demanding permission to search amongst the dead for his colonel.
His regiment was a fine one, with bright brass helmets and black
horse-hair, exactly like what the old Romans are depicted with. It
was truly a bloody scene, being almost all sabre wounds. It was
long before we could find the French colonel, for he was lying
on his face, his naked body weltering in blood; and as soon as
he was turned up, the officer knew him: he gave a sort of scream
and sprang off his horse, dashed his helmet on the ground, knelt
by the body, took the bloody hand and kissed it many times in an
agony of grief; it was an affecting and awful scene. I suppose
there were about six hundred naked dead bodies lying on the ground
at one view. The French colonel was killed by a corporal of the
THIRTEENTH. This corporal had killed one of his men, and he was so
enraged, that he sallied out himself and attacked the corporal, who
was well mounted and a good swordsman, as was the colonel himself.
Both defended for some time; the corporal cut him twice across the
face; his helmet came off at the second, when the corporal slew him
by a cut which nearly cleft his skull asunder, cutting in as deep
as the nose through the brain."
[7] Serjeant-Major Rosser was appointed cornet in the regiment in
1818, lieutenant in 1819, and captain in 1831, without purchase; he
was adjutant from October, 1818, to September, 1831; and retired
from the service by the sale of his commission 8th January, 1841.
[8] So named from the motley and tattered state of their garments,
owing to the constant exposure and hard work to which they had been
subjected.
[9] In the narrative of the campaigns of the Twenty-eighth
Regiment, by Lieut.-Colonel Cadell, is the following remark in
relation to the action at St. Gaudens:--
"This gallant corps (the THIRTEENTH) in a very short time cut the
Tenth French Hussars to pieces, taking upwards of one hundred
men and horses. Captain Macalister, who commanded the advance,
distinguished himself. When we came up, the sight was truly
melancholy: throughout the many actions in which we had taken
share, we never had seen men and horses so dreadfully mangled. The
horses were sold next day; but the best brought very little."
[10] The seal used by the THIRTEENTH when a corps of heavy cavalry,
with the motto "_Viret in æternum_" on a scroll upon it, is still
preserved in the regiment. The same motto was also embroidered on
the green horse furniture used when the regiment was heavy.
[11] On this march the regiment lost forty men by cholera, and two
from other causes.
SUCCESSIONS OF COLONELS
OF
THE THIRTEENTH
REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS.
RICHARD MUNDEN,
_Appointed 22nd July, 1715_.
RICHARD MUNDEN served under King William III. in the Netherlands,
and also under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough, and was
promoted to the rank of colonel in 1706. On the 6th of May, 1709,
he succeeded Lord Lovelace in the colonelcy of a regiment of foot,
which served in the war of the Spanish succession, and after
distinguishing itself at Saragossa in 1710, it was surrounded and
made prisoners in the mountains of Castille, by the army under
the Duke of Vendosme. In 1711 he was promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general; but the peace of Utrecht being concluded soon
afterwards, his regiment was disbanded, and he remained unemployed
until the summer of 1715, when he was commissioned to raise a
corps of dragoons--now the THIRTEENTH regiment of Light Dragoons.
He distinguished himself in the attack of the rebels at Preston,
in Lancashire, in November, 1715; and was removed to the eighth
dragoons in 1722. He died in 1725.
SIR ROBERT RICH, BARONET,
_Appointed 19th November, 1722_.
SIR ROBERT RICH entered the army in 1700, and gave such signal
proofs of courage and skill in the wars in the reign of Queen
Anne, that, on the 24th of October, 1709, he was advanced to
the command of a regiment of foot. At the peace of Utrecht his
regiment was disbanded, and he remained for some time unemployed;
but being distinguished for his loyalty and steady attachment to
the Protestant succession, he was commissioned to raise, in the
summer of 1715, a regiment of dragoons, which was instrumental in
suppressing the rebellion which broke out that year; but in 1718
it was disbanded. The services of Sir Robert Rich were, however,
not forgotten; he was appointed one of the grooms of the bedchamber
to the Prince of Wales (afterwards George II.): and on the 19th
of November, 1722, King George I. appointed him colonel of the
THIRTEENTH Dragoons; from which he was removed, in September, 1725,
to the eighth dragoons; and on the 1st of January, 1731, to the
seventh horse, now sixth dragoon guards. He was again removed in
1733 to the first troop of horse grenadier guards; and in 1735 to
the fourth dragoons; he was promoted to the rank of major-general
in 1735, to that of lieut.-general in 1739, general in 1745; and in
1757 he was advanced to the rank of field-marshal. He was a member
of Parliament, and governor of Chelsea Hospital. He died in 1768.
