Nottingham, and its establishment was further augmented to nine
troops of 56 men per troop. The order for its proceeding on foreign
service was, however, rescinded, and it was directed to return to
Ireland. It accordingly marched from Nottingham to Liverpool, where
it embarked in the winter of 1795, and after landing at Dublin,
halted a short time in that city, and afterwards proceeded into
cantonments in the country, the head-quarters being established at
Belturbet. While stationed at this place, the establishment was
augmented (1st April, 1796) to 65 rank and file per troop, making a
total of 612 officers and soldiers.
The Roman Catholics of Ireland had, for some years past, been
combining against the British government, forming secret
associations, and committing numerous acts of outrage and murder upon
the Protestants, and at this period they were preparing for open
resistance; a military organization was secretly taking place in
several counties,--fire-arms were procured, and pikes manufactured.
Several Irishmen of property, who had been implicated in treasonable
practices, had fled to France, through whose agency application was
made, by the disaffected in Ireland, to the French Government, for
a force to assist them in breaking their connection with England,
and in establishing their independence as a republic. The French
Directory cherished a decided antipathy to the British, as a people
from whose firm determination, constancy of purpose, and immense
resources the towering expectations of their republic were likely to
be brought down. The proposal from Ireland was consequently acceded
to, and an armament was prepared at Brest, with transport for 25,000
men, to be commanded by General Hoche. The assemblage of shipping and
troops at Brest, with the agitated state of Ireland, occasioned the
army in that kingdom to be augmented; and the country to be divided
into five military districts. On the 24th of December the French
fleet appeared in Bantry Bay. The ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON GUARDS were
immediately despatched to oppose the enemy, and had a most harassing
march from Belturbet to Bantry in severe and inclement weather.
Some misunderstanding appears to have occurred between the French
Directory and Irish malcontents, respecting the period when the
troops were to arrive; the Irish were not prepared to rise at this
time, and they were overawed by the number of the King's troops
near the coast. The French fleet was partly dispersed by a storm,
and the remainder of the force, alarmed at the preparations made to
oppose their landing, returned to France. After the departure of the
hostile fleet the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS marched back to their former
quarters, and occupied Belturbet and the adjacent towns.
[Sidenote: 1797]
In the spring of 1797 the establishment was augmented to 703 officers
and men, at the same time a second Lieut.-Colonel and a second Major
were added to the regiment. In August of this year the FOURTH DRAGOON
GUARDS encamped on the Curragh of Kildare, together with the 5th,
6th, and 7th Dragoon Guards, and 5th and 9th Dragoons; and these
corps were reviewed in September by Lieut.-General Sir David Dundas,
who issued very complimentary orders on the occasion. The camp
broke up in October, when the regiment marched to Maryborough, with
detachments at Mount Mellick and Ballinakill.
During this year some alterations were made in the equipment of the
regiment: the large carbines were exchanged for others of a smaller
size; and the pair of large pistols for a single pistol; and the
saddles were also considerably reduced in size. Lappels to the coats
and silver lace on the men's hats were discontinued; and the colour
of the waistcoats was changed from buff to white.
[Sidenote: 1798]
In the succeeding year the disaffected in Ireland broke out into
open rebellion. Their leaders, having received fresh promises of
aid from France, became confident of having their hopes and wishes
accomplished, and the 22nd of May, 1798, was appointed for a general
rising. The government had taken measures to meet the coming danger;
a numerous yeomanry force was embodied; the regular troops were
kept in constant readiness for active service; and, information of
the designs of the insurgents having been procured, the leaders
were seized and imprisoned, and the plan of the rebellion was
disorganized. The passions of the misguided peasantry had, however,
been wrought into fury and madness by all the motives which bigotry,
hope of personal advantage, and thirst for vengeance could inspire,
and the rebellion, so long suppressed, broke out with accumulated
horrors. During the whole of its continuance the ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON
GUARDS were constantly employed in this painful and unnatural warfare.
The regiment, having marched from Maryborough, was detached to
the different towns near Dublin, where the rebels were in force.
