Lt. Mauritz Hendrik Jacobus Briers

M.J. van Nuldt Onkruydt was appointed commandant of the commando, which almost had the appearance of a regular army with its headquarters group consisting of an adjutant/secretary, clerk, bugle-blower and orderly. Once more too, as may be expected, the departure of this huge convoy for distant Grahamstown was a great occasion for the people of Stellenbosch: speeches were made by D.J. van Ryneveld, now no longer landdrost but civil-commissioner, and by Cmdt. Onkruydt. Having arrived in Grahamstown they were employed by Sir Andries Stockenström, who commanded the burgher forces, to guard a long line of outposts from the mouth of the Fish River to Helspoort, north-west of Grahamstown, and also to hunt out stolen cattle and marauding bands. Bands of Xhosas were hiding in the bush and kloofs up to a few kilometres from Grahamstown.

On Sunday July 9 the Stellenbosch commando suffered a great loss: led by Lt. M. Briers a detachment of 19 men followed some ox-tracks to the entrance of a kloof near Helspoort. Leaving their horses under the care of a few men, the rest entered the kloof on foot, when they were suddenly ambushed by a superior force of Xhosas and five of their men were killed - the brothers Petrus and Hermanus de Villiers, Jan Basson, Daniel Rossouw and Peet Haushamer.

After some fierce hand-to-hand fighting the rest of the patrol managed to escape. On the following Tuesday the fallen men were buried in Grahamstown from the St. George Church by the Reverend J. Heavyside and the Rev. A. Roux. The people of Grahamstown paid their funeral expenses.

During this whole campaign Comdt. Onkruydt often had to lodge complaints as a result of a shortage of rations and fodder.

Source: Stellenbosch Three Centuries: Official Commemorative Volume, Stellenbosch Town Council, 1979