10 If you falter in times of trouble,
how small is your strength!
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it.Proverbs 24:10-12
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. -Psalms 18: 34
The Scripture tells us in the Book of James that believers must have compassion for the poor:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
James:14-16.
In James we see a view of the rich that indicates that the rich often deprive the poor of justice:
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
There are many ways in which we can express care for the less fortunate members of society and there are many voices that purport to counsel how society should provide “justice” for the poor. Apart from the issue of how the government can alleviate poverty, justice can never be administered (nor can poverty be alleviated) without preventing crime and violence.
This Biblical concept of limiting the powers and responsibilities of the federal government is the basis for the U.S. Constitution which put limitations on the federal government in order to keep it from becoming too powerful. The primary Constitutional responsibility of the federal government is to protect the people from foreign invasion.
The states, local law enforcement and we the individual citizens ourselves- in submission to lawful authority- are in the best position to stop violent criminals!
When the people call for the government to expand military power and administer in areas that are best left to the people, the situation becomes similar to Israel in the time of Samuel:
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”
Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
1 Samuel 8
Compare the warnings set before the Nation of Israel with the following exhortation from Proverbs:
The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD.Proverbs 21:31
The Constitution is a system of boundaries that delineate the areas in which federal, state and local governments operate along with defining areas that are private and not subject to public legislation:
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
set up by your forefathers.Proverbs 22:28
Nevertheless, prior to passage of the Fourteenth Amendment after the Civil War, the U.S. Constitution only limited the power of the federal government and explicitly required that all other powers and responsibilities remain in the hands of the various state legislatures. Until WW I, most Americans were adamantly opposed to foreign wars or any other involvement that entangled the United States with foreign powers. Woodrow Wilson illegally manipulated the nation into entering World War I and then imprisoned people that spoke against the war.
WW I issued the U.S. into a century of militarism; i.e., an almost pagan ideology that exalts military supremacy over other values. The Scriptural view of national security, on the other hand, provides for the means of defense without exalting the state over the needs of individuals.
The Biblical view of the relationship between government and individuals balances the extreme philosophy of individualism (such as Ayn Rand’s thoughts expressed in works like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged) with the statist ideologies of socialism such as the National Socialist Worker’s Party.
The Nazis grabbed control of Germany after Hitler was constitutionally elected. Fascism, National Socialism and other socialist systems that institute totalitarianism by unifying the government and the private sectors move inexorably toward more economic control. Once such “unity” is obtained, militarism will soon become joined to statism in the personality of a charismatic leader that looks for minority groups to demonize in order to distract the masses from the government’s failure to deal with one government created crisis after another.
Our premise then is that the job of protecting ourselves from violence and tyranny is primarily in the hands of you and I as individuals and that Scripture has a great deal to teach about personal self-defense, provisions for local and national security and how to stop violent criminals (even those intent on seizing control of governmental power).
In fact, the drafters of the U.S. Constitution received a cultural heritage that recognized inalienable rights. Rights and duties do not stem from society but exist apart from society because they proceed from the character of the Creator. Our Creator wants to be known by men and women and reveals himself in reason and order and human dignity. His creation and all of its respective parts speak of God’s infinite existence, law and justice.
If we look to nature alone for divinity, however, all our rights are then whatever government deems them to be.
In a naturalistic view of the world, there is no reason that the poor should not be slaves to the rich- exactly the state of society under ancient Greek and Roman philosophies of law. The poorest among us today often live in oppressive communities where crime and violence are commonplace and where the police are hard-pressed to provide protection. And the power to tax the rich is also the power to confiscate the wealth of every citizen and make every individual into a slave to Pharaoh!
The Founding Fathers knew their history well enough to understand that tyrants often pretend to help the poor and even choose to allow criminal anarchy in order to provide the pretext for more government control. Witness the phenomenon of the “liberal” criminal justice systems in some jurisdictions that allow the reach of street violence to be extended into many neighborhoods while the politicians seek to impose more gun control on law abiding citizens.
For several years street violence has declined in many cities but, in cities like Chicago and Washington, DC, that impose draconian gun bans, violence has sky-rocketed!
Victims and other witnesses to crimes of violence are often intimidated into silence by gangs that have become virtual armies. One gang, MS-13, has infiltrated into small communities all over the U.S. and dares the police to take action against them. The trademark of MS-13 is to hack its enemies with machetes. For example, a mother lost her husband and two sons to random street violence in almost “gun-free” San Francisco. An MS-13 member did not hesitate to gun down the innocent family in what authorities at first believed to be a road rage incident. It later appeared that the killer (an illegal immigrant that had been apprehended several times but never deported because San Francisco is a so-called “sanctuary city“) might have thought the father and sons were an opposing gang because the father and sons were Hispanic.
