The record-union., 1899-11-01
Beers Deal a Heavy Blow 10 British
Forces.
Surround Two Of the Crack Regiments and
a Mountain Battery.
The British Obliged to Capitu1ate
After Heavy Loss-Forty-Four
Officers Among the Captured
Soldiers-Boers Also Reported
to Have Suffered Heavy Loss.

Officers Among the Captured
Soldiers-Boers Also Reported
to Have Suffered Heavy Loss.
LONDON. Oct. 31.-The War Office
has received a dispatch from General
White, commanding the British forces
at Ladysmith, reporting that the hoya'
Irish Fusileers, Mountain Battery NO.
10 and the Worcestershire Regiment
were surrounded in the hills by Beers,
and, after losing heavily, We're Obliged
to capitulate.
LONDON, Nov. IAN ominous cur
tain has again descended upon affairs
in Natal. No dispatch except the offl-
cial kilograms of General Sir George
Stewart White has thus far been per-
United to mention the disaster to the
British forces, and no telegram from
Ladysmith has been received In Lon
don since the advices from the British
commander. This gives rise to be-
lief that communications have already
been cut, in which event some time
must elapse before details regarding
British losses are received.
If the War Office officials have re-
ceived information on this point they
have refrained from publishing it. Cen
eral Whites estimate that the British
losses were about ninety is evidently
quite separate from the probable losses
in killed and wounded among the cap
tured battalions.
On this point there is the greatest
suspense among the relatives of the
prisoners. 1t is supposed that the
stampeding Of the mules meant the
carrying away of the reserves of am.
munition, and that the troops capitu-
lated after firing the rounds each man
carried.
The following is the text of General
Whites dispatch:
"Ladysmith, Oct. 30-1O:45 p. MI
have to report disaster to the column
sent by me to take a position on a
hill to guard the left flank of the
troops. In these operations to-day the
Royal Irish Fusileers, No. 10 Mountain
Battery and the Worcestershire Regi-
ment were surrounded in the hills, and.
after losing heavily, had to capitu1ate.
The casualties have not yet been ascer-
tanned.
"A man of the Fusileers, employed
as a hospital orderly, came in under
flag of truce with letter from the sur
vivors of the column, who asked for
assistance to bury the dead. fear
there is no doubt of the truth Of the
report
Il formed a plan in the carrying out
of which the disaster occurred, and l
am alone responsible for the PLAN There
is no blame whatever to the troops, as
the position was untenable."
General White in a subsequent dis
patch says:
The following is list of the officers
taken prisoner to-day:
Staff Major Adye.
Irish Fusileers-Colonel Carleton, Ma
jor Mum, Major Kincaid, Captain Bur-
rows, Captain Rice, Captain Silver.
Lieutenant Heard, Lieutenant Southey,
Lieutenant Phibbs, Lieutenant Nc
Gregory, Lieutenant Holmes, Lieuten-
ant Kelly, Lieutenant Dooner, Lieuten-
ant Kentish, Lieutenant Killehan, Lieu
tenant Jeudwine, Captain Matthews.
OF the above, Captains Rice and Sill
yer and Lieutenant Dooner were
wounded.
Worcestershire Regiment Major
Humphrey, Major Capel-Cure, Major
Wallace Captain Duncan, Captain Con-
ner, Lieutenant Bryant, Lieutenant
Nesbitt, Lieutenant Ingham, Lieutenant
Davey, Lieutenant Temple, Lieutenant
Radice. Lieutenant Breul, Lieutenant
Hill, Lieutenant Smith, Lieutenant
Mackenzie, Lieutenant Beasley. Lieu
tenant Gray.
OF the above, Captains Duncan and
Conner were wounded.
Royal Artillery-Major Bryant.
Mounted Battery-Lieutenant Wheel
er, Lieutenant Nugent, Lieutenant
Moore, Lieutenant Webb.
While minor reverses were not whe4sy
unexpected, nothing like the stagger-
ing blow General Joubert delivered to
General Whites forces yesterday was
anticipated. The full extent of the dis
aster is not yet acknowledged, if it is
known at the War Office. The loss in
effective men must be appalling to
General who is practically surrounded.
Two of the finest British regiments and
a mule battery deducted from the
Ladysmith garrison weakens it about
a NTH of it's total strength, and alters
the whole situation very materially in
favor of the Beers, who have again
shown themselves stern fighters and
military strategists of no mean order.
The disaster cost the British from
1900 to 1000 men and six seven-pound
screw guns, and as the Boer artillery
Is already stronger than imagined, tie
capture of these guns will be a great
help to the Beers.
Further news must be awaited before
It is attempted to fix the blame where
# belongs General White manfully ac-
cepts all the responsibility for the dis
aster, which apparently was at least
partly due to the stampeding of the
mules with the guns.
From the list it will be seen that
forty-two officers were made prisoners.
besides a newspaper correspondent. ].
Hyde.
The interest in the news was uni
versal, pervading all classes and con-
ditions of London's populace. The
newspaper extras were eagerly read in
business houses. in the streets and by
women in their carriages.
Then there was a rush to the War
Once. which by noon was surrounded
With private carriages and hansoms.