MMa&.ift?^-CT'.'.2 ISLANDERS AND

i—BalM^M THE BOER WAR

By Darin MacKinnon and Boyde Beck

Britannia crowns her warrior sons with a victory laurel on this South African War service medal (with four bars), awarded to Charles H Hine, a late addition to the first Island contingent

William N. Riggs William N. Riggs lfred Riggs joined the Charlottetown Charlottetown, Charlottetown, A. Engineers, a local militia unit, in Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island 1898. A store clerk by occupation, he had decided to join the ministry when Paardeberg, Feb. 23, 1900 Paardeberg, March 3, 1900 the South African War broke out. The combined pull of patriotism and adven- Dear Father: Dear Mr. Riggs: ture was irresistible. Riggs put off his studies, offered for, and considered I have no time to write a letter now, as the It is with feelings of the greatestsorrow and himself lucky to serve in, South Africa. mail goes in 5 minutes. We have had a big deepest sympathy that I write to you re- His first battle was Paardeberg. There, battle here at Paardeberg. We lost very garding the death of your dear son, Alfred. on 18 , he watched his heavily, casualties about 100, with 28 Words cannot express how I feel for your- friend Roland Taylor die. "Shot through killed and the rest wounded. Poor Roland self and your family in their great grief. It the heart," "didn't last a minute," "died Taylor was killed. He was shot through the will be a consolation to you to know that very peacefully," Riggs and others were heart, and died instantly. I was with him Alfred died in the very front of the fight, quick to assure Taylor's parents. Eight when he died, but he did not know me fighting heroically and meeting a true days later it was his turn. In the chill of when I got him to the stretcher. He was too soldier's death. His name will ever be re- the early morning hours, he took part in far gone when I got there. I did all I could membered by his comrades. Alfred was a Paardeberg's final stage, a night assault for him, but it was no use. He died very good boy. His death with that of Roland on an entrenched position. Alfred Riggs's peacefully. Fred Waye was wounded in the Taylor has cast a gloom over us all. Their adventure ended with three bullets to leg. Myself and the rest of the boys are well.fate may meet some more of us but whilst the head. He was just short of his 22nd We have the cornered. I have the opportunity I must express my birthday. heartfelt sympathy for yourself and family Your loving son, in this time of sadness. Alf An Imperial Ideal Believe me, PS. I received a number of letters from In November 1899,32 Islanders had set friends at home which I will answer as sail for Africa. They were part of a 1000- soon as possible. We have not got the boxesYours most sympathetically, man contingent sent by Canada to help you sent as yet. Captain Weeks is all right William A. Weeks Great Britain crush the troublesome and doing all he can for us. Captain, RCR Transvaal and Orange , two Boer republics in South Africa. The who taught that the country's history, and sense of belonging embodied in complex causes of the war probably did traditions, and best interests lay in forg- imperial ideology was a welcome suc- not trouble them much. They fought for ing stronger and stronger links with the cessor to the political humiliations and the same reasons young men have al- Mother Country. They did not consider economic hardship of the 1870s and '80s. ways fought: escape from boredom into their role in the Imperium a subservient The tenets of -imperialism pervaded adventure, hormones, romance as yet one. The Empire was characterized as society on all levels: political and cul- untutored by reality. But in this age and "John Bull and Sons." As the oldest of tural, educational and religious. By 1899 in this generation, they shared other Britain's Dominions, Canada was a sen- a whole generation of Islanders had been motives as well. Raised in a culture that ior partner in, and eventual heir to, the schooled in its values, biases, and loyal- considered militarism a virtue, they company. It was an attractive argument. ties. The maple leaf might have been fought to prove their country's virility Imperialism was an easy way for ayoung, their "emblem Dear," but the Union Jack and its loyalty to Great Britain. The Is- untried nation to play with world-scale was their flag. It went without saying landers left behind fought with them — power. Canadians expressed their na- that any war of Great Britain was their at least, vicariously — savouring the tionalism — their hopes for, and belief war as well. details of every march and battle through in, future greatness — through their extensive newspaper reports and letters membership in the Empire. from the front. An Imperial War The now-obscure battles of the Boer War have importance far beyond their The war that brewed up in 1899 was in a contemporary political impact. In their chronic trouble spot for Great Britain. own time, they were viewed as a test of The British had two colonies in South nationhood and the highest expression Africa: and Natal. Prior to of an imperial theology. For modern the 1860s, they had considered "the historians, they serve as an indication of Cape" as a vital link in the sea routes to how deep that current of imperialism India and the Pacific. When they chal- ran in Canadian society. lenged for control of the area in the early Imperialism was a complex, often vola- 19th century, the British came up against tile ideology that brought out some of a resident European population. Descen- the best and the worst in Victorian soci- dants of 17th-century Dutch, French, ety. In simplest terms, 19th-century and Belgian settlers, the Boers were a imperialism meant the creation of em- farming people who had colonized the pire: the acquisition of territory by west- Cape when nobody else — except, of ern nations through force, discovery, or course, the resident African populations diplomacy. A generation earlier, secure — wanted it. Profoundly fundamental- in its domination of world trade, Britain ist, they considered themselves God- had cast