Canada offers a second contingent of troops to the British in the South African War

The Canadian government offered a second contingent of troops consisting of infantry, cavalry and field artillery to bolster British troops in the South African War. The British initially declined Canada's offer believing that there was no need for additional troops. But after suffering a string of defeats by Afrikaner forces, the British were forced to reconsider and accept Canadian assistance. Canada joined the South African War in 1899 with its first contingent of 1000 troops sailing from QuÁƒÂƒ©bec to South Africa on 30 October 1899 and landed in Cape Town on 30 November 1899. The second contingent comprised of 19 officers and 371 men and their horses was organized into two squadrons. In raising this unit of troops, the Canadian government searched for men who were already experienced horsemen and trained in using weapons. Consequently, some of its members were recruited from cavalry regiments of part-time militias and volunteers. The battalion arrived in Cape Town on 26 March 1900 and was deployed to join the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade already in the frontline. The involvement of Canada in the South African War divided Canadian citizens. Tensions between French and English Canadians sparked three days of rioting in Montreal with Quebec strongly opposed to British involvement in the war. The highest number of causalities suffered by Canadian forces in a single encounter was when 13 soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded at Harts River (Boschbult). Other sites of battle where Canadian forces fought were at Paardeberg, Zand River, Mafeking, Lelifontein and Lydengurg.  Over the course of the war more than 7,000 Canadians, including 12 women nurses, served in the South African War. By the end of the war, 267 Canadians had died in battle and from disease while another 252 were wounded. Graves of Canadian soldiers who died in the South African War are scattered across an estimated 51 sites in South Africa. Recently, the Canadian government has taken measures to restore some of the graves of Canadian troops who died during the South African War.   References Anon, Canada & The South African War, 1899-1902 from the Canadian War Museum, [online] Available at www.warmuseum.ca, [Accesed21 October 2010] Anon, The South African War from the Canadian Encyclopedia, [online] Available at www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com, [Accessed 21 October 2010] Anon, The Boer War  from Canadian Soldiers, [online] Available at www.canadiansoldiers.com [Accessed 21 October 2010] Robert Marshall & Inigo Gilmore, (1999), Boer War Remembered from the Canadian Encyclopedia, 15 November 1999, [online] Available at www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com, [Accessed 21 October 2010]