Second Anglo Boer War (1989-1902): Von Steinaecker’s Horse (SH) Unit
Wolfgang Witschas
Abstract
“Steinaecker’s Horse unit” (SH) was a volunteer British military unit created by the British Military Intelligence, that fought for the British during the Second Anglo-Boer War or South African War (1899-1902), operating primarily in the Lowveld of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR), Swaziland, Mozambique border and the unit was led by a German, Colonel Ludwig von Steinaecker. The unit established outposts, some of which are now within the Kruger National Park, and played a significant role in local history and the early conservation of wildlife in the region. The unit’s main function was border guarding to prevent the Boers from crossing into British territory. It also had an order to destroy the railway bridge over the Komati River. The unit was officially disbanded in 1903 after the war. Colonel von Steinaecker, a flamboyant and complex character, continued to be a figure in the Lowveld before his death in 1917.
Key Words
Second Anglo Boer War (1989-1902)
Ludwig von Steinaecker aka:
Steinaecker’s Horse
Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR)
Delagoa Bay railway (Eastern line)
Portuguese Mozambique
Lourenço Marques
Komatiepoort
General Sir Redvers Buller
British Military Intelligence (DMI)
Major Ludwig von Steinaecker
Major Ludwig von Steinaecker, also known as Francis Christiaan Ludwig von Steinaecker, was a flamboyant and eccentric Prussian-German soldier who played a significant role in the Second Anglo-Boer War.
Born on 28 September 1854 in Berlin, he was the son of Colonel Baron von Steinaecker and his wife, Baroness von Thumen of Liegnitz. From 1871 to 1879, von Steinaecker served in the Prussian Army and thereafter accompanied Prince Alexander of Battenburg to Bulgaria. He worked in German South West Africa (present Namibia) from 1886 to1888, as a cartographer and then he went to South Africa.
Von Steinaecker was an interesting man. He was a flamboyant, eccentric character who spoke broken English with a strong Bavarian accent. Unconfirmed information states that he claimed that he was sent by the German government to Southern Africa to learn more about Southern Africa. He was described as “small”, only measuring 1.5 m (5 foot), dressed in a flamboyant uniform he had designed himself. The uniform consisted of an officer’s hat bejewelled in silver piping and a broad green band around it. He wore a double breasted khaki-coloured mantel that hung to its knees, equipped with shoulder pads, a slender waistline and finally rounded off with silver tassels. Beside for the unique uniform, he had an even more unique uniform, he had an even more unique long moustache that was a somewhat 10 cm long protruding to that, from either side of his slender bony cheek structure. In addition he had a goatee growing on his chin. Steinaecker had a Napoleonic complex, (short-man-syndrome) and made up for his stature by being a ‘perfectly disagreeable fellow’, ideally suited to the times and place he was in and he had a sort of “Quixotic” sense when fighting, “always wanting to blow up stuff”.
Von Steinaecker was a man whose past is difficult to determine, not least because of the host of apocryphal stories which developed around him.
Earlier, in June 1885, a German businessman, Emil Nagel had been granted land and mineral concessions in Mpondoland (Transkei) by Mqikela, ruler of the Mpondo people. To develop the concessions and establish a presence (German) in that country, still an independent entity on the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony, the German government financed an expedition. Von Steinaecker led this supposed trading venture, but his party arrived to find that Mqikela had been replaced by Sigcawu who had repudiated the 1885 concessions.
Efforts to establish a German presence failed, appeals to Germany for assistance went unheeded, and the party left for Durban. Germans had earlier settled in Natal and it was in Port Shepstone that von Steinaecker settled in 1891.
Known by then as “Franz” von Steinaecker, (Franz derived from Francis) he consistently gave his occupation as ‘gentleman’. As chairman of the Port Shepstone Political Association, he corresponded with the government on a variety of issues affecting the development of the town. He lived at 52 Aitken Street and had other property in the town. On 5 June 1897, von Steinaecker swore the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown and, on 29 June, his letters of naturalization as a British subject were approved by the Executive Council of Natal. Von Steinaecker went into partnership with C F Kneisel as a contractor, but the business failed and his bankruptcy was confirmed on 13 September 1899.
