OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA--COMMAND OF THE HIGHLAND
BRIGADE--DEPARTURE FOR SOUTH AFRICA--THE SITUATION--BATTLE OF
MAGERSFONTEIN--DEATH--FUNERAL--AFTER THE BATTLE.
Another and a more stirring field of action was in store for General
Wauchope. In several of his election speeches reference, as we have
shown, was made to the question then beginning to agitate the public
mind, as to our relationship with the Transvaal Republic. It was not
thought, however, that the difficulty was of such a nature as could
not easily be overcome by diplomatic arrangement. True, the
correspondence between Mr. Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, and
the Transvaal Government had been protracted, and had practically
failed in securing any concession in favour of foreign residents in
the Transvaal; but few realised how near we were to the verge of a
war which has proved one of the greatest and most calamitous of the
century.
[Sidenote: South Africa]
It will be in the recollection of our readers that when in 1881 the
Boers invaded Natal and gained the victories of Laing's Nek and
Majuba Hill, Sir Evelyn Wood had ranged his forces for an extended
attack upon them and was ready for action; and notwithstanding that
Sir Frederick, now Lord Roberts, had reached South Africa with 10,000
{173} additional men, the Government of Mr. Gladstone abandoned their
position and hurriedly patched up a peace with Mr. Kruger. All
accounts agree that the treaty or 'surrender' after Majuba was
regarded by both whites and blacks all over South Africa as an
absolute capitulation. It had at all events a most disastrous effect
upon British influence there. From that date arose in the Boer mind
that most fatal ingredient of racial animosity, contempt. As Kruger
afterwards said, 'he had once reckoned with the British army,' and he
felt he could safely do so again. The one idea apparently fixed in
his mind and growing every day was to get rid of his subordination to
the Queen, with a view, as the Transvaal grew in military efficiency,
to subvert her power in South Africa altogether, and set up a Dutch
Republic.
Owing partly to the poverty of the country until the great influx of
British and foreign colonists, generally called 'Uitlanders,' and the
development of the gold and diamond mines after 1884-5, the politics
of the Transvaal created little or no attention in England till about
1895, when Boer raids into Bechuanaland and elsewhere obliged the
British authorities on the spot to protect our Colonial interests
against their further advances. But then came the Jameson Raid at
the very end of that year, which, though universally condemned both
by the British Government and people as an infraction of
international law, was yet the outcome of deep-rooted discontent in
the Transvaal by the English and other settlers there. The 'Raid'
was the turning-point in recent Transvaal history. In the first
place, it attracted the attention of the whole civilised world, and
placed the Transvaal, the Uitlanders, and the relationship of Great
Britain both to the one and to the other in the full glare of day.
From {174} the date of the raid the difficulties of the position were
more and more accentuated, and the designs of President Kruger for
entire independence were hastened to a consummation. By the Boer
government the course of justice was perverted, and the Chief-Justice
was made subordinate to the will of the Executive. Owing to
insecurity to life and property, mine owners could scarcely get a
supply of labourers. Kruger and his Hollanders ran the country for
their own benefit. They taxed and plundered the Uitlanders, while
neglecting such matters as roads, bridges, railways, sanitary and
educational schemes, but took care to arm the Boers while they
fattened on monopolies, and kept the Uitlanders from any share in the
government. In short, the Transvaal was a Republic in nothing but
the name. It was really a corrupt oligarchy, in which a privileged
minority made laws to suit themselves, and put the whole burden of
taxation on the shoulders of a majority who were deprived of the
franchise.
[Sidenote: Uitlander grievances]
With a largely increased revenue, President Kruger found he could now
indulge his hostility to this country and his long-cherished hopes of
independence by providing for a possible struggle. As Lord Selborne
said, 'the money was used to turn the whole of the Boer population
into soldiers; it was used to stock the whole country with millions
of cartridges, to buy battery after battery of guns, to buy rifles
enough to arm every Boer four or five times over, to build things
previously unknown in South Africa, namely, great fortresses in the
middle of the country, at Pretoria and at Johannesburg--such
fortresses as were not to be seen in England except to guard the
public dockyards, and such as could only be seen on the frontier
between France and Germany.' The course of the war has abundantly
shown that these enormous preparations {175} had been made in view of
other than mere native aggression; that, in fact, nothing less than
the entire subversion of British authority over our South African
Colonies was to be aimed at.
So intolerable had the oligarchy at Pretoria made the position of the
Uitlanders, that these at length petitioned the Queen for some
redress of their grievances. This document, signed by 40,000
persons, 21,000 of whom were British subjects in the Transvaal, was
handed to the British Agent in Pretoria for transmission to the High
Commissioner, and was forwarded by Mr. Conyngham Greene in the
ordinary official course to the Government.
