THOMAS WENTWORTH, son of Sir William Wentworth, baronet, was
appointed cornet of the fourth horse, now third dragoon guards, on
the 31st of December, 1688; and in the following summer served with
his regiment against the rebel Highlanders in Scotland. In 1692
he served in Flanders, and was in the advance-guard at the battle
of Steenkirk on the 3rd of August in that year, where he highly
distinguished himself, and the squadron he was with, being exposed
to a heavy cannonade, only brought off fifty men alive out of one
hundred and fifty. His gallantry on this occasion was especially
reported to his sovereign, and he was appointed aide-de-camp to His
Majesty: in which capacity he served at the battle of Landen, on
the 19th of July, 1693, when his conduct obtained the approbation
of King William III., who promoted him to the commission of cornet
and major in the first troop, now first regiment, of life guards.
Major Wentworth served with the life guards in the subsequent
campaigns in the Netherlands, and rose to the rank of lieutenant,
and lieutenant-colonel. He succeeded, on the decease of William
Earl of Strafford, to the title of LORD RABY; was appointed
colonel of the ROYAL DRAGOONS in May, 1697; and attended the
Earl of Portland in the interviews with Marshal Boufflers, which
preceded the conclusion of peace at Ryswick. In 1698 his lordship
accompanied King William to Holland, and, on one occasion, when
hunting with His Majesty, he went alone and attacked a wild boar;
the animal, however, threw him down, and had already torn his
clothes and lacerated his flesh, when the King sent two huntsmen to
his aid, who speared the boar.
In the first year of the reign of Queen Anne, Lord Raby served
with his regiment on the Continent, and in January, 1703, he was
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. In the spring of the
same year he was appointed envoy extraordinary to the King of
Prussia, and subsequently ambassador extraordinary at the same
court; and on the first of January, 1705, was advanced to the
rank of major-general. His lordship served in the army under the
Duke of Marlborough, during the brilliant campaign of 1706; and,
on the 1st of January following, he was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-general. In 1711 he was sworn of the privy council,
and appointed ambassador extraordinary to the States-General of
Holland; and in September of the same year he was advanced to the
dignity of EARL OF STRAFFORD. His Lordship took an active part in
negociating the treaty of peace at Utrecht; but after the accession
of George I., he was removed from his public employments. The Earl
of Strafford died on the 15th of November, 1739.
RICHARD LORD COBHAM.
_Appointed 13th June, 1715._
SIR RICHARD TEMPLE served under King William in the Netherlands;
and, on the breaking out of the war of the Spanish succession,
he was promoted to the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment of
foot, which was disbanded at the peace of Utrecht. He served under
the great Duke of Marlborough, and was conspicuous for a noble
bearing, a greatness of soul, and a contempt of danger, which he
exhibited in a signal manner at the sieges of Venloo and Ruremonde,
at the battle of Oudenarde, and at the siege of the important
fortress of Lisle. In January, 1709, he was promoted to the rank
of major-general, and his conduct at the siege of Tournay, the
sanguinary battle of Malplaquet, and siege of Mons, was rewarded,
in the following year, with the rank of lieutenant-general and
the colonelcy of the fourth dragoons. He served under the Duke
of Marlborough in 1711, and had the honour of taking part in the
forcing of the French lines at Arleux, and the capture of the
strong fortress of Bouchain. After the change in the ministry, and
the adoption of a new system of policy by the court, the well-known
attachment of this officer to the Protestant succession, occasioned
him to be removed from his regiment; but on the accession of King
George I. he was elevated to the peerage by the title of BARON OF
COBHAM, and in 1715 he was appointed colonel of the ROYAL DRAGOONS.
In 1717 he was appointed governor of Windsor Castle; in 1718 he
was advanced to the dignity of VISCOUNT COBHAM; and in 1721 he was
removed to the King's horse, now first dragoon guards. He was also
one of the privy council, and governor of the island of Jersey; but
resigned his appointments in 1733. On the change of the ministry in
1742 he was promoted to the rank of field-marshal, and in December
of the same year King George II. conferred upon him the colonelcy
of the first troop of horse grenadier guards. In 1744 he was
removed to the sixth horse, and in 1745 to the tenth dragoons, the
colonelcy of which corps he retained until his decease in 1749.
SIR CHARLES HOTHAM, BARONET.
