between the British and French courts, in consequence of a change
of measures; the conditions of the treaty of peace then under
consideration; and the disagreement between the Duke of Marlborough
and Queen Anne; occasioned Lieutenant-General Cadogan, who was a
stanch Protestant and a warm advocate for the succession of the
house of Hanover, to be called upon to dispose of his commission;
and he was succeeded in the Colonelcy of this regiment by
Lieutenant-General GEORGE KELLUM, who had been many years the
Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, and whose commission as Colonel
was dated 22nd of December, 1712.
[Sidenote: 1713]
[Sidenote: 1714]
The regiment, now styled KELLUM'S HORSE, was placed upon the
Irish establishment in June, 1713; but it remained in comfortable
quarters in Flanders until the early part of the year 1714, when it
embarked for Ireland. The treaty of peace having been concluded,
the troopers of this regiment could look back with triumph and
exultation at their brilliant career during the late eventful and
important war; and although there were circumstances connected
with the conduct of their government calculated to produce painful
feelings, yet, conscious of their own merit and justly acquired
fame, the officers and soldiers could rejoice that, by their
well-directed exertions, they had humbled the enemies of their
country, the British troops had become celebrated for valour and
intrepidity throughout Europe, and that the turmoil and horrors of
war were succeeded by the blessings and enjoyments of peace.
[Sidenote: 1715]
[Sidenote: 1716]
After its arrival in Ireland, the regiment was stationed for a
short time at Dublin; and having been thus removed from the scenes
of conflict and bloodshed in which it had for several years been
engaged, to the more pacific and easy duties of home service, the
CUIRASSES were again returned into store. Ireland was not, however,
in a state of internal tranquillity; the decease of Queen Anne and
the accession of King George I. were followed by great exertions on
the part of the friends of the house of Stuart, who were numerous
in Ireland; and when the rebellion broke out in Scotland in 1715,
and extended itself to England, this event gave buoyancy to the
expectations of the malcontents in Ireland. The troops in Ireland
were kept in a state of constant readiness for active service;
several corps embarked for England, and the fidelity of the ARMY
preserved the kingdom from anarchy and papal domination; by the
exertions of the troops the rebellion was suppressed, and the
country restored to tranquillity.
[Sidenote: 1717]
In the spring of 1717, Lieutenant-General George Kellum retired
from the service, and King George I. was graciously pleased to
confer the Colonelcy on the Lieutenant-Colonel, ROBERT NAPIER,
who was celebrated for his conduct at the head of the regiment in
several actions in the Netherlands, and was wounded in the action
at Schellenberg.
About this period, the distinguishing colour, or facing of the
regiment, was changed from _buff_ to _green_, and it has continued
of this colour to the present time (1838); its lace was also
changed from _silver_ to _gold_. The men having _green_ waistcoats,
breeches, and horse furniture, the regiment was emphatically styled
the GREEN HORSE, and this appellation has been continued to the
present time.
[Sidenote: 1718]
[Sidenote: 1740]
The regiment remained in Ireland performing a successive routine
of court and country duties, at the establishment of twenty-five
private men per troop, until 1740, when an augmentation of ten men
per troop was made to its numbers.
After the decease of Lieutenant-General Robert Napier, King George
II. conferred the Colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General
Clement Neville, from the Eighth Dragoons, his commission bearing
date the 6th of May, 1740.
[Sidenote: 1741]
[Sidenote: 1742]
[Sidenote: 1743]
[Sidenote: 1744]
Another war having broken out on the continent, the establishment
of the regiment received a further addition of ten men per troop
in 1741. In the following year a British army was sent to Flanders
under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair; but the necessity for
retaining a considerable body of troops in Ireland, occasioned this
regiment to remain in that country. It, however, sent a detachment
of sixty men and horses to Flanders in the beginning of 1743, to
complete the three regiments of horse on foreign service, and
another detachment was sent in 1744.