Captain William Smith's troop was stationed at _Naas_, with a party
of fencible cavalry and another of Armagh militia. This town was
attacked on the 24th of May by two thousand rebels: their first
attempt was upon the county jail, where they were repulsed with
great loss; and they then possessed themselves of all the principal
avenues to the town, and made a simultaneous attack on the posts
occupied by the troops. The wild and disorderly rush of the
undisciplined multitude was opposed by the troops with firmness,
and after a contest of an hour's duration, the rebels were repulsed
with the loss of one-hundred and forty men left dead in the streets.
The FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS and fencibles charged several times and
slaughtered many of the rebels in the pursuit. The regiment had
Quarter Master Rowayne and private Hughes, with eleven horses killed;
and ten men and a number of horses wounded. This loss was occasioned
by the rebel pikemen.
During the night a party of rebels set fire to the barracks at
_Prosperous_, where one officer and twenty-eight men of the militia
perished: a party of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS was also surprised
in quarters and nearly every man put to death: a few men were taken
prisoners and afterwards butchered by the insurgents with the most
inhuman cruelty. A party of fencibles was also surprised and murdered
at Dunboyne; and the same misfortune befel a party of the Suffolk
militia escorting baggage to Kildare. A number of other towns were
attacked: in some instances the rebels were successful, in others
they were defeated; and on the 25th, 26th, and 27th of May numerous
skirmishes occurred, and civil war with all its horrors raged in the
heart of Ireland.
A body of rebels attempted to surprise _Carlow_, which was garrisoned
by detachments of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS and Ninth Dragoons,
with some Yeomanry, Militia, and Volunteers, amounting to about 450
men. The rebels assembled nearly 3000 strong on the estate of Sir
William Crosbie, Bart., who led them to the attack; and after a sharp
conflict they were defeated, with the loss of 500 men killed, and
many prisoners, including their leader, who was immediately tried by
martial law and hanged.
Numerous encounters occurred in other parts of the country; and on
the 30th of May a detachment of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS, with a
party of fencibles and Antrim militia, proceeding under the command
of Colonel Walpole to join Major-General Loftus at _Gorey_, arrived
at a place where the road was low and narrow, with high clay banks on
each side crowded with bushes, and beyond them deep trenches, where
they were attacked by an ambush of rebels of overwhelming numbers.
The cavalry, by repeated charges to the front and right, endeavoured
to extricate themselves, but their utmost efforts could not avail
against the immense numbers by which they were opposed; and after
an unequal fight of an hour's duration, in which their commanding
officer, Colonel Walpole, and many men and horses were killed,
they were forced to retire, covered by the militia, and had the
mortification of losing three guns. About the same date 15,000 rebels
took Wexford, and in the beginning of June made an attack upon New
Ross, but were repulsed.[19] Enraged at this failure, they murdered,
at the instigation of their priests, 241 Protestant prisoners
in cold blood, and evinced, in this act, a ferocious cruelty not
exceeded by the savage barbarians of the most uncultivated part of
the world.
On the 4th of June Captain Sir Richard Steel engaged, with his
troop of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS, a body of rebels posted at
_Ovidstown_, and the insurgents fought for some time with bravery,
but were eventually dispersed with great slaughter. The troop had one
serjeant, two rank and file, and three horses killed; with nine men
and a number of horses wounded. Captain Sir Richard Steel had his
horse killed under him, and was himself severely wounded.
About the same period a body of rebels attacked the first, or
Colonel's, troop of this regiment, at _Goff's Bridge_, when the
Dragoon Guards repulsed the furious onsets of their reckless
opponents with signal gallantry, and drove back the insurgents with
loss.
