Note from Lord Wolseley regarding Churchill's capture by the Boers.

by CHURCHILL, Winston S. - WOLSELEY, Garnet Joseph.

$1,029 · Offered by Biblio · No longer available

19 December, 1899. A false report of recapture at the birth of the Churchill legend Wolseley, Commander-in-Chief of British Forces during the Second Boer War, incorrectly reports the recapture of Winston Churchill by the Boers. He writes, "With Lord Wolseley's Compliments 19-12-99", above a note in a different hand, "Ld Wolseley sends news of Winston's capture". Boer troops captured Churchill on 15 November 1899, after attacking his armoured train. Churchill escaped from the prisoner of war camp on 12 December. Reports of his escape spread worldwide, and in the coming days, many newspapers reported his recapture. He finally reached safety in the British consul in Maputo on 22 December. This note was likely attached to other papers repeating one of the false reports of Churchill's recapture, possibly Reuter's news agency's announcement on December 18th he was recaptured in Waterfalhouven. The note "Ld Wolseley sends news of Winston's capture" appears to be in the hand of Shane Leslie - Leslie, Churchill's cousin, collected albums of Churchill-related material which were broken and commercially sold following his death. Once back to safety, Churchill widely publicized his account of his escape, which became a crucial part of his legend. Churchill's bolstered reputation as a young man of action aided in his election to parliament later in 1900 and featured prominently in his Boer war memoirs, London to Ladysmith and Ian Hamilton's March. As he later recalled, "If I had not been

• Year: 1899
• Binding: unknown

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