took place in Portugal, where a constitution had been conferred
on the people, which gave them privileges previously unknown in
that country; at the same time they were menaced by an invasion
from Spain. In consequence of an application from the Portuguese
government, a body of British troops was sent to Lisbon, and four
troops of the TWELFTH Royal Lancers, commanded by Major Barton,
(Colonel Brotherton being on leave of absence,) embarked at
Portsmouth in December, and landed at Lisbon in January, 1827.
[Sidenote: 1827]
On the 22nd of January Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant was
removed to the Fifteenth Hussars, and the colonelcy of the regiment
was conferred on Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian, K.C.B., G.C.H.
The two squadrons in Portugal were stationed for several weeks at
Belem, from whence they marched to Alhandra, and Alverca, and one
troop was attached to the brigade of Foot Guards at Cartaxo. They
proceeded to Torres Novas in March, retired to the vicinity of
Lisbon in July, and subsequently occupied the barracks at Luz.
Lieut.-Colonel Brotherton exchanged to the half-pay, and was
succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Stawell, who joined the service troops
in Portugal, and assumed the command of the regiment in September
of this year at Luz.
[Sidenote: 1828]
In these quarters the TWELFTH Royal Lancers remained until the
spring of 1828, when the British troops were withdrawn from
Portugal; the regiment embarked from Lisbon on the 12th of March,
landed at Ramsgate on the 26th, and joined the depôt troops at
Canterbury on the following day.
[Sidenote: 1829]
Leaving Canterbury in April, 1829, the regiment commenced its march
for Scotland, and after short halts at London and York, arrived at
Piershill-barracks, Edinburgh, on the 12th of May; one squadron
being stationed at Glasgow.
[Sidenote: 1830]
In April, 1830, the regiment embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland,
landed at Donaghadee, and marched from thence to Dublin.
In this year orders were received to resume wearing scarlet
clothing.
[Sidenote: 1831]
[Sidenote: 1832]
[Sidenote: 1833]
The head-quarters were removed to Newbridge in June, 1831, to Cork
in April, 1832, and in the spring of 1833 the regiment marched to
Dublin, where it embarked for England; it landed at Liverpool in
the middle of April, and proceeded from thence to Manchester.
Previous to the embarkation of the regiment from Dublin, a
dinner was given, at the Royal Hospital, to the whole of the
non-commissioned officers and privates, and to their wives and
children, by their colonel, Lieut.-General SIR HUSSEY VIVIAN,
Baronet, who was then commander of the forces in Ireland, as a
testimony of his approbation of the good conduct and efficient
services of the regiment. On his advancement to the dignity of LORD
VIVIAN, in 1841, he chose for one of his supporters "A bay horse,
guardant, caparisoned, thereon mounted a Lancer of the TWELFTH, or
Prince of Wales's, Royal Regiment of Lancers, habited, armed, and
accoutred, supporting his lance, proper."
[Sidenote: 1834]
[Sidenote: 1835]
[Sidenote: 1836]
From Manchester, the regiment marched in May, 1834, to Birmingham;
leaving this station in April, 1835, it proceeded to Dorchester,
and in the spring of 1836, to Coventry.
[Sidenote: 1837]
On the removal of Lieut.-General Sir Hussey Vivian to the Royal
Dragoons, he was succeeded in the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Royal
Lancers by Lieut.-General Sir Henry John Cumming, K.C.H., by
commission dated the 20th of January, 1837.
From Coventry the regiment marched, in May, 1837, to Hounslow.
On the 28th September the Twelfth Royal Lancers, with the First
Life Guards, and Grenadier Guards, were reviewed by the Queen in
the Home Park, Windsor, being the first troops reviewed by Her
Majesty after her accession to the throne; and on the 9th November
the regiment had the honor of escorting Her Majesty on her visit to
the City of London.
