THE FIGHT AT LICHTENBERG.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 146, 21 June 1901, Page 5

THE FIGHT AT LICHTENBERG.

Trooper Cottingkam, son of Mr. W. Cottinghain, of the Postal Department, was in the Lichtenberg- affair, and lias written the following' interesting1 account to his parents: It is with a heart full of thankfulness that I am writing" this short, note to you, for no man could have come through last Sunday's experience and not feel thankful. We were attacked here by a force of 2000 Boers, and our outposts were driven from the trenches right back to.the last line of defence —a small enclosure surrounded by trenches. Here our g-arrison, 500 strong-, fought the enemy for sixteen hours. The bullets flew like hail, and you will imagine our danger when I tell you that for fourteen hours the Boers were under cover only from two to three hundred yards. Our commandant, Colonel Money, told us that it was one of the most severe fights during the history of the war. It was a dreadful business to witness. Man after man went down, shot with explosive bullets, and no aid could reach us from the hospital, for as soon as an ambulance waggon was seen it was simply riddled with bullets. After the first attempt to get a waggon to us—a distance of 300 yards—it was given up as a bad job. The attempt that was made ended fatally. One of our battery, Driver Beck, had his thigh shattered by an explosive bullet, and SergeantMajor Scott, of the Supply Store, volunteered to bring a waggon for him. He reached the hospital all right, and was returning seated in the waggon (which, being ambulance, was supposed to be allowed to go anywhere unharmed), when the Boers poured a volley into it, and the sergeant-major, poor fellow, was shot right through the stomach. He was alive when we lifted him out, but was only able to smile at us before his spirit passed away. When it became known in the trenches that Scott, who was so popular with everyone, was shot in the ambulance, [curses bitter and long went round, and the fire that our boys sent those Boers was a terrible revenge for poor old "S'cottie." To make a long story short, we gave the. enemy such a time through that day that soon after nightfall they withdrew. Our casualties were G5. wounded 48, killed 17. The Boers had over 70 killed and 140 wounded. We were attacked at 3 o'clock m the morning, and the Boers were in and had taken the whole place by 4.30 o'clock, with the exception of the very heart of the town, which was our last line of defence. It was not until 8 o'clock in the evening that we were able to get them out of the town. Next morning the edges of the town were a sickening spectacle. Dead men and wounded men, with horses and mules, were scattered all over the place. We have not been troubled since, and I can assure you that I am not anxious to undergo another ordeal of that kind again.