Christiaan de Wet | |
|---|---|
 De Wet in 1900 | |
| State President of the Orange Free State -Acting | |
| In office 29 May 1902 – 31 May 1902 | |
| Preceded by | Martinus Theunis Steyn |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christiaan Rudolf de Wet 7 October 1854 (1854-10-07)[1] |
| Died | 3 February 1922 (1922-02-04) (aged 67)[2] |
| Nationality | Afrikaner |
| Spouse | Cornelia Margaretha Krüger |
| Children | 16 |
| Relatives | Carel de Wet (Grandson) Piet de Wet (Brother) |
| Profession | Farmer, Boer general, politician |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | The Fighting General |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  South African Republic (1880–1881, 1914) Orange Free State (1899–1902) |
| Years of service | 1880–1881, 1899–1902, 1914 |
| Rank | First Boer War
|
| Commands | Natal andTransvaalBoer Commando |
| Battles/wars | First Boer War |
Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (7 October 1854 – 3 February 1922) was aBoer general, rebel leader and politician.[3]
Born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district ofSmithfield in theBoer Republic of theOrange Free State,[4] he later resided atDewetsdorp, named after his father, Jacobus Ignatius de Wet. He married a woman named Cornelia Margaretha Krüger, and together they had 16 children.[5] He also had a grandson that was born two years after his death namedCarel de Wet.
De Wet served in theFirst Boer War of 1880–81 as afield cornet,[4][6] taking part in theBattle of Majuba Hill, in which the Boers achieved a victory over aBritish force under the command of Major-General SirGeorge Pomeroy Colley. This eventually led to the end of the war and the reinstatement of the independence of theZuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, more commonly known as theTransvaal Republic.
In the years between theFirst andSecond Boer Wars, from 1881 to 1896, he lived on his farm, becoming a member of theVolksraad in 1897.[4]
In September 1899, de Wet and his three sons were called up as ordinary private burghers without any rank. He was a member of theHeilbron kommando and they were ordered to proceed to theNatal frontier.[7] On 11 October 1899, while he was reconnoitring the Natal frontier, De Wet was elected vice-commandant of Heilbron.[8] He participated inthe fight at Nicholson's Nek on 30 October, when a detachment of 954 British troops surrendered.[9] Thereafter, he took part in theSiege of Ladysmith.[10]
On 9 December 1899, De Wet received a telegram from the State President,M.T. Steyn, informing him that he had been appointed a fighting general and was to proceed to the Western frontier.[11] He found GeneralPiet Cronjé in command of the Boer forces ensconced atMagersfontein, south ofKimberley, while the British were at theModder River. De Wet was to be Cronjé's second-in-command.[12] The British advance commenced on 11 February 1900, with General French outflanking Cronjé at Magersfontein and riding towards Kimberley.[13] De Wet's raid on the ox wagon convoy at Watervals Drift (Waterval Drift/Watervalsdrift), capturing 1600 oxen, did not stem the tide.[14] TheSiege of Kimberley was relieved on 15 February, and Cronjé surrendered with 4000 men atPaardeberg on 27 February.[15] Shortly thereafter, de Wet was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Free State forces.[16] They could not contain the British advance towards the Free State capital,Bloemfontein, which was taken unopposed on 13 March 1900.[17]
His next successful action was the surprise attack onSanna's Post nearBloemfontein on 31 March 1900. That was followed on 4 April by the victory ofReddersburg.[18] De Wet came to be regarded as the most formidable leader of the Boers in theirguerrilla warfare. Sometimes almost captured by the British, sometimes escaping only by the narrowest of margins from the columns which attempted to surround him, and falling upon and capturing isolated British posts, De Wet continued his successful career to the end of the war, striking quickly where he could, and evading every attempt to bring him to bay.[4] His brother,Piet Daniel De Wet, another successful Boer general, was captured by the British in July 1901 and subsequently served against Christiaan as a member of the National Scouts, who were Boers serving with the British forces.[19] During the war, De Wet issued "general instructions to have all armed natives and native spies shot."[20]
During the last phase of the war,Afrikaner people inWinburg taunted the local British garrison with a parody of SirWalter Scott'sBonnie Dundee:
De Wet he is mounted, he rides up the street
The English skedaddle an A1 retreat!