[Sidenote: 1745]
Lieutenant-General Neville died on the 5th of August, 1744, and
was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Richard Viscount
Cobham, who, when Sir Richard Temple, highly distinguished himself
in the wars of Queen Anne. He was removed in 1745 to the Tenth
Dragoons, when His Majesty conferred the command of this regiment
on Major-General Thomas Wentworth, from the Twenty-fourth Foot.
[Sidenote: 1746]
When this regiment was first raised, it ranked as SEVENTH HORSE;
in 1690, the Fifth regiment of Horse was disbanded in Ireland,
and the Sixth Horse became Fifth, and this regiment obtained rank
as SIXTH HORSE, which rank it held until December, 1746, when the
First Horse,--the royal regiment of Horse Guards,--ceased to bear
a number: the Second, Third, and Fourth Horse were then constituted
the First, Second, and Third Dragoon Guards; and this regiment was
styled the SECOND IRISH HORSE, and sometimes called the GREEN HORSE
from the colour of its facings.
[Sidenote: 1747]
In 1747, Major-General Thomas Wentworth died at Turin, where he
was employed in a diplomatic capacity, and was succeeded in the
Colonelcy of the SECOND IRISH HORSE, by Major-General Thomas Bligh,
from the Twelfth Dragoons.
[Sidenote: 1748]
[Sidenote: 1749]
On the conclusion of a treaty of peace at Aix-la-Chapelle, a
considerable diminution was made in the strength of the regular
army, and in 1749 the establishment of the SECOND IRISH HORSE was
reduced to twenty-one private men per troop.
[Sidenote: 1751]
From the period of the formation of the regiment, several
alterations had, from time to time, been made in the uniform and
standards. The practice of having a standard to each troop had
been discontinued, and one to each squadron was substituted. In
1742, King George II. caused a series of coloured engravings,
representing the uniform of the several regiments of the army to
be executed; and, as a few alterations had subsequently been made,
a warrant was issued on the 1st of July, 1751, regulating the
standards, colours, and clothing of the several regiments, from
which the following particulars have been extracted relative to the
SECOND IRISH HORSE:--
COATS.--Scarlet, the facings and lapels of full green; the
button-holes worked with yellow, the buttons set on two and two;
and a long slash pocket in each skirt.
WAISTCOATS}
} full green.
BREECHES }
HATS.--Three-cornered cocked-hats, bound with yellow lace, and
ornamented with a brass loop and a black cockade.
BOOTS.--Made of jacked leather.
TRUMPETERS.--Clothed in full green coats, faced and lapelled with
red, and ornamented with white lace, having a red stripe down the
middle: their waistcoats and breeches of red cloth.
HORSE FURNITURE of full green; the holster caps and housings having
a border of broad white lace with a red worm down the centre, and
II/H embroidered on a red ground, within a wreath of roses and
thistles on each corner of the housings; and on the holster caps,
the King's cypher and crown, with II/H underneath.
STANDARDS.--The first, or King's standard, to be of crimson damask,
embroidered and fringed with gold; the rose and thistle conjoined,
and crown over them in the centre; and underneath, His Majesty's
motto, _Dieu et mon droit_: the white horse in a compartment in
the first and fourth corners, and II/H in gold characters, on
a full green ground, in a compartment in the second and third
corners. The second and third standards to be of full green damask,
embroidered and fringed with gold; the rank of the regiment in gold
Roman characters on a crimson ground, within a wreath of roses
and thistles on the same stalk, and the motto, _Vestigia nulla
retrorsum_, underneath: the white horse on a red ground in the
first and fourth compartments, and the rose and thistle conjoined
upon a red ground in the second and third compartments.
OFFICERS to be distinguished by narrow gold lace or embroidery to
the binding and button-holes of their coats; sword knots of crimson
and gold in stripes; and crimson silk sashes worn over the left
shoulder.
[Sidenote: 1758]
[Sidenote: 1759]
[Sidenote: 1760]
On the 23d of October, 1758, Lieutenant-General Bligh was succeeded
in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General the Honourable
John Waldegrave (afterwards Earl Waldegrave), who was removed to
the Second Dragoon Guards in the following year. The Colonelcy
appears to have remained vacant from September, 1759, to November,
1760, when it was conferred by King George III. on Major-General
the Honourable John Fitz-William from the Second, or Queen's Royal
Regiment of Foot.
