With the outbreak of the 7th frontier war (1846–47), Stretch fought with a Fengu ("Fingo") division, but very quickly came to clash with the British authorities and was dismissed. After his dismissal he returned to being a government surveyor, based at his farm at Doorn Kloof, in the Mancazana valley. However he continued his activism unofficially, passing information on to his few remaining political allies in London and writing polemics against British frontier policies. His letters and writings are a valuable record of the Frontier Wars, and provide an important account from the pro-Xhosa perspective.