The First City Volunteers of Grahamstown were raised in 1875 and the Infantry section served on the lines of communication during the Boer War. In October 1899, 244 strong, they were the garrison of Grahamstown and the Mounted Infantry section, which with the mounted part of the Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles was later called 'Marshall's Horse', saw heavy fighting under Lord Roberts during the advance on Bloemfontein.