Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-18
Description of the Battle of
LadySmith.
SIXTEEN HOURS
Was of the Most Stubborn Character
and Resulted in the British Holding
Their P0sjti0nS-Many Officers
Were Among the Dead.

London, JAM. 1S.-The Standard pub
hshes the following dispatch from Lady
smith. dated January 6. by way of Frere,
January II: The enemy to-day made a de-
effort to capture two positions.
Caesars camp and Wagon hill. The lat
ter is a lofty eminemce to the southwest,
possession Of which would have brought
them within rifle range of the town. Gaze
sar's camp was held by the First bat
talon of the Manchester regiment.
The position was separated from that
of the Beers by a rocky ravine. In the
early hours of the morning, under COW
er of darkness the Heidelberg comman-
do succeeded in evading our pickets, maxi
ing their way through the thorn bush and
reaching the foot of the slope at 2:30. The
alarm was raised by our sentries, but be-
fore the full extent of the danger could be
realized the outlying sangars had been
reached and the defenders slain.
On hearing the firing two companies Of
the Gordon H~ighlanders went to the as
~sistance Of the Manchesters, At first
it was Thought that the Beers were con
m the southern slope, where
tACy q oAACauJ a AOuVAA6 IA AAS
plateau. Here, however, their advance
was checked i the steady vollyes of our
infantry and the deadly fire of an auto
matte gun.
Lieutenant Hunt-Gru went out to
see if any aid was needed by the troops
stationed on tine ridge near the town.
He was not aware that the enemy had
already captured the breastworks n
called out to the sergeant. He received
the reply: Here I am sir" and then he
suddenly disappeared from sight. Cap
tain Carnegie, suspecting a ruse. orderen
the Gordons to fire a volley and to charge
The enemy then fell back precipitately,
behind them the officer whom they
had captured with SO much presence Of
mind. This lieutenant was quite unhurt.
1t was low quite evident that the camp
was being assailed on the lett flank and
on the front. By daybreak reinforce
of Gordon Highlanders and of the
rifle brigade had been hurried up to the
lighting line. Lieutenant Colonel Dick
dons out Of camp, fell mortally wounded.
being hit by a stray bullet while still
close to the town.
The fifty-third battery of field artt-
lery, under Major Abby, crossed the Kip
river and shelled the bridge and reverse
slope of the front position, where the enc
my were lying among the thorn bushes.
The shrapnel, which flew over our heads,
did terrible execution. 1t effectually held
the Beers in check and rendered 1T i'm
for them to sen reinforcements
to their men through the avine.
The enemy fought throughout with the
most stubborn courage, berng evidently
determined to take the camp or die in
the attempt. Their six-inch gun on UNI
mountain and it's smaller satel-
threw more than 100 shells at Abdy's
battery and at the troops on the hill. Our
troops, however, We're not less gallant n
resolved, and the enemy was pressed back
step by step until at length those who
were left broke and fled in utter disorder.
A terrific storm of rain and hail, ac-
companied by peals of thunder, had burst
over the calnp during the fighting. This
served to swell the streams into raging
torrents. In their efforts to escape num-
ibers of the enemy flung themselves into
the current and were swept away. The
struggle in this part of the field was now
ended and the finale was a terrible fusi-
lade all along the line, the crash of which
drowned the incessant thunder
above.
in progress in the direction OF Wagon hill.
At 2 o'clock a storming party furnished
the Harrfsmith commando crept slow
~ and cautiously along a donga In the
valley which divides our posts from their
camp. A few we'll aimed rifle shots kill
ed our pickets. Taking advantage of ev-
cry inch of cover the Beers then gradu-
ally reached the crest of the height. Here
a body of light horse was posted. but
they were forced to retire before the ad-
vance of the Free Staters, there being no
for defense or the western
shoulder of the hill. With little to impede
their passage, the enemy soon came to an
emplacement, where they surprised work.
parties of the Gordon Highlanders and the
rifles.
Lieutenant Digby Jones of the Royal
collected q handful of men and
made a gallant effort to hold the posi-
ton, but the numbers were against him.
and after a stubborn resistance he was
driven back and the enemy got possess
sion Of the summit. Even then, however,
the Free Staters were afraid to venture
far or to face the. heavy fire from the
Here it was that Lieutenant
and thirty Of the Gordons
were captured. although not until every
among them was badly wounded.
At s o'clock Colonel Edwards, with two
of light horse, arrived upon
the scene and the Twenty-dirst battery of
the Royal field artillery under Major
Blewitt came into action, preventing the
storming party being reinforced from the
Boer camp.
At the same time the Eighteenth Hus-
sars and the Fifth Lancers checked the
from the spruit on our right
flank. Nevertheless our position at this
point had become critical. Our men had
retired far over behind the northern
slope, while the enemy had made their
way into the pass dividing them from the
Major Bowen rallied a few Of the rifles,
but fell while leading them to the charge.
His example was at nee followed by
Tod, but the latter met the
fate.
The enemy was making good the foot
they had already secured in the en-
placement, when Major Miller Welnutt, :
calling the scattered Gordous together,