '

p r e c i a t e d t h a t if arly p o r t i o n of t h i s t r a ~ s p o r t s h o ~ l d f a i l t h e r e

would b e b u t ope way t o meet t h e d i f f i c u l t y ; t o r educe t h e m n o e u -

w i n g f o r c c .

a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l a t Cape Coas t and had heen v i r t u a l l y s i n g l e -

handed ly o r g a n i z i n g h i s V o l t 3 e x p e d i t i o n e v e r s i n c e l a t e Sep-

teriiber. It had been h i s i n t e n t i o n t o use t h e - Hausa Armed T o l i c e

which h c had tnlcen froi,l Cape Coast C a s t l e a s t h e n u c l e u s o f a

f o r c e o f aimed A-fricczns drawn f rom t h e v a r i o u s t r i b e s f o u ~ d i n

t h e souther-n trans-Volts r e g i o n . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , he found it nluch

more d i f f i c u l t t o execui;e h i s p l a n s t h a n t o e v o l v e thein f o r he

Et7countered one d i f f i c u l - t y a f t e r another.*' A s a r e s u l t , a l t h o u g h

he had promised Six* G a l n e t on t h e l l + t h of December t h a t he would

be e s t a b l i s h e d on tile banks of t h e P r a by t h e 1 5 t h of J a n u a r y

Wit;!) a f o r c e of a t l e a s t 16 ,000 m n and p o s s i b l y a s rnnny as

30,000,*9 he was f o r c e d t o w r i t e t h e Genera l on t h e 22nd o f De-

T h i s message caused c o ~ s i d e r a b l e c o n s t e r n a t i o n a t Cape

Coas t f o r it had been G l o v e r ' s o p t i m i s t i c f o r e c a s t of t h e 6 t h

which had been l a r i ; e ly r e s p o n s i b l e f o r S i r Garne t h a v i n g chosen

t h e 1 5 t h of January as i n v a s i o n d a t e . The Genera l r e a l i z e d

t h a t because of h i s slowness i n c o r n p l e t h g h i s p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r

i n v a s i o n , any f u r t h e r d e l a y on h i s p a r t would n e c e s s i t a t e t h e

abandonmsnt of t h e p r o j e c t e d i n v a s i o n a l t o g e t h e r f o r t h e r a i n s

W o ~ l r ! set; i n before it collld p o s s i b l y be c a r r i e d o u t . A d d i t i o n a l

Orders were t h e r e f o r e s e n t t o Cap ta in Glover r'equil-ing him t o

advance imolediatel;. t o t h e I ) r a w i t h h i s Hausas and any o t h e r d i s -

c i p l i n e d t r o o p s he had , and t o be on t h e banks of t h e r i v e r by

t h e 1 5 t h of January whether t h e a l l i e s c o u l d b e induced t o f o l l o x

him o r n o t . I n a d d i t i o n , he was n o t t o a l l o w - a n y of h i s men t o

c r o s s t h e Oda Rj-ver t o t h e w e s t of J a b i n or advance t o w a r d s

Kwnasi. 31

To t h e c h a g r i n of a l l concerned, t h e two r e m a i n i n g o f f i -

c e r s g a z e t t e d t o r a i s e a u x i l i a r y collxmns were even l e s s s u c c c s s -

f u l t h a n Captain Glover , C a p t a i n B u t l e r , who had l e f t Cape Coast

f o r Akiia c o u n t r y on t h e 3 r d of November, had been c h a r g e d ~ i i t h a

double m i s s i o n . IIe was . t o r a i s e A f r i c a n l e v i e s a s q u i c k l y as pcs-

t h e ~ P r o t e c t o m t e f a n d f o r p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e i n v a s i o n of Asan te

t e r r i t o r y . 3 2

Ile f a i l e d i n h i s f i r s t miss ion p a r t l y because o f C a p t a i n

G l o v e r ' s r e c k l e s s g i v i n g of p r e s e n t ~ 3 3 which made t h e A k i m re-

l t l c t a n t t o j o i n B u t l e r and f o r e g o t h e more l u c r a t i v e r € % I ~ n e r a t , i o ~

in G l o v c r t s camp, and p a r t l y because o f what a p p e a r s t o have beer.

a g e n e r a l l a c k of f i g h t i n g s p i r i t on t h e p a r t of t h e Akifils, who

had bee? untotlched by t h e i n v a s i o n and had , t h e r e f o r e , no r e a s o n

P a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e B r i t i s h v e n t u r e . I n t h e end a n a l y s i s , o n l y

B u t l e r h i m s e l f , w i t h abou t f i f t e e n men, r eached P r a s u by

o f Yankuqlasi Ass in o;? t h e 1 0 t h o f December and found that t h e

had a l r e a d y c r o s s e d t h e r i v e r . 34 Unde te r red by t h e f a c t

tha t wl~at he a s t h e a p a t h y and g r e e d of t h e Akin c h i e f s

had t h u s brought about t h e u t t e r f a i l u r e o f h i s f i r s t o b j e c t i v e ,

Captain B u t l e r r e t u r n e d t o t h e Akim t e r r i t o r y and t u r n e d h i s a t -

t e n t i o n t o h i s second t a s k , t h e c o l l e c t i o n of-men f o r t h e inva-

s i o n o f Asante.

The s i t u a t i o n i n the wes t , where Captain Dal rynple had

gone a t about t h e same t ime t h a t Capta in B u t l e r had depa r t ed f o r

Accra , was even more d i scou rag ing . Capta in Dalrymple had e x e r t e d

e v e r y e f f o r t t o r a i s e h i s f o r c e of Wassawas, Denkyeras, Eguafos

and Kornendas b u t he s u f f e r e d much t h e same problems as Captain

B u t l e r . When he had f irst s e t ou t f o r h i s r e c r u i t i n g a r e a , he

had expec ted t o f i n d f u l l y 1 , 0 0 0 a l l i e s a l r e a d y g a t h e r e d under

Se rgean t Hughes of t h e Cape Coast Vo lun tee r s , bu t found none a t

W e n s o , he k e p t a t h i s t a s k i n t h e hope t h a t a t l e a s t

some men could be persuaded t o s e rve .

Desp i t e t h e appa ren t f a i l u r e o f a t l e a s t two o f t h e aux-

i l i a r y colunns, S i r Garnet was determined t o move t h e main body

a c r o s s t h e P r a on t h e 1 5 t h o f January. By C h r i s t n a s of 1873 most

of t h e l o g i s t i c p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e movcmmt o f t h e main body

had beer? completed a ~ d on t h e 27 th o f December t h e t r o o p s began

to c o n c e n t r a t e a t P ~ a s u . The General and h i s s t a f f d e p a r t e d from

Cape Coast on t h e morning of t h e 27 th and jo ined the g a r r i s o n a l -

ready a t Yrasu 03 the 2nd of January. 36 The F a v a l Brigade a ~ d

1:;IR disenibarked or? t h e 27th . The f o r m r moved o f f t o P ra su and

t h e l a t t e r , i n a s e r i o u s i n s t a n c e of misuse , was despatched t o

v a r i o u s g z r r i s o n d u t i g s a long t h e nn in road. 37 The European

b r i g a d e began t o disembark on t h e 1st o f January . 38 Both t h e

R i f l e Cr igade and t h e B?ack Watch landed and began moving ~ 1 3 -

count ry w i thou t i n c i d e n t but on t h e 3 r d , b e f o r e t h e f u l l coay le -

rmnt o f F u s i l i e r s could be l aRded , t h e t r a n s p o r t systein begax t o

f a l t e r . 39

B r i g a d i e r - G w e r a l S i r Arch iba ld A l i son , who y:as i n d i r e c t

conlinand of t h e European b r i g a d e , i m n e d i a t e l y suspended t h e dis-

embarkat ion of t h e second h a l f - b a t t a l i o n of t h e F u s i l i e r s a d t h e

Royal A r t j l l e r y and t e l e g r a p h e d t o Colonel Co l l ey t h a t he would

ho ld up any f u r t h e r unloading u n t i l t h e m t t e r was r e s o l v e d , 40

On r e c e i p t o f t h e s e r e p o r t s a t F r a s u , S i r Garnet confiriaed t h e

B r i g a d i e r ' s o r d e r s t o h a l t t h e d i ~ e i ~ l b a r i c a t i o n and he f u r t h e r or -

de red t h a t t h e t r o o p s i n t r a n s i t be h a l t e d i n t h e i r s t a g i n g - c m p .

He t h e n mads a r rangements f o r t h e temporary ei~iployment of t h e ner.

o f l Y I R 2nd 2!IIH as w e l l a s Vood's Regiment as c a r r i e r s , b l b u t

t h e problem was a c u t e and some more permanent s o l u t i o n had t o be

found .

Even b e f o r e D r i g a d i e r A l i s o n ' s r e p o r t , Colonel Co l l ey h a i

inforitled S i r Garr.et t h a t c a r r i e r d e s e r t i o n s had becone g e r e r a l at.

a l l s t a t i o n s a l o n g t h e road and t h a t u ? ~ l e s s t h e t r c ~ d could be

s t o p p e d , t h e marc11 t o Kuiilasi cou ld n e v e r be under taken . He a l so

s t a t e d t h a t under any c i rcu ixs tances , s o l a r g e a f o r c e o f Xuropea?s

as o r i g i n a l l y c o n t e ~ . ~ p l a t e d would ha\r; t o b~ akandoced because sk~f-

f i c i e n t t ranspcr i ; was s i q l y n o t a v a i l a b l e . Brackenbury coni..ent,s :

Every mouth t o be f e d must now be c o n s i d e r e d ; and n o t one s i n g l e Eurogean w i t h whorfl i t was p o s s i b l e t o d i s p e n s e , c o u l d under t h e s e circum- s t a n c e s be b rough t up t o t h e f r o n t . Al ready a t t h i s d a t e i t was p e r f e c t l y e v i d e n t t h a t t h e amount o f s u p p l i e s which t h e Deputy-Contro l . le r had under- t a k e n t o have a t P r a s u by t h e 1 5 t h o f J a n u a r y , c o u l d n o t be t h e r e ; and it be- came a m a t t e r f o r s e r i o u s c o n s i d . e r a t i o n , w i t h e r , if t h e f o r c e o r i g i n a l l y p ro - posed were t o b e brought ' up t o t h e P r a h , t h e s t o c k o f s u p p l i e s t h e r e would n o t d i m i n i s h day by day r a t h e r t h a n i n - c r e a s e . 42

It was a d i f i i c u l t s i t u a t i o n b u t S i r Garne t made t h e o n l y

d e c i s i o n p o s s i b l e under t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s . He a t once o r d e r e d

t11e f i rs t h a l f - b a t t a l i o n of F u s i l i e r s t o re-e: :~bark on board t h e

s h i p s . The G e n e r a l was r.iost unhappy a t t h e r e s u l t a n t l o s s o f t h e

de tachment o f Royal A r t i l l e r y and o f t h e i n f a n t r y b a t t a l i o n 4 3 b u t

a t l e a s t t h e p r e s e n c e o f R a i t f s h i g h l y p r o f i c i e n t Hausn a r t i l l e r y 4 4

o f f s e t t h e l o s s o f t h e B r i t i s h g u n n e r s . ! ? i th t h e t r o o p s a l r e a d y

a s h o r e s t i 11 s t o p p e d i n t h e i r s t a g i n g camps, t l ~ e i ~ m e d i a t e deraand

f o r c a r r i e r s was made l e s s a c u t e and S i r Garne t t h e n cc jnfer red

w i t h C o l o n e l C o l l e y as t o a Illore permanent s o l u t i o n t o t h e over-

a l l problem.

The l o n g overdue s o l u t i o n which t h e y a r r i v e d a t c a l l e d f o r

an irtiprovenont i n t h e food b e i n g p r o v i d e d f o r t h e c a r r i e r s , an

i n c r e n s e i n t h e i r pay , and more s t r i n g e n t a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e pun-

i s h m e n t s p r o v i d e d f o r d e s e r t i o n .'+5 The t h i r d i t e m was e s p e c i a l l y .

e f f e c t i v e and w i t h t h e a r r i v a l , d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d week o f J a n u a r y ,

of a l a r g e r e i n f ~ r c e r n e n t o f o f f i c e r s s p e c i f i c a l l y g a z e t t e d by

S i r Garne t f o r employment w i t h t h e l o c a l l y o rgan ized t r a n s p o r t

s e r v i c e , t h e s i t u a t i o n began t o improve cons ide rab ly . By t h e

6 t h o f J anua ry , t h e t r o o p s were once more on t h e nove arid t h e

f l o w of s u p p l i e s was r a p i d l y b u i l d i n g up t o t h e p roper volurrie. 46

I n t h e meantime, however, S i r Garnet had r ece ived an

embassy from t h e Asantehene b e a r i r . ~ Kofi K a r i k a r i ' s answer t o h i s .

ultirnaturn ~f t h e 2 1 s t o f b?over~~ter . He had b a r e l y f i n i s h e d r e -

viewing t h e ~ a r r i s o n upon h i s a r r i v a l a t P r a s u when he was i n -

fornicd t h a t n i n e Asante messengers were on t h e i r way t o t h e camp

w i t h two l e t t e r s . The c o n t e n t s of bo th l e t t e r s l e d t h e B r i t i s h

t o b e l i e v e t h a t Rof i K a r i k a r i had no i d e a o f t h e t r u e s t a t e o f

af fa i rs . C l a r i d g e sunmarizes t h e g e n e r a l op in ion a t t h e t ime

when he w r i t e s :

It was t i e l l knovm t h a t no one da red t o t e l l t h e King any bad news, and t h e t o n e o f t h e s e two l e t t e r s f u l - l y bo re o u t t h e supposition t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i had no i d e a o f t h e r e a l ex te r . t o f t h e r e v e r s e s t h a t h i s army had met w i t h , and t h i s b e l i e f was a f t e r m r d s conf i rmed by t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s . A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , t h e King knew n o t h i n g o f t h e d e f e a t o f his t r o o p s b e f o r e E l - mina and a t Abrakrampa ar.d Du~kwa, bu t had on ly hea rd o f a b r i l l i a n t v i c t o r y t h a t had been ~ 7 i n e d over t h e 3 r i t i s h a t F e s u , . . .

t h a t t h i s wa.s t h e c a s e , S i r Garnet dec ided

cornmur,i.cate once more with t h e Asantehene i n a f i n a l a t t e n p t t o

c l a r i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n and , i f p o s s i b l e , t o avo id ap i n v a s i o n .

H i s r ev iew o f t h e Asante r e v e r s e s s o u t h of t h e P r a was b r u t a l l y

f r a n k and h i s promise of u l t i m a t e d e s t r u c t i o n should t k e war be

con t inued was e q u a l l y s t r a i g h t fo rward . Then; d e s p i t e t h e ob-

v i o u s dangers involved, he i n f o r m d t h e Asantehene o f h i s p l an

o f o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e hope t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i w o ~ l d be under no

rnisapprchension as t o t h e t h r e a t posed by t h e ~ r i t i s h . ~ * Me d i d . n o t , however, c l o s e t h e door t o a n e g o t i a t e d peace. He o f f e r e d

peace on t h e p r i v i s o t h a t a l l of t h e European and Af r i can p r i s -

o n e r s be i : m e d i n t e l y r e l e a s e d ; t h a t an indemnity o f 50,000 ounces

o f g o l d b e pa id ;49 avd t h a t a new t r e a t y o f peace be c o ~ . c l u 2 e d ,

i n Kumasi, a f t e r t h e d e l i v e r y of c e r t a i n l a t e r t o be s p e c i f i e d

hos tages f o r t h e s a f e t y o f t h e General and h i s e s c o r t . 50

Mot c o n t e n t w i t h t h e expected shock va lue o f t h i s l e t t e r ,

S i r Garnet a l s o proposed t o s l i o ~ ~ u n ~ n i s t a k e a b l y t o t h e messengers

e n t r u s t e d w i t h t h e d e l i v e r y o f h i s l e t t e r t h a t he was d e t e r n i n e d

t o compel colnplj ance w i t h h i s t e rms . A c c o r d i ~ g l y t h e messe lge r s

were d e t a i n e d u n t i l more wh i t e t r o o p s should r e a c h t h e P r a a r d be

pushed a c r o s s it i n a show of s t r e n g t h and u n t i l t h e b r i d g e a c r o s s

t h e r i v e r cou ld be coiapleted.

The a r r i v a l o f Naval Br igade a t P r a s u on t h e morning of

t h e 3 r d o f J anua ry provided t h e General w i t h t h e ' c a s t c f o r h i s

show. As a f i rs t s t e p , t h e s a i l o r s and mar ines were formed up

and t h e A s m t e envoys were marched p a s t then1 so t h a t t h a r e n i g h t

be no doubt i n t h e i r minds as t o t h e f a c t o f t h e European b u i l d -

up. Then, on t h e f s l l o x i n ~ day , t h e G a t l i p & gun was demons t ra ted

f o r them as a?, i n d i c a t i o n of t h e ovct-wheln~ing f o r c e of t-he B r i t i s h

f i r e p o w e r . 51 F i n a l l y , on t h e morning of t h e 6 t h , t r o o p s were

marched a c r o z s t he newly c o n p l ~ t e d b r i d g e as y e t a n o t h e r example

o f B r i t i s h s t r e n g t h and def ,erminat ion. The envoys were t h e n pas-

sed t h r o u g l ~ t h e s e a p p a r e n t l y i nvad ing f o r c e s 5 2 and s s n t on t h e i r

way t o Kunasi v i t h S i r G a r n e t ' s l a t e & l e t t e r . Although t h e r e

was some s l i m hope t h a t t h i s l a t e s t c o n - ~ u n i c a t i o n might r e s u l t i n

a n e g o t i a t e d s e t t l e i n e n t , t h e Genera l e n t e r t a i n e d l i t t l e hope f o r

such a r e s u l t and as t h e t r a n s p o r t problem had a l r e a d y s e r i o u s l y

d i s r u p t e d h i s t i i n e t a b l e , he con t inued t o push f o r m r 6 x i t h h i s

i n v a s i o n p l a n , ~f v i t a l importance t o which was t h e e s t a b l i s h -

ment of a s e c u r e br idgehead on t h e n o r t h b a ~ k o f t h e P r a . The

s taff a n t i c i p a t e d enemy r e s i s t a n c e , i f no t t o t h e passage of t h e

P r a i t s e l f , t hen a t l e a s t t o t h e advance i m m d i a t e l y bey0r.d it.

I n f a c t , i t was f e l t t h a t t h e r o a d s would have t o be c u t aqd t h e

va r lo t i s canping grounds c l e a r e d e v e r y day under cover of t h e

whole S u r o p e m f o r c e and t h a t t h e r a t e o f adval?ce ~ ! c u l d avzra;ge .

o n l y f o u r o r f i v e m i l e s a day.53 A br idgehead was t h e r e f o r e nced-

ed i n o r d e r t o have a s e c u r e base from which t o l aunch t h e as-

s a u l t and f r o n which t o supply suppor t s u f f i c i 2 n t t o s u s t a i ? t h e

advance under t h e most g r u e l l i n g of c o n d i t i o n s .

The o r i g i n a l p l a n was t o c o ~ ~ ~ p l e t e t h e b r i d g e and f o r ~ n t h e

bridgelzcad under t h e p r o t e c t i o n of W i t ' s guns ard t h e k f m t r y

o f t h e P!aval Br igade arld i':ood' s and " n i s s e l l ' s Re$.r.ler,ts. There-

f o r e a s t h e t r a n s p o r t problem had made t i n e ever! more c r u c i a l *

t h a n had p r e v i o u s l y been t h e case and a s t h e Asan tes were expec t -

ed t o c o n t e s t t h e c r o s s i r g , t h e b r idgehead began evar whi le t h e

Asrtnte envoys were a t P ra su .

Immediately upon h i s a r r i v a l a t P r a s u , S i r Garns t decided

t o i n c r e a s e r econna i s sance n o r t h o f t h e P r a . Accordingly , t h e . e x i s t i n g body o f s c o u t s was i n c r e a s e d i n nuubers , 54 pu t under coin-

mand o f L i e u t e n a n t Lord G i f fo rd and s e n t a c r o s s t h e r i v e r on t h e

morning of t h e l+th of January. The s c o u t s encounte red no r e s i s t -

ance and , on t h e morning of t h e 5 t h , R u s s e l 1 7 s Regiment was f e r -

r i e d a c r o s s , t h e b r i d g e no t y e t be ing r eady , and marched about

eight; m i l e s r .orth o f t h e r i v e r t o t h e v i l l a g e o f k t o b i a s i , wh i l e

G i f f o r d l s s c o u t s advanced t o E s a m n . R u s s e l l 7 s Regiment had

o r d e r s t o send on a co:.lpany prov ided w i t h e n t r e n c h i n g t o o l s t o

fonn a d e f e n s i v e p o s t a t Esanar., w h i l e t h e re.;lainder of t h e r e g i -

ment was t o use t h e t ime remainiqg on t h e 5 t h t o c l e a r t h e ground

and e r e c t h u t s a t A t o b i a s i . On t h e 6 t h i t was t o cornmelce open-

ing t h e road . The reg i rneq ta l c a r r i e r s r e t u r n e d t o T r a s u on t h e

6 t h i n o r d e r t o beg in c a r r y i n g s u p p l i e s from P r a s u t o k t o b i a s i .

T h i s move was a l s o c a r r i e d ou t w i thou t encoun te r ing any

enemy r e s i s t a n c e and from t h e 7 t h o f January onward, p r e p a r a t i o n s

moved ahead smoothly and t h e p a t t e r n e s t a b l i s h e d s o u t h o f t h e P r a

was soon be ing s u c c e s s f u l l y r e p e a t e d . 5 5 By t h e 12t i l of January ,

t h e P r a s u or.cai~~pr!lnnt was c o r n ~ l e t e d ; t h e e n g i n e e r s ware working on

t h e improvement of t h e road n o r t h o f t h e r i v e r ; G i f f o r d an3 h i s

s c o u t s were about 12 m i l e s up t h e t r a i l a t Xccrofumu; adequa t e

d e f e n s i v e p o s t s had been e s t a b l i s h e d a t A t o b i a s i , Esaman, Ar?sah,

and t h e f o r d on t h e Funusu R i v e r ; t h e move:i~er,t o f r e s e r v e s o f

s u p p l i e s t o t h e s e p o s t s was well. undt3r way a n d t h e co r , s t ruc t i on

of a l a r g e c o n t r o l s t o r e had been s t a r t e d a t Esaaan. 56 1t was a t

t h i s p o i n t t h a t a second embassy a r r i v e d from t h e Asantehene.

The envoys who had c a r r i e d S i r Ga rne t t s l e t t e r o f t h e 2nd

to Kufiasi had been g r e a t l y a larmed by t h e growing European f o r c e

a t P ra su as w e l l a s by t h e s i g h t of t h e Maval Br igade on t h e road

j u s t n o r t h o f t h e P r a , R w s e l l t s r a m a t A t o b i a s i , and Gi f ' f o rd t s

s c o u t s a t Esama?. They were t h e r c f o r s convinced t h a t a c r i s i s

was a t hand such as had neve r t h r e a t e n e d Asante b e f o r e mci t h e i r

comments as w e l l a s t h e c o n t e q t s o f S i r G a r n e t ' s l e t t e r had a

profound e f f e c t on t h e Asantehene and h i s c o u n c i l . Indeed , v i r -

t u a l l y a l l of t h e Ch ie f s who had been engaged i n t h e war favoured

peace w h i l e o n l y t h o s e who had n e v e r l e f t Kumasi d u r i n g t h e con-

f l i c t now da red t o counse l f u r t h e r r e s i s t a n c e . 57 I n f a c t , it i s

proposed t h a t t h e on ly t h i n g p r e v e n t i ~ g t h e Asantehene from s u r -

r e n d e r i n g was one of S i r Ga rne t t s demands. 5g

As t h e n a t t e r of t h e h o s t a c e s had n o t y e t become an i s s u e ,

it is su&ges ted t;hat Kof i K a r i k a r i trou1.d p robably havs c o n s e ~ t e d

t o s u r r e n d e r a l l o f t h e p r i s o n e r s , and might even have ag read t o

pay t h e i n d a x n i t y . Hot:ever, t h e proposed y r s sence o f a B r i t i s h

- 1 7 0 - f o r c e i n Kumasi when t h e t r e a t y rras s i g n e d was ' ? too much f o r

A s h a n t i p r i d e t r . 59 It would have s i g n i f i e d t o t a l s u r r e n d e r and

would c e r t a i n l y ht2ve t h r e a t e n e d t h e empire w i t h t o t a l e x t i n c t i o n

as it would have proved t o t h e t r i b u t a r y s t a t e s acd t h e s u r r o u n d -

i n g t r i b e s t h a t t h e power o f Kunasi was i n d e e d on t h e wane. Such

a n a d n i s s i o n was o b v i o u s l y an i m p o s s i b i l i t y a ~ d s o n e n e a q s had

t h e r e f o r e t o be found t o g a i n t i m e s o . t h a t t h e d e f e a t e d and d i s -

banded Asaqte army, which had bean a l l o w e d t o d i s p e r s e i r m e d i a t e -

ly a f t e r i t s a r r i v a l i n K u n ~ a s i , ~ ~ c o u l d be once more b r o u g h t t o -

g e t h e r . It. would a p p e a r l i k e l y , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e k s m t e h e n e ,

r a t h e r t h a n a b s o l u t e l y r c f u s e t h e B r i t i s h t e r n s , a t t e rnp ted t o

p r o l o n g t h e n e ~ o t i a t i o n s w i t h a view t o n o t o n l y g a i n i n g sone

d e l a y f o r t h e purpose of r a l l y i n g h i s f o r c e s , b u t a l s o i n t h e

hops k h a t sor.ie b e t t e r te r ins migh t be o b t a i n e d whereby h e night;

g a i n peace ~ i t h o u t h a v i n g t o s a c r i f i c e h i s d i g n i t y and i m p e r i l

t h e i n t e g r i t y o f h i s empire .

F o r t h e s e r e a s o n s , t h e l e t t e r c a r r i e d bjr h i s envoys ex-

p r e s s e d h i s d e s i r e f o r peace and a s k e d t h a t a B r i t i s h o f f i c e r

migh t be a l . loced t o r e t u r n w i t h t h e Asnnte p a r t y i n o r d e r t o h e a r

a l l t h a t t h e A s m t c h e n e and h i s Co imci l had t o s a y on t h e s u b j e c t .

In a d d i t i o r , P l a q g e a n d Amanha T i a v e r e blarned f o r a l l of t h e

m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s and t h e G e n e r a l was a s k e d t o h a l t h i s army and

t h u s a v o i d a n y p o s s i b i l i t y o f f i g h t i n g . 61 A s a s i g n o f h i s good

f a i t h and i n a n a s t u t e d i p l o m a t i c move K o f i K a r i l a r i a l s o r e l e a s -

ed t h e nissior?ar;., K u h ~ e , and begging him t o i n t e r c e d e f o r hi.m

w i t h S i r Ga rne t , s e n t him w i t h t h e envoys a s s u r i v g h i n that , every-

t h i n g would be a r r anged s a t i s f a c t o r i l y i f o n l y t h e European anbas-

sador was s e n t . Ho:rever, t h e inforrriation s u p p l i e d by rlr. Kuhne

. was i n t e r p r e t e d by S i r Garnet as a f u r t h e r i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e

Asantehene was on ly t r y i n g t o g a i n t ime . 62

T h e r e f o r e , i n acknowledging t h e r e c e i p t o f t h i s l e t t e r ,

S i r G q n c t e x p l a i n e d t h a t he cou ld n o t consent t o send any of" ' ~ 1 C t ? r

t o Kumasi s o l o n g as t h e Asantehene d e t a i n e d two of t h e p r e v i o u s

Governor ' s messcngei-s. lie. a l s o s t a t e d t h a t he would

army un t ; i l t h e p rc l i n i i na ry t e r n ~ s Chat he had imposed

col:ipliec? w i th . 63

n o t h a l t h i s

had been

A s a r e s u l t , Accrofumu was o c c u ~ i e d on t h e 1 3 t h o f J z ~ u ~ Y ~ '

and t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of a l a r g e c o n t r o l s t o r e was begun t h c r s .

O n t h e l l k t h , G i f f o r d ' s s c o u t s advanced t o Anwiawso, and it was

frorn t h e r e t h a t t h e Asar.te envoys were despatched x i t h S i r G a r n e t ' s

answer t o t h e Xsan tehene l s second l e t t e r . On t h e 1 5 t h , t h e s c o u t s

pushed on t o ~ r o f o ~ e d r u . On t h e same day, new o r d e r s were i s s u e d

t o Flajo:. T tusse l l , who had been c o ~ x a n d i n g t h e Advance Guard and

s u p e r v i s i n g t h e g a r r i s o n i n g of t h e v a r i o u s new p o s t s , directing

him t o o b t a i n and hold , i f p o s s i b l e , pos se s s ion o f t h e c r e s t o f

t h e Adansi h i l l s . G i f f o r d t s s c o u t s conducted a r e c o r n a i s s a n c e o f

t h e ncw p o s i t i o n on the 1 6 t h and r e p o r t e d both t h e town of I.ionsi

and t h e c r e s t o f t h e h i l l s d e s e r t e d . R u s s e l l t h e r e f o r e occupied

and f o r t , i f i e d t h e c r e s t o f t h e : Iors i h i l l on t h e 1 7 t h o f January .

Najor Horns, w i t h 36 s a p p e r s , a r r i v e d a t LIonsi on t h e sa:ne day

and corrunenced forming an en t r enched p o s t t h e r e . 64

The n e x t day , G i f f o r d t s s c o u t s made t h e f i r s t move i n t o

Asante proper65 by a d v m c i n g t o Quisah 1;rilic'n t h e y found occupied

by a s m a l l p a r t y o f Asante s c o u t s . K O f i g h t i n g t ook p l a c e , hoti-

e v e r , and R u s s e l l moved down and occupied t h e town on t h e 1 9 t h . o f January . S i r G a r ~ c t had o rde red t h a t no advance iras t o t a k e .

p l a c e b e y o ~ d t h e c r e s t o f t h e Xonsi h i l l as he d i d n o t wish t o

show any f o r c e beyond t h a t p o i n t u n t i l he should m x c h over w i t h

h i s wh i t e t r o o p s . However, t h e o r d e r s d id n o t r e a c h iyajor Rus-

se1.l i n t i m e f o r him t o a c t on them and once he was i~ p o s s e s s i o n

o f t h e town h e d i d no t abandon it. 66

The e n t i r e B r i t i s h o p e r a t i o n was s e t t l i ~ g down and ga in -

ing moclentum u i t h t h e passage of each day. By t h e 1 9 t h a good

road had been c u t t o t h e ve ry c r e s t o f t h e Konsi h i l l and t h e

e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f staging-camps was proceed ing ex t remely w e l l .

?!ot; on ly was t h c Monsi Hill p o s i t i o n i i z l l f o r t i f i e d b u t c l e a r i n g s

s u f f i c i e n t f o r t h e encampaent of two b a t t a l i o n s t o g e t h e r w i th

f o r t i f i e d p o s t s f o r s i x t y men and l a r g e c o n t r o l s t o r e s had been

completed a t b o t h Esa~xar, and Accrof~unu and were w e l l on t h e way

t o c o ~ : p l e t i o n a t i h n s i . I n a d d i t i o n , i t ms dec ided t h a t t h e

Advanced-Guard, which now c o n s i s t e d o f 3 a i t t s A r t i l l e r y , Vood's

and Russellts Regiments and tile h e a d q u a r t e r s of 2!i1R, 67 could be

more p r o f i t a b l y used i f i t were o rgan ized a s a s e p a r a t e coi?xand

under Colonel i4cLeod of t h e Black Xatch. Even no re important , ,

however, was Colonel C o l l e y t s ;*eport o f t h e 1 9 t h t o t h e e f f e c t

t h a t t he t r a n s p o r t d i f f i c u l t y had , from t h e B r i t i s h p o i n t o f viet:,

been s a t i s f a c t o r i l y overcome. 68 I n f a c t , m a t t e r s had p r o r r e a s e d

s o w e l l t h a t t h e European t r o o p s began t o c r o s s t h e P r a on t h e

morning o f t h e 2 0 t h o f January .

The d e p a r t u r e o f t h e ~ u r o ~ e a n ' E r i g a d e on t h i s d a t e was a

g r e a t r e l i e f t o S i r Garnet who had been s e r i o u s l y d i s t u r b e d by

t h e f a c t t h a t t h e c a r r i e r probler ;~ had f o r c e d him t o abandon his

p l a n s t o c o n c e n t r a t e h i s t r o o p s a t P ra su by t h e 1 3 t h 2nd t c c r o s s

t h e r i v e r o r t h e 1 5 t h . 67 A s m a t t e r s h r~d deve loped , however, t h e

s lower r a t e of c c n c e n t r a t i o n a ~ d t h e de layed d e p a r t u r e d a t e weye

o f l i t t l e consequcr.ce. The l a c k of any Asante r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e

Inovernents o f t h e Advanced-Cunrd had chanced t h e e n t i r e p i c t u r e

and t h e expec t ed f i g h t i n g advance a t t h e r a t e of f o u r o r f i v e

m i l e s pe r day r e v e r mater ia l . ized. Indeed , r a t h e r t h a n hav ing t o

f i g h t f o r eve ry f o o t o f ground, t h e European Urigade was voir

f a c e d w i t h a siriiyle f our-day approach march t o Quiszh. Bracken-

bury pu t a good f a c e on t h e s i t u a t i o n by i g n o r i n g t h e f a c t that

S i r G a r n e t ' s neg l igence w i t h regard t o c e r t a i n of' t h e p r e p a r a t i o r . ~

f o r t h e i n v a s i o n had been l a r g e l y t o blame f o r t h e dc l ay . Ye

wro te :

. r . SO f a r from o u r rnovemzts h a v i n g beer. d e l a y e d , and t i x e hav ing been l o s t , t i m was a c t u a l l y t;ai.ned o v e r what had o r i g i r m l l y been a ~ t i c - i p a t e d ; and i n a d d i t i o n , t h e Euro- p a n t r o o p s would be a b l e t o m r c h t o t h e o t h e r s i d e of t h e Adansi h i l l s w i t h c o m f o r t , a ~ d under 1:lost f a v o u r - a b l e s a n i t a r y c o n d i t i o n s i n s t e a d o f t h e d i s c o m f o r t s and under t h e un- f a v o u r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s , which , i t had been f e a r e d , t h e y would have t o meet . 70

S i r G a r n e t , t h e s t a f f and t h e F a v a l Br igade i f e r e t h e

f i rs t t o l e a v e P r a s u w h i l e t h e r e ~ r i a i n i n g u n i t s follo:,:ec! a t s e t

i n t e r v a l s . The Genera l was most; i r q r e s s e d w i t h what he saw a l o n g

t h e r o a d and h i s a r r i v a l a t 1';onsi on t h e 2 3 r d , a c c o ~ ~ l p a n i e d a s i t ,

was by t h e arrival. of t h e R i f l e B r i g a d e a t blonsi, t h e rilovenlent

of t h e Kava l B r i g a d e and R a i t f s A r t i l l e r y t o Quisah , a x ? t h e ad-

vance o f R u s s e l l f s Regiment and a d e t a c h m n t o f Royal E - g i - e e r s

t o Fornana, f i l l e d him w i t h a s t r m ~ f e e l i n g o f opti:riism. 7 1 Sens-

i n g t h a t t h i s was t h e t i n e t o p r e s s home h i s a d v a n t a g e , he t h e n

i s s u e d o r d e r s f o r a c o n t i n u a t i o n of t h e advance . Moxever, it was

p r e c i s e l y a t t h i s rnor:lent t h a t y e t a n o t h e r embasey a r r i v e d f rom

t h e A s m t e h c n e .

I n t h e e a r l y a f t e r n o o n o f t h e 2 3 r d ) two envoys a r r i v e d i n

Fornana acco lupmicd by the r e s t o f t h s w h i t e c a p t i v e s and c a r r y i q g

y e t a r o t h e r l e t t e r f ro13 t h e A s n ~ t c h e n e . The envoys wcrc h e l d a t

Fonnna w h i l e t h e c a p t i v e s , Xons ieur 3onnnt; and i k . and LIrs. Ram-

s e y e r a ~ d t h e i r t ~ r o c h i l d r e n , b r o u g h t Kof i K a r i k a r i f s l a t t e r

con!rn\mic3ti0n~. R e p a t i n ; ; h i s p l e a t h n t t h e G e n e r a l h a l t h i s

advance , he decl.ar.ed t h a t he would rmke Amnnhia T i a pa:y . t h e i n -

derilnity i f he was o 3 l y giver! t i rne and t h n t he.woi;ld l i b e r a t e a l l

of t h e Fnnt,i p r i s o n e r s d i r e c t l y upon t h e cor,:pletion o f z e g o t i -

a t i o n s . 7 2

The General r e f u s e d t o s e e any a t t e m p t a t co rc i l l i a " ,on

i n t h i s r e s p o n s e t o h i s deaands and once a g a i n t h ? c o x n e n t s cr"

t h e r e l e a s e d c a p t i v e s conf i rc led him i n h i s b e l i e f t h a t t h e kszt:te-

hene was o n l y atterfiptin?; t o bu.y tirne so t h a t he c o u l d g a t h e r h i s

army.73 Consequen t ly , i n h i s r c g l y , S i r Gornet r e f u s e d t o ciaire

any coqx*orni.se. Ins t e n d he ha rdened h i s de:nar,d s by i n s i s t i n s on

t h e i m m d i a t e l i b e r a t i o n o f t h e F a n t i p r i s o n e r s and by Cexanding

t h e paymerlt o f h a l f t h e indel~~nity--so::letll ing which Kof i K c r i k a r i

had a l r e a d y s a i d r e q u i r e d t ime--mi l t h e d e l i v e r y o f c e r t a i n irc-

p o r t a n t h o s t a g e s a s p r e l i : . l i n n r i e s t o t h e c o n c l ~ s i o n of peace . IIe

promised t o advance b u t s l o w l y f o r t h e n e x t f e w d a y s i n o r d e r

t h a t t h e Asantehene n i g h t have t i m e t o coxp ly w i t h t h e s e c o n d i t i o - s

and t o h a l t h i s a r n y d i r e c t l y K o f i K a r i l t a r i had done s o . Re would

t h e n advance v i t h an e s c o r t o f o n l y 5GO inen t o s i g n t h e t r e a t y i n

Kuma s i . 711 On t h e s u r f a c e , it apnearod t h a t S i r Garne t was g r a n t -

i n g a c o n s i d e r a b l e c o ~ c e s s i o n t o t h e As2?tehene by c a l l i n g a h a l t

t o t h e advance . The t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r was, ho-mver, t h a t no

r e a l d e l a y \ [as e n t a i l e d b y t h e G e n e r a l ' s promise f o r i t was a c t u -

a l l y n e c e z s a r y t o c a l l a h a l t a t t h a t p o i n t i n t h e ~:iarcl? i n o r d e r

- 176 -

t o fo rm a supj ) ly d e p o t a t Fomana and c l o s e up t h e c o l u ~ r n b e f o r e

c o r t i n u i n g t h e advance . 75

I n f a c t , , even had t h e four-day h a l t a t Fomana been a s e -

r i o u s c o n c e s s i o n t o t h e X s a ~ t e s , t h i s l a s t l e t t e r from S i r Garnet

had , t h r o u g h h i s l a c k o f knowledge, f i r m l y c l o s e d t h e d o o r on any

p o s s i b i l i t y o f a n e g o t i a t e d peace. Not o n l y had he c o n t i n u e d t o

i n s i s t ~ o n Eumasi as t h e s i t e f o r t h e s i g n i n g o f a peace t r e a t y

b u t he had a l s o demanded, and c o n t i n u e d t o denord , h o s t a c e s whom

it was i m p o s s i b l e f o r Kofi K a r i k a r i t o s u r r e n d e r . The h o s t a g e s

s p e c i f i e d by S i r Garne t were P r i n c e Kensa, t h e Heir -Apparent , t h e

Queen-Xother , E l u n Kobr i , and t h e h e i r s t o t h e s t o o l s o f J a b i n ,

b:mpon, Kokofu and Bekwai. These were t h e most i r q o r t a n t p e r s o n s

i n t h e empire a ~ d had a p ; > a r e n t l y been choscn w i t h t h e i d e a o f i n -

p r e s s i n g t h e Asarl tes w i t h t h e i r r e s i s t i b l e s t r e n g t h o f t h e E r i t -

ish. The f a c t o f t h e r .mt te r was, however, t h a t i t was a b s o l u t e l y

o u t o f t h e q u e s t i c n t h a t t h e y c o u l d e v e r be g i v m up a s 3 o s t a g e s .

U n i t e d t h e y were f a r :,lore power fu l t h a n Kof i g a r i k a r i h i n s e l f , 76

and even s h o u l d t h e Asantehene be a b l e t o conv ince t h e x t h a t t h e y

s h o u l d v ~ l u r . t a r i l y become h o s t a g e s , n e i t h e r t h e Queen-!;other F o r

t h e I ie i r -Apparent co::ld e v e r have b3en s u r r e n d e r e d s o l o n g a s

Asante r e m i n e d a kingdo;:i. It i s t h e r e f o r e c l e a r t h a t t h e h a l t

a t Fomana c o u l d accon ip l i sh n o t h i n g t o x a r d t h e a c h i e v e m e ~ t o f a

d i p l o m a t i c so l .u t ion t o t h e problem and t h a t u l t h a t e l y Kunas i

would have t o be t a k e n by f o r c e .

For t ;unate ly f o r t h e B r i t i s h , it a p ~ l e a r e d t h a t t h e I lain

Body had s u c c e s s f u l l y overcome i t s i n i t i a l problei-.s a ~ d t h a t w i t h

n i a t t e r s R O W f i n a l l y g o i n g l a r g e l y a c c o r d i n g t o ' p l a 9 , a f i g h t f o r

Kumasi, s h o u l d it be n e c e s s a r y , would n o t b e t o o t r y i n g a t a s k .

Th ings were n o t g o i n g n e a r l y so w e l l w i t h t h e a u x i l i a r y c o l u m s .

I n t h e end , C a p t a i n Dalryln2le f a i l e d c o n p l e t e l y i n h i s a t t e n i 2 t s

t o r a i s e a f o r c e i n t h e West and he was f i n a l l y f o r c e d t o abandon

h i s m i s s i o n and r e j o i n t h e JIain Body a t Fociana a s i t r e t u r n e d

. f rom Kumasi, 77 S i m i l a r l y , C a p t a i n Dirtier, who d i d a t l e a s t r.ianaze

t o r a i s e a s m a l l f o r c e o f Akims and l e a d the::] as f a r a s Akir?a,

l o s t a l l o f h i s men when t h e y sudden ly m l t e d i n t o t k e bush and

d i s p e r s e d t o t h e i r homes. 78 He r e j o i n e d t h e r r t u r r i n g " k i n Body

a t A j i r r u I n d e e d , o f t h e t h r e e a u x i l i a r y colu~nn cormanders ,

o n l y C & p t a i n G l o v e r e n j o y e d any r e a l measure o f s u c c e s s .

Captair! Glover c r o s s e d t h e P r a on t h e 1 5 t h o f J a n u a r y

w i t h 750 Wausas, Yorubas and Donkos 2nd a c l v a ~ c e d t o Abogu, which

was r e a c h e d on t i le 1 6 t h . A b r i e f a c t i o n was f o u g h t t h e r e o r t k t

day b u t t h e u s u a l o v e r e x p e n d i t u r e o f anmuni t ion f o r c e d h i a t o

reriiain tl.lere u ~ t i l t l ~ e 2bth s o t h a t f u r t h e r s u p p l i e s coulc: bc

b r o u g h t up. However, t h i s d e l a y al1o::ed t h e Chief o f A s w t o

J o i n him 1 ~ 5 t h 1 2 0 men and Kof i Xhinkora o f E a s t e r n A!:irn x i t l l 353

more. The r e i n f o r c e d c o l u m r e s u m d i t s nor thward rr!ax8ch on t h e

27 th o f J a c u a r y . 79 S u b s e q u e n t l y i t made a s u b s t m t i a l c o r t r i b u -

t i o n t o t h e c a q a i g n i n an i ~ c l i r e c t :Tanner f o r i t s v e r y preser?ce

f o r c e d t h e King of J a b i n t o p r e p a r e t o oppose i t s advance by

refusin:: t o send h i s c o n t i n g e n t t o t h e s lowly r e a s s e n b l l n g k s a n t e

army. T h i s meant a l o s s o f socle 12 ,000 men t b t h e Asantehene and

t h u s c o n s i d e r a b l y l i g h t e ~ e d S i r G a r n e t ' s t a s k o f f0rcir . i ; h i s tray

up t h e m a i ~ road t o Kurmsj.. 80

A t f irst g l a n c e , t h i s evidenc? would t h u s cause one t o

p l a c e l i t t l e v a l u e on t h e e f f o r t s pu t f o r t h by Capts i r ls Dalrymple '

and B u t l e r , b u t such i s n o t t h e case . S i r Garnet had informed

Kofi K a r i k a r i o f h i s p l a n t o u . t i l i z e t h e t h r e e a u x i l i a r y colurms

and even though Captain Glover was t h e on ly one of t h e t h r e e com-

manders t o f i e l d an e f r e c t i v e f o r c e , t h e very presence of t h e

o t h e r two men a c t i v e l y t r y i n g t o r a i s e f o r c e s ir! t h e i r a l l o t t e d

a r e a s o f o p e r a t i o n s gave c redence t o t h e Gene ra l ' s words and l e n t

s o m l e g i t i n a c y t o t h e t h r e a t . Thus t h e Asantehene l o s t men from

h i s t r i b u t a r y prcwinces whom he could ill a f f o r d t o l o s e when

c o n t i n g e n t s were den ied t o h i s arrily i n o r d e r t o c c u n t e r t h e phan-

tom t h r e a t s from t h e Akiril and T;lassaw/~enkyera count ry . Commenting

on t h e s i t u a t i o n , Brackenbury w r i t e s :

. . . a l t h o u g h we were s c a r c e l y armre o f i t , t h e rnoverlie?ts of t h e s e f o r c e s had be- gun t o have t h e i r e f f e c t upon t h e move- ments o f t h e c?emy, a n d t h e r e i s eve ry r ea son t o b e l i e v e t h a t by t h i s t i m e t h e news of Capta in B u t l e r s rriovemnt s , as well. as of Capta in G love r ' s , had r e ~ c h e d Coonlassie ar.d t h e o t h e r p e a t t o w s , a ~ d t h a t t h e c h i e f of J a b i n was rnusterlng h i s f o r c e s t o oppose Capta in Glover on t h e r o a d s l e a d i n g t o h i s c i i p i t a l whi le t h e c h i e f o f Kokofoo was assenlbl ing 11' IS men

t o oppose t h e advance of Cap ta in Gut- l e r . Yor had Capta in Da1ryuplet s movements, u n i e p o r t a n t a s t h e y y e t were , been wi thou t e f f e c t . . . . ( f o r ) t h e King o f Recqua assembled h i s men- t oppose t h e i nvas ion by t h a t r o u t e . 81

I n t h e meantime, wh i l e Capta in Glover was m o u ~ t i n g a

r e a s o ~ a b l e o f f e n s i v e and wh i l e Cap ta in s I3ut ler and Dalrymple were

s t i l l s t r u g g l i n g t!rough t h e bush i n 9 v a i n a t t e m p t t o r a i s e t h e i r

columns, S i r Garnet h imse l f had beer, completing h i s p reparaLions

f o r t h e resumption of t h e advance on Kumasi. During t h e f c u r -

day hali ; , t h e neces sa ry r e s e r v e supply depot had been e s t a b l i s h e d ,

t h e t r o o p s had c lo sed up from t h e r e a r , and f u r t h e r recon:lais-

sance had been c a r r i e d o u t . On t h e 26 th o f January , a s t r c n g

r econna i s sance p a r t y had maved on A t o b i a s i where a b r i e f a c t i o n

was fought; and where, as a r e s u l t o f t h i s ski r l i l i sh , it was as-

c e r t a i n e d t h a t t h e k s a n t e arr:iy would most p robably rmke i t s s t a n d

a t Amoafu. 62 S i r Garnet t hen wro te t o t h e Asanteheno on t h e 2 7 i h ,

inforr!iing him o f t h e A t o b i a s i e n c o u r t e r and g i v i n g h i a a l a s t

warn inz , p c i n t i n g o u t once x o r e t h a t i t would be u s e l e s s f o r him

t o a t t e rcp t t o oppose t h e advance o f t h e Curopean t r o o p s . 63 How-

ever, t h e Genera l al lowed h a r d l y enough t ime f o r ar, a r swer t o

cone back frorri Kunasi.

A s no ayisver had been r e c e i v e d by t h e mornin;; o f t h e 29 th

t h s mail-r body began t o !,love on t o i k c h l a s u . The n o w was unop-

posed and or? his a r r i v a l i n that ; town, S i r G a - n e t fcund f u r t h e r

h t t e r s frorn t h e A s a ~ t e h c r l e which c c v t a i ~ e d rene;ied a s s u r a r c e s of

h i s p e a c e f u l i n t e n t i o n s a ~ d r e p e a t i n g h i s r e q u e s t s f o r d e l a y . He

o m i t t e d , however, t o conp ly w i t h any o f t h e demands t h a t had been

made upon hirn as p r e l i m i ~ a r i e s t o f u r t h e r n e g o t i a t i o ~ s . He d i d

t h i s on t h e b a s i s t h a t t h e n e a r approack, o f t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e had

d r a w n . a l l h i s c h i e f s i n t o t h e f i e1 .d and t h u s ha.d made it i n p o s -

s i b l e f o r him t o convene h i s c o u ~ c i ~ . . ~ ~ Nr. Davrsor., t h e i n t e r -

rnanaged t o warn t h e Genera l* t h r o u g h t h e use o f a n o t e ,

n o t t o p u t t o o mxch f a i t h i n t h e A s a n t e h e n e t s p r o t e s t a t i o n s . 86

I n f a c t , t h i s warning seerls t o have been s u p e r f l u o u s f o r t h e

G e n e r a l had c o n s i s t e n t l y r e f u s e d t o e r t e r t a i n any s u g g e s t i o n t h a t

K o f i K a r i k a r i might be a t t e m p t i n g t o n e g o t i a t e i n good f a i t h . IIe

a p p e a r s t o have i n t e r p r e t e d e v e r y Asante o v e r t u r e as a s i n p l e de-

v i c e t o buy t i u e w h i l e , i n t u r n , he s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s e d t h e p r e s -

s u r e on t h e Asan tehene s o t h a t a n y hope o f a compronise was de-

s t r o y e d . Y i t h t h i s p a t t e r n a l r e a d y fj.rin1.y e s t a b l i s h e d , it i s r o t

s u r p r i s i n g t h a t he responded h a r s h l y t o t h i s most r e c e r t p e a c e

i n i t i a t i v e and resumed h i s advance t h e f o l l o w i n g d a y , t h e 3 0 t h

of J a n u a r y . 87

By t h e 3 0 t h , t h e whole o f t h e European f o r c e , t o g e t h e r

w i t h R a i t ' s a r t i l l e r y and t h e A f r i c a n r e g i m e n t s , had Saen con-

c e n t r a t e d a t Insnfu and Akankuasi . 88 G i f f o r d t s s c o u t s had coc-

f i r m e d t h e presence o f a s t r c n y ; Asan te f o r c e n e a r Arnoafu, and it

was v i r t u a l l y c e r t a i n t h a t a b a t t l e would have t o be f o u g h t t h e r e

S i r ~ n r n c t a p p r e c i a t e d t h e v i r t u a l c e r t a i n t y t h a t t h e

enexy, who were p r c s s n t i n iminer,sely s u p r i o r n u ~ i b e r s , would t r y

t o c a r r y o u t t h e i r u s u a l p lan of inaking f l a n k a t t a c k s and s u r -

rounding t h e arrny opposed t o them. A s t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e was f a r

t o o small t o p r even t t h i s , it was dec ided t o rLieet t h e t a c t i c

head-on by d i v i d i n g t h e B r i t i s h t r o o p s i ~ t o f o u r columrs t o f o r n ~

a l a r g e open squa re . 89 ,

The l e a d i n g c o l u ~ m was t o advance a long t h e &xis of t h e

road . The r i g h t and l e f t col.wnns were t o advance a t some d i s -

t a n c e f rom, b u t p a r a l l e l t o t h e n a i n r o a d , keeping i n t ouch wit:?

t h e c e n t e r colurm and c a t t i n g t h e i r own p a t h s through t h e bush.

The r e a r of t h e squa re was c l o s e d by t h e R i f l e Br i s ade . The t o t a l

f o r c e , i n c l u d i n g Engineer l a b o u r e r s , amomted t o 1 ,539 Suropeaas

and 708 Af r i cans . 90

The advance began soon a f t e r daybresk on t h e 31st o f Jsn-

uary and t h e s c o u t s f i r s t caiile i n touch ~ l t h t h e enemy j u s t ou t -

s i d e E j i n a s i a t a l i t t l e b e f o r e e i g h t o ' c lock . The smll p a r t y

of Asan tes 5;ho occupied t h i s v i l l a g e f e l l back a f t e r o f f e r i n g

o n l y a token r e s i s t a n c e bu t when two conpanies o f t h e Black t'citch

began t o advance a l o n g t h e p a t h beyond, t h e y c o l l i d e d w i t h t h e

main body o f t h e eneny and t h e b a t t l e began i n e a r n e s t .

The A s m t e co:mander, Asarnoa Kwar.ta, had chosen h i s pos i -

t i o n s k i l l f u l l y . i logers , who was p r e s e n t and s e r v i n g on t h e Gen-

e r a l ' s s t a f f , corn-uerted t h a t :

S K E T C H t o i!!ustrarc tbc

R,efcr e n c e s ? ' f i r Q k 6 - r Z t ~ r i r p of bruh urt by Str C. EWselzy'J artactir-y fmcrs . m a - r o d a& hj l e f t a%!m5+, a g a i d ;?Jhmti ri*. flfcn7c. b - NlI storrrtcd b y - A ~ s ~ ~ RQg"'

- Soon a f t e r l z a v i n g E j i n a s i t h e road descended i n t o a swampy hol low f i l l e d w i th deep rnud, th rough which flowed a s l u g g i s h s t r eam, and then ascended a r i d g e on t h e o p p o s i t e s i d e . Beyond t h e s t reain , t h i s r i d g e f e l l back on t h e r i g h t s i d e o f t h e t r a c k ; b u t on t h e sou thern s i d e i t swept round i n a s e m i - c i r c l e and covered t h e pa th de- scending i n t o t h e r a v i n e on t h e l e f t , so. t h a t t h e Ashantees , who had chosen t h i s r i d g e a s t h a i r main p o s i t i o n and occupied it i n thousands , f l anked and completely commanded, n o t o n l y t h e pa th descending i n t o t h e swanp, but a l s o i ts c o n t i n u a t i o n up t h e s l o p e beyond. They could h a r d l y have found a s t r o n g e r p l ace .91

Despi te t h e obvious s t r e n g t h of t h e enemy p o s i t i o n , t h e

f r o ~ t a l a t t a c k was p r e s s e d hone. The Black Yatch desccr'ded i n t o

t h e r a v i n e and came under heavy f i r e a t a p p r o x i m t e l y e i g h t o f -

c lock and t h e subsequent b a t t l e f o r t h e main r m d raged on u n t i l

midday whet? a f i n a l charge by t h e Highlanders , supported by R a i t f s

guns, drove t h e Asantes out o f t h e town o f Arnoafu. 92 k t t h e sane

t ime t 'mt t h e Black Watch was t h u s engaged i n t h e b a t t l e f o r t h e

town, both of t h e f l a n k i n g columns had been engaged i n b r i s k f i r e -

f i g h t s of t h e i r own.

Colonel McLeodfs men had cu t t h e i r way i n t o t h e bush on

t h e l e r t where t h e y were met w i t h a heavy f i r e f r o n a body of lien

who occupied t h e summit and s l o p e s o f a smal l h i l l . It was soon

found i n p o s s i b l e t o keep pace w i t h t h e Black ? la tch s o a p a t h was

c u t t o t h e surninit o f t h e h i l l where a c l e a r i n g was made, a ~ d t h e

enemy were tllen d r i v e n back by R u s s e l l f s Regiraent under cover o f

r o c k e t f i r e . J u s t a f t e r t h e v i l l a g e was t aken , t h i s colunm c u t

i t s way t o t h e niair: road behind t h e Clack 'I'latch. I n t h e same way,

Colonel Woodts f o r c e was unable t o advance a g a i n s t t h e t e r r i f i c

f i r e t h a t was poured i n t o it as it c u t i t s p a t h t o t h e n o r t h - e a s t ,

and he , t o o , o rde red h i s men t o make a c l e a r i n g i n which t h e y

could l i e dam and r e t u r n t h e enemy1 s f i r e . 93

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s e v i c i o u s a c t i o n s , however, t h e r e were

o t h e r s m a l l e r engagements t a k i n g p l ace . While t h e main body of

t h e Asar.te army was opposing t h e advance of t h e t h r e e B r i t i s h

columns, o t h e r detachments had been making f r e q u e n t , determined

a t t a c k s on t h e B r i t i s h f l a n k s and had even c u t t h e i r way i n t o t h e

road between t h e R i f l e Br igade and t h e forward elernents of t h e

square . 94 Even t h e f a l l o f Amoafu f a i l e d t o s t o p t h e s e h a r a s s -

i n g a t t a c k s . For exa:itple, a t about one o ~ c l o c k heavy f i r i n g came

from t h e bush on t h e e a s t e r n s i d e o f E j i n a s i and from t h e bush

a long t h e road as f a r as Amoafu, and though t h i s road was l i n e d

by t r o o p s , who r e t u r n e d t h e f i r e , t h e enemy s tood t h e i r ground

u n t i l t h e R i f l e Brigade f i n a l l y advanced and occupied E j i n a s i

H i l l . Because of t l ~ i s , it was n o t u n t i l a lmost two O ' C ~ O C ! ~ t h a t

t h e f i r i n g i n t h e Imxediate v i c i n i t y of Amoafu f i n a l l y s p u t t e r e d

o u t . 35

The E r i t i s h had fought doggedly and t h e i r f i r e p o w s r and

d i s c i p l i n e clecided t h e i s s u e bu t t h e Asantes had perforiiied mag-

n i f i c e q t l y . FJi thout even t h e a i d o f a r t i l l s r y , t h e y had managed

- 185 - t o s u b j e c t a well-armed and d i s c i p l i n e d B r i t i s h l i ne - r eg imen t t o

f o u r hours of heavy f i g h t i ~ g be fo re g i v i n g ground. It i s t r u e

t h a t t h e y were g r e a t l y shaken by having t h e i r c e n t r e f i n a l l y

broken and it i s a l s o t r u e t h a t t h e y cou ld n o t w i th s t and t h e

s t e a d y advance o f t-he High landers who k e p t them a lmos t con t inu-

o u s l y on t h e move and preven ted t h e i r t a k i n g cove r ; b u t i n s p i t e

of t h i s , t h e y n o t on ly d i s p u t e d e v e r y i n c h of ground i n f r o n t ,

b u t a l s o d e l i v e r e d a s u c c e s s i o n of d i s r u p t i v e a t t a c k s on t h e

f l a ~ k s o f t h e s q u a r e and a l o n g t h e l i n e o f comxunication.

