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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Historical Record of the Third, Or the
-King's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons, by Richard Cannon
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Historical Record of the Third, Or the King's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons
- Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in
- 1685, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846.
-
-Author: Richard Cannon
-
-Release Date: November 10, 2015 [EBook #50421]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING'S OWN REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Richard Tonsing, Brian Coe and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-book was created from images of public domain material
-made available by the University of Toronto Libraries
-(http://link.library.utoronto.ca/booksonline/).)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- HISTORICAL RECORD
-
- OF THE
-
- THIRD, OR THE KING'S OWN REGIMENT
-
- OF
-
- LIGHT DRAGOONS:
-
- CONTAINING
-
- AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
- IN 1685,
-
- AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
- TO 1846.
-
-
- COMPILED BY
- RICHARD CANNON, ESQ.,
- ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.
-
- ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.
-
- LONDON:
- PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,
- 30, CHARING CROSS.
-
- M DCCC XLVII.
-
- LONDON: Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street,
- For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
-
-
-
-
-GENERAL ORDERS.
-
-
- _HORSE GUARDS,
- 1st January, 1836._
-
-His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing
-the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have
-distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy,
-an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army
-shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the
-Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following
-particulars, viz.,
-
----- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the
-Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed;
-The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations, in which it has
-been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have
-performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from
-the Enemy.
-
----- The Names of the Officers, and the number of Non-Commissioned
-Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the
-Place and Date of the Action.
-
----- The names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
-Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy,
-have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His
-Majesty's gracious favour.
-
----- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and
-Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.
-
-And,
-
----- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted
-to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or
-any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
-
- By Command of the Right Honourable
- GENERAL LORD HILL,
- _Commanding-in-Chief_.
-
- JOHN MACDONALD.
- _Adjutant-General._
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend
-upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service are
-animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any
-measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone
-great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
-
-Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable
-object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military
-History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples
-to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to
-emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their
-honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the
-present publication.
-
-The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
-"London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public
-prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time
-of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration
-to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of
-Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders,
-and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions
-of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery; and these
-testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's
-approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.
-
-It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears
-to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British
-Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements.
-Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly
-from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and
-subsequent services.
-
-This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having
-been pleased to command that every Regiment shall in future keep a full
-and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
-
-From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive
-information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the
-career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain,
-where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns
-of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits
-have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the _presence of
-war_, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is
-known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of
-climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in
-every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.
-
-In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives
-from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the
-trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect
-on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on their
-sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many
-national benefits are obtained and preserved.
-
-The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
-have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
-their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
-irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite
-of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness
-with which they have maintained their advantages against superior
-numbers.
-
-In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
-justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps
-employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual
-bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.
-
-These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's
-special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk of the
-Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail
-to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is
-considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to
-the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the
-Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
-
-There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are
-serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment to everything
-belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the
-services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic
-accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have
-always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people.
-Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger
-and terror, have stood "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and
-when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the
-battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a
-record of achievements in war,--victories so complete and surprising,
-gained by our countrymen, our brothers, our fellow-citizens in arms,--a
-record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant
-deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.
-
-Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers
-will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and
-the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred
-upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its
-services, will be faithfully set forth.
-
-As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will
-be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be
-completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-The ancient Armies of England were composed of Horse and Foot; but the
-feudal troops established by William the Conqueror in 1086, consisted
-almost entirely of Horse. Under the feudal system, every holder of land
-amounting to what was termed a "knight's fee," was required to provide
-a charger, a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance, and to
-serve the Crown a period of forty days in each year at his own expense;
-and the great landholders had to provide armed men in proportion to the
-extent of their estates; consequently the ranks of the feudal Cavalry
-were completed with men of property, and the vassals and tenants of the
-great barons, who led their dependents to the field in person.
-
-In the succeeding reigns the Cavalry of the Army was composed of
-Knights (or men at arms) and Hobiliers (or horsemen of inferior
-degree); and the Infantry of spears and battle-axe men, cross-bowmen,
-and archers. The Knights wore armour on every part of the body, and
-their weapons were a lance, a sword, and a small dagger. The Hobiliers
-were accoutred and armed for the light and less important services of
-war, and were not considered qualified for a charge in line. Mounted
-Archers[1] were also introduced, and the English nation eventually
-became preeminent in the use of the bow.
-
-About the time of Queen Mary the appellation of "_Men at Arms_"
-was changed to that of "_Spears_ and _Launces_." The introduction
-of fire-arms ultimately occasioned the lance to fall into disuse,
-and the title of the Horsemen of the first degree was changed to
-"_Cuirassiers_." The Cuirassiers were armed _cap-à-pié_, and their
-weapons were a sword with a straight narrow blade and sharp point, and
-a pair of large pistols, called petronels; and the Hobiliers carried
-carbines. The Infantry carried pikes, matchlocks, and swords. The
-introduction of fire-arms occasioned the formation of Regiments armed
-and equipped as infantry, but mounted on small horses for the sake of
-expedition of movement, and these were styled "_Dragoons_;" a small
-portion of the military force of the kingdom, however, consisted of
-this description of troops.
-
-The formation of the present Army commenced after the Restoration
-in 1660, with the establishment of regular corps of Horse and Foot;
-the Horsemen were cuirassiers, but only wore armour on the head and
-body; and the Foot were pikemen and musketeers. The arms which each
-description of force carried, are described in the following extract
-from the "Regulations of King Charles II.," dated 5th May, 1663:--
-
-"Each Horseman to have for his defensive armes, back, breast, and pot;
-and for his offensive armes, a sword, and a case of pistolls, the
-barrels whereof are not to be undʳ. foorteen inches in length; and each
-Trooper of Our Guards to have a carbine besides the aforesaid armes.
-And the Foote to have each soldier a sword, and each pikeman a pike
-of 16 foote long and not undʳ.; and each musqueteer a musquet with a
-collar of bandaliers, the barrell of which musquet to be about foor
-foote long and to conteine a bullet, foorteen of which shall weigh a
-pound weight[2]."
-
-The ranks of the Troops of Horse were at this period composed of men of
-some property--generally the sons of substantial yeomen: the young
-men received as recruits provided their own horses, and they were
-placed on a rate of pay sufficient to give them a respectable station
-in society.
-
-On the breaking out of the war with Holland in the spring of 1672, a
-Regiment of Dragoons was raised[3]; the Dragoons were placed on a lower
-rate of pay than the Horse, and the Regiment was armed similar to the
-Infantry, excepting that a limited number of the men carried halberds
-instead of pikes, and the others muskets and bayonets; and a few men in
-each troop had pistols; as appears by a warrant dated the 2nd of April,
-1672, of which the following is an extract:--
-
- "CHARLES R.
-
- "Our will and pleasure is, that a Regiment of Dragoones which we
- have established and ordered to be raised, in twelve Troopes of
- fourscore in each beside officers, who are to be under the command
- of Our most deare and most intirely beloved Cousin Prince Rupert,
- shall be armed out of Our stoares remaining within Our office of
- the Ordinance, as followeth; that is to say, three corporalls, two
- serjeants, the gentlemen at armes, and twelve soldiers of each
- of the said twelve Troopes, are to have and carry each of them
- one halbard, and one case of pistolls with holsters; and the rest
- of the soldiers of the several Troopes aforesaid, are to have and
- to carry each of them one matchlocke musquet, with a collar of
- bandaliers, and also to have and to carry one bayonet[4], or great
- knive. That each lieutenant have and carry one partizan; and that
- two drums be delivered out for each Troope of the said Regiment[5]."
-
-Several regiments of Horse and Dragoons were raised in the first year
-of the reign of King James II.; and the horsemen carried a short
-carbine[6] in addition to the sword and pair of pistols: and in a
-Regulation dated the 21st of February, 1687, the arms of the Dragoons
-at that period were commanded to be as follows:--
-
-"The Dragoons to have snaphanse musquets, strapt, with bright barrels
-of three foote eight inches long, cartouch-boxes, bayonetts, granado
-pouches, buckets, and hammer-hatchetts."
-
-After several years' experience, little advantage was found to accrue
-from having Cavalry Regiments formed almost exclusively for engaging
-the enemy on foot; and, the Horse having laid aside their armour, the
-arms and equipment of Horse and Dragoons were so nearly assimilated,
-that there remained little distinction besides the name and rate of
-pay. The introduction of improvements into the mounting, arming, and
-equipment of Dragoons rendered them competent to the performance of
-every description of service required of Cavalry; and, while the long
-musket and bayonet were retained, to enable them to act as Infantry, if
-necessary, they were found to be equally efficient, and of equal value
-to the nation, as Cavalry, with the Regiments of Horse.
-
-In the several augmentations made to the regular Army after the early
-part of the reign of Queen Anne, no new Regiments of Horse were raised
-for permanent service; and in 1746 King George II. reduced three of
-the old Regiments of Horse to the quality and pay of Dragoons; at the
-same time, His Majesty gave them the title of First, Second, and Third
-Regiments of _Dragoon Guards_: and in 1788 the same alteration was made
-in the remaining four Regiments of Horse, which then became the Fourth,
-Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Regiments of _Dragoon Guards_.
-
-At present there are only three Regiments which are styled _Horse_ in
-the British Army, namely, the two Regiments of Life Guards, and the
-Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, to whom cuirasses have recently been
-restored. The other Cavalry Regiments consist of Dragoon Guards, Heavy
-and Light Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers; and although the long musket
-and bayonet have been laid aside by the whole of the Cavalry, and the
-Regiments are armed and equipped on the principle of the old Horse
-(excepting the cuirass), they continue to be styled Dragoons.
-
-The old Regiments of Horse formed a highly respectable and efficient
-portion of the Army, and it is found, on perusing the histories of the
-various campaigns in which they have been engaged, that they have,
-on all occasions, maintained a high character for steadiness and
-discipline as well as for bravery in action. They were formerly mounted
-on horses of superior weight and physical power, and few troops could
-withstand a well-directed charge of the celebrated British Horse. The
-records of these corps embrace a period of 150 years--a period eventful
-in history, and abounding in instances of heroism displayed by the
-British troops when danger has threatened the nation,--a period in
-which these Regiments have numbered in their ranks men of loyalty,
-valour, and good conduct, worthy of imitation.
-
-Since the Regiments of Horse were formed into Dragoon Guards,
-additional improvements have been introduced into the constitution of
-the several corps; and the superior description of horses now bred in
-the United Kingdom, enables the commanding officers to remount their
-regiments with such excellent horses, that, whilst sufficient weight
-has been retained for a powerful charge in line, a lightness has been
-acquired, which renders them available for every description of service
-incident to modern warfare.
-
-The orderly conduct of these Regiments in quarters has gained the
-confidence and esteem of the respectable inhabitants of the various
-parts of the United Kingdom in which they have been stationed; their
-promptitude and alacrity in attending to the requisitions of the
-magistrates in periods of excitement, and the temper, patience,
-and forbearance which they have evinced when subjected to great
-provocation, insult, and violence from the misguided populace, prove
-the value of these troops to the Crown, and to the Government of the
-country, and justify the reliance which is reposed on them.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] In the 14th year of the reign of Edward IV. a small force was
-established in Ireland by Parliament, consisting of 120 Archers on
-horseback, 40 Horsemen, and 40 Pages.
-
-[2] Military Papers, State Paper Office.
-
-[3] This Regiment was disbanded after the Peace of 1674.
-
-[4] This appears to be the first introduction of _bayonets_ into the
-English Army.
-
-[5] State Paper Office.
-
-[6] The first issue of carbines to the regular Horse appears to have
-taken place in 1684; the Life Guards, however, carried carbines from
-their formation in 1660.--_Vide_ the 'Historical Record of the Life
-Guards.'
-
-
-
-
-ON THE INSTITUTION
-
-OF
-
-LIGHT CAVALRY
-
-IN
-
-THE BRITISH ARMY.
-
-
-The records of the military events of the remote ages speak of
-heavy-armed horsemen being accompanied by others mounted and equipped
-for light services. The Barons and Knights, who rode the powerful
-horses celebrated by historians, and took the field completely cased
-in steel, had a few light-armed attendants; the feudal horsemen were
-variously armed; and the practice of employing Light, as well as Heavy
-Cavalry, was adopted, to a limited extent, by several commanders of
-antiquity. Armour, proof against arrow, lance, and sword, and men and
-horses of colossal appearance, in whom the greatest amount of weight
-and physical power, consistent with a moderate share of activity,
-could be combined, were however held in the highest estimation;
-but eventually the great advantage of having a portion of Cavalry
-in which lightness, activity, and celerity of movement, might form
-the principal characteristics, was discovered. The introduction of
-fire-arms occasioned armour to be gradually laid aside, or limited to
-a few heavy horsemen; superiority of weight was no longer thought so
-necessary; and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the use of
-Light Cavalry became more general than formerly.
-
-During the seventy years' war between Spain and the United Provinces of
-the Netherlands, Prince Maurice of Nassau (afterwards Prince of Orange)
-selected a few English and Dutch heavy-armed Lancers, and constituted
-them _Carabineers_, for skirmishing, and other services of a similar
-character. The Emperor of Germany formed regiments of Hungarian
-_Hussars_, who were light men on small horses. The Carabineers were of
-an intermediate class, being much heavier than the Hussars, and lighter
-than the English Lancers and Cuirassiers, who rode powerful horses, and
-wore armour on the head, body, and limbs. The French monarchs adopted
-the practice of having a few Carabineers in each troop of Horse; and,
-in 1690, Louis XIV. added a troop of Carabineers to each Regiment of
-Cavalry. During the campaign of 1691, these troops formed a Carabineer
-brigade; but their motley appearance, and the defects of the plan,
-occasioned them to be constituted a regiment of Carabineers, and
-clothed in blue. In 1693 the French King added a regiment of Hussars to
-the Cavalry of his army.[7]
-
-In England the same principle was partially carried out; the heavy
-horse laid aside their armour, excepting cuirasses; they were mounted
-on horses of less weight than formerly, and they were supplied with
-carbines by King Charles II. In 1685, King James II. raised several
-independent troops of _Light Horse_, and one of them (Sir Thomas
-Burton's) was retained in his service until the Revolution in 1688,
-when it was disbanded. In 1691-2 King William III. constituted the
-Seventh Regiment of Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, a corps of
-Carabineers, as an honorary distinction, and for the performance of
-services for which the other regiments of Horse, being Cuirassiers,
-were not well adapted. The object was to combine with strength and
-power a greater degree of activity and speed than was to be found
-in the Cavalry at that period; and His Majesty appears to have
-contemplated having several corps of this description in his service,
-as he designated this _the First Regiment of Carabineers_; but no
-second regiment was formed.[8] In 1694 a troop of foreign Hussars
-formed part of the Army commanded by King William in Flanders.[9]
-
-During the wars of Queen Anne the Regiment of Carabineers was again
-supplied with cuirasses, and was mounted on the same description
-of horses as the other regiments; retaining, however, the title of
-Carabineers. The activity, size, weight, and strength of the horses
-ridden by the British Cuirassiers and Heavy Dragoons, with the bravery
-and muscular powers of the men, established their superiority in
-continental warfare over the Cavalry of other nations; they acquired
-great celebrity in the valley of the Danube and on the plains of the
-Netherlands, in the early part of the eighteenth century, under the
-renowned John Duke of Marlborough; and after the peace of Utrecht, in
-1713, the reputation of the British Horse and Dragoons was so high that
-no alteration was thought necessary, and many years elapsed without any
-attempt being made to revive the practice of having either Carabineers,
-or Light Horse, in the British Army.
-
-The great utility of the Light Cavalry of the continental armies had,
-in the mean time, become apparent. Improvements in military tactics,
-and in the arming and equipment of corps, were taking place in various
-countries; and a spirit of emulation extending itself to Great Britain,
-on the breaking out of the rebellion in 1745, his Grace the Duke of
-Montague evinced his loyalty and public spirit by raising a Regiment
-of _Carabineers_ for the service of King George II.; at the same time,
-his Grace the Duke of Kingston, with equal zeal and generosity, raised,
-at his own expense, a Regiment of _Light Horse_. The latter regiment
-approximated, in the lightness of the men, horses, and equipment,
-to the Hussars of the continental armies; the Duke of Montague's
-Carabineers were of a heavier description of Cavalry.
-
-At this period the old Cavalry Regiments rode black horses (excepting
-the Scots Greys) with docked tails; but the Duke of Kingston's Regiment
-was mounted on light horses of various colours, with swish or nag
-tails. The accoutrements were as light as possible: the men carried
-short carbines slung to their sides by a moveable swivel, pistols, and
-light swords inclined to a curve.
-
-The usefulness of the Duke of Kingston's Regiment of Light Horse was
-proved in Scotland, where it served under His Royal Highness the
-Duke of Cumberland, and was found qualified for every description of
-service; the light horses traversing hilly grounds with facility. It
-distinguished itself on several occasions, particularly at the battle
-of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746, when it charged the clans with
-signal gallantry, and evinced great spirit and activity in the pursuit
-of the rebel army upwards of three miles from the field of battle. The
-Duke of Cumberland was highly pleased with its behaviour during the
-period it was under his command; and the conduct of the Light Horse
-throughout the contest reflected credit on the noble peer who had
-raised them.
-
-The rebellion being suppressed, the regiment was, in consequence of the
-conditions on which the men had enlisted, directed to be disbanded;
-but the Duke of Cumberland so highly approved of its conduct that he
-obtained permission to embody as many of the men as would re-enlist, as
-his own Regiment of Light Dragoons.
-
-His Majesty's thanks and particular satisfaction were communicated to
-His Grace the Duke of Kingston, for his zeal and affection for His
-Majesty's person and Government; and His Grace was desired to convey to
-the officers and soldiers His Majesty's high sense of their loyalty,
-activity, and gallant behaviour, at a period of national danger. The
-regiment was afterwards disbanded at Nottingham, and nearly every man
-engaged in the Regiment of Light Dragoons, of which, as a signal mark
-of honour and distinction, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland
-was appointed Colonel.
-
-The Duke of Cumberland's Light Dragoons were mounted on active
-nag-tailed horses, from fourteen and a half to fifteen hands high.
-The men were from five feet eight to five feet nine inches in height;
-and their equipment was upon a new and light plan, but retaining the
-cocked hat of the Heavy Dragoon pattern. This regiment served in the
-Netherlands, with the Army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke
-of Cumberland: its general usefulness was fully established, and it
-distinguished itself at the battle of Val, in 1747. The treaty of
-Aix-la-Chapelle having put an end to the war, it returned to England,
-and was disbanded in 1749.
-
-From this period the value of light horsemen was more appreciated in
-England than formerly; the general utility of this arm, on home and
-foreign service, had been fully proved; and at the commencement of
-hostilities with France, in 1755, King George II. resolved to possess
-the advantage of a body of Light Cavalry in the approaching contest.
-His Majesty accordingly commanded _a troop of Light Dragoons_ to be
-added to the First, Second, and Third Regiments of Dragoon Guards,
-and First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh
-Regiments of Dragoons. The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Irish Horse
-(now Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Dragoon Guards), and the Fifth,
-Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Dragoons, being on
-the Irish establishment, did not receive the same addition.
-
-These troops of Light Dragoons were mounted, armed, equipped, and
-trained, according to specific instructions, calculated to render
-them available for the services for which they were designed. Several
-of them were reviewed in Hyde Park by His Majesty; and their neat
-appearance, celerity of movement, and the spirited and exact manner in
-which they performed their evolutions, were much admired.
-
-Nine of these troops were formed into a brigade in 1758, under the
-command of one of the King's aides-de-camp, Colonel George Augustus
-Eliott, of the Horse Grenadier Guards; and they were employed in the
-expeditions to the coast of France under Charles Duke of Marlborough
-and Lieut.-General Bligh. They landed in France twice; skirmished with
-the French Cavalry; and throughout these enterprises they evinced
-activity, spirit, and general usefulness. After their return to
-England, they were augmented to 125 men per troop.
-
-At this period, the war on the Continent had involved most of the
-European states; and the extended and active operations which were
-taking place in Germany rendered it necessary for a British force
-to join the Allied Army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. This
-gave rise to a further augmentation of the Army; and the increased
-estimation in which Light Cavalry was held induced the King to give
-directions for the raising of _entire Regiments of Light Dragoons_, in
-addition to the five Regiments of Horse, three of Dragoon Guards, and
-fourteen of Dragoons, already on the British and Irish establishments.
-The following corps were accordingly embodied:--
-
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS.
-
-
-_Incorporated in 1759._
-
-FIFTEENTH, in England, by Colonel George A. Eliott;--now the Fifteenth,
-or the King's Hussars.
-
-SIXTEENTH, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Burgoyne;--now the
-Sixteenth, or the Queen's Lancers.
-
-SEVENTEENTH, in Scotland, by Captain Lord Aberdour;--disbanded in 1763.
-
-EIGHTEENTH, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Hale;--now the
-Seventeenth Lancers.
-
-NINETEENTH, in Ireland, by Lieut.-Colonel Lord Drogheda;--numbered the
-Eighteenth in 1763; constituted Hussars in 1807; and after performing
-much valuable service at home and abroad, it was disbanded at
-Newbridge, in Ireland, in 1821.
-
-
-_Incorporated in 1760._
-
-TWENTIETH, in Ireland, by Captain Sir James Caldwell;--disbanded in
-1763.
-
-TWENTY-FIRST, or Royal Foresters, in England by Lieut.-General the
-Marquis of Granby, and Colonel Lord Robert Sutton;--disbanded in 1763.
-
-After the peace of Fontainebleau, three of these corps were disbanded,
-and the other four continued in the service. The light troops attached
-to the heavy regiments were also disbanded, but a few men of each troop
-were afterwards equipped as Light Dragoons.
-
-A more perfect knowledge of the efficiency and capabilities of Light
-Cavalry, acquired during the campaigns in Germany and Portugal, had
-advanced the estimation in which that arm was held; and, in 1768, the
-TWELFTH Dragoons (one of the heavy regiments raised by King George
-I. in 1715), underwent a change of equipment and clothing, and was
-constituted a corps of _Light Dragoons_, by General Carpenter, in
-Ireland.
-
-This alteration served as a precedent for subsequent changes; and
-further experience, during the American war, from 1775 to 1783,
-confirming the value of Light Cavalry, the SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH,
-TENTH, ELEVENTH, THIRTEENTH, and FOURTEENTH Regiments of Dragoons were
-changed from _heavy to light_. The Light Dragoons attached to the heavy
-regiments were incorporated into newly-raised corps, and the following
-regiments of
-
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS
-
-
-_Were embodied in 1779._
-
-NINETEENTH,--by Major-General Russell Manners;--disbanded in 1783.
-
-TWENTIETH,--by Major-General Richard Burton Phillipson;--disbanded in
-1783.
-
-TWENTY-FIRST,--by Major-General John Douglas;--disbanded in 1783.
-
-TWENTY-SECOND,--by Lieut.-Colonel John Lord Sheffield;--disbanded in
-1783.
-
-
-_Embodied in 1781._
-
-TWENTY-THIRD,--by Lieut.-General Sir John Burgoyne, Baronet, for
-service in India, and was numbered the NINETEENTH after the peace
-in 1783. This regiment signalized itself on numerous occasions in
-India, and was rewarded with the honour of bearing on its guidons
-and appointments the _Elephant_, with the words _Assaye_ and
-_Seringapatam_. The word _Niagara_ was also added in commemoration
-of the gallantry of two troops, in the year 1813, in North America.
-In 1817 it was constituted a corps of LANCERS. It was disbanded in
-Ireland in 1821.
-
-Thus a few years had produced a great change in the British Army.
-Twenty-five years previously to the termination of the American war
-there was not a single Light Dragoon Regiment in the Service, and in
-1783 there were seventeen; four of them were disbanded at that period,
-and thirteen retained in the Service.
-
-Soon after the termination of the American war, the French monarch
-having, by aiding the rebellious British provincials, taught his own
-subjects a lesson of insubordination, was deprived of the reins of
-government; and the violent conduct of the French revolutionists in
-the West Indies occasioned the TWENTIETH or JAMAICA REGIMENT OF LIGHT
-DRAGOONS to be raised in 1791 by Colonel Henry F. Gardner, for service
-in that island. Besides its services in Jamaica, detachments of this
-regiment served at Malta; Sicily; at the taking of the Cape of Good
-Hope, in 1806; at the capture of Alexandria, in 1807; at the attack on
-Monte Video; in Portugal; at Genoa; and on the eastern coast of Spain;
-and acquired the honour of bearing the word _Peninsula_ on its guidons
-and appointments. It was disbanded in Ireland in 1818.
-
-War with France commenced in 1793, and was followed by augmentations
-to the Army. It was not found necessary to add a single Heavy Cavalry
-Regiment; but the following Regiments of
-
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS
-
-
-_Were incorporated in 1794._
-
-TWENTY-FIRST,--by Lieut.-Colonel Thomas R. Beaumont. This regiment
-served at the Cape of Good Hope and in India thirteen years; a
-detachment was sent to do duty at St. Helena, when Napoleon Buonaparte
-was removed thither. This regiment was disbanded at Chatham in 1820.
-
-TWENTY-SECOND,--by Major-General William Viscount Fielding;--served in
-Great Britain and Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
-
-TWENTY-THIRD,--by Colonel William Fullerton;--served in Great Britain
-and Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
-
-TWENTY-FOURTH,--by Colonel William Loftus;--served in Great Britain and
-Ireland;--disbanded in 1802.
-
-TWENTY-FIFTH,--by Major-General Francis Edward Gwyn. This regiment
-was numbered the TWENTY-SECOND after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.
-It served with reputation in India; was employed at the reduction of
-Java; signalized itself on several occasions; and was rewarded with
-the royal authority to bear the word _Seringapatam_ on its guidons and
-appointments. It was disbanded in England in 1820.
-
-
-_Raised in 1795._
-
-TWENTY-SIXTH,--by Lieut.-General R. Manners;--numbered the TWENTY-THIRD
-in 1803. This regiment served in Egypt, Portugal, Spain, Flanders, and
-France; and its distinguished conduct was rewarded with the honour of
-bearing on its guidons and appointments, the _Sphinx_, with the words
-_Egypt_, _Peninsula_, and _Waterloo_. In 1816 it was constituted a
-corps of LANCERS. It was disbanded in England in 1817.
-
-TWENTY-SEVENTH,--by Major-General Wynter Blathwayte;--numbered the
-TWENTY-FOURTH in 1804. This regiment served in India, distinguished
-itself at the battles of Ghur and Delhi, and was permitted to bear
-the _Elephant_, with the word _Hindoostan_, on its guidons and
-appointments. It was disbanded in England, on its arrival from Bengal,
-in 1819.
-
-TWENTY-EIGHTH,--by Major-General Robert Lawrie;--served in Great
-Britain, Ireland, and at the Cape of Good Hope;--disbanded in Ireland
-in 1802.
-
-TWENTY-NINTH,--by Major-General Francis Augustus Lord
-Heathfield;--numbered the TWENTY-FIFTH in 1804. This regiment served in
-India, and was at the reduction of the Isle of France. It was disbanded
-at Chatham, on its arrival from India, in 1819.
-
-_Raised in 1794._
-
-THIRTIETH,--by Lieut.-Colonel J. C. Carden;--disbanded in 1796.
-
-THIRTY-FIRST,--by Lieut.-Colonel William St. Ledger;--disbanded in
-1796.
-
-THIRTY-SECOND,--by Lieut.-Colonel H. J. Blake;--disbanded in 1796.
-
-THIRTY-THIRD,--by Lieut.-Colonel J. Blackwood;--disbanded in 1796.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Soon after the re-commencement of hostilities with France in 1803,
-the SEVENTH, TENTH, FIFTEENTH, and EIGHTEENTH Light Dragoons were
-equipped as HUSSARS. Since the termination of the war in 1815, the
-THIRD and FOURTH Dragoons have been changed from _heavy to light_; the
-NINTH, TWELFTH, SIXTEENTH, and SEVENTEENTH Light Dragoons have been
-constituted LANCERS; and the EIGHTH and ELEVENTH Light Dragoons have
-also been equipped as HUSSARS.
-
-At this period (1847), the Cavalry of the British Army consists of
-twenty-six regiments--thirteen Heavy and thirteen Light; and is
-composed of three regiments of Cuirassiers, ten of Heavy Dragoons, four
-of Light Dragoons, five of Hussars, and four of Lancers.
-
-
- THE THIRD,
-
- OR
-
- THE KING'S OWN REGIMENT
-
- OF
-
- LIGHT DRAGOONS,
-
- BEARS ON ITS APPOINTMENTS
-
- THE WHITE HORSE,
-
- ON A RED FIELD WITHIN THE GARTER,
-
- WITH THE MOTTO
-
- "_NEC ASPERA TERRENT_:"
-
- ALSO THE WORDS,
-
- "SALAMANCA"--"VITTORIA"--"TOULOUSE"--"PENINSULA,"
-
- To commemorate its Gallant Conduct in Spain and France from 1811 to
- 1814;
-
- AND THE WORD
-
- "CABOOL, 1842,"
-
- For its distinguished Services in Affghanistan in 1842.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[7] _Histoire de la Milice Françoise_, par le PÈRE DANIEL.
-
-[8] National Records.
