6T6 



TRANSVAAL. 



had been driven a fortnight before, and on Feb. 28 

 he entered Colesberg. On March 4 Brabant cap- 

 tured the Boer position on Labuschagn,e Xek. At 

 Moriiihcrg the Boris hold their position strongly 

 \rt on Feb. 24, when they repelled a British at- 

 tack, but they retired after the surrender of Cronje, 

 and on March ."> On. Gatacre occupied the natural 

 fortress which had stopped his first attempted ad- 

 vance into the Free State. The retirement of the 

 Boers from C'ape Colony was accomplished in per- 

 fect order with a stubborn rear-guard defense. 



Lord Roberts in his inarch to Bloemfontein was 

 threatened on the left flank by the Boer forces 

 .-capcd from Cronjc's army and summoned from 

 (a pi- Coloiiv and Natal, which were rallied by the 

 presidents of both republics. The British had cap- 

 turcd a large train of provisions belonging to the 

 Boers when pursuing Cronje, and now were crip- 

 pled by the loss of a large part of their own con- 

 voy, which the Boers captured on the Riet river at 

 Waterval. While the British rested at Osfontein 

 the Boers intrenched themselves on both sides of 

 the Modder river at Poplar Grove, Gen. Christian 

 de Wet in command. This position, 15 miles long, 

 the British succeeded in turning on March 10, and 

 alter a fight with the British cavalry and horse 

 artillery, whose jaded horses were almost used up 

 in the long circuitous inarch, the Boers retreated 

 in good order, having inflicted a loss of 50 on the 

 attacking force, which made three assaults on an 

 elevated position from which Gen. Delarey de- 

 fended the Boer left flank. At Driefontein the 

 central column of the three into which Lord Rob- 

 erts divided his army found the Boers holding a 

 double line of kopjes crossing the road. The third 

 column, advancing along the Modder, turned its 

 course southward to co-operate in the capture of 

 the Boer position, which was vigorously defended 

 till dark by the men who had come from Coles- 

 berg, joined by others from Ladysmith, Gen. De- 

 larey commanding. On March 12 Gen. French 

 with the British vanguard occupied hills com- 

 manding Bloemfontein. The Boers made no fur- 

 ther attempt to defend the Free State capital. 

 They were concentrating on a strategic line north 

 of it, and the delay that Gen. de Wet and Gen. 

 Delarey had caused gave time- for the forces to 

 assemble and reorganize. For the British their re- 

 sistance had serious consequences. Fatiguing 

 marches to carry out rapid flanking operations 

 exhausted and disabled horses, so that the Brit- 

 ish were practically without cavalry mounts or 

 transport. On March 13 Lord Roberts took pos- 

 session of Bloemfontein. The evening before Pres- 

 ident Steyn and the other officers of the Free State 

 Government, without replying to Lord Roberts's 

 demand for surrender within twenty-four hours, 

 departed with the archives, except two pro-British 

 ollicials, who remained to hand over to Lord Rob- 

 erts the keys of the public buildings. 



Annexation of the Orange Free State. 

 After the occupation of Bloemfontein Lord Rob- 

 erts endeavored to clear the country in the south 

 and restore railroad communications with Cape 

 Colony. The cavalry of Gen. French and Gen. 

 I'ole-Carew, co-operating with On. Brabant, en- 

 deavored to cover the line extending from Bloem- 

 fontein and l.adybrand, on the Basutoland border. 

 Gen. Louis Hot ha, in command of the Boer forces 

 in the southeast of the Free State, skillfully evaded 

 the strong mounted force sent eastward to inter- 

 cept him, passing up the l.eeuw river valley 1 lie- 

 day before Cm. I'Yench completed the cordon that 

 \\as intended to hem in the Boer column, which 

 \\ns hampered on its loiii: march by an enormous 

 train. The British Mere not strong enough to oc- 

 cr.py the part of the Free State south of Bloem- 



fontein. Lord Roberts issued a proclamation re- 

 quiring the burghers to deliver up their arms 

 under penalty of being punished and having their 

 property confiscated. Mobile detachments passed 

 through the districts from which the Boer forces 

 had been withdrawn, and many of the Free State 

 burghers gave up arms. Even those apparently 

 loyal to British rule could not be trusted. A long 

 pause at Bloemfontein was necessary to accumu- 

 late supplies for the advance upon the new posi- 

 tions of the Boers between Bloemfontein and the 

 \ aal river. Horses had to be got for the cavalry 

 and artillery and transport animals. The cold 

 season had begun, yet the soldiers had no warm 

 clothing. Before the army reached Bloemfonlein 

 it was reduced to quarter rations. Supplies were 

 found there, but before long the question of food 

 became serious in the absence of safe railroad 

 communications. 



The Boers, taking advantage of the crippled con- 

 dition of the British army, established their out- 

 posts within 20 miles of Bloemfontein, and made 

 excursions into the southern country to keep in 

 touch with the burghers who still had arms and 

 ammunition. The eighth division of troops sent 

 from England debarked at Cape Town, making 

 the total British force in South Africa more than 

 200,000 men, and it was followed by a ninth 

 division. 



Commandant Olivier, who retreated from Storm- 

 berg with 15 guns and a great convoy, left Roux- 

 A'ille just before Gen. Brabant arrived there to in- 

 tercept him. While he moved northward alonj. 

 the Basutoland border, a cavalry brigade marcher 

 from Bloemfontein to Thaba Nchu to cut him off, 

 and a detachment entered Ladybrand, but was 

 driven out by the Boers. The G,000 men of Com- 

 mandant Olivier, having gained the Platberg, 

 commanded Ladybrand and could defy the British, 

 having a safe line of retreat to the north. On 

 March 25 Gen. French attempted to dislodge the 

 Boers who were intrenched, 2,000 strong, near 

 Karee Siding, and lost 180 men in an infantry 

 attack, but by stretching out his line he compelled 

 them to abandon their position for fear of being 

 surrounded. This was the first move in the north- 

 ward advance. Before the British could make a 

 new advance much remained to be done to clear 

 their rear and render secure the position they 

 then held. The Boers had become very active 

 again, and threatened to retake Bloemfontein. On 

 March 30 a mounted force commanded by Col. 

 Broad wood, which held Thaba Nchu, finding itself 

 threatened by the Boers on the north and ea-t. 

 retired in the" night toward Bloemfontein. pursued 

 by the Boers, who opened fire from three side- in 

 the morning. The baggage and two horse artillery 

 batteries, which were sent on while the mount >! 

 troops remained to act as a rear guard, marci-.i-d 

 into an ambush prepared for them at Koornspruit, 

 where 150 men were killed and 200 taken pris- 

 oners, and 7 guns and all the baggage fell into 

 the hands of the Boers. One of the bafteiies 

 entered a drift, and the Boers quietly secured the 

 surrender of the ofTlccrs and men as they came 

 along Avithout a shot being tired and without those 

 in the rear being aware that the guns and baggage 

 train ahead had been given up to the enemy. The 

 men of the other battery fought bravely under a 

 cress fire and brought away some of the guns. 

 _\n infantry division and two cavalry brigades 

 were sent out from Bloeiufontcin. but Gen. Col- 

 \ile. who commanded the re-enforcement*, re- 

 turned after an arduous and futile march, leaving 

 the enemy in possession of the waterworks. The 

 I'.oers moved round to the south of Bloemfontein 

 after the withdrawal of the British, and on April 