We can tell that mother that we feel her pain.
Nevertheless, we must allow residents of our neighborhoods to protect their families. And the criminal justice system needs to ensure that witnesses to violent crimes are not intimidated. The police cannot be there all the time for us and we know that ambitious politicians do not have their sacred oaths to uphold the Constitution squarely before their eyes.
PermalinkThose who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
Proverbs 28:4
The Firearms Academy of Seattle provides training for “civilian” and professional shooters that covers most aspects of tactical shooting. The classes also provide basic safety and educate citizens in most of the legal aspects pertaining to armed self defense and concealed carry. Marty Hayes, the founder of FAS, has an extensive law enforcement background.
I attended an FAS handgun class last year. Massad Ayoob will be lecturing again and also provides hands on training at the FAS campus in Onalaska. None of this information is new for many Washington shootists but the news is that Marty Hayes has started a legal network in order to assist members that need advice and encounter legal problems involving self defense and related issues:
On March 19, 2008, just a little less than two months after the foundation of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, LLC, the funding arm of the Network was incorporated as a non-profit foundation, with the Washington Secretary of State, under the name of Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Foundation.
The idea is that when you join the organization some of the revenue from the membership fees is set aside in the above referenced nonprofit as a defense fund for members that get into legal difficulty as a result of exercising his or her responsibility to defend themselves or others.
Incidentally, issues relating to armed self-defense are often discussed in terms of rights; i.e., Constitutional rights, Second Amendment, etc. It is important to remind ourselves occasionally that defense of one’s self and others is a moral imperative just like providing for our families and being good neighbors. Many followers of Christ are convinced that Christ taught his followers to lay down the sword and practice pacifism. This is a misunderstanding.
The Lord was a Jew and understood the Jewish heritage of warfare. When he said to put down the sword, he went on to explain that he was laying down his life willingly. The failure to understand that the Lord was laying down his lawful ability to defend himself is also a failure to understand the meaning of why he had to die in a public execution. At the time of Jesus’ arrest, he stated that he could call down legions of angels to protect him from his persecutors.
Christ’s followers are instructed to lay down rights and even responsibilities under certain circumstances, such as when he said to let the dead bury the dead. When we are called to make way for higher priorities than personal duty we may leave a good paying job in order to serve as missionaries or sacrifice our well-being to serve a loved one. Love has no higher meaning than a man or woman laying down his or her life for a brother or sister.
Would any person advocate that there is a moral imperative to submit to rape or torture or watch your children be taken from you by evil-doers? Shockingly enough, some church people teach that a woman who takes the life of a rapist in order to prevent a rape in progress is violating the Scriptural mandate to respect and preserve life.
Additionally, even if you have an abstract belief in the Second Amendment or that self-defense is a God-given natural right/responsibility, you need to prepare ahead of time by taking the necessary steps to obtain a Concealed Pistol License and a weapon and to get trained (if you plan to protect youself with a weapon). Most folks tell me they would defend their families if it becomes necessary.
Nevertheless, many of those same people with whom I speak seem to think that they will know in advance when the time comes that a weapon is necessary. There is not normally enough advance warning to go home and get a weapon, let alone to go through the waiting periods and other red tape involved to purchase a gun when and if the time comes that you need to deploy armed self-defense. Incidentally, unarmed self-sefense also requires training but is not an extremely viable option for many people.
If leaders and theologians within the church world teach that women should submit to rape rather than use a weapon against an assailant, is it any wonder that the politicians and lawyers are so confused? My theology teaches me that those that are Followers of Christ hold the keys and have the authority to powerfully influence public policy. Many churches teach that the goal is to get as many people saved as possible, build churches and then hold on until we get to heaven. Such an understanding is just a little short of the mark!
One of the purposes of this website is to exhort Christian folks to take an activist stance and exert the wisdom that is in the Scriptures in a way that shows that we have answers. Being as wise as a snake and as innocent as a dove is good counsel. Preparing for the legal aftermath of a justified shooting also shows wisdom. You don’t want to go to court with your brother-in-law that normally practices corporate law any more than you would want a lawyer reciting a bunch of Scriptures to the judge.
Start making preparations now to retain a lawyer or make arrangments to have legal counsel available in the event that you are ever called upon to use deadly force.
See Combat Weaponry in the Book of Luke.
Send us an e-mail if you want more information about the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network: knapp.m@comcast.net or call (253) 661-1252.