-
-[9] The equipment of Hussars at this period is described by D'AUVERGNE,
-in his _History of the Campaign of 1694_, pp. 22, 23.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
- Year Page
-
- 1685 Formation of the Regiment 1
-
- ---- Styled the Queen Consort's Regiment 3
-
- ---- Names of Officers 5
-
- ---- Reviewed by King James II. on Hounslow Heath --
-
- 1688 The Revolution 6
-
- 1689 Proceeds to Ireland 7
-
- ---- Attacks the Enemy's out-posts at Ardee 8
-
- 1690 Storming of Bedloe's Castle 9
-
- ---- Battle of the Boyne 11
-
- ---- Investment of Waterford 12
-
- ---- Surrender of Youghal --
-
- ---- Disperses the Rapparees--capture of Castle Martir 13
-
- ---- Siege of Limerick --
-
- 1691 Expedition to Streamstown 14
-
- ---- Battle of Aghrim --
-
- ---- Siege of Galway 15
-
- ---- Surrender of Limerick 16
-
- 1692 Arrives in England 17
-
- 1694 Reviewed in Hyde Park by King William III. --
-
- ---- Embarks for Flanders --
-
- 1695 Augmentation of establishment 18
-
- ---- Attack on the forts at Kenoque --
-
- ---- Siege of Namur--Surrender of Dixmude 19
-
- 1696 Reviewed by King William III. 20
-
- 1697 Operations in Brabant 21
-
- ---- Returns to England --
-
- 1698 Reduction of establishment --
-
- 1702 Expedition to Cadiz under the Duke of Ormond 21
-
- ---- Attack on Vigo, and Capture of the Spanish fleet 22
-
- 1706 Forms part of an expedition under Earl Rivers,
- and proceeds to Spain 23
-
- 1707 Battle of Almanza 24
-
- 1708 Returns to England 25
-
- 1712 Reduction of establishment --
-
- 1713 Stationed in Scotland --
-
- 1714 Designated the King's Own Regiment --
-
- 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir 26
-
- 1718 Reduction of establishment 28
-
- 1720 Establishment augmented --
-
- 1723 Augmentation of establishment --
-
- 1727 Establishment further augmented --
-
- 1729 Reduction of establishment --
-
- 1738 Augmentation of establishment --
-
- 1742 Reviewed by King George II. on Blackheath 29
-
- ---- Proceeds to Flanders --
-
- 1743 Battle of Dettingen 31
-
- 1745 Battle of Fontenoy 35
-
- ---- Returns to England 36
-
- ---- Proceeds to Scotland --
-
- ---- Engagement at Clifton Moor 37
-
- 1748 Reduction of establishment 39
-
- 1751 Clothing, Appointments, Guidons, &c. regulated
- by Royal Warrant --
-
- 1754 Employed on coast duty in the South of England 41
-
- 1756 A light troop added --
-
- 1758 The light troop forms part of the force for a
- descent on the coast of France --
-
- ---- Capture of Cherbourg 43
-
- 1763 The light troop disbanded 44
-
- 1764 Marches to Scotland --
-
- 1765 Returns to England --
-
- 1766 The Drummers replaced by Trumpeters 44
-
- 1767} Employed on coast duty in Kent, Sussex, }
- and } Suffolk, and Essex } --
- 1768}
-
- 1770 Proceeds to Scotland --
-
- 1771 Returns to England 45
-
- 1773 Employed on coast duty in Kent --
-
- 1775 Marches to Scotland --
-
- 1776 Stationed in South Britain --
-
- 1778 Employed on coast duty in Sussex --
-
- ---- An additional trumpeter authorised 46
-
- 1781 Reviewed by King George III. in Hyde Park 47
-
- 1784 Proceeds to Scotland --
-
- 1785 Stationed in South Britain --
-
- 1789 Reviewed by King George III. at Reading --
-
- 1791 Marches to Scotland 48
-
- 1793 Augmentation of establishment --
-
- ---- Four troops detached to Scotland --
-
- 1797 Reduction of establishment 49
-
- 1798 Alteration in the Arms and Clothing --
-
- 1800 Augmentation of establishment 50
-
- ---- Proceeds to Scotland --
-
- 1802 Reduction of establishment --
-
- ---- Embarks for Ireland --
-
- 1805 ---- for England 51
-
- 1806 Augmentation of establishment --
-
- 1807 Reviewed at Brighton by the Duke of York --
-
- 1809 Embarks for Holland 52
-
- 1810 Reviewed at Guildford by the Duke of Cambridge 53
-
- 1811 ---- on Wimbledon Common by the Prince
- Regent --
-
- ---- Embarks for the Peninsula 54
-
- 1812 Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 55
-
- ---- ---- Badajoz --
-
- ---- Affair near La Granja 56
-
- 1812 Action at Llerena 57
-
- ---- Attack on the bridge of boats at Almaraz 58
-
- ---- Skirmish near Salamanca --
-
- ---- ---- on the heights of St. Christoval --
-
- ---- ---- near Castrillos 60
-
- ---- Battle of Salamanca 61
-
- ---- Siege of Burgos 65
-
- ---- Covers the mining party at Palencia 66
-
- 1813 Affair on the heights of Estepar 68
-
- ---- Battle of Vittoria 69
-
- 1814 Advance on Bayonne 71
-
- ---- Affair of La Mosquiere --
-
- ---- Battle of Toulouse 72
-
- ---- Furnishes horses to mount the royal guard of
- France 73
-
- ---- Returns to England 74
-
- ---- Reviewed on Hounslow Heath by the Duke of
- York, Commander-in-Chief --
-
- ---- Reduction of establishment 75
-
- ---- Authorised to bear the word "SALAMANCA" --
-
- 1815 Embarks for Ostend 76
-
- ---- Reinforces the Army in France --
-
- ---- Reviewed by the Emperor of Russia, King of
- Prussia, and the Duke of Wellington --
-
- 1816 Forms part of the Army of Occupation --
-
- ---- Reviewed by the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of
- Wellington 77
-
- 1818 Returns to England --
-
- ---- Reduction of establishment --
-
- ---- Constituted _Light Dragoons_ --
-
- ---- Attends the funeral of Queen Charlotte 78
-
- ---- Proceeds to Ireland --
-
- 1820 Reviewed for the first time as a Light Dragoon
- Regiment --
-
- 1821 Escorts King George IV. on his entry into
- Dublin 79
-
- ---- Reviewed by His Majesty --
-
- ---- Furnishes the guard of honour on the embarkation
- of the King for England --
-
- ---- Authorised to bear the words "VITTORIA" and
- "TOULOUSE" 80
-
- 1822 Returns to England 81
-
- 1823 Reviewed by the Duke of York --
-
- 1824 Again reviewed by his Royal Highness the
- Commander-in-Chief 82
-
- 1825 Receives testimonials for its conduct in aiding the
- Civil Power at Sunderland 83
-
- 1826 Proceeds to Ireland 84
-
- 1829 Returns to England 85
-
- 1830 Establishment of horses augmented 87
-
- 1831 Proceeds to Scotland --
-
- 1833 Returns to England --
-
- 1834 Proceeds to Hounslow --
-
- 1835 Embarks for Ireland --
-
- 1837 Returns to England 88
-
- ---- Embarks for the East Indies --
-
- 1842 Expedition to Affghanistan 89
-
- ---- Storming of the heights of Jugdulluck 90
-
- ---- Action at Tezeen 91
-
- ---- Arrives at Cabool, and plants the British colours
- in the Bala Hissar 93
-
- ---- Capture of Istalif 94
-
- ---- Authorised to bear the word "CABOOL" 95
-
- ---- Returns to India --
-
- 1845 Forms part of the Army of the Sutlej --
-
- ---- Battle of Moodkee 96
-
- ---- ---- Ferozeshah 98
-
- 1846 ---- Aliwal 100
-
- ---- ---- Sobraon 101
-
- 1846 Occupation of Lahore 105
-
- ---- Returns to India --
-
- ---- The Conclusion 107
-
-
-SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
-
- 1685 Duke of Somerset 109
-
- 1687 Alexander Cannon 110
-
- 1688 Richard Leveson --
-
- 1694 Thomas Lord Fairfax 111
-
- 1695 William Lloyd --
-
- 1703 George Carpenter 112
-
- 1732 Philip Honeywood 114
-
- 1743 Humphrey Bland --
-
- 1752 James Lord Tyrawley 115
-
- 1755 Earl of Albemarle 116
-
- 1772 Charles Lord Southampton 117
-
- 1797 Francis Lascelles --
-
- 1799 Sir Charles Grey 118
-
- 1807 William Cartwright 119
-
- 1821 Viscount Combermere 120
-
- 1829 Lord George Beresford --
-
- 1839 Lord Charles Somerset Manners 121
-
-
-PLATES.
-
- Costume of the Regiment _to face_ 1
-
- Battle of Sobraon " 106
-
-[Illustration: 3rd Light Dragoons.
-
- [To face page 1.]
-
-
-
-
-HISTORICAL RECORD
-
-OF THE
-
-THIRD, OR THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT
-
-OF
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS.
-
-
-[Sidenote: 1685]
-
-JAMES THE SECOND ascended the throne of England on the 6th of February,
-1685, and four months only had elapsed, when his nephew, JAMES DUKE OF
-MONMOUTH, erected the standard of rebellion on the western coast, and,
-having been joined by upwards of three thousand men, proclaimed himself
-king. To oppose MONMOUTH and his rash adherents, the King obtained from
-Parliament a grant of four hundred thousand pounds, and augmented the
-strength of his army. Among the loyal yeomen and artisans who arrayed
-themselves under the banners of their sovereign, a number of young
-men from Berkshire, Middlesex, Herts, and Essex, were formed into
-five independent troops of Dragoons under Captains RICHARD LEVESON,
-JOHN WILLIAMS, THOMAS HUSSEY, EDWARD LEA, and FRANCIS RUSSEL. These
-five troops, with an old independent troop of Dragoons, commanded by
-Colonel Strather, were attached to the Royal Dragoons under JOHN LORD
-CHURCHILL, (afterwards the great DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH,) whose regiment
-was thus augmented to nine hundred men, and from these additional
-troops the corps which now bears the distinguished title of the "THIRD,
-OR KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS," derives its origin.
-
-Captain Russel's troop rendezvoused at Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and
-having been speedily mounted and equipped, it was attached to the three
-Scots regiments of foot which had arrived from Holland, and ordered
-to join the army; but the insurgent bands having been overthrown at
-Sedgemoor on the 6th of July, it halted at Bagshot; and proceeding
-to London on the 13th, was present at the execution of the Duke of
-Monmouth on the 15th of that month.
-
-Although the insurrection was thus speedily suppressed, and the
-executions which followed were sufficiently numerous to intimidate
-the disaffected, and prevent a second appeal to arms of a similar
-character, yet the King resolved to retain a considerable number of
-the newly-raised forces in his service. On the 17th of July several
-troops of Dragoons were formed into a regiment, (now the fourth
-light dragoons,) under the command of Colonel John Berkeley; and in
-the beginning of August, four of the additional troops attached to
-the royal dragoons, with one troop from Berkeley's regiment, were
-incorporated; at the same time another troop was ordered to be raised,
-and the six were constituted a regiment of which HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF
-SOMERSET was appointed Colonel, and ALEXANDER CANNON, from a regiment
-of foot in the Dutch service, Lieutenant-Colonel, by commission dated
-the 2nd of August, 1685. The regiment thus formed is the subject of
-this memoir; its Colonel being Lord-Lieutenant of Somersetshire, had
-commanded the militia of that county during the rebellion, and his
-regiment was honoured with the title of the "QUEEN CONSORT'S REGIMENT
-OF DRAGOONS;" and being composed of troops raised previously to those
-of Berkeley's regiment, it obtained precedence of the last-mentioned
-corps[10].
-
-[Sidenote: 1686]
-
-The establishment was fixed by warrant under the sign manual, bearing
-date the 1st of January, 1686, from which the following is an extract.
-
- +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | THE QUEEN CONSORT'S REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS. |
- +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
- | STAFF-OFFICERS. | Per Diem. |
- +---------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
- | | £. | _s._ | _d._ |
- | | | | |
- | Colonel, _as Colonel_, xiiˢ, iij horses iijˢ | 0 | 15 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Lieutenant-Colonel, _as Lieut.-Colonel_, vijˢ, } | | | |
- | and ij horses ijˢ } | 0 | 9 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Major (_who has no troop_) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Chaplaine | 0 | 6 | 8 |
- | | | | |
- | Chirurgeon ivˢ and j horse to carry his } | | | |
- | chest, ijˢ } | 0 | 6 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Adjutant ivˢ, and for his horse jˢ | 0 | 5 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Quarter-Master and Marshal in one person } | | | |
- | ivˢ, his horse jˢ } | 0 | 5 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Gunsmith ivˢ and his servant iˢ | 0 | 5 | 0 |
- | +------+------+------+
- | | 3 | 6 | 8 |
- | +------+------+------+
- | THE COLONEL'S TROOP. | | | |
- | | | | |
- | The Colonel, _as Captaine_, viiiˢ, and iij } | | | |
- | horses iijˢ } | 0 | 11 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Lieutenant ivˢ, and ij horses ijˢ | 0 | 6 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Cornett iijˢ, and ij horses ijˢ | 0 | 5 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Quarter-Master, for himself and horse | 0 | 4 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Two Serjeants, each jˢ viᵈ, and ijˢ for horses | 0 | 5 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Three Corporals, each jˢ, and iijˢ for horses | 0 | 6 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Two Drummers, each jˢ, and ijˢ for horses | 0 | 4 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Two Hautboys, each iˢ, and ijˢ for horses | 0 | 4 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Fifty Soldiers, each at iˢ viᵈ for man and } | | | |
- | horse } | 3 | 15 | 0 |
- | +------+------+------+
- | | 6 | 0 | 0 |
- | | | | |
- | Five Troops more, at the same rate | 30 | 0 | 0 |
- | +------+------+------+
- | TOTAL PER DIEM | 39 | 6 | 8 |
- | +------+------+------+
- | PER ANNUM £14,356. 13_s._ 4_d._ | | | |
- +---------------------------------------------------+------+------+------+
-
- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | NAMES of the OFFICERS of HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN |
- | CONSORT'S REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS. |
- +------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
- | Captains. | Lieutenants. | Cornets. |
- +------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
- | Charles, Duke of Somerset, } | Thomas Pownell | Thos. Brewerton |
- | (Colonel) } | | |
- | | | |
- | Alexr. Cannon, (Lieut.-Col.) | Edward Sandys | John Webb |
- | | | |
- | Gustavus Philpot, (Major) | had no troop | |
- | | | |
- | Richard Leveson | Willm. Stanniford | Francis De la Rue |
- | | | |
- | John Williams | George Clifford | Richard Folliott |
- | | | |
- | Thomas Hussey | William Hussey | Peter Sutherland |
- | | | |
- | Oliver St. George | Francis Tankard | Rupert Napier |
- +==============================+===================+===================+
- | Henry Packhurst Chaplain. |
- | James Barry Adjutant. |
- | Noe L'Evesque Chirurgeon. |
- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
-
-[Sidenote: 1687]
-
-During the summer the regiment was encamped on Hounslow Heath, where it
-was reviewed by the King; it was also encamped on the same ground in
-the summer of 1687; and took part in several mock-engagements, which
-were exhibited by an army of upwards of ten thousand men, in presence
-of their Majesties, and a numerous concourse of people.
-
-[Sidenote: 1688]
-
-The King, having openly declared himself a Roman Catholic, resolved to
-give public audience to a nuncio from the Pope, Ferdinand d'Adda, who
-had been consecrated Archbishop of Amasia in the King's Chapel at St.
-James's, and the DUKE OF SOMERSET, who was Lord of the Bedchamber in
-waiting, was directed to attend the legate into His Majesty's presence.
-This command his Grace refused to obey, with a laudable firmness which
-astonished the King, alleging the laws of England made such attendance
-treason; he was consequently deprived of his regiment and of his post
-at court. The King conferred the Colonelcy on the Lieutenant-Colonel,
-ALEXANDER CANNON, under whom it was again encamped on Hounslow Heath.
-
-While pursuing a course of tyrannical and ill-advised measures against
-the laws and religion of the country, the King learnt with astonishment
-and indignation, that the Prince of Orange was embarking an army for
-England to aid the noblemen and gentlemen who were opposed to papacy
-and arbitrary government; the QUEEN'S DRAGOONS, with several other
-corps, were ordered to Ipswich, under the command of Major-General Sir
-John Lanier, to endeavour to preserve Landguard fort, and to oppose
-the Prince if he should attempt to land there. His Highness, however,
-landed at Torbay on the 5th of November, 1688, when the regiment
-was ordered to Salisbury, and from thence to Warminster, where the
-advance-post of the King's army was established.
-
-While the regiment was stationed at Warminster, the Lieutenant-Colonel,
-RICHARD LEVESON, Captain St. George, with several other officers and a
-number of men, being stanch Protestants and zealous advocates for their
-religion, and for the welfare of their country, quitted their post and
-joined the Prince of Orange. The remainder of the regiment continued
-with King James' army and retreated towards London. His Majesty having
-quitted England and retired to France, the regiment was re-united
-at Dunstable, and the Prince of Orange conferred the colonelcy on
-Lieutenant-Colonel LEVESON, in succession to Colonel Cannon, who
-adhered to the interest, and followed the fortunes of King James.
-
-[Sidenote: 1689]
-
-On the accession of King William III. and Queen Mary, the Regiment did
-not lose its title of "THE QUEEN'S," but that designation was not used,
-and numerical titles not having been then introduced, it was usually
-styled LEVESON'S regiment; it was, however, again called "THE QUEEN'S,"
-after its return from Ireland in 1692.
-
-Under its new sovereign the regiment was quickly employed in active
-service. King James proceeded from France to Ireland, and finding
-an army, levied by Earl Tyrconnel, ready to support the Roman
-Catholic interest, he soon reduced the greater part of that country
-to submission to his authority. King William sent the veteran Duke
-Schomberg with an army to Ireland, to rescue that country from the
-power of papacy; and LEVESON'S dragoons embarked at Highlake on
-the 21st of August, for the same destination. Having landed near
-Carrickfergus, they joined Duke Schomberg's camp a mile beyond Belfast,
-on the 30th of August, and were reviewed on the following day.
-
-The army quitted Belfast on the 2nd of September, and advancing
-towards Newry on the 3rd, found the town in flames, and the enemy
-fled; LEVESON'S troopers and some Inniskilling horse, rode forward in
-pursuit, but were unable to overtake the rear of the fugitive army.
-
-A camp was afterwards formed at Dundalk, and, on the 13th of September,
-as a party of the regiment was cutting forage in the fields, a
-detachment of the enemy appeared; the dragoons instantly threw down
-their forage and advanced to meet their opponents, who, though superior
-in numbers, faced about and retired. On the 21st of September the enemy
-appeared in force, displaying their royal standard, but retired without
-venturing to attack the camp; when a party of LEVESON'S Dragoons
-galloped forward in pursuit, and overtaking the enemy's rear, killed
-five men. On the 17th of October, as a detachment of the regiment and
-some Inniskilling horse, were reconnoitring, they advanced with great
-audacity to the immediate vicinity of King James' camp, and a party of
-Irish horse gained a pass in their rear to cut off their retreat; but
-the gallant dragoons, by a determined charge forced their way through
-the defile, killed four opponents, and brought off six prisoners.
-
-These instances of bravery gave Duke Schomberg a high opinion of the
-regiment, and about midnight on the 27th of October, he sent out two
-hundred of LEVESON'S troopers with some Inniskilling horse and French
-protestants, who dashed across the country to the neighbourhood of
-_Ardee_, routed the enemy's out-guards, and captured a drove of oxen
-and some horses, with which they returned in triumph to the camp at
-Dundalk.
-
-In November the army went into winter quarters in the north of Ireland,
-and a party of LEVESON'S troopers was stationed at a frontier post
-at Tandrogee. On the 26th of November, sixty men of the regiment
-accompanied Colonel Cambron, while making a reconnoisance of the
-enemy's post at _Charlemont_; when they discovered a party from the
-garrison posted in the hedges near the place. The Dragoons, with their
-characteristic intrepidity, dismounted, drove the enemy from the hedges
-in gallant style, killed seven men upon the spot, and captured two
-Irish musketeers, twenty horses, and a number of cattle, with the loss
-of one man who was killed by a shot from the town, and eight men, whose
-ardour led them too forward in the pursuit, and who were surrounded and
-made prisoners.
-
-[Sidenote: 1690]
-
-In February, one squadron of the regiment formed part of a
-reconnoitring party under Major-General Sir John Lanier; and
-on arriving in the vicinity of Dundalk, LEVESON'S dragoons
-dismounted,--stormed _Bedloe's Castle_,--killed ten of the
-garrison,--took the remainder prisoners,--and burnt the building.
-The same party captured about fifteen hundred head of cattle, and
-afterwards returned to Newry,--having lost one lieutenant, three
-dragoons, and four horses, killed, in this expedition.
-
-Although no general engagement had occurred, LEVESON'S dragoons, by
-their spirited conduct on all occasions, had become celebrated in
-the army; Colonel LEVESON was foremost on every occasion of danger,
-the men were proud of their commander, and the character of the corps
-was already established, when King William III. arrived in Ireland to
-command the Army in person. His Majesty landed at Carrickfergus on the
-14th of June, and proceeded from thence to Belfast, where he was met by
-the principal officers of the army. LEVESON'S troopers were, at this
-time, at Newry, with a division of the army commanded by Major-General
-Kirke; and on Sunday, the 22nd of June, a squadron of the regiment,
-under the orders of Captain Crow, and a company of Kirke's (now second)
-foot, commanded by Captain Farlow, were ordered forward to reconnoitre
-the enemy's camp at Dundalk.
-
-[Sidenote: 1690]
-
-This party was on the march at an early hour, and having advanced
-through a pass, to the grounds where the enemy had erected a fort in
-the preceding campaign, but had afterwards abandoned it, they were
-suddenly saluted by a volley from some infantry who had concealed
-themselves in the fort; at the same time five hundred of the enemy's
-horse were seen through the misty dawn advancing to charge them.
-Never were men in greater danger than that to which this little
-band was exposed; LEVESON'S troopers, being in advance, stood their
-ground boldly, but were driven back by the superior numbers of their
-antagonists. The enemy's horsemen being checked by the fire of Farlow's
-musketeers, the dragoons returned to the charge and used their broad
-swords with good effect; the pikemen joined in the charge and the Irish
-were driven back; but not knowing the numbers of their opponents, the
-dragoons and pikemen retired through the pass in good order. The loss
-on this occasion was twenty-two men killed and several wounded, and
-Captain Farlow, who commanded the foot, was taken prisoner. The enemy's
-loss was greater, and their Commanding Officer was killed by one of
-LEVESON'S troopers. Another party of the regiment was sent forward on
-the following morning, and ascertained that the enemy had left the camp
-at Dundalk, and were retreating towards Ardee.
-
-King William advanced through Dundalk to Ardee, which town he entered
-as the enemy's rear-guard abandoned the place. On the 30th of June
-he arrived at the river _Boyne_, and Captain Pownell, of LEVESON'S
-dragoons, was sent with a squadron to take post near Slane-bridge. King
-James' army was strongly posted on the opposite bank of the river, with
-his right near Drogheda and his left extending towards the village of
-Slane.
-
-On the 1st of July the river was crossed at three places, and a general
-engagement was fought. After a severe struggle the enemy retreated
-to the village of Donore, where they made such a determined stand
-that the Dutch and Danish horse, though headed by the King in person,
-gave way; when a squadron of LEVESON'S dragoons, commanded by Captain
-Brewerton, and a party of Sir Albert Cunningham's dragoons (the sixth
-Inniskilling) dismounted, and, lining the hedges, and an old house,
-'did such execution upon the pursuers as soon checked their ardour.'
-At the same time Colonel LEVESON, with the remainder of his regiment,
-galloped forward, and, with admirable bravery, interposed between the
-enemy's horse, and the village of Duleck. King William's horse having
-rallied and returned to the charge, the enemy retreated, when they were
-attacked in the rear by Colonel LEVESON with his dragoons, who made
-great slaughter. The Irish abandoned the field with precipitation; but
-their French and Swiss auxiliaries retreated in good order.
-
-King James returned to France, yet the war was continued in Ireland.
-On the 22nd of July, LEVESON'S dragoons proceeded, with other forces,
-to _Waterford_, and invested the town. The garrison surrendered on
-the 25th, and was conducted to _Youghal_ by a troop of the regiment
-under Captain Pownell. Having delivered up his charge, the captain,
-representing to the governor the ruin he would bring upon himself if
-he held out, induced him to deliver up the place; and it was taken
-possession of the same night by the dragoons, who found fourteen pieces
-of cannon, 350 barrels of oats, and some provisions, in the town.
-This troop remained in garrison at Youghal, with a company of foot;
-and the commanding officer, having heard that bands of armed Roman
-Catholic peasantry, called Rapparees, were committing ravages on the
-Protestants, marched out with thirty-six dragoons and fifty foot. The
-dragoons were in advance, and when they arrived near _Castle Martir_,
-they encountered three hundred rapparees. Notwithstanding the disparity
-of numbers, the gallant dragoons dashed forward sword in hand,--broke
-in upon the enemy,--sabred sixty upon the spot, and took seventeen
-prisoners. The foot having come up, the castle was summoned, and the
-troops in the garrison delivered it up on condition of being allowed
-to march unmolested to Cork, without horses and arms. The captain gave
-the arms to the Protestant inhabitants, and took the horses with him to
-Youghal.
-
-At this time the remainder of the regiment was engaged in the siege of
-_Limerick_, which failed, owing to the loss of the battering train.
-From Limerick the five troops marched with other corps towards _Birr_,
-to relieve the castle, which was besieged by the enemy; and, after
-performing this service, encamped beyond the town.
-
-On the 16th of September one troop of the regiment attacked an immense
-number of rapparees who were proceeding from Cork to Lismore, and
-having routed them and killed forty, took three prisoners. Two days
-afterwards, as Lieutenant Kelly of the regiment was out with a small
-party reconnoitring, he was surrounded and taken prisoner.
-
-[Sidenote: 1691]
-
-The regiment passed a part of the winter at Clonmel, and in February
-1691, it was employed on an expedition to _Streamstown_, when the
-advanced guard highly distinguished itself; and shortly afterwards
-its colonel, the gallant LEVESON, was promoted to the rank of
-brigadier-general. In May it was encamped at Mullingar.
-
-The Irish being strengthened from France, and the English from
-Scotland, both armies took the field in the beginning of June, when
-General De Ginkell, who was left in command by King William, advanced
-through Mullingar,--captured Ballymore, and besieged Athlone, which
-was gallantly stormed and taken on the 30th of June. The town having
-been put in a posture of defence, the army advanced to Ballinasloe,
-and on Sunday, the 12th of July, advanced in four columns against the
-Irish, who were strongly posted near the village of _Aghrim_; their
-right flank and centre being covered by a morass, and the remainder
-of their front by enclosures, terminating at the castle of Aghrim, on
-which their left rested. LEVESON'S troopers were formed in brigade with
-the royal Irish dragoons commanded by Brigadier-General Villiers, and
-posted on the right of the line. The action was well contested on both
-sides. At length the Blues, Langston's, and Byerley's horse, a squadron
-of Ruvigny's French Protestants, and LEVESON'S dragoons, forced the
-pass at the castle of Aghrim, and, by a gallant charge, decided the
-fate of the day. LEVESON'S gallant troopers rushed forward with their
-wonted bravery, and overthrew all opposition. In opposing this attack
-in person, the enemy's general, ST. RUTH, was killed by a cannon
-ball, and the Irish giving way, were pursued with great slaughter
-by the cavalry towards Loughrea. The regiment was thanked by the
-Commander-in-Chief for its excellent conduct. It lost in this action
-seven men killed, and five wounded.
-
-LEVESON'S dragoons were afterwards employed in the siege of _Galway_.
-On the 2nd of August they were detached, with twenty-four men from each
-regiment of Horse, under the command of Brigadier-General Leveson, to
-scour the country and drive in the enemy's parties; and they arrived
-on the 4th, in the vicinity of _Nenagh_, where five hundred of the
-enemy, under Brigadier-General Carrol (commonly called Tall Anthony)
-were in garrison in an old castle, on the domain of the Duke of Ormond.
-Part of the garrison occupied a pass half a mile in front of the
-castle; but was driven from that post by the dragoons. The garrison
-made a precipitate retreat towards Limerick, but were overtaken at
-_Cariganlis_, and routed with the loss of several men, their baggage,
-and four hundred head of cattle.
-
-The siege of _Limerick_ commenced on the 25th of August, and the
-regiment was before the town until the 31st, when it was detached
-with a party of horse under Brigadier-General LEVESON, and Major Wood
-of the eighth horse (now sixth dragoon guards) to reduce the small
-garrisons in the county of Kerry, where the whole country was found
-in arms, and Lords Merrion's and Bretta's regiments of Irish horse
-there to assist the rapparees. LEVESON and WOOD[11] were both daring
-aspirants for military fame, and had become celebrated for their zeal
-and valour, and for their abilities on detached services.--Having
-ascertained where the two Irish regiments were encamped, they marched
-all the night of the 1st of September; and about one on the following
-morning, rushed suddenly upon them with the horse and dragoons. The
-enemy, surprised and confounded, fled in every direction, pursued by
-the victorious dragoons, who sabred many men and captured a drove of
-oxen. A reinforcement of three hundred horse and dragoons and six
-pieces of cannon was afterwards sent to Brigadier-General LEVESON,
-and he reduced several garrisons between Cork and Limerick, and sent
-numbers of oxen and sheep to the army. On the 22nd of September this
-gallant officer, with only two hundred and fifty horse and dragoons,
-attacked and dispersed two regiments of Irish dragoons and a body
-of rapparees nearly three thousand strong; when he again captured
-some cattle and sheep. It appears that the principal part of the
-provisions for the army encamped before Limerick was supplied by the
-activity of LEVESON'S corps, which continued to act as an independent
-force until the surrender of that city on the 3rd of October. In King
-James's declaration from St. Germains, Brigadier-General LEVESON was
-especially exempted from the general amnesty.
-
-[Sidenote: 1692]
-
-[Sidenote: 1693]
-
-With the fall of Limerick ended the war in Ireland[12]; and the
-regiment having embarked for England, landed at Barnstaple on the 18th
-of March, 1692. Its establishment was six troops, 360 men, and its
-expense 15,999_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ per annum. During this and the following
-year it was stationed in the south and western counties of England.
-
-[Sidenote: 1694]
-
-On the 19th of January, 1694, Brigadier-General Leveson was removed
-to the third horse, now second dragoon guards; and the colonelcy of
-the QUEEN'S dragoons was conferred upon THOMAS, LORD FAIRFAX, from
-lieut.-colonel of the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards.
