Passage of Tugela forced and Colenso occupied -- Another move
back across the river to Hlangwane and Monte Christo -- The Boers
at length routed and Ladysmith is relieved -- Entry of Relief
Force into Ladysmith -- Withdrawal of H.M.S. _Terrible's_ men to
China -- I spend a bad time in Field Hospital -- General Buller's
army moves forward to Elandslaagte -- Boers face us on the
Biggarsberg.
_Thursday, 22nd February._--General Buller occupied Colenso, and wired
to our Commandant to join him with his whole force. The Cavalry left
at 5 a.m. and at 2 p.m. the rest of us moved off, my guns being
escorted by the York and Lancasters, with the Imperial Light Infantry
in rear, the whole under Colonel Fitzpatrick. We made a quick march to
beyond Pretorius' farm where we camped for the night.
_Friday, 23rd February._--Off at daylight in a beautiful cool morning.
On the west of the hill, where we rested to water and feed the oxen,
Colenso was plainly visible, and we found heavy shelling going on. We
reached Chieveley at 10 a.m. and going up to our old friend, Gun Hill,
we joined Drummond with the 6" Q.-F. gun, and pitched our camp. The 6"
gun looked a regular monster on its field carriage, and fired several
times at Grobler's Hill, at 15,000 yards; I was struck by its smart
crew of bluejackets and stokers, but the gun is much too far off the
enemy. An English mail came in to-day.
_Saturday, 24th February._--General Buller is shelling hard the kopjes
at Pieters beyond Colenso, but our Infantry do not seem to be gaining
an inch. As my guns were in reserve, I went up by train to Colenso,
with Captain Patch, R.A. We were much interested, as we saw all the
now famous spots where we had shelled the place out in December and
January--the village and hotel being in ruins, and everything wantonly
sacked and destroyed. I never saw such a scene in my life; pianos
pulled to pieces and furniture smashed up. I went on to the pont where
Lieutenant Chiazzari was in charge, and met many wounded being carried
across to the ambulance train; among others were General Wynne, and a
poor officer of the Lancashire Brigade just dying with a bullet in his
chest, also young Hodson of the _Terrible_ ill with fever. We crossed
the Tugela on planks over the ruins of the fallen railway bridge with
a swirling torrent about a foot below us, as the river was now in
flood. It was sad to see this magnificent bridge with all its spans
blown up and fallen across the river, and one buttress demolished.
Patch and I climbed up the kopjes beyond, saw the Boer system of
trenches, and inspected the places where they had blasted the reverse
slopes of the kopje, perpendicularly cut behind, and had got under
safe cover from shell. The panorama of battle which spread out in
front of us was most impressive with shells bursting close to us; our
firing line was some two miles on, resting on small kopjes near
Pieters that were taken during the night; our guns, great and small,
were massed in or beyond Colenso behind small kopjes which gave a
certain amount of cover; on the left were the 4.7 guns and four
12-pounders, then the 4.5 guns; and two miles to the right were other
field batteries and Ogilvy's four 12-pounders across the river on
Hlangwane, making some eighty guns in all. Behind the kopjes were
massed our men in reserve, besides all the Horse Artillery and Cavalry
and wagons. There was now very heavy Boer shelling over Colenso,
giving our men a bad time of it; for instance the whole of our 5" crew
of garrison gunners were killed and wounded by a shrapnel, and many of
the 4.7 men were hit about the same time. Our own shelling was
magnificent and deadly, all our fire being concentrated at one kopje
about 6,000 yards off; the musketry fire was also very heavy all along
the line. I never saw such a fine sight before. I returned from
Colenso to my guns about 3 p.m., in an ambulance train, with Major
Brazier Creagh. We are losing about 450 men a day and are advancing
very slowly, while the Boers appear to be bringing up more guns on our
left. No news from Ladysmith, but we were all glad to hear the
brilliant news of the capture of Cronje and all his force by Lord
Roberts, and the cheering in the fighting line on the news being
communicated was wild. A very heavy musketry fire raged all night, and
the Inniskillings in a night attack on Railway Hill lost a lot of men,
in fact were cut up.
_Sunday, 25th February._--Once more the Commander-in-Chief found his
position untenable, and half of the guns were withdrawn in the night
across to our side of the Tugela on to Hlangwane; all the wagons and
stores were also shifted out of Colenso and the majority of the troops
moved to the right to the Hlangwane and Monte Christo slopes. Colenso
was still held in force however by the 10th Brigade under General
Talbot Coke. Two of our 4.7 guns on platform mountings were now
ordered up to Hlangwane from our hill, and were got into position with
much labour at 2,500 yards by Lieutenant Anderton, Natal Naval
Volunteers; they did very good work at that decisive range. There was
to-day what we called a Boer Sunday, that is, a cessation of firing
on both sides after a hard ten days of it; the day was wet and we were
all washed out of our tents, some of which were blown clean down.
