NATAL AND THE EASTERN TRANSVAAL--SEPTEMBER 1901
At this time the war entered on a new phase. The Boer generals felt
the necessity of tiding over the 15th of the month, the date fixed by
the Proclamation of the 7th August as the limit of time within which,
by voluntarily surrendering, the leaders might avoid certain penalties
threatened by that proclamation. And by dint of unusual activity they
succeeded. There were few surrenders, it is true, but the tactics
adopted by the enemy cost them, in the end, more heavily than their
previous evasive methods. They broke out in the Ermelo and Vryheid
districts about the middle of the month. Their harassing rushes and
their escape into the Ermelo district had been difficult to arrest
owing to the unfinished state of the blockhouse line then being built
from Wakkerstroom to Piet Retief by the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards and
2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment under General Bullock. At
Belfast, on the 16th, the garrison was attacked by Grobelaar and 100
men evidently in need of supplies. They were handsomely repulsed, and
only one of the garrison was wounded; but bullets that fell in the
refuge camp caused the death of a woman.
General Lyttelton had now assumed command in Natal in place of General
Hildyard, who, after a long spell of brilliant service, had gone home
on leave. The new chief at once turned his attention to the rumour of
assembling commandos, and to frustrate concentration Major Gough's
Mounted Infantry with Colonel Stewart and the Johannesburg Mounted
Rifles moved from Dundee to De Jager's Drift. Meanwhile Pulteney's
troops were at Volksrust, and those of Garratt moving, _viâ_
Wakkerstroom, on Utrecht.
The enemy were reported to be near Scheepers Nek. Colonel Stewart and
Major Gough, on the 17th, decided to push on towards Blood River to
get in touch with them, the last marching about an hour in advance of
the first. Major Gough, as he neared the river, sent a message
requesting Colonel Stewart to remain at Rooi Kop, in readiness to
support him should he hear the sound of guns in action. Half-an-hour
later, seeing Gough's men galloping towards Blood River Poort, the
Colonel pressed forward his mounted men in support. It was then he
heard that the Major had met with a reverse--a serious reverse.
Quickly appreciating the ticklish position in which he himself was
placed--it being imperative to protect not only his own guns but Major
Gough's baggage at Rooi Kop--he decided to retire to De Jager's Drift
and thus cover Dundee, which, as it turned out, was menaced by a gang
of great strength. The tale of the misfortune to so magnificent an
officer as Major Gough is hard to write, for a series of services more
gallant and brilliant than his it is scarcely possible to find. The
circumstances were these. With characteristic dash he no sooner
"spotted" the enemy than he pressed forward to seize a ridge which
appeared to command their position. He had galloped into a
well-arranged ambush. Instead of 300 as he supposed, there were 1000
Boers in front of him, and these speedily overwhelmed his right flank
and assailed his guns from the rear. There was fighting of the hottest
description at very close quarters, in which Lieutenant Lambton, 1st
Durham Light Infantry, and Lieutenant Blewett, 1st Rifle Brigade, with
great bravery sacrificed their lives; but the gallant little force
(consisting of two guns 69th Battery R.F.A. and three companies of
mounted infantry), terribly outnumbered, was eventually captured. The
breech-blocks and the sights of the guns were destroyed before they
fell into the enemy's hands. The circumstances of the capture of
Second Lieutenant Stormonth-Darling (2nd Scottish Rifles) serve to
show the manner of the British repulse. He commanded the escort to the
guns, and in spite of the Boers being upon him continued to fire and
encourage his men till he was overpowered and the rifle snatched from
his hands. Major Gough and Captain Cracroft, Royal Irish Rifles,
escaped during the night and joined Colonel Stewart at De Jager's
Drift.
Captain Mildmay, 3rd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, and 14 men
were killed in action. Captain Dick, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish
Fusiliers, was severely wounded.
Lieutenant Furnell, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, Lieutenant
Lambton, Durham Light Infantry, Lieutenant Price-Davis, King's Royal
Rifle Corps, and about 25 men were wounded, and 5 officers and 150 men
made prisoners.
Troops were at once concentrated on the threatened point, and the
Boers--said to be commanded by the Bothas, Opperman, Britz, and
Henderson--finding the line of the Buffalo bristling with British,
were forced to seek access to Natal by a wider détour to the south.
This led them to the fortified posts of Itala and Fort Prospect,
north-west of Melmoth, on the Zululand frontier. At Itala the garrison
consisted of two guns of the 69th Battery R.F.A. and 300 men of the
5th Division Mounted Infantry under Colonel A. J. Chapman, Royal
Dublin Fusiliers. At midnight of the 26th, Botha, Scholtz, Opperman,
Potgieter, and their following of some 1500 men, in groups, began an
attack on this post from west, south-east, and north.
