TOPIC:

(I might have posted this in the wrong forum earlier, new here) My great-grandfather, Oscar Patterson, was an Alabama boy who somehow ended up serving in Rimington's Guides and Damant's Horse in the Boer War. I knew nothing about it until I was given two letters he wrote home, describing his life as a trooper. He certainly didn't speak Afrikaans, and jokes about how he didn't know how to ride when he started, which seems to contradict what I have read about how selective the unit was. From what I understand, he may have been the only American in the unit. I have located him on the medal rolls, and would like to get copies of his enlistment papers, but I don't think they are available online. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much. -- Mark Simpson

Mark - I have found Oscar on Medal Rolls which show he also served in the Western Light Horse and when he attested

Damant's Horse MR - he listed seonc, Regt no. 33158 and you can see a reference to Western Light Horse service in the Remarks column:



Western Light Horse MR - he is listed third from bottom with Reg No. 370 and again you can see two refences to his service in Damant's Horse:



These two I found on Ancestry but there is also a transcription record on Find My Past:

First name(s) Oscar
Last name Patterson
Birth year 1882
Age 19
Year 1901
Enlistment date 29 Apr 1901
Enlistment place Port Elizabeth
Soldier number 33158
Regiment Rimington's Guides
Nationality American
Occupation Printer
Marital status Single
Next of kin's title Mrs
Next of kin's first name(s) J L
Next of kin's last name Bowles
Next of kin's relationship Sister
Next of kin's address Legdrange Georgia
Next of kin's town U S A
Record set British Army, Local Armed Forces' Enrolment Forms, Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Regards, David.

Thank you so much. I have the other two, but did not have the enlistment record on findmypast, which is very helpful. Now I know which sister he sent his letters to (he just says “dear sister”). Maybe I can locate other letters and figure out how he ended up over there.