The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-01-08
BRITISH GALLANTRY.
Enthusiastic Reports of Cour-
age II the Face Of
Great Odds.
TBy Gable to The Associated Press.J


LONDON, Jan. 8, 1sO0-3:43 P. M.-The
War office has just published the follow
ing despatch from General Buller;-
'FRERE CAMP, Natal. Jan. S.-The
following is from White, dated 2 P. n,
yesterday
AN attack was commenced on my
position but was chiefly against Caesars
Camp and Wagon Hill. The enemy was
in great strength and pushed the attack
with the greatest courage and energy.
Some of our entrenchments on Wagon
Hill were three times taken by the ene-
my and retaken by us.
The attack continued until 7:S0 r. n,
One point in our position was occupied
by tn eenemy the whole day. But. at
dusk, in a very heavy rain storm. they
were turned out of this position at the
point of the bayonet, in a most gallant
manner, by the Devons, led by Colonel
Park Colonel Ian Hamilton Commanded
on Wagon Hill and rendered valuable SER
vices. The troops have had a very try
ing time and have behaved excellently.
The yare elated at the service they have
rendered the Queen.
mksaetao it'll til ii tlyayaa affanaEtdtd
"The enemy were repulsed everywhere
with very heavy loss, greatly exceeding
that on my side, which will be reported
as soon as the list are completed
So far as known General Buffers demon
stration against Colenso had little effect.
In spite of the heavy artillery ire the
the shrapnel shell reported was that It
caused a hundred Beers and their horses
to stampede from the camp between
ColenSo and Grobler's Kloef.
General French has now Joined the other
British commanders with the familiar
formula, Il regret to report TeleErams
from Rensburg say seven officers and
that about fifty were captured. General
French's announcement that the Essex
regiment has been sent to replace the
Suffolks is more bitter to the latter.s
friends than the list of casualties. as the
only inference deducible from this fact is
that the Suffolks disgraced themselves
and their flag by boiling and leaving a
few of their more staunch comrades to
fill the Pretoria jailS,
The first account giving any adequate
explanation of General Buffers defeat at
the Tugela River comes by mail from
Mr.. Benet- -Burleigh, the Daily Tele-
graphs" correspondent. 1t appears that
Clery, provided for the effective support
of the artillery by Generals Hart's, Bar
tons and Dundonald's Brigades. These
were never completed General Hart
missed his. way, Lord Dundonald failed
| to support and General Barton got part
of his forces in an untenable position.
Colonel Long, with the artillery outpaced
the escort of the guns and they were
lost. Briefly that seems to be the story
of the Tugela River But, through graph
ic columns, there continually recurs the
| discovery of unexpected entertainments
and awful rusilades from hidden Beers
and gallantry such as has seldom marked
British battlefields.
After describing how the British force
| began their advance at day light and how
| the Beers left them absolutely unInolest-
| ed the correspondent says
AT 6:25 there suddenly burst an awful
| crash of Boer musketry upon the bat
| teries and advancing infantry. The rattle
| of the Mausers swelled and was maintain
ed as one continuous roar. From the
buildings and lines of trenches south OF
| the river and from the river bank itself
| the Beers fired at our gunners and foot
men, and from the trenches on the north
| ern side of the Tugela River and from
! Fort WyIie and elsewhere thev sent ,a5f q
| hurricane of leaden hail and the bullets
| venomously rained upon the ground in all
! directions. raising puffs of dust and tear
| ing through the air with shriH sounds.
| Few have ever seen go heavy and so
deadly a fusilade, but neither the British
| gunners nor the infantry hesitated or
| sition, although many of the horses and
men were Shot down ere the manoeuYre
was completed, and our indomitabie SOL
diers walked erect and straight onward.
| Not even Rome in her palmiest days ever
possessed more devoted sons. As the
| GladiatorS marched proud and beaming
|
doomed to die saluted and then with alac-
rity stepped forward to their duty-glory
OF the grave! Anglo-Saxon soldiers. all
ways advance that way! asked an
! in Cuba and Manila, If his countrymen
| generally did this. and he answered:-
Yes, it is marvellous but wasteful.s
"Closer and closer walked the soldiers
| to the Boer trenches until within four
| hundred yards of the nearest rifle-pits.
| Then, lying down, they returned the fire.
but. there was little or nothing to aim
| Lord Do-la-Wurr, in graphic descrip-
| tion of the battle of Magorsfontein, says:
''It is useless to disguise that a large
| percentage of the troops are losing heart
! for a campaign comprised of a succession
! of frontal attacks on an invisible foe, se-
curely errtrenched and unreachahle
Our men fought admirably, but they
\ were asked to perform miracles. Don't
| blame them and don't blame the galalnt
| General. who was the first victim of the
! Highland Brigade They marched In
| quarter column to their doom. General
| Wauchope's last words, For Gods sake
gladden. the he hearts Of Of his lis numbsriess nun S.
| friends. There was no accord between
| General Methuen and General Wauchope
| in regard to the best method Of attack.
| General Methueon's plan prevailed. and
| the mistake cost 200 men, l
| The Stock Exchange was greatly de-
| pressed owing to the situation at Lady
( smith. Consols fell almost half
A Dublin correspondent says Major
/ John Mcbride, the organizer Of the
! Transvaal Irish Brigade. will be can
didate for the seat in the House Of
Commons-South Mayo-vacated by Mr..
| Davitt and probably he will not be op-
| posed.
A private of the Irish Rifles who fought
at Stormberg, in a letter to his home, says
! that when General Gatacre saw the poe
| sition the guide had led the troops into,
he. shot the guide dead with his own re-
volver.