TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
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Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
[Illustration:
BY COMMAND OF His late Majesty WILLIAM THE IV^{TH}.
_and under the Patronage of_
Her Majesty the Queen.
HISTORICAL RECORDS,
_OF THE_
British Army
_Comprising the_
_History of every Regiment_
_IN HER MAJESTY’S SERVICE_.
_By Richard Cannon Esq^{re}._
_Adjutant-General’s Office, Horse Guards._
London.
_Printed by Authority._
1837]
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF
THE BRITISH ARMY.
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE-GUARDS_,
_1st January, 1836_.
His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing
the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who
have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the
Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British
Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction
of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the
following particulars, viz.,
---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations, in
which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement
it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have
captured from the Enemy.
---- The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying
the Place and Date of the Action.
---- The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks
of His Majesty’s gracious favour.
---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and
Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.
And,
---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges
or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.
JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.
PREFACE.
The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend
upon the zeal and ardour, by which all who enter into its service
are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that
any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which
alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable
object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the
Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright
examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to
incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have
preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that
have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
“London Gazette,” from whence they are transferred into the public
prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the
time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and
admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions,
the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on
the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their
orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill
and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour
of their Sovereign’s Approbation, constitute the reward which the
soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which
appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies)
for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services
and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic
account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty
having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future
keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth
derive information as to the difficulties and privations which
chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In
Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and
where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed
by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped,
comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active
service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during
peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe,
with little or no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country
derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist
and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to
reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on
their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which
so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and
steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against
superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the
Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of
individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His
Majesty’s special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk
of the Adjutant-General’s Office; and while the perusal of them
cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every
rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and
information to the general reader, particularly to those who may
have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served,
or are serving, in the Army, an _Esprit du Corps_--an attachment
to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a
narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,--the
valiant,--the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with
a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race
of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood, “firm
as the rocks of their native shore;” and when half the World has
been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their
Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of
achievements in war,--victories so complete and surprising, gained
by our countrymen,--our brothers,--our fellow-citizens in arms,--a
record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their
gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the
public.
Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished
Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective
Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to
time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value
and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment
will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall
be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
HISTORY
OF
THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN;
WITH A
BRIEF ACCOUNT
OF THE
COLONY
OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
_ILLUSTRATED WITH DRAWINGS OF THE_
STANDARDS
AND THE
COSTUME OF AN OFFICER OF THE CORPS.
LONDON:
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.
M.DCCC.XLII.
[Illustration: OFFICER OF THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN.
1842.
_Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._]
HISTORY
OF THE
CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN;
WITH A
BRIEF ACCOUNT
OF THE
COLONY
OF THE
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
[Sidenote: 1490]
[Sidenote: 1497]
[Sidenote: 1498]
The spirit of enterprise which led intelligent Europeans to
penetrate to every part of the globe, and to procure the advantage
of the productions of every climate for the use of their own
country, has multiplied the commerce of the world, and added
numerous colonial possessions to the nations of Christendom. Among
the enterprising navigators of the fifteenth century, Bartholomew
Diaz, a Portuguese officer of sagacity and fortitude, prosecuted a
voyage of discovery until he arrived at the lofty promontory which
marks the southern extremity of Africa; being prevented by violent
tempests from proceeding farther, he called it _Stormy Cape_; but
his sovereign, entertaining the hope that this success would lead
to the discovery of the long-desired route to the East Indies,
called it _the Cape of Good Hope_. In 1497, Emanuel, king of
Portugal, inheriting the enterprising genius of his predecessors,
sent Vasco de Gama, a man of talent and noble birth, with three
vessels, to pursue the grand scheme of discovering a passage to
India by the Cape of Good Hope; and this officer, surmounting
the difficulties which had deterred his predecessors, doubled
that formidable promontory which had long been the boundary of
navigation, and European ships were seen, for the first time,
navigating the Indian sea, which forms the greatest event, next to
the discovery of America, in modern maritime history. The route
to Hindoostan was thus established; but this important event was
not immediately followed by the formation of a settlement at the
Cape of Good Hope. Admiral Rio d’Infanté landed there in 1498, and
fixing upon the mouth of a river for the site of a settlement,
recommended his countrymen to establish a colony there; his advice
was, however, not followed, and other Portuguese navigators
failed in some slight attempts which they made to colonize this
interesting part of Africa.
The Cape forms one of the great landmarks of the globe, separating
the Atlantic from the Indian Ocean, and dividing the voyage to
Hindoostan into two nearly equal portions; the ships of England
and Portugal called there, and the Dutch, in the infancy of their
Indian trade, fixed upon it as a station for their vessels to take
in water and fuel. The English had a custom, in their outward-bound
voyages, of burying letters in an iron box, in a place pointed out
by a large blue stone, to be taken to England by the first ship
calling at the Cape in its way home.
