DRAGOONS, M DCCC XXXII.
[_To face page 60._
]
The regiment being augmented to the India establishment, Major
William Havelock, K.H. (from the fourth light dragoons) was
promoted to be the second Lieut.-Colonel, and Captain Edward Harvey
was promoted to be second Major, on the 30th April, 1841.
On the 24th of May, the first division, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Townsend, embarked at Gravesend for India in the
freight ship "Repulse," and arrived at Bombay on the 8th of
September, from whence it proceeded to Kirkee: the second division
embarked at Gravesend on board of the freight ship "Reliance" on
the 14th of June, under the command of Major Barton, and landing
at Bombay on the 5th of October following, marched to join the
regiment at Kirkee, where it arrived on the 13th of that month.
[Sidenote: 1842]
[Sidenote: 1843]
[Sidenote: 1844]
The FOURTEENTH light dragoons during the years 1842, 1843, and
1844, continued to be stationed at Kirkee: two squadrons however
proceeded on field service to Kolapoor in October, 1844.
[Sidenote: 1845]
Lieut.-Colonel Townsend received leave from India, and he died at
Castle Townsend, in Ireland, on the 22nd April, 1845.[15] He was
succeeded by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Edward Harvey, on the 23rd of
April.
The two squadrons of the FOURTEENTH light dragoons, which had
proceeded on field service in the southern Mahratta country,
rejoined the head-quarters on the 19th of March, 1845, and in the
following December the regiment marched from Kirkee, en route to
Mhow and Agra.
[Sidenote: 1846]
On the 4th of March, 1846, the regiment marched from Agra to
Meerut, arriving at the latter station on the 16th of that month;
and in April, 1846, the regiment proceeded to Umballa, where it has
continued to the end of the year 1846.
The statement of the services of the FOURTEENTH, OR THE KING'S,
LIGHT DRAGOONS, from the period of the formation of the regiment
in 1715 to the present time, (as given in the preceding pages,)
affords abundant proofs of the value of its services abroad, as
well as at home; and its order, discipline, good conduct, and
bravery, have, on numerous occasions, been attested by the general
officers under whom the regiment has been employed.
During the Peninsular War, from 1808 to 1814, the _Fourteenth_
and _Sixteenth_ Light Dragoons were principally employed on the
important duties of _out-posts_, on which the safety of an army in
the field, and the success of its movements greatly depend.
In the mode of performing these peculiar and important services,
the Fourteenth and Sixteenth Light Dragoons, under the direction
of active and intelligent officers, acquired the confidence of the
Commander of the Forces, and of the division of the army of which
they formed a portion.
At the period of the conclusion of this Record, (1846) the regiment
is reported to be in a high state of efficiency, and in readiness
to evince its prowess whenever the public service may again require
its assistance.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] See Memoir in Appendix. Page 75.
[11] See Memoir in Appendix. Page 75.
[12] Colonel Napier's History of the Peninsular War.
[13] See Memoir in Appendix. Page 76.
[14] See Memoir in Appendix. Page 76.
[15] See Memoir in Appendix. Page 76.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF THE
FOURTEENTH, (THE KING'S) REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS.
JAMES DORMER.
_Appointed 22nd July, 1715._
JAMES DORMER obtained a commission at the augmentation of the army
in 1701, and his attention to duty, zeal for the service, and
personal bravery, evinced while serving under the celebrated John,
Duke of Marlborough, were rewarded in 1707 with the rank of colonel
in the army, and he was soon afterwards appointed colonel of a
newly-raised Irish regiment of foot, with which he embarked for
Spain in 1709. He distinguished himself at the battle of Saragossa,
and in the advance to Madrid, in 1710, but was surrounded and made
prisoner, with his regiment, in the mountains of Castile in the
following winter. He was exchanged, and on arriving in England,
he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General; and in 1712, he
succeeded Lord Mohun, who was killed in a duel with the Duke of
Hamilton, in the command of a regiment of foot, which was disbanded
at the peace of Utrecht. At the augmentation in the summer of
1715, he was commissioned to raise a corps of dragoons,--the
present FOURTEENTH, THE KING'S REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS. He
commanded a brigade at the attack of the rebels at Preston, and was
wounded at the storming of the avenue leading to Lancaster. He was
removed in 1720, to the sixth foot; he was promoted to the rank
of Major-General in 1727, and to that of Lieut.-General in 1735.
