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it with the road heading through a pass. By early afternoon, British forces arrived at a flat plain in front of
Pretorius' location in the hills and with Smith leading a reconnaissance party to a ridge where they were surprised by the Boers. He divided his forces for an attack with his left flank consisting of the Cape Mounted Rifles, the 45th Regiment in the centre and the Rifle Brigade on the right flank while 91st Regiment became his reserve. The 45th Regiment came under heavy fire but achieved their objectives when the reserve was called in to assist them. The Rifle Brigade on the right flank would also take their objectives. The Boers attempted to round the British left flank and attack the wagon train in the rear but were stopped by the Cape Mounted Rifles and the Boer hill positions were taken. The battle was said to have lasted about four hours with the Boers moving from ridge to ridge before Pretorius' forces retreated toward
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where more units joined as did Sir Harry Smith. By 25 August 1848, the
British force had arrived at the Orange River crossing point. Reports came to Smith that the Boer Commando were within 16 km of the river crossing and were being watched by Boer patrols and when the British crossed the river
527:
Due to limited financial and military resources available to
British in the Orange River Sovereignty they struggled to maintain control of the boundaries in this territory and saw the possibility of the Boers being used to maintain the security of the remaining British colonies if latter controlled
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On the morning of 29 August 1848, the
British column stopped at a farm at Touwfontein for their morning meal and at this time Sir Harry Smith was told that Pretorius' force was 19 km away on low hills behind which was a river, across which was a farm called Boomplaats and a higher range behind
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on 3 February 1848 as
British, calling it the Orange River Sovereignty. The Boers in Winburg upset by the British action appealed to Pretorius for help regain their independence and by June 1848 he raised a commando of around 1000 men. Pretorius responded by advancing on Winburg and ran the British
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Boer casualties are recorded in memorials as 9 killed and 7 wounded while a
British government notice of the time records the rebel casualties as 49 killed and possibly 150 wounded. British memorials record 16 killed and while other records mention as many as 45 wounded and 6 Griquas killed though
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that he would not proclaim the land between the two rivers as
British until the views of the Boers had been consulted and if less than 80 percent of them were in favour of the British action, Smith said he would not proceed with the proclamation. This Boer consultation period was never able to be
512:. The British forces followed for a few kilometers before darkness fell and continued the following day but the Boers were gone. A field hospital was set up later at the Boomplaats farmhouse for the casualties sustained in the fighting.
352:, who had reached agreements with the Basotho and the Griqua leaders which would help maintain British control of the region between the Vaal and Orange Rivers. Smith declared to the Griqua leader
360:, he declared while the white farmers would remain on the land in the area, the hereditary land rights of the native chiefs in the area would be maintained after a proclamation of the proposed
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Pretorius now retreated to safety to the lands across the Vaal River with a bounty of £1000 announced for his capture while Henry Warden returned to
Bloemfontein as the British Resident.
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and six former
Voortrekkers that resulted in the British recognising the territory between the Vaal and Orange Rivers as an independent territory and would eventually become the Boer
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that all rent of their land to colonists would be given to the
British Crown as opposed to the Griqua leaders getting half of it, while at the meeting with Basotho King
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Smith, Sir Harry. ‘’The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith Baronet of Aliwal on the Sutlej.’’ Publisher: John Murray, Albemarle Street 1903
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409:. He appealed for help from the Basotho King Moshoeshoe I, but he remained neutral, so Warden retreated from Bloemfontein to the Orange River.
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by 26 August unopposed, headed in the direction of Bloemfontein while Pretorius' commando repositioned to oppose them around Boomplaats.
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out of town and declared a republic. He then proceeded to chase away other British magistrates before he then headed to
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was signed by William S. Hogge and C.M. Owen on behalf of the British and Andries Pretorius on behalf of the
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assumed the role of Governor of the Cape in 1847 and begun to unravel the work of the previous governor Sir
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by 28 July and then left on 4 August after other units joined him and proceeded to
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A History of South Africa: From the Distant Past to the Present Day
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Smith issued orders for a British force to be formed by Colonel
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that resulted in the creation of a Boer republic north of the
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annexed the land between the Vaal and Orange Rivers and
676:"Memorials of The Battle of Boomplaats. 29 August 1848"
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The Boers had an interest in land that stretched from
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Illustrated History of South Africa – The Real Story
384:concerning their interests in the territory, Sir
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380:completed by Pretorius. Without consulting the
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324:on 29 August 1848 between the British and the
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712:"Arthur Murray and the Battle of Boomplaats"
485:Boers - Commandant-General Andries Pretorius
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600:. Hatsfield, Pretoria: Protea Book House.
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521:and a high number of unrecorded wounded.
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745:Battles involving the United Kingdom
710:Langham-Carter, R. R. (June 1969).
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636:. South Africa: Reader's Digest.
503:Plan of the Battle of Boomplaats.
405:was installed with 70 men of the
401:where the British Resident Major
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674:Bradlow, Frank R (June 1997).
596:Pretorius, Fransjohan (2014).
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528:them. By 17 January 1852, the
375:and beyond. Smith had assured
332:, while the Boers were led by
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547:On the 23 February 1854, the
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445:two companies Rifle Brigade
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557:Orange Free State Republic
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456:91st Highlanders Regiment
434:British - Sir Harry Smith
312:29.8481861°S 25.6490389°E
285:(also referred to as the
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716:Military History Journal
680:Military History Journal
362:Orange River Sovereignty
549:Bloemfontein Convention
317:-29.8481861; 25.6490389
632:Oakes, Dougie (1992).
542:South African Republic
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490:300-500 Boer commandos
212:Piet Retief Delegation
121:Commanders and leaders
530:Sand River Convention
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151:Casualties and losses
283:Battle of Boomplaats
38:Battle of Boomplaats
19:Battle of Boomplaats
441:Cape Mounted Rifles
418:King William's Town
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287:Battle of Boomplaas
750:August 1848 events
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350:Peregrine Maitland
289:) was fought near
607:978-1-86919-908-1
540:and the eventual
478:Andries Waterboer
460:three field guns
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334:Andries Pretorius
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469:Medical unit
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399:Bloemfontein
382:Voortrekkers
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80:Belligerents
61:Orange River
24:Part of the
393:magistrate
390:Drakensberg
386:Harry Smith
346:Harry Smith
315: /
250:Blood River
734:Categories
563:References
538:Vaal River
407:Cape Corps
358:Moshoeshoe
340:Background
270:Boomplaats
255:Opatikloof
197:Great Trek
26:Great Trek
516:Aftermath
422:Colesberg
207:Massacres
59:near the
472:200-250
354:Adam Kok
265:Congella
260:Maqongqo
138:Strength
55:Location
510:Winburg
474:Griquas
373:Winburg
245:Italeni
224:Battles
146:300-500
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495:Battle
240:Kapain
235:Mosega
230:Vegkop
217:Weenen
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68:Result
143:1,200
115:Boers
722:(4).
686:(5).
638:ISBN
602:ISBN
344:Sir
281:The
47:Date
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188:e
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159:7
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
