TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
A superscript is denoted by ^x, for example und^r or iv^s.
Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
FOURTEENTH, OR THE KING'S, REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS:
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
COMPILED BY
RICHARD CANNON, ESQ.,
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.
LONDON:
PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,
30, CHARING CROSS.
M DCCC XLVII.
LONDON: Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE GUARDS,_
_1st January, 1836._
His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing
the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who
have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the
Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British
Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction
of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the
following particulars, viz.,
---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations,
in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any
Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies,
&c., it may have captured from the Enemy.
---- The Names of the Officers, and the number of
Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the
Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action.
---- The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other
Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.
---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers
and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in
Action.
And,
---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges
or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.
JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.
PREFACE.
The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend
upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service
are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that
any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which
alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable
object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the
Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright
examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to
incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have
preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that
have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
"London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public
prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the
time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and
admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions,
the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on
the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their
orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill
and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour
of their Sovereign's approbation, constitute the reward which the
soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which
appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies)
for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services
and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic
account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty
having been pleased to command that every Regiment shall in future
keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth
derive information as to the difficulties and privations which
chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In
Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and
where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed
by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped,
comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active
service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during
peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe,
with little or no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country
derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist
and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to
reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on
their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which
so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and
steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against
superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the
Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of
individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His
Majesty's special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk
of the Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them
cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every
rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and
information to the general reader, particularly to those who may
have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or
are serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment
to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a
narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the
valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with
a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race
of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood "firm
as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has
been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their
Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of
achievements in war,--victories so complete and surprising, gained
by our countrymen, our brothers, our fellow-citizens in arms,--a
record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their
gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the
public.
Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished
Officers will be introduced in the Records of their respective
Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to
time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value
and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment
will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall
be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
INTRODUCTION.
The ancient Armies of England were composed of Horse and Foot; but
the feudal troops established by William the Conqueror in 1086,
consisted almost entirely of Horse. Under the feudal system, every
holder of land amounting to what was termed a "knight's fee," was
required to provide a charger, a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield,
and a lance, and to serve the Crown a period of forty days in
each year at his own expense; and the great landholders had to
provide armed men in proportion to the extent of their estates;
consequently the ranks of the feudal Cavalry were completed with
men of property, and the vassals and tenants of the great barons,
who led their dependents to the field in person.
In the succeeding reigns the Cavalry of the Army was composed
of Knights (or men at arms) and Hobiliers (or horsemen of
inferior degree); and the Infantry of spears and battle-axe men,
cross-bowmen, and archers. The Knights wore armour on every part
of the body, and their weapons were a lance, a sword, and a small
dagger. The Hobiliers were accoutred and armed for the light and
less important services of war, and were not considered qualified
for a charge in line. Mounted Archers[1] were also introduced, and
the English nation eventually became pre-eminent in the use of the
bow.
About the time of Queen Mary the appellation of "_Men at Arms_"
was changed to that of "_Spears_ and _Launces_." The introduction
of fire-arms ultimately occasioned the lance to fall into disuse,
and the title of the Horsemen of the first degree was changed to
"_Cuirassiers_." The Cuirassiers were armed _cap-à-pié_, and their
weapons were a sword with a straight narrow blade and sharp point,
and a pair of large pistols, called petronels; and the Hobiliers
carried carbines. The Infantry carried pikes, matchlocks, and
swords. The introduction of fire-arms occasioned the formation of
Regiments armed and equipped as infantry, but mounted on small
horses for the sake of expedition of movement, and these were
styled "_Dragoons_;" a small portion of the military force of the
kingdom, however, consisted of this description of troops.
The formation of the present Army commenced after the Restoration
in 1660, with the establishment of regular corps of Horse and Foot;
the Horsemen were cuirassiers, but only wore armour on the head and
body; and the Foot were pike-men and musketeers. The arms which
each description of force carried, are described in the following
extract from the "Regulations of King Charles II.," dated 5th May,
1663:--
"Each Horseman to have for his defensive armes, back, breast, and
pot; and for his offensive armes, a sword, and a case of pistolls,
the barrels whereof are not to be und^r. foorteen inches in
length; and each Trooper of Our Guards to have a carbine besides
the aforesaid armes. And the Foote to have each souldier a sword,
and each pikeman a pike of 16 foote long and not und^r.; and each
musqueteer a musquet with a collar of bandaliers, the barrell of
which musquet to be about foor foote long and to conteine a bullet,
foorteen of which shall weigh a pound weight[2]."
The ranks of the Troops of Horse were at this period composed of
men of some property--generally the sons of substantial yeomen:
the young men received as recruits provided their own horses,
and they were placed on a rate of pay sufficient to give them a
respectable station in society.
