The second incident which stands out amid the dreary chronicle of
hustlings and snipings is the surprise visit paid by Broadwood with
a small British column to the town of Reitz upon July 11th, which
resulted in the capture of nearly every member of the late
government of the Free State, save only the one man whom they
particularly wanted. The column consisted of 200 yeomen, 200 of the
7th Dragoon Guards, and two guns. Starting at 11 P.M., the raiders
rode hard all night and broke with the dawn upon the sleeping
village. Racing into the main street, they secured the startled
Boers as they rushed from the houses. It is easy to criticise such
an operation from a distance, and to overlook the practical
difficulties in the way, but on the face of it it seems a pity that
the holes had not been stopped before the ferret was sent in. A
picket at the farther end of the street would have barred Steyn's
escape. As it was, he flung himself upon his horse and galloped
half-clad out of the town. Sergeant Cobb of the Dragoons snapped a
rifle at close quarters upon him, but the cold of the night had
frozen the oil on the striker and the cartridge hung fire. On such
trifles do the large events of history turn! Two Boer generals, two
commandants, Steyn's brother, his secretary, and several other
officials were among the nine-and-twenty prisoners. The treasury
was also captured, but it is feared that the Yeomen and Dragoons
will not be much the richer from their share of the contents.
Save these two incidents, the fight at Reitz and the capture of a
portion of Steyn's government at the same place, the winter's
campaign furnished little which was of importance, though a great
deal of very hard and very useful work was done by the various
columns under the direction of the governors of the four military
districts. In the south General Bruce Hamilton made two sweeps, one
from the railway line to the western frontier, and the second from
the south and east in the direction of Petrusburg. The result of
the two operations was about 300 prisoners. At the same time Monro
and Hickman re-cleared the already twice-cleared districts of
Rouxville and Smithfield. The country in the east of the Colony was
verging now upon the state which Grant described in the Shenandoah
Valley: 'A crow,' said he, 'must carry his own rations when he
flies across it.'
In the middle district General Charles Knox, with the columns of
Pine-Coffin, Thorneycroft, Pilcher, and Henry, were engaged in the
same sort of work with the same sort of results.
The most vigorous operations fell to the lot of General Elliot, who
worked over the northern and north-eastern district, which still
contained a large number of fighting burghers. In May and June
Elliot moved across to Vrede and afterwards down the eastern
frontier of the Colony, joining hands at last with Rundle at
Harrismith. He then worked his way back to Kroonstad through Reitz
and Lindley. It was on this journey that Sladen's Mounted Infantry
had the sharp experience which has been already narrated. Western's
column, working independently, co-operated with Elliot in this
clearing of the north-east. In August there were very large
captures by Broadwood's force, which had attained considerable
mobility, ninety miles being covered by it on one occasion in two
days.
Of General Rundle there is little to be said, as he was kept busy
in exploring the rough country in his own district - the same
district which had been the scene of the operations against
Prinsloo and the Fouriesburg surrender. Into this district
Kritzinger and his men trekked after they were driven from the
Colony in July, and many small skirmishes and snipings among the
mountains showed that the Boer resistance was still alive.
July and August were occupied in the Orange River Colony by
energetic operations of Spens' and Rimington's columns in the
midland districts, and by a considerable drive to the north-eastern
corner, which was shared by three columns under Elliot and two
under Plumer, with one under Henry and several smaller bodies. A
considerable number of prisoners and a large amount of stock were
the result of the movement, but it was very evident that there was
a waste of energy in the employment of such forces for such an end.
The time appeared to be approaching when a strong force of military
police stationed permanently in each district might prove a more
efficient instrument. One interesting development of this phase of
the war was the enrolment of a burgher police among the Boers who
had surrendered. These men - well paid, well mounted, and well
armed - were an efficient addition to the British forces. The
movement spread until before the end of the war there were several
thousand burghers under such well-known officers as Celliers,
Villonel, and young Cronje, fighting against their own guerilla
countrymen. Who, in 1899, could have prophesied such a phenomenon
as that!
Lord Kitchener's proclamation issued upon August 9th marked one
more turn in the screw upon the part of the British authorities. By
it the burghers were warned that those who had not laid down their
arms by September 15th would in the case of the leaders be
banished, and in the case of the burghers be compelled to support
their families in the refugee camps. As many of the fighting
burghers were men of no substance, the latter threat did not affect
them much, but the other, though it had little result at the time,
may be useful for the exclusion of firebrands during the period of
reconstruction.