[Sidenote: 1838]
On the 28th of June, 1838, the regiment was on duty at the
coronation of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria. It is a singular
coincidence, that three of the cavalry regiments, which
attended the coronation of Her Majesty, were commanded by
lieutenant-colonels who served together in the TWELFTH Light
Dragoons at the battle of Waterloo, viz.:--
Lieut.-Colonel Stawell Twelfth Royal Lancers,
Lieut.-Colonel Chatterton Fourth Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, and
Lieut.-Colonel Vandeleur Tenth Royal Hussars.
Colonel Stawell, and the officers commanding the other regiments,
which attended this august ceremony, had the honor of having a gold
medal presented to them by command of Her Majesty.
On the 9th of July the TWELFTH Royal Lancers were reviewed, with
a number of other corps, in Hyde Park by Her Majesty; they
subsequently marched to Brighton, where they were stationed in 1839.
[Sidenote: 1839]
On the 28th December of this year, Colonel His Royal Highness The
Prince George of Cambridge, was, by authority of Her Majesty,
attached to the TWELFTH Royal Lancers, and authorised to wear the
uniform of the regiment. The Prince joined in February, 1840, and
continued to do duty with the regiment for two years[7].
[Sidenote: 1840]
Leaving Brighton in June, 1840, the regiment proceeded to
Liverpool, where it embarked for Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1841]
The regiment has since continued in the garrison of Dublin, and
remains on that duty at the period of the termination of this
record.
[Sidenote: 1842]
In 1842 the regiment was again clothed in _blue_.
The Historical Record of THE TWELFTH ROYAL LANCERS, as given in
the preceding pages, which is confirmed by the testimony of the
highest military commanders, under whom the regiment has served,
sufficiently proves the value of this corps to the crown, and that
it has, on all occasions, either in conflict with a foreign enemy,
or in patient endurance, when domestic disturbances have required
its services, fulfilled its duties with honor, and with advantage
to the country.
The distinguished conduct of the regiment in EGYPT; its gallant
bearing and _esprit de corps_ during the PENINSULAR WAR; the
noble and daring charge made by the corps, on a column of French
infantry, at the battle of WATERLOO, on the 18th of June, 1815,
with the heroic manner in which it led the attack of the right
wing, at the close of the action, have established the character of
the regiment, and proved its merit of the honors which have been
conferred on it by royal authority.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The colonel and lieut.-colonel of the TWELFTH Light Dragoons.
[2] Some of the officers proceeded to Rome, and had the honor of
being introduced to the Pope, who received them in a very gracious
manner, and taking a helmet into his hand, ejaculated a wish "that
Heaven would enable the cause of truth and religion to triumph
over injustice and infidelity," and he then placed it on Captain
Browne's head.
[3] About three hundred men were mounted in the first instance, and
three hundred more at a subsequent period.
[4] The following is a description of the Column erected by
General R. Browne Clayton, K.C., D.C.L. and F.S.A. on the Rick of
Carrig-a-Dagon, county of Wexford, Ireland, the estate of 3,000
statute acres, bestowed on him by his father in 1801.
_Height of Column, 94 feet, 3 inches._
"This Column is to commemorate the conquest of Egypt, and the
events of the Campaign under the command of General Sir Ralph
Abercromby, K.B., in the year 1801, when General Browne Clayton
(then Lieut.-Colonel) commanded the 12th Light Dragoons, and
afterwards commanded the Cavalry in pursuit of the Enemy to Grand
Cairo, taking, besides other Detachments, a Convoy in the Lybian
Desert, composed of 600 French Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery,
commanded by Colonel Cavalier, together with Bonaparte's celebrated
Dromedary Corps, one four-pounder, and one stand of colors, and
capturing 300 horses and dromedaries, and 500 camels. The events
of this Campaign are further to be commemorated by the appointment
of Trustees, under the will of General B. Clayton, who shall
annually at sun-rise on the morning of the 21st of March (when the
French, under the command of General Menou, attacked the British
Encampment, before Alexandria) raise the Standard on the Column,
and hoist the tricolor French flag, which shall remain until the
hour of ten o'clock, when the British Flag shall be hoisted and
kept up until sunset, as a Memorial of the Defeat of the French,
which event forms the prelude of Britannia's Triumphs, through a
regular and unbroken series of Glory and Prosperity down to the
Battle of Waterloo in 1815; and on the 28th March, annually, the
British Flag shall be hoisted half-standard high, as a Memorial of
the Death of the brave Commander-in-Chief Sir Ralph Abercromby, who
died of the wounds which he received before Alexandria, on the 21st
March, 1801."
