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<r^ikS!9LJ<^

THE

HISTORY

PIQ71T

FOR THE

OF THE

WAR

FROM THE

BOER ULTIMATUM

TO THE ADVANCE OF

LORD ROBERTS

Edgar Sanderson

Author of

''Africa in ttie I9th Century**

lOO

ILLUSTRATIONS

AND

MAPS

Including Pictures of

COLONEL OTTER

and Manitoba Contingent

TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIQQS

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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

From a Photo, by Itenlh, Plymouth.

MAJOR -CKNKKAI, SIR Will, .AM HCTI-ER,
Late CommanJer-in-Chief in ijoulh Africa.

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

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

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

H
7.

NAPAl..

«3

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

■'*-i<f".'t' i

Piijto. iiifflied by T. jf. Snuiii.

SIMONSTOWN NAVAL STATION, IIEADI, 'ARTERS OK THE SOUTH AFRICAN SQUADRON.

of the v'timatum accused the British
Government of "assuming a threatening
tone " in the discussions concerning the
franchise ; denied the British right to inter-
fere at all in that matter ; complained of
the presence of British troops *' in the
neighbourhood of the borders of the
Republic " as a threat against its indepen-
dence ; suggested arbitration on all points
of difference ; and fin.' Uy demanded, firstly,
" that British troops on the borders of the
Republic should 1:^; instantly withdrawn " ;
secondly, " that all reinforcements which
had arrived in South Africa since June ist,
1899, should be removed from South
Africa within a reasonable time, to be
agreed upon " ; thirdly, that any British
troops " now on the high seas should not
be landed in any port of South Africa."
Non-compliance with these demands be-
fore five p.m. on October nth, or any
further movement of British troops nearer
to the borders, would be regarded as
"a formal declaration of war." To this

document no reply whatever was given by
the British Government except a statement
that there was no answer. The die was
cast ; the Rubicon was crossed in ungainly
fashion by the political representatives of
the South African Republic. The most
insolent of all ultimatums was the fitting
climax to the most audacious and un-
principled of all conspiracies against the
rightful supremacy of a great Power within
her own colonial possessions.

Many thousands of refugees from the
two republics had already arrived at Durban
and Cape Town, and had become de-
pendent, in countless instances, for support
on the bounty which was freely j)ro\ided
by subscriptions in the British Isles.
There were many, and some true, stories
concerning the brutal ill-treatment of these
hapless persons by Boers at tlie railway
stations during the journey through the
Republican territory. On the night of
October nth the British Diplomatic
Agent in the Transvaal, Mr. Conyngham

The Pight for the Flag in South Africa

Greene, quitted Pretoria, handing over the
care of such British subjects as remained
within the borders of the South African
Republic to the United States Consul.
Sir Alfred Milner issued a prochimation
declaring all persons who should abet
the enemy in a state of war with Great
Britain to be guilty of high treason.

The outbreak of war was received by
an overwhelming majority of persons in
the British Isles as presenting the only
means likely to furnish a permanently
peaceful settlement of affairs in South
Africa. The same view was taken in the
3reater colonies, the Canadian Dominion
and Australasia, and offers of contingents
of troops from those regions were promptly
made to, and accepted by, the home
Government. At Ottawa, Montreal, Syd-
ney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Wel-
lington (New Zealand), Hobart (Tasmania),
and other colonial centres, a spirit of
the utmost loyalty was displayed, and
volunteers for the contingents eagerly pre-
sented themselves in numbers vastly greater
than could be then enrolled for active
service.

We need enter into no details con-
cerning the British Regular Forces of all
arms despatched in succession to the
scene of warfare. To mention the differ-
ent regiments of infantry and cavalry, the
batteries of Field and Royal Horse
Artillery, and the transport, ambulance,
engineering, telegraph, war balloon, and
other corps, including a siege train and
howitzers for field service, wou'.d be, apart
from the troops serving in India, to tran-
scribe the Army List. Most of the Regulars
in the British Isles, with regiments from
Malta and Gibraltar and other foreign
stations, were included in the Army Corps
of about forty thousand men which was
soon despatched, to be followed, as the
magnitude of the contest was revealed,
by the mobilisation of Fifth, Sixth, Seventh,
and Eighth Divisions, forming another
complete Army Corps. As the struggle
proceeded, the men of the Reserves were
summoned and promptly joined the colours.

Militia battalions were sent abroad to rein-
force the reduced garrisons of Malta and
Gibraltar, and several battalions of the
same auxiliary force volunteered for service
in South Africa.

As regards the Boer forces who took
the field, it is impossible to form an exact
estimate. It had been supposed that the
two Republics could mobilise about fifty
thousand burghers in their various com-
mandoes, but it is certain that the fighting
force engaged against our troops greatly
exceeded that number. Thousands of
Uitlanders of divers nationalities — Ger-
mans, Americans, Frenchmen, Swedes,
Norwegians, Danes, Hollanders, Swisp,
Belgians, Italians — and many Cape Afri-
kanders, swelled the ranks of our foes.
It soon became evident — to our surprise
and our discomfiture in some instances —
that not only was the Boer army supplied
with abundant and powerful artillery of
the newest pattern and longest range, and
that the guns were served by skilled
artillerymen, many of whom were well-
trained foreigners, but that foreign officers
of great experience and skill were aiding
the Boer generals — Joubert, Cronje, Botha,
and others — by their direction and advice
in strategy, tactics, and engineering. We
were thus engaged, not merely against a
nation in arms — a great force of men
whose style of fighting, as M">unted
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

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;

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.

; 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)un<lee Occupied
hy Fnemy Their Advance on I.adysmith The Battle of I".landslaaj;te The Scene of Action
(ieneral French's Ahle Tactics- Stronj^ Boer i'ositicm— Arrival of Keinforcements from Ladysmith
(lenerai White Leaves the Command to French Advance of British Linesmen and Imperial Light
Horse !'iclures(|uc Scene at Final Attack Death of Colonel Chisholme- -Incidents of the Fi^ht
The Brave Boy Busier The Final Charj,'e — Boers Driven over the Rid^je- Work of the Lancers—
Knemy's Officers Killed or Captured - The Trojihies of Victory -British Losses -The Imperial Li^ht
Horse — Their Origin and Spirit — The Challent;e Letter from the Boers Colonel Chisholme Sketched
Before he Fell— Sir ( ieor^e White amun^ the Shell Fire C'olonel I)ick-Cunynt,'ham — His Wound
antl Order to the Men— (iallant Conduct of Lord Ava — Sir (ieorije White's Risky Position at
Ladysmith The Battle of Rietfontein— The British Force (Iradually Fnvelo|)ed- The Battle of
Faripdiar's Farm The Disaster at Nicholson's Nek-The Overpowering Force of Biwrs- Capture
of ( llouccsters and Irish Fusiliers — Artillery Duel at .adysniith Fi^jht at Tatham's Farm- F'.nemy's
Cam]) Taken Ladysmith Finally Invested — Telegru. h Wires Cut— British Success near Colenso —
The Mistake of Occupying Ladysmith — Its Serious Results.

Wtiii,!-, the Transvaal Hoers were pouring
across the frontier in the northern angle
of Natal, their Free State allies invaded
the colony on the north-west by way of
Van Reenen's Pass and at other i)()ints,
inaking for Ladysmith. The country is
one singularly well adapted for the opera-
tions of such a military force as that
directed by the Boer commanders, in the
broken nature of the ground, with its
countless hills and hollows, affording end-
less positions for defensive warfare, and
abundant opportunity for concealment of
troops in ambuscades. The land, as usual
in South Africa, rises in terraces from the
sea. Durban being nearly at the sea level,
I'inetown, only .seventeen miles inland, is
i,ioo feet above it. The capital, Pieter-
maritzburg, seventy miles by rail from
Durban, stands at double that height, or
2,200 feet. Estcourt, seventy-five miles
by rail north-west of the capital, lies at
the height of 3,800 feet. ladysmith,
forty-four miles north of Estcourt, is some-

what lower, but stands well above 3,000
feet.

Beyond Ladysmith, on the west, the
Van Reenen Pass over the Drakensberg
Motintains into Orange Free State is at
the height of 5,500 feet. From the
Drakensberg, smalltir ranges run acro.ss the
colony to the east, the north-ea.st, and the
south-east, as the Biggarsberg hills, cutting
off the northernmost corner — the Newcastle
district frorh the rest of Natal ; the Mooi
River heights, running north-east from the
Giant's Castle, a mountain over 9,000 feet
high on the Natal and Basutoland border,
to the valley of the Tugela ; and two other
ranges, one running to the Lower Tugela,
and the other in a south-easterly direction
to the sea near Durban.

Natal has many rivers, the largest
being the Tugela, which ri.ses in the Mont
au.x Sources, on the Basutoland border,
a mountain over 11,000 feet high, and
flows for two hundred miles before it
reaches the sea. In manv miles of its

MOliNlEli IM-ANIKY KKCON N< MIK I M

The Invasion of Natal

■J

rouTM' It IS .t strong ^nr.iiii. |t,l^^l^^
tluciunh ntrky r.ivims. Ainuiij; iIn iribu-
l.inc". .ire llir Kli|i l\i\< i. p.issiii^ hy
l«i(l>Mnilli 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

H
>

r
>
z

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

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

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 t<y .\t: ille P. luhiarJs.

I'AARDEKRAAL MONUMKNT ICRICTEU liV IMK liOKKS To CO.MMKMOKATK rUKlk sU( CKSS

IN THK LAST WAR.

extreme confidence in the skill and courage
of his infantry that he ventured to send
only two thousand men to storm it in the
teeth of a terrible and sustained fire from
superior numbers. It is alleged that the
commander had resolved, as the opportunity
had come, unce and for all to " wipe out

came for the men to go at the " double "
for Smith's Farm. That point was
reached with very trifling loss, though the
enem)'s fire had now become a furious
storm of iead. i'he two batteries now
took up a fresh position to the south of
Talana Hill, about two thousand vards

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

tVom the l')f)tr t'lriny liin'. • In tin; wood
around Smith's I'arin, which tor some tiinc
marked the hmit of tlic advance, our
otificers and men Ijegan to fall fast, and
it was here that the gallant and able leader
received his wound. Ahout half-past nini,
(leneral Symons, who had galloped up to
tell his men that the hill must he taken,
was hit in the stomach hy a Mauser bullet.

infantry, that the men, creeping up yard by
yaril and seeking every scrap of cover from
the incessant fire, reached the stone wall
above described, and there for an hour or
more further movement seemed impossible.
As often as a man showed a bit of his
head or body, the IJoer marksmen ''blazed
away," anil it was past noon when the
hnesmen, who had been engaged all those

;V/,i/,'. I>y 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-

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-'

.".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.

>
a.

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.

O
■y.

> -

X 3

w' -j

E 5

n O

° '^.

> r
o.

< "*

s <■■'

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

M
H

H
W

jsequent

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

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

7t
V.

; )

..■f

»"

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

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

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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

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

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

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 an<l Pursuit -General French
at Arundel- Ilis Skilful Operations New Zealandcrs in a Trap-Their Cool Coura^fe - Gatacre's
Command— Work <jf Mounted InfatHry under Captain Montmorcncx — Rescue of a Hritish Parly hy
Captain (joldsworthy - Brilliant Work of General French near Colesherg - The Hocr Advance Sto|)iK'(l
— Reinforcements f(jr French— More Fighting -The Hoers Repulsed —The Disaster to the Si'fTolks
near Colesherg— Severe Loss in Prisoners— Spies and Traitors at VV(jrk- Further ' ighting near
Colesherg— French's Need of Reinforcements -Repulse of Boer Attack hy N'.'W Zealanders and
Yorkshires- Australian Party Cut Off hy Hoers - (ieneral Gatacre's Troops Attackeil at Molteno —
Enemy Well Repulsed-More Food.. stuffs Seized by British at Molteno Mills.

Thl inva.sioii of Natal was followed, aboui
three weeks later, hy an inroad of Free
State Boer.s across the Orange River into
Cape Colony. On Wednesday morning,
November ist, the bridge at Norval's Pont
was attacked by the enemy, witii the capture
of a few men of the Mounted Police and
some storekeepers. The i)oint of invasion
lies just where the Orange River turns east-
wards after a long course from due north-
west. The telegraph station was seized and
the wires were cut. Norval's Pont railway
stativ , on the line running north-east
from Naauwpoort Junction to Bloemfontein,
was also captured, and the foe were fairly
planted, in this new quarter, on British
territory. On the ne.xt day (November 2nd)
a body of Boers crossed the river at Bethulie
Bridge, about forty miles cast of Norvafs
Pont, on the railway running north- west
from Albert Junction, in Cape Colony, to
Fauresmith, in Orange Free Siaie. There
were no British troops then on the scene,
and the enemy marched slowly southwards,
occupying Colesberg, south-west of Norval's
Pont, and Burghersdorp, south of Albert
Junction, by the middle of November.

At Colesberg, on November 15th, a de-
monstration of Free State troops, about seven
hundred strong, was made in presence of

the colonial farmers in the district, who
had been summoned to attend. The com-
mandant, in an impassioned appeal, adjured
the colonial burghers to join the Boer cause,
and to throw off the yoke of Flnglish tyranny.
"War," said this v/adicator of righteousness
and truth, "had been forced upon the Free
State, and it was God's will that they should
fight for their liberty. Those who failed to
respond would be answerable to Him. The
Boer arms had been hitherto everywhere
victorious." A proclamation from President
Si.eyn was then read, addressed to the
inhabitants of Cape Colony. This docu-
ment stated that the Free State Boers had
no enemy to fight except Her Majesty's
troops, and the colonial burghers would
continue to enjoy freedom of property and
person so long as they displayed no hostility.
Supplies which were requisitioned would be
paid for, or a receipt given in full. The
commando then began to forage in the
town, and cominandeered waggons, carts,
and supplies from the storekeepers in
Colesberg and the farms in the district.
Aliwal North, on the Orange River, in Cape
Colony, about forty miles east of Bethulie
Bridge, was also occupied. The Cape
Colony Government proclaimed martial law
in the districts of Colesberg, Steynsburg,

\ !

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

Pluto. I'y Bitiiriie fr Sliefliml. Cahutla.

GfNERAI, CATACRE.

Albert, Molteno, Aliwal North, Queens-
town, and other regions in tliat quarter.
The loyal inhabitants were anxiously await-
ing the arrival of British troops from the
south, or from I)e Aar in the west, on the
line to Kimberley. It was not long before
aid arrived.

On November 20th General Sir William
Gatacre reached Naauwpoort by train from
De Aar with a thousand men, and (General
French, with a force of three thousand, was
at Hanover Road, a station about midway

between De Aar Junction and Naauwpoort.
Major-General Sir William Korbes (iatarre,
K.C. H., holding the chief command in this
part of the scc-ne of warfare, was born in
1843, 'I'l'l entered the .Army in 1862. .After
service in lUirmah in 1889, and, six years
later, in (.'hitral, he commanded the Hritish
Mrigade in the Sudan during the advance
to the Atbara in 1898, and there acfjuired
from his men the nickname of "General
liackacher," from the amount of work which
he exacted. He is a man of indefatigable
energy, and claims, no doubt with justice,
that he asks no more from any of his sub-
ordinates than he is prepared to do himself.
At the Hattle of Omdurman (ieneral Gatacre
was in command of the British Division.

Major-( ieneral r'rench has a very high
reputation as a cavalry leader, and it was by
the casting vote of Sir Redvers Buller that
he was selected for his command in South
Africa. He belongs to a modern school of
British officers which includes Babington
and Brabazon, with Brocklehurst, for the
present shut ui) in Ladysmith ; Lord
Dundonald, commanding (ieneral Buller's
cavalry on the 'I'ugela ; Lord Airlie, head-
ing the 1 2th Lancers on the Modder River ;
and Colonel Broadwood, late the dashing
young leader of the Egyptian Cava'.ry, now
at the head of a fine corps of irregular

r/toto. by yaitso'iy CV/t'j/'C'i

VIEW OK COI.KbUEKG.

Vaauwpoort.
)cs (Jatacro,
nand in this
^•as horn in
S62. After
li, six years

the Hritish
he advance
re acquired
r "C.eneral
A'nrk which
ulefatigahle
ilh justice,
af his sub-
ilo himself,
ral Clatacre
•ivision.

very high
.1 it was by
Huller that
1 in South
1 school of
Bahington
it, for the
th ; Lord
Buller's
rlie, head-
ier River ;
dashing
'airy, now

irregular

I I

4ii The Pight for the J lag in South Africa

Pllul,'. rf/'if.hiie.l /'v the kiitj /•rrmis\u-'il I'f '■ SmI'TII \1 Kh A.
I'kKSlDK.NT STKVN.

cavalry in (Jape Colony. As major of llie
19th Hussars, one of the finest regiments
in the service, perfect in outpost duties and
reconnaissances, I'Vcnch accompanied Sir
Herbert Stewart's expedition across the
Bayuda Desert in the Nile Campaign of
1884-85, ami took part in the fierce actions
at Abu Klea and Metemmeh. At Elands-
laagte, General French had disj)layed, as
we have seen, the mastery with whicli hu
could handle the three arms— cavalry, in-
fantry, and artillery in combination, and
this clear-headed, i)atient, prompt, sounil-
JL:dL;ing oflicer was the very man for the
work in hand against the invaders of Cape
CoLony. Uy good luck French had just
been able to escape from Ladysmith by
the last train that got thnnigh for Durban.
Fwur miles from Colenso the train was
tired on by the Boers, but none of the
passengers suffered injury.

lor some time no events of importance
occurred in the new scene of action. The
Boers were active in cutting telegraph wires
and destroying railway line, and they o<cu-
pied the towns of Fadygrey and Barkiy
Ka->t, 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,

(

ASSAULT OF STORMHERG HY UENKRAI. IJATACRK,

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

afternoon of December 31st, the British
commander left Arundel with five s(iuadrons,
half of the 2nd lierkshire, eighty Moun'ed
Infantry <arried in waggons, and ten guns.
A detour was made to avoid observation,
and, after a halt for four hours at a farm-
stead, the force, at half-past three in the
morning of January rst, (jccupied a kopje
overlocjking Colesberg from the west. 'I'he
Boers were in the hills extending for six
miles at a short distance south of the town.
.At daylight the British guns opened fire,
enfilading the right (jf the enemy's position.
The foe re])lied v.ith a very hot discharge
from a fifteen-pounder British gun, with
Royal Laboratory ammunition, with a
Hotchkiss, which caused nuuh annoyance,
and with other guns. .\t last the artillery
on the enemy's right flank was silenced, and
the Boers, with severe Icjss from our shells,
were forced to flee, leaving the Hotchkiss
gun behinfl. The enemy, on the first
attack, had been completely surprised.
The Berkshires seizeil a hill in the dark,
driving off the Boer pickets and securing
an excellent sheltered position for the
British Rcjyal Horse .Artillery guns. General

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

(H'AKDl.Ni; A II;.NM:I. I.N lAPE COLONY,

French ended l)y a demonstration with
cavahy and guns to the nortli of Colesberi,',
occupying the enemy's line of retreat hy
way ol the road-hridge across the Orange
River.

On the next day (January 2nd) it was
found that the enemy, strouj^ly reiii-
forcetl, had re-occupied the [Mjsitions from
whicli they iiad been driven hy our artillery
on the [)i-eceding day, and they matle their
presence known hy an accurate fire from
guns sending shells which did not explode.
The whole liritish loss in die two days
amounted to four killed and a few wounded.
The ISoers on January ist undoulitedly

suffered severely from our fire. All this
oijcration of war had been conducted with
admirable skill in the dispositions of the
IJritish general, and though the result was
of no tlecisive character as regarded the
expulsion of the fi)e from IJritish territory,
the work, done witii trifiing loss to our
troo])s, was \ery harassing to the invaders.
Their progress southwards on the much-
vaunted promenade to Cape Town was
effectually stayed at an early period of the
campaign, and it was demonstrated that
iirilish forces of the right stam[), ably led,
were their masters in that scene of warfare.
On Januar\- 3rd, (ieneral I'ler.ch, at

The Invasion of Capi Colony

I f_;

his special request, was rcinforcod hy the
brigade of Househokl Cavalry, the ist
ICssex, and a l)attery of Field Artillery. He
needed this addition to his troops. ( )n
the next day the lioers made a deterininrd
attenii)t to get round the iSritish left Hank.
There were about a thousand men in the
commandcj, who occupied a line of small
ko[)jes and opened a hot tin- with four guns
on a position held hy two companies of
the Berkshires and half a battalion of the
Suffolks. As the enemy advanced, the fire
of four British guns drove them off to (over,
and the attack was finally dis[)osetl of
by cavalry and guns, wlu) threatened the
enemy's right flank, supported by infantry
pouring in a .severe fire. After long,
desultory fighting between the Berkshires
and the Bcjers, occupying respectively the
western and eastern ends of a range of hills,
and a hot fire of our guns against the enemy
in other [)ositions, the foe retired across
the ])lain towards the Orange Ri\er roail.
Then the British cavalry was let lo(we. The
fire of two of the enemy's guns from a
small ridge on the [)lain was silenced by the

British artillery, and the r)oers lost about
titty killed aiKi wounded. The Moimted
infantry, charging one i)osition, took nine-
teen prisoners. During the pursuit. Major
Harvey, connnanding the loth Hussars,
was killed at the head of his men. The
Ijritish los.ses were otherwise small.

This success was followetl by a somewhat
serious disaster to a battalion of our infantry.
On the morning of Saturday, January 6th,
(leneral French, at the urgent desire of
Colonel Watson, in command (;f the Suffolks,
allowed an attempt to be made for the
seizure of a grassy hill which formed part
of the enemy's position at C'olesberg. 'i'he
kopje lay two miles to the north-west of the
town, and was well worth an effort ibr its
possession, seeing that it comin.mded the
whole [jlain to the north and north-west
<jf C'olesberg, as well as a great part of the
town itself. There is no doubt that informa-
tion of the intended att.a-k was at once
conveyed to the Boers. At midtught
Colonel Watson set forth with four com-
panies of his regiment, the men wearing
canvas shoes or marchini; in their socks

A ■

from a Drawing by If. B. il ^U ;ii, K.I.

AI)V.\.\C1NG 0.\ A KOl'JE.

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

'The niglit was very dark, and the way was other officers, and many men. One of the

rendered difficult by boulders and rfxks. companies, under Cai)tain Brett, moved to

When the summit of the hill was reached, thi' right, and charged into the Boer

Colonel Watson, Major Unnvn, and the position, when a shout of " Retire I " came

adjutant passed over the crest to recon- from the enemy, and the two rear com-

noitre. The enemy were lying, finger on panics, deeming it to be the order of

KAKKIK Sl'US, IN SERVICE OI' HOERS, AWAITINO TRIAL,

trigger, l;)ehind a high sc/ianz, or stone-work,
in the rear of the crest.