The advance post of 80 men was first rushed, and many of the party
were killed or forced to surrender, while others succeeded in escaping
down the hill to assist in the fighting that was to come. For nineteen
hours without intermission the enemy continued to assail the camp,
though doggedly kept at bay by the defenders. The whole area was swept
by blasts of bullets, and the British force at last, foodless and
waterless, were confronted with the fear that even the ammunition
might not hold out. The guns, under Lieutenant Herbert, R.F.A., which
had been valuable during the night while the moon gave light and the
shadows shelter, became in the daytime targets for the foe, and
consequently when Lieutenant Herbert and four gunners were wounded the
rest were ordered to take cover. But fortunately young Trousdale,
after both his men were killed, pluckily stuck to his Maxim and worked
like a Trojan. At last under cover of dusk the enemy, repulsed on all
sides, withdrew in a north-easterly direction, taking with them,
assisted by natives, their wounded and dead in great numbers. Many
deeds of gallantry were performed, and Lieutenant Lefroy, 1st
Battalion Dublin Fusiliers, who with Lieutenant Kane at first rumour
of assault was sent to occupy the highest point of the Itala a mile
from the camp, distinguished himself by shooting with his revolver
Commandant H.J. Potgieter. Commandant Scholtz and about 270 Boers were
also killed during the vigorous repulse. The British lost a smart
officer, Lieutenant Kane (South Lancashire Regiment), and 21 men
killed: 5 officers and 54 men wounded. Colonel Chapman, owing to
the complete exhaustion of his force and lack of ammunition, then
decided to evacuate Itala, leaving Lieutenant Hislop and twenty
unarmed men and Chief Veterinary Surgeon Probyn to look after the
wounded. Lieutenant Fielding (R.A.M.C.), who early in the day had
valiantly gone up hill to attend the wounded in the advance post, had
been captured, but was subsequently released and came into camp after
the column had marched off to M'Kandhla. This place was reached
without molestation.
[Illustration: "NO SURRENDER!" THE DEFENCE OF FORT ITALA ON SEPTEMBER
26, 1901
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville]
At Fort Prospect the British post was equally tenaciously held by
thirty-five men of the 5th Division Mounted Infantry and fifty-one men
of the Durham Artillery Militia under the command of Captain C. A.
Rowley, 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, who contrived with the
small force at his disposal to send the 500 attacking Boers to the
right-about with considerable aplomb.
He, fortunately, was warned as to the coming commandos, and made haste
to prepare for them a warm welcome; providing also extra food, water,
and ammunition for his men in the trenches. At 4.30 A.M. the Boers
made a violent lunge on the west and north of the position, directing
the main fury of their attack at the two laagers held by the Durham
Company of Artillery. They penetrated the wire around the laagers and
got to within twenty yards of the defenders, but Lieutenant R. G. M.
Johnson and his splendid companions were too much for them, and
finally the Boers were driven off. They then fought wildly in the rear
of the camp, but again met with the same dogged resistance. The
defence lasted about thirteen hours and reflected credit on all
concerned, especially on Captain Rowley, whose foresight had averted
great loss of life. In addition to the splendid work done by the
Militia Artillery and the Dorsetshire Regiment, the Zululand Native
Police distinguished themselves. Gallantly led by Sergeant Gambi,
thirteen of them came four miles from their own post to reinforce the
garrison. The British loss was only 1 killed and 8 wounded, a small
total considering the thirteen hours' risk run by the little party.
The necessity of combing this difficult and at times almost
impenetrable country of Boers caused General Lyttelton to direct a
movement which occupied the tempestuous close of September and the
early days of October, in which Generals Bruce-Hamilton, Clements, and
Walter Kitchener vigorously engaged. Despite the unfavourable elements
they succeeded, if not in striking them when concentrated, at least in
forcing the Boers gradually to retreat north to Boschoek,
Kromellenbog, and Leeuwnek. Here they were held for a time by General
Kitchener, but on the night of the 5th of October, at the cost of
their baggage and waggons, they succeeded in rushing round the left
flank and retreating in the direction of Piet Retief. General
Kitchener followed and had a smart engagement with the rearguard,
which--in a strong position--covered the flight of the main body.
On the 11th the enemy was moving through Swaziland by Mahamba, and
this news caused Colonel Colville adroitly to arrange a plan which
resulted in the intercepting of a convoy belonging to the Ermelo and
Amsterdam commandos. The Colonel's column at the time was covering the
construction, by General Bullock's troops, of the blockhouse line from
Wakkerstroom. He pushed on hurriedly from Piet Retief and pounced on
the Boers' much needed convoy, harassing Botha and his burghers, who
scurried to escape before the British advance. By now the blockhouse
line was sufficiently advanced to be a serious impediment to the
enemy's movements: it not only forced him to abandon his waggons but
also the two guns of 69th Battery which were lost during Gough's
reverse at Blood River Poort.