[5] Colonel Ponsonby's groom, an old soldier, who was in the rear
with a led horse, rushed forward, with tears in his eyes, and
continued to search for his master, regardless of his own danger,
until he was driven away by the French skirmishers.
[6] HON. FREDERICK CAVENDISH PONSONBY, second son of Frederick
third earl of Besborough, was appointed cornet in the Tenth Light
Dragoons in 1800, and rose in 1803 to the rank of captain in the
same corps, from which he exchanged to the Sixteenth Light Dragoons
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 he 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. 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 1824 he was
appointed inspecting field-officer in the Ionian islands; in 1825
he was promoted 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 which year he obtained the colonelcy
of the Eighty-sixth Regiment, from which he was removed to the
Royal Dragoons, in 1836. He was an ornament to his profession. In
him, great military talent was united with the most chivalrous
bravery,--calm judgment,--cool decision,--resolute action,--and
modest deportment. He died on the 11th of January, 1837.
[7] (Copy.)
_Horse Guards, 28th December, 1839._
SIR,
I have the honor, by direction of the General Commanding-in-Chief,
to acquaint you, that Her Majesty has been pleased to approve
of Colonel His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge being
attached to the TWELFTH Royal Lancers, and permitted to wear the
uniform of that regiment without holding a commission in it.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.
_Officer Commanding Twelfth
Royal Lancers, Brighton._
SUCCESSIONS OF COLONELS
OF
THE TWELFTH,
THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF
LANCERS.
PHINEAS BOWLES,
_Appointed 22nd July, 1715_.
PHINEAS BOWLES served in the wars of Queen Anne, and succeeded,
in July, 1705, Colonel Caulfield, in the command of a regiment
of foot, with which he proceeded from Ireland to the relief of
Barcelona, when that fortress was besieged by the French and
Spanish forces under Philip, Duke of Anjou. He subsequently served
in Spain under Archduke Charles, afterwards emperor of Germany;
and his regiment distinguished itself at the battle of Saragossa
in 1710, but was surrounded, and made prisoners in the mountains
of Castille in December following. At the peace of Utrecht this
regiment was disbanded, and he remained unemployed until the summer
of 1715, when he was commissioned to raise a regiment of dragoons,
now the TWELFTH ROYAL LANCERS. He was removed in 1719 to the Eighth
Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1722.
PHINEAS BOWLES,
_Appointed 23rd March, 1719_.
This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and
served the campaigns of 1710 and 1711, under the celebrated John
Duke of Marlborough. He was also employed in suppressing the
rebellion of the Earl of Mar in 1715 and 1716, and was promoted in
1719 to the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Dragoons. He was promoted to
the rank of brigadier-general in 1735, to that of major-general
in 1739, and was removed to the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon
Guards, in 1740. He died in 1749.
ALEXANDER ROSE,
_Appointed 20th December, 1740_.
ALEXANDER ROSE obtained a commission in the army on the 5th of
May, 1704; he served several campaigns under the great Duke of
Marlborough, and afterwards rose to the lieut.-colonelcy of the
Fifth, the Royal Irish, Dragoons, from which he was promoted, in
May, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. In
December following he was removed to the TWELFTH Dragoons. His
decease occurred in 1743, before he had attained any higher rank
than that of colonel.
SAMUEL WALTER WHITSHED,
_Appointed 14th June, 1743_.
