The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-12-15
BRITISH REPULSED
WITH HEAVY LOSS
Methuen Meets With Serious
Check at Modder.
ATTACK ON BOERS FAILED

nous Silence Of the War Omco Was
AEpIy JUST Il Il.
LONDON, Dec l3.-General Methuen
E>et with serious check at Modder
River Monday and suffered great losses.
He has teiegraphed the war office as
follows under date of Dec. IL:
sour artillery shelled a very strong
position held by the enemy in long
high kopjs from until dusk Sunday.
1t rained hard last night. The Highland
brigade attacked ct daybreak on Mon.
day ,he south end of the kopje: The
attack was properly timed. but fai,od.
"Tne guards were ordered to protect
the Highlands right and rear. The
cava.ry and mounted infantry, with q
Howitzer artillery battery. attacked the
enemy on the left ard tho guards on
| the right, supported By fo.d artillery
and Howitzer artillery. They shelled
the position from Gayi"-ak and at l:l5
sent the Gordons to support the High
land brigade.
1.-THE troops held their own in front
of the enemy's intrenchments until
dusk. the position extending, including
the kopje, for a distance of miles to.
wards the Modder river. Today 1 am
holding my position and intrenching
myself. / had to face at least ~, 600
men. Oar loss was great"
The war Office has received the fol-
lowing dispatch from General Forester
Walker dated Cape Town. Dec. IL:
"Methuen wires that General Wau-
chope was killed in action yesterday" I"
Major General Andrew G. Wauchope,
G. B, Q. NJ. G., entered the army in
1865, was promoted colonel i'll 1885,
served i'll the Ashanti war, 1878; in the
Egyp ptan war, 1882; in the Soudan ex-
pedition in 1884 and in the Nile expedi.
tion OF 1884 S5. He was in command Of
the First brigade of tho Egyptian expe-
dictionary force in 1898. General Wau-
chope has been wounded four times,
three times severely.
Serious British Reverse.
General Methuen, as expected, fol.
lowed up his artillery attack with q
general attack on the Boer positions
Monday, and his report shows that the
anxiety of the public regarding the re-
suit occasioned by the ominous silence
of the war Office was amply justified.
The engagement was evidently of
considerable magnitude and the list or
the killed and wounded will be proper.
tionate, without tho compensation
| ii, indeed, the affair does not turn out
to be IA more serious defeat than Gen.
eral Methuen admits.
The Highianders, it is believed, must
have stormed the Boer position more
than once. while the fact that guards
| were ordered 80 support the Highland
ers' roar looked as though the Beers
may have outflanked their attackers.
One report says that General Cronj je at
| tackled the British.
The only compensation the British
have been able to discover in the dis.
heartening story is General Methuen' 8
statement that he maint tains his posi-
ton close to the Beers. arousing hopo
| that he will retrieve the situation.
II is apparent that the bombardment
| of Sunday and Saturday did not shake
| the Beers grip on their position and it
seems certain that they merely with
| drew their guns and rifiemen under
| cover. while General Methuen indulged
in the usual artillery preliminaries Mon.
day, and that when the British guus
were obliged to cease firing, owing to
the danger of hitting the advau ucing q
troops. the Beers speedily reoccupied
their trenches and over whelmed the
| Highlanders with terrible fire. prob
ably accompanying this by an attack on
the British right flank and rear.
| Alarm is beginning to be expressed in
many quarters as to the situation OF
| General Methuen. AS the Westmin.
ster Gazette says:
| ''lf England ever needed O victory it
Is now, and it is 10 Butler, the soldier,
| strong, coolheaded and reticent, that
the country looks for this victory"
The other papers are abusing the gov.
| ernment for its "complacent optimism
and inability to grasp the strength OF
the opposition it has to overcome in
| South Africa.
| Considerable significance attaches to
| General Methuen's statement that he
is intrenching himself. indicating fear
that the Beers may follow up their ad.
vantage, adopt the offensive and attack
him. Indeed, the gravity of the situa.
tion from the British point Of view can
hardl y9be overestimated. General Me.
thuen's long lines Of communication to
| DeAar are most vulnerable. Should
they be cut. General Methuen will find
himself In very tight place, IL only
from lack of supplies.
| The news of the British reverse had a
bad effect on the Stock Exchange,
where there was general relapse.
kattirs and Rand mines dropped ~
points, and DeBeers dropped n.
| Advices From Gatacre.
The latest advices from General Gat.
acre show that no anxiety is felt for the
safety of his remaining troops, who
have been withdrawn to good position.
along the railroad south of Moltsno.
1t is said that Bushman 3. Hoek is i'm.
| pregnable. The Beers decline to furn.
ish the names OF the killed or wounded.
They say they buried the dead and are
removing the prisoners to Bloemfon tein
The Boer loss on Sunday is reported
to have been four killed and nine
wounded. Probably this is correct, as
no genuine attack was made by General
/ Gatacra,s trnana who xuara com nj talu