[Sidenote: 1620]
For more than a century the English, Dutch, and Portuguese
continued to refresh at the Cape without appropriating the soil;
but in the year 1620, in the reign of King James I., the commanders
of two fleets of English ships, bound for Surat and Bantam, took
a formal possession of the soil, for, and in the name of their
sovereign; this was, however, not followed by the formation of a
colony there by the English.
[Sidenote: 1651]
Van Riebeck, surgeon of a Dutch ship that made a short stay at
the Cape of Good Hope, represented the richness of the soil, the
mildness of the climate, the advantages which a colony at this
place would give his country over other nations whose ships would
be obliged to call there; and, above all, the barrier it would
afford to the Indian possessions of the United Provinces; these
representations induced the Dutch East India Company to form a
regular establishment at the Cape. Van Riebeck was furnished with
power to establish a colony, of which he was appointed governor,
and three ships, provided with all that was necessary, were placed
under his orders. On his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, the
natives surrendered the Cape Peninsula by treaty, with the two bays
that are divided by the isthmus, and he erected a square fort,
also warehouses, and raised outworks and batteries. Encouragement
being given, numbers of settlers arrived from time to time, and,
by presents and promises, a larger tract of land was procured;
but when the natives saw the colonists building houses and
fortifications, cultivating land, and breeding cattle, a feeling
of jealousy was awakened, and the Hottentots commenced hostilities
for the purpose of expelling their visitors, which ended in the
extension of the settlements, the arrival of more troops and
colonists from Holland, and the reduction of the natives to a state
of dependence little better than slavery.
The Dutch East India Company endeavoured to limit the Cape to
the original design of a port for refreshing their ships, and
they threw obstacles in the way of its becoming a flourishing
settlement; they allowed no trade but what passed through the
hands of their own servants, and made it dependent on the
governor-general of Batavia, concluding that the settlers would
thus be made equally submissive to their orders from Europe, and
from the seat of their wealth and influence in the East. This
illiberal policy afforded little stimulation to industry; the
settlers became conspicuous for habits of indolence, and education
being neglected, the manners of the colonists degenerated towards
barbarism, united with a cruel propensity to tyrannise over the
Hottentots, whose lands they had seized, and from whom they exacted
labour without due compensation. A number of French Protestants
found an asylum at the Cape, where they introduced the cultivation
of the vine; but the colony did not flourish under the Dutch. The
natives, however, proved a patient and submissive race; they were
the best labourers and herdsmen in the colony, and many of them
proved valuable soldiers in the service of Holland.
[Sidenote: 1794]
[Sidenote: 1795]
The declining commerce of the Dutch, towards the close of the
eighteenth century, made the Cape a burden to them; little doubt
was entertained of their willingness to part with it for a small
compensation, and overtures would, probably, have been made
from England, but at that period the French Revolution, and its
destructive consequences, unsettled the affairs of Europe. The
favourable reception, which the doctrine of equality met with in
Holland, having disposed the Dutch to separate from the Allies,
with the result of the campaign of 1794 in Flanders, and other
causes, occasioned the United Provinces to be brought under the
dominion of France. The Prince of Orange fled to England, and
he furnished letters authorizing the British to take possession
of, and to hold, the colony of the Cape of Good Hope in his
name. Many of the colonists had, in the meantime, imbibed French
principles; they had become clamorous to declare themselves a free
and independent republic; and lists of worthy and influential
persons to be consigned to the guillotine, or banished from the
colony, for holding different views, were prepared; at the same
time the slaves, who were much more numerous than the whites,
were holding meetings to decide upon the fate of the free and
independent burghers when the period of their own emancipation
should arrive. At this important crisis the revolutionists were
suddenly disconcerted by the arrival of a British armament under
Admiral Sir G. K. Elphinstone, and Major-General James Craig, to
take possession of the colony. The governor refused to consign the
place to the protection of the British, and ordered the inhabitants
to leave Simon’s Town. The English were careful not to commit any
act of hostility against the Dutch; but it being believed that the
governor intended to set fire to Simon’s Town, Major-General Craig
landed on the 14th of July, 1795, with part of the Seventy-eighth
regiment and the Marines of the fleet, and took possession of the
place, to preserve it from destruction. Soon afterwards the burgher
militia and Hottentot soldiers, who occupied the hills, fired on
the British patroles, and hostilities were thus commenced. The
Dutch occupied a fortified position on the rocks of Muisenberg,
from whence they were driven, on the 7th of August, by the fire of
the English ships and the advance of the troops, and two battalions
of seamen; on this occasion the advance-guard of the Seventy-eighth
regiment drove the enemy from a rocky ridge with great gallantry.