_Appointed 10th April, 1721._
CHARLES HOTHAM, eldest son of the Rev. Charles Hotham, Rector of
Wigan, succeeded to the dignity of baronet on the decease of his
uncle in 1691. He served with distinction in the wars of King
William III., and also under the great Duke of Marlborough in the
reign of Queen Anne; and in 1705 he obtained the colonelcy of a
regiment of foot, with which he proceeded to Spain in 1706, and was
in garrison at Alicant when the unfortunate battle of Almanza was
fought. Sir Charles served with reputation during the remainder
of the war; but his regiment, having suffered severely in the
defence of several fortified towns, was disbanded in Catalonia
in 1708. He was appointed brigadier-general in 1710; and shortly
after the accession of King George I., he was commissioned to
raise a regiment of foot, which, after the suppression of the
rebellion of the Earl of Mar, was sent to Ireland, and disbanded
in the following year, when Sir Charles was appointed colonel of a
newly-raised regiment of dragoons, which was, however, disbanded in
November, 1718.
On the 7th of July, 1719, the colonelcy of the thirty-sixth
regiment of foot was conferred on Sir Charles Hotham; he was
removed to the eighth foot in December 1720; and in April following
to the ROYAL DRAGOONS. His decease occurred on the 8th of January,
1723.
HUMPHREY GORE.
_Appointed 12th January, 1723._
This Officer entered the army as ensign in 1689, and saw much
service in the campaigns of King William on the Continent. On the
1st of February, 1707, he was appointed colonel of a newly-raised
regiment of foot, with which he proceeded to Spain in 1709, and
was appointed brigadier-general on the 1st of January following.
He was at the battles of Almanara and Saragossa in 1710, and was
taken prisoner by the French in the unfortunate affair at the
village of Brihuega in December of the same year.[69] At the peace
of Utrecht his regiment of foot was disbanded; but proving a loyal
and faithful adherent to the Protestant succession, at a time when
Jacobite principles had become prevalent in the kingdom, he was
commissioned by King George I., in July, 1715, to raise a regiment
of dragoons--the present tenth royal hussars. He was removed to
the ROYAL DRAGOONS, in 1723; appointed major-general on the 6th of
March, 1727; lieutenant-general on the 29th of October, 1735; and
he died on the 18th of August, 1739.
CHARLES DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, K.G.
_Appointed 1st September, 1739._
CHARLES SPENCER, fourth Earl of Sunderland, succeeded to the title
of DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH in 1733; and five years afterwards he was
appointed colonel of the thirty-eighth regiment of foot. In 1739
he was removed to the ROYAL DRAGOONS, in the following year to the
second troops of life guards, and in 1742 to the second regiment
of foot guards; and he commanded the brigade of foot guards at the
battle of Dettingen. In 1755 he was appointed master-general of the
ordnance; and in 1758 commanded the expedition against France, when
the enemy's magazines and shipping at St. Maloes were destroyed. He
was subsequently appointed to command the forces sent to Germany;
and died on the Continent in October, 1758.
HENRY HAWLEY.
_Appointed 12th May, 1740._
This Officer served the crown in four successive reigns, and held
a commission in the army during a period of sixty-five years. His
first appointment was dated the 10th of January, 1694; and having
signalized himself in the wars of Queen Anne, he obtained the
rank of colonel by brevet dated the 16th of October, 1712. He was
wounded at the battle of Dumblain in 1715. On the 19th of March,
1717, he was promoted from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the fourth
dragoons to the colonelcy of the thirty-third regiment of foot;
and on the 7th of July, 1730, he was removed to the colonelcy of
the thirteenth dragoons. In 1735 he was promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general; in 1739 to that of major-general; and in the
following year obtained the colonelcy of the ROYAL DRAGOONS. In
1742 Major-General Hawley proceeded with the army to Flanders, he
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in the following
spring, and served at the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy. In
1746 he commanded against the rebel Highlanders in Scotland, and
the troops under his orders had a sharp encounter with the enemy
near Falkirk, and sustained considerable loss. He was afterwards
on the staff of the army in Ireland; was many years governor of
Portsmouth; and died on the 24th of March, 1759.
THE HONOURABLE HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY.
_Appointed 5th April, 1759._
THE HONOURABLE HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY, second son of Lord Conway,
and brother of Francis Earl of Hertford, was appointed lieutenant
in the first foot guards in 1737, captain and lieutenant-colonel
in 1741, and in 1746 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of
Cumberland, and promoted to the colonelcy of the fifty-ninth (now
forty-eighth) foot. He was removed to the thirty-fourth foot in
1749, to the thirteenth dragoons in 1751, and to the fourth horse
in 1754. In 1756 he was promoted to the rank of major-general,
and in 1759 to that of lieutenant-general: he was removed to the
ROYAL DRAGOONS in the same year. He commanded a division of the
allied army in Germany, under the Duke of Brunswick, in 1761; and
the British forces in Germany were placed under his orders during
the absence of the Marquis of Granby. He was also one of the grooms
of the bedchamber to his Majesty, and a member of parliament;
and having voted against ministers on the great question of
military warrants, in 1764, he resigned his court appointment and
military commands: but in 1768 he was appointed colonel of the
fourth dragoons. In 1770 he succeeded the Marquis of Granby in
the colonelcy of the royal regiment of horse guards; in 1772 he
was promoted to the rank of general; and in 1782 he was appointed
commander-in-chief of the army: in 1793 he was promoted to the rank
of field-marshal. He died in 1795; at which period he was eldest
general officer and first field marshal in the army.
