Location: Haldimand County N 42 57.326 W 079 51.514
On the west side of Munsee Street N, in front of the courthouse.
This wonderful monument is a tribute to the brave men of Haldimand who fought in the Boer War, most notably the great hero Corporal William Knisley, from nearby Jarvis. The memorial features a statue of Knisley, and the names of those lost engraved in the stone. The original memorial was erected in 1907, and a newer plaque was mounted in front at a later date. Cannons are also present on the grounds, behind the statue.
The following excerpt is taken from www.couragerewarded.com:
In June of 1900, government of the Transvaal
surrendered to British forces and victory celebrations took place.
However, these were premature, as the South African War now entered a
phase of irregular guerilla warfare with stubborn Boer Kommandos
refusing to capitulate. As part of the ongoing operation to suppress
these rebels, a column of British and Canadian troops under
Major-General Smith-Dorrien set out on November 6, 1900, to destroy
farms that had been sheltering Boer forces. On reaching a farm called
Lilliefontein, however, the British and Canadian troops found that they
had ventured into a countryside where the resistance was unexpectedly
strong. The column commander therefore decided to pull back the next day
to their safe base .
Mounted troops of The Royal Canadian Dragoons
and a battery of Canadian artillery were assigned the task of acting as
rearguard to hold off the enemy as the column pulled back. They soon
found themselves hard-pressed, however, as hundreds of Boers charged,
firing their guns from their saddles. The thin Canadian rearguard,
spread out over an arc of one-and-a-half miles, acted with amazing
courage, holding off the Boers long enough for the artillery to escape.
As a final act of courage in this drama, Private William Knisley, seeing
an unhorsed comrade hiding from the hail of fire behind an obstacle,
rode forward despite the Boer fire and rescued his friend, although he
was seriously wounded in the process.
It had been a remarkable fight, the Canadian
troops showing themselves to be more than equal to the Boers in
determination and fighting ability. Major-General Smith-Dorrien
recognized this in his report to the British Commander-in-Chief, stating
that he had "no praise too high for the devoted gallantry "shown by the
men of The Royal Canadian Dragoons and Canadian Artillery. Lord Roberts
was sufficiently impressed to award three Victoria Crosses for this
single action, an unprecedented number for a single action in the war.
Lieutenant Richard Turner, Lieutenant H.Z.C. Cockburn and Sergeant
Edward Holland, all of The Royal Canadian Dragoons, received this prized
decoration. Trooper Knisley of The Royal Canadian Dragoons was also
recommended for the Victoria Cross but, instead, received the
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Lieutenant E.W.B. Morrison of the Canadian
Artillery received the Distinguished Service Order.
On the completion of his term of service,
William Knisley returned to his father's small farm in southwest
Ontario. However, he had always been a restless youth and, when the
announcement was made that another contingent was being recruited, he
jumped at the chance to return to southern Africa. The British were
still unable to suppress the continuing Boer insurgency and, this time,
Knisley joined the ranks of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.
West of Pretoria, in an area of low bush and
hills with few roads, one of the most skilful Boer leaders, Kroos de la
Rey, had gathered a Kommando of almost 4,000 with which he was attacking
isolated British posts whenever an opportunity occurred. In order to
put an end finally to these activities, a British force of 16,000 men,
divided into a number of columns, was gathered and set in motion at the
end of March 1901. As part of this campaign, the 2CMR was assigned the
role of advance guard for a column of 1,600 men carrying out a
reconnaissance to the south-west. At about mid-morning on March 31, the
column suddenly came upon a Boer force that was stronger than expected.
The British commander began setting up a fortified camp by the Little
Harts River but quickly came under attack from three sides, with Boers
charging the perimeter on horseback. The Boers continued their attacks
on the main body for hours but could not break through the stubborn
defence. The Boers finally broke off the action and withdrew before a
British rescue force could reach the area. Except for Paardeberg,
Canadians that day suffered the highest losses in the war - thirteen
killed and forty wounded.
Unfortunately, William Knisley was with the
column rearguard that day. When the column had come under attack, he and
five other troopers found themselves cut off and unable to get back to
the main camp. Instead, they choose to set off overland to try to get
back to the main British base at Klerksdorp, over 100 km (60 miles)
away. They fought their way through Boer country for, two days' in an
attempt to reach their base. The Boers closed in on them, however,
pinning them down on a rocky kopje. Here, the little band of Canadians
managed to hold off their attackers for another day. The group finally
surrendered after they had run out of ammunition but, by that time,
Knisley and another man had been killed. The Boers paid their respects
to Knisley by burying the Distinguished Conduct Medal he had won at
Lilliefontein with his body.
Marker text:
Front:
HALDIMAND SONS
KILLED IN THE
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.
CORP. W.A. KNISLEY, D.S.M.
HART'S RIVER, APR. 2. 1902
LIEUT.
W.H. NELLES, C.E. D.S.M.
DIED OF WOUNDS
BLOEMFONTEIN JAN.29.1901
FAMA. SEMPER VIRAT
KNISLEY
Front lower plaque:
KNISLEY MEMORIAL
ERECTED 1907 BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION, IN REMEMBRANCE OF
CORPORAL WILLIAM A. KNISLEY, ROYAL CANADIAN DRAGOONS,
WHO WAS DECORATED WITH THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL
FOR GALLANTRY AT LELIEFONTEIN AND WHO GAVE HIS LIFE AT
THE BATTLE OF HART'S RIVER, APRIL 2, 1902. AND IN MEMORY
OF THE MEN OF HALDIMAND COUNTY WHO FOUGHT IN THE SOUTH
AFRICAN (BOER) WAR.
Rear:
HALDIMAND SONS
KILLED IN THE
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.
SERGT. FRANK DAVIDSON.
VRYHEID APR.11.1901
PRIVATE
CHARLES JACKSON
PAARDEBURG FEB.18.1900
FAMA. SEMPER VIRAT
