of January, when SIR JOHN MOORE fell mortally wounded. The army
afterwards embarked and returned to England. Thus the British had
intercepted the blow which was descending to crush Spain; time had
been given to enable the patriots to re-organize their armies;
and Bonaparte being recalled to France, by the news that Austria
and Russia were arming to oppose him, the war was protracted in
Spain. On the passage to England the Despatch transport, having
on board Major the Hon. G. C. Cavendish, Captain G. Dukinfield,
and Lieutenant the Hon. Edward Waldegrave, with one hundred and
thirteen men, and forty-four horses, was wrecked near the Lizard,
on the coast of Cornwall, and only seven men escaped.
After its arrival from Spain, the regiment was quartered at
Guildford, from whence it proceeded to Weymouth; in May, 1810, it
embarked at Liverpool for Ireland, and was stationed at Dublin,
with detached troops at Athy and Carlow.
[Sidenote: 1811]
[Sidenote: 1812]
[Sidenote: 1813]
In 1811 the head-quarters were removed to Dundalk, where they
remained during the year 1812; and in 1813 the regiment embarked at
Dublin for England.
Having landed at Liverpool, the regiment proceeded to London; it
was stationed at Hyde Park barracks, Hampton Court, and Hounslow,
and performed the king's duty during the absence of the household
cavalry on foreign service.
The glorious victories gained by the allied army under Field
Marshal the Marquis of Wellington had, in the mean time,
accomplished the deliverance of Portugal, and of nearly all Spain,
from the despotic sway of Bonaparte, and the SEVENTH HUSSARS were
selected to take part in completing the overthrow of the tyrannical
power of Napoleon. Eight troops, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel R.
Hussey Vivian, embarked at Portsmouth on the 15th of August, and
landed at Bilboa, the capital of Biscay, in Spain, on the 1st
of September; and two additional troops joined from England in
October. The regiment was formed in brigade with the Tenth and
Fifteenth hussars, commanded by Major-General Lord Edward Somerset.
After the surrender of the castle of St. Sebastian the regiment
advanced, and having joined the army, supported the infantry at
the passage of the _Bidassoa_, and advanced as far as Vera on the
borders of France. The SEVENTH HUSSARS subsequently retired through
the Pyrenean mountains to the vicinity of Pampeluna, which fortress
surrendered on the 31st of October.
Colonel Richard Hussey Vivian having been appointed to the command
of a brigade of cavalry, the command of the regiment devolved on
Lieut.-Colonel Edward Kerrison.
[Sidenote: 1814]
After occupying village cantonments near Pampeluna for several
weeks, the SEVENTH HUSSARS marched through the Pyrenees and
joined the army in France. On the 18th of December they took the
out-post duty at Cambo, a town eight miles from Bayonne, where
the French army, under Marshal Soult, lay in a fortified camp. On
the 31st of December, the regiment took the out-post duty on the
road leading to St. Jean Pied de Port, where a French division
was stationed. The weather becoming very severe, the regiment
went into cantonments in the beginning of 1814, near Hasparan, in
Gascony, thirteen miles from Bayonne: in these quarters forage was
particularly scarce, and the horses suffered in condition from
being fed on chopped gorse and about three pounds of oats a day.
The foraging parties sent towards the French lines, had frequent
skirmishes, and on one of these occasions, Captain Peter Augustus
Heyliger was wounded.
The weather having become more clear, the army advanced in the
middle of February, and on the 24th the hussar brigade proceeded to
the bank of the Gave d'Oléron, in the expectation of being engaged.
Captain Fraser and twelve men of the SEVENTH passed the river under
a heavy fire, and were followed by Captain Verner's squadron, for
the purpose of supporting a body of infantry which had crossed the
stream and were seriously engaged; but the enemy being in force,
and the ground such that cavalry could not act, the squadron was
re-called. The enemy abandoning his position, the regiment crossed
the river in pursuit, and halted at the village of Boren.
Marshal Soult concentrated his forces behind the Pau at _Orthes_;
the allies advanced to attack him; and the SEVENTH HUSSARS, having
crossed the river, were engaged in driving the enemy from his
position on the 27th of February. About 10 o'clock the regiment
was ordered to cover the sixth division and the guns; and when
the French gave way, it dashed forward in pursuit, and by a
brilliant charge it overthrew a body of opponents, and took sixty
prisoners: this occurred about 3 o'clock. Shortly afterwards
the regiment was again ordered to charge, and being led forward
by Colonel Kerrison with signal gallantry, it was once more
successful, and sixteen officers, with about seven hundred men,
were made prisoners. The Marquis of Wellington observed in his
public despatch: "Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton took
advantage of the only opportunity which occurred, to charge with
Major-General Lord Edward Somerset's brigade in the neighbourhood
of _Sault de Navailles_, where the enemy had been driven from the
high road by Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill. _The_ SEVENTH
HUSSARS _distinguished themselves upon this occasion, and made many
prisoners_."
