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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 i 6 w B( I IL C( ?e rs >f n : I Phofo by A'usse/i &• Sons, Londofi FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS COMMANDING THE IMPERIAL FORCES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 1' 1 1 !•: FIGHT FOR THE FLAG IN SOUTH AFRICA A HISTORY OF THH WAR FROM THF BOER ULTIMATUM TO THE ADVANCE OF LORD ROBERTS II V EDGAR SANDERSON, M.A. Ai:ril()K OK "A1UII.A IN iiii: mm:teentii ikntuky" "iiUITISlI I.Ml'lKK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ETC., ETC. WITH ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 1 KOM IJKAWINCS HV R. CATOX WOODVll.l.i:, MllLTOX PRIOR, STAXLIA' L. WOOD A. c. si'j'i'ixos wkioirr, w. iiathicri'.ll, j. fixxi:mor1'; oEOFi'Ri:v stkaiiax, w. n. woli.i.x, a. d. Mccormick, ri-.xi': hull AND OTlIKk 1:M1X1.XI ARilVLS, AXl) FROM I'lIOTOORAl'l IS TORONTO WILLIAM BRIGGS 1900 PRIMED UV IIAZELI., WAThOM, AND VINEY, LU., LONDON AN1> AYLESliUKV. CHAPTER I. Origin and Outbreak of the War. Origin of the South African Kcpiililiis— The Orange Free Slate -Convcnti ii of niocmfontcin— The South African i\i'|>ul)lic The S.iml River Cuiivenlion Kariy llisiury of iioers in Tratisvaxl I'orniatinn of State in 18O4 -Affair^ uiuler l'r^•^illl•nts Trelnrius and Hiirgci i Annexation of Transvaal by (ireat Hrilain in 1877— Krugcr ConicH to the i'ront — Hoer Protests a^;ainst Annexation Tiic Act Main- tained l)y British Ministers Mr. < II icInIuiu's Accession to i'ower I'oundation of lite AfriUamler Hond -Aims of the "Thorough Dutch'' I'arty (;eneral Jouberl's Declaralion -The Kevull in tlie Transvaal- Mr. (iladslone's Surrender after Majuha His Keal .Motive The Discovery of (lold in Transvaal (18S5) Its Kffecls on the Country The t'itlanders Their .Anomalous Position in Political Affairs The I'olicy of the Hoer Oligarchy— The " Jaineson Kaid " The lioer Plot .igaiict British Supremacy in South .Africa -Mr. Kruger in the l-ranchise Negotiations -The Successive Stages of Progress towards War .Attitmlc of Orange i'"ree State — March of Hoer Troops to Frontier iJoer Sei,?ure of Ould— The lioer Ullimalum -.Arrival of Refugees from the l\e|)uhlics on British Territory -Their Treatment hy Moers -The Outbreak of War I'eeling in British Isles — Colinial Loyalty Strikingly Displayed -Large Forces Mustered and Despatched to .South .\frica - The Boer .\rrnies Largely ('oMiposed of l''oreigners The Powerful .\rtillery of the Foe — Foreign Officers .Aiiiing Boers— The Difficulties ronfronting British .Armies -The Deliciencies in our Force First Hostile Acts of Boers— The .Ariu(aired Train at Kraaipan. TiiK imi)ortiint dates conccri^'ng the origin of the struggle l)etween (ireat Hritain and the two RepiibHcs of South Africa are 1836, 1852, 1864, 1880, and 1 88 1. These States had their ri.se in the great " trek," or migration, which began in 1836 from the northern and eastern districts of Cape Colony, and was spread over many sub- sequent years. British poUcy in colonial affairs has Ijeen in no part of the em[iire .so conspicuous for lack of wisdom and foresight as in South Africa, and it is in the perversity and folly of British statesmen and politicians that v/e find the chief causes of the serious trouble in which we are now involved. In February 1848, Sir Harry Smith, the British Governor of Cape Colony, issued a proclamation declaring the whole of the territory bounded on the south-west by the Orange River, on the north by the Vaal, and on the east by the Drakensberg Mountains, to be British territory, as " The Orange River Sovereignty." The Boer leader, Pretorius, induced his followers to m.ike an armed resistance, but they were severely defeated by Sir Harry Sinith, in August, at the Battle of Boomplatz, south- west of Bloemfontein, and the Boers fled beyond the Vaal, their places being taken by Britisli or l)y othiT settlers from Cape Colony well disposed to Britisli sway. Piy degrees a desire for .self rule atnong bolli British and I )ut(h settlers weakened the authority of the Cape Government, anil the hoine Government, rarely able to do the right thing in colonial affair.s, resolved on abandoning the territory, instead of retaining it with the concession of sf)me form of self rule. It was thus that, in February 1854, "The Orange Free State" arose. The measure was greatly opposed to public feeling in Cape Colony, and to that of many inhabitants of the territory, including .some of the Dutch settlers, but the Convention of Bloemfontein was signed in the face of all protest.s, and a fine region, nearly as large as England, was renounced within si.x years of its annexation. The South African Republic, popularly known as "The Transvaal," dates its political existence from 1852. The Boer leader, Pretorius, after the Battle of Boom- platz, was living to the north of the V^aal, a proscribed man with a reward of two thousand pounds offered for liis arrest. The danger to British authority arising from simultaneous wars with the Basutos and the Kafifins, and from a threatened alliance between the Boers and the able J'/Uh'o. by llariiuk Bri'!. PRESIDENT KRUGER. 6 Origin and Outbreak of the War ■^ Basuto chief, Mnshcsh, induced Sir Harry Sinilh to reversi- the sciUeiuc of outlawry. In J.inii.iry iH5j. th.it f'.ital dcMinni-nt, tlu- l.unnus S.nid Kimt Cun\iiuii»n, w.l^ sinmd, and the independencf of the Boers Ijcyond thf \'.i.d Kivcr was rrco^nised. 'I'his arranj^enunl was coiifirnitd hy Sir Harry Smith's successor, Sir ( liorgi' CJatlu art, and hy tlie home Government of Lord Aherdeen. 'I'he State whose troojjs have been lately dislinLiuislu-d by signal treachrry in regard u> llays of truce marked its larly history hy yross and systematic violation of the clause in the Convention which laid down that " No slaver* is or shall he |)er- mitted or practised in lie country to the north of the Vaal River hy the emigrant farmers.' The .South Afric.m Republic, .starting on its pcjlitical canter with a population of about fifteen thousand Hoers, or farmers, in a land well suited for most kinds of tillage and for pastor.il life, showed small capacity for self government. At first there were four executive heads — one for each of the leading fictions —and for a time there were four se|)arate- republics. This system caused a virtual anarchy, which drew to the territory the rascals of .South Africa, and gave the Transvaal a bad name for cruel treatment of the natives. In i860, the separate republics were united, and, after a civil war between the factions, peace was restored in 1864, under the presidency of Mr. .M. W. Pretorius, with Mr. Paul Kruger as commandant or military chief. There was no jiroperly organised system of rule, and unsuccessful war witli natives to the north from 1865 to 1868 left the State Treasury destitute of funds, and com[)elled the p;Uching uj) of a some- what ignominious peace. In social and political affairs, the conspicuous matters were dense ignorance of books and of all affoirs outside a narrow local circle, the lack of bridges over rivers, and the want of money in the Treasury for the erection of public offices and for the [)ayment of the paltry salaries of officials. The material wealth of the country grew in flocks and herds, and in the produce of a fcrtil" sod, and rude abuiul.mce existed on th-' ,oer firms. In 1876, under President Hiirgers, war .irosi' with a powerful native chief n.imed Sekukuni, ami an att.ick m.ide by a Hoer c om.n.mdo, led by the I'resident in person, sv.is re[)ulseil with loss. 'I'he defeat was attributed by the orthodox to the leadership of the agnostic ruler, a m.in who had been formerly a minister, and had aftciw.irds shown much ability in the (.-'a|)e ColoiiN l.iw courts. A'' chii'f oliici.il of the Transv.i.il he was a failure, and, in presence of a successful native chieftain, the State found itself penniless and wilhcnit an army. It was 111 this position of affairs that I-ord Carn.irvon, Hritish Secretary for the Colonies, decided ii|)()n annexation in the general interests of South Africa. He acted \ I From a Photo, by Itenlh, Plymouth. MAJOR -CKNKKAI, SIR Will, .AM HCTI-ER, Late CommanJer-in-Chief in ijoulh Africa. 8 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa on the advice of Sir Thcopliilus Shcpstone, Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, a man of unequalled experience and knowledge of South Afri('a. His reception in Pretoria, as special commissioner sent to make due inquiry into the wishes of the people, and his investigation of affairs, caused the liritish official, in April 1877, to proclain' the Transvaal to be Hntish territory. The Pre- sident, ilvigers, who really favoured annex- a«-ion, made .■, '"ormal protest, and retired to Cape Town on a pension. 'I'he Executive Council declared the annexation to he an petent leadership of Hritish soldiers and a change of policy in Downing Street, to re- store independence to the South African Republic. A second deputation to England, con- sisting of Paul Kruger and Pieter Joubert, presented memorials against annexation signed by over 6,500 i)ersons — practically tiiC whole rural population. A new Secre- tary for the Cclonies, Sir Michael Hicks- Heach, plainly refused the withdrawal of British sovereignty, while he promised a form of self government for the 'I'ransvaal Photo /'ji i\<;'ilie f. I:,iwitrd>. CO.MMISSIONER STREET, JOHANNESHURO. " act of violence," and at once despatclied the Vice-President, Paul Kruger, and the Attorney-General to London, to plead for its reversal. Their application was met by a firm refusal. ' 'here was one inatter, how- ever, in which Lord Carnarvon and his instrument. Sir Theophilus Stei)stone, were completely deceived. They knew really nothing of the feeling o.' the Pocrs in the country districts, the backljone of the Trans- vaal population, the men who furnished the bulk of the soldiens for the commandoes in time li war, the hardy class who.se skill in the use of the rifle was, along with incom- as " an integral and separate State " in a South African Confederation. No stei)s were taken by the British Government to draw up a new form of rule for the territory. Sir P)artle Frere, the High Cominissioner for South Africa, and his successor. Sir (larnet \V'olseley, gave positive assurances to the Boers that the Transvaal would re- main under British sovereignty. In Octol)er 1879, however. Sir Garnet felt obliged to report to the Colonial Office that "the main body of the Dutch population are disaffected to our rule," and at the close of that year, when a new Transvaal Government had Origin and Outbrealc of the War been constituted as that of a Crown Colony, with a nominated Ex- crutivc Council and Legislative Assembly, the Hoers, assembled in mass meeting, de- clared that they would not be subjects of the Queen. Hritish generals and soldiers in South Africa, and Hritish voters at home, had been un- consciously paving the way to a tlisastrous issue. The soldiers and generals, by the over- throw of Zulu power and the defeat of Sekukuni, freed the Boers from all need of Hritish help against neighbours with whom they could not cope. British voters, led astray by Gladstonian eloquence in the Mid- lothian camj)aigns, brought a new Minister to power with a vast majority at his back. He had denounced the annexation of the Trans- vaal in the strongest terms, and it was clear that his views concern- ing the Boers of the Transvaal were adopted by a large number of his British admirers. U'e must here turn aside for a moment to show why 1880 is a critical date in the history of South Africa. In that year the famous Afrikander Bond was founded. An Afrikander, in llie present meaning of tiie term, is a white person, mainly of Dutch or Huguenot extraction, who regards South Africa as his country and permanent abode. The Afrikaniler Bond started a new form of nationalism. One of its developments, r.ENKRAl. riKTF.U JOl'llKKr. embracing persons who look to Great 15ritain as the power which shall be supreme in South Africa, is such as we may well applaud, eniourage, and work with for the common benefit. The other Afrikanderism is that against whicii we are now fighting, and are bound to fight unless we are ready to let the British I'-mpirc col- lapse. These .Afrikanders, the thoroughly Dutch party, made skilful use of the annexation of the Transvaal, and the .Afri- kander Bond was formed in order to give vitality to the idea of a United South V I. \ i lO The Fight for the Flag in South Africa GKNKRAL PRETORIUS, Taken Prisoner at Elandslaagte, Africa under a repul)lican flag. At the time of the rebellion, (leneral Joubert declared that he was fightiiiL; for a universal Dutch Republic from the Cape to the Zambesi, and it is certain that since 1881 the dominating idea in the counsels of Pretoria has been a resolve to get rid, at all costs, of British sui)remacy in South Africa. The main cause of the present trouble must be sought, of course, in Mr. Glad- stone's surrender to successful rebels after Majuba. His conduct of affairs in that crisis of South African history was such as no man has ever been able to understand on any principles of sound policy. The great Liberal statesman was wholly incon- sistent with himself Disapproving the annexation, he maintained the measure, rightly enough, when he succeeded to power, and declined to restore indepen- dence to the Transvaal. The Boers took up arms, inflicted some defeats on small bodies of Britisli uuoms, and then found themselves fact to fixce vith Sir Evelyn Wood, backed by an army which would soon have made an end of them and all their pretensions. Then Mr. Gladstone, talking largely of " blood-guiltiness " and of a " policy of revenge," conceded, after defeat, what he had previous!)