Ihe men of the Suffolk compaiiies had
come into somewhat close order during the
ascent, and the leading company was only
a few yards behind the group of officers
when a terrific (ire was suddenly ojK'ned,
killing Colonel Watson, the adjutant, two

the British leader, moved to the rear.
Nearly a hundred officers and men of
the two companies in advance had fallen,
and Captain Brett, with two other officers
and sixty-nine men, became unwounded
prisoners, while four officers and forty-
four men were captured after disablement.
Four officers and twenty-six men were

The Invasion of Cape Colony

came

killed in this lamcntahlt.' affair. The
(lefciK-e heliind which the iiocrs were lying
was (luiibly Idophnlcd, and so irtfully con-
cealed that it could only be disc )vere(l from
a balloon or by an adv.nV'e to close ([uarters.
It was too high U) be stormed from the front,
e\ce|)t by the use of scaling-ladders. The
Boer position was shelled by our guns for
tive hours after the failure of the attack,
and many waggons and ambulances were
seen carrying off dead and wounded men.
The misfortune of the- Suffolk battalion
illustrated one of the chief difficulties with
which our troops have had to conteml
during the war— the presence of i>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

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 cl<jse range, leaving twent\-one men

New Soiith Wales Lancers, fell into i;n
anibiish in moimting a kopje already
occujjied by the enemy. 'I'he Australians,
taken In tween two fires, made a good r.in-
ning fight, but were finally (/verwhelmed.
On that evtiiing only two returned to camp.
Another patrol, visiting the s[)ot on the next
morning, tound one of the parly tlead and
one wou.ided. On the ground were four
(K'.id Australian and scncii I'oer hcirsi'S.
On the same day another of the parly
returned to cam]) : the rest, eleVLii in
munber, hatl become prisoners.

TllK IlKl.lOClKAril AT WOKK

dead and many wounded on the liekl. Many
of the Yorkshires were iiiuler fire for the
first time, and the c-onduct of all engaged
was excellent. 'I'lie liritish loss was only
six killed and five woimded, the latter
including Captain Vv:, of the Yorkshires.
Warm praise was accortletl by (leneral
French to Captain Maddox, who took
charge of affairs when the british leader
was disabled, and gave the word for the
bayonet at the critical moment of the fight.
The next incident was one unfortunate
for the brave colonials from Australasia.
On January i6th a patrol of sixteen men,
composed of South Australian Horse and

When we turn to Ceneral Oatacre, whose
headquarters were at Sterkstroom, on
the railway about thirty miles s(nilli-east
of Stormberg Junction, we find the Boers,
on January 3rd, assailing Molteno, between
those points, in considerable Ibrce. About
five hundred men eiUeretl the town and
then attacked the Cape Police, two luiiulied
and fifty strong, in their cami), two miles to
the south. Large bodies of the enemy, with
some guns, were on an adjacent hill. A
determined resistance was made by the
Police, who were soon reinforced by sixty
Kaffrarian Rides and a hundred Moimted
Infantry of the 2nd Bt;rkshiie from a British

The Invasion of Cape Colony

(Minp at Biisliman's Hock. The fi^htiii^
l)cc:aniL' liot when a scconil CDiniiiaiulo n\
the ciKMuy worked round In the uisi o\
Moltciio ami opened fire witli a heavv i^iin.
tleiieral ( lalai re arrived tVoi'^ Sterk^trooni
in the course of the morning, with liaU' a
liatialion of tlie Ro)al Scots, a hun(h\(l
Mounted Infantry, and a field lialli r\. 1 he
lone slowly wnund its way uj) die e(irk->erew
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\e<l, and the
vital parts of the machinery detached. On
January i6th there was siane skirmishing
with the r>oers 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

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

LADVS.MITIl ANI/ ^>LKKOUN Ul.M; COUNTKV.
59

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

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

The Fi«ht for the Flag in South Africa

I'rotn slroti;;!)' posted t'ofs, and compcUtcl
tr» ntiro. Ihc Lciccstcrs ;iii<l llu- Mounted
Infantry made repeated elTorl^, l)Ut were
j)iitniiinl)er(d at all* points, and tlie enemy
captured about two hundred draught oxen.
In tlu' eMiiin;^ a heavy homharihnent was
openetl, and one shell did nuieh d,nna;;e in
llu' Royal llolfl, where several ol'tieors h;id
formerly Iodised. They quitted the place
for ;i comparatively quiet lite under tents
in camp wuh the men. I'loni time to tiim;
losses in killed and wounded, not of a
serious kind, were caused amonu; the

at Little Buhvaan Hill, near Lomhard's Kop,
of tlie Town Hall in I-adysmith. The Red
Cross iUg tlying on the tower indicated its
use as a iK)s|>ital, 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-

Investment and Slei^e of Ladysmith

nlurd's I\op,
1- I'll.' Rill
indicatcil its
'iiil<lin^' was
\'s poM'tion.
ily see their
;lu and left
L'y pcrsisti'd
any of the
ito a tiinnri
1 third >>licli
thi- main
d woinding

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-

iJ.i'i /'v /. /\i/^e>-><"i /rifiit ,1 .'^i<l,.i /;i Mi, .1/./.'.'" /'>ii'>.

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

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 <jur posses-
sion. These were a Maxim, which was
taken back to Ladysmith, a 6-inch Creusol
gun (a very powerful weapon), and a 4"7-in<h
howit/er. The Royal Engineers, uiuk'r
Captain Eoulke and Lieutenant Turner,
took charge of the two larger weapon,
antl destroyed them with guncotton. ll;e
breeches being convened as trophies to
camp. The whole lo>s of llie assailants in
this fine (.'xploit was one man killed and
three wountled amonij; the \.\.<M\. Ilorse,
with Major Henderson, of the .\rg\ll and
Sutherland 1 lighlamU'rs. and four of the
guides, slightly wounded. On the return
to camp, deneral White, at special parades
in the afternoon, gave warm praise and

heart}' thanks to all the otticers and men
engaged, with jiartieular mention of the
Natal men as "a credit, not only to their
own colon)', but to the emiiire'."'

I'he ins[)iriting effect 'if this suci:ess was
quickly manifested in a similar enterprise,
again illustrating how well Sir George
White understood his duty of not being
content with a inen.ly [lassive defence of
his jiosition, and also displaying the mettle
of the soldiers under his command. On
the night of Sunday, December loth,
another sortie was undertaken by Colonel
Metcalfe, of tlu; 2nd Rifle Brigatle. With
five hundred men of his battalion he made
a dash out of Ladysmith against the height
c;dled Surjirise Hill, where the Boers had a
4'7-in(h howitzer. The crest of the position
nas reached without discovery, and, the
gunners and guaril being driven off, the
formidable weajion was destroyed by gun-
cotton, under the direction of Lieutenant
Digby Jones, R.1%. News of the attack
had been swiftly ronveyed to neighbouring
laagers of the enemy, and the British force
on the way back to camp fouiul its road
barred by the foe in considerable numbers.
After a fiirce fight, in which our men made
a free use of the bayonet, the Rifles cut
their way through, with the loss to us nf
one oflicer anil eleven men killed, and three
officers and forty-one men wounded. Six
men who remained behind in charge
of their wounded comrades were made
prisoners. I'he price [laid for the destruction
of thi' howitzer was heavy, but against it
must be set the saving of life which would
have perished through its action, and the
moral effect [iroduced by such daring and
brilliant work against a besieging fon'e.

As the lime wore on, the besieged force
sufferL'd rather se\erels- from enteric fever,
one of the \ictims being Sir George White,
wiio, liappiK, soon recovered, and from
d\'sentt'r_\'. The weather l)e(~ame intensely
li<it, so that, on I )ecember 20th, the
ihermDineter r^howed 104 degrees shade
temperature. The enemy's bombardment
increasetl in severity, and on Thursday,
December 21st, during a heavy fire, several

'I's and men
ition of the
anly to their

success was
r enterprise,
Sir GeorL,'e
f not heing
defence of
'i the mettle
imand. On
inher loth,
')}■ Colcmel
;;ule. With
on he made
t the height
i'oers Iiad a
the position
■, and, the
^■n off, the
-d by gun-
Lieutenant
the attacic
:ighl)ouring
litish f(jrce
I its road
numbers,
men made
Rifles cut
' to us of
and tliree

Kk'd

Six

n charge
-■I'e made
estruction
igainst it
icJi would

md the
iring and

force,
n'cd force
ric fever,
W Wliite,'
nd from
intensely
oth, the
s sliade
iardment
hursday,
i, several

Investment and Siege of Ladysmith

UESTROVIM; the ENKMV's C.UNS. a SUKI'KISE UY IJENEKAL HUNTER

shells in succession fell near the general's men f)f the (iloucesters were killed and nine
house. One of the missiles completely woinuled as they sat at breakfast, and tive
wrecked a room near that where Sir (ieorge oflicers of the 5th Lancers were slightly

wounded. The British gunners retaliated
with some effective shots from a battery of
Royal Horse Artillery and with howitzer fire.
Amidst these troubles it was jileasant
for readers at home to learn tliat the town

lay ill. No personal injury was caused, and
head(juarters were promptly removed to
another ])art of the camp. 'I'he worst day
of the siege, as regarded the lioer artillery
tire, came on December J2nd, when six

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

had "plenty of provisions," and that, in
readiness for Christmas Day, the "men had
been served with |)him puddings and cii^ars."
On the day of the severe ijomhardment
(December 22n(l) there was some sharp
tighting, (hie to a British reconnaissance
made by the three arms, causing us a loss
of eight men Isilled and fifteen wounded,
the latter including five officers of the 5lh
Lancers. On December 26th there was
severe shell firing from the foe, and one
missile from the Creusot gun on liulwaan
(or Bulwana) Hill dropjjcd in the officers'
mess of the Devons at Junction Hill, killing
two lieutenants, and wounding five officers
of that regiment, as well as two officers of
the Inniskilling Fusiliers and Royal West
Surrey. Christmas Day had been " passed
delightfully with athletic sjjorts and other
amusements," and a message from the
Queen was received, we read, " with terrific
cheers and demonstrations of the eagerness
of the men U) prove their worthiness in
fighting." The time was a[)[)roa(hing when
their desire was to be gratified in full
measure.

Among incidents of the siege we notice
the falling of shells in the beautiful iMiglish
garden of Mr. Fortescue Carter, the best
known of the Ladysmith townsmen, as
author of " History of the Boer War in
1881." He had scarcely left his home,
next do(jr to the headquarters of the In-
telligence Department, when the missiles
from " Long 'I'om " began to burst among
his roses, hollyhocks, verbenas, dahlias, and
other familiar iMiglish blooms cultivated
l)y him with loving care, in. contrast to
his neighbours' oleanders and other South
African shrubs. Two shells soon after
wards struck the house, and, bursting inside,
shattered to atoms the dainty contents cjf
several rooms. Meanwhile, in a picturesque
vine-trelliseil cottage not fifty yards away,
ladies were attending to their domestic
duties, seeming heedless of all danger, and
one might be seen quietly knitting in the
cool shaded verandah, her busy needles
sto[)ping only f(jr one moment when a
shell burst in the roadway close at hand

Another picture came to the out.side
world in a letter from a private soldier, de-
nouncing Ladysmith at this time as a "dirty,
filthy hole. Nothing but dust-storms —
roofs blown off houses. All the tins had
been collected and placed in stacks. These
began to have a race across the camijing
ground in the night, chased by helmets,
boots, and light articles of cK, thing, with
iieavier things, such as blankets, waterproof
sheets, etc., in the rear." Anothtr writer
describes what he calls " a little merriment
in Ladysmith."' "To-day the men of our
baltali(jn had some fun and excitement in
chasing some pigs. 'I'hey had belonged
to a farmer in the country around here,
a Natal Boer who had left his farm and
gone over to the enemy. Our men caught
sixteen of his pigs, and to-night they are
cooking them and eating them by the wood
fires. 'I'hey sit around the fires eating
and telling tales amid jokes and roars
of laughter." A furier-sergeant tells how
little the horses minded the noise of the
exjjloding shells. " They take no more
notice of them than we do. 1 was shoeing
an officer's horse in a space of o[)en ground
behind the stables of the hotel. I had
already got two or three of the nails in,
when I heard the screaming of a shell in
the air. It burst about five or six yards
away. The bits and splinters came whizzing
all round me and the horse, but did not
touch either of us. When the dust and
smoke had cleared away, and I had got
back my presence of mind — the whole
thing, of course, didn't take twelve seccjnds
--I found the mare had still got her foot
on my a[)ron, and was waiting for the rest
of the nails."

A young lady in the town, writing to her
sister at I'ort Elizabeth, says: "Just after
breakfast another shell came from ' Long
Tom,' and landed ju^i over the other side
of the paddock. I saw some soldiers
running to where it struck, and off I
scampered to get a piece as a memento,
'i'he first soldier I came to said, ' Come
with me ; I can warn you in time to clear
before another shell comes.' So I went

he outside
soiuier, tie-
is a "dirty,
U-st(jrm.s —
(-■ tins liad
<s. 'I'hcsu
L" cam ping
y iiclim-ls,
liing, will)
watcipicjof
lur writer
merriment
en (;(' our
itcment in
l)el()ni;L'd
und liLTc,
farm and
en caught
tiiey are
tlie wood
■es eatiny
intl roars
tells how
se of the
no mf)re
s shoeing
n ground
I had
nails in,
shell in
>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

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

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.

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

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

.'■10)11 ii Dnuiiiitr /y ■'■ '' .'^Ci'/-)//!. <■.

THE BOERS ON THEIR DEFENCE.

7«

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.

|<J Ciordons
at the foe,
)lding them
o the front
vst five the
■n the hill
(Icinen and
s who had
l^jcs nearer
>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,

,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';,

:ir^-

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<lering on the Way -lioers Arri\eWidiin I-orty Miles of l'ieterniarit7.i)urg- Sniart
Fif^hting near Mooi River —Arrival of Sir Kedvers Ikdler — His Previous Services Retirement of
Boers -The lirilish Success at Beacon Hill Tiie Yorkshires Storm the Position Ilritish Advance
to Frere - Hoers Destroy the Fine Railway Bridge .\ Lull in the Contest- Royal and Natal
Engineers Make New liridge— The Advance to the Tugela — The Strong Boer Works to North of
River — The Battle of Colenso (or the Tugela)— (General I'uUer's I'rontal Attack I'ails with Severe
Loss Capture of Briiish Cans - Incidents of the Struggle — Colonel L<mg's Fatal Fngerness Brave
Attempts to Remove the (iuns — Lieuienant Roherls Mortally Wounded — The (ienerals in Danger
Under Fire -Heavy British Losses in the Action — The Care of the. Wounded- Sir "'. MacCormac's
and .Mr. Treves' Aid— British Lyddite Cuns Destroy Colenso Roaddiridge- Christmas Day in Camp
— Arrival of Sir Charles Warren at the Front — His Previous Services- .Sixth Division .\rrives from
England Chieveley Camp at the End of the Year 1S99— Review of the Whole Situation in South
Africa -The Three Defeats Within Six Days — Reception of News at Home —The Reaction after
First Effects of Reverses - The Uprising of the Empire — New .\rrangenienls ^Lade by the Covern-
ment— Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener to the Front -Their Speedy Arrival at the Cape — The
Movement of Patriotism at Home — The ^lilitia Embodied— The \'ohinteers— The Yeomanry —
"Imperial \'e(jmanry " Corps l'"ornied — Patriotic Aid from Large i;m[)lii)ers Universal Offers of
Help in Britisli Isles — The Cor|)oration and Citizens of London -The "City of London Imperial
X'olunteers" Enrolled — Enthusia.stic Loyalty of Colonials — .Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand,
Canada— The Princes of India— Tiie (Jueen's Sul)jects in Ce\lon— Sjilendid Munificence of Lord
Strathcona and Mount Royal The (Ireat Reinforcements of Men and Cuns Sent out from British
Isles— The Fifth Division— The Sixth Division — The Seventh Division — The Fresh Artillery.

After the investment of Ladysmith, the
Boers, in (-onsiderable force, advanced
southwards on their enterprise of conquer-
ing Natal. Indeed, on the morning of that
day, their guns v.-ere shelling Colenso, the
fire being directed against Fort Wylie, the
work defending the Tugela Bridge. There

was only a small British force in the town,
and the enemy were judged to number five
thousand men, in commandoes from the
Transvaal and the Free State. After a
sharp skirmish to the north of the town,
where the enemy strove to cut off an
outpost of the Durban Light Infantry, and

)'^

it famous ill

.' conclusion

md his staff,

con, walked

ood during

'riic ini-

sit-ing of

tlie whole

' point in

;thy trial of

J the Lady-

townsnien,

c for their

Concentrate
"Icry : Their
II C'lnircliiirs
rj^caiit Tod's
iK'iny Reach
Jiirg " Small
tirenieiil of
sh Advance

and Natal
to North of

ilh Severe
less Urave

in Danger
acCorniac's
ly in ("ain]i
rrives from
in South

lion after
le Govern -

ape — The

fimanry —

Offers of
Imjicrial
Zealand,
of Lord

m British

ery.

U' town,
)er five

oin the

After a

town,

off an

ry, and

Friym a Copyrisht Photosraph by Grtgory i'r Co.. Sir ami:

SIR REDVERS BULLER ON HIS CHARGER.

The Flffht for the Flajj; In South Africa

r" v

t •

'.M«^te3^

A*J! t i > ,»» M ^I

'3H7««^.

^♦^^ H' ^«#{>^<J^..i^

•_i.Ai».. ."•■•«.,,«ijL4»-*'

. ■ IjSdh.

^^^^^^^^'^'^^m^.f^

"''.'•*» "p

V ir^

vXa^^

IlKlll^ll 1 AMI' Al rol.l.Nsn lll-.liiKi; 11^ I'.VACI' A I ION.

were repelled wilii the loss ot a do/tn
men killed, the little British garrison was
cuinpelled to withdraw, in presenec ot' the
enemy's long-range guns, to which tluy had
no means of replying. 'l"he wohhii and
children crowded the trains to Pietcrinaritz-
biirg and Durban, while tlie troops, in-
cluding the Durban Light Infantry and
a detachment t)t" the Dublin Fusiliers, left
by train at night with most of the stores
and the tents and kits. 'I'lie IJoers then
entered the town and began to "lo(»t."

The British forces concentrated on Kst-
court, twenty-seven miles .south of Colenso,
near the confluence of Bushman's and Little
lUishman's Rivers, the former crossed bv
a railway bridge of five spans. The Orange
Free State (lovernment at this time issued
a proclamation annexing the district of
the Upper Tugela to their territory. Sir
W. Hely-Mutchinson, (Governor of Natal,
thereupon issued a counter-proclamation,
declaring the Free State document to be
null and void, and called out for active
service the men of five rifle associations
in the Durban division of the colonv. On

Siinda), \o\emlHr 5tli, a brilliant liule
piece of work w.is achieved by twu com-
panii's of the Dublin l''usiliers, under
(,'aptain Romer, who went Ibrth in an
armoured train to reconnoilrc towards
l.adysmith. Close to (Colenso, die enemy,
in considerable force, were sighted near the
line, and the Dublins opened a brisk lire, to
which the Boers replied. They were forced
to ri'treat over the road-bridge, and then
a strong detachment of the British eritere 1
the town, while the train slowly steamed
towards the station. The troops went to
Fort U'\lie and brought back foiu' waggon-
loads of sliells, |)rovis' ns, and other stores.
We here note that the officers then in
command of the troops in Natal, apart
from Ladysniith, were (leneral Hildyard
and ( leneral ( lery. Major-Cieneral H. j.
Thoroton Mildyard, CM)., h;;d gone out
from command of the ^?rd Brigade at
Aldershot After serving in the Ro;,al
Navy for rive years, this officer entered the
.•\rmy in 1867 ; he served in the FLgyptian
Expedition of 1882, being present at the
Battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kel)ir,

til

1. 1
ii|

hunt li'ilc
two corn-
el's, uiKler
I'tli in ;m
tow.iids
liL' ciK/niy,
1 iic;ir tlie
isk firu, to
ere forced
;in(l ihrn
h efitcrc:!
stcaiiK'd
■ went to
' waggon -
ler stores,
i then in
ill, apart
Hildyard
•al U. I.
;one out
igade at
e Royal
ered the
l*>gy()tian
t at the
?1-Kebir,

Operations for the Relief of Ladysmith

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

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^

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

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

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

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<KS111KK, KKdlMKNT

A ;■ Wll.I.OW GKANGE.

cover to rover against tliu enemy, were
almost at elose (juarters, when one ot" our
men i; nervous excitement tired a ritle-
sliot, ,\i:;i:li 2a-,c warriig to the loe. The
lioers ''hoit.i,' wliiic the liritisli dashed
on, storm'ng the :" sition just as day br' ike,
witii mgiiig checi-^. The enemy r^lhed,
and. with i;r :: •.; i Cv.'Urag> . 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

.*..

cm off,

Linkers,

isoners.

I'oik in

annon.

:lu(lin!^'

)t, this

iilk'f's,

sti<;ng

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
H

'k:'. i""«.'

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<l, and
their wiliness in de\isin}< ob><tacles for
assailants was to become matter of painful
experience f<;r tlie British leader and his
brave officers and men. An attempt was
to be made, by a frontal attack, for the
capture of a position of strength im-
pregnable to all assaults excx'iU those of a
great force, or to an attack in front com-
bined with outflanking movement^ by large
bodies of men aided by many guns. .\t
four o\ ; k in the morning of I'Viday,
December i5lh, Ceneral Buller moved out
of his camp at Chievel t with his whole
force, intending to make the passage of the
Tugela at one of the two fordable places,
which were two miles a])art. TliC hills
where the enemy were belie\ed to lie had
been previously bombarded for two days
without drawing a single shot in reply, and
the lyddite from our naval guns had been,
to a great extent, thrown away. The Boers
had quitted the high ground, and en-
trenched themselves near the banks of the
river and on low-lying kopjes to the north,
The consequence was that British infantry
marched in cpiarter ilumn to the very
mouth of the enemy's rifle-pits, and two
batteries of artillery advanced to ivithin
a few hundred yards of entrenchments,
hidden by scrub, on the south side of
the river.

The left drift, or ford, was attacked by
infantry under General Hart, the right by
General Hildyard's force, while General
Lyttelton, in the centre, was ready to
support either in case of need, and General
Barton, with the cavalry and mounted
infantry, was to sei/.e and hold Hlangwana
Hill on the British right front and to protect
the flank in that ([uarler. The incidents of
the struggle which took ]^lace were many ;
the battle itself was sharj) and short, ending
in a decided a.'.d disastrous repulse for
our nuMi. When Hart, with his brigade,
approached the Tugela IJridge drift, about

two miles ii[) river, or westwards, from
Golenso, he was met at eight lumdred yards'
range by a storm of shra|)nel and rille
bullets. 'I'he deluge of lead, the torrent of
bullets, that dropi)ed on the hard dry veldt,
pari:hed by the sim, whose noontide heat
was most trying to our troops, caused the
dust to rise as bubbles of water seen on
the surface of a pool under tro])ical rain.
The veteran campaigner, Mr. Bennet Bur-
leig.h, who was on the held, exclaimed, '" I
have never seen anything like it in my life."
'I'he Dublins and Royal Irish, some of
whom dashed across the river, could see no
Bioers, but foimd themselves under a fire
in which nothing could live, and were forced
to withdraw. General Hart's attack had
thus completely failed.