On the breaking out of the war with Holland in the spring of 1672,
a Regiment of Dragoons was raised[3]; the Dragoons were placed on
a lower rate of pay than the Horse, and the Regiment was armed
similar to the Infantry, excepting that a limited number of the
men carried halberds instead of pikes, and the others muskets and
bayonets; and a few men in each troop had pistols; as appears by a
warrant dated the 2nd of April, 1672, of which the following is an
extract:--
"CHARLES R.
"Our will and pleasure is, that a Regiment of Dragoones which
we have established and ordered to be raised, in twelve Troopes
of fourscore in each beside officers, who are to be under the
command of Our most deare and most intirely beloved Cousin Prince
Rupert, shall be armed out of Our stoares remaining within Our
office of the Ordinance, as followeth; that is to say, three
corporalls, two serjeants, the gentlemen at armes, and twelve
souldiers of each of the said twelve Troopes, are to have and
carry each of them one halbard, and one case of pistolls with
holsters; and the rest of the souldiers of the several Troopes
aforesaid, are to have and to carry each of them one matchlocke
musquet, with a collar of bandaliers, and also to have and to
carry one bayonet[4], or great knive. That each lieutenant have
and carry one partizan; and that two drums be delivered out for
each Troope of the said Regiment[5]."
Several regiments of Horse and Dragoons were raised in the first
year of the reign of King James II.; and the horsemen carried a
short carbine[6] in addition to the sword and pair of pistols: and
in a Regulation dated the 21st of February, 1687, the arms of the
Dragoons at that period were commanded to be as follows:--
"The Dragoons to have snaphanse musquets, strapt, with bright
barrels of three foote eight inches long, cartouch-boxes,
bayonetts, granado pouches, buckets, and hammer-hatchetts."
After several years' experience, little advantage was found to
accrue from having Cavalry Regiments formed almost exclusively for
engaging the enemy on foot; and, the Horse having laid aside their
armour, the arms and equipment of Horse and Dragoons were so nearly
assimilated, that there remained little distinction besides the
name and rate of pay. The introduction of improvements into the
mounting, arming, and equipment of Dragoons rendered them competent
to the performance of every description of service required of
Cavalry; and, while the long musket and bayonet were retained, to
enable them to act as Infantry, if necessary, they were found to be
equally efficient, and of equal value to the nation, as Cavalry,
with the Regiments of Horse.
In the several augmentations made to the regular Army after the
early part of the reign of Queen Anne, no new Regiments of Horse
were raised for permanent service; and in 1746 King George II.
reduced three of the old Regiments of Horse to the quality and pay
of Dragoons; at the same time, His Majesty gave them the title of
First, Second, and Third Regiments of _Dragoon Guards_: and in
1788 the same alteration was made in the remaining four Regiments
of Horse, which then became the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh
Regiments of _Dragoon Guards_.
At present there are only three Regiments which are styled _Horse_
in the British Army, namely, the two Regiments of Life Guards, and
the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, to whom cuirasses have recently
been restored. The other Cavalry Regiments consist of Dragoon
Guards Heavy and Light Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers; and although
the long musket and bayonet have been laid aside by the whole
of the Cavalry, and the Regiments are armed and equipped on the
principle of the old Horse (excepting the cuirass), they continue
to be styled Dragoons.
The old Regiments of Horse formed a highly respectable and
efficient portion of the Army, and it is found, on perusing the
histories of the various campaigns in which they have been engaged,
that they have, on all occasions, maintained a high character for
steadiness and discipline as well as for bravery in action. They
were formerly mounted on horses of superior weight and physical
power, and few troops could withstand a well-directed charge of
the celebrated British Horse. The records of these corps embrace a
period of 150 years--a period eventful in history, and abounding in
instances of heroism displayed by the British troops when danger
has threatened the nation,--a period in which these Regiments have
numbered in their ranks men of loyalty, valour, and good conduct,
worthy of imitation.
Since the Regiments of Horse were formed into Dragoon Guards,
additional improvements have been introduced into the constitution
of the several corps; and the superior description of horses now
bred in the United Kingdom, enables the commanding officers to
remount their regiments with such excellent horses, that, whilst
sufficient weight has been retained for a powerful charge in line,
a lightness has been acquired, which renders them available for
every description of service incident to modern warfare.
The orderly conduct of these Regiments in quarters has gained the
confidence and esteem of the respectable inhabitants of the various
parts of the United Kingdom in which they have been stationed;
their promptitude and alacrity in attending to the requisitions of
the magistrates in periods of excitement, and the temper, patience,
and forbearance which they have evinced when subjected to great
provocation, insult, and violence from the misguided populace,
prove the value of these troops to the Crown, and to the Government
of the country, and justify the reliance which is reposed in them.
ON THE INSTITUTION
OF
LIGHT CAVALRY
IN
THE BRITISH ARMY.