Colonial Scouts
On 11 October 1899 war broke out and in November, he enlisted in the Colonial Scouts, a unit raised by the Natal Government; he became squadron quartermaster-sergeant, but transferred to the intelligence department in the following month.
In March 1900, as some squadrons of the Colonial Scouts were disbanded.
Historic Background to the Formation of the
Unit
The founding of a unit, the future to be named “Steinaecker’s Horse” has its origin in the “secret chambers” of the British Military Intelligence (MI) after the start of the Second Anglo Boer War (1899-1902).
Both former Boer Republics, the Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) and the Orange Free State (OFS) are landlocked in central and northern eastern South Africa. Thus this railway making them independent of British-controlled harbours in Natal and the Cape Colonies. Construction of the Delagoa Bay railway began on 02 June 1887 and was completed by 20 October 1894.
The British were fully aware of this railway would make the Boer Republics independent from Britain that during a future war this railway would be the life line for the acquisition of weapons and munitions during a possible future war.
Since the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War, the British had attempted to control the flow of supplies through the port of Lourenço Marques to the ZAR at Komatipoort with varying degrees of success, but faced a constant haemorrhage through the long, unguarded frontier with the ZAR and Swaziland along the Lubombo Mountain Range.
When the Second Anglo-Boer War began a stratagem was derived upon by the British High Command to urgently attended to the matter and put strategies in place to interrupt trains between Delagoa Bay and the ZAR by blowing up two strategic bridges at Komatiepoort an Malelane. The bridge at Komatipoort was considered, this idea was quickly abandoned, due to high security there. The bridge at Malelane became the next obvious choice, since that was the closest other bridge to the border and more easily reachable.
Komati River Bridge
#AngloBoerWar #BoerWarHistory
Unaware of each other, three entities of British Military intelligence in Southern Africa (British MI in Cape Town, MI at the British Consulate General in Delagoa Bay and surprisingly General Redvers Buller) independently drew up plans in this regard:
1. Military Intelligence at the Cape asked the High Commissioner, Lord Milner, for assistance and on 16 December 1899, he sent Samuel Evans to Lourenço Marques on a confidential mission and compiled a report and recommendations:
2. “A Swaziland Corps” was to be a force of 300-500 British subjects from Swaziland and Zululand, established on the lines of the South African Light Horse (SALH). It was to set up camp on the Lubombo in Swaziland at a spot accessible from Zululand and from Kosi Bay without having to go through Portuguese territory. The friendly relations with the Swazi would be an advantage in establishing a network of spies. The objectives of the force would he to operate against the Delagoa Bay railway line, harass the Boers in Swaziland, and prevent cattle looted in Natal from being driven into Mozambique. It was estimated that some 1 000 burghers would he drawn from the Natal and Cape fronts to defend the railway and Swaziland. The plan was to use the 600 men of “Strathcona’s Horse” and a small detachment of Royal Engineers under Captain Livingstone. Two squadrons would be landed at Durban and proceed north through Zululand and Swaziland to support a third squadron which would be landed at Kosi Bay and make its way north to blow up the bridge at Komatipoort. Although the operation was to be carried out in the area under the control of the Natal Army, neither Buller nor anyone on his staff appear to have been involved, perhaps because of Buller’s lack of interest in such a scheme, he had just been defeated at Spioenkop. Furthermore the squadron of Strathcona’s Horse* was due to be landed. There they found, lying offshore, the gunboat, Widgeon, which eventually passed the message that the sea was too rough for the troops to land and that Evan’s contact person should make for Eshowe. The squadron had, in fact, arrived on 02 June 1900, but had received a signal that its movements and destination were known to the Boers and so it withdrew. Thus ended the Evans’s expedition
