ORANGE RIVER COLONY, E.—LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR L. RUNDLE
General Rundle, as we know, had marched north from Harrismith simultaneously with General Elliot’s advance from Springfield Drift on the 4th of July. Till the 12th, the force, marching in three columns, moved uneventfully to the line Tafel Kop-Maidstone-Driespruit. But, on the 12th, the very day that Colonel Harrison in one place and General Broadwood in another were trouncing the enemy and putting them to flight, the Imperial Yeomanry came in for some exciting experiences. It so happened that forty men of the Yeomanry under Lieutenant Edgell left Colonel Harley’s (centre) column to communicate with that of General Campbell (right). Promptly Commandant Charles Botha got wind of the movement of the small party and attacked them. But the plucky band, though young Edgell, the sergeant, and four men were wounded at the first volley, held their own, and finally the enemy was routed, leaving their leader dead on the field.
The following account of a yeoman’s experiences serves to show how Charles Botha met his death: it fails, however, to describe the gallantry and resource of Corporal F. M. Grove, 53rd Company Imperial Yeomanry, who, when the officer and sergeant were wounded, took command, fortified a post, and kept off the Boers till relief came:—
“The 12th of July I shall never forget. It was the worst day I have ever had. We had reached camp and had done a good day’s work, having captured tons of mealies. It was found that we could not heliograph to Rundle, who was sixteen miles on our right; so they had to send a despatch, and our lieutenant with forty men had to take it. As we were rounding Bothasberg we came face to face with fifty or sixty Boers. There was absolutely no cover, and as it was too late to dismount there was only one thing to do—to charge. That we did, splitting them in all directions. Had we been a cavalry regiment with swords and known how to use them, we could have cut them to pieces. Our lieutenant, the Hon. Wyatt Edgell, led us, whip in hand, and was the first to go down with a bullet in his leg just above the knee. Shots were coming like hail. Charles Botha, who was at the head of the commando, kept shouting, ‘Surrender! surrender!’ but he was shot dead with one bullet behind the ear and another in the shoulder. Six of his men stuck to him like glue, but he was too big for them to get away, being about six feet one inch in height and weighing seventeen stone. It is a marvel to me that we were not annihilated. We built a breastwork of stones, being fired on all the time. When it was dark the guide made his way back to camp for help, but the groans of the wounded throughout the night were horrible. In the morning we were relieved, and the Boers came out under a flag of truce for half-an-hour to bury their dead. We went to Vrede next, and after a day’s rest left that place in a shocking state. We killed thousands of sheep and put them in every house. The stench in a week will be horrible; it is to prevent the Boers from returning.”
The following day, in order to clear the line of advance from Boers who were scurrying eastwards, General Rundle directed Colonel Harley to close towards General Campbell in order to strengthen the right flank, and on the 14th the hills south-east of Vrede were occupied, and communication with Colonel Rimington (who had marched to the latter place to catch the scattered hordes that might be pushed towards him) was established. General Rundle, with his own and Colonel Rimington’s prizes, proceeded over the Klip River to Standerton and was joined by Colonel Reay (left), who had crossed the Vaal at Robert’s Drift. His total haul, irrespective of the prisoners handed over by Colonel Rimington, amounted to 13 prisoners, 7000 horses, 35 vehicles, and 1000 tons of forage. Twelve Boers were killed and wounded. The British force lost four men, while one officer and fifteen men were wounded. From Standerton, having refilled with supplies, General Rundle marched south on the 20th. Starting from Bothaberg, south-west of Vrede, he moved to Witkoppies, some thirty miles south-west of that town, and finally scoured the hilly country lying between the Natal border and the Vrede-Harrismith Road. The Boers, gnome-like, popped and “potted” from their hiding-places, but cautiously kept from open battle; nevertheless, General Rundle returned to Harrismith with 6 prisoners, 3590 horses, 679 trek oxen, and 4760 cattle. Twelve Boers during the march had been killed and wounded.
On the 8th of August General Campbell marched with a column (Grenadier Guards, Leinster Regiment, 1st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, and four guns and a pom-pom) through Retief’s Nek in connection with a movement of General Elliot’s, which should have driven the enemy into the Brandwater Basin, where General Campbell would have secured them; but the Boers knowingly made for the north, and thus General Campbell’s captures were limited to waggons, carts, and horses. Colonel Harley meanwhile was employed in escorting supplies from Harrismith to Bethlehem, which at this date became the centre for a new column under Brigadier-General Sir John Dartnell. This force consisted of two regiments of Imperial Light Horse, specially equipped to ensure increased mobility.