- refused. The lives of hundreds of British soldiers had thus been flung away, not for the first time in our history, through the conduct of jjoliticians who were unable to be wise in time. It has since transpired that it was not righteousness, as he asserted, but craven fear, which caused Mr. Gladstone to give way. He dreaded the influence of the Afrikander Bond ; he shrank before a possible outbreak in Cape Colony. It is, at any rate, certain that, if such an event had occurred, British power could have dealt with it far more easily than with the formidable forces which now con- front us in South Africa. A new era for the South African Re- public opened with the discovery in 1885 of the richest gold-field in the world, in the region whose centre is now the town of Johannesburg. The original Boer in- habitants of the country were swamped in numbers by the foreit;n settlers. These people, known as "Uitlanders" or "Out- landers " in Boer English, became objects of jealous suspicion to the Boers. The Dutch population remained sole possessors of political power. The new-comers were the creators of wealth, with the privilege of paying nineteen-twentieths of the taxes, 'i'he Boer oligarchy, possessed at last of the sinews of war, proceeded to use them, as we have found to our cost, in secretly providing vast armaments and munitions. Their system of rule became intolerable, and the only hope of redress lay in the granting of a franchise in a form, and C.KNERAl, CRONJK, A Boer Leader in the Last and Present War. Origin and Outbreak of the War II to an extent, such as to confer on Uit- landers a fair share of controlling power in the Volksraad, or Parliament. All such concessions were steadily refused by the selfish and corrupt oligarchy which held power by the gross violation of republican principles. The "Jameson Raid "of 1895 was a mere symptom of the diseased con- dition of affairs. It was not the cause of the Boer armaments, as the sympathisers with our country's foes aver. The accumu- In briefly dealing with some matters antecedent to the outbreak of war, we purposely decline to have anything to say in detail concerning the dijilomatic dis- cussions as to the franchise. Mr. Kruger was throughout playing with Mr. Chamber- lain, or thought that he was, since it is not exactly a matter of course that Mr. Chamberlain was deceived. The Boer war party never intended to make any real concession of the franchise, and, seeking to Photo, by Sn'itU P. Howards, THE RAAUZAAL, OR I'ARLIAMENT HOUSE, PRETORIA. lation of the weapons of war had been begun long before the date of that hapless enterprise, and had been concealed with a success which was, at a later day, to give a very unpleasant surprise to the supporters of British supremacy in South Anica. When the curtain rose we had ample proofs of an unscrupulous and daring plot, long and carefully matured, directed against the continued existence of British power in that quarter of the world, and, by consequence, against the cause of real progress and civilisation. gain time, hoping for European interven- tion, and looking to overt rel)ellion in Cape Colony, if not also in Natal, made offers which were utterly futile, ^\'e may note that on May 30th, 1899, Kruger and Sir Alfred Milner, the ]!ritish High Com- missioner, reached Bloemfontein for a conference on the franchise and on other matters concerning the interests of the Uitlandcrs. On June jth the conference ended, and two days later official statements showed that the discussion had failed in its object. Diplomatic communications u H 7. O u. o _) o t6 V. NAPAl.. «3 M The Fight for the Flag in South Africa passed between the Transvaal (iovern- ment and the Britisli Colonial Secretary, and it became clear by degrees that a peaceful solution would be very difficult, if not impossible. The British Government, with an eye to contingencies, reinforced the slender garri- son in Cajjc Colony, and arrangements were made for the des|)atch of a contingent of Imperial troops from Bombay to Natal. On August 19th General Sir F. Forestier- Walker sailed from Southampton to assume charge of the forces in Cape Colony. On August 29th the state of affairs had be- come so menacing that Uitlander families began to leave Pretoria. In the course of September, the troops from India, about six thousand men of all arms, arrived at Durb'in. On September 28th the Raad, or Parliament, of the Orange Free State decided to support the South African Republic in the event of war with Great Britain. On October 2nd Boer troops began their journey from Pretoria and other quarters to the borders of Natal in the northern angle. Two days later the Boer Government caused the seizure of about half a million sterling in gold from the Transvaal mail train for (!ape Town. A pause in the negotiations between Mr. Kruger and Mr. Chamberlain had come, and our Colonial Secretary was understood to be framing new proposals, when, on October nth, the world was startled by the tidings of the South African Republic's famous " ultimatum." That remarkable document, received at the Colonial Office in London on the morning of October loth, graciously accorded to the British Government the space of about thirty hours for consideration, the time limit expiring at five p.m. at Pretoria, or about three p.m. in London, on October nth. The Boer forces were, at the time of the issue of the ultimatum, in tlireaten- ing proximity to Mafeking, on the border between Bechuanaland and the Transvaal ; to Kimberley, on the border separating Cape Colony and the Orange Free State ; and to the narrow northern end of Natal, the triangle running up between the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The text /Vi.iM, />_). X,-:i/U P. i:,H,;trJi. A BOER CO.MMANDO GOING TO THE 1 KONT. Origin and Outbrealc of tlie War 15 ■'*-iunted Infantry, was exactly suited to their equip- ment and to the nature of the country in which, at the outset, they were waging war — but against a European element in positions of command, whose presence was equivalent to a reinforcement of many thousands of men. These facts are almost of themselves sufficient to account for the checks and disasters experienced by the brave, and on ordinary fields of warfare, skilful and experienced officers and men who were sent forth to uphold the honour of the British flag in South Africa. It must, however, be admitted that our forces were by no means amply supplied in two departments with the armament needful to ensure rapid success against Origin and Outbreak of the War 17 hrotit a Vfioto. f>v li. H. rrtikrr. IMF, MARKF/r I'l.ACK. MAFKKIM; such foes as the Boers, aided as has hten above indicated. We were deficient in light cavalry for the puri)oses of scouting and of rapid pursuit, and in Mounted Infantry as a force for roping with foes so numerous and so mol)ile as the Boers, capabK,' of passing at speed from one end to the other of an extensive oattle-field, and thus enabled, from time to time, to surjirise, surround, and overwhelm de- tached bodies of infantry, unsup])orted by cavalry or by the swiftly moving guns of liie Royal Horse Artillery. It may l)e noted here that the Britisii lanil forces were, from the beginning of the war, aided bv Naval Brigades from the fleets at Sinionstown ((!ape of (iocjd Hope) and at Durban, and that the naval guns in charge of the gallant Briti.sh Tars rendered es- sential service against the long-range artillery used by the Bolts. Before entering on the first part of our subject, the earlier operations in Natal, wr may record that the first act of war ^ * Fioiii II I'ltoln. by (,. II. I'rul-er. THK FORT, MAFlCKINt; i8 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa Photc, by Coivtll, Siiillit. GENERAl, SIK CKOKCIK WIIITK, Conimandiiif; in Natal ut the Outbreak of the War committed l)y tlie Hoc. was the seizure, on October iitli, of a Natal tniiin pro- ceeding from Ladysmitli to Harrismith, a town about thirty miles by rail within the Orange Free State. On the afternoon of the same day, Natal was invaded by forces from the Transvaal, who occupied Laing's Nek, a few miles north of Majuba Hill, and were seen marching south towards Ingogo, on the way to Newcastle. All railway rolling stock was at once ordered down to the smith of Newcastle, and many of the inhabitants of that little town (|iiitte(l the phut- rather than await the arrival of the foe. The first shots of the war were fired far away to the north-west, l)c- yond the Orange l-'rce State and the i'ransvaal. On Thursday, October 1 2th, the enemy crossed the frontier into Cape Colony, and occupied the railway in force between Mafeking and Vryburg, a town about ninety miles to the south-west, on the way to Kimberley. An armoured train on its way from Vryburg to Mafeking was conveying two seven-pounder guns, sent from Cape Town to strengthen the Mafe- king works. At Kraai- ])an siding, about forty miles south of Mafeking, the train ran off the rails, from removal of some of the metals by the Hoers. There were fifteen men in charge of the train and its freight, commanded by Captain Nesbitt. A heavy fire was opened on the train from nine-pounder guns in position for the purpose, and from rifles. From midnight until five in the morning the brave little band of Britons kept uj) a return fire, inflicting .serious loss on the enemy, but were taken prisoners when their leader had been severely wounded, and several of the men were disabled. 4^ ; men CHAPTER II. I The Invasion of Natal. Early Operations, Invasion of \aial from North and North-West— (ieography of the Scene of Action— The British Forces in the rieid I'lKri' At La(iy>n)ilh— At (iiencoe -Natal TriMtjis -(iiiurai Sir (;ci>rj{c White Sir Arihiliaid liiintLr -The Hoer Advance on Dundee The Free Slaters' Advance from the West- Smart I'.nnanement at Aclon Homes -The Hatlle of (dencoe (Dundee, or Talana Mill) -(ieneral Symoiis in ("oniniand -Uoer (iuns Silenced Advame of British Infantry Sharp Fire of British duns— The Talana Hill I'cjsition — The Attack hy our Infantry Synions Mortally Wounded -The Men I'ause under t'over -The Final Rush hy the KiHes and Fusiliers The Position C!nrried — *' Tonnnies " on Boer I'onies — Success not Complete -Boer Trickery Capture of Hussurs and Mounted Infantry (Ireal Loss of Officers The \ ictory not of I'ermanenl Value — Colonel Vule ii> Command — His Skilful Relreal to Ladysmilh before Super' - Forces--(Jlencoe ami I)unMnilli Iroin tlii.' mutli, .md ciiIltihk the 'I'ligcla about ti-ii milts north-cast of ("olcnso; the Mooi Kiwr. nimiiiit; mirth east alioiit ii\i«lw.iy Ixtwivn lv-.trourt ami drcytown : ami MiiNhman KivtT. passinj; hy i:,slt oiirt, ami, with .1 iiorlhiastirly (•oiirsf, through Ulviuii, ami rnliMiin tlu' Tii^rla at a |)oint ahoiit twent) miles tliie ea^t ul (j)kiiM). The railw.iy liiu"^ apiK.ir on the map, tlir sitiioiii whicli ((inccrn this part ot our record Weiny the line ninnin}; north-west ami north Irom Pittermarit/- hiirj; to Lady^mith, es- pecially the northern part Irom I'^stcourt to Ladysmith ; and the railway north-east hoiii Ladysmith to (Ueiicoc Junction, with the ei;;ht mile hranch eastwards Irom the junction to huiulee and the coal- fields lyinj; south of that town. At tiie time of the invasion of Natal on October 12th, the liriti>h force numbered about fifteen thousand men. At Ladysmith, the force 1 IIK I \l I. M Al'iu (;|..\i;ka| ■^IK \\. I'. -^YMdNs, Moi tally Wounded in Aitimi. MoUMlid iiifantrv, the iSth Mn^s,lrs. some Natal Mounted \dlunle.Ts, a tield hospital corps, .ind three field batlerii's. Some humlreds of colonial N'ohmleiTS were at Ksleourt and ( olenso ; at I'ii-tcrmaril/burg were the ^nd King's Koyal killes and the Imperial Light llorsc The Natal colonial troops inchuled, besides those iiuntioned abovi', the Home (liiard Kille Assoeiatittn (mounted), for tiu' protection of the (apital, tlu' C'aiabineers, and the Natal Mounted Infantry. The last two boilies of men are described as riinarkably smart and lit lor work, line riders, and e.Mellent as rille shots. The imperial Light Horse, a splendid force, e\- eeedi'd right hundred men, and there was also a body of men known .is the Border .Mounlid Ritles, uselul as scouts and as sup- ])orts of cavalry out- posts. 'I'lu- officer in com- mand of all the troops in N.ital at the outset was (leiieral Sir (leorge Stewart White, \'.(J., (l.C.IL, c.c.Li:., (l.tJ.S.I. This distin- guished man, born in 1S35, enteii'd the Army of about nine thousand troops ineludeil from .Sandhurst m 1^5 5, served iluring the battalions of the Liverpool Regiment and War of the Indian .Mutiny with tlie 27th the Ciordon llighlaiulers, the 1st Devon- shires and I St (Uoiicesters, the 1st Royal Irish I'L'.siliers, the 5th Lancers, and the ii^tli Hussars; three fiekl b.illeries, a battery of Natal .Artillery, a mountain battery, and two guns of liie Natal Nav.d Re.serves " thirty-two guns in all, with si-veral eom[)anies of Mounted Infantry, a hospital and veterinary corps, a company of Royal Engineers, and the Natal Mounted A'olunteers. At Glencoe, a force of over Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and with the (iordon Highlanders in the .\fghan War of iSjS So. He look part in tin; famous march from Kabul to Kandahar ; was Urigadier-Ciener.d in the Hurmah War of 1885 6; and filled the high post of ('om- inander-in-C!hief in Inilia from 1893 to 189S. His Chief of the Staff in Natal was Sir Archibald Hunter, K.C.H., born in 1856, entering the Army in 1874. He was wounded in I'-gypt at the battles four thousand men comprised the ist of (liniss, 1885, and of Toski, 1889. Leicestershire, the 1st King's Royal Rifles, (lovernor of Dongola Province and Com- the 2nd Dublin Lusilier.s, some companies of mandant of the Frontier Field Force from The Fight for the Flag in South Africa iS()C5 to 1899, he l)LTainc, in the l:ist year, (iovcrnor of Omdurman. Sir (iL'(jr,m.' White's suliordinatcs were (leneral Symoiis and Colonel Yule. 'I'he former was in command of the troops at (llencoe, aitled by Yule, in command of a brigade. Newcastle was occupied on October 14th by a commando of i?oers under Command- ant Ben Viljoen, and two days later a body I -adysmith, and at lUster's station, (in tin railway about fifteen miles north-west of head(iuarters. .\bout five hundred men of the Natal Carabineers and Horder Mounted Kitles were engaged nearly all day against some two thousand of the eni-my. and gave an excellent show of the (juality of the colonial Volunteers. Tlu' iJoers, adopting cunning tactics, constantly tried outllanking A I'KIVAIK IN llir. NAIAI. CAKAlil N KKKS, IN IIKAVV .MAK(IIIN(; OKUKK of the enemy was reported at Dannhauser station, about fifteen miles north of (Uencoe Junction. An exodus of civilians began from Dundee to the south, and, in view of immediate hostilities, the Imperial Light Hor.se moved from Pietermarit/burg to the front. 'I'he first fighting in the Natal cam- paign occurred on October i8th, when Sir Cleorge White's outposts came into conta(.-t with the Frew State forces at .Xcton Homes, a village about twenty-five miles west of on right and left, and strove to draw the Natal men into traps. All these efforts were steadily and warily foiled, a Maxim gun being of great service in ilealing with attempts to cut off [)arties of men and in stopping sudden rushes of the foe. The enemy's superior force at last compelled Major Ruthven, commanding the Mounted Rifles, to order a retreai, which was effected without difficulty. The loss was trifling on either side. l,ieutenant Royston, of the ■i*?»». tion, (111 the jrth-wcst of Ifud men of cr Moiintc'J (lay at^ainst y, and gave ility of the •s, adopting outflanking c c a c H > r > z > ai 24 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa Riflps, j^allantly aidfd llic escape of a di.-,- niounted trooper, carryinn iiiiii off in safely under a heavy fire. Tlie pariv readied Ludysmith at tliree in tlie morning on October lyth, after being tliree days and two niglits in the saddle, and foodless for twenty-four hours. More serious work was at hand in the neighbourhood of Dundee. The first important action in the war was that variously known as the •" liattle of Cilencoe," or "Battle of Diuidee," or '•Battle of Talana (or Intalana) Hill, " this last position being that stormed by the British troops. On October 20th the British force — al)out four thoii.sand men — was encamped east of (llencoe Junction, north of the branch line to Dundee, under the command of Major-Cieneral Sir \\'illiam Symons, k.C.l>., a veteran of the Zulu ^V'ar, of P)Urmah, and of the Nortii-West Frontier in India, who entered the Army in 1863. His ability was recognised by Lord Roberts, and he rendered good ser- vice in India, as Assistant-.Xdjutant-Oeneral, in the reform of rifle practice. Himself one of the best shots in the .service, he ever strove to make the men under his command good marksmen, and also took a deep interest in mounted infantry as a valuable species of force. He had the reputation of being cool, resolute, and ])rompt in command, and he displayed these (jualities on the fir.st — and, as it unhappily proved, the last — occasion of his appearance on the field of battle in the war. At about half-past five in the morning, several Boer long-range guns posted on Talana Hill, about a mile to the north of Dundee village, oi)ened fire and dropi)ed shells into the British camp. The missiles did not burst and no man was hit 1)\' the earlier shots. Within a few minutes, three field batteries — the 13th, 67th, and 69th — manned by some of the finest gunni,'rs in the British service, were making effective reply. Shell after shell was planted right in the midst of the Boers, and their range and aim becami; rajjidly worse. In half an hour several of the eni*my's guns were siieiueil — either disabled by our shells or deserted by their own gunners. Half an hour lalt;r their artillery ceased to fire, antl ( leneral Symons issued orders in rapid succession for an advance of the infantry. The Dublin Fusiliers moved towards the enemy's right flank on the hill, the King's Royal Rifles were in the central attack, the Royal Irish Kusiliers on their right, to assail the Boer left. 