THE LAST MAIL-TRAIN OUT OF LADYSMITH.
Two companies of Gloucesters held the culminating point of the hill to the south. Soon after 9 they were driven back by the enemy's fire, when a party of Boers climbed to the position and swept the plateau at very close range with their rifles. Shelter was sought by the British soldiers upon the reverse slope of the hill, but even here they were found and shot down by the rifles of the enemy. Orders were given to the Irish Fusiliers to fix bayonets and die like men, when suddenly the "Cease fire!" sounded, and it was seen that someone in the British force had raised the white flag. The fury of the subalterns and of the soldiers was indescribable. Their rifles had to be forced from many of the men, and there were not a few who flung themselves down and sobbed at the shame and dishonour. Yet the column was in hopeless plight, and further resistance could only have meant useless slaughter. Twenty-nine officers, 898 men, and four guns of the mountain battery thus passed into the enemy's hands. Of the four guns, however, two were useless. About 150 men in all, many wounded, escaped into Ladysmith with tidings of the disaster, and 86 more, all wounded, were under flag of truce brought into the British hospitals. The killed on the field of battle numbered 52.
[Photo by Capt. Lascelles Davidson.
[Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 1899.
As the result of this defeat, it became certain that Ladysmith must stand a siege. Yet even now the town was not emptied of civilians, as it should have been, though all non-residents, who were for the most part spies, were ordered to take themselves off. The cavalry, who would be useless in a siege, were not sent south. The railway to the north of Ladysmith had not been destroyed, but was allowed to fall into the hands of the Boers intact, so that they were able to bring up from Johannesburg and Pretoria stores, munitions, and guns. This was a very serious mistake, as the Boers' weakest point was their transport; with the railway in their hands they were able with ease to maintain the siege.
4·7-INCH NAVAL GUN, AS MOUNTED FOR DEFENSIVE PURPOSES.