And the commander swore: They've got through the net
That's been spread with such care for Christiaan De Wet.
There are hills beyond Winburg and Boers on each hill
Sufficient to thwart ten generals' skill
There are stout-hearted burghers 10,000 men set
On following the Mausers of Christian De Wet.
Then away to the hills, to theveld, to the rocks
Ere we own a usurper we'll crouch with the fox
And tremble false Jingoes amidst all your glee
Ye have not seen the last of my Mausers and me![21]
De Wet took an active part in the peace negotiations of 1902. On 30 May 1902, he briefly took on the role of actingState President of the Orange Free State, whenPresident Steyn had to leave the negotiations due to illness. De Wet was one of the signatories of theTreaty of Vereeniging.[22]
At the conclusion of the war he visited Europe with other Boer generals. While in England the generals unsuccessfully sought a modification of the peace terms concluded inPretoria. De Wet wrote an account of his campaigns, an English version of which appeared in November 1902 under the titleDe Stryd tusschen Boer en Brit (Three Years War). In November 1907, he was elected a member of the first parliament of theOrange River Colony and was appointed Minister of Agriculture. In 1908–09 he was a delegate to the Closer Union Convention.[4]
De Wet was one of the leaders of theMaritz Rebellion which broke out in 1914. One of his sons was killed in the uprising. De Wet himself was defeated at Mushroom Valley byGeneral Botha on 12 November 1914, taken prisoner by CMDT Jorrie Jordaan (the commanding officer was Colonel Brits) on 1 December on a farm called Waterbury in the Northwest province near Tosca. The general remarked: "Thank God it is not an Englishman who captured me after all." He was sentenced to a term of six years imprisonment, with a fine of £2000 (R790,000 in 2018). He was released after one year's imprisonment, after giving a written promise to take no further part in politics. The rebellion also earned the nicknameThe Five Shillings Rebellion after De Wet remarked: "I was charged before [the Magistrate of Reitz] for beating a native boy. I only did it with a small shepherd's whip, and for that I was fined 5 [shillings]."[note 1]
De Wet progressively weakened and at length, on 3 February 1922, he died on his farm.General Smuts, who had become Prime Minister, cabled his widow: "A prince and a great man has fallen today." De Wet was given a state funeral in Bloemfontein and buried next toPresident Steyn andEmily Hobhouse at the foot of thememorial to the Boers who died inSecond Boer War concentration camps. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, a bronze equestrian statue, byCoert Steynberg, was unveiled at the Raadzaal in Bloemfontein.
De Wet distinguished himself in the Second Boer War and earned a reputation for bravery in the many battles that he fought in that conflict.[25] In the early 1920s, Irish republican leaderMichael Collins was called "the Irish de Wet" by theBritish press.[26]
"You've seen theDublin Fusiliers,
The dirty old bamboozeleers,
De Wet'll kill themchiselers, one, two, three.
Marching from the Linen Hall
There's one for every cannonball,
AndVicky's going to send them all, o'er the sea.
But first go up toMonto, Monto, Monto
March them up to Monto, lan-ge-roo,
To you!"[30]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Works related toPeace of Vereeniging at Wikisource
Media related toChristiaan De Wet at Wikimedia CommonsChristiaan Rudolph de Wet was born at Leeukop in the Smithfield district on 7 October 1854 and died at Klipfontein, Dewetsdorp on 3 February 1922.at theWar Museum of the Boer Republics.
| Chairman of the Provisional Government |  | |
|---|---|---|
| State presidents |
Those in italics were Acting State Presidents | |
