Ben Bouwer

Barend Daniël Bouwer (Ben Bouwer, possibly born during the

Ben Bouwer was born the second child and first son among seven children of Barend Daniel Bouwer (June 5, 1842 - January 10, 1907) and Hester Catharina Regina Engelbrecht (Potchefstroom, February 10, 1854 - Pretoria, July 9, 1941).^[1] Possibly his parents were in the first party of the Dorsland Trek starting out in May 1874 from the Transvaal. He grew up the northern part of what is now Namibia, where his father was an elephant hunter. Later his family moved to Angola where Bouwer went to a Portuguese primary school in Moçâmedes (Mossamedes, on the coast of South Angola). They returned to Transvaal where he completed his education, having mastered 11 languages, Ovambo and other Bantu languages included.^[2] Bouwer married Marianne "Janie" Evelina Rood (May 4, 1881 - March 8, 1970) by whom he had six children.^[3]

Early years

During the 1890s Bouwer took part in several wars against indigenous people in the north of the Transvaal, including the

After the British occupied Pretoria on 5 June 1900 Bouwer fought in the Battle of Diamond Hill (Afrikaans: Slag van Donkerhoek, 11–12 June 1900) and the Battle of Bergendal (Battle of Dalmanutha/Battle of Belfast, 21–27 August 1900). In September 1900 he was appointed veldkornet and second in command of Orange Free State president M.T. Steyn's escort through Transvaal to Orange Free State and performed successful operations under general Koos de la Rey until he started fighting under general Smuts near Potchefstroom in December 1900.

Bouwer attended the conference of Orange Free State and Transvaal leaders in May 1901 at

When Smuts reorganised his troops in Cape Colony Bouwer became veggeneraal (fighting general). In January 1902 Bouwer's men found a British battle ship anchored at Doringbaai in Western Cape and chased it away by firing at it.^[8] Bouwer and van Deventer captured Windhoek at the end of February 1902.^[9] His operations in the North West included the siege of Okiep (April–May 1902)^[2][10] until after the Treaty of Vereeniging when he finally put his arms down near Vanrhynsdorp. In July 1902 he returned to Transvaal.

First World War 1914-1918 and after

At the start of the

• M. P. Bossenbroek, Yvette Rosenberg (Translator), The Boer War,
  ISBN 9781609807474
  , 1609807472. Pages 365, 368–369, 374, 379, 381–382.
• J. E. H. Grobler, The War Reporter: the Anglo-Boer war through the eyes of the burghers, Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2004. ISBN 978-1-86842-186-2. Pages 120, 126–127, 134, 140, 142, 150.
• Daniël Wilhelmus Krüger, in Krüger, prof. D.W. and Beyers, C.J. (eds.), Suid-Afrikaanse Biografiese Woordeboek, deel III. Kaapstad: Tafelberg-Uitgewers, 1977. In Afrikaans.
• Potgieter, D.J. (ed.), Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, volume 2. Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou), 1970.
• Reitz, Deneys, Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War, London, 1929.
• Pierre Jacques Le Riche, Barend Daniël Bouwer, O. J. O. Ferreira, Memoirs of General Ben Bouwer, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, 1980.[12]

References