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SOME GUIDELINES FOR CHURCH THREAT RESPONSE PLANS
The following are some thoughts and observations related to security issues based on suggestions we have received from a church member in Texas. Although the strategy is focused on preventing violence at churches, the material may also apply to other workplace settings, especially in situations where it becomes cost prohibitive to retain professional security officers.
The first consideration is to identify members of your organization that have experience as police officers. The rules of engagement are quite different for law enforcement than for military. Training can be acquired fairly quickly but good judgment comes with experience. Additionally, a little bit of legal knowledge about armed self-defense can go a long way- toward creating tragedy, legal liability and a bad image for your church or business.
The laws vary in every state. In the State of Washington, we are permitted to carry a weapon concealed (with a Concealed Pistol License- CPL) or openly in many situations. Some states have laws that restrict weapons in churches. Since Washington gun law treats a church like any other business, anyone that can legally carry on the street can carry in church. In fact, the owner and those authorized by the owners can carry in a church or business without CPL. Keep in mind, however, that if you are in a vehicle or off the premises you need a CPL unless you carry openly which we are only recommending for uniformed Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs).
A church has the same right and responsibility as any other private party to restrict what happens on its own premises but you do not want to deter visitors from coming onto your premises while appropriately armed. That visitor may save someone’s life. Criminals will not hesitate just because they see a sign that bans weapons on your premises.
Thus, a church or other organization has to take reasonable precautions to protect invitees that enter the premises. There is already some precedent for law suits proceeding against institutions like Virginia Tech. Pastors and elders also need to look at these issues from a spiritual standpoint. If you take your responsibility seriously, then you have to protect the flock that God has entrusted to your care.
More violent attacks against Christians and other religious minorities are foreseeable. Churches that take a Scriptural stand on the self-evident truths of Scripture – truths that have become so controversial to the crooked generation in which we live- are more likely to be attacked. The Lord Jesus articulated a self evident truth when he commanded his disciples to make it a priority to obtain a sword even if they sell their own clothing to purchase one.
Most churches have at least some active duty police officers. In Washington, police officers are permitted to work as armed security when they are not on regular duty. Keep in mind that in many of the mass shootings that have occurred, uniformed police officers have been targeted first. The presence of a uniformed officer is a good thing but there needs to be one or more armed individuals in plain clothes backing up the officer(s).
Security guards need to be licensed and properly supervised so do not take any steps indicating that any of your volunteers are security guards without undergoing the appropriate legal procedures. Nevertheless, we encourage you as a church to discuss appropriate threat responses and to create threat response plans with folks in your church that are called to protect the flock.
Remember, your team is made up of are volunteers and should be moving around the church just like any other members unless they are ushers or greeters or have similar assignments. Armed volunteers should be going about their normal activities but in such a way that they are prepared to implement your church’s well planned response if a threat materializes.
Assigning specific individuals to guard or secure a particular area.
You may want to informally designate areas of responsibility for various volunteers. Working in pairs makes sense. If members are identified as security personal and/or wear clothing that indicates certain members are official security personnel, you may be in violation of the law. Additionally, this creates more potential for liability if an incident occurs in which someone is injured by the commission of a negligent act or the failure to take appropriate action.
Additionally, wearing clothing that identifies members of the “security” team encourages church members to rely on the presence of armed security and makes those designated individuals into potential targets themselves. The first principle of self-defense is that each person has the primary obligation to protect himself or herself and loved ones from death or grave bodily harm. Once we undertake a special responsibility for others; i.e., by becoming a parent or promising to keep someone safe, the person protected begins to rely on that “promise” that he or she will be safe.
Anyone that asks the question “when can I draw my weapon” is probably not ready for the responsibility. Each person that is armed needs to have requisite training, knowledge and experience to know what to do if a threat of deadly force develops. An individual who only focuses on how and when to shoot will not be remotely prepared for the scenarios that may develop in your church.
Surveillance Detection.
Look at the size and layout of your building and ask yourself where a terrorist might stand to observe your building and what activities might be of interest for a potential attacker that is taking notes. There has not been a case of a terrorist attack against a church in the United States that we know of but it happens frequently in other countries. When things develop, they develop quickly. So take the time to study surveillance detection. Many times the mere fact that surveillance is being observed will prevent an attack from developing.
Greeters should be at every door and in the parking lot for those who need help or for ministry. Greeters should be observant. Know the signs of trouble. Disturbances that may occur are shouting at preacher during the sermon, a fight between teens or a potential domestic violence situation. Make sure that “gatekeepers” know about impending threats, stalking situations and/or domestic violence protection orders. Pastoral counseling and assistance to abused women (or men) can put those that intervene and the whole congregation right in the line of fire!
