File:South Africa and the Transvaal War (1900) (14579597700).jpg

Identifier: southafricatransv1v2cres (find matches)
Title: South Africa and the Transvaal War
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Creswicke, Louis
Subjects: South African War, 1899-1902
Publisher: Edinburgh T.C. & E.C. Jack
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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nd. Mr. Carter declares that when Lieutenant Hamilton of the 92ndasked Sir George Colleys permission to charge with the bayonet,he replied, Wait a while. Such humanity was almost inhumanity,for waiting placed at stake many lives that might have been saved.The correspondent says :— Evidently Sir George Colley allowed his feelings of humanityto stand in the way of the request of the young officer. We wereforty yards at the farthest from the enemys main attacking party.In traversing these forty yards our men would have been terriblymauled, no doubt, by the first volley, but the ground sloped gentlyto the edge of the terrace along which the enemy were lying, andthe intervening space would be covered in twenty seconds—at allevents, so rapidly by the survivors of the first volley, that the Boers,mostly armed with the Westley-Richards cap rifle, would not havehad time to reload before our men were on them. I am not surethat the first rush of the infantry would not have demoralised the 90
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= 22 ■2* § j ° =1? ■a 3^.5CD P. gs° D = Z =J< S biff 8.= - O ; ;J rri - »»»ii M-J a) — t = ^1 -^ S C a i-l ^3 ~ = .£ o. -o • * c J m ? .2 ill Uj H 3 -s 5 °a K U anal 3« ;.2 5;f 3 -c O ^ 3glcP Majuba enemy, and that their volley would have been less destructive thansome imagined. If only a score of our men had thrust home, theenemy must have been routed. At a close-quarter conflict, whatuse would their empty rifles have been against the bayonets of ourmen, who would have had the additional advantage of the higherground? If the bayonet charge was impracticable at that moment,then, as an offensive weapon, the bayonet is a useless one, and thesooner it is discarded as unnecessary lumber to a soldiers equipmentthe better. It was our last chance now, though a desperate one,because these withering volleys were laying our men prostrate;slowly in comparison with the number of shots fired, but surely,despite our shelter. Some out of the hail of bullets found exposedvictims.

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