Christiaan Hendrik Muller (Chris, "Ou Raaltjie", January 4, 1865 – January 14, 1945) was a

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

(1899-1902). He succeeded General

Ben Viljoen Benjamin Johannes "Ben" Viljoen (7 September 1869 – 14 January 1917) was an Afrikaner-American consul, soldier, farmer, Maderista, and Boer general. Early life Viljoen was born in a cave in the Wodehouse district of the Cape Colony to Su ...

as the sole leader of the Boer forces in the

Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

after Viljoen was captured by British troops on 25 January 1902 and sent to

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

as a prisoner of war.

Biography

Muller was born in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, South Africa, but grew up in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

and later in Transvaal of the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

where he fought in military campaigns against natives. In the

(1899-1902) he initially was a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in the

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...

command, but later on he was promoted to general in virtue of his excellent weapon skills. With General Ben Viljoen Muller led the Boers in the Battle of Helvetia on 29 December

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

, 10 km north of

Machadodorp Machadodorp, also known by its official name eNtokozweni, is a small town situated on the N4 national highway, near the edge of the escarpment in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The Elands River runs through the town. There is a natural ...

. They won a surprise victory over the British forces of Major Stapleton Lynch Cotton (1860-1928), attacking them at night from east and west. The Boers numbered about 580 men, while the British forces were only about 350 men strong, however boasting a 120mm (4.7 inch) naval cannon. Taking 235 prisoners of war, Muller later became particularly famous for the capture of this cannon, jokingly called the 'Lady Roberts'. On 12 June 1901 Muller and his troops overpowered about 350 men of the Australian 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles at Wilmansrust, Transvaal seizing ammunition,

pom-pom A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by Cheerleading, cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, a ...

guns, clothing and food, much needed by the Boers at that point. He joined in the peace negotiations leading to the

Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...

in 1902 concluding the Anglo-Boer War. After the war, Muller was the director of the South African Landbank founded in 1912. In 1914 he was involved in the Maritz Rebellion but also was a member of the

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital city, capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameralism, bicameral Parliamen ...

for a number of years. Muller died in 1945 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Bibliography

* Grobler, J. E. H. ''The War Reporter: the Anglo-Boer war through the eyes of the burghers'', Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2004. ISBN 978-1-86842-186-2. Pages 99, 102, 114, 118, 120–121, 131, 134, 137, 145, 147, and 149. * Page 551 (assistant field cornet). * Muller, Christiaan H.: ''Oorlogsherinneringe van generaal Chris. H. Muller'', Nasionale Pers, Kaapstad 1936. In Afrikaans. * Rosenthal, Eric (Ed.): ''Ensiklopedie van Suidelike Afrika'', Frederick Warne, London, 1967. In Afrikaans. *

External links

* . In March 1902 General Muller encouraged the mining of

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

gold by the Boer Johannesburg Commando to mint gold coins, called ''veldpond'', field pound.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Chris 1865 births 1945 deaths Cape Colony military personnel South African Republic generals Pro-German South African military personnel of World War I