A PRISONER
It was a dreary time in camp during the two days when the operation of collecting and burying the dead was going on. The stillness which prevailed was in strong contrast with the activity and cheerfulness which reigned before the battle. Then the men had joked and laughed in anticipation of the success they confidently expected, now they moved about silently. Not only were they grieving over the heavy losses, and sympathizing deeply with the Highland regiments, which had suffered so terribly, but all felt that the attempt could not be renewed, and that they were doomed to a long period of inaction until large reinforcements could arrive.
General Gatacre had suffered a very heavy reverse at Stormberg on the day before Magersfontein was fought. He had made a long night march in hopes of surprising the Boers, but by the treachery or ignorance of his guides, and the fact that the Boers had been apprised of his intention by rebel sympathizers, he had himself fallen into an ambush. Everything had, indeed, from the first, gone wrong. The intention of the general had been allowed to leak out two days previously, and thus the large portion of the population who were disloyal had ample time to warn the Boers at Stormberg. The trucks in which the troops were to be conveyed as far as Molteno were not assembled at the time named, and two hours were therefore lost. A portion of the column missed their way in the dark, and were miles distant from the main force when the fight began. Lastly, instead of the troops being allowed perfect rest during the day before starting on an expedition which demanded all their strength and vigour, they had been up early, and spent hours under arms, going through the fatigue of a field day; and so worn-out were they when the time for action arrived; that many fell asleep while the battle was raging.
Thus, as the Boers were posted in an inaccessible position, the action was a massacre rather than a fight, and had it not been for the splendid bravery of the artillerymen, the whole force would have been killed or forced to surrender. The loss in killed and wounded was not great, the casualties being under one hundred, but six hundred men of the Irish Rifles and the Northumberlands were taken prisoners, and two guns lost. The large number of captives was due to two causes. First, in their attempt to get at the enemy, some of the troops had climbed the rock to a point where further advance was impossible, and retreat, under the tremendous fire maintained upon them, meant certain death. Secondly, many were overpowered by fatigue and want of sleep, staggered out of the ranks during the retreat, and, dropping on the ground, slept until they woke to find themselves prisoners.
There was yet further bad news to come, for, four days after Magersfontein, Buller was defeated in his attempt to force the Boer lines, guns were lost, and there was a heavy death-roll. It was no consolation to the men who had fought at Magersfontein to know that they were not alone in misfortune, and that similar reverses had been encountered in Natal and Cape Colony.
The question that each asked the other was, what would they say in England? Would the same craven policy that had prevailed after Majuba be adopted, and another surrender be made to the Boers? or would the nation show the energy that had in old times been evinced when danger was greatest, and rise to the occasion? Even in that case, many weeks must elapse before sufficient reinforcements could arrive from England to enable them to take the offensive again; for that another advance against the Boer position was impossible even the most sanguine had to admit.
The whole force were now gathered on the Modder, and they had no fear that the Boers would be able to drive them from it. But this was but a poor consolation. All were burning to retrieve the last defeat, and it was gall and wormwood to know that they would be forced to remain inactive. In the camp of the Scottish regiments the feeling was bitter in the extreme. Now that the long agony of the conflict, which had broken down the nerve of the strongest, was over, they felt that they had to some extent tarnished the reputation of regiments which had hitherto been without a blemish, and the blame was thrown by them, not on the general whom they so loved, but upon Lord Methuen. The imputation was an unfounded one. The task before Lord Methuen was one of enormous difficulty. The point he had selected for attack was the best that could have been chosen. The only fault committed by him was, that he did not risk the lives of a few mounted men, by sending small parties out to reconnoitre the veldt to the foot of the kopjes, in order to discover the exact position of the Boer trenches.
His instructions had been clear. The force was to advance to within attacking position of the kopjes, and there to halt until daybreak. The arrangements for the advance of the brigade were, as always, left to the discretion of the brigadier. It was for him to send the advance guards to feel the way, and for him to order the heavy column to deploy into open order. These precautions were not taken by General Wauchope. A trap had been set, and he fell into that trap without taking any of the usual precautions, and he atoned for the mistake with his life. To the gallant regiments themselves no blame can be attributable for their failure. It is true that they broke down under the strain, but it may be doubted whether any soldiers in the world could have withstood it better. The surprise had been complete, and nearly five hundred men had fallen in a few minutes under that terrible fire, to which they could make no effective reply. They had maintained themselves all day under a blazing sun, with the ground round them torn up by bullets, and the slightest movement entailing certain death. Their consequent depression of spirits was increased by the exhaustion due to want of food and water. A great proportion of their officers had fallen, and there was no one to give them orders. It was not wonderful, then, that their nerves failed them, and that, when at the end of that awful day they gathered, the bursting of a shell near should have scattered like sheep soldiers who, in other circumstances, would have marched up to a cannon's mouth without flinching. It must be remembered, too, that the conduct of the Gordons, and the splendid bravery they showed, went far in itself to retrieve the high reputation of the Highland regiments.
Three days after Magersfontein, General Pole-Carew said to Yorke: "An officer with a patrol is going down the line to Graspan to see that the rails are clear for the train of wounded that will start later. I shall be obliged if you will go with them, and carry a despatch from Lord Methuen, giving particulars of the wounded who will come in by the train, and ordering medical comforts and fatigue parties to be in readiness; also a second despatch, with orders to the officer commanding there. After the attack they made on Belmont a few days ago, it is highly necessary to take every precaution against an attack at Graspan by the Boers from Jacobsdal. They are sure to be more active after their success here."