Brigadier-General Reeves (temporarily commanding in the absence of
General Blood, who had left for India), with Colonels Park and Benson,
continued to operate north and south of the Delagoa Railway. Colonel
Benson, on the 10th, made a splendid march on an extremely dark night
and surprised a party of Boers at Pullen's Hope (south of Middelburg),
where he took 33 prisoners, 73 horses, together with cattle-carts and
ammunition. On the 15th he, with two squadrons of the 2nd Scottish
Horse and 19th Battalion Mounted Infantry, repeated his adventurous
tactics, again surrounded and surprised the enemy at Tweefontein, and,
though some made good their escape, added 10 Boers to his roll of
prisoners and 250 oxen to his herd of cattle. Still indefatigable, he
and his doughty band on the 17th, after a forty miles' march from
Carolina, fell on the foe. The early mist was lifting round two
laagers full of slumbering Boers at Middeldrift and Busby, when with a
rush and a yell the British troops covered the scene. The usual rout,
the usual stampede, and finally 54 prisoners--among them P. Botha,
late Landdrost of Pretoria, and Commandant Nieuwhondt were captured,
together with vehicles, horses, and cattle. Colonel Benson then pushed
on and on--a triumphal progress--for he gleaned Boers wherever he
went; 12 on the 28th near Bethel, and 7 early in October at
Driefontein, in addition to horses, mules, and cattle, thus compelling
those who evaded him to scuttle north denuded and demoralised. In the
course of their chasing, this intrepid British band covered over fifty
miles in nineteen hours. The Boers seldom spent a night in one place,
and saddled up regularly at 3 A.M. in readiness for flight, therefore
the captures made were the result not only of alertness and dash, but
of indomitable perseverance.
Colonel Park had been engaging in like adventures, and had taken many
prisoners. With six companies of Mounted Infantry and two companies of
the Manchester Regiment, he began October by a search between Kruger's
Post and Ohrigstad. He secured some armed burghers, and destroyed such
ammunition and forage as could not be removed. On his return journey
he came in collision with Viljoen at Rustplaats, and after an
engagement covering hours the Boers withdrew. On the 7th of October he
attacked a party of Boers at a farm at Rosenkrans, captured their
ammunition, mealies, and waggons, but not their persons.
The Constabulary posts running from Eerste Fabriken, _viâ_ Springs and
Heidelberg, to the Vaal River were pushed forward by Colonel
Pilkington (S.A. Constabulary) to the line Wilge River Station,
Greylingstad, and the junction of Kalk Spruit with the Vaal, thus
enabling a more vast tract of country to be cleared. Sir Henry
Rawlinson cleared the front of the Constabulary between Standerton and
the Vaal River with increasing vigour, chasing Boers westward and
southward before him. On the 3rd of October, at Greylingstad, he
organised a night patrol to Barnard's Kop, which resulted in the
capture of three armed burghers, and subsequently, on the 5th, he
surprised Field-Cornet Botha at Kaffir Spruit, captured 7 of his men,
20 of his carts, and 250 cattle. Pretorius, whose laager was near by,
though followed with zest, made good his escape. Colonels Hacket
Thompson and Bewicke Copley also engaged in the work of protecting the
Constabulary, but came in collision with few of the enemy, who were
now moving south.
TRANSVAAL (WEST)
Lord Methuen may be said to have carried on existence to a rippling
accompaniment of Boer bullets. All along the Marico valley to Zeerust
his rearguard was followed and engagements were frequent. September
was spent in passing convoys from Lichtenburg and Zeerust and
preparing for an advance to cover the collection of ripening corn in
the Marico district, the establishment of a line of blockhouses
between Zeerust and the lead mines, and the clearance of the country
of scattered bands. On the 4th of October an affair of patrols at
Witgeboom Spruit resulted in five burghers being killed.
General Fetherstonhaugh and Colonel Kekewich continued to hunt
dismounted stragglers of Kemp's force south-west of Olifant's Nek.
Kemp had escaped the British cordon towards the north-east, and was
said to be about to work his way south. Colonel Kekewich, after
depositing his prisoners at Naauwpoort, left there on the 13th of
September to clear the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg. He
operated for some days in conjunction with Colonel Mackenzie (1st
Battalion Suffolk Regiment), who was employed in the construction of
blockhouses south of the Magaliesberg, and removed from the creeks and
crannies of the hills various impediments, in the form of Field-Cornet
Klopper and thirty-six of his countrymen. After this haul of
prisoners, Colonel Kekewich returned to Magato Nek to co-operate with
General Fetherstonhaugh against Kemp's party, who were reported to be
hanging about the Toelani River. On the 24th, by the way, he
surrounded the laager of one Van Rooijan at Crocodile Drift (Elands
River), and secured the commandant and thirty-five of his gang. Kemp,
as yet, was not to be found. But he was not long inactive. At dawn on
29th, he and Delarey (who had evidently followed Colonel Kekewich from
the Valley of the Toelani) made a lunge at the British camp near
Moedwill. From three sides they, some 1200 of them, turned a blizzard
of lead on Colonel Kekewich's force.