General Hildyard's task was to move
directly in front to the Colenso road-bridge,
and to occupy l'"ort W'ylie. His leading
regiment, the East Surrey, occui)ied Colenso
station and the houses near the bridge
under a heavy fire, and carried a B(^er
trench with a rush. Beyond diat point it
was impossible to go, in face of the enemy's
shell and bullets, and our men could only
cling to what they held until the order to
withdraw was sent by General Buller after
tiie chief disaster of the day — that which
befell the guns. Colonel Long, in command
of the 14th antl fi6th Field l.atteries and six
naval twelve-pounder quick tiring guns, had
been ordered to open fire at two thousand
yards' range, in order to cover the ad\;un'e
of the infantry iirigades. In his desire to
get witliin a more effective distance. Colonel
Long took his field guns towards the
southern bank of the Tugela, wholly un-
aware of the fact that Boer riflemen were
entrenched among the scrub at close
(juarters. A storni of bullets from rifles
and a Maxim-Xordenfeldt gun at once slew
or disabled almost all the horses, and
knocked over most of the gunners, so that
the batteries were, in military phrase, "put
out ot action "" before many shots could be
fired. One gunner's body was found with
sixty-four wounds. The ])oor remnant,
with wontlerful courage af'ter such a terrible

ircls, from

drtd yards"

and rifle

torrent of

I (Ir)' vuldt,
>iitide heat
:^au.sed the
■r seen on
I'ical rain,
•nnet lUir-
aimed, " I
n my life."

some of

II Id see no
der a fire
ere forced
ttack had

to move
:id-l)ridge,
s leading
J Colenso
e bridge
a Boer
point it
enemy's
iild only
order to
er after
t which
^mmand
and six
ns, iiad
ousand
d\an(e
esire to
Colonel
ds the
lly 11 n-
n were

1 rifles

ce slew

, and

() that

"put
uld be

with
nnant,
-'rrible

Operations tor the Relief of Ladysmith

reception, made every effort to save the
giUT-. bringing up waggon-teams under a
tleadly lire. Captains Congreve, Keed, and
Schofield, with LicMlenanl kol)ijrts, of the
King's Koyal Killes, iuirried arross a field
to a cljft, and eiideavcjured to bring a
(letacliment with sojne iiorses to thi- guns,
under a terrific fire. 'Two guns of i'
6')th Uattiry were ultimately saved, ten
were, perforce, abaniloiied U) the toe as
pri/e of war. It
was during this
effort thai l.ieutiii-
aiU Roberts, only
son of the famous
field -marshal, re-
ceived a mortal
wound in the
stomach.

On the right of
the battle-field,
Lord Dundonald,
with his mounted
men, made an at-
tempt to take
HIangwana Hill,
!)ut, being unsup-
ported by artillery,
failed. Thorney-
crofl's men and
the Natal Cara-
bineers suffered
severel) from the
fire of Boers in
hidden entrench
ments. The at-
tack, in fact, failed
at every [)oinl.
The troops behaved

with their usual courage, the Fusilier
regiments anil the Connaught Rangers
being the chief sufferers, while the Devons
and East Surreys showed exceptional
bravery when they were ordered to the
su])port of the field batteries. (ieneral
P)uller and some of his staff had very narrow
escapes, and General Cler\ 's staff had three
horses killed or hit under the officers who
r(jde them. The loss of Lieutenant Roberts
was especially lamented by his comrades

and by the Britisii public. He was under
twenty-eight vears of age, smart, brave, anil
brl()\( (Ibv iiis comrades. His dislingui^hed
fitliev .md Lidy Kubcrts h.id, with Nisiblc
|Midr in their soldiei son, t ken leave ol
him a few weeks before at " NVaterloo," in
London, as he started for Southampton on
his way to the front, The previous service
of Lieutenant Roberts had been in Indi.i,
with the Wu/iristan Exiiedition of iS(;4-95.

and the Chitral

jBS&<c^'Jm.

"1''^

./'■rfjr

t>. ■

■;*.■ •■'-

Relief
lS.;5. 1
r e \ e r s e

'orce 111

lie serious

at the

Pltot<\ t^y Chancellor, Diihliu.
I.lia TI'.NAN r I IIK

Tugela cost (Ieneral
liuiler's force over
1,000 nun, of
whom 137 were
killed, 702 wounded,
and 203 missing,
many among them
being known to
be prisoners.

On the foll'jw-
ing day (December
1 6th) there was an
armistice until mid-
night for the burial
of the dead. 'Lhe
British woundixl
were admirabl)'
cared for. .About
twehe hundred
coolie bearers car-
ried them, some-
times under fire,
from the field to
the ambulances,
and thence the
sufferers were borne on stretchers to the
field hos])ital at Chieveley, seven miles
distant. Sir William MacCormac, the
eminent surgeon, who, along with .Mr.
Tre- es, of the London Hospital, had gone
oui to the si-ene of warfare, putting the
best of skill and experience at the
service of our stricken men, testified to the
high efficiency of the doctors and nurses,
and of all the appointments and ap])aratus,
the best which money could buy. It was

HON, I', KOHKKTS.

The right for the I -lag in South Africa

a siiikiii;,' I'.ict, ,il)i>iit this linir. tfstiiyin.L; s|i(iii-. iiiHln- .1 hrnilim; -.uii, jikI ciijoycti a

;it onir Id ii.i(1i(,iI iiiid ii'.irsiii,!^ ^ikill ami nodil (liiiiitr a

I iiiL;lit. riu' N.ival l!ii,-j(l(

ire, and lo till- naliin' <<( tlu' cliiiiati , uilh tlir u>tial liilarioii-^ --piiit ol linti>li

lliat (it two Ihnu^.ind inrii \\\\n had i^oiir

irs " (111 ihf -,|)r('c," piilKd rt titles ol" hihi

tn hnrliaii ami ('a|ir 'rnwii U>v trndainr Ihilj and I'loidcnl Imul^it Ihron^h llic
attcr wdinuU, siMii hundred \\rri\ witliin (anip tui a uiin lariiauc to the imi-ic ot

a tVw w

I'l'Ks, Dal

Is at the I'mnt, lacii

1,1; |Mi]iiilar air-

lu: rmni\' in niuwiil mliimii' ami hi'-;li

( )n I >cicnil)ci- j-ih Sir Kcdscr^ Iliillcr

>l)irit^

wa^ 1(1

incd ,11 ihc trmii In Sir ( 'harl

( )n I )i'i I inhcr Kjdi two I'.rili^h ^ims W.irnn, ((Uninandinn thi' i'llth hivi-^ion,

''■,rJH(,

->■*

\irf*»

"^-V"»

Drawn I'v /■', (". Pii'.iiisoii.

llKIIHll.; ()\i:i; llil-. ircKI.A A I ((tLKNSd.

(irinu Ivddilc .>lu'll> <")|K'n('d (in ( 'ok'H uciad ahoul ten tliousand nun, whirli had ar-
hrid^c. an iron ^Iructinx'. at about iM^lit ri\ cd oiil (liirinn tlu' month a! hiirhan and
hundri'd vaids' rani^c, ami in thrt'c lioiir^' ( "ape 'Town. Tlu' now arrival, I .ioiitonanl-
linK; had praotii'ally destroyed it by knock- ('K'tu'ral Sir ('liarl^'^ Warixai, ( l.( '. .M.( 1..
ini:; out oiu' span. The weajions were K.('.r>., was born in 1 S40. and eiilerc'd the
handled li\' the Xa\al liriL^ade and sonu' of Ko\al I'jiuiiuers in 1S57. IK' was well
the \atal N;i\al \'o!iinte(a>. The enemy's ac-iiiiainu'd with tlu' seeni' of warfare, ha\"ing
Strom: i)()>ition bevond tliL i'liLrela was i)eeii ('i\il ( 'onimissioiier in South Africa
bombarded for some hours on the followiiiii; in i''^76-77, in command of ihi' l)iamo!id
dav with lv(.ldite ^helK but no res])onse was Melds Ilorsi' in the Kaffir War and (lri(]ua-
made bv the lloers. ( )n ( 'hri>tiiias I)ay lan(' West durin;^ i S7,S. and in the same year
the troops in Chie\eley Camp held athletic leading troops against the JJechiuinaland

I cniiiycd ;i
.il llli.n.idr,
111 l)liti>li
;ics (it I 111 11
iroii-li ihc
(• lllll^lc ot

kiT'i lliillcr
<ir ('h.irlfs
1 l>i\i--i()n,

•^

' ♦ <• ,

liad ;ir-

i,m ;in(l

■iiti'iiaiU^

C.M.C,

crcd tlu'

.as uril

ha villi;

1 Africa

• ianidiid

('iri(]ua-

nif year

analand

rhoto. t'y Ha\i'tan, Litt

IMKIi Klh m-.NKK n|. KIIAkl'>i M.
I.urcl K(jb.jnb' < hh I (.!' Stair.

*•,

*f*^<

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

121 121

mtf

2.2

1:25 1 1 1.4 1.6

►

'^/ *P'^ N>'

Photographic

Sdences
Corporation

"^o".^ ^Z^

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 873-4503

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

rhoto. by ri/u'll f~ fry, lltilrr Stirrt. If.

i;knkkai. sik ciiaki.k;! warren, G.r.M.r..
Cuiiiinandint; the Fifth Division.

rebels. In 1879 he led the Northern
Border (Rhodesia) I'^xpcdition, and in
1S84-85 was in command ot" ilie IJcchuana-
land force. We may here note tiial a Sixth
Division was sent out in December to
Soutli Africa, under tlie command of Major-
(ieneral Kelly-Kenny, an officer born in
1840, who entered the 2iul Foot in 1858.
served in China in i860, and in the
Abyssinian War of 1867-68 ; in 1897 he
became Inspector-deneral of Auxiliary
Forces and Recruiting.

We close this ac'ount for a time, during

tlie pauses hich succeeded
(leneral iiiillcr's repulse,
by n(;ling that the men in
Chieveley (."amp were at
the close (jf the year 1899
in good health and cheer-
ful spirit daily engaged
in cricket and football
matches, ami that on the
night of December 26th
a train of six waggons,
conveying provisions to
the Boers from some
Natal Dutch rebels, was
cajHurcil by our troops
and taken into Frere
Camp.

We purpose here taking
a brief review of the
situationof affairs in South
Africa in December 1899
before dealing with the
extraordinary demonstra-
tion due to the events
of the earlier part of that
month, 'i'here were three
scenes of warlike o])era-
tions. In the centre,
General Gatacre, stem-
ming the tide of Boer
invasion in Cape Colony,
had recei\ed, as we have
seen, a severe check at
Stormberg on December
loth. In the west, as
will be described in detail
hereafter, Ford Metluien
was advancing to the relief of Kimberley,
and lie, alter some successes, was defeated
on December nth at .Magersfontein, and
brought to a complete stand. On Decem-
ber i5th Sir Redvers Buller was .sharply
stopped in Natal. Three defeat.s of
British generals, one in each of the chief
scenes of con diet, had occurred within
a week. No such series of reverses to
our arms had been known during the
long reign, or, indeed, during the century.
It is needless to describe the venomous
exultation of the worse class of people in

K.c.i;.

Operation? lor tne keuef of Ladysmith

li succeeded
t's rrpulse,

tile men in
np were at
L' year 1.S99

and rheer-
ly engaged
d loot hall
hat on the
niher 26th
\vaggons,
visions to
^ni some
Labels, was
iir troops
to Frcre

ere taking

■ of the

■^ in South

il)er 1899

with the

;monstra-

c events

t of that

ere three

e opera-
centre,
stem-

>f I^oer

Colony,

ive ha\e

leck at

cember

•est, as

n detail

rethuen

iberley,

efeated

n, and

)ecem-

>hari)ly

hts of
chief

within

ses to

f, the

ntiiry.

)mous
)le in

Contincnt.il nations, tov cMose maniiesta-
tions of mali'.^nity the British public
throughout thj worid-.vidc empire was
fully pro.ired, and hseded ihem, in truth,
not at a'!.

It would be in vam to deny that we
were at the outlet staggered by such a
succession 01 blows. Then came the
vigorous reaction in which, as a friendly
and sensible Russian critic who knows us

the pride of the proudest people in the
world. They had, as they were soon to
learn, aroused .1 whole vast empire in a
contest which couM have only one end —
the politieai annihilation of the two Hoer
States.

The days which followed the arrival of
the news of events in South .Africa during
the " Black Wcvk '' ending on Saturday,
December i6th, were marked by a national

/"A.V,). /'J' XerU.e I'. J .imtr.ii

Al I Al'K |M\\ \.

well lately declared, " the Briton, when he
meets with disaster, sets his teeth and
squares his shoulders." Those F.ritish sub-
jects who, in their own souls, and from
our whole history as a nat'on and an
empire, know the moral stuff of which
we are made, took a cheerful \ ii \v of
affairs. The IJoers hail, Ity their very
successes, sealed their own doom. They
had done more than they knew, or could
imagine, at Stormberg, at Magersfontein,
and at the 'I'ugela. They had wounded

anil imperial uprising without parallel in
our history. The tidings of (leneral BuUer's
fulure, with the loss of guns, reached the
War Office in London between one and
two o'clock on the morning of i)eceml)er
lOtli. I.onl .Sali^lnuy, fully alive to the
serious nature of the position, promptly
summoned a ni'.eting of the ( 'onunittee
of National DefeiK-e, and after consultation
with .\Ir. ( lost hen, Lord Lansdowne, the
I )uki.- of hevonshire, and .Mr. .\. J. Balfour,
resolved to c-all lo the aid of the empire

ggpyp^^Mff wi ■ ii' ni-

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

the tilcnts ;ind experience of Lord Roberts
and Lord Kitchener. I'he hero of the
"March to Kandahar" was appointed to
the supreme command of tlie forces in
South Afric. The victor in the Sudan
became liis Chief of the Staff. It was
known that these (hstinguisiied men were
prepared for cordial co-operation in those
capacities, and the news of their being
placed in char^^e of affairs at the scene
of war was hailed with joy l)y [)atriotic
Hritons.

No time was lost by the men chosen
for the task of turning the tide in our
conflict with the brave, skilful, and stub-
born foe. Lord Roberts, ever ready at
duty's call, but grieving, as his country-
men grieved, for the loss of his only son,
S'Hed from Southampton for Cape Town
on Saturday, December 23rd. Lord
Kitchener, who was up the Nile at Shellal
when the evil tidings arrived, reached
Alexandria with his aide-de-camp. Major
Watson, on December 21st, leaving Colonel
Sir Francis Wingate, the recent victor over
the Khalifa, in charge as Acting Sirdar.
Embarking in the cruiser /sis for Malta,
Kitchener and Watson were thence con-
veyed in a swifi man-of-war to (iibraltar.
in order to meet Lord Roi)ertson board the
mail steamer for the Cape, which specially
called on this occasion at our great fortress
in Spain. Lord Roberts and his staff, with
Major-General Kelly-Kenny, in command
of the Sixth Division, arrived at Cape Town
in the Dunottar Cast'e on Jaraiary loth.

Britons at home, and their fellow-subjects
in the greater colonies, made an immediate
and noble response to the demand upon
their energy and patriotism. A moment of
dismay and disgust was followeil by the
stern resolve to " sit tight," and to work
and tight harder than ever. ^\'ith a very
few disgraceful exceptions, the whole empire
rose up in a magnificent outburst of loyalty
and devotion to the common cause. At
home the auxiliary forces of all ranks were
enthusiastically forward. The embodiment
of forty thou.sand Militia for garrison duty
at home and abroad was attended by the

voluntary offer of thousands of that force
for service at the front. An appeal to the
Volunteers for aid was met in such a spirit
that the orderly-room cf every regiment
linked to a line battalion in the South
.-Vfrican Field Force was flooded with offers
fn^n men anxious to join the selected com-
panies. The War Office authorities were
asking for about nine thousand men to
reinforce the Regulars. Four times that
number of the rank and file were eager to
take the field, and the otficers were readv
to go to the front, as it seemed, almost to
a man.

The Yeomanry, a body including many
whose services as Mounted Infantry or
as cavalry, had already been ofiered and
declined, found their opportunity at last,
and "Imperial Yeomanry" were speedily en-
rolled in large numbers. The need of men
equi])ped as Mounted Infantry appealed at
once to the fighting, sporting, adventurous,
and patriotic instinct, taste, and spirit of thou-
sands of young men in all classes of society,
and the eagerness whi(-h was displayed to
bear the burdens and to face the hardshi|)s
and perils of war was a triumphant proof
that the manhood of the nation was as sound
and vigorous as ever, and a complete answer
to the timid who had croaked about the
country being corrupted and enervated
during a leng'.i.y period of prosperity and
I)eace. Rich and poor alike were con-
s[)icuous in this time of test and trial.
Clerks and artisans were ready, without a
second thought, to surrender posts of .service
on the chance of re-appointment on return,
if return there were for them, from South
.\frican warfare. As for the spirit shown
by die employers of such men, one great
firm, Messrs. Marshall and Snelgrove, in-
formed all Volunteers in their employment
that in die event of any of them being
I'alled (Hit for active service, or for garrison
duty, they would each be presented with a
cheiiue for six months' salary in advance,
and their situations would be kept open
until their return. Sir Blundell Maple,
hearing that some of the young men eni-
[)loyed by the firm of Maple and Company

Operations for the Relief of Ladysmith

of tliat force
iippcal to the
such a spirit
2ry reginiL-nt
fi the South
'd with offers
elected coin-
lorities were
tnd men to
r times that
ere eager to
were readv
d, ahnost to

tiding many
Infantry or
offered and
lity at last,
si)eedily en-
eed of men
appealed at
Jventiiroiis,
•iritof thoii-
: of society,
isi)layed to

I hardships
lant proof
s as soimd
L'te answer
about the
enervated
verity and
vere con-
ind trial,
kvithout a
of service
m return,
m South
it shown
)ne great
rove, in-
)loyment

II being
garrison
J with a
ulvance,
pt open

Maple,
len em-
'Jnipany

HKl'AKT'JkK OK TllK MAN'IIOHA (ONTINCICM OK TMK ( ANAIMAN llATIAMON KOK SOU I II AKRICA.
The Canadians liavc- had some Smart Fitihts with liu- Rebels.

wished to join the Imperial Viomanry,
expressed his readiness to present fifty
pounds to each rider towards the purchase
of a horse and the needful accoutrements,
provided he were accepted to gc; out lo
the scene of warfare, 'i'he directors of the
Company undertook to keep open the
situations of such men, and of any Volun-
teers, until the end of the war.

From every (juarter of (Ireat IJritain
tidings poured in of Volunteers and
Yeomanry coming forward in scores and
hundreds at the country's call. At the Inns
of Court, in North London, and in the
Surrey suburbs, in the Home Countiis,
in the West of England, in Wales, in
Lothian, and in Aberdeen, on Ty'i^'^'^*-'
and on the Channel coast, the same
enthusiasm in the cause of the empire was
displayed. Hundreds of men of wealth ami
leisure were found eager to abandon all the
safety, ease, and comfort of existence at

home in exchange for the trooper's saddle
and the rain-swept veldt.

'i'he Corporation and citizens of London

eOl-ONKl. OPTER,
in Command of the Canadian Contingent.

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

were eagerly and joyously forward in tlie
time of stress and strain. Mefore the lapse
f)f ten (lays Ironi tlie repulse of Sir Red vers
Builer's force, that great municipality ami
the '^Jity Companies antl intrchants had
voted and subscribed the sum of ^75,000
for the e(iiiipMient of a regiment of fourteen
hundreil fighters, including six hundred
mounted men, styled " The City of London
Imperial Volunteers,"' dressed, like infantry
of the line, in khaki. 'I'he London Scottish
and the Inns of Court N'olunteers furnished
at once a ))roportion (<f this force.

The |)eople and (lovernments of the
greater colonies quickly showed their
appreciation ol the needs of the emjjire.
The five .\ustralian colonies and Tasmania
prepared a new contingent of .Mounted
Infantry, numbering eleven hundred men,
in addition to half a field hos[)ital (sixty
men) and a field battery with one hundred
and eighty men. New Zealand soon
despatched a force of about two hundred
and forty men with four Ilotchkiss guns.
The Cabinet of the Dominion of Canada
voted a second contingent, consisting of
three field batteries, each of six twelve
pounder breech-hxulers, and four scjuadrons
of Mounted Rifles, making about twelve
hundred and fifty men of all ranks. Of the
Rifles, two scjuadrons were i'omi)osed of the
North-West Mounted Police and "cowboys "
or ranchmen. The other two were selected
from the Royal Canadian Dragoons
(Regulars) and the Militia Cavalry of the
Dominion. 'i'he t;nthusiasm throughout
the vast regions under the Queen's rule in
North America was unbounded, and the
Militia Department was overwhelmed with
offers for service in South Africa. Such
was the attitude, such were the efforts, of
loyal subjects of the British Crown at a
time of neeil in the contest waged against
the corrupt Boer oligarchy of Pretoria and
their allies of Orange Free State.

We turn to India. Some of our Con-
tinental critics had, no doubt, looked for
trouble there at a time when the Imperial
Army had been diminished in strength.
No trouble for the Lmore .; of India, or

for her loyal subjects, arose in that quarter,
riie native princes were e.igtr to assist us.
The rulers of Kashmir and Jodhpur (offered
to send troops and horses to South .Africa.
The Maharajah of Marwar (Jodhpur)
placed every horse in his .State at the dis-
posal of the (i(jvernmcnt. These offers
were accepted to a reasonable extent.
Indian Volunteers daily expressed the
keenest desire to embark for the Cape,
and the war fund in India soon amounted
to many thousands of pounds. In Ceylon
a cor|)s of mounted Volunteers, including
many planters, was formetl for service in
.South .Africa, and large contributions were
made to the Mansion House Widows and
Orphans' Fund.

We must give special notice to the loyal
munificence of Lord Strathcona and Mount
Royal, ("i.C.M.Ci., Agent-General for the
Canadian Dominion in Croat Britain.
This venerable and eminent millionaire,
well known in Canadian political history as
Sir Donald Smith, raised, apart from the
Canadian (lovernment contingents, a force
of four hundred mounted mer and officers,
armed, ecjuipped, and conveyed to the
scene of warfare, entirely at his own
expense. This body of men, raised in
Manitoba, the North-West, and British
Columbia, consisted entirely of single men,
expert marksmen, at home in the saddle,
thoroughly efficient as rough-riders and
scouts. The Mililia Department aided
in the selection, armament, and general
e(iui[)ment of this valuable reinforcement,
the horses being all procured from the
North-West Territory.

As regards the reinforcements from the
British Isles sent out before and after the
crisis of mid-December, we may note that
the Fifth Division (Sir Charles Warren'.s
command) was composed of the ist South
Lancashire, the 2nd Ro>al Lancaster, the
2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, the 1st York and
Lancaster, the ist Yorkshire, the 2nd Royal
Warwickshire, the 2nd Dorset, and the 2nd
Middlesex, as infantry ; with the 14th
Hussars and the Composite Regiment of
Houseb.uld Cavalry; and two ba'.terics Royal

that quarter,
to assist lis.
hpur offered
oiitl) Africa.
(Jodhpur)

at the di.s-
'hese ortcrs
I'lc extent,
•ressed the

thi- Cape,
1 amounted

In Ceylon
, including

service in
itions were

idows and

3 the loyal

uid Mount

il for the

t Britain.

nillionaire,

history as

from the

ts, a force

d officers,

J to the

his own

raised in

1 British

igle men,

- saddle,

ers and

aided

general

rcement,

om the

om the
fter the
)te that
'arren's
t South
ter, the
jrk and
Royal
le 2nd
r4th
ent of
Roval

Operations for the Relief of Ladysmith

riiii I'Ki.wiss III ir.i/./:\ iiii^i'i I Ai. ■Mil.
Kquipped by tllr Kcil (Jioss Soijity lur Hiin;;iii- lloim- Wiiiiudod S.iklicr--.