'I'he sky at this tune became overcast, and mist began to settle on the sides of the hills. There were Boer columns menacing our position a few miles away to the south at Biggars- drift, and to the north, and the Leicester Regiment, the 18th Hussars, the Natal Volunteers, and the Mounted InHintry, were left on guard in and near the camp, with the 67th Battery. The other two batteries moved forward to co\er the advance of the infantry over about two miles of broken ground, and the guns were unlimbered in the enemy's front just outside Dundee, to the east. For a full hour the gunners maintained a terrific and sustained fire upon the hill and upon the slope behind tlie crest where the Boers awaited attack. About eight o'clock, part of a Boer column from the north appeared on a hill to the west of the British camp, but the enemy were soon driven off by the fire of the 67th Battery. Meanwhile, the two battalions of Fusiliers and the Rifles were advancing in perfect order in skirmishing line, taking shelter under every bit of cover from the hail of rifle and Maxim bullets poured down on the plain. Talana Hill rises about eight hundred feet above the level, the distance to the top being more than a mile. The first j)art of the ascent is gentle, over open ground, to a homestead known as Smith's Farm, surrounded by a wood broken up by clearings. Above the wood the ground is rough and rocky, and the a.scent is steep. Half way up again from this point a thick stone wall runs round the hill, forming the fringe of a wide terrace of open ground. Above the terrace the ascent is almost perpendicular, and at the i ^ il The Invasion of Natal ur sliells or . Half an icd to fire, lers in rapid he infantry, towards the the King's itral attack, their right, sky at this U began to Is. There •ur position at Biggars- e Leicester the Natal 1 Infantry, ■ the camp, other two cover the about two the guns i front just For a full :errific and upon the the Boers :lock, part appeared sh camp, off b)- can while, ;ind the order in er every rifle and plain, hundred e to the he first 'er open Smith's oken up ground icent is is point le hill, race of ce the I at the I. top was the Bot^r [losition. on the flat so often forming the summit of South African hills. Such a [)osilion, defended by rifle- men and Maxims, should have been im- pregnable, and it showed General Symons' Majuba." If that be so, his object was most fully and nobly attained through the well-directed valour of the men whom he commanded. As the infantry advanced, the order V. r. \ P/iot.K ty J. IVa'Unt lUadUy, llui-v.t!: ROVAI. DUBLIN KUSU.IKKS KKTC RNI.NC Al rKk Ol ll'OST nurv AT (U.K.NiOK. and obliged to quit the field. His fate was a hard one in some resjjccts. His first battle in South Africa was ins last. 'L'hat battle was a victory for the Ikitish arms, and the victor had to die, three; days later, a prisoner of war in the enemy's hands. He was deeply and snicerely mourned by his Sovereign, his comrades, and all iiatriotic Britons. It was ai)out eleven o'clock, five hours from the time of the first advance of the hours on emp.y stomachs, resolved on a final rush to make an end. Signals were made from the stone wall tor our artillery to cease fire, and then the men, scaling the wall, dashed across the terrace of open ground, and began the almost sheer ascent of the last forty yards of the hill. Falling by scores, the brave I'usiliers and Rifles W(jn their way and carried the position with a bayonet charge, which the Boers did not care to await. The ground was up y.ird hy rover from stoiiL' wall an hour or impossible, bit (jf his Jn "bla/cd when the (1 all those ^^pw^ ^ •-'(1 on a Us were artillery scaling of open r ascent I'alling Rifles position Boers nd was } I-t\'iii ii Pfaiiint; by Sta'n'fy J H'.irj " A I llAV. ■J- 2S The Fight for the Flag in South Africa found fovcrcil willi (.\ciH\ and uoundi-d iniMi, Mauser ritk's, .uid aniinunilinn cases. Iioer ponies wliich li.id lost their owners were careering wildly lo and frtj, and the tragic and the comic elements were inter- mingled in the sight of British infantrymen riding about on captured steeds amidst tlie wreck of a battle lost and won. The day of the IJattle of Dundee was, however, by no means one of the complete success which might ha\e been attained, and it closed with a small disaster to the British fonx' engaged. The loss of our commander's services early in the day pro- bably prevented full advantage being taken ot the enemy's di.scom- titure at Talana Hill, and it is .said that the Boers esca|)ed destruc- tion through the hoist- ing of a ilag of truce, under pretence of an armistice for the bury- ing of the dead. The tk lay thus occasioned enabled them to escajjc being surrounded on their right tlank. The first accounts of the acti(jn stated the capture of six of the enemy s gun.s, but if that were the case, the weapons were afterwards retaken, probably in con- nection with what befell the iSth Hussars and the Mounted Iniantry. l>efore the storming of the hill, that force, quitting their position at the cam[), where their services were no longer needed, made their way round to the enemy's rear, captured many of the ponies on which the lioers ride to battle, and stampeded many others. 'I'his was good work, but the matter ended badly through British lack of caution, and, it must be admitted, Boer cunning and tenacity in the hour of defeat. Our mouiUed men pursued rashly, and were caught in a lra|), with the result that />/;,>/,.. h' IV /Vi- (JKNERAI. .1. II. YLM.I-: Who took over General the Kourth many went as prisoners to Pretoria. This loss included a whole sipiadron of the 1 8th Hussars, about eighty officers and men, among whom were FJeut. -Colonel Mcjller, who hatl been twenty-si.\ years in the regiment, Major (Ireville, and Captain Pollock. The Mounted Infantry officers taken by the enemy included Captain Lonsdale and three lieutenants of the Dublin Fusiliers, and a lieatenant of the Royal Rides. A[)art from this, the victcjry of Dundee was purchased by the loss, in addition to (leneral Symons, of 32 officers (a very large proportion, due to the reckless courage with which the leaders e.xpo.sed them- selves, instead of seek- ing cover along with their men) and 182 men killed and wounded. The Battle of Dundee was a tactical, but not a strategical, success ; that is to say, the victory had no influence on the general issue of the campaign. It had made an end of Boer braggadocio concerning Majuba, and had dis- ])layed to th(jse uncouth and ignorant warriors the real quality of the British soldier under proper leading. After the disablement of (leneral Symons, Colonel Yule, as Brigadier- ( leneral, succeeded to the command of the little army at (llencoe camp, and he quickly found his position untenable in presence of greatly su[jerior forces. Indeed, if the Boer generals had acted in unison, and had shown in the field due enterprise and skill, they might have surrounded and destroyeti, or forced to surrender, the whole of Yule's command. That officer saved his army by retreating from Dundee on October 22nd. Instead of taking the nearest course along the railway, he made a detour on the Helpmakaar road Syniuns' CoiiiiiKind of Division. )ria. This m of thr ificers and it.-CohniL'l X years in (1 Captain ry officers 1 Captain s of the :nt of the ;he victcjry le loss, in 32 officers troportion, reckless which the sed them- 1 of seek- ong with .1 182 men inded. )f Dundee , but not success ; say, the influence 1 issue of It had of Boer oncerning had dis- uncouth warriors :y of the r under L-nient of Wigadier- mand of and lie nable in Indeed, 1 unison, ■nterprise ided and der, the it officer 1 )undee taking way, he aar road ki^\f/-r-' 29 .".o The Fight for the Flag in South Africa !)>• way of Huith and the valleys of the Waschhank and Sunday Rivers. 'I"hc journey was very toilsome and distressing. 'Vhv weatlier was wretched. .Manv streams had to he forded, sometimes with water waist hii^h, l)Ul the enemy, deceived by the British 'eader's choice of route, made no appearance, and, on the a^th, the little column arrivetl safely at I,adysmith and effected its juncticjn with (leneral White. .Skill and resource had thus a\erted a serious loss to the overmatched British forces defending Natal. The Hoer com- mandoes around (ilencoe numbered at least thirteen thousand men, and that place and Diuidee, on Yule's retreat, were occu])ied by the enemy. 'I'he British wounded had been, perforce, left behind, and it was on the day of the occupation of Dundee, October 23rd, that (leneral Svmons, as already stated, succumbed, to his wound. We must now turn to the proceedings of (leneral White near Lady- smith, involving some of the most striking episodes in the earlier [)art of tiie war. On Saturday, October 21st, the day following the Battle of I )un(lee, a Boer army advancing from the north assailed the camp at (Hencoe with shell fire at long range. There were, in fact, three Boer forces or invading columns, two of which did not reach the scene of action in time to take any important |)art in the fight at Talana Hill. It was this jjroof of the enemy's presence in greatly superior numbers which caused the prudent and timely retreat of Oeneral Yule, and the road was thus left open for a rapid advance of the Boers along the line of railway from (iler.coe Junction to Ladysmith. An advance in that direction had, indeed, tjeen made prior to Yule's retirement, and this movement promptly led to the brilliant British success known as the Battle of Elandslaagte. Sir George White, on learning the enemy's presence in force on the line, their capture of a train, and their " looting " of the stores, railway station, and mining office at Elandslaagte, about fifteen miles northeast of Eailysmith, at once preparctl for an attack. At four o'clock on the morning of October 21st, a British force of all arms marched, steamed, and rode out of Ladysmith under the command of (leneral French. .\ beautiful scene of early morning on the veldt greeted the eye as the men drew near to Modder Spruit station, ten miles on the way to the battle-ground. The yellow-brown of the landscape was streaked here and there, in low-lying spots, after the recent rain, with lines and putclies of vivid green. .Vhead, beyond the tlat or gently undulating veldt, in the middle distance were hills peaked or flat topped, the horizon view being that of mountains purple under clouds or light bliie in the rays of the South African s[)ring sun. The early part of the day was occupied in reconnoitring, skirmishing with outlying jiarties of Boers, and halting for rest and concentration at Modder Sjjruit, a name which means simply " Muddy Brook." At about half-i)ast one, the British force went ahead from the station, comprising, at this stage of affairs, the Devonshire Regiment, half battalions of the Man- chesters and the (lordons, a British and a Natal field battery, a squadron of the 5th Lancers, four scpiadrons of the Imperial Light Horse, and some Natal Carabineers. The Boers were in some force on ridges running parallel to the railway line, but about two o'clock they retired before an outflanking movement of Lancers to their left, and the advance up the hill of the dismounted Carabineers. The main body of the enemy was now known to be strongly entrenched on the hill lying a mile and a half south-east of Elandslaagte station, and at half-past two a hot fire, opened against the British left, showed their pos- session of several guns, which dropped shells with accurate aim at a range of about two and a half miles. General French, seeing the nature of the work before him, had already telephoned from the field to Ladysmith for reinforcements, and a pause was made for their arrival. 3 3 > a. 3 prepared k on the tish force and rode iimand of le of early le eye as -T Spruit \' to the n of tile there, in rain, with Ahead, ing veldt, )eaked or g that of or light African occupied outlying rest and a name Hrook." ish force inprising, vonshire Man- and a the 5th mperial )ineers. ridges ne, hut fore an to their of the n body strongly ile and station, opened sir pos- ropped nge of jcneral work d from meuts, arrival. X O ■y. > V. > - X 3 w' -j E 5 n O ° '^. > r o. < "* s <■■' 31 33 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa IIKMCRAI. KOCK, Who Died of his Wounds, after being Taken I'risoncr at Elandnla:igtc. 'I'lic fresli incn included ;i squadron of the 5th Dragoon (luards, armcil with lances, and a British field battery of Hftcen-pounders. At half |)ast three (leneral White arrived on the rteld, about the time when the main work of the day was beginning. With his usual chivalrous generosity, th' superior officer declined to interfere, telling French " this is your show,'" and leaving to that able commander the whole conduct and credit of the day's operations. We may here state that the infantry were under the command of Colonel Ian Hamilton. It was nearly four o'clock before the real work of the day was begun. At that time two of our field batteries went into action pt a range of aljout four thousand yards. After fifteen minutes of their fierce fire <'{ shrapnel the enemy's guns on the kopje appeared to be silenced, and the batteries directed their fire against the dis- mounted Hoer riflemcr., who were striving to check the advance of the infantry. A few shells sent them oif in rapid retirement along the slopes of the rocky hill, and the British linesmen began to deploy for a general advance. The enemy's guns then re-opened with a vigorous fire, but with little effect, as the Devonshires steadily made for the enemy's front, while the M.mche>iter^, the (lordons, and the Im- perial Light Hor^e, on the liritish right, moved against the lioer left tlank. The battle ground was a scries of open slopes, crossed under a heavy rifle fire from the foe. The Devonshire men went on steadily, slope by slope, until thev reached the precipitous fice of the hill, where the Hoers lay thick among the boulders that gave them shelter. in the meantime, the Ciordons, Manchesters, and dismounted Light Horse swept across another ridge, more level, but rough enough for work amidst a hail of nickel and le.id. Two thousand Hoers were in front when the time came for the final rush. The British guns were delivering their last shots of shrapnel in preparing the way, and the scene was grandly picturesfpie from the rear, as heavy thunderclouds, which had gathered about the hills, made a dark background for the thin wreaths of white vapour that followed the explosion of our shells, and for the livid green tongues of tlame that dartt;d m rapid succession from the mu/./les of our guns. Heavy rain had begun to fdl, drenching the khaki-clad infuitry as they advanced before the final attack. As the British force closed with i I COLONEL SCHIKL, Adjutant-General to Boer Forces, I'aken Prisoner at Klanislaagte. while the id ilif Im- riti>.li riglit, lank. 