HENRY EARL OF PEMBROKE.
_Appointed 9th May, 1764._
HENRY HERBERT, tenth Earl of Pembroke, entered the army in 1752; in
1754 he obtained a captaincy in the first, dragoon guards; in 1756
he was appointed captain and lieutenant-colonel in the first foot
guards; and on the 8th of May, 1758, he was appointed aide-de-camp
to King George II. with the rank of colonel. In the following
year he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the fifteenth light
dragoons, and proceeding to Germany, he served with distinction
under the Marquis of Granby during the remainder of the seven
years' war. The rank of major-general was conferred on his lordship
in 1761, and in 1764 King George III. gave him the colonelcy of
the ROYAL DRAGOONS. On the 30th of April, 1770, he obtained the
rank of lieutenant-general, and was promoted to that of general in
November, 1782. The Earl of Pembroke was author of an excellent
work on horsemanship; was many years governor of Portsmouth; and
died on the 26th of January, 1794.
PHILIP GOLDSWORTHY.
_Appointed 28th January, 1794._
This Officer was many years in the ROYAL DRAGOONS, with which
corps he served in Germany during the Seven years' war. On the
18th of April, 1779, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy
of the regiment; obtained the rank of major-general on the 20th
of December, 1793; and in the following month succeeded the Earl
of Pembroke in the colonelcy. On the 26th of June, 1799, he was
promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He died in 1801.
THOMAS GARTH.
_Appointed 7th January, 1801._
THOMAS GARTH was appointed cornet in the ROYAL DRAGOONS on the 12th
of April, 1762, and he served the campaign of that year with his
regiment in Germany. He was appointed lieutenant in the same corps
in 1765, captain in 1775; and in 1779 exchanged to the twentieth
light dragoons, with which corps he proceeded to the West Indies,
where he served many years. In 1792 he was appointed major in the
second dragoon guards; and, in 1794, lieutenant-colonel of the
ROYAL DRAGOONS. He served under the Duke of York in Flanders; and
was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Sussex fencibles, from which
he was removed to the twenty-second light dragoons. He was promoted
to the rank of major-general in 1798; and in 1801 he obtained the
colonelcy of the ROYAL DRAGOONS. The rank of lieutenant-general was
conferred on him in 1805, and that of general in 1814. He died in
1829.
LORD ROBERT EDWARD HENRY SOMERSET.
_Appointed 23rd November, 1829._
LORD R. EDWARD H. SOMERSET (third son of Henry fifth Duke of
Beaufort) was appointed in 1793 cornet in the tenth dragoons,
with which corps he served six years. In 1799 he was appointed
major in the twelfth light dragoons; in 1800 he was removed to the
twenty-eighth light dragoons; and in 1801 he was promoted to the
lieutenant-colonelcy of the fourth, or Queen's own dragoons, which
regiment he commanded at the battles of Talavera and Salamanca,
where he particularly distinguished himself. He was promoted to
the rank of major-general in 1813; commanded a brigade of cavalry
at the battles of Vittoria, Orthes, and Toulouse; and signalized
himself at the head of the household cavalry brigade at the battle
of Waterloo. He also commanded a brigade of cavalry in the army
of occupation in France. His services were rewarded with a cross
and one clasp; and the grand cross of the order of the Bath. He
subsequently performed the duties of inspecting general of the
cavalry; he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in
1825; and in 1829 obtained the colonelcy of the ROYAL DRAGOONS,
from which his lordship was removed in 1836, to the fourth light
dragoons.
HON. SIR FREDERICK CAVENDISH PONSONBY, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., and K.C.H.