The Derbyshire Regiment, with 1½ companies, held the drift to left of
the camp. The mounted troops (Imperial Yeomanry and Scottish Horse)
extended round the right and front of the camp, and joined up with the
Infantry outpost on the drift. Firing was heard at 4.40 A.M. on the
north-west, and subsequently it was found that a patrol going out from
the southerly piquet, furnished by the Devonshire Imperial Yeomanry, had
been attacked. Then closer and closer came the enemy upon the Yeomanry
piquet. Every gallant fellow dropped. Soon the Boers were established to
east of the river and commenced an attack on another Imperial Yeomanry
piquet. The officer in command fell, and nearly all his men around him.
The enemy, ensconced in the broken and bushy ground near the bed of the
river, continued the aggressive, while all in camp rushed to reinforce
the piquets except a small party of the Derbyshire Regiment, which
remained to guard ammunition, &c., the Boers having annihilated two
piquets. The Boers now pushed up the river, outflanking the Derbyshire
piquet holding the main drift, and, in spite of really superb
resistance, occupied the position. For this reason: but one man of the
gallant number remained whole! The camp now was flooded with bullets,
and all ranks under various officers made for the open, while the guns
strove to keep the enemy, indistinguishable from British in the dusk of
the morning, at a distance. Captain Watson, Adjutant Scottish Horse, who
was mortally wounded, announced the arrival towards the east of the
enemy, whereupon Major Watts with a strong body of the Derbyshire
Regiment moved out to confront them, while Major Browne (Border
Regiment) with a number of men--servants, cooks, orderlies, and any one
who came to hand--prepared with fixed bayonets to charge the enemy in
the bushes. The Boers had given up the east, however, and continued to
file from the north till the Imperial Yeomanry and Scottish Horse, under
Captains Rattray, Dick Cunyngham, and Mackenzie, joined in the general
advance and threatened to outflank them; then, seeing their danger, they
fled to their horses and galloped madly to the north, under fire of the
British guns. Colonel Duff, with two squadrons, had been prepared for
pursuit, but owing to the heavy losses sustained, especially among the
horses, the project was impossible.
This fierce, determined, carefully-planned attack lasted two hours,
and the success of the repulse was mainly due to the amazing gallantry
of all ranks, especially of the 1st Battalion Derbyshire Regiment.
Some brilliant deeds were done, notably by 2nd Lieutenant Mills, whose
splendid disregard of danger cost him his life; Lieutenant Persse (7th
Imperial Yeomanry), who fought persistently at his post though wounded
in three places; and by Captains Dick Cunyngham and Rattray, and
Lieutenants Symonds, Rattray, Cameron, Loring, and Stuart-Wortley, of
the Scottish Horse. A fine officer, Captain Laird, R.F.A., was among
the killed, and Lieutenant Duval was wounded, and Captain Wheeler
escaped merely by a miracle. The medical officers, Major Lavie
(R.A.M.C.) and Mr. Kidd, Civil Surgeon, pursued their deeds of mercy,
utterly regardless of their lives and of their own wounds. The
Colonel, himself wounded, paid dearly for his triumph. Of his force 1
officer and 31 men were killed; 127 men were wounded and 26 officers,
among whom were:--
_Scottish Horse._--Major Blair, Captain Field, Lieutenant Loring,
Lieutenant Stuart-Wortley, Surgeon-Captain Kidd, Lieutenant Jardine,
Lieutenant Edwards, Lieutenant Prior, Lieutenant Cameron, Lieutenant
Flower.
_Royal Artillery._--Captain Baldwin.
_1st Derby Regiment._--Captain Keller, Captain Anley.
_Imperial Yeomanry._--Captain Seymour, Lieutenant Whyte.
Out of a party of twelve of the Derbyshire Regiment which was guarding
a drift, 8 were killed and 4 wounded; and some idea of the severity of
the fire and the doggedness of the fight may be gained by the fact
that three piquets were practically annihilated, thus enabling their
comrades to get under arms.
Among others of the Scottish Horse whose persistent and gallant
services contributed to Lord Methuen's success, may be mentioned
Captains Field and Ian Mackenzie, and young Lieutenant Jardine, who
was wounded.
Command of the column was afterwards temporarily assumed by Colonel
Wylly (Derbyshire Regiment), but Colonel Kekewich, recovered, soon
returned to duty.
General Fetherstonhaugh had meanwhile driven before him many Boers. On
the 21st he captured a position at Winkelhoek, and after searching
further turned back to Waterval and thence to Kwaggafontein. On
hearing of the Moedwill fight he sent Colonel Williams to Colonel
Kekewich's support, and followed himself with all haste. But of course
the Boers had flown, scattering among the farms in the Rustenburg
Zeerust road. General Fetherstonhaugh finally moved south, and Colonel
Wylly to Rustenburg.
[Illustration: THE GALLANT BUGLER OF FORT ITALA
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville]
OPERATIONS ON THE VAAL
By October the line of blockhouses from Kopjes Station to
Potchefstroom was built by the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards and 1st
Oxfordshire Light Infantry, and that between Heilbron and Frankfontein
occupied by the Railway Pioneer Regiment under Colonel Capper.
