| Cape Mounted Riflemen | |
|---|---|
 Cape Mounted Riflemen patch with a CMR blisterbeetle (Hycleus oculatus) in the centre | |
| Active | 1793 (1793) - 1926 (1926) |
| Allegiance |  British Empire |
| Branch | |
| Garrison/HQ | Simon's Town |
| Engagements | |
TheCape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units.
There were two separate successive regiments of that name. To distinguish them, some military historians describe the first as the "imperial" Cape Mounted Riflemen (originally the"Cape Regiment"), and the second as the "colonial" Cape Mounted Riflemen.
The first, so-called "imperial", unit, was formed by the Dutch administration of theCape Colony in 1793, to enlarge its garrison because of the threat posed by the war inEurope. It was known as thePandour Corps, and consisted ofKhoisan andColoured men under White officers.
The British retained the unit after taking over the colony in 1795, and renamed it theCape Regiment. When the Dutch resumed the administration in 1803, they changed the name to theCorps van Vrye Hottentotten, i.e. "Corps of FreeHottentots" and again, in 1805, to theHottentot Ligte Infanterie, i.e. "Hottentot Light Infantry".
After British rule was reinstated in 1806, the unit was called theCape Regiment again. The regiment had its headquarters at Simonstown and formed a key component of the Cape's frontier defences, repeatedly distinguishing itself in the earlyfrontier wars.
In 1817, it was divided into mounted and infantry sections, and was renamed theCape Corps of Cavalry and Infantry, or "Cape Corps" for short.
In 1827, the infantry section was disbanded, leaving only the mixed-race cavalry unit. The resulting exclusively mounted corps was renamedCape Mounted Riflemen.
The unit was deployed in several operations and campaigns: the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8thCape Frontier Wars, thesiege of Durban (1842), and theBasuto War.
The CMR were disbanded in 1870.[1]
In 1915 the earlier name, "Cape Corps", was revived for a unit of Coloured soldiers. The nameCape Regiment was revived for another Coloured unit, in 1986.
TheCape Colony government founded the second, so-called "colonial", in 1855, as the para-militaryFrontier Armed and Mounted Police (FAMP).
The function of this locally recruited multiracial force was to maintain law and order in the districts along the colony's frontier with theXhosa kingdoms in theTranskei. A new constitution that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race and instituted the non-racialCape Qualified Franchise partially assuaged some of theXhosa people's grievances, leading to a period of relative peace on the frontier. Nevertheless, conflicts did erupt over the following decades, and the FAMP played a central role in policing them.
The FAMP was operationally deployed in theTranskei in 1858, against theKoranna in 1869, in apprehending theZulu chiefLangalibalele in 1873, inGriqualand West in 1875, and in the9th Frontier War (1877–1878).
When the Cape attained "Responsible Government" in 1872, its new Prime MinisterJohn Molteno shifted the focus of government policy to internal development, rather than territorial expansion. Nonetheless, his government expanded the FAMP, whose efficiency and military capacity Molteno had a very high opinion of. The new government was also of the opinion that a competent FAMP force would remove the need for any outside British intervention in the region.[2]
Consequently, by 1876, the FAMP had grown to have units stationed at Komga, Queenstown, Palmietfontein,King Williams Town, Peddie, Butterworth, Kenhardt, Fort Murray, Ealing Post and Kokstad. An artillery unit was added in 1874. The FAMP were also re-organised for rapid mobility; lightly equipped and possessing considerable local knowledge, they formed a very effective police force for the rough and mountainous frontier terrain.
Finally in 1878, the FAMP were fully militarised, as a unit of theColonial Forces, and renamedCape Mounted Riflemen.
A change in the Cape Government in 1878, and the newSprigg Government's expansionist policies, led to outbreaks of conflict, both within the Cape Colony, and around its borders. These conflicts were part of a wider surge of warfare acrosssouthern Africa, stemming from the attempt by the London Colonial Office to enforce a system of British-controlled Confederation onto the region. The CMR were involved in several of the more local conflicts, which directly involved the Cape Colony.[3][4]
In 1879, the CMR fought in theMoorosi campaign, where they gained much distinction. They also fought in theBasutoland Gun War (1880–1881), theMatabeleland campaign (1893–1894), theBechuanaland campaign in 1897, and theSecond Boer War (1899–1902). During these wars, the CMR came to comprise the dominant portion of the whole of theCape Forces. As before, during peacetime the CMR served as a police force.
In 1913, the CMR were incorporated into the newUnion Defence Force as the1st South African Mounted Riflemen. InWorld War I they fought in theGerman South-West Africa campaign (1914–1915). In 1922, they were deployed in operations to crush theRand Revolt on theWitwatersrand.
The 1st SAMR were disbanded in 1926, for financial reasons.[5]
The CMR blisterbeetle (Hycleus oculatus) is named after the Cape Mounted Riflemen.