The records of the military events of the remote ages speak of
heavy-armed horsemen being accompanied by others mounted and
equipped for light services. The Barons and Knights, who rode
the powerful horses celebrated by historians, and took the field
completely cased in steel, had a few light-armed attendants; the
feudal horsemen were variously armed; and the practice of employing
Light, as well as Heavy Cavalry, was adopted, to a limited extent,
by several commanders of antiquity. Armour, proof against arrow,
lance, and sword, and men and horses of colossal appearance, in
whom the greatest amount of weight and physical power, consistent
with a moderate share of activity, could be combined, were however
held in the highest estimation; but eventually the great advantage
of having a portion of Cavalry in which lightness, activity, and
celerity of movement, might form the principal characteristics,
was discovered. The introduction of fire-arms occasioned armour
to be gradually laid aside, or limited to a few heavy horsemen;
superiority of weight was no longer thought so necessary; and in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the use of Light Cavalry
became more general than formerly.
During the seventy years' war between Spain and the United
Provinces of the Netherlands, Prince Maurice of Nassau (afterwards
Prince of Orange) selected a few English and Dutch heavy-armed
Lancers, and constituted them _Carabineers_, for skirmishing, and
other services of a similar character. The Emperor of Germany
formed regiments of Hungarian _Hussars_, who were light men on
small horses. The Carabineers were of an intermediate class,
being much heavier than the Hussars, and lighter than the English
Lancers and Cuirassiers, who rode powerful horses, and wore armour
on the head, body, and limbs. The French monarchs adopted the
practice of having a few Carabineers in each troop of Horse; and,
in 1690, Louis XIV. added a troop of Carabineers to each Regiment
of Cavalry. During the campaign of 1691, these troops formed a
Carabineer brigade; but their motley appearance, and the defects
of the plan, occasioned them to be constituted a regiment of
Carabineers, and clothed in blue. In 1693 the French King added a
regiment of Hussars to the Cavalry of his army.[7]
In England the same principle was partially carried out; the
heavy horse laid aside their armour, excepting cuirasses; they
were mounted on horses of less weight than formerly, and they were
supplied with carbines by King Charles II. In 1685, King James II.
raised several independent troops of _Light Horse_, and one of
them (Sir Thomas Burton's) was retained in his service until the
Revolution in 1688, when it was disbanded. In 1691-2 King William
III. constituted the Seventh Regiment of Horse, now Sixth Dragoon
Guards, a corps of Carabineers, as an honorary distinction, and
for the performance of services for which the other regiments of
Horse, being Cuirassiers, were not well adapted. The object was
to combine with strength and power a greater degree of activity
and speed than was to be found in the Cavalry at that period; and
His Majesty appears to have contemplated having several corps of
this description in his service, as he designated this _the First
Regiment of Carabineers_; but no second regiment was formed.[8] In
1694 a troop of foreign Hussars formed part of the Army commanded
by King William in Flanders.[9]
During the wars of Queen Anne the Regiment of Carabineers was again
supplied with cuirasses, and was mounted on the same description
of horses as the other regiments; retaining, however, the title
of Carabineers. The activity, size, weight, and strength of the
horses ridden by the British Cuirassiers and Heavy Dragoons, with
the bravery and muscular powers of the men, established their
superiority in continental warfare over the Cavalry of other
nations; they acquired great celebrity in the valley of the Danube
and on the plains of the Netherlands, in the early part of the
eighteenth century, under the renowned John Duke of Marlborough;
and after the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, the reputation of the
British Horse and Dragoons was so high that no alteration was
thought necessary, and many years elapsed without any attempt being
made to revive the practice of having either Carabineers, or Light
Horse, in the British Army.
The great utility of the Light Cavalry of the continental armies
had, in the mean time, become apparent. Improvements in military
tactics, and in the arming and equipment of corps, were taking
place in various countries; and a spirit of emulation extending
itself to Great Britain, on the breaking out of the rebellion in
1745, his Grace the Duke of Montague evinced his loyalty and public
spirit by raising a Regiment of _Carabineers_ for the service of
King George II.; at the same time, his Grace the Duke of Kingston,
with equal zeal and generosity, raised, at his own expense, a
Regiment of _Light Horse_. The latter regiment approximated, in the
lightness of the men, horses, and equipment, to the Hussars of the
continental armies; the Duke of Montague's Carabineers were of a
heavier description of Cavalry.
At this period the old Cavalry Regiments rode black horses
(excepting the Scots Greys) with docked tails; but the Duke of
Kingston's Regiment was mounted on light horses of various colours,
with swish or nag tails. The accoutrements were as light as
possible: the men carried short carbines slung to their sides by a
moveable swivel, pistols, and light swords inclined to a curve.
The usefulness of the Duke of Kingston's Regiment of Light Horse
was proved in Scotland, where it served under His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cumberland, and was found qualified for every
description of service; the light horses traversing hilly grounds
with facility. It distinguished itself on several occasions,
particularly at the battle of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746,
when it charged the clans with signal gallantry, and evinced great
spirit and activity in the pursuit of the rebel army upwards of
three miles from the field of battle. The Duke of Cumberland was
highly pleased with its behaviour during the period it was under
his command; and the conduct of the Light Horse throughout the
contest reflected credit on the noble peer who had raised them.