Meanwhile Colonels Byng and Dawkins (from the south of Orange Colony)
chased and ran down Boers as they sought to escape the blockhouse
cordon, and thus thoroughly cleared the region. Colonel Byng made an
effort to attack a concentration of 300 he had heard of at Bothaville,
but on his approach they dispersed into the river valleys. Still, in
the course of their operations and the return along the Valsch River
to Kroonstad, &c., Colonels Byng and Dawkins secured eighty-one
prisoners of war.
General Mildmay Willson organised a small smart force, under Colonel
Hicks (2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers), consisting of 250
mounted infantry, 2 field guns, and 5 companies of Infantry, to
establish and provision constabulary posts and hunt Boer snipers. In
the course of their operations and afterwards between Potchefstroom
and Venterskroon they, with the assistance of co-operating
constabulary troops, secured 42 prisoners (including Field-Cornets
George Hall and Vander Venter), and a 7-pounder gun which had been
taken from the post at Houtkop.
OPERATIONS IN THE ORANGE RIVER COLONY, N.
Colonel Rimington's column worked incessantly during September, and to
good purpose. On the 14th, marching from Leeufontein (six miles south
of Heilbron), they made a surprise visit to a laager, which resulted
in the capture of six Boers, waggons, carts, horses, and mules. Later,
on the 22nd, still hunting and hustling, he overtook Strydom's
commando, made a tremendous haul of impedimenta, and secured thirteen
prisoners. He then finished the month by marching to Oploop (between
the Klip and Wilge Rivers) to watch for an opportunity to co-operate
with Colonel Rawlinson, who, as we know, was aiding the constabulary
north of the Vaal, and who, by now, had driven Buy's commando to the
south of the river. On this band Colonel Rimington promptly pounced,
and October found him enriched by 24 prisoners, 2000 cattle, 30
horses, 14 loaded waggons, 22 Cape carts, and 20 mules. Later, on the
7th, he moved from Standerton (whence he had drawn supplies) to
co-operate with General Broadwood and Colonel de Lisle from
Harrismith.
To reinforce Colonel Rimington went Colonel Wilson (Kitchener's
Fighting Scouts) from Kroonstad to Heilbron on the 1st of October, and
scarcely were they under way before they were attacked by the enemy.
But the scouts, true to the name they bear, gave such good account of
themselves that the enemy scattered, but considerably thinned in their
numbers. The troops afterwards covered the line of blockhouses from
Heilbron to Frankfort.
MAJOR-GENERAL ELLIOT.--ORANGE RIVER COLONY, E.
On the 10th of September General Elliot started to again sweep and
glean in the Wittebergen district. Colonel Barker and Major Pine
Coffin operated from Winburg to west of the line of advance. General
Campbell remained on the Wittebergen slopes, and General Dartnell,
with the Imperial Light Horse (from Bethlehem), assisted in blocking
the Retief and Stabberts Nek passes. The movement itself commenced in
four columns, Lowe and De Lisle in the centre, with Broadwood and
Bethune to right and left respectively. In the course of the march
Colonel de Lisle brilliantly descried and ran down a convoy then
trekking towards Korannaberg, but not without infinite dash and
corresponding fatigue: 15 prisoners, 47 waggons, 22 carts, 250 horses,
and 2500 cattle were the prizes of the adventure. Colonel Bethune,
too, had his innings, for on the 12th he routed seventy of the bandits
from their lair near Wonderkop, and the next night, after an exciting
march to Rietolei, caught and again engaged the foe.
[Illustration: COLONEL BETHUNE AND HIS BRIGADE STAFF]
The combined movement continued to yield good results. The mountain
kloops disgorged large quantities of supplies and vehicles, and from
these regions General Campbell ferreted out seventeen Boers. The
hunters held their lives in their hands, for the game of hide-and-seek
had to be played with desperate men sniping from every coign of
vantage. In consequence of the development of events connected with
General Botha's enterprise in Natal, some of the troops of General
Elliot pushed north from Harrismith. General Dartnell with the 2nd
Imperial Light Horse had preceded them, and he, together with Colonel
Bethune and 600 men, moved on to Eshowe in Zululand. From Harrismith
towards the frontier, near Vrede, Colonel de Lisle and General
Broadwood marched at the end of the month, and their presence soon
warned the Boers, who had been contemplating encroachments into Natal,
to take themselves off. On the 5th of October an effort was made to
get in touch with them, but they were far too knowing to be entrapped.