off many of its colonies in a fit of sent to populate and dominate South economy. But by the close of the 19th Africa. They resented the British intru- century, the imperial mood was waxing sion in general and Britain's anti-slavery again. Its critics saw British imperialism activism in particular. as little more than an attempt to consoli- By the 1830s, the more extreme Boers date Great Britain's strategic and politi- had had enough. Abandoning the Cape cal power. They charged that the British to the British, several hundred Boer had conjured up an imperial ideology in families migrated north and east into the response to the growing power of rivals interior in what came to be known as the like Germany and the United States, two "." After a series of bloody among many nations intent on empire- wars with the local African tribes, which building. sealed in blood their claim to the new Its adherents, however, saw imperial- land, the "Trekkers" carved out two re- ism as nothing less "than the greatest publics for themselves: the Transvaal vehicle for good yet developed by man- and the . kind." They spoke of "the white man's The frictions between English and burden," the obligation to bring civiliza- Victoria Regina et Imperatrix. From. Boer re-asserted themselves towards the tion and Christianity to the primitive A. T. Mahany The War in South Africa end of the century in a tangle of political peoples of the world. They maintained (1900). bickering that flared briefly into open that Great Britain was the architect of war in 1880-81. Its legacy was continued the greatest period of peace and pros- distrust and the memory of a stinging perity since the Pax Romana, and that, It could be argued that Prince Edward defeat for British arms at Majuba Hill in with the aid of her Empire, she would Island in particular took great comfort in February 1881. While construction of continue this work into the next century. this sense of empire. In the 1860s Island- the Suez Canal had altered South Africa's Most Canadians — at least, most ers had actually suggested the creation strategic importance by providing a more yl/^fo-Canadians — held the latter view- of an "Imperial Parliament," with partici- direct route to India, the region's signifi- point. In the 1880s and '90s there rose in pation by all of the colonies, as an alter- cance was greatly magnified by the dis- Canada a convincing group of ideologues native to Confederation. The confidence covery of the world's richest diamond and gold fields in the Transvaal. Before they got it. It drew its pretext from human Island's only French-languag newspaper, long, the Transvaal was inundated by rights, had its pivot in economic inter- L'Impartial. "All of the English newspa- mostly-British emigrants — ests, and found its spiritual justification pers that make such a fuss in favour of — seeking their fortunes, and by the in imperialism. war are in the hands of fools." mid- 1890s, ownership of the major dia- The reaction in Canada and on the In Ottawa, Prime Minister Wilfrid Lau- mond and gold mines was concentrated Island was two-fold. Imperialism was a rier shared French Canada's suspicions in British hands. predominantly urban and definitely concerning the war. He attempted to Fiercely protective of their culture and Anglo-Canadian phenomenon. The appease both sides of the issue. At first traditions, the Boers balked at granting Island's British newspapers, which had he refused to commit the government to these newcomers the rights of full citi- been watching the war develop all sum- an official participation. He placated those zenship, since to do so would be to sur- mer, were ecstatic at the prospects of a supporting the war by promising to pass render political control. Idealists in Brit- quick victory over the Boers, and looked on offers of service from individuals and ain were just as protective of the Inlan- forward to a general call-to-arms. French militias to the Colonial Office. Pressure ders' interests. As tensions mounted, Canada, however, identified more with from Joseph Chamberlain and from Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colo- French than British imperialism. Al- within Laurier's own Liberal party soon nial Secretary, and , Presi- though French Canadians sometimes forced the Prime Minister into an official dent of the Transvaal, talked peace applauded Britain's imperial activities, commitment. Canada would raise and through the medium of Alfred Milner, they were, on the whole, suspicious of transport a token force of 1,000 volun- British High Commissioner and Gover- the ideology. In 1898, they had watched teers for South Africa. Once there, they nor of Cape Colony. Convinced that South their spiritual champion, France, bested would be commanded and paid by the Africa's destiny lay with Britain, Milner in a test of imperial wills at Fashoda, on British Army. used his critical role as liaison to ensure the Upper Nile. There a bloodless con- On the face of it, 1,000 troops was not that negotiations would fail. Realists, frontation between British troops and a a major contribution. It was, however, all including the powerful mining concerns, French detachment intent on staking a that the British wanted. Though the were keen to establish British sover- claim to the region had brought the Boers were a proven, tough opponent— eignty over the area's mineral riches. two old rivals to the brink of war. By memories of Majuba Hill were fresh and Imperialists like Milner were set on 1899, French-speaking Canadians were bitter — London expected the war to be "putting the screws" to the Boers in in no mood to share in the joy of a war a short one. The first batch of troops order to establish British dominance in against the Boers. 'The South African from Britain, supplementing those al- South Africa. These groups avidly sought War seems to be a foolish manoeuvre," ready in South Africa, would easily handle a war to clear the air. In October 1899, was the contemptuous opinion of the the Boer militias. Troops from Canada,