'I'Ikj pen slopes, rcjin the foe. Ill steadily, Mchetl the e the IJoers that gave ntiine, the tlisinoiinted 'ther rid[:e, 1 for work id. front w!ien rush. 'I'lie r last shots ay, and the ; from the whicii had Je a dark IS of white sion of our tongues of ssion from ■y rain had khaki-elad e the final losed with 4 I Prisoner J- rcitt a DiaU'ittt; by K. Caton H\H'di'uie. IIOKIl TACriCS. I he Abuse ol the White Flag l>v the I'nemy. JJ 34 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa the foe, the Mancliesters and the (lordons were at one point checked for several minutes l)y a fence of harhed \vir»', and the men fell thickly hefore it could he cleared. The In\|)erial I.ij^ht Horse on thi'ir right were losing heavily, hut then' was no sign of wavering, and the nungk'd battalions pressed eagi-rly forward up llu- steep, some dropping ilown now and then to take deliberate aim from cover, others firing as they climbed on regardless of all precautions. It was then that (!olonel Chisholme, commander of the Light Horse, fell dead with bullets through his head and heart, a.s he was waving a .scarf with the colours of his old regiment — the 5th Lancers — as a signal for his men to follow him. Clo.se by, one of the (lordons was hit, and died after crying to a comrade who caught him in his arms, " And me, a time-expired man ! " Some of the Liglu Horse came across a group of Hoers, among whom was Colonel Schiel, badly wounded. When he learned that they were Samjjson's men, he said, " Ah, we had him in our prison ; now I expect he will have me in liis." He did not know that Major Sampson was lying, badly hit, a few yards away. At this moment occurred the well-known incident of the British boy bugler's call to victory. Our troops had gained the crest of the hill — the Devons on its steepest side, and the Gordons, Manchesters, and Light Hor.se were sweep- ing over its nearer ridge — when the men were amazed at hearing the " Cease tire " and "Retire" sounded by buglers. The signals came, beyond doubt, from Boers who had learned our bugle calls, and the trick may be described as worthy of men who, in this and other actions, fired de- liberately on ambulance men at work among the wounded, and used flags of truce in order to slay British soldiers made harmless for the moment by the display of the waving white. The dastardly device of the false bugle call failed through the prompt courage of the young bugler of the Cordons. 'Ihe men were beginning to fall back when he cried, " Retire be d d ! " and rushing furw.ird, gave the notes for the ( h.irge. I lu; men iuo\ed on, anil, with levelled bayonets, cheering as they went springing over ll)e boulders strewn about, Devons, M.mchesters, (lordniis, and Light Horse drove the Moers, now tiring wildly in ■Mill, dosMi the rugged steej) behind the hill. 'l"he B.ittle of i'.laiuUlaagte was won, and nobly won, as d.irkness dosetl in. More d.iylight would have given greater suixess in loss to our foes, but the Lancers, sweeping round the hill, h.iil time to fall upon a body of retiring Boers and to m;ike many bite the dust by their terrible thrusts. The loss of the defeated in killed and wounded is unknown, but must have been heavy. Among the Boer officers slain was Commandant Hen Viljoin, well known as bitterly hostile to British claims in South Africa. 'i'he laptured officers included (leneral Kock, who soon afterwards died of his wounds ; Piet Joubert, a nephew of the Boer (leneral-in-Chief ; Commandant Pretorius ; and, as we have seen, the German artillerist. Colonel Schiel, who was in command of a German corps. Our troi)hies of victory included three Ma.xim-Nordenfelt guns, the enemy's camp, trans[)ort, and commissariat, some hundreds of prisoners, and two flags captured by the 5th ' ■ ncers. One of these was a Transva.d standard, the other bore the colours of the projected South African Federation, or United South Africa under Dutch supremacy. The victory was bought by a loss of 257 officers and men, in the proportions of 42 killed, 205 wounded, and 10 missing. The loss of officers was very severe ; 5 were killed and 30 wounded, the former including, besides Colonel Chisholme of the Light Hor.se, ALijor Denne and three lieutenants of the Gordon Highlanders. We close our narrative of the Battle of Elandslaagte with some interesting particulars concerning officers and men engaged. The Imperial Light Horse are worthy of special mention in regard to the o[)era- tions in Natal. This fine cpri)s was The Invasion of Natal 35 ARTIl.l.KRV AllOUT TO TAKK fP POSITION. almost wholly composed of Uitlan.lcrs from the Rami, men who had livfd and laboured in the Transvaal, and whose attitude towards the war tvas personal as We'll as political. That is why they were found at the front of the battle line at Elandslaagte, and were so eager lo follow the leading of their gallant cominander. Colonel Chisholme. Many of them had never been under fire until that day, but many had seen fighting in Matabeleland, and all were animated by remembrance of the humiliation which they, free-born British subjects, had endured as mere "helots" and "pariahs" at the hands of the insolent Boers of the Transvaal. Their two majors, Sampson and Karri Davis, had borne imprisonment for over a year rather than pay the fine to which Pretoria judges had .sentenced them for their participation as Reform leaders in the Jameson Raid. Every man in the regi- ment was keen for fighting under a leader like Colonel Chisholme, who had left a coveted command in the Lancers to organise and lead the Imperial Light Horse, had chosen his men from among those who offered their services, 'ud whoM! personal ([iialities had endeared him to thein all in the siiort time since he assumed conmiand. All this would have been enough to make them eager tor a chance of proving tlieir (piality, but another incentive was given before they left camp that morning in the form of a letter addres.sed to tiieir senior major. The letter was from Johannesburg Ijoers and Hollanders with the commanilo at Elandslaagte, expressing a wish to meet the Liiperial Light Horse in battle, and asking by what distinctive badge they might be recognised. The desire was (juickly complied with, and in a way not gratifying to the f(jes who met the im- petuous Light Horse. Colonel Chisholme, during the skir- mishing in the earlier [)art of the day of Elandslaagte, had a very narrow escape fnMii a Boer shell, a fact which, during a pause in tlie engagement, he mentioned to a new.spaper correspondent sitting beside Mr. ^U'lton Prior, the famous • li it 36 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa a^Jr^ SktUhtd hy Mr. Mtltoi, Prior. COLONEI, CIIISIIOI.ME. special artist of the Illustrated London A\'7vs. As he stood there in his green khaki suit and l)ro\vn gaiters, Mr. Prior made a rapid sketch of the loomed warrior. "Mind you stick in my whi ;tli'," he cried, and then, as lie bade good-l)V(., lie said, " I must get the hoys together for more work." Three hours later Colonel Chisholme had passed away, shot dead when the fight was over and the victory won, killed almost within sight of the white flag fluttering from a carbine held by a ■J bearded Boer. So ended, i/fifi^ all too soon, the career of a fine soldier, of whom those who best knew him predicted great deeds. He was not fifty years of age, and his twenty-seven years- of service had included very good work in the Afghan War of 1879. Sir George White was in great danger as he moved with his staff to the left flank of the infantry brigade. The Boer shells fell thick about him, and one which burst in the midst of his escort of Border Mounted Rifles killed two horses without injury to the troopers who rode them. A Gordon Highlander tells us how Lieutenant -Colonel Dick- Cunyngham was wounded at Elandslaagte, and of his bitter regret at being for the time disabled from leading his men. When a shot wound compelled the ofticer to sit down, he cheered on his men, cry- ing, " Forward, Gordons ! The world is looking at you. Brave lads, give it to the beggars, exterminate the vermin ! C'harge ! " He then, in the soldier's words in a letter home, " started crying because he could not longer lead his battalion, and he would not retire fom the field until the day was won." A peculiar interest, from his subsequent I V t hours later lolnie had shot dead t was over won, killed iight of the ering from eld by a So ended, the career r, of whom knew him Jeeds. He ars of age, ieven years- i included rk in the 1879. i\'hite was ^r as he staff to the e infantry )oer shells him, and 5t in the escort of Rifles without opers who Gordon us how el Dick- wounded ind of his being for ed from When a )elled the own, he nen, cry- jordons ! oking at give it vermin ! r's words because )attalion, the field id M H o H W jsequent 37 .8 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa fate, is attached to an incident concerning L(jr(.l Ava, eldest son of the Marquis of 1 )ufferin. Me had reached Ladysmith, and, finding himseh' "unattached," was de- termined t(j see some fighting. He liegged his friend. Colonel Ian Hamilton, to take him on his staff as "galloper."' The colonel ('(jnsented, hut Lord Ava had no horse. that he could hardly pass the word. Then '' by way of rest after the morning's work, and as a nice quiet way of regaining his breath," as the colonel wrote who re- ported the matter in a j)rivate letter, Lord Ava joined tlie (lordons in their dauntless attack on the rocky ridge lined with death- dealing Boers. We shall see hereafter the > r. V. ADJUSTINc; TELE(;KA1'H1C Ari'ARATlS TO HAl.LOON AT LAUYSMITH. Not to be baflled, the Dritisli noble, who was in his thirty-sixth year, did his "galloping" on foot, rille in hand, carrying orders to and fro through the heat of the day. His last instruction was to the (Gordons as they were lying down on the veldt for shelter from an awful tire of Mauser bullets and sin II. He brought the order for their advance, reaching them so out of breath brave end made by this line specimen of a British patrician. Sir (jeorge White was being gradually enveloi)ed by the foe in his position at Ladysmith. Not only were many thou- sands of the enemy pressing down from the north-east, but a large force of Free State Boers was clo.se at hand on the north-west. The British general, knowing the word. ; morning's )f regaining ite who re- etter, Lord r dauntless with death- ireafter the ^Mf/ / men of adually tion at thou- n from f Free V>n the no wing v. n 7t V. ; ) ..■f i* 39 »" 40 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa nothing of the rer^l route taken by (ienenil Yule in his retreat, unci desirous of clearing the road for him in his assumed ap])roacli by way of I'^landslaagtc, and having ascertained by reconnaissance that I'Vee State forces were moving eastward from Hester's station, about fifteen miles north- west of Ladysmith, in order to gain the road to Newcastle on tlie north of his position, resolved on an attack in the right direction. At five o'clock in the morning of Tuesday, October 24th, he moved out towards Elandslaagte with the Devons, the Gloucesters, the Liveri)ools, the 5'.h Lancers, the 19th Hussars, the Imperial Light Horse, Natal iMounled Volunteers, and three batteries. The enemy were strongly posted on the kopjes about a mile and a half west of the railway, near Rietfontein Farm. An action of six hours, known as the I^-attle of Rietfontein, was chiefly one of artillery fire, our guns at last succeeding in driving the Boers from Fepworth Ridge and other po.sitions commandiiig the Newcastle road. This engagement, which, without any fault of tiie British general, was absolutely useless, caused our force a loss of 109 officers and men, 13 being killed, 93 wounded, and 3 missing. Tiie only officer killed was Colonel Wilford, of the ist Gloucesters. Boer sharpshooters posted on the spur of a lofty hill made a special mark, with much success, of our staff officers and gunners. For some days following the engagement at Rietfontein, the enemy were ever con- verging on Ladysmith in great force from the north and east, the men from the Transvaal being under the command of General Joubert. It became clear to Sir George White that a vigorous attempt Photo, by It: Xichiitl' TIMELY ARRIVAL OF THE BLUEJACKETS AT LADYSMITH. The Invasion of Natal 4' r guns at last Boers from tT positions road. This any fault of Litely useless, ntilicers and nded, and 3 killed was Gloucesters. the spur of mark, with officers and engagement ti ever con- force from 1 from the )mmand of 'lear to Sir LIS attempt , \ -.: ■ ,. ^ ■ ' A 1 B^SBHJI^^^ _£^j^ ^^^HjHjjj^^^^^S^nJfiBl' ^^^ pWwIc^?**^*' T^^^flj|y^^iii^^^^*y^ . -4 A F fk^r i^-Ki -^4* \JkK- ^ ifSSk.Z"^'^'' l^flBr^' - I'^I^toBffGi ^•a i^'r\ v>. • :■ A- " -^^ ^\^^-\ Hjuji^ ">- 4^^K - ^ m^KK^^ ^; J RSSBP^^^'- ' ^^B^^ '» ' Pet Prait'it by It', tr. Si'pptn^'S'irn'i^hf, fyflm a Sketth hy Mr. MfUoit Prior. THE NAVAL HRKJADK AI THE liATTI.K liKFOKK l.ADVSM 1 I II, OC lOHKR jOIII. The 4'7 Gun, Mounted on Captain Scott's Carriage, in Action. must be made to prevent the investment of his position, as the reconnoitring of scouts and observations from the war balloon of the Royal Engineers, fitted with the telephone and the searchlight appar- atus, showed that the enemy were occupying hills within four miles of the town, and were dragging heavy artillery up the steejis. The main source of water was cut off by the foe, but the town was, happily, j)rovi(led with other ample su[)plies, besides the wells. On the night of Sunday, October 29th, the British commander sent out a moun- tain battery, drawn by mules, towards the north-west, with the Irish Fusiliers and the Gloucesters, to clear his left flank of the enemy there gathered. This well- intended move was to end, as we shall see, in the first of those disasters which were destined to try so sorely the patience and placidity of British patriots in all parts of the empire. On the afternoon of Monday, October 30th, the troops had not returned to Ladysmith. It became known that the battery mules had " stam- peded " with the guns during the night ; l)ey()nd that, the fate of the two battalions was, for the time, a mystery. Meanwhile, the heavy bombarding guns of ttie Boers were on Monday morning replied to with good effect by the wea[)ons of the Naval Brigade which, had just arrived, and the Boer fo'-ty-pountler, styled " Long Tom " by our men, was silenced for a time. On the same day a general action took place to the north and east of the town. There was much work done on each side with artillery, the guns of Boers and liritons being well matched. At fnir in the morn- ing the British batteries opened against the enemy's left flank, and soon after ."