Dealing with a threat where no deadly force is present.
1. Every disturbance has the potential to escalate to Code Red very quickly. Your team should normally be in a state of heightened vigilance but outwardly relaxed/alert (Code Yellow). Code Orange is the point at which an unspecified incident or disturbance puts your team on full alert. At this point, you become aware of cover, lanes of movement for accessing and exiting the space you and others may be in. Who controls access to certain areas and is that person aware of indications that a situation may be developing?
Condition red is the point where an armed encounter with one or more opponents has materialized. The “trouble maker” has now demonstrated the ability to produce death or grave bodily harm combined with the opportunity and legal jeopardy (the perpetrator is in your church or parking lot of your business with a deadly weapon evidencing the intent to cause harm to innocent people). Grave bodily harm includes a life-threatening, crippling or disfiguring injury. In Afghanistan, the Taliban throws acid in women’s faces. What about the protesters that threw liquids at the delegates to the Republican convention last summer?
2. Give the location in the building where the disturbance is occurring. Do not tell law enforcement that there are armed volunteers present if the disturbance is not one that presents the threat of deadly force. If the first responders think that you have involved armed civilians, the police may not arrive until the SWAT team arrives which takes a great deal of time in most instances.
3. The person that goes to call the police should walk and not run. Walking indicates you are in control. Have someone that is prepared to take control of the situation go to all the buildings on your campus to lock doors and let teachers and staff know what is taking place.
4. You need an exit plan for the congregation. The church body needs to know they are to follow instructions from leaders. Visitors that do not attend regularly will follow the regular members. These leaders may be women or men. They need to know a place to go outside the church building. In the case of a larger church it may be another building that can be locked. Start walking people out- do not run. Tell them, “follow the leader, walk don’t run.”
Running shows fear. Walking says, “I am in control“.
Never stop. Never look at the trouble maker. Walk out. Start them singing as they walk out- “Jesus Loves Me” or some other song of praise that calms the congregation’s minds and blocks out whatever the active shooter may be saying to create fear or confusion. The goal is take control completely out of the hands of the trouble maker(s) or active shooter(s). Active shooter is a term of art that refers to a person or persons intent on taking as many lives as possible.
Be aware that there may be more than one shooter including embedded outriders/outliers that can mingle in the congregation and operate as back up for the active shooter that you are able to immediately identify. The tactics that the world witnessed in Mumbai with automatic weapons and grenades may constitute the shape of future terrorist attacks. Attacks with small arms have long been predicted by almost all the credible experts.
If dealing with an armed troublemaker, the armed volunteers should be using cover but also moving quickly toward the active shooter but not to surround him. If you are surrounding a shooter you are all in the line of each other’s fire! Stay in control and walk purposefully with an awareness of the big 360 degree picture.
Give commands forcefully but calmly. If there is no weapon displayed by the person creating a threat then keep your hands out front in the open. Pointed fingers or threatening actions may provoke more trouble. Stay two arms length away from the threat if possible. If it is a fist fight between two combatants intervene with great caution. Better two brawlers hurt each other than have someone turn on you with a knife or gun
If you are armed, you should avoid any physical contact that may lead to losing control of your weapon. If you are confronted with disparity of force (more than one assailant or a deadly weapon) do what you see as appropriate.
When law enforcement arrives clear away and point at the perpetrator without talking. In this manner the police will know immediately who the bad guy is. The police will need plenty of safe space to deal with the threat without having to be concerned about bystanders that may also pose a threat.
Sit down somewhere and keep the witnesses together. Wait for the police to ask questions. Wait until asked for identification before informing the police that you are armed. The police do not need assistance to catch the troublemaker if he runs away.
Practice verbal responses so you can remember them when you need to use them. Physical responses need to be practiced, so do verbal ones. Do not hesitate to call the police! It is alright to tell the officer that you have it resolved but may need an officer to remain close by.
If confronted with contact weapons such as knives, bats, screw drivers or other sharp objects do not run away.
1. Command the church body “Everyone get down on the floor and do not run. Get on the floor.”
2. Have someone call the police.
3. Armed volunteers should approach carefully while keeping a good distance from the attacker. A man with a contact weapon can move twenty feet before you can react especially if people are running around and creating confusion. In a loud command voice tell the perpetrator, “Put down the knife and face the wall. Put it down and get on the floor….”
4. Remember the 21 ft rule.
5. Stay at safe distance and wait for law enforcement. If your gun is out (which it normally would be if you are confronted with a contact weapon) reholster when the police arrive- but stay prepared. You should have a good distance between your tactical team and the perpetrator.