One need n o t l ook fa r f o r t h e r e a s o n s behind t h i s de spe r -

a t e r e s i s t a n c e . Henty comments t h a t :

They were t r u l y a t bay: neve r b e f o r e had t h e y so much a t s t a k e . Even a t Dodowa t h e y had had a c l e a r l i n e o f r e t r e a t and t h e i r ow^ cour, try had n o t been t h r e a t e n e d ; b u t h e r e was a n army o f w h i t e s o l d i e r s no t on ly i n t h e i r coun t ry , b u t b o l d l y pushing forward i n s p i t e of t h e i r utmost e f f o r t s t o s t a y them, and a l r e a d y a l ~ ~ o s t w i t h i n s t r i k i g d i s t a n c e of t h e c a p i t a l it- s e l f .9 '6

I n t h e l i g h t o f t h i s , it i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t Asante

e f f o r t s t o h a l t t h e B r i t i s h advance d i d n o t cease w i t h t h e f a l l

o f Arnoafu. Once t h e y r e a l i z e t h a t Arnoafu was f i r m l y i n B r i t i s h

hands , t h e enemy t r o o p s i i m e d i a t e l y passed around t h e main body

of t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e and once ;.lore a t t a c k e d t h e l i n e of cormuni-

c a t i o n s . A t about one 0 1 c lock heavy f i r i n g was a g a i n hea rd i n

t h e d i r e c t i o n of Kwama? where an Asante a t t a c k was S e i ~ g made

from t h e south-west . The enenly p r e s s e d ha rd on t h e g a r r i s o n b u t

a company of t h e R i f l e Brigade was s e n t t o t h e r e s c u e and t h e

Asan tes were d r i v e 3 back aqd t h e i r f i r e was s i l e n c e d bjr f o c r

o f c lock . About a n hour l a t e r , however, t h e a t t a c k was renewed,

The A s a r t e s s t r u c k j u s t when t h z baggage, r e s e r v e amrnuqition

colurm and f i e l d h o s p i t a l s which had been l e f t i n Akankuasi a r d

I n s a f u d u r i n g t he advance a g a i n s t Amoafu, were be ing movsd up

t h e road i n a f i v e - m i l e s l o n g convoy under e s c o r t o f t r o o p s from

2 X R . T h i s convoy had a r r i v e d some 1 ,000 ya rds s h o r t o f Klqana.1

when t h i s sccond a t t a c k on t h e v i l l . age began and t h e s o u t h e r n

d i v i s i o n of t h e enemy suddenly t u r n e d upon t h e h i g h l y v i l lne rab le

c a r r i e r s . 14any o f t h e c a r r i e r s b o l t e d down t h e road , and m a t t e r s

had begun t o look most s e r i . ous when r e l n f o r c e n e n t s frcril tile R i f l e

Br igade and 2'.!IR a r r i v e d from Kwaman. These a d d i t i o n a l t r o o p s

soon d rove t h e enerny i n t o t h e bush and enabled Colonel C o l l e y t s

men t o r e c o v e r a g r e a t d e a l o f t h e baggage. N e v e r t h e l e s s , a

g r e a t many of t;he l o a d s f e l l i r . to t h e hands of t h e enerny and t h e

. f i g h t i n g on t h e road con t inued w i t h o u t any i ~ t e r s i s s i o n u n t i l

n i g h t s e t i n . Another mall convoy was a t t a c k e d on t h e sarne day

n e a r Dompoasi, and $80 o f Gove rn~ l l e~ t money and a few l o a d s were

l o s t . However, by e a r l y t h e n e x t morning t h e road from I n s a f u

t o Amoafu was l i n e d by t h e , t roops , t h e baggage and a n w n i t i o n was

s a f e l y passed up, and t h e imnedia te Asante t h r e a t t o t h e Xair,

Supply Route had been a t l e a s t t e m p o r a r i l y counte red . 97

I n t h e mear.til:ie, however, r.lany o f t h e Asan tes had r e -

t r e a t e d t o Bekwai vi.l?ich was s i t u a t e d o f f t h e main road about one

mi l e west o f Amoafu. S i r Garnet f e l t t h a t t h i s posed t o o s e r i o u s

a t h r e a t t o t h e advanc ing army and he o rde red i t s d e s t r u c t i o n

b e f o r e t h e advance was resurned. Accordingly , on t h e morning o f

t h e 1st o f February , a f o r c e o f some 250 men advmced on Bekwai

where a s h o r t f i g h t ensued. The enexy was d r i v e n away, t h e t o m

was deb t royed and t h e f o r c e r e t u r n e d t o A n o a h on t h e same day

w i t h a l o s s of bu t one man k i l l e d and two wounded. 98

I n g e n e r a l , t h e two days of f i g h t i n g had proven r e l a t i v e l y

expens ive t o both s i d e s . The B r i t i s h had l o s t f i v e k i l l e d and 196

wounded wh i l e i t was e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e Asantes had l o s t between

900 and 1,300 k i l l e d and a t l e a s t a s many more wounded.99 Y e i t h e r

s i d e cou ld c o n t i c u e t o s u s t a i n such l o s s e s f o r long. The B r i t i s h

were a l r e a d y s t e a d i l y l o s i n g men t o s i c k n e s s and t h e i r manpower

r e s o u r c e s were d e f i n i t e l y l i m i t e d . S i m i l a r l y , t h e wi thdrawal o f

v a r i o u s c o n t i n g e n t s t o c o u n t e r t h e t h r e a t posed by Capta in

G l o v e r ' s f o r c e and t h e l o s s e s s u f f e r e d i n t h e p r i o r c a i ~ p a i g n ,

s e r i o u s l y r 2 s t r i c t c d t h e number of men a v a i l a b l e t o t h e Asante-

hene . H i s c l w i n d l i ~ g s t r e r g t h , t h e r a p i d l y ap2roaching r a i n y

s ea son , h i s a b s o l u t e r e f u s a l t o c o n s i d e r t h a t t h e Asantehene

Wanted t o n e g o t i a t e i n good f a i t h , and t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e

Asante c h i e f s would d i s c o v e r t he s p u r i o u s n a t u r e of t h e t h r e a t

posed by Cap ta in s Dal rynple and 8 u t l e r and h a s t m t o r e i n f o r c e

t h e Asan teheRe t s army, a l l combined t o convince S i r Garnet t h a t

he must con t inue t o push forward w i t h utmost v igour . The re fo re ,

w i t h t h e t h r e a t posed by Bekwai removed, t h e advance was resun;ed

on t h e 2nd o f February. A t daybreak t h e e n t i r e f o r c e ~ m r c h e d ou t

o f Amoafu, and a l t h o u g h t h e Advanced Guard tias f i r e d on as each

v i l l a g e was reached , it met w i t h no r e a l l y s e r i o u s o p p o s i t i o n and

reached Ajimamu soon a f t e r midday. The I k i n Body a r r i v e d a l i t t l e

l a t e r , bu t it was dec ided t o move t h e t r o o p s no f u r t h e r t h a t day.

I n t h e a f t e r n o o n , however, t h e Advanced Guard was s e n t on t o

Ajab in , which was occupied w i thou t a f i g h t . The baggage was then

o rde red up from Amoafu and t h e Maval Br igade e s c o r t e d t h e r e a r o f

t h e f o r c e i n t o camp s h o r t l y a f t e r dark . 1 0 0

Desp i t e t h i s uncontes ted advance of t h e Xain Body, t h e

Asan tes had no t l e f t t h e f i e l d . They con t inued t o h a r e s s t h e SUP-

p l y l i n e s and on t h e a f t e rnoon of t h e 1st of February , a n o t h e r

convoy had been a t t a c k e d a t Donpoasi. Once rtiore tile c a r r i e r s

b o l t e d b u t t h i s t i n e , however, t h e r e was no l o s s o f l i f e 2r.d a l l

of t h e abandoned l o a d s were recovered . Then, on t h e 2nd, t h e

enemy encamped a t Boboras i , under Asonoa Kwanta and Kobira Cbina,

made a de te rmined a t t a c k on t h e impor t an t supp ly and medica l t r a n s -

P o r t c e n t e r a t Fomana. T h i s b a t t l e raged back a ~ d f o r t h f o r sev-

e r a l h o u r s b u t , once more, t h e enemy was d r i v e n back and no s e r i -

ous damage o r l o s s was s u f f e r e d . 1 0 1

The importance of t h e s e r a i d s on t h e l i n e s of coaauni-

c a t i o n l a y n o t i n t h e e x t e n t o f m t e r i a l damage o r l o s s . i n f l i c t e d .

T h e i r s i g n i f i c a n c e l a y i n t h e p s y c h o l o g i c s l e f f e c t t h e y had cn t h e

c a r r i e r s . I n t h i s r e s p e c t t h e y had a s e r i o u s b e a r i n g on subse-

quen t e v e n t s f o r t h e c o n t i n u i ~ g t h r e a t which t h e y posed t o t h e

supp ly l i n e demoral ized t h e c a r r i e r s t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e y

cou ld n o t be persuaded t o l e a v e f o r t h e f r o n t wi th s t o r e s . FTei-

t h e r cou ld t h e r eg imen ta l c a r r i e r s be p r e v a i l e d upon t o c a r r y t h e

r e g i m e n t a l baggage u n l e s s t h e r o u t e was l i n e d w i t h t r o o p s whi le

t h e convoy wss be ing passed up. Th i s l e d t o a f u l l s t o p ~ a g e i n

t h e movement of s u p p l i e s . In f a c t , t h e s i t u a t i o n had become s o

s e r i o u s t h a t t h e b e s t Colonel Co l l ey could promise was t o move up

a f u r t h e r supply of r a t i o n s , e t c . , i n f i v e days t im. lo2 T h i s

was a s e r i o u s s i t u a t i o n f o r t h e t r o o p s i n Ajimanu had o n l y f o u r

days r a t i o n s w i t h thern.

Under normal c i r cums tances , t h e r e would have been no

q u e s t i o n a s t o t h e most a d v i s a b l e a c t i o n t o be t a k e n a t t h i s t ime .

The l i n e s of com~lunica t ion were i n d i s a r r a y and t h e t r o o p s were

o p e r a t i n g on t h e i r imnedia te r e s e r v e s of s u 2 p l i e s . The re fo re , as

t h e main concern of a comixnder i s t h e s a f e t y of h i s c o m a r d , t h e

Genera l should have pu t h i s men on a s l i g h t l y reduced r a t i o n and

h a l t e d f o r t h e n a c e s s a r y f i v e day pe r iod .

Circumstances were n o t norr:ial, however, f o r S i r Garnet

was now paying t h e p r i c e f o r having n e g l e c t e d t o e x p e d i t e t h e i n -

vas ion p r e p a r a t i o n s a t t h e same t ime as he was c a r r y i n g otlt h i s

o p e r a t i o n s a&?inst Amavkwa T i a . T h i s n e g l e c t had de layed h i s

i n v a s i o n s u f f i c i e n t l y t o s e r i o u s l y reduce h i s a v a i l a b l e a e r i o d

of "dryTt wea ther nanoeuvr igg t ime . Thus w i t h t i m e a c r u c i a l

f a c t o r , S i r Garnet was r e a l l y f a c e d w i t h two p o s s i b l e cou r se s .

F i r s t , a t t h e r i s k o f hzving t h e a r r i v a l of r a i n s f o r c e h i s wi th -

drawal t o t h e s o u t h be fo re he a c c o ~ n y l i s l ~ e d h i s mi s s ion , he could

remain i n Ajirnmu m t i l h i s adrninis t rc l t ive s e r v i c e s v e r e o ~ c e

more f u n c t i o n i n g e f f e c t i v e l y . The f ive-day pe r iod needed f o r

t h i s cou ld t h e n be used i n an a t t e n p t t o n e g o t i a t e a compromise

w i t h Kofi Ka r i l t a r i . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , he cou ld abandon h i s l i n e s

o f comn~uzic~i ; ion and make a dash f o r Kumasi, which was b a r e l y

f i f t e e n m i l e s awasT, i n t h e hope t h a t such a s t r o k e would b r i n g

t h e Asantehene t o t e r n s .

Three f a c t o r s n a d e ' t h e f i rs t of t h e s e cou r se s t h e most

p rudent . I n t h e f i rs t p l a c e , because a l l o f t h e Asantehene 's

o f f e r s t o n e g o t i a t e had s h o m a c o n c i l i a t o r y a t t i t u d e , t h e r e was

s u f f i c i e n t j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e b e l i e f t h a t n e g o t i a t i o n s would

be s u c c e s s f u l . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e B r i t i s h s u c c e s s a t Anoafu had

c l e a r l y demonstra ted bo th t h e s e r i o u s i n t e n t and t h e s t r e n g t h of

t h e B r i t i s h o p e r a t i o n , t h u s g i v i n g S i r Garnet a s t r o n g 2 o s i t i o n

i n any n e g o t i a t i o n s . F i ~ a l l y , t h i s course would a v o i d any un-

n e c e s s a r y r i s k t o t h e i nvad ing f o r c e s .

The second course had 1i:tle t o recommend it. To adop t

it would r e s u l t i n hav ing t h e sma l l B r i t i s h f o r c e o p e r a t i n g un-

suppor t ed i n a h o s t i l e l a n d surrounded by v a s t l y s u p e r i o r nunbs r s

o f t h e enemy, C o i n c i d e n t a l l y , w i t h t h e passage o f each a i l e a f t -

e r Ajimamu, t h e i n v a s i o n f o r c e would encounte r e v e r i n c r e a s i n g

Asante r e s i s t a ~ c e and ; ~ o u l d no doubt be r e q u i r e d t o f i g h t a t

l e a s t one major a c t i o n . F i n a l l y , t h e r e was no reason t o b e l i e v e

t h a t t h e t a k i n g of t h e t o m , d e s p i t e i t s i n p o r t a n c e , would r e s u l t

i n an Asagte c a ? i t u l a t i o n , The re fo re , t h i s approach would con-

c e i v a b l y a c c o ~ ~ i p l i s h e d no more t han t h e f i rs t b u t it v a s i n f i n i t e -

l y more hazardous t o t h e t r o o p s invol-ved.

N e v e r t h e l e s s , S i r Garne t dec ided t o a l l o w h i s men t o

b r ave t h e r i s k s i n h e r e n t i n t h i s second course o f ac t io r . . Appar-

e n t l y convinced of t h e Asantehenet s p e r f i d i t y , c l e a r l y a g p r e h m -

s i v e o f t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of an unusua l ly e a r l y beg inn ing t o t h e

r a i n y s ea sop , and f i r m i n h i s b e l i e f t h a t he had proven a t Amoafu

t h a t t h e Asante were i ncapab le of w i t h s t a n d i n g a con t inuous and

determined advance on t h e p a r t o f h i s a r t i l l e r y su?ported f o r c e ,

he d s c i d e d t o nake t h e dash f o r Xumasi. He r e s o l v e d t h a t once

Kurnasi had been t a k e n he would t h e n e i t h e r make peace o r d e s t r o y

t h e p l a c e and re tu rn . as q u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e t o t h e now s t r o n g l y

en t r enched p o s i t i o n a t Ajinanu where f u r t h e r s u p p l i e s would by

t h e n have been accumulated. 103

I n accordancs w i t h t h i s d e c i s i o n , he l e f t t h e l e s s f i t

men of h i s coraiiand a t A jimamu as a g a r r i s o n and began th? f i n a l

advance on Kumasi e a r l y on t h e morning o f t h e 3 rd o f February.

;Jithi.n f o r t y - f i v e minu+,es o f s t a r t i n g , t h e Advanced-Guard aade

c o n t a c t w i th t h e enemy. A f t e r an i n i t i a l sk i rmi sh , t h e r e en-

sued a hit-2nd-run b a t t l e i n t h e course of which t h e enerrly f i r e d

from ambush, t h e r e b y f o r c i n g t h e advahcing B r i t i s h t o deploy,

and t h e n withdraw t o a new p o s i t i o n on ly t o r e p e a t t h e same ma-

noeuvre t ime a f t e r t ime . The Asante use o f t h i s t a c t i c i n f l i c t -

ed some c a s u a l t i e s a t eve ry encounte r and a l t hough t h e advance

was s t e a d y , i t was slow and r e l a t i v e l y c o s t l y i n c a s u a l t i e s . S i r

G a r ~ e t was i n t;he p r o c e s s o f forri lulat ing a p l a n t o i ~ c r e a s e h i s

r a t s o f advance when the a r r i v a l o f y e t a n o t h e r p a r t y of k sa - t e

messengers b r i n g i n g l e t t e r s fro111 t h e Asantehene ar,d Xr. Dawsor,,

caused a temporary h a l t i n t h e advance, 104

Kof i K a r i k a r i once more c a l l e d upon t h e General t o h a l t

h i s advance and r e c o n s i d e r t h e m a t t e r o f t h e indezlnity and t h e

hos t ages . Nr. Dawson a l s o begged S i r Garnet t o h a l t and t r e a t

w i t h t h e Asantehene. It was obvious from t h e tone and c o n t e n t of

h i s l e t t e r t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i was s e r i o u s l y a l a r n e d and it appea r s

r ea sonab ly c e r t a i n t h a t he would have been more than e a g e r t o make

peace a t t h i s j u n c t u r e had such a move n o t e n t a i l e d t h e s u r r e n d e r

of t h e hos t ages e a r l i e r s p e c i f i e d by S i r Garnet .

Unfor tuna t e ly , S l r Ga rne t , who c la ims t h a t he was con-

v inced t h a t t h e g r a n t i n g of any concess ion a t t h a t t ime would be

cons t rued a s a s i g o f weakness on h i s p a r t and who s t i l l c l u ~ g

t o h i s b e l i e f t h a t t h e Asantehene was simply a t t e m ~ ~ t i n g t o g a i n

t ime i n which t o c o l l e c t more t r o o p s , a p p a r e n t l y d i d no t appre-

c i a t e t h e s i g n i f i c a n z e of h i s derna~d f o r hos t ages of such impor-

t a n c e lo5 and he r e fused t o a l t e r h i s o r i g i n a l r e q u e s t . Conse-

q u e n t l y , h e r e s p m d e 5 t o t h i s e l e v e n t h hour a p p e a l by i n f o r a i n g

t h e Asantehene t h a t he would n o t h a l t u n t i l t h e hos t ages were i n

his p o s s e s s i o n ; bu t t h s t , a s t ime p re s sed , he was wi1lir .g t o ac -

c e p t t h e Queon-l.loth5r aqd P r i ~ c e rilensa only. He s a i d t h a t he

would h a l t f o r t h e g i g h t on t h e sou th bank o f t h e Oda R i v e r i n

o r d e r t o g i v e t h e ksantehene tilne t o send them; e the rwi se he

would march s t r a i g h t t o K u ~ m s i . lo6 Vhatever may have been Kofi

K a r i k a r i ' s r e a l i n t e n t i o n s b e f o r e , t h e r e c e i p t o f t h i s ul t imatum

dec ided t h e i s s u e . He could no t comply w i t h S i r Garne t ' s demands

and, a s t h e R i v e r Oda f o r m d h i s l a s t l i n e of defence b s f o r e

Kumasi, he had no a l t e r n a t i v e b u t t o f i g h t a s a i n i n a l a s t e f -

f o r t t o defend h i s c a p i t a l . 107

The Asante envoys were s e n t back th rough t h e l i r e s s h o r t -

l y a f t e r noon and t h e advance was in iued ia te ly resumed. This t i m e ,

however, a l t hough t h e r e was some r e s i s t a n c e , it was n o t s o heavy

as it had been and by 3 o f c lock i n t h e a f t e r n o o n , t h e Oda R i v e r

had been reached. A s a b r i d g e was necessq2ry f o r t h e passage of

t h e f o r c e a c r o s s t h e r i v e r a t t h i s p o i n t ,

o rde red a c m e s t o a c t as a cover ing f o r c e

immediate ly began t h e i r b r i d g e b u i l d i n g t a s k whi le t h e t r o o p s

went i n t o bivouac. Zveryone spen t a t ho rough ly niseraL81e n i ~ h t

under t h e l a s h i n g downpour of a heavy to rnado but;, u n d e t e r r e d by

t h e wea ther , t h e s a p p e r s worked a t t h e b r i d c e t h r o ~ g h o u t n e w l y

t h e whole night, avd by sever, o T c lock t h e n e x t n o r r i n g it was

f i n i s h e d . The r a i n had ceased j u s t be fo re daim and a f L e r t h e nen

had t i n s t o d r y t h e i r c l o t h e s a l i t t l e and g e t soiile hot; 'cx-eakfast,

t h e advance was resumed. lo8

The c r o s s i n g was inasdic. , tely c o n t e s t e d wich t h e r e s i s t a n c e

b e i n g c e n t e r e d around t h e v i l l a g e o f Cdasu u h i c h l a y a t02 a p i e c e

of r i s in .~ , d i f f i c ~ ~ l t grcruzd a?;>roxil ,~at e l y one a i l e fro::! t h e r i v e r .

It was o9 ly a f t e r a l m o s t two hour s o f heavy f i ~ h ~ i ~ g , d u r i ~ g

whicI-1 tirne f o u r ca r : l pa~ ie s o l t h e X i f l e Er igade and a d a t a c h m w t

of guns were f i n a l l y corl;;litted, t h a t t h e town was t2l:er. Hoiie:rer,

d r i v i r g ttle enemy froci t h e t o m d i d n o t si"r.al t h e end cf t h e ba5-

tie a s he s t i l l h e l d t h e bush t o t h e frmt and on bo th i 'larks.

r 'Tevertheless, the road from t h e r i v e r t o t h e v i i l a s e ~ 2 . s l i r e d

w i t h t r o o p s a r d at; h a l f - p a s t twelve t h e ?lava1 Br igade , which forr l -

ed t h e Rear-Gu.ard, was passed o v e r w i th t h e baggage arc? moved 2-

long t h i s covered way i n t o t h e v i l l a g e .

The enemy t h e n c lo sed i n on the r e a r of t h e colurm and

ove r r an t h e d e s e r t e d B r i t i s h c m p . S i r Garnet had expected t h i s

b u t he achits i n h i s memoirs t h a t t he s i t u a t i o n becane nuch a o r e

s e r i o u s than he had a n t i c i p a t e d f o r r a t h e r t h a n f a l l i n g back on

Kumasi as he had expected t h e y would, t h e Asantes surrouzded t h e

B r i t i s h f o r c e and mainta ined a c o ~ t i n u o u s and f i e r c e a t t a c k . 109

F o r t u n a t e l y , t h e men of t h e i i i f l e Brigade, who l i n e d t h e bush a l l

around t h e v i l l a g e , were a b l e t o d r i v e back t h e succes s ive Xsante

a t t a c k s and i n f l i c t c o n s i d e r a b l e c a s u a l t i e s i n t h e p r o c e s s .

Even s o , t h e s i t u a t i o r , was becoming nore dangerous w i t h

t h e pas sage of each minute when, a t e l even o 'c lock , B r i g a d i e r

A l i son r e p o r t e d t o S i r Garnet t h a t ,

. . . ( t h e ) enemy seems t o be c o l l e c t - ed i n f o r c e on o u r f r o n t . I purpose t o a t t a c k them a t once w i t h t h e i l i f l e Br igade , guns, and 23rd ; bu t I must be suppor ted by t h e 42nd c l o s e l y , as I want t o break thern t h i s t h e wi thout f a i l . It i s no use i n sending \food's and R u s s e l l ' s reg iments t o t h e f r o n t - - t h e men won't g o ; but t h e y can g a r r i s o n t h i s v i l l a g e , and keep up t h e conmuni- c a t i o n w i t h ne. 110

S i r Garnet weighed t h e B r i g a d i e r ' s r e p o r t c a r e f u l l y and

f i n a l l y dec ided t h a t t h e b e s t s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem was t o nak3

a dash f o r Kunasi. The r e s u l t a n t p l an c a l l e d f o r t h e Black \!atch

t o l e a d t h e a t t a c k under t h e cover of Rai t t s A r t i l l e r y . Colonel

McLeod, who resumed comina~d of h i s regiment f o r t h e a t t a c k , was

t o form a ' f l y i n g column' , break r i g h t through t h e c e n t r e of t h e

enemy's f r o n t , and push s t r a i g h t on t o ICunasi, d i s r e g a r d i n g a l l

f l a n k a t t a c k s . The Headquar ters and t h e R i f l e Br igade were t o

f o l l o w as saon as t h s c e s s a t i o n of t h e Asante a t t a c k s on t h e v i l -

l a g e would p e x 5 . t them t c do so . The remaining e lenlents o f t h e

f o r c e were t o rernair, ir. Odasu as a rear-guard u n t i l c a l l e d f o r .

Colonel 14cL9od and h i s Highlanders began t h e a t t a c k

s h o r t l y a f t e r midday, The Hausa a r t i l l e r y f i r e d s e v e r a l rounds

s t r a i g h t down the road and t h e l e a d coapanies t h e n e r u p t e d from .

t h e v i l l a g e and charged down t h e road toward t h e a s t o n i s h e d

Asantes . $ J r i t i n g l a t e r o f t h e ensu ing a c t i o n , B r i g a d i e r Al i son

commented,

P l a c i n g h imse l f a t t h e i r head, he ( M c ~ e o d ) gave t h e word t o advance. . . On f i rs t debouching from t h e v i l l a g e , a tremendous f i r e was opened on t h e head o f t h e colurm from a w e l l - p l a n ~ e d and s t r o n g ambuscade, s i x Inen be ing knocked over i n an i ~ s t a n t . But t h e f l a n k c o i i ~ p a n i e ~ worked s t e a d i l y th rough t h e bush ; t h e l e a d i n g company i n t h e p a t h sprang forward w i t h a c h e e r ; t h e p i p e s s t r u c k up, and t h e ambuscade was a t once c a r r i e d . Then fo l lowed one of t h e f i n e s t s p e c t a c l e s I have e v e r seen i n war. : ' l i thout s t o p o r s t a y t h e 42nd ru shed on chee r ing , t h e i r p i p e s p l a y i n g , t h e i r o f f i c e r s t o t h e f r o n t ; ambuscade a f t e r ambuscade was s u c c e s s f u l l y c a r r i e d , v i l l a g e a f t e r v i l l a g e won i n s u c c e s s i o n , till t h e tdlole Ashan t i s b rcke and f l e d i n t h e w i l d e s t d i s o r d e r down t h e pathway t o t h e i r f r o n t t o Cooniassie.lll

While t h e Highlanders where pushing on as a f l y i n g colurrn,

however, t h e Asante a t t a c k on Odasu had con t inued unabated. A l -

though S i r Garnet was keen t o push on t o Kumasi ~ 5 t h t h e rer,iair,der

of h i s f o r c e , he r e fused t o move o u t o f Odnsu u n t i l t h e s e a t t a c k s

had a b a t e d and u n t i l he was s u r e of t h e s i t u a t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o

t h e Black C'latch. A t 1: 45 P.I.1. a message was r ece ived frcm Brig-

a d i e r A l i son , who was w i t h Colonel IkLeod, which s a i d ,

Ve have won every v i l l a g e excep t Karsi, which I hope t o t a k e soon. T h e i r army i s f l y i n g i n p a n i c , c h i e f s ' c h a i r s and umbrel las a r e s t r ewing t h e ground; i f you w i l l s uppor t me v i g o r o u s l y I w i l l be

112 i n Coo~nassie t o - n i g h t . T h i s message was r e c e i v e d j u s t a s t h e Asantes v e r e once

more renewing t h e i r a t t a c k on t h e v i l l a g e and, cor~l;nentin& on i t s

e f f e c t upon t h e t r o o p s , Brackznbury wrote :

. . . when it ( t h e message) ;ias com- municated t o o u r t r o o p s and t r a n s - l a t e d t o t h e n a t i v e s , t h e y r a i s e d such a r i n g i n g cheer t h a t , a lmos t , as by magic, t h e enemy's f i r e ceased , and n o t a n o t h e r s h o t was f i r e d by him. He knew t h a t t h a t chezr could have b u t one meanin l o s t h e a r t , and gave up t h e game. 114 ,

A s soon as it had been confirmed t h a t t h e enemy hsd i p

f a c t withdrawn from Odasu, S i r Garnet i s s u e d o r d e r s f o r an imme-

d i a t e g e r e r n l advance. A small bu t s u f f i c i e n t garsison114 was

l e f t t o ho ld Odasu and t h e Genera l marched ou t wi th t h e R i f l e

Br igade , fo l lowed by Colonel Wood wi th h i s o m and R u s s e l l ' s Reg-

the h s s p i t a l , wounded and o t h e r impedimenta. :?bile en rou te S i r

on him t o s t o p t h e advance. Paying no a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s e r e -

q u e s t s , t h e General s imply ordered t h e t r o o p s t o p r e s s on. 115

The t r o o p s ar;tvan.czd q u i c k l y and Colonel I:cLeodYs men

c r o s x d t h e Subon swmp and e n t e r e d X i l m a s i a t 5 : 3 0 ?.!I. S i r

Ga rne t , who a r r i v e d b a r e l y f o r t y - f i v e minutes l a t e r , found t h e

t r o o p s a l r e a d y d ra l~n up i n t h e market p l a c e t o r e c e i v e hirn w i t h

a g e n e r a l s a l u t e . Thus t h e gamble worked and the General r e c o r d s

i n h i s memoirs t h a t he f e l t a " f l u s h o f p l e a s u r e v when he r e -

c e i v e d t h e r e p o r t t h a t t h e headlong and exceed ing ly hazardous

dash from Odasu t o Kurnasi had been accor~lpl ished a t a c o s t o f o n l y

6 k i l l e d and 60 wounded ou t of a t o t a l f o r ce of 1,611 men. 1.16

There was l i t t l e t ime f o r s e l f - c o n g r a t u l a t i o n , however,

f o r Kun~asi was s t i l l an armed ca:np and t h e B r i t i s h had t o proceed

w i t h e x t r e n e c a u t i o n . Brackenbury r e p o r t s t h a t t h e t;o!;~ was f u l l

of armed men and t h a t t h e y d e l i b e r a t e l y walked through $he market-

p l a c e , p a s t t h e front; of t h e t r o o p s , c a r r y i n g t h e i r a r m and am-

muni t ion away i n t o t h e bush. Members of t h e s t a f f ar.2 soae r e g i -

mental o f f i c e r s p r e s s e d S i r Garnet t o t a k e some a c t i o n t o s t o p

k h t t h e y viewed as t h e escape of t h e enemy arrcy. Hoiiever, t h e

Gene ra l wanted t o a v o i d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f s t r e e t f i g h t i n g ar?d

as he f e l t t h a t t h e r a p i d approach of da rknes s made it i inposs ible

t o f i n d and guard a l l of t h e e x i t s from t h e s t r a n g e ~ O I V Y I , he COP-

t e n t e d himself wi th making arrangements f o r t h e s a f e t y o f h i s

t r o o p s and i s s u i n g an o r d e r which sii,iply fo rbade t h e ronova l o f

mun i t i ons of war. I n l l i s op in ion , t h e r e was no reason t o s t o p

t h e moveixant o u t of t h e town of t h o s e Asantes who wished t o l e a v e

An armed p a r t y was t h u s s e n t o u t t o f i n d t h e pa l ace and

a r r e s t Kofi K a r i k a r i , The pa l ace was e v e n t u a l l y found bu t t h e

Asantehene, t h e Queen-I.lother, t h e Crown-Prince, and a l l cf t h e

o t h e r n o t a b l e s had f l e d , A t t h i s p o i n t , Xr. Dawso?., who had

p r e v i o u s l y r e f u s e d t o guide t h e a r r e s t i n g p a r t y t o t h e pa l ace , 117

produced nes senge r s who were ready t o go t o t h e Asantehene wi th

any comrnunicat io~ which t h e General might wish t o send, A s S i r

Garnet was now anx ious t o conclude a peace w i t h KoCi K a r i k a r i ,

and, i f p o s s i b l e , o b t a i n a t r e a t y from him, he dashed o f f a l e t -

t e r f o r iminediate d e l i v e r y t o him, I n this l e t t e r he ag reed t o

a c c e p t h o s t a g e s of l e s s e r rank than t h e Queen-Xotlier and t h e

Crown-Pr i~ce and he c a l l e d upon t h e Asantehene h imse l f , o r i f he

Was u n w i l l i n g , t h e Queen-!.Iother o r t h e Crown P r i n c e , t o come t o

h m a s i on t h e f o l l o t ~ l n g day i n o rde r t o conclude a t r e a t y of

118 peace,

The n i g h t which followed a l l of t h i s a c t i v i t y was one of

broken s l e e p f o r t h e a l r e a d y exhausted B r i t i s h . A number o f f i r e s

broke o u t one a f t e r a n o t h e r i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s of t h e town. 119

Many of t h e t r o o p s , t i r e d o u t wi th t h e dayt s march and f i s h t i n g

a f t e r t h e i r s l e e p l e s s n i g h t a t t h e Oda Z i v e r , were a g a i n k e p t ou t

f o r hours t r y i n g t o e x t i n g u i s h t h e s e f i r e s and prevent t h e i r

sp read , Tilt. s i t , u a t i o n was made even more c o ~ f u s e d and t i r i n g by

t h e need t c use even mcre t r o o p s t o s t o p t h e heavy l o o t i n g be ing

c a r r i e d o u t b ; ~ some of t h e Afr ican t r o o p s and t h e now r e l e a s e d

F a n t i p r i s c n ? r s . For t h i s reason , when dawn f i n a l l y broke on

t h e morning of t h e 5 t h , it was a weary B r i t i s h s o l d i e r y which

found t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n i n t h e town had changed cons ide rab ly

d u r i n g t h e n igh t .

I n s t e a d of t h e t h o u s a ~ d s o f armed men t h a t had f i l l e d t h e

s t r e e t s t h e n igh3 b e f o r e , t h e r e were n o t nore t han t h i r t y o r f c r -

t y Asantes i n t h e town. A l l n i g h t long t h e people had c o ~ t i n u e d

t o s t ream from t h e p l a c e , t a k i n g t h e i r arms, ammunition and va lu -

a b l e s w i t h them. Even t h e p a l a c e , which had been l e f t unguarded,

had been s t r i p p e d o f much o f t h e r o y a l t r e a s u r e d a r i n g t h e hour s

of darkness . 1 2 1

A s t h e morning wore on, how?ver, t h e r e was no s i g n o f

e i t h e r t h e Asantehene o r any agent he might wish t o a p p o i n t . A s

t ime passed and no n e g o t i a t o r s appeared , S i r Garnet began t o sus-

pect t r e a c h e r y . H i s f e e l i n g of unease was i n c r e a s e d when a s e -

r i e s o f v i o l e n t r a i n s q u a l l s t u r n e d t h e B r i t i s h canp i n t o a s e a

of mud. Being d i s i n c l i n e d t o r e l y t o o h e a v i l y e i t h e r on t h e

t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s o f t h e Asantehene o r t h e r e l i a b i l i t y of t h e weath-

e r , t h c General t h e r e f o r e began t o prepare f o r t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of

a spezdy wi thdrawal by evacua t ing t h e wounded from Kuinasi.

By midmorning of t h e 5 th , a l l w o u ~ d e d who were unable t o

march were s e n t o f f under e s c o r t of ' d o ~ d ' s and R u s s e l l ' s Regl-

rnents and a company of t h e R i f l e S r igade . A t e leven o ' c l o c k ,

1-lajor R u s s e l l r e p a r t e d f r o n t h e Ordah R ive r t h a t t h e b r idge was

abou t 18 i r c h e s uzder w a t e r i n p l a c e s and t h a t t h e r e had been

s o n e difficulty i n p a s s i n g t h e convoy a c r o s s t h e r i v e r . 1 2 2

T h i s r e p o r t caused s o a e c o ~ s i d e r a b l e c o n s t e r n a t i o n i n

Kuinasi. A s u c c e s s i o n o f heavy r a i n s q u a l l s had s a e n i n g i y s e t i n

a n d t h e A f r i c a n s a s s u r e d S i r G a r n e t t h a t t h e s e were t h e p r e l u d e

t o t h e r a i n y s e a s o n , which--as h e had been forwar~ed--:.:as e v i -

d e n t l y t o b e g i n sonewhat e a r l i e r t h a n u s u a l . A s t h e r e had been

no fur$Elcr word f rom I io f i K a r i k a r i , t h e G e n e r a l was f a c e d wi2h

t h e problem o f d e c i d i n g w h e t h e r t o t a k e t h e r i s k of r e m a i n i n g i n

Kumasi one more day o r t o d e s t r o y Kumasi a t once ar.d r e t u r n t o

A jirnamu. 3.23

The d e c i s i o n was r e a l l y n o t t o o d i f f i c u l t t o make. Rus-

s e l l ' s r e p o r t on t h e c o n d i t i o n of t h e r i v e r and t h e r a p i d l y d e t e -

r i o r a t i n g w e a t h e r made it c l e a r t h a t e v e r y h o u r o f d e l a y would

make t h e r e t u r n f rom Kumasi j u s t t h a t much more d i f f i c u l t . P l a c -

i n g t h e h e a l t h a n d w e l f a r e o f t h e t r o o p s , f o r whose l i v e s and

h e a l t h he was r e s p o n s i b l e , above a l l o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , S i r

G a r n e t d e c i d e d t o d e s t r o y t h e t o m and t h e p a l a c e and r e t u r n s o u t h

a t d a y b r e a k t h e n e x t r.zorning. 121,

Dur ing t h e a f t e r n o o n o f t h e 5th, t h e r e f o r e , a r e p o r t vas

c i r c u l a t e d t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e t r o o p s would advance i n p u r s u i t

of t h e Asan te l lme a t daybreak and t h a t any h s a n t e s who were t h e n

f0ur.d i n t h e town would be s h o t . T h i s was d o ~ e t o i n s u r s t h e

d e p a r t u r e o f a l l t h e i n h a b i t a n t s b e f o r e t h e p l a c e was s e t on f i r e ,

P r i z e a g e n t s v e r e a p p o i n t e d t o v i s i t t h e p a l a c e t h a t n i g h t a c d

c o l l e c t a s many v a l u a b l e s as cou l2 be c a r r i e d by t h i r t y en 125

and a r r a n g m e n t s x e r e riiade f o r t h e Zng inez r s t o spenCi t h e zi;;tlt

i n malting preparzt : ions f o r t h e 5loi;inir; up o f t h e pa l ace and t h e

b u r n i n g of t h e town.

A t s i x o ' c lock on t h e morning of t h e 6 t h , t h e t r o o p s v e r e

formed up and by seven oTclock all excep t t h e r ea r -gua rd had

marched o f f . By e i ~ h t o T c l o c k a l l o f t h e charges were l a i d . The

f u s e s were t h e n lii a r d tiie t o m s a t on f i r e a ~ d by ~ i n c oTclocl:,

when tiie rea r -guard f i n a l l y l o s t s i g h t o f t h e t o m , all t h a t r e -

mained o f K u i a s i xis a heap o f s;noulderir,g r u i n s , 126

Lacking t h e sar,le s ense of i inixciiate danger ~ L l i c h accol-1-

paniecl t h a r:iarch t o Kuiimsi, t h e r e t w n larch was sofiewhat o f ar.

a n t i - c l i m a x f o r t h e t r o o p s . It was n o t , hexever , a h e l t e r -

s k e l t e r dash f o r t ! i ~ c o a s t . The t r o o p s moved i n planned s t a g e s

from one prc ) tac ted ;lost t o t h e n e x t i n much tiis s m e ~ x m n e r as

t i ley tiad done di.lr5ng t h e advance. Gene ra l l y , t h e xove went snc-

o t h l y and t:le trious us supp ly c e ? t e r s , e t c . , were d i s n a n t l e d and

t h e s t o r e s rer,:ofc.d t o t h e s o u t h a s t h e Zear-Guard passed tlwougil.

It was a w e l l execu ted m v e which, so:i:ewhat s u r p r i s i n g l y iz t h e

l i g h t of S i r G a r n e t ' s p r a v i o u s d i s r e g a r d f o r such r m t t e r s , r e -

s u l t o d ir! t h e pres .3 rva t ion of l i v e s and t t le recovery o f c o n s i d e r -

ab le q u a n t i t i e s o! m t e r i a l ,

The o v e r r i d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n was t h c Ge?.eralt s concern

t h a t t h e European t r o o p s be evacua ted as qu i ck ly as p o s s i b l e .

Consequent ly , when a t r a n s p o r t a t i o n d i f f i c u l t y a r o s e a t khkan-

k u a s s i e on t h e 1 0 t h o f February , t h e o r d e r o f tnarch was abandoned

and t h e European b r i g a d e was passed down t h e l i n e t o Cape Coast

without; f u r t h e r d e l a y , The \Jest I n d i a n Regi~nents were u t i l i z e d

i n con j u n c t i o n w i t h kioodl s and R u s s e l l t s Regiments t o g a r r i s o n

t h e remain ing o u t p o s t s 127 and by t h e end o f February, a l l o f t h e

European t r o o p s had embarked f o r England, 1 2 8

S i r Garnet a rd s e v e r a l ~nembers o f h i s s t a f f r e m i n e d a t

Fonlana r a t l ~ e r t h a n accompany t h e main body t o t h e Coast . T h i s

t h e y d i d f o r two r ea sons . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , t h e Genera l wished

t o remain i n t h e r e a r of t h e coluriin u n t i l t h e l a s t convoy o f s i c k

and wounded could b e s e n t a c r o s s t h e Adansi Hills. T o s s i b l y even

rlicre i m p o r t a n t , howcver, was t h e f a c t t h a t he had f i r . a l l y r e c e i v -

ed r e l i a b l e word from t h e Asantehene.

While camped i n Detch iasu on t h e g t h , S i r Garnet had r e -

c e i v e d a message from Kofi K a r i k a r i . I n t h i s message, t h e Asante-

hene exp re s sed h i s d e s i r e t o make peace, and , a f t e r beg gin^ S i r

Garnet t o h a l t Cnptair. Glover , who was by t h i s tirile encar.iped at;

J a b i n , o f f e r e d t o accede t o a l l o f t h e G e n e r a l ' s t e rms . S i r

Garne t i c ~ n e d i a t e l y ~ r r o t e back t o t h e Asantehere in forming hir?

t h a t h e would h a l t a t Fonana u n t i l t h e 1 3 t h , arid that i f by t h e

n i g h t o f t h e 1 2 t h t l je Asmtehene s e n t t o him 5,000 ounces o f go ld

as a s i g ? of good f a i t h , he would. nake peace , and o r d e r Capta in

Glover ' s f o r c e s back a c r o s s t h e P r a . 129 He then con tac t ed Cap-

t a i n Glover inforriling him o f what had happened a n d ' a s k i n g Glover

t o remain where he was u n t i l t h e 1 4 t h , i f he cou ld s a f e l y do

S O 130

The Genera l t h e n proceeded t o Foinana where, on t h e n i g h t . o f t h e 1 2 t h , word was r e c e i v e d t h a t t h e A s m t e h e n e T s er.voys were

a t Dorzpoasi and t h a t t h e y wished t o r ieet w i t h S i r G a r ~ e t i n o r d e r

t o t r e a t f o r peace1.31~er~ilission was giver, f o r them t o e n t e r t h e

B r i t i s h camp provided t h e y had brought the go ld , and e a r l y or. t h e

morning o f t h e 1 3 t h , two envoys and a long t r a i n o f c a r r i w s en-

t e r e d Fornzna. They brought on ly 1 , 0 0 0 ounces o f go ld w i t h t h e n 132

b u t by t h i s t i m e t h e main o b j e c t was t o s e c w e peace, and as t h e

i ndewni ty was o f importance o n l y as a s i g n o f Kofi K a r i k a r i T s

submiss ion , t h e amount invo lved was of l i t t l e importance. The

General t h e r e f o r e accep t ed t h e s m a l l e r amount and p r e s e n t e d t h e

envoys w i t h a d r a f t t r e a t y t o t a k e back f o r t h e Asa.nteheneTs s i g -

nat; ure . The t r e a t y was r e a d ove r and e a c h a r t i c l e c a r e f u l l y ex-

p l a i n e d t o t h e envoys, who r a i s e d o b j e c t i o q s t o on ly two of i t s

p r o v i s i o r s . F i r s t , t h e y ques t i oned t h e s i z e o f t h e i ~ d e n r i t y .

Horever, when S i r Garne t p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e Bsante3ene had a l -

ready a g r e e d t o t h e sun of 50,000 ounces o f g o l d i n h i s l e t t e r o f

t h e 23rd o f January , t h e y :ii thdrew t h e i r o b j e c t i o n . The s e c o ~ d

p o i n t i nvo lved t h e requj.rt?d scknotr ledge:~ent o f t h e independence

o f Adnnsi. S i r Garnet expl-ained t h a t t h i s s t i p u l a t i o n had. been

inc luded i n t h e t r e a t y a t t h e r e q u e s t o f Robina Obin o f Adsnsi ,

who had a r r i v e d i n F m a n a on t h e l l t h , and t h a t a s it invo lved a

p r i v a t a ar rangement be tveen t h e A d a ~ s i s and t h e I/assrlws, he

cou ld n o t i n t e r f e r e . 133 The envoys had t h e r e f o r e t o be co? t en t

w i t h t h e t r e a t y a s it s tood and t h z y l e f t on t h e a f t e r n o o n of t h e

1 3 t h p r o n i s i n g t o g e t t h e t r e a t y s igned by t h e Asantehene a d t o

produce it i n C a p Coast w i t h i n t h e p r e s c r i b e d tinia limit of f o u r -

t e e n days .

On t h a t s m e a f t e r n o o n , o r d e r s ~ 2 r e s e n t t o Captair, Glov-

e r i n fo rming :?ir,l ol" t h e s i t u a t i o n and r e q u i r i n g hiln t o r e t i r e

s o u t h o f t h e Pr.2 w i t h h i s t r o o p s . These o r d e r s reached Glover a t

Kwaman on tT?e 1 4 t h and he began h i s wi thdrawal t h e n e x t day.

Reaching P ra su on t h e 1 7 t h , he d i ~ r ~ i i s s e d h i s Afr ican l e v i e s , who

moved ea s tward t o t h s i r o m hoass , wh i l e he marched dovm t h e main

road t o Ananiabo w i t h t h e Hausas. 134

U i t h Capta in G l o v e r ' s r c t u r ~ , t h e B r i t i s h wi thdrawal was

a l l b u t complete. S i r Carnet had l e f t Fomana f o r Cape Coast on

t h e U k t h and by t h e 20 th , t h e l a s t o u t p o s t n o r t h o f t h e Pra,

Esa;,1ar, had Seen c l e a r e d of i t s s t o r e s and disnnantled. The l a s t

B r i t i s h t r o o p s , t h r e e coi.q)anies of l!.'IZ, c ro s sed t h e P r a and

assumed g t i r r i son d u t i e s a t P r a s u on t h e 2 1 s t , and, on tile 23rd,

t h e i n v a s i o n was o f z i c i a l l y t e r n i n a t e d when tile b r i d g e a c r o s s t h e

r i v e r was destroyeci .

V i t h t h e Asan tes d e f e a t e d , and t h e European t r o o p s r e -

moved frorri t h e Gold Coas t , t h e o n l y t a s k s remaining were con-

cerned w i t h t h e s e c u r i t y of t h e ? P r o t e c t o r a t e f . G a r r i s o n s v:ere

r e t a i n e d a t P ra su and 12insu on ly and a l l i n t e r m e d i a t e o u t p o s t s

a long t h e Cape ~ o a s t / P r a s c Road were @ e a r e d o f t h e i r s u p p l i e s

and r a z e d t o t h e ground. I n a d d i t i o n , m a r t i a l l a w was f i ~ a l l y

l i f t e d f r o ~ i l E l m i ~ a and S i r Garnet p repared a L ~ m o r a n d m on t h e

s u b j e c t o f g a r r i s o n i n g t h e Gold Coast w i t h A f r i c a n t r o o p . As a

first s t e p toward t h e i n p l e r l e n t a t i o n o f t h e recor:i~t~enda:ions con-

t a i n e d i n t h a t menlorandurn, t h e General i m n e d i a t e l y r e q u e s t e d

Capta in Glover t o r e t a i n 350 o f h i s Hausas a t Ana~ilabo u n t i l N r .

Berke ley , t h e Governor- i r -Chief , should dec ide w!letiier he would

keep them o r n o t . 1 3 5

F i r a l l y , s t e p s were t a k e n t o r e - e s t a b l i s h peace i n t h e

wes t e rn and e a s t e r n r e g i o n s o f t h e T P r o t e c t o r a t e ' . The two men

d i r e c t l y invo lved i n t h e s e e f f o r t s were a M r . Goldsworthy 2nd a

l<r. Gouldsbury. 1-ir. Goldsworthy was charged w i t h a f f a i r s i n t h e

east b u t he f a i l e d i n h i s e f f o r t s t o make peace w i th e i t h e r t h e

Awunas o r t h e Akwanus. Ho::ever, ?.?re Gouldsbury was x o r e f o r t u -

n a t e . He t o u r e d a l l o f t h e t r i b e s i n t h e !!estern Regio? and a l -

though many months wzre t o p a s s b e f o r e he had f i n i s h e d h i s work,

he e v e n t u a l l y e x t r a c t e d promises o f p e a c e f u l and obed ien t be-

h a v i o u r from a l l o f t h e k i n g s and c h i e f s c o ~ c s r n e d . 136

A s h i s t e rms o f s e r v i c e had s p e c i f i c a l l y exempted him

f r o n r e rna i~ . i ng i n Ves t A f r i c a once t h e campaign was over' S i r

Garnet d i d n o t remain t o s u p e r v i s e t h e completion o f t h e m i l i t a r y

and p o l i t i c a l p r e p a r a t i o n s which he had sst i n niotior,. I n h i s

o p i n i o n , h i s miss ion had been accor :z~ l i shed and even though h i s

job was f a r from f i ~ i s h e d , he s a i l e d f o r 9ngland on t h e 4 t h o f

I h r c h . Before l e a v i n g , however, he wro te one f i n a l l e t t e r t o t h e

Asantehene. E igh teen days had passed s i n c e t h e t r e a t y had been

s e n t t o Kofi K a r i k a r i and as it had n o t y e t bee? r e t u r n e d , t h e

Genera l wro t e t o renlind him t h a t h i s messengers had proniised t o

d e l i v e r t h e t r e a t y t o Cape Coast w i t h i n f o u r t e e n days. I n c l o s -

i n g , he p o i n t e d o u t t h a t h o s t i l i t i e s would n o t be t e r m i n a t e d

wtil t h e t r e a t y had been r a t i f i e d and t h e r e b y i ixpl ied t h a t f u r -

t h e r f igh t ing ; was n o t an i m p o s s i b i l i t y . 137

T h i s l e t t e r a c t u a l l y proved t o have been unnecessary f o r

on t h e 1 2 t h o f ifarch, a n embassy f rom t h e Asantehene a r r i v e d i n

Cape Coast . Composed o f one o f Kofi K a r i k a r i t s s o n s , Kof i I ~ t i n ,

and r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of eve ry t r i b e and province i n t h e e n p i r e ,

t h e embassy was r e c e i v e d by Colonel I ~ a m e l l , t h e Act ing Adminis-

t r a t o r o f t h e Gold Coas t , on t h e day o f i t s a r r i v a l . The t r e a t y

d r a f t e d a t Fomana was pl-oduced wi th tk,e t v o c r o s s e s which i n -

d i c a t e d Kofi K a r i k a r i t s a s s e n t t o t h e teixxi con ta ined t h z r e i n

a f f i x e d t o it m d a l t h o i l ~ h t h e r e con t inued t o be some d i s p u t e as

t o t h e s i z e o f t h e i n d e m i t y , t h e t r e a t y wzs f i n a l l y r a t i f i e d on

t h e 15th o f l l a rch , 1674. 138

The Anglo-Asinte 'Jar of 1873-1874 t h u s o f f i c i a l l y came

t o a c l o s e and a t a s u p e r f i c i a l g l a n c e , it would a p s e a r t h a t t h i s

l i t t l e war had b2en a complete and somewhat b r i l l i a n t succes s f o r

t h e B r i t i s h . Rowever, such was n o t e n t i r e l y t h e case and it i s

now neces sa ry t o c r i t i c z l l y a n a l y s e t h e c a m ~ a i g n wi th a view t o

a s s e s s i n g i t s conduct and e s t a b l i s b i n ~ t h e degree o f e f f e c t i v e -

n e s s o f S i r Garnet 's l e a d e r s h i p .

To c r i t i c i s e t h e con3uct o f a c a r q a i ~ n which h a s ach ieved

i t s s t a t e d a.ims i s dangerous . From t h e o u t s 2 t t h e c r i t i c i s

n f a c e d w i t h s a v e r a l iila j o r d i f f i c u l t i s s . r l r s t , t h e s m z t glow of

s u c c e s s of ter. c a u s e s c o r t e r q ~ o r a r y r e p C r t e r s t c i ~ n o r e o r r a t i o ? -

a l i z e t h e e r r o r s xade by t h e v icLors . It is t l l e r a f o r e c f t m d i f -

f i c u l t t o c l e a r l y a s t a b l - i s h l o p e r g e t r a t e d t t e mi s t akes , :;hat

caused t h o s e m i s t a k e s , 2nd \;:?at e f f e c t t h e y r a l l y k d 07. t h e

conduct. o f tile c a n p a i ~ n . Secor~d, t h e c r i t i c i s J~ r i t i - i \:it!i t h e

b e n e f i t o f h i n d s i g h t a n d i s o f t e n ir. pos se s s iog of i -~or . . !a i ion

which was n o t a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p a r t i c i p a - t s . F o r tl3.s r e - ~ s o r , h i s c r i t i c i s r ~ l s a r e o f t e n i n dani;er of b i i ~ g axcessivi~l:: i la~s'r. .

N e v e r t h o l e s s , i t is t h e f u n c t i o n of t h e c r i t i c t o loci: beyond 'he

c l e a r l y obv lcus r e s c l t s o f t h e car.!pign i n ar. e f f o r t ta a s s z s e

i t s conduct s o t h a t a ba l ance m y be prov ided f o r ths c r t e r 'ci2.s-

ed and u ~ c r i t i c a l n a r r a t i v e s p-cduced i n n e d l a t e l y aftel- t h e e v e ~ t . A c r i t i c i s r . ~ of t h e Anglo-Asszte Yar of 1c73-1274 l a b o u r s

under a l l of t h e s a d i f f i c u l t i e s . Indeed , t h i s c 3 i ; p i ~ n has t h e

p a r t i c u l a r l y searc::i.ng a? .a lys is . V i r t u a l . i y a l l of t h e p u k l l s h e c !

works d e a l i n g 1~2th t I i9 s u b j e c t r e l y llesvi l:i o? t l ie " o . ? f i c i ~ l : ~

t o be l a r g e l y accep ted as f a c t . The most impor tan t of t h e s e con-

t end t h a t :

1.

A c a r e f u l

Colonel Har ley acconp l i shed lit- t l e du r ing t h e f i r s t phase of t h e war ;

t h e c o a s t a l t r ibesmen were coward- l y , l a z y people who f i r s t r e f u s e d t o defend t h e r x e l v e s and then r e - f u s e d t o h e l p t h e B r i t i s h f i n i s h t h e war;

Captain Glover c o n t r i b u t e d v i r - t u a l l y n o t h i n g t o t h e campaign, and, t o a degree endangered i t s chances o f s u c c e s s ;

Sir Garnet Xo l se l ey was ' 'the ve ry model o f a modern Xa jor-Generaltf wi thout whose guidance and l e a d e r - s h i p t h e war would have been l o s t ; and

t h e Asantehene neve r s e r i o u s l y a t - tempted t o n e g o t i a t e a s e t t l e n e n t w i th t h e B r i t i s h bu t r a t h e r a t - tempted t o u se t h e p r e t e x t of ne- g o t i a t i o n s a s a sc reen from behind which he could p repa re f o r t h e de- s t r u c t i o n of t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e .

s t udy of t h e v a r i o u s pr imary sou rce m a t e r i a l s

r e v e a l s t h a t t h e s e conc lus ions a r e , t o va ry ing d e g r e e s , i n a c c u r a t e .

The re fo re , w i thou t d e t r a c t i n g i n any way from t h e fact; t h a t t h e

B r i t i s h carnpaign d i d succeed i n ach iev ing i t s s t a t e d a i m , t h e

corments and c r i t i c i s m below a r e i ~ t e n d e d t o expose t h e s e i nac -

c u r a c i t ? ~ .

Of a l l t h e B r i t i s h o f f i c i a l s involved i n t h i s war, Colo-

n e l Har ley i s p o s s i b l y t h e one who h a s r ece ived t h e l e a s t recog-

n i t i o n f o r h i s e f f o r t s , C e r t a i n l y t h e g r e a t bulk of ~ i a t e r i a l on

t h e war l e a d s one t o conclude t h a t n o t h i n g of any importance was

ach ieved p r i o r t o S i r Garnet I l o l s e l e y t s a r r i v a l a t Cape Coast .

Yet even though he was c o n p l e t e l y hamstrung by t h e r e q u i r e r e n t s

o f t he B r i t i s h p o l i c y then be ing pursued on t h e Gold Coas t ; ob-

s t r u c t e d by t h e a c t i v e oppos i t i on of h i s immediate s u p e r i o r , ?.Ire

Pope-IIennesey, and h i s s e n i o r o f f i c i a l a t Cape Coast , Colonel

F o s t e r F o s t e r ; o p e r a t i n g wi th a s a d l y reduced g a r r i s o n and a

shock ing ly d e p l e t e d magazine; ar,d s u f f e r i n g from a lack of expc-

r i e n c e among t h e F a n t i ; neve r the l - e s s , it was Colone l Harley who

managed t o p r e s e r v e t h e B r i t i s h presence or, t h e Gold C o s t and

t h u s s e t t h e s t a g e f o r S i r G a r n e t ' s subsequent o p e r a t i o n s ,

Indeed , when one c o n s i d e r s t h e c i rcumstances under w'nich

he had t o f u n c t i o n , it i s amazing j u s t hotr much t h e Admin i s t r a to r

accomplished. Fo r example, t h e i n i t i a l suppor t which he provided

t o t h e F m t i had enabled them t o f i g h t t h e Asante army t o a draw

a t Dunlcwa. He was t h e r e f o r e i n s t r u n e g t a l i n checking v ~ h a t could

e a s i l y have become a r a p i d Asnnte sweep t o t h e c o a s t . * EIowever,

he r e c e i v e d l i t t l e r e c o g n i t i o n f o r h i s r o l e i n t h i s a f f a i r be-

cause Ac~anktra T i a t s c o n t i r u e d presence ir . t h e t P r o t e c t c r a t e t ob-

s cu red t h e t r u e s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e b a t t l e . i n a d d i t i o n , a l -

though h i s ins:ructions ayd h i s s l e n d e r r e s o u r c e s rmde it irnpos-

- 212 -

s i b l e f o r him t o e f f e c t i v e l y r a l l y t h e F a n t i f o r c e s a f t e r t h e i r

d e f e a t a t Jukwa, Colone l Harley m a n a p d t o t a k e s e v e r a l .other

v i t a l s t e p s which coun te r ed t h e Asante moves. The f o r t s were

s e c u r e d a g a i n s t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f s e i z u r e by t h e Asante armies.

E f f e c t i v e s t e p s v c r e t a k e n t o r e l i a v e t h e s u f f e r i n g of t h e h o s t s

o f F a n t i r e f u z e e s i n and around C a p Coast . The s i t ~ m t i o n a t

Elrnina was rendered far l e s s dangerouS t h a n had p r e v i o u s l y been

t h e ca se . The u p r i s i n g s i n t h e t e r r i t o r i e s west o f t h e F r a were

d e a l t w i t h as e f r e c t i v e l y as condiLions would peri:lit. And, pos-

s i b l y most inpor t i an t , s t e p s were t aken t o c l e a r l y d e f i n e t h e l o -

c a t i o n and c o n d i t i o n of t h e Asnnte army a ~ d t o reopen t r a c t s cf

F a n t i t e r r i t o r y t o t h e i r f o rmer i n h a b i t a n t s w i t h a view t o pre-

pa r i7 . l~ f o r sorne f u t u r e Llove a g a i r st Ama~kwa T i a ,

F e v e r t h e l e s s , d e s p i t e t h e s e a c c o i n p l i s ~ n s n t s , Colonel

Ha r l ey r e c e i v e d no r e c o ~ n i t i o n i q any o f the works wllich c la ic l t;o

d e s c r i b e t h e r m r f u l l y and n e i t k e r d id he r e c e i v e any o f f i c i a l

Government r e c o g n i t i o n f o r a job w e l l done. I n s t e a d , he was r e -

l i e v e d of h i s d u t i e s an.d r e c a l l e d t o Z n g l a ~ d immediate ly upon S i r

Garne t ' s accep tance of t h e d u a l p o s t o f C i v i l A d m h i s t r a t o r and

M l i t a r y Com~ander o f t h e Gold Coast . Desp i t e t h e E a r l of Kim-

b e r l e y t s p r i v a t e p r o t e s t a t i o n s o f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h t h e Adminis-

t r a t o r ' s p e r f ormnnca under admitted1;r d i f f i c u l t c i r c ~ m s t c ~ c e s , 3

it was q u i t e p c s s i b l y t h i s f a i l u r e on t h e p a r t o f t h e Govs rmen t

t o acknowledge t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r ' s e f f o r t s vrhich 1:as .nost rcspon-

s i b l e f o r t h e g e n e r a l l a c k o f r e c o ~ n i t i o n ,

- 21.3 -

The s t a n d a r d assessinont of t h e a c t i o n s of t h e t r i l e s r , ~ e n

of t h e 'P ro t ec to r ' a t e ' , orho a r e u n i v e r s z l l y e x e c r a t e d f o r t h e i r

cowardice and l a z i n e s s , i s even more u n f a i r timn t h a t accor2ed

Colonel Har ley , The t r u t h i s t h a t t he t r ibesmen began t h e war

by f i g l ~ t i n g well and a l t hough one cannot deny t h a t t h e y subse-

q u e n t l y d i d n o t respond i n t h e vay which t h e B r i t i s h wished them

t o , cowardice and Laz iness do n o t apyhar t o have beer, t h e r ea sons .