^.ve the Boers replied with shells from their forty-pounder, at a range of six thousand 42 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa Cl'TTING TIIK TKLKGRAI'H WIRKS. yaius. At Iialf-past seven, Boer reinforce- ments advancing along the Hclpmakaar road attacked our right in considerable force, and the foui batteries of Fl^ild Artillery which were holding that flank, a'ong with infantry and cavalry, were compelled to retire and to take up a fresh position. At this point, two battalions of the King's Royal Rifles suffered heavily in advancing up the ridges of a kopje, and were recalled l)y Sir (leorge White. A retreat on our jiart be'fan, in presence of greatly superior hostile forces, cliecked from pursuit by the accurate fire of our batteries. The Battle of Farquhar's I' arm, was, in fact, the inevitable failure of the British general's attemjJt to pre\ent his position from being shut in by overwhelming forces. At every point he found his men out-numbered, and only the shells from our field batteries and the accurate and powerful fire of the naval guns kept the foe at bay. We turn now to the disaster at Nic:holson's Nek, on the left flank of our position. The exact ])articulars of this event cannot be fully known until the holding of an inquiry, the date of which depends on that of the release of British prisoners at Pretoria. The following account, derived from letters sent by cajjtive officers, and communications made to Mr. \\inston Churchill, may be regarded as fairly trustworthy. W^e have seen that, on tlie evening of October 29th, a small column of the Gloucester Regiment and the Irish Fusi- liers started from Ladysmilh to protect the British left flank by the occupation of a long saddle-back hill dividing the Boer position at right angles. The object of the movement was to cut off the Free State Boers from the main army. The force of about ei ;ven hundred men was under the command of Colonel Carleton, rmd was accompanied by a mountain battery with one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition on mules, and by mules carrying the reserve regimental rifle ammunition. The night march was successfully executed, and the hill was reached at two o'clock on the morning of October 30th. The six companies of Irish Fusiliers who led the way, followed by the battery and ammunition mules, with the Gloucesters bringing up the rear, had got part of the way up the steep hill in thick darkness, when some mounted Boers galloped down amid clouds of dust and rolling stones. The mules carrying the mountain guns and spare ammunition started off, rushing down the hill, and knocking the men over in all directions. Great confusion ensued for a time, but the men reached the top of the hill and were re-formed before dawn. Destitute of guns for defence, and with no rifle ammunition save that in their pouches, the troops prepared as best they could slight sangars (breastworks) of loose The Invasion of Natal 43 At every iiimljered, 1 batteries fire of the We turn on's Nek, ion. 'J'he ■an not he n in(juiry, 1 that of t Pretoria. 3ni letters unications , may be I evening in of the rish Fiisi- rotect the :ion of a the Boer ect of the ■'ree State ) force of inder the rmd was tery with munition reser\e le nii^ht ;nd the on the iers who ery and ucesters of the arkness, d down stones, uns and ig down r in all d for a of the dawn, d with tiieir St they f loose stones, of which only few fit for llic purpose could be found. Al dawn the British battalions were assailed by a skirmishing fire from small parties of Hoers, but little loss was caused until half-past nine, when strong reinforcements arrived from the I>oer left. The fight was main- tained until half-[)ast two, !)y which time the position was hopeless. Retreat was impossible, as our men were surrounded on all sides, and the ammunition was nearly exhausted. Colonel Carleton was intending war. No surrender of British soldiers in such numbers had taken i)lace since 1794, when tile Duke of York, surrounded at I'urroing, north of Lille, by superior French forces, lost 1.500 men as prisoners. On 'I'uesday, October 31st, there was more artillery fighting at Ladysmith, the practice of our Bluejackets being admirable against tlie enemy's big guns. By this time the Boers were well to the south of L;idysmitli, and some fighting to(jk jjhice on November ist near Colenso. On the NATIVE DESPATCH RUNNER. a defence to the last, ending with a bayonet charge after tiie 'ast shot was expended, when a severely wounded officer ordered the white flag to be raised. A towel was tied to a rifle and displayed. The ofilicers of the Gloucesters were uncertain how to act, thinking the sign of surrender was hoisted — as it assuredly was not — by Colonel Carleton's orders. Some companies fired theii few remaining rounds, others ceased to resist and awaited the approach of the enemy, who came rapidly forward. About 250 men had fallen, and nearly 850, in- cluding 45 officers, became prisoners of following day an attack was made on a camp of the Free State Boers at Tatham'.s Farm, near Bester's station, north-west of Sir deorge White's position, the troops engaged being Lancers, Hussars, the Natal Carabineers, and the Border Rifles, who left Ladysmith at dawn with a field battery. The large Boer camp was surrounded by waggons and other obstructions. Bester's Hill was well fortified, with guns in position. About nine o'clock, the British gunners began to jKHir shell on the enemy's camp, inflicting great loss, and throwing the Boers into a state of panic. The cavalry, who '^^ ♦^ I iai 44 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa had been steadily working their way up to the enemy's position, then hurst in upon the camp, and the Boers made a hasty flight. The isolation of I^adysmith was, how- ever, by this time practieally eomplete. The message conveying intelligence of the fight at Hester's was the last that came over the telegraph wires, which were shortly afterwards cut by the foe, and Sir (ieorge White's communications with the outside world were thenceforth to be carried on by *' runners " who could make their way through the enemy's lines or by pigeon post, or, at a later time, by heliograph signals. Before leaving for the time the British general and his fine force of all arms, we may record a vigorous and successful attack made by them on Friday, November 3rd, when a force of guns and cavalry was sent out to outflank the enemy moving southwards on Colenso. The Boers were found posted with guns on ( Prober's Kloof Hill. The British artillery at once opened fire, while the Lancers and Dragoons skirted the foot of the hill, and placed themselves on the enemy's line of retreat. The Boers, suffering heavily from our fire, finally moved down to the open ground stretching to the river, and were there severely handled by the British horsemen. This success, like all others gained by the British arms up to that point in the Natal campaign, was of no service to the main object — that of delivering Natal from the presence of the foe. The guns and cavalry returned to Ladysmith, where the whole army was for many weeks to be encompassed by a superior force of well-armed, wily, and obstinate enemies. Relief could come only from a British force fighting its way to the rescue of the beleaguered men. For the general purpose of the campaign, nothing more unfortunate could be conceived than the ocunipation of Ladysmith. Without any fault of (Jineral White, who could not know the great number of men at the disposal of his antagonist Joubert, and in deference to the wishes of the Natal Govern- ment, who naturally wished to preserve the colony, as far as possible, from Boer posses- sion and plunder, a great military mistake had been committed. The proper course, as all men soon came to see, was the abandon- ment of the northern part of Natal and the occupation of the line of the Tugela, which was defensible by British and colonial troops and guns, moving freely to the south of the river, against any force which the enemy could have brought against such a barrier. Tlie occupation of Ladysmith not only put out of action ten thousand fine soldiers of all arms, and a very able and enterprising commander, but tied our mili- tary affairs in South Africa into a knot. On the last day of October, Sir Redvers Buller landed at Cape Town as Commander-in- Chief. He found himself hampered from the outset. There can be little doubt that he had arrived with the resolve to invade the Orange Free State and the Transvaal in force sufficient to draw away, by the most artistic and effectual mode of diversion known to military science, the Boer invaders of a British colony. This plan was already frustrated when he reached the front. General BuUer's work at once became that of relieving Ladysmit'., a task which he was destined to find one of the most arduous character. ^ CHAPTER III. The Invasion of Cape Colony. —Central Scene of Action. — Operations of General Qatacre and General French. Invasion of Cape Colony South of Orange River — Seizure of Nerval's Pont, Bethulie Bridge, Colesberg, etc.— ^Frce Slfile Commandant's Appeal to Colonists — President Steyn Annexes Uritish Territory — Cape Colcjny (iovernment Proclaims Martial Law in Certain Districts— (jeneral Catacre's Arrival at Naauwpoort Junction — General French also Takes the Field — Antecedents of the two Commanders — l''rench's Fscape in Time from Ladysmith- Further Advance of Hoc. Forces— Rebels in the Colony - Fnemy Occupy Slorndjerg— Hritish Seizure of (.lorn and Flour at Molteno — Hoers at Dordrecht, Steynshurj;- Damage Done to Railway Lines — Arrival of Reinforcements for Gatacre at Sterkstroom — His Repulse at Stormlicrg (Deccmher 9th) The Retreat ant, in the eastern region near the borders of Basiitolaiid. .\ rebillious feeling among the Duteh (olonists was manifested in injurious ai-tion, and on November 2 2iul, before tin- enemy \ arrival at Markly Fast, seventy farmers of the distri( t seized the mag.i/ine at that town, containing three hundred .Martini rilles and four thousand roiMuls of amimuiition. Wearing orange- coloured puggarees, they made a great demoiistratiim of their Boer sym|tathies, and ended with the vulgar act of riding through a bar and billiard-room in the town. On November 25th a reconnoitring party of the Briti^^h forces, consisting of a hundred and fifty picked nu'ii of the ^^lunted Intantry, cavalry, and New South Wales Faneers, went by train northwards frcjin Naauwpoort Junction to repair the line broken up near Arundel. On the following day the lioer invaders occupied Stormberg, an im[)ortant railway junction, to the number of a thousand men, and spread through the district on the work of enlisting ccjlonial recruits. On Wednesilay, November 29th, Oeneral (iatacre, having his head(iuarters at Sterk- Htrooin, des[)atched a force to Molteno, which made a valuable seizure of a thou- sand bags of wheat and a great quantity of flour, in danger of being commandeered by the enemy. The British generals, however, still lacked force to cope with the in\aders, and on December 2nd the enemy entered Dordrecht, about forty miles due east of Stormberg Junction. On the following day, Steynsburg, about thirty miles west of Stormberg, was entered by the Bcjer invaders, and the Thebus Bridge, a substantial structure, was destroyed with dynamite. \n all directions damage was done to railway lines by an enemy in too great force to be checked. On December 5th Oeiieral Oatacre, at Sterkstrocnn, was able to welcome the arrival of leinforcemeiits, 1 I i 4 ( ASSAULT OF STORMHERG HY UENKRAI. IJATACRK, 49 50 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa including two field batteries, an arm in which he had been sorely deficient. 'The enemy, in considerable force of men and guns, held a very strong position at Stormbcrg, and (leneral (latacre resolved to approach them. At this time the British commanders headquarters were at Putter's Kraal station, south of Sterkstroom, and on Saturday, December yth, he left by train for Molteno, and thence advanced by a forced march of twelve miles to Stormberg with about four thousand men, inckuling the 2nd Battalion of the Xortluimberland Fusiliers, the Koyal Irish Rilles, about eight hundreu Mounted Infantry, and two field batteries. The movement seems to have been intended as a reconnaissance in force, ;u be develo|)ed into a night attack if opj^ortunity served. The British troo|)s, leaving Molteno at nine at night, inarched i)y tiie light of a bright moon until halt-past eleven, when the moon went do.vn. I'he road was rough and stony, partly blocked at intervals by huge boulders which had rolled from the hill- side, and the men were glad to strike off into the veldt for softer footing. The utmost cautit)n was used after darkness fell, no light being used, and directions being given in a wliis|)er by the officers. The force was, unhappily, maivhing into a trap, and, intending a surprise, was itself taken terribly unawares. It is likely enough that spies and colonial traitors, who ha\e been ever the bane of British officers and troops during the war, had informed the enemy of the line of api)roach. It seems certain tliat tlie Boer position was being neared in the wrong quarler, and (leneral Gatacre attributed this to the mistake of his guide, a local policeman. However that may be, at a point within two miles of Stormberg the marching British column was suddenly assailed by a terrific fire right ahead and on the right Hank. 'I'he Irish, soldiers, who were in the van, at once sought cover behind a kopje near at hand to the left, followed, in good order, hv the artillery and the Northumbeilands. The .Mounted Infantry, '.)y a circuitous movement, forced on them by the nature of the ground, reached the same place of supposed safety, when the whole body found itself suddenly under the fire of a powerful artillery. The i>ritish field batteries took up another position half a mile away, and did s[)lendid work in covering the inevitable withdrawal of the infantry to cover, whence they could re[)ly to the enemy's fire. The Mounted Infantry moved northwards, in order to get on the right flank of the Boers, and the infuitrv again moved to encounter a stronij; commando of Boers approaching from the north. Our men were met by the heavy fire of machine guns pUn'ed in good position.^, antl (leneral (iatacre was forced to order a retirement on Molteno. 'i'he enem\- followed closely along the ridges of hills, harassing the force with ar..!lery fire, which, owing to the ski'ful management of the otficers, caused trilling loss. Tlie retreating force reached Molteno about eleven o'c-lock on the evening of Sunday, December lolh, after thirty hours' hard work, including a hot engagement lasting three hours. The loss in this second reverse to the British arms during the campaign was severe, not in killed and wounded, but in prisoners. The movement of the Irish Rifles and the Northumberland Fusiliers to encounter the new Boer force coming from the north ende<' in tiie cutting off and capture of nine officers and about six hundreil men. Many who were at first reported " missing '' after- wards returned to camp, but the Battle of Stormberg was, beyond doubt, a serious discomfiture for the British arms. On December 13th there was some warm work near Arundel, when a strong force of Boers, with guns, advancing southwards towards Naauwpoort, was encountered by the British cavalry and a battery of Royal Horse Artillery. The fighting was at'long range, and the enemy were driven back with some foss. (leneral French, gaining e.\|)erience of the region in which he was acting, re^jorted the district as being " very suitable for mounted troo[)s," and that " thy The Invasion of Cape Colony ced on them nd, reached safety, when suddenly tilleiy. 'I'he up another did splendid withdrawal -• they could le Mounted order to get rs, and the Iter a stronLr ig from the ■ the heavy 1 in good was forced teno. 