Imperial soldiers: the first Island contingent to South Africa. Back row (left to right): Herbert Brown, HurdisMcLean, A.J. B. Mellish, Leslie McBeth, Lawrence Gaudet, Hedley McKinnon, Joseph O'Reilly, Edward Small. Third row: Frederick Waye, Frederick McRae, Leroy Harris, James Walker, Ernest Lord, Lome Stewart, T. A. Rodd, Frederick Furze, Nelson Brace. Second row: James Matheson, Michael McCarthy, Joshua Leslie, Richard Foley, Major W. A. Weeks, Reginald Cox, J. A. Harris, Ernest Bowness, Artemas Dillon. Front row: John Boudreau, Roland Taylor, Necy Doiron, Alfred Riggs, Walter Lane. Waye, Brace, and J. A. Harris were all wounded at Paardeberg. Australia, and New Zealand were meant thing, be it ever so little, to this noble merely to show potential enemies that cause." In an assembly at the Kirk of St. Healing Hands Britain's wars were also its Dominions' James, the Company's Chaplain, Rev. T. In retrospect, the most prominent Islander i wars. 'They represent the solidarity of F. Fullerton, reminded them their cause in the South African campaigns was the Empire," Judge Rowan Fitzgerald was a good one: Georgina Fane Pope. Daughter of W. E. reminded Islanders, "they show the Our Empire is either for God or against Pope, an Island Father of Confederation, world that for weal or woe we are ready God; our causes either righteous or un- and sister to powerful Ottawa bureaucrat to join hands with the Mother Country." Joseph Pope, she led a small group of righteous. It is because we are convinced nurses —four in number — that accom- that for unanswerable reasons the present panied the First Canadian Contingent to struggle with all its contingencies com- A Heroes' Send-Off South Africa. The Army, '..reluctant to mends itself to the great nation in whose expose female nurses to the full rigours of lot and destiny we share that we boldly as- campaigning, at first kept Pope and her The contingent was named the Second sert that the war is of God.... What God, group in the safety of Capetown. Greater- (Special Service) Battalion of the Royal what justice and what equality require than-anticipated casualties, especially Canadian Regiment. Commanded by must now be done. * from sickness, soon changed the Army's Colonel W. D. Otter, a veteran of the Riel mind, and the Canadian nurses got to ex- Rebellions, it would consist of eight Later, every dignitary the province perience the full spectrum of war. companies recruited from the entire could muster met at the Davies Hotel in Though she came home with tire First country. As it had to be raised and sent Charlottetown to wish the contingent Contingent, Georgina Pope returned to very quickly,,it was assumed that the well. As the Patriot reported, "Could South Africainl902.Thistime she headed troops would be drawn from existing Queen Victoria have looked down from what came to be known as the Canadian militia companies. Charlottetown was her throne last night upon the rays of pa- Army Nursing Service. In 1903 Great Brit- ain rewarded her service by naming her named headquarters to Military District triotism beaming upon the faces of our [the first Canadian to receive the Royal j 12, and the Island and New Brunswick citizens, she would have realized that Red Cross. were combined to raise Company "G." comb the four corners of the earth to- Militia service had been a popular pas- gether and no more loyal people could time on the Island during the 1890s. be found." Charlottetown boasted three detach- Two days later, 4,000 people went ments: the Charlottetown Engineers, down to the train station on Weymouth the 82nd Queen's County Infantry Regi- Street for a final send-off. To the sound of ment, and a detachment of the 4th Cana- their cheers, the Island contingent dian Field Artillery. The Artillerymen boarded their train and headed for were especially proficient, having won Quebec, from there to board a troopship 11 of the previous 13 annual Dominion for Africa. Their adventure had begun. gunnery competitions. As the Patriot reminded its readers: Competition was stiff for the few places All British subjects will take a lively inter- open in the contingent. Recruiters across est in the struggle, and, as this is the first the country found that they could de- time P. E. Island has been asked to send mand far more than the minimum serv- out her sons to share the fortunes of war ice requirements. The Island's quota was with the Empire, Islanders will be more barely 30 men. The Company Com- personally interested. To those wishing to mander was also an Islander, Major keep thoroughly posted on the doings in the William A. Weeks, "every inch a soldier Boer country, we will send the Daily Pa- and one who will uphold the honour of triot from now until January 1, 1901 — his native province." Many disappointed the first day of the next century —for only militiamen could not go. Their ardour, $2.00 cash in advance. and the Island's general eagerness to get into the fight, was quite gratifying to "Canada is in a state of red-hot excite- imperialist observers. As the Halifax ment," Lucy Maud Montgomery agreed Chronicle commented: in her diary. 'There is something stir- Georgina Fane Pope on the eve of her \ ring and exciting and tingling about it all departure for South Africa. The splendid response of Prince Edward even here in this quiet little Island thou- Island to the call of the Canadian Contin- sands of miles from the seat of war. gent for volunteers to serve with the British Everyone is intensely interested in the confidence — and no little trepidation— forces in South Africa is an eloquent token news." As newspapers across the coun- to see if they would pass the test. of the loyalty of that tight little Island.... try noted, this was Canada's first major No other province in proportion to popula- war as a nation. Canadians waited with tion has done so well. On the Sardinian On 23 October, shortly before its de- parture, the Island contingent was treated *On his return from South Africa in 1900, Fuller- By 30 October the entire Canadian ton would tour the Island, speaking at places like Contingent was assembled at Quebec. to a heroes' send-off. The City had raised Cardigan in eastern King's County, in an effort to a gift of money for each soldier, token