The petition showed that for many years discontent had existed among
the Uitlanders, who are mostly British subjects. The Uitlanders
possessed most of the wealth and intelligence in the country, and
they had no voice in its government. In spite of the promises of the
Transvaal Government and the petitions addressed to the President,
there had been no practical reforms. The discontent culminated in
the insurrection of 1895. The people then placed themselves in the
hands of the High Commissioner, and President Kruger promised
reforms. Since then their position had been worse. Legislation had
been unfriendly. The petition cited as examples the Aliens'
Immigration Act, withdrawn at the instance of the British Government;
the Press Law, giving the President arbitrary powers; the Aliens'
Expulsion Law, permitting the expulsion of British subjects at the
will of the President without appeal to the High Court, while
burghers cannot be expelled, this being contrary to the Convention.
The municipality granted to Johannesburg was worthless. It was
entirely subject to the Government. Half of the councillors are
necessarily burghers, though the {176} burghers and Uitlanders number
1000 and 23,000 respectively. The Government rejected the report of
the Industrial Commission, which was composed of its own officials.
The High Court had been reduced to a condition of subservience, the
revenues of the country had been diverted for the purpose of building
forts at Pretoria and Johannesburg in order to terrorise British
subjects; the police were exclusively burghers, ignorant and
prejudiced, and were a danger to the community; jurors were
necessarily burghers, and justice was impossible in cases where a
racial issue might be involved.
[Sidenote: Petition of the Uitlanders]
The petition went on to state that indignation was finally aroused by
the murder of Edgar and the favouritism displayed by the Public
Prosecutor. A petition to the Queen, presented by 4000 British
subjects, was rejected in consequence of informalities. For taking a
leading part in getting up the petition, Messrs. Dodd and Webb were
arrested under the Public Meetings Act, and were only released on
giving bail of £1000, five times the amount required for the murderer
of Edgar. A meeting within a closed place, permitted by law and
sanctioned expressly by the Government, was called by the South
African League on January 14. This was broken up by an armed and
organised band of burghers and police in plain clothes led by
Government officials. The police refused to interfere. The
behaviour of the British subjects was orderly. They did not
retaliate, preferring to lay their grievances before Her Majesty. No
arrests were made either of the officials responsible or of the
rioters.
The condition of the British subjects, the petition concluded, was
intolerable. They were prevented by the direct action of the
Government from ventilating their grievances; 'wherefore the
petitioners pray Her Majesty {177} to extend her protection to them,
to cause an inquiry to be held into their grievances, to secure the
reform of abuses, and to obtain substantial guarantees from the
Transvaal Government and a recognition of the petitioners' rights.'
This important petition was accompanied by affidavits substantiating
the various allegations made in it.
To have refused a petition like this under the circumstances which
had arisen, would have been tantamount to resigning the position of
paramount power. Negotiations and conferences ensued, in the vain
hope of adjusting racial differences, under Boer domination. They
came to nothing, and only proved that the Pretoria Government were
merely waiting their time to strike a blow which they hoped would for
ever terminate British authority in South Africa. The opportunity,
they thought, had at length come, and on Monday the 9th October an
ultimatum of the most insolent nature was presented to the British
Government, demanding not only the immediate withdrawal of our troops
on the borders of the Republic, but that all reinforcements which had
arrived since 1st June should be removed from South Africa. Not only
so, but that any of Her Majesty's troops now on the high seas should
not be landed in any part of our colonies! To these requirements an
immediate answer in the affirmative was demanded 'not later than 5
o'clock on Wednesday'! No more ridiculous message has been received
by the British Government for over one hundred years. Her Majesty's
Government declined to discuss the conditions of the ultimatum, but
expressed regret that the Transvaal Government should contemplate so
extreme and so serious a step as war. The invasion of Natal by the
Boers followed at once, and the Orange Free State, though in no way
involved in the matter in dispute, gratuitously sided with the {178}
Pretoria Government, and an invasion of Cape Colony was made later on
chiefly by the Free Staters. With great boldness and, it must be
said, with much military skill, the Boer forces seized the passes,
attacked the small garrisons on the frontiers, and after several
successes and defeats they finally settled down to besiege Ladysmith
in Natal, and Kimberley and Mafeking in Cape Colony--sieges which
will be long memorable in the history of British South Africa.
The war had only proceeded for about a week when General Wauchope
received a commission to command the Third or Highland Brigade,
forming part of the western column under General Lord Methuen for the
relief of Kimberley and Mafeking. This position was undoubtedly the
highest honour he had achieved, and its acquisition afforded him the
utmost satisfaction. He was residing at Niddrie at the time, and as
soon as it became known that he was ordered to the front, there was a
general desire among the miners and villagers that he should have a
suitable 'send-off,' and some arrangements had actually been made for
the occasion. But time was short, and besides, the General, always a
modest man, shrank from publicity where he would be the central
figure, and he would not consent to it.
