Author: F. F. Pienaar

F. F. Pienaar was a Boer officer, diarist, and later South African public servant whose wartime record became the basis of With Steyn and De Wet. Published by Methuen in 1902, the book recounts his experience during the South African War while moving through the campaigns associated with Free State president M. T. Steyn and commandant Christiaan de Wet. Its perspective is that of a participant rather than a retrospective military historian, combining field movements, political impressions, daily hardships, and observations of commanders. Research on Pienaar’s diary identifies him as a lieutenant colonel and notes that the publication was banned shortly after appearing. His later career included service in the Union Defence Force during the German South West Africa campaign and a diplomatic appointment in Portugal. With Steyn and De Wet remains closely tied to Pienaar’s firsthand notebook and offers a distinctly Boer account of mobile warfare and republican resistance.