War can be a true leveler. It brings together different cultures and classes, appeals to their sense of duty and honor, hands them their marching boots, and then expects them to slog it out in the same trench, the same field, the same generally difficult existence. Stephen M. Miller has made that abundantly clear in Volunteers on the Veld. Boer War historiography is full of the narratives and descriptions of the British army in South Africa, but if it were not the Cape, or Transvaal, or the Free State, it would have been somewhere else that British regiments fought. Yet, for the auxiliary forces, their time had come in 1900. The War Office did not recognize this fact initially, denying requests (perhaps even disparaging them) for the sponsorship of temporary units to augment the regular troops. As early as July 1899, however, in an appeal to the Commons and the nation, Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain had all but made the case for the volunteers. The eyes of the world were on Britain, he suggested. The developing crisis in South Africa sounded the clarion call. If ever citizens were to step forward to defend their nation's existence, surely it was now.

In order to sell the war, it was essential to establish the link between the public and the nation's interests. In so doing, Lord Salisbury's administration helped pave the way for sending volunteers overseas. Miller details the government's efforts to secure middle-class support for the developing war, presenting Uitlander grievances as the cries of a community on the verge of destruction. These were British citizens, the public learned, and Britain would not see them perish. No less enthusiastic was the popular press in its glorification of a truly righteous cause. These efforts had their desired effect, and Britain went to war with resolute determination.

Granted, it took the disasters of Black Week to reinforce the perceived threat to Britain, but the defeats only reaffirmed the argument that the war against the Boers was truly a national crisis. Finally, the government appreciated that it would take more than Britain's relatively small, professional army to win in South Africa. Volunteers would have to come forward. Miller describes this process superbly, affirming that while the rhetoric of defending queen and country might have prodded many men from various backgrounds to volunteer, the harsh reality they encountered was quite sobering. While propelled by patriotism, the volunteers found life on campaign to be dreadfully similar to that faced by Britain's regular soldiers.

Volunteers on the Veld begins with a discussion of the auxiliary forces, setting them within British society and apart from the sometimes despised regular army. Members of the Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers served not out of need, as the regulars did, but out of duty. The theory was that the regular army took any soldiers it could, men who had no opportunities elsewhere and therefore no skills enabling them to lead more respectable lives. Alternatively, the auxiliaries attracted men who had the luxury of wanting to serve the nation and, perhaps more usefully and popularly, their towns or villages. The appeal to patriotism, especially a patriotism that was volunteered, fit nicely in a democratic, nationalist state.

The South African War also provided an opportunity for adventure, something that appealed to the wider civilian population, and many untrained men presented themselves for service. The surge of recruits was indicative of Britain's tradition of volunteerism, one reinforced by its existing auxiliary forces. The Militia with its original intent to check government abuses, the Yeomanry and its appeal to horse culture, and the Volunteers’ drive to demonstrate their middle- and working-class patriotism all melded into the movement to defend British interests in South Africa. It was this connection, this “fusing the will of the state and the drive of the people” (22), that had become so essential and that Miller describes so well.

Ultimately, the citizen-soldiers went off to war in search of adventure and patriotic glory. Ultimately, many of them discovered the tedium, hardship, occasional excitement, and general discontent that defined military service. As Miller proves, one did not have to be a regular to find many reasons to complain about a soldier's life. To add insult to injury, the conventional war they had joined to fight transitioned into a guerilla conflict, leaving little opportunity for glory on the battlefield. Moreover, the army was unsure of how best to use its auxiliary forces. Because they were not “real” soldiers, commanders were often wary of using the volunteers in “real” combat situations. Often the units wound up escorting prisoners or manning blockhouses.

Still they served, and when provided an opportunity, the auxiliaries generally conducted themselves well in combat. Over 100,000 volunteers served in South Africa, and while they complained about it at the time, many returned home proud of their service in the war. In Volunteers on the Veld, Miller presents their efforts as crucial to the British war effort. If popular appeal and response are indicators, the auxiliaries truly were the conduit for nationalism in the South African War.