[Sidenote: Embarkation for the Cape]
This, however, did not prevent him saying farewell to his old
friends. Amid all the bustle of preparation he found time to call at
the cottages of not a few in the grounds and in the village, to shake
hands with their inmates before he left; not, it is said, without
forebodings that it was for the last time. To a friend in Edinburgh
who, in saying 'good-bye,' expressed the hope that he would soon be
back again with fresh laurels, he replied with a shake of the head,
'I don't half like the job we {179} have got; we have a very hard nut
to crack with these Boers.' On Sunday, the 8th October, the General
and Mrs. Wauchope attended as usual the service in New Craighall
Parish Church. It forms a part of the parish of Liberton, and the
church was erected chiefly for the large mining portion of the
population at the east end of the parish, in which the General took
so much interest. He liked the simple, natural, artless form of the
Presbyterian service, and as his minister has since remarked, 'We
know how reverently and heartily he worshipped, and the pleasure he
had in hearing and in joining in the singing of the old psalms and
paraphrases, without any accompaniment.' It was his last quiet
Sabbath in Scotland. With a view to avoid fuss he slipped away that
evening by rail for London, without some of his nearest friends
knowing he was off, to see to the embarkation of his brigade.
The Highland Brigade was made up of the Seaforth Highlanders, the
Second Battalion Royal Highlanders (or Black Watch), and the Gordon
Highlanders--three crack Scotch regiments, which any man might have
been proud to command. The two first embarked for South Africa at
Tilbury Fort on the 21st and 22nd October in the transports
_Mongolian_ and _Orient_ respectively, the total equipment in the
latter being about 1200 officers and men, including staff of a
cavalry brigade, medical corps, etc. These were followed a fortnight
later by the Gordons under Colonel Downman from Edinburgh, among the
citizens of which city officers and men had earned an honoured name.
General Wauchope joined the transport _Aurania_ at Southampton on
23rd October, and some of his letters written on the eve of
embarkation are touching illustrations of kindly interest in others,
and specially in those {180} dependent on him. To his old friend and
colonel in the first Soudan Expedition, Colonel Bayly, he writes:--
'MY DEAR OLD COLONEL,--Many thanks for your kind and affectionate
letter. I wish you were going out in charge of the brigade. I shall
sadly miss your wise counsels. Well, I will do my best; and this I
know, whether I succeed or fail, you will stick up for me.--Yours
ever, A. G. WAUCHOPE.'
To Mr. Martin, the manager of the Niddrie Collieries, he wrote as
follows:--
'SOUTHAMPTON, 23_rd October_ 1899.
'I am just about to embark. Please go and see Mrs. Wauchope when she
gets back. She will act for me at all times in my spirit. I hope
you understand about the send-off. I hate fuss. Give my love to all
my numerous friends in the works. I hope "Klondyke" [one of the new
workings] will prosper and flourish. I hope the war will soon be
over. Symons is a terrible loss. He was one of our best. [General
Symons fell at the battle of Glencoe in Natal, 20th October.] The
British officer and soldier is showing to the world that they are not
behind their fathers in the days of the Peninsula and Waterloo. I
hope all may continue so to do, and then make it up with the Boers,
who really must be reasonable. We have no grudge against them,
beyond that we cannot allow a Dutchman to be worth three
Scotsmen.--Ever yours, A. G. WAUCHOPE.'
To his head gardener, Mr. Alexander, also dated from Southampton on
23rd October, he writes:--'Dear Alexander, we are just off....
Please convey to all our men and women my thanks for their faithful
service to me, and {181} that I will hope to see them soon
again.--Yours very truly, A. G. WAUCHOPE.'
That amid all the bustle of preparing to embark he should still have
time for loving thoughts of Niddrie and 'the old folks at home,' and
should at the last moment take the trouble to write such kindly
words, speaks eloquently of the affection in his breast for all that
he had left behind in Scotland.
[Sidenote: Enthusiastic reception]
The _Aurania_ took out with her the 1st Battalion of Highland Light
Infantry, and Wauchope was accompanied by Captain Rennie of the Black
Watch, as his _aide-de-camp_. The Black Watch in another vessel
reached Table Bay two or three days after the General's arrival, and
were at once entrained for De-Aar by half-battalions, so that until
he joined them a week or two afterwards, the General had had no
opportunity of coming in touch with his old regiment since his
appointment to the division. Major Duff, who was with the Black
Watch at De-Aar, speaks of their meeting as a remarkable one. 'I
went up,' he says, 'in command of the leading half-battalion, and
when the men first saw the General, their reception of him was a most
truly enthusiastic one. They cheered him over and over again, and it
reminded one of their send-off to him at York, as they had not seen
him since then.'
While the British Government were thus hurrying forward troops to the
seat of war with all despatch, weeks of course elapsed before they
could be in a position to meet the invaders.
The Boers in strong force, and evidently well prepared, had actively
assumed the aggressive, and in consequence of the unexpected
declaration of war by Presidents Kruger and Steyn, the northern part
of Cape Colony bordering {182} upon the Orange Free State was for a
time practically defenceless. Taking advantage of this fact, the
Boers had advanced boldly across the frontier, attacking many of our
towns and villages, and formally annexing them to the Free State.