3. At the British Consul General in Lourenço Marques that the Intelligence officer Captain HE Crowe Royal Navy had replaced A C Ross, consul at Lourenco Marques. Dealing with the security of Delagoa Bay, on 02 March 1900 and the post upgraded to consul-general. British military intelligence in Cape Town had been keen to establish an intelligence network based in Lourenço Marques and had posted Major H P Young, formerly of the Indian Service Corps, to the Consulate-General as staff captain and intelligence officer. His intelligence operations, however, had been of limited value and they had failed to block goods going into the ZAR except those of an obvious military nature. Crowe had been serving with military intelligence and was appointed with the express purpose of containing the smuggling of goods into the ZAR from Mozambique. At this time, it also became necessary for the British government to ensure that neighbouring Swaziland remained quiet and peaceful and to deny the Boers opportunities for smuggling through Delagoa Bay or for making contact with the ZAR consul there. A plan was drafted by Crowe of British MI in Delagoa Bay to destroy the bridge at Komatipoort. In the meantime General Buller had become aware through his own intelligence people that MI at the British Consul General in Delagoa Bay, that the latter was in the process of planning the establishment of a unit to attend to the destruction of the Komatiepoort bridge. Buller informed Crowe in Delagoa Bay of his own expedition of six men through Swaziland; of this, nothing had been heard. Crowe finally noted that he had frequent reports of the situation along the railway and was cognizant of the difficulties of such an action. This response was shown to Lord Lansdowne, Secretary of State for War, and to Maj-Gen John Ardagh, Director of Military Intelligence.
*” The Strathcona’s Horse was formed in 1900 by the Scottish-Canadian Donald A. Smith, Lord Strathcona, at his own expense to fight in the Second Boer War. The regiment, which arrived in South Africa in April 1900, served as scouts and escorts, fought in several engagements the most noteable the
Battle of Wolve Spruit. The unit was disbanded in March 1901 but was later reformed as the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians)”
General Sir Redvers Buller
#AngloBoerWar #BoerWarHistory
Birth of the “Steinaecker’s Horse”
General Buller wished to see Steinaecker, and that there was to comply with the “Consul-General’s” demands at once as far as
possible. General Buller had also suggested that General Dartnell must be consulted about Volunteers for special employment and, if sufficient Colonial men are not available, then select any good men from the 5th Lancers and 13th Hussars, giving them volunteer pay while so “employed”. Steinaecker telegraphed Buller’ intelligence staff from Durban on 17 August 1900 to grant authorisation to act. He also “requested authorization by wire to draw stores such as shoes, horses, mules, & and get men where he can & to arrange for provisions along line of march. Steinaecker further requested permission to name his force “Steinaecker’s Horse” as he has certain objections to the name of Colonial Scouts. He intends taking from here 110 mounted men including Maxim detachment, exclusive gun crew & to and to bring his squad he has in his camp to 110 men by recruiting there. Stores, ammunition, carbines, gun, Maxim, &c for both squadrons to be drawn here and partly shipped by Wagon for conveying them to his camp. Last he requested that he be given the rank of Major.
This mission was to be undertaken by the British Guerrilla Secret Service corps of Steinaecker’s Horse under the intelligence arm of the Natal Commander Gen R H Buller. Known by the code name of ’S & Co’. (Steinaecker & Company).
This was Lieutenant Baron Christiaan Ludwig aka Franz von Steinaecker who had joined a unit of the Colonial Scouts and his detachment of horseman – as discovered in his secret service records.
Steinaecker’s Horse (Steinaecker) and his men (who only wore plain clothes) were under strict orders from British High Command, not to let on to anyone that the unit was funded by the secret service. Instead they were ordered to make out their outfit was a privately funded volunteer militia (cover story). The unit was founded in June 1900 and was known as the Steinaecker’s Horse.
“Steinaecker Horse” Emblem
https://www.angloboerwar.com/forum/21-uniforms-badges-and- equipment/26606-steinaecker-s-horse-badge
The unit operated mainly in the Lowveld of the Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), Zululand, Swaziland and along the border with Portuguese Mozambique. This unit, comprised of about 600 men, mostly local inhabitants of the Lowveld region, with some members having British origins. The unit also employed hundreds of local black soldiers, including Swazi, Pedi, and Shangane, for various tasks.