SAMUEL WALTER WHITSHED entered the army in August, 1704, and
served in the war of the Spanish succession under the Earl of
Galway and Archduke Charles of Austria. King George II. promoted
him to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Eighth Dragoons, and in
December, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of
Foot. In 1743 he was removed to the TWELFTH Dragoons, the command
of which corps he retained until the spring of 1746, when he was
succeeded by Brigadier-General Thomas Bligh.
THOMAS BLIGH,
_Appointed 6th April, 1746_.
This officer entered the army in the reign of King George I.; rose
to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Horse, now Fifth
Dragoon Guards, and in December, 1740, he was appointed colonel
of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. On the 27th of May, 1745, he
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general; was removed to the
TWELFTH Dragoons in the following year, and promoted to the rank
of major-general in 1747. He was removed to the colonelcy of the
Second Irish Horse in December of the same year, and was promoted
to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1754.
War having commenced between Great Britain and France in 1756,
Lieutenant-General Bligh was appointed, in 1758, to the command
of an expedition designed to make a descent on the coast of
France, with the view of causing a diversion in favour of the army
commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany. The fleet
sailed in the beginning of August, and in seven days arrived in
Cherbourg roads. The troops were landed, the town of Cherbourg
was captured, the harbour, pier, and forts were destroyed, and
the brass ordnance brought away as trophies of this success. In
September a landing was effected on the coast of Brittany with the
view of besieging St. Maloes, but this being found impracticable,
the troops, after marching a short distance up the country,
retired, and re-embarked at the bay of St. Cas. The enemy advanced
in great numbers under the command of the Duke of Aguillon, and
attacking the rear of the British army, occasioned great loss.
Lieutenant-General Bligh was much censured for his conduct on this
occasion, and soon after the return of the expedition, he retired
from the service.
SIR JOHN MORDAUNT, K.B.,
_Appointed 22nd December, 1747_.
JOHN MORDAUNT entered the army in August, 1721, and after a
progressive service of several years he was appointed captain and
lieut.-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. In January, 1741, he was
promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifty-eighth (now Forty-seventh)
Foot, and in June, 1745, he obtained the rank of brigadier-general.
He commanded a brigade of infantry at the disastrous battle of
Falkirk, fought on the 17th of January, 1746, and his distinguished
conduct was commended by Lieut.-General Hawley, in his public
despatches. He also held an appointment in the army commanded by
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and was sent in pursuit
of the rebels from Stirling, with two regiments of dragoons and
the Campbell Highlanders. At the battle of Culloden he commanded
a brigade of infantry, and gained additional reputation; and
he also signalized himself at the battle of Val in 1747. His
meritorious conduct was rewarded, in the autumn of the same year,
with the rank of major-general; he was also appointed colonel of
the TWELFTH Dragoons in December; and was removed in July, 1749,
to the Fourth Irish Horse (now Seventh Dragoon Guards), and in
November following to the Tenth Dragoons. He was promoted to the
rank of lieut.-general in 1754, and to that of general in 1770. He
was also rewarded with the dignity of a knight companion of the
most honorable military order of the Bath, and the government of
Berwick. He died at Bevis-mount, near Southampton, on the 23rd of
October, 1780, at the age of eighty-three years.
THE HONORABLE JAMES CHOLMONDELEY.,
_Appointed 24th July, 1749_.
THE HONORABLE JAMES CHOLMONDELEY, third son of George, second
Earl of Cholmondeley, was appointed guidon and major in the first
troop, now first regiment, of Life Guards, in 1725; in 1731 he
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and lieut.-colonel in the
third troop of Life Guards; and in 1741 he obtained the colonelcy
of a newly-raised regiment, which was numbered the Forty-ninth,
now Forty-eighth, Foot, from which he was removed in 1742, to the
Thirty-fourth regiment. Accompanying his regiment to Flanders,
in 1744, he served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal
Wade. He was at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745, and was afterwards
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the breaking out of
the rebellion in Scotland, he returned to England with a brigade
of infantry, and afterwards took the charge of two battalions
recently arrived from Ireland, with which he joined the army in
Yorkshire under Field-Marshal Wade. On the flight of the rebels
from Derby, he was detached to Scotland, and signalised himself
in a most conspicuous manner at the battle of Falkirk on the 17th
of January, 1746; but the excessive fatigue he underwent, with
continued exposure to severe weather, deprived him of the use of
his limbs for some time. In 1747 he was promoted to the rank of
major-general, and was removed in 1749 to the TWELFTH Dragoons. In
November of the same year he was removed to the third Irish Horse,
now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and in 1750, to the Sixth Dragoons. In
1754 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and he was many
years lieut.-governor of Chester. He died in 1775.