[Sidenote: 1762]
Another war having commenced in 1756, between Great Britain
and France, a British army was sent to Germany in 1758; the
establishment of this regiment was augmented to forty-nine private
men per troop; and in 1762 the order prohibiting the regiment
recruiting in Ireland was rescinded.
[Sidenote: 1763]
The success of the British arms in Canada, the West Indies, and
Germany, was followed by a treaty of peace, and after the return
of the cavalry regiments from Germany, in the beginning of 1763,
the establishment of the SECOND IRISH HORSE was again reduced to
twenty-one private men per troop.
[Sidenote: 1776]
[Sidenote: 1783]
At this low establishment the regiment continued until the breaking
out of the unfortunate contest between Great Britain and her
North American colonies, when an augmentation of ten private men
per troop was made to its numbers. No further alteration appears
to have been made until the conclusion of the war, when, the
independence of the United States having been acknowledged, its
establishment was reduced to its former numbers.
[Sidenote: 1788]
At this establishment it continued until the spring of 1788;
when King George III., having resolved to form the two troops
of Life Guards and two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards into
two regiments of Life Guards on a similar establishment to that
of the old regiments of horse, and to reduce the four regiments
of horse on the Irish establishment to the pay of dragoons,
with the title of DRAGOON GUARDS, His Majesty's pleasure was
communicated to the regiments in Ireland, in a General Order
dated the 14th of February, 1788; and the SECOND IRISH HORSE was
thus constituted the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS. In consequence of the
regiment being placed upon a decreased rate of pay, compensation
was given to the officers; to the colonel 150_l._ per year; to the
lieutenant-colonel a gratuity of 575_l._; to the major 525_l._;
captains, each, 475_l._; captain-lieutenant and lieutenants, each,
350_l._; and the cornets, each, 250_l._ Every private man had the
option of his discharge, or a bounty of two guineas if he continued
to serve.
Several alterations were made in the uniform of the regiment. The
officers were directed to wear an epaulette on each shoulder. The
flask-string was removed from the pouch belt, and the width of the
belts reduced from four inches and a half to three inches; and the
equipment was assimilated, in every particular, to that of the
regiments of dragoons.
The establishment was fixed at one colonel and captain, one
lieutenant-colonel and captain, one major and captain, three
captains, six lieutenants, six cornets, one chaplain, one adjutant,
one surgeon, six troop quarter-masters, six serjeants, twelve
corporals, six trumpeters, one hundred and fourteen private men,
and six dismounted men. The several alterations having been
completed, the change of establishment took place on the 1st of
April, 1788, and from this date the regiment has borne the title of
FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS; but the appellation of GREEN HORSE has never
been entirely discontinued.
[Sidenote: 1789]
[Sidenote: 1790]
In the following year, the regiment lost its colonel, General
the Honourable John Fitz-William, who was succeeded on the 27th
of August, 1789, by Lieutenant-General John Douglas, from the
Fourteenth Foot. Lieutenant-General Douglas died on the 10th of
November, 1790, and was succeeded by Major-General Thomas Bland,
from the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Seventh Dragoons.
[Sidenote: 1793]
After passing a period of nearly eighty years in Ireland, the
regiment, having previously had a considerable augmentation made
to its numbers, was ordered to hold itself in readiness for
foreign service. This event was occasioned by the revolution
which had taken place in France, where a party of republicans had
seized the reins of government, had imprisoned the royal family,
and had brought their sovereign to the scaffold; a proceeding
which disorganized the state of society in one of the most
civilized parts of the world,--gave rise to the formation of a
new dynasty,--removed the basis on which the sovereign power
was established,--and involved the great European states in a
succession of destructive wars for a period of more than twenty
years. Great Britain joined the confederacy against the regicide
government of France, and sent, in the spring of 1793, a body of
troops to the Netherlands, under the command of His Royal Highness
the Duke of York. At the close of the summer, reinforcements were
sent to Flanders, and on the 18th and 19th of September, the FIFTH
DRAGOON GUARDS embarked at Dublin for the same destination.
