At the battle of Graspan the marine brigade left their big 47 guns in the rear and advanced as infantry to the frontal attack.  At 600 yards from the Boer lines the order was given to fix bayonets:  the brigade then pushed forward for fifty yards further, when it was met by a storm of Mauser bullets, which had killed and wounded no less than 120 out of the 250 before the survivors reached the foot of the kopjes.  It is extremely difficult to clamber up the rough sides of an African kopje.  To do it properly one needs india-rubber soles or bare feet, for boots cause one to slip wildly about on the smooth, rough stones.  By the time our men had got to the summit of the low ridge the Boers had leapt upon their horses and were already nearly 1,000 yards away.  Our gallant fellows were out of breath with the arduous climb, and as it is almost impossible to do much effective shooting when one is “blown,” and the cavalry had not appeared on the scene, the enemy got off nearly scot free.

Amongst a number of wounded men brought down by our train from Modder River was a private of that fine corps, the R.M.L.I., who had, after passing through the perils of Graspan, suffered an extraordinary casualty at the Modder River fight.  He was standing near one of the 47 guns which was firing Lyddite shells at the enemy’s trenches.  Suddenly the force of the explosion burst the drum of his right ear and, of course, rendered him stone deaf on that side.  He was an excellent fellow, very intelligent and well informed, and I hope by this time the surgeons at Simon’s Bay naval hospital have provided him with an artificial ear-drum.  This marine had, as said above, come out of the awful fire at Graspan unscathed, but I counted no less than five bullet holes in his uniform; two of them were through his trousers, two had pierced his sleeves, and the other had passed through his coat just to the left of his heart!

The kopjes which were ultimately carried by the gallantry of our troops at Graspan had been subjected to an awful shell fire before the infantry attack.  Nevertheless, the enemy was able to meet the advance with a rifle fire which swept our men down by scores.  On the right of the naval brigade there was a little group of nineteen men, of these one only remained!  The Boers exhibited here, as elsewhere, the most marvellous skill in taking advantage of cover.  These farmers lay curled up behind their stones and boulders while shrapnel bullets by thousands rained over their position, and common shell threw masses of earth and rock into the air.  Then at the moment when the artillery fire was compelled to cease, owing to the near approach of our infantry, the crafty sharp-shooters crawled out of their nooks and crannies and used their rifles with deadly precision and rapidity.