The regiment had four men and five horses killed; Major William
Thornhill, Captain P. A. Heyliger, Lieutenant Robert Douglas, nine
men, and eleven horses wounded.
After the battle of Orthes the SEVENTH HUSSARS were employed a
short time at Villeneuve de Marsan, in the department of the
Landes; also at Roquefort and Captieux, in protecting the rear
of the army from the depredations of parties of brigands. From
these quarters the regiment advanced, and rejoining the army near
_Toulouse_, supported the infantry in the action at that place on
the 10th of April.
When the French withdrew from Toulouse, the regiment moved forward
and was employed in the out-post duty.
At length hostilities were terminated by the abdication of
Bonaparte and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. Thus a war
of unprincipled aggression, begun in acts of fraud and perfidy,
and carried on with treachery, cruelty, and rapine, ended with the
downfall of its author, and the humiliation and dispersion of his
boasted invincible legions.
After the termination of hostilities, the regiment reposed a month
in village cantonments; and on the 1st of June commenced its march
for Boulogne, where it embarked for England, and, after landing,
it marched to Romford, and in September to Brighton. Its services
were subsequently rewarded with the honour of bearing the word
"PENINSULA" upon its appointments.
[Sidenote: 1815]
Riots having occurred in London towards the end of February and in
the beginning of March, 1815, in consequence of the introduction
into Parliament of a bill to regulate the importation of grain,
the SEVENTH HUSSARS were suddenly ordered to proceed thither from
Brighton.
The return of Bonaparte to France, the sudden defection of the
forces of Louis XVIII., and the elevation of the usurper to the
throne, filled Europe with astonishment. War was resolved upon, and
on the 25th of March three squadrons of the QUEEN'S OWN HUSSARS,
commanded by Col. Sir Edward Kerrison, marched from London for
foreign service; they embarked at Dover, landed at Ostend, and,
after marching a few stages up the country, went into cantonments,
and were formed in brigade with the Fifteenth hussars, and
Second hussars of the King's German legion, under the orders of
Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B. On the 29th of May they
were reviewed, with other brigades of the cavalry, by Field-Marshal
his Grace the Duke of Wellington, accompanied by Marshal Von
Blucher, the commander of the Prussian army.
Bonaparte, endeavouring, by one of those rapid movements for
which he had been so famous, to interpose between the British and
Prussian armies, and beat them in detail, suddenly attacked and
drove in the out-posts, and early on the morning of the 16th of
June the SEVENTH HUSSARS advanced to support the troops engaged
at _Quatre Bras_. After a march of many miles, they arrived at
the scene of conflict; the French were repulsed, and the troops
bivouacked in the fields.
The Prussians having been defeated and forced to retreat, the Duke
of Wellington made a corresponding movement on the 17th of June, to
preserve his communication with them, and the SEVENTH HUSSARS were
engaged, with other corps, in covering this retrograde movement.
On passing through the village of _Genappe_, the French lancers
began to press upon the rear of the retiring army, and the SEVENTH
were directed by their colonel, Lieutenant-General the Earl of
Uxbridge, to charge. This order was executed with signal bravery;
but the lancers, being sustained by a great mass of cavalry, and
having their flanks secure, presented an almost impenetrable row
of pikes, through which the hussars were unable to break. The
regiment rallied and charged a second time; but the lancers, being
well supported and advantageously posted, were enabled to maintain
their ground. Some impression had, however, been made, and two
squadrons of the first regiment of life guards coming up at speed,
the weight and power of their charge broke the lancers, who were
pursued through the village with great slaughter. The retreat
was afterwards continued with skirmishing and cannonading to the
position in front of the village of _Waterloo_, where the army
passed the night exposed to a heavy rain.