WILLIAM STANHOPE,
_Appointed 20th September, 1725_.
WILLIAM STANHOPE, youngest son of John Stanhope of Elvaston,
served several years in the third regiment of foot guards, in
which corps he obtained the command of a company, with the rank of
lieut.-colonel, and on the 17th of March, 1711, he was promoted
to the colonelcy of a regiment of foot, which served in Spain,
but was disbanded in November, 1712. In the summer of 1715, when
the kingdom was menaced with internal war, by the partizans of
the Pretender, he raised a regiment of dragoons for the service
of King George I.; and when the commotions, which followed, were
suppressed, his corps was disbanded. In 1717, he was employed in
a diplomatic character in Spain; hostilities with that country
commenced in 1719, and he subsequently served as a volunteer with
the French army, commanded by Marshal Duke of Berwick. He concerted
a plan for the destruction of three Spanish ships of the line, and
a great quantity of naval stores, in the port of St. Andero, which
was effected by an English squadron; Colonel Stanhope contributed
to the execution of this enterprise by accompanying a detachment
of troops, which Marshal Berwick sent, at his solicitation, and
was the first that leaped into the water when the boats approached
the shore. At the termination of the war, he was again appointed
envoy at the Spanish court, and while employed in this service
King George I. conferred on him the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH
Dragoons. At the commencement of the war with Spain, 1726-7, he
returned to England, and was appointed vice-chamberlain to the
King; he was also nominated one of the British plenipotentiaries at
the congress at Soissons; and he subsequently proceeded to Spain
and concluded the treaty of Seville. His distinguished merits in
these negotiations, were rewarded, in November, 1729, with the
title of LORD HARRINGTON, in the county of Northampton; and on
the resignation of Lord Townshend, he was nominated secretary of
state, which was followed by his vacating the colonelcy of the
THIRTEENTH Dragoons. In the office of secretary of state, his
Lordship's knowledge of foreign affairs, with his application to
business, moderation, good sense, and integrity, rendered him a
valuable servant to the crown. On the change of the ministry he was
appointed lord president of the council; and in February, 1742,
he was advanced to the dignity of Viscount Petersham, and EARL of
HARRINGTON. In 1744 he was again appointed secretary of state; and
in 1746 he was constituted lord lieutenant of Ireland. He died in
1756.
HENRY HAWLEY,
_Appointed 7th July, 1730_.
This officer served the crown in four successive reigns; and held
a commission in the army during a period of sixty-five years. His
first appointment was dated the 10th of January, 1694; and having
signalized himself in the wars of Queen Anne, he obtained the rank
of colonel by brevet dated the 16th of October, 1712. On the 19th
of March, 1717, he was promoted from the lieutenant-colonelcy of
the fourth dragoons to the colonelcy of the thirty-third regiment
of foot; and on the 7th of July, 1730, he was removed to the
colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. In 1735 he was promoted to
the rank of brigadier-general; in 1739 to that of major-general;
and in the following year obtained the colonelcy of the royal
dragoons. In 1742 Major-General Hawley proceeded with the army to
Flanders, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in
the following spring, and served at the battles of Dettingen and
Fontenoy. In 1746 he commanded against the rebel Highlanders in
Scotland, and the troops under his orders had a sharp encounter
with the enemy near Falkirk, and sustained considerable loss. He
was afterwards on the staff of the army in Ireland; and was many
years governor of Portsmouth. He died on the 24th of March, 1759.
ROBERT DALWAY,
_Appointed 12th May, 1740_.