Slouch hat title of Steinaeker’s Horse.
They deployed mainly in the Northern Natal area
https://www.angloboerwar.com/forum/21-uniforms-badges-and- equipment/26606-steinaecker-s-horse-badge
Von Steinaecker’s initial raids into enemy territory targeted Boer supply lines and communications – the large rail bridge at Komati Poort (now Komatipoort) being a prime objective. The raids were made from Natal with small groups of men. The men under Steinaecker’s command were literally a motley crew – they pleased themselves as to how they wore their ‘uniforms’. This casual approach to dress and discipline was noted even after the Republics had been re-annexed and Steinaecker’s Horse had been formally raised and was based at Komatipoort. Steinaecker was well-known and well-regarded by senior British officers, including General Buller, Field Marshal Lord Roberts and, later, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener.
Dangerous Conditions were confronting Boer commandos, members of the unit also had to contend with the rugged and dangerous wilderness, with reports of horses and men being attacked and killed by lions and crocodiles. Notable Members: One of the unit’s most famous members was Harry Wolhuter,
After establishing the unit in August 1900, Von Steinaecker had, at that time, made his main camp in the Lebombo Range, at a place known as Nomahasha – to some
Lomahasha – on the south-eastern Swaziland border. Note, Swaziland was an imperial, friendly and neutral country at the time and no hostile forces should have been there.
The base camp (Nomahasha) was only about 60 miles [96 km] south of Komatipoort along the Lebombo Mountains and about 30 miles [48 km] west of Lourenco Marques. Kosi Bay was further: about 70 or 80 miles [110-130 km] along the borders from the camp.
The MI office at the British Consulate General had ordered the large quantity of supplies which would have required considerable logistic support: ‘One hundred thousand rounds ammunition, carbine, ten thousand Maxim with belts, one thousand revolver ammunition. Fifty carbines with buckets for horses and bandoliers, fifty revolvers [there were a number of additional items, including clothing and sundry equipment for the horse]. Tripod Maxim Mountain gun in parts and six mule loads of ammunition. After consulting with Steinaecker, it was arranged that he leaves the next day for Pietermaritzburg. He
was to take the one hundred men fully equipped and thirty horses (spare) as soon as ready from Eshowe in a fortnight to scene of operations. Provision placed on line of march at certain point will enable him to travel with rapidity. Main supply of provisions will be supplied from the British Consulate in Lourenco Marques.
In March 1901 the unit raided Bremersdorp an incident showing that Von Steinaecker himself engaged in controversial actions. During the capture of Bremersdorp they captured eight Boers and some wagons and supplies. A detachment of the corps stayed there until the town was besieged by the Boer commando of General Tobias Smuts and Hans Grobler on 24 July 1901. Von Steinaecker, being warned of the coming attack, fled the town on the previous night, leaving his men to defend the village as best they could. He however failed to nominate a detachment commander. Captain HO Webstock, who was in charge of the town detachment, claimed the honour, but was overruled by Captain AD Greenhill Gardyne, who was the only officer with regular military experience. Under conflicting instructions Steinaecker’s Horse retreated during the night of 22/23 July, and the Boers then infiltrated and surrounded the town. The Boers burned the small town, released Prince Mancibane and presented him with one of the wagons abandoned by Steinaecker’s Horse. During the attack four members of Steinaecker’s Horse were killed, four wounded and seventeen taken prisoner. Captain Greenhill-Gardyne, second-in-command of the unit, managed to escape with the rest of the men According to some historians, Steinaecker’s Horse was reputedly engaged in some controversial activities, such as looting. A safe full of jewels was for instance looted from Bremersdorp. Information in this regard, found in the National Archives in Pretoria, sheds light on some of these activities. A certain Gustav Schwab, who owned a store in Swaziland, wrote a letter to the Commissioner for Swaziland, in which he put in a claim for money which members of Steinaecker’s Horse stole when they were in Bremersdorp and Oshoek. Steinaecker’s Horse also raided various settlements, including Hhohho and Oshoek. They burgled the store of George Hutchinson and burned important historical documents regarding the history of Swaziland in the process.