The arrival of British troops at the Cape in November to some extent
arrested this invasion, and as troops were poured into the Colony in
quick succession, Generals French, Gatacre, and Methuen found
themselves ultimately in a position to assume the offensive, their
communications and supplies being kept up by the three lines of
railway from Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London respectively.
The Highland Brigade, originally destined for Natal, was stopped at
Cape Town and at once sent on to reinforce Lord Methuen in command of
the western division. With his advanced base at De-Aar, at the
junction of the Port Elizabeth and Cape Town railways, and striking
north with what troops he had, Methuen engaged and defeated a party
of Boers near Belmont on the 10th November. Nine days after, he had
concentrated his troops on the Orange River, driving the enemy before
him, and on the 23rd November he attacked and completely routed the
enemy in the decisive battle of Belmont.
After several skirmishes the battle of Modder River was fought, in
which the British encountered a Boer force of 11,000 men. It lasted
the whole of Tuesday the 28th November, and was keenly contested; but
in spite of the bravery and superior position of the enemy, they were
compelled to withdraw, and Methuen formed his advanced camp on the
north side of the river. After the Modder River fight he rested his
force until the 10th December, waiting for the battalions of
Wauchope's Highland Brigade, for the great naval gun, and the
howitzer battery, and for the {183} sorely needed cavalry. The
valiant Ninth Brigade, composed of Yorkshire Light Infantry, 5th
Northumberlands, Loyal North Lancashires, Northamptonshires, 9th
Lancers, and Mounted Infantry, which had done such gallant work in
the previous battles, was now to be scattered, and in some measure
supplanted by the Argylls, Seaforths, Gordons, Black Watch, and
Highland Light Infantry of the fresher brigade.
Having secured his position on the Modder River, Lord Methuen found
the way to Kimberley still barred by the Boer army under General
Cronje. The enemy were strongly intrenched among the rocks and
precipices of the hilly region, some four miles from the river,
between the railway on the west and the highroad to Kimberley on the
east, and commanded the position with their artillery.
[Sidenote: The Diamond City]
Lord Methuen resolved upon making a frontal attack in full force on
this stronghold, so as to drive the Boers out and clear the road to
the Diamond City, now suffering acutely the miseries of a siege.
Before making the attack, he resolved to shell the Boer position with
all his artillery and the great naval gun which had been dragged up
to a ridge overlooking the kopje occupied by the enemy, at ranges
varying between six thousand and eight thousand yards. The
bombardment while it lasted was a severe one. An eye-witness of the
scene says: 'The shells tore through the air with precisely the noise
of an express train rushing at highest speed, and when they burst
they seemed to envelop an acre of ground in heavy brown smoke, which
lifted and floated over the kopje as if it were a mass of pulverised
earth. The noise of each discharge was like the bark of a monster
bulldog, and the bursting of each shell sounded like the cough of a
giant.' It is believed that the lyddite {184} shells fell among the
Boers several times during the afternoon, but it is doubtful if the
damage done was sufficient to cause them to shift their position.
The naval gun remained on the ridge all night, and defined the
extreme left of the next day's battle-ground. This ground extended
from the railway where the gun stood, across the veldt to the river
and along its northern bank for two miles, or about four miles from
the railway to near the Kimberley road. It was covered--ridges and
level veldt alike--with bushes, or shapely little trees from four to
seven feet high, of round, full form, and pretty dense foliage. In
such a veldt as this the Boers had two miles of trenches in front of
their strongly fortified heights, well packed with riflemen. And not
only so; but to make the approach more difficult, lines of
barbed-wire fencing were run across the veldt parallel with the
trenches.
To attack such a strong position required the very best troops of the
British army, if the assault were to be a success, and Wauchope's
Highland Brigade was selected for the work. Lord Methuen conceived
it to be his duty to take it at all hazards, seeing that his orders
were to relieve Kimberley, and the longer he remained inactive on the
Modder River, the probability was the enemy would become stronger in
front. As soon therefore as the last of his reinforcements arrived
from De-Aar, he resolved to attack the Magersfontein kopje. For this
purpose, as we have said, the heights were bombarded from 4.50 P.M.
to 6.40 P.M. on the 10th December, in the expectation that--judging
from the moral effect produced by his guns in the three previous
actions, and the anticipated effect of lyddite, to be used for the
first time--there would not only be great destruction of life in the
trenches, but a considerable demoralising effect on the enemy's
nerves. {185} Whether this was so is doubtful. A longer
bombardment, as the result proved, would in all probability have led
to a more successful issue of the enterprise, and with less loss to
our arms.
[Sidenote: On the eve of battle]
General Wauchope having received his orders, all were in readiness
for the attack, which it was resolved should be made in the darkness
of the early morning.
