Christoffel Cornelis Froneman, commonly known as Stoffel Froneman (Leliehoek,

Winburg Winburg is a small mixed farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is the oldest proclaimed town (1837) in the Orange Free State, South Africa and along with Griekwastad, is one of the oldest settlements in South Africa loc ...

, 26 March 1846Cypress, District

Marquard Marquard is a small farming town in the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa that serves Winburg in the northwest. The town was set up in 1905 by an influential Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reform minister, J ...

, 12 March 1913), was

veldkornet Field cornet () is a term formerly used in South Africa for either a local government official or a military officer. The office had its origins in the position of ''veldwachtmeester'' in the Dutch Cape colony, and was regarded as being equivalent ...

, general and Vice-Commander-in-Chief of 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 ...

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 ...

forces 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 ...

of 1899–1902.

Family

He was the son of Christoffel Cornelius Froneman (Bruintjieshoogte,

Somerset East Somerset East () (renamed KwaNojoli in 2023) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 (South Afri ...

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

, 26 June 1807 – Leliehoek, Winburg, Free State, 14 September 1899) and Maria Elizabeth Opperman (Somerset East, Eastern Cape, 12 December 1817 – Klipspruit, 6 November 1875), and the husband of Anna Catharina Pietersen (Ruigtefontein, Winburg, Free State, 23 May 1852 – Cypress,

, Free State, 9 August 1883) and Heila Magdalena Koekemoer (Rondehoek,

Senekal Senekal is a town situated on the banks of the Sand River (Free State), Sand River in the eastern part of the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. It was named after Commandant FP Senekal, who led the encro ...

, Free State, 20 August 1859 – Fronemansrust, Marquard, Free State, 2 November 1937). Froneman had one son and five daughters from his first marriage, and three sons and two daughters from his second.

Military career

He took part in the

Free State–Basotho Wars The Free State–Basotho Wars refers to a series of wars fought between King Moshoeshoe I, the ruler of the Basotho Kingdom, and white settlers, in what is now known as the Free State. These can be divided into the Senekal's War of 1858, the S ...

(1858–1868) between the Orange Free State and the

Sotho people The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana peoples, Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho peo ...

under king

Moshoeshoe I Moshoeshoe I () ( – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor Tribal chief, chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena tribe, Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his fat ...

Anglo-Boer War

At the outbreak of the war in 1899 he was Commandant of the

Ladybrand Commando Ladybrand Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army from Ladybrand, Orange Free State. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve. History Origin Operatio ...

. He distinguished himself to such an extent that his promotions followed each other in quick succession. In early February 1900, together with Generaal de Wet, he took part in the Battle of Koedoesberg (near Ritchie, South Africa), west of the Boer positions at

Magersfontein The MagersfonteinMisspelt "Maaghersfontein" in some British texts ( ) battlefield is a site of the Battle of Magersfontein (11 December 1899), part of the Second Boer War in South Africa. The battlefield is located at south of Kimberley, Norther ...

. When General

Piet Cronjé Pieter Arnoldus "Piet" Cronjé (4 October 1836 – 4 February 1911) was a South African Boer general during the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902. Biography Born in the Cape Colony but raised in the South African Republic, Cronj ...

surrendered at

Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberl ...

on 27 February 1900, Froneman, with the help of General De Wet, managed to escape and was promoted to General. Near Sannapos (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

: Slag van Sannaspos, 31 March 1900) and in the Battle near Brandwaterkom (

Brandwater Basin The Brandwater Basin is the drainage basin of the Brandwater River (Afrikaans: Brandwaterrivier), a tributary of the Grootspruit River in the south-east of Orange Free State, South Africa, north of Lesotho. The basin is situated south of Bethle ...

) he really excelled. Near Pompje he raided a train and all over the region he caused havoc for the British and inflicted great damage. On 7 June 1900 he attacked Roodewal railway station with De Wet and Lucas Steenkamp's troops, 50 kilometers north of

Kroonstad Kroonstad ( in Afrikaans) is a town in Free State, South Africa, consisting of the following suburbs: Brentpark, Constantia, Constantia Park, Dawid Malanville, Elandia, Gelukwaarts, Goedgedacht, Heuningspruit, Industria, Jordania, Koek ...

, and captured large quantities of British munitions, provisions, blankets and clothing loaded onto a train for Pretoria.Bossenbroek 2018, p. 255. By 1901 he was the Vice-Commander-In-Chief for the entire Eastern

. Froneman fought until the end of the Anglo-Boer War and took part in the Peace Treaty negotiations in Vereeniging, where he voted for peace. On 11 June 1902 General Froneman and about 800 Boer commandos surrendered near Winburg to General Elliott. Nearly every one handed in a rifle with bandoliers, but, like other commandos which had come in, they spent nearly all their ammunition in game-shooting since peace was declared. The Boer generals and the commandants and

Field Cornet Field cornet () is a term formerly used in South Africa for either a local government official or a military officer. The office had its origins in the position of ''veldwachtmeester'' in the Dutch Cape colony, and was regarded as being equivalent ...

s were allowed to retain their private rifles.

Literature

* M. P. Bossenbroek, Yvette Rosenberg (Translator), ''The Boer War'',

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpor ...

, New York, NY, 2018. , 1609807472. Pages 233, 255, 273, 316, and 321. * Pages 133, 136, 192, 194, 210-211, 214, 216, 244-245, 258, 279-281, 321, 324, 331, 332 note, 346, 350, 365, 379, 385-386, 466, 471, 478, photo 32. * Page 72, 116, 192-193, 214-219, 229, 237-238, 240-243, 246, 250, 266-269, 278, 298, 304-307, 316-317. * Pages 222, 224, 227, 229-230, 233-234, 238. * Thomas Pakenham, ''The Boer War'', George Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1979. Abacus, 1992. ISBN 0 349 10466 2. Pages 393, 435, 488 and 567.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Froneman, Christoffel Cornelis Orange Free State military personnel of the Second Boer War 1913 deaths 1846 births