The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-05-11
night the British retreated or the sec

night the British retreated or the sec
ond night Of the attack.
One of Botha's soldiers said that his
general was among the very first Beers
to reach the summit of Spion Kop. He
also confirmed Botha's account of the
hand to hand struggle, for he had him
self taken two rifles from the hands of
the enemy, Draining one man with
revolver before he would yield.
Another account by an eyewitness Isl
that of Wlaston Churchill, who says
that he went to Spion Kop about 4
o'clock the afternoon of the Oath, the
day of the battle. He speaks of fight
ing still going on and of the carnage
caused by Mauser and Maxim, still he
could say that of the situation after
the charges were over, for the Beers
kept firing until dark. Churchill says
he went back to the rear, and the pos
sibiity of hauling guns to the hill was
discussed at headquarters. lie re-
turned to the hill, meeting on the way
stream of stragglers, weaklings and
wounded men. Only one solid British
battalion remained on the hill, he said
The other troops We're intermingled,
the battalion leaders surrounded by
but few of their own men. Colonel
Thorneycroft was at the top of the
mountain and had decided to retreat.
His explanation was, "Better six good
battalions safely down the hill than a
mop up here in the morning"
So Thorneycroft abandoned the hill
to save the inevitable humiliation of
the command, and now he is paying
the penalty for what Lord Roberts
calls "the understandable and needless
assumption of authority by subordi-
| nate officer" But it appears that
Thorneycroft was the man for the
| place. Butler learned that the British
troops We're giving way before Gen
| eral Warren,f the division commander,
| who was not one moment during the
fight on the hill, knew of it. He tele-
| graphed to Warren: UNLESS you put
really good fighting man in command
| on top you'll lose the hill. | suggest
Thorneycroft."
\ The bullet which put General Wood
gate out of the fight had already an
| ticipated Buffers wishes, and Thorney-
croft was even then fighting like a
lion for the defense of Spion kop
against Botha's Beers
| One British account describes scene
that must have taken place when
| Botha's men rushed the trenches.
About 20 Britons at one place stopped
| fighting, threw up their hands and
called out to the Beers that they would
surrender Thorneycroft saw the act
and as the Beers advanced to take the
1 prisoners shouted to them: 81 command
this hill and will allow no surrender
Go on with your firing!'
Colonel Thorneycroft's command, the
Thorneycroft mounted infantry, haG
been in the first column which climbed
the hill and had suffered heavily
Churchill says that on his second triI
to Spion Kop he found the hero sur
rounded by the few survivors of hi.
battalion. He had no time to sent
messages or get instructions because
the fight had been too hot, too close t.
do anything but send support to /:
company here, clear rock there or
III VI lISASLl SOl1elSI. 1iaC 10 lllC PiS
ture of a fighting man in crisis lilS
that on Spion Kop. Now it transpire
that artillery and infantry We're o.
the way to support the line holding tn
hill, but Thorneycroft didn't know il
and no officer who did had the sense t
go forward and see to it that the heigh
was not abandoned in haste.
Thorneycroft's battalion are ''irregr
lars" and not given to military show
One day an officer of the regular
/, complained to the colonel that his me
failed to pay the proper respect due t
him as an imperial officer. what,
exclaimed Thorneycroft, they don
salute you? That's nothing. The
don't salute me. But they are demon
to fight, and that's all want of them.
These rough irregulars captured TIL
only Boer flag taken on Spion Kol
The battalion lost II officers on til
hill.
Spion Kop is being fought over agai
on paper like the battle of Shiloh her
| | ~