Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter (Ferdinand Jacobus Potgieter; 16 February 1857 – 11 April 1902) 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 ...

in the

Second 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 and ...

(1899–1902).

Family

Potgieter was born the fourth child and fourth son of farmer Petrus Philippus Potgieter (

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

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 ...

, South Africa, 14 December 1820 – British

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp ( ) is located in the North West Province (South Africa), North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Republic and u ...

, 20 December 1901) and Wilhelmina Jacoba Pieterse ( Cradock, Eastern Cape, 25 August 1826 – Farm Matjiesspruit,

Makwassie Makwassie is a small farming town situated in North West Province of South Africa that produces maize, sorghum, groundnuts and milk. The word ''makwassie'' is a corruption of the San word for an aromatic wild spearmint. In 1822 the town was est ...

, now

North West province North West ( ; ) is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre and province of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of ...

, 18 August 1880), among six sons and three daughters. Young Potgieter married Jacoba Johanna Magdalena Pieterse (

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

District, 15 May 1860

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 ...

, 16 November 1926) and had one son and seven daughters by her, born in Makwassie, Potchefstroom and

Wolmaransstad Wolmaransstad (Afrikaans for "Wolmarans City") is a maize-farming town situated on the N12 between Johannesburg and Kimberley in North West Province of South Africa. The town lies in an important alluvial diamond-mining area and it is the main t ...

. One daughter, Johanna Margaretha Elisabeth (1879 – 24 May 1902), died in British concentration camp Merebank near

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Second Boer War

In the Second Boer War Potgieter commanded the Wolmaransstad Commando for the South African Republic and fought in many actions such as

Battle of Magersfontein The Battle of MagersfonteinSpelt incorrectly in various English texts as "Majersfontein", "Maaghersfontein" and "Maagersfontein". ( ) was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein, near Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, South Africa, on t ...

(11 December 1899) and the

Siege of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, Transvaal besieged the diam ...

on 11 November 1899, ultimately being promoted to the rank of a fighting general (''veggeneraal''). With 20 of his men he and general Froneman serving 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 ...

timely escaped the British encirclement at the

Battle of 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 Ford (crossing), Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free St ...

(18 – 27 February 1900) and reached the troops of general

Christiaan de Wet Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (7 October 1854 – 3 February 1922) was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician. Life Born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State, he later resided at ...

. Later, after the capture of the Orange Free State capital of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

on 13 March 1900) he opposed the march of general

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

to Pretoria on 3 June 1900.Breytenbach V 1983, p. 544. After the capture of the capital of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

by Lord Roberts on 5 June 1900, Potgieter continued the war under general

Koos de la Rey Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (pronounced phonetically as "Ya-qui-bis Hehr-key-lahs de la Ray") (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), better known as Koos de la Rey, was a South African military officer who served as a Boer general during the ...

as a '

bittereinder The ''Bittereinders'' () or irreconcilables were a faction of Boer guerrilla fighters, resisting the forces of the British Empire in the later stages of the Second Boer War (1899–1902). By September 1900, the conventional forces of the So ...

' (

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 ...

for fighter to the bitter end, ''diehard''). While De la Rey was away attending peace ouvertures at

Vereeniging Vereeniging ( ; ) is a city located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was forme ...

, Potgieter and Boer general Jan Kemp performed an audacious but failed charge without cover against a British line to again escape encirclement, this time in the

Battle of Rooiwal The Battle of Rooiwal was an engagement of the Second Boer War. It took place on 11 April 1902 and resulted in a victory by a British force commanded by Colonel Robert Kekewich over a Boer commando led by Generals Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter ...

(11 April 1902) in the Lichtenburg district near

. Historian Thomas Pakenham wrote: This turned out to be the final battle of the war. The peace

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 ...

was signed in Pretoria on 31 May 1902.

References

Literature

* Breytenbach, J. H. ''Die Geskiedenis van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog in Suid-Afrika, 1899–1902 he History of the Second Freedom War in South Africa, 1899-1902', Die Staatsdrukker Pretoria, 1969–1996. Six volumes in

. ** ** Pages 116 and 378. ** ** Pages 327, 344–346, 357 and 544. ** Page 52: general Potgieter on the western front. * Pakenham, Thomas, ''The Boer War'', George Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1979. Abacus, 1992. ISBN 0 349 10466 2. Pages 558–559. {{DEFAULTSORT:Potgieter, Ferdinandus Jacobus 1857 births 1902 deaths Afrikaner people South African Republic generals South African Republic military personnel killed in the Second Boer War