The Siege of Pretoria (28 December 1880 to 23 March 1881)
Command in Pretoria, the headquarters of the British forces in the Transvaal, was held by Colonel William Bellairs. One of the main sources of information on the War appeared in a book under the name of his wife, Lady Bellairs, ostensibly from information she gathered from the public domain as she was in the Transvaal at the time but it is more likely to be the Colonel's own work. Her husband's position also explains the primary interest in the events in the Transvaal. The explanation of what occurred in Pretoria from the British perspective is very thorough.
Martial Law having been declared when the Bronkhorstspruit news arrived, Bellairs forced the civilian population of Pretoria and the local area out of their homes and into either the military camp or the convent both on the outskirts of town. The military garrison numbered 720 regulars and around 480 Volunteers made up of the Pretoria Rifles, Pretoria Carbineers and Nourse's Horse. A total of 1,200 combatants and 3,700 civilians. A number of forts were established.
After Bronkhorstspruit, Piet Joubert had sent out men to besiege the British troops across his country. His strategy for Pretoria was to maintain the blockage of the town. No concerted attack was ever unleashed.
Assistant Commandant General D J Erasmus commanded the Boer forces who were few in number and some distance from the town. The first brief engagement took place on 28 December 1880, 10 miles to the south of Pretoria. Bellairs decided to send a larger force of 400 on the next day to the Red House laager and gave command to Colonel Gildea. Dotting troops along the road as he went, Gildea arrived with a small force but which included all his cavalry. Sighting retreating Boers, Gildea ordered their cattle to be captured and fell into the ambush. The action was abandoned, four casualties having been sustained.
On 5 January 1881 a foraging party spotted a laager 12 miles from the town on the Pienaars River. During darkness the next morning a force of 462 men set off. The Pretoria Carbineers led by Captain Sanctuary managed to locate themselves behind the laager in order to cut off any retreat. However, they disclosed their position and attracted the attention of the Boers. Sanctuary pushed forward his main assault but a group of around 40 Boers held him off while the others made good their escape. Gildea then withdrew having lost 4 dead and 15 wounded. The Boers sustained two killed, three wounded and 15 prisoners. Erasmus was held responsible for the losses and replaced by Hendrik Schoeman.
Colonel Gildea commanded the next sortie against a laager at Elandsfontein, 9 miles west of Pretoria, on 16 January 1881. Nourse's Horse were driving in the Boers' left flank and Gildea was preparing to launch the final assault when Schoeman arrived with 100 men and prevented the British victory. Instead, Gildea retraced his steps to Pretoria, harassed by the Boers all the way. After 6 hours of fighting, the British losses were two killed and 8 wounded. The Boers reported six wounded. Two VCs were awarded for this action, to Lance Corporal James Murray, Connaught Rangers, and Private John Danaher, Nourse’s Horse.
The sorties achieving little, the next month witnessed only light skirmishes. Parties were sent out to collect provisions and these were more successful. The size of the perimeter and the few Boers engaged in the 'siege' gave Bellairs the opportunity to strike with great frequency but he was reluctant to do so, perhaps discouraged by the losses sustained. Bellairs was unsure when relief would come so he was wise to safeguard his resources. Colley had asked him to distract the Boers in the Transvaal as he made his way north but only after Laing's Nek would Bellairs be coaxed into the field once more. On 12 February, a force of 614 infantry, supported by cavalry and artillery moved out against the Red House laager. The attack did not go well. The cavalry failed in their attempt to storm the cattle kraal, the Boers counter-attacked and when Gildea was wounded, the operation was called off. The engagement ended before the infantry fired a single shot. The British lost one killed and 17 wounded. The Boers sustained no losses.
There would be no more engagements. Food was plentiful for the soldiers and citizens and it was not until Bellairs received news of Colley's final defeat that he took steps to safeguard supplies by halving the rations. The news of peace that arrived on 23 March was greeted with shock. The Volunteers burnt an effigy of Gladstone to express their frustration and there was talk of families intent on leaving the Transvaal as soon as they could.
Martial law ceased and citizens returned to their homes, many finding them damaged and robbed. Across the siege, the British losses were 16 killed and 37 wounded. The Boer losses were estimated at 6 killed and 5 wounded.