I n f a c t , t h e i r good s h o w i r , ~ a t t h e cormencement of t h e b a t t l e of

Dunkwa l e a d s one t o b e l i e v e t h a t had they been p r o p e r l y suppor ted

and handled by t h e B r i t i s h t h e y might have a c q u i t t e d t h e ~ x e l v e s

w e l l th roughout t h e campaign.

The F a n t i p e r f o r n a ~ c e a t t h e b a t t l e o f Dunkwa on t h e 8 t h

and 1 4 t h o f A p r i l , 1873, c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e y would and

cou ld f i g h t t o good e f f e c t d e s p i t e t h e i r abhor rence of o f f e n s i v e

t a c t i c s . It i s obvious , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e p rob le~n was n o t t h a t

t h e y l acked t h e w i l l t o f i g h t , I n s t e a d , t h e problem l a y i n t he

f a c t t h c t t h e F a n t i , whose a t t e x p t s t o a c h i e v e some degree o f

e f f e c t i v e u ~ i t y th rough t h e medium o f t h e F a n t i Confederat ion

had been f r u s t r a t e d by t h e B r i t i s h , looked t o t h e B r i t i s h t o pro-

v i d e t h e n e c e s s a r y l e a d e r s h i p around which t h e y could u n i t e . 4

Colonel Har ley a p p a r e n t l y r e a l i z e d t h i s and he t r i e d , w i t h i n t h e

s t r i c t l i n i t s inposed on him bjr h i s i n s t r u c t i o n s and h i s r e -

s o u r c e s , t o g i v e adequa te supi>ort and l e a d e r s h i p . U ~ f o r t u w ~ e l y ,

he could n o t p rov ide evidence of B r i t i s h l e a d e r s h i p 2nd z ~ p p o r t

s u f f i c i e n t t o i ~ b u e t h e F a n t i w i th t h e conf idence neces sa ry t o

keep them u n i t e d i n an army l a r g e enough t o d e f e a t Aniankwa Tia.

Consequent ly , when t h e y bzgan t o s u s p e c t t h a t t h e y were

be ing l e f t unaided t o f i g h t a w a r which t h e y saw as b e i v g l a r g e l y

t h e r e s u l t of B r i t i s h a c t i o n s , each F a n t i con t ingen t p l aced i t s

t r a d i t i o n a . 1 r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o defend i t s home-vi l lage ahead of

t h e r e q u i r c ~ n e n t s o f t h e t P r o t e c t o r z t e t as a whole. It was t h e

c o m b i ~ a t i o n o f t h i s a t t i t u d e , t h e a r r i v a l of t h e r a i n s , and t h e

heavy d e f e a t a t Jukwa which was l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t i l e d i s -

i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e F a n t i army i n e a r l y June , 1873. Unive r sa l

F a n t i cowardice does n o t Lhere fora a?pear t o have been a r n ~ i o r

f a c t o r behind t h e F a n t i c o l l a p s e d u r i n g t h e f i rs t phase o f t h e

war. b le i ther does i t appea r t o have been a major reason f o r t h e

f a i l u r e o f t h e F a n t i t o respond t o S i r G a r n e t ' s c a l l Lo arms

d u r i n g t h e second and t h i r d phases of t h e war.

I n s t e a d , t h e F a n t i f a i l e d t o re-form t h e i r army f o r t h e

s i r q l e r e a s o n t h a t t h e y saw no reason t o do so . "i'lis was p a r t l y

due t o t h e f a c t t h z t S i r C a r n e t , i n a massive b u t p o s s i b l y con-

s c i o u s m i s c a l c u l a t i o n , to1.d t h e a n o t h i n g o f t h e p robab le i nvo lve -

ment o f European t r o o p s ; t h u s l o s i n g h i s one chance o f shoxing

t h a t a new approach had bean adopted by t h e 1 3 r i t i s h e 5 ~ n s t e a d ,

he r e p e a t e d t h e s a x e t i r e d promises t h a t t h e F a n t i had hea rd be-

f o r e tmd, u~ i r i i p r e s s sd by mere promises a s proof of t h e s e r i o u s -

n e s s of t h e 3ritisl.l i n t z n t i o n s , t h e y ifere r e l u c t a n t t o once igov

t a k e t o t h e f f - e l d . In a d d i t i o n t o t h i s , horiever, t h e y could

no val.ic! reason f o r once inore engaging t h e Asante a m y . Ir. t h e i r

6 view, shor ts i l l ;h ted though it might have been, t i le war wbs now

f o l l o w i n g t h e t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n o f a l l such Asante i n v a s i o n s

and was t h e r e f o r e v i r t u a l l y ove r , They knebv t h a t Anankwa T ia had

exhaus ted hir'lself and was on ly a v a i t i n g t h e Asantehene 's psrmis-

s i o n t o r e t u r n t o K u m s i . They t h e r e f o r e had no d e s i r e t o e x c i t e

t h e enemy i n t o renewed a c t i v i t y by t h r e a t e n i n g t o a t t a c k him.

I n s t e a d , t h e y were q u i t e c o n t e ~ t t o a w a i t h i s wi thdrawal so t h a t

t h e y r , ~ i g h t q u i e t l y r e t u r n t o t h e i r horles. T h i s l a s t c o ~ s i d e r a -

t i o r . was o f g r e a t iraportance a s t h e F a n t i hcd s u f f e r e d t a r r i b l y

th roughout t h e i n v a s i o n m d t h e y were eage r t o resume tk ,o i r :?or-

ma1 l i v e s . They consequec t ly had l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n p z r t i c i p a t -

i n s i n what t h e y viewed a s an unnecessary m i l i t a r y e x e r c i s e which

would do n o t h i n g no re t h a n d e l a y t h e i r e f f o r t s t o r e t u r n t o nor-

malcy.

Aside fro1.1 t h e s e major cor .s idera t ; ions , t h e r e were t i J O ad-

d i t i o x i l f a c t o r s which caused t h e F a n t i t o r e s i s t s e r v i c e i n $hs

p r o j z c t e d l e v i e s . One o f t h e s e i nvo lved pay. A s o l d i e r r e c e i v e d

1& pence p e r day and z l l found whi le a c a r r i e r r e c e i v e d 6 s h i l -

l i n g s p e r month and a l l found. Thus t h e B r i t i s h t h e a s e l v e s m ~ d e

armed s e r v i c e l e s s a t t r a c t i v e than c i v i l employment. The o t i l e r

was t h e f a c t t h a t t h e l e v i e s were g e n e r a l l y bad ly handled hy t h e

B r i t i s h . They were g iven l i t t l e o r no t r a i n i n g and y e t their we;.e

o f t e n thrown i n t o s i t u a t i o n s w i t h which t h e y could n o t be expec t -

ed t o cope w i t h t h e r e s u l t , t h a t d e s e r t i o n s were heavy and p a n i c s

commonplace whencver t h e y were i n c o n t a c t w i t h t h e eneny. 7

It t h u s becomes c l e a r t h a t t h e o f t e n r e p e a t e d charges o f

F a n t i cowardice were, i f n o t u n t r u e , a t l e a s t gross1.y u ~ f z i r .

The sane may be s a i d of t h e charge o f l az iness -an a c c u s a t i o n

based on t h e genera l F a n t i r e l u c t a n c e t o s e r v e i n t h e T ranspor t

Corps. I n t h i s i n s t x c e a l l o f t h e m i t i g a t i n g c i r c u a s t a - t c e s

reviewed a5ove remain e q u a l l y v a l i d . There a r e two o f t h o s e

c i r c u n s t ances which a r e p o s s i b l y lnore impor tan t t h a n the o t h e r s ,

however.

The f irst concerns t h e F a n t i d e s i r e t o r e t u r n hone as

soon as p o s s i b l e i n o r d e r t o resume a norriial way of l i f e . T h i s

d e s i r e had a l r e a d y caused numbers of t r ibesmen t o r e f u s e t o

j o i n i n t h e f i g h t t o d r i v e ' a n a l r e a d y d e p a r t i n g ener~pj from t h e

' P r o t e c t o r a t e T . It would t h e r e f o r e no doubt have been an sven

more p o t e n t reason f o r r e f u s i n g t o s e r v e a s a c a r r i e r d n r i ~ g an

o p e r a t i o n vhic'n would e n t a i l s e r v i c e even f u r t h e r away froiii t h e

homes which t h e y ;rere s o eager t o r e - e s t a b l i s h .

The second nin j o r c i rcumstance which caused t h e 3'ant.i t o

avo id s c r v i c e i n t h e Transport; Corps was t h e poor treat::icnt t h e

c a r r i e r s r ece ived . For example, d r a f t s from v a r i o u s v i l l a g e s

were bl.oh.cn up and d i s t r i b u t e c l t h r o u ~ h v a r i o u s n ixed p.',nl;s s o

t h a t men v e r e o f t e n faced w i t h t h e d i s t a s t e f u l p rospec t of viork-

i n g witah s t ; rangers u r d e r s t r a n g e head~i~en. There were a l s o m n y

o c c a s i o n s when t h e food and accoaoda t ion were poor and inadequa t e .

I n a d d i t i o n , pay was e r r a t i c and t h e r e were f r e q u e n t i n s t a r c e s o f

g r a f t and e x t o r t i o n . F i n a l l y , t h e s u p e r v i s i o n was i n e f f i c i e n t and

t h e c a r r i e r s o f t e n r e c e i v e d b r u t a l t r e a t m e n t from Suropean sapor -

v i s o r s and Af r i can headmn a l ike . ' It i s l i t t l e warder, t h e r e -

f o r e , t h a t s e r v i c e as a c a r r i e r r a p i d l y becane unpopular , de-

s p i t e t h e r e l a t i v e l y h i g h pay, and t h a t d e s e r t i o n s i n c r e a s e d a t I

t h e same t i x e as r e c r u i t i n g d e c l i n e d .

Unfo r tuna t e ly , t h e r e s p o n s i b l e B r i t i s h o f f i c i a l s or, t h e

Gold Coast \;ere e i t h e r unab le o r u n w i l l i n g t o r ecogn ize t h a t t h e

F a n t i f a i l u r e t o respond t o t h e s i t u a t i o n i n a manner which t h e

Europeans t hough t p rope r was a t t r i b u t a b l e t o v a l i d r e a s o r s. I n

t h e eyes o f S i r Garnet ! lo lse ley, t h e members of h i s s t a f f , and

v i r t u a l l y eve ry European o b s e r v e r on t h e Coast a t t h i s t im , t h e

r ea sons behind t h e F a n t i r e l u c t a n c e t o "cone t o g r i p s w i t h t h e i r

t r a d i t i o n a l enemy and d r i v e him f rain t h e i r s a c r e d hoineland?' were

p u r e l y and s imply t h e i r " n a t u r a l co:.iardice a ~ d l a ~ i n e s s ~ . ~ It

i s r e g r e t a b l e t h a t t h i s l a r g e l y u n j u s t i f i e d g e n e r a l i z a t i o n g a i n -

ed c redence and became t h e s t a n d a r d e x p l a n a t i o n f o r F a n t i conduct

th roughout t he war, b u t such was t h e case .

The c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f both Colonel Har ley and t h e F a n t i

were t h u s i g n o r e d o r bad ly mi s r ep re sen t ed i n n o s t o f t h e contem-

p o r a r y a c c o u n t s of t h e war. They were n o t a l o n e i n t h i s , however,

f o r Cap ta in Glover s u f f e r e d a s i m i l a r f a t e . T h i s was s o mainly

because S i r Garne t , wl~ose o p i n i o r . ~ and a t t i t u d e s t e n d t o domi-

n a t e most o f t h e r n a t e r i a l w r i t t e n a t t h e t i m e , disapprov'ed o f t h e

V o l t a expedi t ion .10 It i s a l s o due, i n p a r t , t o t h e f a c t t h a t

Cap ta in Glover was n o t accompanied by newspaper co r r e sponden t s t o

t h e e x t e ~ t t h a t S i r Garnet was. As a resul t ; , t h e t endaccy

th roughout was t o view e v e n t s from t h e Genera l t s poiyt -of-view . and t o downgrade t h e importance of Capta in G l o v e r ' s a c t i o n s ac-

cordir .g ly . Even s o , t h e r e i s no doubt t h a t Capta in Glover , l i k e

Colonel Harl-ey, acco : . i~ l i shed much under d i f f i c u l t c o r d i t i o n s . 11

Because t h i s i s t h e c a s e , it i s w e l l t o b r i e f l y review t h e two

major c m t r i b u t i o n s made by Capta in Glover and t o a s s e s s t h e i r

impact on t h e campaign.

The f i rs t o f t h e s e two major c o n t r i b u t i o z s was h i s suc-

c e s s f u l d i v e r s i o n of t h e King of J a b i n ' s l a r g e con t ingen t frcm

Kofi K a r i k a r i f s army a t a t i n e when it was v i t a l l y needed. Even

though he was seriously under s t r e n g t h as a r e s u l t o f t h e coxbin-

ed e f f e c t s of S i r G a r n e t ' s i n s i s t e n c e on a d h e r i n g t o t h e 1 5 t h of

J anua ry i n v a s i o n d a t e and t h e c o n f l i c t s amcng t h e A f r i c a n s ir,

t h e t r a n s - V o l t a r e s i o n , Capta in Glover managed t o c r e a t e a d i -

v e r s i o n of s u f f i c i e n t p r o p c r t i o n s t o deny t h e Asantehe2e some

12 ,000 men. The importa!?ce o f t h i s car. be a p p r e c i a t e d when one

c o ~ s i d e r s t b a t t h e b a t t l e s o f Amoafu and Odasu v e r e 'rjcth ha rd

f o u c h t e n g a g e m n t s v'nich t h e 13r i t i sh cane v e r y c l o s e t o l o s i r l ~ a n d

which t h e y w u l d q u i t e prob3bly hsve l o s t had Kofi K a r i k a r i had

t h o s e a d d i t i o n a l 12,000 Inen. 1 2

Capta in Gi.overTs a c c o ~ p l i s l ~ n s n + , s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e

J a b i p s d i d :riar.age t o e l i c i t some g r u d ~ i n g r e c o g n i t i o n f r o n Henry

Brackenbury and o t h e r s . !Iowever, h i s second ::la j o r cor,i;ributicr.

i s mentioned o n l y once: i n a modern s tudy o f t h e A s a ~ t e wars

w r i t t e n by i41r. Alon ~ 1 o ~ d . l ~ ilr. Lloyd s u g g e s t s t h a t it was t h e

added t h r e a t posed by Capta in G l o w r , when he suddenly appeared

immediate ly t o t h e e a s t of Kunasi j u s t a f t e r S i r G a r n e t ' s wi th -

d r awa l , which ::as t h e a c t u a l reason f o r t h e k s a n t e h e r e t s accep t -

ance o f t h e S e ~ e i - a l ~ s terins ever. a f t e r t h e B r i t i s h h2d a l r e a d y

begun t o novo south.14 .The f a c t s would appea r t o suppor t t h i s

c o n t e n t i o n f o r S i r Garnet had done h i s wor s t , had acccL::p1iAed

n o t h i n g toward g e t t i n g a t r e a t y w i t h t h e hsan tehene , a??d :GS v i r -

t u a l l y f l e e i n g t o t h e Coast when t h e Asante envojrs o v e r t o & him

a t Ketch iasu w i t h Kof i I h r i k a r i f s o f f e r t o t r e a t .

I n t h e l i g h t of t h i s , it i s t h u s d o u b t f u l t h a t tihe Sen-

e r a l f s a c t i o n s were s o l e l y r 'esponsible f o r t i le sudden Asznte de-

s i r e t o r e a c h a n accord . I n s t e a d , t h e r e a l reason b e h i n d t h e sud-

den peace move r-ms rsveclled i n t h e Asan tehene t s r e q u e s t which ac -

co~ilpanied h i s o f f e r t o s i g n t h e t r e a t y , t h a t Capta in G l o v e r T s

f o r c e be h a l t e d and withdrawn. T h i s nade it c l e a r t h a t S i r

Garnet h,c! n o t d e a l t t h e Asante a m o r t a l blow b u t r a t h e r t h a t it

was t h e shock o f what t h e y took t o be a n o t h e r s t r0 r .g Z r i t i s h

f o r c e cocii?g fran t h e e a s t t o con t inue t h e war, t h a t provokad

t h e b e l a t e d A s a ~ t e a p l ~ e a l f o r a t r e a t y . A s t h i s i s ar, i q t e r -

p r e t a t i o n v?l ich w c u l d have been ana theaa t o S i r Garnet as c e l l as

t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e nien who ui-ote o f t h e war, t h i s v i t a l c o ~ t r i -

bu t ion was n e v e r r e v e z l e d i n i t s t r u e l i g h t by any o f t h e con-

t-emporary wit o r s . 1 5

Unlike Colone l Xar ley, t h e c o a s t a l t r i b e s n e n , and Cap-

t a i n Glover , S i r Garnet 7Jolseley emerged from t h i s war ~ : i t h hi.s

r e c o r d un ta i - r i shed and h i s r e p u t a t i o n enhanced. T h i s was n o t

because he waged a b r i l l i a n t campaign. Ra the r i t was a r e s u l t

o f t h e f o r t u i t o u s c o m b h a t i o n of two o t h e r e lements . F i r s t and

fo remos t , he s imply suxceeded, i n s p i t e o f h i s many m i s t a k e s , ir.

do ing what he s e t o u t t o do. Second, t h e men who wro te o f t h e

war, be t h e y s o l d i e r s , who were i n v a r i a b l y nienbers of t h e " r i ngT t ,

o r newspaper co r r e sponden t s , were g e n e r a l l y sympathe t ic toward

him and r eco rded h i s a c t i o n s i n a f a v o u r a b l e l i g h t . 16 I 'everthe-

l e s s , t h e t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r i s t h a t S i r Garnet p c r f o w e d poor-

l y th roughout t h e campaign and it was more by good l u c k t h a n good

management t h a t t h e B r i t i s h cause was saved from d i s a s t e r .

I n i t i a l l y , t h i s d i d n o t appea r t o be t h e case f o r t h e

G e n e r a l ' s work on t h e Gold Coast began we l l . H i s p l an appeared

bo th s i m p l e and v i a b l e , e v e r though it had been conceived i n

England w i t h o u t informed a s s i s t a n c e , and he moved wi th speed and

energy t o p u t it i n t o imcndia te o p e r a t i o n . Sven s o , w i t h i n days

of h i s a r r i v a l t h e b a s i c weaknesses i n h i s approach were begin-

ning t o m i t i g a t e a g a i n s t i t s c h a r c e s of s u c c e s s .

A major shor tcoming ivhs h i s f a i l u r e t o f i n d a way t o i n -

duce t h e F a n t i s t o v o l u n t a r i l y p a r t i c i p a t e more f u l l y i n t h e COT.-

d u c t o f t h e wa.ar. T h i s f a i l u r e can be a s c r i b e d t o s e v e r z i b a s i c

f a c t o r s . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , a l t h o u e h he neve r a d m i t t e d i t , it

was a g a i n s t h i s i n t e r e s t s t o e f f e c t i v e l y r a l l y t h e F a n t i s . He

had become c m v i n c e d of t h e a b s o l u t e w o r t h l e s s n e s s of t h e c o a s t a l

t r ibesmen even b e f o r e he l e f t England and he ~ r r i v e d a t Cape

Coast a l r e a d y d e t e r n i n e d t o c a l l f o r t h e European t r o o p s . l7 It

was t h e r e f o r e convenient f o r hirz t o denean t h e f i g h t i n g s p i r i t

and a b i l i t y of t h e tr ibesi . len on every p o s s i b l e occasio? s o t h a t

he might f u r t h e r j u s t i f y his r e q u e s t f o r r e g u l a r amny u n i t s .

Second, as he d i d l i t t l e t o make h i s c a l l t o arms and h i s p r o n i s e s

o f s u p p o r t any more convinc ing t h a n Colonel H a r l e y ' s had been, t h e

F a n t i s had no cause t o respond any no re v i g o r o u s l y t h a n t h e y had

f o r t h e Admin i s t r a to r . Th i rd , he r e f u s e d t o u t i l i z e men e x p e r i -

enced i n t h e hand l ing o f A f r i c a n s i n h i s a t t e inp t s t o r a l l y and

o rgan ize t h e t r i be s r :~en . He r d u s e d t h e s e r v i c e s o f s e v e r d 'Old

A f r i c a HacdsT1' wlm o f f e r e d t o cor.:c o u t from England f o r him

s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r t h a t purpose. And, even worse, he n e g l e c t e d t o

u t i l i z e such r e l a t i v e l y expe r i enced men a s S o l o n e l Har ley , who

o f f e r e d Lo s t a y on i n a n a d v i s o r y c n p a c i t y , 1 9 and Colone l F e s t i n g ,

who was den ied a p o s t on t h e s t a f f 2nd was r e l e g a t e d t o a r e l a -

t i v e l y minor coii~xmd i n the f i e l d . I n s t e a d , he s u r r o m d a d hiin-

s e l f v i t h inen who v;;iare g e n e r a l l y g i f t e d i n t h e a r t of c o n v c -

t i o n a l wa r f a r e b u t w5o were a s i c n o r a n t of c o n d i t i ~ n s or. t h e

Gold Coast as .he was. He t h u s den ied h imse l f t h e s e r v i c e s of t h e

v e r y men who might b e s t have been a b l e t o induce t h e t r ibesmen t o

f i g h t . An a d d i t i o n a l f a c t o r which m i t i g a t e d a g a i n s t h i s chances

o f s u c c e s s f u l l y execu t ing t h a t p o r t i o n of h i s p l an which c ~ i l i e d

f o r enga2;ing t h e Asante a rxy i n damaging f i e l d o p e r a t i o n s , was

t h s Geve ra l ' s s l o rmess i~ a d a p t i n g h i s p l a n s t o s u i t t h e e x i s t i n g

circurnstnnces. The F a n t i l e v i e s ware vital t o t h z succes s of h i s

t a c t i c a l p l a n , which eqvisaged t h e d r i v i n g of Ainarkwa Tia from

t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' wh i l e i n f l i c t i n g t h e g r e a t e s t l o s s p o s s i b l e on

h i s army. However, even though he h&d dec ided w i t h i n days of h i s

a r r i v a l a t Cape Coast t h a t any F a n t i f o r c e would be u s e l e s s aqd

d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t he knew w i t h i n two weeks o f h i s a r r i v a l

t h a t t h e Asante army was a l r e a d y p l ann ing t o withdraw, he made ~o

move t o change h i s p l an accol-dingly. I ~ s t e a d , he t r i e d f o r t h e

better p a r t o f a month t o execu te h i s o r i g i n a l p lan and it was

n o t u n t i l t h e 1 s t . o f ?Jovei,lber t h a t he f i n a l l y adini t ted t h e f u -

t i l i t y o f h i s e f f o r t s and dec ided t o change h i s zpproach. *' T h i s

was l a t e i n the &am, however, and as a r e s u l t , he was n p i d l y

l o s i n g h i s one o p p o r t u n i t y t o i n f l i c t s i g n i f i c a n t l o s s e s on t h e

Asante f o r ce.

Even s o , l a r g e l y as a r e s u l t o f t h e l u d i c r o u s manoeuver-

in@ around t h e Haunted Road i n l a t e October , he announced h i s

dcp-: w A a ~ . o n C. t o adopt t h e bush-xar fa re t a c t i c o f ha ra s snen t i n l i e u

of s e e k i n g a t r a d i t i o n a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n i n t h e f i e l d . Thus on t h e

s u r f a c e o f t h i n c s , it appeared t h a t S i r Garnet was a t l a s t com-

i n g t o t e r m s w i t h t h e s i t u a t i o n . C e r t a i n l y had he pursued h i s

new t a c t i c as v i g o r o u s l y as he denounced t h e F a n t i s , he might

s t i l l have e x a c t e d a heavy t o l l on t h e r e t r e a t i n g Asante a rxy .

A s m a t t e r s deve loped , however, t h e General soon proved t h a t he

had l i t t l e unde r s t and ing of t h e requ i rements o f bush-var fa re and

h i s a c t i o n s a f t e r t h e b a t t l e o f Abrakrainpa even c a s t sorne doubt

on h i s b a s i c l e a d e r s h i p a b i l i t y .

The s i t u a t i o n a f t e r t h e b a t t l e o f Abrakra:.ipa p r e s e n t e d

S i r Garnet w i t h a golder: opr lo r tun i ty f o r t h e p rosecu t io r , of h a r -

assment t a c t i c s . Although t h e eneiny was s t i l l capab le of d e f e a t -

i n g h i n i n a head-on c o n f r o n t a t i o n , it was S i r Garnet who posses-

sed a l l t h e n e c e s s a r y advantages . The enemy was s u f f e r i n g from

a n a p p a r e n t c o l l a p s s of l e a d e r s h i p ; h i s morale was low; s i c l m e s s

and hunger were r i f e th roughout t h e army; s u p p l i e s were low; and

he was a l r e a d y c o w i t t e d t o a wi thdrawal . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e

t a c t i c a l advantage l a y w i th t h e B r i t i s h who now possessed t h e

i n i t i a t i v e , who f i n a l l y enjoyed a r e l a t i v e l y p l e n t i f u l supp ly o f

a r n s and muni t ions , and who possessed s u f f i c i e n t d i s c i p l i n e d t r o -

ops t o e f f e c t i v e l y h a r a s s t h e enemy colurims. However, t h e Gen-

e r a l f a i l e d t o s e i z e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x a c t a n a d d i t i o n a l t o l l

f rom t h e s i c k a r ~ d -t~earjr A s a ~ t e a rny . 21

What i n f o r n a t i o n t h e B r i t i s h had confirmed t h a t X;;ianki.ia

T i a was d e f i n i t e l y h e a d i ~ c f o r t h e P ra and t h a t h i s f o r c e was on

t h e v e r g e of a r o u t . He should i r m e d i a t e l y have s e n t r e l i a b l e

p a t r o l s a f t e r t h e r e t r e a t i n g enemy i n o r d e r t o ma in t a in c o n t a c t

w i t h him and i n o r d e r t o h u r r y him on h i s way, He should . tiler,

have formed s e v e r a l smal l but; w e l l armed and conipetently l e d

r a i d i n g p a r t i e s which he cou ld i n i t i a l l y have s t a t i c n e d a t Dunkva

and P:ar?su. but, which he e v e n t u a l l y would have noved n o r t h a l o n g

t h e road p a r a l l e l t o Amankwa Tiaf s Line o f march. 22 He would

t h e r e f o r e have been i n a p o s i t i o n t o a c t on t h e r e p o r t s of h i s

p a t r o l s by c a r r y i n g o u t numer i ca l l y small bu t p h y s i c a l l y and

p s y c h o l o ~ i c z l l y d e s t r u c t i v e hi t -and-run r a i d s on t h e f l a n k s o f

t h e

I n s t e a d o f t h i s , however, t h e t r o o p s most s u i t a b l e f o r

t h e s e ope ra t i ons - - t he !,'est Indians--wzre comoit ted t o t h e r e i n -

fo rcement o f t h e a l r e z d y redundant p o s t s a t Beulah, ?apc leon ,

Abrakranpa, Assayboo, and Akrofu; c o n t a c t w i t h t h e enemy was

l o s t ; and t h e d i f f i c u l t job of l o c a t i n g and h a r a s s i n g t h e memy

was g iven o v e r t o t h e same F a n t i l e v i e s which had a l r e a d y dem-

o n s t r a t e d t h e i r i n a b i l i t y t o c a r r y ou t such a t a s k imrnedlately

a f t e r t h e b a t t l e o f ~ b r a k r a r i l ~ a . A s a r e s u l t , t h e r e was no c f -

f e c t i v e p u r s u i t . I n s t e a d , once he r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e r e was n c

p r e s s u r e on h i s Rear-Guard, Arnankwa Tia slowed down h i s r a t e cf

march, I n f a c t , t h e Asante g e n e r a l was a1lol:ed t o t a k e t l i en ty

days t o cover . t h e f o r t y n i l - e s from Dunkwa t o P ra su v i r r tu - l ly un-

h inde red , t h u s s a v i n g marly nen vho ~ ~ c u l d have beer! ul13bl.e t o

s t a n d t h e r i g o u r s o f a f o r c e d march. Ccnsequent ly , a l t i i o u ~ h t h e

Asante army r e t u r n e d t o Kunasi i n a sad s t a t e , i t r e t u r n e d in

much b e t t e r c o n d i t i o n t h a n i t would have had S i ? Garnet z.st,ed

more v i g o r o u s l y and i n t e l l i g e n t l y t h a n he d i d .

' N e v e r t h e l e s s , had S i r G a r n e t t s e r r o r s d u r i n g t h i s second

phase o f t h e war been r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e f i e l d o f t a c t i c z l opera-

t i o n s , o r e would be i n c l i n e d t o over look h i s v a r i o u s e r r o r s and

s imply a t t r i b u t e them t o a l a c k of expe r i ence i n a ve ry s p e c i a l -

i z e d form of wa r f a r e . Unfo r tuna t e ly , t h e Genera l was f 0un.d e-

q u a l l y wanting i n t h e f i e l d o f l o g i s t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s and f o r t h i s

t h e r e could be no excuse . It i s a m i l i t a r y axiom t h a t a comimnd-

e r a t any l e v e l must d e l e g a t e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o t r u s t e d subord in-

a t e s b u t t h a t h e must a t a l l t i m e s s u p e r v i s e t h e a c t i o n s o f t h o s e

s u b o r d i n a t e s a s he a l o n e b e a r s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e s u c c e s s o r

f a i l u r e of t h e o p e r a t i o n i n hand. A g e n e r a l ' s r e p u t a t i o n i s

t h e r e f o r e based n o t on ly on. h i s a b i l i t y t o choose a b l e and r e l i -

a b l e s u b o r d i n a t e s b u t a l s o on h i s c a p a c i t y f o r as sun in^ o v e r a l l

d i r e c t i o n a n d c o n t r o l o f eve ry major aslnect o f t h e cnmaaign wi th -

o u t unduly emphasizing one p a r t i c u l a r a s p e c t t o t h e d e t r i a e n t o f

t h e c t h e r s . Th i s S i r Garnet f a i l e d t o do. 'Ihroughout t h e car.-

pa ign he c o n c e q t r a t e d OP. t a c t i c a l opzz-at ions and a l lowed h i s l o -

g i s t i c s u . p p r t t o f a l l i n t o d i s a r r a y .

II is a c b i o n s durir.;; phase two of t h e caxpaign c l e a r l y

i l l u s t r a t e t h i s s i t u a t i o n . Admit tedly he t ook p o s i t i v e s t e p s t o

beg in t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e c e n t e r of supply a t Cape Ccas t ,

t h e Kain Susp ly Route from Cape Coast t o P r a s u , and t h e T r a n s p o r t

Corps i rn r ,~ed ia te ly a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l . But from t h a t t ime u n t i l

j u s t b e f o r e the a r r i v a l of t h e Suropean t r o o p s i n e a r l y December,

he v i r t u a l l y i gno red t h e p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e i n v a s i o n , I n s t e a d ,

he dashed about t h e c o m t r y s i d e l e a d i n g a t t a c k s a ~ d d i r e c t i n g

r e l i e f columns which could have been commanded a t l e a s t a s e f -

f e c t i v e ) - y by such s u b o r d i n a t e s a s Colo2el- F e s t l n g , C o l o r e l idood,

and Elajor l i u s s e l l ,

As a r e s u l t o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n , t h e on ly p ro j ' e c t s which

1i10ved ahead a t a r ea sonab le r a t e wh i l e t a c t i c a l opera ti or.^ viere

a t t h e i r h e i g h t , were t h e co r . s t ruc t i on of s t o r a g e f a c i l i t i e s and

t h e improveraent o f t h e road--both of which were o f importan.ce t o

t h e immediate t a c t i c a l aims. However, no th ing was done about. t h e

v i t a l need t o p r e p a r e t h e s t a g i n g camps a long t h e road and no th-

i n g was done t o s o l v e t h e s t e a d i l y worsening c a r r i e r problem.

S i r Ga rne t ' s f a i l u r e t o push ahead w i t h t h e construct lo^

of t h e c a ~ n p s i t a s whi le t h e Asantes were s t i l l i n ti!e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e T

i s v i r t u a l l y i nexp l i cab l - e , We knew t h a t t h e e n m y had d e f i n i t e l y

begun t o x i t hd raw by the end of ~ c t o b e r ~ ~ and he a l s o knew t h a t

t h e European t r o o p s would be z r r i v i v g , i f t h e y were t o be s e n t

a t a l l , e a r l y ir . Decenber. '4 I T e v c r t h e l e s s , no a t i e n ~ p t was rmde

- 227 - t o s e l e c t , p l a n , o r begin c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e c a n p s i t e s u n t i l

t h e f i r s t week i n Dece:.lber. T h i s was neg l igence of t h e h i z h e s t

o r d e r because Inkirabix, Akrof u , Y a ~ k u n a s i Fant i and Tansu, t h e

f i r s t f o u r of t h e e i g h t camps i tes e v e n t u a l l y s e l e c t e d , were s u f -

f i c i e ~ t l y prol;ected f o r work t o have been s t a r t e d a nonth e r ? r l i e r

t han it was ar.d because s u f f i c i e g t l a b o u r was a v a i l a b l e t o b e z i p

t h e c o r s t r u c t i o n j u s t as soon as t h e c m p s i t e s were secu re . 25

S i m i l a r l y , t h e t r a n s p o r t probleiii was recognized as early

as mid-Fove~nber b u t no a c t i v e s t e p s were t aken t o r e c t i f y t h e

s i t u a t i o n u n t i l one month l a t e r by which t ime t h e s i t u a t i o n had

degenera ted i n t o a lmos t hope l e s s chaos. S i r Garnet h imse l f ac?-

m i t t e d i n a despa t ch da t ed t h e l g t h o f Novenber, t h a t t h e d i f f i -

c u l t i e s beir.g encountered i n t h e r a i s i n g of t r a n s p o r t cocipa^nies

l a y i n t h e l a c k o f o r g a ~ i z a t i o n and i n " n a t i v e d i s c o n t e n t v 26

w i t h t h e t e rms of s e r v i c e . Y e v e r t h e l e s s , i n s t e a d of a t t e n p t i ~ g

t o r e c t i f y t h e problem by removing t h e c a u s e s , t h e General and

h i s s taf f s p e n t t h e i r t ime unsuccess fu l l -y t r y i n g t o d e v i s e a l t e r -

n a t e means o f t r a n s p o r t .

It was n o t u n t i l Colonel Co l l ey a r r i v e d t11a.t any p o s i t i v e

s t e p s were t a k e n t o r e c t i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n and i t s a y s l i t t l e f o r

t h e General and h i s " r i n g v t h a t t h e Colonel s i n p l y adcp ted proce-

d u r e s and took s t e p s t h a t would have occu r r ed t o any s o l d i e r who

posse s sed a rncdicum of comt:lon sense and a rudi:nentary linovledge

and unde r s t and ing of t h e p r i n c i p l e s of f i e l d supp ly and person-

n e l aanageuent;. 3e sirnply adap ted t h e e x i s t i z g o r g a r i z a t i o n o f

t r a n s p o r t t h e n c u r r e n t i n t h e B r i t i s h krrny t o s u i t Yes t Af r i can

c o n d i t i o n s and t h e n proceeded t o meet w i t h t h e Af r i can l e n d e r s

i n o r d e r t o d e f i n e t h e a r e a s of W a t i v e d i s c o n t e n t t T s o t h a t

s t e p s cou ld be t aken t o remove t h e causes of t h a t d i s c o n t e ~ t .

S i r G ~ r n e t T s on ly comment on t h e s i t u a t i o n was t o t h e

e f f e c t , t h a t it had h i t h e r t o been imposs ib le t o form a p rope r

T ranspo r t Department bscause t h e r e were n o t s u f f i c i e n t o f f i c e r s

a v a i l a b l e t o s taf f it and t h a t t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e d r a f t o f o f -

f i c e r s on t h e 23rd of Decenber was a l l t h a t nade Colonel C o l l e y f s

recomrnenda t io~s v i a b l e . Vot on ly does t h i s f a i l t o excuse h i s

f a i l u r e t o p rov ide t h e l e a d e r s h i p and d i r e c t i o n neces sa ry a t

l e a s t t o d e a l w i t h t h e problem o f Afr ican g r i e v a n c e s b u t it i s

a l s o p a t e n t l y u n t r u e . There were S p e c i a l S e r v i c e o f f i c e r s whom

S i r Garnet h i m s e l f had a t t a c h e d as l i a s o n and t r a i n i n g o f f i c e r s

t o t h e v a r i o u s k i n g s and c h i e f s o f t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e f who could

e a s i l y have been y i thdrawn t o a s sune t r a n s p o r t d u t i e s f o r it was

c l e a r by mid-?!overnber t h a t t h e i r c cn t inued eaployment ir. t h a t

c a p a c i t y was u s e l e s s . I n f a c t , t h e y were q u i t e p o s s i b l y t h e

b e s t men a v a i l a b l e f o r employment i n t h e T ranspo r t Dep . r t nen t f o r

by t h i s t ime a l t h o u g h t h e l a r g e arnied l e v i e s which t h e y wer; sup-

posed t o o rgan ize a ~ d t r a i n were a p p m e n t l y n c t go ing t o ma+,erlal-

i z e , t h e y were i n a? excell .er , t p o s i t i o n , th rough t h e i r i n t i z a t e

a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e v a r i o u s t r i b e s a d t h e i r l e a d e r s , t o be h i&-

l y e f f e c t i v e t h e r s i s i n g and s u p e r v i s i o n of t r a n s p o r t conpa-

n i e s based on t r i b a l groupings27--if t h e F a n t i would come forward.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h i s t y p e o f s o l u t i o n was n e v e r a t t emp ted

and t h e damage caused by S i r Ga rne t ' s n e g l e c t o f t h e t r a ~ s p o r t

problem eras never f u l l y overcome. S e r v i c e w i t h t h e T ranspo r t

Corps had f a l l e n i r t o such d i s r e p u t e w i t h t h e A f r i c z n s t h a t even

Colonel Co13.eyT s l a s t minute a t t e n p t s t o r e c t i f y t h e problenl

could a c c o n p l i s h l i t t l e a ~ d t h e S r i t i s h had e v e n t u a l l y t o r e s o r t

t o and t h e use o f women and c h i l d r e n i n o r d e r t o r a i s e

t h e b a r e rnininum nuinber of c a r r i e r s needed.

I n t h e end a n a l y s i s , S i r G a r n e t ' s f a i l u r e t o p r o p e r l y

p l a n and s u p e r v i s e t h e campsi te work on t h e Kain Supply 2 o u t e and

h i s i n a b i l i t y t o d e a l e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h t h e t r a n s p o r t q u e s t i o n

when i t f i r s t a r o s e were t o have f a r - r e a c h i n g consequecces. For

example, h i s f a i l u r e t o push forward w i t h t h e work o f p r e p a r i n g

t h e czrr ,psi tes and h i s f a i l u r e t o have a n adequa te t r a n s p o r t s j r s -

tern r eady t o begir, rrloving s u p p l i e s nor thward as soon as A n a n h a

T i a was c l e a r o f t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ? de l ayed t h e i n v a s i o n by nore

t h a n t h r e e weeks. Consequmt ly , he exposed t h e E u r o p e a ~ . t r o o p s

t o a t l e a s t t h r e e coinple te ly u m e c e s s a r y r i s k s . I n t h e f irst

p l a c e , t h e d e l a y s e rLous ly reduced the p e r i o d of t ime a v a i l a b l e

f o r "dryv w a t h e r o p e r a t i o n s and t h u s i n c r e a s e d t h e r i s k o f ex-

p0sip.g t h e t r o o p s t o t h e d e l e t e r i o u s e f f e c t s of t h e r a i n y seasoq .

Second, t h e l o s s o f t ime preyed on t h e m i ~ d s o f t h e Geyera l and

t h e rseinbers of h i s s t a f f a d l e d them t o adopt q u e s t i o m b l e , i f

n o t dangerous , t a . c t i c a 1 p l a n s oqce t h e i nvas ion was begun. F i -

n a l l y , any d e l a y on t h e p a r t o f an a t t a c k i n g f o r c e nortixilly works

t o t h e advan tage of t h e d e f e ~ d e r and , a s S i r Ga rx t had i ~ f o r n e d

t h e Asante5eno of h i s i n v a s i o n p l ans ,29 t h i s occas ion proved t o

be no e x c e p t i o n t o t h e r u l e . I n a d d i t i o n t o a l l o f t h i s , t h e

G e n e r a l ' s n e g l e c t of t h e t r a r l s p o r t p o b l e m which v a s p a r t i a l l y

r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e unnecessary l o s s of a s i g n - i f i c a n t p o r t i o n of

h i s Europear, b r i g a d e , a l o s s which l i m i t e d t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f

h i s f o r c e and g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e d t h e r i s k of f a i l u r e . Th i s l a s t

p o i n t i s of cons id-e rab le i n p o r t a n c e because , possib1.y more thar .

any o t h e r s i n g l e i n c i d e ~ t i n t h e c a q a i g r , , it c l e a r l y il!.ust;rates

a major and c o n s i s t e n t f l a w i n S i r Ga rne t ' s g e n e r a l s h i p .

A g e n e r a l ' s f irst r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s t o p r e s e r v e h i s f o r c e

as an e f f e c t i v e m i l i t a r y instrumen.t , fie must t h e r e f o r e t a k e ev-

ery p r e c a u t i o n t o p l a n t h e conduct o f t h e o p e r a t i o r f o r vi'nich he

i s r e s p o n s i b l e i n such a way as t o e l i m i n a t e eve ry unnecessary

r i s k t o t h a t f o r c e . The n o s t a p p a l l i n g a s p e c t o f S i r Garne tT s

conduct of t h e Asar,i;e canpa ig r i s t h e way i n which he c o r s i s t -

e n t l y proceeded t o unclemine i t s chances o f s u c c e s s by i g ~ o r i n g

t h i s prime r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . His a c t i o n s , o r l a c k t h e r e o f , d u r i n g

t h e p e r i o d from e a r l y October th rough t o l a t e December 1873, pa r -

t i a l l y i l l u s t r a t e t h i s f a c t . Holwever, h i s a c l r i o ~ s a f t e r t h e t r o -

ops begar, t o l a n d i n l a t e Decenber, expose this s e r i o u s s h o r t -

coming even no re c l e a r l y . I n f a c t , he s o g r e z t l y i ~ c r e a s e d t h e

r i s k of f a i l u r e t h a t i t i s a c t u a l l y d i f f i c u l t t o b e l i e v e t h z t he

was s u c c e s s f u l i n e x t r i c a t i n g h i s i nvas ion f o r c e f o r he comnit ted

s e v e r a l :na joy e r r o r s which pu t t h e e n t i r e o p e r a t i o n i n jeopzrdy.

Indeed , as cne s t u d i e s t h e campaign it becomes i n c r e a s i ~ g l y c l e a r

t h a t had t h e General f a i l e d , h i s a c t i o n s would have been s u b j e c t -

ed t o a much more c r i t i c a l a p p r a i s a l t h a n t h e y were and t h a t h i s

campaign would have gone down i n h i s t o r y w i t h such c l a s s i c r . i i l i . -

t a r y b l u n d e r s a s t h e charge of t h e L i g h t Br igads , G a l . l i p o l i , and

. Dieppe axd h i s r e p u t a t i o n would have s u f f e r e d t h e same f a t e a s

d i d t h o s e of t h e l e a d e r s invo lved ir, t h o s e i n f anous d e b a c l e s .

One o f t h e Gene ra l ' s a c t i o n s which s e r i o u s l y and w n e c e s -

s a r i l y endangered t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e i n v a s i o n was h i s misuse of

t h e t r o o p s a t h i s d i s p o s a l . When making t h e p l ans f o r h i s d r i v e

t o t h e n o r t h , S i r Garnet was f a c e d w i t h t h r e e b a s i c r e q u i r e n e n t s

f o r t r o o p s . He had t o g a r r i s o n t h e f o r t s on t h e coast . , p a r d h i s

l i n e s o f cormunica t ion , and f i e l d an i n v a s i o n f o r c e which could

make u p f o r i t s l a c k o f numbers by i t s s u p e r i o r d i s c i p l i n e and

f i re -power . The obvious p r i o r i t y f o r t r o o p a l l o c a t i o n v a s t h e r e -

f o r e t o u s e t h e l e a s t r e l i a b l e f o r c e s i n t h e f o r t s \d lere t 1 . l ~ f?avy

could l e n d a s s i s t a n c e i n an e ~ e r ~ e n c ~ , ~ ~ t h e n e x t b e s t ti3it.s cou ld

t h e n be used t o s e c u r e t h e l i n e s o f communication, and t h e regu-

l a r t r o o p s cou ld form t h e i n v a s i o n f o r c e . Taking i n t o cons ide r -

a t i o n t h e Gene ra l ' s p r e j u d i c e a ~ a i c s t t h e Ves t ~ n d i a n s , ~ ~ t h i s

would have e n t a i l e d t h e assignriient o f ',food's and 8 u s s e l l ' s Xegi-

m e ~ t s , t h e Gold Coast R i f l e s , tile remnants o f t h e F a n t i

l e v i e s 3 * t o g a r r i s o n d t i t i e s i n t h e f o r t s ar.2 a l o n g t h e ? k i n Supply

Route. It would t h c r have r equ i r ed t h e employment of s o m of t h e

Ves t I n d i a n s as g a r r i s o n s f o r t h e most forward s t a t i o n s on t h e

Nain Supply Routc and as a f i r s t - l i n e r e s e r v e . However, t h e na-

j o r i t y of t h e l l e s t I n d i a n s would move wi th t h e European t r o o p s

who would form t h e bu lk o f t h e Iiain Body of t h e i nvad ing army.

O r i g i n a l l y , t h e Genera l f s t r o o p a l l o c a t i o n s adhered

rough ly t o t h i s o r d e r of p r i o r i t y . The f o r t s were t o be g a r r i s o n -

ed by t h e Gold Coast R i r l e s , some F a ~ t i l e v i e s , and t h e Hausas.

The Xain Supply Route was t o b e guarded by t h e unde r - s t r eng th

2l!IR. 3 3 The ? k i n Body was t o c o n s i s t o f 1:?1R, t h e 6 a v a l Br igade ,

two Euroi)ean b a t t a l i o n s and R a i t f s A r t i l l e r y . The on ly major

d e v i a t i o n was t h e eniployment of !Qoodt s and Pcusse l l r s r e g i i w n t s

w i t h t h e Kain Body; a d e c i s i o n ~ i h i c h can or , ly be a s c r i b e d t o S i r

G a r n e t ' s d e s i r e t o push forward two members o f t h e " r i ngv f o r t h e

t r o o p s themse lves were h a r d l y s u i t a b l e m a t e r i a l f o r t h e i nvas ion

f o r c e .

With t h e e x c e p t i o n of t h e u s e of T;Joodfs a r d 3 u s s e l l ' s

u n i t s i 2 l i e u o f 2:'TIR, the r o l e s o f t h e two componer,ts shov.1.d

have been r e v e r s e d f o r naxiraun e f f e c t i v e n e s s , t h i s a s s i p x c ~ . t o f

t h e a v a i l a b l e t , roops was reasonably sound. :.'ith t h e a r r i v a l o f

t h e t h i r d European b a t t a l i o n , hovever , t h e s i t u a t i o n charyed rad-

i c a l l y . On t h e b a s i s of h i s u n j u s t i f i e d b e l i e f that t h i s ad-

d i t i o n a l S r i t i s h r e g i n e p t , which had j u s t completed a t l e a s t six

y e a r s o f g a r r i s o n du ty i n Great S r i t a i n , provided " t h e b e t t e r

f i g h t i n g S i r Garnet took a s t e p t h a t s e v e r e l y i n -

c r ea sed t h e marsir. o f danger i n t h e coming o p e r a t i o n . Apparent-

l y wi thout g i v i n g a though t t o noving Vood's and R u s s e l l ' s r e g i -

rner.ts, he a s s i g n e d t h e 575 o f f i c e r s and men of 1liIR t c g a r r i s o n

d u t y a t Cape Coast C a s t l e and Slrni~a. Thus a t one b l o v ~ , he r e -

p l aced men most l i k e l y t o w i th s t and t h e c l i m a t e w i t h Europeans

and den ied t h e 1:ai.n Body t h e s z r v i c e s of bad ly needec! r e g u l a r

t r o o p s wh i l e r e t a i n i n g i n t h e i r s t e a d t h e h i g h l y dubious f i g h t -

ing m a t e r i a l con ta ined i n t h e a&or, lerat ions cornmanled by Colo-

n e l Wood and I.:ajor R u s s e l l .

T h i s was i n i t s e l f , a c o l o s s a l b lunde r b u t S i r Garnet

went on t o compound h i s f o l l y . Yhen he l o s t t h e use o f some two-

t h i r d s o f t h e t h i r d European b a t t a l i o n due t o t h e breakdown i n

t h e t r a n s p o r t sys tem d u r i n g t h e unloading o f t h e t r o o ~ s , he took

no a c t i o n t o b r i n g h i s i n v a s i o n f o r c e up t o s t r e n g t h by noving

lT,\T1R up t o Prasu . I n s t e a d , he s imply re-embarked somc 4CO regu-

l a r t r o o p s a ~ d l e f t lT,lIR on g a r r i s o n du ty . I n t h i s way he un-

j u s t i f i a b l y den ied h i s b k i n Body o f a c o n s i d e r a b l e weight o f

d i s c i p l i n e d f i re -power and exposed i t t o y e t a n o t h e r unnecessary

r i s k .

Had Sir Garnet; been t h e g i f t e d field-cornmmder we have

been l e d t o b e l i e v e him t o b e , he s u r e l y would have possessed t h e

knowledge n e c e s s a r y t o recognizz t h e dange r s inh2rer . t i n t h i s

approach and he woul-d have possessed t h e f l e x i b i l i t y and imagi-

n a t i o n Feces sa ry t o c o r m c t t h e d e f i c i e n c y . The f a c t of t h e nat-

t e r i s , however, t h a t he took no s t e p s t o r e p l a c e t h e lcist xien

and h i s f a i l u r e t o r e c t i f y t h e problem seems doubly darming vhe?

a s o l u t i o n was s o c l o s e a t hand.

The problem l a y i n t h e f a c t t h a t a. European b a t t a l i o n

r e q u i r e d a lmos t t h r e e t i m e s t h e ariiount o f t r a n s p o r t t c move 2nd

supply i t s e l f a s an Af r i can u c i t d i d . Colonel Col lcy c l e a r l y

s t a t e d t h a t it woulc! be i i . lposs ible f o r him t o r a i s e s u f f i c i e q t

c a r r i e r s t o keep a t h i r d Xuropean b a t t a l i o n i n t h e f i e l d b u t h i s

s t r m g t h r e t u r n s f o r t h e 12 th of January 1874, shot: t h a t he d i d

have s u f f i c i e n t t r a n s p o r t t o move and s u p p o r t a % a t i v e u b a t t a -

l i o n . 3 5 By t h a t d a t e , t h e r e f o r e , S i r Garnet had t h e n a n m t o

f i l l t h e la ree gap i~ h i s Kain Body. He could have brought t h e

more expe r i enced 2:JIR up t o s t r e n g t h i v i t 11 r e i n f orcame~.. ts f r o n

1'YIR and ia rned ia te ly move it up t o Prasu . He c o ~ l d t h e n hzve

u t i l i z e d t h e relaairling r:len from ll!iIR as an i m x c l i a t e r e s e r v e

wh i l e t h e y performed g a r r i s o n d u t y ir! t h e most forward staeir,g

camps. The i ~ m o b i l i z e d F u s i l i e r s could t hen have bsan used t o

g a r r i s o n t h e f o r t s and , as t h e c a r r i e r problem e a s e d , t h e y could

have been moved up t h e road on l i n e of cormunica t ions d u t i e s and

as a second- l ine r e s e r v e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h i s s o l u t i o n , o r some

m o d i f i c a t i o n of i t , does n o t appear t o have occu r r ed t o e i t h e r

t h e Genera l o r t h e members o f h i s s t a f f . The s e r i o u s n e s s cf t h i s

ove r s i c l i t soon 3e c u e a p p r w t :.:hc~ i l l n e s s an6 b a t t l e c s s m l t i e s

began t o reduce h i s a l r e a d y inadequz tc f o r c e t o a d a ~ g e r o \ i s l y low

l e v e l . 36

I n t h e 1 i ~ ; h t o f t h e s e cotcmmts, it appears r e ~ c o r a b l c ? t o

say t h a t S i r G z m a t , by v i r t u e of 11:s cir? : l~istnIces, be~a.; h i s

invzs ior , too l a t e and 5 : i t l l a? urr .ecos: inri ly i:eak f o r c e o f ::!a?.

"eref'ooe, i n t h e i ~ ~ t e r e s l s o f co?s?rvin; his i . ~ , ? . ~ ~ j o \ : ~ r a r d avoid-

i n g any unnecessary r i s k , he shouli! hove :iiar?c evor j . e f io i . i :o 7 e -

g o t i a t e s. sot t le : ; snt b e f o r e engogin;: t h e Asante o r . 7 i n cc.!bzt.

Certain1.y t h i s x a s t h e cou r se o r a c t i o n sii_;ested t o l l i i , . ~ ? j . t h e

E a r l of i3nberle;r. I n h i s i ? s t r u c t i o n s t o t h e G e ? ~ r u i , the Colo-

n i a l S e c r e t o r y had cau t ioned 'nil: t o b e a r i n i.iind " the c c p c i . t y

( o f t h e Xsan te ) f o r c a r r y i n g cn i l l u s o r y ? e ; o C i ~ t i o r s , ~ ~ b u t he

a d v i s e d him t o co - s ide r t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t the Asa?taher.e,

"OF l e a m i n i : o f t h e r e t r e a t of h i s army and t h e f u r t h e r p repara -

t i o n s a ~ a i r r t h i o , (would) be r eady t o i l a k n r i p a r a t i o ~ s , acr! t o

c o n c l a l e a t once a peace on c o ? d i t i o n s a c c e p t a b l e t o Her :'ajest-,yTs

Governrian trt . i?e a l s o re:linded t h e Cie?ercil t h a t "a sat i s f a c t o r y

s t a t e o f ';hiqr:~. , would be obtainecl i f ( h e ) cou ld procure a? :?or.-

o u r a b l e pence , o r coi:ld i r f l i c t , i n d e f a u l t o f such penca, a? e f -

f e c t u a l c; :~st , iserieri t on t h e As!iaqti force! ' . 37 Ho:iovcr, ho es;,e-

c i a l l y c a u t i c r o d S i r C z r n e t a s t o t h e p r o b ~ b l e i n a d v i s a b i l i t y of

o c c u p y i ~ g Kuansi. 38 That i s , S i r C o m e t :-!as adv i sed t o fi;hb if'

necessary but t o avo id a f i g h t i f p o s s i b l e .

These i n s t r u c t i o n s d i d r o t have any g r e a t deg ree of i n -

f l u e n c e on S i r Garne t ' s d e a l i n g s w i t h t h e Asanteheze , hswever.

I n s t e a d , he a p p a r e ~ t l y chose t o be guided bjr Lord Ei i~aber ley 's

co~mi~ent t h a t t h e r e w a s no d e s i r e on t h e p a r t of t h e Coverrnent

t o " f e t t e r t h e d i s c r e t i o n which must a lways be p laced i n t h e

hands of an o f f i c e r cormanding a f o r c e i n t h e Thus

d e s p i t e r e p e a t e d a t t e m p t s on t h e p a r t ' o f Kofi K a r i k a r i t o i n i t i -

a t e some form of n e g o t i a t i u n s , S i r Garnet c lung s tubborn ly t o t h e

view t h a t t h e Asan tehene t s o v e r t u r e s were be ing made i n bad f a i t h .

He subsequen t ly r e f u s e d t o a t t empt any f o r n of compronise and ,

i g n o r i n g h i s p r o f e s s i o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and pe r soqa l ~ n d e r t a k i n g

t o husband h i s European s o l d i e r s , he c o r m i t t e d h i s t r o o p s t o a

campaign t h a t q u i t e p o s s i b l y need n o t been fought . ..

There i s no doubt t h a t S i r Garnet was c o r r e c t i n t r e a t i n g

t h e i n i t i a l Asante o v e r t u r e s w i t h susp ic ion ,40 b u t it i s al -nost

imposs ib le t o s e e how he could con t inue t o d i s c o u n t t h e s i n c e r i t y

of t h e succeed i rg i n i t i a t i v e s . I n t h e 1 i ~ ; h t of t h e evidence

a v a i l a b l e , t h e r e were a t l e a s t two r easons why Kofi K a r i k a r i t s

o f f e r s t o f i e g o t i a t e shou ld have been taken se:*iously.

I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , he rmde no a t t e n p t t o s t o p t h e B r i t -

ish advance by f o r c e u n t i l a l l a t t e inp t s a t n e g o t i a t i o n had f a i i e d .

T h i s i s of c o ~ s i d e r a b l e ir,lportance because had t h e ksar.tac,hens

been s i n p l y n e c o t i n t i n g f o r t h e purpose of "buyir.;: t i m e v , he

Would have rmde h i s first; s t a n d a t t h e Aciansi Xlls . This pos i -

t i o n would have been chosen f o r t h r e e r e a s o n s . F i r s t , it was

s y m b o l i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h a t it was t h e f r o n t i e r be tneen

m e t r o p o l i t a ~ > and p r o v i n c i a l Asante. 41 For t h i s r ea son , hn? F:

been t h e Asantehenet s i ~ t e n t i o n t o f i g h t , it would have bee?:

p o l i t i c a l l y impor t an t t o h a l t t h e B r i t i s h be fo re t h e y z c t u a l l y

e n t e r e d t h e Asante h e a r t - l a n d . Secord , t h e h i l l s for:ned a mag-

n i f i c e n t d e f e n s i v e f e a t u r e and it is l i k e l y t h a t t h e B r i t i s h

would havc been m i i c e d i T t o exhaus t i ng t h e n s e l v e s i n t h e i r ai-

t emp t s t o t a k e it. T h i r d , t h e Asantehene had adequate r e s o u r z c s

a t hand t o d e l a y t h e 3 r i t i s h Xdva9ced Guard s u f f i c i e n t l y 1or.g

enough t o perc i i t t h e reconccntra t ; ior , o f h i s army ir! t h e t o cor-

f ron t ; t h e B r i t i s h TIain Body when it reached 1:onsi. A s m a t t e r s

developed, h o w e ~ e r , no a t t e m p t was made t o h a l t o r h a r a s s t h e

B r i t i s h u n t i l twenty-s ix days a f t e r G i f f o r d t s s c o u t s had c ros sed

t h e P ra .

The scco2d r e a s o n f o r t a k i n g t h e Asante o f f e r s t o neLo-

t i a t e s e r i o u s l y l a y i n t h e f a c t t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i gave c m c r e t e

i n d i c a t i o n s of h i s w i l l i n g n e s s t o comprornise . Upon r e c e i v i n g

S i r G a r n e t ' s b l u n t and uncornproir~ising l e t t e r o f t h e 2nd o f Janu-

a r y 1874, t h e Asantehene adopted t h e l o g i c a l p rocedure o f t r y i n g

t o show h i s good f a i t h ; t h e r e b y opening t h e door t o s e r i o u s nego-

t i a t i o y s . He r e l e a s e d T:r. Kuhne and r eques t ed S i r G a r ~ e t t o ap-

p o i n t a n o f f i c i a l envoy t o h'uriasl v i t h a view t o opening d i r e c t

n e g o t i a t i o n s . It i s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y s u r p r i s i r g , i n t h e l i g h t o f

t h e C o l o r i a l O f f i c e corn:;ents and a l l t h a t he had r e a d o f p r e v i o u s

c o n t i n u i n g h i s advance.

