Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford

Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, was a British Army officer who commanded the British forces in South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Born in London in 1827 as the eldest child of a future Lord Chancellor, he bought a commission in 1844 and served in the Crimean War, the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the 1868 expedition to Abyssinia before taking the Cape command in 1878. His invasion of Zululand opened with the destruction of the central column of his force at the Battle of Isandlwana, a decisive defeat. He recovered part of his reputation by defeating the Zulu army at the Battle of Ulundi in July 1879, but an inquiry criticised his handling of the campaign and he did not serve in the field again. He later rose to full general, held the post of Lieutenant of the Tower of London and died in London in 1905.