The Mobile Boer; Being the Record of the Observations of Two Burgher Officers

xvii, [1], 277, [9] pages. Plates not paginated. Map at rear is present! It has several small tears, but is complete. Small portion of corner of page v/vi missing. Ex-library with some of the usual library markings. Front and rear board weak. Some repairs made with glue. Cover is worn, torn soiled, and rubbed. Spine is badly torn and chipped. Embossed stamp of the Department of the Navy on the title page. Decorative front cover remains distinct. Most, but not all, of the illustrations have been removed. The maps/diagrams all seem to be present. Excerpt from The Mobile Boer: Being the Record of the Observations of Two Burgher Officers: It is our intention in these pages to deal with the Boer-English war and the events which actually transpired as we had opportunity to see them. The fact of our being in the Republican forces,-bom foreigners - the tone of the descriptions of stirring incidents, and the citation of injustice and cruelty must exempt us from the reproach of prejudice. The right of the Boer cause we can leave in the hands of such exponents as State Secretary Reitz,* Charles Bois Sevan, Dr. Van der Vlugt, and foreigners such as Mr. W. T. Stead with his Stop the War publications." This is a narrative of the campaign compiled by American officers serving in the Republican army. The author's draw comparisons between the Anglo-Boer conflict and the American War of Independence, accusing the British of conducting the present war in the same barbarous manner employed in the earlier campaign". Under the command of Captain John Hassell, the American Scouts established themselves as a distinct unit. Hassell came from New Jersey and, prior to the war, spent five years in prospecting and shooting expeditions throughout South Africa. His knowledge of South Africa proved extremely useful when the war finally started. Prior to the formation of the American Scouts, Hassell fought in the Vryheid commando. At the battle of Ceasar's Hill and Estcourt, he received wounds, recovered, and eventually took command of the American Scouts after the Natal Campaign. The American Scouts represented a wide array of personalities and skills. As more Americans continued to come to South Africa, many found their way to Hassell's contingent. Americans who entered the country for the purpose of fighting joined Hassell's scouts. They added a cosmopolitan character to the overall quality of the organization. A man with the last name of Starfield, and Alan Hiley, both from Texas, fought in the American Army during the Indian campaigns in Arizona. Each decided to join the Boers because "they had faith in their cause." Hillegas described that two hundred British cavalrymen pursued Starfield for half a day, while Hiley gained the opportunity to kill Lieutenant Carron, an American in Lord Loch's Horse, "in a fierce duel behind ant-heaps at Modder River on April 21st." James Foster or "The Arizona Kid," became the most noticeable American who joined Hassell's contingent. Foster served in the U.S. army service both at home and in Cuba as one of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Foster deserted from "the British transport service in Dewetsdorp, and promiscuously threw his lot with the Republicans, in whose service he found a number of his countrymen." Hiley and Hassell describe him as a typical American Cowboy from Arizona, "frolicsome, lithe and reckless, always ready for the sake of excitement, to take part in any sort of enterprises no matter what desperate chances were involved." In exchange for fifteen dollars and a return passage home, Foster agreed to accompany a cargo of mules from New Orleans to Cape Town. Upon arrival at Cape Town the "English government paid him the fifteen dollars, but declined to send him or his companions back." They argued the deal was to deliver the mules straight to the front lines. The other Americans that traveled with Foster are not known, though likely joined the other Americans in Hassell's scouts. Foster represented a mo.…