ROBERT DALWAY was appointed cornet in a regiment of cavalry on
the 8th of March, 1704; he served several campaigns under the
celebrated John Duke of Marlborough, and was distinguished for
gallantry in action, and a strict attention to duty. On the 1st
of February, 1713, he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of
Harwich's horse, now seventh dragoon guards, and in 1739, King
George II. promoted him to the colonelcy of the thirty-ninth foot,
from which he was removed in 1740, to the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He
died in November of the same year.
HUMPHREY BLAND,
_Appointed 9th January, 1741_.
This officer's first commission was dated the 4th of February,
1704, and he had the honour to serve under the renowned John Duke
of Marlborough. At the augmentation of the army in the summer
of 1715, he was appointed major of the eleventh dragoons, and
he subsequently obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of that corps.
He was employed in suppressing the rebellion which broke out
in 1715, and was wounded at the attack of the insurgents at
Preston, in Lancashire. He subsequently held a commission in the
royal dragoons, and also in the King's horse, now first dragoon
guards, and in June, 1737, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the
thirty-sixth foot, from which he was removed to the THIRTEENTH
Dragoons in 1741, and in 1743, he obtained the colonelcy of the
third dragoons. He served as brigadier-general at the battle of
Dettingen, in 1743, and at Fontenoy, in 1745. In the following
winter he served as major-general under the Duke of Cumberland,
in Scotland, where he signalized himself on several occasions,
and commanded a regiment of cavalry at the battle of Culloden. He
subsequently returned to the continent, and was wounded at the
battle of Val, in 1747. In 1752, he was removed to the colonelcy of
the first dragoon guards, which he retained until his decease in
1763.
JAMES GARDINER,
_Appointed 18th April, 1743_.
JAMES GARDINER, son of Captain Patrick Gardiner, who died while
serving in Germany under the great Duke of Marlborough, in 1704,
was born in 1688. At the commencement of hostilities, in 1701, he
obtained a commission in one of the Scots regiments in the Dutch
service, and in 1702, he was appointed ensign in a regiment in
British pay. He served under the Duke of Marlborough, and at the
battle of Ramilies, on the 23rd of May, 1706, he was at the head
of the troops which attacked the French infantry posted in the
church-yard, and while in the act of planting his colours on an
elevated spot, and calling to his men to advance, he was shot in
the mouth. He lay all night on the ground, and on the following
day some foreign soldiers engaged to remove him to Huy; but being
unable to bear the fatigue of the journey, they left him at a
convent, where, owing to the kind care of the lady abbess, and the
aid she procured, he recovered in a few months[12]. This year he
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and he was soon afterwards
removed to the Scots Greys, commanded by Lord John Dalrymple,
afterwards Earl of Stair, who became much attached to Lieutenant
Gardiner. On the re-formation of the seventh dragoons, in February,
1715, Lieutenant Gardiner was appointed captain-lieutenant in
that corps, and in July following he was promoted to captain, in
Stanhope's dragoons, of which regiment he was appointed major
in 1717; but in the following year this corps was disbanded.
During the war he was aide-de-camp to the Earl of Stair, and he
was attached to the splendid retinue of that nobleman, while his
lordship resided at Paris, as ambassador extraordinary at that
court, from whence he was frequently despatched with important
information to London. While thus employed he became changed,
from a sprightly participator in all the gaieties of life, to one
of the most sedate and pious men of the age in which he lived,
and was remarkable for his punctilious observance of religious
duties. His steady attachment to the protestant succession, and
numerous services, were rewarded, on the 24th of January, 1730,
with the lieut.-colonelcy of the sixth dragoons, and he performed
the duties of commanding officer to this corps, many years, with
the most exemplary care and zeal. He proceeded on foreign service
with the Inniskilling dragoons, in 1742, and soon after his
arrival in Germany, in 1743, he was promoted to the colonelcy of
the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He commanded the regiment in Scotland,
in 1745, when the rebellion, headed by the Pretenders eldest son,
broke out in that country, and he eventually joined the troops
