Sarel Petrus du Toit (June 28, 1864 – November 22, 1930) was a

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 ...

Boer general for 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 ...

. In 1896 he was elected representative to the Eerste Volksraad in

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 ...

for the district of

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 ...

.A.E., ''Onze Krijgs-officieren. Album van portretten met levens-schetsen der Transvaalse Generaals en Kommandanten'', 1904, p. 37. Chapter VII. The Generals of the war, p. 176 and 217.

Family

Sarel was the eldest of seven children of Sarel Petrus Johannes du Toit (

Beaufort West Beaufort West (Afrikaans: ''Beaufort-Wes''; Xhosa: ''eBhobhofolo'') is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the ...

, Cape Province, 14 May 1839 –

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 ...

, Southern DC, NW, 10 November 1929) and Lydia Magdalena Cordier (Kaap de Goede Hoop, 1843 – Potchefstroom, Transvaal, 9 November 1888). He married Louisa Hosea Jordaan (Orange Free State, around 22 December 1865 – Enkeldoorn (Chivhu), Southern Rhodesia, 27 March 1934), and had four daughters and four sons by her.

Second Boer War

At the outbreak of the

du Toit joined the Boer troops at Polfontein on 9 Oktober 1899 and was soon appointed by 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 ...

as an assistant general for the districts of

Bloemhof Bloemhof is an agricultural town of about 2,000 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Vaal River in North West Province of South Africa. History It was founded in August 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area. The town was establish ...

and Lichtenburg.

Siege of Kimberley

With general de la Rey he went from

Vrijburg Vrijburg is an historic clandestine church concealed behind a row of houses fronting on the Keizersgracht, Amsterdam. It is situated in the center of the block, with houses on all four sides and no frontage on any public street. Vrijburg was built ...

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, where he was ordered to take the command of the

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. On 25 November 1899 a British raid from Kimberley to create an opening for the oncoming troops of Lord Methuen failed. Boer military and besieged citizens had their last confrontation on 28 November 1899, whereafter Boers turned their attention to the advancing British army of Methuen. On 7 December 1900 no more than 1500 Free Staters were left around Kimberley, under the command of General du Toit. By 17 March 1900 du Toit had a large force north of Kimberley. He complained about the lack of a proper canon to attack Kimberley, and received a Long Tom.

Naas Ferreira Ignatius "(Oom) Naas" Stephanus Ferreira (21 March 184418 February 1900, ''Oom'' meaning Uncle in Afrikaans) was an Orange Free State Boer war general and Commander-in-Chief,Breytenbach V 1983, p. 1. who was fatally shot at the Battle of Paardeb ...

and Du Toit agreed to the proposal of the French volunteer general

George de Villebois-Mareuil George Henri Anne-Marie Victor, Count de Villebois-Mareuil or by his shortened name George de Villebois-Mareuil (22 March 1847, in Montaigu, Brittany, France – 6 April 1900, in Boshof, Orange Free State, South Africa) was a former colonel ...

to storm Kimberley, but this plan was not realised. When the cavalry of British major-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), ...

finally arrived at Kimberley, the Free State military fled and Du Toit had to retreat rescuing the cannon.

After the relief of Kimberley, 25 February 1900

Du Toit commanded generals

Andries Petrus Johannes Cronjé Andries Petrus Johannes Cronjé (A.P.J. Cronjé, 18 June 1849 – 23 February 1923) was a Second Boer War general, like his older brother Piet Cronjé (1836 – 1911). After surrendering to the British he became a prominent member of the Nationa ...

Jan Celliers Johannes Gerhardus Celliers (Jan Celliers, also Cilliers, 21 July 1861 – 9 January 1931) was a Boer general in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa.Breytenbach J.H., ''Die Geskiedenis van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog in Suid-Afrika'', v ...

, Potgieter, Piet Liebenberg of

Griqualand The Griquas are a subgroup of mixed-race heterogeneous formerly-Xiri-speaking nations in South Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Dutch Cape Colony. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commo ...

and Sarel Oosthuizen of Krugersdorp at the Battle of Veertien Strome (Veertienstromen, 3–5 May 1900 near Warrenton). After the fall of Pretoria he fought at the

Battle of Diamond Hill The Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek) () was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 in central Transvaal. Background The Boer forces retreated to the east by the time the capital of the South Africa ...

(

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 Donkerhoek) on 11 – 12 June 1900.

Guerilla phase

Du Toit fought many skirmishes with British troops, including battles at Hartebeestfontein, Lichtenburg,

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 ...

bergen, Brakspruit (1 March 1902) up to the last engagement, the Battle of Rooiwal on 11 April 1902 near

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 ...

in Western Transvaal.

Treaty of Vereeniging

Du Toit was a delegate for Wolmaransstad at the negotiations for 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 ...

, starting on 15 May 1902.

Honours

Sarel du Toit was awarded the '' Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst'', the so-called "Anglo-Boere Oorlog Medalje" (Anglo-Boer War Medal) by the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

Government, together with 590 other Boer military officers from the Second Boer War.

References

Literature

* A.E., ''Onze Krijgs-officieren. Album van portretten met levens-schetsen der Transvaalse Generaals en Kommandanten'' (Translated title: Our Military Officers. Album of portraits with life sketches of the Transvaal Generals and Commandants), Volksstem, Pretoria 1904. In

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

with a preface by

Louis Botha Louis Botha ( , ; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Africa, prime minister of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war v ...

. PDF on Wikimedia Commons. Page 39. * 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. General reference and page 191. * J. H. Breytenbach, ''Die Geskiedenis van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog in Suid-Afrika, 1899–1902'', Die Staatsdrukker Pretoria, 1969–1996. In

. ** Pages 381–382, 384–385, 388–389, 395–396, 398, and 404–405, foto no 19. ** Pages 81, 195, 197, 205, 210, 218–220, 222–227, 238, 247, 251, 264, 268, 275, 278, 287, 340, 371, 374, and 488. ** Pages 15–16, 29, 31, 36–37, 166, 327–348, 351–358, 381, 384–391, 394, 412, 488–497, 520, 524, 527, 544, and 553. ** Pages 52, 54,175, 199, and 242. * * General reference and p. 379. {{DEFAULTSORT:du Toit , Sarel Petrus 1864 births 1930 deaths Afrikaner people South African Republic generals Immigrants to the South African Republic Cape Colony military personnel