" The soul of man is to its own work as the moth that frets when it cannot
fly, and as the hidden flame that blasts where it cannot illuminate."—RUSKIN.
After the armoured train disaster, near Chieveley, the Boers, elated by their
success, continued to advance towards Estcourt. The whole of the northern half
of Natal was in their hands, and they now commenced to commit those atrocities
which marred their otherwise courageous behaviour during this war. They went out
in bands of two or three hundred, ruthlessly looting every deserted farmstead
they came across, and wantonly destroying anything they could lay their hands
on. All cattle, horses, and sheep that they could capture they took and sent
over the Drakensberg into the Orange Free State. The Dutch farmers in Natal of
course remained on their farms and were unmolested by the Boers. A few of the
English farmers also remained, and these were likewise not interfered with,
except that the Boers appropriated almost the whole of their live-stock.
Weenen, a village seventeen miles to the north-east of Estcourt, was occupied by
the Boers on Friday afternoon, November 17th. As soon as it was announced that
the Boers were approaching, the few Natal Mounted Police stationed there left
immediately for Estcourt. The magistrate, Mr. M. R. N. Matthews, and a few other
Government officials, however, decided to remain. A despatch rider soon arrived,
under a flag of truce, from the commander of the Boer force, and inquired
whether the village was defended or not. Having ascertained that no opposition
would be made to the enemy's entry, he retired, and within an hour a Boer
commando entered, and galloping up to the Court House, dismounted, threw their
hats into the air and sang the " Volkslied." They then entered into the shops
and houses, taking possession of blankets, provisions, boots, clothes, and
anything that would be of any service to them, loading their booty on to waggons
which they had seized in the neighbourhood. The public-houses were also burst
open, and the liquor freely distributed, causing a riotous scene to quickly
ensue—drunken Boers wandering about in a most disgusting condition.
Major - General Hildyard, C.B., who had taken over the command at Estcourt on
November 13th, took every precaution to avoid a surprise attack from the Boers,
who were now known to be in all directions around Estcourt. On Saturday,
November 18th, the alarm of three guns again boomed forth over the town, and the
troops stood to arms. Away on a ridge four miles distant could be seen a strong
force of Boers approaching, with the evident intention of attacking the town.
The Dublin Fusiliers, who had already taken up an advanced position in the
direction of the enemy, were now heard to fire three or four long-range volleys
into them, and at the same time a naval gun which was mounted near the town sent
a shell into the midst of a group of the enemy's scouts, scattering them in all
directions and killing two or three. The Boers were evidently astounded at the
accuracy of the British gunner and also at the long range of the gun, for they
immediately retired and were seen no more that day.
On the following day also a skirmish took place to the south of Estcourt near
Willow Grange, between Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry and a large force of the
Boers, in which the latter were forced to retire in the direction of Weenen.
But, although the enemy were repulsed at many points, they continued to advance
around Estcourt, and on Tuesday afternoon, November 21st, Estcourt, like
Ladysmith, became completely invested by a strong force of Boers. The enemy had
taken up a position on the railway line to the north of Highlands station,
severing the telegraph wires, destroying the railway line, and cutting off all
communication with the rest of the world.
The next position occupied by British troops between Estcourt and
Pietermaritzburg was at the Mooi River station, twenty miles to the south of
Estcourt, where General Barton was in command of a comparatively small force of
regulars and volunteers. A most efficient scout service was, however, kept up to
warn the camp on the approach of the enemy. The Rifle Associations were called
out on active service, and being composed of local farmers they rendered most
valuable assistance on account of their knowledge of the surrounding country.
The inhabitants of the farms in the district were in a great state of
consternation and excitement, for the raiding parties of the enemy were
travelling from farm to farm capturing the whole of the live-stock that they
came across, and ruthlessly destroying the homesteads. The farmers could not
understand why the military authorities were apparently sitting still at Mooi
River station instead of sending out troops to resist the marauders. The road
going south from Mooi River to Nottingham Road presented a most remarkable
appearance, for it was crowded with thousands of horses, cattle, and sheep being
driven by the flying farmers to positions of safety from the Boer raiders.
