Battle of Rorke's Drift close to defeating the much smaller garrison, but were ultimately repelled. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours. Rorke's Drift, known as "kwaJimu" ("Jim's Land") in the Zulu language, was a mission station and the former trading post of James Rorke, an Irish merchant. It was located near a drift, or ford, on the Buffalo (Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of Natal and the Zulu Kingdom. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under Lord Chelmsford, arrived and encamped
Battle of Rorke's Drift Oceans of Eternity" depicts a battle between the small garrison force defending a Republic of Nantucket supply base and a massed force of Ringapi warriors; not only are the defensive tactics taken almost directly from Lt. Chard's plan for the defense of Rorke's Drift, but the battle itself later becomes known as "The Battle of O'Rourke's Ford". Tanya Huff's first Confederation series book "Valor's Choice", includes a battle based on the battle of Rorke's Drift. The battle of Rorke's Drift was given a chapter in military historian Victor Davis Hanson's book "Carnage and Culture" (2002) as one of several landmark