On the following day the hard contested and sanguinary battle
of _Waterloo_ was fought,--a battle memorable in the annals of
Europe,--where the fate of empires was decided by the sword, and
the British troops acquired immortal honour! During the early
part of the action the SEVENTH HUSSARS supported the infantry,
and towards the evening they were ordered forward. Moving from
Hugomont, they acted nearly on the reverse of the enemy, and by
a series of brilliant charges, most nobly executed, contributed
to the final overthrow of the French army. On this occasion
the officers and men proved their resolution to support the
high character which the regiment had so long borne; and their
conduct was publicly noticed and attested in the strongest
and most unequivocal terms by the commander of the cavalry,
Lieutenant-General the Earl of Uxbridge, who, after having gone
through this arduous day, received a wound at the close of the
action by which he lost his right leg.
The loss of the regiment on the 17th and 18th of June was, one
serjeant, fifty-five rank and file, and eighty-four horses killed;
Captains J. W. Robins, W. Vernor, and P. A. Heyliger; Lieutenants
R. Douglas, E. Peters, and R. Beattie; with nine serjeants, one
trumpeter, eighty-three rank and file, and one hundred and sixteen
horses wounded.
The gallant conduct of the regiment on this occasion, was
subsequently rewarded with the honour of bearing the word
"WATERLOO" on its appointments; the officers and men received each
a silver medal; and the privilege of reckoning two years' service
for that day, was conferred on the subaltern officers, and also on
the non-commissioned officers and private men.
On the 19th of June, the regiment advanced in pursuit of the
French, who fled in dismay towards Paris; on the evening of
the 24th, it was at the capture of _Cambray_ by escalade, by
Lieut.-General Sir Charles Colville's division. On arriving at the
vicinity of Paris, the war was terminated, by the surrender of the
capital, and the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of his
ancestors.
After occupying village cantonments near Paris for several months,
and taking part in several grand reviews, at which the Emperors
of Russia and Austria, and the Kings of Prussia and France, were
present, the SEVENTH HUSSARS were selected to form part of the
army of occupation in France, and they proceeded to Estaples and
neighbouring villages.
[Sidenote: 1816]
In the summer of 1816, the SEVENTH marched to quarters between
St. Omer and Dunkirk, for the purpose of field exercise and
review, and were joined by a squadron from England. On the 22nd of
October, the Duke of Wellington reviewed the army on the plains of
St. Denain, and witnessed the troops go through the formula of a
mock engagement. The SEVENTH afterwards returned to their former
quarters.
[Sidenote: 1817]
In February, 1817, the regiment was again quartered near St.
Omer, for the convenience of field exercise; it was subsequently
stationed between Cambray and Valenciennes, and was again reviewed
in October, by the Duke of Wellington, together with the remainder
of British troops, and the Saxons, Danes, and Hanoverians. The
regiment was afterwards stationed at Cassel and adjacent villages.
[Sidenote: 1818]
Several changes of quarters took place in 1818; and the regiment
was at the grand military spectacles, when the army was seen by
their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Cumberland, and
when the Russians, British, Saxons, Danes, and Hanoverians were
reviewed, by the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Prince of
Orange, Grand Dukes Constantine and Michael, &c., &c. After these
reviews, the army of occupation quitted France: the SEVENTH HUSSARS
embarked at Calais, landed at Dover and Ramsgate, and marched to
Chertsey, &c.
On the night of the 1st of December the regiment attended the
funeral of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte.
[Sidenote: 1819]
[Sidenote: 1820]
In 1819, the regiment marched to Scotland; in August, 1820, it
embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland; and the head-quarters were
stationed twelve months at Dundalk.
[Sidenote: 1821]
In August, 1821, the regiment marched to Dublin, on the occasion of
the visit of His Majesty King George IV. to the capital of Ireland.
On the 18th of August, the king reviewed the SEVENTH HUSSARS, with
the other troops in garrison at Dublin, on which occasion the
regiment was commanded by its colonel, the Marquis of Anglesey. In
September the establishment was reduced from eight to six troops.
[Sidenote: 1822]
[Sidenote: 1823]
Leaving Dublin in December, 1822, the regiment proceeded to
Newbridge; in June, 1823, it embarked at Waterford, and landing
at Bristol, proceeded to Richmond and other villages in the
neighbourhood of Hounslow.
On the 15th of July the two regiments of life guards, Blues, Third
light dragoons, and SEVENTH and Fifteenth hussars, with a brigade
of horse artillery, were reviewed on Hounslow-heath by his Royal
Highness the Duke of York.