-
-At this period King William was engaged in a war with France, and the
-third horse and QUEEN'S dragoons having been reviewed by His Majesty
-in Hyde Park, on the 26th of March embarked for foreign service. The
-QUEEN'S dragoons landed at Williamstadt, in North Brabant, on the
-16th of April 1694, joined the army encamped at Tirlemont on the
-21st of June, and was again reviewed by His Majesty on the following
-day. Its excellent conduct in Ireland appears to have raised the
-regiment high in the King's estimation, and it was ordered to encamp
-beyond the defiles of the village of Roosebeck, to cover His Majesty's
-quarters[13].
-
-The regiment served the campaign of this year in brigade with the
-royals and royal Scots dragoons, and was employed in manœuvring and
-skirmishing in the valleys of Brabant and in the verdant plains of
-Flanders. No general engagement occurred, and in October it went into
-quarters at Ghent.
-
-[Sidenote: 1695]
-
-In February, 1695, Lord Fairfax having retired, King William conferred
-the colonelcy on Colonel _William Lloyd_: at the same time the
-establishment was augmented to eight troops of thirty-eight officers,
-seventy-two non-commissioned officers, and four hundred and eighty
-privates, the annual expense being increased to 20,652_l._ 18_s._ 4_d._
-
-Having passed the winter in barracks at Ghent and received a remount
-from England, the QUEEN'S dragoons marched, in April 1695, to Dixmude
-in West Flanders, and encamped on the plains of the Yperlee. A small
-detached corps was assembled at this place under Major-General
-Ellemberg, and in June an attack was made on the forts at Kenoque, to
-draw the French troops that way, and to facilitate the siege of Namur,
-which was undertaken immediately afterwards.
-
-The QUEEN'S dragoons, with eight battalions of infantry, returned to
-Dixmude, and the remainder of the division marched to the main army
-before Namur.
-
-While the army was besieging Namur, a French force, commanded by
-General de Montal, invested Dixmude (15th July), and carried on
-the approaches with great expedition. The governor, Major-General
-Ellemberg, called a council of war, and suggested the expediency of
-surrendering. This was opposed by Major Beaumont, who commanded the
-QUEEN'S dragoons[14], and some other officers, but it was agreed to
-by the majority, and the garrison was delivered up prisoners of war.
-Thus, the gallant dragoons, after displaying the greatest valour in
-former campaigns, were tamely consigned into the hands of the enemy,
-by a timid, or treacherous, foreign general officer. The soldiers
-were enraged at not being permitted to defend the place; many of the
-men broke their arms before they delivered them up, and one British
-regiment tore its colours to pieces.
-
-An agreement had previously been made by the contending powers,
-that all prisoners should be given up on certain conditions. These
-conditions were complied with, and the return of the regiments which
-had surrendered, was demanded; but the French court refused to give
-them up. At length the citadel of Namur capitulated, and the French
-garrison was permitted to march out without being made prisoners, but
-as they passed through the allied army, their commander, Marshal
-Boufflers, was arrested and detained until the conditions of the
-agreement were complied with. The detention of the marshal produced the
-release of the regiments; the QUEEN'S dragoons returned to the army,
-and were ordered into barracks at Ghent. At the same time a general
-court-martial assembled for the trial of the officers who had delivered
-the regiments into the power of the enemy. The governor of Dixmude,
-Major-General Ellemberg, was sentenced to be beheaded, and was executed
-at Ghent on the 20th of November. Colonels Graham, O'Farrell, Lesly,
-and Aver, were cashiered; two others were suspended, and the remainder
-acquitted. After the army left the field, the QUEEN'S dragoons were
-quartered in villages near the canal of Sluys.
-
-[Sidenote: 1696]
-
-The regiment again took the field in May 1696, and was reviewed by
-King William on the 29th of that month, when it appeared complete in
-numbers, and in excellent condition. During the summer it formed part
-of a detached corps commanded by Major-General Fagel, and encamped
-near Nieuport. The enemy made demonstrations of an attack on this part
-of the country, when entrenchments were thrown up, the sluices were
-opened, and the grounds in front of the French army were laid under
-water. A few skirmishes were, however, all that occurred; and in the
-early part of October the QUEEN'S dragoons marched into quarters on the
-frontiers of Dutch Flanders.
-
-[Sidenote: 1697]
-
-[Sidenote: 1698]
-
-After leaving its village cantonments in the early part of April 1697,
-the regiment was encamped at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac; it was afterwards
-employed in operations in Brabant, and on the 27th of May it formed
-part of a detachment of seven squadrons, commanded by Major-General
-de Bay, sent from the camp at Promelles towards Binche and
-Herlaymonte-Capelle. When on the march, the advance-guard, consisting
-of a squadron of the QUEEN'S, commanded by Colonel Lloyd, encountered
-a squadron of French carabineers, whom the dragoons overthrew and put
-to flight, killing and wounding many men, and taking an officer and
-seventeen soldiers prisoners. The regiment was subsequently employed
-in covering Brussels, until the treaty of Ryswick restored peace to
-Europe; when it left the Netherlands and returned to England. In the
-following year the establishment was reduced to six troops--286 private
-men.
-
-[Sidenote: 1702]
-
-The regiment remained in England until the summer of 1702, when, war
-having been declared against France and Spain, an expedition, commanded
-by the Duke of Ormond, was sent against _Cadiz_, and a detachment
-of the QUEEN'S dragoons, consisting of three field-officers, three
-captains, four lieutenants, five cornets, three staff-officers, five
-quarter-masters, five serjeants, fourteen corporals, eight drummers,
-and one hundred and eighty-six private men[15], was embarked for this
-service. A landing was effected on the coast of Spain, near Cadiz, on
-the 15th of August; on the following day Rota, a town on the north side
-of the bay seven miles from Cadiz, was taken, and on the 21st, Port
-St. Mary's, situate at the mouth of the river Guadalete, was captured.
-The QUEEN'S dragoons, being the only cavalry with the expedition, were
-almost constantly employed on piquet and outpost duty. On the 25th of
-August the army encamped at _Santa Victoria_, and in the early part of
-September the attack of the Matagorda was commenced. 'On the 5th of
-September a squadron of Spanish horse made bold to attack a small party
-of the QUEEN'S dragoons, who behaved themselves so gallantly, that they
-put the enemy to flight, having wounded and taken an officer and two
-men with their horses, and on our side we had a cornet and a private
-man killed, and a lieutenant taken, whom the Spaniards, against all the
-laws of nations and arms, most barbarously cut in pieces[16].'
-
-Cadiz was found better prepared for a siege than had been expected, and
-the troops were re-embarked. A successful attack was afterwards made
-on the fort of Vigo in Galicia, and a rich fleet was captured in the
-harbour, for which the QUEEN'S dragoons received 187_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._
-prize money[17].
-
-[Sidenote: 1703]
-
-On the 31st of December, 1703, Brigadier-General (afterwards LORD)
-CARPENTER, was appointed to the colonelcy of the QUEEN'S DRAGOONS, by
-purchase[18], in succession to Major-General Lloyd.
-
-[Sidenote: 1706]
-
-The regiment remained on home service until 1706, when another
-detachment of about two hundred and forty officers and men embarked on
-board the fleet of Sir Cloudesley Shovel; forming part of a force of
-10,000 men commanded by the Earl Rivers, and designed to invade the
-coast of France, on a plan suggested by the Marquis De Guiscard. The
-descent was, however, rendered impracticable by contrary winds, and the
-troops were ordered to Lisbon. In the meantime the English forces in
-Spain had retired from Madrid to Valencia and Catalonia, and the troops
-under the Earl Rivers were directed to proceed thither.
-
-[Sidenote: 1707]
-
-The QUEEN'S dragoons, and other forces, were accordingly re-embarked;
-they left Portugal in the early part of January, 1707, and, having
-landed at Alicant in Valencia on the 11th of February, commenced their
-march to join the forces under the Earl of Galway,--the united camp
-being formed at Caudete, on the 30th of March. The army soon afterwards
-destroyed several of the enemy's magazines, and besieged Villena in
-Murcia. Meanwhile the French and Spanish forces, commanded by the Duke
-of Berwick, advanced to the plains of _Almanza_, where the allies
-resolved to attack them on the 25th of April.
-
-After a march of fifteen miles through a rugged and mountainous
-country, the wearied British and Portuguese troops entered an open
-plain between Caudete and Almanza, where the enemy, superior in numbers
-and artillery, was formed in order of battle. After a short halt the
-attack was commenced, and the detachments of the QUEEN'S and Essex's
-(now the fourth) dragoons particularly distinguished themselves;
-being ordered to charge a battery of guns, so placed on the brow
-of a hill, that the artillery mules, though concealed from sight,
-remained close to the guns and could be instantly attached to them.
-The charge was made with determined gallantry, but the guns being
-quickly withdrawn, ten squadrons of select Spanish cavalry charged the
-British dragoons, amounting only to about two hundred and ninety men,
-killing Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence of the QUEEN'S, who led the attack,
-also Captain Smith and Cornet Petty of the same corps, and nearly
-annihilating the two squadrons. The greater part of the Portuguese
-cavalry fled from the field in a panic, when the British infantry
-were nearly surrounded, but the cavalry, by a desperate charge, in
-which three generals (Brigadier-General Carpenter of the QUEEN'S being
-one) and thirty-four officers fought in the front ranks, succeeded
-in breaking through the enemy. The Earl of Galway was wounded, and
-in danger of being taken prisoner; but the spirited conduct of the
-dragoons enabled him to effect his escape[19]; and he retreated
-with the remains of the English and Dutch cavalry to Alceira, where
-he received information that the greater part of the infantry, after
-retreating to the hills of Caudete, had been surrounded and compelled
-to surrender prisoners of war.
-
-After this disaster, the few troops which remained were employed in
-defensive operations for the preservation of Catalonia. The QUEEN'S
-dragoons were stationed a short time at Manresa on the river Cardener,
-to refresh their horses; and after the fall of Lerida, the army went
-into winter quarters. The Earl of Galway embarked for Lisbon, and
-Brigadier-General Carpenter remained in command of the troops in
-Catalonia.
-
-[Sidenote: 1708]
-
-The QUEEN'S dragoons had suffered so severely at the battle of Almanza,
-that the officers were sent to England in March 1708, and the regiment
-was ordered to be recruited to sixty men per troop. The recruiting
-was carried on with rapidity, and the difference in the state of the
-regiment may be seen from two different returns in one year; in the
-first its numbers are 150, and in the second 303.
-
-[Sidenote: 1709]
-
-[Sidenote: 1710]
-
-[Sidenote: 1711]
-
-[Sidenote: 1712]
-
-[Sidenote: 1713]
-
-In 1709 the regiment mustered 443 men, and it continued at the same
-number during the two following years; but in October 1712 a reduction
-of ten men per troop took place. In 1713 it was quartered in North
-Britain, and mustered 339 men.
-
-[Sidenote: 1714]
-
-After the accession of King George I. in 1714 there being no Queen
-Consort on the throne, the regiment was honoured with the distinguished
-title of THE KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.
-
-[Sidenote: 1715]
-
-In the summer of 1715 the regiment marched to Glasgow, in consequence
-of disturbances in that neighbourhood; and on the 8th of September
-it joined the camp at Stirling under Major-General Whetham, which
-was formed to oppose the Earl of Mar, who had raised the standard of
-rebellion, and proclaimed the Pretender at Aberdeen, Dundee, and Perth.
-The Duke of Argyle afterwards reviewed the troops at Stirling, as
-Commander-in-Chief in Scotland.
-
-On the 10th of November His Grace, having intelligence of the design
-of the rebels to endeavour to pass the Forth and to penetrate towards
-England, resolved to prevent them, and immediately gave orders to his
-troops to hold themselves in readiness. An order of battle was issued,
-in which this regiment and Kerr's dragoons (the seventh) formed the
-extreme left; and according to that order, the army marched from
-Stirling on the 12th, and encamped on a rising ground to the east of
-Dumblain, between the town and Sheriffmuir. On the 13th the battle of
-SHERIFFMUIR was fought, when each party had one wing defeated and one
-victorious. The KING'S OWN dragoons were in the left wing; about six
-hundred highlanders surprised the infantry of that wing, in the act of
-forming, and put it into confusion; but upon the dragoons charging and
-defeating the rebel cavalry opposed to them, capturing their standard,
-the rebel infantry pursued their advantage no further, and Captain
-Armstrong, who was sent with orders from the Duke of Argyle, being
-killed, the infantry retired in good order. Both sides claimed the
-victory; but all the advantage remained with the Duke of Argyle, who
-captured the royal standard of the rebels, called "The Restoration,"
-also six pieces of cannon, four waggons, and a number of prisoners.
-On the following day the army returned to Stirling, and awaited the
-arrival of reinforcements from England.
-
-[Sidenote: 1716]
-
-On the 9th of January, 1716, the Duke called a council of war at
-Stirling, where an order of battle was issued, in which CARPENTER'S
-dragoons were again placed on the left of the front line. Owing to the
-roads being rendered impassable by the snow, no advance was made till
-Tuesday the 29th, when the whole army advanced to Dumblain, and thence,
-on the 30th, to Tullibardine. At one in the morning of the 1st of
-February, the Duke with his cavalry entered Perth, where he was joined
-in the evening by his infantry; the next day he advanced to Errol,
-and on the 5th, with all his cavalry, moved towards Brechin; General
-Cadogan leading the infantry to Aberbrothock. On the 8th Aberdeen was
-occupied, and it being ascertained that the Pretender had retired to
-France, and that the rebel force had totally dispersed, the army went
-into winter quarters, and the KING'S OWN dragoons were stationed at
-Elgin.
-
-[Sidenote: 1717]
-
-[Sidenote: 1718]
-
-[Sidenote: 1719]
-
-[Sidenote: 1720]
-
-[Sidenote: 1721]
-
-[Sidenote: 1722]
-
-From this time the KING'S OWN do not appear to have been engaged in
-any service of importance for a period of more than twenty years.
-They were usually stationed in the southern and western counties of
-England; but occasionally occupied quarters, for short periods, in
-Scotland. In 1718 the establishment was reduced ten men per troop; in
-the following year the numbers were only 186; an addition of 21 men was
-made in 1720, and during that and the two succeeding years the regiment
-mustered 207 men.
-
-[Sidenote: 1723]
-
-[Sidenote: 1724]
-
-[Sidenote: 1725]
-
-[Sidenote: 1726]
-
-[Sidenote: 1727]
-
-[Sidenote: 1729]
-
-In 1723 the establishment was augmented to 333 men, at which number
-it remained, with an alteration only of six men, until 1727, when the
-regiment was ordered to hold itself in readiness to embark for Holland,
-as part of the complement of 10,000 men which England had engaged to
-furnish the States; at the same time its establishment was augmented to
-552 men. No embarkation, however, took place; and in 1729, the numbers
-of the regiment were reduced to 309.
-
-[Sidenote: 1732]
-
-After the decease of General Lord Carpenter in 1732, King George II.
-conferred the colonelcy on Major-General PHILIP HONEYWOOD, from the
-eleventh dragoons.
-
-[Sidenote: 1738]
-
-[Sidenote: 1739]
-
-An augmentation was made to the establishment in 1738; in 1739,
-the breaking out of a war with Spain occasioned general orders for
-recruiting to be issued:--the establishment of the KING'S OWN dragoons
-was raised to 435 men, and in the summer they were encamped on Hounslow
-Heath, where they were several times reviewed by the Duke of Cumberland.
-
-[Sidenote: 1740]
-
-[Sidenote: 1741]
-
-During the summer of 1740, the KING'S OWN were encamped in Windsor
-Forest; and in 1741, they were ordered, with several other regiments
-and a train of artillery, amounting nearly to 10,000 men, to prepare
-for embarkation for foreign service. This force encamped in July, on
-ground cleared for the purpose, on Lexdon heath, near Colchester: no
-embarkation, however, took place, and after a few weeks, the troops
-went into quarters in the various towns in the neighbourhood.
-
-[Sidenote: 1742]
-
-In the meantime war was raging on the continent; the King of France
-and the Elector of Bavaria had united to deprive the Archduchess Maria
-Theresa of her hereditary dominions; and in 1742, His Britannic Majesty
-sent sixteen thousand British troops to Flanders to make a diversion in
-favour of the Austrians. The KING'S OWN Regiment of dragoons was one
-of the corps selected for this service, and having been reviewed on
-Blackheath by King George II., accompanied by the Duke of Cumberland,
-it embarked shortly afterwards at Woolwich and Deptford; their colonel,
-Lieutenant-General Honeywood, taking the command of the expedition
-until the arrival of Field Marshal the Earl of Stair.
-
-After landing at Ostend the KING'S OWN dragoons advanced a few leagues
-up the country, but all active operations were prevented by the
-tardiness of the Dutch.
-
-[Sidenote: 1743]
-
-Early in 1743, the British troops moved from their cantonments towards
-the Rhine; the KING'S OWN, and four companies of the foot guards,
-forming the advance-guard of the army, were at St. Trond, in the
-province of Limburg, on the 9th of February, and on the 11th resumed
-their march for Germany. In May, the regiment, with the Inniskilling
-dragoons, and four battalions of the foot guards, formed a detached
-camp a little below the town of Hochst, in the duchy of Nassau on the
-Maine, and was afterwards encamped at Aschaffenburg in Franconia,
-a town situate on a hill on the side of Maine. In the meantime
-Lieut.-General Honeywood had been removed to the first dragoon guards,
-and the colonelcy of the KING'S OWN conferred on Brigadier-General
-HUMPHREY BLAND, from the thirteenth dragoons.
-
-His Majesty King George II. having left England towards the end of May,
-landed at Helvoetsluys on the 2nd of June, and joined the army on the
-9th; when he found his forces under considerable embarrassment, from
-the French commander having succeeded in gaining possession of several
-important posts on the Maine, by which means he cut off the supplies of
-provisions and forage.
-
-Under these circumstances His Majesty resolved to march to Hanau, where
-a reinforcement of 12,000 Hessians and Hanoverians had arrived; and at
-daybreak on the 16th of June, the troops commenced the march along the
-banks of the Maine: but scarcely had they proceeded three leagues when
-it was ascertained that the enemy had crossed the river, and was drawn
-up near DETTINGEN to dispute the march of the army.
-
-The allies were immediately formed for action, with their left on the
-river, and their right extending to a wood, in which the baggage was
-placed. Shortly afterwards the action commenced, when Lieut.-General
-Clayton, who commanded the left wing of infantry, requested some
-squadrons to cover his flank, and the KING'S OWN dragoons were ordered
-to this important post, where they suffered severely, being exposed
-three hours to the fire of the French batteries, as well from their
-front, as from the other side of the river, which commanded their flank
-and rear. At length the regiment was led forward, and encountering nine
-squadrons of household cavalry, the élite of the French army, charged
-these celebrated horsemen with a degree of gallantry truly astonishing.
-British valour was most conspicuously displayed; though over-matched
-with numbers, and nearly surrounded by enemies, the KING'S OWN dragoons
-were seen nobly contending for victory, and mingled in close fight
-with their antagonists, the swift motion of their glittering sabres
-showed with what vehemence the gallant troopers fought for the honour
-of their King and country. They cut through their renowned opponents
-three times; distinguishing themselves in the most signal manner under
-the eye of their Sovereign, and contributing materially to the victory
-gained on that occasion. Their loss was however great. Of the three
-cornets who bore the standards, two were wounded, and the third, Mr.
-Child, the brother of Lord Castlemaine, had two horses killed under
-him. The standards were totally destroyed by shot and sabre-cuts,
-and one of them was only preserved from capture by the heroism of a
-private in the regiment, named THOMAS BROWN, a native of Kirkleatham,
-in Yorkshire. This gallant soldier, on the cornet's receiving a wound
-in the wrist, and dropping the standard, attempted to dismount in order
-to recover it, but in so doing lost two fingers of his bridle-hand by
-a sabre cut, and his horse ran away with him to the rear of the French
-lines. Whilst endeavouring to regain his regiment he perceived the
-standard, which the French had succeeded in capturing by overwhelming
-numbers, in the custody of a _gendarme_, who was conveying it to the
-rear. This man he attacked and killed, caught the standard as it fell,
-and fixing it between his leg and the saddle, succeeded in cutting his
-way back through the ranks of the enemy: but received, in so doing,
-seven wounds in his head, face, and body, and three balls passed
-through his hat.[20] A letter, in the Gazette of July 16th, states,
-'that in this action Ligonier's horse, (the seventh dragoon guards,)
-and the THIRD dragoons suffered most, and gained great reputation.' The
-loss of the THIRD was Lieutenant Baily, one serjeant, two drummers,
-thirty-eight private men, and one hundred and forty-one horses,
-killed; Major Honeywood[21], Captain Brown, Lieutenant Robinson,
-Cornets Dawson, Monteith and O'Carrol, with three quarter-masters, six
-serjeants, five drummers, eighty-six private men, and fifty horses
-wounded[22]. The victory was most decisive; the French were completely
-defeated in their attempt, and were compelled to recross the Maine with
-precipitation, with the loss of many standards, colours, and four pair
-of kettle-drums.
-
-The KING'S OWN dragoons passed the night near the field of battle,
-surrounded by their ensanguined trophies, and, having marched to Hanau
-on the following day, were encamped, for some time, on the banks of the
-little river Kinzig, from whence they advanced with the army, in the
-early part of August, for the Rhine; and, having crossed that river
-above Mentz, were employed in operations in West Germany, where the
-army was joined by the Dutch auxiliaries. The enemy's entrenchments
-at Germersheim, in the Bavarian circle of the Rhine, were afterwards
-destroyed, but no general engagement occurred; and in the middle
-of October the army repassed the Rhine, and marched back to the
-Netherlands in eight divisions[23]. The royals, greys, and KING'S
-OWN dragoons, with the Scots highlanders, forming the first division,
-proceeded through the duchy of Nassau, the provinces of Limburg,
-Liege, and South Brabant, to Brussels, where they arrived on the 16th
-of November, and on the following day continued their march for West
-Flanders, to pass the winter in quarters at Ghent.
-
-[Sidenote: 1744]
-
-Notwithstanding its severe loss the regiment remained in Belgium, and
-being joined by a number of recruits, in the spring of 1744, it took
-the field, and in June it formed part of the army encamped on the banks
-of the Scheldt, near Oudenarde, in East Flanders. During the summer it
-was employed in operations in the province of Hainault, and in levying
-contributions in the French territory towards Lisle. In October it
-marched into quarters at Ghent: and by the Muster Rolls for this year
-we find its numbers were 538.
-
-[Sidenote: 1745]
-
-After leaving their winter quarters about the middle of April, 1745,
-the KING'S OWN were encamped a short time near Brussels, where they
-were reviewed by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. They were
-afterwards assembled with the army at Soignies. The French having
-assembled a numerous army and besieged Tournay, the Duke of Cumberland
-resolved to attempt the relief of that fortress; the army, accordingly,
-advanced, and on the 28th of April took post at Leuse. On the following
-day a squadron of the KING'S OWN was employed, with other troops, in
-driving back the enemy's advanced-posts, and on the 30th the battle of
-_Fontenoy_ took place; when the gallant efforts and brilliant success
-of the British were rendered unavailing by the failure of the Dutch.
-After an action of several hours the KING'S OWN dragoons were ordered
-forward, and they charged the enemy with their accustomed gallantry;
-but under such disadvantageous circumstances that their manly efforts
-only retarded the fate of the day. The Duke of Cumberland ordered
-a retreat, and the army marched to the vicinity of Aeth. The enemy
-had great advantage in numbers, in artillery, and in the favourable
-ground they occupied; the loss was nearly equal on both sides, and
-the Allies lost no honour, though compelled to retire. The KING'S OWN
-had nine private men, and twenty-eight horses, killed; Captain Wade,
-Quarter-Master Corbidge, fourteen private men, and thirty-four horses
-wounded;--and Cornet Bland, two non-commissioned-officers, fifteen men,
-and twenty-three horses missing.
-
-The regiment was afterwards encamped on the banks of the Dender, near
-Lessines; from whence it proceeded with the army on the 30th of June,
-to Grammont in West Flanders, and was subsequently encamped before
-Brussels.
-
-In the mean time Charles-Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, had
-arrived in Scotland, and, being joined by several of the highland
-clans, he asserted his father's pretensions to the throne. There being
-few troops in Scotland at this time, the rebellion soon made alarming
-progress; when orders were given for the return of several regiments
-from the continent, and the KING'S OWN were among the first troops
-ordered home.
-
-Having embarked at Williamstadt, the regiment, after a boisterous
-passage, arrived in the River Thames on the 25th of October, and
-immediately landed and proceeded towards the north. On the 10th of
-November it joined the army of Lieutenant-General Sir John Ligonier,
-then assembling near Lichfield. On the advance of the rebels towards
-Derby, the regiment formed part of the army commanded by his Royal
-Highness the Duke of Cumberland; and when the highlanders retreated
-towards Scotland, it was sent in pursuit. It left Lichfield on this
-service on the 9th of November; on the 11th, it was at Macclesfield;
-on the 13th at Wigan, and on the evening of the 19th--after ten hours'
-march--it arrived on _Clifton Moor_, three miles from Penrith; at
-the same time the rear-guard of the rebel army, consisting of two
-battalions of highlanders and some hussars, occupied the village, and
-lined the hedges on both sides of the road.
-
-The sun had set; the shades of evening were gathering over the little
-village of Clifton, and distant objects were scarcely discernible,
-when the KING'S OWN, and a few detachments from other corps, forming
-the advance-guard of the royal army, having dismounted, proceeded
-in compact order to attack the rebels. As the troops approached the
-enclosures, the highlanders opened a sharp fire, which re-echoed
-along the vale, and was soon answered by volleys of musketry from the
-dragoons. After several rounds, the KING'S OWN were ordered to retire a
-few paces; when the highlanders, mistaking this for a flight, raised a
-loud shout and rushed forward with sword and pistol; but they were well
-received by the dragoons with their broad-swords, and a fierce combat
-ensued, hand to hand, both sides displaying great bravery. Some of the
-highlanders broke their swords on the steel caps of the dragoons, when
-they drew their daggers, and continued the fight with great obstinacy.
-Eventually, however, the dragoons proved victorious, and the rebels
-made a precipitate retreat to Penrith. The loss of the King's forces on
-this occasion was twelve men killed and twenty-five wounded, amongst
-whom were four officers of the KING'S OWN, viz., Lieutenant-Colonel
-Honeywood[24], Captain East, and Cornets Owen and Hamilton. The rebels
-had about twenty killed, and Captain Hamilton of the hussars with about
-seventy men taken prisoners[25].
-
-The KING'S OWN afterwards marched in pursuit of the rebels to Carlisle,
-and were stationed near the town during the siege, which was terminated
-by the surrender of the place on the 30th of December.
-
-[Sidenote: 1746]
-
-[Sidenote: 1747]
-
-[Sidenote: 1748]
-
-The regiment continued to advance into Scotland, and is mentioned in
-the list of the Duke of Cumberland's army in the spring of 1746. On the
-14th of February it was detached to Dundee, and after the suppression
-of the rebellion, returned to England, where it was employed in
-guarding the rebel prisoners at York. The establishment continued the
-same in this year, as it did in the following, but after the peace of
-Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, the numbers were reduced to 285, the regiment
-being then quartered at Bury St. Edmunds.
-
-[Sidenote: 1751]
-
-A regulation was issued on the 1st July, 1751, relative to the clothing
-and standards of the several regiments; from which the following
-particulars have been extracted relative to the KING'S OWN dragoons.
-
-COATS--scarlet; double breasted; without lapels; lined with light
-blue; slit sleeves turned up with light blue; the button-holes worked
-with narrow yellow lace; the buttons of yellow metal, set on three
-and three; a long slash pocket in each skirt, and a yellow worsted
-aiguillette on the right shoulder.
-
-WAISTCOATS and BREECHES--light blue.
-
-HATS--bound with gold lace, and ornamented with a yellow metal loop,
-and a black cockade.
-
-BOOTS--of jacked leather.
-
-CLOAKS--of scarlet cloth, with a light blue collar, and lined with
-light blue shalloon; the buttons set on three and three upon yellow
-frogs or loops, with a light blue stripe down the centre.
-
-HORSE FURNITURE--of light blue cloth; the holster-caps and housings
-having a border of royal lace, with a red stripe down the centre; the
-white horse within the garter, embroidered on each corner of the
-housing; and on the holster-caps, the King's cipher and crown, with
-III.D underneath.
-
-OFFICERS--distinguished by gold lace; their coats and waistcoats bound
-with gold embroidery; the button-holes worked with gold; and a crimson
-silk sash worn across the left shoulder.
-
-QUARTER-MASTERS--to wear a crimson sash round the waist.
-
-SERJEANTS--to have narrow gold lace on the cuffs, pockets and
-shoulder-straps; gold shoulder-knots or aiguillettes, and yellow and
-light blue worsted sashes tied round the waist.
-
-DRUMMERS and HAUTBOYS--clothed in scarlet coats lined with light blue,
-and ornamented with royal lace with a blue stripe down the centre;
-their waistcoats and breeches of blue cloth.
-
-GUIDONS--The first or King's guidon to be of crimson silk, embroidered
-and fringed with gold and silver; in the centre the rose and thistle
-conjoined, and crown over them, with the motto _Dieu et mon Droit_
-underneath: the white horse in a compartment in the first and fourth
-corners, and III.D in gold characters on a light blue ground in a
-compartment in the second and third corners. The second and third
-guidons to be of light blue silk, in the centre the white horse within
-the garter on a crimson ground, and motto _Nec aspera terrent_: the
-white horse on a scarlet ground in the first and fourth compartments,
-and III.D within a wreath of roses and thistles upon a scarlet ground
-in the second and third compartments.
-
-[Sidenote: 1752]
-
-In 1752 Lieut.-General Bland was removed to the King's dragoon guards,
-and His Majesty conferred the colonelcy of HIS OWN DRAGOONS on James
-Lord Tyrawley from the fourteenth dragoons.
