This corps, strength 100, was raised by Captain the Honourable R De Montmorency, VC, 21st Lancers, in December 1899. Their work during the next three months was constantly referred to in terms of praise by Major Pollock and other writers on the operations in Central Cape Colony. In the last fortnight of December and in January they did particularly well. The corps lost their gallant leader in a skirmish near Stormberg on 23rd February 1900. It is said that he fired eleven shots after being mortally wounded. On the same occasion Lieutenant Colonel Hoskier, a Middlesex artillery volunteer officer, was killed, and several men were killed and wounded. Captain M'Neill, of the Seaforth Highlanders, who had been aide-de-camp to General Gatacre, succeeded to the command of the scouts on Montmorency's death. After the British had crossed the Orange River in March, Captain Turner along with Captain Hennessy of the Police carried out a most gallant and fruitful piece of work (see Cape Police).
When the Boers had been driven from the neighbourhood of the Orange, the corps took part in the operations for the relief of Wepener. They were in the advance to the Transvaal, and were among the first troops to gallop into Pretoria. After Pretoria was occupied, Montmorency's Scouts were split up. In July a detachment served in the column of Lieutenant General Ian Hamilton, which did much hard work marching and fighting, both east and west of Pretoria, during July, August, and September 1900.
The Mentions gained were:—
LORD ROBERTS' DESPATCH: 2nd April 1901.—Captains A M'Neill, H G Turner, Corporal C Roberts, Scout J Murray.
See the forum posts on Montmorency's Scouts. See the forum posts on De Montmorency
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