[4] They take precedence next to Knights of the Bath, and are
creations exclusively granted to military men, who have performed
any feats of valour. They are always understood to take place on
the field of battle, for though Sir William Erskine was invested
with the order by his present Majesty, in Hyde Park, for his
bravery in the battle of Emsdorff, at the head of the 15th Light
Dragoons, still he was not acknowledged as such in this country.