stoke the fires of Island patriotism. They were loaded on their troopship, the that "every citizen has contributed some- S. S. Sardinian, a private steamer hired South Africa at the time of the Boer War. (Inset) The field of operations around Kimberley. by Ottawa. As Ernest Lord recorded: fruit of all kinds, and lots of puddings." rest. In the course of a week, it became We left about five o'clock in the evening Herbert Brown was not impressed with apparent that the war would last some- amid the cheers of all Quebec. The citadel the company's "general diet": what longer than originally anticipated. was crowded, and I tell you that it was the I don't know what to say. I suppose it is a finest and most imposing sight I ever saw soldier's fare all right, but no more. For or expected to see. About a dozen tugs of all breakfast and tea we get one bun and Reverse Psychology sizes, large and small, came down the butter, sometimes cheese, with tea or cof- river with us quite a distance, each one fee. For dinner we get soup, potatoes and The campaign began badly for the Brit- blowing its own whistle, while their decks meat. Of course we get a few extras, such ish. When it declared war, Great Britain were perfectly packed with men, women as apples, lemons and lime juice, but we was actually outnumbered in South Af- and children. have to thank private donors for those. In rica. The Boer militias, or commandoes, the first place, the bread is only about half were highly mobile, well-armed with the The excitement of the departure soon cooked, and there is not nearly enough of latest weapons, and skilled at irregular gave way to the monotony and discom- it. The meat is very poor, and the coffee warfare. They were not, however, well- fort of life on the tiny troopship. With rarely fit to drink. organized or accustomed to long cam- close to 1,300 troops aboard, the Sardin- paigns. Their best hope lay in splitting ian was cramped. For the troops, the On the whole, however, the Contin- the British forces and defeating them overall effect was a series of adjustments. gent seemed to take these discomforts piecemeal in a series of defensive battles, Adjusting to daily drill with 75-pound in stride. "We are not kicking," stressed thereby inducing Great Britain to seek packs. Adjusting from North American Nelson Brace, "as it is for our own good terms. At the outset, the British generals autumn to African spring. ("The heat is and the good of the country."They looked were quite obliging in this. so great," Nelson Brace observed, "the forward to landing in Capetown, and Ignoring the pleas of their superiors tar is running in the cracks between the exchanging their colourful militia uni- to stay put until more troops arrived, the planking in the upper decks.") Adjust- forms for the standard field dress, "of a British commanders in South Africa ing, finally, to the food. According to the high coffee colour with very fine brass divided their forces and launched simul- Patriot, 'The steamship company is buttons." Their main fear was that the taneous invasions of the two Boer repub- bound to furnish a general diet, includ- war might be over before they arrived. lics. One column, attacking from the ing fresh meats, fish, vegetables, and The latter fears would soon be laid to west, aimed at , capital of the Orange Free State. Another, attack- ing from the east, was set on taking Johannesberg and , the Transvaal's key cities. Both columns had the misfortune to meet superior Boer forces headed southward. The western column was defeated and bottled up in Kimberley. The eastern force was sent reeling, demoralized, into Ladysmith. These were more than minor reverses for the British. Both towns would have to be relieved before operations against the Boer republics could resume. Across the line of march to each town were rivers (the Modder near Kimberley, the Tugela just south of Ladysmith), ideal terrain for the Boers to base their defen- sive positions upon. The rivers were a priceless advantage for the Boers, for they allowed them to dictate the pace of the war: when the battles would be fought and where. By 15 December 1899, the Boers had The second Island contingent was raised almost entirely around Ckarlottetown in response to forced three such engagements. Suc- "" Back row (left to right): Robert Home, W.J. Boulter, Wm. Coombs, Leslie McBeth, cessive attempts to cross the Tugela Robert Cameron, T. F. Gurney. Middle: Wm. Harris, George Arbuckle, Marcellus McDonald, A. River and relieve Ladysmith had resulted H. Roll, R. D. Kennedy. Front: W. J. Proud, Wm. Cook, W. A. McEachern, James A. Pigott. in three bloody defeats for the British. The British Commander-in-Chief, Sir , was stymied by the ans directly into combat. Instead, they Much of the excitement at De Aar and Boers' defensive tactics. Virtually invis- were sent to a series of camps for season- Station came from nightly ible behind their entrenchments, they ing. The Islanders were bemused at picket duty. As Ambrose Rodd described had delivered a punishing rifle fire against being eased into the war. As they boarded it, "It is very dangerous work, but I like it, the waves of British soldiers advancing their troop train in Capetown, Ernest only it is pretty lonely away out in the without cover across open ground. The Bowness remarked "no one would think hills, stuck behind a rock with 100 rounds British public, long accustomed to cheap, we are going to the front, but rather that of ammunition and instructions to shoot easy victories over ill-equipped African we were going off on a picnic." every man who does not halt when you tribesmen, were stunned by the reverses The picnic began at two camps in tell him." However, as Roland Taylor and their high cost. Swiftly dubbed northern Cape Colony: De Aar and noted, most of the danger in this duty "Black Week," the series of defeats Orange River Station, both situated on came from the imagination. "We were spurred another flood of enlistment the high veldt about 350 miles up the rail very cautious," he wrote of one inci- throughout the Empire and the dispatch line from Capetown but still over 100 dent, "and