under Lieut.-General Sir John Cope. During the night preceding
the battle of Preston-pans, the army occupied a position near his
own family residence, and he was attended by four of his domestic
servants, whom he dismissed about three o'clock, on the following
morning, with a pious exhortation to preserve their loyalty to
their sovereign. He spent a considerable time in private devotion
before the battle. At the commencement of the action, he was
wounded in the left breast by a musket shot, which caused him to
give a sudden spring in his saddle, when his servant, who held
a spare horse, endeavoured to persuade him to withdraw, but he
refused, saying it was only a wound in the flesh. In the charge, he
behaved with the most heroic gallantry, and afterwards attempted
to rally his men; but being unable to accomplish this, he joined
some infantry, and while in the act of encouraging them, he was
struck on the right arm by a Highlander with a scythe fastened
to a pole. His sword dropped; other opponents came round him;
he was unhorsed, and left for dead. About two hours after the
engagement had ceased, his servant found him; he was alive, and
the servant removed him in a cart to Tranent church, from whence
he was conveyed to the minister's house, and put to bed; but he
expired soon afterwards. "In person, Colonel Gardiner was strongly
built and well-proportioned; in stature unusually tall; and in
the expression of his countenance, intellectual and dignified. In
calm heroism, he has never been excelled. The energy he displayed,
notwithstanding his bodily infirmities, on the day preceding the
fight, at Preston-pans, his pious exhortation to his domestics, his
devotion before the battle, and his calm unflinching bravery during
the contest, have thrown a romantic charm around his memory, by
which it will, doubtless, be long and deservedly embalmed[13]."
FRANCIS LIGONIER,
_Appointed 1st October, 1745_.
FRANCIS LIGONIER, descended from the ancient family of Ligonier,
many years resident in Languedoc, in France. Being of the
Protestant religion, he withdrew from that country in the time
of Louis XIV., and, with his brother John, (afterwards Earl
Ligonier,) entered the British service. In his first commission he
was designated Francis de Ligonier, but the _de_ was afterwards
discontinued. He was appointed major of the eighth horse, now
seventh dragoon guards, in 1729, and lieut.-colonel in 1737, and
under his care that regiment became celebrated for efficiency
and exemplary conduct in quarters and in the field. He commanded
the eighth horse at the battle of Dettingen, where he highly
distinguished himself, and was wounded; and he was rewarded in
April, 1745, with the colonelcy of the forty-eighth foot, from
which he was removed in October to the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He
served under Lieut.-General Hawley, in Scotland, in January, 1746,
and while suffering from an attack of the pleurisy, he quitted his
bed to command the cavalry at the battle of Falkirk, where he again
signalized himself; but fatigue, and exposure to the cold and wet,
brought on a disease, of which he died a few days afterwards, much
regretted by all who knew him.
PHILIP NAISON,
_Appointed 17th February, 1746_.
This officer entered the army in 1708, and he acquired a reputation
for attention to his duties and for personal bravery. He was
many years in the royal dragoons, and commanded that regiment at
the battle of Dettingen, where it captured the standard of the
Mousquetairs Noirs. He was also wounded at the head of the royal
dragoons at the battle of Fontenoy; and in 1746 King George II.
rewarded him with the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He died
in 1750.
SIR CHARLES ARMAND POWLET, K.B.,
_Appointed 26th January, 1751_.
CHARLES ARMAND POWLET, choosing the profession of arms, obtained
a commission as cornet of horse in 1710; he served many years in
the household cavalry, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of
the first troop of horse grenadier guards by King George II., who
afterwards rewarded him with the colonelcy of the ninth regiment
of marines, by commission dated the 27th of December, 1740. At
the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle his regiment was disbanded; and in
November, 1749, he was appointed colonel of the ninth foot; he was
also promoted to the rank of major-general, was honoured with the
dignity of a knight of the bath, and held an appointment in the
establishment of the Prince of Wales. In 1751 he was removed to the
THIRTEENTH Dragoons: he died in November of the same year.
THE HONORABLE HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY,
_Appointed 25th December, 1751_.
