Sarel Petrus du Toit (June 28, 1864 – November 22, 1930) was a Second Boer War Boer general for the South African Republic. In 1896 he was elected representative to the Eerste Volksraad in Pretoria for the district of

Wolmaransstad Wolmaransstad (Afrikaans for "Wolmarans City") is a maize-farming town situated on the N12 (South Africa), N12 between Johannesburg and Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley in North West Province (South Africa), North West Province of South Africa. ...

.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, Cape Province, 14 May 1839 –

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

, 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 (called Enkeldoorn until 1982) is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa. Name Chivhu's original name, Enkeldoorn, is a ...

(Chivhu), Southern Rhodesia, 27 March 1934), and had four daughters and four sons by her.

Second Boer War

At the outbreak of the Second Boer War du Toit joined the Boer troops at Polfontein on 9 Oktober 1899 and was soon appointed by general Piet Cronjé as an assistant general for the districts of

, Bloemhof and Lichtenburg.

Siege of Kimberley

With general de la Rey he went from

Vrijburg Vrijburg is an historic Schuilkerk, 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. Vrijbur ...

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, where he was ordered to take the command of the Siege. On 25 November 1899 a British raid from Kimberley to create an opening for the oncoming troops of

Lord Methuen Baron Methuen, of Corsham in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron (who ...

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 on 6 February 1902 which was the next day. Naas Ferreira and Du Toit agreed to the proposal of the French volunteer

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 i ...

to storm Kimberley, but this plan was not realised. When the cavalry of French 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 National ...

, Jan Celliers, Potgieter, Piet Liebenberg of Griqualand 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 African ...

( Afrikaans: 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 esta ...

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

Treaty of Vereeniging

Du Toit was a delegate for Wolmaransstad at the negotiations for the Treaty of Vereeniging, starting on 15 May 1902.

Honours

Sarel du Toit was awarded the ''

Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst The ''Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst'', post-nominal letters DTD, is a South African military decoration. It was instituted in 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer officers of the 1899–1902 Second Boer War.Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. a ...

'', the so-called "Anglo-Boere Oorlog Medalje" (Anglo-Boer War Medal) by the Union of South Africa 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 with a preface by Louis Botha. 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 incorpora ...

, 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 Afrikaans. ** 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