The Dutch fell back to Wynberg, a tongue of land projecting from
the east side of Table mountain, and about eight miles from Cape
Town. On the 4th of September General Alured Clarke arrived with
reinforcements, and on the 14th of that month the British advanced
and drove the Dutch from their elevated post. Two days afterwards
the Dutch governor surrendered the colony to the British arms.
[Sidenote: 1796]
[Sidenote: 1797]
During the following seven years, the Cape of Good Hope remained
under the protection of the British Government; and from this
period the origin of the CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN may be traced. The
Hottentot soldiers were not immediately taken into the British
service; but in the years 1796 and 1797, a number of Hottentots
presented themselves at the quarters of the light infantry brigade
under Major King, of the Eighty-fourth regiment, at the village
of Stellenbosch. They were, in the first instance, employed to
cook, and perform other menial offices for the soldiers; but
their numbers increasing, they were embodied into a corps under
Lieutenant John Campbell, of the Ninety-eighth Foot, with a
serjeant from the same regiment. Numerous volunteers arriving,
additional officers and non-commissioned officers were attached to
them, and they were stationed in Hout’s Bay, behind Table Mountain.
[Sidenote: 1798]
A rebellion breaking out on the frontiers of the colony, a
squadron of the Eighth Light Dragoons, the flank companies of the
regiment in garrison, and the Cape Corps, were detached, under
Brigadier-General Vandeleur, to suppress the insurrection, and were
employed in very arduous duties for some time. At this period, a
portion of the Cape Corps was mounted, and employed as orderlies at
head-quarters, as guides, and for the carrying of despatches; in
performing these duties, they were found very useful.
[Sidenote: 1799]
[Sidenote: 1800]
In 1799, the Cape Corps was again stationed at Hout’s Bay, with
detachments at Graaff Reinett and Algoa Bay; and, in 1800, this
body of men was formed into a regiment under Lieut.-Colonel King,
with Major Donald Campbell second in command; the head-quarters
were established at Groen Kloof, near Cape Town, under Major
Campbell, Lieut.-Colonel King not having joined.
[Sidenote: 1801]
In 1801, the Cape Regiment, except the mounted men, was sent to the
frontiers, where it was employed during the year 1802.
[Sidenote: 1802]
At the peace of Amiens, the Cape of Good Hope was restored to
the United Provinces, which had taken the name of the Batavian
Republic.
[Sidenote: 1803]
When the Dutch governor arrived, in the early part of 1803,
with an armament, to take possession, the Cape Regiment was at
head-quarters; it was left in the colony, and nearly every man was
retained in the Dutch service.
A few months of respite from war followed the Treaty of Amiens,
and, in 1803, the contest was renewed with a violence which, in
a few years, shook the basis of every state in Europe. During
the first three years of the war, the attention of the British
Government was directed to measures rendered necessary by the
threatened invasion of England by Buonaparte; but in the latter
months of 1805, an armament, consisting of about five thousand men,
under the orders of Major-General Sir David Baird[1], proceeded
to recapture the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, with its
dependencies, then in possession of the Batavian Government, and
commanded by Lieut.-General Janssens.
[Sidenote: 1806]
After surmounting considerable difficulties, a landing was effected
at Lospard’s Bay, on the 6th of January, 1806; on the morning of
the 8th, the army moved in two brigades towards the road leading
to Cape Town, and attacked the enemy’s force, consisting of five
thousand men, and twenty-three pieces of cannon, advantageously
posted at Blaw Berg, or Blue Mountains: the Dutch stood the fire
of the invading army with firmness, and maintained their position
obstinately; but the charge of the British troops with bayonets
proved irresistible, and the enemy was forced to a precipitate
retreat.
A negotiation ensued between the two commanders, which was carried
on by Brigadier-General (now Lord) Beresford: and the colony was
finally surrendered on the 18th January.
In the articles of capitulation it was stipulated, that the
battalion of Hottentot Light Infantry should march to Simon’s
Town, with the other Batavian troops, after which they should be
allowed to return to their own country, or to engage in the British
Service, as they might feel inclined. A number of them tendering
their services, they were formed into a corps at Wynberg, under the
command of Lieut.-Colonel Graham, and stationed at that village;
a detachment of about fifty men was sent to Fort Frederick, Algoa
Bay.