-
-[Sidenote: 1753]
-
-[Sidenote: 1754]
-
-In 1753 the KING'S OWN lay at Colchester, and in 1754 at Croydon. In
-December of this year it was broken up into half troops, and employed
-on coast duty: being scattered along the sea coast, from Shoreham to
-the Isle of Wight.
-
-[Sidenote: 1755]
-
-In April, 1755, Lord Tyrawley was removed to the second foot guards,
-and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of HIS OWN DRAGOONS on
-GEORGE, EARL OF ALBEMARLE, from the twentieth foot.
-
-[Sidenote: 1756]
-
-In June, of the same year, the whole regiment assembled at Lewes, where
-it remained till July, 1756. At this time the KING'S OWN, in common
-with the other regiments of dragoons, received the addition, novel to
-the British service, of a _light troop_. In July it marched to Reading,
-and in December of the same year, to Northampton.
-
-[Sidenote: 1757]
-
-[Sidenote: 1758]
-
-The regiment marched to Henley, Amersham, and High Wycombe in June,
-1757; and war having been declared against France in May, 1758, the
-light troop, then commanded by Captain St. Leger, was ordered into camp
-on South Sea Common, for the purpose of forming, with the light troops
-of eight other regiments, part of the force intended for a descent on
-the coast of France, the whole forming a brigade, under Colonel Eliott,
-afterwards Lord Heathfield. The troops embarked May 19th, sailed June
-the 1st, and arrived on the French coast so as to land in Cancalle Bay
-on the 5th. On the 7th the army moved on St. Maloes, the light troops
-forming the advance guard, and encamping about a mile from the town.
-
-As soon as night fell, the piquets and light dragoons were detached
-against the harbour and the suburbs of St. Servan, being ordered,
-if possible, to destroy the stores. This object they effected with
-equal judgment and determination, setting fire to the storehouses and
-vessels in the harbour, together with the magazines of tar, pitch,
-rope, &c., so completely performing their work, as totally to ruin the
-whole of the marine stores, and to destroy one man-of-war of 50 guns,
-one of 36, and all the privateers, some of 30 guns each; the vessels
-destroyed amounting to upwards of 100 sail, and the fire continuing
-to rage all night. The light dragoons afterwards advanced to the town
-of Dol, where, in several slight affairs, they showed great zeal and
-activity. On the 11th, they re-embarked, and the fleet sailed on the
-16th, remaining, however, some time longer on the coast of France, and
-watching another opportunity to land. This being rendered impracticable
-by the weather, the fleet returned, and arrived at Spithead on the
-first of July. The light troops remained at Portsmouth for some time,
-and many experiments were made with boats of different constructions,
-in order to ascertain the practicability of landing men and horses in
-rough weather.
-
-[Sidenote: 1759]
-
-In August the brigade of light dragoons proceeded on a second
-expedition, and a landing having been effected in the Bay des Marées,
-_Cherbourg_ was taken, and the fortifications, and vessels in the
-harbour were destroyed. A descent was afterwards effected in the Bay
-of St. Lunar, and an incursion made into the adjacent country; but on
-re-embarking, the rear guard was attacked, and it sustained some loss.
-In December, the light troops landed and went into quarters, the light
-troop of the KING'S OWN being quartered at Maidenhead. So completely
-had these troops answered the expectations entertained of them, that,
-in the next year, the first English regiment of light dragoons (the
-present fifteenth hussars) was raised under Brigadier-General Eliott;
-and in June, 1759, each light troop received an augmentation of one
-lieutenant, one serjeant, and twenty-nine privates. On the 7th of
-November, the KING'S OWN marched to Hounslow and Brentford, relieving
-the royals, who proceeded to Essex.
-
-[Sidenote: 1760]
-
-[Sidenote: 1761]
-
-[Sidenote: 1762]
-
-On the 21st of June, 1760[26], the regiment received orders to prepare
-for embarkation for Germany, to join the army of Prince Ferdinand.
-These orders were, however, countermanded, and in 1761 and 1762 the
-regiment was successively quartered at Romford, Colchester, Uxbridge,
-and Chelmsford.
-
-[Sidenote: 1763]
-
-Peace having been restored by the treaty of Fontainbleau; in April,
-1763, the light troop was disbanded at Putney; but a few men of each
-troop were afterwards equipped as light dragoons.
-
-[Sidenote: 1764]
-
-In June the KING'S OWN lay at York, and remained there till the spring
-of 1764, when they marched to Scotland, and occupied Dalkeith, Leith,
-Haddington, Musselburgh, and Linlithgow; and orders were received for
-remounting with _long-tailed_ horses.[27]
-
-[Sidenote: 1765]
-
-[Sidenote: 1766]
-
-In 1765, the regiment lay at Coventry and Warwick, and in the next
-year passed the summer at Reading, where it was reviewed on the 10th
-of May, afterwards taking up winter quarters at Dorchester, Blandford,
-and Sherbourne. At the same time the drummers on the establishment were
-ordered to be replaced by trumpeters.
-
-[Sidenote: 1767]
-
-[Sidenote: 1768]
-
-The KING'S OWN were employed on coast duty in 1767 and 1768; in the
-first year in Kent and Sussex, head quarters at Lewes; and the second
-in Suffolk and Essex, head quarters at Ipswich.
-
-[Sidenote: 1769]
-
-[Sidenote: 1770]
-
-Five troops lay at York and one at Hull in 1769, and in the next year
-the regiment marched to Scotland, head quarters, with three troops,
-being stationed at Hamilton, and detachments at Linlithgow, Irvine, and
-Kilmarnock.
-
-[Sidenote: 1771]
-
-[Sidenote: 1772]
-
-In the year 1771, the KING'S OWN lay at Preston, Blackburn, Wigan,
-and Warrington; and in 1772 at Worcester, Pershore, and Bromsgrove.
-In October of this year the colonelcy was conferred on the Honourable
-Charles Fitzroy (afterwards Lord Southampton)[28], from the fourteenth
-dragoons, in succession to the Earl of Albemarle, deceased.
-
-[Sidenote: 1773]
-
-[Sidenote: 1774]
-
-[Sidenote: 1775]
-
-[Sidenote: 1776]
-
-In June, 1773, we find the regiment employed in aid of the revenue
-service on the coast of Kent, with its head-quarters at Canterbury. The
-year 1774 was spent at Northampton, and in April, 1775, the regiment
-was again marched to Scotland, being at East Retford in August, and in
-the autumn taking up quarters at Haddington, Dalkeith, and Musselburgh.
-In December of the same year, one troop was detached as far as
-Wakefield, and in the spring of 1776, the whole regiment followed to
-the south, and was quartered at Coventry, Lichfield, and Birmingham.
-
-[Sidenote: 1777]
-
-[Sidenote: 1778]
-
-In 1777, the KING'S OWN were reviewed at Newbury, and thence took up
-winter quarters at Blandford, Dorchester and Sherbourne. Early in
-1778 they were ordered to Salisbury, there to be reviewed, and thence
-proceeded to Suffolk, and were encamped on Culford Heath, under the
-command of Lieutenant-General Warde, finally going into winter quarters
-in Sussex, and being employed there on coast duty during the remainder
-of the year. The regiment had, for many years, been in possession
-of a pair of KETTLE DRUMS, in consequence of having taken them from
-the enemy, and on the 25th of December, 1778, an additional man and
-horse was placed upon the establishment, which gave the regiment its
-complement of Trumpeters besides the kettle drummer; being granted by
-His Majesty in compliance with a memorial from the Colonel[29].
-
-[Sidenote: 1779]
-
-In the spring of 1779, the men of the regiment equipped as light
-dragoons, were incorporated, with detachments from other corps, into a
-regiment, which was numbered the twenty-first light dragoons.
-
-[Sidenote: 1780]
-
-In consequence of the alarming riots in London in 1780, the regiment
-was ordered thither, and was quartered about Islington, furnishing the
-piquets in Portman Square during the trial of Lord George Gordon, and
-having a party stationed in Apsley House, then the property of Lord
-Chancellor Bathurst.
-
-[Sidenote: 1781]
-
-[Sidenote: 1782]
-
-[Sidenote: 1783]
-
-In 1781, having been reviewed by His Majesty in Hyde Park, the
-KING'S OWN marched into Suffolk; and in 1782, were quartered at
-Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham, thence proceeding to Manchester
-in the autumn. In 1783, after the spring review they marched to
-Newcastle-on-Tyne and Durham, assembled at the latter place for
-inspection in September, and then returned to their old quarters for
-the winter.
-
-[Sidenote: 1784]
-
-[Sidenote: 1785]
-
-[Sidenote: 1786]
-
-The KING'S OWN, for the third time in fourteen years, entered Scotland
-in 1784, and took up their old quarters at Dalkeith, Leith, and
-Haddington. Here they were inspected by Major-General Mackay, and soon
-after detached a troop to Dumfries. In July, 1785, the six troops
-were at Manchester, and thence, in 1786, proceeded to Worcester, then
-a general place of inspection for cavalry. At this station they were
-inspected by Major-General Philipson, and, after a stay of about six
-weeks, went into winter quarters at Hereford, Ludlow, and Leominster.
-
-[Sidenote: 1787]
-
-[Sidenote: 1788]
-
-In May, 1787, the regiment assembled at Hereford to be reviewed by
-Major-General Douglas. It was ordered, on the rumour of a Russian
-armament, to hold itself in readiness to join any force that might be
-assembled; but, nothing taking place, it went into winter quarters at
-Dorchester, Blandford, and Poole. In 1788, it moved to Salisbury, was
-there reviewed, and then quartered at Winchester.
-
-[Sidenote: 1789]
-
-[Sidenote: 1790]
-
-Early in 1789, the regiment marched to Reading. It was there reviewed
-by His Majesty, George III., on Ashford Common, and marched to
-Ipswich, where it remained until 1790, and, being then reviewed at
-Stamford, took up winter quarters at York and Lincoln.
-
-[Sidenote: 1791]
-
-[Sidenote: 1792]
-
-At York all the troops assembled for inspection in the spring of
-1791, and, for the fourth time marched to Scotland and were for two
-years quartered at Dumfries, being in that period twice inspected by
-Major-General Leslie.
-
-[Sidenote: 1793]
-
-[Sidenote: 1794]
-
-In the spring of 1793, the KING'S OWN received an order to augment
-three troops, and, after a short halt at Manchester, proceeded
-to Birmingham. From this place, four troops, under the command
-of Lieutenant-Colonel Waller, were detached back to Scotland, in
-consequence of serious riots in that part of the kingdom. In 1794 the
-regiment was ordered to furnish one hundred men, towards forming a
-regiment of cavalry for service in the West Indies; the newly-formed
-regiment was numbered the twenty-sixth light dragoons, and afterwards,
-on a reduction of regiments taking place, the twenty-third. In the same
-year a squadron from the troops in England, and one troop from those in
-Scotland, were ordered to embark to join the troops on the continent.
-The troop in Scotland marched a day or two, and was then recalled in
-consequence of the disturbed state of the country; and the squadron
-embarked at Blackwall, and was actually at sea, when it was recalled by
-a king's cutter, landed, and sent to Watford.
-
-[Sidenote: 1795]
-
-[Sidenote: 1796]
-
-In 1795, the troops returned from Scotland, having had most harassing
-duty for two winters; and in the spring of 1796, the whole regiment
-assembled at Salisbury under Lord Cathcart, thence proceeding to the
-camp at Weymouth, and finally taking up winter quarters in Exeter.
-
-[Sidenote: 1797]
-
-The colonelcy of the KING'S OWN DRAGOONS was conferred in March 1797 on
-Major-General Francis Lascelles from the eighth dragoons, in succession
-to Lord Southampton, deceased.
-
-During the summer, the KING'S OWN were again encamped at Weymouth; and
-on the breaking up of the camp, marched to Northampton, where the ninth
-troop was reduced.
-
-[Sidenote: 1798]
-
-In May, 1798, the regiment marched to Nottingham, where an entire
-change took place in the arms and clothing; the long skirt was
-abolished, and instead of the musket and brace of large pistols before
-used, the men received the carbine and single pistol.
-
-[Sidenote: 1799]
-
-On the 10th of June, 1799, the regiment marched to form part of
-the cavalry camp on Swinley Downs, near Windsor, at which place it
-received orders to join the armament under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph
-Abercromby, then about to proceed to the Helder. These orders, however,
-were countermanded; and, at the breaking up of the camp, the regiment
-marched to Reading. During the time of encampment, Lt.-Colonel
-Callow[30] being appointed deputy governor of Quebec, was succeeded by
-Lt.-Colonel Waller, and on the 4th of September, General Sir Charles
-Grey from the eighth dragoons succeeded General Lascelles as colonel.
-At this period the tails of the horses were again shortened, having
-been worn of the natural length since 1764.
-
-[Sidenote: 1800]
-
-[Sidenote: 1801]
-
-In February, 1800, the KING'S OWN marched to Trowbridge, but only
-remained there a few weeks, and then proceeded to Chester to be
-reviewed. At this place an augmentation of two troops took place,
-making a total of ten; and on the 22nd of September, the whole
-regiment marched to Lancashire, thence to Carlisle, and, in December,
-to Scotland, the head-quarters being established at Hamilton; three
-troops, under the command of Major Wade, being detached to Carlisle
-and Penrith. At Hamilton, the regiment was reviewed by Major-Generals
-Erskine and Vyse, and the present system of casting horses annually
-first introduced; and as it was considered the peculiar privilege of
-the regiment to have _black horses_ exclusively, those that had the
-slightest shade of brown, were sent to the fourth dragoon guards, none
-but black horses being retained, with the exception of one white for
-the kettle-drums.
-
-[Sidenote: 1802]
-
-[Sidenote: 1803]
-
-[Sidenote: 1804]
-
-After the peace of Amiens in 1802, two troops were reduced; the number
-of men in the others being also reduced from 100 to 64; and, on the
-11th of August, the KING'S OWN embarked at Port-Patrick for Ireland,
-proceeded to Dundalk, and in the spring of 1803 marched to Belturbet.
-Here they were reviewed by Major-General Sir James Afleck, and were
-actively employed in patrolling the country during the excitement
-caused by the disturbances in Dublin, to which place they proceeded in
-March, 1804, and were quartered in the royal barracks.[31]
-
-[Sidenote: 1805]
-
-[Sidenote: 1806]
-
-On the 5th of April, 1805, the first division, immediately followed by
-the others, embarked for Liverpool, and marched to Nottingham, where
-the regiment remained for two years; the second year's halt being
-at the express request of the magistrates of Nottingham and Louth.
-The war having been resumed, two additional troops were added to the
-establishment.
-
-[Sidenote: 1807]
-
-The regiment marched to Chichester in May 1807, and being there
-reviewed by Major-General Hugonin, proceeded to Brighton, and was
-encamped on the hills above the present barracks, for the purpose of
-being reviewed, in conjunction with the first dragoon guards, by His
-Royal Highness the Duke of York. On the breaking up of the camp, the
-THIRD marched to Chichester, but were shortly ordered to Canterbury,
-where a brigade was formed, consisting of the second dragoon guards,
-and third and fourth dragoons.
-
-[Sidenote: 1809]
-
-In January, 1809, the regiment received orders to embark at Portsmouth,
-for the purpose of joining the army in Spain, under Lieut.-General Sir
-John Moore, and had advanced some days' march, when it was recalled, on
-the arrival of the news of the retreat of the British troops to Corunna.
-
-On the 20th of July, the regiment received orders to march to
-Ramsgate, and was immediately embarked for Holland under the command
-of Lieut.-Colonel Mundy, forming part of an expedition designed to
-effect the destruction of the French shipping and arsenal on the
-Scheldt. After remaining in the Downs for six days, the fleet sailed,
-and arrived off Walcheren on the 29th, remaining there upwards of a
-fortnight; and after the capture of Flushing, proceeded up the Scheldt
-as far as Fort-Batz. The enemy's shipping had, in the meantime, been
-removed higher up the river, and an immense force assembled to oppose
-the British armament; at the same time an epidemic disease broke out
-among the English soldiers. The fleet consequently retired down the
-river, and sailed for England; the KING'S OWN disembarked at Ramsgate
-in September following, and proceeded to occupy Canterbury, as before
-the expedition.
-
-[Sidenote: 1810]
-
-In April, 1810, in consequence of the riots in London, occasioned by
-the House of Commons having ordered Sir Francis Burdett to be lodged
-in custody in the Tower, the regiment was hastily ordered thither,
-marching all night, and arriving in Southwark at 7 A. M. The men were
-billeted on the south side of the Thames; an hotel near Westminster
-Bridge being the head quarters, and the Obelisk the alarm post. After
-the suppression of the riots, the regiment was ordered to Guildford,
-where it was reviewed by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, who
-was pleased to express his entire approbation of its appearance and
-discipline. On the release of Sir Francis Burdett from the Tower, the
-regiment was again sent to London, but remained there a few nights
-only, and then returned to Guildford.
-
-[Sidenote: 1811]
-
-Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, having conquered Portugal,
-had placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, supported by a
-French army. The efforts of the Spaniards and Portuguese to regain
-their liberty, which commenced in 1808, were continued to be aided by
-the British government, and a force, amounting at this time to nearly
-sixty thousand men, had been assembled in Portugal under the command of
-Lieutenant-General the Viscount Wellington.
-
-In June, 1811, the KING'S OWN DRAGOONS, having been reviewed on
-Wimbledon Common by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, were, on
-their return to Guildford, completed to the field establishment by a
-draft of a hundred horses[32] from the second dragoon guards, and
-ordered forthwith to proceed to the Peninsula. On the 25th and 27th
-of July the regiment embarked at Portsmouth, landed in the following
-month at Lisbon, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Mundy, and having
-met with favourable weather during the voyage, the Lieutenant-Colonel
-commanding was enabled to cause particular attention to be paid to the
-horses in regard to cleanliness, exercise, &c. The mode adopted for
-this purpose was as follows: three or four horses were backed into the
-hold, where they were walked round for a quarter of an hour; their feet
-washed, and hand-rubbed; and they were shod, if necessary; by these
-means their state of health and efficiency, on their disembarkation at
-Lisbon, were such, that upon landing they were capable of undertaking
-immediate service.
-
-The regiment was reviewed at Belem by Major-General Le Marchant, and
-mustered as follows:--1 Lieutenant-Colonel, 1 Major, 6 Captains,
-9 Lieutenants, 1 Cornet, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant Surgeon, 5 Troop
-Quarter-Masters, 1 Regimental Serjeant-Major, 1 Paymaster Serjeant,
-1 Troop Serjeant-Major, 24 Serjeants, 24 Corporals, 6 Trumpeters, 6
-Farriers, 480 Privates, and 518 Troop Horses.
-
-The KING'S OWN left Belem on the 19th of September, under the command
-of Major Clowes, (the Lieutenant Colonel having been compelled by
-sickness to remain at Lisbon,) and marching through Villa Franca and
-Santarem, arrived at Abrantes in Portuguese Estremadura on the 27th.
-Here they remained until the 15th October, and then advanced through
-Niza and Villa Velha to Castello Branco in the province of Beira, where
-they were reviewed on the 7th of December, by Lieutenant-General Sir
-Stapleton Cotton, who expressed his satisfaction at the very effective
-state of the men and horses.
-
-[Sidenote: 1812]
-
-In consequence of the extreme difficulty of procuring forage, the
-centre squadron moved, on the 21st of December, to Idanha a Nova on the
-frontiers of Spain, and in these quarters the regiment remained till
-the beginning of 1812, when it was ordered to the front to form part
-of the army covering the siege of _Ciudad Rodrigo_, being quartered at
-Aldea de Ponte and Fundao, and experiencing great inconvenience from
-the scarcity of forage.
-
-In February, Lord Wellington having resolved on the siege of Badajoz,
-the capital of Spanish Estremadura, the KING'S OWN marched south with
-their brigade (the fifth dragoon guards, and fourth dragoons,) and
-arrived at Borba in the Alemtejo on the 5th of March. On the 16th, a
-pontoon bridge was thrown over the Guadiana, and Badajoz was invested;
-the day previous to which the brigade moved from Borba, and crossing
-the bridge, formed the advance guard of the covering army, which
-continued to advance till it arrived at the foot of an extensive chain
-of mountains called the Sierra Morena. On the 26th, the KING'S OWN
-marched at sunset from Medina to Campo, and at midnight joined a force
-under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, destined to surprise three
-battalions of French infantry and two regiments of cavalry lying in
-Llerena. Owing to a mistake on the part of the Chasseurs Britanniques
-(who formed the advance of the infantry column), the projected surprise
-failed, and the French retired into the mountains during the night,
-and took post at Azuaga, a town nine miles to the south of Llerena.
-On the 29th of March, after a sharp affair, the French were driven
-from Azuaga, and the head quarters of the BRIGADE were established
-there. The authorities of this town gave a superb entertainment to Sir
-Stapleton Cotton.
-
-On the night of the 31st of March, a man deserted, who, it is supposed,
-gave information of the situation and strength of the British outpost;
-and on the 1st of April, a strong French force was detached to cut
-off the piquets at La Granja. A patrol, commanded by Cornet Ratcliffe
-of the THIRD, having met with the enemy's advance guard, was driven
-in, and the two British squadrons were attacked by seven squadrons of
-French cavalry, supported by infantry. After a severe struggle, the
-enemy, perceiving their surprise had failed, retired, and the piquets
-resumed their station.[33] In this affair the KING'S OWN lost thirteen
-men and twelve horses.
-
-On the 2nd of April, Marshal Soult's army having advanced from
-Seville, with a view to raise the siege of Badajoz, the covering army
-began to retire before the superior numbers of the French. This retreat
-was continued through Usagre, Villa Franca, and Almandralejo, upon
-Albuhera, where, being supported by the besieging force, the army went
-into position on the 9th, and preparations were made for a general
-action. Soult, however, having heard of the fall of Badajoz, commenced
-a retrograde movement towards the frontiers of Andalusia on the 10th;
-on which day Major General Le Marchant's brigade, (the fifth dragoon
-guards, THIRD and fourth dragoons) forming the advance of the British,
-proceeded to Los Santos, and again in the night to Bienvenida, with the
-view of gaining the flank of the cavalry of a French corps (General
-Drouet's) encamped between Usagre and Villa Garcia; but the enemy
-retreated. The BRIGADE, however, defiled under cover of some heights,
-and by a flank movement came up with the French on the 11th in front of
-_Llerena_, charging and driving them into that town with the loss of
-one hundred and fifty prisoners, including several officers.
-
-Intelligence was received of the advance of Marshal Marmont, on the
-north of Portugal. This general, leaving Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida,
-on his rear, had pushed on as far as Castello Branco, thus threatening
-to destroy the communications of the British, by cutting the bridge
-of boats at Villa Velha. It therefore became necessary to reinforce
-the few troops left on that frontier, and Major General Le Marchant's
-brigade was one of those ordered for this service. It marched through
-Elvas, Estremos, Crato, Niza, and Villa Velha to Castello Branco, and
-finally took up its quarters at Val-de-rosa; but Marmont having retired
-into Spain on the approach of the British, the brigade returned to the
-Alemtejo, and was, on the 12th of April, stationed at Cabeca de Vide,
-Crato, and Fronteira, the KING'S OWN being at the former place. On the
-29th they received a sudden order to join a brigade of light cavalry,
-for the purpose of covering Lieut.-General Hill in his attack upon the
-tête-de-pont and bridge of boats at Almaraz, which brilliant exploit
-having been effected, the regiment returned to Cabeca de Vide on the
-27th of May.
-
-On the 1st of June the whole army, with the exception of Lieut.-General
-Hill's corps, moved to the north. On the 11th, Major-General Le
-Marchant's brigade arrived at _Ciudad Rodrigo_, and on the 12th was
-reviewed by Lord Wellington. On the 13th, the brigade moved forward and
-continued to advance till the 16th, when it found the enemy posted near
-_Salamanca_, and a skirmish took place which lasted till night-fall. On
-the 17th, the brigade crossed the Tormes, and was quartered near the
-village of Cabrerizos, and on the advance of the French, on the 20th,
-the whole army went into position on the heights of St. Christoval,
-with its right on the Tormes, and its left near Villares de la Reyna.
-On this day the brigade, being in front, sustained a cannonade of
-about an hour, and the KING'S OWN lost twenty horses: the regiment
-afterwards took post on the summit of the mountain.
-
-On the night of the 23rd the French army retired, and was followed at
-daybreak by the first and seventh divisions, and Le Marchant's brigade
-of cavalry, which crossed the river by the fords of Santa Marta; when
-Marshal Marmont, after a short delay, returned to his former position,
-and manœuvred for some days on the Tormes, but after the reduction
-of the forts at Salamanca, which took place on the 27th, he crossed
-the Douro at Tordesillas, closely followed by Lord Wellington, who,
-however, did not cross the river, but took up a position between Pollos
-and La Seca; Major-General Le Marchant's brigade being stationed at
-Pollos and Naval del Rey to watch the ford.
-
-Marshal Marmont being strengthened by a division from the Asturias,
-pushed a column across the river on the 16th of July, in consequence
-of which the troops in Pollos fell back upon Fuente la Pena. On the
-18th, it was understood that the enemy's army had passed the Douro
-at Tordesillas, by which manœuvre the safety of two divisions, and
-a brigade of cavalry, on the Trebancos, was much endangered, and
-Major-General Le Marchant's, with two other brigades of cavalry, were
-quickly moved up to cover their retreat, which was effected with
-trifling loss. The brigade had entered its bivouac near Canizal, when
-an order was received for a squadron of the KING'S OWN to proceed
-to the support of two guns, intended to be placed on the hill above
-Castrillos. This order was soon increased to the whole regiment, which,
-on its march, discovered that the enemy was advancing in force, and
-pressing Major-General Alten's brigade very closely. Major Clowes
-immediately solicited, and received permission to go to their support,
-and the regiment accordingly advanced, and though checked by the
-fire of some French infantry, assisted in driving back the enemy's
-cavalry; the French infantry continuing to advance were repulsed by
-Lieut.-General Cole's division, and pursued with great loss. In this
-affair the regiment sustained the following loss; one serjeant-major,
-six privates, and four horses killed; lieutenant Branfell, and two
-privates wounded.[34]
-
-On the 19th, the BRIGADE retired to the table land above the villages
-of Vallesa and El Olmo, and on the 20th, the hostile armies manœuvred
-within cannon shot of each other, the French moving to their left, and
-the British to their right. On the 21st the British went into their old
-position on the heights of St. Christoval, and the French crossed the
-Tormes at the fords of Alba and Huerta, marching to their left. To
-oppose this manœuvre, the British crossed the river at _Salamanca_. In
-the course of this day's manœuvres, Major-General Le Marchant's brigade
-crossed the river at the ford of Santa Marta three times, and took
-up its bivouac on the south bank opposite the town. In the course of
-this night so dreadful a thunder-storm burst upon the British lines,
-that the horses broke loose; many were lost by running into the French
-lines, and the remainder could not be secured till daybreak. The KING'S
-OWN had to send to the rear an officer and sixteen men, severely
-injured by the horses, which were all linked together, running over
-them.
-
-The morning of the 22nd of July, found the hostile armies opposed to
-each other. The British line was formed with its left on the Tormes,
-and its right on the rocky hills called the Arapiles; Major-General Le
-Marchant's brigade, quitting its bivouac ground, formed line in the
-centre of the position, to check the advance of the enemy's cavalry.
-The French marshal manœuvred to gain the road to Ciudad Rodrigo; his
-dragoons, after some skirmishing, were compelled to retire, and the
-KING'S OWN again took ground to their right, passing the village of
-Arapiles, and forming in support of the fourth and fifth divisions.
-Lord Wellington, taking advantage of an injudicious movement made by
-his opponent, ordered his divisions forward, and the battle commenced.
-The French, attacked while making a complicated evolution, were
-instantly broken. A favourable opportunity for a charge of the British
-heavy cavalry occurring, the fifth dragoon guards, KING'S OWN, and
-fourth dragoons, advanced, and a most animated scene presented itself.
-The din of conflict was heard on every side; clouds of dust and rising
-columns of smoke darkened the air, and enveloped the British squadrons
-as they rushed to battle. In front, the glittering bayonets and waving
-plumes of the French infantry were dimly seen through the thickened
-atmosphere; against these formidable ranks, the English horsemen dashed
-with terrific violence, the weight and fury of their charge broke the
-opposing lines, and in an instant the French musketeers were overthrown
-and trampled down with a terrible clamour and disturbance. 'Bewildered
-and blinded, they cast away their arms and ran through the openings
-of the British squadrons, stooping and demanding quarter, while the
-dragoons, big men, and on big horses, rode onward, smiting with their
-long glittering swords in uncontrollable power, and the third division
-followed at speed, shouting as the French masses fell in succession
-before this dreadful charge.'
-
-'Nor were these valiant swordsmen yet exhausted. Their own general, Le
-Marchant, and many officers had fallen, but Cotton and all his staff
-were at their head, and with ranks confused, and blended together in
-one mass, still galloping forward they sustained from a fresh column
-an irregular stream of fire which emptied a hundred saddles; yet
-with fine courage, and downright force, the survivors broke through
-this the third and strongest body of men that had encountered them,
-and Lord Edward Somerset, continuing his course at the head of one
-squadron, with a happy perseverance, captured five guns. The French
-left was entirely broken, more than two thousand prisoners were
-taken, the French light horsemen abandoned that part of the field,
-and Thomiere's division no longer existed as a military body. Anson's
-cavalry, which had passed quite over the hill, and had suffered little
-in the charge, was now joined by D'Urban's troopers, and took the place
-of Le Marchant's exhausted men; the heavy German dragoons followed in
-reserve, and with the third and fifth divisions and the guns formed one
-formidable line two miles in advance of where Pakenham first attacked,
-and that impetuous officer, with unmitigated strength, still pressed
-forward, spreading terror and disorder on the enemy's left[35].'