Dy the 23rd of J anua ry , howe.~cr, t h e General had f a r l e s s

reason f o r doubt ing t h e t h a t

r e c e i v e d should have ~ i v e n any

who h o n e s t l y i n t e r e s t e d i n n e g o t i a t i n g

s e t t l e ~ n e n t , s u f f i c i e n t cause t o make s o i x cor.cession i n the i n -

t e r e s t s o f f a c i l i t a t i n g n e g o t i a t i o n s . On this occzs ion , Kofi

K a r i k a r i r e l e a s e d t h e r c r x i n i n g Zuropean p r i s o n e r s , agreed t o

pay t h e i n d e m i t y , and ag reed t o r e l e a s e a11 of t h e t l f r i c m

p r i s o n e r s once ~ z g o t i a t i o ~ s were cornyletzS. I n r e t u r n he as!:ed

on ly t h a t S i r Garnet h a l t h i s a d v w c e and "go on ~ 5 t h p e a c e f u l

r, 42 n e g o t i a t i - o n ( s ) . C e r t a i n l y a man s i n c e r e l y bent; or! Z'ollov~ing t h e s p i r i t .

o f Lord K i n b e r l e y f s i n s t r u c t i o ~ a would ix.ve t aken eve ry oppor tu-

n i t y t o reac.1 a n e ~ o t i a t e d sett1a::ent st t h i s t ime as t h e B r i t F s h

\rere i n an e ~ c e p t i o ~ a l l y strcr;; p o s i t i o n . They occuyicd an

e x c e l l en t d e f e - s i v z p o s i t i o n f ro t i ~ d l i c i i :hey cou ld e a s i l y wi th-

draw i," t h e need a r o s e ; t hey h a l d a s t r o n g , well supJ ied suppor t -

b a s e soiit;h of Lt'!~e P r a a t P r a s u ; a ~ d t h e i r l i ~ e s o f c o ~ ~ ~ ~ u r i c z t i o ~

were s e c u r e a?d o p z r a t i n g e f f i c i e r . t l y . I n a d d i t i c n , t h e i r ext,ra-

o r d i n z r y r c s p o l s s t o t h e . t sazte i y - ~ a s i o n ~ ~ h2d thrown t h e Asantc-

h e ~ c o f f bnlan.ce a ~ d it would 5e r a a s o ~ a b l e t o a s s m e t,ilat he was

eage r t o r each a coapro:nise. It was a t t h i s p o i r t thr l t S i r

Garnet could have s e ~ t h i s emissa ry t o Eunasi and t e s t e d t h e

s i n c e r i t y o f t h e h s a n t z h e r e T s i n t e n t i o n s b u t this he r e f u s e d t o

do.

There a r e s e v e r a l p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h e Gene ra l ' s

r e f u s a l t o t a k e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e a c h a n e g o t i a t e d s e t t l e m e n t . . The f i r s t , and t h e on ly one t o ~ i l i c i l he adz i i t s , i s t h a t he was

convinced o f t h e d u p l i c i t y o f Kofi E a r i k a r i . The second i s t h a t

he r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e d e l a y caused by h i s n e g l e c t o f t h e l o g i s t i -

c a l p r e p a r a t i o n s p r i o r t o t h e i n v a s i o n had s o s e r i o u s l y reduced

h i s time f o r o p e r a t i o n s t h a t , should he pause 1or.g enough t o con-

d u c t p rope r n e g o t i a t i o n s , acd should t h o s e n e g o t i a t i o n s f a i l , he

would have no t ime l e f t t o rriove on Kuinasi and s t i l l withdraw h i s

Europear t r o o p s be fo re t h e e ~ d of " the h e a l t h y seasonv . T h i r d ,

he tms so consumd v i t h h i s p e r s o n a l d e s i r e t o occapy t h e Asante

c a p i t a l and g a i n t h e a t t e n d a n t g l o r y , t h a t he would a l l o w n o t h i n g

t o s t a n d i n h i s way. ??o doubt a l l t h r e e o f t h e s e c o ~ s i d e r a t i o ~ s

i n f l u e n c e d h i s a c t i o n s b u t , o f t h e t h r e e , t h e second ap idears t h e

most v a l i d .

H i s mot ives a s i d e , t h e f a c t r e m i n s t h a t S i r Garnet d i d

n o t f o l l o w t h e s p i r i t o f h i s i n s t r u c t i o n s by t a k i n g advantage o f

t h e e x c e l l e n t b a r g a i n i n g p o s i t i o n i n which he found h l m e l f .

~ n d e e d , he not; o n l y f a i l e d t o make any concess ion t o t h e Asante-

hene , b u t he a l s o i n c r e a s e d h i s d e m n d s t o s m h an e x t e n t t h a t

he made i t a b s o l u t e i : ~ i r i pos s ib l e f o r R o f i Z n r i k z r i t o compl:? over

though t h e A s s ~ t e : l e ~ e t r i e d twice :.lox, on t h e 26 th o l January,

and 3 r d of February t o avo id f u r t h e r f i g h t i ~ r ; ar.d n e z o t i a t e e s e t -

t l e m e n t . Thus tiie xan who had a l r e a d y coinpromissd t h e s a f e t y o f

h i s t r o o p s by n c g l e c t i n ~ s e v e r a l v i t a l s s p e c t s o f h i s r e spons i -

b i l i t i e s a s c o i n ~ i l ~ d i ~ g g e l e r a l , vms now, a s t h e B r i t i s h d i~ lo ! : a t

r e s p o n s i b l e f o r n e g o t i a t i n g a s e t t l e m n t of ti ie d i s p u t z , q i i i t e

p o s s i b l y n e e d l e s s l y e x p o s i r g them t o c o r ~ b a t by v i r t u e c f h i s

i n n b i l - i t y , o r l a c k of' d e s i r e , t o conduct meaningful n e g o t i a t i o n s

toward a? accep-ixble conpromise.

The G e n e r a l ' s conduct o f a f f a i r s d c r i n ~ t h e b a t t l e s c f

Amonfu and Odas~t and his a c t i o n s in Ku:mai need ~ o t be sub:ected

t o any s e a r c h i n ~ a n a l y s i s here . By v i r t u e o f t h e f a c t s a l r e a d y

d i s c u s s e d above, S i r Garget hsd p l aced hi:ilself i n a d e s p e r a t e

p o s i t i o n . ' .?hatever h i s mot ives , he was d e t e r x i ~ e d t o tzl;e X u i x , s i

w i th a n inadeqmLe f o r c e w i t h i ? an extro- ie ly l i n i t a d p z r i u d of

t i n e . H i s advance t h e r e f o r d d e g e r e r n t e d i n t o a b l i n d c',~.rl;e

t h rough t h e buch whicll, had 533 Asante had t h e bcr .c f i t of t h e

S n i d e r r i f l e , would probzbly l e v e r hcve s u c c e ~ d e d .

A f t c t h e b a t t l e o f Ainoafu, t h e C e ~ e r a l a c t e d l i k e a

hound on t i le scc r - t l o r he / j ressed on to ;wrd K ~ ~ m s i w i t h Y O

t h o u i . ; h t f o r anq-ii:inl; o t h e r t h a n r z a c i ~ i n g t h a t p l ace . A l l o f i h e

e l a b o r a t e sup i ) ly ar d medical a r r a ~ g e ~ i ~ e n t s , r z i i i ch k d workc:d ex-

c a p t i o m a l l y r r e l l up t c t h e t i L i e o f Al.ioafu, were a1lo;:ed t o d2clin;3

i n e f f i c i e n c y as S i r Garnet once more c o n c e r t r a t e d on t a c t i c a l

o p e r a t i o ~ s t o t h e e x c l u s i o n o f a l l e l s e . Ra ther thar, g e L t i n g h i s

l i n e s o f communication back i n t o p rope r working o r d e r b e f o r e

c o n t i n u i n g t h e advance, a s t e p wlnich t h e t ime element nade x o s t

d i f f i c u l t , he s i x p l y c u t h imse l f o f f fro1:i a l l a d n i n i s t r o t i v e sup-

p o r t and dashed o f f i n t o t h e bush.

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e d e t a i l was n o t t h e o ~ l y t h i n g ignored by .

S i r Garnet , however. He a l s o made s e v e r a l major t a c t i c a l e r r o r s .

I n h i s h a s t e , h e f a i l e d t o use h i s s c o u t s and Advav-ced-Guard t o

f u l l a c i v a n t a ~ e . Thus h i s men were once ;.lore exposcd t o f u r t h e r

unnecessary r i s k as t h e y found t h e ~ n s e l v e s b e i r , ~ r:orr. dc:m by t h e

s u c c e s s i o n of Asante ari~bushes s e t between A jimaxu and t h e Oda

r i v e r ; anbushes which could have been c l e a r e d a t l o s s ex;amse i n

ma~pot re r by p rope r s c o c t i n g and u t i l i z a t i o n of t h e .Idvanced-Guard.

The Generzl a l s o endangered t h e e n t i r e f o r c e by purposelyLi4 a l -

louring h i m s e l f t o be comple te ly surrounded i n t h e v i l l a g e o f Cdasu

by t h e n u m e r i c a l l y s u p e r i o r Asante f o r c e . It seems prok+Sle a t

t h i s p o i n t that , had Kofi K a r i k a r i deployed h i s f o r c e s i n such a

way as t o s imply ho ld t h e B r i t i s h i n Odasu f o r as l i t t l e as

t h i r t y - s i x t o f o r t y - e i g h t h o u r s r a t h e r t h a n a t t 9np t in .g t o f o r c e

an i nmed ia t e d e c i s i o n , 3ir Garnet wciild have been des t royed a t

t h a t p o i n t awl Cove down i n h i s t o r y w i t h such c o l o s s a l r ' i i l i ~ a r y

b l u n d e r e r s as t h e Aaericnn I ~ d i a n - f i ~ i i t e r , Generol G e o r ~ e Cus t e r .

Portun.;tely Tor S i r Garne t , ho:ieuer, h i s s u p c r i o r f i re-2c:ier and

t h e shock va lue o f h i s dcspera:e break-out f o r Kuxasi s o unr,erv-

ed t h e Asantehene t ha t . he f l e d from t h e f i e l d a?d t h e r e b y r e -

l e a s e d t h e B r i t i s h f r o n t h e t r a p ,

Y i s i n i t i a l a c t i ons on r e a c h i ~ g Kurnasi a l s o f a i l t o r e -

f l e c t much c r e d i t on S i r Ga rne t ' s m i l i t a r y c a p a b i l i t y f o r he iiiade

no attielapt t o d i sa rm t h e enemy t r o o p s i n and around t h e town.

One o f t h e main o b j e c t i v e s o f x a r f a r e i s t o destroy t h e a i l i t a r y

p o t e n t i a l o f t h e enemy. I n t h i s i n s t a n c e , howevsr, t h e v v i c t o r v

h e l d h i s o w t r c o p s ir! check a ~ d a l l o r ~ e d a l a r g e p o r t i o n of t h e

enemy f o r c e t o p a s s unlnolested i n i o the b ~ s h where t h e y r e - j o i n e d

t h e Asantehene. S i r Garnet h imse l f r,ever b o t h e r s t o e x p l a i n t h i s

a c t i o n b u t hFs most sympathe t ic c h r o n i c l e r , Fienry Grackmbdry ,

i n t i n a t e s t h a t t h e Genera l a c t e d as fie d i d f o r two r e i s w s . F i r s t ,

he f e l t h imse l f tud weak t o f o r c e t h e i s s u e . Second, he b e l i e v e d

t h a t such an a c t i o n would i l l u s t r a t e t o t h e Asanteher.e h i s good

i n t e ~ t i o n s and t h u s pave t h e way f o r immediete n e g o t i a t i o n s t o -

ward a peace t r e a t y , There a r e arguments f o r and a g a i n s t t h e

v a l i d i t y o f bo th o f t h e s e r ea sons ar?d it i s probable t h a t t h e

Genera l was a c t u a l l y mot iva ted by thein. I n r e t r o s p e c t , however,

it a p p e a r s t h a t S i r Garnet d id have t h e c a p a b i l i t y t o s e a l o f f

t h e t o m and d i sa rm t h o s e Asante who were ther . i n it ar.d t h o s e

who s u b s e q u e ~ t l y a t t e ~ n p t e d t o p a s s through it. The Tac t t h a t he

f a i l e d t o do t h i s does r o t redouqd t o h i s c r e d i t as a f i e l d -

commander.

C e r t a i v l y t h e Gene ra l ' s g c s t c r e had no e f f e c t on Kofi

K a r i k a r i f o r t h e Asartehene made no e f , ?o r t t o s s e k a ysace s ~ t -

t l e m e n t even though t h e B r i t i s h had reached a ~ d occupied h i s

c a p i t a l . I n s t e a d , he s t ayed i n t h e bush w i t h h i s a r n y where he

appeared q u i t e c o n t w t t o remain u n t i l S i r Garnet had w i t h d r a m

from Asanie t e r r i t . o r j r . Thus when t h e General withdrew f rm Kurm-

s i , f e a r i n g t h e a d v e ~ t o f t h e r a i n s , he had n o t succeeded ir.

a c h i e v i n g t h e b a s i c airii of his miss ion , f o r he had either con-

c luded a peace t r e a t y wi th t h e Asante n o r had he i c f l i c t e d an

e f f e c t u a l chastisement cr: t h e Asante f o r c e , I n s t e a d , he had

s imply f o r c e d t h e Asantehene and :?is ar[ily t o abarLdon Xurmsi which

he then d e s t r o y e d a f t e r h s v i ~ g plundered t h e r o y a l p a l a c e ; a c t s

which one could h a r d l y c h a r a c t e r i z e as an e f f e c t u a l c5as t i sx - i c - t

of t h e Asante f o r c e . I n f a c t , it was n o t u n t i l S i r Gernet was

w e l l on h i s way back t o Cape Coast that Kofi K a r i k a r i ag reed t o

coma t o terins and, a s has been poir?ted o u t , t h e r e i s good reasor?

t o b e l i e v e t h a t h i s sudder. c a p i t u l a t i o n was f a r from being: en-

t i r e l y n o t i v a t e d by S i r G a r n e t ' s o p e r a t i o n s ,

The o f f i c i a l view of t h e Anglo-.risa?te v s r o f 1873-S71t

notwi ths tar ,d int ; , i t should now be c l e a r t h a t t i le succes s ?.r?ich

a t t e n d 4 S r i t i s h o p e r a t i ~ n s on t h e Gold Coast d i d no t r e s a l t s o l e -

l y froill t h e e f f o r t s of S i r Garnet l l o l s e l e y and " t h e t r o o p s which

h e r Tb j e s t y t s Govern~lent c o r ~ f i d e d ~ ~ t o him,145 I n s t e a i , it s k c u l d

be obvious t h 3 t t!le 3 r i t i s h w z e a b l e t o b r i n g t h e war t o a? e- id

on t e r m s fl-;,vournble t o t h e m s l v c s thro. igl i a cc rb ina t io r : o f f o u r

c o n t r i b u t i r g f a c t o r s .

O f prime i m p o r t w c e were t h e c o n t r i b u t i o v s o f C o l o ~ e l

Ha r l ey and t h e Far?t i . Indeed , had t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r and h i s a l -

l i e s n o t cha l l enged a ~ d s e v e r e l y checked Ar~anktra T i a r s a r x y a t

Dunkwa, and had Colonel !Iarley h i i :~ se l f n o t a c t e d q u i c k l y and e f -

f e c t i v e l y t h r o u ~ h o u t t h e f i rs t phase o f t h e war, it i s p o s s i b l e

t h a t t h e war would have ended i n t h e e a r l y surmer o f 1673 w i t h

t h e B r i t i s h b e i r g f o r c e d fro.11 t h e Gold Coast e ~ t i r e l y . S imi lx - -

l y , S i r G a r n e t ' s e f f o r t s throughout t h e c m y a i g n , d e s p i t e h i s

many e r r o r s and ~ h . o r t z o : ~ i i n ~ ; s , were v i t a l t o t h e end r e s u l t . Ce r t -

a i n l y w i thou t h i s o p e r a t i o n s t h e r e would have been no t r e a t y and

r e l a t i o n s between t h e k s z n t e , t h e F a n t i , and t h e B r i t i s h would

have con t inued i n t h e s ane s t a t e o f suspended h o s t i l i t i e s a s had

e x i s t e d e v e r s i n c e 1g63. It i s e q u a l l y appa ren t t h a t w i thou t t h e

t h i r d c o n t r l b u t i n g fac tor - -Capta in Glover t s e s g e d i t i o n - - a l l that

had been done by t h e B r i t i s h i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e ' and a l m g t h e

~ ra su /Kur .n s i road would have been f o r naught . S i r G a r l e t had

wi thdrawn f r o u Ih:nasi w i thou t t h e t r e a t y f o r which he had s!ip-

posed ly fough t and i t was s o l e l y due t o Capta in S l o v e r t s sudden

appearance t o t h e e a s t o f t h e Asante c a p i t a l t h a t t h e Tre;.,ty o f

Fomana was s igned . Fir,al. ly, t h e Asa>tehene h i s i s e l f ma2e an i3-

d i r e c t y e t subs t anL ia1 c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e Britls11 succes s . It

was his f a i l u r e t o make t i ~ i s s t a n d a t t h e Adansi Hills which nade

it possib1.e f o r S i r Garnet t o r each Kuclasi a t a l l . By n e g l e c t i n g

t o t a k e t h i s s t e p , Kof i K m i k a r i a l l o ~ i e d t h e B r i t i s h t o p a s s un-

rriolcsted beyond t h e on ly de fens ive p o s i t i o n a l o ~ g t h e i nvas ion

r o u t e fro19 which t h a Asante a rny ccu ld p o s s i b l y have o f f s e t t h e

overwhelming supe r2 ,o r i t y of 3 r i t i s h f i re -power and t h u s h a l t e d

t h e i nvas ion .

Aside from t h i s d e b i t a?d c r e d i t a ccoun t ing , t h e war had

been a c o s t l y ventul-e. Althoucll t h e d r a i n on t h e B r i t i s h c o f f e r s

had been r e l a t i v e l y t h e c o s t i n human l i v e s had been

h i g h e r , The t o l l ar,long t h e A f r i c a n s w i l l n eve r be knctm b u t o f

t h e a p p r o x i n s t e l y 4,000 Europeans, :Yest I n d i a n s , and Af r i cans i n -

vo lved a s merilbers of t h e v a r i o u s m i l i t a r y u n i t s , 6fi were dead,

394 were wounded (135 froin t h e a l a c k TJstch), and a t o t a l o f 1 ,918

weTe i n v a l i d e d f o r o7.e r e a s o r o r ano the r . Seven rnenbers 'of t h e

o r i g i n a l Fiolseley "Xingw w2re dead and 31 i n v a l i d e d . P ropor t i on -

a t e l y , no l e s s t han 4.3 per c e n t of t h e cornbined s t r e n g t h of t h e

Europaar. regi:nents was i n v a l i d e d home, and t h e r e was 71 p e r cen t

s i c k n e s s i n two months. he Velsh F u s i l i e r s , n o t a l l of whose

c o m p a ~ i e s were used i n a c t i o n , hs?d t h e g r e a t e s t p r o p o r t i o n a t e

amount o f s i c k ~ e s s , t h e R i f l e Br igade nex t and t h e Black L'atc'n

l e a s t , whi le t h e l i s t of wounded and k i l l e d i n t h e s e u n i t s sho i~ed

p r o p o r t i o n s o f t h e r e v e r s e o rde r . I n c d d i t i o n , x a r y h o s p i t a l

c a s e s d i e d oq t h e b o a t s d u r i n g evacua t ion . 47

Accept ing t h e h y ~ o t h e s i s t B a L t h i s war was a c t u a l l y neces -

s a r y , i t s c c s t i n go ld and l i v e s c o : ~ l d be l a r s e l y j u s t i f i e d had

i t r e s a l t e d ir. t h e D r i t i s h a c t u a l l y be ing a b l e t o t l i r s u r e a k s t -

i n g peace :;'it'll t!le As!mnt i kir.gdotiV . 46 ~ u c l l was l o t t:ie c e s e ,

however. Y i t h t h e war ove r an2 ~ ~ i t h the t r e a t y a f Fomana sup-

posed ly f o m i r ? g a firlil ar,d l a s t i n g b a s i s f o r r e l a t i c ln s Se:,tieen

t h e B r i t i s h a?cl t h e Asante , t h e B r i t i s h Government r e v ~ r t e d t c

t h e v e r y p o l i c y ~ L i i c h had been l a r g e l y r e s p c ~ s i b l e f o r t h e w 2 r

i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e . Thus t h e door ms l e f t open f o r an Asz.?t;e

r e su rgence ~ n d a r e c u r r e n c e of Asznte a t t e n p t s t o r e s s s z r t t h e i r

i n f l u e r c e i n t h e T P r o t e c t o r a t e T . "its o p p o r t u n i t y x a s pet a l -

lolied t o s l i p p a s t .

When t h e war had e rded , t h e Xsante Ernpire had f d l e n t o

p i e c e s . iyost of t h e i n p o r t a n t s t a t e s , i?,cludlnl; ::a::lpon, Ysuta ,

Bekvmi, Kokofu, J a b i n and even Ckornfo A ~ o k y e ' s town of Apna,

r e f u s e d t o obey t h e c c ~ t r a l ~ o v e r n i ~ l e q t ; anti a l l t h e o u t l . y i n g

p rov i r , ces sucll as K\rahu, Gya:il~n, Sefwi , B a ~ d a , and t h e n o r t h e r n

t r i b e s open ly d e c l a r e d t h e i r i ~ d s p e n d e n c e . R o f i K ~ r i k a r i was

unabla t o r e a s s e r t h i s a u t h o r i t y and i n hugus t 01- S e p t e s b e r o f

1874, he was deposed. He was succeeded by h i s younger b r c t h e r ,

Kensa Bonsu, who . s e t h imse l f t o r e b u i l d K u m s i and t o r e a s s e r t

t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h s Golden S t o o l ove r t h e r e b e l l i o u s provin.ces.

Kensa Donsu b e ~ a n h i s ca:; lpaip t o r e g a i n h i s e x p i r e by

exertir!:: p r*es swe on J a b i n . E u t Xsafo Agyei, t h e King of Jabi:?

would no t cons ide r r e s u n l i ~ g h i s m l e a s a t r i b u t a r y o f :;uiimsi

ar.d he ever! wept; s o f a r as t o k i l l a l l . t h e K u m s i t r a d e r s i n t h e

kingdox as a s i g n of h i s d2 f i ancc . I n t h e face of tiiis, T.krs~:

s u b j e c t . tiowevll:r, t h e E r i t i s h d e c 1 i r . d t o i n t e r f e r e i n ar.y way.

The Asa.ntehene t h e r e f o r e dec ided t o make t h e J a b i q ques t i on i n t o

a t e s t c a s e f o r t h e rest of t h e Asante s t a t es . A11 o f t h o s e

s t a t e s , f a c e d w i t h t h e a l t e r r a t i v e s of r a l l y i n g a r o u ~ d Kuinasi o r

around J a b i n , suppor ted Ku:nasi. Accordingly , i n October of 1875,

ldensa Bonsu a t t a c k e d J a b i n and by t h e 3 rd of P o v e n b s he had

d r i v e n t h e J a b i n army froill t h e f i e l d . .

Th is v i c t o r y g r e a t l y s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e Asantehanet s pos i -

t i o n . ?!o o t h e r s t a t e had suppor ted J a b i n i n i t s revcit , , t h e

B r i t i s h , who no doubt, wished t o s e e as rnuch d i s s e r s i o n as pos-

s i b l e amnrg t h e A s a ~ t e , c l e a r l y would do n o t : l i ~ ~ t c ? interfere

w i t h him, m d t h e f l i s h t o f t h e J a b i n had a l l o m x i t h e d i r . ec t r u l e

of Kumasi t o be ext,e?ded cons ide rab ly . It was t h e r e f c r e n.rz',ural

that I'lensa Bonsu should d e c i d e t h a t he had not:ii.nz t o f e a r from

t h e U r i t i s h . A s a r e s u l t , whev t h e E r i t i s h envoy a r r i v e d i r l

Kunasi i n Dccexber o f 1675 t o r e c e i v e a n o t h e r ims ta laz?L of t h e

war indemnity, he was hooted a r d p e l t e d i n t h e s t r e e t s o f t h e

town. This s o a larmed t h e B r i t i s h Goverment t h a t i t neve r aga in

a t t c n p t e d t o c o l l e c t t h e indemnity and on ly 4,OOC o f t h e 50,OOO

ounces o f g o l d demanded by t h e t r e a t y o f Fomana were e v e r pa id . 49

Colni ient in~ on t h i s c ~ n d i t i o n , E l l i s w r i t e s :

Thus v i t h i n l e s s t han two y e a r s a f t e r t h e b u r r i n g 02' Kumasi t he Ashant i had, t h a ~ k s t o t h e Covernri~cnt p o l i c y o f non- i n t e r v e n t i o n , recovered t he whole of t h e i r l o s t t e r r i t o r y excep t Kwahu and A d m s i , and escaped t h e pay:%mt o f t h e p e a t i e r - p a r t of t h e inde:.lnity.50

The p o l i c y of t h e G r i t i s h Gcrvernrnent towards Asante from

187i+ t o 1890 was t h e r e f o r e weak and i n c o n s i s t e n t , a ~ d t h e f r u i t s

o f t h e war of 1g73-1874 wera l o s t i n an unbe l i evab ly s h o r t tine.

A small band o f c i v i l o f l i c i a l s , s o l d i e r s , and a d v e n t u r e r s had

won t h e war - - la rge ly by &cod luck--but t h e p o l i c y makers a n d

t h e i r o f f i c i a l s l o s t t h e peace w i th t h e r e s u l t t h a t t h e whole

p r o c e s s would hsve t o be r e p e a t e d i n 1295-1696.

CHAPTER I - FOOTROTES

1 J.U. Blake, European Beginnings i n West A f r i c a , London, M a m i l l a n , 1941, p. 143.

2 See W.E.F. Ward, A H i s t o r y of t h e Gold Coas t , London, George A l l e n & Unwin L td . , 1948, f o r a b r i e f bu t u s e f u l d e s c r i p - t i o n o f t h e s e e a r l y y e a r s . See a l s o J . A . Will iamson, A S h o r t H i s t o r of B r i t i s h Expansion: The Old c ;ol .n ia l Empire, Lordon, =!an, 1965, f o r a rev iew of t h e domestic f a c t o r s which r e - t a r d e d E n g l i s h development i n West Afr ica .

3 Ward, Gold Coas t , p. 140. Desp i t e t h e u se o f t h e term ' 'Br i t i sh" , it i s impor tan t t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e B r i t i s h Government had no d i r e c t d e a l i n g s w i t h t h e Gold Coast. F roa e a r l y S t u a r t t i m e s t h e B r i t i s h system had been t o c h a r t e r a company which en joyed a monopoly o f t h e B r i t i s h t r a d e on t h e coas t . I n r e t u r n , t h e company main ta ined t h e f o r t s which were cons idered e s s e n t i a l f o r t h e s e c u r i t y of t r a d e . The succes s ion o f monopol is t cornpanics which r e s u l t e d from t h i s p o l i c y were c o n s t a n t l y c r i t i c i s e d b u t t h s p o l i c y was r e t a i n e d f o r some time. I n 1750, however, p r e s s u r e f rom t h e r i s i n g p o r t o f ~ i v e r p o o l caused t h e r e p l a c e n e n t of t h e Royal Af r i can Company-the l a s t and ciost l ong - l i ved of a l l t h e companies--by a l o o s e a s s o c i a t i o n o f a l l t h e B r i t i s h merchants t r a d i n g t o Africa. Known as The Company o f Merchants Trad ing t o Africa, t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n was n o t i n i t s e l f a t r a d i n g concern. Ra the r it was simply a dev ice f o r m a i n t a i n i n g t h e f o r t s and f a c t o r i e s by rrieans o f a Pa r l i amen ta ry g r a n t i n s t e a d o f a t r a d i n g monopoly.

4 The European powers had e s t a b l i s h e d themselves on t he Gold Uoast a t t h e fo l lowing t imes : P o r t u g a l (lL+8Z.), Ho1lar.d ( l 5 9 5 ) , Denmark (1642) , Sweden (1647) and Brandenberg (1682) . 3 0 t h t h e French and Eng l i sh had been on t h e c o a s t from t h e middle of t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y b u t t h e y d i d n o t b u i l d t h e i r f irst f o r t s u n t i l 1650 and 1631 r e s p e c t i v e l y . Although Gold had been t h e c o m o d i t y which had o r i g i n a l l y dravm t h e Europeans t o t h e Gold c o a s t , it was t h e a d v e n t o f t h e t r a n s - A t l a n t i c s l a v e t r a d e which caused t h e sudden i n c r e a s e i n a c t i v i t y a f t e r 1630. However, b e f o r e t h e end of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y most of t h e compet i t ion had been e l i n i - n a t e d and on ly t h e Dutch, Danes and E n g l i s h s t i l l possessed f o r t s on t h e bold Coast . O f t h e s e , t h e Dutch and E n g l i s h i n s t a l l a t i o n s were by f a r t h e most impor tan t and by t h e end o f t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e E n g l i s h had secu red an e a s y dominance over t h e s l a v e t r a d e i n g e n e r a l and t h e Gold Coast t r a d e i n p a r t i c u l a r . See E.C. Mar t in , The B r i t i s h Nest Afr ican S e t t l e m e n t s : 1750-1621, London, Longnan's , Green and Co. L td . , 1927, pp. 52-5G and Y.E.F. 'ilard, A H i s t o r y o f t h e Gold Coast , London, George Al len & Unwin Ltd. , '1.m passim.

5 J . D . Fage, Ghana: A H i s t o r i c a l I n t e r p r e t a t i o n , Xadison, The U n i v e r s i t y of Wisconsin P r e s s , 1961, pp. 50-51.

6 I b i d . , pp. 51-52,

7 For s p e c i f i c works d e a l i n g w i t h t h e r i s e of t h e s e two peop le s s e e ; A.B. E l l i s , The Tshi-speaking Peop le s o f t h e Gold Coas t , London, Longmans Green and Co. L td . , 19b3; J .L Sarbah , F a n t i ~ a t i o n a l C o n s t i t u t i o n , Oaflord, Clarendon P r e s s , 1958; W e Uosman, A r5!ew and Accurate D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e Coast o f Guinea -- 9

London, Frank Cass k Co, Ltd. , 1701+.; c a p t . L.S. R a t t r a y , ----, Ashant i Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1923; J. Bowdich, LIission From Cape C ~ a s t C a s t l e t o Ashan t i e , London, k'rank cass & Co. Ltu. , 1S19; Joseph Dupuis, J o u r n a l of a Residence i n Ashantee, London, Frank Ccss & Co. Ltd . , 1824.. For more g e n e r a l works on t h i s s u b j e c t see : A . A . Boahen, Topics i n \ l e s t Afr ican -- His to ry , London, Longmans, Creen and Cob Ltd . , D * John E. F l i n t , N ige r i a and Ghana, ?ew J e r s e y , ~ r e n t i c e - ~ a l l , ~ ? & 6 ; U.M. C l a r i d g e , A U i s t o r y o f t ; ~ e Gold -- Coasr. and Ashant i , Rew York, Brirnes and Noble, Inc . , 1904; and !yard, H i s t o r y , Chaps. I V and V .

The Ghanian h i s t o r i a n , D r . A. Adu Boahen develops t h i s theme of economic determinism r a t h e r f u l l y . See Boahen, Topics , pp. 69-7b.

9 From t h e t i m e of t h e first Portuguese s e t t l e m e n t on t h e Gold Coas t , t h e r e had a r i s e n t h e custom o f paying r e g u l a r land- r e n t a l t o t h e l o c a l Afr ican r u l e r s f o r t h e l a n d on which t h e f o r t s s tood . T h i s custoln was e v e n t u a l l y fo rma l i zed i n t o w r i t t e n con- t r a c t s c a l l e d 'Notes ' . I n t h e e y e s of A f r i c a n s and Europeans a l i k e , t h e s e Notes s tood f o r t h e r e n t a l f e e s and t h e honouring o f them by t h e Europeans acknowledged t h e s o v e r e i g n t y of t h e Af r i can r u l s r i n c o n t r o l of t h e s t a t e wherein t h e f o r t l a y .

10 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp, 197-198.

11 The Asante Empire may be s a i d t o have c o n s i s t e d of two d i s t i n c t segments roughly i n t h e form o f c o n c e n t r i c c i r c l e s c e n t e r i n g on Kumasi. The i n n e r c i r c l e was comprised mainly of Akan s t a t e s ; founded i n l a r g e p a r t by t h e Oyoko c l a n . These , s t a t e s came under c l o s e s c r u t i n y o f t h e Asantehene h imse l f . This i s o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o a s K e t r o p o l i t a n Asante. The o u t e r c i r c l e was comprised o f conquered s t a t e s which were o f t e n o f non-Akan o r i g i n . These were c o n s i d e r a b l y more f r e e o f c o n t r o l and super- v i s i o n by t h e Asantehene. These s t a t e s a r e o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o as be ing p a r t o f P r o v i n c i a l Asante. See R.S. R a t t r a y , Ashan t i Law and C o n s t i t u t i o n , London, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1956, f o r --- d e t a i l s ,

12 A t t h i s t i m e , t h e Asantehene, Osei Kojo, planned a p u n i t i v e e x p e d i t i o n a g a i n s t t h e Akim. The Akim widened t h e a r e a of c o n f l i c t by a l l y i n g themselves w i t h t h e i r wes te rn ne ighbours , t h e Assin. T h i s was a s e r i o u s development f o r t h e Assin were c l o s e l y a l l i e d w i t h t h e P a n t i . The ques t ion of F a n t i n e u t r a l i t y t h e r e f o r e became most impor tan t and Ose i Kojo payed t h e F a n t i c h i e f s a b r i b e i n o r d e r t o ensure t h e i r n e u t r a l i t y . The F a n t i a c c e p t e d t h e b r i b e b u t broke t h e i r promise and t h u s c r e a t e d the first of s e v e r a l g r i e v a n c e s which would e v e n t u a l l y l e a d t o mas- s i v e Asante r e t a l i a t i o n . See n la ridge, Hi s to ry , Vol. 1, pp. 149-

Ward, - Gold Coast , pp. 132-133.

C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 230-240.

I b i d * , P. 234.

C J p Coast

17 I b i d . , p b 279

18 P.R.o./T. 70/149: Af r i can Committee X n u t e . Af r i can O f - f i c e , 2 I h r c h , 1807, c i t e d i n G.E. iv ,e tca l fe , Grea t 6 r i t a i n - and Ghana: Docunents o f Ghana Hi s to ry : 1807-1957, Lonuon, ''hornas el son 8; Sons Ltd . , 1964, p. 41 See n o t e 3 above f o r a rev iew o f t h e s t a t u s of t h e company.

19 l i le tcal fe , Documents, p. 3 .

20 A t t h i s t i n e , t h e r e were C r i t i s h s e t t l e n e n t s on t h e Gambia, a t S i e r r a Leone, and on t h e Gold Coast . Y i t h t h e excep- t i o n o f a n exper iment i n Crown colony government i n t h e c a 2 t u r e d 'P rov ince t of Seneganbia from 1764 t o 1783, t h e B r i t i s h Govern- ment had r e l i e d on r e g u l a t e d cor,lpanies o f merchants and ph i l an - t h r o p i s t s t o a d m i n i s t e r tile v a r i o u s s e t t l e m e n t s a long t h e c o a s t w i t h t h e a i d o f pa r l i amen ta ry g r a n t s . Thus i 3 r i t i s h p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n West Af r i can t r a d e by t h e l a s t decades of t h e e i z h t e e n t h c e n t u r y was l a r g e l y t h e bus ines s of L ive rpoo l , B r i s t o L , and London t r a d i n g houses. In f a c t , w i t h t h e excep t ion of t h e b r i e f p e r i o d o f Crown colony r u l e i n t he Gambia r eg ion , o f f i c i a l wi th- d rawal f rorn r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r Afr ican p l a n t a t i o n s o r p o s t s was alrnost cornplete f o r twenty- f ive yea r s . It i s impor tan t t o no te t h a t t h e 1811 d e c i s i o n taken wi th r ega rd t o t h e Gold Coast was r e f l e c t e d b o t h i n S i e r r a Leone--which was d e c l a r e d a crown colony i n 1807--and on t h e Gambia.

It i s a l s o important t o n o t e t h a t a l t hough t h e d e s i r e t o h a l t t h e s l a v e t r a d e and t h e e x p e c t a t i o n o f a l u c r a t i v e ' l e g i t i m a t e t t r a d e were p o t e n t f a c t o r s i n t h e mo t iva t ion of t h e p r e s s u r e groups which exe r t ed i n f l u e n c e on t h e B r i t i s h Government a t t h i s t ime; t h e r e was a t h i r d f a c t o r . T h i s was Afr ican ex- p l o r a t i o n which by t h e end of t h e e i g h t e e n t h cen tu ry had become a f i e l d f o r s c i e n t i f i c and comr~e rc i a l investment am? p a r t of t h e s t r a t e g y o f t h e war w i t h k'rance. The o r g a n i z a t i o n most a c t i v e i n t h i s f i e l d was t h e Assoc i a t i on f o r prornoting t h e Discovery o f t h e I n t e r i o r P a r t s of Af r i ca . Founded i n 1788, t h i s Assoc i a t i on was i n t ended t o open t o B r i t a i n a comaercia l passage t o r i c h and populous n a t i o n s by i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e course o f t h e Y ige r R ive r . It must be remembered, however, t h a t t h e o n l y Government suppor t - e d e x p e d i t i o n p r i o r t o 1815 was Mungo P a r k ' s second--and fatal-- Niger e x p e d i t i o n of 1805. The pe r iod o f r e l a t i v e l y heavy Govern- men ta l involvement began i n 1815 w i t h t h e Luckey and Pedciie e x p e d i t i o n s and ended wi th t h e Lander b r o t h e r ' s e x p e d i t i o n o f 1831. (Naps 4 and 5 r e f e r . )

A t t h i s t ime , t h e r e f o r e , what ~ o l i n Rewbury d e s c r i b e s as a few d e d i c a t e d e ~ t h u s i a s t s he lpad t o c r e a t e co rmi tnen t s i n t r a d e , a n t i - s l a v z r y a c t i v i t i e s , and e x p l o r a t i o n , f o r governxent d e p a r t - ments which had been glad t o renounce t h e Xest Afr ican c o a s t as

p r o f i t l e s s and unhea l thy i n 1783. See Col in I,:erbury, B r i t i s h P o l i c y Towards !.!est Af r i ca : S e l e c t e d Documents: 176'6-lg?q, Oxford, Clarendon i2re=, 1965, pp. 2-7.

21 Zacheray 1:acaulay: Governor o f S i e r r a Leone, 1793-95; S e c r e t a r y of t h e S i e r r a Leone Company, 1799-180g; and of t h z Af r i can I n s t i t u t e , 1807-12; member of t h e Ant i -Slavery S o c i e t y from 1823.

22 C.O. 267/24; Zachary Biacaulay t o Lord Cas t l e r eagh ; 8 May, 1807, c i t e d i n J .J . Crooks, Records of t h e Gold Coast Se t - t l e m e n t s : 1750-1674, Dublin, Brown and no lan , 1923, p. 63.

23 9.C. 506 Report of t h e Cormiss ioners of Afr ican In - q u i r y ' 29 J u l y , 1811, pp. 135-136, c i t e d i n Eietcal fe , D o c u x n t s , pp. 14-22.

24 Ward, Gold c o a s t , p. 155.

25 One of the very f e w r e f e r e n c e s t o t h i s i n c i d e n t nay be found i n E.F. c ; o l l i n s t , "The Panic Element i n n i n e t e e n t h Century B r i t i s h F ie la t ions w i t h t h e Ashant i , " T r a n s a c t i o n s o f t h e His- t o r i c a l S o c i e t y o f Ghana, Vol. 5, No. 2 , (lgo2), p. 81.

26 M r . T.G. Bowdich n e g o t i a t e d a t r e a t y i n 1817 and Fir . J. Dupuis n e g o t i a t e d a s e c o ~ d t r e a t y i n 1820. I n both c a s e s , t h e Governor a t cape Coas t , M r . John IIope-Smith, f a i l e d t o honour t h e tenns of t h e t r e a t y . See Bowdich, I : i ss ion, and Dupuis, J o u r n a l , f o r t h e views o f t h e B r i t i s h n e g o t i a t o r s . See a l s o c.0.'- Gold Goast no. 46, The Gold Coast S e t t l e m e n t s from t h e i r f i r s t e s t a b l i s h m e n t - t o t h e d e a t h o f i4r. i lac lesn i n 1847; i - a r c h , 1874, f o r t h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . C o l l i n s t , "The Pan ic Elementv i s e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g f o r t h e l i g h t it sheds on some o f Dupuist p r e j u d i c e s w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e Company.

27 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, p. 327.

28 ~ . 7 0 / 1 6 0 4 / l ; Governor and Counci l t o t h e Af r i can Commit- t e e , 22 January , 1819; ~ .70 /1601/1 ; J. Hope-Smith t o J. Dupuis; 26 Janua ry , 1820; and T .70/160b/l; Governor and Counci l t o t h e Afr ican Cormi t tee ; 1 9 Ilay 1820, c i t e d i n PIetcal fe , Documents, PP. 54, 57, and 61.

29 I n t h e AsanteheneT s op in ion , t h e one d i f f e r e n c e between Cape Coast and t h e r e s t of F a n t i l a n d was t h a t it had n o t been over- run by h i s a r m i e s , and t h i s , o n l y ou t o f h i s c o n s i d e r a t i c n f o r t h e Eng l i sh . See ~ .70 /1603/2 ; Hutchison t o Hope-Sraith; 17 November, 1817, c i t e d i n X e t c a l f e , Documents, p. 70.

30 Dupuis, J o u r n a l , p , 131.

31 H.C. 431, 1817, Vol. V I , Recommendations, pp. 1143-1187. Abs t r ac t ed i n X e t c a l f e , Document,, pp. 41-45.

32 S i r Cha r l e s PiacCarthy. Af te r s e r v i c e i n t h e ';Yest I n d i e s he was g iven a Lieutenant-Colonelcy i n t h e Royal Af r i can Corps and n e x t y e a r ( 1812) became Governor of S i e r r a Leone. he ' was k n i g h t e d i n 1820.

33 c.O. 879/6; G.C. 46; blarch, 1874, pp. 26-27.

34 T h i s i n c i d e n t i s d e a l t w i t h i n cons ide rab le d e t a i l i n Ward, Gold Coast - 8 pp. 168-170.

34 I k t c a l f e , Documents, p. 71.

36 C.O. 267/58; BIac~a r thy t o S a t h u r s t , 7 A p r i l , 1823; c.0. 267/56; Chisholn t o hIacCarthy, 8 August, 1823 ; and G.O. 267/59; NacCarthy t o B a t h u r s t , 12 December, 1823; a l l c i t e d i n Crooks, Records , pp. 169-172. O f s p e c i a l no t e i n t h i s fo rmat ion o f an al l l 'ance was t h e a s t u t e p o l i t i c a l sense e x h i b i t e d by t h e Af r i can c h i e f s who took c a r e t o s e c u r e themse lves a g a i n s t be ing a b a n d ~ n e d t o t h e t c n d e r mercy o f t h e Asantehene by having a formal agree- ment and h o l d i n g a r i t u a l oa th- tak ing . See X.K. R i c k e t t s , A N a r r a t i v e of t h e Ashantee Xar, London, Frank Lass 6 GO. '~td:, 1831, PP* 40-41

37 A c l e a r and conc i se account o f t h e e n t i r e a c t i o n i s conta ined i n Ward, Gold Coas t , pp. 168-174. The Asante were much impressed w i t h S i r Char les1 courage. They consequent ly a t e p o r t - i o n s o f h i s body ar,d p reserved h i s head which became a powerful t f e c i s h ' i n Kurnasi. See lar ridge, H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, p. 352, f o r d e t a i l s .

38 Georg Nbrregard, Danish S e t t l e n e n t s i n Vest Af r i ca : 1658- 1850, Boston, Boston U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1960, pp. 195-196.

39 bIajor-General Cha r l e s Turner e n t e r e d t h e army i n 1795; se rved i n t h e k!est I n d i e s and t h e P e n i n s u l a ; Kajor-Generai , 1821; Governor o f S i e r r a Leone, 5 February, 1625, t o 7 March, 1826.

40 Henry B a t h u r s t , 3 rd E a r l B a t h u r s t ; I4.P. 1793; P r e s i d e n t of t h e Board of Trade , 1807-12; S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r l!ar and t h e Co lon ie s , 11 June , 1812, t o 30 A p r i l , 1827.

41 A s e r i e s o f despa t ches were exchanged between f la jor- General Turne r and E a r l 3 a t h u r s t on t h i s m a t t e r bu t t h e most i m - p o r t a n t appea r t o be: C.O. 267/65, Turner t o B a t h u r s t , 2& i Iarch, 1825; C.0. 267/65, Turner t o B a t h u r s t , 9 A p r i l , 1925; and c.0. 268/20, B a t h u r s t t o Turner , 5 J u l y , 1825. Also o f c o n s i d e r a b l e importance a r e : C.O. 267/65, F:err,orandum on t h e Gold b o a s t , 2 J u l y , 1825; and C.O. 2%/23, I n s t r u c t i o n s t o t h e Yes t Afr ican Comniss ioners , 11 Plovember, 1825.

42 T h i s t h e y were a b l e t o do w i t h impunity f o r n e i t h e r t h e t r i b e m e n no r t h e Danes were a b l e t o e f f e c t i v e l y c h a l l e n e t h e i r $ i n v a s i o n . See ~ b r r e g a r d , Danish S e t t l e ~ o e n t s , pp. 196-lgY.

43 Major-General S i r E!eil Campbell, e n t e r e d t h e arniy i n 1797; s e rved i n t h e :lest I n d i e s and t h e Pen insu la , a ~ d w i t h t h e A l l i e d arraies i n Gerrnny a ~ d France, 1813-14; k n i ~ h t e d i n 1614; Ela jor-General i n 1825 ; appo in t ed Governor of S i e r r a Leone, 13 May, 1825.

44 C.O. 266/26, B a t h u r s t t o Campbell, 20 June, 1826; and C.O. 267/66, Turner t o Purdon, 18 October , 1625; See a l s o , C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 384-391.

45 tJard, Gold Coas t , p. 177

46 The Coni i iss ioner appoin ted on 11 Yovember, 1825. See above, p. 14. H.C. 352, Vol. V I I , 267, Report of Comnissioner Rowan on h i s v i s i t t o t h e Gold Coas t , June , 1827. Abs t r ac t ed i n Met c a l f e , Documents, pp. 110-112.

47 C.O. 268/26, Ba thu r s t t o Campbell, 2 1 Karch, 1827.

48 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 402-40l+.

49 C.O. 267/97, Hay t o Barnes , Brown and P o r s t e r , 30 October, 1828; and C.O. 268/27, Rules f o r conduct ing t h e a f fa i r s of Cape Coast Cas t l e and Accra and s e c u r i n g t h e appointment of f i t and prope r pe r sons f o r t h e charge and nanagencnt o f t h e s e f o r t s , 13 Janua ry , 1629.

50 Capta in George Naclean, se rved as a n o f f i c e r i n Royal Afr ican ~ o l o n i a l Corps and came t o o f f i c a l n o t i c e when he went t o t h e Gold Coast i n 1826 i n a m i l i t a r y c a p a c i t y . Appointed P r e s i d e n t o f t h e Conunittee of 2;erchants and Governor of t h e Gold Coas t , 1830-1643 ; J u d i c i a l Assessor on t h e Gold Coas t , 1&!+3-1&+7. Died of dysen te ry a t Cape Coast C a s t l e i n I.iay, 1847.

51 Panya r r ing was t h e w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d custom whereby a c r e d i t o r might s i e z e any fellow-townsman of t h e d e b t o r and ho ld him as s e c u r i t y . The f ami ly o f t h e man t h u s panyarred w o d d n a t u r a l l y p u t p r e s s u r e on t h e d e b t o r t o pay. During t h e s l a v e t r a d e , however, t h e r e was a s t r o n g t empta t ion t o panyar a man f o r a small d e b t and s e l l him i n t o s l a v e r y w i t h o u t g i v i n g h i s f a m i l y a chance t o s e c u r e payment o f t h e d e b t ; t h u s nak ing a handsome prof it.

52 T h i s i s a d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e t o t h o s e sou the rn s t a t e s which became Asante prov inces as a r e s u l t of t h e 1807-1814 wars. See above, pp. 6-10; and c.0. 879/6, G . G . 46, pp. 13-15.

53 T h i s seems t o r e f e r t o t h e te rms which had been reached under R i c k e t t t s a u s p i c e s i n December 1827, bu t which were never* c a r r i e d i n t o e f f e c t .

54 C . 0 , 879/6, G.C. 46, Appendix ( c ) .

55 Although bo th t h e Dutch and t h e Danes were s t i l l a c t i v e on t h e c o a s t a t t h i s t ime , n e i t h e r became as involved as t h e B r i t i s h i n t h e a f fa i r s o f t h e Af r i cans . herefo fore, even t h o ~ h b o t h powers r e f u s e d t o co-operate i n such matters as common customs d u t i e s , e t c . , and even though t h e Dutch exacerba ted Asante/ F a n t i r e l a t i o n s by t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s through Elmina, t h e trpower groupings" were a c t u a l l y t h e Asante, F a n t i , and m i t i s h .

56 Clnr idge , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, p. 391 - These n o t e s , having once been c la imed from t h e F a n t i c h i e f s by t h e ksanteherle as a r i g h t of conques t , had simply r e v e r t e d by the same r i g h t t o t h e B r i t i s h , and t h e s i t e s t o which they r e f e r r e d became t h e i r abso- l u t e p rope r ty .

57 The o f f i c i a l s t i p u l a t i o n was t h a t h i s a u t h o r i t y was r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e t l f o r t s , r oads t ead o r ha rbour s t h e r e u n t o ad jo in- i n g , ' as w e l l as t h e persons r e s i d i n g t h e r e i n . " Even s o , a prece- den t e x i s t e d f o r t h i s i n t h a t under bo th t h e o l d Company ( H . C . 507, 1816, Vol. V I I R e p o r t . o f Conn i t t ee on t h e s t a t e of t h e S e t - t l e m e n t s and F o r t s of A f r i c a - P a r t I1 - Evidence of Xr. 3. Cock) and under t h e Crown (H.c . 551, 1842, Vol. X I - X I I , I teport o f C G ~ - m i t t e e on t h e s t a t e o f B r i t i s h P o ~ s e s s i o n s on t h e Vest Coast of Africa and t h e i r p r e s e n t r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e neighbouring t r i b e s ; Evidence of Xr. W.B. S e w e l l , ) , t h e B r i t i s h a u t h o r i t i e s had i n t e r - vened i n p o l i t i c a l . and j u d i c i a l d i s p u t e s amongst t h e Af r i can pop- u l a t i o n , u s u a l l y a t t h e i r r e q u e s t .

58 By t h e 1 e 3 0 l s bo th Af r i can t r a d e and Afr ican e x p l o r a t i o n had ceased t o a t t r a c t the suppor t o f t h e B r i t i s h Governnent. The Committee of P r i v y Counci l f o r Trade and P l a n t a t i o n s made PO o b j e c t i o n s t o a ~ o l o n i a l O f f i c e sugges t ion t o abandon t h e Gold Coast a t t h e end o f t h e 1 8 2 0 t s ; and i n 1g41 t h e Niger D e l t e palm o i l t r a d e was c o n t r a s t e d f avourab ly w i t h t h e small amounts expor t - e d from p o r t s under B r i t i s h r u l e . The l e s s o n w s obvious enough: Afr ican p o s s e s s i o n s o f f e r e d l i t t l e c o m e r c i a l advantage ir. r e t u r n f o r t h e i r upkeep, i n r e l a t i o n t o c o a s t a l t r a d e as a whole. The merchants ' c a s e f o r t h e r e t e n t i o n of Af r i can pos5.s which was s t i l l based on t h e e i g h t e m t h cen tu ry premise t h a t a f o r t o f f e r e d pro- t e c t i o n o f t h e p r i n c i p a l n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t i n t h e Afr iczn mzrket was, by t h e 1 8 3 0 t s , and ex t r e i~ i e ly weak one.

S i r n i l a r l y , t h e 1831 journey o f t h e Lander b r o t h e r s down t h e Niger t o t h e D e l t a rounded o f f t h e p e r i o d o f West Af r i can e x p l o r a t i o n begun i n t h e las t decades of t h e e i g h t e e n t h cen tu ry . Imiedia t e l y t h e i n t e r e s t of t h e government depar tments l a p s e d and it was l a i d down t h a t no miss ions were t o be s e n t from S i e r r a Leone o r t h e Gambia a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s expense.

T h i s a t t i t u d e was a l s o r e f l e c t e d i n t h e f i e l d o f ad^' L1 m- i s t r a t i o n . XacCar thyfs p lan f o r u n i f i e d s e t t l e m e n t s d i d b r i n g about t h e a b o l i t i o n of t h e Afr ican Company i n 1821, when t h e f o r t s on t h e Gold Coast were placed under S i e r r a Leone. However, v e r y few of t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f e s t a b l i s h i n g a u n i t e d governmefit were t hough t o u t . XacCarthyl s r e c o n m e ~ d a t i o n s f o r a supreue c o u r t wi th power t o appo in t m a g i s t r a t e s were i gno red , and t h e e x e c u t i v e powers o f t h e governor o u t s i d e o f S i e r r a Leone were n o t mentioned a t a l l . I n t h e Gambia s e t t l e m e n t , whi'ch was t i e d t o t h e S i e r r a Leone Counci l , a l i eu t enan t -gove rno r was appoin ted f o r t h e f i rs t t i n e i n 1829--unable t o pas s h i s own l e g i s l a t i o n and s u b j e c t e d t o t h e m ~ i l t i p l e d e l a y s o f a s y s t e n of a d m i n i s t r a t i o n which was i n need of a b o l i t i o n o r reform.

I n f a c t , by t h e e a r l y 1830 ' s , o f f i c i a l i n t e r e s t i n West A f r i c a had sunk t o t h e l owes t p o i n t i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h cen tury . For a n e n c r a l d i s c u s s i o n of t h e p l a n s f o r wi thdrawal which were sugges ted a t t h i s t i m e , s ee The earabridge H i s t o r y o f t h e Z r i t i s h Em l i r e , Vol. 11, "The Growth of t h e New Empire 1783-187OU, Carn- , The U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1940, pp. 650-2.

59 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 403-1+04.

60 Ward, Gold Loas t , p, 185. T h i s i s indeed "roughly speak- ing" f o r a l t hough t h e Danes were o f cons ide rab ly l e s s importance, t h e Dutch c o n s t i t u t e d s e r i o u s breaches i n t h e B r i t i s h sphere . Indeed , t h e Dutch o f t e n c r e a t e d problems f o r t h e B r i t i s h t h rough t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h k s a n t e v i a t h e Elmina f o r it was from t h e Dutch t h a t t h e Asante r ece ived most of t h e i r arms and a ~ m u n i t i o n .

61 G.O. 9 8 / 1 ~ , Council H inu te , 1 2 Aovember, 1839; C.O. 267/ 162, !.laclean t o R u s s e l l , 27 Janua ry , 1840; and 1I.C. 551, 1842, Vol. X I I , Conclusions . Human s a c r e i f i c e s and 2anya r r ing came i n t o t h i s c a t e g o r y b u t t h e mi ld form o f domestic s l a v e r y p r a c t i s e d on t h e Gold Coast d i d n o t , Few people were ri:ore h o s t i l e t o t h e s lave t r a d e t h z n l.Iaclean, b u t he d i d n o t s e e t h a t he had any a u t h o r i t y t o a r r e s t s l a v e - t r a d e r s who were n o t B r i t i s h s u b j e c t s .

6 2 C.O. 267/162, 14inutes by R u s s e l l and Stephen, 3 A p r i l , l 8 & O .

63 See G.E. K e t c a l f e , Idaclean o f t h e Cold Coast: The L i f e and Times of George Haclean, 1801-1847, London, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1962. T h i s work g i v e s an e x c e l l e n t account of t h e d i f - f i c u l t i e s encountered by Haclean a n d i l l u s t r a t e s most c l e a r l y t h e d e v a s t a t i n g campaign o f c h a r a c t e r a s s a s s i n a t i o n which was c a r r i e d o u t a g a i n s t him a f t e r t h e sudden dea th of h i s w i f e a t cape Coast. ~ a s t l 6 . See a l s o , Cruilcshank, Eighteen Years , Vol. 1, pp. 224, e t . seq . , which d e a l s w i t h t he ques t ion o f airs. iliaclean's d e a t h v e r y f u i l y .

64 Lord John R u s s e l l ; S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r Yar and t h e c o l o n i e s , August 1839 t o September 1841; S e c r e t a r y o f S t z t e f o r t h e c o l o n i e s , 1855 ; Foreign S e c r e t a r y , 1852-3 and 1859-65; Prime Elinist;er, 1846-52 and 1865-6.

65 H.G. 551, Treasury t o ~ o l o n i a l O f f i c e , 1 0 June, 1840; and H , C . 551, C o l o n i a l O f f i c e t o Treasury , 17 June , 1840,

66 b l e t ca l f e , Naclean, p. 268. >ladden's r e p o r t i s inc luded i n H.C. 551 and a summary o f h i s recormendat ions can be found i n C.O. 267/170 - c i t e d i n Metca l fe , Documents, pp. 170-171.

67 Edward George S t a n l e y ( l a t e r 1 4 t h E a r l of Derby) , Enter- ed Pa r l i amen t as a Whig i n 1822. Under-Secretary f o r t h e Colop- i e s , 1827-30; S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r Xar and t h e Colonies , ;:;arch 1833 t o May 1831, and from Septernbcr 1841 t o December 1845. Jo in- ed the l ionserva t ives i n 1835; l a t e r t h r e e t ime Prime i h i s t e r .

68 c.0. 267/170, Minute by S t a n l e y , 1 2 January , 1842. See H.C. 551, Vol. X I , pp. i i i - x x i , f o r t h e S e l e c t Cormi t t ee ' s f i n d - i n g s and recomii~endations w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e Gold Coast .

69 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 448-450. Th i s pe r iod of t ime was v i t a l f o r t h e e n t i r e Xes t Goast o f A f r i c a , ~ o l i n ~ ~ e w - bury cominents t h a t :

The y e a r s from 1839 t o 1841+ were a water- shed f o r B r i t i s h p o l i c y towards West Africa as a whole. Dec i s ions taken t h e n ended t h e i n d i f f e r e n c e o f t h e p rev ious decade t o t h e i n h e r i t a n c e of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y on t h e c o a s t ; and from t h e s e d e c i s i o n s about t h e conduct o f t h e a n t i - s l a v e r y campaign and t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e f o r t s and s e t t l e m e n t s d e r i v e d most o f t he consequences which i n - volved Government, o f f i c i a l s , and t r a d e r s more c l o s e l y i n Af r i can a f f a i r s d u r i n g t h e r e s t o f t h e cen tury . See Kewbury, F o l i c y , p. 43.

It was i n 1840 t h a t evidence o f an i n c r e a s e i n t h e s l a v e t r a d e and t h e s u s p i c i o n t h a t t h e Gold Coast f o r t s were be ing used t o supply s l a v e r s shook t h e Co lon ia l and Foreign O f f i c e o u t of t he a t t i t u d e of makesh i f t and compro:nise t h a t had p r e v a i l e d i n a l l o f t h e West Afr ican s e t t l e m e n t s s i n c e about 1826. The consequences on t h e Gold Coast have been d e a l t w i th but t h e r e were a l s o import- a n t consequences e lsewhere . One major consequence was t h e a t t e m p t t o n e g o t i a t e a n t i - s l a v e r y t r e a t i e s w i th Afr ican r u l e r s a t S i e r r a Leone and on t h e Gambia. Even more impor tan t , however, was t h e development o f t h e use of consu l s i n t h e B i g h t s of Benin and Biafra and on the Sherbro from t h e end o f t h e 1840 's .

The consequence of c o n s u l a r appointments t o t h e B i g h t s was i n c r e a s e d r e l i a n c e on t h e Navy t o s e c u r e t h e aims o f 3 r i t i s h p o l i c y . One consu l , I k . B e e c r o f t , made o v e r t u r e s a t Abonny and Abeokuta i n l g 5 0 b u t f a i l e d t o win over King Ghezo t o thr. a n t i - s l a v e r y cause and t h u s brought t h e B r i t i s h i n t o temporary a l l i a n c e w i t h t h e Yoruba. The n a v a l bombardment of Lagos i n 1851 which fo l lowed t h i s , and t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f King Akitoye a t Lagos as s i g n a t o r y t o an a n t i - s l a v e r y t r e a t y produced a crop of a g r e e n a n t s a long t h e c o a s t . Thus t h e k ind of commitment which t h e Co lon ia l O f f i c e had t r i e d t o avo id i n t h e Ganbia and i n S i e r r a Leone had now beer. e n t e r e d i n t o by t h e Fore ign OfTice and t h e Admiralty i n t h e Lagos i n t e r i o r .

