Instead he called first on Cecil Rhodes, the former Prime Minister of Cape Colony and foremost Imperialist, at the town's chief hotel.
The Boers were demoralised following the surrender of Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
Centrally located in both the city and the nation, in March 1900 at the Battle of Paardeberg during the Second Boer War, the station became a major point of strategic fighting between the Boers and the British Army, led by General Roberts.
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He left for the United States in 1904 along with General Piet Cronjé (of Battle of Paardeberg fame) to take part in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis, Missouri) and the so-called "Boer War Circus" — portrayals of scenes from the Boer War.