[Sidenote: 1808]
At the period of the surrender of the colony to the British
Crown, this regiment consisted, in the first instance, of about
five hundred rank and file; and in 1808 it was augmented to eight
hundred. Many of the additional men were procured by native
captains, who received two shillings a day; others were procured
by recruiting officers, and by small levies on the missionary
institutions: a number of volunteers also joined at head-quarters.
At this period, one company was stationed at Graaff Reinett, and
another was sent to the frontiers of the colony.
[Sidenote: 1809]
[Sidenote: 1810]
In this and the following year (1809) a company traversed the
greater part of the colony, collecting various bodies of Kafirs[2],
and removing them beyond the boundary,--the Great Fish River; this
company was followed by others, and in June, 1810, five companies
were employed on the frontiers under Major Lyster.
[Sidenote: 1811]
[Sidenote: 1812]
The regiment embarked for Algoa Bay, in September, 1810, and was
employed, from December, 1811, until May, 1812, in removing the
Kafirs from the country between the Sunday’s and the Great Fish
Rivers. The command of the force employed on the frontier was
confided to Lieut.-Colonel Graham, and the command of the regiment
devolved on Major Lyster.
A detachment crossed the Sunday’s River on Christmas-day, 1811,
under Major Prentice, and encamped at Commando Kraal, from whence
parties were sent out to mark roads through the Addo Bush. This
work having been completed, the men of the regiment, and some
settlers, advanced in extended order to scour the bush. While
moving towards the top of the Addo, in a part known by the name of
the “Addo Pass,” a number of Kafirs, who had hidden themselves in
pits, jumped up and commenced throwing their assagais, or javelins,
at the troops, killing Field-Cornet Greyling, and wounding two
other farmers. The Cape Regiment instantly rushed into the bush,
and, after a sharp skirmish, drove the Kafirs from among the trees
into the flats or plains.
Landrost Stockenstrom having been murdered while engaged in a
parley with the Kafirs, relative to their removing from the
Zuurberg, Major Fraser marched with a detachment to execute the
orders which were to have been carried into effect by Stockenstrom.
On crossing the mountain from Cournay he took a bye-path, and thus
escaped a body of Kafirs who were lying in ambush to murder him and
his party; and coming upon his adversaries suddenly, he succeeded
in killing fifteen of their number; he also recovered the bodies of
Mr. Stockenstrom, two field-cornets, and nine farmers, and buried
them; and he ascertained that several Kafirs had been shot in the
struggle, when these gentlemen were murdered.
At this period the Chief T’Slambie occupied the Zuurberg with about
four thousand Kafirs.
In May the head-quarters were established at Graham’s Town, and,
in consequence of the hostile attitude of the Kafirs, the regiment
was distributed in small parties along the frontier, in two lines
of posts; the advanced line in detachments from Osterhuisen’s Post,
to Old Kafir Drift; the second, from Bruintjie’s Hoogte, to what
is now called Groen Fontein; in all, about twenty-two posts, the
head-quarters remaining at Graham’s Town.
Several posts in the rear line were subsequently abandoned, and
some of the posts in the front line were occupied by British
regiments, the Cape Regiment being found more efficient in
patrolling, scouring the bush, and dislodging parties of Kafirs
assembled within the colony.
[Sidenote: 1813]
[Sidenote: 1814]
[Sidenote: 1815]
These arduous duties were performed by the regiment in 1813,
1814, and 1815; in the last-mentioned year Major Lyster left the
frontier, and the command of the regiment devolved on Major Fraser.
In the year 1815 an extensive revolt took place among the colonists
on the frontier, and the Cape Regiment was conspicuously useful on
this occasion; its firm and soldierlike bearing checked the revolt;
it assisted in the capture of the insurgents; and a hundred men
under Major Fraser attended the execution of several convicted
delinquents.
After the suppression of this revolt, a detachment of the regiment
was selected to be attached to the Royal Artillery as drivers; and
in October, two hundred men marched into Kafirland, under Captain
Bogle, to recover property which had been stolen by the natives.
In the mean time the war had terminated in Europe, and the
sovereignty of the Cape of Good Hope was permanently confirmed to
Great Britain by the Congress at Vienna.
[Sidenote: 1816]
[Sidenote: 1817]
In March, 1816, the establishment of the Cape Regiment was fixed at
ten companies of three serjeants, two corporals, and fifty private
soldiers each; and a further reduction being made in the strength
of the British army, its numbers were reduced, in January, 1817, to
six companies, under a major commanding.