[Sidenote: 1794]
After occupying winter quarters in Flanders, the regiment took
the field under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable
R. Taylor, and entered on a scene of action in a part of Europe
where it had, nearly a century before, acquired numerous honours
under the great MARLBOROUGH, and its conduct did not derogate from
its ancient reputation. It was first employed in the attack of the
enemy's post at _Prêmont_, on the 17th of April, 1794, but was not
called upon to charge; and it subsequently formed part of the
covering army during the siege of _Landrécies_.
While this siege was in progress, the British troops, under the
Duke of York, were encamped at _Cateau_. On the morning of the
26th of April, which was gloomy and dark, and a thick mist covered
the face of nature, the advance of an hostile force was heard, but
its movements could not be discerned. At length, the rays of the
sun revealed the movements of a French force of thirty thousand
men, under Lieutenant-General Chapuy; and a body of cavalry, of
which the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS formed part, was detached, under
Lieutenant-General Otto, against the enemy's left flank, while
a sharp attack was made on the enemy's front. This movement was
conducted with great caution, the enemy's flank was turned, the
trumpets sounded a charge, and the British horsemen rushed with
irresistible fury upon the ranks of the hostile legions. The French
were overthrown and defeated; their commander, Lieutenant-General
Chapuy, a number of officers and men, and thirty-five pieces of
cannon were captured, and their flying divisions were pursued
with immense slaughter to the gates of Cambray. The Duke of York
passed the highest commendations on the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS and
other troops detached against the enemy's left flank, and declared
they had "_all acquired immortal honour to themselves_." His Royal
Highness further stated, "_the conduct of the British cavalry was
beyond all praise_." The loss of the regiment on this occasion
was nine men and twenty-three horses killed; one officer, one
quarter-master, eight men and nine horses, wounded; four men and
twenty-three horses missing.
After the surrender of Landrécies, the British forces took up a
position in front of _Tournay_, where they repulsed an attack of
the enemy on the 10th of May. During the action, a favourable
opportunity presented itself for attacking the enemy's right flank;
Lieutenant-General Harcourt was detached with sixteen squadrons of
British and two of Austrian cavalry, and attacked the enemy with
so much resolution and intrepidity, that they immediately began
their retreat, in the course of which they were soon broken, and
they sustained great loss, including thirteen pieces of cannon, and
above four hundred officers and men taken prisoners.
A combined attack was made on the French positions on the 17th of
May, but failed from some of the columns not arriving in time at
the posts allotted to them.
On the 22nd of May, the French attacked the British position in
front of _Tournay_ with an immense force. The FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS
were formed up ready for action on their camp ground all the day;
but the French did not attack that part of the line; and they were
repulsed in their attempts in the other parts of the field.
At length, the defeat of the Austrians having rendered the position
occupied by the British in front of Tournay no longer tenable, the
troops were withdrawn, and the campaign degenerated into a series
of retreats, which were ably conducted under numerous difficulties.
[Sidenote: 1795]
During this short but eventful campaign the British troops had
maintained their ancient reputation; but the army was not of
sufficient numbers to cope with the enormous masses of the enemy,
which darkened the land like a gloomy tempest. In the retreat
through Holland, and in the distresses and privations of the winter
campaign amidst snow and ice, the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS took part,
and in the early part of 1795 they arrived in Germany.
The regiment remained in Germany during the following summer,
and encamped in one of the plains of the Duchy of Bremen, under
the orders of Major-General Sir David Dundas; and in November it
embarked for England.
[Sidenote: 1796]
In October, 1796, the regiment proceeded to Ireland, which country
was in a state bordering on open rebellion. The malcontents had
entered into arrangements with the republican government of France,
and a French armament was prepared, under the orders of General
Hoche, to assist the Irish Roman Catholics in effecting their
separation from England, and in forming themselves into a republic.
On the 24th of December the French fleet appeared in Bantry Bay;
and the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS were despatched by forced marches to
oppose the landing of the enemy. The French fleet was, however,
partly dispersed by a storm, and the remainder returned to France
without attempting to land.