In 1738, he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the first troop of
horse grenadier guards, and he retained this appointment until his
decease in 1742.
CLEMENT NEVILLE.
_Appointed 9th April, 1720._
This Officer entered the army at the Revolution in 1688, and he
served under King William III, in the Netherlands. He also served
in the wars of Queen Anne; was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy
of Munden's regiment of foot, with which he served in Spain, and
signalized himself at the battle of Saragossa in 1710; but was
made prisoner at Brihuega. He was shortly afterwards exchanged,
and at the close of the campaign of 1711, he was rewarded with
the rank of colonel in the army. At the peace of Utrecht, his
regiment was disbanded; and in the summer of 1715, he was appointed
Lieut.-Colonel of the thirteenth dragoons. In 1720 he was promoted
to the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH dragoons, from which he was
removed to the eighth dragoons in 1737, and in 1739, he was
promoted to the rank of Major-General. In 1740, he was appointed
colonel of the sixth horse, now fifth dragoon guards; and in 1743,
he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died in 1744.
ARCHIBALD HAMILTON.
_Appointed 27th June, 1737._
ARCHIBALD HAMILTON entered the army in November, 1688, and at the
Revolution he adhered to the Prince of Orange, afterwards King
William III, under whose command he served in Flanders. In the
reign of Queen Anne, he served in Portugal and Spain, and his
regiment (Montjoy's foot), was nearly annihilated at the battle
of Almanza in 1707, where he was taken prisoner. This corps was
subsequently incorporated into other regiments, and the officers
sent home to recruit, and at the peace of Utrecht it was disbanded.
In the summer of 1715, he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the
eleventh dragoons, and in May, 1732, he was promoted to the
colonelcy of the twenty-seventh foot: from which he was removed, in
1737, to the FOURTEENTH dragoons. He died in 1749.
JAMES LORD TYRAWLEY.
_Appointed 24th July, 1749._
THE HON. JAMES O'HARA was appointed lieutenant in the royal
regiment of fusiliers, commanded by his father, on the 15th of
March, 1703, and in 1706 he proceeded with his regiment to the
relief of Barcelona. In the following year he served on the staff
of the army in Spain, and was wounded at the battle of Almanza,
where, it is said, he was instrumental in saving the Earl of
Galway's life. He served several years at Minorca, and, in 1713,
obtained the colonelcy of the royal fusiliers in succession to his
father, at whose decease, in 1733, he succeeded to the dignity of
BARON TYRAWLEY. The rank of brigadier-general was conferred on his
lordship on the 23rd of November, 1735; that of major-general on
the 2nd of July, 1739; and in August of the latter year, he was
removed from the royal fusiliers to the fifth horse, now fourth
dragoon guards. In March, 1743, he was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-general, and in the following month obtained the
colonelcy of the second troop of horse grenadier guards, from which
he was removed, in 1745, to the third troop of life guards, which
gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of Gold Stick. In
1746, when King George II. had resolved to disband the third and
fourth troops of life guards, his lordship was removed to the tenth
foot; he was removed, in 1749, to the FOURTEENTH dragoons; in 1752,
to the third dragoons; and in 1755, to the second, or Coldstream
regiment of foot guards. He was appointed Governor of Portsmouth
on the 1st of May, 1759, and was promoted to the rank of General
on the 7th of March, 1761. He held the appointment of Governor of
Minorca for several years, and was employed as envoy and ambassador
to the courts of Portugal and Russia. He died at Twickenham on the
13th of July, 1773.
LOUIS DEJEAN.
_Appointed 27th November, 1752._
LOUIS DEJEAN served many years in the first troop of horse
grenadier guards, in which corps he rose to the rank of
Lieut.-Colonel, and in 1746 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a
regiment of foot, which was afterwards disbanded. In 1752, he was
appointed to the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH dragoons; in 1756, he
was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in 1757, he was removed
to the third Irish horse, now sixth dragoon guards; and in 1759, he
was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died at Dublin, in
1764.
JOHN CAMPBELL.
_Appointed 5th April, 1757._
JOHN CAMPBELL entered the army in the reign of King George II.,
and in 1745, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the
fifty-fourth regiment, now forty-third, or Monmouthshire light
infantry, with which corps he served a short period in the
Netherlands. The rebellion breaking out in Scotland, he quitted
Flanders, and in January, 1746, he joined Lieut.-General Hawley,
with a thousand Argyleshire highlanders, on the day of the
unfortunate battle of Falkirk. He subsequently joined the Duke
of Cumberland at Perth, and accompanied His Royal Highness to
the north. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, and appointed
aide-de-camp to the King in November, 1755; in the following
month he was nominated colonel of the fifty-fourth regiment,
then first embodied, from which he was removed in 1757, to the
FOURTEENTH dragoons, and in 1759, he was promoted to the rank of
Major-General, and appointed colonel of the Argyleshire fencibles;
in January 1761, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General.