'J'he le ridges of i\.:iery fire, igernent of d Moltcno evening of flirty hours' engagement ss in this "ms during in killed LTs. The and the encounter the north ire of nine ■n. Many ng " after- Batde of a serious 5me warm ing force )uthwards itered by of Ro)'al IS at 'long en back , gaining 1 he was :ig " very hat " the enemy were afraid to leave their positions if even a small detachment of cavalry were near." These observations reveal the fact that the Boers, so effective and bold against infantry on ground and under circumstances wholly favourable to their peculiar method of warfare, are liable to attacks of " niTves " when they are ex])osed to the action of mounted men, and when mobile foes show that the rejiublican fighters are not to have all things their own way. W'c shall see that French was the man to drive the lesson Well home, in warfare of a worrying kind for his foes. On December i8th, in a recon- naissance made by the general, with a battery of Royal Horse Artillery and an escort of New Zealanders, a detachment of the antipodean colonials was suddenly caught between a terrific cross fire from kopjes near at hand. The men retired steadily, returning thi' fire under cover of the guns, which shelled the JJoers away from the hills. The New Zealanders earned the warm jiraise of (leneral French for their cool courage under fire. , On Sunday, the last day of 1899, there was an incident which strongly showed the value of mounted men in warfare. On Saturday, December 30th, Captain Mont- morency, with about one hundred and twenty troopers of Brabant's Horse, made a reconnaissance northwards from Dor- drecht, a town lying about thirty miles north-east of Oeneral Oatacre's head- quarters at Sterkstroom. Abcnit noon the enemy were sighted in occupation of a good position on a precipitous ridge three miles from the town, and outflanking move- ments compelled them to retire. Then the Boers were reinforced by the arrival of six hundred men, with avo guns, while the British were strengthened by a jiarty of a hundred Cape Mcnmted Police. The enemy's artillery fire, including that of a big gun which had been brought into action, compelled a retirement of the British force, which was executed with the utmost steadiness. The mounted men were led with great " dash " l)y Captain Montmorency, and the foe, pursuing in vastly superior force, were perplexed and kept in check by frecjuent demonstrations against their flanks. It was found, how- evi'r, that a party of tlu' Ihitish, detached early in the day, had been left behind. Lieutenant Milford Turner and twenty-seven men had taken shelter in a hollow, where they could not be reaclu'd by the enemy's fire. ^^'hen they failed to return to Dordrecht on Saturday night, it was feared that they had been cai)tured by the Boers. On Sunday morning, December 31st, a relief jjarly of one hundred and ten men, with four guns, started at daybreak under Captain (loldsworthy, and, after a smart brush with the enemy, who had both men and horses killed, nearly the whole party was brought back in safety, with but four men wounded in the relieving force. We turn to the work of Cenend French, and find him also marking the close of one year and the begiiniing of another by brilliant work in the field. .Vt five in the ft afternoon of December 31st, the British commander left Arundel with five s(iuadrons, half of the 2nd lierkshire, eighty Moun'ed Infantry oer s[)ies and colonial traitors iv. tam[). The move- ment of Colonel Watson tool: jilace only three hours after ''?c attack had been arranged, antl yet the enemy were foiuid fully prepared, and, as in t)ther instances, an intended British surprise became a death- trap for our brave men. On January loth General FreiK h resumed active operations in the way of reconnais- sances of the enemy's positions, seeking means of surrounding them at C'olesberg. A small party of the Carabineers Umval about eight hundred Hoers in laager about five miles south-east of the town, and went up close enough to hear the enemy "talking and swearing to each other," as a news MAJOR KDHIN, Commander of the New Zealand Contingent Pliotj. /'v Xi'Tcntait, SyJitey. I.IKUTIi.NAN T-COI.ONF.I. J. lU'RNS, Commanding the New South Wales i^aiiccrs, despatch exi)resses it, both in Dutch and I'Jiglish. .\s our men withdrew, their pre- sence was discovered, and a heavy lire was o[)i,neil, which caused no loss. Colonel I'orter, (jf the Carabineers, then carried out an enveloping movement with the 6th Dragoon (iuards, two squadrons of Iloiise- hokl Cav,dry, the New Zealand and New South Wales contingents, anil four guns. A strong position five miles east of the enem\' was (jcc:u[)ie(l by our artillery, cut- ling olf retreat for the Boers on that side. Colonel Porter's force was, in fact, com- maiuling the main road to Norval's Pont and menacing the foe's line of communica- tion and recei[)t of supplies. An attack of the Boers on a kopje commanding the liriiish i)o.iition was [iromiilly foiled by the guns. By this time Colesberg was invested on three sides, all the British cam[)s being connected by the field telegraph and hello ap[)aratus. Tiie enemy, however, were strongly reinl'orced, and (ieneral French needed more men to carry out his designs against Colesberg. On January isth the Boers, who were being constantly harassed by active work done with cavalry. Horse Artillery, and Mountetl Infantry, made an attack on the British right flank, in order to cai)ture some heights held by New 56 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa Zealanders and a company of the VorkshiiL' RugiiUL-nl. Al)()Ut (.'Icvcn in the ni(irnin;j; the enemy worked tlieir way upwards to- wards a point held by the colonials, at tiic same time ctjinpellini; the Yorkshires, liy a hot fire, to keep closely in cover hehind a stone wall. 'I'he advancing foe crept onwaMls, and made a final rush, when the Yorkshires, K'aving cover, charged down witli the havonel, and Captain Maddox, with a few New Zc'alanders, arrivetl in aid from the right, 'i'lu' IJoers lied, under a fire at clerew niad towards lliishniairs Hoek, llie liocr^ keeping uj) a stead)' rille lire from the heiL^hls. At noon the Royal Scots l)e.;an to jipirw. '•*i|«?»r ■ Biff' pelled tile enemy to withdraw with their lii.L; Ljun. Xo attempt could he made to outllank the foe, tor lack of cavalry. I'herc Were no losses amoni; the Ilritish troops in tiii> ([uarter. ihe atlaik on the I'olice camp was npulsetl, and the enemy fmally re- trtaled on Stormheri;. On January 8lh, (ieiieral ( latacre sent out a strong recon- noitiin^ |iart\-, lonsistini.; of tlu' herliyshirc Re;.;nneiu, two lield batteries, four hundred mounti'd men of the Capi' I'olice and ilerkshirts, and the Kaffrari an Ani\ frontier c-\ iy' ^> ^> ^ ft I* M,ij, •ill-. ;,oMI. ol. IHK I ATK M iCNIiai I'ol.ll.i;, advance across an undulating plaui, to the leftofwliich laythe little town of Cypherghat, the inhabitants of which had lied in terror when tile' fight began. The eiu'iny had shelled Cypherghat station, cut the telegraph wires, looted the stores, and done other (lamaLTe. An armoured train Intweeii Cypherghat and .Sterkslroom kept the loe at bay with Maxim fire, and stayed a further advance to the south along the line. As the ilritish infaiUry appioached the enemy's hili beyond the plain near Cypher- ghat, our arlill 'ry had taken a commanding position to the K'ft of t!ie ISoers, and, opening tire at half-past iwo, in ten minutes eum- Rilies. The' 15oers wi-re found to be still in strong occuiialion of two miles of the Stormberg range. On the return to head- 'luarters, another visit was made to .Molteno Mills, and all the remaining food-stuff's — meal and flour were remo\eoers near Molteiic, the iiritish force engaged being ^[ontmoren( y's Scouts aiula detachment of the Cape Police. The stock of a colonial rebel's farm was t-aptured during the day, and the force returned to Molteno with many horses, mares and foals, and o.\en. CHAPTER IV. Investment and Siege of Ladysmlth. The Investment nf L,i(l\ smith- -The Furcc under Sir C'icnrge White — Means of Communication with (Jutside The iiumhanhneiit - Assault on N'ovenil)er yth Kepulsed - l-lnemy (Juf.vilted hy Kille liriyade -Smart Worli of the Manchesters — Hoers l-'ire on Hospitals— Enemy's Successfal Raid on Draught Oxen -ISritish Losses \>y l'.ijml)ardment — More Hostile Firing on Hos[)ital : Patients, Nurses, and Docti-is Killed and Wounded — The 15rilliant Sortie of iJecemher 7th — Enemy's Guns Destroyeil at Lombard's Kop I'raise of Work from General White— Another Fine Sortie on Decenilier loth— Destruction of I5oer Howitzer at Surjirise Hill — Sharp Figlil on liritish Return to Cain[) Illness 'a Lad)smith — CJreat Heat — The bombardment : Narrow Escape of Sir (1. While Christmas Cheer— Shells in Officers' ^^ s: Severe Loss -Incidents of Siege —A Garden Wrecked by "Long Tom "-Coolness of Ladies under l''ire — Private Soldier Describes a Dust- storm — I'un with the Rebel l'"armer's Pigs — Uritish Mare's IJehaviour under Fire — The Young Lady and the Shells Fierce Assault on Pritish Lines -Description of liritish and lioer Positions — The Great Fight of January 6th— Anxiety Caused by Sir George White's Earlier Messages — Death of Lord Ava -The Crisis of the Battle —Hold Attack by Hoers on Cresar's Camp — Good Work of Natal Troojis Helow the Ilili - I''inal Charge by Devuns — (^)mplete X'ictory British Losses - Colonel Dick-Cunyngham Killed -The Thanksgiving Service for \"ictory. Wk have now to dc;il with events in ;ind siege, having heavy guns of long range, closely around Ladysmith during tlie long against which the naval guns, most skilfully period of its investment, bombardment, and assault by the Boer army under Schalk IJurger. We may begin by stating the composition of the force under Sir George ^Vhite's command. The infantry battalions were the ist (jloucesters, ist Leicesters, ist Devons, ist and 2nd King's Royal Rifles, ist Royal Irish Fusiliers, 2iul Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 2nd Clordon Highlanders, 1st Liverpools, ist >.I nchesters, 2nd Rille Brigade, and Natal Volunteers. The cavalry com[)rised the 5th Dragoon Guards, 5th Lancers, iSth and 19th Hussars, Special Corps Mounted Infantry, and Corps of Imperial Light Horse. The artillery consisted of six batteries of Royal Field Artillery and naval guns, with a Naval Brigade to work them. The news received from the beleaguered force was of an intennittent character, dependent chiefly, in the earlier stages of the investment, on the success of native runners carrying oflicial des[)atches or intel- ligence from newspaper correspondents in evading the Boers on passage through the hostile lines. As regards bombardment, few particulars need be given save of special instances of damage done. The enemy fired, off and on, on most days during the served by the " Tars," were of admirable service to the safety of the position. On November 8th there was heavy firing front! the enemy's guns, and on Thursday, November 9th, at four in t' morning, the Boers made a determined attack, under cover of their big guns, on the ridges and kopjes occupied by the British outi)Osts. Our men, reinforced from the camp, replied hotly, in skirmishing order, to the Boer ritles. The attack threatened all sides of the town, but the main assault was delivered in the angle where the Free State and Newcastle railway lines diverge. The position was held by the Joliannes- burg Volunteers, the King's Royal Rifles, and the Rifle Brigade. After a first repulse, the Boers retired beyond a deep trench which they had made in the open ground in front of our lijies. The Rifle Brigade, advancing at the double, took possession of this trench unobserved by the enemy, and when the Boers returned with the horses which they had gone to fetch from distant places of shelter, they were received, almost at the edge of the trench, by volley after volley from the Rifles, who sprang suddenly to their feet. I'or once the craftv enemv were S8 nication with ted by Rifle ccssf^il Raid al : I'aiiuiits, 1 — Enemy's Fine Sortie rili^li Return B of Sir (;, —A Garden bes a Dust- The Young er I'usitiiins Messages — 'amp — (]()(h\ ory Britisli ':ig range, St skilfully admirable tion. On ivy firing Thursday, rning, the ck, under dgcs antl outposts. p, rc'phed the Boer les of the ivered in s\'\vcastle oliannes- Rifles, a first a deep he open le Rifle Ic, took rved by returned gone to er, they of the 3in the U tlieir i\' were J ?! 5 LADVS.MITIl ANI/ ^>LKKOUN Ul.M; COUNTKV. 59 6o The Fight for the Flag in South Africa themselves oiitwittL'il, and the elVtct wa-; \)n., {, and, in the words of a correspondent Ktaj^geriiiL;. W'idi hcav}' Idss tlicv lirokt' wiihin the town, " I,;idysniith was now (.so and lli'd across the llat upen ground, far as concerned assault on the British severely scoinj^ed by shell from the llritish lines) left severely alone." t;uns. Alxiiit this tiim a mortar throwing .\s the sie^n- went on, the iSoer homhard- hiij; shells was hrouuhl into action hy the nnnt was at times se\ere,, and Sir ( leort^e lioers, hut our artillerv lire, after a len^thv White had to complain of shell hein;; fired I siK oKORia; wiiitk's uoi si; at i .Ai)Vs>nTn, showini; '■ncc-orr" {"S thh i.EFr), euNSTRUCTia) iwR iii.M, urr wuieii hk uiaa-Miu to isio. duel, forced its abandonment. On the south side of the British camp the Man- chesters did goo^l work, under cover of our guns, in getting within easy range, un- observed, of some hundreds of Boers jKJSced in a ditch. The British unexpected fire caused heavy loss. The morni'-ig's work ended in the repulse of the eiuany at every at the hospital and other buildings flying the Red Cross tlag. On November 24th the enemy, by throwing shell among cattle grazing in plains west of the camp, headed the animals towards their own lines. A body of Mounted Inflantry, .sent out with a gun to recapture the herds, was received with a heavy fire of shells and rifle bullets )rrespoiKlent vas now (so the Britisli jr honihard- Sir ( It'orijc liL'in;,' fired Fi\ ngs flyiiiL,^ nber 24th ong cattle p, headed lines. A Dut with a 1 received fle bullets I y. o 61 62 The Fi«ht for the Flag in South Africa I'rotn slroti;;!)' posted t'ofs, and compcUtcl tr» ntiro. Ihc Lciccstcrs ;iiiital, and thi' huiMin^; was clearly visible from the enemy's position. The Hoer gunners could plainly see their ru->t two shells bursting to right and left of the hospital, and yet they persisted in their eowanlly action. .Many of the patients had been removeil into a tunnel excavated near at hand, when a third slull crashed through the wa'l of the main building, killing one patient, and woi nding . 1^.\^^H laksiiNi; oi rm: siiiu.i, wiik ii uui.kd i k. siakk, ai rinc kovai. uotiu., i.aiiysmitu. garrison by thi' hostile drr. Xaval guns were mounted all round the Ihitish camp, which was, by degrees, strongly defended by torts and entrenchments. The most couunaniling position of the Uoers was the high table mountain, Uuhv.ian, towards the east. Up to November 24tli, the total brilish loss by bombardment was eighty-three persons killed and wounded, including a scientist, Dr. Stark, who was killed on November iSth by the ex[)losion of a shell in front of his hotel. On Thursday, November 30th. just in- dignation was aroused by the lioer bom- bardment, from a new 6-inch gun mounted nine other persons, including two medical oftieers. This barbarous vicjlation of the usages of civilised nations had no possible excuse, seeing that the Te>wn Hall was not in the direct line with any important camp or defensixe work. A few days later the llritish garrison was enabled to retaliate on the Ibe, not in his fishion, but with legitimate work, in a bold enterprise planned and brilliantly executed by .Sir Archibald Hunter. About eleven o'clock on the night of Thursday, December 7th, that general left camp with a hundred Imperi.d Light Horse, under Colonel I'Ld wards, a hundred Natal Cara- I Investment and Slei^e of Ladysmith 63 nlurd's I\op, 1- I'll.' Rill indicatcil its 'iiil>licli thi- main d woinding J! v\in 11. ' medical >n of tlie > possible 11 was not int ramp rison was ot in his n a l)old executed It eleven hursday, nip with \ under al Cara- I iJ.i'i /'v /. /\i/^e>-><"i /rifiit ,1 .'