The Dubbelman Connection
The Second Boer War (1899-1902), a letter from the front.
Cornelis Dubbelman born 30-11-1865
(descendant of Cornelis Jansz. Dubbelman, see also the pedigree)
Cornelis married in the Netherlands 03-06-1885 his wife Geertje Buis. At that time Cornelis was still in the Dutch army so they had to give permission for the marriage. After their only surviving child was born (Pieter), the family emigrated to South Africa (Transvaal) in January 1897. Cornelis was naturalized on 26-10-1897 and appointed as a printer on 22-11-1897 at the Government Printer in Pretoria.
When the tension between the English and the Boers rose, Cornelis volunteered as a member of the Hollander corps, a voluntary organization to assist the Boer forces at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer war. The war started in October 1899 and Cornelis participated. Below a photo of the Hollanderkorps. Cornelis is the fifth person on the right. 
Due to a lack of good communication and planning, the Boer force under General Kock, which included the Hollander corps, engaged the British force of about 3500 troops. When the major onslaught started at 15:00 hours, General Kock had less than 400 men to hold back the enemy. The Hollander corps was in an advanced position with Cornelis as member. As was to expected the Boer force under General Kock (who was also killed) were routed and practically nothing of them remained. Cornelis survived and wrote a letter to his wife the next day describing what has happened in his view.
On 06-11-1899 Cornelis was appointed foreman of the "Staatsdrukkerij te velde", a mobile printing works mounted on a railway wagon, equipped for the purpose of printing military dispatches, orders and other proclamations for the Boer commando. Cornelis is the 2nd person at the back from left.
In 1900 the Boer forces disintegrated after the fall of Pretoria. Cornelis returned to Pretoria where he worked at various printing works and later in Pietermaritzburg were he died in 1939.
For the letter that Cornelis wrote, see below this photo.
New Castle, 23 October 1899
Dear wife,
You have certainly heard of the battle we were engaged in. This morning I immediately telegraphed that I have survived the battle in good health and I am well. We, a
Just after we awoke on Saturday morning we received a command horse as the enemy is advancing. While we were still saddling our horses, grenades started exploding among us. We immediately rode to meet them, but our cannons were such a nuisance to them that they retreated. They however reached their goal and learned how few soldiers and cannons we had. We returned to our bivouac, knee haltered our horses and allowed them to graze. At about two pm. We again received an order to horse and take up position .Immediately heavy cannon fire broke loose from both sides. The English had brought their soldiers with five trains for the battle. We fought terribly. The top on which we lay, rumbled. It rained grenades, grapeshot, and Maxim and rifle bullets. Suddenly the English infantry stormed us from another side. We shot them down by heaps but continuously more and more came until they reached the top from where we were shooting. My ammunition was depleted, I had fired all my hundred and twenty rounds. I then had to cross the hill from one side to the other under a hail of bullets. I ran with two other men, but I was the only to reach the other side. I ran to my horse which fortunately was still alive, many of the other horse were dead. I mounted and charged down the hill over stones and holes under a shower of bullets into the field in the direction of the mountains. To my left I then saw the English cavalry charging towards us. I veered to the right and reached a river running deep below which I tried to ford but my horse refused. In the meantime it was becoming dark and I realized we had fought a full four hours. I dismounted, draped my blanket around me, tied the reign around my arm and lay down. It was impossible to sleep, it was very cold and it rained. In the distance I could occasionally still hear shots being fired.
After resting for an hour my hors started neighing and being afraid of being detected I saddled my horse and led him along the river until I discovered a bridge. I tied my hors under the bank and crawled on all fours, with my revolver in hand, towards the bridge. When I saw it was safe, I returned to my horse and galloped at full speed across the bridge and into the mountains until I came to a desolated farm. I saw a spider and some horse standing under the veranda. I thought that the people were inside. I examined the spider and found a large tin of corned beef and a flask which I needed as I had nothing except my rifle, revolver and a blanket to sleep under. My saddle bags and my raincoat had remained at the bivouac and that was in the hands of the English. I found a heap of fodder for my horse and unsaddled. When my horse had enough I rode away. I was hardly on my way when two horsemen appeared from between the boulders and advanced towards me. I drew my revolver and them not to move, but when they heard me speaking Dutch they shouted that they were Afrikaner people (Boers) who had also hidden from the enemy. We then continued together. I was drenched an cold, our horse’s hoofs breaking the ice. Later we encountered some more refugees. Sunday evening I arrived at New Castle after being on horseback for twenty four hours. At a fort we met other Hollanders who immediately prepared food for us and gave us coffee. I am now staying here for a few days to rest and to revive my horse and will then return to the commando. From time to time more people arrived who had fled.
Of De Graaf I now nothing yet, except that he had fled without his horse which had been shot dead. I think that he is a prisoner of war.
We have lost but with honour, we were 750 men of whom 50 were killed and the English nearly 5000 of whom 600 fell. We also lost two cannons an they one cannon and a great mass of horses.
I now know what war is. The one day we entered a town and opened the doors of locked and desolated houses and shops and took what we wanted and opened drawers and searched everything. We entered rooms where people had slept the previous night leaving everything behind.
The one day we had plenty to eat, clothes, tobacco, whisky, beer everything. We took what we liked, sleeping in saloons on sofas and the next day we slept in mud and rain in the “Hotel de blote hemel” (Hotel under the stars) and lived on biscuits and biltong. The one day we took trainloads of provisions, saddles, reigns and clothes from the enemy end the next day we had to flee leaving everything behind.
Yesterday the Boers have avenged us and had taken Dundee and defeated the English an now we are going together to Lady Smith.
I have just received your letter of 16 October and on Saturday just before the battle, your letter of 19 October. I have not yet received your parcel and that of the Government Printer. Most of it gets stolen. So do not send anymore parcels. If I had received it I would anyway have lost it. That is the least, I still live.
As soon as I have an opportunity I will write agein, My greetings to everybody and say “Goeie dag (Good day)”to my Piet and be further in thought embracing.
Your loving husband.
C. Husband.