Fireside romancers have pictured Wauchope on the evening before the
battle as full of despondency and prepossessed with a sense of
imminent disaster. Needless to say, these are purely imaginary
fancies. He was not the man either to shirk danger or dread a deadly
engagement.
What afterwards happened is best described in the words of Lord
Methuen's despatch. 'The night march,' he says, 'was ordered for
12.30 A.M., the bearings and distance having been ascertained at
great personal risk by Major Benson, Royal Artillery, my Deputy
Assistant Adjutant-General. The distance is two and a half miles,
and daybreak was due at 3.25 A.M. About half an hour after the
Highland Brigade marched off it came on to pour, a heavy thunderstorm
accompanying the rain. The downpour lasted until daybreak. The
brigade was led with perfect accuracy to the point of assault by
Major Benson. The advance was slow, even for a night march. Major
Benson, with a compass in each hand, having frequently to halt on
account of the lightning and rifles affecting the compasses. I may
remark that two rifles went off by accident before the march
commenced, and it is pretty clear that flashes from a lantern gave
the enemy timely notice of the march.
'Before moving off, Major-General Wauchope explained all he intended
to do, and the particular part each battalion of his brigade was to
play in the scheme. The brigade {186} was to march in mass of
quarter columns, the four battalions keeping touch and, if necessary,
ropes were to be used for the left guides; these ropes were taken,
but I believe used by only two battalions. What happened was as
follows:--Not finding any signs of the enemy on the right flank just
before daybreak, which took place at 4 A.M., as the brigade was
approaching the foot of the kopje, Major-General Wauchope gave the
order for the Black Watch to extend, but to direct its advance on the
spur in front, the Seaforth Highlanders to prolong to the left, the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to prolong to the right, the
Highland Light Infantry in reserve. Five minutes earlier (the kopje
looming in the distance) Major Benson had asked Major-General
Wauchope if he did not consider it to be time to deploy.
Lieut.-Colonel Hughes-Hallett states that the extension could have
taken place two hundred yards sooner, but the leading battalion got
thrown into confusion in the dark by a very thick bit of bush about
twenty or thirty yards long. The Seaforth Highlanders went round
this bush to the right, and had just got into its original position
behind the Black Watch when the order to extend was given by
Major-General Wauchope to the Black Watch. The Seaforth Highlanders
and two companies of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were also
moving out, and were in the act of extending, when suddenly a heavy
fire was poured in by the enemy, most of the bullets going over the
men.
[Sidenote: Magersfontein]
'Lieut.-Colonel Hughes-Hallett at once ordered the Seaforths to fix
bayonets and charge the position. The officers commanding the other
battalions acted in a similar manner. At this moment some one gave
the word "Retire." Part of the Black Watch then rushed back through
the ranks of the Seaforths. Lieut.-Colonel Hallett {187} ordered his
men to halt and lie down, and not to retire. It was now becoming
quite light, and some of the Black Watch were a little in front, to
the left of the Seaforths. The artillery, advancing to the support
of the attack, had opened fire from the time it was light enough to
see. No orders having been received by the Seaforths, the commanding
officer advanced the leading units to try and reach the trenches,
which were about four hundred yards off; but the officers and half
the men fell before a very heavy fire, which opened as soon as the
men moved. About ten minutes later the Seaforths tried another rush,
with the same result. Colonel Hughes-Hallett then considered it best
to remain where he was till orders came.
'Meanwhile the 9th Lancers, the 12th Lancers, G Battery Royal Horse
Artillery, and Mounted Infantry were working on the right flank. At
twelve midnight on the 10th the 12th Lancers and Guards marched from
camp, the former to join the Cavalry Brigade, the latter to protect
the rear and right of the Highland Brigade. Considering the night,
it does Major-General Sir Henry Colville immense credit that he
carried out his orders to the letter, as did Major-General Babington.
A heavy fire was maintained the whole morning. The Guards Brigade
held a front of about one and three quarter miles. The Yorkshire
Light Infantry protected my right flank with five companies, three
companies being left at a drift. Captain Jones, Royal Engineers, and
Lieutenant Grubb were with the Balloon Section, and gave me valuable
information during the day. I learnt from this source, at about
twelve noon, that the enemy were receiving large reinforcements from
Abutsdam and from Spytfontein. The enemy held their own on this part
of the field, for the under-feature was strongly entrenched, {188}
concealed by small bushes, and on slight undulations. At twelve noon
I ordered the battalion of Gordons, which was with the Supply Column,
to support the Highland Brigade. The trenches, even after the
bombardment by lyddite and shrapnel since daybreak, were too strongly
held to be cleared. The Gordons advanced in separate
half-battalions, and though the attack could not be carried home, the
battalion did splendid work throughout the day.
