The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1899-12-21
The British War Office Receives
Intelligence Of Another De.
feat in South AfIica.
1aEY LOST ELEVEN OF THEIR Guns
A Sharp Engagement Took Place at
Chievely Camp in Which the Beers
Had the Best Of II.
Gen. Bulfer Was Attem ptina to Cross
the T"Eefa River-Ffnding IL
Impossible He Ordered
Retirement.

y London. Dec. 17-The war Office IN,
T. received dispatch announcing thai
le ten. Butler has met with seriou,
n reverse, losing ten guns.
? Gen. Butler was attemDtinp to cross
the Tugela river. Finding 1t impossi
l. bic to effect his object he ordered q
" retirement in order to avoid greater
l. losses. lie left IL guns behind.
e lhe following Is the text OF Gen.
Hulier's dispatch, announcing his re-
: verse:
i Butler to Lansdowne, Chieyelv
r camp, Dec. Is, 6:20 p MI regret 10
report serious reverse. | moved in
= full strength from our cnmp near
e Chlevcly at o'clock this morning.
= There are two fordable places in the
( Iugela river, and it was my intention
to force a passage through at one of
| them. They arc about two miles apart.
My intention was TO force one or
the other with one brigade, supported
by central brigade. Gen Hart was
20 attack the left drift. Gen. Hildyard
! N~'S ''b ht iOuh anu ven. JJlIIc1On WAS
to take the center and TO support
either. Early in the day saw that
Gen. Hart would not be able to force
a passage, and directed him to with
draw He had, however, attacked with
great gallantry, and his leading bat
TALON, the Connaught Rangers, fear,
suffered great deal. Col. !. G. Brooke
was seriously wounded.
II then ordered Gen. ITldyard to
advance, which he did, his leading
regiment, the East Surrey, occupied
Colenso Station and the houses near
the bridge. At that moment I heard |
that the whole artillery I had sent to
support the attack, the l4th and Goth |
field batteries and six naval 12-pound-
er quick-firers, under Col Long, had
advanced close TO the river in Longs
desire to be within effective range.
II proved to be full of the enemy.
who suddenly opened n CALLING fire at
close range, killing oil their horses,
and the gunners were compelled to
stand to their guns. Some of the
wagon teams got shelter for troops in
p donga and desperate efforts were
being made to bring out the field
guns.
1.-The fire, however, was too severe
and only two were saved by Capt.
Schofeld and some drivers whose
names l will furnish.
Another most gallant attempt with
three teams was made by an officer
whose name I will obtain. OF the IS
horses 13 were killed. and as several l
drivers were wounded, would not al Q
low another attempt, as ii seemed !
that they would be shell mark, sac
rificing life TO n gallant attempt to I
force the passage. Unsupported by ar
tillery / directed the troops to with
draw, which they did in good order.
"Throughout the day a considerable
Iorce of the enemy was pressing onmy
right flank, but it was kept back by
men under Lord Dundonald
and part of Gen. Barton's brigade.
The day was intensely hot and most p
rying on the troops, whose conduct "
vas excellent. We have abandoned 10 ID
runs and lost by shell fire 1. The losses <
n Gen. Hart's brigade. | fear, are VI
leavy, although the proportion of Sc ~
erely wounded, hope, is not large. o.
The 14th and Goth field batteries also w
Uttered severe losses. We have retired w
o our camp at Chievely." pr
London, Dec. 17.-As might have OF
cen expected, the desperate state of W
he British arms in South Africa, as ia
evealed by the defeat of Gen. Bull
n at Tugela river, where at one sc
froke he lost treble the number of py
uns Wellington left in the hands of an
apoleon during the six years fght- tu
Ig in the Peninsula, while adding Sc
the determination of the author pc
les to send every available man to II
le front, caused something in the WI
sture of momentary panic among De
lie public. 10
The Evening Standard declares the ac'
tuation calls for all the equanimity, =
termination and perseverance of
C empire. and demands the immedi- An
c calling out of all the volunteers.
The Star urges the communicating
t all the great English Atlantic linz
S for the transportation of rein ,
rcements." and says the country NM
lst "set herself the task of pluck no0 ~
: victory out of defeat" 80
Queen Victoria was greatly con- NJ,
med about the latest reverse. The
nmander-in-chief Lord Wolseley, d..
s at Windsor Castle when the news -
lived, and he took q special train g. g.
TX to London.
The revised list of the British casu- 'e'
les at the battle of Magersfontein n, on
'ws the total TO be 963, of which "A''
nber 20 were officers s.i,
fused 10 Sign Enlistment Articles. tho
allejo. CAL, Dec. 15.--Sixty re- YER,
its Of the United States shin Hart Air