During the course of 1901, the various burgher corps were drawn together in the (Transvaal) National Scouts and the Orange River Colony (ORC) Volunteers, and placed under British Army uniform and disciplinary codes. They received pay of 2s 6d per diem and, in addition, kept fifty percent of captured cattle. The ORC Volunteers were the brainchild of De Wet and Commandant S C Vilonel of Senekal, while the National Scouts were led by A P J Cronjé and J C Celliers. The process appears to have languished for some time in gestation, only receiving attention again in early 1902. Eventually two units of the ORC Volunteers were established: one under Vilonel (200-strong) and stationed at Winburg, and the other (248 men) operated under De Wet out of Heilbron.
In contrast to the numerically larger National Scouts (with a strength of 1,359), the ORC Volunteers were not engaged in any military actions, their short war service from March 1902 onwards consisting of reconnaissance missions, nocturnal raiding and the escort of British columns. However, as early as 11 July 1901, eleven joiners had assisted in a raid near Reitz where several members of the Free State government were captured, and President Steyn narrowly evaded capture.
Source: http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol116mc.html