During this year, detachments of the regiment were employed
night and day in patrolling the Fish River Bush, and repelling
the incursions of the Kafirs. In March two lines of posts were
directed to be established along the frontier, and the first line,
commencing at Upper Kafir Drift and extending up the Fish River as
far as Roode Wall, was occupied by the Cape Regiment; at the same
time the following orders were issued for its guidance by authority
and direction of Lieutenant-General Lord Charles Henry Somerset,
then Governor of the Colony.
“It is to be clearly understood that no provocation is to be
given to the Kafirs in their own territory. No cattle belonging
to any inhabitant or farmer, are, upon any account, to be
permitted to stray or graze, over to the Kafir territory; neither
is any Kafir to be molested when within his own boundary, nor is
any soldier, or other person, permitted to cross the Great Fish
River, except when tracing depredations, or in the pursuit of
stolen property.
“It will be a primary object to capture any Kafirs trespassing
within the limits of the colony, and his Lordship anxiously hopes
that this may be effected without bloodshed.
“Should cattle be traced, the party tracing them will, if it
consider itself strong enough, and if commanded by an officer,
follow until it shall retake them.
“In order to encourage the men employed upon this duty, his
Lordship has directed a reward to be given to the party making
a capture, of five rix-dollars for each Kafir, not wounded, and
one rix-dollar for each head of cattle retaken, and for each head
afterwards restored from a Kafir Kraal, in lieu of that which
shall have been traced to it.
“Any Kafir who is captured is to be well secured, and conducted
from post to post to the Drostdy at Uitenhage.”
In the beginning of April three hundred men under Major Fraser
accompanied the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset, to Kafirland,
where his Lordship had an interview with the Chief Gaika, and
established friendly relations with that Chief; but the tribes of
T’Slambie, Eno, Botman, and Cobus Congo continued hostile to the
colony. The advantages resulting from the friendly relations thus
established, were followed by the reduction of the regiment to two
hundred men, under Major Fraser, who assumed the command of the
frontier in October of that year. The hostile clans continuing to
make depredations, patroles were out night and day, and on the 10th
of October three men of the Cape Regiment, the signal men at Waay
Plaats, who were returning from the Cowie Bush, were waylaid and
murdered by the Kafirs in a manner which evinced a most barbarous
and cruel disposition.
[Sidenote: 1818]
On the 8th of January, 1818, Major Fraser entered Kafirland with
an armed force, and sixty men of the Cape Regiment recovered
twenty-one horses and two thousand head of cattle from the tribe of
T’Slambie.
The Kafirs were not intimidated, but continued their depredations,
committing numerous wanton murders, and the Cape Regiment was
constantly employed in scouring the bush, at the same time numerous
reinforcements of armed Hottentots joined from the several
institutions.
[Sidenote: 1819]
At length this border warfare began to assume a more serious
aspect, and in April, 1819, the Kafirs under the Chiefs T’Slambie
and Lynx made a combined attack on Graham’s Town, but were
repulsed; on this occasion the conduct of the Cape Regiment was
conspicuous, and called forth the approbation of Lieutenant-Colonel
Willshire, commanding the troops[3].
It was found necessary to pursue these lawless invaders into their
own country, and the Cape Regiment, consisting of two troops of
cavalry and four companies of infantry, formed part of the force
under Colonel Willshire, which advanced into Kafirland in May, and
they remained with that force until September, when the Kafirs were
completely subdued and brought to terms.
[Sidenote: 1820]
[Sidenote: 1821]
[Sidenote: 1822]
In the year 1820, a number of settlers arrived from Great Britain,
and were located about Graham’s Town, and in the fine grass
country to the south-west of the Fish River. From this period much
improvement was produced in the character of the Colony by the
exertions and industrious habits of the new settlers.
[Sidenote: 1823]
The duties of the frontier continued, however, to require activity
and vigilance, and in 1823 the Cape Regiment was augmented to four
troops of cavalry and four companies of infantry, in order to check
the depredations of the Kafirs.
In October of this year Lieut.-Colonel Fraser died, and the
command of the regiment devolved on Major Henry Somerset.
The Regiment was actively employed in the border warfare, and on
the 4th of December it was engaged with the tribe of the Chief
Macomo, when it recaptured many thousand head of cattle, which had
been stolen from the farmers along the frontier.
[Sidenote: 1824]
[Sidenote: 1825]
[Sidenote: 1826]
[Sidenote: 1827]
In the years 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1827, the regiment was
constantly employed in repelling the inroads of the Kafirs;
numerous rencounters took place, and in that period the patroles of
the regiment recovered six thousand and twenty-nine head of cattle
belonging to the colony, which will give some idea of the nature
of this border warfare, and of the arduous duties performed by the
corps.
Some respite from these services being afforded, the corps was
reduced, in November, 1827, to three companies of mounted riflemen,
under a major commanding, and the head-quarters were removed to
Fort Beaufort.