_Monday, 26th February._--The attack still hangs fire while our troops
are being massed on Hlangwane and Monte Christo. The shelling of
Colenso by the Boers is still going on pretty heavily, and one only
wonders how Naval 12-pounders like ours can be left here as they are,
no less than six of our guns doing nothing at all. Drummond left the
6" gun under me for a time; and, on spotting a Boer gun on Grobler's
Hill, I let drive at 15,000 yards, 28 deg. elevation. As the shot only
fell some 200 yards short, I recommended a move to closer range, but
the gun eventually never was moved closer. While on Gun Hill we had
several civilians from Pietermaritzburg and Durban looking on at the
fighting. A very wet night, which made our positions a swamp, but I
was warmed by a warning to be ready to move my own guns to the front.
[Illustration: Colt Gun at Hlangwane firing at Boers.]
_Tuesday, 27th February._--A wire was handed to me in the night to
join the 10th Brigade with the Yorks and Lancasters, and off we went
at 6 a.m. in good spirits but in a thick drizzle of rain, passing
along the eastern slope of Hlangwane and winding up a fearful road to
the front. The Yorks and Lancasters at this point suddenly turned off,
and feeling that something was going wrong I halted my guns and rode
on to the Headquarters Staff, about half a mile on, finding the
Infantry attack just about to commence, the men all looking very
weary, and no wonder. I spoke to Ogilvy, who was there with his guns,
and afterwards to General Buller, who was standing quite close
surveying the general attack of our Infantry on the centre and right
3,000 yards ahead of us. The guns were giving the Boers lyddite and
shrapnel, and the fighting line were cheering as kopje after kopje
was taken. It was evident to my unpractised eye that we had the Boers
on the run at last. I told the Commander-in-Chief that my guns had
arrived, when he replied, "Why, you should be in Colenso," and turned
to his Staff, saying that some mistake had been made. I therefore
showed my written orders, and after reading them, the General said,
"It is not your fault, but march to Colenso as quickly as possible";
and he detached Lord Tullibardine to show us the way; I had seen a
good deal of him at Springfield. "The Pontoon bridge is up," he added;
"you must use the Boer pont and so ferry across the Tugela." So off we
went, and got to Colenso at 2 p.m. after a very hot march.
The ground at the railway crossing which we had to cross was being
heavily and accurately shelled, so leaving my gun train for a time in
a spot safe from the bursting shrapnel I rode on to prepare the pont
for our crossing the river. We got the first gun over to the Colenso
side of the river after hard work, the rotten bank giving way and the
gun being half submerged in the water; then the somewhat unhandy
soldiers in charge of the pont capsized a team of gun oxen when
half-way across the river by rocking the pont, and, nearly drowning
the poor oxen, swam ashore themselves and left them to their fate. It
was now 5 p.m. and as there were no men to do anything it was an
impossible position, with the pont sunk in the middle of the flooded
river; so that at dusk, after telling some soldiers who had come up
from General Coke's Brigade in response to my request what to do to
right the pont, I drew up my remaining gun and wagons on the south
bank, and put the gun which was already across the river out of action
under a guard below the river bank in case of any Boer swoop on it.
_Wednesday, 28th February._--A red-letter day. Before daylight I set
my men to work to bale out the pont and to get my second gun across
the river with 100 rounds of ammunition, and also off-loaded and got
over a spare wagon and 250 rounds more. All this was a terrible hard
job; two empty military wagons trying to get across the drift at this
spot were carried away before my eyes and only picked up a quarter of
a mile down stream. At 11 a.m. I was able at last to march on to join
General Coke's Brigade in Colenso, and to get my guns into position. I
was very exhausted and was feeling rather ill, but I was able to dine
with the General under a tarpaulin and had much talk over old times in
the Mauritius in 1898. It was a very wet evening, and my men who were
bivouacking with no tents had a bad time of it. The sudden cessation
of firing most of the day seemed to foreshadow some change at the
front, and we found afterwards to our joy that a detachment of the
Imperial Light Horse under Lord Dundonald had ridden into Ladysmith at
6 p.m. unmolested by the Boers who were reported to be in full
retreat.[3]
[Footnote 3: The number of killed, wounded, and missing in
the Natal Field Force, in the operations thus briefly alluded
to, from Colenso (15th December, 1899) to the Relief of
Ladysmith (28th February, 1900), amounted to 301 officers and
5,028 men.]
