But making every allowance for the pressure of many duties and for the confusion and turmoil of a great action, it does seem one of the most inexplicable incidents in British military history that the guns should ever have been permitted to fall into the hands of the enemy.

It is evident that if our gunners could not live under the fire of the enemy it would be equally impossible for the enemy to remove the guns under a fire from a couple of battalions of our infantry.

There were many regiments which had hardly been engaged, and which could have been advanced for such a purpose.

The men of the Mounted Infantry actually volunteered for this work, and none could have been more capable of carrying it out.

There was plenty of time also, for the guns were abandoned about eleven and the Boers did not venture to seize them until four.