Transvaal War of Independence
1880-1881
To the Boers watching from the heights it must have been an astonishing sight. Five companies of redcoats advancing parallel to one another, each in columns of fours, their white helmets and scarlet coats brilliant against the green of the plateau, and in their midst, as had always been the custom of British infantry going into action, the Colours unfurled – two large heavy standards nearly six feet square. (The Anglo-Boer Wars – Michael Barthorp)
Perhaps a little bit exaggerated, by this time their tunics were well worn, somewhat tatty and faded and their helmets had been stained brown. Nevertheless, it was an intimidating sight.
When the peaceful attempts by the Transvaal Republic failed to negotiate a return of their independence from Britain, the free burghers of the Transvaal felt they had no option but to resort to arms and war was declared on the 14th December 1880.
The first major action took place at Bronkhorstspruit and soon after all the British garrisons in the Transvaal were invested. The Governor of Natal and Commander of the British forces in south east Africa (Maj Gen Sir George Pomeroy Colley) hurriedly gathered together a combined force of soldiers, mounted police and sailors along with six guns and set out from Durban to Newcastle where they regrouped before moving on to Mount Prospect to attack the Boers who had taken up a defensive position at Lang’s (Laing’s) Nek.
The British then suffered a series of disastrous actions at Lang’s (Laing’s) Nek, where they were repulsed, at Schuinshoogte, where they were forced to leave the battlefield under cover of darkness and in the pouring rain, and then the final defeat on Majuba (Hill of Doves) where Colley lost his life.
The initial peace treaty was negotiated in the front room of O’Neil’s Cottage and the subsequent Pretoria Convention was signed in October 1881. Never wholly acceptable to the Boers it sowed the seeds of discontent that led to the Anglo-Boer War in 1899.
Battlefields and Historical Sites
The Battle of Lang’s (Laing’s) Nek
28th January 1881 (Laing’s Nek is the name that has come down through history) The British forces intent on relieving the British garrisons besieged in the Transvaal tried to break through the Burghers’ defensive line running from the edge of…
The Battle of Schuinshoogte
8th February 1881 Having repulsed the British forces at Laing’s Nek the Transvaal Burghers then started to harass the British lines of communication between Newcastle and their camp at Mt. Prospect. Expecting a re-supply convoy from Newcastle on the 8th…
Fort Mistake
Mkupe Pass on the N11. British signalling post built during the war. On east side of N11 overlooking the Mkupe Pass between Newcastle and Ladysmith. Original known as Fort One Tree Hill it eventually became known as Fort Mistake but…
The Battle of Majuba
Sunday 27th February 1881 On the night of Saturday 26th February the British Gen. Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the top of Majuba with some 400 men. In the early hours of Sunday 27th when the Burghers realised the British…
O’Neil’s Cottage
During the Transvaal War of Independence 1880-81 the cottage, home of Eugene O’Neill, which lay in “no mans land” between the British and Burgher forces became a makeshift hospital for British after their defeat at Majuba and there are graves…
Fort Amiel Museum
Fort Amiel was opened as the Cultural History Museum of Newcastle in 1990 at the restored British military base built in 1876 by the 80th Regiment or Staffordshire Regiment. It was used during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and Anglo-Boer…
Mount Prospect Cemetery
This is the site of the British camp and Military Cemetery during the Transvaal War of Independence 1880-81 and was occupied by the British from January 24th to the end of March 1881. Many of the British soldiers who died…