On the decease of his uncle, Archibald, third Duke of Argyle,
in 1761, his father, General John Campbell, of the Scots Greys,
succeeded to that title, and Lieut.-General Campbell, of the
FOURTEENTH dragoons, became MARQUIS OF LORNE. In the following year
he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and in 1765 he
was removed to the royal regiment of foot. He was again appointed
Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1767, and in 1770 he succeeded to
the title of DUKE OF ARGYLE. He was promoted to the rank of General
in 1778; removed to the third foot guards in 1782, and advanced to
the rank of Field Marshal in 1796. Being distinguished for many
social, private, and public virtues, he was highly honoured and
respected in society, and he died lamented, on the 24th day of May,
1806, in the eighty-third year of his age.
CHARLES FITZROY.
_Appointed 11th September, 1765._
CHARLES FITZROY, brother of Augustus Henry, Duke of Grafton,
was appointed ensign in the first foot guards in 1752; in 1758,
he was promoted to the command of a company, with the rank of
Lieut.-Colonel, and in 1762 he was appointed colonel of the 119th,
or the Prince's Own regiment of foot, which was disbanded in the
following year. He was appointed to the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH
dragoons, in 1765; was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and
removed to the third dragoons in 1772, and in 1777, he was promoted
to the rank of Lieut.-General; in 1780, he was created LORD
SOUTHAMPTON. In 1793, he was advanced to the rank of General. He
died in 1797.
DANIEL WEBB.
_Appointed 20th October, 1772._
DANIEL WEBB was many years an officer of the eighth horse, now
seventh dragoon guards, at a period when that corps acquired a
high reputation for discipline, efficiency, and valour, and was
designated Ligonier's horse. He rose to the rank of major in the
regiment; commanded a squadron at the Battle of Dettingen in
1743, where his corps highly distinguished itself under the eye of
its sovereign; and he also commanded a squadron at the battle of
Fontenoy, in 1745. In a few days after the battle, he was promoted
to the Lieut.-Colonelcy, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel Francis
Ligonier, who was promoted to the colonelcy of the forty-eighth
foot. Lieut.-Colonel Webb performed the duties of commanding
officer of the eighth horse, until November, 1755, when he was
rewarded with the colonelcy of the forty-eighth foot: in 1759, he
was promoted to the rank of Major-General. He served in Germany
under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and commanded a brigade of
cavalry at the battle of Warbourg in 1760; in 1761, he was promoted
to the rank of Lieut.-General. In 1766, he was removed to the
eighth foot, and in 1772, to the FOURTEENTH dragoons, the command
of which corps he retained until his decease in the following year.
GEORGE WARDE.
_Appointed 11th November, 1773._
This officer held a commission in the eleventh dragoons for many
years, and was appointed major of the regiment in 1756. In 1758,
he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the fourth dragoons,
and he brought that corps into so excellent a state of discipline
and efficiency, that he received the expression of the high
approbation of King George III., on several occasions, when His
Majesty reviewed the regiment. He was promoted to the rank of
colonel in 1772; in the following year, the King rewarded him with
the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH dragoons, and four years afterwards
he was advanced to the rank of Major-General. In 1778, he was
removed to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon guards,
and he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General in 1782. In
1792 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, and while in
that country he devoted much of his time in bringing his regiment
into a perfect condition for active service. He possessed sound
ideas of what cavalry ought to be; he had an aversion to slow
movements, and, although nearly seventy years of age, he exercised
his regiment five times a week,--often leading it across the
country over hedge and ditch, to the astonishment of every one. In
1796, he was promoted to the rank of General. He was celebrated
for philanthropy, and is represented by historians as a "man of
inviolable disinterested integrity, public and private; and the
bestower of benefactions scarcely less secret than extensive." He
died in March 1803.
SIR ROBERT SLOPER, K.B.