Part of the regiment afterwards proceeded to _Arklow_, in the
neighbourhood of which place the rebels were in great force. On the
morning of the 9th of June, 30,000 insurgents advanced to attack
the town with three guns and such a multitude of pikemen, that they
appeared like a moving forest. Thrice they attacked the town, headed
by their priests in clerical vestments, and evinced astonishing
intrepidity; but were unable to make any impression on the steady
valour of the King's troops, though they had an advantage in numbers
of twenty to one. The celebrated Father Murphy was cut in two by a
cannon-ball while in the act of heading one of the attacks, waving
a green flag, and shouting "Liberty or death." The contest was
continued until evening; and the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS and Fifth
Dragoons repeatedly charged, and in every instance routed the rebels
with immense loss. The Fencible regiment of Ancient Britons also
distinguished itself, and its Colonel, Sir W. Williams Wynne, was
overpowered, and a rebel was in the act of piking him, when Corporal
James M'Connel, of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS, rushed forward to his
aid, and slew the rebel. Captain William Smith also distinguished
himself at the head of his troop of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS in a
particular manner. About eight o'clock in the evening the rebels
retreated, leaving the ground literally covered with slain, their
loss being estimated at between 6000 and 7000 men.
After repulsing the enemy at Arklow, dispositions were made for
a combined attack of the King's forces on the rebels' stronghold
at _Vinegar Hill_,[20] in the neighbourhood of Enniscorthy; and
the ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON GUARDS marched to the scene of conflict
under the orders of Major-General Wilford. The design of the
Commander-in-Chief was to surround the post; and with this view
15,000 men, with artillery in proportion, advanced by four different
routes. The _first_ division commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir
David Dundas; the _second_ under Major-Generals Sir James Duff and
Loftus; the _third_ under Major-General Needham; and the _fourth_
under Major-Generals Johnson and Ross: the last was to attack the
town of Enniscorthy, situate at the base of the hill, and to drive
the rebels from thence. The troops having arrived at their stations
(excepting Major-General Needham's division), the attack commenced
about seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st of June, with a sharp
cannonade. The rebels sustained the fire of the artillery and troops
for nearly two hours, when they gave way and fled through the space
which should have been occupied by the third division (hence called
Needham's gap) in the greatest confusion towards Wexford; the cavalry
galloped forward in pursuit, and made a dreadful slaughter among the
fugitives. In their haste to escape from the sabres and bayonets of
the King's troops, the rebels left behind them their cannon (fourteen
pieces), with an immense quantity of plunder collected from the
neighbouring towns and gentlemen's houses; also a number of muskets,
pistols, and swords, and a great quantity of pikes, scythes, and
other implements of destruction. The loss of the FOURTH DRAGOON
GUARDS was, four men killed, and ten wounded; besides a number of
horses killed and wounded. After the action the regiment proceeded to
its former quarters at Maryborough and Mount Mellick, where it was
kept in constant readiness for further operations; and detachments
were employed on various services.
The remains of the rebel army continued to make an unavailing
resistance, and endeavoured to force the passes which separate
the counties of Wexford and Carlow. On one occasion, a party of
the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS and a small body of the Wexford militia
disputed the passage of the river Barrow at _Gore's Bridge_, against
an overwhelming force of rebels; after displaying much intrepidity
and heroism, and losing many men in killed and wounded, the soldiers
were overpowered, and 27 taken prisoners: 7 of the captives were
supposed to be Orangemen, and were instantly shot, and their
fellow-soldiers were forced to be their executioners.
In July, the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS marched, under the command of
Colonel Thewles (accompanied by Major-General Sir James Duff), to
attack, in conjunction with other troops, a considerable body of
rebels who had taken post at _Kildare_. On the advance of the King's
forces, the insurgents, after a short resistance, set the town on
fire and retired to a position on the curragh of Kildare. Here they
were attacked, overpowered, and routed by the cavalry, with a loss
of 250 killed and many wounded. Previous to the termination of this
sanguinary affair, Lieutenant-General Sir David Dundas arrived with
a body of troops, to whom the surviving rebels surrendered,--the
General having authority to give protection to such of the insurgents
as should lay down their arms and return to their allegiance.
From this period the rebellion may be considered suppressed; some
of the most obstinate of the rebels, however, continued in a body
and committed many enormities; and the French endeavoured to revive
the conflict by sending General Humbert, with upwards of 1000
men, all desperate characters, who landed at Killala on the 22nd
of August. The FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS were immediately ordered to
march for Connaught, but the French having been made prisoners, the
order was countermanded, and the regiment returned to its quarters
at Maryborough. Thus was this unnatural contest terminated; but
the repeated atrocities of the Catholics led to equally frightful
retaliations, and the sanguinary hatred engendered by religious
antipathy and a thirst for revenge produced a fearful catalogue of
crime after the rebels were subdued. The loss of the insurgents
during this rebellion has been estimated at 50,000 men, and that of
the royalists at 19,000 men.