Field Artillery and one liowit/.tr battery.
The Sixth Division (i^ieutcnant-CKncrai
Kelly-Kenny's command) was composed
of the 2nd Bedfordshire, 2nd Ro\al Irish,
2nd Worcestersliire, 2nd Wiltshire, 2nd East
Kent, 2nd Cloucestershire, ist West Riding,
and ist O.xfordshire Light Infantry, witii
three batteries Royal Horse Artillery. The
Seventh Division, under Lieutenant-Cieneral
Tucker, comprised the ist King's Own

Scouish Borderers, 2nd South Wales
I'.orderers, 1st Lincolnshire, 1st Last Uinca-
shire, Jiid Norl'olks, 2n(l Cheshire, 211(1
Hampshire, and 2!h1 North Staffordshire,
with three batteries of Royal Meld Artillery.
The extent of the force in the field — by far
the greatest ever despatched from British
ports in the same spare of time during
our history — may be estimated from tlie
fact that, ill addition to all men hitherto

r,#,» ..«i.,;,^;*^^-^«i._lj*(,.

^■^f'i'. ";£n**VK

'^■f^-i

_'U-

■■^^:: -«^ttf^*i*-S((t

i;~ ^ ■><»» .*iw/-"-»n«5*, ,

f^n.

HKirisn WAksiiii's in la.i.u.oA r.AV <\n riii; i,ooK-nUT kor co-sikaham) 01 war.

I'he Fight for the Flag in South Africa

liitntioiK'd, lliLrc were sirviiij^ in S(nilh
Africa, in January i^co, 15 conipaniis
(5 l-'ortrcss, 8 Kicltl, and 2 Railway) of Royal
Kn;;incLTs, ilic I'irst Division TclL'^raith
I'.atl.ilioii, a troop liriclgin;^ Si-clion, a
iJalloon l)cpol and Sections, 56 coinpanii'S
of the Army Service Corps, k; companies
Army Medical Corps, and () companies of
the Army Ordnance Corps, and that, in
addition to all the ahove, there were also
in South Africa, or nearing the shores, the
7lh Dragoon (iiiards, the Sth Hussars, and
the 17111 Lancers, a siege train and 1,13')

officersand men of Royal (larrison Artillery,
a howil/er brigade Royal I'ield Artillery, 1 i
liattalions of Miliiia, Volunteer companies.
Imperial Yeomanry, colonial contingents
from Canada ami Australasia, and strong
reinforcements for various corps from the
Reserves. 'I'o crown all, the War Otrtce
in the last days of January despatched to
the scene of warfare a needed reinforcement
of artillery, t-omprising 72 field gims {18
howitzers), with 3,7 10 men and 2,-' 10 horses,
the largc-st contingent of artillery ever sent
olf in ten days from any part of the world.

CHAPTER VI.

The Beleaguered Towns of the North and West: KImberley, Mafeking,

TuH, Kuruman.

Kiiuhcrlcy, Df^criiiliuii nf -A Tcmplint; i'rizu inr hi)urs - Mtaiis I'ipr iJelViuL' tjf Town 'I'lio Ncj^lcct
nf ("iiloiiial ( iiiviTiiiiii'iu ■ Miicr^y of I )l' Hcits Coiiiii.my Arrival ol Mr. Kiiodcs — I'l'cliii^ Ai;ainst
.Mr. Schri'iiK-r -Iaciilinanl-<"oloncl Krkowicli as (■oininaiiilanl Prcparalions for Defence — \'ryl)iir^
ami its V:\W Suiciili' of .M.'' ' Si-oU, lla- ( 'oiiiiiiainl.int 'I'lu' I'l.uo ( )i'inii)ic(l liy the lliicni)
Kinil)t'rk'y Invcstc-il hy ilio '" Advi'iiliircs of an laiiissary to 1 )o .\ar TIr' ( iarrisoii of Kiinlicrk)'

Loyalty of ilio 'I'owusfolK .■ if <)ilo1n-r 241I1 Thi- I'.ncniy KoiiIimI .Mr. Kliodfs' Stcadfasi

Spirit -TIr- Town itondiani- . Small lifli'ci ol Hmr Slulls l'ij;lilin'.; Oiitside DiMili of M.ijor
Scoit-'I'iiriu'r TIr' Uocrs Shooting Spriiii^iiok - .Mallirs l)iirin^' I )iicMnliir — " All Well " in January
lyoo, .XfiiT Time M'lnllis' Sii'^i' The 1 )e iJeers Company's New ( iun--'i iieir ( iood Work in
the Town — Kxeellenl .Management liy .Military .\iiilioriiies Heavy lioml.ardment at Lnd of January

— .MafekintJ, l)escri|>iion of -The HeLluianalaml Monler Police Colonel Ha<lenl'oW'lI, C'onniiandant
at .Mafeking —I lis .Services and ('h.iraeler 'I'he ( 1; -rison — Preparations for I )efence — 15<)cr Forces
Seize the Railwa) 'I'lieir l',\plosion of I))iiamite to llieir own I)ama^;e I'erry, the JSravc Mn^^iiK'-
Hriver .Sharp I'ij^htinj^ to North of Town -Ladies with Kitle> .Vt^a nst lineiny — Haden-Powell's I'hatf
to Moer ("ominandant -Hoys Take Part in Defence .\ Concert at Riesle's i lotel — Haden-PoweU's
Messages to < leneral Cronje -Heavy liomliardnR'tit Heijins Dodt,dn}.; the Shells -Hoer Assaidt
Repulsed -( lallant .Sortie of ( iarrison— l-'ine \\<irk of British South Africa Police in Defending' j-'ort

— Another Soriie Hadcn- Powell's S\steni of I )efence .\ (Iood Stratagem — Hoers Again Repulsed —
Confidence of Defenders in their ( 'onnnandant — The ilarassini; Lllect cif llomliardnient- Departure
of I'ronje with .Many lioers ILukn-Powell's Irritating Letter to ( leiR-ral Snyman - Mrilish Sortie
Repulsed with Heavy Loss — I'lneniy WariR'd Through Treachery Christmas Day Under Siege —
UonihardnieiU i\eiR'wed Women's Laa^jer .Shelled — News Down to Middle of January — Tuli,
Description of -Colonel Pluiner and his Carrisoii -Not Seriously Pressed hy LiR'iny — Lighting
Outside Town Retirement of lioers Colonel PlunR'r Invades Transvaal — Returns from Want of
Water — Kuruman, Description of — The Hoer .\ttack -Prave Delence— The Lnemy Repulsed -
HomhardineiU Begun liiR'my Retire -Si''ge Resumed in December- Homhardment Renewed on New
\'ear's Day ('larrisoii l'"orced to Surrender after Heavy Loss.

Kim1!1';ri.kv, a town of ('ape Colony since nt»w contains in peaceful times over thirty

the incorporation of (;ri<[ualand West in thousand peo[)le, of whom nearly one-half

1880, owes its existence and ra[)id rise to are whites, the others being chiefly natives

importance, as all the world knows, to the employed in the diamond mines. The

discovery of diamonds in 1869. In 1871 town, altiiost wholly dependent on the great

the Hrilish ll.ig was lir^l hois'icd ; the place De lleers Cotiipany, with its capital of

■i-^oM Artillery,
il Artillery, i i
(-•r compaiiifs,
I rontin^tnts
I, aiul stroiij^
rps Iroin the
• War Office
li'S|)atche(l to
reinfoneiiu'iil
eld guns (j8
2,Jio horses,
lery ever sent
»f the wurld.

Mafeking,

1 'I'lic Neglect

tbncc— \ryl)urtj

llic lainiiN
)ii of Kiiiilii'rlL'y
|i>(k's' Sicadtiist
all) of Major
ill Jaiuiaiy
ooil WDrk ill
ml of jamiary
I'omiiianilanl
]5(>cr I'orccs
Mravc lui^inc-
wcli's Chaff
;i<li'ii-i'uwL'irs
Hocr Assault
fending' I'ort
n Kc|nilsc<l —
I Departure
Mriti.sli Sortie
iider Sicjje—
;iiiuary~Tuli,
my— l'\'litin^
111 Want of
Kejjulsed -
ewed on Xew

over thirty
riy one-half
efly natives
les. The
n the great
capital of

; -iV -

9«

The Fight for the Flag In South Africa

'•^i

many millions sterling, is imi)nrtant, apart
from the diamond works, to travellers and
"up-country " traders as the emporium and
starting-place for the interiot. The public
buildings include a lios|)ital ot' three hundred
and sixty beds, specially useful to the mine-
workers, and a sanatorium ; a library, < on-
taining one of the best collections of books
in South Africa ; a hanilsome Town Hall,
post-office. High Court, club, and Masonic
temple ; Anglican, We^leyan, I'resbyterian,
and Roman Catholic churches. The wants
of civilisation are ])rovided for by trams,
cabs, and daily newspapers ; a park with
cricket and l'ootl)aIl fields, boianie gardens,
and waterworks, con-
structed at a cost of
nearly half a million
sterling, bringing an
abundant supply from

the \'aal River, about

seventeen miles away to

the north-west. A short

distance to the east lies

Heaconsfield, practically

a suburb, with a popu-
lation of about ten

thousand, half of whom

are whites, around the

mines of l)u Toit's

I'an and Bultfontein.

Kimberley is about six

hundred and fifty mi'es

from Cape Town by

the railway through l)e

Aar Junction, and two

hundred and thirty miles,

on the same line, south

It was therefore made an object of im-
mediate att.ick, and within a day or two of
the ultimatum there were some thousands of
burghers on the adjacent border, with some
field guns.

Ihe defence of Kimberley had been
rendered pos^ible only by the fact that
the inh.ibitants had refused to be lulled
into false security by the .ittitude and
advice of Mr. .Schreiner, the Cape Colony
Premier, and in spite of derision they
deliberately made jjreparations against a
day of need. The initiative in the matter
was taken, of course, by the l)e lieers
Company. Months before the outbreak

of Mafeking.

Lying

close to the western
border of Orange Free
State, the town was, from
its proximity, its enor-
mous wealth and im-
portance, and, not least,
from Mr. Cecil Rhodes'
great financial interest
in its industry, most
tempting to ou.- Boer
foes as a possible prey.

P/iff,<. ^y .\nillt P. i:
iJli liKKKS MlN

i7uards.

E, SUOWINC. COUNTRY AND KNDLESS JlAULAliE
ARRANGE.MENT.

The Beleaguered Towns of the North and West

ct of im-
or two of
lusands of
ivitli soinu

Kid l)ccn
f.irt that
l)c lulled
iidc and
c Colony
.ion they
igainst a
le matter
)e licers
outbreak

u;e

of war, repeated application was made
to the colonial (lovernment for weapon-,
wherewith to defend the town and the
mines. Mr. Schreiner sneeringly replied
that, so far as he knew, Kimherley was in
no danger, (luns that were known to hr
in the country, and to he intended for the
Diamonil Fields Artillery, werj kept for
weeks hidden away at some obscure rail
way siding, and it became clear that it was
useless to exj)ect helf) from the colonial
Cabinet. The De Beers Company, formed,
as all know, by Mr. Cecil Khodes, at once
set about secretly arming the thousands
of white men in their employment, and
diamond-digging, wasliing, and sorting were
varied by industrious drilling, (luns, large
and small, were obtained, and not only
was a complete battery of artillery formed,
but cannon were planted on the heaps
of di'hris fr^ n the mines which surround
the town. This stuff, accumulated at a
good distance from the buildings, was ready
for the formation of excellent redoubts and
entrenchments, and the place was soon well
fortified.

Mr. Rhodes made his final atonement
for the Jameson Raid by throwing in his
lot with his own people during the risks of
a siege, and arrived in the town on the
night of October 1 2th. 'I'he Cape Premier,
who had allowed rifles and ammunition
to pass through to Orange Free State for
employment in making British widows and
orphans at Kimberley, was enjoying the
comforts and luxuries of the capital. There
was a strong feeling at the Diamond Town
that since Mr. Schreiner and his colleagues
contended, till the very last moment, that
nothing was to be feared from the Boers,
in this declaration they were either speaking
as men utterly deceived, or had deliberately
lied, and that in either case they were
unfit to be longer trusted with the rule of
Cape Colony.

Lieutenant-Colonel Kekewich was en-
trusted with the direction of the defence,
and this officer showed the utmost energy
and great ability in his responsible position.
After the erection of defences on all sides,

trees were felled, antl the bush cleared, so
as to give a good field for firing, and in
the earliest days, before any .ittack was
m.ide, the artillery were making excellent
practice at dummy forces at a range of
.',500 to .^ooo yards. With the rifle, recruits
who had newly joined the town guard were
doing well for aim at distances of 300 and
700 yards. On October 17th Colonel
Kekewich divided the town into four sub-
districts for the maintenance of inttrnal
order, and solemnly warned the people
against communicating with the (Jueen's
enemies. Rations of me.it were limited to
one pound daily for each m.m, all roads
out of the town were absolutely closed
against all exit or entrance save for persons
with a permit or proof of good faith, and
the Sentries received orders to shoot all
persons attempting to force the barricades
anil other obstructions. The defences were
daily strengthened, the townsfolk cheerfully
joining in the work, notwithstanding loss
of sleep and the decay of business. Miles
of barbed wire were placed around the
town ; an armoured train patrolleil the line
of railway to north and south. The Boers,
meanwhile, were surrounding the place,
" lifting" cattle in various quarters.

\\'e may here note matter concerning the
town of Vryburg, the capital of British
Bechuanaland, with a population of about five
thousand, lying one hundred and forty-five
miles north of Kimljerley by rail. The fate
of this place was soon decided, with tragical
result to the British commandant. Major
Scott, who had faithfully served in the
colony for twenty-two years. He had
received instructions to resist tlie Boers,
but resistance was found to be cjuite im-
possible. The majority of the inhabitants
were Dutch, with strong Krugerist sym-
pathies, and before the arrival of the
enemy, soon after the middle of October,
the magistrate announced to a large crowd,
consisting chiefly of farmers of the district,
that the police had decided to retire, that
the Volunteers would be disbanded, and
that any one who might choose to accoini)any
the police would be allowed to do so.

;•:

lOO

The Flight for the l-laji: in South Africa

I'copK' friiiuUy to the llritisli cause were
soon Ikein^; west, north, and south in
Vehicles, on horseback, and on I'ocit. Major
Scott, worn out already witlj anxit-ty of
mind, toilsome <lays, and sleepless ninhts,
addressed the police and N'ohinteers, and
askeil those who were willinj; to remain and
fight to step forward. Only six men re-
sponded to this appeal, the police exprcssint;
the opinion that they had no chance a^^ainst
artiiUry. The police then rode out of the
town, and al)out midnii^ht, when the little
column had halted foi a brief rest, the
silence of the camp was broken by the
sound of a pistol-^lmt, and it was loinul
that Major Scott had ended his life by a
bullet in the forehead. 'I'he body of the
hapless officer was buried in the veldt,
between two spreadiiiL; thorn-trees, and
after tlu' last rite, his successor in command,
while the men stood "at attention," said
a few fitting; words concerniiij^ the loss
sustained by the colony and tlie service.

'The Hoers had now entered the town,
hoisted the Transvaal flaj^, and issued a
proclamation declaring liechuanal;<nd to be a
part of the South African Rej)ublic, Colonel
Kekewich, on receiving the news, retorted
with a proclamation warning all the Dutch
in Hechuanaland and (iriiiualand West that
their status as British sul)jects was un-
changed, and that if they joined the Trans-
vaal or Orange l''rei' State Hoers, or aided
them in warlike operations, they would be
treated as rel)els. We return now to the
fortunes of Kimberley.

Before the last week in October the phre
was closely invested by the eniiny, and
news was with difticuity sent to the outer
world. In the afternoon of October 2 5rd
a haggard man on a brown horse crawK'd
into the little town at 1 )e Aar junction,
made his wav to the commandant's office,
delivered a document, and tlien fell fainting
to the ground. The brave and loyal fellow
soon revived under care, and told his
adventures since he left the beleaguered
town. \'iewed by lloer scouts when he
was a bare mile outside, he was hotly pur-
sued, but escaped by hiding in some thick

bush. .\t a lonely farm, whose occupant
was supposed to be "friendly," he sought a
fresh mount, but t! e l.irmer w.is .ifr.iid,
though willing, to help him. 'I'he despatch
rider then m ide his w.iy across country to
another firm in his own <listrict, where his
sweetheart was living. She came out to
him with news that aruu'd jloers were .it
th.it moment in the kiti lun. lie was forced
to push on southw.irds until his worn-
out horse fell and rolled ujion him. In
struggling to his feet he tore off two fingers
of his right haiid, which bled profusely until
tln' poor fellow boimd it securely with his
|)Uggaree. Toiling slowly on until da\light,
he obtainetl .1 fresh horse, by a bribe, from
a farmer, .ind finally reached De Aar,
exhausted from hunger and loss of blood.
I 'is news was that at Kimberley "all was
well " and the people cheerful; Mr. Cecil
Rhodes, dri'ssed like .111 .Afrikander firmer,
''moved about saying very little to any
one."

The little defending force com|irised four
'Companies of the Loyal North I-anc.ishire
Kegiment, two m.ichine guns, a batterv of
Royal (larrison Artillery, with six seven-
pounder mountain guns, a large party of
Roy.d iMigineers, and .i detachment of
the Army Medical St.iff, with complete
ambulance, the whole under the command
of Colonel Kekewich, of the North Lanca-
shires. Tiie wind and dust on the exposed
plateau were found very trying by those
unaccustomed to life on the veldt. The
goodwill of the townsfolk to the troops was
strongly marked, a typical incident being
that wliich octairred to one of (Jolonel
Kekewichs clerks, who, dining at a hotel
near the headipiarters, found that his score
had been settled for him by a kindly citizen
who had slipped away without waiting for
any tha.nks. The defence of thi- mines and
the costly machinery was entrusted to about
two ihousanil carefully organised employes
of the Company uiuUt the command of
Mr. Scott, Y.C., a hero of the Zulu War,
superintendent of the 1 )e IJeers convict
station. I'aght Maxims were in position on
the ramparis formvd out of the huge grey

SC OCCll|i.llU
liu s()lij;lit .1
was afr.iiil,

lie «Ic.S|).lt(|l

• ountry to
t, where his
line out lo
ers were .it

was forced

Ills worn-
) him. In
two fingers
•fiisely until
■ly with his
lil cl,i\light,
l>ril)c. from

De .\,,r,
i of l)lood.
y "all was

Mr. Cecil
ler farmer,
le to any

I'rised four

Lanc.ishire
battery of

six seven-
party of
mcnt of
•omplete
ommand
1 Lanca-
e.\ posed
)y those
ii. The
>ops W.IS

nt heing
(Joione!
a hotel
lis score
y citi/en
iting for
nes and
to about
mployds
Hand of
ilu War,
convict
ition on
ge grc)-

'35-

'J4

.t:--'

!•;>

I()2

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

heaps of debris. Tlic \'oluiiti'er Artillery
had a l)attery of six .scven-poundcr "screw "
j^uns, and were aided by drafts of Royal
Artillerymen. The defending force was
completed by one huntlred and twenty Cape
Police, fine, bron/ed, hardy men, admirable
for scouting, patrolling, and outpost work.
ICvery night the whole country was lighted
u|) for miles around by powerful electric
searchliglUs. Thus prepared, Kimberley
calmly awaited hostile attack, and was also
re-adv for offensive work.

was turned to the north by the Volunteers,
and when the foe were falling fast and
evidently staggering under the assault, the
Lancashires made a fine cliarge, and cleared
the kopje with the bayonet, driving the
Hoers in headlong flight. The enemy's
loss was very heavy, and their leader, (Com-
mandant Botha, was killed, shot in the left
breast from a l.ee-.Metford rille at one
thousand \ards' range. This little victory,
gained after tour hours' fighting, cost the
British force onlv three men kilK-d and

AN AkMOIKKK TKAIN.

On October 24111 a vigorous sortie was
made by a t\)rce comprising two hundred
and seventy Volunteers under Major Scott-
Turner. On the way to Macfarlane, the
second station on the line to the north,
tlv. liritish force encountered about seven
hundred Boers, occu()ying excellent posi-
tions on the hills with well-served artillery.
Two armoureil trains aiiled our men, and
they were soon reinforced by a hundred
and fifty of the Lancashires, and by two
guns, two Maxims, and seventy mounted
nvn under Colonel Murray. The Boer
guns were soon silenced, the enemy's flank

twent\-one wounded. Many hundreds of
the townspeople witnessed the engagement,
crowding the trenches and eagerly awaiting
the return of the troops.

Mr. Rhodes was of great moral service
to the defenders of Kimberley in his un-
ruffled serenity, bidding an anxious resident,
eager to get away, to '" sit tight, as 1 do."
As the centre of the social life of the town,
he daily gave little dinner-parties at the
l)e Ik'crs offices, with abundance of iced
champagne, and showed his contempt for
the enemy's efforts and his conlidence in
a successful defence by starting to plant an

Voluntirrs,
ing fast and
L' assault, the
, and cleared

driving the
I'he enemy's
leader, (.'om-
ot in the left
rille at one
little victory,
:ng, cost the

1 killed and

^''

ndreds of
agement,
awaiting

al service
n his un-

rcsident,
IS I do."

he town,
at the
of iced
-■mjjt for

ence in

plant an

U'^W'^^'-

-- ^

^.'

:\ ■■

.-^^^

J r.nn .1 l'>.i:iii\ /■> (;•■.'//> O S/'.l'V.

A hUKl IK 1 KM\I KIMliKKlKV.
103

I04

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

iivcmK' a mile- lonj^ ;it the sut)url) of Kcnil-
worth, to l)c callrcl "Siege Avenue," coni-
])o.sed of a (i()iil)le row of orange trees, with
espaliers for vines, on each side, with a
l)ackgr()uncl (jf pepper-trees. On November
ist a tremendous explosion heard outside
was due to the enemy blowing up tiie
(Company's dynamite stores, seven miles
away, near Macfarlane's ['"arm, the seene of
the sortie fight, .\bout thirty-five tons of
the ex])losive, worth ;£^,?,5oo, were thus
destroyed.

As the siege jirogressed, the ])lare was
bombarded from time to time with little
effect, and there were many skirmishes
outside the line of defence. The Boers,
who.se numbers were unknown, but assuredly
large enough for bolder work than they
engaged in, showed no desire fc^r an assault,
and confined themselves to " lifting " horned
cattle and donkeys near the town. One
day the enemy's shells, mostly falling harm-
less on the di'hris heaps and open spaces in
the outskirts, broke a large cooking-[)ot in
the town, causing an auction of the broken
pieces, with a brisk market at two pounds
for choice specimens. As a siege, the
affair was almost a farce. At the end of
November, on the fortieth day, the enemy
were still engaged in a merely harassing fire
and in raiding cattle. On November 25th
there was some smart fighting outside,
chieily of artillery, during a strong recon-
naissance made by the garrison. The
enemy suffered considerable loss in killed
and wounded, and eight prisoners were
taken. On the British side. Major Scott-
Turner, having his horse shot under iiim,
was wounded by a bullet traversing the
lleshy part of his shoulder, and some of our
men were severely hurt by Martini bullets.
On November 30th the defenders had to
ni.ourn the death, from another wound
leceived oii the previous day, of Maior
Scott-Turner, commanding the Lighi Morse.
This gallant Scot was as kindly with his
men as he was i;rave and energetic. Among
minor inciilents early in December, we hear
of the Boers " 'Miooting large numbers of
springbok,'' the beautiful antelope of those

regions, on the neij^hbouring farms, and of
several f)f those graceful creatures being
seen at Kenilworth, attracted thither by the
British searchlight.