_Appointed 2nd April, 1778._
ROBERT SLOPER was appointed by King George II., to a commission
in the tenth dragoons, and at the augmentation of the army
in December, 1755, His Majesty promoted him to the majority
of the regiment. In February, 1759, he was promoted to the
Lieut.-Colonelcy of the first dragoon guards, and he commanded that
regiment during the remainder of the seven years' war in Germany,
where he was repeatedly commended by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick,
and other general officers under whose command he served. While
under his orders, the first dragoon guards were preserved in a high
state of discipline and efficiency. He was promoted to the rank
of Major-General in 1771, and in 1778, King George III. rewarded
him with the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH dragoons. In 1782, he was
promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General, and to that of General
in 1796; and in the following year he was removed to the fourth
dragoons. He was further rewarded with the dignity of a Knight of
the Bath, and the government of Duncannon fort. He died in 1802.
JOHN WILLIAM EGERTON.
_Appointed 1st June, 1797._
JOHN WILLIAM EGERTON, (eldest son of the Rev. John Egerton,
afterwards Lord Bishop of Durham), was appointed cornet in the
seventh dragoons in January 1771; he obtained the command of
a troop in 1776, and in 1779 he was promoted to the majority
of the twenty-second light dragoons, from which he was removed
to the twentieth in 1781; and in 1782, he was promoted to the
Lieut.-Colonelcy of the twenty-first light dragoons, which corps
was disbanded in the following year, in consequence of the
termination of the American war. In 1790, he was appointed to the
Lieut.-Colonelcy of the seventh light dragoons; he was promoted to
the rank of Colonel in 1793, and to that of Major-General in 1795.
He served some time on the staff in Ireland, and was removed to
the eastern district of England in 1796: in the following year His
Majesty conferred upon him the colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH light
dragoons, and promoted him in 1802, to the rank of Lieut.-General.
On the decease of his cousin, Francis, third Duke of Bridgewater,
in 1803, he succeeded to the title of EARL OF BRIDGEWATER, and in
1812, he was promoted to the rank of General. He retained the
colonelcy of the FOURTEENTH light dragoons twenty-six years, and
was particularly proud of the high reputation which his regiment
acquired during the Peninsular war. He died in 1823.
SIR JOHN ORMSBY VANDELEUR, G.C.B.
_Appointed 28th October, 1823._
GENERAL SIR JOHN ORMSBY VANDELEUR, G.C.B., was removed to the
sixteenth lancers on the 18th of June 1830.
SIR EDWARD KERRISON, BART., K.C.B., G.C.H.
_Appointed 18th June, 1830._
APPENDIX.
GENERAL SIR SAMUEL HAWKER, G.C.H., entered the army as a Cornet
in the Sixteenth Light Dragoons, on the 15th May, 1779, and rose
to the rank of Major in April, 1797. On the 6th June, 1799, he
was appointed to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Sussex Fencible
Cavalry, and was removed to the Fourteenth Light Dragoons on the
12th of June, 1800. On the 25th April, 1808, he was appointed one
of the aides-de-camp to King George III, with the rank of Colonel
in the army, as a mark of His Majesty's approval of his services,
and of the efficient state of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons.
In December, 1808, he embarked for Portugal in command of the
regiment, and was engaged in several actions with the French
army, particularly at the memorable battle of Talavera, where the
regiment distinguished itself, and was highly commended in the
official despatches:--He was promoted to the rank of Major-General
on the 4th June, 1811, and relinquished the command of the regiment
at that period: he was appointed to serve as a Major-General upon
the staff of Great Britain on the 25th November, 1811, and was
employed in the eastern district until the 24th September, 1814: he
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General on the 19th July,
1821; and on the 22nd July, 1829, was appointed Captain of Yarmouth
Castle in the Isle of Wight.
On the 22nd April, 1831, he was nominated by His Majesty King
William IV., to the Colonelcy of the Third, or Prince of Wales's
Dragoon Guards; he was advanced to the rank of General on the 28th
June, 1838; and he died on the 27th December of that year, after a
faithful service of nearly sixty years.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL NEIL TALBOT entered the army as an ensign in
the twenty-seventh regiment on the 25th June 1789; was promoted to
a lieutenancy on the 30th November 1791; and to a company in the
hundred and eighteenth regiment, on the 10th July 1794. On the 19th
October 1796, Captain Talbot was removed to the FOURTEENTH light
dragoons; he was promoted to a majority on the 25th June 1802, and
to a lieut.-colonelcy on the 22nd August 1805. In December 1808, he
embarked with the regiment for the Peninsula. Lieutenant-Colonel
Talbot was engaged in an affair with the enemy near Sexmiro on the
11th July 1810, when an attempt was made to cut off the French
piquets on the Agueda. On this occasion Lieutenant-Colonel Talbot
was killed.