toward morning we discov- of a new Commander-in-Chief, Field miles short of the battle front. As base ered several dark objects, about 150 yards Marshal Lord Roberts, to South Africa. camps they were more unpleasant than off. We at once marched in that direc- In an age that regarded war almost as dangerous. "It is about as nasty a place tion, but the objects turned out to be a game, Roberts was a popular player. as I have seen," wrote Hedley MacKin- ostriches." Popularly known as "Bobs" by the Brit- non, "for it appears as nothing but dust. On 15 December, atthe close of "Black ish public, he decided, on arriving in The heat is awful and the water bad." Week," the Islanders shifted camp. They South Africa, to re-take the strategic Nelson Brace continued, "When the sand were sent to Belmont, halfway between initiative. He chose to concentrate on don't blind you, the flies come to pay De Aar and Kimberley. Belmont had Kimberley on the western front, leaving their respects." In such circumstances it recently been taken from the Boers. "The Buller to solve the puzzle of the Tugela was difficult to adjust to daily drill and hills are crowded with dead bodies," on his own. The men and resources now details. 'The trials and tribulations of a Ambrose Rodd wrote. 'The smell is pouring into South Africa, including the soldier are just awful," MacKinnon la- something fearful." The Islanders spent Canadian Contingent, were given to mented. "Here I have been working like their Christmas here, fortifying the camp, Roberts's protege, the equally popular a nigger all day and am not done yet." "learning the game of war," and watch- Lord Kitchener of Khartoum. Unfortunately—for some, atleast—the ing the war move closer. soldiers' "trials and tribulations" could Fifty miles up the line from Belmont, not be eased by the soldier's traditional Roberts and Kitchener were finally en- Islanders in the Dark Continent outlet, profanity. As Roland Taylor ob- joying some success in shaking the Boers served, "We started a swearing fund at loose from Kimberley. Employing "flying The contingent arrived in Capetown on De Aar to stop the swearing and cursing. columns," they exerted an increasing 29 November, but Kitchener was unwill- Three pence was charged for each of- pressure on the besiegers. As General ingito send troops as raw as the Canadi- fense It did a lot of good." Piet Cronje, the Boer commander, and his force of 5,000 made ready to with- draw, Roberts ordered his reserve up the line to the . The Island- ers, who had been accustomed to making their moves by train, found the 14-mile march quite trying. Hedley MacKinnon described it: M l

/ have seen men stumbling along with RPWtri! heaving breasts and blood- shot eyes, over rock, sand and sage bush, mile after mile, begging, praying, yes, even cursing for water. . . . Blistered feet were plentiful; veldt sores, those terrible ulcers, were common, and the way those boys from comfortable Canadian homes struggled along when every step must have been hell is deserving of the greatest praise. By the first of February, Cronje had abandoned his and was falling back on his capital at Clinging to ropes, Canadian troops and Gordon Highlanders ford the Modder at Bloemfontein. The British followed in Paardeberg Drift on the morning of Kitchener's bloody attack on 18 February. Artillery, lumbering pursuit, determined to cut the 82nd Battery, is moving forward along the skyline in the background. him off. Though hampered by a massive wagon train, Cronje eluded his pursuers for several days. Finally, on 17 February, Modder River. The winding river pro- Traditional tactics of attack in column or he was forced to make a stand. He halted tected his front and flanks, while several line abreast netted little more than large at a bend in the Modder River and dug in. rock formations, or kopjes, offered for- casualty lists. The British commanders The place was called Paardeberg. ward observation posts. The surround- in South Africa had been slow to adapt to ing terrain was flat and featureless. There the new realities; it was up to the infan- was no cover for an attacking force. tryman to improvise. Thus, the Island- The weaponry of the era also favoured ers' first battle would not be the grand the defensive. High velocity, quick-fir- and glamorous set-piece of popular lit- The Battle of Paardeberg was seen as ing rifles using smokeless powder and erature. Instead, it would be a series of one of the most critical of the war. In its larger, more accurate artillery combined mad scrambles, punctuated by long tactics and development, it was also with a plethora of other weapons to make periods of lying in the dust, all in the face typical of the Boer War's early actions. war in the industrial age a far more lethal of an enemy they could not see. The terrain was ideal for an army on the business than ever before. The defender When the battle began, the Royal Ca- defensive. General Cronje had laagered* — in this case, the Boers — could dig in; nadian Regiment was held back as part his troops facing the British across the the attacker provided target practice. of the reserve. Lord Kitchener, deter- mined to carry the position at any cost, recklessly hurled his troops at the Boer entrenchments in a series of frontal as- saults. Though forced to shorten their lines, the Boers stood firm and inflicted heavy casualties on the British. Kitch- ener launched his first attack in the *f! morning. By late afternoon he had spent most of his army. All he had left was the Mim reserve: several regular units that had already seen heavy fighting and the untried Royal Canadians. At 4:00 p.m. they were thrown in as well. As Hedley MacKinnon described it, "We went into action singing and whis- tling and even doing the cake-walk [a popular dance of the period], not through bravery, but rather through sheer igno-

