[1][2][3] Chris and Louis Botha were among the fifteen children born to Louis Botha senior (Somerset East, Cape, 26 March 1827–Harrismith, Orange Free State, 5 July 1883)[5] and Salomina Adriana van Rooyen (Somerset East, 31 March 1829–Harrismith, 9 January 1885).

After the British victoriously ended the Siege of Ladysmith on 28 February 1900, Chris Botha retreated to Laing's Nek, where he was promoted to general.

[10] After the fall of Pretoria to the British on 5 June 1900 Chris Botha commanded the Boer forces fighting on in the eastern Transvaal.

They wanted to consult president Paul Kruger in exile in the Netherlands for help and considered asking the British commander-in-chief, Kitchener, for a ceasefire in order to confer with the Boer people.

[2] Christiaan Botha died on 29 October 1902 in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, from wounds sustained during his capture.