[Sidenote: 1828]
THE CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN, under the command of Captain Aitchison,
accompanied Lieutenant-Colonel Somerset[4] into Kafirland, in
July and August, 1828, to repel the attacks of a horde of savages,
who had driven the border Kafirs into the colony. Lieut.-Colonel
Somerset advanced as far as the Umtata River, and on the 28th of
August the CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN were engaged with a very superior
force of the invading tribes, and after a severe action from
day-break until mid-day, the savages retreated, leaving many women
and children, and much cattle behind them.
[Sidenote: 1829]
[Sidenote: 1830]
[Sidenote: 1831]
[Sidenote: 1832]
[Sidenote: 1833]
[Sidenote: 1834]
After returning from this enterprise, the RIFLEMEN resumed their
duties along the frontier; the depredations of the Kafirs were
continued, and in the years 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, and
1834, the patroles of the corps recaptured six thousand two hundred
and ten head of cattle, and three hundred and thirty-four horses,
which had been stolen from the colonists.
Disputes frequently arose when the military were searching for lost
property; the Kafirs denied the justice of some claims, asserted
that seizures were made without proof of guilt, and without the
tracks of the lost cattle being traced to the kraal where a demand
for cattle in lieu of those lost was enforced. These disputes led
to bloodshed, and were followed, in 1834, by a simultaneous attack
of the Kafirs upon the colony at all points. On this occasion the
CAPE CORPS had three provisional companies of mounted men attached
to it, and having taken the field, it was almost constantly
engaged in detached parties with the invaders. It penetrated into
Kafirland, and was employed in the most active and arduous services
under Lieut.-Colonel Somerset, and Major Burney, for many months.
[Sidenote: 1835]
[Sidenote: 1836]
[Sidenote: 1837]
The Kafir war was continued in 1835, and in May of that year the
head-quarters of the corps were removed to Cypher Fontein; strong
detachments being employed in the new province, and along the line
of posts. The corps was also actively employed on the frontier
during the subsequent years.
[Sidenote: 1838]
In February, 1838, some of the provisional recruits, stationed
at Fort Peddie, laid the foundation of a serious mutiny, which
was fortunately discovered by some old soldiers of the corps,
and immediately reported to Captain Murray of the Seventy-second
Highlanders, commanding the post, and the ringleaders were secured.
A party of these men having marched to Fraser’s camp, on route to
head-quarters, they fired upon their officers in the night, when
Ensign Crowe, a provisional officer, was killed. This alarming
circumstance appeared to endanger the character of the corps; but
the investigation instituted by Major-General Sir George Napier,
and the proceedings of the general court-martial on the trial of
the ringleaders, clearly proved, that no blame was to be attached
to the officers, nor to the established members of the corps: in
August, his Excellency the Governor was pleased to recommend a
permanent augmentation of three companies to the corps.
[Sidenote: 1839]
The augmentation of the corps was carried into effect in March,
1839, when the six companies of the CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN were
placed under the command of Colonel Henry Somerset: their
head-quarters had been removed in the previous November, from
Cypher Fontein to Graham’s Town, from which period they have been
actively employed along the frontier, occupying seventeen posts.
[Sidenote: 1840]
In October, 1840, his Excellency Major-General Sir George Napier
inspected the corps, and afterwards, addressing the officers and
soldiers, expressed his unqualified approbation of their conduct
since he quitted the frontier in 1838, and of their efficiency in
every respect.
* * * * *
The CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, where the services of the CAPE MOUNTED
RIFLEMEN have been of signal advantage to the settlers, forms an
interesting and important portion of the British dominions, and is
capable of becoming a particularly valuable colony. On approaching
this part of Africa, the immense mass of naked rock called Table
Mountain, rising to the height of three thousand five hundred feet,
with its summit covered with a fleecy canopy of clouds, forms a
conspicuous object; and on a plain, sloping downwards from the
mountain, stands Cape Town, the capital of the colony, which is
defended by a castle of considerable strength.
The colony is bounded on the west and south, by the Atlantic and
Southern oceans; on the east, by the Great Fish River, which
separates it from Kafirland, or Caffraria; on the north by a
vast chain of mountains which form a barrier between it and the
Bechuanas and other independent tribes that stretch into the
interior. The colony is between five and six hundred miles long,
and its breadth varies from two to three hundred miles; it contains
about one hundred and twenty thousand square miles. The leading
features consist of three successive ranges of mountains, running
parallel with each other to the southern coast of Africa. Between
the first range (called Lang Kloof, or Long Pass) and the sea,
there is a belt of land varying from twenty to sixty miles in
breadth, covered with a deep fertile soil, watered by numerous
rivulets, well clothed with grass and a beautiful variety of trees
and shrubs, and yielding an abundance of grain and pasturage.