^iii'>. ItOERS FIRINd ON AN AMUm. \NCK binccrs, four hundred ]^)rder Mounted and Natal Rilles, and clet;iciiments of Royal l'^n,:^ineers and Royal Artillery. I'hey were divided into three parties, two hundred beini; under the personal command of General Hunter. A march of five miles brought the sortie part}' lo the foot of tht. hill known as Lombard's Kop, \vhi( h was reached at two o'clock in the moniiiiLi; of l''rida\', December 8th. A torce of cavalry and artillery, imder 64 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa General Brocklehurst, man i.uig towards rei)Worth Hill, and anollKr b(xly engaging' the attention of thf enemy on the road to Ijuhvaan Hill, covered the movement. Tlie night was so dark, and the country so rugged and broken !)}■ deep doii^^as, or clefts, that it was needful to make sevend halts in order to count off the sntions and ascertain that all were present. Major Henderson, staff nffu-cr for the enterprise, with fourteen guides, took charge of the storming parties. 'The Imperial Light Horse, dismounted, wen,' on the left flank, and the Carabineers on the right, as they went up the precipitous boulder-strewn heights. About half way up, a Boer outpost gave a challenge, and, receiving no answer, cried to their Iricnds above, "English on us — shoot!" ihe rifles were fired, and the e\i)losive bulkts flashed flame as they struck Uie rocks. A hurried Hre came from the crest of the hill, re[)lied to by the British force with a single volley, and then our men, with ringing clieers, went upwards as fist as the ground permitted. As the brow was reached amid victorious shouts, the cry of " C(jld steel " passed along the lines. There were, of course, no bayonets in use b\' such a fon\', but many of the men hail fixed kni\es to the end of their carbines. There was little need for such weajions. The lioers retreated in a kind of panic, and three guns, when a light was shown, were found in s of llie assailants in this fine (.'xploit was one man killed and three wountled amonij; the \.\.ix yards whi/./ing did not lust and lad got e whole seconds ler foot the rest X, to her 1st after ler side soldiers off I ■mento. Come clear 1 went i 67 i 68 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa n liKAKKNSUKKC. I'ASS. One ol the Boer Lines ol' Kctix;it (lom Xatii gaily on, talkin,!^ away. Another soltlkT cried, 'Here comes another'; and l)etore we had time to thiiil<, tiie awful booming and sh 'eking came, and I wish you could have seen your Noungest sister. 1 just siuit my eves tight ami clung to a barbed wire fence and whispered 'Ciood (lod ! ' it exploded about twenty feet away, and the earth shook under me, and my legs felt siiot all over. The last thing 1 siw as I shut my eyes was men rolling on the ground and running away in all directions, and a mule rushing by me. After it was over I wanted to get a piece of that shell, and llieii tied hoine with three lumps. I smelt all over of the shell stuff, and ofcour.se the pieces were quite hot when I got them. . . . Fancy me with my h.ur down, fringe in pins (the fright had taken all the curl out, and they said I was white to the gums), on the front verandah, sewing a tape on a Carabineer's 'puttee.' Somehow you don't care what you do in war time." Such were some phases of life under fire in Latlysmith. The day came at last when the gallant general and his brave men were to have Boers to deal witli in a new capacity — that of bold assailaius in a vigorous and prom a I1rauiii£^ hy Ceoffrey Strahan. Al lACK ON LADVSMIIH. 69 70 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa determined attempt to make an end by storming the British lines of dcfi'iice. A description of the two positions will make matters clearer for the reader. 'I'he interior British position at Ladysmith formed an oval stretching over ten miles fiom north- west to south-east, enclosed cm the west, south, and cast by the much-curving Klij) River, and on the north and north-east by the railway running westwards to Ilarri- smith. The .irmed i)ositions in the o\al were solely on the north side, comprising, from west to east, the King's Post II ill, a detached signal station held b\ die King's Royal Rilles ; due east of that, Cove Hill, held by the Rifle lirigade, with a redoubt, and at the eastern end a battery with one 4"7-inch naval gun ; east of that again. Junction Hill, lield by the i,eicesters and a naval ciuick-firing twehe- pounder. Most easterly of all, bringing us up to and beyond the railway (thus taking in some ground outside the oval), were Tunnel Hillj Cemetery Hill, and Ilelp- makaar Hill, held by a naval battery in a redoubt, a 4"7-inch gun, a battery of l-'ield Artillery, twf) companies of (lloucesters. the Liverpool Regiment, and the isl Dexons. \\'e go outside the oval again to mention a kopje to the north-east, also held by our troops. The other outer defences of the lirili^h were, on the west, just beyond the Klip River, a detached signal station, called Rifleman's Post, held by the King's R(jyal Rilles; .south of that, Ritleman's Ridge, in charge of men of the same force ; south- wards again, Range Post Riilge, defended l>y two companies of the Royal Irish P'u- siliers. On the south, beyond the river, lay hilly and woody ground, not iield by troops, the defensive i)ositions being f'a'lher out, four miles from the river. 'Phe line of these, going froni west to east, consisted (jf Waggon Hill, Caisar's Cam[), anil Maiden's Castle, one continuous r.mge, held by the Man- chesters, the 2i-.d King's Royal RiUes, and one battery, with the Gordons in .support. The Boer positions on the north were Surprise Hill, mounting two howitzers; Rietfontcin, hotter known as Pcpworth Hill, with " l.ong Tom" at its eastern end, and Ceneral Joubert's he.idiiuarters in the rear, to the north: Limit Hill, moimting two guns; and Lombard's Kop, with two heavy guns. On the east the enemy had, south of Lombard's Kop, among the scrub on low ground, two guns, one on each side of the high road to Helpmakaar ; south again, the long Bulwaan Hill, bearing, among other heavy guns, that known as '• Puffmg ISilly," jxisted nearly five miles from Ladysmith. On the west sidi', from three to four miles aw.iy frcjui Klip River, the enemy hail guns on Thornhill's Kopje to the north and on relegra[)h Hill to the south. On the south side, completing ti^ie circle of invest- ment, were Middle Hill, with two guns, facing our Waggon PLU at its western end, and a long range of unnamed positions carrying some guns lacing our Cicsar's Camp and ALviden Castle, and se[)arated from them by undulating open ground with scrub. It was on the morning of Monday, January 8th, that the general British public were made anxiously aware of the Boer assault, through heliogra[)h messages trans- milted to (ieneral Buller. Sir (ieorge White re[)orteil attack, in briefest terms, as begun at a (|uarter to three on the morn- ing of Saturday, January 6th. Successive messages gave '" .Vttack in considerable force," " I'^erywhere repul.sed, but fight- ing continues," "Attack continues, and enemy reinforced from south," and finall)', at a ([uartur past three i).m. on the same day, " Attack renewed : very hard pressed." Then the sun was obscured, and all intelligence ceased. On 'Puesday morning, January 9th, we had the joyful tidings of comi)lete victory in a des])erate engagement of seventeen hours' duration, with a few intervals for bringing up fresh forces, renewing sup[)lies of ammunition, and '"taking breath." 'Phe most resolute and persistent offensive operation ever undertaken by a Boer force had for its main object the capture of Ctesar's Camp, the chief British position on the south side of Ladysmith. The men engaged were i vorth Hill, 1 end, and n the rear, nting two two heavy lad, south .scrul) on •■li side of mil a^ain, long other ngV.illy," adysniith. our miles had guns orlh and On the of invest- wo guns, item end, positions u-'s Camp 'oni them rub. Monday, sh public the Boer es trans- (ieorge crms, as e morn- ^ccssive durable t fight- 's, and final 1)', >n the •y hard )scured, "uesday J j(jyful ;i)erate u-ation, 1 fresh mition, csolute ever for its Camp, th side were i I .'■10)11 ii Dnuiiiitr /y ■'■ '' .'^Ci'/-)//!. <■. THE BOERS ON THEIR DEFENCE. 7« I 72 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa three picked commandoes, led by tlic veteran Commandant De Villicrs, of the Harrismith corps. One temptation to an assault was the enemy's knowledge that our Royal Engineers and the Bluejackets were engaged in getting a Hotchkiss automatic gun and some naval pieces into position (m Waggon Hill. If the attack iiad succeeded, and this artillery had been seized, our own guns would have been turned on the town and British camp with disastrous effect. At half-past two on Saturday rorn-ng, January 6th, the Hotchk hatl •; be','n got into position on tl top ot Waggon Hill, and the fat.,- «, 'r : were taking some lest after lon^. .uu i ■'^' toil. Some distance below the crest ot the hill, a picket, hearing a n(jise, called out, " Who goes there ? " The men on the crest distinctly heard the reply, " Friend,'' and the next moment the British sentry fell, shot through the head. The event was a complete surprise for our men. The Hotchkiss was .set at work firing down the slope in the darknes?, but the en"-ny seemed to have halted, and to be receiving no harm from the shells sent at random, and the gun was withdrawn within a saf/^df (stone-work) hastily thrown up. Then the Boers came racing up the hill, and were close upon the Hotchkiss when it was removed. Our nearest guard had hurried up when our picket was shot, and, lining the crest, they fired steadily down the slope. There were at first only thirty men of the Impeiial I>ight Horse, eight of the King's Royal Rifles, and a dozen Gordon Highlanders, and they were soon hotly engaged with superior numbers. The firing was point blank at a few yards' distance, both sides aiming at the flash of each other's i 1 les. In the earlier stage of the fight. Waggon Hill was in charge of young Lieutenant .Mathias, who showed abundant readiness and courage. Several times the enemy were vnel wuh the bayonet on the hill top. At dawn the Boers dashed against a paity of the Light Horse, but reinforcements came up to the hard-pressed British, and Gordons and Royal Rillemen made at the foe, pouring in heavy volleys, and holding them back until more men hurried to the front of our position. About half-past five the Boers began to withdraw down the hill under a heavy fire, and the Riflemen and Highlanders, with some Devons who had come up, advanced to some kopjes nearer the enemy, and r. further contest came, in which by seven o'clock many of our officers and men had fallen, including Lord Ava, one of the heroes of I'M.mdslaagte, who now received a mortal wound. The enemy's loss at this point of attack was also heavy. Commandant l)e Villicrs, who had been in eery quarter cheering on his men and exposing himself with reckless courage, had been slujt dead, with three of his officers. A large number of the ilead and wounded Boers, many of whom were pie'-ced with the bayonet, lay on the crest of Waggon Hill. At half-[)ast seven the Boers had disappeared, but a rifle fire showed that they were in cover amongst kopjes to the south, coveretl with scrub. At long range, firing was maintamed between these repulsed foes and our troops throughout the da)'. Al CtEsar's Camp, adjoining Waggon Hill to the east, a long and sanguinary battle was fought. Our troo[)s had there also been surprised, and the position was held with some difficultv until Brigadier- (ieneral Ian Hamilton arrived with strong reinforcements. A crisis in the battle came at half-|)ast three in the afternoon, when the hills were shrouded in mist, and a tremendous thunderstorm burst over Ladysmith. The Boers then made a last great effort to capture Caesar's Camp. Our pickets were quickly driven in as the enemy came up the heights delivering a well-aimed fire. Not to be stopped by .shell and bullets, the advancing foe reached the crest of the hill, but then the British bayonet, wielded by the (iordons and Devons, came into i)lay. The Boers, with the butt end of their lifles, were no match for the " king of weapons " at close quarters. Investment and Siege of Ladysmith. 73 |t came, in our officers Lord Ava, -, who now e enemy's Iso heavy, had been i nien and Lirage, had is officers. wounded "ced with f Waggon ioers had •wed tliat oi.)jes to At long een these roughout Waggon nguinary ad there tion was ■igadier- slrong le came , when t, and St over a last Our as the ). ti-mg a iL'd by cached British and s, with match arters, 9 ,iiul they wore drivt'ti down the slope in disorder. The victcjry in that (juarter was roiiipletcd Ijy a down-charge of the Devods, led by Colonel Park, forcing tlie enemy into a wild and rapid llii.fb,t. Not a shot more came from tluii batteries or lines. The defence of C!a;sar's Cami) '^''*' hccn maintaini.'d at the eastern point by the Manchesters, the Border Regiment, some .Mounted Rilles, the ( lordoiis, and the Rille brigade. In the centre were the Naval Brigade and the Natal Naval N'oluntecrs, with two big guns. At the western end fought the Imperial Light Horse, tin; Devonshire men, the King's Royal RiHes, a naval detachment, and some (iortlons. (iood service was rendered on the llats already describetl as below (';esar's ('amp at the eastern end by the Natal Police, Carabineers, ami Mounted Rilles, who kejit off the Boers from Bulwaan Hill, and, in spite of their utmost efforts, prevented them from joiiung tluir frientls attacking from the south. 'Phere was one [Kjint of the British jiosition captured early in the day and continuously hekl by the Boers until, in Sir (leorge White's words, "a». dusk, in a very heavy rainstorm, they were turned out at the point of the bayonet in the most gallant manner by the Devon Regi?. ent, led by Colonel P.irk." The tiglitinj lad been of a des])erate character, some (i the liritish entren<'hments being, as the g^.eral reported, three limes taken and re-taken. 'Phis brilli.mt victory, demonstrating to the IJoers the vast differenix- between firing from cover on British assailants and attemjits to storm positions held in force by our troops, cost the army at Ladysmith 420 men in killed and wounded. 'Phe projjortion >'' men slain on the spot was reirarkab'; an was due, no doubt, to the (lose fighting. ■ hirteen officers were killed, ineludir , he i/irl of Ava, who never recove ' ci isciousness after receiving his womid, ai Ci)lonel 1 )ick-Cunyngham, of the (i nlons, whom we have seen wounded at Kl 'aagte. 