The rebellion being suppressed, the regiment was, in consequence
of the conditions on which the men had enlisted, directed to be
disbanded; but the Duke of Cumberland so highly approved of its
conduct that he obtained permission to embody as many of the men as
would re-enlist, as his own Regiment of Light Dragoons.
His Majesty's thanks and particular satisfaction were communicated
to His Grace the Duke of Kingston, for his zeal and affection for
His Majesty's person and Government; and His Grace was desired
to convey to the officers and soldiers His Majesty's high sense
of their loyalty, activity, and gallant behaviour, at a period
of national danger. The regiment was afterwards disbanded at
Nottingham, and nearly every man engaged in the Regiment of Light
Dragoons, of which, as a signal mark of honour and distinction, His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland was appointed Colonel.
The Duke of Cumberland's Light Dragoons were mounted on active
nag-tailed horses, from fourteen and a-half to fifteen hands
high. The men were from five feet eight to five feet nine inches
in height; and their equipment was upon a new and light plan,
but retaining the cocked hat of the Heavy Dragoon pattern. This
regiment served in the Netherlands, with the Army commanded by His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland: its general usefulness was
fully established, and it distinguished itself at the battle of
Val, in 1747. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle having put an end to
the war, it returned to England, and was disbanded in 1749.
From this period the value of light horsemen was more appreciated
in England than formerly; the general utility of this arm, on
home and foreign service, had been fully proved; and at the
commencement of hostilities with France, in 1755, King George II.
resolved to possess the advantage of a body of Light Cavalry in the
approaching contest. His Majesty accordingly commanded _a troop
of Light Dragoons_ to be added to the First, Second, and Third
Regiments of Dragoon Guards, and First, Second, Third, Fourth,
Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Regiments of Dragoons. The
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Irish Horse (now Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth, and Seventh Dragoon Guards), and the Fifth, Eighth, Ninth,
Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Dragoons, being on the Irish
establishment, did not receive the same addition.
These troops of Light Dragoons were mounted, armed, equipped, and
trained, according to specific instructions, calculated to render
them available for the services for which they were designed.
Several of them were reviewed in Hyde Park by His Majesty; and
their neat appearance, celerity of movement, and the spirited and
exact manner in which they performed their evolutions, were much
admired.
Nine of these troops were formed into a brigade in 1758, under
the command of one of the King's aides-de-camp, Colonel George
Augustus Eliott, of the Horse Grenadier Guards; and they were
employed in the expeditions to the coast of France under Charles
Duke of Marlborough and Lieut.-General Bligh. They landed in France
twice; skirmished with the French Cavalry; and throughout these
enterprises they evinced activity, spirit, and general usefulness.
After their return to England, they were augmented to 125 men per
troop.
At this period, the war on the Continent had involved most of the
European states; and the extended and active operations which were
taking place in Germany rendered it necessary for a British force
to join the Allied Army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. This
gave rise to a further augmentation of the Army; and the increased
estimation in which Light Cavalry was held induced the King to give
directions for the raising of _entire Regiments of Light Dragoons_,
in addition to the five Regiments of Horse, three of Dragoon
Guards, and fourteen of Dragoons, already on the British and Irish
establishments. The following corps were accordingly embodied:--
LIGHT DRAGOONS.
_Incorporated in 1759._
FIFTEENTH, in England, by Colonel George A. Eliott;--now the
Fifteenth, or the King's Hussars.
SIXTEENTH, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Burgoyne;--now the
Sixteenth, or the Queen's Lancers.
SEVENTEENTH, in Scotland, by Captain Lord Aberdour;--disbanded in
1763.
EIGHTEENTH, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Hale;--now the
Seventeenth Lancers.
NINETEENTH, in Ireland, by Lieut.-Colonel Lord Drogheda;--numbered
the Eighteenth in 1763; constituted Hussars in 1807; and after
performing much valuable service at home and abroad, it was
disbanded at Newbridge, in Ireland, in 1821.
_Incorporated in 1760._
TWENTIETH, in Ireland, by Captain Sir James Caldwell;--disbanded in
1763.
TWENTY-FIRST, or Royal Foresters, in England by Lieut.-General the
Marquis of Granby, and Colonel Lord Robert Sutton;--disbanded in
1763.
After the peace of Fontainebleau, three of these corps were
disbanded, and the other four continued in the service. The light
troops attached to the heavy regiments were also disbanded, but a
few men of each troop were afterwards equipped as Light Dragoons.
A more perfect knowledge of the efficiency and capabilities of
Light Cavalry, acquired during the campaigns in Germany and
Portugal, had advanced the estimation in which that arm was held;
and, in 1768, the TWELFTH Dragoons (one of the heavy regiments
raised by King George I. in 1715), underwent a change of equipment
and clothing, and was constituted a corps of _Light Dragoons_, by
General Carpenter, in Ireland.
