Piet Fourie Explained

Honorific Prefix:General
Petrus Johannes Fourie
Nickname:Piet
Birth Date:20 June 1842
Death Place:Perzikenfontein, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
Nationality:Orange Free State
Occupation:farmer, commander, combat general (Afrikaans: veggeneraal)
Battles:

Petrus "Piet" Johannes Fourie (20 June 1842)[6] [7] was a Boer general for the Orange Free State in the Anglo-Boer War (18991902) in South Africa.[8] [9] [10] He should not be confused with his Boer colleagues generals (18451900) and (18581943).

Family

Fourie was the eldest son of Louis Jacobus Fourie (Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 27 January 1814 Vet River, Winburg, 28 June 1856) and Maria Magdalena (Magdalina) Pieterse(n) (3 September 1815Rustfontein, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa, 2 July 1868), among in total two daughters and two sons. He married Maria Magdalena van Tonder (Ladismith, Western Cape, 17 March 1850Dewetsdorp, Free State, 16 April 1940), and had four sons and one daughter by her.[11]

Early years

Fourie was born in the Cape Colony but moved at a young age to the Orange Free State. He fought in the Free State–Basotho Wars and had a prosperous farm near Bloemfontein, where he was a justice of the peace.

Second Boer War

After the outbreak of the war in October 1899 Fourie became the commander of the Bloemfontein Commando and fought all the major battles at the western front. After the capture of Bloemfontein by the British on 13 March 1900 Fourie participated in the Boer victory at Sanna's Post (31 March 1900), the failed attack on British positions at Jammersberg Drift (9 April 1900),[12] the failure to stop the British advance in the Battle of Sand River southwest of Kroonstad (10 May 1900),[13] and again a victory at Rooiwal (Roodewal) Station (7 June 1900), under the overall command of Christiaan de Wet.

To retaliate and to deter further Boer resistance British Commander-in-Chief Roberts dynamited De Wet's farm Roodepoort on 16 June. Afterwards Fourie visited the site with general Stoffel Froneman and De Wet himself.[14] At the end of July, Fourie escaped from the Brandwater Basin with 1500 men, where Marthinus Prinsloo surrendered soon after on 30 July with more than 4000 remaining Boer troops.[15] In August 1900 Fourie was promoted to Assistant Chief Commander for the districts of Bloemfontein, Smithfield, Rouxville and Wepener. In December 1900 he broke the British line of blockhouses at Sprinkaansnek.

In February 1901 De Wet sent his generals Froneman and Fourie with many troops east of the Cape Town-Bloemfontein railway line to mislead the British. De Wet and his smaller unit crossed the Orange River at Sand Drift, 60 kilometres west of the railway and marched into the Cape Colony.[16]

In July 1901 De Wet and general De la Rey degraded Fourie because of his stated desire to surrender to the British. Subsequently, he was imprisoned on his own farm. However, he changed heart later, was pardoned and joined Christiaan de Wet's troops again, but no more as a general.[17] [18]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Breytenbach II 1971, p. 40.
  2. Breytenbach II 1971, p. 78.
  3. Breytenbach II 1971, p. 117.
  4. Breytenbach V 1983, pp. 192, 195, 206.
  5. Breytenbach V 1983, p. 466.
  6. Web site: Petrus Johannes Fourie . 21 December 2022 . geni.com . Geni. A MyHeritage Company . 30 March 2023.
  7. Web site: "FOURIE Petrus Johannes 1842-1916" . Noeth . Henning . Fourie . Petrus . 2 August 2011 . graves-at-eggsa.org . eGGSA library. Genealogical Society of SA. (South Africa) . 15 March 2023 . (Text on tombstone:) In Heilige Herinnering / aan / Generaal / Petrus Johannes Fourie / Geb. 20 Juni 1862 / Ges. 14 Mei 1916 / Tot Wederziens.. Tombstone at Perskefontein 248, farm cemetery, Dewetsdorp district, Free State. Perskefontein was previously the farm of General Piet Fourie.
  8. Bossenbroek 2018.
  9. Breytenbach II 1971, V 1983.
  10. Grobler 2004.
  11. Web site: Maria Magdalena Fourie (van Tonder) . December 21, 2022 . geni.com . Geni. A MyHeritage Company . 30 March 2023 .
  12. Breytenbach V 1983, pp. 279-280.
  13. Breytenbach V 1983, p. 466.
  14. Bossenbroek 2018, p. 272–273.
  15. Bossenbroek 2018, p. 285.
  16. Bossenbroek 2018, p. 321–322.
  17. Web site: THE BOER WAR. COMMANDANT PIET FOURIE. DEGRADED BY DE WET AND DE LA REY. LONDON, July 15. . 15 July 1901 . trove.nla.gov.au . The Argus, Melbourne, 1848 - 1957 . 30 March 2023 .
  18. Web site: De oorlog in Zuid-Afrika. De strijd tusschen Engeland en de verbonden Boeren-republieken Transvaal en Oranje-Vrijstaat in zijn verloop geschetst. Deel 3. 1198 . Penning . Louwrens . 1903 . dbnl.org . D.A. Daamen. Rotterdam . 30 March 2023 . Dutch. The war in South Africa. The course of the battle between England and the allied Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State is outlined. Part 3.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Piet Fourie".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.