*That is, formed an encampment protected by a circle of wagons — wagon train style — and The morning after. Wounded Canadians (lying on the ground) and British Highland-supplemented by entrenchments. The laager was ers at an over-crowded field hospital on 19 February. a defensive tactic much favoured by the Boers. ranee of danger." This, the last attack of the day, went the way of its predeces- sors. Pinned down by accurate, con- cealed rifle fire, the RCRlost 18 men and had 63 wounded. Among the dead was Roland Taylor. As his comrades de- scribed it, the rifle fire was so intense they had to make several attempts to reach him with a stretcher. Appalled at the carnage (though he was careful not to criticize Kitchener), Roberts hurried up to the battle front after the bloody repulse of 18 February and took over from his lieutenant. Under his command, the British settled in to besiege Cronje's force. For nine days, they poured continuous artillery fire into the Boer camp, all the while inching their own trench lines forward. The shelling did little physical damage, since the Boers were well-entrenched, but its psychological toll was cumulative. When a Boer force hovering on the flank of the besieging British army seized an outly- Imperial martyrs: Alfred Riggs (left) and Roland Dennis Taylor. ing kopje, providing an escape route for his army, Cronje did not seize the chance. The subsequent destruction of his horses The victory at Paardeberg was com- entire Island capital was awash in a sea of by British artillery fire ensured that he plemented by another success on the Union Jacks, and every bell and whistle could not. Unable to break out and de- war's western front. There, General added to the boom of the guns at Victoria spairing of outside relief, the Boers at Buller had finally forced his way across Park and "Long Tom," the little railway Paardeberg began to lose hope. the Tugela River, swept the Boers from cannon. Islanders felt they had been On 20 February the Canadians were their positions, and broken the siege of staunch at home and valorous in the withdrawn, but five days later, Kitch- Ladysmith. News that the Boers were field, and were determined to celebrate ener put them back in the line. Majuba everywhere in retreat reached Charlotte- the fact. Day, the anniversary of the British town on 1 March, and the Island erupted defeat during the , was in patriotic celebration. Lord Roberts, approaching, and Kitchener craved a perceived as the architect of the victory, Marching to Pretoria victory to avenge that humiliation. He was the subject of massive adulation. planned a night attack for the morning "It's Bobs who relieved England's great- In Africa, the victories at Paardeberg of the 27th; the RCR was eager to be in est trial and humiliation," gushed the Pa- and Ladysmith served to accelerate the on it. triot. "Every British heart today pulsates campaign. Hardly pausing after Paarde- It was hailed as Canada's finest hour to the rhythm,'Bobs! Bobs!'" Lucy Maud berg, Roberts pushed his forces on to in South Africa. Ironically, it was the Montgomery, "in a fit o f hero worship," Bloemfontein. Here his reckless cam- result of a muddle. At 2:00 a.m., six was moved to change the name of her cat paign methods caught up to him. In his companies, including the Islanders' from "Coco" to "Bobs." determination to make speed, Roberts Company "G," left the British lines and The possibility that Ladysmith might had left most of his general, and all of his crept toward the Boer camp. They got to fall to the Boers had been quite worri- medical, supplies far behind. Strained within 60 yards before sheets of rifle fire some to war-watchers. As the Patriot by six weeks of battle and hard march- sent them to earth. In the ensuing chaos, recalled: ing, bad food, and worse water, his troops four companies thought they heard the began to fall ill. Virtually the entire army order to pull out. The remaining compa- In no part [of the Empire] has there been came down with enteric fever, a type of nies, both from the Maritimes, misinter- more anxiety felt; more fervent prayers dysentery. For two weeks, the epidemic preted the order and stayed put. Seeing offered for the blessing of God on the Brit- raged unchecked while the British tried they still had a toe-hold so close to the ish arms. .. than there has been in this, to sort out their supply train. The fever Boer camp, the British sent out sappers one of the smallest of old England's colo- claimed more casualties than all of the to dig a trench line and consolidate the nies; and our demonstrations of joy when war's battles combined. The RCR, for gain. By dawn the Boers, low in ammuni- the news of the was instance, lost as many men to sickness tion, disheartened by this new develop- announced were such as to make the day as it did at Paardeberg. The Islanders, ment, and worn out by the continuous a historical one in the records of our however, came through the epidemic pressure, had reached their limit. One Island. unscathed. by one the white flags came out, and the Islanders poured into the streets to cele- As the army was halted at Bloemfon- British began to celebrate. The war had brate the victory. Shops and businesses tein, the Second Canadian Contingent finally turned in their favour. were closed; schools were let out. The was on its way to Africa. This force,

10 raised mostly during "Black Week" the left Kitchener behind to set up a military was in town that night. . . . After a short previous December, was designed to government and "mop up" a few, stub- spell of waiting the procession formed up provide mounted infantry and reinforce- born pockets of resistance. composed of the different societies, Boys ments for the units already in South Their one-year term of service almost Brigades, Militia and the Boys from Af- Africa. Among the Contingent were 15 up, the first Canadian Contingent was rica. As it passed along the street the Islanders. On 10 April they landed at also allowed to return home. Company people all broke into the ranks to shake Capetown, but they must have felt that "G," at least, most of it, left Capetown on hands and such a crush you never saw. the war was all but over. Once the de- 30 September and were home by 2 They marched to the [Queen] square where bacle at Bloemfontein was under con- November. Their return was even more a large stand was built for the occasion. trol, Roberts, never a cautious