This alteration served as a precedent for subsequent changes; and
further experience, during the American war, from 1775 to 1783,
confirming the value of Light Cavalry, the SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH,
TENTH, ELEVENTH, THIRTEENTH, and FOURTEENTH Regiments of Dragoons
were changed from _heavy_ to _light_. The Light Dragoons attached to
the heavy regiments were incorporated into newly-raised corps, and
the following regiments of
LIGHT DRAGOONS
_Were embodied in 1779._
NINETEENTH,--by Major-General Russell Manners;--disbanded in 1783.
TWENTIETH,--by Major-General Richard Burton Phillipson;--disbanded
in 1783.
TWENTY-FIRST,--by Major-General John Douglas;--disbanded in 1783.
TWENTY-SECOND,--by Lieut.-Colonel John Lord Sheffield;--disbanded
in 1783.
_Embodied in 1781._
TWENTY-THIRD,--by Lieut.-General Sir John Burgoyne, Baronet, for
service in India, and was numbered the NINETEENTH after the peace
in 1783. This regiment signalized itself on numerous occasions in
India, and was rewarded with the honour of bearing on its guidons
and appointments the _Elephant_, with the words _Assaye_ and
_Seringapatam_. The word _Niagara_ was also added in commemoration
of the gallantry of two troops, in the year 1813, in North America.
In 1817 it was constituted a corps of LANCERS. It was disbanded in
Ireland in 1821.
Thus a few years had produced a great change in the British Army.
Twenty-five years previously to the termination of the American war
there was not a single Light Dragoon Regiment in the Service, and
in 1783 there were seventeen; four of them were disbanded at that
period, and thirteen retained in the Service.
Soon after the termination of the American war, the French monarch
having, by aiding the rebellious British provincials, taught his
own subjects a lesson of insubordination, was deprived of the reins
of government; and the violent conduct of the French revolutionists
in the West Indies occasioned the TWENTIETH or JAMAICA REGIMENT OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS to be raised in 1791 by Colonel Henry F. Gardner,
for service in that island. Besides its services in Jamaica,
detachments of this regiment served at Malta; Sicily; at the taking
of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1806; at the capture of Alexandria, in
1807; at the attack on Monte Video; in Portugal; at Genoa; and on
the eastern coast of Spain; and acquired the honour of bearing the
word _Peninsula_ on its guidons and appointments. It was disbanded
in Ireland in 1818.
War with France commenced in 1793, and was followed by
augmentations to the Army. It was not found necessary to add a
single Heavy Cavalry Regiment; but the following Regiments of
LIGHT DRAGOONS
_Were incorporated in 1794._
TWENTY-FIRST,--by Lieut.-Colonel Thomas R. Beaumont. This regiment
served at the Cape of Good Hope and in India thirteen years;
a detachment was sent to do duty at St. Helena, when Napoleon
Buonaparte was removed thither. This regiment was disbanded at
Chatham in 1820.
TWENTY-SECOND,--by Major-General William Viscount Fielding;--served
in Great Britain and Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
TWENTY-THIRD,--by Colonel William Fullerton;--served in Great
Britain and Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
TWENTY-FOURTH,--by Colonel William Loftus;--served in Great Britain
and Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
TWENTY-FIFTH,--by Major-General Francis Edward Gwyn. This regiment
was numbered the TWENTY-SECOND after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.
It served with reputation in India; was employed at the reduction
of Java; signalized itself on several occasions; and was rewarded
with the royal authority to bear the word _Seringapatam_ on its
guidons and appointments. It was disbanded in England in 1820.
_Raised in 1795._
TWENTY-SIXTH,--by Lieut.-General R. Manners;--numbered the
TWENTY-THIRD in 1803. This regiment served in Egypt, Portugal,
Spain, Flanders, and France; and its distinguished conduct
was rewarded with the honour of bearing on its guidons and
appointments, the _Sphinx_, with the words _Egypt_, _Peninsula_,
and _Waterloo_. In 1816 it was constituted a corps of LANCERS. It
was disbanded in England in 1817.
TWENTY-SEVENTH,--by Major-General Wynter Blathwayte;--numbered the
TWENTY-FOURTH in 1804. This regiment served in India, distinguished
itself at the battles of Ghur and Delhi, and was permitted to bear
the _Elephant_, with the word _Hindoostan_, on its guidons and
appointments. It was disbanded in England, on its arrival from
Bengal, in 1819.
TWENTY-EIGHTH,--by Major-General Robert Lawrie;--served in Great
Britain, Ireland, and at the Cape of Good Hope;--disbanded in
Ireland in 1802.
TWENTY-NINTH,--by Major-General Francis Augustus Lord
Heathfield;--numbered the TWENTY-FIFTH in 1804. This regiment
served in India, and was at the reduction of the Isle of France. It
was disbanded at Chatham, on its arrival from India, in 1819.
