Fort Mitchell – An Attraction in Hogsback
The picturesque village of Hogsback in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is the picture of tranquility as it lies surrounded by mountains and forests. But this was not always the case, and the nearby remains of Fort Mitchell bear testimony to the fact that for a period of time in the past the area was plagued by conflict.
During the 1800s, a Xhosa tribe lived in the area of Hogsback. The tribe was known as Qabimbola, the Xhosa term for ‘Red Clay on the Face’, a reference to a practice which forms part of the tribe’s initiation rites. When settlers moved into the area, British soldiers were given the task of preventing the Xhosa tribe from advancing into settler occupied territory during a series of battles that came to be known as the Cape Frontier Wars (1779 to 1879). The soldiers built a fort on a hill overlooking the territory of the Tyuanie River and Gaika’s Kop which was occupied by the Qabimbola. The fort was named after the officer in charge at the time and is now one of the historical attractions of the Hogsback area.
If you have the opportunity of visiting this scenic part of the Eastern Cape, be sure to include Fort Mitchell to your list of things to see in Hogsback.