'Pwenty-eight officers were V > • COI.KNSO RAILWAY BRIllCa';, ,u :ir^- 74 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa woiindi'd, while tlu' tuin-commissioned offi- cers and men killed iiuinbcred i 55, and the woiiniled 244. On Sunday, January 7th, the day follow- ing the battle, a solemn service of thanks- giving was held in the Anglican Church. There was a crowded congregation, chiefly military, which iniluded Sir George White and Sir Archibald Hunter, with Colonel Ian Hamilton and other staff officers. Archdeac-on Barker, in an elo(|uent dis- course on tlu; event of the previous day, justly (leilared that the lirilish Army had again demonstrated its possession of all the old qualities which had made it famous in the history of the world. At the conclusion of the sermon, (leneral White and his staff, on the invitation of the Archdeacon, walked to the altar rails and there stood during the chanting of a Te Deiun. The im- jjnssive service ended in the sit "jing of "(lod Save the Q)ueen " by the whole congregation. At this hai)[)y point in their fortunes during their lengthy trial of endurance and courage, we leave the Lady- smith beleaguered garrison and townsmen, and deal with the efforts made for their relief. CHAPTER V. Operations for the Relief of Ladysmlth. Boer Advance to Colcnso — The Town Occupied — Skirinishcs with Enemy — British Forces Concentrate at KstcDurt— tlood Work ot DuMin I^'iisilicrs at Fort \V) lie— (iciicrals Ilildyard and ("lory: Their Antecedents — tjur Armoured 'train Wrecked and t'aplured near Chieveley — .Mr. Winston Churchill's Cool Cour.age — The Ikitish Loss Mr. Churchill's Capture and Subsequent Escape -.Serj^eant Tod's ]5rave Act in the MltIu — lioer Advance 'I'owards Estcourl Work of our Naval Cum F.nemy Reach Mooi River, l'lun ,»» M ^I '3H7««^. ^♦^^ H' ^«#{>^gy()tian t at the ?1-Kebir, Operations for the Relief of Ladysmith 77 and was Comtnuiidaiu of ihe Staff College from fSi)\ until i.S»;S. Major- t lineral Sir I'laneis ( Iltv, K.C.n., had a great lepii- i.ition as a tluoKtical tac- tician, being I'rofessor of Tactics at Sandhurst lioni 1872 to 1875. His a(ti\i: service im luded work in the /nil! War of 1X7S 79, and in I'-gM't and tlu: Sudan from 1.SS2 to iSSS. In 1896 lie became 1 )ej)iity - Adjutant - ( leneral to the forces. He was soon to ha\e in Xatal an o|)i)ortiinity of apiilying his 1 nowledge of tactics to practical work of the most' im|)ortant character lor the relief of Ladysmith. On Wednesday, Novem- ber 15th, there occurred a few miles south of Colenso a striking episotle of war in connection with an armoured train. It was re])orti'd on 'I'uesdav, November r4th, by patrols of the Mounted Infantry that small parties of the enemy were approachin;'; l^sti'ourt from the direc- tion of Weenen and Coleiiso. Thi' Ivstcourt armoured train was prejiared for a recon- nais.sanc' as far as Chieveley station, and started (.a its mission at half-|)ast five in the morning. The train was made up of an ordinary truck carrying a seven-[)ounder muzzle-loading gun, served by four sailors; an armoured car, loopholed, and carrsing part of a company of Dublin l-'usiliers ; next came the engine and tender ; and then two more armoured cars with more Fusiliers, a company of the Durban Light Infantry ^'olunteers, and a small ci\ilian "break- down " gang ; and, lastly, a truck conveying tools and materials for repairing the road. There were in all one hundred and twenty //ii't\ H- 7. 1. ■ i;icni:kai. >ik c. v. clkry. men. under the command of Captain ilaldane. D.S.O , an officer who had been on Sir William Lockhart's staff in the Indian Tirah Isxpedition, and was lately recovered from a wound received at I^landslaagte. I'rere station was reachcvi in about an hour, and there a patrol of the Natal I'olice reported that all seemed cpiiet in the neigh- bourhood. Captain Haldane ' ; -n decided to i)ush on c, itiously for C eley. A.s the train reached the station, clear signs of hostile presence came into view. About a hundred Boer horsemen were cantering southwards a mile from the line. The telegraphist wired back to Colonel Long 78 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa at Estcourt, and thu train was ordered to return to Frere station. On the return journey, within two miles of Frere, a body of tlie enemy was seen on a hill command- ing the line at a distance of six hundred yards. 'l"he little expedition was (juickly under fire from two large field guns, a Maxim firing a stream of small shells, and from rinemen lying on the ridge. The iron sides of the armoured trucks rang with the patter of bullets. The driver put on full steam amidst a shower of shells, swung round the curve of the hill, ran down a steep gradient, and then dashed into a huge stone placed 1)\ the enemy on the line. The first truck in front of the engine on the return, the one containing the materials and tools of the break-down gang, was flung into the air, and fell, bottom up- wards, on tlie embankment. The next, an armoured truck with the Durban Light Infantry, after rushing on for twenty yards, was thrown over on its side, scattering the men in a shower on the ground. The third got wedged across the track, and the rest of the train kei)t on the metals. The Boer guns, having changed their ground, re-opened at a range of about twelve hundred yards, and then began a gallant little struggle against overwhelming force. The train carried as part of its freight Mr. Winston Chuirhill, the brilliant son of a brilliant sire. Lord Randolph Churchill. He was travelling as war correspcmdent of the Morni.ig J'osf, and, as one who had seen the last Sudan Campaign, was used to war and war's alarms. He displayed con- s[»icuous coolness and courage amidst the confusion and danger of the time. A few spirited words from his lips induceil the engine-driver, a civilian not paid, as he bitterly cried, " to be killed by bomb-shells," to climb back into his engine cab instead of running off to shelter. \'ain efforts vain from the scattering of the tools — were made to clear the line of the wrecked trucks, so that the engine and the two cars might escape. The enemy's fire from their guns came fast. Mr. Churchill most bravely exerted himself in the efforts made to clt:ar the line, but only the engine could be saved, steaming slowly away with as many wounded men as could be piled thereon. The fire of the 15oers increaied in severity as part of their prey seemed about to escape, and a cpiarter of the British force was soon disabled. The remaining infantry, running down the line after the engine, made for some houses near the railway station about eight RO\n-liRH)i.ili Ar COl.E.VSO ^ii^j^ :a of its freight )rilliant son of Iph Chiirciiill. "respondent of one who had n, was used to lisplayed con- ;c amidst the time. A few induced the I'aid, as he IjomlKshells," :al) instead of efforts -vain i — were made ed trucks, so > cars miglu m tlieir guns iu)st Jjravel) natle to cii;ar le could be ■itli as many iled thereon, d in severity d about to •ritish force ming down e for some about eight I I 79 I 8o The Fight for the Flag in South Africa hundred yards away, when a wounded soldier, in direct disol)cdience to the positive order that there was to be no surrender, waved a pocket handkerchief. The Boers immediately stopped firing, and, riding down from the hills, called for a surrender, though some of the British soldiers, knowing nothing about the " white flag '' being shown, were still firing. At close quarters against such odils there could escape, and finally fell into the hands of the Boers. We may here .-.tate that he was carried to Pretoria, whence he escaped on December 1 2th, and after six days of adventure — hiding himself under coal-sacks in a Boer goods train, lurking in water-courses by day, toiling on by night, with only chocolate as his food, and again con- cealing himself under great sacks in a THE CAMP AT MOOI KUKK. be no chance of successful defence, and most of the men gave up iheir arms and became prisoners of war. Some, farther away from the mounted enemy, continued running, and were shot or hunted down in twos and threes, some, however, making good their escape. Mr. Churchill owed his capture to his own courage and self- devotion. He was steaming away in safety on the engine, when he thought that only wounded men should be carried there. He jumped on to the line for a chance of truck — he reached Delagoa Bay, and on December 26th was in the British camp at Chieveley. About sixty men were taken prisonets, Captain Haldane being also captured, shot through the shoulder early in the engagement. We must record one other instance of courage during the struggle. When Captain Wylie was hit and lying helpless under the enemy's fire, Orderly- Sergeant Tod, of the Durban Light Infantry, seeing his danger, ran up and made a shield of great boulders round the officer, and Operations for the Relief of Ladysmith 8i the hands of ■as carried to n December adventure — s in a Boer '-courses by with only again con- sacks in a i-^. >* '•*»■ and on cam]) at re taken ing also ler early :ord one struggle, id lying Ordcrly- n fan try, a shield er, and lay down beside him for a few seconds to clieor him up. A iioer shell afterwards landed on the little fortification, and scatteretl the rocks widioiU further injury to the wounded man. After the destruction of the armoured train and the ca[)ture of the British survivors trom the fight, the lioers advanced towards Ivstcourt from the north-west, in se\eral bodies some hundreds strong. On XovembiT icSth, one party of about one hundred arid fifty men, moving towards the railway bridge half a mile north-we^l of the town, was dri\en to |)reci[)ilate Ihght by a shell from one of our naval guns at fixe miles' range. The missile burst in the middle of a crowd ot boers, and an instant lati-r se\eral horses were seen galloping away riderless. .Vbout this time a fine body of Ab)imted Infantry, Betiiune's Hor.se, five hundred strong, mostly men from the Johannesburg district, arrived as a welcome reinforcement. The enem\', howe\er, c.ime on in force, and advanced on xMooi Kiver, south-east of Estcourt, foraging and pillaging houses and sto.es, and driving off cittle. On November 2 ^ St the Boers had arrived near Nottingham Road, a sinnmer resort on the railway about thirty-five nnles south-east of Ivstcourt, and were actually within forty miles of Bietermarit/biu-g. Their gims were shelling the British cam)) on Mooi River, but on November icjth a considerable body of the eneni) in that district engaged in raiding were cleverly tlanked and almost surroundi'd by .Majoi- Tliorneycroft, with three coni|)anu's of the valuable " Horse " called b\' Ins name, aided by some Natal Carabineers, and two Ma.xims. Smart fighting was kept up from f »ur p.m. imtil (ku'k, when the enemy retired. the P)ritish force having onl\ two men woimdi'd. A new leader for the ilritisli now arrived on the six'ni' of action in the person of (leiieral Huller, ( !oinm,nuler-in-( !liief in South Africa, who landed at Hiuban on Saturdav, November 25th, ami .it once with his staff went to the front. Sn- Redvers Henry Duller, CCb., K.C:..M.O., V.C, had gone out from his command at Aldershot, assinned in i.Si;S. liorn in 18,^9, he entered the 60th Rilles in 185S, and ac([uired a great re[)utation for skill and resolution in the Ashanti War of i(S74 antl the Zulu War of 1878-79, ser\ing at home as .\djutant-(ieneral from 1890 till i8()7. On November 26th news came in tluit ( leiieral joubert was fdling back from Mooi River tow.u'ds Latlysinith. Some smart fighting had already oixairred near l';st<"ourt, which was still held by our troo[)s under (leneral Hildyard. On Wednesday, Novem- ber 22nd, he made a sortie against the Boers in [)osition on Beacon Hill with (■ntrenclmients and four guns, Ihe attack- ing f )rce was composed (jf three battalions West \'orkshire and West and Ivist Surreys with a field battery, two naval guns and tletacliment, and about seven hundreil mounted troops of the Natal Canibineers, bethune's Horse, and Natal Mounteil Police. The (-'neinv's chief post, Beacon Hill, rises to the height of 1,500 fctt, and their forces held the rough, stony country, interspersed with hills, beyond it for a distance of seven miles south of the t(jwn. I'he enemy were, in fut, blocking HildyarcTs communications with the south, and it was imperative that they should be "shifted."' The British attack was well conceived and finely executed, 'i'he main body, keeping touch with the railway, reached Willow Orange station, and with great e.xerticm the naval gun ami field battery were dragged up sti'e]) hills to commanding |)ositions for service. .\t this lime, about three in the afternoon, a terrific storm, with rain in torrents, and at limes great hailstones, burst over the scene, and contimied for some hours. When the weather cleaicd, about six o'clock, some shots were ex- changed between the enemy's artillery and our guns, and the \'orkshires, climbing the heights on one side of iieacon Hill, did some tiring against the enemy's line. 'I'he day's oper.itions closed with more heavy rain. iJelore dav break our troo|)s vv<'n' standing to arms, and tlie N'ork- sliire ll.itlalh 111, working sie.ilihilv on Irom S2 The Fij^ht for the Flag in South Africa prom (I PriXU'iiii,- ly jf^hii H. liacoii, THi; MUllT ATlAcK I!V WF.ST V(M . charged as if Ig ride down liteii assai! "Us, hut a fresh assault with the bayonet drove them off, with the loss of rilles, anununition, blankets, about thirty horses, and a fi;w j)risf>ners. Our naval guns had done good v/ork in smashing the carriage of a Hoer cannon. 'l"he IJrilish loss was about seventy, including fourteen killed. It was, no doubt, this vignrnus onslaught of (;"iieral Buller's, couided with the knowledge that slKjng 1 .*.. cm off, Linkers, isoners. I'oik in annon. :lu(lin!^' )t, this iilk'f's, sti<;ng 84 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa reinforcements were daily coming in from Durban, whicii cuusetl tiie enemy's witli- lirawal, and enabled our Railway Corps to repair the broken Ime to the soutii and north of Estcourt. Cin November 26th an advance of the llritish troops to Krerc station, towards ('olenso, was made, and it was found that die brid.ue of six arches, taking the railway across a widr stream, had been completely the railway, and constructing a strong new trestle-bridge across the stream. A general advance for the relief of Ladysmith was at hand, and the troops in Krere Camp were exciteil by the prospect. The position> of the enemy around ('(jlenso were ascer taiui'd through fre(iUL-nt reconnais.sances of mountid men, and it was known that they occu[)ied j)0>ts of gnat natural strength on kopjes near the town, and especially in 1 HK VAi.i.KV oi' I Hi; rri;hi.A the ScLiie ot (Jen' 'al Huller's Operations. wrecked by breakag.^ in the centre, for some days nothing of imp(''tariCe occurred. Sir Redvers IkiUer being luisiiv employed in arrangements to. i;uarding tns line of communication, and in jjersonal mspection of the country beyond Chievelcy, under the protection of cloud; of Light Hor.se patrols. By 1 )jrember 'th the Royal I'aigineers, witii their usual promptitude ami skill, sc- iided by the Natai Ccvern- mi'iit engine'.-rs. had restored conmiuni- ealiun to tiu; north of furc I a' disi-Tting great entrenchments beyond the Tugela River. The Ikitish troops were; enjoying themselves in camp, thronging the banks of a spruit, or stream, from morning till night, and bathing, in the gayest of spirits, at what they styled " Margate Sands." Their hilarity was soon to be exchanged for thr depression causLtl by disaster and defeat. Ceneral Buller, at his headqur.rters in Chievelcy C;:mii, between Frere and Colenso, had been forming the resoKe anil making the arrangements which strong new A general mitli was at Cani|) were c [jositions were a seer iissaiices of n that tliey al slrenuth •specially in i-^* . 3 . '"sfi; lO Tugela enj(jying J banks of till iiighl, spirits, at Their d for the defeat. (l<]U;;rters rere and resoKe s which I 71 -i H 'k:'. i""«.' S6 The Fight for the Flag in South Africa bro'jgiit ;il)out, on Dccemhcr 15th, tlic Hiitllc of ('ok-nso, or Ikittlc of the TiiL^cla, 'I'lu; griKTal jiosition of the enemy was known, hut their streiii;tli in men and j^uns was, beyond doubt, iuidtrrate