The first British camp on the march lay some 4 miles short of Laing’s Nek, a ridge in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains that blocked the road between Newcastle and Standerton in Natal and Transvaal respectively.

[2]: 218 Ten minutes later, the main British force, made up of the 58th Regiment, went forward and had difficulty advancing over the broken ground towards the summit.

But, on reaching the summit, the British cavalry were fired upon by a line of entrenched Boers on the reverse slope, suffering many casualties, forcing them to withdraw.

[2]: 220 While this was happening, a small party of Boers actually advanced from their positions on the lower slopes of nearby Majuba Hill and engaged the Naval Brigade near the British camp at Mount Prospect.

One month later, General Colley was killed at the Battle of Majuba Hill, which ended the war, after which Transvaal was recognised as an independent state.