There was nothing to rejjort during
l)eceml)er except reconnaissances, drawing
much useless fire from the enemy, and the
fact that "all was well in llimberley." In
the middle of January 1900, we learned,
"by heliograph, via Modder River," that
the enemy had heavily bombarded the
])lace from all their positions from dawn
of January 16th until the next morning,
directing their fire chiefiy against the
redoubts. .Xfter three months the Boers
were, as it seemed, no nearer to the capture
of the diamond mines or of their much-
desired prey, Mr. Cecil Rhodes, than when
they started on the enter[)rise.

A new weapon wns brought into action
for tht,' defence (jf Kimberley through the
enterprise of the l)e Beers Company. The
dejiendence of the town upr:-; ^hat great
organisation is seen in the fact liiat on
January 19th news arrived of their assistance
to the food supplies by the distribution of
soup in large quantities. The relief works
started under their control employed four
thousand natives in making roads and
general improvements in the town at a
weekly cost of over ^2,000 in wages alone.
I'he whole sanitary work of the place was
undertaken by the Company after the
failure of the former contractors through
the enemy's cajjture of mules and carts.
When the main water supply was cut off by
the Boers at the intermediate reservoir, the
Company provided fresh supplies. They
raised a large corps of mounted men, made
shells, ;uid at last manufactured a thirty-
pounder gun, which was christened " Long
Cecil," and was quickly doing excellent
work, Mr. Rhodes himself sending off
several shells. The whole wage-earning
community of the ( 'ompany, having become
soldiers iuhtead of diamond-diggers, re(~eived
the same [)ay as l.-efore, as well as gratis
food, the employes numbering six thousand
nii'n from N;;tal.

I'he militarv ailhoritics showed wisdom

The Beleaguered Towns of the North and West 105

irms, and of
iturt's being
ithcr by the

lort during
X's, drawing
ny, and the
)erley." In
ve learned,
iiver," that
)arded the
from dawn
t mfjrning,
gainst the
the Boers
the capture
leir much-
than when

nto action

irough the

any. The

^hat great

t iliat on

assistance

iljution of

h'ef works

oyc-d four

oads and

wn at a

es alone.

jlace was

ifter the

through

nd carts.

ut off by

voir, the

They

n, made

a thirty-

" Long

xcelleiit

ling off

earning

become

cceived

IS gratis

lousand

wisdom

and foretliought in the reguhitinn of s;i|)])lie>,
not permitting any sho])keepir to take
advantage of the siege, and thii> riiabling
the community to live at normal prii es, so
hr as the absolute necessaries ot" life were
concerned, although fowls, eggs, vegetables,
and fruit were, of necessity, at famine prices.
I'owards the end of January (the despatch
was undated) the lioers njiencd a heavy

liechuaiial.md and the ccmrc <it' ir.iflic with
the interior, is (he northernmoMt town of
(ape (oldiiy, lying on the Molopo River
about seventeen miles south of the l)order,
and al)0ut ten miles west of the frontier
of Transvaal. IJy the railway it is eight
hundred and seventy miles from ('a])e Towti,
and about t\so hundred and thirty from
Kimberlev. The smart little pLu e has a

wnir isADr.N-i'owi.i.i at makkkim; : a mcui kik onnaissance.

bombardment, which caused little damage,
as most of the shells fell harmlessly on the
De Beers' diamond flfiors. The town guns
made a vigorous reply. The last news
received before this recortl closeil was that
the garrison and other inhabitants were in
good health, "going about their tasks
cheerfully, and bearing all their troubles
patiently."

Mafcking, tlx; chii'f town of 15rilish

cricket ground and a racecourse, the
''Surrey," and other hotels, I'aiglish, Dutch,
and W'esleyan churches, and is the head-
quarters of the Bechuanaland liorder Police,
a well trained force of about four hundred
and fifty men recruited chiefly from the
young larmers of the east of Cape Colony,
men of versatile powers, enabling them to
construct their own little forts and barracks,
to sink wells and make roads, to act both a:;

io6

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

•*>■•

cavalry and as mounted infantry, and to
manage the six field guns in action.

In her isolation, and her need for defence
against superior numbers of a pertinacious,
though not very enterprising foe, Mafeking
was very fortunate in the commandant of
her little garrison. Robert Stephenson
Smyth Bailen-I'owell, lieutenant-colonel
of the 5th Dragoon (juards, was born, like
Cecil Rhodes, son of an Knglish rector,
and first saw the light of day in 1857. In
1876 he entered the 13th Hussars, and saw
active service in India, Afghanistan, and
South Africa. In the Ashanti War of 1895,
Baden-Powell commanded the native levies,
then he acted as Chief of tlie Staff in the
Matabeleland Campaign. Wielding the pen
of a ready writer, and devoted to sport as a
yachtsman, a hunter, and a polo player, a
big-game shooter, and a " pig-sticker," he
is also a painter, etcher, actor, and stage-
manager on occasii n. This wonderfully
energetic and versatile man is the author
of works on hog-hunting, reconnaissance
and scouting, vedette, and cavalry in-
struction. The naming of a man by his
initials only is usually a sign both of wide-
spread fame and of popularity, and as the
King of Cricketers is universally recognised
as " W. Ci." so the commandant at Mafe-
king, one of the brightest and cheeriest of
mankind, is known to his friends, and of
late to the British world, as " B. P."

Among the defenders of the town —
lying open in a flat and only guarded
by entrenchments and some redoubts —
were Colonel Hore's force of irregular
cavalry about five hundred strong, two
hundred Cape Mounted Police, the British
South Africa Company's Mounted I'olicx',
and sixty Volunteers, with two seven-
pounders and six machine guns. Some
hundreds of townsmen and a coloured
force were also raised in due time. In
preparation for attack, a number of houses
were turned into hospitals, and the sisters
of the convent, on receiving a telegram
from the Roman Catholic Bishop permitting
them to leave, all chose to stay and nurse
the wounded. \ number of ladies also

volunteered to remain for nursing, with the
offer of providing delicacies for the sick.
The women and children remaining in the
town were placed for shelter in a laager
two miles to the west. The streets were
barred with waggons, and every able-bodied
man in the place carried a rifle. The
defenders, before the beginning of hostilities,
were reinforced by the arrival of some
heavy guns, a large detachment of police,
and half a battery of the Kimberley
Artillery.

On Wednesday, October nth, the Boer
forces under (ieneral Cronje, in pursuance
of the ultimatum, crossed the frontier, and
on the following day the 'communication
to the south was cut off by the seizing of
the railway. On the same day the Boers
caused themselves a heavy loss by the
destruction of two truckloads of dynamite
which had been stored in the station yard,
and were, under the commandant's order,
pushed out by an engine to a distant siding.
It was a most dangerous task for Perry,
the brave engine-driver. At a mile or two
out he came across some of the enemy,
who oi)ened fire, when he wisely uncoupled
his engine, and ran back full speed for the
town. The enemy had closed in on the
trucks, thinking to make prize of an
armoured train, when one of their bullet.,
penetrating a case of dynamite, .xploded
the whole freight and wrought havoc in
their ranks. Perry was about a mile and a
half distant at the time, and his engine was
almost lifted from the rails, while he was
forcibly flung against the side of the " cab."

On October 14th there was some sharp
fighting. About half-past five in the morning
the patrol under Lord Charles Bentinck, to
the north of the town, was engaged with
the Boers, and the armoured train^was sent
out to his aid. It was found that the
enemy had retired before Bentinck, but
they returned in force, and soon after six
o'clock the train, conveying British South
Africa Police ^nd Railway Volunteers, with
two Maxims and a Hotchkiss, one on each
of the three cars, came into aition. The
Boers, about six hundred strong, were on

rsing, with the

for the sick.

naining in the

-I" in a laager

- streets were
')• able-bodied
I rifle. The
tj of hostilities,
ival of some
:;nt of police,

- Kimberley

ith, the Boer
in pursuance

frontier, and
mmunication
he seizing of
ly the Boers
loss by the

of dynamite
station yard,
dant's order,
istant siding.
»; for Perry,

mile or two

the enemy,
)' uncoupled
leed for the
I in on the
rize of an
leir bullet.,
•xploded
havoc in

mile and a

engine was

le he was
le '« cab."

ome sharp

le morning

ntinck, to

:aged with

i^was sent
that the

inck, but
after six

ish South

eers, with

• on each

')n. 'I'he
were on

the

i'rom a DrawiH^^ by K. CatOH U'oodviUe,

COI.OM'.l. K. -. HADKN-l'OUEl.l.,
Tilt' Gallant .ind Clever Defender of Mafekinfj, in the Lniform of the Corps Raised by liim in British Kcclnianalainl.

107

io8

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

.1 .

the right front, and tlic Maxim fire from tiie
leading truck was repHed to by their (|iiick-
firing guns and tht'ir pouiuler Maxims.
The firing was very iiot. 'I'lie enemy soon
retired, and tiie train steadily advanced.
When the Boers resumed fire from their
guns, their gunners were worried as to tlie
proper range Ijy the train's mo\ ing to and
fro on tlie line. Colonel Baden Powell,
wishing the train to return, sent out Captain
Fitzclarence with a s(|uadron of men to
cover the retreat, and a sharp engagement
soon occurred. 'I'lie Boers made persistenf
efforts to turn the British tlank, and Fitz-
clarence was soon hampered by wounded
men, whom he would not leave. A
message was sent to Mafeking by the
phonophore attached to the railway tele-
graph, and Captain Lord Charles Bentinck
was sent out with his squadron to disengage
Fitzclarence. The enemy retired before
midday, and all the fhitish wounded were
brought in by the train, on which only
three men had been slightly hurt. 'l"he
spirit of the defenders of the place was
shown by the fact that amongst the railway
detachment helping to man the lines to
the north were two ladies, the wife and
daughter of a railway emfiloye. 'I'hey
absolutely refu.sed to take shelter in the
women's laager, and wielded their own
Lee-Metfords with .skill against the foe.

This first engagement with the enemy,
in which the conduct of all concerned was
highly praised by the commandant in a
genera! order, raised the spirits of the
defenders. On October i6th a flag of
truce came in from (ieneral Snyman, of the
Boer army, with a message hoping "that a
surrender would be made in order to save
further bloodshetl, and stating that we
might now, if we wished, leave off f'ring."
Baden-Powell's reply was to the effect that
" as far as leaving off was concerned, we
had not yet begun." The truce lasted
until 4.45 i).m., and the inhabitants of the
beleaguered town emerged from the shelter
of sand-bags, redoubts, bomb-proofs, and
cellars, to do a brisk trade in pieces of
shells picked u[) in the streets, sold at from

three shillings to four shillings a piece.
Some of the boys in the town did active
service in the defence, one jjlaying a man's
[)art well at the loopholes of one fort with
his ritle, and another loading the machine
belts for a gun. On the night of Thursday,
October 19th, there was an impromptu
concert at Kiesle's Hotel, where men in
top-boots, breeches, and shirts, amidst a
party of ladies, joined in the chorus of
merry songs.

Corresi)ondence between Baden- I'owell
and (ieneral C'ronje formed at times a
feature of the siege which made the British
public smile. In reply to a letter from the
Boer general confessing his inability to
carry the town by storm, and declaring his
intention of bombardment from a siege gun
which was soon to arrive, the liritish leader
informed him that the town was surrounded
by mines, some arranged to explode of
themsehes and others connected with head-
([uarters. The gaol, he said, was chiefly
occupied by the general's own countrymen,
and over this a yellow flag was placed, to
enable him to avoid firing on it. He further
pointed out that, if the Boer general insisted
on shelling a town containing inoffensive
women and children, his action would
afford a precedent for the l^ritish forces
when they invaded the Transvaal.

The lioer commander did shell the town,
and heavily, with siege guns. On October
24th they opened fire, and at two o'clock a
hundred-[)Ounder sent a shell shrieking into
the market s(iuare. .About fi\e shells j)er
hour were sent in from this weapon, and the
intervals were filled up by the fire of twelve-
pounder Maxims, Nordenfeldts, Hotch-
kiss, Krupps, and other guns. One of
the great [)rojectiles wrecked three rooms
at Reisles Hotel. 'I'he enemy vvere en-
trenched at about two thousand yards
distance, beyond effective rifle range, and
the garrison and inhabitants, unable to reply
to the heavy large guns, had to dodge
the enemy's shells as best they could, aided
by certain signals given by horns blown
from look-out places. On October 24th and
. the following day about three hundred shells

igs a piece,
n (lid active
ying a man's
)ne fort with
lie machine
)f 'I'hiirsday,
impromptu
lere men in
S amidst a
; chorus of

;iden- Powell
It times a
: the British
:er from the
liability to
eclaring his
a siege gun
itish leader
surrounded
explode of
with head-
was chiefly
Duntrymen,
placed, to
He further
insisted

offensive
on would

h forces

the town,
October
o'clock a
'king into
lells ])ur
and the
5f twelve-
Hotch-
One of
e rooms
ere en-
yards
ige, and
to reply
) dodge
d, aided
blown
4th and
d shells

i«).mii.\kiimi;n 1 di- m.\i kkim; : a >iii:i.i, in i hi-, i ki.nciii-.s.

I lO

The Fight for the Flag In South Africa

..V

.,:»I

were dropped in the town without doing
serious damage. On this last day, under
cover of the fire, the enemy attacked tlie
town from all sides, their riflemen coming
in very close, and were received with rifle
fire, Maxims, and the explosion of mines,
retiring at last with heavy loss.

On October 27th a fine attack on the
enemy's trenches was madv; by a s(iuadr()n
of the Protectorate Regiment under Captain
Fitzclarence, supported by the Cape Police
under Lieutenant Murray. 'I'he sortie was
made at night, and the Prilish trcxjps got
in well with bayonet work. With a loss
among the assailants of six men killed and
nine wounded, the enemy were strongly
checked in pu.shing forward their entrench-
ments, and a considerable moral effect was
])roduced by the cold steel. During a truce
of two hours after this exploit, for the re-
covery of the British dead who were lying
within the enemy's trenches, the Tioer com-
mander was pleased to speak in enthusiastic
terms of the gallantry of the men who made
the charge.

On October 31st a gallant feat of arms
was performed during the hours of the
morning twilight by Colonel Walford and
his detachment of officers and men of the
old British Jiechuanaland Police, now re-
named the British South Africa Police, but
still an Imperial force. These men held a
small and almost unprotected fort, on a
rising called Cannon Kopje, against the
advance of the enemy, made under cover
of four heavy guns and a hundred-pounder.
It was the 3oer intention, after getting their
guns and attacking force into position during
the night, to storm the British post at day-
break, and thence to bombard the south-
east' part of the town and capture it with
a large force. The men under Colonel
Walford, under a cross fire of artillery, not
only held their position, but inflicted such
losses on the enemy as compelled them to
retreat. The British were assisted by the
timely and well-directed fire of a seven-
pounder under Lieutenant Murchison, and
so discomfited the Boers that they did not
again come near the position. The British

had to deplore the loss of the Hon. Douglas
Marsham and Captain Kerr Pechell, two
officers described by Baden-Powell in his
order of the day as " of exceptional promise
and soldier-like qualifications."

On November 3rd Captain Goodyear,
commanding an excellent squad of " Cape
Boys," made a sortie and recaptured from
the enemy a position in the Brickfields,
from which their sharpshooters had made
things very unpleasant in the town. It was
the general policy of Colonel Baden-Powell
during his able direction of the defence to
be continually making attacks with the view
of pushing back the enemy's rifle fire, and
so freeing the garrison and inhabitants from
every danger except that arising from bom-
bardment. On November 7th a successful
stratagem was carried out by a force under
the direction of Major Godley comprising
Captain ^\■rnon's sc^uadron of the Protec-
torate Regiment and some guns under Major
Panzera. The British force, advancing
under cover of night to the enemy's laager
on the west of the town, fired half a dozen
rounds, and then retired on their own lines.
The Boers, believing that our men had
withdrawn in confusion, came on within
rifle range of our trenches, and were met at
a short distance with a heavy fire, which
drove them off in disorder, leaving their
dead and wounded to be picked up later
on under the Red Cross flag. Only two
men were wounded in the British force.
The Bechuanaland Rifles under Captain
Cowan took part in the engagement — their
first " brush " with the foe.

We may here quote a despatch from
Mafeking concerning the British com-
mander. " We have a man than whom
we could have none better. The colonel
is always smiling, and is a host in
himself. To see 'B.P.' go whistl ng
down the street, deep in thought, pleasing
of countenance, bright and confident,
is cheering and heartening, better than
a pint of dry champagne. Had any man
in whom the town placed less confidence
l)een in command, disaster might have
befallen Mafeking, and if we are able to

The Beleaguered Towns of the North and West m

on. Douglas
^echell, two
3weII in his
nal promise

Goodyear,
J of " Cape
)turcd from
Brickfields,

had made
vn. It was
den- Powell
defence to
th the view
le fire, and
itants from
from hom-

successful
orce under
comprising
he Protec-
ider Major
advancing
ly's laager
If a dozen
own lines,
men had
3n within
ire met at
re, which
ing their

up later
Only two
sh force.

Captain
nt — their

ch from

h com-

n whom

colonel

Siost in

vhistjng

pleasing

nfident,

IT than

ny man

fidence

t have

able to

place the name of Mafeking on the roll of the
Empire's outposts which have fought for the
honour and glory of Britain, it will he chiefly
because Baden- Powell has commanded us."

The people and garrison were from tune
to time severely tried l)y the bombardment,
not so much from actual loss of life as from
the harassing necessity of living in bomb-
proofs and keeping continual watch fcjr
missiles when they were obliged to leave
shelter. On November i8th there was
some relaxation of pressure in the siege,
through the departure of (leneral Cronje
with a third of his command. Early in
Decemb':- Baden-l'owell greatly irritated
General Snyman, the Boer commander, by
a letter to the burghers pointing out "the
inevitable result of their remaining longer
under arms against Great Britain. The
British forces were arriving in large numbers ;
there would be no hoped-for foreign inter-
vention. Mafeking could not be taken
by sitting down and looking at it, as there
were ample .supplies for several months.
They had better think of their families,
their farms, and their own safety. His
advice to them was to return to their homes
without delay. His force would [)robably
soon take the offensive."

" B.P." fulfilled his promise of making
another sortie, but unhappily without
success, though the effort was most honour-
able to the British force engaged. On
December 26th an attack was made on one
of the enemy's forts to the i.jrth, with the
object of pushing back the line of invest-
ment. The Boers had, as seemed certain,
been warned of what was intended. During
the night they had strengthened the works
and doubled the garrison. The British
force consisted of two squadrons of the
Protectorate Regiment, one of the Bechuana-
land Rifles, and three guns, assisted by an
armoured train with a Hotchkiss and a
Maxim, also conveying twenty men of the
British South Africa Police. The men
took up their position under cover of the
darkness, and fighting began at four in the
morning with firing from Major Panzera's
seven pounders and the machine gun. The

lighting line then adv.iiK id tow.irds the fort
under a heavy fire of bullets, only to tind
the place impregnable except to heavy
battering guns. I'he parapet was loop-holed
in triple ti«rs and roofed with a boml)-|)roof
prote< tion. There was only one entrance
at thi- front, and this was mostly under
ground, and only large enough to admit
one man ;'t a time. The w.ills were too
high for scaling, except by ladders, and the
men suffered terrible loss as they swarmed
round in vain efforts to effect an entrance.
It was absolutely needful to retire, the
assailants, out of eighty men, having had
twenty-one killed and thirty-three wounded,
the former including Ca|)tains Vernon and
Sandford and Lieutenant Paton.

This disaster followed close on a Christ-
mas Day celebrated with dinners and sports,
a pleasant feature being the children's party
and Christmas tree, at which two hundred
and fifty little ones were present, and, as a
despatch remarks, " a tremendous quantity
of Christmas fare was consumed." New
Year's Day found the enemy vigorously
bombarding the town, six nine-pounder
shells being sent into the women's laager,
with the effect of killing a little girl and
wounding two other children. On January
4th the British guns, in a prolonged duel,
completely silenced the Boer artillery for
the time. A despatch of January 6th said :
" We arc making up our minds to stick this
out as long as need be, and have food for
another three months. The whole garrison
is enraged at the enemy's dastardly violation
of the rules of civilised warfare in continued
firing upon the women's laager." A few
days later, when Colonel Baden-Powell
sent a remonstrance about the shelling of
the hospital, the Boers at once replied by
again firing twice at the .same building.
On January loth, the latest news we can
here report was that the garrison was more
determined than ever not to let the enemy
in, and that the only bad thing was the
supply of whisky running short — tidings
received, let us hope, with sympathetic
sorrow by countless patriotic Britons, and
even in the Emerald Isle.

IN lin-: TRKNCIIKS AT MAI-KKINC: A (lOOD SHOT.

The Beleaguered Towns of the North and West

1 1

A>-

i!^

'I'uli — known in earliir days as the Mritish
South Alriru C'omp.my's l-'ort 'lull is a
small place in Rhodesia near the River
Shashi, a trihutary of the Limpopo River,
forminj^ the nortliern boundary of the
Transvi'.al, trom whii h the town lies about
twenty miles distant. The fort and town
were hcltl by Colonel IMumer, who arrived
there on October nth, and a brave little
band of mounted irregulars. 'I'he phu e
was never seriously pressed by the in-
vadiuL? Hoers, who formed a camp with
some hundred.s of men near at hand, but
were kept at bay by Colonel I'lumer and
his men. On October 31st the ciiir''i mder
returned from an extended reconnuissince
westward alon^ and near the Limpopo,
greatly reassuring the natives, after frecpient
raids by the Hoers, by his appearance at
Maklutsi Junction. On November 3rd a
brilish camp to the west was shelled by
the enemy, with the effect of .stampeding
all the horses and mules of Colonel
Spreckley's s(|uadron, without injury to any
truojier. There was desulto: ■ lighting at
various points. Early in the ame month
about eighty of the liritish were attacked
at a post in the west by a large force with
two big guns, and bombarded for the whole
day. The enemy pressed the attack until
night, killing many horses, but doing no
other damage. During the night, the
British force stole through the Hoer lines
on foot, and tramped back to Tuli, a
distance of thirty-five miles.

On December ist Colonel I'lumer, with
a strong reconnoitring party, left camp, the
enemy having by this time retired to the
south, and two days later they entered
the Transvaal territory at the point v.here
the Maklutsi River joins the Limpopo,
to the south-west of Tuli. This invasion
of Boer territory was a new and refreshing
matter for British readers, wearied (jf Boers
being, as it seemed, fixed on British colonial
ground without any present prospect of
being "shifted." After crossing ihe river,
the British force marched through the veldt
to a point on the coach road fifty miles
north of Pietersburg. The reconnaissance

could nut be puslu'd f.irtlur owing to the
extreme drought. No Hoers weri' seen at
any point, ami the party returned to Rhodes'
Drift. The little tolumn then took up a
strong position at Pont Ko|)je on ground
lately held by a large force of the enemy.
A new advanci' to the south was intended,
but it was stopiHjd by a great rise in the
waters of the Limpopo, and the force re-
turned to 'i'uli. The Hoi-r forces in that
district had lelt the region, and Tuli .in('
Maklutsi were still garrisoned by CoIoivjI
I'lumer, whose patrols were constantly
reconnoitring in the Transvaal to w.uch
for du; enemy's return.

