Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley had sought…

Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley had sought refuge with the Natal Field Force at Mount Prospect, three miles to the south to await reinforcements.

However, Colley is soon back into action.

On February 7, a mail escort on its way to Newcastle had been attacked by the Boers and forced back to Mount Prospect.

The next day Colley, determined to keep his supplies and communication route open, escorts the mail wagon personally and this time with a larger escort.

At the Battle of Schuinshoogte (also known as Ingogo), the Boers attack the convoy at the Ingogo River crossing, but with a stronger force of some three hundred men.

The firepower is evenly matched and the fight continues for several hours, but the Boer marksmen dominate the action until darkness and a storm permits Colley and the remainder of his troops to retreat back to Mount Prospect.

In this engagement, the British lose one hundred and thirty-nine officers and men, half the original force that had set out to escort the mail convoy.