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
As soon as the review was dismissed, officers and men began to explore
the town and to fill their pockets with souvenirs. Stamps and coins
were especially sought after, while copies of the extra _Volkstein_,
issued the night before, with news of Johannesburg’s fall and of the
coming battle, were sold for five pounds.
Although there was not much chance to get liquor, the men found what
they wanted, but there was a surprising absence of drunkenness. To my
surprise and admiration, I saw only one drunken soldier in that entire
army after the occupation.
[Illustration: Gordon Highlanders entering Pretoria, June 5, 1900.]
[Illustration: Types of the crowd who watched the British entry.]
During the first few days of the occupation Lord Roberts started the
machinery of his wonderful government, and in a very short time
everything was running smoothly. All stores and storehouses were put
under guard and the contents commandeered for military use; although,
when the stock was the property of private individuals, a good price
was paid for it. If the burghers had had sufficient presence of mind
or the inclination to destroy all the stores in Pretoria, the army
under Lord Roberts would have been not only seriously embarrassed,
but in a very critical condition. As it was, a sufficient quantity of
Boer rations was left to keep the British going until the railroad was
opened. In one building enough forage had been left by the Boers to
keep the stock supplied until more could arrive. A single match would
have prevented this, but one of the Boer commandants said regarding it,
“Oh, it would be such a wanton destruction of property!” They preferred
to allow it all to fall into the hands of their enemies than to burn
it. If they had destroyed it the horses would have had practically
nothing to eat, and all operations would necessarily have been stopped.
A corps of correspondents came in with Roberts’s army, and they were
all very anxious to hear of the events that had occurred on the Boer
side. Mr. Dinwiddie, of _Harper’s Weekly_, was one of the first in
Pretoria; he had but recently come over from the Philippines, where
he had been with General Lawton, but he had seen all the British
advance since Bloemfontein. I had last seen him during the Cuban
campaign. Another veteran of the Santiago campaign was Mr. Atkins, of
the Manchester _Guardian_. The famous war correspondent, Mr. Bennett
Burleigh, was also among the first to arrive. He is one of the oldest
in the profession, and before he began writing he fought with the
Confederacy during our Civil War. Mr. Barnes and Mr. Jenkins were two
more of the American correspondents, although they were representing
English papers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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