[Sidenote: 1799]
Scarcely were the troubles in Ireland terminated and the country
restored to tranquillity, when the regiment received orders to hold
itself in readiness for foreign service, and, having marched to
Dublin, it there received a draught of men and horses from the 6th
Dragoon Guards.
Embarking from Dublin in August, 1799, it landed at Liverpool, from
whence it proceeded by forced marches to Northampton, expecting to
form part of the Anglo-Russian army, destined to attempt to rescue
Holland from the power of France; but the Dutch not seconding the
efforts made for their deliverance, the troops were withdrawn,
and the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS continued at Northampton during the
remainder of that year.
During the summer the regiment received orders to cut the horses'
tails, which had been worn of the natural length since 1764, and the
operation occasioned the loss of several valuable horses, which died
of locked-jaw.
[Sidenote: 1800]
In the beginning of the following year the establishment was
augmented to ten troops, and the total numbers to 850 officers and
men. In February the regiment marched from Northampton for Scotland,
and on its arrival occupied Hamilton barracks; in the autumn it
proceeded to Edinburgh, where it remained nearly two years.
[Sidenote: 1802]
After the conclusion of the peace of Amiens with the French
government, the establishment of the FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS was
reduced to eight troops, and the total numbers to 550 officers
and soldiers and 500 troop horses. In August, 1802, the regiment
proceeded to Ireland, and, having landed at Donaghadee, it occupied
Belturbet, Longford, and Enniskillen. This year the length of the
skirts of the men's coats was reduced, and the blue half-lappels
discontinued.
[Sidenote: 1803]
The peace, ratified in 1802, did not long 'diffuse its blessings
o'er the land.' The First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, soon
found opportunities to violate the conditions of a treaty which he
never intended should be permanent,--merely wishing to have the army
of Great Britain disbanded or reduced to a peace establishment,
to further his hostile views against the country; and he ventured
to make preparations to invade England. Happily his designs were
frustrated; the spirit and energy of the British people were soon
roused; an extraordinary feeling of patriotism pervaded the whole
country,--the regular army was augmented,--the militia called
out,--the yeomanry and volunteers enrolled,--and in a few months
a force of 500,000 men was prepared for any emergency. Bonaparte's
threat of invasion soon evaporated, his proud spirit quailed before
such a mighty preparation, and he feared to attempt the shores of
Britain with his legions. The establishment of the FOURTH DRAGOON
GUARDS was augmented on this occasion to 670 officers and soldiers.
After a service of sixty years the veteran General, George Warde,
died (11th March, 1803) in the 78th year of his age, and was
succeeded in the Colonelcy of the ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON GUARDS by
Major-General Miles Staveley, whose regiment, the 28th, or Duke of
York's own Light Dragoons, had been disbanded a few months previously
to this period.
In April of this year (1803) the regiment marched to Longford and
adjacent towns; and the efficiency of the corps was increased by the
addition of three Captains to the establishment, which released the
Field Officers from the charge of troops.
On the 16th December Captain Charles Dodgson, who commanded the troop
at Philipstown, went in search of an outlaw, for whose apprehension
the government had offered a large reward: arriving at the ruins of
an old castle, where the rebel had established himself, the captain
summoned him to surrender: he refused, and instantly fired at the
captain, and so severely wounded him as to occasion his death in a
few moments. This murder caused a great feeling of regret in the
regiment, by which Captain Dodgson was much beloved.
[Sidenote: 1804]
In the spring of the following year it marched to Dublin, and
embarked for England; and, after landing at Liverpool, marched to
Exeter, Truro, Totness, and Honiton; and in December, 44 men and 80
horses were added to the establishment.