[Sidenote: 1797]
In 1797 the regiment was encamped, with several other
corps, on the Curragh of Kildare, and was there reviewed by
Lieutenant-General Sir David Dundas, who expressed, in orders, his
approbation of its discipline and appearance. Its establishment at
this period was seven hundred officers and men.
[Sidenote: 1798]
The disaffection which had so long prevailed among the Roman
Catholics in Ireland, had continued to acquire additional rancour
and vehemence, and the passions of the misguided peasantry having
been wrought, by wicked demagogues, into fury and madness, they
neglected the affairs of civil life, provided themselves with
arms, and broke out into open rebellion in the summer of 1798.
The FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS were on Dublin duty at the time, and
were so distinguished for loyalty and steady conduct that the
Lord-Lieutenant committed to the regiment the military charge of
the capital.
One squadron under the command of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel
Sherlock was detached from Dublin into the counties of Wicklow
and Wexford, and was engaged in the action at _Arklow_ on the 9th
of June, when thirty thousand insurgents, headed by their priests
in clerical vestments, attacked the town with great fury, but
were repulsed with the loss of an immense number of men. From the
circumstance of there being no force of any consequence to prevent
the rebels marching upon the capital, this was an action of the
greatest importance, and was most obstinately contested.
The same squadron was afterwards instrumental in relieving the
loyalists in the town of _Ballycarnen_, where they were besieged by
the rebels, and had only a small party of militia to assist in the
defence of the place. The cavalry advanced with great bravery, and
was assailed by a sharp fire from behind the fences, and a barrier
of carts and other vehicles formed across the road, which it was
found impossible to force by cavalry alone, and the troops retired
until a body of infantry arrived; when the whole advanced,--routed
the rebels, and pursued them with great slaughter.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sherlock was afterwards engaged with the
squadron of the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS under his orders, at _Gorey_,
and charged the rebels several times with success.
The same squadron was also engaged in the action at _Vinegar
Hill_,--the stronghold of the rebels, where the most inhuman
tragedies had been committed on hundreds of Protestants. This post
was attacked on the 21st of June, and the insurgents were routed
with great slaughter and many prisoners were captured. The squadron
of the FIFTH DRAGOON GUARDS charged and pursued the rebels, and
took many prisoners. It afterwards overtook an insurgent corps near
a place called _White Hills_, where, after a sharp contest, the
rebels were routed, and they fled in all directions.
While these events were transpiring, another detachment of the
regiment was employed in the county of Kildare, and had several
skirmishes with bands of insurgents.
A patrole of the regiment, commanded by Captain Pack, proceeding
towards _Prosperous_, encountered one hundred rebels well mounted
and equipped; the Dragoon Guards instantly charged with signal
valour and intrepidity, routed their adversaries at the first
shock, killed twenty on the spot, and captured eight horses.
When the rebellion was nearly suppressed, the French endeavoured
to revive the contest by sending General Humbert with about a
thousand men, who landed at Killala on the 22d of August. The FIFTH
DRAGOON GUARDS marched from Dublin to oppose the combined rebel and
French forces, and were attached to the column under the Marquis
of Cornwallis's command. The action at _Ballinamuck_ on the 8th of
September followed; the French surrendered themselves prisoners
of war, and the insurgents were dispersed. After the action, the
Marquis of Cornwallis selected a squadron of the FIFTH DRAGOON
GUARDS, commanded by Captain (afterwards Sir William) Ponsonby, to
escort him on his return to Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1799]
The rebellion in Ireland having been suppressed, the FIFTH DRAGOON
GUARDS were embarked in 1799, in order to join the expedition to
Holland, commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York; but the
order for their proceeding on this service was countermanded, and
after disembarking at Liverpool, they marched into quarters in
Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
[Sidenote: 1802]
[Sidenote: 1803]
After the conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens, a reduction of two
troops was made in the establishment; but on the breaking out of
the war in 1803, the army was again augmented, and an addition of
two troops was again made to the strength of the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1804]