Do not attempt to handcuff or make any physical contact with an individual. You are not trained to do that. If there is even a possibility that the troublemaker is armed then stay behind cover at all times if possible.
If shooting starts.
1. Do not hesitate, now is the time to run and do not stop. Call 911 and inform law enforcement of the location of the shooting. Do not return.
2. Shooter may never give a clear shot at him. Will be walking down aisle; shooting at contact range. People will probably run in spite of commands.
3. Holler give commands, to congregation, “Get on the floor. Do not run, get down.”
4. If there is a circle of people around the active shooter as he walks between the church pews, no one can return fire without hitting other volunteers. If he is on an outside aisle against a wall there is a better possibility of obtaining a clear shot if everyone gets on the floor. By kneeling or shooting from close to the floor your rounds may travel upward, thus minimizing the chance of stray rounds hitting innocent bystanders. Bullets pass through walls and people, striking innocent people. Police use ammunition that breaks up when it hits and you may want to carefully consider the ammunition that you choose.
5. Those willing to take the shooter down should rush the shooter and keep coming until he is down. Push people down or out of the way, even run over children while shouting commands, “Get down, do not run, get on the floor!”
6. Those who choose to fight should focus on the weapon not the person. Control the weapon even if you have to absorb a shot to do so. Remember, an apparently lone attacker may have a partner acting as an oulier. After the active shooter(s) have been subdued, march everyone out to a safe place in the manner described above. You have now fulfilled Hebrews 11 by quenching the violence of fire, delivering your loved ones from the edge of the sword and administering justice. You have “waxed valiant in fight” and put alien armies to flight. Someone needs to call for medical assistance at this point.
7. When LEOs arrive all weapons should already be put away if possible. Make sure not to pick up the shooter’s weapon but keep your foot on it or secure it if there is a chance someone may pick it up. Do what the police tell you to do. Identify the wrongdoer to the police and make sure the police know that he had to be stopped in order to prevent innocent people from becoming victims. Point out evidence such as spent casings, weapons, etc. but do not provide details without a lawyer present.
Note well: Police officers have been taught the importance of obtaining legal counsel prior to making detailed statements so they will understand that you need some time before you answer questions. You will be experiencing an enormous rush of adrenaline but resist the urge to talk too much and make sure that you are not holding a weapon or doing anything when the police arrive that might cause them to regard you as a threat. That means to drop your gun on the floor without hesitation when commanded to do so.
This is not legal advice because, even though the author is a lawyer, every situation is governed upon very specific facts. Get training in the laws of self-defense and know the laws of your jurisdiction. Talk to local police authorities and make sure they are aware of your threat response plan. You alone are responsible for your actions, especially if you decide that you are faced with the deadly force that justifies deploying a weapon.
If anything herein is helpful, you or your church or business should feel free to reproduce these guidelines in whole or in part. We encourage you to submit your planning concepts and questions so that we can augment or correct what we have provided so far. This article is a work in progress.
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THE DEFENDERS OF RORKE’S DRIFT
On January 22, 1879, Britain’s standing army suffered one of its greatest calamities. A few days later 150 ordinary men withstood 4,500 Zulu warriors to provide an example of “pluck” in the face of extraordinary odds. What is to be learned from history about the character of those men that can guide our attitudes toward leadership and how to endure in the face of impossible circumstances?
Lt. Col. Mike Snook is a serving officer of The Royal Regiment of Wales. His regiment is apparently the same regiment that plays an important role in his books about the British Empire’s confrontation with the Zulus in South Africa. The first book, HOW CAN MEN DIE BETTER, deals with the massacre at Isandlwana.
Messengers dispatched from the carnage at Isandlwana (less than eight miles away on the Buffalo River) brought the news that Zulu were headed for Rorke’s Drift, an old mission station that overlooked a river crossing. As soon as the news reached the men, the officers deployed men to move 200-lb mealie-bags and cases of meat out of the storehouse so that the building could be used to defend the unfortified outpost. The mission buildings stood about thirty-five yards apart and there was also a hospital with at least eleven rooms.
Since the mission was unprotected from attack there were only a few hours in which to stack the mealie-bags in order to create a defensive wall. In some areas a low rock wall already provided some defense but the men worked frantically to plug the gaps between the buildings.
Many of the hospital patients who were not completely helpless and fighting men were sealed into the barricaded hospital wards with sufficient ammunition to defend the hospital from loopholes improvised in the walls.
