The British soldiers who fought at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift in January 1879 wore pre reform scarlet, with white helmets stained brown and boots that fell apart in the Natal mud.
Quick answer. The British army in the Zulu War of 1879 wore the 1872 pattern scarlet frock, dark blue trousers with a red seam stripe, a white Home Service helmet (hastily dyed brown with tea and mud for camouflage), and the Martini Henry rifle. The 24th Regiment of Foot (South Wales Borderers) provided most of the men at both Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. Officers wore the 1870 pattern frock, blue trousers with a 7 mm red stripe, and the Wolseley helmet.
The regiments and the formations
The British force at Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was built around the 1st Battalion 24th Foot and the 2nd Battalion 24th Foot (the South Wales Borderers), reinforced by Natal Native Contingent and colonial units. At Rorke's Drift that night, 139 men of B Company 2/24 held off between 3,000 and 4,000 Zulu warriors for 12 hours.
Both battalions wore the 1872 pattern frock in scarlet, dark blue trousers with a 7 mm red seam stripe, white Home Service helmet, white buff cross belt and leather equipment. The Martini Henry rifle was a single shot breech loader, 2 feet 11 inches long, firing a 480 grain lead bullet at 450 metres per second. See our British Victorian military uniforms piece for the full dress system.
The 1872 pattern frock
The frock was a scarlet tunic in coarse serge wool at 550 grams per metre, single breasted with eight gilt buttons, a stand collar in dark green (the 24th's facing colour), pointed cuffs with regimental lace, and dark green shoulder straps piped in red. It was designed to replace the earlier 1855 pattern tunic for colonial service.
The frock had a looser fit than the home dress tunic, with a slight waist suppression and skirts to the top of the thigh. A single breast pocket on the left. Lining was coarse cotton drill. For the earlier regimental wardrobe context, see our British 19th century military uniforms piece.
Helmets, boots and the small kit
The 1877 Home Service helmet, a cork and canvas construction covered in white Bedford drill, was issued in 1878. It had a brass spike at the top, a brass front plate with the regimental badge, a brown leather chin strap, and a cross brace at the back. On service in Natal, soldiers dyed the white covers brown with tea or local soil to reduce visibility. Officers wore the private purchase Wolseley helmet in khaki drill.
Boots were the ankle length Napier pattern, hobnailed, with a square toe. They lasted about six weeks of hard marching. Many men at Rorke's Drift fought in bare feet after the laces gave way. The Zulu runner, by contrast, fought barefoot by preference and could cover 60 kilometres a day.
The 24th Foot: who they were
The 24th Foot was raised in 1689 as a Welsh regiment, though by 1879 it recruited heavily from Birmingham and the Midlands. The 1st and 2nd Battalions had served in India, Mauritius, Ireland, Burma and the Cape. Most men of 1/24 died at Isandlwana. The men of 2/24 who held Rorke's Drift received 11 Victoria Crosses, the most ever awarded for a single engagement.
The regiment became the South Wales Borderers in 1881. The regimental museum at Brecon holds many of the surviving uniforms and the colours recovered from the Isandlwana battlefield. For the regimental tradition in Scotland and Wales, see our British royal regiments dress uniforms piece.
Zulu dress and arms
The Zulu amabutho (regiments) wore little by European standards: a loin cover of cow tails, ankle rings of fur, and headdress of regimental marker feathers. Officers of the amabutho wore larger feather pieces and sometimes a leopard skin kaross. Each warrior carried an iklwa (short stabbing spear), a knobkerrie club, and a cowhide shield 1.2 metres tall painted in regimental colours.
The Zulu military system was formally organised: each amabutho was a regiment of a specific age cohort, with its own name, shield design and head piece. The uThulwana regiment had plain red and white shields; the uDloko regiment had black and white. For a reader interested in the Victorian imperial battle context, our late Victorian military uniforms piece covers the parallel European kit.
The aftermath and the uniform reforms
Isandlwana shocked the Victorian army. The subsequent Cardwell and Childers reforms (1881) renamed and reorganised the infantry, adopting county titles. The 24th became the South Wales Borderers. The white Home Service helmet was replaced in colonial service by the khaki Wolseley from 1885.
By the Second Boer War in 1899, scarlet was gone from colonial field dress, and British soldiers wore khaki drill. The Zulu War uniforms of 1879 were therefore the last generation of full scarlet to fight a major colonial war. For context on the move to khaki, see our dress uniform vs service uniform piece.
Common questions
What did British soldiers wear at Rorke's Drift?
The 1872 pattern scarlet frock, dark blue trousers with a red stripe, white Home Service helmet (often dyed brown), and the Martini Henry rifle. 24th Foot regimental colour was dark green.
Did they really dye the helmets brown?
Yes. The white Bedford drill cover was soaked in tea, mud or dubbin to reduce visibility. Officers' private purchase Wolseley helmets came pre coloured in khaki.
What regiment held Rorke's Drift?
B Company, 2nd Battalion 24th Foot (later South Wales Borderers). 139 men against roughly 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. 11 Victoria Crosses awarded.
What rifle did the British use?
The Martini Henry Mark 2, a single shot breech loader firing a 480 grain lead bullet. Reliable at 300 metres, lethal at 1,000. Jammed in heat and dust after about 20 rounds.
What did the Zulu wear?
Loin cover, ankle rings, regimental head feathers. Officers wore larger feather pieces and sometimes leopard skin. Each man carried an iklwa, a knobkerrie, and a cowhide shield.