cam- tumultuous than their departure. Ben- After speeches were made, the Boys were paigner, prepared for another headlong jamin Simmons was part of the welcom- each given fifteen dollars after which they rush at the Boers. The target was Preto- ing throng. As he wrote a friend shortly left for their homes. The [Charlottetown] ria, capital of the Transvaal and heart of afterwards, "It was the sight of a life- Engineers hauled all the men out of their the two Boer republics. This time, how- time." He continued: Company in a barouche drawn with long ever, it was more a triumphal march ropes. than a hard campaign. Encountering little The Princess arrived about half past seven resistance, the British entered Johan- with the Contingent and hundreds that The "Boys" had passed the test. nesberg on 31 May and Pretoria five went over [to Nova Scotia] to meet them days later. The Boer commandoes, their . ... As she came in the harbour the can- government in shambles and their spirit non at Fort Edward fired a salute and all A Tedious, Bush-whacking Affair apparently broken by the reverses of the horns and bells in town were blowing February, began to surrender or simply and ringing, the like of the noise I never The war, unfortunately, did not wrap melt away. By 1 September, Roberts had heard in my life The railway men had itself up as neatly as expected. No one consolidated his conquest of the Boer a floating bonfire in front of the wharf thought to remind the Boers that the republics and announced their annexa- which lit up the whole harbor. They fenced destruction of their armies, capture of tion to the British Empire. off the wharf and no one was allowed their capitals, and occupation of their The war appeared over, the Boers a down, not even the parents of the Boys, but territory meant they had been defeated spent force. Lord Roberts, decreeing this at the head of the street the crowd of people and should stop fighting. With the deci- so, was allowed to return to England. He was something awful — all the country mation of their formal military strength, they adopted guerrilla tactics. Small, highly mobile bands staged often spec- tacular raids on British camps and sup- ply columns. The tactics of formal war- During the guerrilla phase of the war,...Lord Kitchener deckled to eliminate what he fare were far too clumsy to deal with this considered the Boers* main line of support, their countryside. To deny the Boer com sort of incursion. The Islanders of the does access to food, fodder, and fresh horses, Kitchener's troops embarked on a campaign second and later contingents fought a of farm-burning and deportations. Hie non-combatants displaced by this strategy were war, not of dramatic marches and con- removed to a series of central or "concentration* camps. In theory, these displaced persons | were safer re-located away from the fighting. In reality, the policy merely put them atthe clusive battles, but of endless patrols, \ mercy of the same logistical blunders that plagued the rest of the British Army. The camps gruelling "sweeps," guard duty and farm- — crowded, unsanitary, badly supplied, and almost bereft of medical staff—were literally; burning. Back home, war-watchers were the death of 30,000 Boer women and children, many times more than the number of Boers\ at first angered, then bewildered, and killed in action.-.The scandal sparked in England by revelations about camp conditions finally wearied by the turn the war had prompted a series of reprimands for the military and reforms for the camps. taken. "I shall never forget the excite- One of these reforms called for a cadre of school teachers to "buildup the Imperial spirit" ment of the first stages of the war," Lucy in South Africa. In Canada, forty teachers volunteered to work in the camps and help Maud Montgomery confided to her di- indoctrinate the surviving Boers with the culture, beliefs, and benefits of empire. Among ary. "It was worthwhile to be alive then. this group were three Islanders: Clara Gertrude Arbuekle of Summerside along with Maude; But of late it has been a tedious, bush- : Lilian Bremner and Grace Dutcher, bath of Charlottetown. As in the raising of military con- whacking affair." tingents, numbers were not as important as what they represented. "We in Prince Edward Island," the Examiner reminded readers, "may well feel assured that though our quota is The tedious affair came to an end on small in number, it cannot be surpassed in quality. We are sending some of our bestand 31 May 1902. The Boer guerrillas, them- brightest teachers, teachers who .. .will know how to adapt themselves to their circum- selves ground down by two years of stances, and make the best of every situation." The Island women sailed in April 1902, ar- constant fighting, agreed to surrender riving in South Africa on 2 June, one day after a peace treaty was signed. There they signed their republics to the British. In all, 7,500 Canadians served in South Africa be- The teachers who remained at home were urged to canvas for the National Patriotic tween 1899 and 1902. Another 1,000 Tund, a reserve set up to benefit returned soldiers and, if need be, their bereaved families. volunteered for garrison duty, freeing The fund was based on the premise that loyalty could be expressed through the pocketbook British regulars for field duty. Of the \ as well as on the battlefield. As the Patriot reminded Islanders, "In the Transvaal, profession- als, businessmen, clerks, and nearly all who are earning money, are putting aside weekly 7,500, 125 came from Prince Edward a share of their earnings to help prosecute the war. Now, we are infinitely superior to the Island. Some, like the 40 Islanders with Boers, and it must not be said that our people did not materialize when appealed to." the Canadian Mounted Rifles, arrived in \ The home front, the concentration camps, and the battlefield: all three were arenas in South Africa after the hostilities had I which the Island could prove both its loyalty and the quality of its citizenry. ceased. Others, like Nelson Brace and Hurdis MacLean, enlisted twice, return-

