The English Swarm over our Country
On April 25th we arrived at Alexandrië, six miles from Thaba'Nchu. The
latter place was already occupied by English outposts. General Philip
Botha now joined me; he had been engaging the enemy in the triangle
formed by Brandfort, Bloemfontein and Thaba'Nchu. My commandos numbered
some four thousand men, and I decided that it was time to concentrate my
forces.
Lord Roberts was about to carry out the plans which he had formed at
Bloemfontein, namely, to outflank us with large bodies of mounted
troops. He attempted to do this to the north-east of Thaba'Nchu, but at
first was not successful. On a second attempt, however, he managed,
after a fierce fight, to break through our lines. It was during this
action that Commandant Lubbe was shot in the leg, and had the misfortune
to be taken prisoner. At Frankfort also, Lord Roberts met with success,
and General De la Rey was forced to retreat northwards.
I was now firmly convinced, although I kept the belief to myself, that
the English would march to Kroonstad; and I could see, more clearly than
ever, the necessity of operating in their rear. I had suggested to
President Steyn when he had visited us at Alexandrië, that I should
proceed to Norvalspont, or even into Cape Colony, but he was against any
such project. This, however, was not because he disapproved of my
suggestion in itself, but because he feared that the Transvaalers might
say that the Free-Staters, now that their own country was in the
enemy's hands, were going to leave them in the lurch. Yet in spite of
his opposition, I had ultimately to carry out my own ideas, for, even if
I was misunderstood, I had to act as I thought best. I can only say that
each man of us who remained true to our great cause acted up to the best
of his convictions. If the results proved disastrous, one had best be
silent about them. There is no use crying over spilt milk.
We now pushed our commandos forward to Zand River. At Tabaksberg General
Philip Botha had a short but severe engagement with Lord Roberts'
advanced columns. I was the last of the Generals to leave Thaba'Nchu.
I was very anxious to prevent the "granary"[37] of the Orange Free State
from falling into the hands of the English; with this object in view, I
left behind me at Korannaberg General De Villiers, with Commandants De
Villiers, of Ficksburg, Crowther, of Ladybrand, Roux, of Wepener, and
Potgieter, of Smithfield, and ordered the General to carry on operations
in the south-eastern districts of the Free State.
This valiant General did some fine work, and fought splendidly at
Gouveneurskop and Wonderkop, inflicting very serious losses upon the
English. But nevertheless he had to yield to the superior numbers of the
enemy, who ultimately gained possession of the "granary" districts. But
he made them pay for it dearly.
General De Villiers followed the English to Senekal and Lindley, and at
Biddulphsberg, near the first named village, he again engaged them
successfully, killing and wounding many of them. But a grave misfortune
overtook us here, for the General received a dangerous wound on the
head.
There was still another most deplorable occurrence. In some way or other
the grass caught fire; and as it was very dry, and a high wind was
blowing, the flames ran along the ground to where many of the English
wounded were lying. There was no time to rescue them; and thus in this
terrible manner many a poor fellow lost his life.
General De Villiers' wound was so serious, that the only course open was
to ask the commanding officer of the Senekal garrison to let him have
the benefit of the English doctors' skill. This request was willingly
granted, and De Villiers was placed under the care of the English
ambulance. Sad to say, he died of his wound.
Some time later I was informed that the man who had carried the request
into Senekal was ex-Commandant Vilonel, who was then serving as a
private burgher. A few days later he surrendered, so that one naturally
inferred that he had arranged it all during his visit to Senekal.
Shortly after he had given up his arms, he sent a letter to one of the
Veldtcornets, asking him to come to such and such a spot on a certain
evening, to meet an English officer and himself. The letter never
reached the hands of the person to whom Vilonel had addressed it; and
instead of the Veldtcornet, it was Captain Pretorius with a few
burghers, who went to the appointed place. The night was so dark that it
was impossible to recognize anybody.
"Where is Veldtcornet--?" asked Mr. Vilonel.
"You are my prisoner," was Captain Pretorius' reply, as he took
Vilonel's horse by the bridle.
