The 1895-6 Expedition to Ashanti in the interior lands of Africa’s Gold Coast took place following reports that the new King, Agyeman Prempeh, had refused to accept an offer for the Ashanti Federation to become a British protectorate, and was threatening the stability of the region by raiding the borders to the north and east of the capital, Kumassi, committing acts of cruelty and barbarism.
The official reason for our military intervention was that the Ashantis had failed to pay the fines levied on them by the 1874 Treaty of Fomena. Some commented, though, that Lord Salisbury’s government was anxious to retain control over the gold fields and that they had a hidden agenda to keep other European forces out of Ashanti territory.
The campaign itself was bloodless yet lives were lost in Kumassi. Twenty three of our number, including Prince Henry of Battenberg, succumbed to the fever and the register of our sick swelled to an alarming extent.
The British force marched 140 miles through jungle, dense forest and deadly swamp, fraught with perils more to be dreaded than the arms of the savage Ashantis, leaving numbers on the road, sick of fever and dysentery. These heroes invested the capital; captured the King and his chiefs; destroyed the bloody fetish power; then, sadly reduced by sickness, returned to the coast, having freed a large district from the tyranny of a bloodthirsty despot and opened up a vast territory to trade and civilization.
This account of the expedition briefly describes my introduction and entry to the world of the war correspondent, but is comprised mainly of a series of articles and notes written at different times and places on the journey from England to the Gold Coast and on the march up country. Digressing somewhat from a formal account of the campaign alone, I have endeavoured to create a record of general interest by touching on the habits and customs of the people, and on the experiences of those who generously offered me their company, their wisdom and their friendship. The march did not lack interesting incidents, especially as we drew near to and entered Kumassi, and I have attempted to faithfully portray these various scenes on the road.
GEORGE C MUSGRAVE
Folkestone, June 1896