TOPIC:

Interested Members
At first, I thought that the multi-barrel gun shown in pfireman's pic was a Montigny "grape shooter" - but a bit of straight thinking realised it to be a Model 1883 Gatling; probably in .45" MH chamber and using an Accles drum magazine (not illustrated) of c. 100 rds.
Regarding Hendrina's revolver, it appears to be a "Bulldog" type revolver (possibly) with a folding trigger. No mean performer at short distances, Sherlock Holmes himself thought "An Eley's No.2 is an excellent argument".
Regards
IL.

IL,

Not so far off the mark, as the Staatsmuseum, Pretoria, had a Mitrailleuse in their collection up until the war ...
I have no idea what has happened to it, although there is one that looks suspiciously similar in Les Invalides, Paris. I'm not sure how it could have got there though.

Neville



"De Oorlog in Zuid-Afrika", Amsterdam 1900, p. 185






Les Invalides, Paris (Wikipedia)

..

Here's a good photograph of General Tobias Smuts with his Krag rifle.
Also close-ups of a carved example in the collection of the Royal Armouries.











A Norwegian maderifle comprising full length wooden stock, with a turnbolt action. The stock on this rifle is a fine example of Boer carving and is covered in finely executed carved designs and lettering.the forend is grooved on either side to give finger grip when holding. All metalwork is blued. The magazine is distinctively placed on the right of the reveiver, hinged at the front to permit opening and holds 5 rounds. The loading gate on the right of the receiver is hinged below the bolt guideway to permit loading of a cartridge. There is a graduated tangent leaf rearsight and blade foresight. Front and rear sling swivels are fitted and the orignal leather sling is in place. The information that follows is courtesy of Dave C George, author of the 'Carvings from the Veldt' series of books: Veld Cornet Johannes Frederik Wilhelm Mostert was from the Carolina district and served in the Fordsburg section of the Johannesburg Commando. There are twelve letters that accompany his application for the DTD decoration (Dekoratie Voor Trouwe Dienst) and the ABO campaign medal. Mostert was dangerously wounded during the fight at Pieter's Heights (Pieter's Hill) on 27th February 1900. He was also awarded the Lint Voor Wonden (LVW - Wound Ribbon) which states that his lower jawbone was shot away, he lost an arm which was amputated below the elbow and received a bullet 'through is back'. Mostert was to spend many months in various hospitals, ending up in the Pretoria and Johannesburg hospitals. Apart from his service in the Boer War, there are many letters and official replies from the Union Defence Force (UDF or UVM). These papers indicate that he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and state that Mostert was 'Commandant of the Carolina Commando' from 26-7-1913 to 22-6-1915. This Commando was one of the 'loyal' units that served under General Botha and Smuts in the 1914 Boer Rebellion (both Botha and Smuts were ex-Boer generals). It thus appears that Lt. Colonel Mostert assisted Botha in suppressing the internal Boer Rebellion that took place when certain UDF officers went into rebellion, against General Botha who had offered to assist Britain by invading German South West Africa in 1914. Lieutenant Colonel Mostert DTD was placed on the list of Retired Officers on 12-11-1925.

..

Neville's images are always so good but here is another picture of him during the same 'sitting' Everything is the same except the background has been altered to look like it is in a studio?


After Pretoria: The Guerilla War Vol 3 p. 363 Jan. 1901

Link to Tobias' genealogy page:
https://www.geni.com/people/General-Tobias-Smuts-b1c1d4e8f9g9/6000000013357877166

Off topic, but an interesting comparison - General Tobias Smuts in the full dress uniform of Commandant of the Ermelo Volunteer Cavalry Corps, and in field dress.
Former image from "De Oorlog in Zuid-Afrika" Amsterdam 1900, p. 123; latter from the album of Majoor Friedrich Wilhelm von Wichmann.



..

This is a reply to www.angloboerwar.com/forum/21-uniforms-b...-ammunition?start=90
The Transvaal bought 7,000 Boer Mauser carbines, and 30,000 long Mausers; the OVS bought 7,875 long Mausers, but no Mauser carbines. The carbines were issued to the Staatsartillerie, and were also carried by the German Corps and by many officers, including Louis Botha himself.
The carbines are superb, but had two design flaws:
1. The front sight had a steel sight protector with little vertical wings either side of the foresight blade. It is really easy to mistake one of these wings for the sight blade, as they are very similar in height and thickness. You'd then completely miss your target. So, in almost every carbine I have seen, the wings have been removed to prevent a ghastly mistake in combat. This just involved tapping out a little pin. The front sight is then very similar to that on the long Mauser.
2. The sling swivels were originally on the left, so that when the carbine is slung across one's back, the bolt handle faces away from the wearer's back. But the rear sling mount is prone to bruise your cheek when the carbine recoils. So in most cases the swivels were reversed, again a simple matter.
In Neville's attached photo of Staatsartillerie from Colenso the modifications have not yet been made; photos taken later in the war show the carbines have usually had both modifications, and end up looking like this one.