Andries Petrus Cronjé (January 1, 1833 – September 20, 1916) 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 and a member 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 ...

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...

and the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

parliament. He should not be confused with Boer general

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 ...

(1849 – 1923), who surrendered and cooperated with the British in the National Scouts.

Family

Andries Petrus Cronjé was born the eldest child among in total five sons and four daughters of Johannes Daniel Cronjé (

Swellendam Swellendam () is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape D ...

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, South Africa, 21 October 1806 –

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 ...

, Northern Free State, Free State, 4 April 1901, after a march forced by the British) and Dina Judith Geertruida Woudrina Rall (12 September 1812 –

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 ...

Kroonstad, Orange Free State, 2 April 1901, after a march forced by the British). Andries Petrus married his first cousin Cornelia Christina Cronjé (also her maiden name, Swellendam, Overberg, Western Cape, South Africa, 8 July 1838 – Strijdfontein, Winburg, Orange Free State, 27 March 1928) and had twelve children by her, at least six daughters and five sons.Visagie 2011.

Career

Born in

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 ...

Cronjé moved with his

Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

family into the region beyond the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

of the later Orange Free State. As a young boy he participated in the lost

Battle of Boomplaats The Battle of Boomplaats (also referred to as the Battle of Boomplaas) was fought near Jagersfontein at on 29 August 1848 between the British and the Voortrekkers. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith, while the Boers were led by Andries Pre ...

against the British on August 29, 1848. Cronjé was an assistant

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 ...

(from 1858) and later a field cornet in the Basuto wars. He was appointed a ''heemraad'' (high civil servant in the Free State, af). During 1879 – 1883 and 1887 – 1899 Cronjé represented the Zand River district in the Free State Volksraad. In the

First Anglo-Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer vic ...

(1880 – 1881) he supplied ammunition to the commandos. In 1895 he was promoted to military ''kommandant'' (commander).

Second Boer War

After the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in October 1899, Cronjé was appointed a combat general (Afrikaans: ''veggeneraal''). He commanded Free State army commandos at the front of

Natal Colony The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

and fought in the Battles of Rietfontein (24 October 1899), Modderspruit (Lombard's Kop) and Nicholson's Nek (30 October 1899). He took part in the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Boer invasion of Natal Outbreak of war The Second Boer War began on 11 October 1899 wh ...

in November 1899 and fought in the

Battle of Colenso The Second Battle of Colenso, also known as the Battle of Colenso, was the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic a ...

(15 December 1899), Spioenkop (24 January 1900) and of Vaalkrans (Vaal Krantz, 5 - 7 February 1900). On February 16, 1900, he left Natal for

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 ...

where he attempted in cooperation with

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 ...

to relieve the beleaguered troops of 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 ...

in 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). At Driefontein (10 March 1900) and Sannaspos (31 March 1900) Cronjé fought together with De Wet, and took part in the last War Council of both Boer republics combined in

on 20 March 1900, where

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 ...

's new offensive military tactic of hit-and-run was decided.Breytenbach V (1983) p. 164. After the Orange Free State government had to evacuate its 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, President M. T. Steyn promoted Cronjé to cabinet member of the government in the field. In September 1900 Cronjé supported the President in the meetings of the Free State and Transvaal governments at Waterval Onder, Nelspruit (now

Mbombela Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east o ...

) and

Hectorspruit Hectorspruit, officially Emjejane, is a small farming town situated between Kaapmuiden and Komatipoort on a southern tributary of the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce sugarcane, subtropical fruit and v ...

, west of

Komatipoort Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger National Park, just 3 km from the Mozambique borde ...

. He was appointed a member of the Executive Council on January 25, 1901. However on July 11, 1901, the British captured the Orange Free State cabinet, except president Steyn, at

Reitz, Free State Reitz is a small maize, wheat and cattle farming town located in the east of the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. Town and township The original town, Reitz, lies upon the northwestern hillside. On the op ...

. The prisoners of war were exiled to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, for the remainder of the war.

After the Boer War

After 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 ...

of May 31, 1902, Cronjé went to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he had his portrait taken and returned to South Africa. Starting in 1907 he was a member of the new Legislative Council of the self-governing British Orange River Colony, until his retirement in 1910.

References

Literature

* ** Pages 170, 172, 177, 290, 296, 298, 300-301, 307, 331, 348, 353, 355note, 357, 359, 367, and 466-468. ** Page 251. ** Pages 2-5, 58, 62-63, 71, 77-79, 83-88, 92, 97, 108-111, 114, 210, 227, 230, 261, 267-268, 271-273, 277, 307-317, 323, 396, and photo 18. ** Pages 379 and 392. ** Pages 72, 116, 164, 193, 223, 262, and 428-433. ** Page 52. * * Prior edition: Pretoria : Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronje, Andries Petrus 1833 births 1916 deaths Afrikaner people Orange Free State generals