Knowing that the enemy could appear at any moment, every man worked stacking bags and using ox-wagons to reinforce the walls. It was too late to remove the dense brush and a stone wall twenty-five yards from the hospital that could provide cover for 300-400 Zulus.
A secondary perimeter of bags was created within the perimeter of the outer ring of mealie-bags to which the defenders could fall back. When time ran out, there significant gaps existed in the mealie-bag wall and a wood plank was put in place at the last minute.
The Zulu was a “courageous, crafty and dexterous light infantryman, who skirmished from cover to cover with consummate skill.” His assegais and other traditional weapons were supplemented by the one in four warriors armed with some kind of firearm, often smooth bore black-powder muskets, according to Lt. Col. Snook in LIKE WOLVES ON THE FOLD; THE DEFENCE OF RORKE’S DRIFT.
There is even evidence that some of the attackers at Rorke’s Drift may have been armed with Martini-Henrys. Snook concludes that there could not have been enough ammunition available even if the attackers had picked up a few of the rifles. Therefore shots that sounded like Martini-Henrys must have been carbines that used a .450-inch cartridge case with a slightly loader load.
The Undi Corps, four regiments of the Zulu reserve, contained some of the most elite warriors in Zululand. They had just missed the glory of washing their spears in British blood at Isandlwana but their idunas now launched “the horns of the buffalo” to encircle the defenders at Rorke’s Drift. The native horsemen deserted the British along with many of the European levies. This brought down the number of men that would hold the mission from 650 to 154, of which more than twenty were in the hospital and out of combat.
Lieutenant Bromhead VC
Thus, the men were forced to reconfigure the mealie-bag walls in order to defend the mission with fewer men. Less than an hour and a half from when preparations began, lookouts spotted Zulu stalking below rock ledges as thousands of other warriors formed on a rise. The first assault broke from cover at about 700 yards with the right horn heading for the wagon and mealie-bag barricade. The left horn went around the hospital to another shorter wall.
Lieutenant Chard VC
The British riflemen did not fire in synchronized volleys-the situation demanded independent fire. Although firing commenced at 600 yards, British firepower began demanding its due at 400 yards. As the attackers continued to surge forward with the protection of some cover, thirty British riflemen commanding the short western wall were each loading and firing Martini-Henry rifles every eight or nine seconds.
Even all this firepower that included Private William Dunbar (reputed to have shot eight or nine Zulus with eight or nine shots) could not drive the enemy to the ground. When the attackers closed to 200 yards, however, punishing fire commenced from the loopholes in the hospital and several other positions. A salvo at fifty yards crashed into twenty or thirty black-shielded iNdluyengwe and the shattered Zulu right flung themselves headfirst to the ground.
The survivors from the right now joined up with the Zulu left. The British were unable to bring their deadly firepower to bear due to a lack of loopholes and a rocky terrace that provided the Zulus cover close to the barricade in front of the hospital. About twenty-five men within the hospital compound now took the full brunt of a Zulu assault launched from a little over twenty yards in many places.
Stepping back from assegais thrusts even as they got off their first shots, the defenders prepared for close quarter combat at the barricade. Martini-Henrys are over four feet long and the ‘lunger’ bayonet adds twenty-two inches. It took one second to drop the lever and eject a spent casing without ever dropping the bayonet point from the ‘on guard’ position. If two or three seconds were available, a man could reach for a cartridge with his right hand and thumb it into the opened breach. Snapping the lever up closed the breach and cocked the weapon that was braced in the left hand.
The Zulus clambering over the wall depended on their shields to take the thrust of the bayonets. The Zulu cowhide shield could deflect bayonets but provided no protection from the British heavy caliber bullets, especially with three British officers, expert shots with Martinis standing behind the line of enlisted men. Other expert marksmen at the officers’ side also provided a second line of defense. The Zulus fell back and fresh warriors took their place and again the British extracted a heavy toll.
Dalton and Bromhead, two officers that organized the defense, set an example in the thick of battle that imparted ferocity to their men commensurate with that of the highly motivated Zulus who tried to grab rifles from the hands of the furiously lunging red-coated defenders. One Zulu wave after another crashed into British defenses with ubiquitous cries of ‘uSuthu!” Dehydration was intense as the hot sun lowered in the sky; the British purchased their lives by working bayonets without respite.
In between each Zulu assault, the impi wore down the defenders with constant close range musket fire that matched British firepower in quantity of lead thrown at the barricades, albeit less accurate firepower than the British brought to bear. The Zulus augmented these close quarter firefights with poorly aimed “sniper” fire from 350 yards out. Although few Zulu marksmen accurately understood how to sight their weapons, the Shiyane marksmen’s threat was serious within the confined area between the two buildings.
