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Updated: June 17, 2025
The poor Veldtcornet, who was entrusted with the task of conducting them to our camp, had his hands full when he tried to get them away from the booty; and when at last he succeeded, the soldiers carried such enormous loads, that one could almost fancy that every man of them was going to open a store.
Later on it appeared that the man who had done this valiant deed was none other than Veldtcornet Wessels, of Harrismith. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Commandant, to take the place of Commandant Truter; later on again, he became Vice-Commander-in-Chief. Our burghers could now enter this fort without incurring much danger.
The veldtcornet preferred not to approach beyond a certain distance, and consequently Willem Pretorius and four other men were left to do the work. Willem climbed the hill from one side, and the others, dividing into two, climbed it from the other side at two different points.
In the district of Boshof, we could still reckon on Veldtcornet Badenhorst, and twenty-seven men. In the district of Fauresmith, Commandant Visser and some seventy men had remained faithful. In Bethulie, Commandant Du Plooij, with nearly a hundred men, were still in arms. Bloemfontein was represented by Commandant Piet Fourie and two hundred burghers.
Nothing decisive was effected; and, as is always the case in such battles, little was done except by the big guns, which kept up a perpetual roar from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon. At that hour the British fell back on Ladysmith. Our loss was one killed and six wounded, among the latter being Veldtcornet Marthinus Els, of Heilbron.
We knew, however, that Vice-Commandant-in-Chief Piet Fourie a man whom nothing on earth would stop, if he had once made up his mind was leading the van, and that he was supported by Veldtcornet Johannes Hattingh, who was as resolute and undaunted as his chief. Fourie did not wait for us to catch him up, but at once went down the mountain side.
One Veldtcornet inserted in all the papers that he defied anyone to prove that more than four burghers were shot, and of these two were killed accidentally by their own rifles.
This confiding bird had flown straight to the laager, had perched on the General's house, where it had been shot by this same Dietrich, and we owed the present visit to the information supplied therein by Mr. P., Dietrich informing us he attributed this occurrence to the Almighty working for the Boers. They stated they were now awaiting the arrival of the Veldtcornet and of Mr.
All made good their retreat, with the exception of Veldtcornet Speller, of Wepener, who, to my great regret, was taken prisoner there with fourteen men. That occurred owing to my adjutant forgetting, in the general confusion, to give them my orders to retreat.
When we had crossed the river, I received a report from my scouts that there were about twenty of the enemy in a strong schanze on a kopje, which was about half an hour's march further up stream. I gave orders that a veldtcornet and twenty-five men, among whom was one of my staff, Willem Pretorius, should go and capture the schanze.
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