[Sidenote: 1824]
After the review the SEVENTH HUSSARS marched to Brighton,
Chichester, and Hastings, with detachments on revenue duty on the
coast; but returned to the vicinity of Hounslow in the spring
of 1824, the head-quarters being at Hampton Court; and on the
7th of July they were again reviewed, with the same corps as in
the preceding year, on Hounslow-heath, by the Duke of York. The
head-quarters were afterwards removed to Hounslow barracks, and the
regiment took the escort duty.
[Sidenote: 1825]
[Sidenote: 1826]
[Sidenote: 1827]
In July, 1825, the regiment proceeded to York, Beverley, and
Newcastle; in April, 1826, it marched to Scotland, and was
stationed at Edinburgh and Perth, with parties on revenue duty at
Cupar, Angus, and Forfar; and in March, 1827, it left Scotland for
the South of England.
On the 12th of April the SEVENTH HUSSARS were reviewed on
Hounslow-heath by his Grace the Duke of Wellington, who was pleased
to express his unqualified approbation of their appearance and
discipline. After the review they continued their march to Brighton
and Chichester.
[Sidenote: 1828]
[Sidenote: 1829]
[Sidenote: 1830]
Leaving these quarters, the regiment proceeded to Liverpool in
March, 1828, and embarking for Ireland, landed at Dublin, where it
was stationed until May, 1829, when it was removed to Newbridge,
and in May, 1830, to Dundalk, Monaghan, and Belturbet.
On the 2d of August, 1830, a general order was issued for the
whole of the cavalry, with the exception of the Royal Horse
Guards (Blues), to be dressed in _red_; the SEVENTH HUSSARS were
consequently furnished with red pelisses in the following year.
[Sidenote: 1831]
The regiment left Dundalk, &c., in April, 1831, for Newbridge, and
in June proceeded to Dublin and embarked for England. After landing
at Liverpool, it marched to Birmingham, with detached troops at
Coventry and Kidderminster.
[Sidenote: 1832]
[Sidenote: 1833]
[Sidenote: 1834]
In March, 1832, the regiment proceeded to Norwich, Ipswich, and one
troop to Boston. In the month of March of the following year it
proceeded to Scotland, and was stationed at Hamilton and Glasgow,
and in February, 1834, performed much extra duty in consequence
of riots among the cotton spinners and calico printers in the
neighbourhood of Glasgow.
[Sidenote: 1835]
On the 2d of May, 1834, the regiment left its quarters in Scotland,
and proceeding to England, was stationed at York and Newcastle; and
in April, 1835, it marched to Nottingham, Sheffield, Derby, and
Boston.
[Sidenote: 1836]
[Sidenote: 1837]
In April, 1836, the regiment proceeded to Hounslow, and took the
escort duty. In June, 1837, it embarked at Bristol for Ireland,
landed at Cork, and the head-quarters were established at
Ballincollig, from whence they were removed in August to Cork, and
in September to Dublin, where they passed the winter.
[Sidenote: 1838]
[Sidenote: 1839]
Orders having been received for the regiment to transfer its
services to Canada, it was divided into four service and two depôt
troops; the service troops embarked at Cork on the 1st of May,
1838; and arrived at Montreal in June. In November, 1838, they were
employed against the insurgents in Lower Canada, and one troop was
similarly employed in January, 1839.
[Sidenote: 1840]
[Sidenote: 1841]
[Sidenote: 1842]
During the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, the service troops were
stationed at Montreal and Laprairie. In the year 1841 orders were
received to resume blue pelisses. The Service Troops have continued
in Canada to the summer of 1842, the date of the conclusion of this
memoir.
The record of the services of the SEVENTH, or QUEEN'S OWN HUSSARS,
for a period of one hundred and fifty years, (as contained in the
preceding pages,) exhibits a proof, among the other portions of
the British army, of attachment to their officers, of loyalty and
fidelity to their sovereign, and of zeal and devotedness to their
country. On all occasions, when their services have been required
to meet a foreign enemy, they have entered upon the difficulties of
active warfare with readiness and a determination to perform the
duties allotted them; and their bravery and contempt of danger have
been strongly evinced. Their gallantry at the battle of Dettingen
in 1743; their conduct at _Warbourg_ in 1760, under the Marquis
of Granby, and on other occasions in Germany during the Seven
years' War;--their boldness and intrepid bearing in conflict with
the enemy at _Cateau_, _Roubaix_, _Tournay_, and _Mouvaux_, under
the Duke of York, in 1794, which received His Royal Highness's
strongest commendations, afford instances of the most determined
bravery.