70 Loc. c i t .

71 Metca l fe , Docunents, pp. 191-192.

72 Commander H i l l had se rved as c o m n n d e r of t h e Yes t A f r i - can Squadron, R.V., p r i o r t o t h i s appointrilent.

73 c.0. 96/4, D e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e F a n t i c h i e f s , 6 Xarch, 1844.

74 ~ $ r r e g a r d , Danish S e t t l e m e n t s , Chap. 22 and C la r idge , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 474-476.

75 They d i d , however, open t h e way t o f u r t h e r encroacilments. Indeed , t h e i3onds were unique t o t h e Gold Coast. I n S i e r r a Leone, t h e need f o r a s s e r t i n g t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t ion ou t - s i d e t h e c o l o n i a l boundar ies was n e i t h e r s o p r e s s i n g as on t h e Gold Coas t , n o r was it t o l e r a t e d by t h e ~ o l o n i a l O f f i c e . in Gambia t h e s i t u a t i o n was d i f f e r e n t a g a i n . There, by t h e 185G's t h e o l d t r e a t y p o l i c y was break ing down because of e x t e r n a l f a c t - o r s and t h e whole B r i t i s h p o l i c y towards t h e Gambia Wolof and Kandinka chiefdoms which had reposed on occas iona l agreeriients and s t i p e n d s was d e s t r o y e d between 1852 and t h e mid-1860's by a s e r i e s of p o l i t i c a l and r e l i g i o u s r e v o l t s . ( F o r in format ion on t h e s e wars , s e e J.S. Trimingham, A Hip tory o f I s lam i n FIest A f r i c a ,

London, Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 1962, pp. 155-184). A t Lagos, t o o , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a f t e r 1d61 was vu lne rab le t o d i s r u p t i o n o f i n t e r i o r t r a d e and l o c a l market s u p p l i e s . IIowever, t h e r e - a c t i o n o f o f f i c i a l s t h e r e w a s t o i n t e r v e n e by f o r c e of arms, as exempl i f ied by Admin i s t r a to r Glover ' s d e f e a t a t t h e Egba i n 1865,

76 H.C. 383, 1855, Vol. XUVI, - E x t r a c t s o f Acts of P a r l i a u e n t , Orders i n Counci l , C h a r t e r s , Local Ordinances , e t c . , d e f i n i n g t h e C i v i l and J u d i c i a l C o n s t i t u t i o n s o f t h e 3 r i t i s h S e t t l e m e n t s on t h e West Coast o f Af r i ca .

77 c.0. 96/7, iwlinute by Stephen, 26 January , 1846; and C.U. 96/11, Gray t o Winnietl;, 20 January , 1849.

76 T h i s growing demand was i n l a r g e p a r t a r e s u l t of t h e i n c r e a s i n g i n f l u e n c e of t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s . A good g e n e r a l review of t h i s developnent can be found i n Ward, Gold c o a s t , pp. 193- 199. F o r a more d e t a i l e d and adequa te ly documented account , s ee David Kimble, h P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y of Ghana: The R i se o f Gold Goast Mz t iona l i s a : 1850-1928, Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1903, Chap. I1 and hap. 111, - pp. 125-135.

79 With t h e c o f f e r s i n London locked t o them t h e l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s were f aced w i t h a s e r i o u s problem because t h e r e were g r e a t d i f f i c u l t i e s i n t h e way o f r a i s i n g adequa te revenue l o c a l l y . The major problem was t h a t t h e A f r i c a n s could no t be t axed as t h e y were n o t B r i t i s h s u b j e c t s . It had been hoped t h a t customs d u t i e s might p rov ide t h e needed funds bu t even t h a t source o f income h e l d l i t t l e p r o a i s e because any a t t empt t o i n c r e a s e t h e small d u t i e s l e v i e d on t r a d e pas s ing th rough t h e B r i t i s h f o r t s would merely have meant t h a t t h e B r i t i s h t r a d e w o d d r e v e r t t o t h e Dutch and t h e Danes. Even t h e purchase o f t h e Danish f o r t s d i d n o t produce t h e hoped f o r a d d i t i o n a l revenue from r a i s e d d u t i e s on t r a d e because t h e Dutch s t i l l r e f u s e d t o co-operate .

The Anglo-Dutch r i v a l r y which l a y behind t h i s l a c k of co- o p e r a t i o n i s e x c e p t i o n a l l y w e l l d e s c r i b e d by Douglas Coonbs i n h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e Oxford 'Jest Afr ican H i s t o r y S e r i e s ; The Gold Coas t , B r i t a i n , and t h e Nether lands , Londor , Oxford U n i v e r s i t y -- P r e s s , 1963.

80 Henry George Grey, Viscount Rowick, l a t e r 3 rd Zar l Grey: Under-Secretary f o r t h e Colonies , 1830-3 ; S e c r e t a r y a t Uar, 1835- 9 ; S e c r e t a r y f o r War and t h e Colonies , 1846-52.

$ 1 c.0. 96/19, Minute by Grey, 16 Rovember, 1g50.

82 C.O. 96/25, The P o l l Tax 'Ordinance ' , 19 A p r i l , 1852.

83 C.O. '96/40, Ord t o Labouchere, 16 Kay, 1856, and Ward, Gold Coxat, p. 191. See Kimble, P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y , hap. I V , f o r a conc i se and w e l l document account of t h i s ~ e r i o d i n Gold Coast

. .

h i s t o r y . ,.ot on ly d i d t h e measure f a i l t o r a i s e t h e d e s i r e d funds , b u t it a l s o caused u n r e s t and d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n among t h e t r ibesmen i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e t . The people ob jec t ed t o t h e methods used t o c o l l e c t t h e t ax and t h e y a l s o a s s e r t e d , no d ~ u b t c o r r e c t l y , t h a t t h e i r c h i e f s had no r i g h t t o t a x thein i n t h i s way. Res i s t ance was s o g r e a t t h a t i n s t e a d of an expec ted •’20,000, on ly •’7,500 was c o l l e c t e d i n t h e first yea r . I n succe- ed ing y e a r s s o l i t t l e was c o l l e c t e d t h a t t h e tax was e v e n t u a l l y q u i e t l y d i s c o n t i n u e d .

T h i s measure was n o t unique t o t h e Vest Af r i can s e t t l e - ments. The p r i n c i p a l aim of Crown a d m i n i s t r a t i o n w a s t o keep t h e t r a d e r s ' peace and make c o l o n i a l government pay f o r i t s e l f . Economy had been one motive behind t h e r e t u r n of t h e f o r t s t o t h e merchants ir, 1826; i t was no l e s s a c o n s i d e r a t i o n from t h e 1640's on, when Custo~ils d u t i e s were looked t o i n c r e a s i n g l y as a means of paying f o r l o c a l expendi ture . Experiments w i t h d i r e c t t a x e s on pe r sons , p r o p e r t y and produce were t r i e d a t v a r i o u s t i m e s , s i n c e t h e days of t h e S i e r r a Leone Company's q u i t r e n t s . However, t h e y had f a i l e d f o r much t h e same r e a s o n s a s had t h e Gold Coast p o l l t a x .

P?eed f o r revenue was a l s o a f a c t o r which c o m b i ~ e d v i t h humani ta r ian mot ives t o persuade t h e ~ ' o l o n i a l Oi'fice t o approve between 1850 and 1843 a number of t e r r i t o r i a l a c q u i s i t i o n s . The p e r i o d of r e s t r a i n t from about 1827 till 184G ended when E a r l Grey ag reed t o t h e purchase of the Danish f o r t s as Customs p o s t s i n 1650 and t o t h e annexa t ion of l a n d a t Konbo t o suppor t 9a th - u r s t s e t t l e r s . I n t h e Bight o f Benin, as a r e s u l t o f t h e growth of c o n s u l a r a u t h o r i t y and t h e promise o f a new f i e l d f o r t r a d e , t he Porc ign O f f i c e persuaded t h e Co lon ia l O f f i c e t o a g r e e t o t h e annexa t ion o f Lagos i n 1861. Annexations of Bendu and of She rb re I s l a n d i n t h e name of t h e a n t i - s l a v e r y campaign and t h e t i m b e r t r a d e fol lowed soon a f t e r . Uularna I s l a n d which had been fo rma l ly annexed i n 1849 and Koya were d e c l a r e d p a r t of t h e colony of S i e r r a Leone and occupied i n 1861, On t h e Gold c o a s t t h e ad~nin- i s t r a t i o n o f t h e e a s t e r n d i s t r i c t s was expanded towards t h e V o l t a mouth as f a r a s Eeta; and ~ a d a g r i , Palma and Lekki were added t o Lagos t o ensu re c o n t r o l of t h e lagoon markets f o r customs i n 1863,

84 'dard, Gold Coas t , p. 191.

85 The i n c i d e n t i n 184b involved B r i t i s h r e f u s a l t o r e t u r n an A s s i n i f u g i t i v e from t h e Asantehenets j u s t i c e t o Kurnasi and war was on ly j u s t a v e r t e d by a t i m e l y g i v i n g way on t h e .part of t h e Governor, Gomander H i l l , R.P! . , The problem i n 185Lt was t h e r e s u l t of Asante i n t r i g u e s w i th Kviadwa Otibu o f Assin t o b r i n g h i s s t a t e o u t of t h e t P r o t e c t o r a t e l and p l ace it once no re under Asante s u z e r a i n t y . The p l a n s went awry and t h e Asantehene r e - so lved on t h e use of f o r c e . Xowever, t h e B r i t i s h assembled a f o r c e l a r g e enough t o cause t h e Asantehene t o r e c o n s i d e r h i s p l a n s f o r i nvad ing t h e c o a s t a l reg ion .

86 Richard P i n e , younger b r o t h e r of S i r Benjamin P ine (Governor of t h e Gold c o a s t , March 1854-lIay 1 8 5 8 ) , s e rved on t h e Gambia, 1855-62 ; Governor o f Gold c o a s t , 1862-1865.

87 C.O. 96/58, P i n e t o Rewcast le , 1 0 December, 1842, c i t e d i n M.C. 385, 1864, Vol. X L I , - Despatches from t h e Governor of t h e Gold Coast e x p l a i n i n g t h e cause of t h e war w i t h t h e K i ~ g of Ashantee: despa t ches t o t h e Governor d i r e c t i n g him t o p r o s e x t e t h e war:- r e t u r n s of t h e expenses i n c u r r e d , e t c . , p. 133.

88 Henry Pelham F i e n ~ e s Pelharn C l i n t o n , 5 t h Duke of Rew- c a s t l e ; M.P. 1832-51, f i r s t as a Tory and l a t e r as a P e e l i t e ; S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r Var and t h e Colonies , December, 1852 t o June, 1854; S e c r e t a r y f o r Var u n t i l February , 1855; S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r t h e Colonies , 1859-64.

89 H.C. 385, 1864, Vol. XLI, p rov ides c o n s i d e r a b l e document- a r y ev idence on t h i s campaign. I n t h e l i g h t of t h e vague and con- corrunittal wording of t h e d e s p a t c h g r a n t i n g pe r r !~ i s s ion t o c r o s s t h e P r a (c .0. 96/63, Rogers t o P i n e , 2 1 December, 1863), it i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e i n v a s i o n was n o t under taken ,

90 C l a r i d g e , - H i s t x , pp. 529-530.

91 The d i s t u r b a n c e s over t h e p o l l t a x had been a major f a c t o r i n t h e development of t h i s f e e l i n g b u t t h e r e wasa more fundamental c l ause . When Xaclean had had t h e d i r e c t i o n o f Gold Coast a f f a i r s , he was t o a g r e a t e x t e n t a b l e t o make h i s own p o l i c y and t o a c t c o n s i s t e n t l y on it. But t h e B r i t i s h o f f i c i a l s who fol lowed him were r e q u i r e d t o f o l l o w t h e c o n s t a n t l y changing p o l i c i e s o f s u c c e s s i v e governments i n B r i t a i n . T h i s s i t u a t i o n was f u r t h e r complicated by t h e f a c t t h a t t h e B r i t i s h gove rno r s and t h e i r a i d e s were r a r e l y on t h e c o a s t f o r p e r i o d s l o n g e r t h a n a y e a r t o two. I n g e n e r a l t h e y l a c k e d t h e t ime and t h e i n c e n t i v e t o g e t t o know t h e count ry and i t s people p r o p e r l y , and were t h u s unable t o a c t as a n e f f e c t i v e counter-weight t o v a c i l l a t i n g pol- i c y .

92 Edward Cardwel l ( l a t e r 1st Viscount Ca rdwe l l ) ; 1.i.P. 1842- 74; P r e s i d e n t of t h e Board o f Trade, 1852-5; ~ h i e f S e c r e t a r y f o r I r e l a n d , 1659-61; Chance l lo r o f t h e Duchy o f Lancas t e r , 16b1-4; S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r t h e ~ o l o n i e s , 1864-6; S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r War, 1868-74.

93 C.O. 96/64, Cardwell t o Hacke t t , 23 May, 1864; and C.O. 96/64, Cardwell t o P i n e , 23 June, 1864.

94 C.O. 96/64, Grievances of t h e Gold Coast Chie fs , 9 August, 1864.

95 S i r ~ h a r l e s Howyer Adderley, l a t e r 1st baron Norton. Conserva t ive b1.P. f o r North S t a f f o r d s h i r e , 1841-1878; i n t e r e s t e d i n c o l o n i a l q u e s t i o n s ; co-operated w i t h 3.G. Wakefield i n found- i n g Canterbury, N.Z., and t h e Co lon ia l Reform S o c i e t y * under- S e c r e t a r y f o r t h e ~ o l o n i e s , June 1866 t o December, U ~ S .

96 H ansa rd 3/177/535 f f : , c i t e d i n H e t c a l f e , Docuxents, pp. 305-308. The e n t i r e q u e s t l o n of t h e 1865 Committee i s cover- e d i n an o u t s t a n d i n g manner i n J .Dm Hargreave, P re lude t o t h e P a r t i t i o n o f West A f r i c a , London, Nacrnillan ei Co. L td . , 1963, pp. 1-90.

97 H.C. 170 , 1865, Vol. X X V I I , Colonel Ord 's Report on t h e c o n d i t i o n o f t h e S e t t l e m e n t s on t h e West c o a s t of A f r i c a , p. 287; and C.O. 267/282, Foreign Of f i ce t o Co lon ia l O f f i c e , 24 October , 1864; See a l s o , C.O. 267/282, Cardwell t o Ord, 25 October , 1861+ as c i t e d i n Hargreaves , P re lude , p. 72.

98 Cmd. 412, 1865, Vol. 1, Report of t h e Committee on t h e Condi t ion of t h e Se t t l e r r en t s on t h e \Jes t Coast o f Af r i ca .

99 Crad. 412. 1865, Vol. 1 , a b s t r a c t of r e s o l u t i o n s c i t e d - . i n N e t c a l f e , ~ o c u i e n t s , pp. 3ll-'312. Commenting g e n e r a l l y on t h e s i t u a t i o n a t t h i s tirile, Col in kewbury w r i t e s :

I n c r e a s i n g l y , t h e r e was a tendency (from t h e l a t e 1840 ' s ) t o look t o t h e B r i t i s h Government t o c u t t h e Gordian kno t s t h a t bound small com- m u n i t i e s of European t r a d e r s and of - f i c i a l s t o t h e l e a d e r s of l o c a l Afri- can s o c i e t y and impose a s o l u t i o n t o t h e problems of c o n t a c t on European terms. The Government, however, was l i m i t e d i n i t s choice of 1n3thods, i n - h i b i t e d by t h e need f o r economy and by a g e n e r a l d e s i r e t o avoid a c q u i r i n g an empire i n Afr ica . The f o r t s and s e t t l e - ments had be& r e t a i n e d and admin i s t e r ed l a r g e l y f o r humani tar ian reasons i n t h e ca se o f S i e r r a Leone and t h e Gold Coast , f o r t h e gum t r a d e i n t h e c a s e of t h e

Gambia, and as a base f o r l e g i t i m a t e t r a d e on t h e S lave Coast i n t h e c a s e o f Lagos. After 1865, t h e h u n a n i t a r - iar! argurnent f o r t h e p o s t s weakened. But by t h e n t h e y had developed i n t o Crown c o l o n i e s and t h e p r e s s u r e o f t h e a p o s t l e s o f Buxton was r e d i r e c t - ed a g a i n s t domes t ic s l a v e r y and l o r t h e reform o f n a t i v e law and custom. The r o l e t o be p layed by Government, t h e r e f o r e , was s t i l l n o t un in f luenced by what was l o o s e l y termed " p u b l i c opinionf1. I n t h e c a s e ' o f Yes t A f r i c a t h i s meant t h e s n a l l p a r l i a n e n t a r y group from t h e Abor ig ines P r o t e c t i o n S o c i e t y , t r a d e r s from L i v e r p o o l , :Ian- c h e s t e r , B r i s t o l , and London, and oc- c a s i o n a l l y m i s s i o n a r y s o c i e t i e s . . . . Consequent ly , abandonnent of a l l p o s t s w a s neve r r e a l l y cons ide red s e r i o u s l y i n t h e 186Ofs. Newbury, P o l i c y , pp. 38-9.

100 Na j o r Sarnuel Vensley B l a c k a l l ; I"d.P. 1847-61; Governor of Dominica; Governor of S i e r r a Leone 1863; Governor-in-Chief, West Af r i can S e t t l e m e n t s , February 1 8 b 6 - ~ e b r u a r ~ 18'68.

101 C.O. 96/68, Cardwell t o Conran, 23 November, l e 6 5 ; and C . O . 96/71, Cardwel l t o B l a c k a l l , 23 J m e , 1666. See a l s o , G.0. 879 /2 , Gold Coas t No. b - 20 Janua ry , 1866, i;enorandum by M r . E l l i o t and J la jor B l a c k a l l on r emode l l i ng o f k!est Af r i can Governments .

102 Lieu tenant -Colone l Ew Conran of t h e Kest I n d i a n ReQ- ment who caae t o Cape Coast wi th r e i n f o r c e m e n t s i n August l t 6 3 . Remained t o s e r v e as Governor from August 1865 t o J u l y 1 ~ b 7 .

103 C.O. 879/2, G.C. 6 , 20 Janua ry , 1866, pp. 7-8 ; and C . O w 96/72, Conran t o D l a c k a l l , 6 September, 1866:

104 Coombs, The Gold Coast , B r i t a i n and t h e Y e t h e r l a n d s , PP. 40-46.

105 I b i d . , pp. 50-55.

106 F o r a d e t a i l e d accoun t of t h i s s i t u a t i o n , s e e Kinble , P o l i t i c a l I i i s t o rq - , Chap. V , "King Aggery' s Chal lenge t o 3riti s h - ~ u r i s d i c t i ~ i d ~ - 7 f f , and Chap. VI, !!Tho F a n t i . Confedera t ion : 1868-73".

107 Loc. c i t .

106 Loc, c i t .

109 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r x , Vol. I , pp. 564, 567.

110 C.O. 96/71, Ussher t o Kennedy, 6 A p r i l , 1868. T h i s i s a v e r y c o n c i s e d i s s e r t a t i o n on t h e problem and i s p a r t . i c d . a r l y e n l i g h t e n i n g as t o t h e posFt ion o f t h e A f r i c ~ n s .

111 Ward, Gold Coas t , p. 234.

112 I b i d . , pp. 234-235.

113 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 555-556.

115 See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r , Vol. 1, pp. 585-593 acd Chap. XXX, passim f o r a d i s c u s s i o n --$ o At j ien lponls adven tu re s 2nd h i s t r e a t m e n t a t t h e hands o f t h e Dutch and Y r i t i s h ,

116 T h i s a c t i o n i s of c o n s i d e r a b l e i n t e r e s t f o r t h e proof it p r o v i d e s o f b ' an t i f i g h t i n g q u a l i t i e s and it b r i n g s t h e sub- s equen t B r i t i s h cha rges o f cowardice , e t c . , i n t o ques t ion . See comilents by Wolseley, Brackenbury, e t c . , i n subsequent c h a p t e r s .

117 See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r -, p%

. 579-583, and pp. 645-647; Ward, Gold Coas t , p . $38 and p. 2 2 ; C.O. 679/3, Cold Coast No. 25 - 19 Janua ry , 1870 - 6 Februa ry , 1872; ~ e s s i o x Dutch settlements - Correspondence ; and C.O. 879/4, Gold Coast No. 29 - 1 5 Janua ry , 1872 - 17 $:ay, 1873; Cession of Dutch Set - E t s and Ashant i Invas ion - Correspondence; pass im, f o r a d i s c u s s i o n of t h e c a p t u r e of t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s and t h e subsequent n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r t h e i r r e l e a s e .

118 ~ u l l c r , Vanished Dynasty, p. 109.

119 C l a r i d g e , Wis tory , Vol. 1, pp. 577-578.

1 2 0 Coombs, - The Gold Coas t , B r i t a i n and t h e Y e t h e r l a n d s , PP. 54-56.

1 2 1 C.O. 879/3, G.C. 25, Appendix A.

122 A.B. E l l i s , A I I i s to ry of t h e Gold Coast of ::est A f r i c a , Cambridge, Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1893, p. I t j O .

123 c.0. 879/3, C o l o n i a l O f f i c e t o Fore ign O f f i c e , 3 February , 1871, p. 106.

124 C.O. 879/3, F a c t c l a s t o Ussher , 20 Deceaber, 1870, p. 132.

125 C.O. 879/6, --- L C . 46, Appendix A .

126 E l l i s , H i s t o r x , pp. 191-192.

127 Crooks, Records , pp. 386-387.

128 I b i d . , pp. 391-3.

129 D. Coombs sheds sorne new l i g h t on t h i s q u e s t i o n i n h i s The Gold Coas t , B r i t a i n and t h e Be the r l ands . He s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e docurnant-was n o t a f o r g e r y , as charged by E l l i s and o t h e r s , b u t was genuine and p a r t of t h e Asan tehene t s ve ry c l e v e r d i p l o - m a t i c campaign a g a i n s t t h e 3 r i t i s h .

1 3 0 See C.O. 879/3, G.C. 2 5 , and C.O. @ 9 / 4 Gold Coast, 130. - 29 - 13 January , 1872 - 1 7 x 5 8 7 3 , Cess ion o f Detch s e t t l e g e n t s - and Ashan t i i n v a s i o n ; Correspondence, f o r d e t a i l s .

131 John Tope-Hennessy ( l a t e r S i r J o h n ) ; Governor of Labuan, 1867 ; Act ing Governor-in-C : i e f of !,'esi Af r i can S e t t l e m e n t s , February 1872 - February 1673 Governor o l Bahamas, 1973 ; L'indvord I s l a n d s , 1875 ; Hone Kong, ls76; and E lau r i t i u s , 1882-9.

132 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 636-638.

131, Kobina Edjan a n d h i s pav ty had been t h e s t r o 9 ~ e s t suppor t - e r s o f t h e Asante l i n k and a l t hough t h e y had been unable t o a c t i v e - l y oppose t h e t r a n s f e r of Z l a i n a t o t h e S r i t i s h , t h e i r sympat3ies Mere x e l l known and Kobina Edjan was t h e r e f o r e deposed, i n p a r t as a p r e v e n t a t i v e measure.

135 lar ridge, I i i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 628-529.

136 Kinble , - P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y , pp. 256-257.

137 ';lard contends t h a t , " t he h a g g l i n g t h a t ensued ( o v e r t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s ) was probab ly n o t meant s e r i o u s l y by t h e Asanteheze; a t a l l e v m t s n o t h i n g came of it ." Ward, Gold c o a s t , p. 262.

138 See pp. 24-2b above.

139 Crnd. 890, 1$71k, Vol. LXVI, King Kofi Kalkaree t o Gover- n o r I Inr ley , 20 Narch, 1873, c i t e d i n I ' k t c a l f e , Documents, p. 349. There i s eve rv i n d i c s t i o n . however. t h a t t h e Asantehene was n o t in f avour o f ille war and Gas a c t u a i l y f o r c e d i n t o it by h i s Counci l of C h i e f s . Sen F u l l e r , A vanished DynasQ, pp; 100-115. It tiou3.d a l s o a p p e a r t h a t hopes of a ~ e t ~ t l e r i i e n t were s e r i o u s l y hampered by t h e ' i c t i o n s and i h r e a t s of t h e u b i q u i t o u s Xr. Plange

who a c t e d as Rennessg r s raessenger t o Kumasi d u r i n g t h e n e g o t i a t i o ~ s o v e r t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s . See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 11, pp. 6-8. Although it r e r a i ne d r e l a t i v e l y s t e a d y a t a p p r o x i ~ o a t e l y 29,000 p e r Year from 1853 t o 1865, revenue from impor t s and e x p o r t s was s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g by 1866. Ivle tcal fe ' s f i g u r e s a r e : 1666 •’11,053; 1867, f l 0 , 8 3 9 ; 1868, f15,40L+; 1809, •’24,127; 1 8 7 0 , ' • ’ 3 ~ , 6 ~ 1 - 1- I

1871, f.28,609 ; 1872, f4O,lb5. See LIetcal fe , Docurnents, Appendix Dl PP* '750-751.

1 4 0 Crooks, Records , p. 374.

141 - 0 8 B i d pp. 385-388.

142 Kinb le , P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y , p , 260

143 C.O. 96/87, Ussher t o Kennedy, 6 ):arch, 1871; C.O. 96/89, Kennedy t o Kimberley, 8 November, 1871.

144 Kirnble , P o l i t i c a l Mis+ ,o r - , pp. 246-249.

145 C.O. 879/4, Gold Coast !lo. 29-A, 3 Janua ry , 1872 - 10 14arch, 1673, F a n t i c o n r e d e r a t i o n cor respondence , pp. 98-99.

11$ Kirnble, P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y , pp. 249-256. Con ta ins an e x c e l l e n t d e s c r i p t i o n of tir. Salmon's v i o l e n t r e a c t i o n s , t t e r e a s o n s f o r s u c h - r e a c t i o n s and t h e response t o them.

147 , C.O. 96/89, Kimberley t o Kennedy, 1 6 January , 1872.

146 See C O O . 879/4, G.C. 29-A, f o r f u l l d e t a i l s .

149 Crooks, Zecords , p. 374 and pp. 385-8.

1 5 0 The r e a s o n s behind t h i s d r i f t a r e t o a l a r g e ex ten t e x p l a i n e d i n n o t e 97 above. In a d d i t i o n , however, t h e men d i r e c t - l y involved r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e airas of 3 r i t i s h p o l i c y could no t be a c h i e v e d w i t h o u t a g r e a t e r involvement than had h i t h e r t o been t h e c a s e ,

1 5 1 C l a r i d g e , E i s t o r y , Vol. 11, pp, 8-9. T h i s e n t i r e passage is also noteworthy f o r t h e l i g h t i t sheds on t h e 1 9 t h Century B r i t i s h a t t i t u d e toward t h e Af r i cans . Such t e r m as "h ighe r c i v i l i e a t i o n o f t h e 3 - 1 g l i s h ; ~ ~ ". . . being weaned from t h e i r ( t h e A f r i c a n s ) more o b j e c t i o n a b l e c u s t ~ r n s ; ~ ~ and " the barbarous and d e s p o t i c n a t u r e of ( t h e i r ) governtnent ;" a3.1 c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e t h e l3uropea.n s e c t i m e n t s a t t h i s t ime. I n t h e succeeding c h a p t e r s , t h i s b i a s w i l l be i l l u s t r a t e d over and over a,gain i n t h e quo te s t a k e n f r o n S i r Garnet Wolseley, Henry Brackenbury, and t h e i r Contemporar ies .

CHAPTER I1 - FOOTNOTES 1 See Henry Brackenbury, The Ashant i War: A N a r r a t i v e ,

London, Ti.611ian Blackwood and Sons, 1874, Vol. 1, Chap. 1; C l a r i d g e , l i i s t o r , 0 1 2, p 3 - 8; and F u l l e r , A Vanisiiei, Dynasty, pp. --I?? 0 -114.

2 F u l l e r , A Vanished Dynasty, p. 114.

3 I b i d . , p. 115 and Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four Years i n Ash- a n t i , , Cass, 1962, p. 124.

4 L O . 879/4; Gold c o a s t and Ashant i 1nva-sion; S e r i a l 18 Har l ey , 6 February , 1873, and S s u r e 2 , I4inutes o f - t h e meet ing Feb rua ry , 1873.

- Cession of Uutch S e t t l e x e n t s s u b - ~ n c l o s u r e 1 0 , Howe t o .a1 200, s u b - ~ n c l o s u r e t o Enclo- t h e L e g i s l a t i v e ~ o u n c i l , 11

5 Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four Years , p. 138; and C.0. 679/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 297, Gnclosure , Gouldsbury t o Har ley , 6 January d -- i d , 9 January , 1873.

6 F u l l e r , A Vanished Dynasty, p. 115.

7 See Alan Lloyd , The Drums o f Kumasi : The S t o r y o f ths Ashan t i Wars, ond don, Longmans, Green &; Co. L td . , 1904, pp. 69-70, f o r a v i v i d account of t h e Asante army's d e p a r t u r e f o r t h e Pra .

8 c.0. 879/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 183 , Sub-$nclosurc 1 0 , Ro.m t o Har l ey , 6 Februar-.

9 c.0, a79/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 183, Sub-Snclosure 1, Anfoo Otoo t o Har l ey , 29 Janua ry , 1873 and Sub-Enclosure 2 , ~ h i b u t o Har ley .

10 Colone l ( l a t e r Sir) Robert Yilliam Har l ey , e n t e r e d t h e army i n 1647; s e r v e d i n t h e Gold Coast (1863) and Gambia (1864) e x p e d i t i o n s ; A d m i n i s t r a t o r of B r i t i s h Honduras, 1871-2 ; Adxin- i s t r a t o r of t h e Gold Coast , 1872-3; Act ing Governor-in-Chief Xest Africa, )larch - Au u s t 1873; l a t e r L i e ~ t e n a n t Governor o f Tobago ( 1 8 7 5 ) , Grenada (1 8 77) and B r i t i s h Honduras (1883-4) .

11 See above, Chapter I , n o t e 131.

12 C.0. 879/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 187 , Enc losu re 1, Har ley t o Hennessy, 31 ~ a n u a r y , =

13 Loc. c i t .

14 Mr. Pope-Hennessy had cor2pletely misread t h e s i t u a t i o n and, having a' h i g h l y i n f l a t e d opinion of h i s own in f luence w i t h t h e Asantehene, proceeded t o f o l l o w a po l i cy which a i d no th ing t o so lve t h e d i s p u t e s e x t a n t between t h e B r i t i s h and t h e Asante. For a sympathet ic recount ing of t h e s i t u a t i o n , s e e , James Fope- Hennessy, Verandah, Uew York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1964, pi:. 131- 171.

15 (2.0. 879/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 187, Hennessy t o Kirnberley, 8 February, 1873.

16 The most outs tanding o f t h e s e f u n c t i o n a r i e s was Colonel F o s t e r F o s t e r whose main a p p o i n t m e ~ t was C o l l e c t o r of Customs but who held s e v e r a l o t h e r appointments and a c t i n g appointments.

17 C.0. 679/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183, Hennessy t o Ximberley, 10 February, 1873.

18 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 187, Enclosure 2 , Harley t o Anfoo Otoo, 30 ~ a n u a r m .

19 The Council membership inc luded Colonel Harley, Admin- i s t r a t o r ; D.P. Chalnlers, chief H a g i s t r a t e ; and ~ o l . , The Hon. F o s t e r F o s t e r , Acting C o l l e c t o r o f Customs. Captain Turt on ( ~ ~ I ' I K ) , OIC t r o o p s was a l s o p resen t a t t h i s meeting. C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183.

20 C.O. 87914; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183, Sub-Enclosure 2 , Minutes of a meeting o f ~ e g i s l a t ive Council , 31 January, 1873.

21 Cmd, 3364 Fur ther papers r e l a t i n g t o a f fa i r s on t h e Gold Coast;, Vol. XLI, 1d64, p. 210.

22 (2.0. 879/4; G.C. 29; S e r i a l 189, Kinberley t o Keate, 28 February, 1873,

23 C.O. 87914; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183, Hennessy t o Kimberley, 1 0 February, 1873 and ~ c r i a r 193, Iiennessy t o Kilnberley, 13 Feb- r u a r y , 1873.

24 Mr. R.W. Keate, Educated a t Eton and Chr is tchurch , Oxford; c a l l e d t o t h e bar a t Lincoln t s I n n , 1844; was ap2ointed c i v i l commissioner of t h e Seyche l l e s I s l a n d s , 1849; Lieutenant Governor o f Granada, 1853. and Governor o f Tr in idad , 1854-1864; Governor of Natal, 1666-76.

25 C.O. 979/4; &C. 29, S e r i a l 195, Keate t o Harley, 18 February, 1873.

26 Cle r idge , His to ry , Vol, 2, p. 11.

27 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 1 e 3 ; Enc losure 1, Har ley t o Hennessy, 4 February , 1873.

28 D r . ( l a t e r S i r ) Samuel itowe, Surgeon-!b;ajor, ~n&-pd or. t h e West Coast of A f r i c a from 1862. Xedica l O f f i c e r and Chief o f S t a f f t o Capta in Glover d u r i n g t h e Asante \Jar of 1G73-4; on spe- c i a l s e r v i c e t o t h e Gold Coas t , November, 1874; l i e u t e n a n t - governor , V e s t Afr ican S e t t l e m e n t s , 1875; Admin i s t r a to r of t h e Cambia 1875; conducted two e x p e d i t i o n s i n t o t h e Sherbo coun t ry i n 187&, Governor o f t h e West Af r i can S e t t l e m e n t s , 1876; k n i g h t e d , 1880; Governor of Gold Coast Colony, J anua ry , 1861 - Decelnber, 1683.

29 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29 , S e r i a l 183; Sub-Enclosure 7 , H w l e y t o R o w , 2 February , 1-

30 C.O. L179/4; G.C. 29 , S e r i a l 183; Sub-Enclosure 1 0 , Roue t o Har l ey , 6 ~ e b r u a r y ~ a n d S e r i a l 195 , Sub-Enclosures i n E n c l o s u r e 2 , D r . Rowe's Report t o t h e Admin i s t r a to r Har l ey , 11 Februa ry , 1873.

31 The Cape Coast V o l u n t e e r s were a European-of f ice red , Af r i can m i l i t i a which had been a t t a c h e d t o t h e r e g u l a r n i l i t a r y f o r c e s as t h e Governort s Body Guard i n 1845, 1852 and 1863. See C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29 , S e r i a l 183, sub-enc losure 9 , Capta in Degraf t t o Colone l Har l ey , 3 Feb rua ry , 1673.

32 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 1 8 3 - % c l o s u r e 1, Hsr l ey t o Henncssy, 2 Februa ry , 1873, and S e r i a l 1d3 ; Sub-Snclosure e , Rough E s t i m a t e o f t h e Fantee Fo rces ,

33 C.O. $7914; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 195 , Enc losu re 2 , Har ley t o Hennessy, 11 ~ e b r u a r y m

34 During a b a t t l e t h e r e was a c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e be- tween t h e amount o f ammunition consur-led by ~ f r i c a n s and t h a t consuaed by Europeans. For example, a f i r s t l i n e supply and r e - s e r v e o f anmuni t ion judged s u f f i c i e n t f o r t h r e e days heavy f i g h t - ing by European t r o o p s would o f t e n be expended i n one b r i e f engage- ment by t h e Af r i can l e v i e s .

35 Although there were Hausa people i n t h e n o r t h e r n te r - r i t o r i e s above Asante , t h e Hausa P o l i c e were r e c r u i t e d from Lagos and were hence of ~ o r t h e r n Nigerian o r i g i n . However, a l t h o u g h t h e s e men v e r e no t a l l Hausa, t h e y were a l l l~lusl im.

36 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183, Sub-Enclosure 7, Har ley to Rowe, 2 Feb rua ry , T F

37 Apart from t h e Vest Afr ica squadron which was p r i m a r i l y f o r use a g a i n s t t h e s l a v e t r a d e , Vest Afr ican f o r c e s were drat:n from U r i t i s h Afr ican arld Vest I n d i a whits and from l o c a l l y r a i s e d vo lun tee r s . The !Jest I n d i a Regiments were p a r t l y r e c r u i t e d from l i b e r a t e d Af r i cans from 1 g l l till t h e 18301 s. The f i r s t u n i t s of t h e k'est I n d i a Regiments were sent t o t h e Gold Coast f o r t s i n t h e 1840's a l though t h e r e w e r e Yest Indian t r o o p s a t t h e ~ a a b i a and S i e r r a Leone long before then . The s t r e n g t h was very low and it was n o t u n t i l t h e i n e f f e c t u a l campaign a g a i n s t t h e Asante i n 1863- 4, t h a t two complete l!est I n d i a Regiments were brought t o Ves t Afr ica . I n 1869, t h e West Ind ian es tabl i shment i n Yest ~ f r i c a was reduced t o only f o u r co:npanies. A t t h e beginning of 1873 t h e r e were no more t h a n 375 men of t h e Yest Ind ia Repiment on t h e - c o a s t , supplemented by 1 ,250 p o l i c e and vo lun tee r s . See Nexbury, B r i t i s h P o l i c y , pp. 584-585.

38 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 183, Enclosure, Harley t o Hennessy, 4 ~ e b r u a r y , m

39 See C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 193, Henncssy t o K i m - b e r l e y , 13 February, 1873; and S e r i a l 194, Hennessy t o Kimberley, 12 February, 1873, f o r t h e most ou t s t and ing exa~nples of Henness~rls a t t i t u d e . I n t h i s Hennessy w a s f o l l o v i n g t h e p a t t e r n he had a l - ready es tabl - i shed i n Labuan where he h2d become involved i n p e t t y d i s p u t e s . Indeed, he r epea ted t h e p a t t e r n i n t h e L'est I n d i e s , Hong Kong, and Maur i t ius . See Pope-Hennessy , Verandah, passim.

40 C.O. 87914; G.C . 29, S e r i a l 187, Hennessy t o Kimberley, 8 February, 1873.

41 Mr. R. Keate had been delayed i n t a k i n g up hi's d u t i e s because of a prolonged i l l n e s s . Even though h i s a r r i v a l stopped Hennessyl s b lunder ing , he was t o o l a t e t o r e v e r s e t h e t r e n d of a f fa i rs and a s m a t t e r s developed, his h e a l t h proved unequal t o t h e c l ima te and he had l i t t l e e f f e c t on t h e s i t u a t i o n .

42 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 195, Keate t o Kimberley, 21 February, 1873.

43 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 236, Harley ( f o r Kectej t o Kimberley, 14 March, T a r -

44 G.O. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 237, Harley ( f o r Keate) t o Kimberley, 15 Karch,

45 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 22, S e r i a l 208, G.O. To K.O., 2C hkrch, 1873 .

46 The Gladstone Government was i n s u f f i c i e n t domestic d i f - f i c u l t y - - e s p e c i a l l y over t h e I r i s h ques t ion-- tha t i ts members were more than eager t o accep t Hennessy's r e a s s u r i n g r e p o r t s and f a l l back on t h e outda ted p r i n c i p l e s e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1665 by t h e S e l e c t Committee.

47 C.O. 679/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 226, 3.0. t o C.O. , 28 March, 1873.

48 C.O. 679/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 275, Harley t o Kimberley, d A p r i l , 1873, and S e r i a l 200, 9.0. t o C.O., 1 5 l h r c h , 1673.

49 That i s , t h e F a n t i t ionfederation, See Yard, Gold Coast , PP. 275-2550

50 See above Chapter I , pp. 41-44.

51 See Boahen, Top ics , pp. 63-69, and Yard, Gold Coast , Chap. V I f o r a genera r e n e w of t h e r i s e of t h e F a n t i s t a t e s .

52 C.O. 87914; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 195, Sub-Enclosure t o Enclo- s u r e 3 , S t a f f - A s s i s t a n t Surgeon t o Mathews, 23 January, 1873.

53 6.0. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 218A, Herbert t o Hennessg, 28 Elarch, 1873, and ~ - 1 8 ~ , Enclosure 1, Report by Colonel F o s t e r t o the Administrator of t h e Gold G O a s t , 30 October, 1672.

54 C.O. 87914; G.C. 2 9 , Serial 237, Harley t o Kizberley, 1 5 March 18'73, and 5 m 3 7 , Enclosure, Turton t o Harley, 1 3 March, 1473.

55 See J.V. de G. Johnson, "The F a n t i Asafow, A f r i c a , Vol. 3 , J u l y 1932, pp. 307-322, f o r a f u l l d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s ma t t e r .

57 C.0. 879/4.; G.G. 29, S e r i a l 237, Harley t o Kinberley, 1 5 Narch, 1873.

58 C O O . 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 195, Enclosure 3 , Harley t o Xeate, 1 4 k'ebrunry, 1 B m h e s e e x t r a Hausas had been s p e c i f i c a l - l y r eques ted from Adminis t ra tor b e r k e l y a t Lagos by Colonel Harley.

59 C.O. 879/&; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 236 Harley ( f o r Keate) t o Kimbcrley, 14 March, T-nd S e r i a l 231, Enclosure 3 , Chalners to Keate, 6 I h r c h , 1873.

60 C.0. 879/4; L C . 29, S e r i a l 236, Sub-Enclosure t o Enclo- sure 2 , F o s t e r t o Thompson, 16 February , 1673 , and I b i d . , Thonp- son t o F o s t e r , 26 February , 1873. T h i s proved t o be t h e v e r y beg inn ing of a long and acrinionious d e b a t e o v e r t h e m i l i t a r y c a p a b i l i t i e s o f t h e F a n t i .

61 6.0. 879/4* G.C. 29, S e r i a l 237, Enc losu re , IIopkins t o Har l ey , 13 I~larch, 1d73.

62 Loc, c i t .

63 C.0. 879/4; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 266, Har ley t o Kimberley, 31 March, 1873.

64 These s h i p s , H.M.S.'s S e a g u l l , R a t t l e s n a k e , Dru id , and Bar rocou ta , were i n v a l u a b l e n o t on ly f o r t h e i r m o b i l i t y and heavy f i r e p o w e r b u t a l s o as a sou rce of e x t r a nanpower f o r bo th mar ines and s a i l o r s could be l anded t o assist t h e g a r r i s o n s of t h e v a r i o u s f o r t s should t h e need arise. The t o t a l f o r c e a v a i l - a b l e t o t h e A d m i n i s t r a t o r now c o n s i s t e d o f : 2XIR (273) ; Hausa ( 2 1 0 ) ; Vo lun tee r s ( 9 6 ) ; K.PI. (approx. 1 0 0 ) . Of t h e s e f i g u r e s , o n l y 2VIi3 r e t u r n s a r e v e r i f i a b l e . The Hausa t o t a l i n c l u d e s t h e Lagos c o n t i n g e n t , and t h e R.N. pe r sonne l a r e based on an in - fo rma l e s t i m a t e made by c;ormander Stubbs. The Z1!.lIH and Hau.sa f i g u r e s i n c l u d e pe r sonne l l i s t e d as s i c k .

65 C.0. $79/4.; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 275, Har ley t o i;i:nberley, 8 A p r i l , 1873.

66 C.0. d79/4; G.C. 29 , S e r i a l 237, Har ley t o Kifiiberley, 15 March, 1g73.

67 The s i t e was chosen f o r t h e b a t t l e by t h e Szkin and L i e u t e n a n t Hopkins. As t h e e n t i r e a r e a was covered i n bush and as t h e r e was no t a c t i c a l f e a t u r e o f b e n e f i t t o t h e F a n t i , it would appea r t o be s i g n i f i c a n t o n l y f o r i t s p r o x i u i t y t o t h e c e n t e r s of F a n t i popu la t ion . A m a t t e r o f some consequence when one r e c a l l s t h a t t h e prime du ty o f each Asafo was t o p r o t e c t i t s own v i l l a g e o r totm.

6e Bmckenbury, Ashant i Yar, Vol. 1, p. 61.

69 C.O. 87914; G . C . 29, S e r i a l 275, Har ley t o Kirnberley, 8 A p r i l , 1873,

70 Nr. Loggie had expe r i ence i n t h e Royal A r t i l l e r y where he had s e r v e d as a c a p t a i n . He had remained a t Gape Coast ever s i n c e h i s a r r i v a l w i t h Xr. Keate on t h e 7 t h of Fkrch, 1873.

7 1 C.0. .879/4 ; G.C. 29, S e r i a l 297, Har l ey t o Kimberley, 10 A p r i l , 1873.

72 T h i s exc i tement was caused by t h e a l l e g e d t r e a c h e r y o f a Cape Coast merchant , I k . George Blankson. He was accused of supp ly ing arms and ammunition t o t h e Asante and even though t h e ev idence was f a r from c o ~ c l u s i v e , he would have been s u m a r i l y executed by t h e F a n t i c h i e f s had ~ o l o n e l Har ley n o t had him br- ought t o Cape Coast where he r ena ined i n ja i l u n t i l t h e end o f h o s t i l i t i e s . He was e v e n t u a l l y a c q u i t t e d .

73 C.O. 879/4; Gold Coast 30 - F u r t h e r Pape r s 3 e l a t i n g t o - t h e Ashant ie I n v a s i o n ; S e r i a l 8, Harley t o Kirnberley, 12 1873 . A p r i l ,

74 C.O. 879/1+; G.C. 30, S e r i a l 37, Har ley t o Kimberley, 2 1 A p r i l , 1873. Har l ey was e x p r e s s i n g what was becoping t h e gen- eral B r i t i s h a t t i t u d e toward t h e F a n t i . See ing on ly t h e immediate s i t u a t i o n and , one s u s p e c t s , subsequen t ly conf i rming h i s a s s e s s - ment on t h e b a s i s o f t h e r e p o r t e d i n i t i a l wi thdrawal o f Amankwa T i a , he accused t h e F a c t i of becoming demoral ized. I n f a c t , how- e v e r , it would probably be more a c c u r a t e t o s o f t e n t h i s judgement by c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e heavy l o s s e s s u f f e r e d by t h e F a n t i , com- b ined w i t h t h e i r j u s t i f i e d f e a r o f t h e Asante , caused t h e k s a f o t o d r o p t h e i r co~imitment t o t h e o v e r a l l F a n t i c ause i n f avour of t h e i r b a s i c r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o a r o t e c t t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l v i l l a g e s and towns. It i s p o s s i b l e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h a i r wi thdrawal wa$ a consc ious d e s i r e on t h e i r p a r t t o b reak o f f t h e fo rma l b a t t l e i n f a v o u r of a form of g u e r r i l l a war i n an a t t e n p t t o wear ou t Amankwa Tia i n numerous small b u t t i r i n g engagenents .

75 By t h i s t i m e t h e g a r r i s o n s c o n s i s t e d of be txeen 50 and 75 2T;iIR a t each of t h e f o u r f o r t s w i t h t h e detachments at Cape Coast C a s t l e and R ln ina be ing r e i n f o r c e d by t h e Hausas and Val- u n t e c r s a s t h e y came down f r o n Dunkwa. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e R.R. p e r s o n n e l were on stand-by.

76 LOC. c i t .

78 Hatnseyer and Kuhne, - Four Years , p. 189. See p. 2 above f o r Amankwa T i a ' s o b j e c t i v e .

79 C.0. 879/4; G . G . 30, S e r i a l 52, Sub-Enclosure 2 , Contin- u a t i o n o f t h e Repor t on t h e Ashantee I ~ v a s i o n o f t h e Gold C o a s t , 23 A p r i l , 1673.

8 0 "The heavy annua l r z i n s and t h e f e r t i l i t y of t h e s o i l make t h e f o r e s t ex t remely p roduc t ive w.d it c o n t a i n s the c h i e f fa rming . . . d i s t r i c t s . " - John 3laxwel1, ed . , The Gcld Coast Handbook - 1928. London, Crown Agents f o r t h e Co loz i e s , 1 9 3 , P * 5.

81 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 30, S e r i a l 132 , Har ley t o Eiclberley, 1 5 May, 1873; S e r i a l 135, Har ley t o Kimberley, 16 IIay, 1873; and S e r i a l 159, Har ley t o Kimberley, 24 Kay, 1873. It should be no ted h e r e t h a t t h e s p e l l i n g of Jukwa used i n t h i s paper i s t h e modern s p e l l i n g . The 1 9 t h Century s p e l l i n g was Jooquah,

82 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 30, S e r i a l l d 5 , Har ley t o K inbe r l ey , 2 June , 187).

83 Loc. c i t . - 84 It i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t some 15,000-20 000 F a n t i t r o o p s

g a t h e r e d a t Jukwa. C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 1, pp. 26-27.

85 tlinwood Zeade, The S t o r y of t h e Ashnntee Carnyai~n, London, Smith , E l d e r & Co., 1874, p. 100.

86 The Cape Coast Vo lun tee r s had n o t proven t o o e f f e c t i v e i n t h a t t h e i r t e rms of s e r v i c e were o f such a n a t u r e as t o a l - low them t o s e r v e on an " i f I wishrt b a s i s . Consequently, t h e y were disbanded on t h e 2 0 t h o f June. I n t h e i r p l a c e , a Gold Coast R i f l e Corps was en ro l l ed - -wi th a number o f t h e sane men b u t under t e r m s o f s e r v i c e sinlilar t o t h o s e f o r r e g u l a r t r o o p s . None b u t B r i t i s h s u S j e c t s o r t h o s e who had been born un6er B r i t - ish P r o t e c t i o n b e f o r e t h e 31st o f Deceicber, l d67 , were e n l i s t e d , and t h e o f f i c e r s were a l l Af r i cans . See C l a r i d ~ e , E i s t o r y , Voi. 2, p. 66.

87 C.G. 879/4; G.C. 30, S e r i a l 228, Har ley t o Kimberley, 21 June , 1873. ~ o l o n m e y had r e c e i v e d some p r i o r x a r n i n g of t h i s move, and he had a l r e a d y asked Cormlander S tubbs , R.1':. , t h e s e n i o r n a v a l o f f i c e r on t h e Gold c o a s t , t o t r a n s p o r t m a l l tar- r i s o n s t o Dixcove, Sekondi and Axin. See C.O. 87914; G.G. 30, aer ia l 35, m c l o s u r e 6 , Har ley t o S tubbs , 2 1 A p r i l 1873, and I b i d S e r i a l 43, Harley t o Kimberley, 24 A p r i l , 1873. -* 8

88 c.0, &79/5; Gold Coast 35 - F u r t h e r Cor res ondence Respec t ing t h e Ashantee I n v a s i o n ; 9 I k y , 1873 -+ t o 0 Sep tcnbe r , 1873, S e r i a l 44, ~ a w t o Kinber ley , 30 June, 1673.

89 The Yes t Af r i can Herald o f t h e 28th of June, 1873.

91 O n t h e 8 t h o f A p r i l a lone t h e Af r i can c a s u a l t i e s w:?re 221 men k i l l e d and 643 wounded. See C.O. 679/4; C.C. 30; S e r i a l 37, Har ley t o K inbe r l ey , 21 A p r i l , 1873.

92 On t h e 1 2 t h of 1-Iay, a Co lon ia l Ofi'ice menorandm observ- ed t h s t ". . . it is n o t p robable t h a t t he war w i l l be soon o r e a s i l y t e r m i n a t e d , and t h e l o c a l governacnt nay have t o meet a s t r o n g and s u s t a i n e d a t t a c k upon t h e forts and towns. The r a i n y season now comnenced may conpe l t h e Ashantees t o suspend a c t i v e o p e r a t i o n s b u t Lord Kirnberley i s o f t h e op in ion t h a t no titne shou ld be l o s t i n i n c r e a s i n t h e s t r e n g t h of Her Pllajesty's f o r c e s on t h e Gold Coast ." - C.O. gr19/4; G.C. 30; S e r i a l 21, (2.6. to W.O., 1 2 Nay, 1873.

93 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 30; Kimberley t o I Ia r ley , 1 2 Nay, 1673. The e s t a b l i s h m e n t f o r one company o f t h e Y I K was 1 c a p t a i n , 1 s u b a l t e r n , ar.d 85 o t h e r r anks .

94 Brackenbury, Ashant i Yar, Vol. 1, pp. 72-73. The bu lk of t h e re lnforcen ien ts were a s s i g n e d t o Elrnina and t h e r e m a i ~ d e r were k e p t a t Cape Coast .

95 There a p p e a r s t o have been no l e g a l b a s i s f o r t h i s a c t i o n o t h e r t h a n t h e f a c t that t h e B r i t i s h he ld t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e DuLch had a n arrangement similar t o t h e trBondsn which t h e B r i t i s h had wi th the F a n t i . T h i s was not; t h e ca se , however, am! t h e T r e a t y of Cession gave t h e B r i t i s h no such a u t h o r i t y .

96 T h i s was t h e f irst t ime t h a t t h e Asantes f a c e d a conipe- t e n t l y l e d , d i s c i p l i n e d f o r c e of men who were armed w i t h t h e S n i d e r r i f l e and sup2or t ed by a r t i l l e r y f i r e . Aside f r o 3 i t s t a c t i c a l impor tance , t he b a t t l e was t h e r e f o r e s i g n i f i c w t because it proved t h e need f o r bo th more r e l i a n c e on a t r a i n e d s o l d i e r and more emphasis on p r o f e s s i o n a l l e a d e r s h i p . The a c t i o n was a n unavoidable f a i l u r e i n one r e s p e c t , however. ':'he pruder.t E j r i t i s h dec ided n o t t o pursue t h e r e t r e a t i n g Asante t r o o p s i n t o t h e bush and t h u s he lped t o r e i r f o r c e t h e op in ion h e l d s i n c e 1863 t h s t European t r o o p s dared n o t v e n t u r e i n t o t h e bush. The v i c t o r y was t h e r e f o r e of l i t t l e va lue p r o p a g a ~ d a v a l u e i n - s o - f a r a s t h e A f r i c a n s were concerned. See Brackenbury, - - Ashant i Xar P Vol. I , PP. 73-77; Clar - idge , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , pp. 29-32; and L.S. 879 j4 ; G.C. 30. S e r i a l 234, Enc losure I, Fremant le t o C o m e r e l l , 17 -873, f o r a f u l l d e s c r i p t i o n and d i s c u s s i o n of t h e b a t t l e and i t s consequences.

97 Unl ike o f f i c i a l r e p o r t s of t oday , t h e r e p o r t s which is- sued from t h e Gold Coast du r ing t h i s p e r i o d , i nc luded comments which were p e n e t r a t i n g and e x h i S i t e d an emot iona l response and compassion x h i c h t h e modern b e a u r o c r a t must b lu sh t o read . The f o l l o w i n g despa t ches t h e r e f o r e g i v e c o l o u r f u l and complete p ic - t u r e s o f t h e p l i g h t o f t h e Afr ican r e f u g e e s . See C.O. 8'79/4; G.C. 30; S e r i a l 37, l ? a r l e y t o Kinber leg , 2 1 A p r i l , 1673; I b i d . , -135, P a r l e y t o K inbe r l ey , 1 6 May, 1873; I b i d . , s e r m 1 8 4 , Har ley t o Kimberley, 1 June, 1873 ; and e s p e c i a l m b i d -* J S e r i a l 228, Har ley t o Kimberley, 2 1 June, 1873.

98 C.0. 879/4; G.C. 3 0 ; S e r i a l 184 , Enc losu re 4, Comander S t u b b s t o Har l ey , 30 m 1 8 7 3 .

99 Brackeribury, Ashant i ?jar , Vol. 1, pp. 83-85.

100 --.-. I b i d . ? p. 86. See a l s o Rarnseyer and Kuhne, Four Years , -. f o r a n interesting commentary on t h e s i t u a t i o r ! as it was vlevea from t h e r e p o r t s r e c e i v e d i n Kuinnsi where t h e n a t u r e o f Arnmkwa T i a ' s p l i g h t was n o t f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e d .

101 Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four Years , p , 239.

102 The c y c l e on t h e Gold Coast i s comprised o f a n a j o r r a i n y season from ?*!arch t o J u l y , an August d rough t , a ruinor r a i n y season from September t o Novenber, and a d r y season from December t o February. See The Gold Coast Handbook - 1328, p. 56, f o r more d e t a i l e d in for ina t ion on t h e wea the r i n t h a t r eg ion .

103 C.0, 879/5; 6.C. 35; S e r i a l 81, Har ley t o Kirnberley, 7 J u l y , 1873.

1 0 4 The Asante system of s c o u t i n g and use o f sympathe t ic c o a s t a l t r i be smen gave them an e x c e p t i o n a l l y e f f e c t i v e i n t e l l i g e n c e network.

105 Both c l a r i d g e , A s h a n t i , Vol. 2, pp. 34-35 and a racken- bu ry , A s h a n t i Flar, Vol. l - r p p . 7 - W , cornrnent on t h i s s i t u a t i o n i n sorne d e t a i l ,

106 Brackenbury, Ashant i t Jar , Vol. 1, p. 87.

107 See above pp. 80-81.

108 G.U. 879/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 193 , Har ley t o Kirnberley, 24 J u l y , 1873, and Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four Years , pp. 243-244.

109 ~ x i m , Sekondi and Shama had been no tbeds o f d i s a f - f e c t i o n e v e r s i n c e t h e Dutch wi thdrawal from t h e Gold Coast .

110 c.0. 879/5; G.G. 35; S e r i a l 193 , Enc losure 11, Goulds- bury t o Har l ey , 19 ~ u l m , and I b i d . , Enc losure 13, S t evens t o Har ley , 19 J u l y , 1873. I t i s o f i n t e r e s t t o n o t e t h a t a l t 5 o u s h t h e main Asante t h r u s t was t h rough 1 t i3 r i t i shu t e r r i t o r y , b o t h o f t h e f l a n k i n g a t t a c k s d e s c r i b e d a t t h e beg inn ing of t h i s c h z p t e r were aimed a t %on-Br i t i shv t e r r i t o r i e s . Adu Bofo and Atj lenpon were o p e r a t i n g i n a r e a s which had e a r l i e r been under Dutch i n - f l u e n c e and Kofi B e n t u o l s a b o r t i v e campaign was in t ended t o move i n t o an a r e a whsre Danish i n f l u e n c e had been dominant. There i s no ev idence t o suppor t t h e view that t h i s was a consc ious e f f o r t on t h e p a r t o f t h e Asante t o c a p i t a l i z e on any a n t i - B r i t i s h s en t imen t i n t h o s e a r e a s . However, t h e d i p l o m a t i c ar?d m i l i t a r y s o p h i s t i c a t i o n o f t h e Asante wotlld l e a d one t o b e l i e v e t h a t such was probably t h e c a s e . c e r t a i n l y t h e r e s u l t s i n t h e Westerr, T e r r i t o r i e s , where t h e Asante ar:nies r e c e i v e d c o n s i d e r a b l e sup- p o r t , would seem t o j u s t i f y t h i s s u p p o s i t i o n .

111 C.0. 679/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 193, Har ley t o Kimberley, 24 J u l y , 1873.

112 C.O. L179/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 257, Har ley t o Kir;iberley, 4 August , 1873.

113 Loc. c i t e

114 Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 1, pp. 110-112 and C . 0 . 879/5; C.C. 35; S e r i a l 381, Harley t o Kimberley, 19 August, 1873.

115 T h i s was r e p l a c e d when t h e \ l o l s e l e y e x p e d i t i c n brought a s l i g h t l y more u s e f u l b u t s t i l l v e r y i n a c c u r a t e mcip prepared by t h e new, formed i n nid-1972, and smll ( 5 man) Topographica?- Department of t h e War O f f i c e from informat ion t aken from xany o f t h e o l d j o u r n a l s . Brackenbury, Ashnnt i War, Vol. 1, p. 116.

116 * I b i d 9 pp. 118-120.

117 Althou&: t h e B r i t i s h were n o t y e t aware o f i t , Amankwa 'lia was a l r e a d y p l ann ing h i s wi thdrawal (See Chap. 111) and a l - though convoys p l i e d t h e t r a i l s between Julcwa and Elmina, s e v e r a l of t h e f o r m e r l y g a r r i s o n e d t o m s were abandoned and t h e t r o o p s r e - c o n c e n t r a t e d a t Jukwa, Liarngon, and 3f u tu .

118 c.o.' 879/5; G . C . 3 5 ; S e r i a l 297, Harley t o K i ~ b e r l c y , 10 August 1873 ; and * bide rial 9 381, Harley t o Kimbcrley, 19 August , 1673, and I b i d . , S e r i a l 379, Enc losure 1 2 , Gordon t o H a r l e y , 1 3 ~ u ~ u s t ,-3.

119 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 35; Ser ia l 381, Har ley t o Kirnberley, 19 August , 1873.