The enemy were not long in attacking the camp at Mooi River after the investment
of Estcourt, for on the following day—Wednesday November 22nd—at 1.30 p.m., a
shell came whizzing over and landed in the hotel grounds near to the railway
station. It was soon followed by others ; and the enemy were now seen to be
located at the head of the long valley in which the British camp was situated.
General Barton at once placed his force in carefully selected positions. The
artillery were stationed on the ridge at the back of the hotel, Thorneycroft's
Mounted Infantry moved off to the right and left flanks, and the infantry
occupied the trenches.
The Boers now finding that their artillery fire was not replied to, advanced,
and took up a position on a kopje almost within rifle range, evidently thinking
that the British force was without artillery. They were quickly disillusioned,
however, for two 15-pounders rapidly sent among them a dozen shrapnel shells,
causing them to scatter helter-skelter, and disappear out of range as soon as
possible. This artillery had fortunately arrived from England only two days
previously, and the enemy were probably unaware of its existence, which would
account for the confident manner in which they approached the British force.
As General Barton thought that the Boers would probably renew the attack on the
following day, the troops stood to arms before daybreak, as a safeguard against
surprise. Shortly before five o'clock what had been expected happened, for three
shells landed in quick succession in the vicinity of the camp, followed shortly
afterwards by others. The Boer artillery was slightly nearer than it had been on
the previous day. . The battery of artillery now was divided, two guns taking up
a position to the right, two to the left, and two remaining by the hotel. Firing
was then commenced by the guns on either flank, but it was found that they were
of too short range to reach the enemy's position, and so they retired on the
main body. Although the Boers continued shelling with their long-range gun they
did not approach any nearer, probably preferring not to come within range of the
British guns. Their shells were, however, practically harmless, generally
burying themselves in the earth without exploding ; and at about noon the enemy
withdrew towards Estcourt.
No further attack was made on Mooi River Camp, nor did the enemy proceed any
further south, for they no doubt found that, having had to leave strong
besieging forces at Ladysmith and Estcourt, they were insufficient in number to
meet the reinforcements arriving from England, and the various local volunteer
corps which had been lately formed. Their hope was, however, that Ladysmith and
Estcourt would soon surrender, when they would be enabled to continue their
triumphal march to the coast. These ambitious desires of the Boers seemed to
have taken a firm hold of them, and also of most of the local Dutch farmers,
some of the latter, sad to relate, joining the invading forces and assisting the
enemy in fighting against the British, under whose government they had enjoyed
every privilege. One Natal Dutchman at this period, evidently thinking that the
Boers were going to be victorious, and would establish Dutch supremacy
throughout the whole of South Africa, wrote to his neighbour—an English
farmer—and offered him ten pounds for his large farm, at the same time pointing
out that he would get nothing for it after the war was over, as it would be
taken from him. We must now turn our attention to Estcourt, which we left
invested by the enemy on Tuesday, November 2ist. On the following morning it was
found that the enemy had advanced considerably nearer the town, their main
position being in the direction of Willow Grange southwards. Not the slightest
alarm was exhibited, however, by the troops or civilians, for all had perfect
confidence in General Hildyard and in the men under him.
It was not long before the General confirmed the opinion held of him, for he
decided to at once attack the Boer position, hoping to stop their further
advance on the town and prevent them from mounting their guns in positions
commanding the town and camp. Accordingly, on Wednesday afternoon at two
o'clock, a strong force moved out of Estcourt with the object of occupying a
high hill called Beacon Hill, seven miles away, near Willow Grange. The Boers
were strongly entrenched on two hills near Beacon Hill.
