" CHA RL E S WA RREN i’S Q , O N K O P u h, A V I N D I C A T I O N B Y ’ 4 ‘ DEFENDER 1 I A IO G RAP H IC AL S KET C H PO RT RAIT W T H B , AND M AP L O N D O N 15 WATERLOO PLACE SM ITH , ELDER, CO 1 902 P R E FA CE IT is now more th an two years since the opera on t ook lace on the u ela ver in a al ti p T g Ri N t , that en de d in the c apture and the unwarrant able ab andonment the s ame d ay of the p osition of n K Th e la se of me s nc e n Spio op . p ti i these eve t s o c curr ed n aturally c au sed a los s of int erest in thi s chapter of the hi story of the war in S outh Afri c a ; but the recent p ubli c ation of p ortions of ’ the es a c es om e in the a e e of 1900 d p t h itt d G z tt , and also of other do cument s rec eived at the time the War f c e but not dis clo se h as a a n by O fi d , g i rou th e su ec n o rom nenc e r ev ve b ght bj t i t p i , i d ublic n eres in and of ere an o or un p i t t it , f d pp t ity which we gla dly s eiz e t o vindic ate the c onduct of an offic er who has b een c ondemned without b eing ear h d . Wh ether S ir Charles Warr en will be allowed any opp ortunity of defending hims elf against vi PREFACE the strictures p assed up on him by S ir Redvers uller e er now or en th e war is over B , ith wh , is ou ul but a t len h av n e ore us d btf gt , h i g b f all the o cumen s rec e ve at th e War f c e d t i d O fi , it is ro os e t o s o in th e ollo n a es a p p d h w f wi g p g th t , in spit e of the difficult circ umst an c es in whi ch he oun msel S ir arles arren his f d hi f , Ch W did u and a h ad on Ko not een rec l es sl d ty , th t , Spi p b k y a an one a su or na e ere is ever reason b d d by b di t , th y t o supp ose th at h e would h ave gained a great suc cess . Th e p ublic ati on of the despat ches on Spion Kop in th e p arliament ary E ast er rec es s of 1900 oo th e orl s ur r s e— s o muc so n ee t k w d by p i h , i d d , that a story was current that it was d ue to the r n ot c om mi stake of a War Office cle k . It did men d its elf a s either a useful o r a desirable pro c eeding to p ubli sh to th e whole world the stri ctures p assed by th e General in c ommand in a al u on his sec on - in - c omman and ose of N t p d d , th the C omman der -in - Chief in S outh Afri c a upon o es ec all as o se o cers ere s ll s erv n b th , p i y th ffi w ti i g r un r thei c o t y in th e field . The p olitical mi stake ma de by the Govern ment was speedily demonstrated by the deb ates PREFACE that to ok place on the rea ssembling ofParli ament ; but it now appears that a greater want of j udg men was s o n an wa s en su ose and t h w th th pp d , a av n ec e o ever ron l to u l s th t h i g d id d , h w w g y, p b i h the desp at ches the Government would have done hi b etter to have p ublished them in full . And t s — for several reasons it would h ave ma de little dif erenc e to os e c ensure oul ave ena le f th d, w d h b d the p ublic t o underst and the Spion Kop op era ons c c oul not be un ers oo rom the ti , whi h d d t d f nc om le e ocumen s and oul ave re i p t d t , w d h p vented a distingui shed offic er lying for two years n r the s a o of un us a u u de h d w j t c c sations . Much c apital wa s ma de by the Opp osition in Parliament out of the suggestion ofthe S ecret ary of St at e for War that S ir Redvers B uller should re r e his es a c or ra er s oul r e a w it d p t h , th h d w it separate desp atch for public ation ; but any one who ha s tri e d to get t o the bottom of the busin ess from th e materi al available must have felt th at L ord L ans downe was perfectly right in suggesting th at what was wanted was a simple statement from S ir Redvers B uller of wh at he inten ded to d n n r n o a d h ow wa s o e o ot one . ns ea , it d d I t d o f this there were despatc hes giving formal c over PREFACE to o er es a c es rom S ir arles arren and th d p t h f Ch W , ’ en cr c s n a o c er s ac ons un a ur l th iti i i g th t ffi ti f vo ab y . N o st at ement was to be found anywh ere in dicating wh at S ir Redvers B uller h ad int ended t o d o and a s the ns ruc ons he ssu e ere not , i t ti i d w u l s e the o era on c S ir arl p b i h d , p ti whi h Ch es Warren wa s direct ed to execute c ould only be gathered from the referenc es h e ma de t o them in e re r s ere his rep orts . Thes p o t w evidently written t o his chi ef in the b eli ef that th e General c ommanding woul d write a ful l acc ount of a h e h ad ro ose to d o and h ow far his wh t p p d , or ers h a d een success ull c arr e o ut or d b f y i d , r othe wi se . T o mos men c onsc en ousl com elle t t , i ti y p d o c ensure in an official despatch those employed un er em th e su es on rom th e War ffic e d th , gg ti f O that such c ensure sh ould be c onfined to a c on fi d ential c ommun c a on and a s ome a c c oun i ti , th t t of the op eration and th e c au se of failure should be r en for u l c a on oul ave come a s a w itt p b i ti , w d h welcome relief ; and h ad S ir Re dvers B uller seen his way t o c omply with it and at the same time to send c opi es to S ir Ch arl es Warren of the c on fi d ential es a c es he oul ave lac e msel d p t h , w d h p d hi f PREFACE ix n nas a la le os on h e oul ave ven in a u s i b p iti , w d h gi S ir Ch arles Warren an opportunity of c onfi d en tiall us in himsel h e c oul d o so t o the y j tify g f , if d , S ecret ary of St ate for War and the C omman der in- e e o ul ave en a le his c oun r men Chi f, h w d h b d t y to know more ab out the op eration s th an was o er se oss le and th e orl oul ave th wi p ib , w d w d h n b een sp ared a very p ainful exhibiti o .