At this point retreating to the inner perimeter would have resulted in abandoning the hospital compound. When the compound was finally abandoned, groups of Zulu riflemen were able to enter the gaps in the wall. The men were forced again and again to charge from their position of cover to clear the compound, shooting, stabbing and full of adrenaline, with Bromhead leading from the front.
Chard ordered a retreat in order to contract the overextended perimeter, leaving the hospital “a British island in a Zulu sea.” At 6:00 PM, a line of British riflemen walked slowly backwards, peeling back the defenders on the barricades as they retreated to the new perimeter. Heavy suppressive fire prevented the Zulus from interfering. One hour remained before sundown as thirty British defenders within the hospital were thus stranded outside the new perimeter. Although there was a supply of ammunition within the new perimeter, Chard had inadvertently left the water cart near the hospital.
The defenders within the hospital were calling for ammunition, however, and Dr. James Henry Reynolds grabbed some cartridge packets, ran out of a gap in the biscuit box wall and through a gamut of gunfire to the hospital and then ran back again to the astonishment of Chard and his band of brothers manning the barricade. Enemy firepower was increasing as the Zulus began to occupy better positions within the former perimeter. Several men entered the area and engaged the enemy gunmen in an intense firefight that claimed the lives of British soldiers and not a few Zulu. Bouts of hand-to-hand combat continued to rage in a test of British nerve and endurance. Acts of heroism and courage redounded on both sides of the walls as bullets flew and brain matter and bayonets exploded through the air.
The hospital had to be abandoned after fighting stormed from one room to the next and the attackers lit the roof on fire. One of the defenders, Private John Waters, hidden in the hospital utility room in order to defend the disabled patients (others had left them behind) shot a number of Zulus in the back with his Martini-Henry.
From the time the fighting commenced at about 4:30 PM, the Martini-Henry breechloaders began to heat up. One peculiarity of the Martini rifle is that the wood on the stocks quickly becomes almost as hot as the barrels. Soldiers wrapped the stocks in cloth. Nevertherless, by evening, hands were burned. Continuous firing took its toll on the men’s shoulders, too. The recoil increased as the rifling in the barrels became fouled. Casings also became stuck in the breech due to fouling and failed to eject. Every shot could require prying the casing out with a pocket knife!
The Zulus attempted to light fire to the storehouse in order to force a conclusion to the intense battle before daylight. At 9:00 PM the British ceded another wall and concentrated their deadly firepower within their last bastion of defense. Despite further assault waves, the Zulus began to lose some of their motivation for the fight.
Nevertheless, the British prepared for a renewed onslaught in the morning. The impi chanted as the idunas exhorted the men to press forward into the darkness. The close-range flash of British muzzles awaited each new rush from the Zulu ranks. The British had been fighting for five exhausting hours and sensed that at dawn they would go down fighting in a massive attack. All of the British forces in Natal would be forted up, making hope for reinforcements nil.
Beginning with 34 boxes of .450-inch Boxer cartridges, the British were down to six boxes. With the rounds in their pouches, the soldiers had 100 rounds per man or 12,000 total. In five hours the men had used 25,000 rounds or 42 rounds an hour per man- excellent fire control! Another way of looking at it- the men had about two and one-half hours remaining before British fire came to an end at Rorke’s Drift. During the lull during the midnight hours, Bromhead organized a successful sortie to regain the water cart. The last shots were fired just before dawn.
Less than eight miles away on the Buffalo River, amid the carnage of Isandlwana, Lord Chelmsford’s despondent troops were preparing to slog through the stench of rotting corpses and feelings of overwhelming grief and shame to relieve the men at Rorke’s Drift. Men, mules, horses, oxen and dogs had been stabbed and were decomposing. Mutilated remains of animals and redcoats and dead Zulu, ripped open sacks of rice, flour and meal and piles of spent casings demonstrated the resolve of the redcoats to gamely fight until the last man fell.
At Rorke’s Drift, Chard and Bromhead’s men found the Zulus absent from the battlefield and immediately began preparing for fresh waves of Zulu by clearing fields of fire and improving their barricades in the dawn’s first light. Piles of Zulu bodies, especially around the hospital, made clear that the Martini-Henrys had earned their grim pay. Dr. Reynolds examined the wounded men and administered comfort to the dying. Fifteen men were dead and two more died that day of their wounds. At least one hundred firearms dropped by dying Zulus (as many as 4,500 casualties, according to some estimates), provided evidence of how the Zulus were armed.
