Ferdinand Schiess

Christian Ferdinand Schiess
Memorial to Friederich Schiess
Born	(1856-04-07)April 7, 1856
Died	December 14, 1884(1884-12-14) (aged 28)
Place of birth	Burgdorf, Switzerland
Place of death	South Atlantic
Buried at	Buried at sea
Allegiance	Colony of Natal
Years of service	1877 - 1879
Rank	Corporal
Unit	Natal Native Contingent
Battles/wars	Anglo-Zulu War *Rorke's Drift
Awards	Victoria Cross

Depiction of the Defence of Rourke's Drift
by Lady Butler

Christian Ferdinand Schiess VC (7 April 1856 – 14 December 1884) was a Swiss recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He died in poverty at just 28.

He was 22 years old, and a corporal in the Natal Native Contingent, South African Forces during the Zulu War. On 22 January 1879, at Rorke's Drift, Natal, Corporal Schiess, in spite of having been wounded in the foot a few days previously, displayed great gallantry when the garrison had retired to the inner line of defence and the Zulus had occupied the wall of mealie bags which had been abandoned. He crept along the wall in order to dislodge one of the enemy and succeeded in killing him and two others before returning to the inner defences. Schiess was the first man serving with South African Forces under British Command to receive the VC. After the volunteer forces were disbanded, he failed to find work, even from British authorities. In 1884, he was found on the streets of Cape Town suffering from exposure and malnutrition. The Royal Navy found him, gave him food, and offered him a passage to England on board the Serapis. He accepted, but became ill during the voyage and died. His remains were buried at sea at approximately 13°00′S 07°24′W. It is unknown if there was a portrait of Corporal Schiess. According to some, in Lady Butler's painting of "Rorke's Drift" he is shown lying at left against the mealie bags.^{[citation needed]}

The Medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum.

References

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)

External links

• Cpl. Christian Ferdinand Schiess (biography)
• Rorke's Drift (information within Frederick Hitch site)
• Discussion that Schiess is depicted in Lady Elizabeth Butler's 1879 painting "The Defence of Rorke's Drift" {For painting see [1]}