Between this range and the second, called Zwarte Berg, or Black
Mountain, there is another belt of land of about the same average
breadth, but of greater elevation, and containing patches of
fertile land interspersed in large tracts of arid desert; on these
spots are a number of grazing farms, which produce fine horses
and horned cattle. Beyond the Black Mountain, at an interval from
eighty to a hundred miles of elevated ground of a barren character,
rises the highest range of mountains in Southern Africa, called
Nieuwveldt Gebrige, the summits of which are generally covered
with snow. In this extensive territory, forming, as it were,
a succession of terraces rising above each other, much barren
land exists, interspersed with many spots of extreme fertility,
producing, in their wild state, plants and flowers distinguished
by the elegance of their forms and colours. The colony is capable
of much improvement, and of maintaining a much larger population
than that by which it is occupied. The principal of the rural
occupants are wine-growers, corn-farmers and graziers; the first
reside in the immediate vicinity of the Cape; they produce wine
of ten or twelve different kinds, and that called Constantia,
has obtained considerable reputation; brandy also forms a staple
product among them, but both articles admit of improvement. The
corn-farmers reside, generally, a few days’ journey from the Cape,
and the fertility of the soil enables them to reap good crops of
wheat, barley, rye, maize, peas, beans, and on some occasions they
bring quantities of aloes to the Cape, for which they obtain a
good price. The graziers occupy the more remote districts of the
colony, and have large flocks of sheep, some of them remarkable for
immense tails; this breed is, however, gradually becoming extinct;
the Saxon, Merino and other fine-wool breeds having been introduced
with great advantage; the graziers have also great quantities of
horned cattle. Fruits of various kinds are produced on the west
coast of the colony in as great perfection as in any part of the
globe. The Hottentots are the chief labourers of the colony, and
are a patient submissive race; when trained as soldiers they prove
an useful and efficient class of men.
Extensive measures have been adopted to diffuse the advantages of
civilization, and the blessings of Christianity among the tribes of
this part of Africa; schools have been introduced, and missionary
stations formed, and the results have been most favourable to the
progress of humanity. In this respect the colony offers a field for
the efforts of philanthropy of a most interesting character.
The geographical position of the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE points out the
importance of this colony in a commercial and military point of
view; situate half-way between England and India, in a wholesome
climate, and producing refreshments of every description, it is
capable of becoming a particularly valuable post. In the event
of a war, the power which holds the Cape may be said to possess
the key of India. It is capable of becoming a valuable station
for naval and military establishments to give effectual security
to the Indian trade and settlements. It might, also, be rendered
particularly advantageous to the interests of the British empire
as an emporium of Eastern produce, and as furnishing articles of
export for consumption in Europe and the West Indies. The advantage
of its position, considered in connection with the intercourse of
Europe with the vast regions situate around the Indian Ocean, and
its convenient situation as a place of refreshment for vessels
navigating to and from the East Indies, are quite obvious.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 1841]
The CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN are intimately connected with the several
interesting and important points in which the Cape of Good Hope
may be viewed, in relation to the advantages accruing to Great
Britain from the possession of this colony. During the whole of
the services of the corps from 1806 to 1841 it has enjoyed, and
frequently received, the expressed approbation of the several
Commanders-in-Chief of the colony, for its conduct, discipline,
and arduous exertions for the service of the Crown. Among the
officers who have signalized themselves, the names of _Colonels_
John Graham and Henry Somerset; _Lieut.-Colonels_ Thomas Lyster and
G. Sackville Fraser; _Major_ Robert S. Aitchison, and _Captain_
William W. Harding, deserve to be particularly mentioned; also,
_Lieutenant_ and _Adjutant_ Robert Hart, who served from 1808 to
1817, when he was appointed to a responsible situation under the
Colonial Government; and _Lieutenant_ and _Adjutant_ John Blakeway,
who served from 1819 to 1827. Many of the present members of the
corps have shared in all its arduous duties for several years.
In testimony of the high sense entertained by Her Majesty Queen
Victoria of the efficient services of the CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN,
Her Majesty has recently directed that a pair of Standards, or
Guidons, shall be presented to that Corps. The First, or Royal
Standard, is of crimson silk; in the centre of which are conjoined
the rose, shamrock, and thistle; in a scroll beneath is the Royal
motto, “_Dieu et mon droit_;” the whole surmounted by the imperial
crown; the White Horse on a red ground in a compartment in the
first and fourth corners, and the words “_Cape Mounted Riflemen_,”
on a green ground in the second and third corners. In the middle
of the Second, or Regimental Standard, is the title of the Corps
encircled by the national emblems of the United Kingdom; above is
the imperial crown; and in a scroll beneath the words “_Cape of
Good Hope_” in the first and fourth corners the White Horse on a
red ground, and in the second and third corners the rose, shamrock,
and thistle; the field of this Standard is green; the ground of the
four badges is crimson.
