After the Jameson Raid, the government of the ZAR decided to build a fort around the prison in Johannesburg (see Johannesburg Fort) as well as forts to defend Pretoria. In order to man these forts, the formation of a separate "Vesting Artillerie" (Fortress Artillery) was proposed. In 1898, despite some resistance to this idea (mainly because of the cost), the Volksraad approved increasing the manpower of the Staatsartillerie by 100 men in order to form the "Corps Vesting Artillerie" (Fortress Artillery Corps). This Corps was organised as an arm of the Staatsartillerie. By 1899 the Fortress Artillery Corps had grown to a unit with 9 officers and 148 men.