-
-In this attack Major-General Le Marchant received a ball through
-the body, which terminated the career of that brave and talented
-officer. Lieutenant Selby, of the KING'S OWN, was likewise killed by a
-musket-shot through the left breast.[36] The result of this day was the
-entire overthrow of the French, 7,000 prisoners, eleven guns and two
-eagles remaining in the hands of the victors. The KING'S OWN earned, on
-this occasion, the royal permission to bear the word 'SALAMANCA,' on
-their guidons. They sustained the following loss: Killed,--Lieutenant
-Selby, one serjeant, nine privates, and two officers' horses, and 13
-troop horses. Wounded,--one serjeant, eight privates, and fifteen
-horses.
-
-After the action the French retreated upon Alba, where they crossed
-the Tormes, and thence through Arevalo, upon Valladolid, sustaining in
-their march a severe loss from the German cavalry, which, having been
-uninjured in the battle, was despatched in pursuit of, and overtook
-their rear-guard three leagues beyond Alba, defeating it, and taking
-nine hundred prisoners.
-
-The British army advanced on the route of the French, and entered
-Valladolid on the 30th of July; on the following day Cuellar was
-occupied, and on the 6th of August, the army moved on Segovia, crossed
-the Guadarama mountains on the 10th, and entered Madrid on the 12th;
-the brigade, now commanded by Colonel Ponsonby, forming the personal
-escort of Lord Wellington.
-
-After halting seven days at Madrid, the brigade moved to St. Ildefonso,
-where it was cantoned for a few days. Intelligence was received that
-the army of General Clausel, who had succeeded Marmont, was advancing
-on Valladolid, and the British in consequence assembled at Olivares and
-its vicinity. An immediate attack was intended; but the artillery of
-the fifth division not arriving in time, the enemy retired on the 7th
-of September, having destroyed the bridge at Valladolid. They continued
-retreating rapidly till the 17th, when the immediate vicinity of Burgos
-induced Clausel to make a stand, and Colonel Ponsonby's brigade was
-ordered to the front; but, before the army could be formed for attack,
-the enemy again retired to Breviesca, leaving a strong garrison in the
-castle of Burgos.
-
-The castle was invested, and the covering army took up a position on
-the heights of Quintana Palla, the KING'S OWN being at Villa Yerna.
-
-On the 19th of October, the French General Souham, who now commanded
-in the place of Clausel, being greatly reinforced, resolved to attempt
-the relief of Burgos. About four P. M. the French attacked and carried
-the village of Quintanapalla, but were repulsed in every attempt to
-penetrate farther, and abandoned the village on the approach of a force
-destined to retake it, consisting of the left wing of infantry, and
-Ponsonby's brigade of cavalry.
-
-It being ascertained that Marshal Soult and Joseph Bonaparte were
-moving on the Tagus, and that Sir Rowland Hill, menaced by such
-powerful forces, could not maintain his position on that river, at the
-same time his retreat would leave the army before Burgos, already in a
-critical situation, quite insulated, the Marquis of Wellington resolved
-to retire so far as was necessary to form a junction with Sir Rowland
-Hill; and at dusk on the 21st, the army withdrew with such celerity and
-silence that the French were not aware of the retreat till the British
-had reached Hormillas, and did not show in any force till the evening
-of the 22nd of October. On the next morning the retrograde movement was
-continued in two columns, Ponsonby's brigade covering the column from
-Hormillas, and being threatened during the day by an immense body of
-cavalry. Such was the steadiness of the troops, that the overwhelming,
-force of the French could make no impression and the column went into
-bivouac for the night on the hills above Cordovilla, with little or no
-loss.
-
-An hour before daylight on the 24th, the column, covered by Ponsonby's
-brigade, filed over the bridge of Cordovilla, and in the course of the
-day, the army crossed the Carrion, the head-quarters being established
-at Duenas. Early on the morning of the 25th, two squadrons of the
-fifth dragoon guards and THIRD dragoons were sent to the bridges of
-Palencia, to cover the party employed in mining them for destruction,
-but the French, advancing in force, gained possession of the bridges in
-an unbroken state. At this place the KING'S OWN lost a man and horse
-by a round shot, and the party returned in the evening to Duenas; the
-army having in the meantime destroyed the bridges at that place, and at
-Villa Muriel, and the enemy having been defeated in an attempt to cross
-by the fords.
-
-[Sidenote: 1813]
-
-The army retired four leagues on the 26th of October, and crossed the
-Pisuerga at Cabezon, in which town, and its vicinity, it remained till
-the 29th, when it retired early, and crossed the Douro at Tudela and
-Puente del Douro, the bridges at which places were blown up, as were
-those at Toro and Zamora; but the French having possessed themselves of
-the bridge at Tordesillas, the British on the following morning took
-up a position in front of it. In this position they remained till the
-6th of November, when, the enemy having repaired the bridge of Toro,
-it became necessary to retire to Torrecilla de la Orden, and thence,
-on the 7th and 8th, to Salamanca. On the 14th, the French crossed the
-Tormes, and the British recommenced their retreat on the following
-morning, and entered Ciudad Rodrigo on the 18th; they afterwards went
-into winter quarters on the frontiers of Portugal, the enemy not
-advancing beyond the Yeltes. On the 20th, Ponsonby's brigade was at
-Albergaria, where it halted eight days, after which the KING'S OWN
-proceeded by the route of Guarda, Celerico, and Penhancos, to Saixho.
-Here the regiment was quartered until the 28th of December, then at
-Arganil till February 11th, 1813, and afterwards at Soure, near the
-mouth of the Mondego, until the 19th of April.
-
-On the above day the KING'S OWN moved towards the north of Portugal,
-and rejoined the brigade at Braganza, on the 21st of May. On the 24th
-the brigade was at Tabara, and on the 26th it crossed the Esla at
-Pozuela. The enemy made no resistance at the passage of the river, and
-was compelled to abandon the line of the Douro, by Lord Wellington's
-advance along their rear. The column to which Ponsonby's brigade was
-attached, was directed on Valencia, and passing through that town,
-advanced on Burgos. On the 12th of June, the brigade overtook the
-enemy's rear-guard on the heights of Estepar, when the KING'S OWN
-were detached to cut off part of the enemy's force, in which the
-regiment completely succeeded, making its way to the high road from
-Madrid, throwing the enemy into confusion on Burgos; a squadron of the
-fourteenth, with a detachment of the KING'S OWN, charging the enemy's
-rear, captured a gun: the regiment had captain Sitwell and one private
-wounded, and five horses killed and three wounded.
-
-During the night of the 12th, the French blew up the castle of Burgos
-and retired behind the Ebro, which river the brigade, after marching
-through a wild and difficult region of deep narrow valleys and rugged
-defiles, crossed at Puente de Arenas on the 15th. Both armies were
-concentrated, the British on the river Bayas, and the French on the
-undulating grounds in the valley of _Vittoria_, where, on the 21st of
-June, they were attacked by the allied army. The result of this attack
-was a most decisive victory, the French only carrying from the field
-two guns; the whole of their immense equipment fell into the hands of
-the British. Owing to the nature of the field of battle the cavalry
-could scarcely act,[37] and that _arme_ was principally employed in
-supporting the infantry, and in the pursuit, which was continued until
-the enemy had passed Pampeluna. The gallant bearing of the KING'S
-OWN was rewarded in 1821, with the royal permission to bear the word
-"VITTORIA" on their guidons.
-
-At this period, General Clausel with fifteen thousand men was at
-Logroño, and of course, was not engaged in the battle; nor was he aware
-that an engagement had taken place, till he arrived near Vittoria,
-and found the town in the possession of the British: he then returned
-to Logroño, and marched upon Tudela, hoping to reach Pampeluna before
-the British. On the 27th his scheme was discovered, and the Marquis
-of Wellington detached the cavalry with two divisions of infantry to
-intercept him. This detached force arrived on the same night at Tafalla
-and Olieta, and on the next morning advanced upon Tudela, when it was
-discovered that Clausel, upon receiving intelligence of the force
-sent against him, had retreated to Saragossa, whence he returned to
-France by the pass of Jaca, his artillery falling into the hands of the
-Spanish troops.
-
-On the 30th of June the infantry returned to Pampeluna, and
-Major-General Ponsonby's brigade remained at Tafalla for eleven days,
-when forage becoming scarce, it moved to Laraga, and halted there a
-fortnight.
-
-The cavalry received an order to move to the north on the 27th of July,
-in consequence of the troops having been forced from the passes of
-Roncesvalles and Maya in the Pyrenees. The army took up a position at
-Huarte and Villarba, and the town of Pampeluna was illuminated at the
-prospect of relief. On the 28th, Soult attacked the British position,
-but was repulsed with loss; Count D'Erlon's division was compelled to
-fall back upon Maya, and the British recovered their lost ground. On
-the 8th of August, the KING'S OWN fell back upon Allo and Dicastello,
-and on the 27th of December, removed for the convenience of forage
-to the neighbourhood of Vittoria, occupying the villages of Alegria,
-Aranjuez, and Troconiz, and remained there until the 24th of February
-following.
-
-[Sidenote: 1814]
-
-An advance took place, Ponsonby's brigade marched through the Pyrenean
-mountains by Salinas Bergara, Villa Franca and Tolosa, to St. Jean de
-Luz in France, halted there two days, and then advanced through Bidart
-to the Adour, crossing the river on a bridge of boats, and continued
-to follow the route of the French, who were retreating on Bayonne. The
-advance was continued through Peyrehorade to Castlenau, and on the
-19th of March, 1814, Marshal Soult was discovered in position, with
-his left at _Tarbes_, and his right at Rabastens. This right flank was
-ordered to be turned by a division of infantry, and Ponsonby's brigade
-of cavalry, and being thus threatened, Soult retired through a strong
-country by St. Gaudens, upon Toulouse. The British, being obliged to
-wait for stores, did not advance rapidly, and on the 25th, the KING'S
-OWN lay at Fontenelle. On the next day the regiment advanced to _La
-Mosquiere_, and there came up with a regiment of French _Chasseurs
-à cheval_, which it charged and drove beyond Cuneva, taking several
-prisoners and horses, and seizing a large quantity of bread prepared by
-the French for their own use. Lieut. Burns' horse was killed, Lieut.
-Jebb's wounded, and two troop horses killed, but the regiment sustained
-no further loss.
-
-The army arrived before _Toulouse_ on the 27th of March, and on the
-31st, a pontoon bridge being laid at St. Roques, the brigade crossed
-the Garonne, and seized the bridge on the Arriege, at Cintagabelle. The
-roads were found so bad in this direction that no further attempt was
-made, and the troops being recalled, the pontoon bridge was removed to
-Grenade, a town below Bayonne, and there laid down on the 4th of April.
-On this day Ponsonby's, with two other brigades of cavalry, and three
-divisions of infantry, crossed the river, the brigade being quartered
-at Grissolles, and having a strong piquet on the road to Montauban. In
-the course of the night the river rose so considerably, that the bridge
-was obliged to be removed, and the communication was cut off; Soult,
-however, made no attack, but employed himself in strengthening his
-position, which covered Toulouse.
-
-On the 8th of April the current subsided, and the pontoons were again
-laid down. On the 9th the troops were passing the river, and on Easter
-Sunday (the 10th), Soult was attacked in his position. In this attack
-the brigade, then commanded by Colonel Lord Charles Manners, was at
-different periods employed in supporting the Spanish forces, the
-hussar brigade, and General Clinton's division. It was not a cavalry
-action, and the only casualties were--Captain Burn, one trumpeter,
-four privates, wounded: two horses killed. The enemy abandoned his
-entrenchments before dusk, and took post behind the canal. The KING'S
-OWN were rewarded for their conduct on this occasion with the royal
-permission, dated 20th September, 1821, to bear the word "TOULOUSE" on
-their guidons.
-
-Marshal Soult retired down the canal on the 12th towards Carcasonne,
-and on the 13th, hostilities were terminated by the arrival of the news
-of the abdication of Napoleon, and of the accession of Louis XVIII.
-to the throne of France; Marshals Soult and Suchet, after a short
-delay, gave their assent to the new order of affairs, and a line of
-demarcation between the armies was agreed upon. The KING'S OWN went
-into quarters at Lanta and Caraman, and remained there until the end of
-May.
-
-On the 10th of June, the brigade, having embarked its dismounted men at
-Bourdeaux, commenced its march to the north by the following route:--
-
- June 1, Toulouse,
- " 2, Grissoles,
- " 3, Montauban,
- " 4, Caussade,
- " 5, Cahors,
- " 7, Frechisse,
- " 8, Souillac,
- " 9, Brives,
- " 11, Uzorches,
- " 12, Pierre Buffiere,
- " 13, Limoges,
- " 15, Bessines,
- " 16, St. Burnot,
- " 17, Argenton,
- " 18, Chateauroux,
- " 20, Vatan,
- " 21, Vierzon,
- " 22, Salbris,
- " 23, Lafecte,
- " 24, Orleans,
- " 26, Artenay,
- " 27, Angerville,
- " 28, Etampes,
- " 30, St. Aumal,
- July 1, Montfort,
- " 2, Mantes,
- " 4, Gisors,
- " 5, Gournay,
- " 6, Neufchatel,
- " 7, Blangy,
- " 8, Abbeville,
- " 10, Rue,
- " 11, Montreuil,
- " 12, Boulogne.
-
-At Boulogne Major-General Sir Henry Fane inspected the three regiments,
-and expressed his satisfaction at the efficiency of the brigade
-after so long a march. He congratulated the commanding officers on
-the excellent condition of their horses, and selected a number,
-of which the KING'S OWN furnished fifteen, to be given up to the
-French government for the purpose of mounting the royal guard. On
-the 19th of July, the brigade, having received the highest praise
-from Major-General the Hon. W. Ponsonby,[38] embarked at Boulogne and
-arrived at Dover on the following day, the KING'S OWN having been
-absent three years, from the time of their embarkation on the 25th of
-the same month, 1811.
-
-From Dover the KING'S OWN marched through Maidstone to Brentford,
-and, on the 28th of July, were reviewed on Hounslow Heath by His
-Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, immediately afterwards
-commencing their march to Northampton and joining the depôt (which
-had marched thither from Canterbury) on the 3rd of August. On the 13th
-two troops were reduced, and on the 16th, the regiment marched for
-Newcastle-on-Tyne, arriving there on the 1st of September; two troops
-were detached to Carlisle, and one to Durham.
-
-On the 26th of September, the head-quarters marched into York
-barracks,[39] troops being left at Newcastle, Morpeth, Carlisle,
-and Workington. In these quarters the Regiment was reviewed by
-Lieutenant-General Wynyard in the summer of 1815, and afterwards
-marched for St. Albans.
-
-[Sidenote: 1815]
-
-In the meantime Napoleon Bonaparte had returned to France; a British
-army had assembled in Belgium under the command of the Duke of
-Wellington; the battle of Waterloo had been won, and the KING'S OWN
-were ordered to form ten troops, four of which marched to Coventry, and
-the remaining six, consisting of thirty-two officers, thirty-four
-serjeants, six trumpeters, three hundred and seventy-one rank and
-file, and three hundred and eighty-two horses, proceeded to Dover and
-Ramsgate, where they immediately embarked for Ostend to reinforce the
-British army in France.
-
-The KING'S OWN disembarked at Ostend on the 24th of July, and moving
-up the country into France, were, on their arrival in the vicinity of
-Paris, placed in cantonments at Chaton, near Malmaison. On the 2nd of
-September, the Emperor of Russia reviewed the first and eighth brigades
-of cavalry, consisting of the first and second life guards, royal horse
-guards, first, second, and third dragoon guards, and THIRD dragoons. On
-the 22nd of the same month, the allied army was reviewed by the Duke of
-Wellington on the plain of St. Denis, and on the 11th of October, the
-whole of the British, Hanoverian, Danish, and Saxon contingents, were
-reviewed between Paris and St. Denis, by the Duke of Wellington, the
-Emperor of Russia, and the King of Prussia; after the review the KING'S
-OWN marched to Nantes, where they remained several months.
-
-[Sidenote: 1816]
-
-On the 25th of January, 1816, the KING'S OWN forming part of the Army
-of Occupation left in France after the restoration of Louis XVIII. left
-Nantes, and after successively making short halts at Bonnieres, Ligny,
-and Bailleul, took up quarters at Steenvoorde, on the 1st of June.
-Here the regiment remained till the 1st of August, and then marched to
-Theronenne, where it was twice reviewed; on the 12th of October by the
-Duke of Wellington, and on the 22nd by His Royal Highness the Duke of
-Kent, and the Duke of Wellington. At this last review the whole of the
-British army was assembled on the plains of Denain. After the review
-the regiment marched to Audricq, and remained there all the following
-year; occasionally, however, moving to different towns, as Bouberg,
-Louches, and the vicinity of St. Omer, for the purpose of reviews and
-inspections, or to make room for troops marching to the coast for
-embarkation.
-
-[Sidenote: 1818]
-
-In the year 1818 the reviews went on in the same way and on the same
-ground, until October 18th, on which day the KING'S OWN, being ordered
-to return to England, embarked at Calais for Dover, landed there on the
-following day, and marched to Canterbury. On the 24th, a considerable
-reduction took place in the regiment, two troops being disbanded, and
-the remaining eight ordered to consist of one serjeant-major, two
-serjeants, three corporals, one trumpeter, one farrier, forty-two
-privates, and thirty-four horses each.
-
-In October, 1818, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and
-on the behalf of His Majesty, was pleased to direct, that the THIRD and
-FOURTH Regiments of _Dragoons_ should be mounted, clothed, and equipped
-as _Light Dragoon_ Regiments; the alteration of title, &c., to take
-effect from the 25th December, 1818.
-
-[Sidenote: 1819]
-
-On the 26th October, two squadrons, under the command of Major
-Davenport, marched to Salt Hill, to attend the funeral of Her
-Majesty Queen Charlotte, and on the 7th of December, the remaining
-troops marched for Bristol, on their route to Ireland, disembarked
-at Waterford, and detaching one squadron to Tullamore, marched into
-Newbridge barracks on the 7th of February, 1819. In these stations the
-regiment was reviewed by Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Paget, who was
-pleased to express his approbation of its appearance and discipline.
-
-[Sidenote: 1820]
-
-In January, 1820, in consequence of the disturbed state of the province
-of Connaught, two squadrons of the regiment were hastily ordered to
-march thither; one troop was quartered at Ballinasloe, one at Tuam, and
-the other two at Ballinrobe. In March, Generals Sir Edward Paget and
-Sir John Elley arrived with all the disposable force, and from their
-exertions the country assumed some appearance of tranquillity.
-
-The KING'S OWN returned to Newbridge, and was there, on the 22nd of
-May, inspected by Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, who was pleased to
-give them the highest praise.
-
-On the 18th of June, the KING'S OWN marched to Dublin, and on the next
-day was reviewed, for the first time, as a "LIGHT REGIMENT;" other
-reviews took place on the 21st and 30th, before Lieut.-General Sir
-David Baird, and the regiment returned to Newbridge.
-
-On the 16th of August, the KING'S OWN marched into Dublin, relieving
-the royal dragoons, who sailed for England, and in October, the
-regiment was inspected by Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, who
-issued the following order:--
-
- 'October 14th, 1820.
-
-'The half-yearly inspection of the KING'S OWN LIGHT DRAGOONS affords
-Major-General Sir C. Grant an opportunity of again expressing his
-approbation of that corps. The interior arrangements, field movements,
-attention of the officers, and steadiness of the men, all enable him to
-make the most satisfactory report to the Commander of the Forces.'
-
-[Sidenote: 1821]
-
-The regiment remained in Dublin during the winter, and in January,
-1821, the colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-General Stapleton Cotton,
-Viscount Combermere, K.C.B., G.C.H., in succession to General
-Cartwright, who was removed to the first dragoon guards.
-
-On the 17th of August the regiment had the honour of forming the
-personal escort of His Majesty King George the Fourth, on his public
-entry into Dublin. On the 18th, His Majesty reviewed the garrison,
-then consisting of the THIRD and sixth dragoons, seventh hussars,
-twelfth and nineteenth lancers, of the twenty-third, thirty-third,
-forty-third, fifty-second, and seventy-eighth regiments of infantry.
-The King remained in Dublin until the 2nd of September, on which day,
-having been escorted to Powerscourt by a detachment of HIS OWN regiment
-of dragoons, His Majesty embarked at Dunleary, the remainder of the
-regiment forming a guard of honour at the harbour.
-
-On the 4th and 5th of September, the KING'S OWN marched out of Dublin,
-and took up quarters in the counties of Waterford and Wexford, at
-Cahir, New Ross, and Fethard.[40] Here, however, they remained only a
-short time, being ordered to Newcastle and Limerick, in consequence of
-the disturbances which agitated that part of Ireland, particularly the
-county of Limerick.
-
-[Sidenote: 1822]
-
-In these quarters the regiment was inspected on the 22nd of October, by
-Major General Sir John Elley, and in January, 1822, the head-quarters
-marched to Limerick, troops and detachments being stationed at nine
-different places in the south of Ireland. The regiment was, in June,
-again inspected by Sir John Elley, and being ordered to embark for
-England, had the honour of receiving an order from Major-General Sir
-John Lambert, commanding the district, in which the major-general was
-pleased to state that 'he could not allow the regiment to leave the
-district without expressing his entire satisfaction at the manner in
-which most harassing duties had been performed by the head-quarters and
-detachments in the disturbed part of the country.'
-
-[Sidenote: 1823]
-
-On the 19th and 22nd of June, the regiment embarked at Waterford, and
-landing at Bristol, proceeded to Brighton, and on the 28th of October,
-having marched to Chichester, was reviewed by Major-General Lord Edward
-Somerset, one troop being detached to Hastings. On the 7th of November,
-the regiment marched to Romford, where it remained till June, 1828, and
-hence proceeded to Hampton Court and its vicinity. Here, on the 15th of
-July, a grand cavalry review took place. The brigades were a cuirassier
-brigade, first and second life guards, and royal horse guards,
-commanded by Colonel Sir Robert Hill; a light brigade, KING'S OWN light
-dragoons, seventh and fifteenth hussars, commanded by Colonel Lord
-Charles Manners; and a brigade of horse artillery, commanded by Colonel
-Sir Augustus Frazer. These troops, being commanded by Major-General
-Lord E. Somerset, were reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of
-York, Commander-in-Chief, and on the 22nd, an order was issued highly
-flattering to the whole of the regiments present.
-
-[Sidenote: 1824]
-
-The KING'S OWN remained at Hounslow for some months, in the course of
-which, on leaving the station of Hampton Court, the troops received a
-most honourable testimonial of their character and conduct from His
-Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence.[41]
-
-On the 7th of July, 1824, the same brigades under the same officers,
-were again reviewed by His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, and
-on the 12th the head-quarters of the KING'S OWN marched for Coventry,
-troops being detached to Birmingham, Hinckley, and Abergavenny.
-
-[Sidenote: 1825]
-
-In May, 1825, the regiment having been inspected by Major-General
-Lord Edward Somerset, the head-quarters moved to Newcastle-on-Tyne,
-a squadron being detached to Carlisle. On the 22nd of July, a party
-was detached to Sunderland, in consequence of the riots there, in
-which the associated keelmen had gained such power as to prevent any
-vessels putting to sea. On the 3rd of August, these disturbances grew
-to such a height that it became necessary for the military, under the
-direction of the magistrates, to make use of their arms, when seven
-lives were unfortunately lost; but of so good effect was this salutary
-severity, that from that time order was restored, and the troops
-returned to Newcastle, receiving from Major-General Harris, commanding
-the district, from the Horse-guards, and from the magistrates and
-inhabitants of Sunderland, the highest praise for their coolness and
-forbearance, under very trying circumstances.[42]
-
-On the 27th of May, 1825, Colonel Lord Charles S. Manners was
-promoted to the rank of Major-General, and was succeeded in the
-Lieutenant-colonelcy of the THIRD, KING'S OWN, LIGHT DRAGOONS by
-Colonel Lord Robert Manners, from the half-pay of the Tenth Royal
-Hussars.
-
-[Sidenote: 1826]
-
-[Sidenote: 1827]
-
-On the 3rd of March, 1826, the KING'S OWN commenced their march for
-Portpatrick, embarked there for Ireland, and took up their quarters at
-Dundalk, Belturbet, and Longford, the squadron from which latter place
-afterwards marched to Belfast. On the 23rd of September, the regiment
-assembled at Dundalk, and was there inspected by Major-General Sir
-Colquhoun Grant, the detached squadrons immediately returning to their
-former quarters, and the whole marching into Dublin, in June 1827, and
-occupying Portobello barracks. The regiment remained at Dublin nine
-months, and then marched into Connaught, receiving the highest praise
-from Lieutenant-General Sir George Murray. It was then quartered as
-follows: one troop and head-quarters at Ballinrobe, two troops at
-Athlone, two troops at Gort, and one at Loughrea.
-
-[Sidenote: 1828]
-
-[Sidenote: 1829]
-
-The five detached troops received orders on the 30th of June to proceed
-to Ennis, to assist in preserving the peace during the Clare election.
-Two troops were quartered in a ruined distillery, two in the yards of
-the infirmary, and one at Clare Castle, where Major-General Sir Charles
-Doyle, who had arrived from Limerick, established his head-quarters.
-The troops remained at Ennis ten days, and then returned to their
-former stations, the regiment being stationed in Connaught for fifteen
-months, and receiving on three several occasions the highest character
-from Major-General Taylor, and Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot,
-K.C.B., the inspecting general officers; the latter of whom was pleased
-to express 'his regret at losing from his district a regiment which
-had done itself such credit by its excellent conduct, while under his
-command.' This order is dated 30th April, 1829; and in the beginning
-of the next month, the regiment embarked at Dublin for England, being
-ordered to proceed to Exeter; but on landing at Liverpool, it was
-detained in the north, in consequence of some disturbances there, and
-ordered to march on the evening of debarkation to Prescot, one squadron
-being directed upon Manchester, and troops to Bury, Bolton, Blackburn,
-and Haslingden. On the 15th of June, the head-quarters moved to
-Sheffield, the troops from Bolton occupying Rochdale; and on the 5th of
-July, in consequence of riots in the town of Barnsley, a troop was sent
-thither, and remained there till the following spring.
-
-In September General Viscount Combermere was removed to the first
-life guards; and the colonelcy of the KING'S OWN was conferred on
-Lieut.-General Lord George Thomas Beresford, G.C.H.
-
-In the course of this year a squadron was detached to Doncaster, in
-consequence of riots at the races there; and the regiment was inspected
-by Major-General Sir H. Vivian, when Colonel Lord Robert Manners
-received the directions of the Major-General to express his approbation
-of the state of the regiment, and in addition to the flattering terms
-in which the General expressed his opinion of the officers and men on
-the parade, he directed the commanding officer to issue an order,
-entirely approving of all he had seen, which order he desired might not
-only be entered in the regimental order book, but likewise inserted in
-the regimental records.
-
-[Sidenote: 1830]
-
-On the 6th of April, 1830, the KING'S OWN marched into York, detaching
-one troop to Newcastle-on-Tyne: and on the 21st of May, they were
-reviewed by Major-General Sir H. Bouverie, commanding the northern
-district.[43] On the 25th of November, the regiment left York _en
-route_ to Nottingham, being ordered there to replace troops employed
-in quelling disturbances in the south of England. On the 6th of
-December, one troop was detached to Loughborough, in consequence of
-riots there, and returned on the 17th, receiving a vote of thanks from
-the magistrates of Leicestershire for their readiness and promptitude.
-On the 22nd, the regiment was ordered to complete its establishment to
-the full numbers, and accordingly detached parties to Loughborough and
-Derby; and on the 29th, the first division, immediately followed by the
-others, left Nottingham and returned to York. At York an increase in
-the number of horses took place, the number per troop being fixed at
-forty-five.
-
-[Sidenote: 1831]
-
-In consequence of a sudden order received on the night of the 2nd of
-March, 1831, for the regiment to march on the following morning, one
-squadron moved to Leeds, and the second to Burnley; but on the 4th of
-April, the latter squadron returned to Leeds to succeed the first,
-which had marched to Newcastle. On the 25th of the same month, a troop
-marched to Chester-le-Street, near Durham; and on the 5th and 6th of
-May, the remaining part of the regiment left Leeds for Newcastle. In
-this quarter the regiment was employed in the suppression of riots
-among the colliers, and was inspected by Major-General Dalbiac.
-
-[Sidenote: 1832]
-
-On the 23rd of September, the KING'S OWN marched in three divisions to
-Edinburgh, where they remained for eight months; and in April, 1832,
-proceeded to Glasgow and Hamilton.
-
-[Sidenote: 1833]
-
-[Sidenote: 1834]
-
-[Sidenote: 1835]
-
-Returning to England in the spring of 1833, the regiment was stationed
-at Ipswich and Norwich; in the summer of 1834 it was removed to
-Hounslow and took the King's duty; and in the summer of 1835 it
-embarked for Ireland, and occupied quarters at Cork, Ballincollig, and
-Limerick.
-
-[Sidenote: 1836]
-
-[Sidenote: 1837]
-
-In June, 1836, the KING'S OWN were stationed at Cahir and Clonmel;
-and returning to England in the spring of 1837, they proceeded to
-Canterbury. On the 19th May, 1837, Colonel Joseph Thackwell, late of
-the 15th Hussars, exchanged from the half-pay with Lieutenant Colonel
-Stisted.
-
-The regiment, having been selected to proceed to the East Indies,
-embarked in July, 1837, for Bengal, and landed at Calcutta on the 13th
-of November following, under the command of Colonel Thackwell.
-
-[Sidenote: 1838]
-
-The regiment was encamped in January, 1838, at Calcutta; in February at
-Burkee; in March at Kusseah; in April at Cawnpore, where it continued
-until the end of the year.[44]
-
-[Sidenote: 1839]
-
-In February, 1839, the regiment was encamped at Chibbermold; in March
-at Meerut, at which station it remained until December, when it
-returned to Cawnpore.
