Editing Breaker Morant (section)

==To South Africa==
[[File:AWM P00220 South Australian Mounted Rifles 1900.jpg|thumb|Members of the Second Contingent of the South Australian Mounted Rifles prior to their departure for South Africa. Morant is third from the left]]
On 13 January 1900, Morant enlisted{{sfn|FitzSimons|2020|p=54}}{{snd}}under the name Henry Horland Morrant{{sfn|Murray|1911|p=349}}{{sfn|FitzSimons|2020|p=59}}{{snd}}with the second contingent of the [[South Australian Mounted Rifles]] (SAMR) in Adelaide, for service in the Second Boer War. According to a report in ''[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]''{{snd}}a daily newspaper{{snd}}Morant, like the other volunteers, read and signed a declaration that he would faithfully serve until 17 October 1900, be subject to the [[King's Regulations|Queen's rules and regulations]] and the [[Articles of War#British Army|rules and articles of war]].{{sfn|Leach|2012|p=203}} Along with the rest of the contingent, Morant visited the summer residence of [[Governor of South Australia|South Australia's governor]], [[Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson|Hallam, Lord Tennyson]]{{snd}}the son of [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]{{snd}}at [[Marble Hill, South Australia|Marble Hill]] and regaled the governor and his wife with stories.{{sfn|FitzSimons|2020|p=58}} After completing his training, he was appointed as a [[corporal]] and the contingent embarked for the [[South African Republic|Transvaal]] on 26 January 1900.{{sfn|''The Advertiser''|1900}}

The contingent disembarked at [[Cape Town]] on 27 February 1900, and were at first sent to [[Prieska]] in the [[Cape Colony]] to join a force under the command of Major General [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Baron Kitchener]]. It was then sent back to [[De Aar]] on the railway line between Cape Town and [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] from where it was moved up to [[Bloemfontein]] where it joined other Australian troops as part of the main advance to [[Pretoria]] under [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Baron Roberts]].{{sfn|Bleszynski|2002|p=102}} [[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres|John French]] commanded the Cavalry Division, which was struggling with the quantity and quality of the horses it had been supplied, many of which came from Argentina and Hungary. The British had not anticipated the tactics the [[Boer commando]]s would use, and were ill-prepared for the war of mobility forced upon them. French became aware of Morant's knowledge and skill with horses, and arranged for him to be transferred to his remount section, where he broke in newly arrived horses, and by non-regulation methods obtained better horses for the staff, often under the cover of darkness. French also utilised Morant as a [[despatch rider]] for his staff.{{sfn|Bleszynski|2002|pp=102–103}}

After the capture of Pretoria, South Australian Colonel [[Joseph Maria Gordon|Joseph Gordon]] recommended Morant as a despatch rider to [[Bennet Burleigh]], the [[war correspondent]] of the London ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'', and Morant took up this position in late June 1900.{{sfn|FitzSimons|2020|pp=137-138}} He was employed directly by the newspaper, and his final pay from the British Army was on 31 July 1900.{{sfn|Bleszynski|2002|p=107}} Morant's physical bravery and horse riding skills ensured he performed well in his new role as a despatch rider for Burleigh, riding hard with the war correspondent's reports to the nearest telegraph station.{{sfn|FitzSimons|2020|p=207}} Burleigh and Morant followed closely behind [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Lord Roberts]]' advance from Pretoria to the border with [[Portuguese East Africa]], and Burleigh was present with Roberts in [[Durban]] when the latter had declared that the war was practically over.{{sfn|Bleszynski|2002|p=112}}