FROM COLENSO TO ESTCOURT.
'If thou hope to please all, thy hopes are vaine;
If thou feare to displease some, thy feares are idle.'
_Francis Quarles._
On October 28th Colonel Cooper arrived at Ladysmith from England and
took over the command from Major Bird. The battalion was able to rest
from the 27th to the 29th, and recover from the fatigue of the retreat
to Ladysmith.
The Headquarter Staff issued orders on the 29th for a general
movement, to take place the next day, against the enemy, who were
closing in on the town. The Dublin Fusiliers formed part of Colonel
Grimwood's brigade, which also included the 1st and 2nd King's Royal
Rifles, the Leicesters, and the Liverpools. The task assigned to
Colonel Grimwood was the capture of Long Hill.
In order to be in position for the assault by dawn, it was necessary
for the brigade to make a night march, and the battalion paraded about
9.30 p.m. on Sunday evening, the 29th October. It formed the rear of
the brigade, to which was attached a brigade of artillery. 'F' and 'B'
companies were left behind on piquet duty.
Owing to the difficulties inherent in a night march, and, perhaps,
also to faulty staff management, the artillery, the Dublin Fusiliers,
and Liverpool Regiment diverged from the route followed by the rest of
the brigade. As a result of this mistake the battalion took
practically no part in the battle of the 30th, but, after a vain
endeavour to find Colonel Grim wood's force, spent the morning lying
on the crest of a small ridge near Lombard's Kop. It came under shell
and long-range rifle fire, but lost no men. The attempt to drive back
the Boers was a failure, and the army fell back on Ladysmith about
mid-day. The battalion reached camp at 2 p.m. and was dismissed. All
ranks were somewhat tired, for the sun had been hot, and after dinner
sleep reigned supreme.
[Illustration: Railway Bridge at Colenso.]
But about 4 p.m. Colonel Cooper received from Headquarters an order to
proceed by train to Colenso, with the object of protecting the
important railway bridge which crosses the Tugela at that place. The
Natal Field Artillery, in addition to his own unit, was placed under
his command. On the receipt of this order, camp was struck, and the
tents and baggage sent down to the station. The piquets found by the
Dublin Fusiliers were ordered to be relieved by other corps, but
although 'F' company, under Captain Hensley, came in, Lieutenant H. W.
Higginson's piquet, on the ridge to the east of the cemetery, could
not rejoin in time, principally owing to the fact that the greater
part of the Gloucestershire Regiment, which had been detailed to find
the relief, had been captured at Nicholson's Nek. Lieutenant Higginson
and his men were thus left to share in the siege of Ladysmith. The
battalion transport, under Lieutenant Renny, also had to remain
behind. An account of their experiences during the siege is given by
Lieutenant Renny in Chapter IX.
With these exceptions the whole battalion marched down to the station
soon after 11 p.m., and was dispatched in two trains. As Boers had
been reported on Bulwana Hill during the afternoon, a certain amount
of risk seemed to attend the journey. There was nothing to prevent the
enemy from cutting the line at any point in the hilly country between
Ladysmith and Pieter's Station, while even a small hostile force could
have played havoc with the crowded trucks.
However, the enemy had luckily not penetrated to the railway line, and
after an uneventful, though unpleasant, journey, Colenso was reached
at 4.30 a.m. on the 31st.
The two railway bridges over the Tugela and Onderbrook Spruit were
already protected by a small force, consisting of the Durban Light
Infantry, a squadron of the Imperial Light Horse, and a detachment of
the Natal Naval Volunteers, with a gun. These units had made good
defensive works, notably Forts Wylie and Molyneux, guarding the
railway bridges over the Tugela and Onderbrook Spruit respectively.
We encamped some 300 yards south-west of Colenso, and the day (October
31st) was spent in making further defences, and dividing the garrison
into sections. Colenso was not, however, an easy place to defend. It
was commanded by the lofty hills on the left bank of the Tugela, and
by Hlangwane Hill on the right bank to the east of the village. The
garrison, moreover, was lacking in artillery, having only some
muzzle-loading guns with a very limited range. Colonel Cooper
telegraphed to Maritzburg asking for a naval twelve-pounder, which,
however, could not be obtained.
[Illustration: Major-General C. D. Cooper, C.B. Commanding 2nd Royal
Dublin Fusiliers in Natal.]
The necessity for such an addition soon arose. At 8.15 a.m. on
November 1st, the staff at Ladysmith sent a wire to say that a Boer
force had moved at daybreak towards Colenso. On receipt of this news
the garrison was warned to be ready, and patrols of the Imperial Light
Horse and the Mounted Infantry section of the battalion were
dispatched towards Ladysmith, Springfield, and the country beyond
Hlangwane. These patrols returned soon after 1 p.m., and the party
which had reconnoitred towards Ladysmith reported that it had come
into touch and exchanged shots with the enemy. Later on in the
afternoon, Lieutenant Cory, commanding the Mounted Infantry section,
went out again and reported that he had seen a hostile force,
estimated at 2000 men, which was off-saddled near the main Ladysmith
road, some six miles out. He had skirmished with the scouts of this
commando and had lost one man. Another wire came from Ladysmith at the
same time announcing that the enemy had guns. Our piquets were, in
consequence of these events, pushed forward to the horseshoe ridge on
the left bank of the Tugela, while the parties guarding the two
bridges (road and railway) over this river were reinforced. The night,
however, passed quietly.