The defenders spotted a large group of Zulu moving into position on a hill and waited to see what would happen next. Even as the men at Rorke’s Drift waited, a British column was making its way from Isandlwana between Zulu regiments as the remaining Zulus moved away from the mission station.
GOC Chelmsford debriefed Chard and Bromhead. Arriving companies surveyed the mission station in amazement. Needless to say, the survivors of Rorke’s Drift rarely needed to purchase their own drinks anywhere within the British Empire for the rest of their lives.
Eventually the blame for Isandlwana had to be assessed. General Officer Commanding Chelmsford, tried to shift the blame to Colonel Durnford but eventually became the focus of blame himself. Historians have created vast tapestries depicting blame games that play out following debacles like Isandlwana but, for purposes herein, we will hold to our purpose of pulling out the inner moral truth displayed by the 150 men at Rorke’s Drift.
The Boers had long ago developed a method of dealing with Zulus that was standard doctrine for all British forces; i.e., to form up into a box, with wagons circled and a 360 degree line of fire.
Complacency brought on by over-confident leadership and a failure to understand innovations in Zulu warfare lulled the Redcoats at Isandlwana into the spreading out the British companies; the companies became separated from each other.
Compare the 858 dead out of a British force comprising a total of 1,200 men to the minimal numbers of men that lost their lives at Rorke’s Drift. Attacked by at least 12,000 Zulus (24,000 may have been in the vicinity of Isandlwana) only 60 Europeans survived the massacre that unfolded in the shadow of Isandlwana Hill.
In conclusion, the qualities of resolve and keeping one’s head in the face of doom are exemplified by Lieutenant Bromhead, Bourne (the most senior man in the company after Bromhead), Chard and the stolid Welshmen that made up approximately 40 percent of the 2nd Battalion. Every man at Rorke’s Drift was a hero because the B company of the 2nd/24th fought together as a unit and endured by continuing to stand.
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AMERICA’S GUN CULTURE
On January 28, 2009, in a Federal Way Mirror article about the 1994 assault weapons ban, we reviewed some important issues raised when the men that drafted the U.S. Constitution disagreed about the question of whether to authorize “standing” armies. There were those on one side that felt national security might be neglected without a Constitutional provision mandating a full time, professional army. On the other side were men like Thomas Jefferson that saw the potential for the proposed federal government and full-time standing armies (like we have today) to become a new form of tyranny.
The Founders included the right to keep and arms in the Bill of Rights largely in order to satisfy proponents on both sides of this question. The modern objection that usually follows is that any invading military force that gets through the US Armed Forces will not be deterred by an armed citizen standing on his or her porch with a handgun. Nor is he going to prevent domestic armed forces from suppressing the populace should domestic tyranny arise.
Thus, the Second Amendment is an anachronism. Or is it? The American “rabble” defeated Britain’s unrivaled superpower forces that dominated much of the world’s land mass and all of the high seas. One advantage held by the colonial “minutemen” were long-barreled Kentucky rifles, with state of the art grooves that sent balls of lead spiraling into British columns with accuracy at distances that British smooth-bore weapons could not touch. Such rifle technology was available because colonial farmers and backwoodsmen were constantly handling and improving variants of evolving European designs.
Britain was across the Atlantic and lacked modern transport to bring the wily colonials to submission. The Soviet Union faced no such limitations when it invaded neighboring Finland- twice! Finnish citizen-soldiers halted Soviet troops in the 1939 Winter War and again in 1941!
Accurate shooting combined with the Finnish ability to travel across frozen lakes and forests on skis, provided numerous opportunities to obtain Russian arms and ammunition compatible with Finnish weapons.
Chinese Communist peasants and workers fought the well-armed Chinese Nationalists (supposedly at the same time that they were holding off invading Japanese forces). The Long March (actually more than one retreat from the Kuomintang over thousands of miles) seems to have been proof to Mao and his admirers that allowing citizens to own guns in China is unimaginable folly. In fact, no dictator has ever permitted such a situation to exist for very long.
We aren’t talking about standing on your front porch with a pistol or even a deer rifle! The Second Amendment is about handling and working with weapons that are militarily useful.
Ron Barrett’s .50 caliber rifle (outlawed in California) represents a heritage that puts Barrett along with American innovators like Samuel Colt, John Browning, and John Garand.
Such designers working in private sector shops and garages developed efficient guns used by civilians and military. Military and civilian shooters and designers in the U.S. always came from the same cultural fabric. The Founders knew that freedom to handle militarily useful firearms prepares each generation to pass on that heritage in a world that is hostile to freedom.
See video of Winter War.
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