_Thursday, 1st March._--Everything seems to feel dull and
unprofitable; all the country round is deserted and Colenso is almost
unbearable from the odour of dead horses. At about 11 a.m. the pickets
reported Boers in force coming down Grobler's Kloof, but the party
turned out to be our own men; some of the garrison Cavalry, in fact,
riding in from Ladysmith, who told us that the Boers were in full
retreat. In the afternoon I rode round Colenso. What a scene of
desolation and dirt; huts and houses unroofed and everything smashed
to pieces! Long lines of abandoned trenches, and the perpendicular
shelters which the Boers had blasted out behind all the kopjes against
shell fire plainly showed how well they knew how to protect
themselves. The trenches, about a mile long, in the plain to the right
of Colenso are very deep and are sandbagged; parts of them are full of
straw; many shelters are erected in them; and holes are burrowed out
and strewn with chips of cartridges and pieces of shell, bottles, and
every imaginable article. Being somewhat curious as to the effect of
our shelling which had gone on from the 10th December to the 12th
January at this line of trenches, I rode along them and came to the
conclusion that not one of our shells had actually hit these splendid
defences, although no doubt our fire annoyed and delayed the workers
in them. I picked up many curios here.
_Friday, 2nd March._--Not a Boer to be seen within miles. Very hot and
odoriferous here, and I feel queer and tired out although fortunately
able to lie down all day. In the middle of the night had a sudden and
alarming attack of colic and was in great agony. I really thought I
was done for, but my men gave me hot tea and mustard and water which
did me good.
_Saturday, 3rd March._--Woke up feeling weak and ill, but as luckily
there was no work on hand I was able to lay still under an ammunition
wagon and was much revived with some champagne which my best
bluejacket named House got for me from my friend Major Brazier Creagh
of the Hospital train. The doctor from the Middlesex lines who came to
see me in the evening told me he had been into Ladysmith and had found
the garrison looking very feeble; the Cavalry were hardly able to
crawl and could not therefore pursue the Boers; the rations had been
reduced to one and a half biscuits per day per man in addition to
sausages and soup called Chevril, made from horseflesh. It seems that
Ladysmith could have held out for another month, but the garrison had,
after our failure at Spion Kop, given up all hope of our relieving
them. Poor chaps! they have had an awful time of it. We learn that the
Boers had left a huge unfinished dam of sandbags across the Klip River
so as to flood out our shelter near the banks of the town; another
week would have seen this really marvellous work completed; but
luckily, as it was, our friends had to decamp in a hurry, leaving
tents, wagons and ammunition strewn all over the neighbourhood; I wish
I could add guns, but none were found, and I fear that the retreat
took place for one reason only, viz., Kruger's fear of being cut off
by Lord Roberts at Laing's Nek. Except for this I doubt whether we
should ever have moved the Boers out of the Colenso position with our
30,000 men; indeed, I hear that the German Attache said it was a
wonder, and that his people would not have attempted it under ten
times the number. As it is, we are all glad that General Buller has
succeeded.
_Tuesday, 6th March._--Nothing special to note except that wagons and
ambulances have been pouring out of Ladysmith down Grobler's Hill
during the last few days.
_Wednesday, 7th March._--In the afternoon General Coke kindly came to
wish me good-bye as his Brigade had received orders to sail for East
London, and at the same time gave me orders to proceed to Ladysmith.
Meanwhile the Naval Brigade under Lionel Halsey passed our camp on the
way to Durban, and we drew up to cheer them and received their cheers
in return. Poor fellows, they looked as weak as rats.
_Thursday, 8th March._--We left Colenso at 5.30 a.m. with the 73rd
Field Battery for Ladysmith. We were much interested on the Grobler's
Hill road to see the Boer trenches and shelters, which were simply
marvellous and made the place impregnable. The trenches were blasted
out of solid rocks, some 6 feet, and some 6 to 8 feet thick, of solid
rock and boulder; these were all sandbagged, fitted with shelters with
burrowed-out holes, and were extended for a front of half a mile
facing Colenso. On the other side of the road, slightly higher up, was
another line of similar trenches, while the road itself was defended
by a series of stone conning towers--to use a Naval term--all
loopholed and commanding the entire passage. It was a wonderful
revelation to us after the "prepare to dig trench" exercise prescribed
by our own drill book. The Governor of Natal, Sir Walter
Hely-Hutchinson, happened to ride by when our Naval guns were drawn
up, and when he found that I was in command he sent for me, was very
kind, and said he would write to my father to tell him he had seen me.
