Strathcona's Horse

​When Britain was again at war with the Boers in South Africa, they received aid from Canada. Canadian Pacific Railway tycoon Donald Smith (Baron Strathcona) asked Sam to lead his privately raised cavalry unit named Lord Strathcona's Horse. Sam commanded it as lieutenant colonel, leading Canadian soldiers with such competence that he was knighted and made a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1901. Though Sam despised many of his duties during the war, his experience allowed him to personally prepare Canada for the approaching First World War, which he would do to extraordinary measure.

This is research for my upcoming historical novel based on the life of Sam Steele.