Commandant Johannes Cornelius Jacobus Lotter was born in Pearston, a town midway between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East in the Eastern Cape on 15 January 1875.
The commando under his leadership became one of the most brutal and ill-disciplined guerrilla commandos in the Cape Colony.
A British column led by Lieutenant-Colonel Scobell was tasked with tracking down Lotter, which they did at Groenkloof, west of Cradock.
In the subsequent battle 60 of Lotter’s men became casualties and Lotter was captured.
He was taken to Graaff-Reinet for his trial, and charged with treason and a number of other crimes.
Being a citizen of the British-controlled Cape Colony, he was sentenced to death and was executed along with seven of his men on 15 October 1901 aged 26.