While these operations had been going forward, General Rundle had
been doing his share, passing supplies into Bethlehem and generally
blocking the passes leading to Natal, and relieving garrisons on the
line which had hitherto been furnished by the Natal command. The 1st
Imperial Light Horse, under Colonel Briggs, acting independently from
Bethlehem after the departure of General Dartnell for Zululand, came
in for some thrilling experiences. This excellent force was well
suited for exploits of a daring kind and long-distance raids such as
had to be undertaken. On the 28th they made a circuitous night march
of thirty-eight miles from Bethlehem, and dawn found them surrounding
the town of Reitz. It was a brilliantly conceived and brilliantly
carried out affair, and the prize of twenty-one prisoners (including
Landdrost Piet de Villiers), nine Cape carts, two waggons, twenty-four
horses, 250 cattle, and some ammunition, was well deserved. The Boers,
on Colonel Briggs' way back, made many night attempts at reprisals,
but the Imperial Light Horse was not to be caught napping.
The troops in the Wepener, Dewetsdorp, Bethulie, and Zastron districts
were now sprayed out to catch the dispersed stragglers of
Kruitzinger's commando: Colonel Thorneycroft at Quaggafontein,
guarding the river south of Zastron; Lord Basing patrolling from
Jurysbaken to Commissie Bridge on the Caledon; Sir Henry Rawlinson
moving south from Elandsberg to Aliwal; and General Plumer at
Smithfield. Major Damant had returned to Springfontein. General
Plumer, from Smithfield, detached Sir John Jervis upon Wepener in
pursuit of guerillas, himself hunting with Colonel Colvin's column
along the Basuto border. On the 15th the force reassembled at Wepener,
where they learned that Kruitzinger had doubled back towards
Elandsberg. While Colonel Colvin scurried thither to co-operate with
Colonel Thorneycroft, the General and Sir J. Jervis moved towards
Smithfield. Sir John's men, under Captain Knight of the Buffs, had an
exciting affray on the 19th, and succeeded in landing big fish,
Adjutants Brand and Joubert, and eight prisoners in all. Colonel
Smithson and the 13th Hussars engaged Boers at Lemonfontein on the
11th. They covered eighty miles in two days, surprised the enemy, and
made a splendid haul of prisoners and effects. Colonel Colvin had also
his success, for on the 22nd a party of New Zealanders, under Major
Tucker, engaged the enemy on the Elandsberg and secured Field-Cornets
Hugo and Bothma, and several other prisoners.
Unfortunately the effect of the squeezing operations which were taking
place caused the enemy to be driven to the Thabanchu line, and here,
as though history was bound to repeat itself, the unfortunate U
battery met with a mishap. On the 19th a small force of 160 mounted
men under Captain Tufnell, and two guns of U Battery, R.H.A., under
Lieut. Otter-Barry, which had been detached by the officer commanding
at the Bloemfontein Waterworks, were surrounded and captured at
Vlakfontein (eighteen miles south-west of Sanna's Post) by a superior
force under Commandants Coetzee and Ackermann. Lieutenant Barry,
R.H.A., lost his life in the gallant defence of his guns. All efforts
were now made to hem the enemy against the Thabanchu line, and General
Plumer and Colonel Rochfort (commanding General Bruce-Hamilton's force
during his absence in Natal) worked hard to this end. It was a
question of fight, fight, fight, and hustle, hustle, hustle on all
sides. At the end of the month (the 29th) Colonel Lowry Cole had the
satisfaction of hauling in Commandant Drezer and Field-Cornet Van
Vunren, with their followers, whose laager he had surprised.
At the same time some sharp fighting took place between two hundred
New Zealanders[6] under Major A. W. Andrews, a smart officer of the
Indian Staff Corps, who were holding Mokari Drift on the Caledon, and
some 300 or 400 Boers who were in the act of crossing. The Boers,
after a severe mauling, fled westward, leaving six dead and seven
wounded on the field. Colonel Thorneycroft also had had stiff work
with a marauding gang near Corunna on the 20th.
After this date the columns on the east of the main line of rail had
each assigned to them an area with a centre from which to work. They
acted independently, yet as required could combine against any
formidable gathering of the enemy. In the south-western portion of the
Orange Colony the situation was improving so remarkably that first the
columns of Colonels Byng and Dawkins were able to withdraw towards the
Vredefort district; then those of Major Damant were removed to
Heilbron; while the rest, under Colonel Rochfort, were transferred to
the more disturbed area of the east of the railway. Colonel Henry
maintained his operations in the district, but the verb "to
blockhouse" having been so liberally conjugated throughout the region,
his duties were comparatively light.
EVENTS IN CAPE COLONY
The early part of September was spent in chasing Commandant Smuts, who
had burst from the Orange Colony into the Jamestown-Dordrecht
district. Here he was tackled on the 12th by Colonel Monro, but
succeeded in evading our columns. The raiders then rushed in the night
across the line towards Tarkastad. To the south in all haste followed
Colonels Gorringe and Doran and the 17th Lancers, while the west was
guarded (at Cradock) by Colonel Scobell. Smuts, when some eighteen
miles north-west of Tarkastad, in desperation decided to attack a
squadron of the 17th Lancers under Major Sandeman. These seeing a
force dressed in kharki approaching, accepted them as comrades till
too late. The enemy was almost upon them before they discovered their
mistake. But the "Death or Glory Boys," even in these circumstances,
fought valiantly, and though three officers and twenty men fell, and
Major Sandeman and thirty men of the squadron were wounded, all
brilliantly maintained the traditions of their regiment. The approach
of Major Nickalls and another squadron of the Lancers forced the Boers
to cease fighting and continue their bolt to the south.