Kunimaii, the smallest of the places in
the north which were a.ssailed by the Hoers,
has not the least honourable record among
them for a brave defence. I'he little
village, in the Hrilish Hechuaiiahuid portion
of Cape Colony, lies out in hilly country
about eighty miles due west of Taungs,
which is near the railway about thi' same
distance north of Kimberley. Until a few
years ago, before the construction of the
railway, Kuruman was the best-known
settlement in the I5e( huana region, being
a missionary post favoured with an un-
failing supply of water. In this district,
and in that of Taungs, the native pupulation
is largest, the Europeans being chielly found
in and about Vryburg and Mafeking. In
November the I'ree State burghers began
to commandeer for recruits and supplies,
and favourers of the Hrilish cause hastened
southwards with all their effects that could
be removed.

'I'he mission station, which was formerly
the centre of the famous Dr. Moffat's long
work among the natives, was the point of
resistance to the enemy's attack. When
the Hoer commandant informed the magis-
trate, Mr. Hilliard, of his intention to
occupy the place, that ot'ficial replied that
he had orders to defend it, and forthwith
gathered twenty natives and thirty half-
castes. The mission chipel was barricaded.
The Hoers advanced to within a mile of
the little town, near a small redoubt on the
east held by eleven men under Denison, of

114

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

■■*,

the Intcllinencc Department, ind ('ori)oral
(last. On their approach to ihi' town,
the enemy reeeiveil a volley whieh inllieted
some loss, ami caused their hasty retire-
ment. They afterwards returned, and kept
up a heavy rifle fire during the whole day,
heinu reinforced l)y nearly a thousand men.
The Union Jack, when the summons to
surrender was refused, had been hoisted
amid great cheering, and a stout resistance
was made at all points. A redoubt to the
west of the Urilish camp was attacked, hut
the Hoers were met with a severe tire, under
which their commandant fell.

On November 14th it was found that
the foe had strongly fortified themselves in
commanding positions during the night, anil
firing was kept up till after dark, the enemy
losing a few men. The next two days were
quiet till nighttime, when the Hritish fired
for the purpose of inducing the Hoers to
waste their ammunition. f)n November
17th they opened with a well-directed fire,
riddling the town buildings and the camp.
The bombardment was resumed on the

next day, the Uritish guns not replying
except when there was a visible mark.
After six days of siege the enemy retired,
having lost a good many men killed and
wounded. The little garrison behaved
with gre.it courage, volunteer^ carrying out
water and rations to the redoubts uiuler a
heavy fire. The siege was renewed in the
following month, the news on December
?8th being that " Kuruman was still holding
out, with a hundred and twenty three
Hritisiiers kee|)ing at bay iJoers numbering
eight hundred." It was impossible, how-
ever, for the garrison to resist continued
bombardment, which was resumed on New
Y;ar's Day, chielly aimed at the police
barracks. The fight lasted until six in the
evening, and, when many of the defenders
were killed and wounded, a surreiuler was
inevitable. Four captains Milliard, Hates,
Dennison, and Magte — and eight subalterns,
with about a hundred men, including
seventy natives, thus became prisoner.s,
after a defence mo.st honourable to all
concerned.

CHAPTER VII.
The Western Scene of Action.— Advance to Relief ot Kimberley.

Lord Mcthucn's Advance Towards Kiniljcrley — Mis Antecedents— His Order as to Officers' Dress —
Fi^;liting Uefore his Arrival — Death of Colonel Keith-Falconer -The Hattle of Helmoiit -Hrilliant
Work of British Infantry -The (iuards and ihe Norlhundierlands — Hritish Loss -Incidents of the
Fight— The Battle of (iraspan (or F.nslin)— Siiarp Artillery Duel — Boer Positions Stormed —Brave
Conduct and Severe Loss of the Marines— The Bluejackets in Action— British Loss— The Battle
of Modder River —The British iMjne iMigagetl — The Modeler Kiver Described— The Boer Positions
— The Scene During the Advance— An Artillery Duel — Attack by the (iuards— A Long Rifle
Duel— The Rain of Boer Bullets— The Struggle on the British Left — The Good Work of our (iuns
— The River Crossed— Lord Methuen Wounded— The Ten Hours' Battle Ends Incident of the
Fight — Heavy British Loss— The Boers Abanilon their Positions During Night — The Boer Loss
— Fight of the N'orthani|)tons with Boers in our Rear — New Railway Briilge Made over Modder
— Arrival of Canadians and Australians— The F'-nemy's I'osition at Magersfontein — The Battle
There— Terrible Losses of Highland Brigade — Caught Unawares in Close Order — Death of
General Wauchope — The B.irbed Wire Fences — F'ailure of (Juards on the Left— Work of British
Guns— The War Balloons — Bayonet Work at Some Points — Officers Killed — The F'uneral of
Generil Wauchojie and Some of his Men — His Successor in Command, (ieneral Macdonald —
Incidents of the Battle — Suflcring of Wounded Lying Long on F'ield — Boers F'iring ci; Wounded —
Lord Methuen Withdraws to Modder River — A Dead Stand in Operations — Colonel Pilcher's Fine
Achievement at Sunnysiile — Queenslanders and Canadians in Action — Their fc^xcellent Conduct
— Boer Laager Cajjtured — Slight British Loss — Douglas F^ntered by British and the Loyalists
Removed — The Return to Belmont — Invasion of Orange Free State — Destruction of Houses — C!ood
Work of Lancers — A Post Established on Enemy's Territory.

Early in November arrangements were
made for an advance in force to the relief
of Kimberley, and the troops were placed
under the command of Lieutenant-General

Lord Methuen, who left Cape Town for the
north with his staff on November loth.
Paul Sanford, third Baron Methuen,
K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G., was born in

not rcplyinf;
isihic mark,
lomy retired,
n killed and
Dti hchavcd
tarrying out
il)t.s iirulcr a
icwcd in the
1 l)c(einl)er
' still holding
twenty three
H nunihering
ssihle, how-
it continued
lU'd on New

the police
til six in the
e defenders
rrender was
liard, iSates,
t subalterns,
, including

l)risoners,
djle to all

riey.

crs" I )ress —

It -Urilliant

ilcnis of the

mcd -Urave

The liatlle

)er rositiuns

i'Onj; Rifle

'f our (Jiins

lent of the

lioer Loss

ver Modder

-The Battle

—Death of

of British

Funeral of

lacdonald —

Wounded —

chcr's Fine

nt Conduct

Loyalists

uses — (.lood

\r\ for the

)er loth.

Methuen,

born in

b A n

H P E TOWN

MOPl 10 WN

WESTEK.N I-KO.MIliK OF OKA.NOE !• KEE iilATE.
115

ii6

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

♦rt

1845, ^"^ entered the Scots Guards in
1864. After serving in the Ashanti and
Egy|)tian Wars, he commanded Mcthuen's
Horse and the Field Force in Hechuanaland
in 1884-85, and i)ecame Deputy- Adjutant-
(leneral in South Alrica in 1888. His
command incUided
a brigade of ( iuards
and the Northum-
berland Fusiliers,
the Yorkshires and
the Northamptons,
anda Naval Brigade.
In consequence of
the serious loss of
officers in previous
actions of the war
from Boer marks-
men, Lord Methuen
promptly issued an
order making the
dress of the officers
in action very nearly
like that of their
men.

There had been
some sharp work
before the British
commander reached
the front. On
November i o I h
Colonel G o u g h
made a reconnais-
sance from Orange
River, near Hope-
town, to the north,
with two squadrons
of the 9th Lancens,
a battery of Field
Artillery and some
Mounted Infontry.
He found about

seven hundred Boers with a gun in a
laager on a great semi-circular ridge three
miles west of IJelmont, a station on the
line to Kiml)erley. Three hours' fighting
ensued, mostly at long range, and in the
course of the contest the Mounted Infantry
endeavoured to get round the enemy's left
flank and to see the laager. The result was

Photo, hy I'.ltiolt &• J'n, /loi-er .
I.I Kl'TKNANT-C.KN KRAI, I.OR

very unfortunate. The force came under a
heavy and unexpected fire from a few-
skirmishers, and Lieutenant Wood, of the
1st Loyal North Lancashire, and Lieutenant-
Colonel Keith- Falconer were killed. Two
lieutenants of the Northumberland Fusiliers

and two privates
w e r e w o u n d e d .
Keith-Falconer, an
o ffi c e r o f t h e
Northumberland
F'usiliers, had re-
ceived brevet-rank
as colonel for his
services in the Sudan
Campaign of 1897-
9 S . Lieutenant
\\\)(xl was untler
fire for the first
time. Theseearliest
victims of the ad-
vance to Kim!)erlev
were l)uried by the
Orange River at a
pretty spot below a
kopje overlooking
the camp, their
graves being marked
by a cairn of white
stones.

This opening of
the cam[)aign in the
west was to be
followed by a series
of actions, two of
which were shar[)
enough, one very
long and fierce, and
one of a disastrous
character for the
British force en-
gaged. The en-
gagement known as the Battle of Belmont
on November 23rd really took place mostly
at Kaffir's Kop, some ten miles to the east of
the line at Belmont station. On Tuesday,
November 22nd, Lord Methuen moved out
with his force, about seven thousand men,
to W'itte Puts station, nearly half way to
Belmont. By dawn on the following day the

.SV> ert

!) MKriIUKN, C.I

C. M.G.

ime under a
from a tew
'ood, of llie

Lieiitenaiit-
illcd. Two
ind Fusiliers
^■a privates
w o u n d e d .
alconer, an
of t ii e
aniijcrlantl
i, had re-
brevet-rank
nel for his
intheSudan
;n of 1897-
e u t e n a n t
was under
the first
lese earliest
of the ad-

Kimherley
ried hy the
River at ix
)ot below a
overlooking
np, their

ng marked
Vn of white

lening of
lign in the
to be
)y a series
two of
ere sharp
one very
tierce, and
disastrous

for the
one en-
'l"he en-

belniont
ice mostly
the east of

Tuesday,
noveil out
md men,
If way to
ig day the

/ r.iu: ,1 /tr.tuiil^- H (.1- :.'/••■.!■ .^.'iX'hii:.

DEAiii oi- i,ikl;tknant-coi.oni;i. c. k. ki:ii iikalconfu ni:.\r kklmont.

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

f,. ,

■'i^- .

troops were drawn uj) opposite the enemy's
lines, extending along a series of hills eover-
ing ten miles of ground. The position was
a formidable on*;, strongly entrenched, com-
manding the road north towards Kimherley.
Towards seven o'clock an artillery fire,
maintained for two hours in a desultory
way, ceased altogether, and then the British
guns, quickly finding the range, opened
with battery after battery on the Jioer
entrenchments, in order to cover an advance
of the infantry.

The (Grenadier (iuards and the North-
umberland Fusiliers led the way under a
heavy lire and carried the enemy's first
line with a rush, the (irenadiers using the
bayonet. The Boers fought with good
courage, their guns being splendidly and
doggedly served, until forced to withdraw.
On a second koi)je to the rear, the .same
resistance was made, but the hill was
stormed with "deadly earnestness," in the
word's of a Canadian journalist who was
present, l)y our infantry. The third hill
saw the most determined stand of the
Boers, who, after a heavy shrapnel fire
from our guns had prepared the way for
an assault, poured in a terrii)le fire as the
British went up. Officer after officer was
struck down, and men fell flist, but the
enemy were driven off l)y the final rush,
fleeing wildly after five minutes' taste of
the bayonet. The victory would have been
more decisive if cavalry had been at hand
in good force for pursuit. The " chsh " of
the British infantry had l)een as fine as
was ever displayed in war, the men con-
stantly cheering as they pressed forward
amid a hail of bullets. The Scots Guards
went into action with the band playing,
and mounted the .second line of kojjjes
to stirring strains.

The enemy's loss, as usual, could not be
estimated, the greater ])art of the killed and
wounded being con\eyed away by their
comrades ; but the victors buried a good
number of Boers, and took al>out fifty
])risoner.s, including some officers, along
with numbers of horses and horned cattle
and sheep. Much ammunition was destroyed

in the enemy's laager. The British loss
amounted to about two hundred and twenty,
including twenty-four officers killed and
wouniled, the chief sufferers being the
^rd (irenadier (iuards, the ist Coldstreams,
the 1st Scots (iuards, and the i.st North-
uml)erland Fusiliers. Among the incidents
connected with the fight were that of a
wounded soldier, limping along from Bel-
mont station to the hospital, who, asked
if ht had any " loot," replied, " Ves, in
my leg 1 " and that of the wounded Doer
prisoner who, to a cjuestion, " What he
thought of our bayonet charge," replied
with surprise, " Almighty ! Do you think
I waited for that ? "'

Two days after lielmont, on November
25th, came- the Battle of (jraspan, also
called Battle of Enslin. The enemy had
taken up a fresh position at (Iraspan, six
miles north of l>elmont on the railway, to
bar the advance to Kimberley. They were
posted on kopjes mostly over two hundred
feet in height, furrowed with trenches,
and having the ground in front carefully
measured and marked for the fire range.
The armoured train advaiKX'd slowly in
front of the British column, and was
already in action when the troops reached
the battle-field. Lord Methuen deployed
his cavalry 'on the flanks, while the artillery
took up positions to shell the Boer trenches.
'l"he action began at six in the morning,
and the enemy's position was assailed with
shrapnel. The Boer guns, finely posted,
were well served, and shell after shell burst
over our batteries, but the men stuck
bravely to their work. Then the guns
■were withflrawn a little in order to disturb
the enemy's marksmanship, and the artillery
duel was resumed.

The infiintry then moved forward, the
Northamptons working round to the right,
where tliey were joined by the Northumber-
lands and Yorkshires. About nine o'clock
a general assault was delivered, the men
swarming forward in splendid style under
a scourging fire. As the British w'cnt
nearer they took cover as they could,
returning the enemy's fire, and, going

British loss
J and twenty,
i killed and
i being the
C'oldsticams,
.' 1st North-
the incidents
Li that of a
g from 15el-

who, asked
1, "Ves, in
unded iJoer

"What he
ge," replied

you think

1 November
raspan, also

enemy had
(iraspan, six
i railway, to
They were
'.vo hundred
li trenches,
^nt carefully
fire range,
slowly in
and was
>ps reached
deployed
he artillery
-!r trenches,
morning,
isailed with
-:ly posted,
shell burst
nen stuck
the guns
to disturb
le artillery

ward, the
the right,
rthumber-
le o'clock
the men
vie under
tish went
-'y could,
d, going

119

120

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

'i-.

steadily ahead, drove them from their first
position. During their retreat across the
plain, the Lancers pursued a body of Boers,
and overtook their rear close to another
kopje alive with the foe, whose bullets
forced the horse to retire. At the second
line of kopjes a fierce contest was fought
out, the heaviest work falling on tlie
Marines. Their officers were going down,
but the men clambered fearlessly up and
over the huge boulders, and the Boers
again fled to the plain ; but the cjth Lancens
were now unable to pursue from the wearied
condition of their horses.

At an early period of the battle, our
rear was attacked by some hundreds of
Boers, but they were driven off by the
(tuards' Brigade, who also protected both
flanks. The Marines, acting with the Naval
Brigade, were under the command of Flag-
Captain Prothero, and suffered the severe
loss of two officers killed and one wounded
out of five, while six men were killed and
eighty-lwo wounded out of two hundred
and six. The Bluejackets lost two ofiicers
killed and one wounded out of a total of
twenty-one, and two men killed and thirteen
wounded out of a total of two hundred.
The chief hono;irs of the day thus rested
with the Marines and sailors, the 2nd
Yorkshire Light Infantry and the ist
Lancashire also {,aining special distinction.
The total British casualties were nearly
two hundred, of which more than half
befel the Marines and the Naval Brigade,
including, among those slain. Commander
Ethelston, of the F(m<erful, Captain Senior,
of the Monarc/i, and ALijor I'lumbe, of the
Marines, with Midshijjman Huddart, of
the Doris. The real loss of the Boers
was, as usual, unknown. About twenty of
their dead were buried by the British, and
they were known to have about fifty
wounded.

Three days later, on November 28th,
occurred the fiercest engagement up to
that time during the war — that known as
the Biittle of the Modder River. At half-
past four in the morning an advance was
made, with the Coldstreams, the vScots

(juartls, the Crenadiers, and the freshly
arrived Argyll and Sulhi'rland Regiment on
the right, and the yth Brigade on the left,
comprising the Yorkshire Light Infantry,
the Northumberlands, the Northamptons,
the Loyal Lancashires, the Mounted In-
fantry, and the 9th Lancers. Field batteries
and naval guns aided the brigades. After
a march of four miles or more, a long, thin
fringe of trees was viewed, marking the
course of the unseen Modder River, a
stream from twenty to thirty yards wide,
at the bottom of the deep bed which it
has cut in the level veldt — a huge canal,
invisible till the edge was reached, that
edge being now barred against the British
force by three miles of Boers, lying in
entrenchments. On hills about two miles
beyond the river the enemy s heavy guns
were posted, and on both the north and
the south banks the Modder River village
was occupied in force, the Boers being
hidden away amongst the buildings erected
mainly for the convenience of pleasure-
seekers from Kimberley. On the east of
the railway, to the British right, the Riet
River, after flowing from south to north,
makes a turn west and joins the Modder.

As the four-mile British line went on,
hares scurried away, a flock of bustards
rose in a clumsy fl'ght, and the little birds
called "thick-heads" .shot up, cried "Hui!"
and dropped back an^ong the sage-plants.
It was a brilliant sumi.ier morning on the
veldt. The battle began about seven a.m.,
when the British Mounted Infantry chased
some hundreds of Boer horsemen on our
extreme right, and were met by a fire from
a concealed gun beside a little mudhouse,
which brought the British i8th Battery into
action. An artillery duel at once began
along the four or five miles of line on each
side, and the Guards Brigade, in the usual
extended order, went carefully on towards
the river. Many men fell under a heavy
fire, and the Maxim detachment of the
ScotsCuardsis described, in LordMcthuen's
report, as being "completely wiped out."
The Riet River prevented any further ad-
vance, and with the liritish troops lying

the freshly
eg i me lit on
•n the left,
t Infantry,
thamptons,
Jiinted la-
id batteries
les. After

long, thin
irking the

River, a
ards wide,

I which it
uge canal,
died, that
;he British

lying in
two miles
eavy guns
lorth and
ver village
ers being
gs erected
pleasure-
le east of
the Riet
to north,
lodder.
went on,
bustards
:tle birds
Hui!"
,e-plants.
on the
en a.m.,
chased
on our
re from
dhouse,
ery into
began
)n each
usual
towards
heavy
of the
thucn's

II out."
icr ad-

ying

1)
o

?1
Z

n
>
o

H
O

D
O

S
X

•121

12;

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

down in fairly good cover, tlic battle in this
quarter became nothing but a rille duel,
continuing, witli two brief intervals, from
ten in the morning until past six o'clock
in the evening.

Each of the British Guardsmen started
out with one himdred and fifty to one
hundred and sixty rounds, and many boxes
and bags of cartridge^ were sent cieepingly
to them during the afternoon. An attempt
was made to cross the river and outflank,
the enemy's left, but the fire was too hot
and the water too deep. The enemy's rain
of bullets was such that many of the British
wounded, being crippled, lay flat on the
ground for hours, not daring to crawl back
for help. If the head or a hand were raised
for a moment, it became a mark, and it was
impossible for stretcher-bearers to get near
di.sabled men. We must now see what was
passing on the left of the struggle.

The Northumberlands advanced along the
east side of the railway, supported by half
a l)attalion of the Argyll and Sutherlands,
while the Yorkshires, with the rest of the
Scotti.sh battalion, were on the west of the
railway, with the Lancashires prolonging
the line to the left, seeking to cross the
river and threaten the enemy's right flank.
The advance of the brigade was checked
by the fire from an outcrop of rocks and
small kopjes on the northern bank of the
Modder, much in advance of the enemy's
main position there, and by that from a
farmhouse and kraal to the east, covering
the dam and the drift, or ford, at the west
end of Modder village. The 75th Battery
and three guns of the iSth, with the heavy
pieces of the Naval Brigade, were of great
service at this ])arl of the battle, and at about
half-past two some of the Yorkshires, High-
landers, and Northumberland Fusiliers got
across the river and drove out the enemy
in the west of the village. The Lancn'^hiies
at the same time stormed the kopjes and
rocks on the extreme left, and the Boer
right flank was thus turned. It was about
half-past fi\e in the afternoon when Lord
Methuen received a flesh wound in the right
thigh, which disabled him for some days.

and he gave over the command to Major-
General Colvile.

The ten hours' battle ended at dusk with
the sheer exhaustion of the combatants.
'I'he British artillery, of twenty-two guns
after the arrival of a fresh field battery at
three o'clock from Orange River, had lued
on an average two hundrd rounds per
gun. The Guards, the N'orkshires, and the
artillery, in particular, had been under a
terrific Ire all day without food or water
except what they carried with them into
action. At nightfall the enemy were still
in possession of most of the village. A
touching incident of the struggle was that
connected with Cai)tain I'Larle, of the
Grenadier Guards, after he had been
thirteen hours at work, under fire most of
the time, and without food. He then saw
a riderless horse, which he recognised as
that of his brother, Captain S. Earle, of the
Goklstreams. Overcome by the sudden
shock of what this sight portended, and
exhausted by his exertions in the terrible
heat, he was just able to call on his com-
pany to charge before he fell senseless.
His brother had, as he feared, been killed.

The total British loss in the Battle of
Modder River was four hundred and
seventy-five. Sixty-eight non-commissioned
officers and men were killed, three hun-
dred and se\enty-seven wountled, and
seven found "missing." The four oflicers
killed were C!olonel Northcott, of the staff.
Colonel Stopford and Captain T^arle, of
the 2nd Coldstreams, and Lieutenant
Long, of the 2nd Yorksliire Light In-
fimtry. Nineteen officers, including Lortl
Methuen, were wounded. The regiment
niost severely injured was the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders, who hatl, as we
have seen, only just reached the front.
A\'ith two officers wounded, they lost in all
one hundred and twelve men. I'he 2n(l
Coldstreams, with two officers and ten
men killed, and a third officer and fifty-
six men wounded, came next on the list
of casualties.