120 Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 1, p. 98. It shou ld be n o t e d , however, t h a t t h i s assessinent i s not e n t i r e l y a c c u r a t e i n t h a t s u p p l i e s were s t i l l a b l e t o f l o v n o r t h from E h i n a a l b e i t w i t h less e a s e .

1 2 1 Nor ton ' s tube-wel l s were a p a t e n t e d p r e f a b r i c a t e d m e t a l t u b e app rox ima te ly t h i r t y - s i x i n c h e s i n d iameter . They were lowered i n t o a w e l l once it had been dug t o t h e r e q u i r e d l e v e l and t h u s prevented cave- ins .

122 C.O. 879/4; G.C. 30; S e r i a l 18, Kimberley t o Har ley , 1 2 Kay,, 1873 , and c . o . ~ ~ G.C. 35; S e r i a l 6 , E a r l e y t o Kirnberley, 1 0 June , 1873.

123 C.0. 879/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 9 , W.O. t o C.O., 16 J u l y , 1873

124 C.O. 879/5; G . C . 35 ; S e r i a l 1 6 , Admiral ty t o C.O., 18 J u l y , 1873. The seven-pounder guns wsre o f e s p e c i a l v a l u e be- cause t h e y were quick f i r i n g , a c c u r a t e , s imple- i n mechanism, and p o r t a b l e . Designed as a mountain gun, t h e y were i d e a l f o r a bush campaign as t h e y could be broken down f o r hurnan p o r t e r a c e ,

125 c.0. 879/5; G . C . 35; S e r i a l 30, LO. t o If.@., 22 J u l y , 1873, and - I b i d . , ~e r i a - .~ . t o Admiral ty , 29 J u l y , 1673.

126 c.0, 879/5; G.C . 35; S e r i a l 261, W . 0 , t o u.O. , 26 August , 1873.

127 C.O. 979/5; G . C . 3 5 ; S e r i a l 300, A d n i r a l t y t o U.O., 1 September , 1873.

128 T h i s d i d n o t prove t o be a p a r t i c u l a r l y happy a r r a n g e - ment f o r t h e Sirnoom was an o l d merchant s h i p idl ich l acked t he head- r o o n and v e n t i l a t i o n n e c e s s a r y f o r a h o s p i t a l s h i p . N e v e r t h e l e s s , she r e n a i n e d on t h e Coast as a h o s p i t a l s h i p u n t i l v e r y n e a r t h e end of t h e war.

129 C.0 . 879/5; G.C. 3 5 ; S e r i a l 357, Harley t o Kimberley, 4 August, 1873 and bid., S e r i a l 381, Harley t o Kimberley, 19 August , 1873.

130 The. e x t e n t o f those demands can be gauged by t h e f a c t t h a t , i n t h e months of J u l y and August, r e l i e f was i s s u e d t o an average number of 980 persons d a i l y by t h e Re l i e f Cormittee. This Comrnittee was c rea ted by Colonel Harley a f t e r it was found t h a t t h e l o c a l c h i e f s were p r o f i t e e r i n g on t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of r e l i e f s u p p l i e s , It was an o rgan iza t ion o f o f f i c i a l s and mcrcn- a n t s a t Cape Coast who rece ived and d i s t r i b u t e d t h e food s u p p l i e s d i spa tched from England a t t h e expense of t h e Ifone Government. See Cla r idge , His to ry , Vol. 2 , pp. 33-34 f o r a b r i e f review of the s i t u a t i o n .

131 C . 0 . 879 5 ; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 379, Enclosure 2 , !-ielden t o Harley, 4 August, 673,bid., Enclosure 6, Gouldsbury t o Harley, 4 August, 16'73.

132 The F a n t i P o l i c e were l o c a l Afr icans r e c r u i t e d i n and around Cape Coast i n 1863. It intended t h a t they would e v e n t u a l l y r e p l a c e t h e Hausa P o l i c e a t t a c h e d frcm Lagos and as- sume t h e p o l i c e d u t i e s f o r t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e 1 , Vhen h o s t i l i t i e s broke o u t , some of them were armed and used f o r g a r r i s o n duty i n some of t h e l e s s e r f o r t s .

133 C.O. 87915; G . C . 35 ; S e r i a l 380, Harley t o Riiiberley, 16 August, 1873.

134 Long d i s s a t i s f i e d with t h e Dutch withdrawal from t h e c o a s t , t h e tlDutchlr A f r i c a r s a p p e a r t o have been s i n p l y wa i t ing f o r sornc s i g n t h a t a B r i t i s h land-force could be dr iven away, C o m e r e l l l s r e p u l s e was t h a t s i g n , and t h e unhappy t r i b e s n e n i ~ - media te ly t r i e d t o d r i v e t h e a r i t i s h ou t of t h e f o r t s i n o r d e r t o r e - e s t a b l i s h t h e i r p o s i t i o n a s c o a s t a l middlemen f o r t h e Asante.

135 C.0 . $7915; G.G. 35; S e r i a l 382, Harley to Kinberley, 20 A ~ ~ g u s t , 1873.

136 C.0. 879/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 408; Harley t o Kii:lberley, 22 August 1873, and * ~ ' o i a e r i a l 1 412, Harley to Kinberlcy, 25 ~ u g u s t , 1873.

137 C.O. 679/5; G . C . 35; S e r i a l 381, Harley t o Kinberley, 19 August, 1873.

13e C.O. $79 /5 ; G.G. 35; S e r i a l 410, Enclosure 1, F e s t i n g t o Harley, 20 August,

139 Capta in J.11. Glover , R.Y. ( l a t e r S i r John) ; accompanied B a i k i e T s 2nd M i e r e x p e d i t i o n ; A d n i n i s t r a t o r 1863 and C o l o n i a l S e c r e t a r y (1864 7 of Lagos, of which he was again Admin i s t r a to r from 1866-1872; l a t e r Governor of t h e Leeward I s l e s and t h e n of Newfoundland. It was Glover who f i r s t formed the Hausa P o l i c e when he was Admin i s t r a to r of Lagos i n 1863 and was o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o as " the f a t h e r of t h e IIausasn.

140 G.O. 8?9/5; G . C . 35 ; S e r i a l 170, Kimberley t o Har ley , 18 August, 1873.

CHAPTER 111 - FOOTITOTES

1 T h i s i s a f a s c i n a t i n g e r a i n B r i t i s h h i s t o r y . The de- f i n i t i v e work on Gladstone h imse l f i s The L i f e of G lads tone , London, Ibiacmillan and Co. Ltd . , 1903, 3 v o l s . , by Viscount t io r ley . However, P h i l i p Idkqyus, Glads tone , London, John i h r r a y , 1954, p r e s e n t s what i s p o s s i b l y a no re o b j e c t i v e view o f Glads tone ' s mo t ives and t h e corsequences of h i s a c t i o ~ s . Chaptsr n i n e of G lads tone , " I r i s h Rhapsody, 1868-1873," i s e s p e c i a l l y good. The q u e s t i o n of army r e f o r n i s handled most s u c c i n c t l y by Joseph H. Lehmann , -- A l l S i r Ga rne t , London, Jona than Cape, 1964, pp. 156- 170, b u t t h e m a t t e r is g iven more d e t a i l e d t r e a t m e n t by J . W. F o r t e s c u e , A H i s t o r y o f t h e U r i t i s h Army, Lcndon, LIacnil lan and Co. L td . , 1335, Vol. 13. A pr imary sou rce of p e r s o n a l observa- t i o n i s p rov ided by t h e S a r l of Kiuber ley , A Journal. o f Events D u r i n ~ t h e Glads tcne M i n i s t r y : 1868-1671+, London, The Hoyal K i s - t o r i c a l ~ o c i e t ? , 1958. (E. Drus, ed . , Carnden ! . , i scel lany, Vol. 21. )

2 On t h e 6 t h of September, 1873, Kirnberley made t h e fo l low- i n g e n t r y i n h i s j o u r n a l : "1 must con fes s t h a t knowing n o t h i n g of t h e a f fa i r s of t h e Gold Coast (upon coriling i n t o o f f i c e ) I d i d n o t t a k e s u f f i c i e n t p r e c a u t i o n s a g a i n s t a q u a r r e l w i t h Ashantee ar is- ing o u t o f t h e T r e a t y ( c e d i n g t h e Dutch f o r t s ) . Then I was un- f o r t u n a t e i n removing S i r . A . Kenredy t o Hong-Kong and a p p o i n t i n g M r . Keate t o succeed him. . . . Had I posses sed any i n s i g h t i n t o t h e s t a t e o f t h i n g s a t t h e Gold Coas t , I shou ld never have remov- e d S i r . A . Kennedy a t such a c r i s i s . I was s t i l l more u n f o r t u n a t e i n a p p o i n t i n g Pope-Hemessy as an i n t e r i m Governor till Xr. Keate' s a r r i v a l . I neve r expec ted t h a t he would ho ld t h e appointment more t h a n a few months. . . . A man o f qu ick i n t e l l i g e n c e and cons ide r - able a b i l i t i e s , h e i s v a i n , unscrupulocs , want ing i n sound judge- ment and common s e n s e , and prone t o q u a r r e l w i t h h i s s u b o r d i n a t e s . Colone l Har ley whom I appo in t ed a d m i n i s t r a t o r o f t h e hold Goast i s a p a i n s t a k i ~ ~ g , well meaning man: and d i d h i s b e s t i n g r e a t d i f - f i c u l t i e s . Wad he been p r o p e r l y suppor ted by Hennessy, t h i n g s might have gone b e t t e r , b u t Hennessy wholly n i s t o o k t h e situation, and was angry w i t h Har ley f o r r e f u s i n g t o a g r e e i n h i s view t h a t no danger was t o be apprehended from t h e Ashantees. The consequ- ence was t h a t t h e Government a t hor~e was mis l ed by Hez?nessyt s re- a s s u r i n g r e p o r t s and no t i m e l y n e a s u r e s were t aken t o meet t h e ernergep cy .

"The l a t e s t a c c o u n t s which have reached us a r e t h a t Corn- modore Cormere11 and Colonel Har ley a r e q u a r r e l l i n g , and t h a t t h e s e n i o r m i l i t a r y o f l i c e r , Colone l 'disc , i s drunken. Cardwel l and I have t h e r e f o r e de te rmined t o c u t t h e knot by sending o u t S i r Garnet l i o l s e l e y u . The E a r l o f Kimberley, A ~ b w n a l o f Events D u r b r . t h e Glads tone l i i r l i s t r l$68-1$71,, L-is- , %

t o r i c a l soc i eTy , 1958. *., ~arnden , . ! i scel lany, Vol. 21. )

3 S i r Garnet Joseph ( l a t e r 1st Viscount ) VIolseley; Commis- s i o n e d , 1852; s e rved i n Burma, t h e Crimea, I n d i a , China and Canada, and a f t e r a p e r i o d a t t h e ';Jar O f f i c e under Cardw,ell, subsequen t ly s e r v e d i n Zululand and Egypt. Knighted i n Rovernber, 1870. R e t i r e d w i t h t h e r ank o f F i e l d L a r s h a l and as Commander- in-Chief i n 1900.

4 Fie ld-hiarshal , t h e Viscount Wolseley, The S t o r y of a S o l d i c r t s L i f e V e s t m i n s t e r , Arch iba ld c o n s t a b l e & Co. Ltd . , 1903,

7 - 9 V 0 l . 2 , p. 2b1.

5 Lehrnann, A l l S i r Garnet - 9 P* 164.

6 S i r Robe r t Biddulph, Lord Cardwel l a t t h e War O f f i c e - 9

London, J . Murray, 1904, p . 2 r

7 The major s tumbl ing block proved t o be t h e ob j e c t i o z s r a i s e d by P r i n c e George, Duke of Canbridge , Commander-in-Chief o f t h e army. ?!o doubt t h e Duke d i d have s i n c e r e r e s e r v a t i o n s as t o t h e a d v i s a b i l i t y o f e~rlploying Europeans on t h e Gold Coast . I t i s more p robab le , however, t h a t he was s e e k i n g revenge a g a i r - s t t h e young " u p s t a r t H who had been one of t h e s t a u n c h e s t advoca t e s of army reform: a measure which t h e Duke had fouzh t w i t h e v e r y f i b r e o f h i s a r i s t o c r a t i c be ing .

8 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 267.

9 See Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , pp. 26G-269 f o r h i s r e c o l l e c t i o n of t h e s cene . T h i s a p p e a r s t o be t h e on ly s u r v i v i n g comment on t h e meet ing f o r it i s t h e o n l y one quoted i n f o u r o t h e r s c h o l a r l y s t u d i e s of t h e pe r iod . See a l s o , C.O. $79/5; G.C. 35 ; S e r i a l 152 , W.O. t o C.O., 16 August , 1873.

10 The navy was unable t o b lock t h e d e c i s i o n t o send 'Jelse.ley o u t t o t h e Gold c o a s t b u t t h a t d i d no t mean t h a t t h e r e was t o be no r o l e f o r t h e navy t o p l a y i n t h e con ing c a q a i g n . Aside fro~ii i t s v i t a l squadron d u t i e s a l o n g t h e Goast i t s e l f , it s t i l l managed t o become sornewhat v i c a r i o u s l y i nvo lved i n t h e l a n d a f f o r t . On t h e 3 0 t h of J u l y , 1e73, c a p t a i n J.K. b l o v e r , R.N., had o f f e r e d t o o r g a n i z e t h e e a s t e r n t r i b e s and t tcause a d i v e r s i o n i n t h e r e a r of t h e Ashan t i and t h r e a t e n Kumasi." The C o l o n i a l O f f i c e a c c e 2 t e d h i s o f f e r on t h e 7 t h o f August and on t h e 2 0 t h o f August, he l e f t f o r t he Gold Coast . Upon h i s appointnient t o t h e o v e r a l l ~ o n ~ i z n d o f t h e e f f o r t a g a i n s t t h e Asante , Wolseley s t a t e d t h a t he had no o b j e c t i o n t o G love r ' s r o v i n g cominission s o l o n g as he adhered t o his i n s t r u c t i o n s t o h a r a s s and alarm t h e Asnnte s o as t o f o r c e t h e i r r e t r e a t frorn t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , o r a t l e a s t t o inprove pros - p e c t s f o r t h e s u c c e s s o f a f r o n t a l a t t a c k ; b u t he sus2ec t ed t h a t t h e e x p l o r e r - c a p t a i n ' s c h i e f a s p i r a t i o n was t o open ou t a new, e a s y r o u t e f o r t r a d e i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r of A f r i c a by t h e V o l t a Kiver

Val l ey . t l he the r t h i s was r e a l l y Capta in G love r ' s air11 o r n o t we w i l l q u i t e p o s s i b l y never know f o r Glover h imse l f never pub l i shed a memoir and t h e a v a i l a b l e m a t e r i a l on him s a y s n o t h i n g s p e c i f i - c a l l y o f t h i s a s p e c t o f t h e m a t t e r . Motive a s i d e , however, t h e Glover e x p e d i t i o n o f t e n proved an annoyance and a h inde rance t o S i r Garnet and it was r e a l l y a s i d e i s s u e i n t h e 1873-1874 war. For t h i s r e a s o n , l i t t l e w i l l be s a i d o f it i n Chapte rs t h r e e and f o u r o f t h i s t h e s i s bu t it w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n somewhat more de- t a i l i n t h e concluding chap te r . C.O. 879 / f+ ; Afr i can ?!o. 31; Cor- r e sponde~?ce r e s p e c t i n g Captain G l o v e r ' s Liission t o ; . ;astern D i s - t r i c t s o f t h e Gold c o a s t P r o t e c t o r a t e ; and subsequent f o l i o s from - t h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e ~ o n f i d e n t i a l P r i n t t o 1916 g i v e d e t a i l s o f G love r t s e x p e d i t i o n .

11 C . U . 679/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 155 , W.O. t o LC., 16 August, 1673. Examples t o b e f o u r i d i n The Times, The D a i l News, and The S tanda rd of bo th t h e 15th and 1 6 t h o f A u g i e

-

12 Lehmann, A l l S i r Garne t , pp. 165-166. A v a r i e t y cf l e t - t e r s appeared i n a number o f London newspapers which e x c x p l i f i e d a l l of t h e s e views. The p u b l i c i n g e n e r a l appeared t o have been a p a t h e t i c toward t h e whole e n t e r p r i s e , however, and n o t e-rerl t h e d i r e warnings of t h o s e u b i q u i t o u s l e t t e r - w r i t e r s t o t h e ' i ' ir~cs --, ''One Who know^,^! (17 August, 1873) V h e Eian Who Has Been Therev ( 1 9 August , 1873) and t h e i r kinsman of t h e Afr ican Times., 'The Elan on The Spotv ( 2 4 August, 1873), could a r o u s e much genuine p u b l i c i n t e r e s t .

13 See Annexes A , B and C f o r t h e t e x t of t h e s e i n s t r u c t i o n s .

14 Lloyd, The Drums o f Kurnasi, p. 75.

1 5 The h i g h l e v e l o f a b i l i t y posses sed by t h e s e rnen i s il- l u s t r a t e d by t h e f a c t t h a t d e s p i t e t h e f a t s l i t i e s arid permanent d i s a b i l i t i e s which were s u f f e r e d , a staff which had comprised one Co lone l , one Lieu tenant -Colone l , f i v e Ka j o r s , twelve C a p t a i c s , f o u r t e e n L i e u t a n a n t s and e i g h t a t t a c h e d s p e c i a l i s t r a n k s ; was d e s t i n e d t o produce one f ie ld-b!arshal , s i x Gene ra l s , one Lieu- t enan t -Gene ra l and two $In jo r -Genera l s . I n a d d i t i o n , f o u r o f t h e s e men were a c t u a l o r p r o s p e c t i v e h o l d e r s of t h e V i c t o r i a c r o s s and t h e r e s t were t o be mentioned i n d e s p a t c h e s s o f r e q u e n t l y t h a t a c a t a l o g u e of t h e i r honours would f i l l a book i n i t s e l f .

16 This was an unheard o f p rocedure and Vo l se l ey had some d i f f i c u l t y i n persuading t h e n e c e s s a r y people t o p a r t i c i p a t e . How- e v e r , once i t s u s e f u l n e s s had been f u l l y i l l u s t r a t e d , it became a more o r l e s s e s t a b l i s h e d procedure . Vo l se l ey , S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Val. 2, pp, 270-271.

17 Brackenbury, Ashant i !!ar, Vol. 1, pp. 125-129.

18 I b s . , pp. 144-145 and J.F. Plaurice, - The Ashantee Yar , London, S. k l n g and Co,, 1874, pp. 18-20. T h i s was a v a l i a n t a t t e m p t t o overcome almost t o t a l - l a c k o f knoxledge and expe r i ence on t h e p a r t of t h e members of t h e l f r i n g l f . I t was, however, inpos- s i b l e t o p rov ide t h e s e men w i t h t h e background of such exper ienced men as Glover and Harley--whom Wolseley r e f u s e d t o u t i l i z e t o b e s t e f f e c t . See ~ h a p t e r F ive below f o r f u r t h e r comment on t h i s p o i n t .

19 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2, p. 2&6.

20 Brackenbury, The Ashant i Ibar, Vol. 1, p. 132.

21 A number o f t h e men who were pensioned frorn t h e blest I n d i a Regiments had s t r o n g e r t i e s w i t h S i e r r a Leone and Freetown t h a n they d i d anywhere e l s e . Consequent ly , many of the:n went t o pens ion t h e r e .

22 -* I b i d 9 pp. 146-147.

23 C.O. 879/5 ; - old Coast 3'0. 36: F u r t h e r Correspondence Res e c t i n , ~ t h e Asllantee I n v a s i o n ; -206, Volse l ey t o Kimberley, &;ober, 1873. A l l of t h e s e r e c r u i t i n g v e n t u r e s were o f ques t ion - a b l e v a l u e . There was no g u a r a n t e e t h a t t h e imported men would be any b e t t e r than t h e F a n t i and it was c e r t a i n l y t r u e t h a t \ iood's and R u s s e l l ' s Regiments could have been j u s t as eas i ly manned by F a n t i l e v i e s . I n f a c t , had t h e l e v i e s been organized w i t h t h e N.C.O. and o f f i c e r s t r u c t u r e con ta ined i n t h o s e two u n i t s , t h e y might have performed much b e t t e r t han t h e y d i d .

24 Loc. c i t .

25 Brackenbury, Ashant i 'Jar, Vol. I, p. 149

26 There was c o n s i d e r a b l e ha rd f e e l i n g ove r t?lis i y c i d e z t f o r t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s i s s u e d t o Harley ( C . O . 879/5; G.C. 35; S e r i a l 173, Kirnberley t o Har ley , 18 August, 1873. ) c l e a r l y s t a t e d t h a t the Haussas were n o t t o be p laced a t Capta in G love r ' s d i s p o s a l i f t h e i r removal would a t t h e time be a t t e n d e d w i t h a c t u a l dznger t o t h e ' F r o t e c t o r a t e ' . Harley had choser. t o i n t e r p r e t t h e s e in - s t r u c t i o n s ve ry l i b e r a l l y and S i r Garnet a c t u a l l y suspec t ed him o f a c t i n g wi th malice over what he f e l t had been h i s u n j u s t r e - moval from o f f i c e (T,!olseley, S o l d i e r 1 s L i f e , Vol. 1, pp. 294-295). There i s no ev idence t o suppor t X o l s c l e y f s c o n t e n t i o n b u t Har ley t s a c t i o n was n e v e r t h e l e s s a s e v e r e blow t o t h e Gene ra l ' s p l ans . See 0 879/5; C.G. 36; S e r i a l 209, Har ley t o K i r ~ b e r l e y , 1 5 Septem- ber, 1873.

27 Brackenbury, Asflanti Yar , Vol. 1, p , 151.

28 6.0. 87936; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 266, Vo l se l ey t o Kiciberley, 2 October , 1673, S i r Garne t r s comments on t h i s m a t t e r a r e t y p i c a l of h i s r e p o r t i n g of even t s . He c r e a t e s t h e impress ion t h a t soale- one, probably Harley, was t o blame f o r t h i s s h o r t a g e o f o f f i c e r s . However, he should have a l r e a d y been aware of t h e s i t u a t i o n as h e knew t h a t t h e e s t a b l i s i m e n t on t h e c o a s t wocld a l l o v f o r an abso- l u t e maximum of twenty o f f i ce r s - -p rov ided t h r e was no i l l n e s s , ad i ' lolseley been t h e man o f gen ius we a r e l e d t o b e l i e v e him t o b e , he would have equa ted t h i s f a c t o r v i t h t h e e f f e c t s o f d i s e a s e and brought e x t r a o f f i c e r s w i t h him. He was z i v e n t h i s opportu- n i t y (Brackenbury, Ashant i Yar, Vol. 1, ~ . 1 5 ~ * ) b u t down.

29 C.O. 879/5; G . C . 35; S e r i a l 372, Admiral ty September 1873 and c.O.87975; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 363, Kimberley, 7 October , 1$73.

he t u r n e d it

t o C.C. , 14 Kolse l ey t o

30 C.O. 679/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 326, ' Jo l se l ey t o Kinber ley , 1 0 October , 1873.

31 C.O. 879/5 ; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 267, Wolseley t o Kimberlep, 5 October , 1873. A l l of t h i s was, o f c o u r s e , no t e n t i r e l v sw- p r i s i n g , - l ;o lone l Har ley had been .aork ing what few t r o o p s O h e had v e r y h a r d and t h e i r demands on t h e s t o r e s , when combined w i t h t h e demands o f t h e c h i e f s f o r s u p p l i e s o f arms and anmuni t ion, de- p l e t e d t h e b a s i c s t o r e s i t ems . There were, however, growing q u a n t i t i e s of h o s p i t a l and camp s t o r e s .

32 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 322, l l o l s e l e y t o Kirnberley, 1 0 October , 1873. F o r t u n a t e l y f o r Glover t h i s l o s s had no l o ~ g term e f f e c t on h i s e x p e d i t i o n . H i s s t o r e s had been o r d e r e d some weeks p r i o r t o S i r G a r n e t ' s and much had a l r e a d y a r r i v e d b e f o r e t h e Genera l l anded a t Cape Coast . I n a d d i t i o n , Glover was enough o f an handw t o o r d e r equ ipnen t and s u p p l i e s i n s u f - f i c i e n t

- - q u a n t i t i e s t o c o u n t e r such -a l o s s .

33

34 ra te of r e c r u i t t h a t he

Wolseley, S o l d i e r l s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p , 283.

T h i s s h i f t i n g of o f f i c e r s was l a r g e l y due t o the h i g h s i c k n e s s , IIowever, Captain Glover , who was a u t h o r i z e d t o from t h e Gold c o a s t s t a f f , was a l s o p s r t l y r e s p o n s i b l e i n had e n t i c e d s e v e r a l c o n t r o l o f f i c e r s i n t o accornpanyin~ -

him t o t h e V o l t a . He a l s o managed t o g a i n t h e s e r v i c e s - o f an expe r i enced and e n e r g e t i c man when D r . Rove agreed t o accon;)any him.

35 Urackenbury, Ashant i 'Jar, Vol. 1, pp, 153-5 and G.O. 8?9/5; LC, 3 6 ; S e r i a l 435, ~ : lo l se ley t o Eirnberley, 20 October , 1873.

37 C.0. 879/5; G . C . 36; Enc losure 1 i n S e r i a l Mo. 399, Wolseley t o PJ.O., 7 October , 1873.

39 Loc. c i t . and C.O. 879/5; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 326, Vo l se l ey t o Kinber'ley, 1 0 October , 1873.

40 Gordon had a c t u a l l y r e p o r t e d t!mt t h e road was f i t f o r a r t i l l e r y as f a r as Dunkwa. I t i s n o t c l e a r fro:n t h e r e p o r t , however, as t o whether o r n o t he meant a r t i l l e r y c a r r i e d by por- t e r s f o r t h e seven-pounder f i e l d guns were o f t e n d i sman t l ed and c a r r i e d i n t h a t manner. His r e p o r t i s c i t e d i n C.O. 679/5 ;

6 ; S e r i a l 399, Enc losure 1, Wolseley t o W.O., 7 October ,

42 I n i t i a l l y , t h e s e were very s m a l l p a r t i e s c o n s i s t i n g of a p p r o x i n & e l y 5 B r i t i s h s o l d i e r s and 45 Afr ican l a b o u r e r s each. Wi th in t h r e e weeks t h e nuinber of l a b o u r e r s had begun t o i n c r e a s e s t e a d i l y . More e n g i n e e r s d i d no t become a v a i l a b l e u n t i l a f t e r t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e I! inalaya, however. See Dracltenbury , Ashant i War, Vol. 1, p. 159. -

43 C.O. 879/5; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 434, Wolseley t o Eirnberley, 21 October , 1873. LIucil has been made i n t h e v a r i o u s h i s t o r i e s of t h e f a c t t h a t r a i l w a y equipment had been brought ou t w i t h t h e Wolseley e x p e d i t i o n w i t h a view t o c o n s t r u c t i n g a l i n e a t l e a s t as f a r as t h e P ra . t l o l s e l e y h imse l f cones i n f o r c o n s i d e r a b l e censu re on t h i s s c o r e b u t , i n f a c t , t h e scheme was f o r c e d upon him and immediately upon h i s a r r i v a l he had recognized t h e i m p s - s i b i l i t y o f c a r r y i n g o u t such a scheme and had immediately s topped t h e shipment o f f u r t h e r s t o r e s . See Brackenbury, - Ashant i ?Jar, Val. 1, p. 309, f o r c i r ~ u ! ~ l s t a n c e s , e t c .

4b C l a r i d g e , Ashan t i , Vol. 2, p. 49. This r e q u e s t f o r F a n t i p a r t i c i p a t i o n was d-lmost from t h e ve ry first as Fiolseley o f f e r e d - n o t h i n g new i n t h e form of a i d and a& he r e f u s e d t o a h i t what t h e F a n t i a l r e a d y knew--that t h i s was an Anglo-hsantc d i s p u t e j u s t as much as an Asante -Fant i q u a r r e l . S i r Garnet d i d a t t a c h l i a s o n o f f i c e r s t o some of t h e Kings and c h i e f s , however. The Kings o f Denkyera, Annmaboe , iIankessic1, E a s t Ass in , D o n o ~ a s s i e , Goomooh, and Cape Coas t - - a l l o f whom a t t e n d e d t h e meeting--had B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s a t t a c h e d t o t:lern. The l e a d e r s o f Ves te rn Akin, F e s t e r n Ass in , In sabah , Cssecoona and Ad j u m c o e , a l l of thocl f a i l - ed t o n t t e r td , r e c e i v e d no such a i d . Those who f a i l e d t o a t t e n d were v i r t u a l l y a l l l i v i n g o u t s i d e of t h e danger zone whi le t h o s e

who d i d a t t e n d were ~ n o s t l y r e s i d e n t s o f t h e a r e a most d i r e c t l y t h r e a t e n e d by t h e enemy. None of t h e p r e v i o u s l y "Dutchtt A f r i c a n s atLended.

45 It must be remembered, however, t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i main- t a i n e d t h a t t h e e x p e d i t i o n was in t ended t o punish t h e King o f Denkyera and t o r e g a i n t h e t e r r i t o r i e s l o s t by v i r t u e o f t n e T r e a t y of 1831.

48 Brackenbury, - Ashant i !far, Vol. 1, pp. 168-9.

49 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , pp. 294-295.

50 I b i d . , p. 297.

51 C . 0 . 6 7 9 ; ~ ; - G . C . 36; S e r i a l 481, W.9. t o c.o., 24 november, 16'73, and brackenbury, -- Ashant i iiar, Vol. 1, pp. 170-171. -

52 C.0. 879/5; G . C . 36; S e r i a l 427, Wolseley t o Eimberley, 1 5 October , 1873; and tirackenbury, Ashnnt i Kar , Vol. 1, p. 172. - See t h e connents of !.linwood Zeade, Ashantee Canpai:;n, pg. 137-1L0, and S i r Henry biorton S t a n l e y , Coornassie and , .~agda la : The S t o r ~ r of .-- Two B r i t i s h Ca111paii;ns i n A f r i c a , London, Chap~rian and H a l l , 16.74, - Chap. 111, f o r t h e r e a c t i o n of t h e "gentlemen o f t h e p r e s s u t o S i r G a r n e t ' s h i g h l y e f f e c t i v e maintenance o f s e c r e c y on t h i s oc- c a s i o n . The f o r c e c o n s i s t e d of 126 Aausas, 210 men of 2 X 2 , 129 H M L I , 20 RllrH, 16 seamen, 300 l a b o u r e r s and c a r r i e r s , 2 x 7 guns and 1 r o c k e t t ube .

53 C.0. 879/5; G.C. 36. S e r i a l 427, I ' iolseley t o Kirnberley, 1 5 October , 1873 and ~ r a c d u r ~ , Ashant i Yar, Vol. 1, p. 173. -

54 See above, Chapter 11, n o t e 120 f o r background*

55 Loc, c i t . I n t h i s i n s t a n c e , he a p p e a r s t o hove been mot iva t ed by h i s concern over s t amina and t h e psychology of v o l u n t e e r s v e r s u s d r a f t e e s . He comple te ly i p o r e s , however, t h e m a t t e r of exper ience- -of v i t a l concern i n t h l s form of war fa re and i n t h e t e r r a i n involved .

56 See above, Chapter 11, n o t e 102.

57 C.O. 879/5; G . C . 36 ; S e r i a l 427, E n c l o s u r e 1, Report c f Deputy s u r g e o n - ~ c n e r a l 1 4 October , 1873. T h i s assessment was t o have s e r i o u s repercussions. ':!olseley had n e i t h e r m d e r - s t a n d i n g of n o r sylnpathy f o r t h e F a n t i and t h i s i n c i d e n t o n l y hardened h i s p r e j u d i c e . He t h e r e f o r e d i d l i t t l e of a cons t ruc - t i v e n a t u r e t o encourage Afr ican r e c r u i t i n g from t h i s p o i n t on and h i s o p e r a t i o n s s u f f e r e d because of it,

58 Less t h a n f o u r hundred had a r r i v e d a t Dunkwa by t h e 1 5 t h of October . See Srackenbury, k s h a n t i i a r , Vol. 1, p. 182. Viewed - r e a l i s t i c a l l y , t h e H r i t i s h e f f o r t s were s t i l l f a r s h o r t of what was r e q u i r e d i f F a n t i conf idence was t o be f u l l y r e s t o r e d .

59 C.O. 679/5; G.C. 36 ; s e r i a l 434, Wolseley t o Kinber ley , 2 1 October , 1673. W o n d i i u s s e l l ? ~ Regiments welere used a g r e a t d e a l th ro~!ghout t h e campaign but one t e n d s t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h i s was s o more because of t h e i r cormanders t han because of t h e f i g h t i n g q u a l i t i e s of t h e men. One o f t h e main drawbacks t o t h e s e u n i t s was t h e n i x i n g of t h e v a r i o u s c o n t i n g e n t s ; a f a c t which caused c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f i c u l t y i n c o m ~ ~ u n i c a t i o n . The a c t u a l composi t ion o f t h e u n i t s was as fol lovfs : Woodf s Re,-irnent--yo. 1 Company, Gape Coast Vo lun tee r s ; No. 2 Coapany, E lminas ; fro. 3 Company, Kossus; No. 4 Company, Bonnys. i l u s s e l l ' s Regiment--Po. 1 Company, Hausas; FJO. 2 Company, S i e r r a Leonians ; F!o. 3 C o n a n y Murnfords ; No. 4 Company, Winnebas; Ro. 5 Company, Opotos ; o 6( Company, Anambos .

60 C.0. 879/5; LC. 36; S e r i a l 435, \ Jo l se ley t o x.o., 24 October , 1073. T h i s i s a b i a s e d and n i s l e a d i a g d e s p a t c h t h e on ly aim of which a p p e a r s t o be t h e j u s t i f i c a t i o n of t h e i n c r e z s e d demand. Wolseley had no p e r s o n a l experience w i t h F a n t i coward- ice i n t h e f i e l d . He had done n o t h i n g new t o i n s p i r e T a n t i p a r t i c i p a t i o n . He r e f e r s t o l e v i e s which he had hoped t o r a i s e b u t g i v e s no i n d i c a t i o n as t o how he would have o f f i c e r e d 2nd t r a i n e d them had t h e y m a t e r i a l i z e d . He r e f e r s t c expe r i ence w i t h i l l - d i s c i p l i n e d l e v i e s i n t h e bush when he had had no such expe r i ence . Ile u s e s t h e d e p l e t e d 2YIR as an excuse when it was h e who had caused t h a t d e p l e t i o n . I n g e n e r a l , t h i s l e t t e r r e v e a l s S i r Ga rne t ' s penchant f o r co lou r ing a l l e v e n t s t o h i s advantage-- a s h o r t - c o a i n ~ which makes a l l o f h i s despa t ches s u s p e c t .

61 A b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e s e o p e r a t i o n s can be found i n John ]!la j o r and Antony P r e s t o n , --- Send a Gunboat! A s t u d y of t h e Gunboat and i t s r o l e i n E r i t i s h p o l i c y : l m ? 0 4 , London? Long- mans, Green and Co. L td . , 1967, pp, 122-123. A more d e t a l l e d . - - t r e a t m e n t of t h e s u b j e c t - c a n be found i n sir \!me L a i r d Clowes, The Ro a 1 Navy: A H i s t o r London, Sainpson Low, Ibiars%on t, Co., Fm-33 . 7, pp* ~ 4 7 3- b :

62 C.0. 879/5; G.C. 3 6 ; - S e r i a l 3 6 3 , V o l s e l e y t o Kimberley, 7 October , 1873.

63 Brackenbury, Ashant i :!ar, Vol. 1, p. 185.

64 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 433, E n c l o s u r e Y O . 1, Elake t o Wolse ley , 18 0 c t o b f l 6 ? 3 .

65 Loc. c i t . , and such a u t h o r i t i e s as Brackenbury and Maurice. It is v i r t u a l l y imposs ib l e , h o m v e r . t o a s c e r t a i n whether o r n o t t h e Asantehene hah i s s u e d o r d 6 r s f o r a 'w i thd rawa l a t t h i s tirne. C e r t a i n l y Hamseyer and Kuhne make no comiaent i n t h i s re- gard a l t h o u g h t h e y do enti ti on t h e r e t u h of t h e f o r c e s from A p o l l o r ~ i a and t h e y make much o f t h e concern caused i n K w a s i by the r e v e r s e s suf fe rec i by t h o s e f o r c e s .

66 T h i s was, of c o u r s e , l i m i t e d i n e f f e c t i v e n e s s as t h e deg ree o f B r i t i s h c o n t r o l was d i c t a t e d by t h e range o f t i le gms on t h e s h i p s and i n t h e f o r t s . A range which one would expec t t o be no more t h a n t h r e e miles and q u i t e p o s s i b l y much l e s s , Even t h a t s h e l l i n g which d i d t a k e p l ace was of quesi;ior.able v a l - ue as t h e A f r i c a n s s imply took t o t h e bush when t h e s h i p s were s i g h t e d . Consequently, damage was u s u a l l y r e s t r i c t e d t o a few h u t s d e s t r o y e d .

67 C.O. 679/5 ; G.C. 3 6 ; S e r i a l 431, Wolseley t o Fiirnberley, 18 October , 1873.

68 See Annex C f o r t h e t e x t of t h i s l e t t e r ,

69 Urackenbury, Ashant i Yar , Vol. 1, p. 210. T h i s informa- t i o n was gained from s e v e r a l ~ r i s o n e r s who impressed on t h e Gen- e r a l f o r t h e p o s s i b l y f i rs t t ime , t h e f a c t t h a t a c c e s s t o t h e road was v i t a l l y impor t an t t o kmank~ia 'i'ia and t h a t even t h e r e l a t i v e l y small B r i t i s h o u t p o s t s posed a s e r i o u s t h r e a t t o t h e o r d e r l y wi th- d rawal of t h e Asante army.

70 ' r h i s d e c i s i o n t o withdraw d i d n o t y e t encompass a move back a c r o s s t h e F r a f o r t h e Asan teheneTs permiss ion t o r e t u r n t o Kumasi had n o t y e t been g iven and it is x o s t d o u b t f u l t h e Amankwa T i a would have c r o s s e d t h e r i v e r w i thou t t h a t periilission.

71 C . 0 . 879/5; G.C. 3 6 ; S e r i a l 434, Enc losure rio. 2 , B u l l e r t o Wolseley, 16 0 c t o b q g T 3 .

72 The church i n t h e v i l l a g e had been loopholed and f o s t i - f i e d as had t h e houses on t h e n o r t h , west , and sou th . I n a d d i t i o n , c o n n e c t i n g s h e l t e r - t r e n c h e s had been c o n s t r u c t e d and an i n t r e ~ c h e d magazi r e and s t o r e h o u s e h,?d been c o n s t r u c t e d , The g a r r i s o ~ a t t h i s t ime c o n s i s t e d o f 100 Iiausas, 25 men of 2!li3, and approxim- a t e l y 100 men o f t h e Abrah l evy .

73 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; 26 October, 1873.

71+ A t t h i s po in t t h e r e

291 -

S e r i a l 436, l lo lse ley t o Kimberley,

i s cons tan t r e fe rence t o road bui ld- i n g i n t h e d e s p t i h e s t o London and i n Hrackenbury, However, l a t e r even t s proved t h a t t h i s a spec t of t h e General ' s plan %as not going w e l l due t o t h e f a c t t h a t it was n o t r e c e i v i n g suf- f i c i e n t a t t e n t i o n from e i t h e r S i r Garnet o r t h e menbers of h i s s t a f f .

75 The 'Haunted Road' was t h e t r a c k which ran nor th -eas t from Jultwa t o Dunkwa. It was s o named by t h e F a n t i s because t h e Asantes were r epor ted t o have 'done f e t i s h ' on t h e road and t h e r e - by have c losed it t o t h e i r enemies.

76 Brackenbury, Ashanti Yar, Vol. 1, p. 234.

77 C.O. 87915 ; G.C. 3 6 ; S e r i a l 477, Wolseley t o Kimbcrley, 31 October, 1873.

78 &oc. c i t . Th i s was most t r u e . What European t m o c s he possessed had been e i t h e r re turned t o England (XLI and ~ i L 4 ) o r re-embarked (Naval Brigade) a f t e r t h e Elrnina opera t ion and had t h u s n o t been employed s i n c e mid-October.

79 Loc. c i t .

80 The Naval Brigade was formed of sailors and marines from t h e f l e e t then on t h e Gold boast . I t s f irst detachment was formed on t h e 28th of November, 1873 and it cons i s t ed of f i f t y - t h r e e a l l - r anks and numbered i n excess of 250 by t h e 1st of January, 1873. See Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2, pp. 318-319, f o r h i s comments on t h i s u n i t .

81 C.0 . 879 /5 ; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 477, Wolseley t o Kimberley, 31 October, 1873 and,= -* 9 S e r i a l 487, Kimberley t o Volse ley , 24 November, 1873. The F e s t i n g column cons i s t ed of 12 o f f i c e r s and 701 men, o f whom 73 were from 2::TIH, and 615 were F a n t i a l l i e s , R a i t ' s A r t i l l e r y was a t t a c h e d . The guns and t h e S n i d e r s of t h e 2VIR t r o o p s were d e c i s i v e and t h i s f i r e p o x e r was l a r g e l y respon- s i b l e f o r keeping t h e l o s s e s i n t h e a c t i o n t o f i v e o f f i c e r s , f i v e !vCO1s and men of 21;IIK, and 42 Afr icans wounded, and one P m t i k i l - l e d . Brackenbury, Ashanti IJar, Vol. l, pp. 239-240.

82 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 477, Enclosure ?!o. 1, Fes t - i n g t o Wolseley, 28 October, 1873.

63 T h i s p a r t i c u l a r o p e r a t i o n reminds one o f t h a n u r s e r y j i n g l e , "The Grand Old Duke of York. He had t e n thousand men. He marched then1 up t h e h i l l and marched them down again." Indesd , t h i s l i t t l e rhyme i s i n d i c a t i v e o f many of t h e B r i t i s h moves d u r - ing t h i s phase o f t h e o p e r a t i o n . C e r t a i n l y t h e l a c k o f r e l i a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e , t h e f a u l t y n a t u r e of cornrnunications and t h e smal l numbers o f t r o o p s a t S i r G a r n e t ' s d i s p o s a l a l l combined t o nake t h e C e n e r a l t s e f f o r t s j u s t abou t a s p roduc t ive as t h e Duke's.

64 C.0, 879/5 ; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 477, Wolseley t o Kinber ley , 31 October , 1Gr73.

85 Loc. c i t .

86 See Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 1, pp. 235-245; Wolseley, A S o l d i e r ' s L i fe , Vol. G p . 30g-310 f o r a d e t a i l e d account o f t h i s o p e r a t i o n which e v e n t u a l l y t ook p l a c e he re . See a l s o Reade, Ashantee Ca~lpaign, pp. 224-228 azd G.A. l!enty, The March t o Coonassie , 2nd, ed. , Lordon, John Nurray and Go., ml+, pp. 108-112 f o r comments on t h e a c t i o n as viewed th rough t h e eyes o f c i v i l i a n r e p o r t e r s . A s i s normal, t h e s e r e p o r t s e x h i b i t con- s i d e r a b l e pique t h a t t h e s o l d i e r s saw f i t t o do t h e i r job ~ L t h - out t h e b e n e f i t of t h e e x p e r t a s s i s t a n c e o f t h e corresponder , ts concerned. I n g e n e r a l , t h e a r r a n ~ e i ~ l e n t s were good. it ma13 can- non had been added t o t h e Abrakrampa weapons and a l l of t h e t r o - ops e x c e p t t h e F a n t i l e v i e s were a r m d w i t h t h e S n i d e r r i f l e . The f a c t t h a t t h e g a r r i s o n e v e n t u a l l y wi ths tood two d a y s of heavy Asante a t t a c k s speaks w e l l f o r t h e d e f e n s i v e arrangeiaents .

87 T h i s was an admiss ion t h a t t h e p l a n , conceived i n ignor - ance of Gold Coast c o n d i t i o n s , was unworkable. It i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t so much t ime had t o p a s s b e f o r e t h i s d e c i s i o n was rilade f o r much v a l u a b l e t i m e was l o s t d u r i n g which t h e General and his t r o - ops could have been mas t e r ing t h e rud iments o f t h i s unorthodox mode of w a r f a r e . A s m a t t e r s developed, t h e change had been l e f t u n t i l t o o l a t e and subsequent m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s were n o t p a r t i c - u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e .

88 Brackenbury, Ashan t i !!ar, Vol. 1, pp. 249-250.

89 T h i s i s i n f e r r e d fro12 t h e d a t e o f t h e Asanteheriels r e p l y , - - . 25 ~ o v e r n b e r , 1g73, which i s quoted i n Brackenbury, Ashant i klaiai., Vol. 2, pp. 40-41.

90 Ramseyer and Kuhne , Four Years , p. 245.

91 I b i d . , p. 247

92 Loc. c i t . S p e c i a l e a p h a s i s was l a i d on t h e speech made by t h e Quecn-1,iother whose harangue a d v i s i n g t h e r e l e a s e o f t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s i n t h e hope o f p l a c a t i n g t h e b r i t i s h , i s c i t e d i n a l l of t h e major works on t h i s t o p i c ,

93 Unfo r tuna t e ly , t h i s move d i d n o t f u l l y ach ieve i t s t a c t i - c a l purpose. T h i s was p a r t l y because t h e u n t r a i n e d Af r i can a l - l i e s once more r e f u s e d t o move i n a n y d i r e c t i o n where it was pos- s i b l e t h a t t h e enemy might be found and p a r t l y because Wood's men were e q u a l l y u n q u a l i f i e d f o r s c o u t i n g o p e r a t i o n s .

94 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 524, Wolseley t o Kimberley, 4 November, 1873. ~ i z g a r r i s o n then c o n s i s t e d of 150 men frorn 2'dIR, 2 x 7 pdr. guns , and 1 ,400 Afr ican a l l i e s ,

95 G.O. 879 /5 ; C.C. 36; S e r i a l 477, Enc losu re 4, Proclama- t i o n by Wolseley t o Kings, Headmen, e t c . , of t h e Cold Coas t , 30 October , 1273.

96 C.O. 87915; C.G. 36; S e r i a l 525, Wolsaley t o Kimberley, 5 November, 1873.

97 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36; S e r i a l 526, Wolseley t o Kimberley, 8 November, 1873. The f o r c e of Asante encounte red a t t h i s t ime was e s t i m a t e d a t abou t 3 ,000 men. F e s t i n g s f o r c e c o n s i s t e d o f some 1 , 1 0 0 men of: whom alniost 1,000 were A f r i c a n a l l i e s . The remainder of t h e f o r c e was composed o f a detachment o f R a i t l s A r t i l l e r y , 80 men from 2\!IR, and a few Hausas.

98 Loc. c i t . See a l s o Reade, Ashantee Campaign, pp. 187-190 f o r a most a c i d conmentary on t h i s i n c i d e n t . It i s s u r p r i s i n g that S i r Garnet would contempla te r e c a l l i n g t h e t r o o p s a t t h i s c r i t i c a l moment b u t his concern f o r m a i n t a i n i n g t h e good h e a l t h of t h e European t r o o p s no doubt was t h e d e c i s i v e f a c t o r . He him- self o f f e r s no e x p l a n a t i o n e i t h e r i n h i s despa t ches o r h i s mem- o i r s . Naur i ce , The Ashantee ::jar, p. 1 5 1 , r e f u t e s ReadeTs argu- ments on t h i s poxnt.

99 There i s some c o n t r o v e r s y ove r t h i s p o i n t b u t R u s s e l l himself admi t s t o mis read ing t h e o r d e r . See C.O. 879/5; G.C. 36. S e r i a l 526, Enc losu re 3 , R u s s e l l t o t i?olseley, 7 r r o v e m b e r , f 6 1 3 ~ '

100 Loc. c i t . See Piaurice, The Ashantee '~2, pp. 3.52-151,, f o r a n i n t e r e s t i n g and h i g h l y c o l o u r f u l d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e m ~ c h o f t h e r e l i e f column and i t s a c t i o n s upon a r r i v i n g a t Abrakl-axpa. P a u r i c e makes no coriment, however, on t h e q u e s t i o n a b l e v a l u e of r e p l a c i n g exhaus ted men ~ 5 t h o t h e r exhausted men who were i gno r - a n t o f l o c a l c o ~ d i t i o n s .

1 0 1 Loc. c i t e A l l o f t h e contemporary a u t h o r s make much of t h e cowardice o f the Afr ican a l l i e s on t h i s occas ion and t h e r e a r e many i n d i g n a n t connents r e s p e c t i n g t h e B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s and t h e klende b e a t i n g t h e Af r i cans i n t o t h e bush w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e i r umbre l l a s and swords r e s p e c t i v e l y .

102 S i r G a r n e t ' s corments on t h i s a c t i o n a r e con ta ined i n C.O. 879/5; Gold Coast 38 - F u r t h e r Correspondence r e s p e c t i n g t h e Asante I n v a s i o n * -9 S e r i a l 30, U.O. t o C.O., 8 Decenber, 1874. ~7 s t a t e d , i n p a r t , t h a t ,

. . . even t h e eneinyts r e t r e a t cannot i n s t i l courage i n t o t h e s e f a i n t - h e a r t e d n a t i v e s , and t h a t t h e y can n e i t h e r be counted on t o i n s u r e a v i c t o r y n o r t o complete a d e f e a t . They were o rde red t o pursue t h e enemy, r e - main i n t h e f i e l d , and h a r a s s him i n h i s r e t r e a t . The road was s t rewn w i t h t h e d e b r i s o f t h e r e t r e a t i n g army; bod ie s of murdered s l a v e s l a y a l o n g t h e r o u t e ; many p r i s o n e r s were c a p t u r e d ; t h e enemy7 s f i r e was s i l e n c e d ; and y e t , such i s t h e coward- i c e o f t h e s e people t h a t t hey had t o be d r i v e n i n t o a c t i o n and a f t e r a s u c c e s s t h e y became a p a n i c - s t r i c k e n and d i s - o r d e r l y r a b b l e .

103 C.O. 879/5; G.C . 38 - F u r t h e r Correspondence r e s p e c t i n g t h e Ashantee I n v a s i o n ; S e r i a l 30, U.O. t o C.O. , 8 December, 1874.

104 C.U. 879/5; G.C . 36; S e r i a l 526, Vo l se l ey t o R inbe r l ey , 8 Movember, 1873, and -9/5; G.L. 38, S e r i a l 50, !?olseley t o Kimberley, 1 0 P!ovember, 1873.

105 c.0. 879/5; G.C. 38; S e r i a l 87, Wolseley t o K inbe r l ey , 2 1 November, 1873.

106 I b i d S e r i a l 98, Wolseley t o Kirnberley, 27 Novenber, 1873 . - * a

1 0 7 Loc. c i t . and Brackenbury, Ashant i liar, Vol. 1, pp. 296- 298.

- -

108 C.O. 87915; G.C. 38; S e r i a l 126, Wolseley t o Kimberley, 28 Movernber, 1873.

109 S p e c i a l co r r e sponden t s S t a n l e y , Reade and Henty were l a r g e l y t o blame f o r t h i s a s t h e i r despa t ches were h i g h l y co loured . However, S i r Ga rpe t ' s de spa t ch was a l s o p a r t l y t o b1a:ne due t o t h e f a c t t h a t he d i d use s e v e r a l t e rms which could have been mis- i n t e r p r e t e d . See c l a r i d g e , Ashan t i , Vol. 2, p. 73.

110 This was a prisoner t a k e n i n t h e action around t h e Adansi H i l l s a f t e r t h e Br i t i sh had crossed the Pra. See Bracken- bury, A s h a n t i Yar, Vol. 1, pp, 296-297,

111 ~ ~ 0 . 879/5; G.C. 38; Se r i a l 142, PJ.0. t o c.O., 29 December, 1873,

112 L O . 879/5; G.G. 38; Ser ia l 168, Wolseley t o Kinberley, 3 December, 1873.

113 Rameyer and Kuhne, Four Years, pp. 251-253.

Ill+ Brackenbury, Ashant i War, V a l . 1, pp. 303-309, and Wolseley, So ld . i e rT s Life, Vol. 2 , pp. 310-311. See Annex D f o r t h e text of t he se l e t t e r s ,

CHAPTER I V - FCOT1:OTES

1 I n f a c t , a lmos t one - th i rd of t h e t ime a v a i l a b l e f o r o p e r a t i o n s i n v o l v i n g European t r o o p s had passed b e f o r e a l l p r e p - r a t i o n s had been conlpleted. See I l o l s e l ey , S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , pp. 298-2'39; Brackenburg, Ashant i Var, Vol. 1, p. 310; and c.C. 879/5 ; Gold Coast jS , F u r t h e r Correspondence Respec t ing t h e Ashantee I n v a s i o n ; S e r i a l 98, Wolseley t o iiirnberley, 27 Kovernber, 1 dr73

2 C.O. 679/5; G . C . 36 ; S e r i a l 169, Wolseley t o Kinber ley , 1 5 December, 1873. fi.;,L.S. iiirnalaya reached Cape Coest w i t h t h e 2nd b a t t a l i o n of t h e R i f l e Brigade and some detachments o f Royal Eng inee r s and o t h e r s p e c i a l corps on t h e 9 t h o f llecenber. The Tarnar a r r i v e d on t h e 1 2 t h w i t h t h e 23rd Royal !lelsh F u s i l i e r s , a dethchment o f Hoyal A r t i l l e r y , t h i r t e e n ~ i ~ e d i c a l o f f i c e r s , acd s e v e r a l o t h e r srnall d e t a i l s . These were fo l lowed on t h e 1 7 t h by t h e h i r e d t r a n s p o r t , Sarmat ian , having on board t h e 42nd Nigh- l a n d e r s (Black : ; a t c ' n ) a n u l n b e r of S p e c i a l S e r v i c e O f f i c e r s ( T r a n s p o r t ~ e ~ a r t n c n t ) and a few no re men fro^.^ o t h e r Departmental Corps. F i n a l l y , on t h e 27th of December, t h e 1st Kcs t I n d i a Regi- ment a m i v e d from Jamaica. The breakdown o f s t r e n g t h s is as shown i n t h e t a b l e below.

TABLE I - B r i t i s h Troop A r r i v a l s .

Himalcya

Regimcnt.

Rifle Brigade A m y Service Corps .

.n lnccrs . Royal I: g' Army Hospital Corps . AIedical Oiiiccrs . Chzp!ains . Royal Wclsh Fusilicrs . Royal Artillcry . 2nd West India Regimcnt Medicc.1 OlfGcers . Chaplains . Special Service Officers . Black Watch . Amiy Servicc Corps . Anny Hospital Corps . Staff Clrrk . Royal Ecgixers . hfcdical Oficcn . --

N.C.O.'r (46 Llm. p-

65s 30 68 26

650 61

2

, 652 I2 26

I 2

I W 1 T( 24 Oficers and 554 N.C.O.'s and men. L

3 The Genera l had no j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r h i s annoyance ove r t h e tir?iing of t he a r r i v a l of t h e t r o o p s ar,d he had no reason t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y would have accoap l i shed much even had they nr - r i v e d e a r l i e r . I n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e , S i r Garnet h imse l f had e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e t r c o p s could n o t p o s s i b l y a r r i v e be fo re t h e 1 0 t h of I l ece~iber . (Ejrackenbury, - Ashant i :'jar, Vol. 1, p. 125. ) I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e was n o t s u f f i c i e n t t i m l o r t h e Government t o i n f o r i l him o f t h e despa t ch o f t h e t r o o p s . His r e q u e s t was r e c e i v - ed i n London on t h e 1 7 t h of ~ ~ o v e m b e r and t h e Himalaya and t h e Tanar s a i l e d f r o u Plymouth on t h e 1 9 t h of b'ovember. S h o r t of d e s p a t c h i n g a s h i p with a warning on t h e 1 8 t h , t h e r e was i i t t l e t o be done. I n any e v e n t , such a warning would have g iven on ly a few days n o t i c e and p r e p a r a t i o n s on t h e Gold Coast were s o de- l a y e d t h a t by t h i s t ime such a s h o r t warning pe r iod would have accomplished l i t t l e . Second, h i s b e l i e f t h a t an e a r l i e r a r r i v a l would have a l lowed t h e d e f e a t 02 Arnarlkwa Tia s o u t h o f t h e P r a is based on t h e f a l s e premise t h a t t h e European t r o o p s were e x p e r i - enced i n bush-var fa rc . I n f a c t , t h e t h r e e b a t t a l i o n s were s t a l e from y e a r s o f g a r r i s o n d u t y i n t h e Uni ted Kingdom. (The 3ifl.e' Brigade was t h e u n i t w i t h t h e most r e c e n t o v e r s e a s du ty and it had been i n England f o r approximate ly s i x y e a r s . )

4 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p-17-11)+.

5 Brackenbury, Ashant i Xar ,

Vol. 2 , p. 304, and C l a r i d g e ,

Val* 1, pp. 373-374.

6 (3.0. 679/6; Gold Coast 39 Fu r t i l e r Corres7ondevce Eespect- i n g t h e Ashantee i n v ~ s i o n ; ~ e r i e ~ 7 ~ 1 0 5 u r e 2 , Eome t o Y o l s e - ~ ~ e ? - ~ & ? ~ ? j . The worry ove r the completion of t h e road wozld have been l e s s e n e d had a l l o f t h e s o y a 1 2 n g i n e e r s been disembarkca from t h e H i m l a y a on t h e 1 2 t h of December, How- e v e r , t h i s m a t t e r w i l l be d e a l t w i t h i n Chapter F ive . A p o i n t o f i n t e r e s t i n t h i s r e s p e c t was t h e a r r i v a l o f R.E. c o ~ ~ ~ l u n i c a t i o n s pe r sonne l . S i r Garnet had made a r e q u e s t i n u c t o b e r f o r 200 m i l e s of t e l e g r a p h w i r e and a s i g n a l s detachment o f one o f f i c e r and 25 o p e r a t o r s and l inemen t o be s e n t ou t u i t h t h e European t r o o p s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , on ly 1 2 o p e r a t o r s and l ines laen and 72 m i l e s o f w i r e a r r i v e d w i t h t h e t r o o p s whi le t h e r e r ~ a i r ~ i n g 126 r ~ l i l e s o f w i r e were s e n t o u t aboard one o f t h e s lowes t t r a n s p o r t s t hen i n use . Never- t h e l e s s , t h e wire irhich a r r i v e d wi th t h e Himalaya was i r m e d i a t e l y o f f - loaded and c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a l i n e was begun immediately. I ts c o n s t r u c t i o n and o p e r a t i o n was plagued by a l l manner of human and n a t u r a l problems but b e f o r e t h e carllpaign had come t o a c l o s e , t h e l i n e was o p e r a t i n g w i t h r ea sonab le e f f e c t i v e n e s s between Cape Coas t and Prasu .

7 Brackenbury, Ashant i ::ar, Vol. 1, pp. 316-317. Ths d a t e i s d i f f i c u l t t o confirci b u t vrvuld appea r t o have been sonetime i n t h e l a s t week o f F!overnber.

Zj Loc. c i t . .-

9 The cainps s e l e c t e d were:

a. Inkwabirn .......... 6% m i l e s from b. Akrofu.. ......... . l 3? tt 11

c. Yankurnasi Fanti...21+1 1t ............. d. t~lansu 358 tt e . S u t a . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 11 . 11

f . Yankumasi Assin ...5 8; 11

g. Beraku. ...........671 f1 11 a 1, h. Yrasu . . . . . . . . . . . . .73& 11

Coast n n 11

n

One shou ld n o t e t h a t t h e f i rs t two rnarches were purpose ly zlade as s h o r t a s p o s s i b l e , on account o f t h e absence o f a c y shade on t h a t p o r t i o n of t h e r o a d , and a l s o because t h e men, coming s t r a i g h t f rom on-board s h i p , cou ld n o t be expec ted t o be i n t r a i n i n g f o r a l o n g march i n t h e h e a t , and would have t o be broken-in g r a d u a l l y .

10 C.O. 8?9/6; G.C. 39 ; Scri.61 76, Wolseley t o Kimberley, 26 December, 1873.

11 Brackenbury, Ashant i Yar , Vol. 1, pp. 322-324.

1 2 C.O. 879/5; G.C . 35 ; S e r i a l 525, Enc losure 3 , Hone t o Wolseley, 26 ~ c t o b e r , 1 8 7 3 . T h i s was inc luded il: a despa t ch t o Kimberley d a t e d 5 November, 1873, and a p p e a r s t o be i n s u p p c r t of h i s r e q u e s t f o r t h e European t r o o p s .