An interesting report of the smart engagement was published by the
_Midland News_. The correspondent wrote:--
"Smuts' commando rushed a squadron of the 17th Lancers, under Captain
Sandeman, on Tuesday morning, the 17th inst. The squadron was posted
at Modderfontein, guarding the southern exit from Elands River Poort,
and another pass towards the north-east, known as Evans Hoek, to
prevent the Boers from coming south-west into the Cradock district.
The surprise was due chiefly to the Boers being dressed in kharki, and
being thus mistaken for Colonel Gorringe's men, who were expected to
arrive from Soude Nek in the course of the day. A mist which hung over
the low ground till late that morning also favoured the approach of
the enemy, as in the case of Colonel Scobell's capture of Lotter's
commando.
"On receipt of a report that a small picket in advance of the camp had
been rushed, a troop quickly mounted and rode towards the poort. The
officer in command saw some kharki-clad men about two miles from camp,
and thinking they were some of Colonel Gorringe's column, rode forward
to meet them. When about two hundred yards distant, seeing them
levelling their rifles, he shouted out, 'Don't fire! we are the 17th
Lancers.' The only answer was rapid rifle fire, which emptied several
saddles.
"During this time another body of the enemy had worked up the donga
running past the camp, and approached it from the rear. These men were
dressed in kharki, and were taken for friends. Major Nickalls was
encamped at Hoogstude, about three miles distant, and, having been
informed of the attack on Captain Sandeman's camp, he was coming up to
its support. Consequently the order was given not to fire on this
party.
"The camp was placed on the southern slope of a gentle rise, which is
encircled on the west by a spruit running generally north-west, and
joining the main river about two miles distant. About three hundred
yards from the spruit the ground on which the camp stood rises into a
rocky kopje about a hundred yards long at the crest. This was defended
with great determination, and most of the casualties occurred here.
"The Boers, too, suffered very severely in the attack on this
position, and it was not until the enemy attacked the hill from the
rear that any impression seemed to have been made on the defenders. A
perfect hail of bullets appears then to have been poured in from the
rear, which killed or wounded all of its defenders. Finally Captain
Sandeman tried to reach the kraals in the vicinity of the camp, but
most of the men with him were shot down, and he himself was wounded.
"The Boers then rushed the camp, but not a single man surrendered, the
enemy levelling their rifles and firing on any man they saw.
"On Major Nickalls's squadron coming up the enemy retired quickly in
the direction in which they had come.
"The Boers, on entering the camp, went straight for the supplies, but
were able to take away only a few biscuits and hardly any ammunition,
the Lancers having emptied their bandoliers, as the hundreds of empty
cartridges found on the kopje eloquently testified.
"The enemy's casualties were extremely heavy. The dead and wounded
were carried off by the commando when it retired."
From Bank View to Mount Prospect, then across the Mancazana, along the
Fish River and over the Port Elizabeth line near Sheldon Station the
raiders went, followed with unrelaxing energy by Colonels Gorringe,
Doran, and Scobell. Colonel Gorringe succeeded in catching them in the
Zuurberg Mountains and caused them to split their force in two, one
half fleeing south, the other west. Early in October they reunited
south of Darlington and were again attacked and trounced by the
indefatigable Colonel, who drove them north with the loss of three of
their number killed and five wounded.
Meanwhile Myburg and Fouché had been flitting around the northern
borders, while Colonels Monro, Pilcher, Western, General Hart, with
Colonel Murray's troops and the Connaught Rangers, guarded the river
line from Bethulie to Herschel. The residency at this place was
attacked on the 4th, but Major Hook and the local police sent the foe
to the right-about with considerable celerity and the loss to them of
twenty-nine horses and three men. Everywhere small gangs of Boers
made themselves obstreperous, and some made an attempt on Ladygrey,
which was promptly repulsed. On the 20th of September, however,
Kruitzinger, north of Herschel, endeavoured to force a passage over
the Orange, and came into collision with some eighty of Lovat's Scouts
under Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. A. D. Murray. The gallant Scotsmen,
small in number but large in courage, held on grimly to their post,
and the attempt to cross was fiercely resisted, but unhappily with the
loss of the brilliant commander, who had led them throughout the
campaign with gallantry and distinction. He fell shot through the
heart while shouting, "Fix bayonets!"[7] His adjutant, Captain Murray,
also fell, and sixteen of his brave men, while one officer and
thirty-five men were wounded. A gun was carried off under cover of
darkness, but it was promptly followed up and recovered in a smart
engagement in which the Boers lost two killed and twenty prisoners.