-
-The decease of Lieutenant-General Lord George Thomas Beresford, G.C.H.,
-having taken place on the 26th October, 1839, Her Majesty was pleased
-to confer the colonelcy of the THIRD, OR KING'S OWN LIGHT DRAGOONS,
-on Lieutenant General Lord Charles Somerset Manners, K.C.B., on the
-8th November, 1839: Lord Charles Manners had commanded the regiment as
-Lieutenant-Colonel from 1812 to 1825, when he was promoted to the rank
-of Major-General.
-
-On the 13th December, 1839, Lieut.-Colonel Michael White was promoted
-by purchase in succession to Lieut.-Colonel G. G. Tuite.
-
-[Sidenote: 1840]
-
-[Sidenote: 1842]
-
-The regiment remained at Cawnpore until October, 1840, when it
-proceeded to Kurnaul. It marched from thence on 28th January, 1842,
-_en route_ for Ferozepore, having been selected to form part of the
-force which had been ordered to proceed under Major-General Pollock to
-relieve the troops under Colonel Sir Robert Sale, who had gallantly
-defended Jellalabad; and also for the purpose of inflicting retribution
-upon the Affghans, whose treachery had caused the loss of so many brave
-officers and soldiers.
-
-The THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS continued their advance on Peshawur, and
-a squadron of the regiment, under Lieutenant Unett, protected the
-column of attack under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, of
-Her Majesty's Ninth Regiment of Foot, which captured the heights on
-the right entrance to the _Khyber Pass_, on the 5th April, 1842.
-Major-General Pollock, in his despatch announcing the successful
-advance of the troops into the Khyber Pass, states: 'there were some of
-the enemy's horse in the vicinity of Ali Musjid, but I regret they did
-not wait for Brigadier White (Lieutenant-Colonel of the KING'S OWN) and
-his brigade to make an example of them.'
-
-The regiment arrived at Jellalabad in April, 1842, where it remained
-until the 14th August following, when it proceeded to Futteabad,
-detaching one squadron to Mammoo Khail on the 23rd of that month. The
-THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS left Futteabad on the 2nd September, and on
-arriving at _Jugdulluck_, the summits of the hills, which command the
-road through the pass, were perceived to be occupied by a considerable
-number of the enemy, who were assembled in bodies under different
-chieftains, each having a distinguishing standard; their position
-was one of singular strength and difficulty of approach. The heights
-occupied by the Ghilzies formed an amphitheatre, inclining towards
-the left of the road, on which the troops were halted, while the guns
-opened; and the enemy were thus enabled, on this point, to fire into
-the column, a deep ravine preventing the troops coming in contact with
-them.
-
-The British troops, however, on attacking one of their hill-forts, gave
-an animated and enthusiastic cheer, which so dismayed the enemy, that
-they fled down the heights without waiting the collision, and were
-thus enabled to escape chastisement by the nature of the ground, which
-was so well calculated to favour their retreat. At this moment, Major
-Lockwood with the THIRD, KING'S OWN LIGHT DRAGOONS, galloped up, and
-nearly succeeded in overtaking the enemy's cavalry, who effected their
-safety by flight.[45]
-
-The loss of the regiment at the storming of the heights of _Jugdulluck_
-on the 8th of September, 1842, was limited to two men wounded.
-
-Major-General Pollock, in his despatch, speaks of the conduct of the
-troops employed in the following terms:--
-
-'It gratifies me to be enabled to state, that we have thus signally
-defeated, with one division of the troops, the most powerful tribes,
-and the most inveterate of our enemies, the original and principal
-actors in those disturbances which entailed such disasters on our
-troops last winter.'
-
-The regiment was also engaged with the enemy in the _Tezeen_ valley,
-which is completely encircled by lofty hills; the pass of Tezeen
-affords great advantages to an enemy occupying the heights, and Mahomed
-Akbar-Khan neglected nothing to render its natural difficulties
-as formidable as possible; accordingly on the morning of the 13th
-September, the Affghans appeared in great force on every height which
-had not been occupied by the British army. Two squadrons of the THIRD
-LIGHT DRAGOONS, a party of the first light cavalry, and of the third
-irregular cavalry, with two guns, were left to guard the mouth of
-the Tezeen pass. The enemy's horse appeared in the valley with the
-intention of falling upon the baggage; but the Light Dragoons and
-native cavalry made a most brilliant charge, and completely routed
-the whole body of the enemy's force, cutting down a great number of
-them. The fight continued during the greater part of the day, the
-Affghans appearing resolved to prevent our ascending the _Huft Kotul_;
-one spirit, however, pervaded all, and the determination to conquer
-overcame the obstinate resistance of the foe, who were at length forced
-from their numerous and strong positions, and the British troops
-mounted the _Huft Kotul_, giving three cheers on reaching the summit.
-Here Lieutenant Cunningham, with a party of sappers, pressed the enemy
-so hard, that they left in their precipitation a twenty-four pounder
-howitzer and limber, carrying off the draught bullocks. Information
-being received that another gun had been seen, a squadron of cavalry
-under Captain Tritton, of the THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS, and two horse
-artillery guns, under Major Delafosse, were detached in pursuit; the
-gun (a twelve-pounder howitzer) and bullocks sufficient for the two
-guns, were soon captured. The Light Dragoons again got among the
-enemy, and succeeded in destroying many of them. Captain Broadfoot,
-with the sappers, advanced, and with the dragoons happened to fall
-in with another party of Affghans, of whom upwards of twenty were
-killed. It was ascertained, that the enemy numbered sixteen thousand, a
-considerable portion being cavalry; and that Mahomed Akbar-Khan, with
-several other powerful chiefs, was present[46].
-
-The British thus gained a complete victory, and the enemy must have
-suffered severely, several hundreds of them having been killed, and
-their guns, and three standards, captured from them. A detachment of
-the THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS formed part of the rear-guard of the army
-under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Richmond, of the 33rd Native
-Infantry, and it being resolved to anticipate the evident intention
-of the Affghans, by attacking them in the valley of Tezeen, on the
-13th September, the guns were moved forward within range of the
-enemy, supported by the front squadron of the THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS
-under Captain Unett, with other corps, in order to charge the foe if
-the ground proved favourable, and an opportunity offered; this soon
-occurred, the guns having made good impression, and the other squadron
-of cavalry, under Major Lockwood, was hurried forward as a support,
-thus ensuring the success achieved by the spirited and gallant charge
-of their comrades in front, which completely dispersed the enemy, who
-left about fifty men on the field.[47]
-
-Major-General Pollock, in his despatch of the action at _Tezeen_,
-expresses his satisfaction with the exertions of Lt.-Colonel White of
-the THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS, commanding the cavalry brigade, and also of
-Major Lockwood, who commanded the regiment. The THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS
-sustained but trifling loss in the _Tezeen_ valley, and on the Huft
-Kotul, on the 12th and 13th September, having only one serjeant and
-four rank and file wounded; two horses killed, and eleven wounded.
-
-After these successes, the army moved on without opposition, and
-arrived at CABOOL on the 15th September, where they encamped on the
-race course. The THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS, under Major Lockwood, proceeded
-with other corps to plant the British colours in the _Bala Hissar_, on
-the spot most conspicuous from the city. On the colours being hoisted,
-the band of Her Majesty's Ninth Regiment of Foot struck up 'God save
-the Queen,' and a royal salute was fired from the guns of the horse
-artillery, the whole of the troops present giving three cheers. The
-colours in the Bala Hissar were hoisted daily as long as the army
-remained at Cabool.
-
-The head-quarters and two squadrons of the regiment, under Major
-Lockwood, formed part of the force which was detached under
-Major-General McCaskill (Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ninth Foot), for
-the purpose of dispersing the enemy collected in the vicinity of
-_Charekar_, and took part in the operations against the strong and
-populous town of _Istalif_, which was considered by the Affghans as
-totally inaccessible, but which was captured on the 29th September
-1842; the numerous levies collected for its defence were totally
-defeated, and property of every description (much of it plundered from
-the army in 1841) was recovered; two brass field-pieces were captured,
-one of which was seized with such promptitude, that its captor,
-Lieutenant Elmhirst, of Her Majesty's Ninth Foot, turned its fire upon
-the fugitives with some effect[48].
-
-Among the gratifying results of these successes was the release
-of several ladies and officers who had been detained prisoners by
-Akbar-Khan.
-
-The regiment, having been present during the whole of the operations
-west of the Indus, leading to the occupation of Cabool, has received
-the Royal permission to bear on its appointments the word '_Cabool
-1842_.'
-
-[Sidenote: 1843]
-
-[Sidenote: 1844]
-
-The regiment left Cabool on the 12th October, 1842, and arrived at
-Ferozepore on the 18th December, from whence it marched to Kurnaul,
-where it arrived on the 27th January 1843; it remained at Kurnaul until
-November, when it marched for Umballa, and continued at that station
-during the year 1844, and until the end of the following year.
-
-[Sidenote: 1845]
-
-On the 11th December, 1845, the regiment, consisting of 518 men, under
-the command of Lieut.-Colonel Michael White, marched from cantonments
-at Umballa, and formed a part of the leading division of the _Army of
-the Sutlej_, hastily assembled, under the personal command of General
-Sir Hugh Gough, G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief in India, for the purpose of
-repelling an invasion by the _Sikhs_.[49]
-
-On arriving at the village of _Moodkee_, a distance of one hundred
-and fifty miles, on the 18th December, the army had just taken up its
-encampments, when intelligence was received, that the enemy's forces,
-consisting of twenty thousand cavalry, and about the same number of
-infantry and artillery, were close at hand, and intended to surprise
-the British camps. The cavalry were immediately turned out, and
-advanced to cover the formation of the infantry, and the distinguished
-part which the _Third, or King's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons_, took
-in the sanguinary and memorable battle of the evening of that day may
-be best judged from the words of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief
-in his despatch of the 19th December 1845:--'I directed the cavalry,
-under Brigadiers White and Gough (of the KING'S OWN), to make a flank
-movement on the enemy's left, with a view of threatening and turning
-that flank, if possible.
-
-'With praiseworthy gallantry, the THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS, and the second
-brigade of cavalry, consisting of the body-guard and Fifth Light
-cavalry, with a portion of the Fourth Lancers, turned the left of the
-Sikh army, and sweeping along the whole rear of its infantry and guns,
-silenced for a time the latter, and put their numerous cavalry to
-flight.'
-
-In this action the regiment suffered severely, owing to the nature of
-the ground, and the immense body of cavalry opposed to it. The loss,
-out of four hundred and ninety-four men, on this occasion, was as
-follows:--killed, 3 officers, 58 men; 5 officers' chargers, and 100
-troop horses; wounded, 3 officers, 34 men; 2 officers' chargers, and 21
-troop horses.
-
-Brevet Major W. R. Herries, Captain G. Newton, and Cornet E. Worley,
-were killed.
-
-Lieutenant S. Fisher (Acting Major of Brigade), E. G. Swinton, and E.
-B. Cureton, were severely wounded.
-
-On the 21st December, the army again advanced; the Third Light Dragoons
-had about four hundred men; and came up with the enemy, said to consist
-of 70,000 men, who were strongly posted in and around the village of
-"FEROZESHAH" their camp intrenched, and defended by a numerous and
-powerful artillery.
-
-At about four o'clock in the afternoon the action became general. The
-_Third Light Dragoons_ were ordered to attack the enemy's position at
-a point defended by some of the heaviest batteries, most of the guns
-being of battering calibre: as the regiment advanced, it was assailed
-with round shot and shell from several batteries. On arriving within
-about two hundred and fifty yards of the guns, the regiment moved on at
-top speed, under a most destructive fire of grape and musketry, whilst
-their infantry held the trenches at the point of the bayonet. Nothing
-dismayed, but determined on victory, the regiment pressed forward, and
-never for a moment was checked in its career until it finally entered
-the enemy's camp, and captured the whole of the batteries opposed to
-it; many of the Sikh artillerymen remaining to be cut down at their
-guns. Night having fallen, while the conflict was everywhere raging,
-and several mines having been sprung, together with the exploding of
-their field magazines, by which several men and horses were destroyed,
-the regiment was withdrawn a short distance from the burning camp,
-where it bivouacked for the night.
-
-The enemy having held a portion of his position, and being strongly
-reinforced in the night, the battle was renewed the next morning, and
-the _Third Light Dragoons_ at daybreak joined the remainder of the
-cavalry, and participated in the action of the 22nd of December, when
-about three o'clock, P. M., the _Third Light Dragoons_ were again
-ordered to charge the enemy, which he did not wait to receive, and
-he was finally driven from the field, and the army bivouacked on the
-ground they had won. The men and horses of the _Third Light Dragoons_
-were upwards of forty hours without food or water, nearly the whole of
-the time exposed to, and in conflict with, a powerful enemy; the days
-were hot and the nights intensely cold.
-
-In this great battle the regiment lost as follows:--killed, 2 officers
-and 53 men; wounded, 7 officers and 86 men; total, 9 officers and 139
-men: killed, 9 officers' chargers and 98 troop horses: wounded, 60
-troop horses; total killed and wounded, 9 officers' chargers and 158
-troop horses.
-
-The officers killed, were Captain J. E. Codd and Cornet H. Ellis;
-wounded, Colonel M. White, slightly: Major C. W. M. Balders, slightly:
-Lieutenants, H. C. Morgan, severely; J. G. A. Beeston, slightly:
-Cornets, W. H. Orme, severely; J. D. White and J. Rathwell, slightly.
-
-The Commander-in-Chief, in his despatch of the 22nd December, 1845,
-observes as follows: 'Although I brought up Major-General Sir Harry
-Smith's division, and he captured and long retained another point of
-the position, and Her Majesty's Third Light Dragoons charged and
-took some of the most formidable batteries, yet the enemy remained in
-possession of a considerable portion of the great quadrangle, whilst
-our troops, intermingled with theirs, kept possession of the remainder,
-and finally bivouacked upon it, exhausted by their gallant efforts,
-greatly reduced in numbers, and suffering extremely from thirst, yet
-animated by an indomitable spirit. In this state of things, the long
-night wore away!'
-
-The Right Honourable the Governor-General, (Lord Hardinge), who
-personally witnessed the prowess of the regiment on the battle-field,
-makes honorable mention thereof in his Orders, dated 30th December,
-1845.
-
-'The Governor-General offers his thanks more especially to Her
-Majesty's Third Light Dragoons, who, on all these occasions, sought
-opportunities of useful conflict with the enemy, and fought with that
-superiority over their opponents which skill and discipline impart to
-brave and determined men.'
-
-The regiment was detached from the army at Sultan-Khan-Wallah, and sent
-to _Ferozepore_, where it arrived on the 31st December 1845.
-
-[Sidenote: 1846]
-
-It remained at Ferozepore until the 18th January, 1846, and again
-proceeded to, and joined, the head quarters of the army at Jelliwallah,
-on the 20th of January.
-
-The glorious action at _Aliwal_ took place on the 28th of January,
-'when the enemy's camp was carried by storm; the whole of his cannon
-and munitions of war were captured, and his army driven headlong across
-the Sutlej; even on the right bank of which he found no refuge from the
-fire of our artillery.'
-
-The Third Light Dragoons were assembled on parade on the morning of the
-29th of January to celebrate the victory of _Aliwal_, when the Right
-Honourable the Governor-General, in the presence of the whole army,
-was pleased to make use of the following words, most gratifying to the
-feelings of every soldier:--'Colonel White, your regiment is an honour
-to the British army; and I wish you to make known these my sentiments,
-as head of this Government, to your officers and men.'
-
-On the 10th of February, 1846, the regiment had the proud satisfaction
-of sharing and taking a conspicuous part in that glorious and mighty
-combat, _the Battle of Sobraon_, when the Sikhs were driven from their
-stronghold, and precipitated in masses into the Sutlej, and those proud
-invaders were expelled the soil of British India.
-
-The Right Honourable the Governor-General, in his Order of Thanks
-to the Army, was pleased to pass the following high encomium on the
-conduct of the regiment in this fight:--
-
-'Her Majesty's Third Light Dragoons, as usual, were in the foremost
-ranks, and distinguished themselves under their commanding officer,
-Lieut.-Colonel White.'
-
-His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, in his despatch, dated 13th
-February, 1846, thus expresses his unqualified approbation of the
-conduct of the regiment on this occasion:--'The Sikhs, even when at
-particular points their intrenchments were mastered by the bayonet,
-strove to regain them by the fiercest conflict sword in hand; nor was
-it until the cavalry of the left, under the command of Major-General
-Sir Joseph Thackwell,[50] had moved forward and ridden through the
-openings in the intrenchments made by our Sappers, in single files,
-and reformed as they passed them, and the Third Light Dragoons, whom
-no obstacle usually held formidable by horse, appears to check, had on
-this day, _as at Ferozeshah_, galloped over, and cut down the obstinate
-defenders of batteries and field-works, and until the full weight
-of three divisions of infantry with every field artillery gun which
-could be sent to their aid, had been cast into the scale, that victory
-finally declared for the British.[51]
-
-'The fire of the Sikhs first slackened, and then nearly ceased; and
-the victors then pressing them on every side, precipitated them in
-masses over their bridge, and into the Sutlej, which a sudden rise of
-seven inches had rendered hardly fordable. In their efforts to reach
-the right bank through the deepened water, they suffered from our
-horse-artillery a terrible carnage: hundreds fell under this cannonade;
-hundreds upon hundreds were drowned in attempting the perilous passage.
-Their awful slaughter, confusion, and dismay, were such as would have
-excited compassion in the hearts of their generous conquerors, if the
-Khalsa troops had not, in the earlier part of the action, sullied
-their gallantry by slaughtering and barbarously mangling every wounded
-soldier, whom, in the vicissitudes of attack, the fortune of war left
-at their mercy.
-
-'I must pause in this narrative to notice, especially, the determined
-hardihood and bravery with which our two battalions of Ghoorkhas, the
-Sirmoor and Nusseeree, met the Sikhs, wherever they were opposed to
-them: soldiers, of small stature but indomitable spirit, they vied in
-ardent courage in the charge with the grenadiers of our own nation; and
-armed with the short weapon of their mountains, were a terror to the
-Sikhs throughout this great combat.
-
-'Sixty-seven pieces of cannon, upwards of two hundred camel-swivels
-(zumbooruks), numerous standards, and vast munitions of war, captured
-by our troops, are the pledges and trophies of our victory.
-
-'The battle was over by eleven in the morning; and in the forenoon I
-caused our engineers to burn a part, and to sink a part, of the vaunted
-bridge of the Khalsa army, across which they had boastfully come once
-more to defy us, and to threaten India with ruin and devastation.
-
-'The consequences of this great action have yet to be fully developed.
-It has at least, in God's providence, once more expelled the Sikhs from
-our territory, and planted our standards on the soil of the Punjaub.
-After occupying their entrenched position for nearly a month, the
-Khalsa army had perhaps mistaken the _caution_, which had induced us
-to wait for the necessary materiel, for _timidity_: but they must now
-deeply feel, that the blow, which has fallen on them from the British
-arm, has only been the heavier for being long delayed.'
-
-The following are the losses sustained by the Third Light Dragoons
-in the action of _Sobraon_: killed, 5 men, 1 troop horse; wounded, 4
-officers and 22 men, 2 officers' chargers and 13 troop horses.
-
-The officers wounded were, Lieutenant-Colonel J. B. Gough (Acting
-Quarter-Master General), very severely; Lieutenant J. B. Hawkes,
-slightly; Cornet Kauntze, severely; and Quarter-Master A. Crabtree,
-slightly.
-
-The Third Light Dragoons crossed the Sutlej on the 13th February,
-1846, and marched on _Lahore_, where the British army arrived on the
-20th, and encamped on that soil held sacred by the Khalsa troops, the
-'Plains of Myan Meer,' where it remained until the 24th March. The
-object for which the army was assembled having been attained, the Third
-Light Dragoons returned to their former quarters at Umballa on the 7th
-April, having, in less than four months, marched upwards of six hundred
-miles, and taken a conspicuous part in _three_ of the greatest actions
-recorded in the annals of British India.
-
-On the 22nd of February, 1846, the Right Honourable the
-Governor-General made the following announcement in General Orders:--
-
-'The British Army has this day occupied the gateway of the _Citadel of
-Lahore_, the Badshahee Mosque, and the Huzzooree Bagh.
-
-'The _Army of the Sutlej_ has now brought its operations in the field
-to a close, by the dispersion of the Sikh army, and the military
-occupation of _Lahore_, preceded by a series of the most triumphant
-successes ever recorded in the military history of India.
-
-'The British government, trusting to the faith of treaties, and to the
-long subsisting friendship between the two states, had limited military
-preparations to the defence of its own frontier. Compelled suddenly to
-assume the offensive, by the unprovoked invasion of its territories,
-the British Army, under the command of its distinguished leader, has,
-in sixty days, defeated the Sikh forces in _four general actions_;
-has captured _two hundred and twenty pieces_ of field artillery; and
-is now at the _Capital_ dictating to the _Lahore Durbar_ the terms
-of a treaty, the conditions of which will tend to secure the British
-Provinces from the repetition of a similar outrage.'
-
-On the 4th March, 1846, the Governor-General made the following further
-announcement:--
-
-'Early on the morning of the 22nd February, a brigade of British troops
-took formal possession of the _Citadel of Lahore_, the Badshahee
-Musjed, and the Huzzooree Bagh.
-
-'I considered the occupation of Lahore, and the close of active
-operations in the field, a proper opportunity for marking, by
-substantial reward, the gratitude of the British Government to
-its faithful and brave army, which had fought so gloriously, and
-so successfully; and I was glad at being able thus to bring into
-prominent contrast, the just reward of discipline and obedience, with
-the certain penalty of insubordination and violence, as exemplified
-in the fate of the two armies, which had been so long the objects of
-mutual observation; the one, victorious in the field, and honoured
-and bountifully rewarded by its Government; the other, in spite of
-its exceeding numbers and advantageous positions, vanquished in every
-battle, abandoned by a government it had coerced, and, with its
-shattered remains, left, but for the intercession of its conquerors,
-to disperse with no provision of any kind, and to seek a precarious
-subsistence by rapine and crime.'
-
-[Illustration: 3rd Light Dragoons in India.
-
- [To face page 106.]
-
-The following Regular Regiments formed part of the Anglo-Indian Army
-engaged in the Punjaub in 1845 and 1846:--
-
- +------------------+----------------------------------------------+-------+
- | | Actions at which each Regiment was | |
- | | engaged. | |
- | +----------+-------------+----------+----------+ |
- | | Moodkee, | Ferozeshah, | Aliwal, | Sobraon, | Total.|
- | | 18th Dec.| 21st & 22nd | 28th Jan.| 10th Feb.| |
- | | 1845. | Dec. 1845. | 1846. | 1846. | |
- | +----------+-------------+----------+----------+-------+
- |3rd Light Dragoons| 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 3 |
- |9th Lancers | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
- |16th " | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- |9th Foot | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 3 |
- |10th " | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
- |29th " | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 2 |
- |31st " | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
- |50th " | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
- |53rd " | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- |62nd " | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 2 |
- |80th " | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 3 |
- +------------------+----------+-------------+----------+----------+-------+
-
- * * * * *
-
-THE KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS, from the period of its
-formation in 1685, to the present time, has performed upwards of one
-hundred and sixty years' faithful and meritorious service in the reign
-of nine successive monarchs. It was employed in the several wars on
-the continent of Europe during the reigns of King William III.,--of
-Queen Anne,--and of King George II. It was again employed in Portugal,
-Spain, and France, from 1811 to 1818. It has been since engaged in most
-arduous duties in _Affghanistan_, and on the banks of the _Sutlej_,
-where it has acquired additional honours by its bravery; it continues
-to be employed in guarding the possessions of the British Crown in the
-distant clime of India.
-
-Whether confronting a foreign enemy in the field, or performing duties
-of a painful character at home, its conduct has, on all occasions, been
-such as to procure the acknowledgments of the Civil Authorities by whom
-its assistance was required;--the commendations of the General Officers
-under whose immediate command it has served;--the thanks of Parliament;
-and the approbation of its Sovereign.
-
- * * * * *
-
- The compiler of the Records of the Army feels it his duty to
- acknowledge, that his labours have been greatly assisted by a
- memoir of the services of the Third, or the King's Own, Light
- Dragoons, which was printed, in 1833, by Lieutenant Colonel Charles
- Stisted, then lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. King William
- IV. expressed himself much satisfied with the manner in which
- the Colonel had executed a task, to which His Majesty attached
- great importance, and gave him credit for the zeal and industry
- with which he had undertaken and prosecuted it; a notification
- to the above effect was made to Lieutenant-Colonel Stisted by
- Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor, G.C.H. Lieutenant Colonel
- Stisted entered the Army in May, 1794, as an ensign in the 39th
- Regiment.--He was appointed to a lieutenancy in the 13th Light
- Dragoons in January, 1803, and was promoted to be captain of a
- troop in February, 1804: he exchanged to the Third Light Dragoons
- on the 7th of February, 1811; and was promoted to a majority on
- the 14th of October, 1819, and to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the
- Regiment on the 22nd of July, 1830: he continued in command of the
- Regiment until the 19th of May, 1837, when he exchanged to the
- half-pay: he was reappointed to the full pay in September, 1841,
- and retired from the service by the sale of his commission; he died
- at Torquay on the 24th of July, 1842.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[10] The Third, ranked as Second Dragoons; the Fourth as Third; and the
-Second as Fourth; until the peace of Utrecht, when the claim of the
-Greys to precedence was submitted to a board of general officers and
-admitted.--_See the Historical Record of the Scots Greys._
-
-[11] Major Wood rose to the rank of lieut.-general. See a memoir of
-this distinguished officer in the record of the third dragoon guards.
-
-[12] The account of the services of the regiment in Ireland has been
-taken from the Official Records--London Gazettes--Accounts published by
-authority in 1690, and 1691--State of Europe--Story's History of the
-War in Ireland--Harris' Life of King William III.--and Boyer's Life of
-King William III.
-
-[13] D'Auvergne's History of the Campaign in Flanders.
-
-[14] Colonel Lloyd being sick at Brussels and the Lieutenant-Colonel on
-leave of absence.
-
-[15] The original embarkation return, signed by the Colonel of the
-regiment, is among the Harleian manuscripts in the British Museum, No.
-7025.
-
-[16] Annals of Queen Anne, page 93.
-
-[17] Bibl. Harl. 7025.
-
-[18] In Lodge's Peerage of Ireland it is stated that Brigadier-General
-Carpenter gave 1800 guineas for the colonelcy of the QUEEN'S dragoons.
-
-[19] Annals of Queen Anne.
-
-[20] Two engravings were published of this brave man; one representing
-him in the act of preserving the standard, and the other a half figure.
-He recovered from his wounds in about six weeks, and as a reward for
-his gallantry he was promoted to the post of a private gentleman in the
-life guards; an appointment which, at that time, was usually obtained
-by purchase.
-
-[21] Major Honeywood received five wounds; he was thought dead, and
-stripped, and in that state lay six hours on the field of battle. He
-was, with Captain Brown, and Lieutenant Robinson, reported dead; but
-all three recovered. We learn from a private letter from General Bland,
-published in the Gentleman's Magazine, that all his officers were
-wounded except two, but they gallantly refused to be reported so, and
-remained with the regiment.
-
-[22] The loss of the THIRD DRAGOONS was equal to that of the whole of
-the other cavalry regiments, excepting Ligonier's horse, now seventh
-dragoon guards.
-
-[23] It is said that when the King reviewed his army, previous to
-leaving them in 1743, he noticed the deficiency in the ranks of the
-THIRD, by sharply asking whose regiment it was, and what had become of
-the remainder of it. 'Please your Majesty,' was the reply of General
-Bland, 'it is my regiment, and I believe the remainder of it is at
-_Dettingen_.'
-
-[24] The sword of Lieutenant-Colonel Honeywood, of the King's Own
-dragoons, who led the attack at the affair of Clifton Moor, (December
-19, 1746,) was, on that officer's being cut down, taken possession
-of by the chief of the Macphersons, which clan formed part of the
-rear-guard of the rebel army. It is still in existence.
-
-[25] 'Lord George Murray, who always commanded the rear-guard of the
-rebels, took possession of a village called Clifton, two miles short of
-Penrith, and ordered Colonels John Stuart and Clunie Macpherson, with
-their regiments, supported by the Macdonalds of Keppock, to take post
-at the bottom of the moor, where they were covered by the hedges and
-ditches. There were also some hussars in the village, who had just come
-from Lowther Hall.
-
-'About an hour after sunset the King's troops appeared upon the moor,
-and three hundred of Colonel Honeywood's dragoons dismounted and
-marched forward to attack the rebels, who fired from behind the hedges.
-After a few volleys the dragoons were ordered to retire a few paces,
-when the highlanders, mistaking this for a flight, rushed forward with
-sword and pistol; but were well received by the dragoons, who had
-drawn their swords. Now the shouts began, the clashing of swords is
-heard, the pistols are fired, and the event seems doubtful. Some of the
-rebel's swords broke upon the steel caps of the dragoons, whereupon
-they draw their daggers and fight with great obstinacy.
-
-'Thus they continued for about an hour, when the rebels, observing
-the resolution of the dragoons, retired across the ditch with
-precipitation, and carried consternation to Penrith. Such was the
-skirmish at Clifton, in which twelve of the dragoons were slain and
-twenty-four wounded. On the side of the rebels were slain twenty, and
-seventy taken prisoners.'--_History of the Rebellion._
-
-[26] In April, 1760, Lieut.-Colonel Dalrymple, of the KING'S OWN
-DRAGOONS, published an essay dedicated to His Royal Highness the Prince
-of Wales (afterwards George III.) on the raising, arming, clothing,
-and disciplining of the British cavalry and infantry, in which the
-re-introduction of _cuirassiers_ and _lancers_ was recommended.
-
-[27] The regiment was originally mounted on long-tailed horses;
-the fashion of the short dock was introduced a few years after the
-Revolution in 1688, but the practice did not become general until about
-1709.
-
-[28] On his appointment his Lady presented to the regiment a silver
-collar engraved with military devices to be worn by the kettle drummer.
