Blue Shirt and Khaki: A ComparisonArchibald, James F. J. (James Francis Jewell)
History
Blue Shirt and Khaki: A Comparison
Archibald, James F. J. (James Francis Jewell)
Great Britain. Army; Military art and science; South African War, 1899-1902; United States. Army
By looking very carefully we could discern a little something looking
like a stiff, colored table mat at the top of the high mast, but it was
not recognizable as the Union Jack. It was afterwards learned that this
little flag was made by Lady Roberts, and that as a matter of sentiment
Lord Roberts had caused it to be raised. But that bit of sentiment had
robbed the occasion of all the patriotic enthusiasm that would have
been awakened by the sight of a big, magnificent banner. The next day
a fifteen-foot Union Jack was hoisted, and the men who operated the
moving-picture apparatus waited until the second day before taking the
pictures of the raising of the British flag over the Transvaal which
were to be shown in the London theatres.
[Illustration: Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener with staff entering
Pretoria at the railway station, June 5, 1900. The two locomotives on
the right, with Boer engineers, were started immediately afterwards in
an attempt to escape to the Boer lines.]
I was reminded of General Shafter’s anxiety at Santiago on the morning
of July 17th, when he sent from one end of his army corps to another to
find a flag large enough to raise over the palace, and of how pleased
he was when one sufficiently large was finally found. He said that day
that the affair would not be a success unless the flag was large enough
to show that it was waving.
When the British troops entered Pretoria, their first thought was for
their unfortunate brother officers who were imprisoned there, and
their first questions were regarding them, as they feared they had
been removed by the Boers. While the preparations were being made for
the flag-raising, the imprisoned officers were released, and came down
town for the first time since their arrival. Many happy greetings were
exchanged, some of them showing an affection betokening relationship.
They were almost the only ones who did any cheering that day, as the
soldiers were too worn out and the townspeople were too sad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account