The end of the month, the enemy having withdrawn into the Transkei,
was spent by Colonels Monro and Pilcher in watching the passes of the
Drakensberg; but later they, with Colonel Western--leaving Colonel
Monro and local troops in charge of the area--were recalled to the
south-east of the Orange Colony. Commandant Scheepers at this time was
making himself obnoxious in the region of the line near Matjesfontein,
and to circumvent him General Beatson despatched Colonel Crabbe's
column from Waggon Drift on a night march, which helped materially to
break down Scheepers strength. The force completely surprised the
enemy under Van der Merwe (in a place where they had outspanned some
twelve miles east of Laingsburg), killed the commandant--a sporting
youth of eighteen, who was considered by his friends as a De Wet in
embryo--and one of his followers, wounded many of the burghers, and
took thirty-seven prisoners, including Field-Cornet Du Plessis. This
was on the 10th. From that time to the 20th Scheepers was kept on the
move, and finally after much veering and dodging reached Klip Drift on
the 20th. He continued to evade the pursuing columns of Colonels
Crabbe, Atherton, and Major Kavanagh till the 5th of October, when
this last officer almost captured him. He was attacked at Adams Kraal,
twenty miles south-south-west of Ladysmith, and only succeeded in
saving himself "by the skin of his teeth."
Commandant Theron, hoping to join Scheepers, was fleeing before
Colonel Capper in the Ceres district. This officer was assisted by
Colonels Alexander and Wyndham, who, when they had driven the enemy
well away to the north-west, continued in the chase after Scheepers.
Colonel Sprot and Major Lund were persistently engaged in tussles with
Lategan's gang, which had reappeared south of the Orange, and in a
brilliant encounter on the 23rd of September Major Lund succeeded in
securing an influential rebel, Louw by name, together with seven of
his followers. Colonel Hunter-Weston, in a smart engagement with
Lategan, secured Coetzer and other rebels and drove the rest
northwards.
* * * * *
Sad was the fate of a gallant fellow, Lieutenant M. Gurdon Rebow, who,
with nine men of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards, while searching a
farm, was attacked by the enemy at Cyferkuil, near Riet Siding, on
the 17th. Some thirty or forty Dutchmen burst suddenly upon the small
party, whose gallant stand against this overwhelming majority was one
of the most striking episodes of desperate valour on record. A summons
to surrender was refused, and it was not till Gurdon Rebow himself had
been shot down and one of his men had been killed and two dangerously
wounded that the remaining few Grenadiers, after a fight of three
hours, were captured. The sergeant of the patrol lost his life in a
gallant effort to swim the Carolus River in search of help.
As a proof of the herculean labours of the columns during this month,
in spite of the prevalence of rinderpest among the cattle and the
consequent reduction in the efficiency of the ox transport, the sum
total of achievement may be quoted: 170 Boers killed, 114 wounded and
prisoners, 1385 unwounded prisoners, 393 surrendered burghers, 11,000
horses (practically useless), 41,500 cattle, 798 rifles, 119,000
rounds small arm ammunition, and 770 waggons.
At Pretoria the month closed with the execution of Broeksma, formerly
the Public Prosecutor of the Transvaal, whose trial, begun on the 12th
of September, lasted three days. He was charged on the four counts of
breaking the oath of neutrality, treachery, high treason, and inciting
to break the oath of neutrality, and the evidence showed that the
police found in his house treasonable pamphlets and documents,
including copies of letters addressed to Mr. Steyn, Mr. Reitz, "Dr.
Williamson," and Mr. Kruger. Other letters were produced in court
which purported to have come from Dr. Krause. On the concluding day of
the trial the Crown Prosecutor stated that "Dr. Williamson" was in
reality Dr. Leyds. Sundry other burghers and Netherlanders were tried
for treachery and on other charges, while some were found guilty of
high treason and murder and sentenced to death. This sentence in most
cases was commuted to penal servitude for life, or reduced to terms of
imprisonment.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] This corps (the 6th New Zealand Mounted Rifles) greatly
distinguished itself in many ways. On one occasion (the 16th
September) Lieutenant Tudor, with only twelve men, crossed the Caledon
and kept in touch with 200 Boers for three days, afterwards holding a
position for three hours against fifty Boers with exceptional
gallantry. A young hero, Lieutenant Caskey (5th Queensland Imperial
Bushmen), lost his life during the dashing exploit. Captains Findlay
(The Buffs) and Knight with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, also
performed notable service in command of detached troops during this
period.
[7] Colonel the Hon. Andrew David Murray was the brother of the
present Earl of Mansfield, and was born in 1863. He entered the army
in 1884 as second lieutenant in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders,
became lieutenant in 1893, and brevet-major in 1898. He served in the
Nile Expedition, 1884-85, with the Soudan Field Force, 1885-86, with
the Nile Expedition, 1898, and was present at the battles of Atbara
and Omdurman, for which he was mentioned in despatches. He was
appointed commander of Lovat's Scouts last year.