Although still feeling ill from dysentery I tried not to make much of
it, but I could no longer ride my horse so got on a wagon. We moved on
to Ladysmith at 4 p.m. and were much interested in the various hills
and positions _en route_; we passed over Caesar's camp, which we found
a very straggling uninteresting sort of place. The town itself lay on
the left and was now used as a hospital; we passed along over the iron
bridge where the troops from India were encamped, and much admired
their khaki tents and green ambulances; and climbing the hill leading
to the convent to join our Naval camp we found Ogilvy in command, who
said, much to my regret, that the men of the _Terrible_ who manned my
own and their guns, were ordered to be withdrawn for service in China.
_Friday, 9th March._--Having struggled long against my dysentery I am
now compelled to go on the sick list; and feel it to be a great blow,
after all my trouble and training, that my _Terrible_ bluejackets are
to go. Good fellows. It seems bad for the force, putting aside all
personal reasons, that all our trained men now well up to the country
we fight in, should thus suddenly have to go, and that Mountain
Battery gunners and others should be sent to fill their place. The
men, however, seem glad to go back to their ships after all their
severe work; and indeed the bluejacket is in some respects an odd
composition; he turns up trumps when there is work to be done, but he
is not always content with existing conditions and likes changes! Sir
Redvers Buller is very pleased with us, so says the Naval A.D.C., and
the telegrams just read out to the Naval Brigade from home are
extremely complimentary.
They are (1) from the Queen--"Pray express my deep appreciation to the
Naval Brigade for the valuable service they have rendered with their
guns"; (2) from Admiral Harris--"The Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty desire me to express to the Naval and Marine officers and
Bluejackets and Marines who have been engaged in the successful
operations in Natal and Cape Colony, the sense of their great
admiration for the splendid manner in which they have upheld the
traditions of the service, and have added to its reputation for
resourcefulness, courage and devotion"; (3) from the Vice-Admiral
Commanding Channel Squadron--"Very hearty congratulations from
officers and men to Naval Brigade." We were all pleased at these
wires, and especially that, among others, Sir Harry Rawson had not
forgotten us.
_Saturday, 10th March._--Alas, at last I have to go to our Field
Hospital much against my will, while to add to my sorrow all my good
men of the _Terrible_ are starting off to rejoin their ship. We were
all glad to-day to hear of Ogilvy's promotion to Commander for
distinguished service in the field. He thoroughly deserves it.
_Tuesday, 13th March, to Thursday, 22nd._--A bad time, and I can
hardly walk a few yards without being tired. While in hospital, about
the 15th, a frightful hailstorm came on, the hailstones being as big
as walnuts and even as golf balls; the horses in camp broke loose and
stampeded, tents were blown down and flooded; several poor enteric
patients died from the wetting, and we had a very bad time. Meanwhile
important changes have gone on; Ladysmith has been emptied of Sir
George White's troops; Sir Charles Warren and General Coke are gone to
Maritzburg; the Naval Brigade is broken up, and our Naval guns are
turned over, alas, to Artillery Mountain Batteries. Captains Scott and
Lambton are made C.B.'s; the _Powerful_ has left for England, and the
_Terrible_ leaves for China; our flag is hoisted at Bloemfontein, and
the tone of the Foreign Press has altered; still more troops are
pouring out from England, and we hear that 40,000 more men are to be
landed before April, which is a very good precaution.
_Friday, 23d March._--There are rumours that the Boers have evacuated
the Biggarsberg hills, and at any rate all our troops are moving on to
Elandslaagte. The Dublins celebrated St. Patrick's Day on the 17th
with great _eclat_, and all the Irish soldiers throughout Natal wore
the shamrock. They have behaved splendidly all through the operations
and it is a pity that the Irish nation is not more like the Irish
soldier.
_Sunday, 25th March._--Out of hospital to-day, but so weak that I can
hardly walk a yard, so I have to give in and go down country much
against my will. General Kitchener of the West Yorks told me of a
private house of the Suttons' at Howick, near Maritzburg, and strongly
advised me to go there; so I left Ladysmith on the 27th and got a warm
welcome from the Honourable Mr. and Mrs. Sutton and their family who
were most kind; and on the best of foods I soon began to pick up. The
house is a very pretty combined country and farm house facing the
Howick Falls, 280 feet high, of the Umgeni River. While here news came
of the disaster at Sanna's Post and the capture of 500 of the Irish
Rifles at Reddesberg, so we are all disappointed and think the end of
the war further off than we thought. My twenty-seventh birthday on the
1st April passed quietly in this peaceful spot, and after a pleasant
stay I left on the 13th, my lucky day, fairly well, although still a
stone under weight. I was very sorry to leave my more than kind
friends and hope to meet them again some day.