The force, which consisted of regulars and Natal Volunteers, had an exceedingly
trying march, for at four o'clock an exceptionally heavy thunderstorm burst upon
them, accompanied by a most severe shower of hail, some of the stones being two
inches in diameter. The ground was quickly rendered sodden and slippery, greatly
impeding the movements of the battery of artillery and of the naval gun. The
Bluejackets, however, who were in charge of the naval gun, pushed manfully on,
and by 6 p.m. had scaled the steep slopes of Beacon Hill and placed the gun in
position. The Boers, however, were keenly watching their movements, and,
immediately on the naval gun reaching its position, commenced to shell it. The
naval gun replied with two or three shots, but soon darkness fell and all became
quiet. The troops now bivouacked for the night, trying to obtain the best
shelter possible from the pelting rain, but forsaking all hopes of sleep under
such unfavourable conditions.
At 2 a.m. on Thursday they were again on the move, the West Yorks and East
Surreys, 1,100 strong, commencing to work round to the left of the enemy's
position and scale the hill occupied by them. The hill was successfully scaled
and they were close upon the Boer sentries when one of the men let off his rifle
by mistake, which aroused the Boers and gave them warning. Bayonets were at once
fixed and the enemy's camp was charged; but the Boers were already in full
retreat down the opposite side, leaving behind them about fifty horses and the
whole of the camp equipment, which fell into the hands of the British.
Daylight broke shortly after the capture of the camp, when it was found that the
enemy commanded the captured hill from their main position, and the infantry
were exposed to a deadly fire from machine and long-range guns. A portion of the
mounted Boers now attempted to assault the hill, but they were repulsed with
heavy loss. The position was, however, considered untenable, so at six o'clock
General Hildyard gave the order to retire on Beacon Hill, where the naval gun,
although outranged by the enemy's Krupp gun, had been doing considerable
execution among the Boers. The troops were now gradually withdrawn towards Estcourt, and by midday the battle had ceased. The British loss was 15 killed
and 72 wounded ; Major Hobbs and 7 men of the West Yorks having also been taken
prisoners by the enemy.
This movement, which had been carried out under the personal direction of
General Hildyard, with Colonel Kitchener in command of the front ranks, while
not an actual victory, had results of the greatest importance. The Boer force,
7,000 strong, which had been detached from Ladysmith to overrun Natal, met with
such severe and determined opposition by the British at Mooi River and Estcourt
that it commenced to retrace its steps to Colenso to assist in destroying the
Ladysmith garrison first before attempting to advance further into Natal.
It came as a relief and surprise to the inhabitants of both Mooi River and
Estcourt to hear that the enemy were in full retreat. On Saturday the vedettes
returned to the Estcourt camp to report that the enemy, with a large number of
waggons, were proceeding in a north-westerly direction towards Colenso. An
armoured train steamed from Mooi River towards Escourt to repair the line, and
on Sunday, November 26th, telegraphic and railway communication were restored
between Mooi River and Estcourt.
Estcourt was relieved! The news caused a thrill of joy to pass throughout the
whole of loyal Natal. The threatened danger was averted! Only a day or two
previous it had seemed as though the enemy would march onward and take
possession of the Colony, and finally of the whole of South Africa; but for some
providential reason the tide was turned, the advance columns of the enemy were
retreating on their main body, and South Africa was saved! The enemy might again
try to advance southwards, but it would be too late, for strong reinforcements
were now arriving from England. Their only chance was gone! A certain amount of
preparation had been made in Pietermaritzburg and Durban to meet the expected
foe, and it might have been possible to repel the enemy had these two towns been
attacked. In Pietermaritzburg the prominent hill at the back of Fort Napier was
fortified with embankments and trenches, and cannon were mounted on the summit.
The local Rifle Associations, and the Home Guard were also undergoing severe
training. In Durban a large number of naval guns were mounted in prominent
positions along the Berea Ridge, and the men-of-war in the outer anchorage were
ready to repel any foe that might appear. But fortunately, beyond allaying the
fears of the inhabitants, the preparations were not needed.