13 Brackenbury, Ashant i Var , Vol. 1, p. 323.

14 I b i d . , p. 329. T h i s system was an improved and s p e c i a l - i z e d v a r i a t i o n o f t h e p r o c e s s o f c a s u a l t y evacua t ion which had be- gun t o appea r i n t h e American C i v i l Yar o f 1660-11155, a ~ d which evolved th rough t h e i n t e r v e n i n g y e a r s i n t o t h e system of echeloned c a s u a l t y evacua t ion and t r e a t m e n t now i n use i n most niodern amirs . T h i s p l an is d e s e r v i n g o f t h e c r e d i t i t r e c e i v e s frcm Srackenbury. However, t h e r e were major sho r t cox ings . For example, a l t h o u g h t h e manning o f t h e system invo lved no r e d u c t i o n i n t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e Nain Body and a l t h o u g h a l l members of t h e f i ~ h t i n g f o r c e ver8e handled by t h e sys tem, no a r rangements were l nc luded f o r t h e c a r e and t r e a t m e n t o f t h e Af r i can c a r r i e r s , e t c . I n a d d i t i o n , no medica l p l a n s were evolved f o r Glover , B u t l e r , and Dalryraplo.

1 5 See wolse ley , - S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 312. T h i s problem had a l r e a d y been c l e a r l y i f E s t r a t e d i n t h e Abyssinian campaign l e d by sir Robert Kapie r i n 1867 a g a i n s t t h e f o r t r e s s o f Nagdala, (See S t a n l e y , Coomassie and ;Ia,.;dala, f o r a ne1;s- p a p e r c o r r e s p o n d e n t ' s view o f t h i s puna t ive e x p e d i t i o n . See R . O l i v e r and J.D. F a t e , A Shor t H i s t o r y o f A f r i c a , Ba l t imore , Penguin Books, 1966, pp. 177-178, f o r a b r i e f rev iew of t h e . - - c i r cums tances ; ) I n m!.litary t e r i i s , t h e problem was s imply t h a t t r a n s p o r t cane under t h e Cont ro l depar tment ; a c i v i l i a n supply depar tment which had no i d e a of t h e n i i l i t a r y t r a n s p o r t r e q u i r e - ments. I t was n o t u n t i l t h e Boer ';Jar t h a t a p rope r m i l i t a r y t r a n s p o r t o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e Royal Aruy S e r v i c e Corps, cane i n t o be ing . See n o t e 18 below.

16 Although t h i s m a t t e r was p o s s i b l y t h e most thorough17 n i s - managed a s p e c t of t h e e n t i r e campaign ( s ee Chapter F i v e below 5 , it must be a d m i t t e d t h a t a number of a l t e r n a t i v e s t o human p o r t e r a g e had a t l e a s t been g iven s e r i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n . The p o s s i b i l i t y of t h e use o f m e c h m i c a l t r a n s p o r t , mules, e l e p h a n t s , m d s e v e r a l o t h e r s u b s t i t u t e s were a l l i n v e s t i c a t ed, I n t h e end, however, t h e passage o f time f o r c e d t h e abandonment of a l l schemes except t h e t r a n d i t i o n a l method of employing c a r r i e r s .

17 See Chapter Three , p . 112 above.

18 From a r e p o r t submi t t ed by Capta in Iiuyshe , D.A. - Q.I.I.Z., t o S i r Garnet . C i t e d i n Brackenbury, Ashant i I'!ar, - Vcl. 1, pp, 338-339. The r e l u c t a n c e of t h e F a n t i and o t h e r t r i b e m e n t o s e r v e i n t h e t r a n s p o r t c o r p s was due l a r g e l y t o s e v e r a l e z s i l y remedied c o r n p l a i ~ t s . The f o o d was poor and i n a d e q u a t e , t h e pay was spo- r a d i c , l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s poor , t r e z t n e n t was o f t e n b r u t a l , a n d gangs w e r e n o t o rgan ized on a t r i b a l b a s i s , hence men were f o r c e d t o work w i t h s t r ange r s - a f a c t which s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d morale . See below, Chapte r V , n o t e 26.

19 Capta in Huyshe was s e n t on a miss ion t o t h e d i f f e r e n t k ings and c h i e f s a t Asebu, Abrakrampa, Dunkwa, and ;:ansue Ile was t o a t t e m p t t o c o l l e c t , i n e x c e s s o f t h e men a l r e a d y under arms, some 5 ,000 c a r r i e r s . He managed t o c o l l e c t l e s s t h a n one- ten th t h a t number.

20 The p r o c e s s o f d i s a r a i n g t h e Af r i can l e v i e s had a c t u a l l y begun, a l t h o u ~ h on a ve ry small s c a l e , a f t e r t h e b a t t l e a t Ainsa where t h e y had proved t h e n s e l v e s s o u n r e l i a b l e . ) ! eve r the l e s s , t h i s f a i l e d t o r e c t i f y t h e s i t u a t i o n f o r t h e s e men d e s e r t e d t h e c a r r i e r co rps j u s t a s r e a d i l y as d i d t h o s e mer, r e c r u i t e d spec j - f i c - a l l y f o r c a r r i e r s e r v i c e . For d e t a i l s o f d i sa rming , s e e Sracken- bu ry , Ashant i War, Vol. 1, pp. 340-341.

21 Brackenbury comments t h a t bo th women and c h i l d r e n were o b t a i n e d f o r c a r r i e r s e r v i c e between Cape c o a s t and Dunkwa and t h a t t h e women proved t o be bo th w i l l i n g and s t r o n g and t h a t t h e y made i n f i n i t e l y b e t t e r c a r r i e r s than t h e men. See Brackenbury, Ashant i Yar , Vol. 1, pp. 336-338.

22 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 317.

23 Brackenbury, Ashant i !Jar, Vol. 1, p. 368. Vhether o r n o t t h e e v e n t u a l s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem was r e a l l y a r e s u l t o f ~ o l l e y ' s work--as clainied by b o t h l ' lolseley and Brackenbury--is deba tab le . C o l l e y T s a b i l i f y i s brought s h a r p l y i n t o q u e s t i o n by subsequent e v e n t s i n h i s c a r e e r . See e s p e c i a l l y ' I a n Hamilton, The Happy l iar- r i o r : A L i f e o f Geneyal S i r I a n Ilarnilton, London, C a s s e l l , 1900, PI;. 42-45, f o r C o l l e y t s r o l e i n t h e debac le a t Xajuba i n 1861.

24 I n b r i e f , Colonel Co l l ey organized t h e t r a n s p o r t as f o l - lows:

a. The T r a n s p o r t Corps was o rgan ized i n t o two branches ; t h e f i rs t was termed Regimel.?tal T r a n s p o r t , t h e second Loca l T ranspor t . There were , however, no t r a n s p o r t companies o r p l a toons .

b. Regimental T ranspor t i nc luded a l l c a r r i e r s a t t a c h e d permanently t o r eg imen t s , co rps , depa r tmen t s ; and moved r d t h t h e t r o o p s f o r t h e purpose of c a r r y i n g baggage and immediate r e s e r v e s of r a t i o n s , ammunition, and s u p p l i e s .

c. Loca l T ranspor t i nc luded a l l c a r r i e r s enploy- ed i n m a i n t a i n i n g s u p p l i e s and comrnunicatbors between Cape Coast and t h e f r c n t . It worked permanent ly between f i x e d s t a t i o n s a long t h e road which was d i v i d e d i n t o d i s t r i c t s f o r e a s e o f c o n t r o l and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

d. The c a r r i e r s were o rgan ized i n t o gangs based on r e g i o n a l and/or t r i b a l a s s o c i a t i o n and each man was r e g i s t e r e d and g iven a number s o t h a t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n was s i m p l i f i e d ,

e. Pay, f e e d i n g , r e s t , accomodation, medical t r e a t m e n t , and o t h e r s o u r c e s o f f r i c t i o n were s t a n d a r d i z e d and t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s c l e a r l y o u t l i n e d t o t h e o f f i c e r s concerned. For f u l l d e t a i l s , s e e Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 1, pp. 369-372. -

25 C.O. 87916; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 76, Enc losure 5 , Col ley t o Wolseley , 26 ~ e c e r n b e r m

26 Loc. c i t .

27 C.O. 679/6; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 153 , Vo l se l ey t o Eimberley, 8 Janua ry , 1873.

26 The major d i f f i c u l t y was t h e l a c k of suppor t s taff f o r Glover had b u t t e n B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s t o assist him. Another s e r i o u s problem l a y i n t h e f a c t t h a t h i s a l l i e s , mos t ly Akias and Accras , had been promised a c rack a t t h z i r t r a d i t i o n a l e ~ e x i e s from t h e 3ast bank o f t h e V o l t a , t h e kwunas and Ahranus, b e f o r e moving on t h e Asante.

29 Brackenbury, Ashant i l a r , V O ~ . 1, p . 399.

30 C.0. 87916; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 76, Enc losu re 1, Glover t o Wolseley, 22 ~ecernber-

31 C.O. 879/6; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 76, b fo l se l ey t o Kinber ley , 26 December, 1m3.

32 C.O. 879/5; G.C. 35 ; S e r i a l 477, l i o l s e l ey t o Zimberiey, 31 October , 1873; a n d m S e r i a l 521, k lolse lcy t o Kinber ley , 4 November, 1873,

33 Var ious despa t ches , and most of t h e p r i n a r y s o u r c e s make c o n s t a n t r e f e r e n c e t o t h e r e c k l e s s way' i n which Glover had been g i v i n g p r e s e n t s t o t h e Afr ican k i n ~ s and c h i e f s i n h i s e f f o r t s t o g a i n r e c r u i t s . He i s accused of h a v i ~ g d i s t r i b ~ t e d g i n , rum, tobacco and o t h e r a r t i c l e s w i t h an e x c e s s i v e l y l a v i s h hand i n t h a t e v e r y c h i e f o f any importance had r e c e i v e d goads and money t o t h e v a l u e of •’200 o r C300 i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e o r d i - n a r y g r a t u i t y and pay and al1or:ances f o r h i s men. Howe;.er, t h e s e comnents do n o t appea r p a r t i c u l a r l y j u s t i f i e d f o r it was Glover more t h a n h i s d e t r a c t o r s who h e w what w a s needed i n t h e way of g i f t s if t h e r e was t o be any Afr ican p a r t i c i p a t i o n . Q u i t e n a t u - r a l l y , Capta in B u t l e r p r e s e n t s t h e most v i t r i o l i c and. one-sided accoun t of t h i s problem b u t h i s cocinents have some v a l i d i t y . See a F . B u t l e r , Akim-Foo: The :! istory of a F a i l u r e , London, Smpson Low, I Ia rs ton , Low & S e a r l e , 1 m 5 , f o r 3 u t l e r ' s account o f h i s miss ion among t h e Akirns. It i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t G love r ' s d e s p a t c h e s p rov ide no r e f u t a t i o n t o t h e s e c h a r ~ e s and i t i s doubly u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t n e i t h e r Glover h imse l f n o r anyone e l s e h a s w r i t t e n o f h i s V o l t a e x p e d i t i o n and the reby p r e s e n t e d h i s s i d e of t h e s t o r y . There i s , however, a r e p o r t by Glover on t h e "Conduct of t h e Deputy Commissioners, O f f i c e r s and IYen C o n p o s i ~ g t h e Exped i t i on Under h i s Comrdandl', See B r i t i s h P a r l i a m n t a r y P a p e r s , 1874, X L V I , (Cmd. 8 9 2 ) , p. 1089.

34 B u t l e r , Akirn-Foo, pp, 153-154.

35 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p. 116. The f a i l u r e o f Dalrymple and B u t l e r t o accomplish t h e i r mi s s ions wr;s l a r g e l y due t o t h e i r i nexpe r i ence . They were w e l l suppor ted by I ' iolseley, who ensured t h a t t h e y r e c e i v e d s u p p l i e s on t h e same s c a l e as Glover , b u t t h e y were unable t o o p e r a t e e f f e c t i v e l y i n t h e r e - c r u i t m e n t of A f r i c a n s , On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e h i g h l y exper ienc- ed Glover had l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y i n c o l l e c t i n g a l a r g e Af r i can f o r c e . It i s r e v e a l l i n g of Wolse l ey t s a t t i t u d e t h a t Glover i s g iven l i t t l e c r e d i t f o r t h i s .

36 The g a r r i s o n t h e n a t P r a s u c o n s i s t e d of L'oodt s regiment of app rox ima te ly 450 men; X u s s e l l T s regiment w i t h some 500 men; Rai t ls A r t i l l e r y w i t h a s t r e n g t h of 50 men, 3 ?-pounder f i c l d guns , 2 4 2/5-inch h o w i t z e r s , a G a t l i n g gun, and 6 rocke t - t roughs ; t o g e t h e r wi th a detachment o f 70 men from 2PIIR.

37 See c h a p t e r F ive f o r f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s p o i n t , S i r Garnet! s employ~nent of t h e Y I R t r o o p s and the men ir. Yoodt s and Hussel-1 's reg iments r a i s e s e r i o u s q u e s t i o n s as t o h i s compe- t e n c e as a field-commander,

38 The d i sembarka t ion began a t 1:45 A . N . on t h e 1st when t h e pe r sonne l on t h e Himalaya were t r a n s f e r r e d a s h o r e and by 6:35 A . X . t h e whole of t h e R i f l e u r i g a d e and the detachment of Royal Eng inee r s were i n Inkwabirn. The un load ing o f t h e Sarmat ian began a t app rox ima te ly t h e same t ime on t h e 2nd and t h e t r a n s f e r t o s h o r e o f t h e Black Gatch proceeded w i t h the same q u i e t o r d e r and r e g u l a r i t y as had t h e d i sembarka t ion o f t h e R i f l e Brigade. The removal o f t h e F u s i l i e r s from t h e Tamar was scheduled t o t a k e p l a c e on t h e 3rd.

39 The problem l a y w i t h t h e r e g i m e n t a l t r a n s p o r t . The t r a n s p o r t requ i rement f o r t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s and t h e Naval Brigade was mal l and had been e a s i l y s a t i s f i e d . 'The R i f l e Brigade drew i t s t r a n s p o r t from Cape Coast , c h i e f l y Ahanta and C h i n a men wh i l e t h e t r a n s p o r t f o r t h e u l ack Katch , c h i e f l y Goomoahs, was brought down from I~lansu; and t h e s e two r eg imen t s s t a r t e d wi thou t d i f f i c u l t y , But c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e s e r v i c e were l i t t l e b e t t e r t han t h e y had been and between t h e 31st of December and t h e 3 r d of January , r e p o r t s were r e c e i v e d by Colone l Co l l ey of t h e d e s e r t i o n of t h e bu lk of t h e Adjumacoes; t h a t t h e Acoumfies had d i s p e r s e d even be- f o r e t h e y reached t h e r o a d ; and t h a t t h e Agoonahs, 500 i n number, had d e s e r t e d a f t e r one t r i p . Thus, f o r t h e very r e a s o n s t h a t had made r e c r u i t i n g o f c a r r i e r s d i f f i c u l t t o beg in w i t h , t h e t r a n s p o r t d e s i g n a t e d f o r t h e F u s i l i e r s s imply evapora ted . There remained o n l y t h e t r a n s p o r t a b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y t o ma in t a in t h e f low o f s u p p l i e s t o t h e f r o n t . See Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 2 , pp. 18-20; and C.O. 8 7 9 / 6 ; G.C. 39; s e r i a l 153, F o l s e l e y t o Kimberley, 8 Janua ry , 1874.

40 Brackenbury, Ashanf-,i Yar, Vol. 2 , pp. 19-20.

41 C.O. g79/'6; G.C. 39; s e r i a l 153, Wolseley t o Kinber ley , 8 January , 1874.

42 Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 2 , p. 20.

l k 3 Wolscley g l o s s e s over t h i s p o i n t i n h i s memoirs bu t h i s despa t ch t o Kimberley on t h e e t h of January r e f e r s t o t h e l o s s o f t h e F u s i l i e r s and co~rirnents on t h e f a c t t h a t he would have t o d e v i s e some way t o eneure t h a t t h e F ' u s i l i e r s would be r e g r e s e n t e d i n t h e campaign. T h i s he e v e n t u a l l y d i d by l a n d i n g one hundred members of t h a t u n i t t o r e p l a c e one hundred of t h e Black \ la tch who were s p e c i a l l y chosen as be ing t h e l e a s t l i k e l y t o b e a r t h e f a t i g u e s of t h e campaign.

44 Formed on t h e 1 6 t h o f October , 1873, by Captain H a i t , R . A . , one s e r g e a n t , one bombardier , and 1 0 Hausa gunners ; t h i s u n i t had grown t o i n c l u d e Cap ta in Rait, one l i e u t e n a n t , two s e r g e a n t s , f o u r bombardiers and 50 Iiausa gunners by t h e 2nd of January , 1874. Arrned w i t h 3 x 7-pounder guns , 2 x 4 2/5-inch howi t ze r s , a Gat- l i n g gun, and 6 r o c k e t t r o u g h s , t h i s u n i t had, by a l l accoun t s , become a w e l l - d r i l l e d and competent f i r e - u n i t . See brackenbury, Ashant i :Jar - 9 Vol. 1, p. 206, and -* I b i d 3 Vol. 2 , pp. 10-11.

45 P r i o r t o t h i s t i m e , S i r Garnet had been l o a t h t o use his powers i n o r d e r t o coerce t h e A f r i c a n s t o s e r v e . However, he now recognized t h e s e r i o u s n e s s of t h e s i t u a t i o n and a p p l i e s a l l t h e p r e s s u r e o f which he was capable . See Xeade, Ashantee Campaign, p. 234 e t . seq. ; and Eiaurice, Ashantee L'ar, pp. 251-252, f o r f u r t h e r cormentary .

46 The numbers s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s e d and by t h e 1 5 t h , t h e r e were 4 ,200 men and 1 , 2 5 0 women employed w i t h t h e Loca l t r a n s p o r t s e c t i o n s . See Brackenbury, Ashant i Yar , Vol. 2 , p. 34.

47 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p. 104.

48 One can unde r s t and t h i s mot ive b u t it i s d i f f i c u l t t o see how any m i l i t a r y commander could s o b l i t h e l y compromise h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o ach ieve s u r p r i s e and t h u s g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e t h e risk t o h i s t r o o p s .

49 S i r Garnet had e s t i m a t e d t h e c o s t of t h e e x p e d i t i o n a t •’150,000. It a c t u a l l y c o s t approxinla te ly , Z300,OOO. The i n - demnity wocld have had a market v a l u e c o n s i d e r a b l y i n exces s o f t h a t amount.

50 F o r t h e t e x t of Kofi K a r i k a r i ' s l e t t e r s , see G.O. 879/6; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 148, Holse l ey t o Kiroberley, 2 Janua ry , 1874; and for Garne t f s r e p l y , s e e I b i d . , S e r i a l 151 , 7 lolse ley t o Kirnberley , 6 Janua ry , 1874.

51 Although more w i l l be s a i d of t h i s i n Chapter F i v e below, it i s of i n t e r e s t t o n o t e h e r e t h a t d e s p i t e t h i s use of t h e Gat- l i n g gun t o demons t ra te B r i t i s h s u p e r i o r i t y i n weapons, t h e gun was n o t used e f f e c t i v e l y i n t h e subsequent campaign. Dlo r ea son i s given f o r t h i s and t h e weapon i s n e v e r mentioned a f t e r Prasu .

52 Some of t h e t r o o p s seen by t h e envoys on t h e i r r e t u r n t o Kumasi were p a r t o f a r u s e dev i sed by S i r Garnet and t h o s e men r e - t u r n e d t o P r a s u once t h e Asantes had passed by. However, t h e r e were a l r e a d y c o n s i d e r a b l e B r i t i s h f o r c e s o p e r a t i n g n o r t h o f t h e r i v e r by t h i s tirne. See below pp. 16Sf-170.

53 C O O . 879/6; G.C. 39; s e r i a l 76, Xo l se l ey t o Kimberley, 26 December, 1873.

54 The o r i g i n a l body o f s c o u t s had o n l y been formed i n e a r l y December. It c o n s i s t e d o f sorrie twenty A f r i c a n s of mixed o r i g i n under a L i e u t e n a n t Grant . T h e i r on ly t r a i n i n g had been "on t h e jobrf . Hotrever,. some t h i r t y Ass ins were added and a l - though t h e y l a c k e d i n fo rma l m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g , t h e y knew t h e coun t ry s o u t h o f t h e Adansi H i l l s and were t h u s of g r e a t v a l u e . I n g e n e r a l , t h e s c o u t s a c q u i t t e d themse lves w e l l th roughout t h e i n v a s i o n . However, a f t e r t h e b a t t l e of Amoafu, S i r Garnet fa i l - ed t o use them e f f e c t i v e l y .

55 C.O. 879/6; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 1 5 1 , Wolseley t o Kimberley, 6 Janua ry , 1874. himo of Asante r e s i s t a n c e i s most s i g n i f i - c a n t . Wolseley chose t o i n t e r p r e t it as an i n d i c a t i o n that Kofi K a r i k a r i was s imply unable t o c o n f r o n t t h e B r i t i s h a t t h i s p o i n t . He a l s o chose t o view t h e subsequent Asante e n b a s s i e s as t ime- buying d e v i c e s t h rough t h e use of which t h e Asantehene expected t o be a b l e t o r a i s e s u f f i c i e ~ t f o r c e s t o r e p e l t h e B r i t i s h f o r c e . It i s more l i k e l y , however, t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i r e f r a i n e d from c h a l l e n g i n g t h e i n v a d e r s a t t h i s p o i n t i n t h e hope t h a t a nego- t i a t e d s e t t l e m e n t could be reached. See Chapter F ive below.

56 C.0 . 879/6; Gold c o a s t No. 41, Ashantee Invas ion : L a t e s t Despa tches from S i r Garnet !Volseley; S e r i a l 4 , 1;iolseley t o Kimber- l e y , 12 Janua ry , 1874.

57 Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four Years , p. 263.

58 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p. 113.

59 LOC. c i t , -

60 \ h e n ques t ioned , 14r. Kuhne, who was with t h e envoys, s t a t e d t h a t when Amankwa Tia had reached ICumasi Gn t h e 22nd of December, h i s army had been disbanded and t h e men s e n t t o t h e i r homes. He c la imed t h a t t h e on ly people on t h e road between t h e Adansi Hills and t h e F r a , a s of t h e 2nd o f Jariuary, were a few h u n t e r s i n h a b i t i n g t h e a l l b u t d e s e r t e d v i l l a g e s t h e r e . Eeyond t h e Adansi IIills, hcwever, would be found t h e Adansi con t ingen t of t h e main army. See Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 2 , p. 5 0 . It i s p o s s i b l e t h a t a t t h i s p o i n t t h e Asante were s t i l l e x p e c t i n g the B r i t i s h t o f o l l o w t h e p a t t e r n e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1863--the p a t - t e r n co'mion t o t r i b a l war fa re wherein t h e h o s t i l i t i e s ceased once t h e enemy was c l e a r of t he d e f e n d e r ' s t e r r i t o r y . T h i s was t h e a t t i t u d e t aken by t h e F a n t i , who were c e r t a i n l y unable t o a p p r e c i - a t e t h e B r i t i s h d e t e r x i n a t i o n t o c a r r y on t h e f i g h t , T h e r e f o r e , it i s r e a s o n a b l e t o suppose t b t t h e Asante viewed t h i n g s i n t h e same l i g h t .

61 See C.O. 679 /6 ; G.C. 41; S e r i a l 5 , Vo l se l ey t o Kimberley, 13 Janua ry , 1874; f o r t h e t e x t o f t h i s l e t t e r and S i r G a r n e t ' s response as w e l l a s t h e c i rcumstances su r round ing t h e a r r i v a l o f M r . Kuhne, e t c .

62 I4r. Kuhne never admi t s t h a t he s a i d a n y t h i n g l i k e t h i s t o S i r Garnet . IIe d o e s say , however, t h a t he t o l d S i r Garnet t h a t he b e l i e v e d i t probable t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i was p r e p a r i n g t o defend Kumasi a t a l l c o s t s . It would t h u s appear t h a t S i r Garnet p u t h i s ovm i n t e r p r e t a t i o n on t h e m i s s i o n a r y ' s torments. See Chapte r F ive below f o r f u r t h e r comment.

63 C.O. 879/6; G.C. 41; S e r i a l 5.

64 Brackenbury, Ashant i Var , Vol. 2 , pp. 59-70. S u r p r i s i n g - l y enough, S i r Garnet cou ld s e e no s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e f a c t t h a t h i s f o r c e s had been o p e r a t i n g i n Asante t e r r i t o r y f o r a lmost two weeks w i t h o u t e ~ c o u n t e r i n g any A s a ~ t e r e s i s t a n c e . He s imply cont inued t o b e l i e v e t h a t it would conce ivab ly t a k e t h i s l o n g f o r Kofi K a r i k a r i t o f i e l d any r e s p e c t a b l y s i z e d f o r c e . !le t h e r e f o r e con t inued i n h i s r e f u s a l t o s e e t h i s as any s i g n of c o n c i l i a t i c n and adhered t o h i s b e l i e f t h a t t h e Asan tehene t s r e q u e s t s f o r a compromise were b u t a c l e v e r ploy. See Chapter F ive below f o r f u r t h e r co~unent ,

65 The t e r r i t o r y s o u t h of t h e Adansi H i l l s was cons idered p a r t of t h e Asante Empire b u t it was t e r r i t o r y which had been s u b j u ~ a t e d . The t e r r i t o r y n o r t h of t h e h i l l s was p a r t o f c e n t r a l o r ~ ~ e t r o p o l i t a n Asante and a s such had much c l o s e r p o l i . t i c a 1 and e t h n i c t i e s w i t h Kurnasi and t h e f isantehene. See C a p t a i ~ . R.S . R a t t r a y , Ashant i Law and C o n s t i t u t i o n , London, oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 F f o r a f u l l d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e Asante Ernpire. See a l s o , Kwarne Arkin , T h e S t r u c t u r e of G r e a t e r Ashant i" 3 ---.- J o u r n a l of Afr ican Mis torx , Vol. 8 , No. 1, (1967), pp. 65-86, and above Chapter I, n o t e 11.

66 Brackenbury, Ashant i !Jar, Vol. 2 , p. 71.

67 T h i s I1.Q. was used as i t s t r o o p s were employed on l i n e c o m u n i c a t i o n s d u t i e s and it t h e r e f o r e had no command f u n c t i o n perform.

68 Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 321. T h i s was ac- complished by a combination o f s l i g h t l y b e t t e r food , e t c . , and by i n c r e a s e d p e n a l t i e s f o r descrt;ion and r e f u s a l t o work.

69 One of t h e General's major concerns was t h e r i s i n g i n - c idence o f s i c k n e s s . By t h e 25 th of J anua ry , 3 o f f i c e r s and 215 o the r - r anks had been s e n t down t o t h e Coast . I n f a c t , t h e s i t u a t i o n was s o s e r i o u s t h a t an a d d i t i o n a l 200 men from t h e V u s i l i e r s were landed and marched t o P r a s u a s r e in fo rcemen t s even be fo re t h e Idrain uody c ros sed t h e P r a . See lar ridge, l ! i s to ry , Vol. 2 , pp. 109-110. T h i s concern was w e l l warranted as ',Jolseley h imse l f was l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e f a c t o r s which caused t h e d e l a y and should he be unable t o ach ieve h i s aim, no doubt h i s neg l igence would be r evea l ed . His p o s i t i o n on t h i s occas ion t e n d s t o make h i s o r d e r s t o Glover appea r unwarranted. But , i n a l l fair- n e s s t o CJolseley, it must be no ted t h a t had he a l lowed Glover t o become involved i n t r i b a l wars e a s t o f t h e V o l t a , it i s p o s s i b l e t h a t Glover would c o n t r i b u t e d n o t h i n g t o t h e succes s o f t h e carnp- a i g n . A s rnatt,ers developed, however, he rnade s e v e r a l v i t a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e B r i t i s h succes s .

70 Brackenbury, Ashant i War, Vol. 2 , p , 73.

71 FJolseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 328.

72 C.O. 879/6; G.C. 41; S e r i a l 9 , Wolseley t o Kimberley, 26 January , 1874.

73 The comments i n n o t e s 60 and 62 above appear t o a l s o a p p l y i n t h i s i n s t a n c e . Indeed, t h e f a c t t h a t Kof i K n r i k a r i had by t h i s t ime had t h r e e weeks w i t h i n which t o r a i s e h i s army g i v e s s u f f i c i e n t cause t o q u e s t i o n S i r G a r n e t ' s mot ives f o r n o t s e e i n g some o t h e r r ea son f o r t h e unusua l l a c k o f Asante r e s i s t a n c e .

75 See C.0. 879/6; Gold Coast 43, C h r o n o l o ~ i c a l Table of & v e n t s a t t h e Gold - Coas t ; p. 8.

76 It i s o f t e n mi s t aken ly b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e Asantchene was an a b s o l u t e rnonarch capable o f o r d e r i r ? ~ h i s s u b j e c t s t o obey h i s every Gonnand. T h i s was no t t h e c a s e , however, f o r every a s p e c t of Asante l i f e r e l i e d h e a v i l y on t h e r e a c h i n g o f a conser.sus r e g a r d l e s s o f l e v e l of s o c i e t y involved . See n o t e 65 above f o r s o u r c e s on t h i s matter. Ramseyer and Kuhne comxent t h a t : " t h e reins o f t h e Ashantee government a r e n o t e x c l u s i v e l y i n t h e hands o f t h e k ing , n o r does he p o s s e s s un l imi t ed power, b u t s h a r e s i: w i t h a c o u n c i l which i n c l u d e s , b e s i d e s h i s m a j e s t y , h i s n o t h e r t h e t h r e e f i r s t c h i e f s of t h e kingdom ( ~ u a b e n , Behra i and Zampongl, and a few n o b l e s o f Kunasi. . ." See Ramseyer and Kuhne, Four - Years , appx. 111, "The Government o f Ashanteen.

77 See Drackenbury, Ashant i 'Jar, Vol. 2 , Chap, 111.

78 A c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r was a b a t t l e which took p l a c e be- tween Uut;lerls f o r c e and a n e lement of G love r ' s column when each took t h e o t h c r f o r t h e enemy n e a r t h e town o f Enunsu on t h e 26 th of January . To d a t e , however, t h e r e i s no e x p l a n a t i o n , o t h e r t h a n B u t l e r 1 s charge o f cowardice , f o r t h e sudde? pan ic o f t h e Akin~s on t h e 30 th o f January j u s t be fo re t h e y t iere t o c a r r y ou t a flank a t5ack a g a i n s t t h e Asantes t hen be ing engaged by S i r Gmnet a t Anoafu. See B u t l e r , Akin-P'oo, Chap. 1311, f o r h i s cormer.ts. See a l s o Cmd. 892, Gold Coas t , F u r t h e r Correspondence Respec t i r .~ ; t h e Ashantee I n v a s i o n , K O . 8 ; S e r i a l 1 5 , k lolse ley t o Kinber ley , - 7 February , 1vC

79 C.0. 879/6; -- G.C. 41; S e r i a l 9 , V o l s e l e y t o Kimberley 26 Janua ry , 1874; and i jrackenbury, Ashant i !Jar, Vol. 2 , pp. 94- 105.

80 Ranseycr and Kuhne, Four Years , pp. 2'73-274; C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r , Vol. 2 , p, 1 1 7 ; and Erackenbury, Ashant i Yar, Vol. 2, d

81 Brackenbury, Ashant i - 9 'Jar Vol. 2 , p. 133.

82 C.O. 879/6; G.C. 41; S e r i a l 9, Vo l se l ey t o Kimberley, 26 Janua ry , 1874; a n d m x e y , - S o l d i e r l s L i f e , - Vol. 2 , p. 33b.

85 tk. Joseph Dawson, an educa ted Af r i can , had been Secre- t a r y of t h e ? a n t i Confedera t ion and had been s e n t t o Kmasi dur- i n g t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s p reced ing t h e war as an i n t e r p r e t e r . Upon t h e ou tb reak of war, he had been ob l iged t o reiliain i n !;ui;lasi. See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p. 248.

66 V i r t u a l l y eve ry pr imary source makes mention o f t h e f a c t t h a t Davson i n c l u d e d i n h i s n o t e a r e f e r e n c e t o t h e B i b l e , i . e . , "See 2 dor . ii. 11." That v e r s e is: "Lest Sa t an should g e t an advantage of us: f o r we a r e n o t i g n o r a n t of h i s dev icesb r I

87 Uolse l ey , S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. 337; and C.O. 679/6 ; G C lc3 .-,,,) Po 1 0 .

88 Wood's and R u s s e l l ' s r eg imen t s , however, had been much reduced i n s t r e n g t h , f o r t h e y had been p r o v i d i n g detachments t o g a r r i s o n t h e p o s t s s c a t t e r e d a l o n g t h e road .

89 Brackenbury, Ashant i Var , Vol. 2, p. 158. See diagram

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9 0 I b i d . , p. 1 5 ? - 1 ~ 0 .

91 Rogers , Campaigning, p. 149. Aside from i t s t a c t i c a l '

s i g n i f i c a n c e , t h i s b a t t l e is impor t an t f o r what it r e v e a l s o f t h e Wolseley/Kof i Kar i l ra r i correspondence. Even lirackenbury a d n i t s t h a t ev idence was found a f t e r t h e b a t t l e which i n d i c a t e d that ~nuch of t h e Asante f o r c e had been a t Amoafu f o r a t l e a s t f i v e o r s i x days . I n a d d i t i o n , t he s c o u t s had con f i rned t h e presence of a l a r g e Asante f o r c e a t Amoafu on t h e 26 th of January : f i v e days b e f o r e t h e b a t t l e . It seems r easonab le t o assume, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t Eof i K a r i k a r i had f o r soiiie t i n e possessed f o r c e s s u f 3 . c i e n t t o c h a l l e n g e t h e k i t i s h advance. ?'he f a c t that he waited u n t i l Amoafu t o do so i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h a t it would appea r t o sub- s t a n t i a t e h i s p r o t e s t a t i o n s t h a t he d i d no t wish t o f i g h t b u t

t h a t he much p r e f e r r e d t o r each a n e g o t i a t e d settlement. See I lenty 's coniment on p. 38 of t h i s Chapter ,

92 Brackenbury, A s h a ~ t i !jar, Vol. 2 , ~ p . 168-170; and Wolseley, S o l d i e r ' s - ~ix Vol. 2 , pp. 341-344.

93 Loc. c i t .

94 One o f t h e s e p a r t i e s a c t u a l l y cane c l o s e t o e i t h e r k i l - l i n g o r c a p t u r i n g S i r Gmnet h imse l f when it a t t a c k e d t h e v i l l a g e of Kwaman, f r o n which he tias d i r e c t i n g t h e b a t t l e .

95 See C.O. 879/6; G.G. 4.3, pp. 10-11 f o r a b r i e f resame.

96 Henty, Coornassie, p. 197.

97 Both Brackenbury and ':!olseley a t t e m p t t o make t h i s i n - c i d e n t appea r much l e s s impor tan t t h a n it r e a l l y was by s t r e s s i n g t h e a p p a r e n t l y e f f e c t i v e u r i t i s h counte 'r-neasures. Elowever. both - -

Keade, i lshantee C a n ~ a i g n , pp. 247-250; and S t a n l e y , - ~ o o r n a s s i e -- and blagdzla, pp, 173-175, coriu.ien.t, p o s s i b l y w i t h t h e wisdom o f hind- s i g h t , on t h e s e r i o u s n e s s of t h e s i t u a t i o n . Lloyd, Drums, Chap. 8, g ives a ba lanced c r i t i c a l accoun t of the e n t i r e Anoafu a c t i o n .

98 Brackenbury, Ashant i ' Jar , Vol. 2, p. 185-166.

99 See C l a r i d g e , X i s t o r , Vol. 2 , p. 124 , f o r t h e most complete d e s c r i p t i o n of --f casua t i e s . The s i t u a t i o n w i t h t h e B r i t i s h was c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d by Erackenbury who wro te , "Our l o s e s i n t h i s a c t i o n (Amoafu) s a d l y diminished t h e l i t t l e f o r c e a l r e a d y so much t h i n n e d by - s ickness . O f t h e 1 ,550 European rl ,L. o f f i c e r s and nen who had o r i g i n a l l y l anded . . . o n l y 1 ,375 were p r e s e n t a t kmoafu, n e a r l y 200 having t h u s succumbed t o s i c k n e s s , o r zbout 12 p e r c e z t , i n t h e space o f one rnonthOtr See Brackenbury, A s h a n t i Var, Vol. 2 , p, 184.

100 Brackcnbury, Ashant i Yar, Vol. 2 , p. 193.

1 0 1 See Cmd. 892 , G . G . 8 , f o r comments on t h i s a s p e c t o f t h e campaign.

102 Brackenbury, Ashant i ' Ja r , Vol. 2 , p. 200.

103 A s would be expec t ed , t h i s was n o t t h e on ly cor,cern f a c i n g U o l s c l e y t o d e c i d e on such a d e s p e r a t e move. Although he f a i l s t o mention it i n h i s memoirs, s i c k n e s s was a major f a c t o r i n h e l p i n g him t o d e c i d e t o p r e s s on. A t t r i t i o n due t o f e v e r , e t c . , had by no means s lackened and i f he d i d n o t move q u i c k l y , h i s Europezn f o r c e n i g h t e a s i l y hzve mel ted away even before r e a c h i n g Kur~as i . See Brackenbury, Ashant i Var, Vol. 2 , Tab le VI,

p. 344. See a l s o t Jo l se ley , S o l d i e r T s L i f e , Vol. 2 , pp. 338-342, f o r S i r Ga rne t ' s comments.

104 See Cmd. 892, Brackenbury, Ashant i ;Jar Vol. 2 , pp, 201-202.

- 9

105 The t e r m r lapparen t ly f i i s used h e r e because t h e r e is no ev idence t o show t h a t S i r Garnet a p p r e c i a t e d t h e enormity of h i s demand. Indeed, no Englishman r e a l l y unders tood t h i s m a t t e r until Captain R a t t r a y made h i s s t u d y of t h e k s a n t e i n t h e e a r l y 20 th cen tu ry .

106 Loc. c i t .

107 Indeed, t h e B r i t i s h a l r e a d y knew, tiirough t h e inforrnatici ; ga ined fro12 s p i e s and p r i s o n e r s , t h a t a l a r g e f o r c e w a s be ing co l - l e c t e d t o t h e n o r t h of t h e Oda 9 i v e r , where t h e A s a n t e h e ~ e i n t w d - ed t o make a f i n a l s t and i f h i s n e g o t i a t i o n s f a i l e d . See ?+!olseley, S o l d i e r r s L i f e , Vol. 2 , -pp. 345-347. A s n a t t e r s developed, Kofi - - aariTari a c t u a l l y took t o t h e f i e l d and was p r e s e n t w i t h h i s t r o - ops d u r i n g t h e b a t t l e which fol lowed t h i s exchange.

106 Brackenbury, Ashant i !Jar, Vol. 2 , pp. 206-207.

109 Wolseley even goes so f a r as t o admit t h a t had t h e er,emy been armed w i t h t h e S n i d e r r i f l e , m a t t e r s might have gene d i f - f e r e n t l y f o r t h e 13r i t i sh . See Vo l se l ey , S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Voi. 2 , p. 343. Having a l r e a d y c u t h imse l f o f f from h i s :win supply co l - umn, t h e Genera l now complete ly i s o l a t e d h i s f o r c e . It is hard t o b e l i e v e t h a t he took such a monumental r i s k and managed t o emerge from it r e l a t i v e l y unscathed. However, h i s succes s i n t h i s m a t t e r does no t nega t e t h e f a c t t h a t h i s a c t i o n s a r e no re t h o s e which one wocld expec t of an i g n o r a n t , g lo ry -hun t ing sub- a l t e r n r a t h e r t han a n exper ienced field-commander o f g e n e r a l rank.

110 Brackenbury, Ashant i 'Jar Vol. 2 , p. 212. Rent ion has .-' been nmde p r e v i o u s l y of t h e mls-employinent o f t'Joodls and R u s s e l l ' s reg iments i n t h i s o p e r a t i o n , b u t t h i s i s t h e f i r s t admiss ion on t h e p a r t o f any contemporary t h a t t h e y were l e s s t h a n s a t i s f a c t o r y . It would seem t h a t t h i s a l o n e would have j u s t i f i e d t h e r e t e n t i o n of t h e s e two TTRingern-led u n i t s s o u t h of t h e Yra ar,d t h e employ- ment of t h e much no re s u i t a b l e t r o o p s of t h e T;iIH i n t h e i r s t e a d .

111 -. I b i d , p. 215. T h i s h i g h l y d rama t i c d e s c r i p t t o n of t h e breakout r e v e a l s t h a t t h e Asante f o r c e between Odasu and I:un;a.si was no t v e r y l a r g e f o r t h e Black klatch had l e s s t han 400 nen f i t f o r a c t i o n , Indeed , subsequent ev idence proved t h a t Rof i K a r i k a r i , who had been p r e s e n t i n t h e f i e l d , had hinlself f l e d t h e s cene a t about t h e t ime of t h e charge by t h e Highl-anders. There i s t h e r e - f o r e reason t o s u s p e c t t h a t t h e Asantehene had a l r e a d y dec ided t o g i v e up I<unasi and nove to - t h e nor thwes t even b e f o r e t h e j l r i t i s h breakout .

112 ,,, I b i d 9 p. 216. T h i s s u c c e s s was no doubt l a r g e l y due t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e B r i t i s h move came as a complete s u r p r i s e . The Asante had Wolse l ey t s t i n y f o r c e s u r r o m d e d and outnumbered. In t h e s e c i r c u r n s t a ~ c e s , it is r easonab le t o assume t h a t t h e l a s t t h i n g t h e y would expec t would be an a t t a c k by t h e surrounded f o r c e . The combination o f Hai t ' s a r t i l l e r y f i r e and t h e h i g h l y a g g r e s s i v e i n f a n t r y appea r s t o have thrown t h e Asante t r o o p s between Odasu and Eurnasi i n t o confus ion .

113 Loc. c i t . --- 114 T h i s was a c t u a l l y a baggage d e t a i l composed o f 50 s i c k

and wounded Europeans and t h e bu lk o f I i u s s e l l l s regiment .

115 See C.O.d79/6; -- G . C . 43; pp. 12-14 f o r a g e n e r a l resume.

116 C.0. 879/6 ; G.C. 41; S e r i a l 11, l j o l s e l e y t o Kimberley, 5 February , 1874. ~ e e m l o y d , Drums , Chap. 1 0 f o r an exce l - l e n t c r i t i c a l account of t h i s b a t t l e .

11.7 One o f t h e unexplained m y s t e r i e s o f t h i s war i s t h e r o l e p layed by Davrson. There i s no e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e f a c t t h a t h e warned S i r Garnet of t h e Asan tehene t s supposed p e r f i d i t y on t h e one hand and then r e f u s e d t o co-opcra te once i h n a s i was t a k e n and he was no l o n g e r under t h r e a t of dea th .

118 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p. 126. Wolseley h imse l f n e v e r e x p l a i n s t h i s sudden change of mind w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e hos t ages . Alan Lloyd s u g g e s t s t h a t he r e a l i z 2 d , a f t e r h i s a r - r i v a l i n Kurilasi, t h a t h i s whole o p e r a t i o n was i n jeopardy and t h e requi rement f o r - h o s t a g e s was t h u s reduced. See Lloyd, -- Druas - 3

pp. 170-171,

119 Brackenbury contends t h a t t h e robbing and b u . r n i n ~ of t h e houses were due t o t h e F a n t i p r i s o n e r s whom t h e S r i t i s h had r e l e a s e d t flat same a f t e rnoon . IIe e s t i m a t e s t h a t approximate ly one- four th of t h e dwe l l i ngs i n t h e town were des t royed . See Brackenbury, Ashnnt i 'Jar, Vol. 2 , p . 231.

120 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vole 2 , p. 127.

1 2 1 T h i s s h o r t c o n i n g was r e c t i f i e d i n t h e morning when a guard of 100 men from t h e Rif le Brigade was d e t a i l e d t o guard t h e p a l a c e and s t o p t h e f l ow of t r e a s u r e i n t o t h e bush.

122 Brackenbury, - Ashant i Ylar, Vol. 2 , p. 237.

123 A t t h i s t i m e , t h e r e was some p r e s s u r e pu t upon l ' lolseley t o march on Bantana, t h e s i t e o f t h e Asante r o y a l b u r i a l &round, and dest .roy it f o r t h e p s y c l ~ o 1 o ~ ; i c a l e f f e c t such a move wculd have. Therp2 was a l s o a s t r o n g t empta t ion t o s t a y one day l o n g e r i n t h e hope t h a t t h e Asantehene would appea r and s i z n a t r e a t y be fo re t h e t r o o p s withdrew. See a rackenbury , - Ashant i Var , Vol. 2, pp. 236-239.

1 2 4 On t h i s m a t t e r , Hraclcenbury comnents t h a t i t was o u t of t h e q u e s t i o n t o under take any o p e r a t i o n which might i nvo lve a n o t h e r b a t t l e . He s t a t e s t h a t any i n c r e a s e i n t h e number o f s i c k and wounded wl:ld have p laced it beyond t h e power of t h e f o r c e t o remove them f r o x Kurfiasi a s t h e r e were s imply n o t enough h a m o c k s o r b e a r e r s t o c a r r y them.

125 T h i s l o o t was s o l d a t a u c t i o n when it a r r i v e d a t Cape Coast and t h e 25,000 r e a l i z e d was appor t ioned t o t h e t r o o p s GS p r i z e money. See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol, 2 , p , 144.

126 U.0, 879/6; G ; C . 41; Vo l se l ey t o Kiaiberley, 8 February , 1874. F u r t h e r details- found i n md. 892, G.G. $; S e r i a l 14, Vo l se l ey t 9 Kimberley, 7 February , 1874.

1 2 7 These u n i t s were r e t a i n e d f o r a s h o r t t i n e only . Before t h e end of Flnrch, Wood's Regiment had beer! d isbanded a t El:nina, R u s s e l l l s Regiment and Rait ts A r t i l l e r y had been disbanded a t Cape Coast ar?d 21CIR had r e t u r n e d t o t h e Yes t I n d i e s . Cnly l'i?IR remained i n t h e ' P r o t e c t o r a t e 1 .

128 The s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g inc idence o f s i c k n e s s a l s o prompted t h i s a c c e l e r a t i o n i n t h e wi thdrawal of t h e Suropean t r o - ops . The P!aval Brigade and t h e F u s i l i e r s were embarked on t h e 2 0 t h , t h e R i f l e 3 r i g a d e and t h e Royal Engineers on t h e 23rd , t h e s e r i o u s l y ill on t h e 26 th , and t h e b l a c k \ latch on t h e 27th.

129 B r i e i s h F a r l i a m e n t a r y Pape r s ; 1874; Vol. XLVI; S e r i a l 17, Uo l se l ey t o Kimberley, 9 P'ebruary, 1874. It has been sugges t - ed by s e v e r a l o b s e r v e r s t h a t t h e Asantehene had h e l d back from n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h S i r Garnet i n Kunasi because he f e a r e d f o r h i s l i f e and because h i s f o l l o w e r s were once more g a t h e r i n g around him. See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , p . 134, f o r one example. It i s also sugges t ed t h a t it was t h e t h r e a t posed by Glover which prompted him t o a c t when he d i d . S e e , Lloyd, D r u m , pp. 178-179. C e r t a i n l y t h e r e q u e s t Gloves be h a l t e d s u p p o r t s t h i s view.

130 Glover had l e f t Abogu on t h e 26 th of January and oc- cupied 1ionot.lo where he rernained encmped a w a i t i n g t h e a r r i v a l of f u r t h e r s u p p l i e s of ammunition and sending ou t f r e q u e n t recon- n a i s s a n c e s i n e v e r y d i r e c t i o r . . On t h e 1st o f February, he con- f i rmed M s s u s p i c i o n t h a t t h e J a b i n s were encamped a l o n g t h e Enuv R i v e r and t h a t t h e y in t ended t o oppose any f u r t h e r advance on h i s

part;. However, by t h e 8 t h , he had r ece ived f r e s h s u p p l i e s o f am- muni t ion. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e end o f t h e A f r i c a n s T t r a n s - T o l t a ex- p e d i t i o n which had c o s t him most of h i s ~ f r i c a n l e v i e s , combined w i t h t h e e f f e c t h i s s u c c e s s t o d a t e r e s u l t e d i n t h e a r r i v a i of a reinforcenlerl t of about 4,000 kkirns, Akwapims and Krobos . iIe t h e n advanced t o a t t a c k t h e J a b i n p o s i t i o n , which he found aban- doned. T h i s was, of c o w s e , due Lo t h e f a l l of iiuclasi, o f which Glover as y e t knew noth ing . Glover cont inued h i s advavce avd, on t h e l o t h , b e l i e v i n g h e was then wi th in about seven rriiles o f Kwnasi and under t h e impress ion t h a t :-iolseley was s t i l l i n t h e Asante c a p i t a l , he s e n t h i s a s s i s t a n t , Capta in S a r t o r i u s t o open communication w i t h t h e General . I n f a c t , however, t h e d i s t a n c e was c l o s e r t o e i f ;h teen m i l e s and t h e eneny was s t i l l about i n c o n s i d e r a b l e s t r e n g t h and S a r t o r i u s was unable t o c o n t a c t ' I iolsel- e y u n t i l the 1 2 t h when he f i n a l l y caught up wi tn t h e General i n h i s camp i n Fomana, Capta in Glover fo l lowed S a r t o r i u s , e n t e r i n g Kumasi w i th 4 ,700 men soon a f t e r midday of t h e 1 2 t h , a ~ d t h e n marching by e a s y s t a g e s t o Kwarnan, which he reached on t h e 1 4 t h . See Brackenbury, Ashant i 7:!ar, Vol. 2 , pp. 262-265; and Czd. 892, G.C. 8 ; S e r i a l 46, Enc losu re 1, Glover t o Uo l se l ey , 20 February, W r

131 C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vo le 2 , p. 148.

132 I b i d . , pp. 274-275. See a l s o , Cmd. 892, G.C. o"; S e r i a l 25, SJolseley t o Kimberley, 16 February , 1874.

133 See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2 , pp. 154-156, f c r a b r i e f rev iew of t h i s m a t t e r ; and Cmd. 892, G.C. 8 ; S e r i a l 35, Yo l se l ey t o Kimberley, 13 February , 1874.

134 Brackenbury, Ashant i ?Tar, Vol. 2 , pp. 275-276.

135 T h i s memorandum i s r e p r i n t e d i n i t s e n t i r e t y i n racke en- bu ry , Ashant i -9 h'ar Vol. 2 , pp. 275-280.

136 C l a r i d g a , ! I i s to ry , Vol. 2 , pp. 158-100; and C.O. 679/6, _G.C. 42, p. 16.

137 Ccld. 892 (1873-1674) The Ashantee - War, P a r t i x , pp. ?-9.

138 ,- I b i d 9 p. 11.

1 T h i s a p p l i e s t o a l l of t h e s e c o n d x y s o u r c e s l i s t e d i n t h e b i b l i o g r a p h y f o r t h i s s t u d y , w i t h t h e s i n g l e excep t ion of Alan Lloydt s Dru-rns o f Iiumasi, I n t h e c a s e o f t h e contemporary -"

works, o n l y \!inwood Eeade, S t o r y o f t h e Ashantee C'anpai,qn; and H.N. S t a n l e y , Cooinassie and Kagdala, o f f e r any s e r i o u s c r i t i c i s z .

2 E l l i s con tends t h a t a l t hough t h e s h o r t a g e of food , t h e i n c i d e n c e of d i s e a s e , and t h e unusua l ly heavy r a i n s were a l l maior r ea sons behind Xrnankwa Tiat s f a i l u r e t o f o l l o w up t h e d i s i n t e g r a t - i n g a l l i e d arr~ty, t h e s tubborn r e s i s t a r i ce o f the a l l i e s a t Dunkwa was a n e q u a l l y impor tan t r ea son f o r h i s dec i s io r , .

3 C.O. 87915; G.C . 36; S e r i a l 440, Kiinborley t o i i a r l ey , 17 November, 1873,

4 A l e t t e r add res sed t o Colonel Har ley from Quassi Adoo, t h e Kin[; of Phnkess in , on t h e very eve o f t h e invas ion c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e Afr iccms were l o o k i n g t o t h e a r i t i s h f o r f i l m l e a d e r s h i p as w e l l as l o g i s t i c suppor t . I n h i s l e t t e r , I k i g Q u a s s i , who had been e l e c t e d head o f t h e a b o r t i v e E'anti Ccnfeder- a t i o n , s a i d :

I f I now a d d r e s s your Exce l lency as t h e head o f t h e F a n t i Confede ra t ion , f o r t h e pursose o f l e a r n i n g from you what anount and t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a s s i s t a n c e your Government w i l l r e n d e r t o t h e coun t ry i n t h e p r e s e n t s t a t e o f a f f a i r s .

S ince t h e F a n t i Confedera t ion h a s n o t y e t r e c e i v e d t h e suppor t o f H..'". Government, b u t h a s been l e f t t o s h i f t f o r i t s e l f as b e s t it can ; and t h e powers inherent; i n a l l Governments have been, i n t h e c a s e of t h e Confedera t ion , dep r ived o f t h e i r l e g i t i m a t e e x e r c i s e and f u n c t i o n s by t h e a c t i o n of H.FI. o f f i c i a l s h e r e , and by t h e n e g l e c t and discouragement of H.X. Government; I am t h u s c o n s t r a i n e d t o a p p e a l t o you, a s we i n f e r from t h e s e f a c t s t h a t F!.I4. Government i s p repa red t o a c c e p t , and has a c c e p t e d , and w i l l a c c e p t i n t h e p r e s e n t emergency, t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t h a t a t - t a c h t o it as ' t h e p r o t e c t i n g power!. . . ( I an t h e r e f o r e w r i t i n g ) f o r t h e purpose of e n q u i r i n g i n t o t h e s t e p s t h a t a r e t o be t a k e n , and w i l l be t a k e n , t o r i d ou r s o i l o f t h e invader ."

See C.O. 879/4; PC. 29; S e r i a l 183, Sub-Enclosure 3 , Q u a s s i Adoo t o Har l ey , 1 February , 1673.

5 C l a r i d z e s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e Genera l , wishink; t o make t h e people d c t h e i . r u tmos t , had c a r e f u l l y avoided nalt ing any a l l u s i o n t o t h e p o s s i b l e employment o f European t r o o p s . Sec C la r idge , H i s t o r y , Vol. 2, p. 52. Y e i t h e r Brackenbury no r JJoiseley openly make t6is c l a h but t h e y h i n t a t it.

6 The Europcan argument t h a t t h e F a n t i f a i l u r e t o soundly d e f e a t t h e Assnte on t h i s occas ion would j u s t r e s u l t i n a n o t h e r i n v a s i o n a t some f u t u r e da te had no e f f e c t on t h e F a n t i who view- ed Asante i n v a s i o n s a s an i n e v i t a b l e f a c t of l i f e and who were s imply g l a d t o be f i n a l l y q u i t of them t h i s t i n e ,

7 The most o u t s t a n d i n g example o f t h i s was S i r G a r n e t ' s a t t e m p t t o send t h e newly r a i s e d F a n t i l e v i e s i n t o t h e bush a f t e r t h e r e t r e a t i n g Asante immediately a f t e r t h e b a t t l e o f Abrakraclpa. On that occas ion , t h e B r i t i s h o b s e r v e r s made no comment on t h e lack of t r a i n i n g and expe r i ence on t h e p a r t of the F a n t i . I n s t e a d , th y wrote paragraphs on t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o f o r c e t h e Af r i cans a f t e r t h e Asarlte by b e a t i n g them i i t h t h e i r umbre l las .

8 A l l of t h e s e g r i e v a n c e s came o u t when Colone l C o l l e y had h i s meeting w i t h t h e c h i e f s i n T,?ovember, 1873, and t h e y were f u l - l y r e p o r t e d i n h i s memorandum on t h e subject;, However, Bracken- bury p r i n t e d o n l y t h a t p a s t of t h e memorandum which d e a l t w i t h t h e method o f r e - o r g a n i z a t i o n . The e n t i r e r e p o r t i s a v a i l a b l e i n C.O. 8791.

9 These p h r a s e s have been taken from S t a n l e y , Coonassie , p. 132 , It w a s he who sugges t ed t h e more e x t e n s i v e u s e o f t h e whip and l e g - i r o n t o s o l v e t h e c a r r i e r problem.

10 Wolseley ve ry c a r e f u l l y avoided making any openly hos- t i l e comnents about; G love r ' s e x p e d i t i o n bu t he managed t o convey h i s op in ion by cocu:!ents t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t he suspec t ed t h e e x p l o r e r - c a p t a i n t s " ch i e f a s p i r a t i o n was t o open ou t a new, an e a s y r o u t e f o r t r a d e i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r o f A f r i c a by t h e h i t h e r t o unexplored Vo l t a V a l l e y v . See ? o l s e l e y , S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p, 268. W i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f S t a n l e y ' s coinnients, a l l o f t h e o t h e r contemporary r e p o r t e r s r e f l e c t e d t h i s b i a s ,

11 Althouglz Glover had l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f ca sh and equip- ment w i t h which t o r a i s e and o u t f i t h i s e x p e d i t i o n , he had on ly t e n B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s and t h e b e s t s o r t of Afr ican army he could s c r a t c h t o g e t h e r t o a c h i e v e h i s n i s s i o n .

1 2 Zven had they s t i l l been f o r c e d t o q u i t Amoafu, t h e s e e x t r a men would have made it p o s s i b l e f o r t h e Asante t o more ef- f e c t i v e l y d i s r u p t t h e B r i t i s h l i n e s of c o n ~ u n i c a t i o n and might p o s s i b l y have h a l t e d S i r G a r n e t ' s advance a t t h a t t ime .

13 Lloyd,

14 Lloyd,

The Drtms of Kurnasi, pp, 178-179.

Drums, pp. 178-179.

15 I n v i r t u a l l y every s o u r c e , Glover i s made t o appea r t o have a r r i v e d on t h e s c e n e a f l ; e r it was a l l o v e r and h i s o p e r a t i o n i s t h e r e b y s e v e r e l y reduced i n importance, T h i s e n t i r e p r o c e s s o f r e l e g a t i n g Glover t o a p o s i t i o n o f unimportance i s t aken t o such an e x t e n t by a number o f t h e contemporary w r i t e r s t h a t e-$en h i s s u c c e s s i n d i v e r t i n g t h e J a b i n c o n t i n g e n t frorn t h e Asan tehene t s army i s made t o look of somewhat l e s s importance t h a n t h e f u t i l e e f f o r t s of Captain B u t l e r .

16 The o n l y e x c e p t i o n s t o t h i s r u l e were Vinwood 3eade a n d H.Li, S t a n l e y b u t even t h e i r c r i t i c i s m were s u p e r f i c i a l ar?d a t t i m e s were t i n g e d w i t h mal ice .

17 Molseley, S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , - Vol. 2 , p , 216.

18 C.O. 879 /5 ; G.C. 3 5 ; passim. O f f e r s of s e r v i c e came from P r i n c e Ansah, t h e Asante p r i n c e who had l i v e d on t h e Coast f o r a number o f y e a r s b u t who was a t t h i s t ime i n London; :*:ajar Levenson, an exper ienced o f f i c e r w i th t h e Jlausns, :Ire E . Wilson, a v o l u n t e e r from t h e Cape o f Good Rope who had y e a r s o f Afr ican e x p e r i e n c e ; t h e Afr ican B a r t e r Co., which had a nurilber o f expe- r i e n c e d men a v a i l a b l e f o r employment w i t h t h e f o r c e ; Lt. Col. De Ruvignes, who had once been c i v i l commandant on the Gold Coas t ; and many o t h e r s , They were a l l p o l i t e l y t u r n e d down o r had t h e i r s u g g e s t i o n s and o f f e r s f u n n e l l e d i n t o t h e Var O f f i c e machinery where t h e y s lowly sank ou t o f s i g h t ,

19 c.0. 879/5; G.G. 36; S e r i a l 440, Enc losure 1, Marley t o Kimberley, ( u n d a t e d ) ,

20 See ~ h a p t e r 111, p. 136 above.

21 I n a l l f a i r n e s s t o t h e General , it must he re be no ted t h a t he was s u f f e r i n g from a seve re bout o f f e v e r j u s t a t t h i s t ime , However, t h i s does no t excuse him from n o t hav ing m d e some p r e l i m i n a r y p l a n s f o r j u s t such an e v c ~ t u a l l i t y as he now f a c e d . either does it excuse h i s s t a f f , t h e members of which should have been a b l e t o c a r r y on du r ing h i s i l l n e s s ,

22 A t t h i s t i m e he had some 200 members o f t h e n a v a l S r i - gade , approxinia te ly 600 men o f 2YIIR, as w e l l as t h e men o f Rait 's a r t i l l e r y , and Gordon's EIausas from whon he could have chosen s e v e r a l s t r i k e - f o r c e s o f between 100 and 150 men each. lie cou ld t h e n have i r , c r ea sed t h e s i z e o f t h e s e f o r c e s by an i n t e l l i g e n t and e f f e c t i v e ass ignment of men from t h e F a n t i l e v i e s cutd Xood's and Hussel1.t s reg iments . T h i s would s t i l l have l e f t s u f f i c i e n t t r o o p s f o r t h e neces sa ry g a r r i s o n de t achnen t s .