The Jioer <~ommander, with mendacity
due to a desire to hide the truth from his

lid to Major-
at dusk with
(:()inl)atants.
nty-two guns
,'I(l battery at
vcr, had fired
rounds pur
lires, and the
uun under a
)i)d or water
li them into
ny were still
.' village. A
;gle was that
rle, of the
had been
fire most of
He then saw
ecognised as
Earle, of the
the sudden
tended, and
the terrible
on his com-
li senseless,
been killed,
le Hattle of
ndred and
mmissioned
three han-
ded, and
bur officers
3f the staff,
lilarle, of
Lieutenant
Light In-
ding Lord
regiment
Argyll and
ail, as we
the front,
lost in all
I'he 2nd
and ten
and fifty-
)n the list

mendacity
from his

123

124

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

countrymen at home, returned his loss .it
ei.i^hteen dead. The battle ranks fairly as
a Hritish victory, as the enemy abandoned
the field durinj.; the night. At five o'clock
in the morning of Wednesday, November
29th, the British guns fired three shrapnel
shells into the village. No resjionse was
made, and a company of the North I.anca-
shires and the Lancers entered the place
and found it empty. The British trooi)s
accounted for about a hundred and sixty
dead Boers, and there can be no doubt
that other bodies were carried away by the
enemy or down the river. In one trench
fort)-diree dead were fountl, and for two
days after the engagement our men were
busy burying Boers whom they found along
the banks and in the river.

For some days after the battle. Lord
Methuen was receiving reinforcements and
supplies for a further advance, and establish-
ing i)osts on his lines of communication.
The Boers were troublesome for a time in
his rear, having blown up railway cuherts
near Clraspan station. On December 7th
the Northamptons garrisoned Enslin, and
fell back on the railway station at (Iraspan
when the enemy opened fire on the pickets.
The Boers, about a thousand strong, with
one gun, then advanced and took up a
position commanding the British camp
round the station on ah sides, checked only
to the eastward by a company of the British
regiment strongly posted on a kopje. The
enemy's rifle fire and that of their gun were
very accurate, and only the solidity
of the stone-built station house protected
the garrison. A telegram brought up
the 1 2th Lancers and a field battery,
who, after covering twenty-one miles of
ground, arrived before midnight vind forced
the enemy to retire by a v.-ell-directed fire
and an advance of our horse.

On December 7th a new railway bridge
across the Modder River was completed,
with a needful deviation of the line, and
Lord Methuen's head(iuarters were estab-
lished in Modder River village, the whole
line of the river previously held by the
Boers being strongly fortified and armed

with guns. The British force had now
been joined by men of the (Canadian and
Australian contingents, who were zealous in
forming sidings and erecting platforms, in
addition to the usual routine work of a
cam}). The enemy had by this time occu-
pied a strong position at .Magersfontein, to
the north-east, and their trenches there
were bombarded on December loth by our
howitzer battery and a 4"7-inch naval gun
firing lyddite, shiapiul, and common shell.
The Boers replied from about a dozen
gun.s, and the artillery duel was very lively
for a time. It could be seen that the
enemy's position was \ery strong, being
semi-circular, with the horns ])ointing to-
wards the Modder. The main position
was to the east of the railway, with lines of
strong shelter trenches constructed at the
base of a high range of hills having several
walls higher up the slope. Such was the
scene of the action of December nth,
a black day in the annals of the British
Army, and especially in the records of the
gallant Highland Brigade.

The Battle of Magersfontein was rather
a butchery than a fight, and, for the High-
landers, was more disastrous than any event
in their whole history in the British service
since that of Ticonderoga, in North America,
in 1757, when the 42nd Regiment (Royal
Highlanders, or Black Watch), fighting
against the French undei the able (General
de Montcalm, afterwards Wolfe's antagonist
at Quebec, left behind five hundred men
out of eleven hundred who went into action.
On the evening of Sunday, December loth,
the Highland Brigade moved out of camp
to the north-east towards a spur on the
enemy's left. They were over three thou-
sand strong, under General ^Vauchol)e,
comjirising the 2nd Royal Highlanders
(J')lack Watch), the ist Highland Light
hifantry, the ist (lordons, and the 2nd
Seaforths. They moved cautiously through
the darkness in quarter column, with orders
])assed in a whisper along the rank.s, and
nothing else heard except the brushing of
their feet in the veldt grass, and the deep-
drawn breaths of the marching men. About

)rce had now
Canadian and
■ere zealous in

platfr)rms in
le work of a
liis time occu-
,'er.sfontein, to
■enches there
r loth by our
L'h na\al gun
)mmon shell,
out a dozen
as very Hvely
L"n that tlie
trong, being

pointing to-
lain jjosition
with lines of
ucted at the
iving several
tich was the
;ml)er nth,

the British
-'ords of the

I was rather
r the High-
n any event
tish service
rthAmerica,
lent (Royal
i), %hting
)le (General
i antagonist
ndred men
into action,
mber loth,
Lit of camp
ur on the
hree thou-
^\'auchope,
ighlanders
:ind Light
■ the 2nd
ly through
■ith orders
■anks, and
rushing of
the deep-
n. Aljout

The Western Scene of Action

125

tliree o'clock on Monday
morning u soldier tripped over
tiie hidden wires laid (If)wn
by the enemy. In an instant
the searchlights of the enemy
fell on the ranks of the
Highlanders, still in close
order, within fifty yards of the
nearest Hoer trenches, and a
deadly fire at that point-blank
range ()[iened on their front
and right tlank. Two hundred
men or more were at once
mown down, including (leneral
\Vauchoi)e, ridtUed with bullets.
The gallant chieftain, already
bleeding to death, struggled
upon his hands and knees,
cheered his men forward, ami
fell over, to rise no more.

The brigade it once l)roke
into open order, and charged
with a yell heard in the British
camp below. The men were
caught round the legs by the
wires, and floundered and
staggered, always under the
deadly fire, until they were
forced to fall back, leaving
hundreds of dead and wounded
men on the ground. Much
of the best chivalry of Scotland
had fallen, the loss of officers
in the brigade reaching tlie
awful total of fifty-three, of
whom twelve were killed, thrice that number beyond from Boers reached by shrapnel
wounded, and five found "missing." Mean- from the field gun;- ind by the lyddite

THK l.ATIi Gli.NEKAl, WAUCUGl'K, KII.I.KD AT THK BATTLE OK
.MAUEKSIU.N lEl.N,

while, the Guards in the centre, and the
cavalry and Mounted Infantry on the left,
with the howitzer battery, had met with
no better success, without incurring the

shells of the naval gun, fired in accordance
with signals made from the war balloons
floating abo\e the scene of action. The
Cxuards at one |)oint in a brilliant charge

same terrible loss. The flanks were pro- reached the enemy's trenches and slew

tected by the field guns. Nothing whatever many men with the baycjnet, but wen; then

could be done towards capturing a position obliged to retire by the bullets and shell

held by foes who could not be seen, but from the heights above them. In another

only felt in the shape of bullets and shells, trench, forty-seven Boers were killed in the

against whom our men could advance only same way by the Highlai\ders, Apart f:om

over open ground. the Highlanders, two Br'tish officers were

The British guns, beyond doubt, exacted killed, twelve wounded, and one was taken

a heavy toll on the hill and in the valleys prisoner. The list of slain included Major

126

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

,,^

the Manjuis of Winchester, of tht- 2iul
Coldstreams, Colonel Coocle, comniancl-
ing the 2iul Ulack Watch, and Colonel
(ioff, of the 1st Argyll and Siitheriands.
Of the whole Hritish loss, ri^achinj^ nearly
nine hundred, six hundred and fifty had
fallen in the Highland Brigade.

'I'he funeral of (leneral Wauchope, one
of the bravest and most lovable of man-
kind, was a most impressive and affecting
sight. He was laid to rest as the sun was
sinking on December 13th, in a spot three
hundred yards in rear of the little township
at Modder River. Close by a long shallow
grave prepared in the veldt, lay fifty of his
dead Highlanders, dressed as they had
fallen on the field of battle, in the plaids of
every Highland clan. 'I"he pipes announced
the approach of the chieltain's body,
attended by the remnant of the brigade in
full costume, moving with slow and solemn
tread to the strains of "The Flowers of the
Forest." There were looks of defiance
towards the foe, mingled with heaving
breasts, hot tears, and choking sobs. The
dead commander was succeeded in his post
by Brigadier-General Hector Macdonald,
C.B., a hero risen from the ranks, a
" Gordon " distinguished in the Afghan
Campaign and the former Transvaal War,
in Egypt, and in the Sudan, of recent fiime
for his tactical skill and noble constancy
displayed in command of an Egyptian
brigade at the Battle of Omdurman.

A few incidents may be here given
illustrating the cool courage of British
officers and men, and the sufferings of the
wounded on the field. At Magersfontein,
a commanding officer, wishing to ascertain
the position of the enemy, mounted a
Maxim gun and leisurely made his observa-
tions under a perfect hail of bullets. A
corporal of the Seaforth Highlanders, taken
prisoner, was disarmed and placed by his
captors in the trenches in charge of one of
their comrades. When his captors had
retired, the " Scottie " suddenly drew the
bayonet from his own rifle in the hands of
his guard, gave him a "dig," seized the
rifle, and escaped back to the British lines.

A letter from Lieutenant R. I). Granam,
of the Argyll and Sutherlands, written to
his father, Colonel Graham, of Clultei\ham,
cont.iins matter of painful interest. " While
I was lying on the right of the line, I was
hit. 'I'he bullet went in at my left side
above the hip, and came out at the right
side a litt'i' lower down. I was lying down
firing at the time, and so it did not touch
me in front. I was ([uite numbed, and
could feel nothing, so some time after, when
I came to, I saw Captain Cowan, in the
Seaforths, lying next to me, and asked him
to have a look and see where 1 was hit.
He found the place in my side where the
bullet went in, and on the other side where
it came out. ... It must have touched
my spine, as that is where I suffer pain ;
it cannot, however, have done me any
permanent injury, as I can move my legs
all right.

" We had a very bad time of it, as I was
hit about half-past five on Monday morn-
ing, the nth, and we had to lie out there
ti' after midday on Tuesday (thirty-one
hours) before we were picked up by our
ambulances, which the Boers allowed to
come out. There we lay in the broiling
sun all day, and it took all the skin off my
legs. I tried once to pull my hose up, but
there was such a hail of bullets from
the Boers directly a finger was moved, I
gave it up. While I was lying there with
my rifle across my front, the thick butt in
front of my head as a sort of protection, a
bullet or a piece of shell came and carried
away quite four inches off the top of my
rifle. That was a bit of a shave, was it
not ? "

After the repulse at Magersfontein on
December nth, Lord Methuen withdrew
to his entrenched position on the northern
side of the Modder River, awaiting re-
inforcements and strengthening the works.
Few incidents occurred during the lull in
hostilities in this quarter which followed
the British reverse. On December 15th
the enemy sought to check our further
advance by blowing up two culverts on the
railway about a mile and a half north of

• D. (iranam,
l'^, written to
Clifltonham,
•-■St. "While
le line, I was
my left side
t at the right
'^ lyiriff down
lid not touch
lUinhed, and
e after, when
'wan, in the
(1 asked him

• I was hit.
e where the

■ side where
ive touched
suffer pain ;
lie me any
>ve my legs

it, as I was
iday morn-
ie out there

(thirty-one
up by our
idlowed to
le broihng
ikin off my
Jse up, but
llets from

moved, I
there with

ck butt in
:)tection, a
nd carried
top of my
k'c, was it

ntein on
withdrew
northern
•iting re-
le works,
le lull in
followed
3er 15 th

■ further
ts on the
north of

The Western Scene of Action

12;

the Modder. Cannon fire was exchanged
between the two positions, and on I )e( em-
ber 20th a iJritish naval twelve-pounder
planted a shell amidst a group of Hoers,
inflicting severe loss. In this part of the
scene of warfare, matters h id come to a dead
stop. The enemy, in one impregnable
position, barred the way to Kimberley ;
the IJritish force, in another impregnable
position, barred the way south. Christmas
Day was pleasantly spent in our camp,
where the men were in good health and
spirits, and eager for further work which
was not afforded them.

On New Year's Day a fine piece of work
on a small .scale was accomplished by a
force under the command of Coloin.'l
I'ilcher, of the Bedfordshire Regiment.
The loyal part of the i)opulation of
Douglas, a pretty little town lying away
about forty miles north-west of Belmont
station, had been for many weeks exposed
to insults and threats from the rebels of
the district, supported by the presence of
a Boer commando in a laager at Sunnyside,
about ten miles south-east of the town.
The British commander was resolved to
" look up " the enemy and endeavour to
change the state of affairs for the Queen's
faithful subjects in that district. At mid-
day on December 31st the men selected
left Belmont and marched westward, cover-
ing twenty miles before sunset, and en-
camping at Cook's Farm, where they
received an enthusiastic welcome.

'I'he mounted force consisted of two
hundred Queenslanders under (Colonel
Ricardo ; the Toronto Company, a hundred
Canadians under Captain l^arker, with two ,
guns and a horse battery under Major de
Rougemont; forty Mounted Infantry under
Lieutenant Ryan, of the Munster Fusiliers ;
and the New South Wales Ambulance,
under Surgeon-Major Dodds. Two hundred
of the Cornwall Light Infantry followed on
foot, and passed the night in an entrenched
position. At si.x o'clock in the morning of
January ist the force advanced towards
the point where a Boer and rebel laager
had been reported. Colonel Pilcher found

the enemy's position to be on a line of
strong kopjes, with the l.i.igiT situ.iteil at
the foot of a hill. De Rougemont's men
and guns, with the .Mounted infantry, were
sent off to make .1 luniing movement on
the north to the right, w hile the comm.mder,
with the Quiensl.uiders, advanced slowly
towards the southern end of the enemy's
})osition. \ patrol of four men, under
Lieutenant Adie, of the (Queensland
Mounted Infantry, moving to the east,
came suddenly upon a lUr/.t-w Boers, whose
fue severely wounded the leader. A man
named Butler gave up his horse to carry
his officer away, and anothe n>an named
Rose, whose horse bolted, bravely returned
to help the lieutenant, receiving a bullet in
his leg, while his horse was killed.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Ryan, of the
Mounted Infantry, whose work was ad-
mirable throughout the day, reported the
veldt to the north, on the enemy's left, to
be clear of foe.s, and Major de Rougemont
at once took his guns at a trot to within
fifteen hundred yards of the laager. In
two minutes two shells were planted among
the tents. The surprise for the Boers was
complete, and they were seen stieaming up
the kopje, whence they opened a well-aimed
fire on the guns. The Toronto Company,
receiving the order to advance at the
double, greeted it with a deep-drawn joyful
exclamation, "At last!'' and rushing forward
to within a thousand yards of the enemy,
opened a hot fire, c()m;)letely subduing that
of the Boers. The Canatlian guns were
maintaining an accurate delivery of shells,
and Ryan, with his Mounted Infantry,
worked completely round antl attacked a
few of the foe hidden among some bu.shes.

All this time. Colonel Pilcher, with the
Queenslanders, was working steadily and
quickly, keeping u!ider cover, towards the
enemy, the men firing only when they
could see a mark for their bullets. This
kind of advance was trying severely the
nerves of the men assailed, and the direct
attack of .1 company led by Colonel Ricardo
completed their uiscomfiture. The laager
was finally captured with forty prisoners,

128

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

the whole rasiialtiL's anion^ tlu- victors hcinj? Hocrs ; on the third fifti'L'n miles ; and on
only three kille«l, three wounded and oni- the loiirth twenty lour. nor-c>. atid men
missinj,'. It was a elean, tdni|>lete, and lived on the country, l)aying all loyal men
beautiful little achievement, and is ilustTihed for food and forage, and punishint,' the
here at greater length than its actual disloyal colonists hy consuming their goods,
import.ince m.iv -.eem to justify, partly On January <)th the Orange I'ree State

because the o|)er.itions well illustr.ite how was invaded by Hritish troops for the first
Hoers may be beaten by proper tactics, and time during the war. The force, numbering
partly on account of the atlmirabie conduct nearly two thousand men, was made up
of our colonial cousins, the men of Canada of the (jth and 12th I^ancers, Mounted
and .\ustr.dasia. Infantry, and a battery of Royal Artillery

The Toronto Company remained in the under Major-deneral Mabington, starting
laager and joined the main body on the from Moddir River; the Canadians and
morning of January 2nd, bringing the whole Australians under Colonel I'ilcher, from
of the Hoer tents and the
other "loot" in waggons.
The Cornwalls under .\I.ijor
Ash!)yarrive(lafter a splendid
march across the veldt, and
the force under Colonel
i'ilcher entered I )ouglas
after another march, and
raised the Hritish Hag amidst
the cheers of the loyalists
among the population. The
rei)els, who had for six weeks
been governing llie country
with the help of u Iree Slate
commando, had been en-
tirely dispersed. .A quantity
of ammunition was captured
and burned. As it was
impossible for the Hritish
troo|)s for military reasons
to remain in occupation of
the town, the loyalists on
January 3rd departed for
Belmont with their goods,
under guard of the tro()[)s
and in the military waggons.
The escort of Canadians
carried the babies and en-
livened the march witii merry
songs, the guns and Mounted
Infantry bringing up the rear.
In this successful little ex-
pedition, on the first day
the force marched twenty-one , , ^ ,.„. „ ^ ^. „ ^ c, <

^ Photo, hy l-Uiolt &■ fry, Kaktr Street.

miles ; on the second twenty, gic.mcral hectok .macdonald, c.b., who succkeded general
and had its fight with the wacchoi'k.

'^ IT

lilcs ; .ind on
■t-'s and men
dl loyal men
inishint,' the
! their goods.
.' Iree State
for the first
.', numhering
IS made up
S Mounted
yal Artillery
in, starting
ladians and
Idler, Iroin

'.RNERAL

General Buller's Second Hffort to Relieve Ladysmith 120

Melmont; and a third p.irty uiuler Major
Hyrne, consisting; of the Minister Inisilicrs,
the I^iincashires, and the Scots dreys. 'I'his
last hody advanced to within four miles of
|acoi)sdaI, when the pi«kets were tired on
l)y the enemy. The Victorians made their
way without meeting any foe for twenty miles
inside the I'ree State Horder. Tlu- ukii
under Hahington destroyed some houses he
longing to the command \\M in the Jacohsd.il
district whit h had heen used for storing the
enemy's su|)|)lit'>. Thi- country was found to
lie well suited f )r tlu; movemtiits of mounted
men, and the work done by the I.anceis
displayed the excellent training given by the

conunandmg olVicers l.oid Airlie, of the
iJth, anil .Major l.illle, of the »>th Lincers.
Open country was found towards llloemfon
tein, and the whole reconnaissance pavi'd
the way, it may he hoped, for an invasi(>M
in force at a huure day. ( )n laiui.iry 5th
;'. post h.id liten established, for the first
time during the campaign, in the enemy's
coiu'trv, in the occupation of /oulp msdrift,
in the I'ree St.ile, just luyoiid the Orange
Uiver, by (leneral Wood with a forct' ui ,dl
arms. Some later news concernii'g Lord
Metluicn's force informs us that on J.nuiary
22iul his guns were bombardin; the Hoers
with lyddite shell.

CHAPTER VIM.

General Butler's Second Effort to Relieve Ladysmith.

of Affairs. Buller's Third Hffort.

Concluding Review

(iciRral lUillor's I'mw in j.imiary I<j(K) -Ilic hiluntry -The Cavalry l.unl 1 luiKlDiial-l's Anlccodfiits -
Tlic Arlilliry -Urilisli ( uMRTal's I'usitiuii at Frerc ('amp— The Hncr I'osiiioii mi the Tu^jela -Its
lixtfiit ami Slrcn^'th — Hullcr's Tiiriiiiij^ 1)1" Ri^jhl I'laiik The Tii^ela (."ro-.sed -The ISoers Ihirry U|i
lidin the I'!asl — lUiller's New Hea(|(|iiarters -I,(iril I )iiiiilimalil in .Xcliiiii — Keehiin Uduseil .11 Hcune
liy Tidings -'I'he Work i)f ( )ur ( iuiis uii Mount Alice — Warren's ami I.yttelioii'-. Men in Aetinn
Marly Successes — Huller's l']n(<iuragin^; Telegram -The Key ot iJuer I'usiiion : Spinn Kup - Si lonil
'l"elej.'rani from Huller — The iKspirale l-'i^hliny of January 2]ri\ and J4lh The lirouml Won
Untenable hy IJritish — .Md of Lyltelton's Men X'aiii — W.i-' of Water —Annnuniiion lails— The
(Jrouiid .Miandcned-lMirces Withdrawn .Across Tu^ela—( ireat Hii ish Loss - (''inal Review of Aflairs —
(ieiieral I'rencl'. .Still .Active -,\ t'ahle Tram at Work Up I lill — Reconnaissance in Korce -Wiltshires
in Action for First Time — Kiniherley Heavily Shelled— Cowardly Conduct of Moers— Mafekint;
Cheerful — .\ffairs at Ladysmith —Lessons of the War up to Date — Failure of the Moers to .Attain their
l'".nds — Ik-alen in their .Sieves —Stoii|)ed in the .Advance to the Sea —The i'ositioii of Ladysmith —
.\n\iety at llomeand in Colonies — I)isap|)oinlment of ( larrison -iUiller'-. Third \d\ance .\dvance
ul Lord Roljerts.

In January 1900, the force uniler (lener.d
lUiller was composed of (i) Major-C leiieral
Hildyard's l)rigade— the 2nd West York-
shires, 2nd I'^ast and 2nd Wrst Surreys, and
2nd iJevonshires, Naval Brigade, and Natal

croft's Mounted Infantry, and Imperial
Light Infantry. There were other infantry
liattalions, among which may be named the
ist Derbyshire, ist Royal Iniiiskilling I'lisi-
iiers, 2nd Somerset I-i..iht Infantry, ist

Volunteers ; (2) Major-CJeneral Lyttelton's Connaught Rangers, and a detachment of

brigade "2nd Scottish Ritles, ist Durham the ist (lioucesters.

Light Infantry, ist Rille Urigatle, and 3rd The cavalry- Lord Dinidonald's brigade

King's Royal Rifles; ( ^) Major-Oeneral — comprised the 1st Royal Dragoons, two

Barton's brigade — the 2nd Royal Scots, s(iuadrons of the 13th Hussars, the 6th

2nd Royal Irish, ist Royal Welsh, and ist Inniskilling Dragoons, two sfpiadrons South

Royal Dublin— all Fusiliers. Tiie above African Horse, and some Imperial Light

formed J/ieutenant-General Clery's division.
.Sir Charles Warren's division included
the 2nd Lanca.shire Fusiliers, ist and 2nd
Middlesex, 2nd Royal Lancasters, 2nd
Ring's Own Scottish Borderers, ist South
Laneashires, ist Border Regiment, Thorney-

Horse. Their commander, Colonel the
I'^arl of Dundonald, is worthy of notice here.
Born in 1852, he succeeded his fattier, as
twelfth earl, in 1885. In 1870 he entered
the 2nd Life Ouards, served in the Nile
Expedition of 1884-85, and has now for five

I30

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

'^-

years been in command of his regiment.
He is grandson of the famous admiral, the
tenth earl, who won fame as Lord Cochrane
in 1809 hy his attack on the French fleet
in the Basque (Aix) Roads, and was after-
wards distinguished in the South American
War of Independence. The artillery under
Major-Cleneral Marshall was composed of
six batteries of Royal Field Artillery, part
of the 65th Battery (howitzers), some
naval gun.s, and the 4th Mountain Battery
( larrison Artillery.

deneral Buller's headfiuarte s at Frere
Camp, south of the 'I'ugela, in the early
days of January 1900, were twenty-two
miles as the crow flies, twenty-nine miles
by railway, distant from Ladysmith. At
Colenso, held by the Boers, the river is
al)Out half-way between Frere and Lady-
smith. Nortli of Frere, just half-way to
Colenso on the railway, lies Chieveley,
ikiUer's position in advance of his iieid-
(juarter.s. The enemy's front, mostly along
the north — but, in the extreme east and
west, to the south of the Tugela — extended
from Mount Hlangwane on the east (south
of the river) nearly to Springfield on the
west, some miles south of the Tugela,
and just nortli of its tributary the Little
Tugela. Their position covered in this way
an extent of about twenty-four miles. It
had been proved that their entrenchments,
daily strengthened since General Buller's
repulse in December, could not be forced
by a frontal attack. Could they be turned ?
This was the problem to be solved by the
British commander.