_Raised in 1794._
THIRTIETH,--by Lieut.-Colonel J. C. Carden;--disbanded in 1796.
THIRTY-FIRST,--by Lieut.-Colonel William St. Ledger;--disbanded in
1796.
THIRTY-SECOND,--by Lieut.-Colonel H. J. Blake;--disbanded in 1796.
THIRTY-THIRD,--by Lieut.-Colonel J. Blackwood;--disbanded in 1796.
Soon after the re-commencement of hostilities with France in 1803,
the SEVENTH, TENTH, FIFTEENTH, and EIGHTEENTH Light Dragoons were
equipped as HUSSARS. Since the termination of the war in 1815, the
THIRD and FOURTH Dragoons have been changed from _heavy to light_;
the NINTH, TWELFTH, SIXTEENTH, and SEVENTEENTH Light Dragoons
have been constituted LANCERS; and the EIGHTH and ELEVENTH Light
Dragoons have also been equipped as HUSSARS.
At this period (1847), the Cavalry of the British Army consists of
twenty-six regiments--thirteen Heavy and thirteen Light; and is
composed of three regiments of Cuirassiers, ten of Heavy Dragoons,
four of Light Dragoons, five of Hussars, and four of Lancers.
THE FOURTEENTH,
OR
THE KING'S, REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS,
BEARS ON ITS APPOINTMENTS
THE KING'S CREST,
AND THE WORDS,
"TALAVERA"--"FUENTES
D'ONOR"--"SALAMANCA"--"VITTORIA"--"ORTHES"--"PENINSULA."
THE WHITE HORSE AND THE PRUSSIAN EAGLE,
_As shown in Plate opposite to Page 62_,
WERE BORNE ON THE REGIMENTAL GUIDON UNTIL THE YEAR 1834, WHEN THE
GUIDONS OF THE REGIMENTS OF LIGHT DRAGOONS, HUSSARS, AND LANCERS,
WERE DIRECTED TO BE DISCONTINUED.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In the 14th year of the reign of Edward IV. a small force was
established in Ireland by Parliament, consisting of 120 Archers on
horseback, 40 Horsemen, and 40 Pages.
[2] Military Papers, State Paper Office.
[3] This Regiment was disbanded after the Peace of 1674.
[4] This appears to be the first introduction of _bayonets_ into
the English Army.
[5] State Paper Office.
[6] The first issue of carbines to the regular Horse appears
to have taken place in 1684; the Life Guards, however, carried
carbines from their formation in 1660.--_Vide_ the 'Historical
Record of the Life Guards.'
[7] _Histoire de la Milice Françoise_, par le PÈRE DANIEL.
[8] National Records.
[9] The equipment of Hussars at this period is described by
D'AUVERGNE, in his _History of the Campaign of 1694_, pp. 22, 23.
CONTENTS.
Year Page
1715 Formation of the Regiment 1
---- Raised in South Britain by Brigadier-General James Dormer 1
---- Numbered Fourteenth Dragoons 1
---- Names of the Officers 2
---- Engaged with the rebels at Preston in Lancashire 2
1716 Proceeded into Lincolnshire 3
1717 Embarked for Ireland 3
1742 Returned to Great Britain 4
1745 Advanced to Edinburgh 5
---- Engaged with the Rebels at Prestonpans 6
1746 Returned to Scotland 7
---- Victory of Culloden 8
---- Rebellion suppressed 8
1747 Returned to Ireland 8
1751 Clothing, Appointments, and Guidons regulated
by Royal Warrant of King George II. 9
1768 Ditto--ditto--by Royal Warrant of King George III. 10
1776 Constituted a Corps of Light Dragoons 12
1784 Uniform changed from Scarlet to Dark-blue 13
1794 Two troops embarked for Flanders 15
1795 Embarked for the West Indies 16
1797 Returned to England 17
1798 Permitted to be styled the Fourteenth, or the Duchess of
York's Own, Light Dragoons; to bear the Prussian Eagle;
and to change the Facings from lemon-yellow to orange 18
1808 Embarked for Portugal 19
1809 Engaged at Oporto 20
---- Engaged at Talavera de la Reyna 22
1810 Advanced to Almeida 24
---- Engaged at Villa de Puerco 25
---- Engaged at Frexadas 28
---- Battle of Busaco and Retreat to Torres Vedras 29
---- Affair at Rio Mandevilla 30
---- Posted on the Cartaxo road 30
1811 Pursuit of the French from Santarem 31
---- Skirmishes at Pombal; at Redinha; at Casal
Nova; and at Foz d'Aronce 31
---- Action at Sabugal 31
---- Engaged at Gallegos 32
---- Engaged at Fuentes d'Onor 32
---- Repulse of the French from Portugal 33
---- Siege of, and retreat from before Badajoz 34
---- Action at Nave d'Aver, and at Carpio 35
1812 Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo 36
---- Siege and Capture of Badajoz 36
---- Skirmish near Villa Franca 36
---- Affair at Llerena 36
---- Skirmish at Alaejos 38
---- Action at Castrillos 38
---- Battle of Salamanca 39
---- Pursuit of the French, and engagement at Penerada 40
