TOPIC:

The Boer forces besieging Ladysmith used passwords to discern between friend or foe; a common practice during war time going back centuries. For tactical reasons these passwords needed to change regularly. According to the unique survivor below, the Boer Forces changed their passwords daily. Passwords for the month were determined by the staff of the commanding officer for distribution down the line. The problem of course was that if such information was intercepted by the enemy the security would be compromised for all or part of the whole month. This is exactly what occurred to Boer passwords in January 1900.




The above note, signed by General D.J.E. Erasmus states: “Passwords for Ladysmith area, January 1900. The earlier Passwords have fallen into enemy hands and shall not be used from now on.” Followed by the new passwords valid from January 14 until the end of the month.


General Daniel Jacobus Elardus Erasmus was born on March 4, 1845 at the farm Doornkloof/Dorenkloof (Irene) in the Pretoria District. Erasmus was a tall man with dark complexion and went by various nicknames: Swart Daniel, Daan Kommandant and Generaal Maroela. Daniel Erasmus participated in expeditions against black tribes from the age of 16. He was elected Veldkornet in 1880 for the Wijk Upper-Hennopsriver, located to the west of Pretoria. In that same year he fought under General Frans Joubert at Bronkhorstspruit where he prevented three exfiltration-attempts by the British 94th Regiment under Col. Anstruther. Erasmus was promoted at Botha’s Nek to Veg-Kommandant (literally fighting Commander, a title I was not familiar with) and shortly thereafter was wounded in the vicinity of Rooihuiskraal. Erasmus acted as Member of Parliament (1881-1886) and in 1884 was elected as Kommandant for the District of Pretoria, a position he held at the outbreak of hostilities in 1899. In the years 1884-1899 he was involved in various battles in Sekhukhuneland against black tribes as well as against Dr. Jameson’s invading posse in early 1896.
Early October 1899 Erasmus went with the Pretoria commando to the Natal border and was appointed Assistant Commander General on the day war was declared. Erasmus participated in all battles that involved the Pretoria commando (Modderspruit, Platrand and other) and distinguished himself at Spionkop. Afterwards he was tasked (together with the French Colonel De Villebois-Mareuil) to inspect the Boer commandos and fortifications along the Tugela and around Ladysmith.
Erasmus was subsequently appointed to chair the Military Courts for the Districts of Middelburg, Heidelberg and Bethal. Daniel Erasmus was captured at Amsterdam by General Bruce Hamilton’s troops on January 3, 1902 and shipped off to St. Helena where he was incarcerated for the following 5 months.
From 1907 until his retirement in 1910, Erasmus was member of Parliament for the District of Pretoria. He died at the farm Grootfontein, Pretoria on May 7, 1914.
(Sources: Onze Krijgsofficiren (Volksstem 1904), Die Boere-Offisiere, (Malan, 1990))

CJ Barnard wrote: "And as regards Erasmus, we need only note that his nickname, “Old Maroela,” was the crown for his dubious achievement during a native revolt in the Northern Transvaal, when he was said to have led the battle while hiding behind a maroela tree."
Here are a couple of photos of Ou Maroela, first with Kol Trichardt of the Staatsartillerie, second with the OVS general Marthinus Prinsloo who was equally lacking in aggression, third a pre-war portrait. Courtesy MC Heunis.

One aspect of the Boer War that has to date received little attention is the provisioning of the Boers during the war. On the eve of the war the Burgers were called up to their respective commandos and were required to bring their own horse, a gun, ammunition and sustenance for at least eight days. Thereafter the respective Governments took over the responsibility for the acquisition and supply of provisions for the men in the field. The Proviand Kommissie (ZAR) and Kommisariaat (OVS) were responsible for the acquisition of food, cattle and transport animals and apparently didn’t do a very good job. The central provisioning system collapsed entirely in the first half of 1900. Fransjohan Pretorius of the Pretoria University researched and wrote about this aspect of the war extensively and concluded “…From the outset commandos experienced shortages due to factors such as maladministration, favoritism, lack of proper transport and unequal distribution of supplies” In the body of his article other contributing factors were mentioned such as theft and personal enrichment.

To obtain the necessary supplies the commissions enlisted a number of General Agents to fulfil the requirements. Featuring prominently among these was Pretoria based J.D. Celliers & Co. In an effort to administer its relationships with Celliers and other commercial enterprises the “Gouvernements Kantoor Section B” maintained files on individual purchases. Each file consisted of a dedicated sleeve housing all the relevant information concerning the purchase (letters, receipts, copies of orders, cheques, invoices etc. etc.). The sleeve itself was used to annotate the status of the purchase(s) and various actions and authorizations requested from individuals and/or Government departments in relation to the purchase. Most ledgers containing these files are still at the National Archives in South Africa although some ended up in private hands, possibly take-home souvenirs by British soldiers or their relation. (Sarah Wilson, of Mafeking fame/notoriety was prominent among these “collectors” of Boer documents.)

The reason for raising this matter in this thread is that one of the files deals with a rush order dated October 11, 1899 for wagons and mules destined for Kommandant (that very day promoted to General) Erasmus. The Pretoria commando urgently required additional transport for the prospective invasion of Natal and the Proviand Kommissie accordingly placed an order with Celliers and advanced 5000.- Pond to the firm to fulfil it. Most of the annexes contained in the file concerning this order deal with Celliers’ justification for how these moneys were dispensed. The relevant sleeve and a few documents relating to this order are shown below.

The sleeve


The purchase order.

Pretoria, Oct 11, 1899
the Right Honorable J.D.Celliers
Dear Sir,
You are hereby commissioned to acquire -to the extent possible- 20 wagons fully rigged with mules and send these immediately to Kommandant Erasmus at Volksrust. The purchase should be made at fair market prices and mules must be suitable for immediate use.
I have the honor etc. Signed by Baks, for and on behalf of Proviand Kommissie


To enable Celliers to fulfil the order, the Government transferred from its account at the National Bank in Pretoria 5000 Pond to the firm. This is the proof of payment.


Celliers acquired 1 small wagon and 10 large wagons complete with riggings and 161 mules from a certain P.S Heyns for a total of 3736 pond and 15 Shillings. The small wagon was for use by Dr Ziervogel (Ambulance ?) and the balance of the order was destined for Kommandant Erasmus and his Pretoria Commando.


According to a copy of the NZASM transport register sent in March 1900 to the Proviand Kommissie, Celliers must have acted on the order immediately and had the first wagons and mules on the train within a few days.

From Celliers to Erasmus, Volksrust, October 15, 1899: Eight axle carts, 92 Mules, From Celliers to Erasmus ,Volksrust October 17, 1899: One trolley and 14 mules.


The file also contains a NZASM receipt signed by the stationschef (station master) at Volksrust on October 16, 1899 for the receipt of 55 mules, 2 trolleys (wagons) and 1 set of rigs for the attention of the “Commandant General”.

More amazing survivors and, as always, exceptionally well researched and written up. Thank you Everhard.

These are the only two pieces I have that relate to General Erasmus. A typed document signed by Botha, re-electing Erasmus to the post of Commandant for the District of Pretoria, dated 25th January 1901, and a van Hoepen photograph from the von Wichmann album.






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