"Treason! treason!" cried poor Vilonel.
They brought him back to the camp, and sent him thence to Bethlehem. A
court-martial[38] was shortly afterwards held at that town, and he was
condemned to a long term of imprisonment.
In the place of General De Villiers I appointed Deacon Paul Roux as
Vechtgeneraal. He was a man in whom I placed absolute confidence. As a
minister of religion he had done good service among the commandos, and
in the fiercest battles he looked after the wounded with undaunted
courage. His advice to the officers on matters of war had also been
excellent, so that he was in every way a most admirable man. But his
fighting career unfortunately soon came to an end, for he was taken
prisoner in a most curious way near Naauwpoort, when Prinsloo
surrendered.
I must now retrace my steps, and give some account of what I myself had
been doing during this time.
I proceeded to the west of Doornberg, and only halted when I reached the
Zand River. What memories does the name of that river bring back to me!
It was on its banks that in 1852 the English Government concluded a
Convention with the Transvaal--only to break it when Sir Theophilus
Shepstone annexed that country on the 12th of April, 1877. But this
Convention was re-established by Gladstone--greatest and noblest of
English statesmen--when he acknowledged the independence of the South
African Republic.
Here on the banks of this river, which was so pregnant with meaning, we
should stand, so I thought, and hold the English at bay. But alas! the
name with all its memories did not check the enemy's advance.
On the 10th of May Lord Roberts attacked us with his united forces; and
although his losses were heavy, he succeeded in breaking through our
lines near Ventersburg, at two points which were held by General
Froneman. And thus the English were free to advance on Kroonstad.
I gave orders to my commando to move on to Doornkop, which lies to the
east of Kroonstad. I myself, with Commandant Nel and some of his
adjutants, followed them when the sun had set. We rode the whole of that
night, and reached the township on the following morning. We immediately
arranged that the Government should withdraw from Kroonstad, and that
very day it was removed to Heilbron. President Steyn, however, did not
go to Heilbron, but paid a visit to General Philip Botha, whose commando
had held back the English outposts some six miles from Kroonstad.
The President, before leaving the town, had stationed police on the
banks of the Valsch River with orders to prevent burghers from entering
the dorp[39]; he had only just crossed the drift before my arrival. I
came upon some burghers who, as they had been ordered, had off-saddled
at the south side of the river, and I asked them if they had seen the
President. As they were Transvaalers, they answered my question in the
negative.
"But has nobody on horseback crossed here?" I said.
"Oh, yes! the Big Constable[40] crossed," one of them replied. "And he
told us not to pass over the drift."
"What was he like?" I inquired.
"He was a man with a long red beard."
I knew now who the "Big Constable" had been; and when I afterwards told
the President for whom he had been taken, he was greatly amused.
General Philip Botha discussed the state of affairs with me, and we both
came to the conclusion that if Lord Roberts attacked us with his united
forces, his superior numbers would render it impossible for us to hold
our disadvantageous positions round Kroonstad. We had also to take into
consideration the fact that my commando could not reach the town before
the following day. Whilst we were still talking, news arrived that there
was a strong force of cavalry on the banks of the Valsch River, six
miles from Kroonstad, and that it was rapidly approaching the town.
On hearing this, I hastened back to the south of the township, where a
body of Kroonstad burghers had off-saddled, and I ordered them to get
into their saddles immediately, and ride with me to meet the enemy. In
less time than it takes to describe it, we were off. As we drew near to
the English we saw they had taken up a very good position. The sun had
already set, and nothing could be done save to exchange a few shots with
the enemy. So, after I had ordered my men to post themselves on the
enemy's front till the following morning, I rode back to Kroonstad.
When I arrived there, I found that the last of the Transvaal commandos
had already retreated through the town and made for the north. I at once
sent orders to the burghers, whom I had just left, to abandon their
positions, and to prepare themselves to depart by train to
Rhenosterriviersbrug.
At Kroonstad there was not a single burgher left. Only the inhabitants
of the township remained, and they were but too ready to "hands-up."