_Saturday, 14th April._--Reached Elandslaagte and rejoined the Naval
Brigade at the foot of the historical kopje which the Gordons and
Devons stormed in October last. The 4.7's are on top in sandbagged
emplacements, and the 12-pounders are in other positions on the right.
We are with General Clery, in General Hildyard's Brigade, and we hold
the right while Sir Charles Warren holds the left, of our long line of
defence. The Boers face us a long way off on kopjes north of us beyond
a large plain.
_Sunday, 15th April (Easter Day)._--All quiet here. About lunch time
Commander Dundas and Lieutenants Buckle and Johnson of the _Forte_
arrived to pay us a visit, and they were all very interested in what I
and others were able to show them.
_Tuesday, 17th April._--I feel much stronger and better now. Orders
having come for General Clery's Division to withdraw to Modder Spruit,
it did so at 6 p.m., leaving the Rifle Brigade and Scottish Rifles
with us, all under General Coke.
_Friday, 20th April._--Nothing moving in front. I have been given
James's guns to command as he has slight fever, and I have had all the
work and worry of dragging them up this kopje, making roads and gun
emplacements which are now too elaborate for my liking. Generals
Hildyard and Coke came to look at my gun positions and said they were
both glad to see me again; they have always been considerate and
perfect to work under. General Hildyard has now Sir Charles Warren's
(the Fifth) Division. I am very glad to be under him, although sorry
that Sir Charles Warren leaves us, which he does to administer the
Free State. Some sensation in camp to-day at Lord Roberts' comments on
Spion Kop; undoubtedly he is very sharp and mostly right; he is now
our one great hope out here and seems to be afraid of no one.
_Saturday, 21st April._--At daybreak we were hurried out by reports of
Boers in force to the front, and we saw several hundreds on the kopjes
at 8,000 to 10,000 yards. We are now in a position on the hill where
Elandslaagte was fought. The graves of some of our own men are here.
In the centre of the hill are those of the Boers, and the remains of
hundreds of dead horses and cattle are still lying about. The
collieries of Elandslaagte lie two miles to our left; and further
again to the left are the 5" military guns and two 12-pounders in
emplacements, while our own Naval 12-pounders and the 4.7's are on
this hill. Our right flank for some reason seems to be left
practically undefended. At 7 a.m. the Boers brought a 15-pounder
Creusot down on this flank and threw several shells just over us at
4,800 yards; our 4.7's and one of my own 12-pounders replied with
shrapnel and silenced it. The Boers appear to be in force in front,
moving backwards and forwards through Wessels Nek, so we have kept up
a desultory fire all day. At night they fired the grass in front of us
for about four miles; we were up all night expecting a night attack,
but none came; we were well prepared for it, as the hill was defended
by some 300 men in all round the guns.
_Sunday, 22nd April._--At daylight stood to our guns in a heavy mist
but no Boers reported. Received a box of fresh food from one of my
kind friends, Mrs. Moreton, daughter of Mrs. Sutton of Howick.
_Monday, April 23rd to Friday 27th._--Boers reported to be returning
on Newcastle. The long-expected presents from England for the Naval
Brigade from our good friends Rev. A. Drew, Miss Weston, Lady
Richards, and Mr. Tabor, have at last reached us from Durban, where
they have been lying for upwards of four months. As we have only sixty
bluejackets left up here we are overloaded. I took some tobacco, a
beautiful pipe in case, some books, and a neck scarf. After all this
kindness from friends at home what can we do for them in return? Poor
James, and also my servant Gilbert, have gone to hospital with
enteric. I am myself not much up to the mark but am thankful to have
command of guns again, and so try to keep well.
_Monday, 30th April._--No events of importance during the last few
days. Weather a trifle cooler. I rode over to the hospital on Saturday
to see Gilbert who is very bad, poor fellow, and will have to go home.
I gave him clothes and books and tried to cheer him up a bit. On my
return I found a fine large parcel of clothes from my own people at
home. Took the Naval Brigade to Church yesterday and marched past
General Hildyard afterwards.
_Sunday, 6th May._--Nothing has been stirring during this past week,
and we are getting rather weary of the quiet. We have news from home
of the Queen's inspection at Windsor of the _Powerful_ men and of a
fierce debate in Parliament on the Spion Kop despatches. We had our
own Church service to-day.