Looking for sources: Second Boer War and the British Army Remount System

by Bronegan

Hello AskHistorians! A little bit of background, I'm taking a university class that looks at technology in world history and my assignment is to write a paper about either the historiography of technology or an instance of technology/technological system as it relates to one of the themes of the class. In particular, the theme I hope to tie into is that technological development is not uniform and some civilizations can be among the most powerful/advanced while still be lacking in one or more fields.

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What I would like to investigate is the Second Boer War and the British Army's cavalry, or more specifically just the horses and the system the British had in acquiring, transporting, and fielding them throughout the war while comparing them to other nation(s) in the same time period (probably just the United States). The British Army purchased a considerable amount of horses throughout the conflict however a sizable amount of these horses were wasted before ever reaching the front, either succumbing en route or being next to useless in the field. The overall horsemanship and management skills of the British seem to be extremely lacking when compared with those of the United States. I have yet to define a thesis idea for this topic, however my first goal is to ensure I can find enough resources to use for my arguments which are likely to be along the lines of "despite the British Empire being the world's superpower, their horsemanship and cavalry systems were woefully behind other modern powers like the United States."

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So far I've found a few interesting primary and secondary sources that I think could help my research:

  • The Providing of Remounts for our Cavalry and Artillery, Colonel F. S. Russell, dated July 3, 1885.
  • Procurement, Transportation, Conditioning, Casualties, and Acclimation of Animals by the British in the Boer War, Major Terril E. Price, dated 1930. Appears to be a cavalryman's assessment at Fort Leavenworth Kansas (Command and General Staff School).
  • War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider, Louis DiMarco, 2008.

What I'm hoping to be able to find and possibly acquire (digital) copies of are the following:

  • US Army Cavalry manual for the 1890s-1900 or similar enough time frame to the Second Boer War
  • US regulations and laws concerning the transport of equids via railroads during this time period
  • US Army veterinary manual
  • British Army Cavalry manual for the Second Boer War, anywhere from the 1890s to 1900.
  • British Army Remount system budget and manuals/policies, in particular I'd like to know how many funds and personnel were involved in the remount system, from procurement to issuance to cavalry units
  • British Army reports on the loss of horses and mules throughout the war
  • British Army veterinary manuals
  • A source on the composition of cavalry units, were they English, Australian, Indian? Were they aristocracy, middle class, poor?
  • A good, preferably more recent, overview/summary of the Second Boer War
  • A history of the British army remount service

Again, I haven't yet determined what exactly I intend to argue, but I'm hoping in all of your readings you may have come across some of these sources (or similar) that you might feel could help me investigate British horsemanship in the Second Boer War. This list is by no means inclusive as I'm sure there are sources out there that I don't know to look for. My university has access to a number of databases so I should be able to access suggestions that are on JSTOR or other similar sites.

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Any help, advice, or encouragement is appreciated! Thanks!

AncientHistory

Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.

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