Just to add a bit more detail on the death of Lance Corp Dowie:
Boer Objectives
On 7–8 January 1901, Boer commanders launched coordinated attacks across seven locations (Wonderfontein, Nooitgedacht, Wildfontein, Pan, Dalmanutha, Machadodorp, and Belfast).
Their main aim: cut Lord Roberts’s railway communications and isolate Belfast.
General Louis Botha commanded ~2,000 men, with General Ben Viljoen’s force (750 Johannesburg & Bocksburg Commandos) tasked to seize Monument Hill, considered decisive terrain due to its strategic position and the presence of a British heavy gun (fortunately redeployed before the attack).
Attack on Monument Hill
Boer forces infiltrated under fog, overrunning trenches and surprising the Royal Irish Regiment.
The Maxim gun team fought desperately; Private Barry disabled the gun with a pickaxe to prevent capture, sacrificing his life in the process. His bravery was later recognised with a posthumous Victoria Cross.
Collapse of the Defence
Boer detachments encircled the hill, demanding surrender.
Despite being trapped, small groups of Royal Irish soldiers resisted until killed or wounded.
The defenders’ trenches, with restricted fields of fire, left them vulnerable to close assault.
Lance-Corporal George Dowie
Lance-Corporal George Dowie, a veteran who had served in the Egyptian war of 1882, met his death. He was in command of a small trench, which he succeeded in holding during the first assault; he refused to surrender, though he must have realised that resistance was hopeless, however with tenacity he continued to fight on desperately until a number of burghers, rushing in from behind, overwhelmed the party and left Dowie dead in the position he had defended with honour.
Ref:
kmhp.ie/2014/06/the-victoria-cross-on-monument-hill/