COLONEL SIR FELTON BATHURST HERVEY, BART., entered the army as a
cornet in the third dragoon guards on the 6th May 1800. He was
promoted to a company of infantry on the 9th July 1803, and removed
to the FOURTEENTH light dragoons on the 28th of July of that year;
he was promoted major on the 8th May 1806. On the 2nd August
1810, he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the regiment
in succession to Lieutenant-Colonel Talbot. He was appointed
aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent with the rank of colonel, on the
4th June 1814. After commanding the regiment during four years of
the Peninsular war, and obtaining several distinctions for gallant
conduct, he died on 24th September 1819, to the great regret of the
regiment, and of his numerous military and other friends.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL CHARLES MASSEY BAKER, entered the army as an
ensign in the twenty-seventh regiment on the 30th March 1788;
was promoted to a lieutenancy on the 30th November 1791; and to
a troop in the twenty-second dragoons on the 31st August 1795.
He was removed to the FOURTEENTH light dragoons on the 3rd March
1804; was promoted to a majority on the 30th January 1813, and
to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment on the 30th September
1819 in succession to Colonel Sir Felton B. Hervey, deceased.
Lieutenant-Colonel Baker retired from the service on the 15th April
1829, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Townsend.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN TOWNSEND, entered the army as a cornet in
the FOURTEENTH light dragoons on the 24th June 1805; was promoted
to a lieutenancy on the 27th February 1806; to be captain of
a troop on the 6th June 1811. He served in the Peninsula from
December 1808, until taken prisoner near the city of Pau in France
on the 8th March 1814, including the different affairs of the 10th
and 11th May and in crossing the Douro on the 12th May 1809; battle
of Talavera in July 1809; affair with the enemy's advanced posts on
the 11th July 1810 in front of Ciudad Rodrigo under the command of
Colonel Talbot, who was killed; passage of the Coa; skirmishes of
the rear guard from Almeida to the lines of Torres Vedras in 1810;
affairs in the enemy's retreat from Santarem to the frontiers of
Spain from 6th March to 4th April 1811; battle of Fuentes d'Onor,
where he was wounded; affair with the enemy's lancers on the 25th
September 1811; siege of Badajoz; affairs with the enemy's cavalry
at Usagre, Llerena, in front of Salamanca, and near Castrillos;
battle of Salamanca; affair with the enemy's rear guard near
Panerandos; several skirmishes from Madrid to Ciudad Rodrigo, and
from the 26th May near Salamanca to the battle of Vittoria; taking
of a gun from the enemy near Pampeluna, and several engagements
and skirmishes from the entrance of the British army into France,
until the battle of Orthes. He embarked for America in October
1814, and was present at the attack on New Orleans on the 8th of
January 1815. He was promoted to a majority on the 13th September
1821; and to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment on the 16th
April 1829. He embarked in command of the regiment for India on the
24th May 1841, and was appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen, with
the rank of colonel, on the 23rd November, 1841. He returned from
India, on leave of absence, in the early part of the year 1845, and
died at Castle Townsend, in Ireland, on the 22nd April 1845.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WILLIAM HAVELOCK, entered the army as ensign
in the forty-third regiment on the 12th July 1810; was promoted
lieutenant on the 12th May 1812, and captain in the thirty-second
regiment on the 19th February 1818: he exchanged to the fourth
light dragoons on the 19th July 1821, and was promoted major on the
31st December 1830. Major Havelock was promoted from the fourth
light dragoons to be lieut.-colonel, on the augmentation of the
FOURTEENTH light dragoons to the India establishment, on the 30th
April 1841.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL EDWARD HARVEY, entered the army as cornet in
the fourth light dragoons on the 24th March 1825; was promoted
lieutenant on the 4th May 1826, and captain of infantry on
the 12th October 1830; he exchanged to the FOURTEENTH light
dragoons, on the 27th December 1833, and was promoted major on
the 30th April 1841. On the 31st December 1841, he received the
rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet, and was appointed second
lieutenant-colonel of the FOURTEENTH light dragoons, on the decease
of Lieutenant-Colonel Townsend, on the 23rd April 1845.
SUCCESSION OF MAJORS OF THE FOURTEENTH, OR THE KING'S LIGHT
DRAGOONS.