-This ornament is still preserved.
-
-[29]
-
- 'To the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Barrington His
- Majesty's Secretary at War, &c. &c. &c.
-
- 'The memorial of Lieut.-General Charles
- Fitzroy, Colonel of the Third, King's Own,
- Regiment of Dragoons.
-
- 'REPRESENTS
-
-'That the sixth trumpeter, being a kettle drummer, is a great
-inconveniency, one troop always remaining without a trumpeter: the
-kettle drums being a mark of distinction allowed by royal favour, as
-it is reported, for having taken them from the enemy at the battle of
-Aghrim; your memorialist humbly prays that you will represent it to His
-Majesty, that an additional trumpeter may be allowed, as in the Royal
-Irish Regiment of Dragoons, and other regiments having kettle drums.'
-
-N.B. Notwithstanding this document, there is every reason for believing
-that the kettle drums were taken at Dettingen, and not at Aghrim.
-Every endeavour has been made to discover positive information on the
-subject, without success. It appears from official documents that
-four pair of kettle drums were captured at Dettingen: but there is no
-mention of any kettle drums at Aghrim taken.
-
-[30] This officer entered the service July 26th, 1768.
-
-[31] Lieut.-Colonel (now General) Godfrey Basil Mundy, who had been
-promoted in 1795, to a lieutenancy in the Third Dragoons, was advanced
-to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment on the 2nd July, 1803,
-and continued in the command of it until the 2nd July, 1812, when
-ill-health obliged him to relinquish the cavalry service, and to
-exchange to the infantry. In the year 1804 a collection of standing
-orders for the Third King's Own Dragoons was compiled and issued
-by Lieutenant Colonel Mundy, in which the duties of every rank of
-officer, and non-commissioned officer, as well as private soldier, in
-all situations of service, whether at home or abroad, are ably and
-minutely defined, and in which the officers and soldiers are urgently
-recommended to devote their hours of leisure to the study of the duties
-of their profession. This code of discipline was uniformly acted upon
-until the departure of the regiment for India in the year 1837, and is
-probably maintained in this gallant corps at the present time.
-
-[32] This is the first instance in which the King's Own took horses
-of any colour, but black or brown; even the brown horses had been
-transferred.
-
-[33] The attack was made under the direction of Marshal Soult in
-person, who himself endeavoured to gain information from the prisoners.
-
-[34] Lieut.-Colonel G. B. Mundy was removed to the Second Regiment of
-Foot on the 7th July, 1812, and was succeeded in the Third Dragoons by
-Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Manners from the Twenty-third Light
-Dragoons: Lieut.-Colonel Lord Charles Manners immediately assumed the
-command of the Regiment in Spain.
-
-[35] Colonel Napier's History of the Peninsular War.
-
-[36] 'The cavalry, under Sir Stapleton Cotton, made a most gallant and
-successful charge upon a body of French infantry, which they overthrew
-and cut to pieces. In this charge Major-General Le Marchant was
-unfortunately killed at the head of his brigade, and I have to regret
-the loss of a most able officer.'--_Lord Wellington's Despatch._
-
-[37] The loss of the King's Own was small; 1 horse killed, 1 private
-and 2 horses wounded.
-
-[38] Extract of a brigade order issued by General Ponsonby.
-
- 'Boulogne, July 19th, 1814.
-
-'Major-General Ponsonby takes this opportunity of expressing to the
-brigade the high sense he entertains of their uniformly excellent
-conduct, both in quarters and in the field. It is a circumstance as
-gratifying to him, as it is creditable to themselves, that, during
-the whole period of their service, they have, in no one instance,
-collectively or individually, incurred animadversion in general orders,
-and that no individual of the brigade has been brought to a general
-court-martial. With equal truth the major-general can assert, that
-upon every occasion which has presented itself of acting against the
-enemy, either regimentally, or in brigade, they have nobly sustained
-the superiority of the British cavalry, and fully justified the
-high opinion repeatedly expressed of them by His Grace the Duke of
-Wellington. The three regiments[52] will ever have to congratulate
-themselves on its having fallen to their lot to be in the brigade
-employed on the 22nd of July, 1812 (battle of Salamanca), in that
-glorious and effectual charge which contributed in so eminent a degree
-to decide the fate of the day, and to secure the signal and complete
-defeat of the French army.'
-
-'The major-general concludes by stating, that he has applied to His
-Royal Highness the Prince Regent for permission for the three regiments
-to bear the word "SALAMANCA" on their standards and appointments, and
-to be styled "Salamanca Regiments."'
-
-[39] At York the regiment received the distinction before alluded to in
-the following letter:--
-
- 'Horse Guards, Nov. 16th, 1814.
-
-'My Lord,--I have the honour to acquaint you, that His Royal Highness
-the Prince Regent, in the name, and on the behalf of His Majesty, has
-been pleased to approve of the Third, or King's Own Dragoons being
-permitted to bear on their standards and appointments (in addition to
-any other badges or devices which have heretofore been permitted to be
-borne by that regiment) the word "SALAMANCA," in commemoration of the
-distinguished gallantry displayed by that regiment in the battle fought
-on the plains of Salamanca on the 22nd of July, 1812. I have the honour
-to be, &c.
-
- 'HENRY CALVERT, Adjt.-General.
-
- 'To Lieut.-Col. Lord Charles Manners, }
- Commanding the Third (King's Own) Dragoons.' }
-
-[40] In this year, the regiment received the following letter:--
-
- 'Sir,
- Horse Guards, 20th September, 1821.
-
-'I have the honour to acquaint you, by direction of the
-Commander-in-Chief, that His Majesty has been pleased to approve of
-the Third (or King's Own) regiment of Light Dragoons, bearing on its
-standards and appointments, in addition to any badges or devices which
-may have heretofore been granted to the regiment, the words "VITTORIA"
-and "TOULOUSE," in commemoration of the conduct of the regiment at the
-battle of Vittoria, on the 21st of June, 1813, and in the attack of the
-position, covering Toulouse, on the 10th of April, 1814.
-
- 'I have the honour, &c.
- 'JOHN MACDONALD, D.A.G.
-
- 'Officer Commanding the }
- 3rd King's Own Light Dragoons.' }
-
-[41] March 31, 1824.
-
-'The 3rd Light Dragoons, being about to leave their present quarters
-at Hampton Court, His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence takes this
-opportunity of expressing to Major Stisted his approbation of the
-uniform and steady good conduct of the regiment, since it has been in
-these quarters, and of assuring the King's Own, that they will ever
-possess His Royal Highness's best and sincerest wishes for their honour
-and welfare.'
-
-[42] Extract of a letter, dated
-
- 'My Lord,
- 'Pontefract, Aug. 14, 1825.
-
-'I am directed by Major-General the Honourable W. G. Harris to
-announce to your Lordship, that H. R. H. the Commander-in-Chief, and
-the Secretary of State for the Home Department, have expressed their
-approbation of the conduct of Lieutenant Jebb, and the men composing
-the party under his command, when employed in aid of the civil power at
-Sunderland, on the 3rd instant.
-
- 'I have the honour, &c.
- 'P. HAY, A.D.C.
-
- 'Colonel Lord R. Manners.'
-
-Extract from a letter dated
-
- 'Sunderland, Aug. 26, 1825.
-
-'I beg to have the honour of expressing my unqualified approbation
-and thanks to the officers and men of the party, for their essential
-services in the late riotous and melancholy events, and I derive great
-consolation from having received the perfect concurrence of Government,
-in the conduct of the military and magistrates, and particularly on the
-3rd of August, when it became necessary to fire on the mob, by which
-some lives were lost.
-
- 'I have the honour, &c.
- 'T. ROBERTSON, J. P.'
-
-A most handsome letter was likewise received from the Shipowner's
-Society, which, after particularizing the cool and steady conduct
-of the embarked party, proceeds to state that "they are confident
-that every other individual of the regiment would have acted in a
-similar manner." The thanks of the town are also offered to the
-non-commissioned officers and privates for their exemplary conduct
-during the time of their stay.
-
-[43] Extract of an order, dated York, May 21st, 1830:--
-
-'Major-General Sir H. Bouverie desires Major Stisted will express to
-the officers his unqualified approbation of the regiment in every
-respect. The appearance of the men, the high condition of the horses,
-and the field movements, performed with so much precision and celerity,
-reflect the highest credit on every individual. The regiment having
-scarcely had an opportunity of assembling for the last three years, and
-never having had any good drill-ground, the Major-General desires Major
-Stisted to say, that the regiment performed the manœuvres this day as
-steady, as correct, and as near perfection as cavalry can be brought,
-notwithstanding all the disadvantages it has laboured under for such a
-length of time.'
-
-[44] On the "_Army of the Indus_" being assembled in 1838, for the
-purpose of reinstating Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk in the sovereignty of
-Cabool, Colonel Thackwell, K.H. (Lieutenant-Colonel of the THIRD light
-dragoons), was selected to command the cavalry division, with the local
-rank of Major-General, and Cornet Edmund Roche, of that regiment,
-was appointed his aide-de-camp. Both served the arduous Affghanistan
-campaign, and were present at the capture of the strong and important
-fortress of Ghuznee, on the 23rd July, 1839.
-
-[45] Major-General Pollock's Despatch.
-
-[46] Major-General Pollock's Despatch.
-
-[47] Lt.-Colonel Richmond's Despatch.
-
-[48] Despatch of Major-General McCaskill.
-
-[49] In narrating the services of the regiments which composed the
-_Army of the Sutlej_ in the years 1845 and 1846, it may be desirable
-that a brief account be given of the country of the Punjaub,
-particularly of the SIKHS, the most powerful of the population. The
-important results of the sanguinary and eventful conflicts in the
-Punjaub in 1846, following so rapidly on each other, excited the
-warmest interest throughout a great part of the world; and the heroic
-deeds of the several regiments employed, added another page to the
-records of the glorious achievements of the British Army.
-
-The Punjaub, (Punj, five; aub, water,) deriving its name from the five
-rivers which intersect it, is an extensive country to the northwest
-of India. The chief of these rivers are the Indus and the Sutlej, by
-which and by the lofty Himalayas, the whole of this fine territory is
-bounded. At the period of the invasion of India by Alexander the Great,
-the Punjaub is stated to have been a wealthy and populous country,
-governed by numerous princes, whose subjects were characterised as
-brave and warlike. The Sikhs, originally a religious sect, were founded
-by Nanac, or Nanaïc, Shah, about four centuries ago; but, in after
-years, in order probably to defend their doctrines, they were induced
-by Govind, one of their high priests, to unite the warrior with the
-priestly character, thus forming a military as well as religious
-association, not dissimilar to the Templar Knights of the times of the
-Crusades. They, however, for a time almost disappeared; but profiting
-by the calamities of the Mogul empire during the last century, the
-Sikhs threw off the yoke of Mussulman despotism, their Sirdars or
-Chieftains spreading themselves over the country, ruling by might
-rather than right, and each acting independently of the other, until
-the death of Maha Singh in 1792. His son and successor Runjeet Singh
-contrived, however, to make several of the Sirdars acknowledge him
-as their leader, and by skilful management, in the course of a short
-period, obtained possession of _Lahore_, the principal city of the
-_Punjaub_, and eventually of Cashmere, Mooltan, and Peshawur. In the
-end all the chiefs submitted to him; thus bringing the whole country,
-from the Indus to the Sutlej, under his rule. He was greatly aided in
-his views of aggrandisement by the assistance of a few Italian and
-French officers, who trained his army upon the European model, and by
-their instructions it attained a high degree of discipline, proving
-one of the strongest enemies the British had ever contended with in
-India. Since the death of Runjeet in 1839, anarchy and confusion
-have prevailed; hatred of the English, which his influence checked,
-manifested itself, finally inducing the Sikh forces to invade the
-British territories, by crossing the Sutlej in great numbers in
-December, 1845, actuated as much by the hope of plunder, as by the
-desire of conquest.
-
-[50] Lieutenant Francis, of the ninth lancers, acted as aide-de-camp to
-Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, commanding the cavalry division,
-in succession to Lieutenant Roche, of the THIRD light dragoons, who
-was appointed to act as Assistant Quarter-Master-General: Lieutenants
-Francis and Roche had their horses wounded at the battle of Sobraon.
-
-[51] In the active movements performed in these severely contested
-battles, it was found that the men of the _Third Light Dragoons_
-afforded an additional proof of their usefulness and bravery, by
-bringing up, and assisting in working, the Field-Artillery, in
-positions where the guns could be effectively used against the enemy;
-thus evincing, that the instruction they had previously received
-under the system introduced at the Cavalry Depôt at Maidstone, by
-Major-General Brotherton, in 1832, may be successfully applied on field
-service.
-
-[52] _The brigade consisted of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, the Third, and
-Fourth Dragoons._
-
-
-
-
-SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
-
-OF THE
-
-THIRD, OR THE KING'S OWN REGIMENT
-
-OF
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS.
-
-
-CHARLES, DUKE of SOMERSET, K.G.
-
-_Appointed 2nd August, 1685._
-
-This nobleman succeeded to the title of DUKE of SOMERSET on the decease
-of his brother, who was murdered at Lerice, in Italy, on the 20th of
-April, 1678. He was elected a Knight of the Garter in April, 1684, and
-was one of the privy councillors who signed the proclamation of the
-accession of King James II., on the 6th of February following. Being
-Lord-Lieutenant of Somersetshire at the time of the rebellion of the
-Duke of Monmouth, he called out the militia of the county, and was
-rewarded for his fidelity to the Crown with the colonelcy of the QUEEN
-CONSORT'S Regiment of Dragoons, and the appointment of lord of the
-bed-chamber to His Majesty; but was removed from his regiment and court
-appointment for refusing to attend a nuncio from Pope Innocent XI. into
-the King's presence. At the Revolution in 1688, his grace joined the
-Prince of Orange, afterwards William III., during part of whose reign
-he presided at the council, and was one of the lords of the regency
-when His Majesty made his last visit to the Continent. The Duke of
-Somerset was also a privy councillor, and master of the horse during
-part of the reign of Queen Anne; and, after Her Majesty's demise, he
-was one of the guardians of the realm until the arrival of George I.
-from Hanover. He died on the 2nd of Dec., 1748, and was buried in
-Salisbury Cathedral: a fine marble monument of his grace was afterwards
-placed in the senate-house of the University of Cambridge.
-
-
-ALEXANDER CANNON.
-
-_Appointed 2nd August, 1687._
-
-ALEXANDER CANNON entered the service of the United Provinces of the
-Netherlands, and held a commission in one of the English regiments in
-Holland, with which he served under the Prince of Orange (afterwards
-King William III.), and was promoted to the colonelcy of the corps.
-Having arrived in England with his regiment in the summer of 1685,
-to assist in suppressing the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, he
-quitted the Dutch service, and was appointed, by King James II.,
-Lieutenant-Colonel of the QUEEN'S Dragoons. He was a stanch adherent
-to the Court, and was rewarded with the colonelcy of the regiment in
-1687; but refusing to take the oath to the Prince of Orange, at the
-Revolution in 1688, he was removed from his command.
-
-Colonel Cannon proceeded to Ireland in 1689, where he was promoted by
-King James to the rank of brigadier-general; he was sent with a small
-body of men to Scotland, to assist the highlanders in their opposition
-to the government of King William III. He was second in command at
-the Battle of Killicrankie, and after the fall of Viscount Dundee, he
-commanded the Highlanders and Irish. He was reinforced by another body
-of troops from Ireland under Brigadier-General Buchan, and remained
-in Scotland two years; but being harassed by the King's forces,
-and defeated in several skirmishes, the highlanders tendered their
-submission to King William, and their commanders followed King James to
-France.
-
-
-RICHARD LEVESON.
-
-_Appointed 31st December, 1688._
-
-In the reign of King Charles II. RICHARD LEVESON served as a volunteer
-against the Moors at Tangier, in Africa; and on the breaking out of
-the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth in June, 1685, he raised a troop
-of dragoons in the county of Middlesex, which troop was eventually
-incorporated in the QUEEN'S regiment, now THIRD, or KING'S OWN. In the
-summer of 1687, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and having
-joined the standard of the Prince of Orange, in November, 1688, he was
-advanced, on the 31st of December following, to the colonelcy of the
-regiment. He served at the head of the QUEEN'S Dragoons in Ireland;
-evinced great personal bravery at the Battle of the Boyne, and on other
-occasions, as detailed in the record of the THIRD Light Dragoons;
-and acquired celebrity for his ability, activity, and gallantry on
-detached services. After the decease of Brigadier-General Villiers,
-King William rewarded the brave LEVESON with the command of a corps of
-cuirassiers, now second dragoon guards. He served under His Majesty in
-the Netherlands, and was promoted to the rank of major-general on the
-11th of January, 1696. His decease occurred on the 3rd of March, 1699.
-
-
-THOMAS, LORD FAIRFAX.
-
-_Appointed 30th January, 1694._
-
-LORD FAIRFAX having joined the Prince of Orange at the Revolution in
-1688, was appointed lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel in the third
-troop of life guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court
-duty of silver stick; he afterwards exchanged to the second troop (now
-second regiment) of life guards, from which he was promoted to the
-colonelcy of the QUEEN'S dragoons. He retired in the following year,
-and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1702. He died in
-January, 1710.
-
-
-WILLIAM LLOYD.
-
-_Appointed 21st February, 1695._
-
-This Officer served with distinction under King William III. in
-Ireland and the Netherlands, and was promoted to the colonelcy of the
-QUEEN'S Dragoons by purchase, in 1695. He served with his regiment
-in Flanders until the peace of Ryswick; was promoted to the rank of
-brigadier-general in the spring of 1702; and, commanding a brigade of
-infantry under the Duke of Ormond, in the expedition to Spain, was
-engaged in the storming of the forts of Vigo. He was subsequently
-advanced to the rank of major-general; but obtained permission to
-dispose of the colonelcy of his regiment in 1703, to Colonel Carpenter.
-
-
-GEORGE CARPENTER.
-
-_Appointed 31st December, 1703._
-
-GEORGE CARPENTER was born in February, 1657, and when fourteen years
-of age he was page to the Duke of Montague in his grace's embassy to
-France. In 1672, he entered the army as a private gentleman in the
-Duke of York's troop of life guards, which corps was, at that period,
-as a school where young gentlemen were qualified for commissions. In
-1685 he was appointed troop quarter-master in a newly-raised corps
-of cuirassiers, now second dragoon guards; in which regiment he rose
-to the rank of cornet in 1687, and afterwards to that of lieutenant,
-captain, and lieutenant-colonel. He served with his regiment in
-Ireland, and in Flanders and Brabant, and was promoted to the rank
-of colonel in the army in 1702. In the following year he purchased
-the colonelcy of the QUEEN'S Dragoons and was promoted to the rank of
-brigadier-general on the 25th of December, 1705. He proceeded to Spain
-in 1706, and serving with the allied army, signalized himself at the
-unfortunate battle of _Almanza_ in 1707, where he repeatedly charged
-at the head of the British cavalry, and, commanding one of the last
-squadrons which left the field, saved the Earl of Galway, many wounded
-men, and much of the baggage from falling into the hands of the enemy.
-He continued with the army in Spain, acquiring additional honour by
-his excellent conduct on all occasions, was promoted to the rank of
-major-general in September, 1708, and to that of lieutenant-general
-in January, 1710. In the brilliant cavalry action on the plains of
-Almanara, on the 27th of July, 1710, he highly distinguished himself,
-and was wounded: his spirited conduct on this occasion, procured him
-the thanks of King Charles III. of Spain, afterwards Emperor of the
-Romans, who was with the army. He acquired fresh laurels at Saragossa
-and wrote an interesting account of that battle, which was published
-at the time. After advancing to Madrid, the army retreated to Valencia
-and Catalonia, and Lieutenant-General Carpenter was with the division
-under General Stanhope, which halted at the little walled town of
-Brihuega, in the mountains of Castile, and was there surrounded and
-made prisoners by the French army. On this occasion he was wounded by
-a musket-ball, which, having broken part of his jaw, lodged itself
-under the root of his tongue, where it remained several months before
-it could be extracted, during which time his life was in danger, and he
-suffered great pain.
-
-In the spring of 1715, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and
-plenipotentiary to the court of Vienna. During the rebellion of the
-Earl of Mar, he commanded a detached corps, prevented the insurgents
-obtaining possession of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and afterwards, joining
-Major-General Wills, took a division of the rebel army prisoners,
-at Preston, in Lancashire. He was rewarded with the appointment of
-governor of Minorca and Port Mahon, and commander of the forces in
-Scotland; and in May, 1719, he was advanced to the peerage of Ireland
-by the title of BARON CARPENTER of Killaghy in the county of Kilkenny.
-
-LORD CARPENTER was many years a member of Parliament, first for
-Whitchurch in Hampshire, and afterwards for the city of Westminster.
-He published a highly useful work entitled 'A Dissertation on the
-Manœuvres of Cavalry.' After serving the Crown a period of nearly sixty
-years, in the reign of six successive sovereigns, he died, on the 10th
-of February, 1732, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and was buried
-at Ouselburg in Hampshire, where a monument was erected to his memory.
-He was ancestor of the Earls of Tyrconnel.
-
-
-PHILIP HONEYWOOD.
-
-_Appointed 29th May, 1732._
-
-PHILIP HONEYWOOD entered the army in 1694, and served under King
-William III.; he subsequently served Her Majesty Queen Anne, and became
-an efficient officer under the celebrated JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.
-Having attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the thirty-third
-foot, on the 27th of May, 1709, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the
-92nd regiment, which was disbanded in 1712. In 1715 he was commissioned
-to raise, form, and discipline a regiment of dragoons, (now the
-eleventh light dragoons), which he executed with ability, and was
-afterwards instrumental in the suppression of the rebellion of the Earl
-of Mar. In 1719 he commanded a brigade under Lord Cobham at the capture
-of Vigo and Rondondella in Spain. On the 29th of May, 1732, he was
-removed to the command of the THIRD dragoons, which he retained until
-promoted to the King's Own regiment of horse in 1743. In 1742 a British
-force was sent to Flanders, under General Honeywood, who held the chief
-command of the troops, until the arrival of the Earl of Stair. At the
-battle of Dettingen one division of the army was commanded by this
-distinguished officer, and he led the royal horse guards and the King's
-horse to the charge with great gallantry. He served in the subsequent
-campaigns on the continent with distinction, and with the approbation
-of his sovereign, by whom he was advanced to the dignity of a Knight
-of the honourable order of the Bath. He died in 1752, and was interred
-with military honours at Portsmouth, of which place he was governor at
-the time of his decease.
-
-
-HUMPHREY BLAND.
-
-_Appointed 18th April, 1743._
-
-HUMPHREY BLAND served several campaigns on the continent under
-the celebrated JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. He afterwards served as
-lieut.-colonel in Spain, and in 1710 was wounded at the battle of
-Almanara. In 1715 he was appointed lieut.-colonel to the eleventh
-dragoons, and was afterwards lieut.-colonel of the second horse, now
-first dragoon guards. In 1737 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the
-thirty-sixth foot, from which he was removed in 1741, to the thirteenth
-dragoons, and two years afterwards to the KING'S OWN dragoons. He had
-his horse shot under him at Dettingen; displayed great gallantry at
-Fontenoy, and highly distinguished himself at the battle of Culloden.
-In 1752 he was removed to the first dragoon guards; and died in the
-following year.
-
-
-JAMES, LORD TYRAWLEY.
-
-_Appointed 8th July, 1752._
-
-THE HON. JAMES O'HARA was appointed lieutenant in the royal regiment
-of fusiliers, commanded by his father, on the 15th of March, 1703, and
-in 1706 he proceeded with his regiment to the relief of Barcelona.
-In the following year he was aide-de-camp to the Earl of Galway,
-whose life he is reported to have saved at the unfortunate battle of
-Almanza, by interposing between his lordship and a dragoon, whom he
-shot with his pistol, but was, himself, wounded by the dragoon. He
-served several years at Minorca, and in 1713 obtained the colonelcy of
-the royal fusiliers, in succession to his father, at whose decease,
-in 1733, he succeeded to the dignity of BARON TYRAWLEY. The rank
-of brigadier-general was conferred on his lordship on the 23rd of
-November, 1735; that of major-general on the 2nd of July, 1739; and in
-August, of the latter year, he was removed from the royal fusiliers
-to the fifth horse, now fourth dragoon guards. In March, 1743, he was
-promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and in the following month
-obtained the colonelcy of the second troop of horse grenadier guards,
-from which he was removed in 1745 to the third troop of life guards,
-which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of gold stick.
-In 1746, when King George II. had resolved to disband the third and
-fourth troops of life guards, his lordship was removed to the tenth
-foot: he was again removed, in 1749, to the fourteenth dragoons; in
-1752, to the THIRD or KING'S OWN regiment of dragoons; and in 1755, to
-the second, or Coldstream regiment of foot guards. He was appointed
-governor of Portsmouth on the 1st of May, 1759, and was promoted to
-the rank of general on the 7th of March, 1761. He held the appointment
-of governor of Minorca for several years; was employed as envoy and
-ambassador to the courts of Portugal and Russia; and died at Twickenham
-on the 13th of July, 1773.
-
-
-GEORGE, EARL OF ALBEMARLE.
-
-_Appointed 8th April, 1755._
-
-VISCOUNT BURY commenced his military service as ensign in the second
-foot guards in 1738; in 1741 he was captain-lieutenant in the royal
-dragoons; in 1743 he held the same rank in his former regiment; and
-on the 27th of May, 1745, he obtained the commission of captain and
-lieut.-colonel in the same corps. He was aide-de-camp to the Duke of
-Cumberland at the battle of Fontenoy; also attended His Royal Highness
-at the battle of Culloden,--was sent with the news of that victory
-to London, and was immediately afterwards appointed aide-de-camp to
-the King with the rank of colonel. The colonelcy of the twentieth
-foot was conferred on his lordship on the 1st of November, 1749. In
-1754 he succeeded to the title of EARL OF ALBEMARLE; and obtained
-the colonelcy of the KING'S OWN dragoons in the succeeding year.
-The rank of major-general was conferred on his lordship in 1756,
-and that of lieut.-general in 1759. In 1761 he was a member of the
-privy council and governor of the island of Jersey; and in 1762, he
-commanded the land forces employed in the reduction of the Havannah;
-in the performance of which service he acquired great reputation, and
-his conduct called forth the approbation of his sovereign and of the
-British nation. He was elected a Knight of the Garter in 1766; and died
-in 1772.
-
-
-CHARLES, LORD SOUTHAMPTON.
-
-_Appointed 20th October, 1772._
-
-LORD CHARLES FITZROY, brother of Augustus-Henry, Duke of Grafton,
-choosing a military life, obtained the commission of ensign in the
-first foot guards on the 16th of March, 1752. In 1756 he was promoted
-to the rank of lieutenant, and in 1758 obtained the command of a
-company with the rank of lieut.-colonel. In 1762 he was promoted
-to the colonelcy of the 119th, or Prince's Own, regiment of foot,
-which was disbanded after the peace of Fontainbleau. The colonelcy
-of the fourteenth dragoons was conferred on his lordship on the
-11th of September, 1765, and in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of
-major-general and removed to the KING'S OWN dragoons. He was further
-promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777; advanced to the peerage
-by the title of LORD SOUTHAMPTON in 1780; and promoted to the rank of
-general in 1793. He died on the 21st of March, 1797.
-
-
-FRANCIS LASCELLES.
-
-_Appointed 23rd March, 1797._
-
-This Officer was appointed on the 13th of December, 1761, captain in
-the seventeenth light dragoons, then commanded by captain-commandant
-Lord Aberdour. In June, 1764, he was appointed major of the eighth
-dragoons, and in May, 1768, obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the
-regiment, from which he was removed on the 8th of May, 1780, to
-the lieut.-colonelcy of the KING'S OWN dragoons. He was appointed
-major-general in 1782; colonel of the eighth dragoons in 1789; and
-lieut.-general on the 12th of October, 1793. After the decease of Lord
-Southampton the colonelcy of the KING'S OWN dragoons was conferred on
-Lieut.-General Lascelles, who was also groom of the bed-chamber to King
-George III.; and was advanced to the rank of general in 1798. He was
-highly respected by the officers of the regiment, and was distinguished
-for easy dignity, manliness, and good sense. He died in 1799.
-
-
-SIR CHARLES GREY, K.B.
-
-_Appointed 4th September, 1799._
-
-CHARLES GREY, fourth son of Sir Henry Grey, Baronet, entered the army
-in the reign of King George II., and was promoted to the command of a
-company in the twentieth foot on the 31st of May, 1755. In 1758 his
-regiment proceeded to Germany, and he was appointed aide-de-camp to the
-Duke of Brunswick, in which capacity he served in 1759 at the glorious
-battle of Minden, where he was wounded. In 1761, he was appointed
-lieut.-colonel commandant of the ninety-eighth regiment, which was
-then newly-raised, and was disbanded after the peace of Fontainbleau,
-when he was placed on half-pay. In 1772 he was promoted to the rank of
-colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp to King George III., who conferred
-on him the colonelcy of the twenty-eighth foot in March, 1777, and
-promoted him to the rank of major-general in August following. In 1782
-he obtained the dignity of a knight of the Bath; was promoted to the
-rank of lieut.-general, and appointed commander-in-chief in America;
-but the war was terminated before he had an opportunity of proceeding
-thither. In 1787 he was removed to the eighth dragoons; and in 1789
-he obtained the colonelcy of the seventh or Princess Royal's dragoon
-guards.
