Fort Cox

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fort Cox was a military fortification in South Africa at the foot of the southern foothills of the Amathole Mountains , which was built by the British colonial powers in 1835. It was on a hill in a bend in the Keiskamma River near the village of Middledrift . The strongly curved course of the river protected the fort on most of its flanks.

As a result of the armed conflict with the Xhosa during the Sixth Border War, Colonel Harry Smith commissioned the construction of this fort. The military post was named after Major William Cox from the colonial units of the time, who was also a troop leader at the Cape Mounted Rifles .

During the construction phase between July 1 and September 21, 1835, 80 Khoikhoi soldiers erected a square rampart with a side length of 50 meters each. During this time, six soldiers lost their lives to attacks by Xhosa warriors. Fortified houses were there for the officers' quarters, the powder magazine and the catering area. The teams were housed in tents and had to live in poor hygienic conditions. Guard buildings existed to secure the entry points. A roof covering made of grass made it easier for attacking Xhosa to hit the facility effectively with burning javelins . In the year following its construction, the military had already given up on the facility.

In the course of the Seventh Border War , the military put the fort back into operation in 1846 after repair work. In historical military reports, Fort Cox was described as unused and its structures as dilapidated as early as 1876.

Fort Cox is regarded as a historically significant location and today consists of the stone remains of former protective walls.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eastern Cape Development Corporation: Amathole Mountain Escape ( Memento March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). Eastern Cape Development Corporation (PDF document, pp. 14-15).

Coordinates: 32 ° 46 ′ 29.6 ″  S , 27 ° 2 ′ 39.7 ″  E