Charles Rawden Maclean, also known as "John Ross", was born on 17 August 1815 in Fraserburgh and died 13 August 1880 at sea on the RMS Larne while en route to Southampton. In a tribute to him during the re-dedication of his grave in Southampton in 2009, the Zulu War author and broadcaster Ian Knight said: Accuracy of contemporary records There is considerable speculation regarding Maclean's early life. Stephen Gray identifies three contemporary sources from which information pertaining to Maclean can be drawn – works by Nathaniel Isaacs, Francis Fynn, and McLean himself. Gray is of the view that Isaac's writings were intended to make a sensation of his own adventures rather than being a matter of historic record. In these writings, Maclean was referred to as John Ross, possibly a nickname on account of his ginger hair, though it has been alleged that Isaacs invented that name because he had forgotten Maclean's real name. Port Natal and Zululand In 1825 Isaacs was apprenticed to serve on the 150 ton brig, The Mary under Lieutenant King. En route to Cape Town, the Mary called in at St Helena where Isaacs boarded as a "companion" to King. After discharging her cargo at Cape Town, King sailed for Port Natal to search for the adventurers Francis Farewell, an East India merchant, and Francis Fynn, a physician, from whom nothing had been heard for eighteen months. Leaving Cape Town on 26 August 1825 The Mary made several stops along the Southern African coast, anchoring off Port Natal on 1 October. When entering the port, she struck a sandbank and foundered. Relations with Shaka On reaching shore, the party found Farewell's camp, but Farewell and his party were on a hunting expedition. The crew of The Mary were instructed by King to rebuild her, a task that would take three years since the timber had first to be seasoned. Once Farewell returned, King and some members of ship's company, though not MacLean, paid a courtesy visit to Dingane, brother of the Zulu king Shaka. Once Shaka heard of King's arrival, King and his entire party were summoned to his kraal. The party were well received by Shaka and were given permission to stay, but when the party left, Shaka demanded that Maclean remain behind. Maclean spent a considerable time at Shaka's kraal. In a letter to The Times in 1875 he wrote "During the