THE HONORABLE HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY, second son of Lord Conway,
and brother of Francis Earl of Hertford, was appointed lieutenant
in the first foot guards in 1737, captain and lieut.-colonel in
1741, and in 1746 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of
Cumberland, and promoted to the colonelcy of the fifty-ninth (now
forty-eighth) foot. He was removed to the thirty-fourth foot in
1749, to the THIRTEENTH Dragoons in 1751, and to the fourth horse,
now seventh dragoon guards, in 1754. In 1756 he was promoted to the
rank of major-general, and in 1759 to that of lieut.-general, and
he was removed to the royal dragoons in the same year. He commanded
a division of the allied army in Germany under Prince Ferdinand of
Brunswick in 1761; and the British forces in Germany were placed
under his orders during the absence of the Marquis of Granby. He
was also one of the grooms of the bed-chamber to his majesty, and
a member of parliament; and having voted against ministers on the
great question of military warrants, in 1764, he resigned his court
appointment and military commands; but in 1768 he was appointed
colonel of the fourth dragoons. In 1770 he succeeded the Marquis of
Granby in the colonelcy of the royal regiment of horse guards; in
1772 he was promoted to the rank of general, and in 1793 to that
of field-marshal. He died in 1795; at which period he was eldest
general officer, and first field-marshal in the army.
JOHN MOSTYN,
_Appointed 8th July, 1754_.
This officer was appointed ensign on the 29th of February, 1732,
and after a short service he was promoted to captain in the
thirty-first foot, from which he was advanced in 1742 to the
commission of captain-lieutenant in the second foot guards. He
served with his regiment on the continent, and was wounded at the
battle of Fontenoy in 1745. In 1747 he was appointed aide-de-camp
to King George II.; in 1751 His Majesty gave him the colonelcy of
the seventh regiment of foot, from which he was removed, in 1754,
to the THIRTEENTH Dragoons, and in 1757 he was promoted to the
rank of major-general: in 1758 he was removed to the fifth, royal
Irish, dragoons. He commanded a brigade of infantry under Charles,
Duke of Marlborough, in the expedition to St. Maloes, in 1758; in
1759 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and in 1760 he
was removed to the colonelcy of the seventh dragoons. He served
under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, in Germany, and signalized
himself at many general engagements and skirmishes during the
years 1759-60-61, and -62; and at the termination of the war he
was appointed colonel of the first dragoon guards; in 1772 he was
promoted to the rank of general. He died in March, 1779.
ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS,
_Appointed 18th October, 1758_.
After a progressive service in the subordinate commissions, this
officer was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the fourth dragoons
in February, 1747; he was also advanced to the rank of colonel in
the army, and honoured with the appointment of aide-de-camp to the
King. In 1758 His Majesty conferred upon him the colonelcy of the
THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of major-general
in 1759, and to that of lieut.-general in 1761. He died at Dublin,
in October, 1778.
RICHARD PIERSON,
_Appointed 27th November, 1778_.
RICHARD PIERSON was many years an officer in the first foot guards,
in which regiment he was appointed major, with the rank of colonel
in the army, on the 21st of July, 1760. In 1762 he was promoted to
the rank of major-general, and in 1764 he was appointed colonel
of the sixty-third regiment of foot, from which he was removed in
the following year to the thirty-sixth regiment. In 1772 he was
promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; he was also honoured with
the dignity of a Knight of the Bath; and in 1778 he was removed to
the THIRTEENTH Dragoons. He was taken suddenly ill on his return
from the theatre on the night of the 12th of February, 1781, and
died before the following morning.
FRANCIS CRAIG,
_Appointed 15th February, 1781_.
FRANCIS CRAIG obtained a commission of ensign and lieutenant in
the second foot guards on the 22nd of April, 1742, and he served
in that regiment upwards of thirty-three years. He served with the
brigade of foot guards in Germany, in 1760-61, and -62, and was
promoted to the rank of colonel in the army in 1763. In 1775 he was
advanced from first major of the second, to lieutenant-colonel of
the first, foot guards, and promoted to the rank of major-general.
In 1777 he attained the rank of lieutenant-general; he was
appointed colonel of the THIRTEENTH Dragoons in 1781, and promoted
to the rank of general in 1793. He was many years governor of
Sheerness. He died in 1811, in the eighty-sixth year of his age.
THE HON. SIR HENRY GEORGE GREY, G.C.B., G.C.H.
_Appointed 30th December, 1811_.
SUCCESSION OF LIEUTENANT-COLONELS, THIRTEENTH LIGHT DRAGOONS.