Erasmus Jr had gotten wind of the British attempt to escape Pretoria, and entrenched themselves behind a stone wall that surrounded the animal stockade at Rooihuiskraal.

[2] The British force arrived at Rooihuiskraal on 12 February 1881 and was immediately fired upon by the Boer troops.

In the confusion that followed in the British lines, Lt-Col Gildea stood upright in his stirrups while on horseback to motivate and rally his troops, when he was struck in the buttocks by a Boer bullet.

[1] A single British soldier was killed during the battle and a further 15 (Including Lt-Col George Frederick Gildea) were wounded.

The Pretoria Garrison was unable to meet up with General George Pomeroy Colley's forces in Natal and following the Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February, in which General Colley was killed, The First Boer War came to an end.