The proofs of true courage were further adduced by the firm
conduct of the SEVENTH HUSSARS in the advance into Spain under
Lieut.-General Sir John Moore in 1808, and in the retreat to
Corunna in January, 1809, as detailed in the Regimental Record.
The gallantry of the regiment at the battle of Waterloo, in June,
1815, gained an imperishable addition to its fame; and the deeds
of the officers and men, who fought on that glorious occasion,
are sufficient to perpetuate an emulous desire in the present and
future members of the corps to rival the exertions of their brave
predecessors.
The smart, active, and soldier-like appearance of the regiment,
its correct and orderly conduct in quarters, and its gallantry in
the field, have acquired a high character in the estimation of the
country, and proved it to be a valuable acquisition to the crown
and to the government.
In thus recording the commendations due to so distinguished a
regiment as the SEVENTH Hussars, the compiler of this Record, with
true respect towards the gallant officer and nobleman at the head
of the corps, ventures to associate his fame and honour with those
of his regiment, with which, for more than forty years, they have
been identified: General the Marquis of Anglesey, K.G. and G.C.B.,
assumed the command of the SEVENTH Hussars as Lieutenant-Colonel on
the 6th of April, 1797; he shared with his regiment in the dangers
and honours of the conflicts in Holland in 1799; at Sahagun and
Benevente in 1808; in the retreat to Corunna in 1809; and at the
all-crowning victory of Waterloo in 1815, where he lost his leg by
a cannon shot. In future ages the gallant and heroic deeds of this
nobleman will be the admiration of every member and friend of the
British army.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE SEVENTH,
OR
QUEEN'S OWN REGIMENT
OF
HUSSARS.
ROBERT CUNNINGHAM.
_Appointed 30th December, 1690._
ROBERT CUNNINGHAM was an officer of reputation in the Scots brigade
in the service of Holland, and was wounded at the battle of St.
Denis, in 1678. Proceeding to Scotland, he became a warm advocate
for the principles of the Revolution of 1688, and having performed
faithful services in that cause, he was rewarded with the colonelcy
of a regiment of foot formed during the winter of 1689-90. When
the clans tendered their submission to King William's government,
Colonel Cunningham's regiment was disbanded, and he obtained the
command of a corps of dragoons, now the SEVENTH HUSSARS. He served
with his regiment, under King William, in the Netherlands, during
the campaigns of 1694, 1695, and 1696, and in the summer of the
last-mentioned year he commanded a brigade of dragoons in Flanders.
At the close of the campaign he was succeeded in the colonelcy by
Lord Jedburgh.
WILLIAM, LORD JEDBURGH.
_Appointed 1st October, 1696._
The Honorable WILLIAM KERR, son of Robert, fourth Earl and first
Marquis of Lothian, steadily supported the principles of the
Revolution, and rose to the rank of colonel in the army on the
1st of March, 1692. He succeeded, in the same year, to the title
of LORD JEDBURGH; and on the 1st of October, 1696, King William
appointed him to the colonelcy of a regiment of dragoons, now the
SEVENTH HUSSARS. In 1702, Queen Anne promoted him to the rank
of brigadier-general. On the decease of his father, in 1703,
he succeeded to the title of MARQUIS OF LOTHIAN[8]. The rank
of major-general was conferred on his lordship in 1704; in the
succeeding year he was invested with the order of the Thistle; and
in January, 1707, he obtained the rank of lieut.-general. On the
25th of April following he obtained the colonelcy of the third foot
guards, from which he was removed in 1713, in consequence of his
political views not being in accordance with those of Queen Anne's
new ministry. After the accession of King George I., his lordship
was appointed to the staff of North Britain. He died in 1722.
PATRICK, LORD POLWARTH.
_Appointed 28th April, 1707._
This officer was the son of Sir Patrick Hume, of Polwarth, who was
one of the most conspicuous and vigorous characters of the age in
which he lived, was a strenuous opposer of the proceedings of King
Charles II. in Scotland, and was created, by King William, Lord
Polwarth, and Earl of Marchmont.
PATRICK HUME was educated in Holland, and the Prince of Orange gave
him a commission in the Dutch service. He accompanied His Highness
to England at the Revolution, and when his father was elevated to
the dignity of Earl of Marchmont, he was styled LORD POLWARTH. He
was appointed major of a regiment of dragoons, now SEVENTH HUSSARS,
in 1694; lieut.-colonel in 1697, and colonel in 1707. He died in
1709.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM KERR.
_Appointed 10th October, 1709._