On Wednesday, January loth, a momen-
tous operation of war began. After a
thorough reconnaissance of the country to
the west. Lord Dundonald with the Cavalry
Brigade, and Major-General Hart with the
I^ublin Fusiliers, Connaught Rangers, and
Border Regiment, marched out north-west
for Springfield, about fifteen miles away.
The " going " was very bad from the heavy
rain, and as a train of waggons some miles
long accompanied the force, the infantry
(lid not re. ch Springfield until January 12th.
The high ground commanding the ford,

called I'otgieter's Drift, across the Tugela,
was occupied by Lord Dundonald, and
defences were thrown up to strengthen the
position. At this point during the fijllow-
ing day.s, Lyttelton's brigade crossed to
the north of the Tugela, while Sir Charles
Warren with his division moved farther
west to the ford known as U'nggon, or
Trichard's, Drift, and crossed the river on
a pontoon bridge, about eighty yards long,
thrown by the Engineers. A battery of
Field Artillery and some howitzers were
taken over with General Lyttelton's force,
and at half-past five on the morning of
Wednesday, January 17th, the enemy were
being shelled by these guns and by naval
guns and howitzers on Mount Alice, a com-
manding position just south of the river.

The Boers had been surprised in our
crossing of the river, and little opposition
had been made. They hurried up, when
the news arrived, in force from the east,
bringing many guns of various kinds, and
began to entrench themselves in strong
positions on kopjes between the British
points of crossing and Ladysmith, the great
object of the movement, lying to the north-
east. General Buller had transferred his
headtjuarters to Spearman's Farm, between
Si)ringfield and the Tugela, taking with
him a strong force, and leaving General
Barton to watch the enemy in their position
at Colenso. So far all was well. Lord
Dundonald, with his mounted men, had on
the morning of Wednesday, January 17th,
pushed northwards to the Ladysmith road,
and encountered the enemy with success
near Acton Homes, eight miles north
of Trichord's Drift, the crossing-point of
Sir Charles Warren, and about sixteen
miles west of the beleiguered garrison at
Ladysmith. He was thus in a position
cutting off the Boers from the passes west-
ward into Orange Free State. The public
at home and the Queen's loyal subjects in
all i)arts of the empire were highly elated
by the tidings of the successful passage of
the Tugela and the turning of the enemy's
right flank, and were looking forward with
hope, and even with some confidence, to

the Tugela,
donald, and
reiigthcM the
■J, the fullow-
crossed to
Sir Charles
3ved farther
Waggon, or
the river on
■ yards long,
L battery ot"
witzers were
;lt()n'.s force,
morning of
enemy were
nd by naval
ilice, a com-
the river,
■ised in our
i opposition
;d u]\ wlien
mi the east,
i kinds, and
i in strong
the British
:h, the great
the north-
sferred his
m, between
iking with
ng General
eir position
ell. Lord
en, had on
lary 17th,
mith road,
th success
les north
g-point of
It sixteen
'arrison at
I position
isses west-
he public
ubjects in
hly elated
)as.sage of
e enemy's
ward with
dence, to

X\\.V. liATII.K Ol' M'lO.N KUl'.
Our Men Charging from the Trenches with the Bayonet, after their Amnunition was Kxhailsted.

13'

132

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

tiK' ivlirl of Sir Cicorge White uiul his l)rave
i^arrison. W'r were soon to Ix' l)ittc;rly uii-
(k'ci'ivccl, and to l)c callod upon to endure
(Hsaijpointnu'nt as l<een as any which we
have liad to "xptrii-nee for many a year.

It is inipossil)le yet, from laek of hill
information, to give a eompK'te aeeoiint
of the operations to tlie nortli of the
'I'ligela, nor is ihi-re any need to (hvell
on the details of what had a disastrous
issue. All that man could do was doiu-
by oiu" splendid infantry, and by the
giuuiers who trom Mount Alice main-
tained a hot lire from the naval picjces
and howitzers in order to clear tlu' way
for assaults to be made by Sir ("harks
\\'arren"s and (leneral l.yttelton's men.
Soon alter daybre.ik on Saturday, January
2oth, tighting began when Cieneral C'lery,
with part of Warren's ilivision, engaged the
enemy towards Acton Homes. Riiige alter
ridge was taken by oiu- troops, and on
Monday, janumy 2?nd, a telegram was
received from (leneral lUilU-r with the
words. " 1 think we are making substantial
progress." ("icneral Lyttelton was at the
same time actively engaged near the Tugela,
aided by a tremendous tire from oiu' heavy
gmis and the howitzers.

The key of tlie enemy's position, the
barricade that must be forced in order to
have any chance o( clearing the road to
I,adysmith. was a moimtain called Spion
Kop, a name of ill sound nt)w in Hritish
military rei-ords, and the adjacent kopjes.
The northern siile. that assailed by Sir
C"harles Warren, had bare slopes without
(~over for achanemg infantry, and, un-
happily for the British, was so precipitous
in the highest part of the ascent as to
prevent the taking up of any guns. Three
of the adjacent kopjes were taken by our
men, aided by a terrific shra|)nel tire t'rom
the batteries, and at live in the morning
of Sunday, January 21st, Warren's infantry
advanced along the irregular mountain
formation called Taba Myama, the eastern
enil of which is known as Spion Kop. On
January 23rd ground had been gained by
our men. and ("leneral Kuller telegraphed

from Spearman's Camp, on tlie evening
of that day, " Warren holds the |K)sition
he gained two days ago. In front of him,
at about fourteen lumdred yards, is the
enemy"s position west of Spion Ko|)."

I'hc <-risis of the contest was at hand.
On January 2,^rd there was iighting all
day, and a position which was thought to
be the summit of Spion Kop was riached
by till" troops, who drow before them a
small body of Hoers. 'I'he brave Hritish
infantry were really only at tlu' beginning
of their task, '["here were higher ridges
in front of them, occupied by the enemy
with a great force of rillemen, aided by
^^a\ims and other guns of deadly service
at moderate range. During the whole of
Wednesday, January 24th, the ground won
was maintained only by fierce fighting, in
,i-hich Major-Oeneral Woodgate, a hero of
Abyssinian, Ashanti, and Zulu warfare, was
dangerously wounded. Our men could
find no water on the ground they held,
and no advance could be made against the
enemvs fire. Oeneril Lyttelton sent the
2nd ("ameronians and the 3rd King's Royal
Rifles to attack the eastern end of the
mountain, and they made their way up,
with heavy loss, along the steepest side.
'I"he end was, however, close at hand. As
far as is now known, it was on the night of
January 24th that, imder inces.sant Maxim
and rille fire from the enemy, and after
a close attack by the boers, when the
Hritish ammimilion had given out, the
ground gained was finally relintiuished by
mir forces. Sir Redvers Duller arrived in
.Sir C"harles \\'arren's camp at five in the
morning of Thursday, January 25th, and
decided that a second attack on Spion Kop
wouUl be useless.

The enemy's right was provetl to be too
strong to be forced, and the Ihitish com-
mander resolved to witlnlraw his men to
the south of the Tugela. This operation,
involving the movement of the great waggon
train, was accomi)lislved without any loss
o( men or stores by eight in the morning
of Saturday, January 27th. The fact of
no interruption of the retreat being

lIk- t'viMiinp
:lic position
ont of l\iin,
irds, is tlio
Ko])."

as at hand.

fi.qhtin},' all

llioiighl to

vas roached

ore tluMu a

rave Hritisli

t' bcuinninL;

iglicr ridges

the enemy

1, aided l)y

adiy service

le whole ol

ground won

righting, in

L", a hero of

warfare, was

men eoiilil

they held,

against tlie

;)n sent the

ing's Royal

nd of the

way up,

)e,st sitle.

land. As

10 iiiglit of

nt Maxim

and after

when the

out, the

uislied liy

irrived in

ive in the

25th, and

pion Kop

to he too
itish eom-
s men to
o[)eration,
at waggon
any loss
morning
fact of
^t being

General Buller's Second Effort to Relieve Ladysmith

J J

attempted by tlit; IViers may l)e fairly
taken as proof that, in spite of our ill
sui cess, the enemy's (nvn loss had been
extremely heavy, and that the ccnirage
of our troops h;id made a great im-
pression. The second attemjjt to relieve
Ladysmith had thus finally and (le( isively
failed. The whole loss probably exceeded
a thousand, that of officers being fearful.

of the Household Cavalry, the Carabineers,
and the New Zealanders, supported by four
guns, on January 19th to the north-east,
and by a movement of the Kemington
Scouts two miles nt;arer to Norval's I'ont.
I'he new [).')sitions were secured without
fighting. A lyddite howit/er was shelling
the Hoers round (Jole.sberg, and on January
20th a cable tram to the to[) of (>>lesko|)

TfiiT Map IT Rcproduceil by kind fermission of the liatlor of "Till; LONDON UKITIiFl."

MAP OF THF, DISTRICT WF.ST OK LADYS.MITII,

To Illustrate the Capture of Spion Kop by Sir Charles Warren, and to Show Distances from Ladysmith of

Important Positions.

In Warrei^'s :ind LyUelton's forces together
there were twenty-seven officers killed,
thirty-three wounded, and six missing. Of
the killed, six fell of Thorneycroft's Mounted
Infantry, with four officers wounded in the
same force.

On taking a final review of the scene
of warfare, we find Cleneral French still
activelv at work endeavouring to encompass
the e'lemy at C'olesherg by an advance

was in working order, conveying ammunition,
stcjres, and water to the IJritish gunners on
the hill. On January 24th, (leneral French
in person made a strong reconnaissance
with a force of all arms on his extreme left
flank, threatening the IJoer communications
with the Orange River by ajiproaching their
position at Rietfontein, nine miles beyond
Colesberg on the AX'aggon Bridge road.
The enemy were shelled by howitzers and

134

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

field guns, their return fire of guns and
rifles causing our force a loss of one ofilicer
and ei'^ht men wounded, and one man
killed in the WiUshire Regiment. The
Wiltshires, in action for the first time,
behaved with great coolness under a heavy
fire, to which they delivered a hearty
response.

During the last days of January, begin-
ning on the 23rd, Kimberley was severely
shelled, most of the missiles being wasted
in a vain attempt to wreck the sanatorium,
where Mr. Rhodes had been staying. On
January 24th and 25th the bombardment
continued, causing the deaths of two women
and two children, with severe injury to
several others in their laager. In three
days a thousand shells were scattered broad-
cast in the place by the cow.irdly foe, afraid
to close with their opponents, and indulging
the'r wrath against the garrison by the
slaughter of helpless persons. As a contrast
to this, we record th;it on Friday, January
26th, vvhile the British guns were shelling
the enemy's positions, some Boer women
and children were seen to quit a laager and
our gunners at once stopped firing.

At gallant little Mafeking on January
20th all was well. News from Ladysmith
on January 21st informed us that, since the
great fight on the 6th, the fortifications on
Waggon Hill and Caesar's Camp had been
greatly strengthened, and the whole of the
lines made impregnable to assault, that the
weather was dry and fever abating, the
number of convalescents returning from
the hospital camp exceeding that of the
patients sent thither. The supplies, owing
to excellent management during the siege,
were "spinning out splendidly/' all the
troops having a sufficiency of wholesome
food. The heat was terrific, with the
theimometer at 107 in the shade.

The conduct and progress of the war
have proved, amongst other things, the
matchless quality of the British regimental
officer and linesman, and the perfect fitness
of their colonial kinsmen as their comrades
in the field. The British .soldier has shown
the vast improvement effected by years of

careful training in his shooting and his use
of cover for advancing against foes armed
with the breechloader. We have learned
also that the rude Boer, destitute of cultr e,
devoid of " sweetness and light," is, aided
by foreign experience and skill, by the
nature of the region in which he is fighting,
and by his peculiar mode of vvarfine as
a mounted infantryman, the most formid-
able of foes. \V'e have to admit that, up to
the present time, after nearly four months
of contest, the Briti.sh arms have been fairly
beaten in efforts to oust the enemy from
occupation of British territory. We have
met with serious repulses and other reverses.

It is neither just nor wise, however, to
take a gloomy view of the present position.
The enemy have also met with utter dis-
comfiture in the attempt to realise their
avowed aims. They have ignominiously
Exiled, up to the end of January 1900, in
the sieges of Mafeking, Kimberley, and
Ladysmith. The Boers at one place have
been mocked by Baden-Powell, at another
they have been defied by Kekewich and
Cecil Rhodes, at a third victoriously re-
pulsed by Sir George White. They were
to have marched in triumi)h to Durban and
Ca|)e Town. 'I'hey cannot, do what they
will, pass the Modder River on the west,
dispose of Gatacre and French in the centre,
or get past Buller in the east. The whole
of Cape Colony was to rise in their favour,
and the last Englishman was to i)e driven
into the sea. Cape Colony rebels, such as
there are, are well under the control of
British troops ; loyal Cape Colonists are
fighting in thousands for British supremacy

At home and in the colonies, British
hearts have indeed been of late sorely
tried. The eyes and thoughts of the whole
civilised world were concent'-*:cd on Lady-
smith, that little South African town lying
amid the hills of Upper Natal, beleaguered
by exultant foes, and past, as it .seemed, all
hope of rescue. Then arrived the news of
General Buller's daring and skilful move
against the enemy's right flank, of the
passage of the Tugela by Dundonald,
\Varren, and Lyttelton. Our men were, as

Oeneral Buller's Second Effort to Relieve Ladysmith 135

nd his use

bes armed

ve learned

of culti' e,

" is, aided

II, by the

is fighting,

warfare as

)st formid-

that, up to

ur months

been fairly

icniy from

We have

ir reverses.

lowever, to

It position.

utter dis-

laHse their

ominiously

y 1900, in

erley, and

jlace have

at another

ewich and

riously re-

rhey were

urban and

what they

the west,

he centre,

'he whole

ir favour,

be driven

^s, such as

ontrol of

nists are

premacy

;, British

e sorely

he whole

n Lady-

wn lying

eaguered

med, all

news ot

ul move

of the

idonald,

I were, as

it seemed, cutting their way to the besieged
town. The tragic intensity of the feeling
aroused in the hearts of all true Britons and
their kinsmen beyond the seas culminated
.as we read of the garrison and townsfolk
At I-adysmith seeing and hearing the shells
dropped by Buller's guns on the Boer
positions at Spion Kop, of men " keeping
their glasses glued to their eyes to catch
the first sight of the much-longed-for khaki
uniform." Then, after days and nights of
the roar and clatter among the hills to the
south-west that told of deadly cor.'^'':t, came
the silence that betokened failure and defeat.
The joyful excitement which hud arisen in
■Great Britain wa^ exchanged for the stolid
acceptance of another sericus reverse, and
for it renewal of the stern re';olve to wage
war to a victorious issue at any cost.

The stern and resolute Buller soon made
a third effort to reach Ladysmith. On
this occasion his design was to pierce
the enemy's centre at points lying east
of Brakfontein Heights and Spion Kop.
On the morning of Monday, February 5th,
a feigned attack was made by three
battalions of infantry and six batteries,
at a point on the Tugela facing the
Brakfontein Hill. At eleven o'clock the
Boer guns opened fire, and the British
force was withdrawn after holding the
ground for an hour. Meanwhile, under
the protection of a heavy fire from our
guns hidden on the wooded heights of
Zwa:ts Kop, a pontoon bridge was quickly
thrown across the river, and the main
attack made to the east. General Lyttel-
ton's brigade crossed at Molen Drift,
about five miles north-west from the point
where the river is joined by the Little
Tugela. The hill citl'ed Vaa! Krantz, to
the east of Brakfontein Heights, was at
last carried by a splendid charge with the
bayonet, and our infantry advanced east-
wards along the ridge.

On Tuesday morning, February 6th, the
enemy's guns were severely bombarded by
the British batteries and naval guns, which
did splendid work. One of our 47-inch
pieces, at a range of nearly seven miles,

exploded a Boer ammunition waggon. In
the afternoon the IJoers, suj)ported by
artillery and Maxims, made a sudden rush
to rc-apture the hill, but were driven back
by the speedy advance of Lyttelton's men.
On the .same day, a great hill called Krantz
Kloof, east of Vaal Krantz, was captureil
by the British, and the rcxid to Ladysmith,
with Waggon Hill and Cai.sar's Camp lying
about eight miles away to the north-east,
.seemed to be open to Buller's force, whose
bursting shells were again eagerly watched
by the expectant garrison. They and the
comrades striving to reach them were again
doomed to disappointment.

The British general, in his advance,
was really going into a deadly trap, from
which he was happily warned off by
signals from the invaluable war balloons
floating over the scene of action. He
was again foiled by the nature of the
ground and by the enemy's powerful
artillery. To the south-east of Krantz
Kloof lies another great hill, called Doom
Kloof. The southern side, facing the
Tugela where BuUei's main force had
crossed, is so precipitous as to prevent the
taking up of artillery. The northern side
is of easy access, and the enemy, during
the fighting at Vaal Krantz and Krantz
Kloof, had occupied Doom Kloof in force,
and, above all, had dragged up about
twelve great guns, enabling them to pour
a deadly fire on our troops in their further
advance, and to command all the tracks
over open ground to Ladysmith. Persist-
ence in the effort would have, beyond
doubt, resulted in a great and useless
sacrifice of life, and on the night of
Wednesday, February 7th, General Buller
withdrew his forces fiom Vaal Krantz and
Krantz Kloof On Friday, February 9th,
his forces were again south of the Tugela,
having incurred losses limited to two or
three hundred men.

At Colesberg, in the first week of
I'ebruary, the Boers were strongl> rein-
forced, and some smart fighting took place
on February 8th and the following day
in consequence of the enemy's efforts to

136

The Fight for the Flag in South Africa

■.%■

outflank our ])ositi()ns. In these little
engagemerts, Australians and Tasmanians
displayed great activity and courage. At
the end of January "all was well" at
Kimherley and Mafeking. We turn now
to the western scene of action.

On Saturday, February 3rd, (leneral
Macdonald, with the Highland Jkigade,
the 9th Lancers, and a field Iwttery,
started on a reconnaissance to the west of
Modder River Camp, and marched about
fourteen miles to Koodoosberg Drift, driv-
ing the eiicmy from certain positions. On
the following days some sharp fighting took
place, in which the Highlanders iiail the
advantage, Macdonald displaying much
tactical .skill. The British force then re-
turned to camp, recalled by an event of
great importance in the development of
the camp.iign. On Friday, February 9th,
Lord Roberts arrived at Modder River
amid the enthusiastic cheers of the troops
there assembled.

The new Commander-in-Chief and his
able colleague. Lord Kitchener, had arrived
at Cape Town on January oth, and were
for some time engaged in organising the
great force at their disposal, and making
better use of material hitherto fr-ttered away
to little purpose. Lord Rol)erts, becoming
aware that a sore feeling existed among the
loyal part of the colonists from a lack of
due recognition of their goodwill and their
power to aid the empire in the struggle
against the Boers, promptly disjilayed his
possession of admirable tact. A force of
colonials was chosen as his bodyguard,
and i" colonial division was formed under
the command of Colonel Brabant, a local
officer of great distinction and experience,
with the rank of brigadier-general. Having
noted the arrival of Lord Roberts at Modder
River as his assumption of the personal
direction of new operations against the
enemy, and as the opening of a new phase in
the campaign, we conclude with some notice
of the antecedents of the two distinguished
men whose abilities r.nd exertions will, it
may well be hoped, soon put a new aspect
on the military position in South Africa.

Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, F.C., K.l'.,
C.C.B., G.C.S.L, Cr.C.LE., V.C, was born
at Cawnport- in 1832, son of (leneral Sir
Abraham Roberts, (l.C. B. He entered
the Bengal Artillery in 1851. During the
Indian Mutiny war, he .served throughout
the siege of Delhi in 1857, fouglit in many
.ictions, and aided in the relief of Lucknow,
the defeat of the Cwalior contingent at
Cawnpore, and the siege of Lucknow. He
was engaged in the Abyssinian Expedition
f)f 1867 68, and in the Lushai Expedition of
1871 -72. In the Afghan \\'ar of 1878 80,
Lord Roberts won fame in his opera-
tions round Kabul, and esix-cially by the
famous march to Kandahar. In 1881 he
became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras
army, and was Commander-in-Chief in India
from 1885 to 1893, rendering inestimable
service in that capacity by his strengthening
of the north-western frontier, and winning
the affection of the troops as " Bobs,' the
kindly and skilful deviser of methods for
the physical and moral benefit of the
private soldier. Prior to the Afghan
(Campaign, Roberts hatl won many medals
and clasps, with the distinction of the
Victoria Cross, and had been mentioned
twenty-three times in despatches, a record
rarely paralleled in the history of the British
Army.

Lord Kitchener, (j.C.B., K.C.M.C.,
was born in 1850, and entered the Koyal
Engineers in 1871. In 1882-84 he was
in command of the FLgyjJtian cavalry,
and served in the Sudan Campaign of
1883-85. In 1886-88 he was (iovernor
of Suakin, and became " Sirdar," or
Commander-in-Chief, of the Egyptian Army
in 1890. His recent achievements in the
Sutlan need no mention here. As arv
" organiser of victory," by patient pre-
l)aration and by forethought emt)racing
every detail, Lord Kitchener, Chief of the
Staff to Lord Roberts, is the ideal man
in that post, from whose* genius and un-
remitting toil, combined with the g>eat
experience and matured skill of his chief,
the empire now confidently expects great
results.

*ica

il)erts, I'.C, K.l\,
.., V.C, was l)orn
in of (lenenil Sir
H. He entered
851. During tiie
erved throughout
7, fouglit in many
•elief of Luck now,
or contingent at
)f Lucknow. He
sinian RxpeiUtion
shai Expedition of
War of 1878 80,
e in his opera-
especial ly by the
liar. In 1881 he
liief of the Madras
r-in-Chief in India
lering inestimable
• his strengthening
itier, and winning
s as " Mobs,"' the
r of methods for
.1 benefit of the

to the Afghan
von many medals
istinction of the

been mentioned
ipatches, a record
tory of the British

B., K.C.M.Ci.,

|ntered the Koyal

1882 -84 he was

iyptian cavalry,

kn Campaign of

lie was (iovernor

le " Sirdar," or

le Egyptian Army

lievements in the

b here. As an

by patient pre-

lught embracing

ler. Chief of the

|s the ideal man

genius and un-

with the g.eat

Ikill of his chief,

ly expects great

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i'KiNri:i) liv iiA/i:i.i., waison, and vinev, i.d., lonuon anu avlesburv.

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1*

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DP^DIA
ITANNICA."

^ EACH
S £1 lOs.

Estab.
1808

|ill>. ]

lANOFORTE

ft.

facility in producir
sostciitito, or ton

soon as tlic fingc

at the price.

sach £1 Is. 1
„ £1 43. \

„ £1 8s. !

of the Pianos, \

ITXSD