---- Affair at Blasco Sancho 40
---- March to Madrid 40
---- Retreat from Madrid to Alba de Tormes 41
---- Repulse of French Lancers at Matilla 41
---- Reconnoitring parties on retreat from Salamanca to
Ciudad Rodrigo 41
1813 Advance to Salamanca 42
---- Passage of the Carion and Pisuerga 42
1813 Capture of Burgos 43
---- Skirmish at Huarte 43
---- Battle of Vittoria 43
---- Pursuit of the French to Pampeluna 44
---- -------------------- to the Pyrenees 44
---- Capture of a party at Ostiz 44
---- ------------------ at Roncesvalles 45
---- Skirmish at Almandoz 45
---- -------- at the pass of Maya 45
---- Engagement at the valley of Bastan 46
---- Passage of the Nivelle 46
---- Affair at the ford near Cambo 46
---- Passage of the Nive 46
---- Affair in front of Mendionda 47
---- Engagement at Hasparren 47
1814 Active operations resumed 47
---- Actions at Hellette, Garris, and Sauveterre 47
---- Battle of Orthes 48
---- Engagement at Aire 48
---- Defeat of the enemy's designs at Pau 48
---- Skirmish at Castel Paget 49
---- Affair at Tarbes 50
---- Battle of Toulouse 50
---- Termination of the Peninsular War 50
---- Marched to Bourdeaux 51
---- Returned to England 51
---- Reviewed at Hounslow 51
---- Embarked for America 52
---- Proceeded on an Expedition to New Orleans 52
1815 Hostilities with America ceased 53
---- Returned to England 53
---- Authorised to bear the word "Peninsula" 53
---- Proceeded to Hounslow 53
1816 Embarked for Ireland 54
1819 Returned to England 54
1822 Reviewed at Hounslow 55
1825 Re-embarked for Ireland 55
1828 Returned to England 56
1830 Proceeded to London 57
---- Reviewed by King William IV. 57
---- Authorised to bear the title of the Fourteenth, or the
King's, Light Dragoons 57
---- The Facings changed from Orange to Scarlet 57
1831 Marched to Birmingham, Coventry, and Gloucester 58
---- Engaged in repressing Riots at Bristol 59
1832 Removed to Hounslow 60
---- Authorised to bear the King's Crest on the appointments;
and the Prussian Eagle on the second and third corners
of the regimental guidon 60
1833 Embarked at Bristol for Ireland 60
1834 Standards discontinued 60
1835 Embarked at Belfast for Scotland 60
1838 Returned to England from Scotland 60
1841 Embarked for Bombay 61
1846 Proceeded to the Bengal Presidency 62
---- The Conclusion 63
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
Year Page
1715 James Dormer 65
1720 Clement Neville 66
1737 Archibald Hamilton 67
1749 James Lord Tyrawley 67
1752 Louis Dejean 68
1757 John Campbell, afterwards Marquis of Lorne 69
1765 Charles Fitroy, afterwards Lord Southampton 70
1772 Daniel Webb 70
1773 George Warde 71
1778 Sir Robert Sloper, K.B. 72
1797 John William Egerton, afterwards Earl of Bridgewater 73
1823 Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, G.C.B. 74
1830 Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart., K.C.B, and G.C.H. 74
LIEUTENANT-COLONELS.
Succession of Lieutenant-Colonels from the year 1800 75
MAJORS.
Succession of Majors from the year 1799 78
List of the Battles, Sieges, &c. which took place in
the Peninsula from 1808 to 1814 81
PLATES.
Costume of the Regiment _to face_ 1
Guidon of the Regiment in 1798 " 18
Guidon of the Regiment in 1832 " 60
[Illustration: FOURTEENTH, OR THE KING'S OWN LIGHT DRAGOONS.
[_to face page 1._
]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
FOURTEENTH (THE KING'S) REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS.
[Sidenote: 1715]
The accession of the house of Hanover to the throne of Great
Britain and Ireland, was the commencement of a dynasty under which
this kingdom has attained a splendid elevation of naval, military,
commercial, and political importance; has extended its possessions
in remote countries;--and its armies have fought and conquered in
every quarter of the globe. The first year of His Majesty's reign
had, however, not expired, when it was found necessary to augment
the regular army, and the FOURTEENTH, (THE KING'S) REGIMENT OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS, is one of the corps incorporated on that occasion.
It was raised in South Britain, by Brigadier-General JAMES
DORMER, who had acquired a reputation in the war of the Spanish
succession; and the following officers were appointed to the
regiment, by commissions dated the 22nd July, 1715.
