TOPIC:

Boers were (and mostly still are) deeply religious and tended to take Bible texts quite literally. Now somewhere in the book Christians are told to: “Go home and multiply” and, enthusiastically edged on by the local Dominee, that was one of the reasons that families of the day were very large by today’s standards.

Family size directly impacted the efficiency of the Boer forces during the Boer War. Besides simply bolstering the numbers of Burgers the Boer commanders were able to field, there was something else, something mostly lacking in present day armies. Besides the advantages afforded by the commando system (quick mobilization, operating in known terrain etc.) whole corporalships were populated with men that were more or less directly related. This created a intense sense of solidarity, purpose and moral duty. Few Boers would bolt from a hot firing line if that meant having to leave father, brothers, uncles, nephews or friends behind.

One aspect of the large Boer family-size remains perhaps a bit underexposed. For readers who are less familiar with the ABW, it may come as a surprise that almost all famous Boer Generals had one or more brothers of similar high rank. Hereunder follow short descriptions of a number of these lesser-known brothers. Some of these proudly made name for themselves, others (un)intentionally stayed in the shadow or comfortably surfed on the brother’s reputation, others yet turned against their brethren and ended up as a curt footnote in the biography of their famous sibling.

]Koos DelaRey (10 siblings)
Veg Generaal “Klein“ Adriaan (A.J.G.) DelaRey (1846-1938).

Adriaan was an older brother of Koos DelaRey. Adriaan had been involved in the wars against native tribes as well as the capture of the Jameson Raiders. Adriaan entered the war as a common Burger and later became adjutant to his brother Koos. Adriaan was appointed Veg-Generaal after the battle of Brandfort and fought in that capacity until he was captured 3 weeks before the end of the war near Vryburg.

Louis Botha (14 siblings):
General Christiaan Botha (1864-1902).

Christiaan Botha was a younger brother of Louis. Christiaan was commander of the Swazieland Police at Bremersdorp and entered the war as Commandant of the famous Swazieland Commando. He was promoted to Assistant Commander-General, replacing Lukas Meyer and in this function was in charge of the Boer commandos operating in the South East Transvaal. Christiaan fought with distinction during the battles at Colenso, Spionkop and many other places. He died a few months after the war aged 38 from wounds sustained during his capture in February 1902.

General Philip Botha (1851-1901).

Philip Rudolph Botha was Louis’ eldest brother. He entered the war as common Burger but was quickly promoted to Commant of the Kroonstad Commando. (some sources mention Harrismith Commando but that probably occurred later in the war) Philip was appointed Assistant Commander-General by his great friend Chris de Wet and fought with great distinction until his untimely death in a skirmish near Ventersdorp in March 1901. During his tenure Philip controversially ordered the execution of Lieut. Cecil Boyle, who was accused of ill-treatment of Boer women and children. Philip Botha was the father of Herman “Manie” Botha (b 1877) who rose to the rank of Commandant during the Boer War and became a Brigade-General in May 1915.

Piet Cronjé (10 siblings)
Although the reputation of Piet Cronjé (a hero of the first Boer War) was tarnished by his poor performance during the ABW, he is still better remembered than his notorious brother Andries (A.P.J.) Cronjé (1849-1923).

Andries was a successful Boer General in charge of the Potchefstroom Commando. However, in June 1900 he surrendered to the British, turned sides and the following year became one of the leading figures in the National Scouts where he fought against his own people.
(NB: During the Boer War there was another Boer General by the name of Andries Petrus Cronjé (1833-1916). This was not a brother of Piet Cronje)

Christiaan de Wet (14 siblings)
General Pieter Daniel (Piet) de Wet (1861-1929)
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Piet de Wet's career in many aspects reflects that of Andries Cronjé described above. Piet was an effective and well regarded General in charge of the Bethlehem commando who fought under his brother at many battles including at Sanna’s Post. In May 1900 however, Piet reached the conclusion that the Boers’ case was hopeless and voluntarily surrendered. Piet turned sides and, like Andries Cronjé, fought with the National Scouts against his own people. When Christiaan heard about his brother’s betrayal, he swore he would kill him. The ultimate fate of Pieter was probably worse, spending the last 27 years of his life as an irrelevant outcast.


Jan Smuts (6 siblings, 2 half-siblings)
General Tobias Smuts (1861-1916)

Tobias was an older brother of well-known Jan Smuts. As a member of the Volksraad for Ermelo he joined the Ermelo Commando as a common Burger but was quickly promoted to assistant Commander. After distinguishing himself at the battle of Colenso he was promoted to Veg-Generaal and, after Spionkop, to Assistant Commander-General for the Transvaal commandos operating in the Orange Free State. Tobias stayed in the field until the end of the war and had a successful political career thereafter until his death in 1916.

I met Piet de Wet's grandson when in South Africa in 1978. Two generations on, the family was still shunned by many in the Afrikaans community, and therefore preferred to circulate in English-speaking society.

Neville, that sad truth is that the Boers had already lost the war somewhere around the time of the Paardeberg disaster. Piet de Wet was not a weak or indecisive Boer officer, nor a coward. His sentiment that the war could not be won and that it was time to sue for peace was possibly not even wrong and actually shared by many (including Louis Botha) but peer pressure and the bitter-end stance of irreconcilables like Chris de Wet, DelaRey, Steyn, Reitz, Kruger, Leyds and others (Boer women!) made it difficult if not sheer impossible for Burgers to openly subscribe to it. The main obstacle for an early peace on the British side was not Kitchener but the ilk of Rhodes & Milner and their fan clubs in Cape town and London. Objectively looking back on the war, I think that the only ones that came out as clear beneficiaries of prolonging the war were the Randlords, the very men that were at the root of the whole conflict.

This observation however doesn’t absolve Piet de Wet and many others from joining the other side. Hands-upping is one thing taking up arms against your own is something entirely different. I met many farmers while working in the Free State during the last years of the 1990’s and even then, 100 years after the facts, the mention of joiners often still prompted pointing fingers and a flurry of invectives.