23 See Chapter 111, pp. 130-131 above.

24 Brackenbury h imse l f admi t s t h i s when he w r i t e s t h a t even b e f o r e l e a v i n g England, S i r Garnet had e s t i m a t e d t h a t , should he r e q u e s t t h e t r o o p s by t h e 1 6 t h of October , %he 1 0 t h of Cecember would be t h e e a r l i e s t d a t e a t which t h e t r o o p s could be expec ted a t t h e Gold Coastv . See Brackenbury, Ashnnt i Ca r , Vol. 1, p. 125. As m a t t e r s developed, t h e r e q u e s t f o r t h e European c roops l e f t t h e Gold Coast on t h e 1 4 t h of October and t h e f i r s t t r o o p s ar- r i v e d on t h e 9 t h of December.

25 T h i s o b s e r v a t i o n was made by Plajor Hone i n a r e p c r t d a t - ed t h e 3 r d of :~iovember, 1873. C i t ed i n Uooks, Docurnens, p. 168.

26 See above, Chapter I V , n o t e 18.

27 T h i s mixing o f t h e v a r i o u s groups o f c a r r i e r s i n t o d i f - ferent ; p a r t i e s had been one of t h e rm j o r compla in t s made by t h e c h i e f s t o Col ley.

28 See C l a r i d g e , H i s t o r , Vol. 2 , pp. 103-113, f o r a d e s c r i p - t i o n of t h e v a r i o u s met r- lods used t o r a i s e c a r r i e r s .

29 S i r Garnet main ta ined t h a t he took t h i s s t e p i n an e f f o r t t o convince Kofi K a r i k a r i of t h e s e r i o u s n a t u r e o f t h e b r i t i s h p r e p a r a t i o n s . It i s , however, d i f f i c u l t t o s e e how any i n t e l - l i g e n t commander would s o comple te ly fo rego t h e b e n e f i t s t o be g a i n e d by s u r p r i s e .

30 Such a need had been a n t i c i p a t e d and arrangements f o r t h c l a n d i n g of' s a i l o r s and mar ines t o h e l p g a r r i s o n t h e f o r t s had been made w i t h Capta in F r e n a n t l e . See C.O. 679/5; G . C . 36 ; S e r i a l 102. Hewit t t o Admiral ty , December 22, 1g73.

31 S i r Garnet h e l d a s t r o n g p r e j u d i c e a g a i n s t any v c o l o n i o l f f t r o o p s but he was p a r t i c u l a r l y outspoken i n h i s n e g a t i v e conlnents a b o u t t h e Ves t I n d i a n s . He appeared t o l ook upon t h e Yiest I n d i a n u n i t s as n o t h i n g more t h a n a haven f o r incompetent Eng l i sh o f - f i c e r s and he gave them l i t t l e chance t o prove o therwise . See Wolsel.ey, - S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , passim.

32 'l'here were s t i l l some 1 , 5 0 0 F a n t i t r ibesmen under arms even a f t e r t h e mass di.sarclings were c a r r i e d ou t t o h e l p s o l v e t h e c a r r i e r problem.

33 By t h i s t i m e , 2tIIR was o p e r a t i n g a t j u s t s l i g h t l y more t h a n h a l f - s t r e n g t h (approximate ly 300 a l l - r a n k s ) .

31, klolseley, - S o l d i e r ' s L i f e , Vol. 2 , p. ll+tf.

35 C.0. 879/6; G.C. 39; S e r i a l 1 5 9 , Enc losure 2 , Col ley t o Wolseley, January -4.

36 By t h e 2 5 t h of January , even b e f o r e t h e y e n t e r e d t h e i r f i rs t b a t t l e , 218 o f t h e 1,800 European t r o o p s on sho re , had be- come i n e f f e c k i v e from s i c k n e s s . See Brackenbury, k s h a n t i I l a r , Vol. 2, pp. 139-140.

37 See Annex t tCv a t t a c h e d .

38 Kimberleyls comnents i n t h i s r e s p e c t a r e most i n t e r e s t - ing i n t h e l i g h t o f what a c t u a l l y happened. See Annex "CV attach- ed.

39 k c . c i t .

40 Any i n i t i a l o f f e r t o n e g o t i a t e should be t r e a t e d ~ 4 t h a h e a l t h y s u s p i c i o n , r e g a r d l e s s of t h e c i r c u n s t n n c e s 2nd t h e Asante r eco rd i n t h i s r e s p e c t c e r t a i n l y d id not; make them excep t - ions t o t h e r u l e .

41 See Chapter I V , no t e . 56.

42 Brackenbury, - Ashant i Biar , Vol . 2 , pp, 81-82.

43 T h i s was t h e first t ime t h a t t h e B r i t i s h had r e f u s e d t o c o n f i n e t h e i r m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s t o t h e ' F r o t e c L o r a t e l , an6 it i s p robab le t h a t Kofi K a r i k a r i was having d i f f i c u l t y u n d e r s t a ~ d - i n g t h a t Wolseley was ac t ;ua l ly deterrained t o move on Kunasi un- l e s s h i s t e rms were met.

44 The General f e l t t h a t h i s f o r c e was s o small t h a t he cou ld no t a f f o r d t o l e a v e any detachments behind t o p a r d t h e camp s o u t h of t h e Oda R i v e r and keep open h i s l i n e of r e t r e a t ove r t h e r ive r .

45 C.0. 87916; -- G . C . 41; S e r i a l 18, Wolseley t o Kinber ley , 16 February , 1874.

46 E s t i m a t e s v a r y b u t t h e most common f i g u r e i s 2150,000. See , Cmd. 892, p. 946.

47 See t a b l e s D: and III below and Brackenbury, As!?antj. Vzr, Vol. 2 , pp. 340-344 f o r a f u l l medical r e p o r t .

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3:iflv I k i p l c , . 1st \V. I. E. I :, 1 i d I\.. I. C. { f;, A. 3r. I)., . . Ihit's Artillery, IYood's Eest., . J ~ ~ ~ s s e l l ' s l:vgt,, l':twI l;ci;mlv,

48 C.C. .879/6 ; G.C. 41; - I b i d .

49 F o r a b r i e f resume o f t h i s p e r i o d s e e Karci, Gold C o a s t , - pp. 279-283. For a more d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t , See C l a r i d g e , - I l i s t o r ~ , Vol. 2, Chaps. X t o XX.

PUBLIC DOCUPGNTS I

1 . Par l iamentary Papers

1816 - Vol. N - Report of Committee on t h e s t a t e o f t h e Se t t l ement s and F o r t s on t h e Coast of Afr ica. - P a r t I - N O . 470.

1816 - Vol. V I I - Report of Committee on t h e s t a t e o f t h e Se t t l ement s and F o r t s on t h e Goast of Afr ica. - P a r t 11 - NO. 507.

1817 - Vol. V I - Report of Go~nmittee on t h e s t a t e of t h e Se t t l ement s and F o r t s on t h e Coast of Afr ica - P a r t 111 - NO. 431.

1842 - Vol. X I - X I 1 - Report of Corn i t t ee on t h e s t a t e of B r i t i s h Possess ions on t h e West Coast of Af r i ca bour- i n g Nat ive t r i b e s . - No. 551.

1852-53 - Vol. LXV - Despatches from Hajor H i l l , t h e Governor of Gold a o a s t , r e l a t i n g t o the Warfare be- tween t h e Fantees and t h e Ashantees, and t h e p a r t taken by t h e B r i t i s h o f f i c e r s i n t h e t r i a l s and cxecu- t i o n s of some of t h e n a t i v e ch ie f s . - No. 703.

1854-55 - Vol. XXXVI - F u r t h e r papers i n 1852.53, Vol. LXV, No. 703 - N O . 456.

- vol.. XXXBII - E x t r a c t s o f Acts of Par l iament , Orders i n Council , Char te r s , Local Ordinances, e t c . , d e f i ~ i n g t h e ~ i v i l and J u d i c i a l Gons t i tu t ions of t h e B r i t i s h Se t t l ement s on t h e West Goast of Af r i ca , - KO. 383.

- Vol. XLI - Despatches from t h e Governor of t h e Gold Coast e x p l a i n i n g t h e cause of t h e war with t h e King of Ashantee: despatches t o t h e G o v e r ~ o r d i r e c t i n g him t o prosecute t h e war:- r e t u r n s of t h e expenses incur- r e d , e t c . - b!o. 385.

- Vol. Z I - Number of O f f i c e r s and men i n t h e Cape Coast cormand; nurnber dead and i n v a l i d e d , e t c . - No. 393

- Vol. XLI - F u r t h e r papers r e l a t i n t o m i l i t a r y oper- 5 a t i o n s on t h e Gold Coast. - Cmd. 33 4.

- 322 -

1. P a r l i a m e n t a r y Pape r s cont 'd

- Vol. XLI - Plan o f i x i l i t a r y Opera t ions on t h e Gold Coast . - Cmd. 336b-11.

- Vol. I'iXXVII - Dates of Correspondence wi th r e s p e c t t o t h e Ashant i War, - No, 70.

- Vol. X X X V I I - Correspon,dence r e l a t i n g t o t h e d e t a i l o f t r o o p s from t h e Gold Coast i n 1863 and 1664 inc lud - i n g r e q u i s i t i o n s f o r t r a n s p o r t t o Admiralty e t c . - No. 71.

- Vol. XXXVII - c o l o n e l Ordt s Report on t h e c o n d i t i o n of t h e S e t t l e m e n t s on t h e West Coast of Af r i ca . - No. 170.

- Vol. I - Report o f Committee on t h e c o n d i t i o n o f t h e S e t t l e m e n t s on t h e West Coast o f A f r i c a , - Cmd. 412. - Vol. L X X I V - Convention between Her bia jes ty and the King of t h e Ne the r l ands , f o r an in t e r change o f t e r - r i t o r y on t h e Gold Coast o f A f r i c a ; s igned a t London, 5 t h March, 1867. - Cmd. 3300.

- Vol. X L V I - Correspondence Respec t ing t h e Ashant ie I n v a s i o r . - Cmd. 892.

2 C o l o n i a l O f f i c e c o n f i d e n t i a l P r i n t

C.00

C.O.

c.0.

G . 0 .

c.0.

879/1 - KO. xx iv - Apri l -October , 1857 Sir B. P i n e t s views i n r ega rd t o t h e f u t u r e government of Her I:Iajestyt s s e t t l e m e n t s on t h e west c o a s t o f A f r i c a .

87912 - Gold Coast rye. 6 - 20 January , 1866. Memorandum by hir. Y l l i o t t and Xa.ior B l a c k a l l on re- model l ing o f - V e s t Af r i can E o v e r n i e n t s .

d79/2 - - Gold c o a s t N O . 7 - 16 J u l y , 1864 - 1 0 February , 1865.

~ i n a n c e s of S e t t l e m e n t s ; Despatches and r e p o r t s .

879/2 - Gold Coast No. 8 - J u n s , 1864 Use of S e t t l e a e n t s ; Xemorandum by T.F. E l l i o t t .

879/2 - Gold Coast Yo. 18 - October , 1867 P r o t e c t o r a t e ; A b s t r a c t of correspondence,

2. C o l o n i a l O f f i c e C o n f i d e n t i a l P r i n t cont td

C.O. 879/2 - Gold Coast l o . 1 9 - 6 Nay, 1867 - 3 August, 1869.

- P r o t e c t o r a t e ; Correspondence.

C.O. 87913 - Gold Coast No. 25 - 19 January , 1870 - 6 February , 1872

Cess ion of Dutch s e t t l e n e n t s ; Correspondence.

Cession of Dutch s e t t l e n e n t s and Ashant i i nvas ion ; Correspondence.

C.0 . 679/4 - Gold Coast ?!o. 29A - 3 January , 1672 - 1 0 March, 1873.

F a n t i Confedera t ion ; Correspondence.

G.0. 679/4 - Gold Coast No. -.-- 30 - F u r t h e r Pape r s R e l a t i n g t o t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 1 4 Eiarch, 1873 t o 18 J u l y , 1873

C.U. 879/4 - Gold uoas t No. 31 - Correspondence Respec t ing Capta in Gloverf s' t ' i i s s i o r t o the E a s t e r n D i s t r i c t s of t h o Gold Coast P r o t e c t o r a t e , September, 1673.

C.0. 879/4 - Gold Coast NO. 32 - F u r t h e r Pape r s R e l 3 t i n g t o t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 13 June, 1873 - 6 September, 1873.

C.O. 679/4 - Gold Coast K O . 33 - L i s t of X i l i t a r y Equipinent o rde red f o r t h e Gold C o z t , 15 September, 1873.

G O O . 679/5 - - Gold Coast Fro. 35 - F u r t h e r Correspondelce Respec t ing t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 9 Hay, 1873 t o 30 Septen'oer, 1873.

C.O. 879/5 - Gold c o a s t Yo. 36 - F u r t h e r Correspondezce Respec t ing t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 29 August , 1873 t o 3 December, 1873.

C.O. 879/5 - Gold Coast --_-_I_ NO. 38 - F u r t h e r Correspondence Hespec t ing t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 1 December, 1673 t o 3 Janua ry , 1874.

C.O. 879/6 - ---- Gold Coast - K O . 39 - F u r t h e r Correspondence Respec t ing t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 5 January , 1874 t o 3 February , 18'74.

C o l o n i a l Off i c e Conf iden t i a l P r i n t c o n t t d

C.O. 879/6 - -.-- Gold Coast ?lo. 41 - Ashantee Invas ion : L a t e s t Despatches from S i r Garnet Wolseley, 26 Deceinbcr, 1873 t o 5 February , 1874.

C.O. 679/6 - Gold Coast No. 42 - F u r t h e r correspondence - Respec t ing t h e Ashantee Invas ion , 4 b'ebruary, 1874 t o 3 March, 1874.

C.O. 879/6 - Gold c o a s t no. 45 - F u r t h e r Correspondence - Respect ing t h e ~ s h a n t e e I n v a s i o n , 1 &larch, 1874 t o 31 March, 1874.

C.O. 679/6 - Gold Coast No. 46 - Fnrch, 1874 Gold Goast Settlements f roin t h e i r f i rs t e s t a b l i s h n ~ e n t Lo t h e d e a t h of Rr. 3laclean i n 1847.

c.0. 879/6 - - Gold Coast No. 55 - F u r t h e r Correspondence Respec t in t h e Ashantee I n v a s i o n , 4 A p r i l , 1874 t o $ 14 May, 1 74.

C.0. 679/? - Gold Coast No. 69 - Correspondence R e l a t i n g t o t h e ~ r f a i r s o f t h e Gold Coast , 1 5 J u l y , 1873 t o 22 January , 1875.

The Co lon ia l Of f i ce L i s t

Grea t B r i t a i n , Co lon ia l O f f i c e , The C o l o n i a l O f f i c e L i s t f o r 1670. Londoq, Har r i son Ltd. , 1870.

Great B r i t a i n , C o l o n i a l Of f i ce , The Co lon ia l Off i c e L i s t f o r 1877. - London, Har r i son Ltd. , 16j7.

Semi -Of f i c i a l Docu!nentary C o l l e c t i o n s

: 'c rooks , J.J. Records of t h e Gold Coast S e t t l e n e n t s , 1750- 1674. Dubl in , Brown and i to lan, 1923.

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'Metcalfe, G.S. ed. Grea t b r i t a i n and Ghana: Documents of -- - Ghana Hi s to ry : W07-1957. London, Kelson, 3.964.

, h e w b u r y , C.W. B r i t i s h P o l i c y Towards Tiest A f r i c a : S e l e c t ~ o c u n e n t s : ~ ~ l i 7 4 . Oxford, Clarendon P r e s s , 1907. -

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f iagc, John D. "The A d n i n i s t r c t i o n of George iIaclcan on t h e Gold Coas t ; 1830-1844", T r a n s a c t i o n s of t h e Gold Coast and =eland H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , (1954) , pp. 104-120.

/ G a l l a g h e r , J. poxw well, Buxton and t h e Hew Afr ican Po l i cy" , C a m b r i d ~ e H i s t o r i c a l J o u r n a l , Vol. X , (1950) , PF. 138-157.

L G a l l a g h e r , J. and Robinson, R e "The Imper ia l i sm o f F ree Trade", Economic H i s t o r y Review, 2nd. s e r i e s , Vo. V I , ( l 9 5 3 ) , pp. 39-37.

Johnson, J.';7. de G. V h e F a n t i Asafun A f r i c a , Vol. 3 , J u l y , 1932, pp. 307-322.

bTetcalf, C.R. "Af te r :.laclean: Some Aspects of Y r i t i s h Gold Coast Policy i n t h e mid-Kineteenth cen tury" 9 -- ' Y r a ~ s a c t i o n s of t h e Gold coast and Togoland H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , Vol. I , ( l 9 3 g , -- -- pp. 178-1'92.

3 Mosel-ey , Idaboth. " S o l d i e r s of t h e Queen i n Ashanten ( 1 6 7 3 ) , West Af r i can - Review, Decexber, 1952, pp, 1236-1239.

P r i e s t l y , K. "The Ashant i Ques t ion and t h e B r i t i s h : E i g h t e e n t h Century O r i g i n s v , J o u r n a l of Af r i czn Wistorx, Vol. 2, h o . 1, (1961) , pp. 35-59.

Shel.ford, F. "Gold Coast i n the ?&kingtt, Af r ican Affairs, Val. X X V I I I , P!o. 109 , (October , l 9 2 g ) , pp. 23-35.

( b o l f s o n , Frcda. l 1Br i t i sh R e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e Gold coast: 1843- 18801t, The B u l l e t i n of t h e I n s t i t u t e of h ' i s t o r i c z l Eie- -- search, 24, 70, (F!ovenlber 195l), pp. 182-186.

" k h a n t i Clars", Vest African Review, Vol. 21, No. 268, 1950.

-----UI-, W o l s e l e y ' s EiTarch t o Kumasi" , West Afr ican re vie:;^, December, 1949.

/ i

i~,,,,,,, t fFro~n Cape Coast t o Coomassie: A N a r r a t i v e of t h e Ashantee ',Jarv, I l l u s t r a t e d London Tdews, 1874. .-

1. A f r i c a n

"Tho --- Gold Coast T ines , Idarch, 1874 - j u l y , 1874.

The Freeto~im Independent , December, 1874 - The West Af r i can Herald, May, 1873 - September, 1873 --

2. European

The Afr i can Times, January , 1873 - A p r i l , 1874

The D a i l y !Jews, August, 1873 - Narch, 1874

The I l l u s t r a t e d .- London News, J anua ry , 1873 - April, l$74

The Mew York Herald, October , 1673 - February, 1674 - The T i r r i ~ , October , 1873 - February , 1874

The S t anda rd , - October , 1873 - February , 1$74

Burton, A . N . --- The In f luence of t h e Treasury on t h e t h k i n g o f B r i t i s h Co lon ia l l Jo l i cy : li(bg-l88O., II. Litt , U n i v e r s i t y o f Oxford, 1956.

Gavins , R . J . Palmers ton P o l i c y Towards E a s t and ?lest Af r i ca : - 1 8 3 0 - l m j. Ph.D., Cambridge, 1902.

G e r t z e l , c.J. I m p e r i a l P o l i c y Towards t h e B r i t i s h S e t t l e m e n t s i n West Af r i ca : 1860-1675. Ph.D., U n i v e r s i t y o f ox fo rd , n53.

, Sturgis, J.1,. (L. kc) 'i'he I d e a s and A c t i v i t i e s o f John E r i g h t i n R e l a t i o n t o t h e Empire: 1843-1889. ?4.A., U n i v e r s i t y - of London, 1962. I

McIntyre , W.D. B r i t i s h P o l i c y i n i.!est A f r i c a , t h e i k l a y Penin- s u l a and t h e Sou th P a c i f i c Durini; t h e Co lon ia l S e c r e t a r y - s h i p of Lord Kimberley and Lord Carnarvon: 1870-1870. ph.D., ond don School of O r i e n t a l and Af r i can S t u d i e s , 1960.

APPENDIX A

E,mR.iCT FROf4 COLONIAL OFFICE ORDERS

TO SIR GARMET 5:OLSSLEY

No. 1

" 9 . I need s c a r c e l y s a y t h a t h e r M a j e s t y l s Government cannot f o r a moment l i s t e n t o such p repos t e rous demands, no r can t h e y a l l o w t h e t e r r i t o r i e s of t h e t r i b e s i n a l l i a n c e w i t h h e r Majes ty t o be d e v a s t a t e d , t h e i n h a b i t a n t s butchered o r d r iven a- way i n t o s l a v e r y , and a l l p r o g r e s s and commerce s topped on t h e Coast by hordes o f b a r b a r i a n s ,

"10. A t t h e same t ime , h e r NajestyT s Government have neve r had zny d e s i r e t o p revent t h e Ashan t i s from p e a c e f u l i n t e r - cou r se w i t h t h e Coast ; on the c o n t r a r y , t h e y have always been anx ious i n e v e r y way t o f o s t e r and encourage such i n t e r c o u r s e ; and one of t h e advantages which t h e y m t i c i p a t e d from t h e 2osses - s i o n o f t h e f o r t s a t Elmina was, t h a t throug!l t h e f r i e n d l y con- n e c t i o n between t h e Elminas and t h e Ashan t i s , i nc reased f a c i l i t i e s would have been a f f o r d e d f o r t r a d e wi th t h e l a t t e r ,

t f 1 1 , On your assuming t h e government, o r a s soon a f t e r as you may t h i n k a d v i s a b l e , you w i l l a d d r e s s a comnunication t o t h e King of Ashan t i , sum11onir.g him t o withdraw h i s f o r c e s froin t h e t e r r i t o r i e s of our a l l i e s w i t h i n such a pe r iod as you nay f i x , and t o make adequa te r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e i n j u r i e s and l o s s e s which he has i n f l i c t e d upon Our a l l i e s , and g i v e s e c u r i t i e s f o r t h e maintenaqce of peace i n f u t u r e . I have i n a n o t h e r despa t ch i n - d i c a t e d t o you g e n e r a l l y t h e n a t u r e of t h e c o n d i t i o n s which h e r Ma jest;yt s Governnent would cons ide r e q u i t a b l e .

"12, you w i l l i n t i m a t e t o him t h a t a c t i v e measures a r e i n p r c g a r a t i o n a g a i n s t him, and t h a t i f he r e f u s e s t o comp1.y w i t h o u r deinands, 01- d e l a y s t o withdraw h i s f o r c e s w i t h i n t h e t ime named, he may resb a s su red t h a t means w i l l n o t be wanting t o com- p e l him t o do s o , and t o i n f l i c t such a d e f e a t upon him a s w i l l e f f e c t u a l l y d e t e r him from r e p e a t i n g h i s a g g r e s s i o n s ,

"13. Colonel Har ley has been i n s t r u c t e d t o i n v i t e t h e p r i n c i p a l k i n s s and c h i e f s of t h e f r i e n d l y t r i b e s t o meet you on your a r r i v a l a t Cape Coas t , and you w i l l of course l o s e no time i n endeavouring t o c o l l e c t and o rgan ize any n a t i v e f o r c e which you judge t o bc n e c e s s a r y f o r conduc t ing any o p e r a t i o n s which may appea r t o you c e r t a i n , o r i n a h igh degree l i k e l y , t o be under taken.

"14. You should s t a t e t o t h e n a t i v e k ings t h a t t h e Queen, on l e a r n i n g t h e ca l ami tous p o s i t i o n i n rrhich h e r a l l i e s a r e p laced by t h e i n v a s i o n of t h e i r coun t ry by t h e Ashan t i s , and t h e i r i n - a b i l i t y , w i thou t f u r t h e r a s s i s t a n c e , t o r e p e l t h e i n v a d e r s , h a s s e n t o u t s p e c i a l l y a n o f f i c e r of h igh a u t h o r i t y and e x p e r i e n c e , u n i t i n g t h e c h i e f c i v i l and m i l i t a r y cormand, f o r t h e purpose of r e n d e r i n g them t h a t a s s i s t a n c e .

"15. You should e x p l a i n t o them t h a t wh i l e h e r 14aajestyls Government a re p r e p x e d t o t a k e such measures as may be found e x p e d i e n t on your a d v i c e t o a i d them i n c a r r y i n g on t h e rvar aga in - st t h e A s h a r t i s , t h e y expect t h e n a t i v e t r i b e s t o use t h z i r u t - most e f f o r t s t o defend themse lves , and t o p l a c e t h e i r r e s< )u rces u n r e s e r v e d l y a t your d i s p o s a l .

"16. The n a t i v e t r i b e s undoubtedly made c o n s i d e r a b l e e f - f o r t s a t t h e beg inn ing of t h e war; b u t s i n c e t h e i r l a s t d e f e a t , t h e y appea r t o have bee? unable t o rouse themse lves t o even t h e most n e c e s s a r y e x e r t i o n s f o r t h e i r orvn p r o t e c t ion . The r e p o r t s r e c e i v e d by h e r f b l a j e s t y t s Government show t h a t a t Cai:e Coast t h e n a t i v e s have n o t even t aken s t e p s t o c l e a r away t h e bush which endangers t h e s a f e t y of t h e town, and t h a t n o t h i n g h a s bee? dove by them t o o b t a i n t r u s t w o r t h y i n fo rma t ion of t h e moverne~ts o f t h e Ashan t i s . You w i l l i n t i m a t e p l a i n l y t o t h e n a t i v e k i n g s t h a t i t i s imposs ib l e t o h e l p t h o s e who a r e u n w i l l i n g t o h e l p t h e n s e l v e s ; and t h a t u n l e s s t h s y u n i t e t o g e t h e r c o r d i a l l y i n t h e i r 6:-m de- f e n c e , and show therzselves p repared t o make eve ry s a c r i f i c e i n t h e i r power t o main ta in themse lves a g a i n s t t h e i n v a d e r , t h e y must n o t l ook f o r a i d t o h e r J !a jes tyTs Government.

"17, Her l . i a jes ty t s Government a r e unab le t o g i v e you mora p r e c i s e i n s t l - u c t i o n s a s t o t h e measures which should be t aken i n o r d e r t o b r i n s t h e war t o a speedy and s u c c e s s f u l t e r m i n a t i o n , w i thou t f u r t h e r in for ina t ion t h a n t h e y a t p r e s e n t pos se s s . Nuch w i l l depend upon t h e amount of co- pera at ion which you may be a b l e t o o b t a i n from t h e f r i s g d l y t r i b e s , t h e p o s i t i o n and f o r c e of t h e A s h a n t i s , concern ing which b u t i m p e r f e c t i n t e l l i g e n c e h a s h i t h e r - t o bee11 r e c e i v e d , and upon t h e op in ion which you rnay f o r n a f t e r e x a f i ~ i n a i i o n of t h e s t a t e o f a f f a i r s on t h e s p o t as t o t h e p rac- t i c a b i l i t y of a n e x p e d i t i o n i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r , and t h e nuaber and compos i t ion of t h e f o r c e w i th which you rnieht r e c o m e n d t h a t such a n e::pedition shou ld be under taken. It may be t h a t you w i l l f i n d t h e f o r c e s a t your d i s p o s a l upon t h e Coast s u f f i c i e n t f o r t h e accolnplishx?lcnt o f any o b j e c t whicE1 you may t h i n k it p rope r t o underC&e. But if you should f i n d it n e c e s s a r y t o ask f o r any cons i d e r a t l e r e i r f o r c e m e n t of EuroAp an t r o o p s , I have t o r e q u e s t t h a t you r j i l l e n t e r i n t o f u l l e x p l a n a t i o n s a s t o t h e c i r c u n - s t a y c c s i n r r l~ ich you propose t o enplo-j them, and t h e r e a s o n s vh i ch may ]-cad you t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y can be e:nployed wi thou t an un- j u s t i f i z b l e exposure , and w i t h a well-grounded a n t i c i p a t i o n o f S U C C ~ S S . - I have, kc . ,

No. 2

"SIR, - Her t I a j e s ty t s Government wish t o l e a v e you a l a r g e d i s c r e t i o n as t o t h e t e r n s which you nay t h i n k it a d v i s - a b l e t o r e q u i r e from t h e King o f Ashant i , but I nay p o i n t o u t t o you t h a t t h e t r e a t y which was concluded w i t h Ashant i i n 1g31, and o f which I e n c l o s e a copy f o r your i n fo rma t ion , seems t o a f f o r d a r ea sonab le b a s i s f o r any f r e s h convent ion,

"2. It would c e r t a i n l y be d e s i r a b l e t o i n c l u d e i n such a convent ion an e x p l i c i t renewal by t h e King o f Ashant i of t h e r e - n u n c i a t i o n corl tained i n t h e t r e a t y of 1831, o f a l l c1.31 in t o t r i b - u t e o r homage from t h e n a t i v e k i n g s who a re i n a l l i a n c e i ~ i t h h e r Majes ty , - and f u r t h e r , a r e n u n c i a t i o n on h i s p a r t t o supremacy ove r Elmina, o r o v e r any of t h e t r i b e s fo rmer ly connected wi th t h e Dutch, and t o any t r i b u t e o r homage from such t r i b e s , as w e l l as t o any payment o r acknowledgment i n any shape by t h e S r i t l s h Government, i n r e s p e c t of Elmina o r any o t h e r o f t h e B r i t i s h f o r t s o r p o s s e s s i o n s on t h e Coast .

"3. The k i n g should a l s o , f o r h i s o m i n t e r e s t no less t han w i t h a view t o t h e g e n e r a l b e n e f i t o f t h e coun t ry , engage t o keep t h e pa:.hs open through h i s d o a i n i c n s , t o promote l a ~ ~ f u l com- merce t o and th rough t h o Ashant i c o u n t r y , and t o p r o t e c t a l l p e a c e f u l t r x l e r s p a s s i n g through h i s doiiiinions t o t h e c o a s t ; and i.t might be exped ien t t h a t a s t i p u l a t i o n should be made t h a t a r e s i d e n t B r i t i s h consu l o r agent should be r e c e i v e d a t t h e Ashant i c a p i t a l i f h e r blajesty should t h i n k f i t a t any t ime t o appoi'nt one,

*4. You w i l l of course be c a r e f u l t o avo id as f a r as p o s s i b l e a n y t h i n g which may endanger t h e l i v e s of t h e European m i s s i o n a r i e s and t h e i r f a n i l i e s who have s o l o n g been h e l d i n c a p t i v i t y a t Coomassie, w i thou t any f a u l t of t h e i r own s o f a r as h e r T.';ajesty's Government a r e aware, and you w i l l use eve ry e f f o r t t o s c c u r e t h e i r s a f e r e l e a s e ,

" 5 . you w i l l a l s o endeavour t o p rocure t h e s u r r e n d e r of a l l t,he p r i s o n e r s t a k e n by t h e Ashant i s from tile t r i b e s i n a l - l i a n c e w i t h h e r J la jes ty .

It i s a u s u a l p r a c t i c e w i th t h e n a t i v e t r i b e s t o denand l los tages f o r t h e f a i t h f u l perfornance of t r e a t i e s of peace, This tlas done i n 1831, when two h o s t a g e s o f h igh rank were d e l i v e r - ed ove r t o t h e B r i t i s h Government by t h e King of Ashant i . If you shou ld f i n d it a d v i s a b l e t o make a s i r i l i l a r demand on t h e p r e s e n t o c c a s i o n , you w i l l b e a r i n mind t h a t t h e hos t ages should be men of h i g h rank and p o s i t i o n i n Ashant i .

n7. ~t would be reasonable t o e x a c t frorz t h e King t h e payment of such an inde rmi ty a s m y be ~ : i t h i n h i s means, which a r e s a i d t o be c o n s i d e r a b l e , f o r t h e expenses of t h e war , and t h e i n ju l - ies i n f l i c t e d on h e r Ida j e s t y ' s a l l i e s .

" 8 . L a s t l y , t h e o p p o r t u n i t y s h o u l d n o t be l o s t f o r p u t - t i n g a n end i f p o s s i b l e t o t h e human s a c r i f i c e s and t h e s l a v e - h u n t i n g which , w i t h o t h e r b a r b a r i t i e s , p r e v a i l i n t h e A s h a c t i kingdom. - I have, k c . ,

WAR OFFICE ORDZRS TO SIR GARNET !JOLSZLEY

"SIR, - I have t h e honour t o inform you t h a t t h e comand of her- Ma je s ty ' s l a n d f o r c e s on t h e Gold Coast h a s been c o n f e r r e d upon you d u r i n g t h e p r e s e n t t r o u b l e s t r i t h t h e Ashan t i s , i n com- b i n a t i o n w i t h t h e c i v i l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e s e t t l e ~ ~ l e n t .

"The o b j e c t s wi th which t h i s arrangement ha s been rriade have been communicated t o you by t h e S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r t h e Colon ies . 14y d u t y i s t o g ive you such g e n e r a l i n s t r u c t i o n s i n r e s p e c t t o you r m i l i t a r y command, a s may be n e c e s s a r y t o convey t o you t h e views of h e r X a j e s t y t s Government i n t h a t r e s p e c t .

"The d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h which you w i l l have t o contend are no t such as a r e t o be encounte red frorn an enemy fo rmidab le i n t h e f i e l d . They a r e t h e f a r more s e r i o u s d i f f i c u l t i e s of con tend inc w i th a c l i m a t e p e c u l i a r l y f a t a l , e s p e c i a l l y a t pa r - t i c u l a r s ea sons o f t h e y e a r , t~ t h e c c n s t i t u t i o n s of European s o l d i e r s , and, i n a l e s s degree , of a l l s o l d i e r s r e c r u i t e d any- where e l s e t han upon t h e Coast i t s e l f .

" In de t e rmin ing what r e in fo rcemen t s it may be n e c e s s a r y t o send you frorn t i m e t o t i m e , h e r L l a j e s ty t s Government t r i l l be g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e d by t h e r e p o r t s t h e y w i l l r e c e i v e from you a f t e r your a r r i v a l on t h e Coast , when you w i l l have had t i n e t o ~ ~ m : i i u n i c a t e w i t h t h o s e whose expe r i ence on t h e Coast , and know- l edge of t h e immediate c i rcumstances of t h e c a s e , w i l l b e s t en- a b l e you t o judge what measures you ought t o adopt i n o r d e r t o g i v e e f f e c t t o t h e views of h e r b I a j e s t y T s Gcvernment, as con- veyed t o you by t h e S e c r e t a r y of St2.te f o r t h e Co lon ie s , and what means i t ; is p e c e s s a r y t o ernploy f o r t h a t purpose.

"The f o r c e a t p r e sen t Upon t h e Coast appea r s , bjr t h e l a t e s t r e p o r t s , t o b e f u l l y adequate f o r t h e defence of t h e a r i t - is11 s e t t l e m e n t s themse lves a g a i n s t t h e a t t a c k s o f t h e Ashant i s . It w i l l be f o r you t o c o n s i d e r what m i l i t a r y measures w i l l be n e c e s s a r y t o f r e e t h o s e s e t t l e rnen t s from t h e con t inued menace of such a t t a c k s , and t o accomplish t h e f u r t h e r o b j e c t s o f your mia- s i o n , I n a r r i v i n g a t a ju.dgnent on t h i s s u b j e c t , Y O U w i l l n o t f a i l t o b e a r i n lnind t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s - v i z . :

1 That European t r o o p s ought neve r t o be exposed t o t h e i n f l u e n c e of t;t.lat c l i ina te , when t h e s e r v i c e r e q u i r e d can be performed by Houssas, o r by n a t i v e a u x i l i a r i e s , o r by any o t h e r f o r c e i n d i g e r o u s t o t h e count ry .

"2. Nor, u n l e s s t h e s e r v i c e i s one of paramount import - ance t o t h e main o b j e c t o f ycu r miss ion .

n3. Nor, u n l e s s it ca? be accomplished w i t h a r a p i d i t y of execu t ion which may r e n d e r t h e exposure t o t h e c l ima te v e r y s h o r t .

"For t h i s r ea son , if t h e employment of Europeans s h a l l become a n e c e s s i t y , every p r e p a r a t i o n should be made i n advance; and no Eureopan f o r c e should be l anded on t h e Coast u n t i l t h e t i m e f o r d e c i s i v e a c t i o n h a s a r r i v e d . The p e r i o d when t h e r i s k o f l o s s from c l i m a t e i s a t a minimum, appea r s t o be t h a t com- p r i s e d w i t h i n t h e months of Deceaber, January , February , and March, and it i s consequent ly of much importance t h a t your d e c i - s i o n should be a r r i v e d a t as soon a f t e r your a r r i v a l on t h e Coast as you may be enab led t o frarne it wi th s u f f i c i e n t knowledge of t h e c i r cums tances , and w i t h s a t i s f a c t i o n t o you r se l f .

"You w i l l be a b l 2 t o judge what p r o s p e c t Capta in Glover h a s o f r a i s i n g a l o c a l f o r c e , so as t o make a decided impress ion upon t h e i n v a d e r s by h i s rnovement upon t h e V o l t a , and how f a r it i s p o s s i b l s t o o rgaq ize t h a t n o t i n c o n s i d e r a b l e body o f n a t i v e s , o f whom Colone l Harley speaks as a v a i l a b l e , when s u p p l i e s of food s h a l l have been p laced a t your d i s p o s a l f o r t h e i r use . You w i l l a l s o be a b l e t o judge what a s s i s t a n c e n a t i v e a t t e n d a n t s i~ill be a b l e t o r e n d e r t o t h e European t r o o p s , if you s h a l l e v e n t u a l l y f i n d t h a t you a r e compelled t o enploy E u r e o p m s i n o r d e r t o e f - f e c t t h e purposes which h e r Najes t ;y ts Government have i n vic:.r.

"The r e p o r t s j u s t r ece ived by t h e Himalaya g i v e a n account of 1,he s i c k n e s s o f t h e marines employed upon t i le defence of t h e s e t t l e m e n t before t h e a r r i v a l of t h e West I n d i a n t r o o p s , and of t;he !','est I n d i a n t r o o p s themse lves , which h e r Ka j e s t y t s Governnent h a w r e c e i v e d w i t h g r e a t concem. It i s t r u e t h a t t h e season i n which your o p e r a t i o n s w i l l be c a r r i e d on w i l l be much l e s s expos- ed t o t h e h a z a r d s of t h e Af r i can c l i m a t e t h a n t h a t which has j u s t p a s s e d ; and t h e r e seems good reason t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h o s e h a z a r d s rtre g r e a t e r upon t h e seaboard t'han i n some favoured p a r t s of t h e i l l ter . ior . ; b u t it, i s t o be remembered, on t h e o t h e r hand, t h a t s e r v i c e on a march i s exposed t o t r i a l s of i t s ovm, which do n o t af'f'oct n?2n l i v i p g on board s h i p o r i n q u a r t e r s .

have t houzh t i t r i g h t t o s t a t e f o r your guidance t h e s e g c z e r a l c o 7 s i d e r a t i o n s , because n o t h i n g but a c o n v i c t i o n o f neces- s i t y l ~ o u l d induce h e r E l a j e s ty f s Governaent t o engage i n any opera- t i c n invol-ving t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of i t s r e q u i r i n g t h e s e r v i c e of Europeans at, t h e c o l d Coast. But i t i s f a r from ay i n t e n t i o n t o f e t t e r your judgillznt i n t h e r e s p o n s i b l e and a rduous d u t i e s which

I 1

hav% been in t rus t ; ed t o you; and no one, I am s u r e , w i l l be more s e n s i b l e t h a n y o u r s e l f of t h e c a r d i n a l i a p o r t a n c e o f t h e cons ide r - a t i o n s t o t ~ ] ~ i c h I have i n v i t e d your a t t e n t i o n , o r more d e s i r o u s to s p a r e t o t h e utmost o f your power t h e exposure of European

I i

s o l d i e r s 01- nlarines t o t h e c l i m a t e of t h e Gold Coast . - I am, &c., 1

FURTHE2 IP!STZUCTIO?IT FROLI THE COLCF! IAL O F F I C E

TO SIR GARNET ZOLSELEY

24 FJOVEiX3Eil 1873

"SIR, - I informed you, i n my despa t ch o f t h e 1 1 t h o f November, t h a t I should a d d r e s s you f u r t h e r when t h e s t a t emen t which you proposed t o send t o t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r \Jar r e s p e c t i n g t h e employment o f a European f o r c e had been r e c e i v e d .

?l2. You w i l l have l e a r n t from t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r War by t h e l a s t mail t h a t , a f t e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n ' o f t h a t s t a t e - ment, it had been determined t o despa t ch a t once t h e t r o o p s which had been h e l d i n r e a d i n e s s , and t h a t t h e f u r t h e r b a t t a l i o n which you had a sked f o r would fo l l ow .

"3, I have now t o a c q u a i n t you w i t h t h e views of h e r Majes ty ' s Government r e s p e c t i n g t h e employment o f t h i s f o r c e , and t h e g e n e r a l l i m i t s w i t h i n which, a s f a r a s c i r cums tances may ad- mit, your a c t i o n should be conf ined .

4 You a r e aware, from p r e v i o u s d e s p a t c h e s , bo th from t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r Var and from myse l f , t h a t h e r 14a j e s ty t s Government were most r e l u c t a n t t o send European t r o o p s t o t h e Gold Coast . I n t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s conveyed t o you i n my l e t t e r of S e p t e ~ a b e r 10, b e f o r e your d e p a r t u r e from t h i s coun t ry , you were informed t h a t , if you should f i n d it n e c e s s a r y t o a sk f o r any c o n s i d e r a b l e r e in fo rcemen t o f European t r o o p s , you were t o e n t e r i n t o f u l l e x p l a n a t i o n s as t o t h e c i r cums tances i n which you pro- posed t o employ them, and t h e r e a s o n s which l e d you t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y could be employed wi thout an u n j u s t i f i a b l e exposure and w i t h a well-grounded a n t i c i p a t i o n of succes s .

" 5 . You have now g iven it a s your op in ion t h a t a c e r t a i n f o r c e o f European s o l d i e r s i s i n d i s p e n s a b l e , n o t on ly f o r t h e purpcse o f an advance i n t o t h e enemyts t e r r i t o r y , b u t a l s o f o r t h e preliminary o p s r a t i o n s which you d e s c r i b e i n your d e s p a t c h t o me o f October 9, and you s t a t e t h a t you h a - ~ e s a t i s f i e d y o u r s e l f t h a t t h e y can be employed d u r i n g t h e more h e a l t h y season i n t h e manner you propose , w i thou t s e r i o u s r i s k from s i c k n e s s .

6 . A f t e r c a r e f u l l y con s i d e r i n g t h e arguments by which you r p r o p o s a l s a r e suppor t ed , h e r 1,:a j e s t y t s Government had no h e s i t a t i o n i n de t e rmin ing t o conlply w i t h your r e q u e s t , and o r d e r s wers a t once g iven a c c o r d i n g l y f o r t h e d e s p a t c h of t h e t r o o p s .

" 7 . Eefore t h e t r o o p s r each t h e c o a s t you w i l l , no doub t , as f a r as l i e s i n your power, have made every p r e p a r a t i o ~ i n ad- vance , s o t h a t no European s o l d i e r may be landed u n t i l t h e t i n e f o r d e c i s i v e a c t i o n h a s a r r i v e d ; and h e r lY:ajestyts Governaent

r e l y w i t h con f idence t h a t you w i l l no t employ t h i s f o r c e , espe- c i a l l y i n t h e i n t e r i o r , a day l o n g e r t han t h e paramount o b j e c t s o f your miss ion m y r e q u i r e . The l i r ~ i t o f t h e i r enployment i s f i x e d by t h e con t inuance of t h e more h e a l t h y season , a?d h e r M a j e s t y T s Government t r u s t you may be a b l e t o re-embark t h e t r o - ops f o r r e t u r n t o Zngland du r ing t h e month o f February, o r a t t h e ve ry l a t e s t i n I'Iarch, b e f o r e t h e end of which month, a t a l l e v e n t s , it w i l l be a b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y t o withdraw them. T h i s l i m i t o f t i m e , which i s imposed by t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e c l i m a t e , w i l l , o f c o u r s e , o f i t s e l f p l a c e a cor responding l i m i t upon t h e o p e r a t i o r s which it w i l l be p rudeq t o r p o s s i b l e f o r you t o a t t e m p t , The n a t u r e and e x t e n t o f t h e o p e r a t i o n s which it may, w i t h i n t h i s l i m i t o f t i m e , be n e c e s s a r y t o under take i n o r d e r t o b r i n g t h e war t o a conc lus io? , must be l e f t t o your o m juclgmer,t t o d e t e r - mine; n o r do h e r l ! a j e s t y 7 s Government wish t o f e t t e r t h e d i s c r e - t i o n which !nust a lways be p laced i n t h e hands o f a n o f i ' i c e r com- manding a f o r c e i n t h e f i e l d ; b u t t h e y d e s i r e t h a t , i n f o r n i n g your d e c i s i o n , you w i l l b e a r i n mind t h e f o l l o w i n g consic lera t ior .s : -

'18. You were i n f o r n e d i n lily de spa t ch o f October 6 t h a t a s a t i s f a c t o r y s t a t e o f t h i n g s would be o b t a i ~ . e d i f you cou ld p rocu re an honourab le peace, o r could i n f l i c t , i n d e f a u l t o f such peacc , an e f f e c t u a l c h a s t i s e x e n t on t h e h s h a n t i f o r c e .

" 9 . It i s obvious t h a t it w i l l be t h e i n t e r e s t o f t h e A s h a n t i s t o g a i n t ime b ; ~ n e g o t i a t i o n s , s o as t o d e l a y t h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e o p e r a t i o n s a g a i r s t t h e n u n t i l t h e unhea l thy season r e t u r n s . They have abundan t ly proved t h e i r c a p a c i t y f o r c a r r y i n g on such i l l u s o r y n e g o t i a t i o n s , and I have no f e a r t h a t you w i l l s u f f e r y o u r s e l f t o b e dece ived by then . But it may be t h a t t h e K i ~ g o f A s h a n t i , on l e a r n i n g t h e r e t r e a t of h i s army and t h e f u r t h e r p r e p a r a t i o n s a g a i n s t him, w i l l be r eady t o make r e p a r a t i o n , and t o conclude a t once a peace on c o n d i t i o n s a c c e p t a b l e t o Her Kaj- e s t y l s Government, i n o r d e r t o a v e r t t h e impending blow. Her M a j e s t y f s Government would view w i t h much s a t i s f a c t i o n such a terr!iitmt;ion o f t h e e x i s t i r . 6 d i f f i c u l t i e s .

"10. But i f it s ' lould be n e c e s s a r y t o advance f a r i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r o f t h e c o u n t r y , and evev beyond t h e P rah , it a p p e a r s t o Her bk jes t ;y?s Government by no means t o f o l l o w t h a t it would be a d v i s a b l e t o occupy Coomassie.

"11, If you should i n f l i c t a s e v e r e d e f e a t on t h e Ashan t i arrny m a r o r beyond t h e f r o n t i e r , t h e occupa t ion o f t h e c a p i t a l m igh t , pe rhaps , be e f f e c t e d wi thout much d i f f i c u l t y ; 'out it i s p robab le t h a t t h e r ~ s u l t might be a complete break up o f t h e k i - g t s goverr,mcnt and poxer. I n such an e v e n t , you m i ~ h t f i n d y o u r s e l f i n pos se s s io r . o f Coomassie w i thou t a n y government o r r u l e r t o t r e a t w i t h ; and a s it would be whol ly o u t o f t h e q u e s t i o n t o keep Euro- pear? t r o o p s i? a s t a t e o f i n a c t i v i t y i n t h e i n t e r i o r ; you n i c h t be com;)elled t o r e t u r n w i thou t hav ing o b t a i n e d a f u l l s e c u r i t y f o r t h e e s t n b 1 i s h m r . t o f a l a s t i n t ; peace.

"12, It s e e m probable t h a t one of t h e main grounds o f q u a r r e l between t h e Ashant i s acd t h e c o a s t t r i b e s a r i s e s , as i n o t h e r p a r t s of A f r i c a , from t h e iclpedirnents i n t e r p o s e d by t h e l a t t e r t o t h e f r e e a c c e s s and t r a d e o f t h e Ashant i s w i t h t h e c o a s t . If t h e King of Ashant i were persuaded t h a t o u r o b j e c t would b e t o f a c i l i t a t e and p r o t e c t t h e t r a d e of t h e Ashan t i s , and t h a t t h e y might r e g a r d Elrnina a s i n every r e s p e c t as much open t o them, now i t i s under o u r i n f l u e n c e , as it was when under Dutch p r o t e c t i o n , o r a s it could be i n any o t h e r c i rcumstances , i t i s r e a s o n a b l e t o suppose t h a t it trould e f f e c t a g r e a t c h a n ~ e i n h i s r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e B r i t i s h s e t t l - e m n t s .

f113. I n any co~nrnunication which you may have w i t h t h e k i n g , you shou ld l o s e no o p p o r t u n i t y t o impress upor, him t h a t o u r o b j e c t i s t o promote, i n eve ry way, t h e i n t e r c o u r s e o f t h e Ashant- i s w i t h t h e c o a s t , and t o p r o t e c t t h e t r a d e coning from t h e in- t e r i o r from i n t e r r u p t i o n and annoyance, You cannot t o o s t r o n g l y a s s u r e him t h a t we d e s i r e t o be on te rms o f f r i e n d s h i p w i t h Ashant i n a t i o n , and t h a t he has been complete ly dece ived i f he h a s been l e d t o b e l i e v e t h a t our o b j e c t i n o b t a i n i n g posses s ion of t h e Dutch f o r t s was t o c u t o f f h i s people from communication w i t h t h e c o a s t ; t h a t , on t h e c o n t r a r y , i f t h e y come as p e a c e f u l t r a d e r s , it i s as much o u r i n t e r e s t as h i s t h a t t h e y should meet with no h ind rance which it i s i n ou r power t o remove,

t f l f + , I have f u r t h e r t o observe t h a t , w h i l s t t h e v i o l e n t a g g r e s s i o n of t h e King of Ashant i upon t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , a t a t ime when he was p r o f e s s i n g t o be i n f r i e n d l y n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h t h e B r i t i s h a u t h o r i t i e s , cannot be over looked, much l e s s t h e r avages and b a r b a r i t i e s by which t h e p r o g r e s s of t h e i n v a d e r s h a s been marked, it must n o t be f o r g o t t e n t h a t t h e r e i s a r ea son t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e Ashan t i s r e c e i v e d some p rovoca t ion from t h e t r i b e s o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , and i n n e g o t i a t i n g t h e t e r n s o f peace, you w i l l b e c a r e f u l t o g i v e f a i r con side ratio^ t o any complai- ts which t h e k ing may urge a g a i n s t t h e s e t r i b e s ; and i f you shou ld be of op in ion t h a t t h e y are t o any e x t e n t w e l l founded, you w i l l g i v e due weight t o them ir de te rmin ing t h e anount o f r e p a r a t i o n which you may r e q u i r e .

"15. I may sum up by s a y i n g , t h a t it is t h e wish o f Her Ma jes ty ' s Government t h a t you should ccnc lude a s a t i s f a c t o r y peace a s soon a s i t can be o b t a i q e d ; t h a t you should advance no f u r t h e r i n t o t h e i n t e r i o r t h a n rimy be i n d i s p e n s a b l e f o r t h e a t - t a i n r ~ a n t o f such a peace ; and t h a t , a f t e r conc lud ing , i f p o s s i b l e , a T r e a t y wi th t h e King o f A s h a ~ t i , you should r e t u r n v i t h t h e l e a s t p r a c t i c a b l e d e l a y t o t h e s e a - c o a s t , and send hone t h e Euro- pean t r o o p s , keep ing on f o o t only such o t h e r f o r c e s a s you nag c o n s i d e r n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e s e r v i c e of t h e s e t t l e m e n t s , a r d f c r h o l d i n & t h e road t o t h e P rah , s o as t o keep t h e co:nniunication w i t h t h c i r ~ t e r i o r open t o t r a d e .

n 1 6 . With r e s p e c t t o our r e l a t i o n s a f t e r t h e war w i t h t h e t r i b e s o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t w i t h sono few excep- t i o n s t h e n a t i v e t r i b e s s i n c e t h e i r first; d e f e a t s have made v e r y l i t t l e e f f o r t t o defend themse lves a g a i n s t t h e Ashan t i s , and t h a t , p r a c t i c a l l y , t h e whole burden of t h e war hzs f a l l e n upon t h i s c o u n t r y , it must be unders tood t h a t when t h e p r e s e n t opera ti or.^ have been concluded, Her N a j e s t y ' s Government w i l l ho ld t h a t t h e y have d i s c h a r g e d t h e i r o b l i g a t i o n s t o t h e p r o t e c t e d t r i b e s , and t h a t t h e y a r e e r t i r e l y f r e e t o review t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h o s e t r i b e s , and t o p l a c e then; or! such f o o t i n g a s t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h i s c o u n t r y may seem t o them t o r e q u i r e .

"17. I n d e s i r i n g you, t h e r e f o r e , t o l e a v e t h e road t o t h e P r a h under t h e p r o t e c t i o n of such a f o r c e as you may deex neczs - sary, t h e y must no t be unders tood as p l e d g i g s t h i s coun t ry t o permanent ly l aa in t a in a f o r c e t o keep t h e road open; and you will be c a r s f u l n o t t o e n t e r i n t o any s t i p u l a t i o n w i t h t h e Asban t i s which nay fetter t h e d i s c r e t i o n of Her ? ? a j e s t y T s Goverrnsnt i n d e a l i n g h e r e a f t e r w i t h t h e r e l a t i o n s between t h i s coun t ry and t he Gold Coast g e n e r a l l y .

TT lg . You w i l l , o f cou r sz , g i v e such i r \ s t r u c t l o ? s t o Cap- tain Glover a s rvi11. i n s u r e h i s c o n f o r r n i ~ g s t r i c t l y t o t h e views of Her 14ajcst;y's Governnant as i n d i c a t e d i n t h i s de spa t ch . - I have , &c.

(S igned)

APPENDIX D

I N I T I A L LSTTERS ITIGluI KOFI K A R I K A R I

TO SIR GARNET VOLS3LEY

l'Kumassi, Novcnber 25, 1873.

"SIR, - Your h o n o u r ' s l a t t e r s by t h e man c a p t u r e d a t A s s a n c h i , b e a r i n g t h e d a t e s Oc tober 1 3 t h and 1st i n s t a n t , I have s a f e l y r e c e i v e d , a n d have t i le c o n t e n t s r e a d and i n t e r p r e t e d c o r i - e c t l y t o me. It i s t r u e t h a t t h e r e e x i s t s s u c h t r e a t y as your honour r e f e r between my p r e d e c e s s o r and l a t e Governor NcClean. E e i n g aware o f i t , and h a v i n g no p a l a v e r 1;ith i ;h i te men, my good f r i e n d s , I o n l y d i r e c t e d my G e n e r a l A r x n q u a t i a a g a i n s t t h e b l a c k men, who a r e may own s l a v e s , and no:,! r e f u s e t o s e r v e me. I was i n c i t e d t o t a k e t h i s s t e p by t h e message Attah, a l i a s b I r . Henry P l a n g e , b r o u g h t t o me, "chat i n f o u r months ' t i n e t h e Administ;ra- t o r - i n - C h i e f was t o take my power away f o r Kwarkef ram, ' t h e K i ~ g of Dcnkera. Of c o u r s e I c o u l d n o t b e a r t o hear t h i s , and I t h e r c f o r e s e n t t o f e t c h him, Kwaricefran. Bu t s i n c e I h e a r 2 h i s d e a t h , which has p a c i f i e d me, and h e a r d t h a t my a r m i e s were p r o c e e d i n g t o a t t a c k t h e f o r t s , I i : m e d i a t e l y s e n t , a b o u t t w e n t y d a y s ago, e r e y o u r h o n o u r ' s l e t t e r s r e a c h e d n e , one o f my cap- tains, 'Eusu:m~uru In te lcura ' by nane , t o c a l l back A m a ~ q u a t i a , f o r b i d d i n g h i s a t t a c k s upon t h e f o r t s , as t h a t would i n c u r t 5 e d i s p l e a s u r e o f you, my good f r i e n d . R e s p e c t i n g t h e d e t e r t i o n o f y o u r honour ' s messeqger , P:r. Datison, a n d t h e E u r o p e a ~ ~ s , it i s b e c z u s e my c a p t a i n who b rough t t h e n d i s a p p o v e d my send in^ them t o t h e c o a s t e r e t h e money i s s e n t , I f , t h e r e f o r e , y o u r honour would s e n d it a s e a r l y a s you can by t h e r e t u r n o f t h e b e a r e r s of t h i s , Nr, Dawson w i l l b e a l l o w e d t o s ta r t d i r e c t l y w i t h them.

( Signed ) "KOFI K A X X A R T X , h i s X mark. by t h e L i n g u i s t s ,

KOFI UUAKI, h i s X mark, AKOSSI APPIA, h i s X mark, YAW N A F M 7 1 , h i s X mark.

t l i t n e s s e s t o the s i g n a t u r e s : (S igned) F r . Ratnseyer .

M. G. Borna t . His Honour Colone l H a r l e y , C O B o ,

h d m i r ~ i s t ~ a t o r o f h e r Ka j e s t y ' s F o r t s a n d S e t ; t l e : x n t s on t h e Gold Coas t ."

nI(urnassi, December 26, 1$73 . "biY GOOD FRIEF!L), - Your honour b y t h i s w i l l f i n d t h a t my l e t t e r da ted 2 4 t h u l t i m o had beer, r e t u r n e d back a g a i n t o Coornassie. The c w s e of t h i s i s the a t t a c k nlade upon my army on t h e i r way b a c k , when I o r d e r e d , by your Honour 's d e s i r e , t h e i r r e t u r n home, and t h e r e b y k i l - l a d a l l t h e i r s i c k men, and t o o k away a l l t h e i r prop- e r t y , E s p c n i a l l y f i n d i ~ ~ i n t h a t a t Fosoo one o f your honour? s o f f i c e r s among them, whose harnlnock and p r o v i s i o n s my men t o o k a f t e r d e f e a t i n g t h e n . T h i s , o f c o u r s e , p a i n s me v e r y much, as I d i d n o t f o r e s e e a t r i c k i n i t ; and a l s o h a v i n g w r i t t e n y o u r hon- o u r t o a c q u a i n t you w i t h my h a v i n g no war w i t h w h i t e men, k u t t h e b l ack p e o p l e . IIowever, c o n s i d e r i n g your honour as my good f r i e n d s t i l l , I send one o f my c o u r t c r i e r s , Zssen Kunku, and a n o t h e r man, Kudjo Fodwin, t o accompany one o f Mr. D a m o n ' s men, Ass radu , t o a sk y o u r honour f s answer t o my f i r s t l e t t e r , r e s p e c t i n g th-2 g i v i n g me back A s s i n s and Denkeras , and a t t h e s a n e t i n e f o r soiile

e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e s e l a s t a t t a c k s upon my p e o p l e . I beg t o say t h a t I have g i v e n t h e n o n l y f o u r t e e n d a y s t o pe r fo rm t h e i r j c u r - ney i n and o u t . - We a r e , k c . ,

( F o r King K o f i K a l k a r e e ) , L i n g u i s t s ,

( S i g n e d ) "YAT'I NXT!TiJI, h i s X mark. KOFI B U A K I , h i s X mark, VINES3 APPZA, h i s X mark. KIJABIPA APIFRUZMSA, h i s X mark.

" H i s Honour Colone l R . !!. H a r l e y , C.B., A d m i n i s t r a t o r , k c . &c. &c .

SOKOTO OZINDER

oGw- KANO

,.,., ,- Clapperton And R. L. Lander 1825-1827

R. L. Lander Alona 1827-1828 Yh A . . . . . . . . . . R. L. And John Lander 1830

, r ,?.

M s o 9 General map

COOMASSIE *-