[2] Cockburn and Lieutenant Richard Turner commanded a small group of troopers who repulsed the Boers at close range, allowing the two field guns to escape capture.

Sergeant Edward Holland of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, ably assisted them with good machine-gun work, finally fleeing in the face of superior Boer force with the machine gun under his arm to avoid its capture.

Following the battle, three men of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross: Cockburn, Turner and Holland.

He died in a horse-riding accident in Grayburn, Saskatchewan,[2] in 1913, and was buried at St. James Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, with a headstone at Hill A, Section S 1/2, Lot 11.

Cockburn's Victoria Cross and sword were, for many years, displayed in the lobby of his alma mater, Upper Canada College.