LORD GEORGE SACKVILLE,
_Appointed 1st November, 1749_.
LORD GEORGE SACKVILLE, youngest son of his Grace the Duke of
Dorset, choosing a military life, entered the army in 1737, and was
promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Twenty-eighth Foot in 1740.
His distinguished behaviour at the head of his regiment at the
battle of Dettingen, recommended him to the notice of King George
II., and his lordship was shortly afterwards rewarded with the
rank of colonel, and appointed one of His Majesty's aides-de-camp.
Continuing to serve on the continent, he distinguished himself
at the battle of Fontenoy, where he was shot in the breast.
His lordship was also employed under the Duke of Cumberland, in
suppressing the rebellion in Scotland, and was promoted, in 1746,
to the colonelcy of the Twentieth Foot. He served the campaigns
of 1747 and 1748, on the continent; and was removed, in 1749, to
the TWELFTH Dragoons, from which he was removed, in 1750, to the
Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers; he was also appointed secretary
of state for Ireland. In 1757 he was removed to the Second Dragoon
Guards, and appointed lieut.-general of ordnance, and in 1758 he
was sworn a member of the privy council. He was second in command
of the expedition to the coast of France, under Charles Duke of
Marlborough; also, second in command of the troops sent to Germany;
and, after the Duke of Marlborough's decease, his lordship was
appointed commander-in-chief of the British troops in Germany,
under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Owing to some misunderstanding
with his serene highness at the battle of Minden, his lordship
returned to England, and was, shortly afterwards, deprived of his
military employments. He was endowed with extraordinary talents as
a statesman, and he filled, subsequently to this unpleasant affair,
some of the highest offices in the administration. He assumed, by
act of parliament, the surname of Germaine; and, in February, 1782,
he was elevated to the peerage by the titles of Baron Bolebrook,
and VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. He died in 1785.
SIR JOHN WHITEFOORD, BART.,
_Appointed 18th January, 1750_.
SIR JOHN WHITEFOORD, of Blairquan, a Baronet of Nova Scotia,
having served in the subordinate commissions several years, was
promoted to the majority of the Sixth Dragoons in 1743, and served
with his regiment in the Netherlands. He was subsequently promoted
to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Thirty-fifth Foot, and in January,
1750, he was appointed colonel of the TWELFTH Dragoons. He was
promoted to the rank of major-general in 1758, and to that of
lieut.-general in 1760. He died at Edinburgh on the 1st of March,
1763.
EDWARD HARVEY,
_Appointed 17th March, 1763_.
This officer held a commission many years in the Sixth Dragoons,
with which corps he served at the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy,
and Val. In 1754 he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the
regiment, and proceeding to Germany in the summer of 1758, he was
present at nearly every general engagement and skirmish in which
British cavalry were employed, during the remainder of the seven
years' war, and on several occasions he commanded a brigade of
heavy dragoons: he was twice wounded, viz.: at Wetter, in August,
1759, where he surprised a French corps, and took many prisoners,
and at Campen, in October, 1760. In 1763 he was rewarded with
the colonelcy of the TWELFTH Dragoons, and was removed, in the
following year, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. He
was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1762; to that of
lieut.-general in 1772; and in 1775 he was removed to the colonelcy
of the Sixth Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1778.
BENJAMIN CARPENTER,
_Appointed 20th September, 1764_.