The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England. The regiment's history began in 1678, when three independent troops of Scots Dragoons were raised. In 1681, these troops were regimented to form The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, numbered the 4th Dragoons in 1694. They were already mounted on grey horses by this stage and were already being referred to as the Grey Dragoons. Following the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, they were renamed The Royal North British Dragoons (North Britain then being the envisaged common name for Scotland), but were already being referred to as the Scots Greys. In 1713, they were renumbered the 2nd Dragoons as part of a deal between the commands of the English Army and the Scottish Army when the two were in the process of being unified into the British Army. They were also sometimes referred to, during the first Jacobite uprising, as Portmore's Dragoons. In 1877, their nickname was finally made official when they became the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys). In 1899, the regiment's years of peace ended with the start of the Second Anglo-Boer War. That year, the Scots Greys, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel W.P. Alexander, were ordered to Cape Town to   join the Cavalry Division being formed. In the years since Balaclava, much had changed about 

warfare. Gone were the red coats and bearskin shakos. The Scots Greys would now fight wearing khaki. In fact, with the popularity of wearing khaki that accompanied the start of the Boer War, the Scots Greys went so far as to dye their grey mounts khaki to help them blend in with the veldt. The regiment arrived in the Cape Colony in December 1899 and was put to work guarding the British lines of communication between the Orange and Modder rivers. When Lord Roberts was prepared to begin his advance, the Scots Greys were attached to the 1st Cavalry Brigade under Brigadier General Porter. While serving under Porter, the Scots Greys were reinforced by two squadrons of Australian horsemen. Once Roberts' offensive began, the Scots Greys took part in the relief of Kimberly. With Kimberly relieved, the Scots Greys were engaged in the fighting during the advance to Bloemfontein and later Pretoria, including the Battle of Diamond Hill. Following the capture of Pretoria, the Scots Greys were sent to liberate British prisoners. The POW's being held at Waterval POW camp, the same one where those captured in the Jameson Raid had been held. As the Scots Greys approached, prisoner lookouts at the camp spotted the dragoons when they moved through Onderstepoort. As word spread through the camp, the British prisoners over-powered the guards, mostly men either too old or too young to be out on commando, pushed their way out of confinement to meet with the Scots Greys. Although the camp guards were easily overcome, and most likely unknown to the British forces and prisoners, Koos de la Rey and his men were positioned to try and prevent the rescue of the British prisoners. De la Rey ordered warning shells fired, trying to keep the prisoners in their prison camp. Faced with the approaching Scots Greys and the prisoners, De la Rey opted to not do more and instead ordered a retreat rather than fight a battle over the prison camp. The fall of Pretoria was also the end of the second phase of the war. With the end of formal fighting, and the start of third phase of the Boer War, the guerrilla campaign by the Boers, the Scots Greys were on the move constantly. Among the detachments was a squadron was left at Uitval (also known as Silkaatsnek) under the command of Major H. J. Scobell. There they were eventually joined by five companies from the 2nd battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, with a section of guns from O Battery, RHA. While Scobell had kept a strong picket line to watch for Boer commandos, this was changed when he was superseded as the commander of the garrison and the Scots Greys came under the command of an infantry colonel. This decrease in pickets allowed a force of Boer commandos to attack the outpost on 10 July 1900. Most of the squadron was captured during the disaster that ensued. The defeat allowed the Boers to hold Silkaatsnek. Following the disaster at Silkaatsnek, the Scots Greys were concentrated and returned to operating with the 1st Cavalry Brigade. From February to April 1901, the Scots Greys and 6th Dragoon Guards were sent on a sweep from Pretoria to east of Transvaal. In the process, they captured or destroyed large amounts of Boer war stocks, including nearly all of the remaining artillery. Following that success, the Scots Greys and 6th Dragoon Guards were sent to sweep the guerrillas from the valley of the Vaal and into the Western Transvaal. There, they received word of the defeat of Benson's column at Battle of Bakenlaagte on 30 October 1901. Reinforced by the 18th Hussars, 19th Hussars, and a detachment of mounted Australians, the reinforced brigade chased after the Boers, killing a number of those who had participated in the fighting at Bakenlaagte. The Scots Greys would continue fighting to suppress the guerrilla campaign. The most notable capture made by the regiment was that of Commandant Danie Malan. Eventually, the last of the "bitter enders" in the Boer camp agreed to peace, with the formal end of the conflict happening on 31 May 1902. The Scots Greys remained for three more years, helping to garrison the colony, operating out of Stellenbosch, before returning home to Britain.