So gratifying a mark of the Sovereign’s approval cannot fail to
prove acceptable both to the officers and men of this useful and
efficient corps, and to afford an encouragement to their future
exertions and good conduct.
1841
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS, ST. MARTIN’S LANE.
[Illustration: CAPE MOUNTED RIFLEMEN.
ROYAL STANDARD.
REGIMENTAL GUIDON.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Corps employed against the Cape of Good Hope, in 1806:--
20th Lt. Drag., (det.)
Royal Artill., (det.)
Royal Engin., (det.)
24th Foot,
38th Foot,
59th Foot,
71st Foot,
72nd Foot,
83rd Foot,
93rd Foot,
Staff Corps, (det.)
The loss sustained in the landing at Lospard’s Bay, and in the
action of the 8th January, was--1 Captain, (Foster,) 24th Regt.,
and 14 men killed; 36 men of the 93rd Regt., drowned by the
upsetting of a boat in attempting to land; 9 officers and 183 men
wounded; and 8 men missing.
[2] The _Kafirs_ are natives of _Caffraria_, _Caffreland_, or,
more properly, “_Kafirland_,” from the Arabic word _Kafir_, which
signifies “Unbeliever;” these people are a hardy and warlike race;
they are armed with light spears, about seven feet in length,
called _assagais_, of which each warrior carries six or eight, and
a kind of club for close fighting, called a kerrie; the former they
throw with great force and dexterity, seldom missing an object at
a less distance than sixty paces. The men are, for the most part,
tall, muscular, robust, and very active, and from the difficult,
and almost inaccessible nature of the country in which the troops
have to act against them, are far from being a despicable enemy:
they have of late years obtained guns and an abundance of horses;
they seldom make an attack in the open field, but select, with
much judgment, the most rugged and rocky ravines, and the densest
thickets, for their onset. They are patient of hunger and fatigue;
and traverse immense distances in an incredibly short space of
time, and the features of the country being favourable to their
mode of warfare, military combination is rendered extremely
difficult; the greatest caution and steadiness are, therefore,
requisite in troops employed in any operation, in order to guard
against a surprise from so wily and active a people, who are
watchful of every opportunity to pounce upon any detachment which
may appear to be unsupported, or neglectful of the necessary
precautions against surprise.
A most able and experienced officer (Colonel H. G. Smith, late of
the Rifle Brigade, and Deputy Quarter-Master-General at the Cape
of Good Hope) declared, “that to follow the enemy vigorously to
his haunts and lurking-places, requires a perfect knowledge of the
service in all its branches, and an intrepidity and recklessness of
danger, which, while they become the soldier, prove the courage of
the man.”
Although the Kafirs occupy a fertile territory, which is capable
of great improvement, yet it is found, even at the present period,
that the habits and propensities of the male population are more
suited to depredation and warfare, than to the peaceful pursuits
of agriculture, the females being employed in all the offices
of labour; their frequent incursions on the lands and property
of the settlers on the British frontier; their constant state
of preparation for aggression and acts of hostility, and the
treacherous and, in some instances, barbarous practices to which
they have recourse, prove them to be very dangerous neighbours;
and until civilization, and the principles of Christianity shall
have been diffused in that very extensive territory, it may
be apprehended that these people will continue their ravages,
particularly if the corps on the frontier should be reduced, or
should relax in their responsible duties for the protection of the
colony.
Hence the importance of an active and well-disciplined body of
troops on the frontier, in which the confidence of the Government
can be placed, and which are prepared, on every occasion, to
defend the property of the settlers, and to follow up any acts of
aggression on the part of their predatory neighbours.
[3] Now Commandant of the Garrison of Chatham.
[4] Lieut.-Colonel Somerset had been appointed Commandant of
Caffraria from 25th September, 1825, having been previously
employed as Commandant at Simon’s Town and Graham’s Town, from
June, 1821.
* * * * *
* * * * *
WEST STRAND, APRIL, 1842.
NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS,
PRINTED FOR
JOHN W. PARKER, LONDON.
_Nearly Ready._
LIFE and CORRESPONDENCE of
The Late SIR ASTLEY PASTON COOPER, Bart.;
From Documents bequeathed by him for the purpose.