Just at this juncture the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, General Sir
Redvers Buller, arrived from the Cape Colony, reaching Maritzburg on Saturday,
November 25th, and his presence seemed to inspire confidence in the loyalists in
Natal, who now looked forward to receiving news of British victories instead of
Boer successes.
General Hildyard at Estcourt lost no-time in following up the retreating Boers.
On Sunday morning tents were struck and the order was given for a forward march
to Frere. At 8ca.m. the long column streamed out, and after a tiring march
arrived at Frere at two o'clock in the afternoon.
All along the line of march were evidences of wanton destruction by the Boer
commando. At each railway station the safes had been blown to pieces with
dynamite ; the lamps and furniture had been smashed to atoms; the papers,
tickets, and books had been torn to pieces and lay strewn over the floors. The
farmhouses had also suffered in like manner, valued trinkets and ornaments lying
smashed among the debris of furniture, &c. The doors and windows had been burst
open and broken to pieces with crowbars. But it is impossible to adequately
describe the heartrending scenes which were enacted. To understand fully the
wanton devastation which had been made in many a. happy country home, it would
be necessary to witness the scene of desolation.
The disloyal Natal Dutch appear to have been among the principal perpetrators of
these acts of despoliation, for in many of their houses were afterwards found
articles of furniture which had been taken from the homes of neighbouring
English farmers. In one house were found five pianos, which had belonged to
English homes in the district. But the enemy had not restricted these wicked
acts of destruction to ' the interiors of the farmhouses only, for- in some
cases orchards of young fruit trees had been chopped down and utterly destroyed,
and iron rain-water tanks had been pierced through the sides, rendering them
useless. Many a heart was bowed down with grief on beholding the home, which had
meant years of work, thus destroyed in a few moments by a ruthless foe.
Much of the live-stock, that had not been driven away, had also been destroyed.
Dead poultry were lying about in heaps at one farmstead, among them being fifty
young turkeys. Cattle and sheep lay rotting in the paddocks. On another farm
three hundred head of cattle and sheep had been destroyed with arsenical poison.
Truly it was a terrible scene ; and yet this destruction had been wrought by the
offspring of a civilised European nation. The Law of Environment had here proved
itself true in the evolution of this people dwelling among the savage and
barbarous tribes of South Africa.
On the arrival of General Hildyard's column at Frere it was found that the Boers
had destroyed the fine iron railway bridge. The girders connecting the masonry
piers had been displaced by exploding ruberite under the ends of the girders.
The engineering department, however, at once set to work to construct a
temporary wooden bridge on trestles, which was completed within a week. And thus
the trains containing the military stores, guns, ammunition, &c., were enabled
to proceed onwards to Chieveley, where General Buller, who had now arrived at
the front, was encamped.
A large number of troops were at this time arriving from England, and were being
sent straight to the front, there to form the army which was to relieve
Ladysmith. The enemy had taken up strong positions and cleverly entrenched
themselves at and around Colenso, their strongest position being in the
mountainous country, opposite Colenso, on the north side of the Tugela River.
Skirmishes were constantly taking place between small parties of British mounted
troops and raiding parties of the enemy, who were retiring with looted cattle,
many of which were retaken and brought to the British camp.
Heliographic communication with Ladysmith was now established from high hills to
the south of Colenso. The flashlight was also used at night for the same
purpose, so that General Buller was constantly informed of the condition of the
besieged garrison.
A 'great battle was now imminent, for General Buller was fast completing the
arrangements necessary for the proper manipulation of so vast an army. On
Wednesday, December 13th, a reconnaissance in force towards Colenso was made by
General Barton with thirty guns, which were fired at intervals into groups of
Boers seen in the distance ; but although the firing was continued for two hours
the Boers would not respond. On the following day the naval guns approached
still nearer and shelled the enemy's positions with lyddite shells, and again
there was no response. The Boers had evidently well concealed their guns, and
did not wish to reveal their positions before the British attacked in earnest.