Mounted patrols were sent out at dawn of the 2nd, and Lieutenant Cory
was able to report, at 6.45 a.m., that the Boers were still in the
same position. But two hours later he forwarded another message to the
effect that the enemy was advancing on Grobelaar's Kloof. Soon
afterwards distant rifle-shots were heard, and the Mounted Infantry
retired into camp. About 10 a.m. parties of the enemy appeared on the
top of Grobelaar's Mountain, and by the aid of a good telescope it
could be seen that they were busily engaged in digging. Their
intention was not long in doubt, for a thin cloud became visible on
the sky-line, and the next moment a shell buried itself in the
river-bank.
Colonel Cooper at once ordered the tents to be lowered and the
trenches to be manned. But the enemy made no signs of attacking
Colenso, and contented themselves by occasionally firing shells which
invariably fell short. The interruption of telegraphic communication
with Ladysmith soon after 3 p.m. proved, however, that the enemy was
not being idle. Groups of Boers could be seen on the hills overhanging
the railway, and a train carrying General French was shelled after
leaving Pieters. The activity of our foes assumed a more aggressive
character when, about 5 p.m., they began to bombard Fort Molyneux.
From Colenso the shrapnel could be plainly seen bursting over the
work, and the piquets on the left bank of the Tugela reported that
heavy rifle-fire was in progress. As the garrison of the fort
consisted only of eighty men of the Durban Light Infantry, some
anxiety was felt regarding their safety, and this uneasiness was
intensified by the arrival of one of the defenders, who announced that
the redoubt was hard pressed. Lieutenant Shewan, with one hundred men
mostly from 'E' company, was promptly dispatched to reinforce them in
the armoured train. He found that the fort had been evacuated, but
managed to pick up several of the garrison in spite of the enemy's
rifle and shrapnel fire. Captain Hensley, who was holding the
horseshoe ridge, also advanced with 'F' company, and, by firing
long-range volleys, helped to cover the retirement of the remainder of
the garrison, the whole of which reached Colenso in the night. Colonel
Cooper telegraphed an account of these events to Brigadier-General
Wolfe-Murray at Maritzburg, who replied at nightfall that, since the
safety of Colenso bridge was very important, he would send the Border
Regiment next day to reinforce the garrison. But no mention was made
of any artillery.
Colonel Cooper had now a difficult decision to arrive at. In front of
him lay a superior force of the enemy with guns far outranging his own
obsolete muzzle-loaders, and during the afternoon disquieting rumours,
which might be true, of another commando at Springfield had reached
him. Ladysmith was invested, and the small garrisons of Colenso and
Estcourt alone stood between the Boers and Maritzburg. Having
consulted the senior officers of the garrison, Colonel Cooper sent
another wire to General Wolfe-Murray explaining the situation, and in
reply was authorised to fall back to Estcourt if he could not hold
Colenso. About 10 p.m. he reluctantly determined to retire.
The mounted troops and the Natal Field Artillery went by road,
starting at midnight. It was decided to send the rest of the garrison
by railway, and the stationmaster at Colenso, with great energy,
succeeded in obtaining three trains which arrived in the early hours
of November 3rd.
The operation of entraining was at once commenced. The night was dark,
and the packing of all the tents, supplies, and equipment in the
trucks proceeded but slowly. The Natal Naval Volunteers had to bring
their nine-pounder gun down the steep slope of Fort Wylie, a task
requiring great care and time; the piquets on the left bank of the
river had to be withdrawn, and the two bridges guarded up to the very
last moment. Although everything was done in the utmost possible
silence, it yet seemed that the necessary shunting of the trains must
warn the Boers of the evacuation, and bring on an attack. But there
was no interruption, and the last train steamed out of Colenso station
half an hour before dawn.
Estcourt was reached two hours later. The little town was already
occupied by a detachment of the Imperial Light Horse and Natal Mounted
Rifles. During the morning there also arrived from Maritzburg the 2nd
Border Regiment,[2] afterwards to be the comrades of the battalion in
the 5th Brigade.
[Footnote 2: A great friendship sprang up between this
celebrated regiment and ourselves.]
Colonel Cooper took over the command of the garrison and immediately
set to work on the arrangement of the defences. The next day, however,
General Wolfe-Murray and his staff appeared on the scene. Estcourt had
thus the honour of having three different commandants in two days.