Ashanti Raid 1863

When British Governor Richard Pine refused to return an Ashanti (Asante) chief and a runaway slave to the asantehen (king of the Ashanti), the Ashanti prepared for war. Under Kwaku Dua (ruled 1834-67), the Ashanti again challenged the British by sending forces to occupy the coastal provinces. In April 1863 they invaded the coast and burned thirty villages of tribes friendly to the British. The governor asked for troops but was told by London to use the West Indies Regiment. Pine responded by deploying six companies along the Prah (Pra) River, the border between states allied with the British and the Ashanti. The deployed force built a network of stockades and a bridge. This second invasion of Ashanti resulted in a terrible military disaster, chiefly due to the undertaking of operations at the wrong season, and the consequent abandonment of the expedition owing to the terrible ravages of sickness among the troops. The British force returned home without having engaged the enemy and inexplicably having lost its guns, ammunition, and supplies.

References

Ghana - A Country Study; Asante Empire; Policy and Wealth in Ashanti; Descriptions of the Various States of British West Africa.

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