Notable Achievements
Steinaecker’s Horse was involved in several successful campaigns, earning them the nickname “The 40 Thieves” due to their reputation for raiding homes and keeping valuables. Steinaecker himself was known for his bravery and cunning, often taking risks and pushing boundaries.
With this small party von Steinaecker left Eshowe on 03 April 1900, and rode or walked through Zululand and Swaziland, a distance of 500 miles. Their horses having died of horse-sickness, the party were on foot when the Transvaal border was reached. On their journey they had picked up a British settler, Holgate, afterwards a captain in this corps. He knew the country thoroughly, and as a guide in the last stages was invaluable. The party intended to attempt the blowing up of the great bridge at Komati Poort, but found it too strongly guarded. Steinaecker and three men now struck through the bush, swam the Komati river “when the crocodiles were off their feed”, travelled all the night of 16 and on the 17 June 1900, after dark, placed nearly 100Ib of dynamite between the masonry and girders of a bridge at Malelane, forty miles up the line, and destroyed it. The fact that the Boers afterwards restored the bridge does not detract from the credit due to Steinaecker and his gallant men for their splendid piece of daring, which, strangely enough, was never recognised in despatches.
Having returned to Natal, Lieutenant Steinaecker now recruited for his ‘Horse’; and after having them equipped, he and his corps embarked on a warship and were landed through the surf at Kosi Bay, in the north corner of Zululand, not, however, without the loss of a boatload of arms and saddlery, the boat upsetting on the dangerous bar. Steinaecker’s force now made their way to the ZAR border, south of the Delagoa Railway. On 20 July 1900 he and a party of his men were successful in capturing Commandant Van Dam and another leader.
When the armies of Lord Roberts and General Buller reached the eastern confines of the Transvaal, Steinaecker’s Horse, now recruited up to 450 men, moved farther out into the very wild and unhealthy country which lies west of the Portuguese border. From Komati as a centre they gradually extended their raids to the north and south for great distances, thereby denying to the enemy the use of the eastern lowlands for rest and recuperation. They also guarded closely the long eastern border against Boer despatch riders and ammunition runners. In time the corps completely occupied and pacified the whole lowveldt to the Olifant’s river, holding over a dozen permanent posts scattered over a large province.
The corps had now become one of the most complete and self-contained units in the country. They had their own intelligence, transport, workshops, etc. and were able for over a year to work the Selati railway with their own men.
In their eminently unhealthy district, Steinaecker’s men had much most arduous and very dangerous guerrilla campaigning; but being a corps specially recruited for such tasks, and having an admirable leader, they escaped serious casualties for a long time.
In Lord Roberts’ telegram of 14 November 1900 he said: “On the 8th inst, a party of Steinaecker’s Horse, raised for service in the Komati Poort district, captured 16 Boers trying to cross from Portuguese territory at Nomahash, a place by which the Boers have been trying to get ammunition brought into the ZAR. A day or two later 5 more were taken. At this time there were several encounters with despatch riders, which almost uniformly ended in favour of the patrols of the corps.
In July 1901 the corps met their first piece of bad luck. On the 22 July 1901 a party of about 100, many of whom were without horses, returned from a successful foray, bringing in some prisoners, stock, and a party of surrendered Burghers to Bremersdorp in Swaziland, a post which had been held by the corps for six months. They were followed by a force of Boers under Generals Oppermann, Smuts, and Grobelaar which many times outnumbered them. The detachment evacuated the town, hoping to get clear away; but on the 23rd they were caught up by the Boers, and after a running fight, in which they lost 4 killed and a greater number wounded and captured, were forced to abandon their baggage. Captain Greenhill-Gardyne was said to have conducted the retirement most ably. A party of the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) made a very fine march from Komati Poort to assist, but did not arrive in time.