_Captains._ _Lieutenants._ _Cornets._
James Dormer (col). Jas. Stevens (cap.-lt.) Edward Stroude.
H. Killegrew (lt.-col.) Henry Lasale. Thomas Ellis.
Sol. Rapin. (major) Peter Davenport. Thomas Delahaye.
Henry Pelham. Jonathan Pirke. William Hamilton.
William Boyle. Cuthbert Smith. Rigley Molyneux.
Beverly Newcommin. James Flemming. Andrew Forrester.
His Majesty's protestant subjects arrayed themselves under the
royal standard with great cheerfulness, but before the regiment
was complete in men and horses, the arrangements of the Jacobites
were in such a state of forwardness, that the Pretender's standard
was raised in Scotland by the Earl of Mar, who was soon at the
head of ten thousand men. A body of rebels having penetrated into
Lancashire, DORMER'S dragoons were among the corps directed to
advance, under Major-General Wills, and fight the insurgent bands:
the regiment was formed in brigade with Pitt's horse, now second
dragoon guards, under its Colonel, Brigadier-General Dormer.
Arriving at _Preston_, about three o'clock in the afternoon of
the 12th of November, the rebels were found in force in the town,
with the avenues barricaded and defended by cannon. The FOURTEENTH
dragoons were directed to dismount and form as infantry, to take
part in storming the avenue leading to Lancaster, in which they
were assisted by Wynne's (ninth), and a squadron of Stanhope's
dragoons (afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-Generals Dormer
and Munden; Pitt's horse, Munden's (thirteenth), and a squadron
of Stanhope's dragoons forming in support. The first barrier was
carried with great gallantry; but the inner barricade could not
be forced for want of cannon. The houses were afterwards set on
fire, and measures adopted to prevent the escape of the rebels,
who were eventually forced to surrender at discretion. The
regiment had three men and sixteen horses killed on this occasion,
Brigadier-General Dormer, and four private soldiers wounded.
The regiment escorted a number of the captured insurgents to
Lancaster gaol, and was afterwards quartered in that town, and in
the early part of 1716 the rebellion was suppressed by the troops
under the Duke of Argyle.
[Sidenote: 1716]
In May 1716, the regiment marched from Lancaster, into cantonments
at Lincoln and the neighbouring towns.
[Sidenote: 1717]
A reduction of the army took place in the spring of 1717, and in
May, DORMER'S dragoons marched to Bristol and embarked for Ireland,
to replace a regiment ordered to be disbanded in that country.
[Sidenote: 1720]
The regiment remained in Ireland during the succeeding twenty-five
years. In 1720, Brigadier-General Dormer was removed to the
sixth regiment of foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of
the FOURTEENTH dragoons, by Colonel Clement Neville, from the
lieut.-colonelcy of the thirteenth dragoons.
[Sidenote: 1721]
[Sidenote: 1737]
Colonel Neville commanded the regiment seventeen years, and was
removed in 1737, to the eighth dragoons, and the colonelcy of the
FOURTEENTH was conferred on Colonel Archibald Hamilton from the
27th foot.
[Sidenote: 1740]
[Sidenote: 1741]
[Sidenote: 1742]
Charles VI. Emperor of Germany, died in 1740; the succession of
the Archduchess Maria-Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia,
was disputed by the Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by a
French army; and, in 1742, King George II. sent a British force
to Flanders to aid the house of Austria; at the same time the
FOURTEENTH dragoons were withdrawn from Ireland, to replace the
cavalry regiments which had proceeded on foreign service from
England.
[Sidenote: 1743]
[Sidenote: 1744]
[Sidenote: 1745]
The regiment was stationed in Great Britain during the years 1743
and 1744; and in 1745, when Charles Edward, eldest son of the
Pretender, raised his father's standard in Scotland, it was ordered
to Stirling. After Lieut.-General Sir John Cope had marched from
Stirling with the infantry and some artillery, the FOURTEENTH
dragoons proceeded to Leith, where they were stationed when the
rebel army advanced towards Edinburgh. They were suddenly ordered
to join Colonel Gardiner, who was retiring before the rebel army,
with the thirteenth dragoons; they rode through Edinburgh at a
brisk pace during public worship on Sunday, the 15th of September,
when the congregations rushed out of the churches and chapels and
filled the streets, and four hundred volunteers, with a thousand
men of the trained bands, appeared in arms. The FOURTEENTH dragoons
joined Colonel Gardiner at Carstorphin, from whence they fell
back to Coltsbridge, where they were joined by the city guard and
Edinburgh regiment. On a report of the approach of the rebel bands,
the Edinburgh regiment and city guard withdrew within the walls,
and the dragoons moved towards Haddington, the citizens refusing to
admit them into the place; and while a tumultuary council was being
held to decide about the mode of defending the city, the insurgents
gained possession of one of the gates: thus Edinburgh fell into the
hands of the young Pretender.