History of the Cape Mounted Riflemen: With a Brief Account of the Colony of the Cape of Good HopeCannon, Richard
History
History of the Cape Mounted Riflemen: With a Brief Account of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope
Cannon, Richard
Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- History; Great Britain. Army. Cape Mounted Riflemen -- History
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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