Surrender Hill

Declared a South African National Monument in 1986, Surrender Hill is a reminder of the defeat the Boers (comprising of the combined forces of the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State) suffered against Great Britain and her empires during the Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902). On the night on 28 July 1900 the British took Slaapkrans (now known as Surrender Hill), 1500 Boers managed to escape but 2 days later 3000 Boers surrendered at Slaapkrans under Boer Commander Prinsloo. By the 9 August 1900, the British felt they had won a psychological battle, they had burnt the Boer commandos weapons on Surrender Hill, captured over 4300 men, 2800 head of cattle, seized field guns, and destroyed millions of rounds of ammunition.

The prisoners captured at Surrender hill were exiled to Ceylon, Bermuda and St Helena and were only allowed to return to South Africa if they promised their allegiance to the British Crown, many never did!

The plaque at the site on Surrender Hill reads as follows:

"In July 1990 a large part of the Free State armed forces were surrounded by British troops in the Brandwater Basin. Gen CR De Wet and about 2 000 men escaped over Slabbert's Nek. In the basin, Chief Comdt Marthinus Prinsloo assumed command and on 31 July agreed to surrender. More than 4 300 Boers laid down their arms. Most of them at Surrender Hill, where the British destroyed the captured arms and ammunition. The bare patches caused by the fire and exploding ammunition serve as a reminder of one of the most serious setbacks suffered by the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War."