two o'clock in
the afternoon
The two regiments asked Colonel Carleton , who commanded them , to allow them to charge with their bayonets and cut their way through . He consented to allow the desperate attempt to be made , and the men were in the act of fixing bayonets when someone raised a white flag , and the Boers standing up advanced to receive the surrender . After this the laws of war permitted no further defence , and the men , half mad with fury at the situation in which they were placed , threw down their rifles and were made prisoners . This was at two o'clock in the afternoon , after the rest of the force had returned to Ladysmith ; and thus some nine hundred men fell into the hands of the Boers . Apart from this the loss was comparatively small considering the heat of the engagement . The day 's work had been altogether unsatisfactory ; no advantage whatever had been gained beyond the discovery of the Boers ' position , and their unexpected strength and fighting powers , and it was evident that the force at Ladysmith was unable to drive off the enemy unaided , and must undergo a siege until the arrival of a relieving army . There were provisions calculated to last for two months , and no one doubted that long before that time General Buller would arrive to their rescue .