Eleven Officers And 176 Men Fell Out Of
About 550 Actually Engaged.
The two guns were taken.
The convoy was
no use to the Boers, so the teams were shot and the wagons burned
before they withdrew. The prisoners too, they were unable to
retain, and their sole permanent trophies consisted of the two
guns, the rifles, and the ammunition. Their own losses amounted to
about fifty killed and wounded.
A small force sallied out from Klerksdorp in the hope of helping
Anderson, but on reaching the Jagd Drift it was found that the
fighting was over and that the field was in possession of the
Boers. De la Rey was seen in person among the burghers, and it is
pleasant to add that he made himself conspicuous by his humanity to
the wounded. His force drew off in the course of the morning, and
was soon out of reach of immediate pursuit, though this was
attempted by Kekewich, Von Donop, and Grenfell. It was important to
regain the guns if possible, as they were always a menace to the
blockhouse system, and for this purpose Grenfell with sixteen
hundred horsemen was despatched to a point south of Lichtenburg,
which was conjectured to be upon the Boer line of retreat. At the
same time Lord Methuen was ordered up from Vryburg in order to
cooperate in this movement, and to join his forces to those of
Grenfell. It was obvious that with an energetic and resolute
adversary like De la Rey there was great danger of these two forces
being taken in detail, but it was hoped that each was strong enough
to hold its own until the other could come to its aid.
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