-
-In 1793 Sir Charles Grey was appointed to the command of an expedition
-to the West Indies; but while the armament was preparing the Duke of
-York raised the siege of Dunkirk, and the French menaced Ostend and
-Nieuport. The troops sailed for Flanders, and by his timely arrival
-Sir Charles Grey preserved the two fortresses from the power of the
-enemy. He subsequently proceeded to the West Indies, and the islands
-of Martinico, St. Lucia, and Guadaloupe were captured: and his
-services were recompensed with the government of Dumbarton, and the
-colonelcy of the twentieth, or Jamaica, regiment of light dragoons, by
-commission dated the 4th of November, 1795. After his return to England
-he was promoted to the rank of general, sworn of the privy-council,
-reappointed colonel of the eighth dragoons, and placed in command of
-the troops stationed in the southern district, to repel the projected
-French invasion. In 1799 he was appointed colonel of the THIRD, or
-KING'S OWN dragoons. At length, being worn out with age and active
-service, he retired to his country seat to pass the remainder of his
-days in the bosom of his family. His services were not forgotten by his
-sovereign, who created him BARON GREY DE HOWICK in 1801; and advanced
-him, in 1806, to the dignity of Viscount Howick and EARL GREY: he held
-also the government of the island of Guernsey. His decease occurred on
-the 14th of November, 1807, at his seat called Fallowden, near Alnwick,
-in Northumberland.
-
-
-WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT.
-
-_Appointed 28th November, 1807._
-
-This Officer was appointed cornet in the tenth dragoons on the 22nd of
-February, 1769, lieutenant in 1775, captain-lieutenant in the THIRD
-dragoons in 1778, and exchanged in 1779 to the tenth dragoons, of which
-corps he was appointed major in 1786, and lieut.-colonel in 1793. The
-high condition of the tenth was a proof of his care and attention to
-all the duties of commanding officer; and in 1796 he was appointed
-colonel in the army, and aide-de-camp to King George III. Having been
-promoted to the rank of major-general in April, 1802, he was employed
-on the staff of South Britain during the succeeding six years, first in
-the inspection of cavalry regiments in the western district, afterwards
-in the command of the cavalry on the coast of Kent, in the command
-of the cavalry in the home district, and subsequently in the command
-of a brigade of cavalry in Kent, designed for foreign service. In
-1804 he was promoted from the lieut.-colonelcy of the tenth, to the
-colonelcy of the twenty-third dragoons, and in 1807 he obtained the
-colonelcy of the KING'S OWN dragoons. He was advanced to the rank of
-lieut.-general in 1808, to that of general in 1819, and in 1821 he was
-removed to the colonelcy of the King's dragoon guards. He was a member
-of the consolidated board of general officers: his decease occurred in
-February, 1827.
-
-
-STAPLETON COTTON, VISCOUNT COMBERMERE, G.C.B., and G.C.H.
-
-_Appointed 25th January, 1821._
-
-STAPLETON COTTON entered the army in 1790 as second lieutenant in the
-royal Welsh fusiliers. His services, in command of a troop of the
-sixth dragoon guards under the Duke of York in Flanders, under General
-Harris in the East Indies, at the Cape of Good Hope, under the Duke of
-Wellington in command of a brigade of cavalry at Talavera, in command
-of the British cavalry at Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Orthes, Toulouse,
-&c. &c. &c., were rewarded with the dignity of VISCOUNT COMBERMERE,
-grand cross of the military order of the Bath, and grand cross of the
-royal Hanoverian Guelphic order. He was appointed to the colonelcy of
-the twentieth dragoons in 1813, to that of the KING'S OWN dragoons in
-1821, and was removed in 1829, to the first regiment of life guards, of
-which corps he has retained the command to the present time.
-
-
-LORD GEORGE THOMAS BERESFORD, G.C.H.
-
-_Appointed 16th September, 1829._
-
-LORD GEORGE BERESFORD entered the service as cornet of the 14th light
-dragoons in April, 1794; he was shortly afterwards promoted, and, after
-serving in the grades of lieutenant and captain in the infantry, he
-obtained, in December, 1800, a majority in the 6th dragoon guards.
-In the following three years he was employed with that regiment in
-Ireland, and in attending Parliament as a member of the House of
-Commons for the county of Waterford, of which he was Custos Rotulorum.
-He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in Dillon's regiment in
-1803, and when a second battalion was added to the 71st regiment, under
-the Additional Force Act, in the year 1804, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord
-George Beresford was selected for the command of it. In July, 1807,
-Lord George Beresford reverted to the cavalry branch of the service,
-and was appointed to the command of the 2nd, or Queen's Dragoon Guards,
-which he retained until his promotion to the rank of major-general
-on the 4th June, 1814. On the 16th September, 1829, his Lordship was
-appointed to the colonelcy of the THIRD, KING'S OWN, Light Dragoons,
-and attained the rank of lieut.-general in the army on the 22nd July,
-1830. His Lordship was brother to the late, and uncle to the present,
-Marquess of Waterford, and he died at the Palace at Armagh, the
-residence of his elder brother, the Lord Primate of Ireland, on the
-26th October, 1839.
-
-
-LORD CHARLES SOMERSET MANNERS, K.C.B.
-
-_Appointed 8th November, 1839._
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX
-
-TO THE
-
-HISTORICAL RECORD
-
-OF THE
-
-THIRD, OR THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT
-
-OF
-
-LIGHT DRAGOONS.
-
-
-The following is a list of the Officers of the Third, or the King's
-Own, Light Dragoons, showing those who were engaged in the campaign on
-the Sutlej in the years 1845 and 1846.
-
-Copies of Brigadier White's Reports, dated 19th and 25th December,
-1845, are annexed, respecting the conduct of the Officers and Men at
-the memorable battles of Moodkee and Ferozeshah.
-
-These testimonials are equally honourable to the Officers and Men, and
-to their Commander, Brigadier-General White, by whose talents, bravery
-and example, the excellent qualities of the regiment were drawn forth,
-which are attested in the strongest terms of commendation, by the
-Governor-General and by the Commander-in-Chief, in India, as detailed
-in the Historical Record of the services of the Regiment.
-
-To these reports are added copies of the Votes of Thanks of the House
-of Lords, and of the House of Commons; Marks of Honour, which are
-conferred only for great and glorious actions, and for special public
-services.
-
-Names and Distribution of the Officers of the Third, "King's Own" Light
-Dragoons, during the campaign on the Sutlej, in 1845 and 1846.
-
- +----------------+---------------------+----------------------------------+
- | Rank. | Names. | Remarks. |
- +----------------+---------------------+----------------------------------+
- | Lieut.-Colonel | Colonel Sir Joseph | Commanding the Cawnpore Station |
- | | Thackwell, K.C.B. | as Major-General; was present |
- | | and K.H. | at Sobraon, where he commanded |
- | | | the Cavalry Division. |
- | | | |
- | " | Col. Michael White | Brigadier commanding the Cavalry |
- | | | Division at Moodkee and 1st |
- | | | Cavalry Brigade at Ferozeshah, |
- | | | where he was wounded. |
- | | | Promoted Aide-de-Camp to the |
- | | | Queen, with the rank of |
- | | | Colonel, on the 3rd April, |
- | | | 1846. |
- | | | |
- | Major | Lieut.-Colonel G. | Absent on leave. Promoted on |
- | | H. Lockwood | 9th November, 1846. Rejoined |
- | | | on 13th January, 1847. |
- | | | |
- | " | Lieut.-Col. C. W. | Commanded the regiment at |
- | | M. Balders | Moodkee and Ferozeshah until |
- | | | wounded on the evening of |
- | | | 21st December. |
- | | | |
- | Captain | J. Tritton | Assistant Adjutant-General of |
- | | | the Cavalry Division. Promoted |
- | | | in 10th Royal Hussars on 3rd |
- | | | April, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. W. Yerbury | Absent on leave. Promoted on |
- | | | 9th November, 1846. Rejoined |
- | | | 5th April, 1847. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. R. B. Hale | Commanded the regiment on the |
- | | | night of the 21st December, |
- | | | and during the action of the |
- | | | 22nd, _vice_ Major Balders; |
- | | | wounded. Promoted to the rank |
- | | | of Major on the 3rd April, |
- | | | 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | Lieut.-Colonel J. | Commanding 2nd Cavalry Brigade; |
- | | B. Gough. | severely wounded at Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | " | W. Unett | In charge of Depôt Troop at |
- | | | Maidstone. Rejoined the |
- | | | regiment 4th June, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | Major W. R. Herries | Aide-de-Camp to the |
- | | | Governor-General. Killed at |
- | | | Moodkee. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. E. Dyer | Absent on leave. Exchanged to |
- | | | the 68th Regiment, on 3rd |
- | | | April, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | G. Forbes | In charge of Detachments _en |
- | | | route_. Joined the regiment |
- | | | in January, 1846, and was |
- | | | present at Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | " | W. E. F. Barnes | Present with the regiment. |
- | | | |
- | Lieutenant | J. E. Codd | Promoted Captain on 19th |
- | | | December, 1845, _vice_ |
- | | | Herries. Killed in action at |
- | | | Ferozeshah. |
- | | | |
- | " | S. Fisher | Major of Brigade of 1st Cavalry |
- | | | Brigade; severely wounded at |
- | | | Moodkee. Promoted Captain on |
- | | | 22nd December, _vice_ Codd. |
- | | | |
- | " | W. H. Hadfield | In charge of Depôt Service |
- | | | Troops at Umballa. Promoted |
- | | | 3rd April, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | G. Newton | Killed in action at Moodkee. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. Martin | At Cavalry Depôt, Maidstone. |
- | | | Promoted on 9th November, |
- | | | 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | E. G. Swinton | Severely wounded at Moodkee. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. D. Codwell | Present with the regiment. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. Sullivan, | Appointed Officiating Major of |
- | | _Adjutant_ | Brigade of 1st Cavalry Brigade |
- | | | on 19th December, _vice_ |
- | | | Fisher; wounded. |
- | | | |
- | " | H. Wood | On leave of absence. Rejoined |
- | | | the regiment on 28th June, |
- | | | 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | E. Roche | Aide-de-Camp to Major-General |
- | | | Sir J. Thackwell; afterwards |
- | | | Acting Assistant |
- | | | Quarter-Master-General. |
- | | | Present at Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | " | G. Cookes | Appointed Acting Adjutant to the |
- | | | regiment, on 19th December, |
- | | | _vice_ Sullivan, Acting |
- | | | Brigade Major. |
- | | | |
- | " | C. Bowles | On duty with Invalids. Joined |
- | | | the regiment in January, 1846, |
- | | | and was present at Sobraon. |
- | | | Exchanged to 7th Hussars on |
- | | | 27th August, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. H. Travers | At Cavalry Depôt, Maidstone. |
- | | | Rejoined the regiment on 1st |
- | | | July, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | R. Casement | On leave of absence. Rejoined |
- | | | the regiment on the 17th |
- | | | September, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | E. B. Cureton | Severely wounded at Moodkee. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. B. Hawkes | Present;--wounded at Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | " | T. Penton | Present. |
- | | | |
- | " | H. C. Morgan | Severely wounded at Ferozeshah. |
- | | | |
- | " | F. G. Archer Burton | Present with the regiment; |
- | | | received a contusion at |
- | | | Ferozeshah. |
- | | | |
- | Cornet | E. Worley | Killed at Moodkee. |
- | | | |
- | " | H. Ellis | Killed at Forezeshah. |
- | | | |
- | " | H. W. White | Present. Wounded at Sobraon. |
- | | | Promoted on 19th December, |
- | | | 1845, _vice_ Lieut. Codd. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. D. White | Present. Received a contusion at |
- | | | Ferozeshah. Promoted on 19th |
- | | | December, 1845, _vice_ Lieut. |
- | | | Newton. |
- | | | |
- | " | George Wyndham | Exchanged to 16th Lancers, with |
- | | Knight Bruce | Cornet Hodgson, on 31st |
- | | | October, and continued on |
- | | | service with the 3rd Light |
- | | | Dragoons. Killed at Ferozeshah |
- | | | on the 21st December, 1845. |
- | | | |
- | " | J. Rathwell, | Present. Received a contusion at |
- | | _Riding-Master_ | Ferozeshah. Promoted on 22nd |
- | | | December, 1845, _vice_ Lieut. |
- | | | Fisher. |
- | | | |
- | " | W. H. Orme | Severely wounded at Ferozeshah. |
- | | | Promoted on 3rd April, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | C. R. Colt | _En route_ with Detachment; |
- | | | joined the regiment in |
- | | | February, 1846, and was |
- | | | present at Sobraon. Promoted |
- | | | on 9th November, 1846. |
- | | | |
- | " | R. Hodgson | Exchanged from the 16th Lancers |
- | | | on 31st October, 1845, with |
- | | | Cornet Bruce. Joined the 3rd |
- | | | Light Dragoons in January, |
- | | | 1846, and was present at |
- | | | Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | " | G. E. F. Kauntze | Present. Severely wounded at |
- | | | Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | Paymaster | E. Cormick | Present with the Regiment. |
- | | | |
- | Adjutant | Lieut. J. Sullivan | Present. |
- | | | |
- | Quartermaster | A. Crabtree | Present. Wounded at Sobraon. |
- | | | |
- | Surgeon | J. Henderson (M.D.) | On duty with Invalids. |
- | | | |
- | Assis. Surgeon | H. Franklin | Present. |
- | | | |
- | " " | F. Laing (M.D.) | Present. |
- | | | |
- | Vet. Surgeon | G. Edlin | Present. |
- +----------------+---------------------+----------------------------------+
-
-It is worthy of being recorded, that many of the Non-Commissioned
-Officers and Men, who were wounded in the different engagements,
-concealed the fact, that they might have an opportunity of sharing in
-any further Actions in which the regiment might be engaged. Amongst
-others, Troop Serjeant-major WALTER ELDRIDGE, who received a bayonet
-wound through the calf of his leg, in charging over the enemy's
-entrenched infantry on the evening of the 21st December, never reported
-the circumstance, until from lameness, caused by inflammation of the
-leg, the brave fellow could no longer conceal it. He was immediately
-conveyed to the Hospital, where he died in a few days afterwards.
-
-
- _Copy of a Despatch of Brigadier M. White, C.B., Commanding
- the Cavalry Division on the 18th December, 1845, to the
- Adjutant-General of the Army in India._
-
- Camp, Moodkee, 19th December, 1845.
-
- SIR,
-
-In forwarding the accompanying return of the casualties which occurred
-in the Cavalry Division under my command in the Action of yesterday,
-I have the honour to state, for the information of His Excellency the
-Commander-in-Chief, that the whole of the regiments engaged performed
-their duty to my entire satisfaction; but, consequent on the nature of
-the ground and the numerous bodies of both Cavalry and Infantry that
-were opposed to them, I regret to say the loss has been very heavy,
-more particularly in Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons, who bore the
-brunt of the Action.
-
-I further beg to bring to the notice of His Excellency, that
-Captain Tritton of Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons, my Assistant
-Adjutant-General, captured one of the enemy's Standards with his own
-hands, which he has delivered over to me as Commanding the Cavalry
-Division.
-
-It has also been reported to me by Lieutenant and Adjutant Sullivan of
-Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons, that Serjeant Hinds, and a party of
-six or seven men of the regiment, succeeded in capturing two of the
-enemy's Guns, after cutting down the whole of the armed party who were
-with them. The Guns were marked by order of Lieutenant Sullivan, who
-can identify them.
-
-I have in conclusion to add, that the undermentioned Officers afforded
-me every assistance, and conducted themselves throughout the Action to
-my entire satisfaction, and I beg to bring them to His Excellency's
-favourable notice:--
-
- Brigadier Gough, C.B., Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons.
-
- Brigadier Mactier, 4th Native Cavalry (Lancers).
-
- Major Balders, Commanding 3rd Light Dragoons.
-
- Captain Dawkins, Commanding Governor-General's Body-Guard.
-
- Major Alexander, Commanding 5th Light Cavalry.
-
- Captain Nash, Commanding 4th Light Cavalry.
-
- Captain Christie, Commanding 4th Irregular Cavalry.
-
- Captain Tritton, Assistant Adjutant-General of Cavalry.
-
- Captain Quin, Deputy Quarter Master-General of Cavalry.
-
- Lieutenant Fisher, Brigade-Major.
-
- Captain Harrington, Brigade Major.
-
- Captain Wyld, Brigade Major.
-
-I trust I may also be permitted to name Lieutenant and Adjutant
-Sullivan, Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons, who rendered me most
-essential service, independent of his regimental duties, throughout the
-action.
-
- I have, &c.,
-
- M. WHITE,
-
- _Lieut.-Col. 3rd Light Dragoons,
- Brigadier Commanding Cavalry Division,
- Army of the Sutlej_.
-
-
- _Copy of a Despatch from Brigadier M. White, C.B., Commanding the
- Cavalry Division, to the Adjutant-General of the Army in India._
-
- Camp, Ferozeshah, 25th December, 1845.
-
- SIR,
-
-In compliance with instructions contained in the General Order by His
-Excellency the Commander-in-Chief of yesterday's date, I have the
-honour to report on the operations of the Cavalry Division under my
-command during the Actions of the 21st and 22nd instant, as far as came
-under my personal observation, and have the gratification to state, for
-His Excellency's information, that every Individual of Her Majesty's
-3rd Light Dragoons, both Officers and Men, performed their duty with
-the highest credit to themselves and their country. This I had an
-opportunity of witnessing, having charged at the head of the regiment
-myself through a battery of the enemy's guns which met us with a most
-galling fire of grape, and over their infantry entrenched in front of
-their camp. This charge was a most gallant and successful one, as we
-succeeded in completely driving the enemy from their guns, though, I
-regret to say, our loss on this occasion has been very severe, both in
-Officers and Men, as will be seen by the Casualty Return of the Corps.
-
-I beg to bring to his Excellency's favourable notice the merits of the
-following Officers who gallantly led the regiment into action:--Major
-Balders, Commanding; Captain Tritton, Assistant Adjutant-General;
-Lieutenant Sullivan, Officiating Major of Brigade; Captain Havelock,
-and Brigade Major Wyld of the 4th Lancers; the two latter Officers were
-at the time acting under my orders, and charged with the regiment.
-
-I beg to add, that Major Balders having been wounded in the charge,
-the command devolved on Captain Hale, who brought the regiment out of
-Action.
-
-During the 22nd, the brigade immediately under my command was engaged
-manœuvring during the whole of the day, sometimes for the protection
-of our own Artillery, and at others, with a view of cutting off the
-enemy's retreat, and capturing their few remaining guns; in the latter
-we were not successful, as, with the exception of about a squadron of
-Her Majesty's 3rd Light Dragoons and the 4th Regiment of Lancers, the
-whole of the Cavalry had been withdrawn off the field. On this day
-our loss was comparatively small, having lost a few Non-Commissioned
-Officers and Men, and having two Officers' chargers killed by round
-shot, one of which was Lieutenant Sullivan's, my officiating Major of
-Brigade, being the third horse shot under him during the Actions of the
-18th, 21st, and 22nd December.
-
- I have, &c.,
-
- M. WHITE,
-
- _Lieut.-Col. 3rd Light Dragoons,
- Brigadier Commanding Cavalry Division,
- Army of the Sutlej_.
-
-
-_Extracts from Minutes of Proceedings of the House of Lords.--2nd
-March, 1846._
-
-"Order of the day read, _Moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this
-House be given to the Right Honourable Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
-Hardinge, Governor-General of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Order
-of the Bath, for the energy and ability with which he directed the
-military means at his disposal, to the repelling of the unprovoked
-invasion by the Sikh Army, of the dominions of the British Government,
-and of the Protected States upon the left bank of the Sutlej; and also
-for the firmness and gallantry with which he directed the operations of
-that portion of the Army under his immediate command, in the afternoon
-and night of December 21st, 1845, and on the morning of the 22nd, upon
-which occasion the enemy's defences were carried by storm, the greater
-part of their Artillery captured, and their subsequent attempts to
-regain what they had lost repeatedly defeated.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of the
-Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the East Indies,
-for the distinguished valour with which he directed and led the
-several attacks upon the enemy, and for the eminent services rendered
-by him in the Battles of the 18th, 21st, and 22nd of December, 1845;
-displaying, as he did, in conjunction with the Governor-General, a
-brilliant example to the Troops of perseverance and courage in critical
-circumstances, and of irresistible ardour in the several attacks made
-upon the enemy.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight Commander of the
-Order of the Bath, to Major-General Walter Raleigh Gilbert, and to
-Major-General Sir John Hunter Littler, Knight Commander of the Order
-of the Bath, and to the several Officers, European and Native, under
-their command, for the eminent services rendered by them in the recent
-arduous and successful operations.
-
-"On Question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Soldiers, European
-and Native, for the perseverance and fortitude maintained by them at
-Moodkee, on the 18th December, 1845, and for the daring valour with
-which they forced the enemy's entrenchments at Ferozeshah on the 21st
-and 22nd of December, captured most of his guns, and finally compelled
-the Sikh Army, of greatly superior numbers, to retire within their
-own frontier; and that this Resolution be signified to them by the
-Commanders of the several Corps.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_,--That the said Resolutions be transmitted by
-the Lord Chancellor to the Governor-General of India, and that he be
-requested to communicate the same to the several Officers referred to
-therein.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_."
-
-
-_Extracts from Minutes of Proceedings of the House of Lords.--2nd
-April, 1846._
-
-"Order of the Day read, _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of
-this House be given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight
-Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, for his
-skilful and meritorious conduct, when in command of the British Troops
-employed against a large portion of the Sikh Army, of greatly superior
-numbers; and for the signal valour and judgment displayed by him in
-the battle of the 28th of January, 1846, when the enemy's force was
-totally defeated, and a new lustre added to the reputation of the
-British Arms.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the several Officers, European and Native, under the command
-of Sir Henry Smith, for the distinguished services rendered by them at
-the battle of Aliwal.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That this House doth highly approve
-of and commend the intrepidity and exemplary discipline displayed
-by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Soldiers, European and
-Native, on the 28th of January 1846, in their attack on the enemy's
-position, by which the Sikhs were completely routed and driven in
-confusion across the Sutlej, with the loss of all their Artillery and
-Military Equipment; and that the same be signified to them by the
-Commanders of the several Corps, who are desired to thank them for
-their gallant behaviour.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That in requesting the
-Governor-General of India to communicate these Resolutions to the
-several Officers referred to therein, this House desires to acknowledge
-the zeal and judgment evinced by the Right Honourable Lieut.-General
-Sir Henry Hardinge, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath,
-Governor-General of India, and also by General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet,
-Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of
-the Forces in India, in supplying Major-General Sir Henry Smith with
-such reinforcements and military means as enabled him, under Divine
-Providence, to overcome all the obstacles thrown in his way by a brave
-and determined enemy.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the Right Honourable Lieut.-General Sir Henry Hardinge,
-Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath,
-Governor-General of India, for the judgment, energy, and ability with
-which the resources of the British Empire in India have been applied in
-repelling the unjust and unprovoked invasion of the British Territory
-by the Sikh Nation; and for the valour and indefatigable exertions
-which he displayed on the 10th of February, 1846, at the battle of
-Sobraon, when, by the blessing of Almighty God, which we desire most
-humbly to acknowledge, this hostile and treacherous invasion was
-successfully defeated.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the thanks of this House be
-given to General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of the
-Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of the
-Forces in India, for the signal ability and valour with which, upon
-the 10th of February, 1846, he directed and led the attack, when the
-enemy's entrenchments were stormed, their Artillery captured, their
-Army defeated and scattered, and the Punjaub laid open to the advance
-of our victorious troops.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight Commander of
-the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; Major-General Walter
-Raleigh Gilbert; and Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, Knight
-Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; and to the
-other Officers, European and Native, for the distinguished services
-rendered by them in the eminently successful operations at the Battle
-of Sobraon.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_, _Nemine dissentiente_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_ to resolve,--That this House doth highly approve
-of and commend the invincible intrepidity, perseverance, and steady
-discipline displayed by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private
-Soldiers, European and Native, on the 10th of February, 1846, by which
-the glory of the British Arms has been successfully maintained against
-a determined and greatly superior force: and that the same be signified
-to them by the Commanders of the several Corps, who are desired to
-thank them for their gallant behaviour.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_."
-
-"Then it was _moved_,--That the said Resolutions be transmitted by
-the Lord Chancellor to the Governor-General of India, and that he be
-requested to communicate the same to the several Officers referred to
-therein.
-
-"On question, _Resolved_ in the _Affirmative_."
-
-
-_Extracts from the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.--2nd
-March, 1846._
-
-
-MILITARY OPERATIONS ON THE SUTLEJ.
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the Right Honourable Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hardinge,
-Governor-General of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath,
-for the energy and ability with which he directed the military means at
-his disposal, to the repelling of the unprovoked invasion by the Sikh
-Army of the dominions of the British Government, and of the Protected
-States upon the left bank of the Sutlej; and also for the firmness and
-gallantry with which he directed the operations of that portion of the
-army under his immediate command, in the afternoon and night of 21st
-December, 1845, and on the morning of the 22nd, upon which occasion
-the enemy's defences were carried by storm, the greater part of their
-artillery captured, and their subsequent attempts to regain what they
-had lost, repeatedly defeated."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House
-be given to General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of
-the Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the East
-Indies, for the distinguished valour with which he directed and led the
-several attacks upon the enemy, and for the eminent services rendered
-by him in the battles of the 18th, 21st, and 22nd of December, 1845,
-displaying, as he did, in conjunction with the Governor-General, a
-brilliant example to the Troops of perseverance and courage in critical
-circumstances, and of irresistible ardour in the several attacks made
-upon the enemy."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House
-be given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight Commander of
-the Order of the Bath, to Major-General Walter Raleigh Gilbert, and to
-Major-General Sir John Hunter Littler, Knight Commander of the Order
-of the Bath, and to the several Officers, European and Native, under
-their command, for the eminent services rendered by them in the recent
-arduous and successful operations."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Soldiers, European
-and Native, for the perseverance and fortitude maintained by them at
-Moodkee, on the 18th of December, 1845, and for the daring valour with
-which they forced the enemy's entrenchments at Ferozeshah on the 21st
-and 22nd of December, captured most of his guns, and finally compelled
-the Sikh Army, of greatly superior numbers, to retire within their own
-frontier."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That this Resolution be signified
-to them by the Commanders of the several Corps."
-
-"_Ordered_,--That the said Resolutions be transmitted by Mr. Speaker to
-the Governor-General of India, and that he be requested to communicate
-the same to the several Officers referred to therein."
-
-
-_Extracts from the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.--2nd
-April, 1846._
-
-
-BATTLE OF ALIWAL.
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House
-be given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight Commander of
-the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, for his skilful and
-meritorious conduct when in command of the British Troops employed
-against a large portion of the Sikh Army, of greatly superior numbers;
-and for the signal valour and judgment displayed by him in the battle
-of Aliwal, on the 28th of January, 1846, when the enemy's force was
-totally defeated, and new lustre added to the reputation of the British
-Arms."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the several Officers, European and Native, under the command
-of Sir Henry Smith, for the distinguished services rendered by them at
-the battle of Aliwal."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That this House doth highly
-approve of, and commend, the intrepidity and exemplary discipline
-displayed by the Non-commissioned Officers and Private Soldiers,
-European and Native, in the battle of Aliwal, on the 28th of January,
-1846, in their attack on the enemy's position, by which the Sikhs were
-completely routed, and driven in confusion across the Sutlej; with the
-loss of all their Artillery, and Military Equipment; and that the same
-be signified to them by the Commanders of the several Corps, who are
-desired to thank them for their gallant behaviour."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That, in requesting the
-Governor-General of India to communicate these Resolutions to
-the several Officers referred to therein, this House desires to
-acknowledge the zeal and judgment evinced by the Right Honourable
-Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hardinge Knight Grand Cross of the Most
-Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Governor-General of India; and
-also by General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of the
-Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of
-the Forces in India, in supplying Major-General Sir Henry Smith with
-such reinforcements and military means as enabled him, under Divine
-Providence, to overcome all the obstacles thrown in his way by a brave
-and determined enemy."
-
-"_Ordered_,--That the said Resolutions be transmitted by Mr. Speaker to
-the Governor-General of India, and that he be requested to communicate
-the same to the several Officers referred to therein."--(_Sir Robert
-Peel._)
-
-
-BATTLE OF SOBRAON.
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to the Right Honourable Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hardinge,
-Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath,
-Governor-General of India, for the judgment, energy, and ability,
-with which the resources of the British Empire in India have been
-applied, in repelling the unjust and unprovoked invasion of the British
-Territory by the Sikh Nation; and for the valour and indefatigable
-exertions which he displayed on the 10th of February, 1846, at the
-battle of Sobraon, when, by the blessing of Almighty God, which we
-desire most humbly to acknowledge, this hostile and treacherous
-invasion was successfully defeated."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House be
-given to General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, Knight Grand Cross of the
-Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Commander-in-Chief of the
-Forces in India, for the signal ability and valour with which, in the
-battle of Sobraon, upon the 10th of February, 1846, he directed and
-led the attack, when the enemy's entrenchments were stormed, their
-artillery captured, their army defeated and scattered, and the Punjaub
-laid open to the advance of our victorious Troops."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That the Thanks of this House
-be given to Major-General Sir Henry George Smith, Knight Commander
-of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Major-General
-Walter Raleigh Gilbert, and Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, Knight
-Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; and to the
-other Officers, European and Native, for the distinguished services
-rendered by them in the eminently successful operations at the battle
-of Sobraon."
-
-"_Resolved_, _Nemine contradicente_,--That this House doth highly
-approve of, and commend, the invincible intrepidity, perseverance,
-and steady discipline displayed by the Non-Commissioned Officers and
-Private Soldiers, European and Native, in the battle of Sobraon, on
-the 10th of February, 1846, by which the glory of the British Arms has
-been successfully maintained against a determined and greatly superior
-force; and that the same be signified to them by the Commanders of
-the several Corps, who are desired to thank them for their gallant
-behaviour."
-
-"_Ordered_,--That the said Resolutions be transmitted by Mr. Speaker to
-the Governor-General of India, and that he be requested to communicate
-the same to the several Officers referred to therein."--(_Sir Robert
-Peel._)
-
- London:--Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street,
- For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
-
- LONDON:--PRINTED BY W. CLOWES & SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
- FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.
-
-
-
-
-
- TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
-
-
- Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
- errors.
-
- Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
-
- Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Historical Record of the Third, Or the
-King's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons, by Richard Cannon
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