Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter


Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter was a Boer general in the Boer War.

Family

Potgieter was born the fourth child and fourth son of farmer Petrus Philippus Potgieter and Wilhelmina Jacoba Pieterse, among six sons and three daughters.
Young Potgieter married Jacoba Johanna Magdalena Pieterse and had one son and seven daughters by her, born in Makwassie, Potchefstroom and Wolmaransstad. One daughter, Johanna Margaretha Elisabeth, died in British concentration camp Merebank near Durban.

Second Boer War

In the Second Boer War Potgieter commanded the Wolmaransstad Commando for the South African Republic and fought in many actions such as Battle of Magersfontein and the Siege of Kimberley on 11 November 1899, ultimately being promoted to the rank of a fighting general. With 20 of his men he and general Froneman serving general Piet Cronjé timely escaped the British encirclement at the Battle of Paardeberg he opposed the march of general French to Pretoria on 3 June 1900.
After the capture of the capital of Pretoria by Lord Roberts on 5 June 1900, Potgieter continued the war under general Koos de la Rey as a 'bittereinder'. While De la Rey was away attending peace ouvertures at Vereeniging, Potgieter and Boer general Jan Kemp performed an audacious but failed charge without cover against a British line to again escape encirclement, this time in the Battle of Rooiwal in the Lichtenburg district near Klerksdorp. Historian Thomas Pakenham wrote:
This turned out to be the final battle of the war. The peace Treaty of Vereeniging was signed in Pretoria on 31 May 1902.

Literature