Siege of Ladysmith: A bird's Eye View - Natal - 1899

Siege of Ladysmith: Though the Bacon prints for both Talana #1, and Elandslaagte #2, listed these as British victories in Natal, the "victorious" army abandoned both sites almost immediately to the Boers, and retreated back to the safety of regional headquarters at Ladysmith.

The Boers quickly surrounded the town, and began to bombard the inhabitants daily, with their Long Toms - modern French Creusot artillery guns. And so began a siege that would isolate 10,000 soldiers of General White VC inside for a long four months. The Siege of Ladysmith would give Bacon prints #6, 8 and 9.

The first print #6 uses the bird's Eye view perspective, which had become popular with the appearance of balloons for military reconnaissance in the last part of the nineteenth century

balloon units were with the all the main British columns in the early part of the war. They were used to send a man a loft to spy out the land into which the army was marching, or to note the Boer positions to direct the artillery fire. The Ladysmith balloon was run up to see if General Buller's relief column was anywhere in sight. The message was always the same dreary, "No one coming. Just the Boers and Long Tom."

Balloons were often hit with rifle fire or artillery shells. The fabric would rip, bringing the balloon slowly drifting down. Since the bullets and shells were not incendiary (hot), they could not ignite the hydrogen used to inflate them

Left, Bacon plants a big Union Jack defiantly on a hill in town, echoing the famous remark by General White, when he was finally rescued, "Thank God we have kept the flag flying!"

In fact the only other thing the General accomplished was the final destruction of the cavalry, which Boer tactics and sharpshooting had already begun.

Since it was useless to send them out to fight, General White thought the cavalry could be put to best use in the kitchen! As horse d'ouevres... Over the fuming protests of the officers, he ordered the cavalry horses slaughtered to feed the townsfolk.

In true patriotic style, Bacon prefers to concentrate on the last day of the siege, when the Tommies come out, and have the Boers on the run (left) and under a canopy of shot and shell up the body count of the Boers.

Relief of Ladysmith: On Mar 1, 1900, General Buller's command broke through the Boer lines around Ladysmith, and reached the town, ending a siege of almost four months. Bacon had print #9.

Bacon had devoted three prints to Buller's campaign to end the Siege of Ladysmith, testifying to the extreme difficulty that Buller had in trying to break through a determined wall of Boer defenders.

In fact his first attempt to do so, at Colenso on Dec. 15, had resulted in a humiliating defeat and terrible casualties. It had cost Buller his job as commander-in-chief of South Africa. It took him more months and more terrible losses just to find a place to cross the Tugela River.

Then came the hard slog through the hills on the other side where the Boers were entrenched. Only vastly superior numbers, and a willingness to loose men in long sweeps up one hill after another, finally paid off.

On Mar 1, 1900, General Buller (right in blue) met General White in the jubilant canvas featured by Bacon. Everyone is smiling and joyful.

The Limp Handshake: But the handshake could not have been warm. True enough, both men were courageous and brave soldiers; in their youth each had won the Victoria Cross.

But to Buller, the toll in lost lives, that this campaign to rescue White had cost, was entirely needless. And had blown a cloud of failure over the last few years of Buller's own illustrious career. In fact he had warned White not to get isolated and locked up in Ladysmith when war clouds threatened. White had failed to act on the warning and suffered the worst humiliation a general can suffer in a war - commanding an army you can't fight with, and having to wait to be rescued...

One wouldn't know it from the Bacon print. To the media, White became a hero for keeping his butt safe, a most strange accomplishment for an army general in a war. But the memorabilia trade issued as many colour prints, busts, plates, and plaques of General White for "sitting put," as for the other "fighting" generals who had to go to "save his aa.....army."

Bacon's prints celebrate the heroics and triumphs of war, not the disasters. And black Africans had more than their share of that. While General White looked after the Whites - just like Baden-Powell was doing in besieged Mafeking - Blacks were forced to look after themselves. No white man ever starved when food became scarce in the besieged towns, but Blacks did. No white man inside a besieged British town was ever shot for stealing food to feed his family, but Blacks were. In these Black families they still got no food; and now their chief provider was gone too... Somehow the "glory" of this war, and the celebration of these Bacon prints was lost on Black Africans.

It was not a war that Bacon any longer wanted to publicize with heroic prints.

Battle of Pretoria: On June 5, 1900 Lord Roberts, at the head of a huge army, entered Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic. Everyone believed this would end the war, including Bacon which produced Print #12 of the occasion. It would be their last print of the Boer War, and perhaps the most magnificent.

On Feb. 11, Lord Roberts had begun his fabled March to Pretoria. He captured Bloemfontein, and rested his troops. On ddddd he marched for Pretoria, the capital of Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic. There were battles along the way; they expected a big one over the capital; but the Government of Paul Kruger had abandoned the city without a fight.

On June 5, Lord Roberts marched, unopposed into the square in front of the Boer Parliament building. Thousands - including hundreds of Canadians - crowded into the square to watch the hoisting of the British flag over the dome. (Left a photo showing the most spectacular ceremony of the entire war. The building still stands, top, but the dirt of the square has been paved over.)

Lord Roberts - and Bacon - were careful at all times to give the colonial Aussies, Kiwis, and Canadians an important role in any battles or ceremonies that took place, or in news releases that were issued. This print is no exception.

The Canadian guns are proudly drawn up at the top right of the litho, and below left.

The key at the bottom of the page identifies number 10 as the Canadian Artillery.

The occasion was one of the most thrilling of the entire war, as cheers from thousands of throats rolled across the square, and Tommies of every English accent imaginable, from the four corners of the Empire, roared out "God Save the Queen," as the Transvaal flag was pulled down for the last time, and the Union Jack proudly run up.

The biggest cheer was for Lord Roberts who is number 1, and Kitchener - who would take over as commander-in-chief once Bobs went home - was number 2.

Bacon had picked out Lord Kitchener's conceit for picking a white horse in a war where absolutely no one wanted to have one because the Boer sharpshooters would have an easy target.