With high hopes Buller and his men sallied out upon their
adventure.
Dundonald's cavalry force pushed rapidly forwards, crossed the
Little Tugela, a tributary of the main river, at Springfield, and
established themselves upon the hills which command the drift.
Dundonald largely exceeded his instructions in going so far, and
while we applaud his courage and judgment in doing so, we must
remember and be charitable to those less fortunate officers whose
private enterprise has ended in disaster and reproof. There can be
no doubt that the enemy intended to hold all this tract, and that
it was only the quickness of our initial movements which
forestalled them. Early in the morning a small party of the South
African Horse, under Lieutenant Carlisle, swam the broad river
under fire and brought back the ferry boat, an enterprise which was
fortunately bloodless, but which was most coolly planned and
gallantly carried out. The way was now open to our advance, and
could it have been carried out as rapidly as it had begun the Boers
might conceivably have been scattered before they could
concentrate.
Pages:
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409