One of these, however, was of a different mould. I refer to Veldtcornet
Thring, who had arrived with me at Kroonstad that morning, but who had
suddenly fallen ill. On the day following he was a prisoner in the hands
of the English.
Thring was an honourable man in every way. Although an Englishman by
birth, he was at heart an Afrikander, for he had accepted the Orange
Free State as his second fatherland. Like many another Englishman, he
had become a fellow-citizen of ours, and had enjoyed the fat of the
land. But now, trusty burgher that he was, he had drawn his sword to
defend the burghers' rights.
His earliest experiences were with the Kroonstad burghers, who went down
into Natal; later on he fought under me at Sanna's Post and
Mostertshoek, and took part in the siege of Colonel Dalgety at
Jammersbergsdrift. He had stood at my side at Thaba'Nchu and on the
banks of the Zand River. I had always found him the most willing and
reliable of officers, and he had won the respect and trust of every man
who knew him.
He was faithful to the end. Although he might well have joined our
enemies, he preferred to set the seal of fidelity upon his life by his
imprisonment. Long may he live to enjoy the trust of the Afrikander
people!
I remained late that evening in the town. It was somewhat risky to do
so, as the place was full of English inhabitants, and of Afrikanders who
did not favour our cause. In fact, I was surrounded by men who would
have been only too pleased to do me an injury.
I said farewell to Kroonstad at ten o'clock that night, and was carried
to Rhenosterriviersbrug, thirty-four miles from Kroonstad, by the last
train that left the town. But before I departed, I took care that the
bridge over the Valsch River should be destroyed by dynamite.
In the meantime, those portions of the Heilbron and Kroonstad commandos
which had gone into Natal at the beginning of the war, received orders
to leave the Drakensberg. Obeying these orders they joined me, and, with
my other troops, had occupied splendid positions on either side of the
railway line. Commandant General Louis Botha was also there with his
Transvaal burghers, having arrived in the Free State a few days
previously. Captain Danie Theron was still with me as my trustworthy
scout, and he constantly kept me informed of Lord Roberts' movements.
For a few days Lord Roberts remained at Kroonstad, but about the 18th
of May he again began to move his enormous forces. He sent out four
divisions. The first he despatched from Kroonstad to Heilbron; the
second from Lindley to the same destination; the third from Kroonstad to
Vredefort and Parijs, and the fourth from Kroonstad along the railway
line.
The two Governments had agreed that Commandant General Louis Botha
should cross the Vaal River, and that we Free-Staters should remain
behind in our own country. And this was carried out, with our full
approval.
The Governments had also decided that even if the English entered the
Transvaal, the Free State commandos were not to follow them. I had long
ago wished that something of this nature should be arranged, so that we
might not only have forces in front of the enemy, but also in their
rear. Thus the orders of the Governments exactly coincided with my
desires.
Lest any one should think that the Transvaalers and the Free-Staters
separated here on account of a squabble, or because they found that they
could not work harmoniously together, let me state that this decision
was arrived at for purely strategic reasons. We had now been reduced to
a third of the original number of forty-five thousand burghers with
which we had started the campaign. This reduction was due partly to
Cronje's surrender, and partly to the fact that many of our men had
returned to their farms. How, then, could we think of making a stand,
with our tiny forces, against two hundred and forty thousand men, with
three or four hundred guns? All we could do was to make the best of
every little chance we got of hampering the enemy. If fortune should
desert us, it only remained to flee.
To flee--what could be more bitter than that? Ah! many a time when I was
forced to yield to the enemy, I felt so degraded that I could scarcely
look a child in the face! Did I call myself a man? I asked myself, and
if so, why did I run away? No one can guess the horror which overcame
me when I had to retreat, or to order others to do so--there! I have
poured out my whole soul. If I did fly, it was only because one man
cannot stand against twelve.