11 ing to South Africa with units like the whole, her military victory over the tiny to prove, both on the battlefield and at Canadian Yeomanry and the South Afri- Boer republics had neither encouraged home, that they could "measure up" to can Constabulary. A few, like Roland nor cowed the Empire's imperial rivals. the standards of that ideology. Taylor and Alfred Riggs, never came For Canadians, the war's importance In the blood-stained veldt our home. came in the ideology that had fueled it. loved are sleeping The Islanders' eagerness to fight was The belief in Empire that gave the Boer In the far Transvaal: not unique. Wars have always been able War its patina of idealism was a phe- Laid in earth that's honoured to draw upon a pool of young men fasci- nomenon unique to its time and place. with their keeping nated with the concept of combat. Politi- Islanders who thought about such things Till the last roll call. cally, their war was not a particularly believed implicitly in the Empire "right significant one. Great Britain won some or wrong." British imperialism was their territory and lost some prestige. On the nationalism. The war was their chance Sources

The Boer War produced a vast amount The Boer War Memorial of source material on the Island involve- ment We owe much of it to the local In October 1900, as the first Island contin- ing a dismantled gun with his bayonet at | gent was sailing home, a group of Island- the charge, his beardless face wearing press of the period, which, because of ers decided that there must be a mohu- "an expression characteristic of a soldier the widespread interest in the conflict, I merit to commemorate the warriors' he of the Royal Canadian Regiment" daily devoted much of their space to war Iroic efforts. A meeting of prominent I At the last moment, the site was moved news. The papers also printed numer- | Charlottetown citizens struck a commit- j ! from directly in front of Piwince House to ous letters home from soldiers and oth- | tee-chaired by Premier Donald Farquhar- j |- a point partwaybetween that building and ers active in the conflict. This correspon- •son, to investigate the matter. A site was the Law Courts. Commemorative bronze dence has been invaluable. chosen on the south side of Queen Square, tablets, designed by L. W. Watson (now; The duration of the war also sparked and in January 1901 v the organizers settled remembered chiefly for having composed | the interest of local writers. Three works the music for "The Island Hymn"), were j on a suitable memorial: an elaborate published by Islanders deserve particu- bronze statue with two figures to repre- \ affixed to the north and south fronts of the j sent "Life and Death in=Victory." I pedestal, which was completed in June lar attention: Elizabeth S. MacLeod's I It quickly became apparent that the ; ! 1902 by a local craftsman named Purdy. For the Flag or Lays and Incidents of the committee's choice in statuary, however | McCarthy's contract called for a com- South African War, Annie E. Mellish's i tasteful was too extravagant for the Is- j I pleted monument by 1 July 1902, but this Our Boys Under Fire or Maritime Volun- | land s resources. Subscriptions from Cha- | was not to be. After lengthy delays at the teers in South Africa; and Hedley V. | rlottetown citizens netted over $2,000.00, founders, the Henry Bonnard Co. of New MacKinnon's War Sketches: Reminis- but a fund-raising campaign organized York, the hollow bronze statue was cences of the Boer War in South Africa, through Island schools raised less than shipped to Prince Edward Island the fol-; 1899-1900 were all published in Char- $200.00. Perhaps rural Islanders were lowing May. The formal dedication took lottetown while the war was still in prog- reluctant to furnish Charlottetown alone place amid great ceremony on 6 July 1903, ress. They prbvide us with a good synop- .with-a statue; perhaps imperial patriotism The steadfast soldier of the empire still j did not run as deep in the .'country as it did : stands his ground today, a last reminder sis of both the events of the war (clothed | in the city; or perhaps Islanders felt that | |of a now-forgotten war. in appropriately patriotic sentiments) and they had "done their bit" by contributing the related celebrations staged in the jto the National Patriotic Fund. For-what- j province. The fragment of verse that ever reason, rural Prince Edward Island concludes the article was part of a mem- does not appear to have been interested in orial to Alfred Riggs contained in The a Boer War monument Relief ofLadysmith,apam]Metpublished The committee next appealed to the by the Charlottetown Examiner. provincial and city governments, which To obtain a more modern perspective responded with a combined $900.00 in on the South African War, we consulted Igrants. A play, Zephra, was even staged, j with all proceeds going toward s the statue, a number of works, among them the lit was not enough. By July 1901, after j Canadian Encyclopedia, and Thomas calling in all subscriptions, the committee Pakenham's The Boer War. For the war's conceded that "life and Death in Victory" imperial context in Canada, Carl Berger's was simply too expensive for the money classic study, A Sense of Power (Toronto: available. University of Toronto Press, 1970) is By that time the committee had already extremely useful. [received a proposal from Hamilton Mc- Many thanks are extended to the staff Carthy, R.C.A., an Ottawa sculptor, for a I of both the Robertson Library, Univer- less elaborate, less expensive monument i |On 11 October, a year after the idea was j sity of Prince Edward Island and the first mooted, the committee decided that Public Archives of Prince Edward Island a plaster model submitted by McCarthy for their kind assistance in obtaining the would be most satisfactory — and, in- research material to make this article a deed, all that funds would permit. The reality. A word of thanks, too, to Mr. Earl design for the statue, which would cost Kennedy, who shared with us his valu- $4,000, called for a single figure defend- able research on the Island's war memo- rials, ml

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