Shortly after this Major Steinaecker surprised a laager and took 18 prisoners, and from this time onwards the corps had on many occasions severe fighting in localities where help was very far distant. On 07 August 1901 a post of 25 men on the Sabie river was attacked by a strong force of Boers. The post had been newly established, and the fortifications were not complete. The enemy, who numbered about 300, attacked vigorously and lost heavily. Commandant or General Moll was wounded in the attack, and was afterwards captured by a patrol of the corps. The defenders had Captain H Farmer Francis killed, several wounded, and the remainder captured. Captain Francis had served with the Imperial Light Horse throughout the siege of Ladysmith, and thereafter in the relief of Mafeking. His brother, also in the ILH, was killed outside Mafeking.
At the end of August 1901 Captain Greenhill Gardyne, in command of a small party, captured 11 Boers, some waggons, and much stock, 150 miles north of Komatipoort.
In February 1902 Captain Holgate, the scout of the bridge destruction party, with 16 men, surprised and captured 18 of the enemy on the Swaziland border.
Early in 1902 an extra squadron of Steinaecker’s Horse was raised for service in the Pietersburg low veldt, in which district they did a lot of fighting under Colonel Collenbrander. On 16 April 1902 this squadron were heavily engaged, and lost 5 men killed and Lieutenant Robertson and 11 men wounded.
Lieutenant and Paymaster J Hartley, who had been attached to Lord Methuen’s column in the Western Transvaal, was killed in the disaster to that General’s column on 07 March 1902.
Steinaecker had a force of 40 men stationed at Komatipoort, who were euphemistically called “Steinaecker’s forty thieves” by the locals. This fact and others came to the attention of Forbes, the senior British Officer at Barberton, the commander of the entire Lowveld region, became extremely incensed. He put in a complaint to the War Commissioner, describing this outfits conduct as unbefitting a British military unit.
In the ‘Temple Bar’ news paper for July and August 1901 there are two admirably written articles, headed “A Byeway of the Boer War”, by Captain Greenhill-Gardyne who was long attached to Steinaecker’s, which give an excellent picture of the hard but most exciting—and to any lover of adventures most interesting — life led by Steinaecker’s Horse. Their district was one in which few white men could live, as is proved by the fact that every regular regiment which had the misfortune to be stationed near Komati Poort lost more than 50 per cent of its strength through fever. The regulars were generally accommodated in tents or huts, but Steinaecker’s men had often to lie out for weeks at a time in districts so wild that lions were a most real danger,—as in the Sabie river valley,—and more than one poor fellow was seized and carried off almost from the camp fire, while one was taken by crocodiles. Many of the corps did not see the railway for months on end, while some of the wounded had actually to be carried over 150 miles before reaching any sort of hospital.
Comment:
“This unit had many Australians members,a notable Australian in the unit was the Medical officer, Alan James Campbell, born in Adelaide South Australia and studied to become a doctor surgeon at the University of Adelaide. In November 1900, he joined Steinaecker’s Horse as a Surgeon Captain during a period that was regarded as one of the worst malaria seasons during the war..
He eventually became a malaria victim himself and on 19th March 1902 at age 30 years, died of the disease”
The End
After the conclusion of the war Steinaecker’s Horse, in somewhat reduced strength, remained in occupation of the eastern border until February 1903, when the South African Constabulary took over a number of the officers and men, and the others were disbanded.
Legacy and conservation:
One of its most important legacies is its role in wildlife preservation. After the war, members continued to influence conservation efforts, and their records were used to help establish the Kruger National Park.
Some former members even became some of the park’s first game rangers. For instance, the unit’s second-in-command, Captain Greenhill Gardyne authored a report on wildlife preservation that influenced the park’s establishment in the future.
• Disbandment: After the Anglo-Boer War ended in 1902, most colonial units were disbanded. Due to its remote location, Steinaecker’s Horse continued operating until 1903.