After the Transvaalers had crossed the Vaal River, I took twelve hundred
men to Heilbron, where there was already a party of my burghers. General
Roux with other Free-Staters was stationed east of Senekal, and the
remainder of our forces lay near Lindley. But the commandos from Vrede
and Harrismith, with part of the Bethlehem commando, still remained as
watchers on the Drakensberg.
When I arrived at Heilbron, late at night, I received a report that
fighting was taking place on the Rhenoster River, between Heilbron and
Lindley, and that General J.B. Wessels and Commandant Steenekamp had
been driven back. But on the following morning, when the outposts came
in, they stated that they had seen nothing of this engagement. I
immediately sent out scouts, but hardly had they gone, before one of
them came galloping back with the news that the enemy had approached
quite close to the town. It was impossible for me to oppose a force of
five or six thousand men on the open plain; and I could not move to
suitable positions, for that would involve having the women and children
behind me when the enemy were bombarding me. I had therefore to be off
without a moment's delay. I had not even time to send my wife and my
children into a place of safety.
Our whole stock of ammunition was on the rail at Wolvehoek. I had given
orders to Mr. Sarel Wessels, who had charge of the ammunition, to hold
himself in readiness to proceed with it by rail, through the Transvaal,
to Greylingstad as soon as he received orders to do so.
But now the ammunition could not remain there, as Sir Redvers Buller was
gaining ground day by day towards the veldt on the Natal frontier and
the ammunition would thus be in danger of being taken. Therefore there
was nothing left for me but to get it through by way of Greylingstad
Station. It had to be done, and,--I had no carriages by which I could
convey it, as I had not sufficient hands to take carriages from the
trucks.[41] There was only one way (course) open; the commandos from
Smithfield, Wepener and Bethulie still had, contrary to the Kroonstad
resolution, carriages with them at Frankfort; I hastened to that village
and sent the necessary number of these carriages under a strong escort,
to fetch the ammunition from Greylingstad.
In order to do this responsible work I required a man whom I could
trust. Captain Danie Theron was no longer with me, because he, being a
Transvaaler, had gone with General Louis Botha. But there was another:
Gideon J. Scheepers.[42] To him I entrusted the task of reconnoitring
the British, so that the carriages which were going to fetch the
ammunition could do in safety what they were required to do, and I knew
that he would do it.
[Footnote 37: This "granary" lay in the Ladybrand, Ficksburg and
Bethlehem districts, and not only supplied the Free State, but also the
greater part of the Transvaal. If the districts of Wepener, Rouxville,
Bloemfontein, and Thaba'Nchu be included, this "granary" was the source
of a very large yield of corn, and there had been an especially rich
harvest that year. As the men were away on commando, the Kaffirs reaped
the corn under the supervision of the Boer women; and where Kaffirs were
not obtainable the women did the work with their own hands, and were
assisted by their little sons and daughters. The women had provided such
a large supply, that had not the English burnt the corn by the thousand
sacks, the war could have been continued. It was hard indeed for them to
watch the soldiers flinging the corn on the ground before their horses'
hoofs. Still harder was it to see that which had cost them so much
labour thrown into the flames.
In spite of the fact that the English, in order to destroy our crops,
had let their horses and draught oxen loose upon the land, there was
still an abundant harvest--perhaps the best that we had ever seen. And
so it happened that whilst the men were at the front, the housewives
could feed the horses in the stable. But Lord Roberts, acting on the
advice of unfaithful burghers, laid his hand upon the housewives' work,
and burnt the grain that they had stored.]
[Footnote 38: This Court was not composed of officers, but consisted of
three persons, one of whom was a lawyer.]
[Footnote 39: Township.]
[Footnote 40: Police Agent.]
[Footnote 41: Railway trucks.]
[Footnote 42: Everyone will know him, this brave man of pure Afrikander
blood, subsequently a famous Commander, a martyr. I appointed him
Captain of Scouts, and from the moment that he commenced his work I saw
that a _man_ had come forward. It was sad to think in what manner such a
man was deprived of his life. I shall speak more of him later on, for,
as our proverb says, "I had eaten too much salt" to pass over his career
unnoticed]