[Sidenote: 1805]
The regiment quitted Devonshire and Cornwall in the spring of 1805,
for Kent, and was assembled at Canterbury in May. On the 23rd of
August it was inspected by His Royal Highness the Duke of York,
and was honoured with his royal approbation of the appearance and
discipline of the regiment. It was also inspected, on the 4th of
October, by its Colonel, Major-General Staveley, who expressed great
satisfaction at its condition. During its stay at Canterbury its
establishment was augmented to 769 men and 769 troop horses.
In September of this year a regulation was established in the
regiment, for each man to pay 1_s._ per month, and the sums thus
produced to be invested in the public funds, and to be designated
_St. Patrick's Fund_. From this fund every soldier, after a continued
contribution for twelve years or upwards, was to receive, on his
discharge, either the whole amount of his subscription, or a yearly
pension, according to a fixed scale. Great advantages have accrued
to the men of the regiment from this excellent institution. There
are now (1838) 36 pensioners upon the fund, and the highest upon the
list receives 6_l._ 1_s._ 6_d._ annually, after twenty-seven years'
contribution. The stock amounts to 3350_l._ reduced 3 per cent.
annuities.
[Sidenote: 1806]
The regiment quitted Canterbury in December, on route for Scotland;
and in February, 1806, was established in quarters at Piershill
barracks, Edinburgh, with Hamilton and Glasgow; but it was recalled
to England in a few weeks afterwards, and occupied Manchester,
Liverpool, and Chester.
On the 8th of August two troops were inspected at Liverpool by His
Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Duke of
Clarence (afterwards King William IV.); their Royal Highnesses also
saw the whole regiment at Manchester on the 25th of September, and
expressed their approbation of its appearance and discipline in the
most flattering terms.[21]
While the regiment was stationed in Lancashire its establishment was
augmented to ten troops; and the total numbers to 904 officers and
soldiers, and 854 troop horses.
[Sidenote: 1807]
The regiment was reviewed on the 9th of June, 1807, at Manchester,
by Major-General Fisher; and in the following month two troops
marched to Nottingham: in the autumn the regiment occupied quarters
at Birmingham (head-quarters), Nottingham, Coventry, Manchester,
Liverpool, Chester, and Warrington.
[Sidenote: 1808]
In the summer of the following year great excitement prevailed in
the manufacturing towns in Lancashire and the adjoining counties;
and in May a serious riot took place at _Manchester_, in consequence
of a bill, fixing the minimum of wages, having been rejected by
parliament: so great was the violence of the rioters, that the
FOURTH DRAGOON GUARDS and militia were obliged to use violent means,
and unfortunately eight men were killed and several wounded. This
severity did not, however, prevent another body of weavers assembling
on the 1st of June, and committing many acts of violence and outrage;
and the cavalry was again obliged to act. The weavers of other towns
were equally outrageous; and at Rochdale they attacked and burnt the
prison, and were only prevented committing further mischief by the
arrival of a troop of the ROYAL IRISH DRAGOON GUARDS from Manchester.
The disturbed state of the manufacturing towns, and the numerous
calls of the civil authorities for the aid of a military force,
occasioned much harassing duty to the regiment throughout the summer,
and these services were rendered particularly painful to the troops,
from the necessity of frequently using coercive measures to restrain
the lawless violence of the people.
In November Major-General Pigott inspected the regiment at
Birmingham, and expressed himself gratified at finding it so
effective after the severe duties on which it had been employed.
[Sidenote: 1809]
During this year the men's hair, which had been worn long and tied
behind with a queue, was ordered to be cut short; and in 1809 the
use of powder to the hair was abolished. An order was also received
for the appointment of troop serjeant-majors in the place of troop
quartermasters, when vacancies occurred. A reduction of one hundred
horses was also made to the establishment in 1808, and again in 1809.
[Sidenote: 1810]
Numerous changes of quarters took place during the year 1809, and the
spring of 1810, and in the summer of the latter year the regiment
occupied York, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Beverley, &c. &c.
During the autumn and early part of the winter of this year (1810)
four troops (A. B. C. and D.) were employed under Major Ross in
suppressing the riotous conduct of the workmen in the coal-districts
in the counties of _Northumberland_ and _Durham_, which, after
much difficulty and painful service, was happily effected to the
satisfaction of the coal-owners, who presented the regiment with a
handsome SILVER VASE, with the following inscription:--