'At 1 P.M. the Seaforth Highlanders found themselves exposed to a
heavy crossfire, the enemy trying to get round to the right. The
commanding officer brought his left forward. An order to "Retire"
was given, and it was at this time that the greater part of the
casualties occurred. The retirement continued for five hundred
yards, and the Highlanders remained there till dusk. Lieut-Colonel
Downman, commanding the Gordons, gave the order to retire, because he
found his position untenable, so soon as the Seaforth Highlanders
made the turning movement to the right. This was an unfortunate
retirement, for Lieut.-Colonel Hughes-Hallett had received
instructions from me to remain in position until dusk, and the enemy
were at this time quitting the trenches by tens and twenties. I have
made use of Lieut.-Colonel Hughes-Hallett's report (the acting
Brigadier) for the description of the part the Highland Brigade took
in this action.
'Major-General Wauchope told me, when I asked him the question, on
the evening of the 10th, that he quite understood his orders, and
made no further remark. He died at the head of the brigade, in which
his name will always remain honoured and respected. His high
military reputation and attainments disarm all criticism. Every
{189} soldier in my division deplores the loss of a fine soldier and
a true comrade. The attack failed; the inclement weather was against
success; the men in the Highland Brigade were ready enough to rally,
but the paucity of officers and non-commissioned officers rendered
this no easy matter. I attach no blame to this splendid brigade.
From noon until dark I held my own opposite to the enemy's
intrenchments. G Battery Royal Horse Artillery fired hard till dark,
expending nearly two hundred rounds per gun. Nothing could exceed
the conduct of the troops from the time of the failure of the attack
at daybreak. There was not the slightest confusion, though the fight
was carried on under as hard conditions as one can imagine, for the
men had been on the move from midnight, and were suffering terribly
from thirst. At 7.15 P.M. fighting ceased, the Highland Brigade
formed up under cover, the Guards Brigade held my front, the
Yorkshire Light Infantry secured my right flank, the cavalry and guns
were drawn in behind the cavalry.'
[Sidenote: An ill-fated enterprise]
Many descriptions have been published of the ill-fated enterprise,
differing in some respects from the despatch of the commander; and
much controversy has been raised as to an alleged difference of
opinion between Generals Methuen and Wauchope regarding the method of
the attack on the Boer position, and as to who was responsible for
its disastrous failure. Into that controversy it is not our purpose
to enter, seeing so much of it is founded on mere conjecture,
coloured by the imagination or the prejudice of some of the writers.
Whether blunder, or miscalculation, or mere misadventure, no voice
has been ever raised to cast the shadow of blame on the officer who
gallantly led his brigade through that long dark night into what
proved an impossible position, a position {190} which the best troops
in the world could not have hoped to take. Every precaution was made
that forethought could suggest. Untoward circumstances, and not want
of courage, ruined all.
[Sidenote: Fall of the General]
That the fall of the General largely contributed to the loss of the
battle, seems all too plain. He fell after being twice hit with
rifle bullets through his helmet, and even while lying on the ground,
when struck in the body, he appears, from the evidence of some of his
men who passed him as they still pressed on to his orders, to be able
to raise himself on his hands and knees, and taking a long farewell
of his comrades, he cried, 'Good-bye, men; fight for yourselves. It
is man to man now.' Other words are said to have been uttered, and
were freely circulated afterwards about the camp, and found their way
into letters written to friends at home; but in the din and confusion
of such a moment it is difficult to see how these--many of them
contradictory--can be accepted as his utterances. One witness
describes the scene as 'an awful sight. The bullets,' he says, 'were
like a shower of hail, and the shells were bursting all around us.
God knows how I got clear, for I was in the thick of it. I felt the
heat of a shell on my face. I never was so near being killed in my
life. There were bullets hitting all around me, and whistling over
my head. I have been in a few battles, but nothing like this.... We
would have beat them had our General not been killed. He was shot in
three places.'
That General Wauchope fought and fell as a man and as a soldier,
carrying out his orders loyally to the end, has never been called in
question. He died where he would have wished to die, at the head of
his gallant Highlanders, with his face to the foe.
{191}
All that fateful day the battle was carried on. Our wounded and dead
lay as they fell, under a blazing sun, close to the Boer lines. Over
their heads the shots of friends and foes passed, without ceasing.
'Many a gallant deed was done by comrades helping comrades; men who
were shot through the body lay without water, enduring all the agony
of thirst caused by their wounds and the blistering heat. To them
crawled Scots with shattered limbs, sharing the last drop of water in
their bottles, and taking farewell messages to many a cottage home in
far-off Scotland.' But still the battle raged. Wounded and dead
must wait alike the ultimate fate of the day. Lying on the veldt the
British still held their ground, firing when they could, but drawing
a hotter fire upon themselves from the trenches. For fourteen hours
they thus lay--from three o'clock in the morning till six at night.
It was cruel work, with all the odds against the attackers, fighting
against a foe they could neither see nor reach. Once the Guards made
a brilliant dash at the trenches, and like a torrent their resistless
valour bore down all before them, and for a brief few moments they
got within striking distance of the enemy; and well did they avenge
the slaughter of the Scots. With bayonets fixed and a ringing cheer
the Guardsmen, we are told by a graphic writer, 'tossed the Boers out
of their trenches as men in English harvest-fields toss the hay.'