_Appointed 31st March, 1836._
HON. FREDERICK CAVENDISH PONSONBY, second son of Frederick third
earl of Besborough, was appointed cornet in the tenth dragoons
in 1800, and rose in 1803 to the rank of captain in the same
corps, from which he exchanged to the sixtieth regiment in
1806. In 1807 he was appointed major in the twenty-third light
dragoons, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself
at the battle of Talavera in 1809; and in 1810 was promoted
to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment. In 1811 he served
under lieutenant-general Graham at Cadiz; and at the battle of
Barossa, in March of that year, he attacked, with a squadron
of German dragoons, the French cavalry covering the retreat,
overthrew them, took two guns, and even attempted, though vainly,
to sabre Rousseau's battalions. On the 11th of June, 1811, he
was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the twelfth light dragoons;
at the head of which corps he served under Lord Wellington, and
distinguished himself, in April, 1812, at Llerena, in one of the
most brilliant cavalry actions during the war. At the battle of
Salamanca he charged the French infantry, broke his sword in the
fight, and his horse received several bayonet wounds. He repeatedly
evinced great judgment, penetration, and resolution in out-post
duty, and was wounded in the retreat from Burgos, on the 13th of
October, 1812. At the battle of Vittoria he again distinguished
himself: his services at Tolosa, St. Sebastian, and Nive were also
conspicuous; and, on the king's birth-day in 1814, he was promoted
to the rank of colonel in the army. He commanded the twelfth light
dragoons at the battle of Waterloo, where he led his regiment to
the charge with signal intrepidity,--received sabre cuts on both
arms,--was brought to the ground by a blow on the head,--pierced
through the back by a lancer,--plundered by a tirailleur,--ridden
over by two squadrons of cavalry,--and plundered a second time
by a Prussian soldier; but afterwards recovered of his wounds.
His services were rewarded with the following marks of royal
favour:--Knight companion of the order of the Bath,--Knight
grand cross of the order of St. Michael and St. George,--Knight
commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic order,--a cross,--a Waterloo
medal,--Knight of the Tower and Sword of Portugal,--and Knight
of Maria Theresa of Austria. In January, 1824, he was appointed
inspecting field-officer in the Ionian islands: he was promoted
brigadier-general upon the staff of those islands on the 4th of
March, 1824; and in June, 1825, he was advanced to the rank of
major-general: he was removed to the staff at Malta, and retained
the command of the troops in that island until May, 1835. In 1835
he obtained the colonelcy of the eighty-sixth regiment, from which
he was removed to the ROYAL DRAGOONS in the following year. He
was an ornament to his profession. In him, military talent was
united with the most chivalrous bravery,--calm judgment,--cool
decision,--resolute action,--and modest deportment. He died on the
10th of January, 1837.
SIR HUSSEY VIVIAN, BARONET, G.C.B., AND G.C.H.
_Appointed 20th January, 1837._
LONDON:--Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Duke-street,
Stamford-street.
FOOTNOTES:
[68] Vide the Historical Record of the Life Guards.
[69] Vide page 51 in the 'Historical Record of the Royal Dragoons.'
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE
BRITISH ARMY.
UNDER THE SPECIAL AUTHORITY, AND BY COMMAND, OF
HIS LATE MAJESTY,
WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION AND PATRONAGE OF
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
CAVALRY.
Of the Life Guards 12_s._
" Royal Horse Guards, or Blues 10_s._
" First, or King's Dragoon Guards 8_s._
" Second, or Queen's ditto 8_s._
" Third Dragoon Guards 8_s._
" Fourth ditto 8_s._
" Fifth ditto 8_s._
" Sixth ditto 8_s._
" Seventh ditto 8_s._
INFANTRY.
Of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot 12_s._
" Second, or Queen's Foot 8_s._
" Third Foot, or the Buffs 12_s._
" Fourth Foot, or the King's Own. 8_s._
" Fifth, or Northumberland Fusiliers 8_s._
" Sixth, or Royal First Warwickshire 8_s._
" Eighty-eighth, or Connaught Rangers 6_s._
EACH ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.
The above are Parts of a Series of Narratives of the several
Regiments of the British Army, from the Periods of their Formation
to the present time.
_Which are being prepared by_
RICHARD CANNON, ESQ.,
_Adjutant-General's Office, Horse-Guards_.
1840.
PUBLISHED BY
LONGMAN, ORME, and CO. Paternoster-row.
CLOWES and SONS, 14, Charing-cross.
RIDGWAY and SONS, Piccadilly.
CALKIN and BUDD, 118, Pall-mall.
PINKNEY, Military Library, Whitehall.
MILLIKEN and SON, Dublin.
SAVAGE and SON, Cork.
A. and C. BLACK, Edinburgh.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
War Office, War-Office; field marshal, field-marshal; outpost,
out-post; situate; patrole; rencounter; piquet; negociating.
Pg 94, 'St. Jao de Presquere' should really be 'São João da Pesqueira'
but has not been changed in the etext.
Pg 99 et seq., the old name 'Pampeluna' (Pamplona) has not been
changed in the etext.
Pg 110, Sidenote '1816' moved one paragraph lower.
Pg 119, 'royal fusileers' replaced by 'royal fusiliers'.
Pg 125, 'Duke of Malborough' replaced by 'Duke of Marlborough'.