Cape Mounted Riflemen The Cape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units . There were two separate successive regiments of that name . To distinguish them , some military historians describe the first as the " imperial " Cape Mounted Riflemen ( originally the " " Cape Regiment " " ) , and the second as the " colonial " Cape Mounted Riflemen . Cape Mounted Riflemen ( 1 ) . The first , so - called " imperial " , unit , was formed by the Dutch administration of the Cape Colony in 1793 , to enlarge its garrison because of the threat posed by the war in Europe . It was originally called the " Corps van Pandoeren " , i . e . " Corps of Pandours " , and consisted of Khoisan and Coloured men under White officers . Cape Regiment ( 1795 - 1827 ) . The British retained the unit after taking over the colony in 1795 , and renamed it the " Cape Regiment " . When the Dutch resumed the administration in 1803 , they changed the name to the " Corps van Vrye Hottentotten " , i . e . " Corps of Free Hottentots " and again , in 1805 , to the " Hottentot Ligte Infanterie " , i . e . " Hottentot Light Infantry " . After British rule was reinstated in 1806 , the unit was called the " Cape Regiment " again . The regiment had its headquarters at Simonstown and formed a key component of the Cape ' s frontier defences , repeatedly distinguishing itself in the early frontier wars . In 1817 , it was divided into mounted and infantry sections , and was renamed the " Cape Corps of Cavalry and Infantry " , or " Cape Corps " for short . Cape Mounted Riflemen ( 1827 - 1870 ) . In 1827 , the infantry section was disbanded , leaving only the mixed - race cavalry unit . The resulting exclusively - mounted corps was renamed " Cape Mounted Riflemen " . The unit was deployed in several operations and campaigns : the 4th Frontier War ( 1811 - 1812 ) , the 5th Frontier War ( 1818 - 1819 ) , the 6th Frontier War ( 1834 - 1835 ) , the siege of Durban ( 1842 ) , the 7th Frontier War ( 1846 - 1847 ) , the 8th Frontier War ( 1850 - 1853 ) , and the Basuto War 1850 - 1852 . The CMR were disbanded in 1870 . In 1915 the earlier name , " Cape Corps " , was revived for a unit of Coloured soldiers . The name " Cape Regiment " was revived for another Coloured unit , in 1986 . Cape Mounted Riflemen ( 2 ) . The Cape Colony government founded the second , so - called " colonial " , in 1855 , as the para - military Frontier Armed and Mounted Police ( FAMP ) . Frontier Armed and Mounted Police ( 1855 - 78 ) . The function of this locally - recruited multiracial force was to maintain law and order in the districts along the colony ' s frontier with the Xhosa kingdoms in the Transkei . A new constitution that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race and instituted the non - racial Cape Qualified Franchise partially assuaged some of the Xhosa people ' s grievances , leading to a period of relative peace on the frontier . Nevertheless , conflicts did erupt over the following decades , and the FAMP played a central role in policing them . The FAMP was operationally deployed in the Transkei in 1858 , against the Koranna in 1869 , in apprehending the Zulu chief Langalibalele in 1873 , in Griqualand West in 1875 , and in the 9th Frontier War ( 1877 - 1878 ) . When the Cape attained " Responsible Government " in 1872 , its new Prime Minister John Molteno shifted the focus of government policy to internal development , rather than territorial expansion . Nonetheless , his government expanded the FAMP , whose efficiency and military capacity Molteno had a very high opinion of . The new government was also of the opinion that a competent FAMP force would remove the need for any outside British intervention in the region . Consequently by 1876 , the FAMP had grown to have units stationed at Komga , Queenstown , Palmietfontein , Kingwilliamstown , Peddie , Butterworth , Kenhardt , Fort Murray , Ealing Post and Kokstad . An artillery unit was added in 1874 . The FAMP were also re - organised for rapid mobility ; lightly - equipped and possessing considerable local knowledge , they formed a very effective police force for the rough and mountainous frontier terrain . Cape Mounted Riflemen ( 1878 - 1913 ) . Finally in 1878 , the FAMP were fully militarised , as a unit of the Colonial Forces , and renamed " Cape Mounted Riflemen " . In 1879 , the CMR fought in the Moorosi campaign , where they gained much distinction . They also fought in the Basutoland Gun War ( 1880 - 1881 ) , the Matabeleland campaign ( 1893 - 1894 ) , the Bechuanaland campaign in 1897 , and the Second Boer War ( 1899 - 1902 ) . During these wars , the CMR came to comprise the dominant portion of the whole of the Cape Forces . As before , during peacetime the CMR served as a police force . 1st South African Mounted Riflemen ( 1913 - 26 ) . In 1913 , the CMR were incorporated into the new Union Defence Forces as the " 1st South African Mounted Riflemen " . In World War I they fought in the German South West Africa campaign ( 1914 - 1915 ) . In 1922 , they were deployed in operations to crush the Rand Revolt on the Witwatersrand . The 1st SAMR were disbanded in 1926 , for financial reasons .