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This is episode 66 \u2013 it\u2019s late 1811 and Sir John Cradock has just dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Graham into the eastern Cape frontier to rid the Zuurveld of the amaXhosa.
\nCradock suffered from none of his predecessors inhibition against taking military action. This did not reflect a change of policy in London \u2013 in fact, far from it. As you\u2019ll hear next podcast he was subsequently reprimanded by the government and sharply reminded that his main aim was to keep all the troops available for the defence of Cape Town.
\nBut the colonists applauded him, along with Major Jacob Cuyler the Uitenhage landdrost. As you heard last episode, by December Graham had assembled 167 light dragoons, 221 infantry of the line, 431 men of the Cape Regiment and a detachment of Royal Artillery. His troops were joined by 450 mounter burgher volunteers on commando and about 500 of their agteryers.
\nAnders Stockenstrom, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had been posted north of the Zuurveld with the trekboers, just beyond the Zuurveld proper, in order to defend Bruintje\u2019s Hoogte and its farms. When he received Graham\u2019s message on the night of 27th, he questioned the wisdom of concentrating all the British firepower on the thickets.