Reveillé came at the preposterous hour of eleven o'clock at night, when we struck camp and loaded our wagons, marching off at midnight towards Ventersburg town; it was a darkish night with no moon, but the stars did their best to compensate for the absence of that luminary.
We moved in the following order, preceded by the Third Cavalry Brigade, who had gone out at eight o'clock that evening—first the Camerons, as advanced guard, then the battery and the five inch gun, after that the Buffs Militia, then the other Militia battalion, and lastly ourselves; each of these units was of course followed by its first line transport—ammunition carts, water carts, and so on, and the rear of all was brought up by the ambulances of the 20th Field Artillery. General Hunter was with us with his staff, but General Bruce Hamilton rode with the Camerons, who were stretched out to some considerable distance in front.
After crossing the drift (which took some time, as there was water in it and we had to get over by the stepping stones), we continued on our way with the usual halts until about four o'clock or so in the morning. It was then just commencing to get light, but it could hardly be called dawn; and we could distinguish on our left front a dark mass of rock-covered kopje, which lay broadside on to the road, but forming an angle with it, and joining it about a mile further on.
Thus from where we were to the top of the hill must have been at least a thousand yards, but the head of the column could not have been further off than six hundred yards or perhaps less: barring this ridge, which rose steeply out of the plain, the ground around us for a considerable distance was as flat as a table.
The Camerons had gone on some distance, and evidently reached as far as the place where the road dipped into a small valley among some broken hills, and we were still halted, when a Staff officer from General Hunter told me to send a company to occupy the kopje, which it appears was not picketed by the cavalry of the Third Brigade (as it should have been) or even by the Camerons; owing to a misunderstanding the flank on that side had been left completely alone.
So I nodded to Lieut. Hopkins, who was standing by me and had heard the General's order, and off he went with A company, which was then leading our half battalion; in rear of them, in order of march, came F company, under Captain Gilbert, then G and H, under Major Panton and Captain Wisden, and then a company of details, belonging to the other half battalion, which was commanded by Captain Blake.
We idly watched A company moving off in fours, a dark mass in the dim light, and I was wondering why Lieut. Hopkins did not extend his men, and was on the point of shouting to him to do so, when the thought came into my mind that it would be better to leave the company alone, as the officer knew quite well what he was doing, and would, no doubt, extend as he got closer to the foot of the hill.
They had gone about half way between us and the hill, and Lieut. Hopkins, as he told me afterwards, was just turning round to give the order to extend, when there was the sudden ping-boom of a solitary rifle from the top of the kopje, evidently a signal, as it was followed by a terrible outburst of musketry, somewhat similar to that at Reteif's Nek, but not so heavy.
I was watching A company at the time, and it was very curious to notice how they behaved under this crash of musketry, which spattered the ground all round them with bullets; at the distance it seemed as though the whole company staggered and shook like a field of wheat under a breeze; then instantly the whole were flat on the ground, and they commenced firing without a moment's hesitation. Evidently the orders given were prompt and to the point: the fluttering appearance, like a flock of pigeons just settling down in a field, was caused by the men moving outwards, some to the front, some to the back, to extend; the whole business was over in an instant, but it was very pleasant to see the men so prompt to do what they ought, and so smart in opening fire.