Then they retired under the deadly fire from the heights above,
falling thick as hail upon them.
Not till the evening did the conflict cease. Then there was an
armistice, and our ambulance bearers went out to bring in their
fallen comrades. The Rev. J. Robertson, chaplain of the brigade,
mentions in a letter: 'I was with Wauchope when he fell. I think he
wished me to keep {192} near him, but I got knocked down, and in the
dark and wild confusion I was borne away, and did not see him in life
again, though I spared no effort to find him, in the hope that he
might be only wounded.' This statement is confirmed by the Anglican
chaplain with Lord Methuen, who, after describing the battle of
Magersfontein, thus refers to the Highland Brigade: 'Being chiefly
Highlanders, they were in Robertson's charge. He, good-hearted
fellow, was risking his life in the trenches and under fire to find
General Wauchope's body. Why he was not killed in his fearless
efforts I cannot tell.' The General's body was found next morning
from twenty to thirty yards off the Boer trenches, 'riddled with
bullets,' and was carried reverently back into camp, amidst the
unmistakable grief of every soldier.
[Sidenote: 'Lochaber no more']
The exigencies of war brook no delay, and so the funeral was arranged
for the day following. Three hundred yards to the rear of the
township of Modder River, just as the sun was sinking in a blaze of
African splendour, on the evening of Tuesday the 13th December, a
long shallow grave lay exposed in the breast of the veldt. To the
westward the broad river fringed with trees ran unconsciously along;
to the eastward the heights still held by the enemy scowled
menacingly; north and south stretched the long swelling plain. A few
paces to the north of the grave, fifty dead Highlanders lay, dressed
as they had fallen. They had followed their chief to the field, and
they were to follow him to the grave. It was an impressive sight,
and as one who saw it has said: 'The plaids dear to every Highland
clan were represented there, and, as I looked, out of the distance
came the sound of the pipes. It was the General coming to join his
men. There, right under the eyes of the enemy, {193} moved with slow
and solemn tread all that remained of the Highland Brigade. In front
of them walked the chaplain, with bared head, dressed in his robes of
office; then came the pipers with their pipes, sixteen in all,
wailing out "Lochaber no More"; and behind them, with arms reversed,
moved the Highlanders, in all the regalia of their regiments; and in
the midst, the dead General, borne by four of his comrades.' Many a
cheek was wet with tears, and many a heart throbbed with emotion as
the last kind offices were performed. Right up to the grave they
marched, then broke away into companies until the General was laid in
the shallow grave, with a Scottish square of armed men around him.
The simple Presbyterian service of the Scottish Church was led by Mr.
Robertson, the chaplain, amid profound silence. No shots were fired.
Only the silent farewell salute of his sorrowing men as they marched
campwards in the gathering darkness, and the black pall of an African
night was drawn sadly over the scene.
[Illustration: THE GRAVE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. _From a Photograph by
H. C. Shelley of "The King."_]
There, among his men, Wauchope's body might have been left to rest on
the open veldt, and the spot would doubtless ever afterwards have
been consecrated in the heart of every patriot Briton, lonely and
wild though it be. But the kindly sympathy of a brother Scot found
for him a last resting-place four hundred miles farther south in Cape
Colony, at Matjesfontein. On receipt of the news of Wauchope's
death, the Honourable J. D. Logan, a member of the Cape Legislative
Council, who owns an extensive estate there, on which there is a
small enclosed private burying-ground, promptly asked permission to
bring the body for reinterment there. Permission having been granted
by General Lord Methuen, Mr. Logan proceeded to Modder River, and
returned with the {194} body in a zinc-lined coffin on the 18th
December. The remains of the gallant General were buried next
morning with full military honours, in presence of a considerable
number of people. Those present included Captain Rennie, _A.-D.-C._
to the General, Mr. Logan and his family, Major Stuart, and Colonel
Schrembrucker. The escort consisted of eleven officers and 195
non-commissioned officers and men of various detachments, including
some of the Highland Brigade, and a fife band with pipers. The
coffin was borne on a gun-carriage, which was covered with many
beautiful wreaths, one bearing the inscription, 'With the Logans'
deepest sympathy. In memory of one of Scotland's brave ones.' And
on another was inscribed, 'A token of admiration and respect for one
of Scotland's heroes, from his fellow-countrymen at Matjesfontein.'
The favourite charger of the General followed the coffin, and the
service, conducted by the Revs. Messrs. Robertson and Price, army
chaplains, was of a deeply impressive character. Thus passed from
sight, at the age of fifty-four, the man whose career it has been our
privilege to sketch.
[Sidenote: After the battle]
Few episodes in the Transvaal war--and there have been many striking
ones--have made such an impression on the public at large, or on
those immediately concerned, as the fall of the leader of the
Highland Brigade on that disastrous 10th of December 1899.