• Kruger Park link:: Although Maj. Greenhill-Gardyne, adjutant of the corps at Sabi Bridge was the official “wildlife preservationist,” had little to no control. Concerned with the game depletion, he did play a key role in conservation and was much help to the warden with the records he had kept. These records are for ‘natures sake’ he purposefully conveyed to Stevenson-Hamilton (warden) after the war. Several former members of the unit went on to play a key role in the formation and early management of Kruger National Park For instance, the unit’s second-in-command Captain Greenhill Gardyne authored a report on wildlife preservation that influenced the park’s establishment
A Sad Military Man in His Private World
After the war, Steinaecker applied for a transfer to the British military proper, but was refused and most likely because of the rumours of his conduct in Komatipoort. Tom Casement, the Mining Commissioner at Barberton, had reported Steinaecker and other troops to head-office for poaching. The capers of Steinaecker’s horse were also well known to James Stevenson-Hamilton, who remarked on the damage done to wildlife in the Sabi Reserve by this outfit during the war. Although Maj. Greenhill-Gardyne, adjutant of the corps at Sabi Bridge was the official “wildlife preservationist,” had little to no control. Concerned with the game depletion, he did play a key role in conservation and was much help to the warden with the records he had kept. These records are for ‘natures sake’ he purposefully conveyed to Stevenson-Hamilton (warden) after the war
Post war Von Steinaecker
Colonel von Steinaecker, a flamboyant and complex character, continued to be a figure in the Lowveld of the then Transvaal Colony before his death by suicide in 1917.
Following a failed farming venture at his farm, ‘London,’ at Bushbuckridge, Franz von Steinaecker ended his own life. The incident happened after a very heated and drunken argument with a good friend and fighting compatriot, John Edmond Delacoer-Travers. Travers owned the farm ‘Champagne’ in the same region, on the road to Acornhoek, where Steinaecker had been invited to stay. Although a guest, Steinaecker saw fit to regularly badger his host on matters concerning the military. Insulting the British out of revenge and wholly rooting for Germany to win the war. Travers had learned to turn a deaf ear, yet on this occasion, his guest became violent, insisting that the Germans would win (WWI). Travers had had enough and called the police. On their arrival, to avoid arrest, Steinaecker took a strychnine tablet, dying on the spot, on 30 April 1917, at the age of sixty-three. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the Bushbuckridge cemetery.
Archaeological Research:
Steinaecker’s Horse research project (1997 – 2020)
Extensive archaeological research by the Archaetnos: Archaeologists & Heritage Consultants, a company of Professor Anton C van Vollenhoven (Extraordinary professor in History at the North -West University [NWU], has been conducted at former outpost sites of Steinaecker’s Horse from 1997 to 2020, helping to shed light on the unit’s activities and interactions with local communities.
In November 2025 Professor Anton C van Vollenhoven published his book: “Steinaecker’s Horse:
‘n Histories-Argelologiese rekonstruksie”
(A Historical Argeological Reconstruction)
Photo: Wolfgang Witschas
Epilogue
Steinaecker and his unit are a classic example of how intelligence services during times of war go to the extreme to achieve victory. Furthermore the mission to destroy the Komatipoort railway bridge also is an example were intelligence operations are influenced by political power play on the highest level within its own ranks. The story of the “Steinaecker’s Horse” is a very unknown chapter of the historical events of the Second Anglo Boer War in South Africa. Most publications on the subject of the Second Anglo Boer War do not refer to the Steinaecker’s Horse.
References
https://southafricaa.co.za/steinaeckers-horse.html
https://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/south-africa-units/473-steineckers-horse
https://www.lionroarsafaries.co.za/volonel-ludwig-steinaecker.html
https://samilitaryhistory.org/vol103jo.html
https://sahistory.org.za/dated -events/anglo-boer-war-2-remnants-notorius-steinaeckers
https://www.angloboerwar.com/forum/21-uniforms-badges-and- equipment/26606-steinaecker-s-horse-badge
https://southafrica.co.za/steinaeckers-horse.html
*
Wolfgang Witchas
Wolfgang Witschas is a former member of the South African Police (SAP 1976 – 1981)(Uniform & Detective Branch), a member of the National Intelligence Service (NIS 1981 -1994), National Intelligence Agency (NIA 1995 – 2008), and the State Security Agency (SSA Domestic Branch 2008 – 2016).