After the fall of Kroonstad, Lindley became the seat of the Free State Government, however, the town changed hands a few times, between Boers and British, during the month of May 1900.
At the end of May 1900, the Boers under General Piet de Wet occupied Lindley after Major-General Broadwood had abandoned the town on 20 May. On 29 May 1900 the 13th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry under the command of Colonel Spragge approached the town and on finding it occupied by the Boers, took up a defensive position in the nearby hills. A misunderstanding in orders led Spragge to Lindley.
Sporadic fighting ensued, with Spragge waiting for reinforcements, however they were surrounded by a far larger Boer force with artillery. By the morning of 31 May the situation had become almost untenable and Spragge surrendered at around 2.30pm. The Battalion had lost one officer and 16 men killed, with another one officer and three men dying later from wounds received. The Boers captured over 400 men. General C. R. de Wet in his memoirs states that these were the last prisoners sent to Pretoria.
