The last of the nine Frontier Wars fought between 1799–1877 was in many ways a 'prequel' to the more famous Zulu War of 1879, featuring as it did many of the British regiments and personalities who were to fight at Isandlwana, as well as being the final defeat of the Xhosa people and their reduction to lowly workers for the colonists.

This war saw conflict between the British authorities (the governor-general and the commander-in-chief) and the government of the Cape, leading to the dismissal of that government by Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor-General.

This book has made extensive use of British Parliamentary Papers, official War Office despatches and personal accounts and correspondence to tell the full story of this neglected yet fascinating episode of South African military history, which provides an insight into the origins of and attitudes of the principal figures in the following conflict with the Zulus.