[Photo by the Stereoscopic Co.
Born in 1833, son of Major Garnet Joseph Wolseley; is of Irish birth. Entered the Army 1852; Captain, 1855; Major, 1858; Lt.-Colonel, 1859; Colonel, 1865; Governor of Natal, 1875; Lt.-General and Governor of Cyprus, 1878; Commander of Forces in Ireland, 1890-95; General, 1882; Field-Marshal, 1894. Served in Burmah, the Crimea, at Lucknow, in China and Canada; commanded the Red River Expedition, 1870, the Ashantee Expedition, 1873; the Egyptian Expedition, 1882, and the Gordon Relief Expedition, 1884. As Commander-in-Chief at home he shares with Lord Lansdowne, the Secretary of State for War, the responsibility for the number and equipment of the troops sent out.
The "fighting force," it should be explained, includes only cavalry, artillery, and infantry, and excludes engineers, army service corps, and ammunition columns. Thus the total strength of these three arms despatched to South Africa was under 46,000 men. In many of the published estimates the "troops on the line of communications" were placed at 10,000, but they were actually much under 10,000, being only seven battalions strong. To these, 4,000 "reserves at base" had to be added. Thus it would appear that from the first the Army Corps was below its theoretical strength.
Small proportion of cavalry.
[Oct.-Nov. 1899.
Some further facts have to be noted, as they will help to explain certain of the British reverses. Out of this 46,000 men only 5,600 men were mounted—cavalry or mounted infantry. This is a smaller proportion than would be found in any European army of the same size, and was dangerously small in view of the fact that in South Africa we were to encounter an enemy who was mounted to a man. Nor was the artillery as strong as might have been desired. A German corps of the same size would have had five more batteries, or 30 more guns. In the course of the war our need of artillery was such that batteries had to be improvised from the guns carried on board our warships.
[Photo by Chas. Knight.
Like all the other regiments ordered out, the Royal Highlanders (better known as the "Black Watch") under General Wanchope, who was afterwards killed at Magersfontein, was cheered by enthusiastic crowds as it left for Africa.