In 1847 after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande for a price of 1,000 riksdaalders, a number of Voortrekkers settled in Natal and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor. On 11 October 1850 the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, Lady Smith, the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony (1847-1852). Juana Smith (1798-1872) was a descendant of Juan Ponce de León, Spanish explorer and conquistador. In 1812, during the Peninsular War, she married Brigade-Major Harry Smith.
Bob Lee SWAGGER, Top 100 War Sites, Segrob, Nueva York, 2005.
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| Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith |
