Potgieter had a short tenure, as he soon died in a campaign against tribal leader Mgombane ka Gegana.

In September 1854 Piet's uncle, field cornet Hermanus Potgieter (Groot Hermaans), was searching for ivory near the Nyl River, an area ruled by chiefs Makapan and Mankopane (also: Mapela or Mapele).

The act claimed the lives of 28 white settlers,[1] and the Potchefstroom governance authorized a punitive commando under the command of Piet Potgieter and M. W. Pretorius.

J H M Stofberg, the secretary and head of the NG Church in South-Africa, after ex president Schoeman granted his blessing.

They had two children of which one became a political figure through the South-African Broederbond and a member of the executive committee of the National Party, Dr. Pieter Johannes Potgieter Stofberg.