Johan Fick
General Johan Isak Jacobus Fick was the founder of Ficksburg, a town in the Free State province, South Africa.
[2] He was born on September 22, 1816, on the farm Kruisfontein, in Olifantshoek in the Grahamstown district of South Africa.
Johan Fick and other boers in turn lost faith in the British justice system and decided to move north in search of a peaceful settlement.
Following the birth of their eldest son, they too decided to leave the Grahamston area and move north, following Piet Retief to Natal.
Johan Fick and his family traveled via Senekal to Unkomaas where he settled for a while, but he did not enjoy the British involvement in the area.
His new role meant that he had to collect taxes (of which he could keep 10%), he married couples and acted as a judge for criminal and civil cases.
[2] In 1851 Fick was required, through his position as 'veldkornet', to ask the Boers to fight for the British against the Basothos under Moshoeshoe I, at the Battle of Viervoet.
The British, with many of their troops fighting in the east of South Africa at the time, were outnumbered and lost the battle.
The Boers even unsuccessfully sent a party to England to ask the British to remain sovereign in the Free State.
He wanted to keep the peace with the Basothos and made an agreement with Moshoeshoe I, that Sir Philip Wodehouse would be the mediator and set a defined border between The Free State and Lesotho.
A few days later 3,000 Sotho warriors raided Boer farms in the Caledon Valley, killing around 14 settlers and returned home with 100,000 sheep and several thousand cattle and horses.
On August 15, Wepener led another assault against the mountain that concentrated on northwestern Khubelu Pass.
Boer's artillery bombed the positions higher up the mountain, but had to cease as the attackers advanced.
As time went on, more and more Boers deserted and by the middle of September Fick had to withdraw his camps on the southern and eastern sides of Thaba Bosiu.
President Johannes Brand of the Free State decided not to give any of the conquered land to the Transvaal burghers, resulting some unease.
Following further conflict on the border, peace was made with Moshoeshoe's son, Molapo on 26 March 1866 in Ficksburg, with the treaty of Moharane.
As part of the negotiations, General Fick sent his son, Paul with Fanie Jacobs, to live with the Basothos.
With his people anxious to harvest their remaining crops, Moshoeshoe, on 3 April, agreed to modified Free State terms that he surrender 3,000 cattle and give up a considerable amount of land that had been taken by the Boers during the conflict.