The one man best qualified to speak of its effects upon the soldiers
at the front, has in touching letters referred to the sadness that
overspread the camp, and the deep religious feelings which were
awakened. The Rev. J. Robertson says: 'Of the seven who formed our
original mess--General Wauchope's brigade staff--only Colonel Ewart
and myself remain. He is an old campaigning {195} friend, so also is
General Macdonald, who has now joined us. I am glad I knew the
Brigadier before. It makes all the difference, messing and living
together. I am not to refer to General Wauchope. Mere acquaintances
mourn his loss, how much more one who was honoured with his
friendship and confidence? As for the Highland Brigade--there is but
one heart, and it's sore, sore. A strange fatality befell all my
best-known friends. Whenever I let myself think of them, there's a
painful tug at my heart's strings. God knows what lies before. To
give some idea of how hearts have been touched, on the last Sunday of
the year I had communion. I thought it better to take it then than
on the first Sunday, when the year would be a week old and the good
start perhaps lost. I did not make intimation the Sunday before, as
I did not think I would be able to get communion wine in time. I
just stated at the ordinary parade service that I purposed having it
after the benediction was pronounced. I invited any and every one to
come forward, even though they had not partaken it before, saying
that in the circumstances I took it upon me to dispense with the
usual preparatory forms of procedure. To my great surprise, but to
my heart's joy, knowing how backward young men are--Highlanders
especially--in coming to the Lord's Table, over 250 stepped out, and
many more would have come had it not been for the fact that they had
to go at once on picket duty. In fact, they had strained a point to
attend parade service, coming all ready to go on outpost, heavily
accoutred. With a full heart, I thanked God and took courage.' In
another letter the chaplain says: 'We were a sad, a very sad brigade,
for though we tried to hide it, we took our losses to heart sorely;
for "men of steel are men who feel." But out of evil came good.
{196} The depth of latent religious feeling that was evoked in
officers and men was a revelation to me, and were it not that
confessions, and acknowledgments, and vows are too sacred for
repetition, I could tell a tale that would gladden your hearts--not
that I put too much stress on what's said or done at such an
impressionable, solemnising time, but after-proof of sincerity has
not been wanting.'
The receipt of the news of the General's death in England, Scotland,
and Ireland, and indeed throughout the world, was accompanied with
every expression of grief. It was felt that the empire had lost one
of its noblest and best, that a hero had gone down to his rest ere
his full life's work was done. Alike from soldier and civilian, from
political opponent and political friend, came the common lament;
while the fluent pens of journalists were in some cases constrained
to acknowledge that it was all but impossible to write with calmness
of the sad event.
The national feeling was roused as it seldom has been before, and
from one correspondent we have the following remarkable testimony.
'I believe,' he says, 'that General Wauchope's tragic death did more
than anything else to bring the nation as a nation to call upon God.
No doubt before his death there was much prayer throughout the nation
both in private and in almost all the churches; but there was no
national acknowledgment of God--no day set apart by authority for
this purpose. General Wauchope's death awoke the national
conscience, and there was a public recognition of God by the nation.
It is a matter of history that when this took place the tide of
battle, which for so long had been against us, then began to turn in
our favour. Andrew Gilbert Wauchope did not die in vain.'
[Sidenote: Sympathy of the Queen]
Her Majesty the Queen felt the loss she and the country had
sustained, and, with her usual womanly {197} consideration, sent a
message through her Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Hopetoun, desiring
him to express her deep sympathy with Mrs. Wauchope of Niddrie, and
with Lady Ventry, the General's sister. In this message, it is
understood the Queen paid a warm tribute to the General's fearless
qualities as a soldier, and to his magnificent services to the
nation; while she sympathetically referred to the fact, that in every
campaign in which he had taken a part previously, with the exception
of the Soudan war of 1898, he had had the misfortune to be wounded.
Seldom has so general and so spontaneous an expression of public
feeling been given in this country. In Scotland especially was this
so, as might naturally be expected. In Edinburgh, where both the
Black Watch and the Gordon Highlanders had recently been stationed,
the death of Colonel Downman of the Gordons, and many others with him
in the same engagement, gave a sharper edge to the calamity.
Lieutenant F. G. Tail, also well known in Edinburgh, and popular all
over the country as a champion golfer, was wounded on this occasion.
After his recovery he went again to the front and was killed on 7th
February at Koodoosberg Drift. From Mr. Low's record of his life it
is interesting to quote what he says as to the Black Watch at
Magersfontein, inasmuch as it differs somewhat from the despatch of
Lord Methuen already quoted, and expresses the opinion of one who was
on the spot. 'The papers say the Highland Brigade retired and
re-formed. The Black Watch never did; and, furthermore, we held our
ground all day.' As to his commanding officer he says, 'General
Wauchope is in no way responsible for the fearful loss of life
amongst the Highland Brigade: he got his orders, and had to carry
them out, and he was killed in front of his brigade.'
{198}