Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius ( 27 November 1798 – 23 July 1853 ) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic , as well as the earlier but short - lived Natalia Republic , in present - day South Africa . Early life and background . Pretorius received his education at home and although a school education wasn ' t a priority on the eastern frontier of the Dutch Cape Colony , he was schooled enough to read the Bible and put his thoughts down on paper . Andries Pretorius had five children , the oldest , Marthinus Wessel Pretorius , later became the first President of the South African Republic . Pretorius descended from the line of the earliest Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony . He belonged to the fifth generation of the progenitor , Johannes Pretorius son of Reverend Wessel Scout of the Netherlands . Scout in his time as a theology student at the University of Leiden changed his name to the Latin form and therefore became Wesselius Praetorius ( later Pretorius ) . Although the details of Andries Pretorius ' s early life is scant he probably grew up on his father ' s farm named Driekoppen , about 40 kilometers north - east of Graaf - Reinet . Career . In September 1836 , after the up company of Gerrit Maritz left Graaff - Reinet to go northwards , those that stayed behind including Pretorius began to strongly consider leaving the Cape Colony . He left his home in October 1837 on a scouting expedition to visit the Trekkers . Eventually Pretorius would leave the Cape Colony permanently . He abandoned his trek toward the Modderrivier and made haste to the Klein - Tugela river in Natal when he was summoned to lead the Voortrekkers who were there leaderless ; Gerrit Maritz died of illness and Andries Potgieter left Natal moving deeper inland . Piet Retief and Piet Uys were murdered in February 1838 along with their men under command of the Zulu king Dingane . They were invited under false pretenses , during a negotiations visit , along with 70 men with boys among them and with 30 servants to enter the Zulu kraal Mgungundlovu unarmed . Pretorius arrived at the desperate Trekkers ' main camp on the 22nd of November 1838 . Pretorius ' diligence and thorough action immediately instilled confidence and he was appointed chief commander of the punitive commando against Dingane . Pretorius lead 470 men with 64 wagons into Dingane ' s territory and on the dawn of 16 December 1838 , next to the Ncome river , they would achieve victory over an attacking army of 10 , 000 to 15 , 000 Zulu warriors . The Voortrekkers fought with muzzle - loading rifles and made use of two small cannons . The Zulus sustained losses of an estimated 3 , 000 warriors in what became known as the Battle of Blood River . The Boers sustained no casualties . Three men were injured including Andries Pretorius who was injured on his hand by an Assegai . After the battle Pretorius made an agreement with Dingane ' s brother Mpande which forced Dingane and those loyal to him into exile . The Boers believe that God granted them victory and thus promised that they and their descendants would commemorate the day of the battle as a day of rest . Boers memorialized it as " Dingane ' s Day " until 1910 . It was renamed " Day of the Vow " , later " Day of the Covenant " , and made a public holiday by the first South African government . After the fall of apartheid in 1994 , the new government kept the day as a public holiday as an act of conciliation to Boers , but renamed it " Day of Reconciliation " . In January 1840 , Pretorius with a commando of 400 " burghers " , helped Mpande in his revolt against his half - brother Dingane . He was also the leader of the Natal Boers in their opposition to the British . In 1842 , Pretorius besieged the small British garrison at Durban , but retreated to Pietermaritzburg on the arrival of reinforcements under Colonel Josias Cloete . Afterward , he exerted his influence with the Boers to reach a peaceful solution with the British , who annexed Natalia . Remaining in Natal as a British subject , in 1847 Pretorius was chosen by the Boer farmers to present their grievances to the governor of Cape Colony . They were concerned about the continuous migration of natives who were assigned locations to the detriment of Boer land claims . Pretorius went to Grahamstown to seek an audience with the governor , Sir Henry Pottinger , but he refused to see Pretorius or receive any communication from him . Pretorius returned to Natal determined to abandon his farm and move beyond the British dominions . With a considerable following , he was preparing to cross the Drakensberg when Sir Harry Smith , newly appointed governor of the Cape , reached the emigrants ' camp on the Tugela River in January 1848 . Smith promised the farmers protection from the natives and persuaded many of the party to remain . Pretorius departed , and , on the proclamation of British sovereignty up to the Vaal River , fixed his residence in the Magaliesberg , north of that river . He was chosen by the " burghers " living on both banks of the Vaal as their commandant - general . At the request of the Boers at Winburg , Pretorius crossed the Vaal in July and led the anti - British party in their " war of freedom " , occupying Bloemfontein on 20 July . In August , he was defeated at Boomplaats by Smith and retreated to the north of the Vaal . He became leader of one of the largest of the parties into which the Transvaal Boers were divided , and commandant - general of Potchefstroom and Rustenburg , his principal rival being Commandant - General A . H . Potgieter . In 1851 , Boer malcontents in the Orange River Sovereignty and the Basotho chief Moshoeshoe I asked Pretorius to come to their aid . He announced his intention of crossing the Vaal to " restore order " in the Sovereignty . His goal was to obtain an acknowledgment of the independence of the Transvaal Boers from the British . Having decided on a policy of abandonment , the British cabinet entertained his proposal . The government withdrew its reward of 2000 pounds , which had been offered for his capture after the Boomplaats battle . Pretorius met the British commissioners near the Sand River . On 17 January 1852 they concluded the convention by which the independence of the Transvaal Boers was recognized by Britain . Pretorius recrossed the Vaal River , and on 16 March he reconciled with Potgieter at Rustenburg . The followers of both leaders approved the convention , although the Potgieter party was not represented . In the same year , Pretorius paid a visit to Durban with the object of opening up trade between Natal and the new republic . In 1852 , he also attempted to close the road to the interior through Bechuanaland and sent a commando to the western border against Sechele . Pretorius died at his home at Magaliesberg in July 1853 . He is described by Theal as " the ablest leader and most perfect representative of the Emigrant Farmers . " In 1855 , a new district and a new town were formed out of the Potchefstroom and Rustenburg districts by his son , Marthinus Wessel Pretorius , who named them Pretoria in honour of the late commandant - general . Marthinus Wessel Pretorius was the first president of the Transvaal Republic .