Mounted Infantry


Southern Africa was an ideal part of the world for mounted troops but there were no regular British cavalry regiments at the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War. There were, of course, local volunteer cavalry units from Natal and the Cape. In 1875 an officer of the 24th, Lieut Frederick Carrington, formed a 40 strong Troop of Mounted Infantry at his own expense, as an experiment. During the 9th Cape Frontier War there were men from the 24th and 88th Regiments used as MI with great success. In 1878, Carrington was ordered to raise and train 300 MI from the four regular battalions to be known as the 1st and 2nd Squadrons, Imperial Mounted Infantry.


Zulu War


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by Stephen Luscombe