Historical Record of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685; with Its Subsequent Services to 1838

by Richard Cannon

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

FIFTH,

OR

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES'S REGIMENT

OF

DRAGOON GUARDS.

---

1685

In the early periods of the history of this country a standing army was unknown; but as the kingdom increased in arts, sciences, and manufactures, and as national institutions, established upon sound principles, assumed an important character, a regularly organized military force was found necessary to protect the interests of society, and to guard colonial possessions; and when the other nations of Europe have from time to time augmented their standing armies, it has been found necessary to make similar additions to the regular force of Great Britain. After the Restoration in 1660, the army of the Commonwealth was disbanded, and a body of household troops, with a few garrison companies, were considered sufficient; but the acquisition of additional possessions, the ambitious designs of foreign potentates, and internal commotions in the kingdom, have occasioned numerous additions to be made to the regular army. It was one of the last mentioned causes, which, in the year 1685, gave rise to the formation of the corps which is the subject of this memoir, and which now bears the title of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards.

A difference in religious views and opinions has often occasioned long and sanguinary wars; and the accession of a Roman Catholic Prince (James II.) to the throne of Great Britain, was an event so little congenial to the feelings of a Protestant people, that James Duke of Monmouth (natural son of King Charles II.) was induced, by the persuasions of men who were disaffected to the existing government, to make a daring attempt to dethrone his uncle, and to gain the sovereignty of the kingdom.

This event occurring at a time when the first feelings of alarm at the appearance of a Papist on the throne had subsided, and before the King had made any serious attack on the constitution or established religion, the people were not prepared to throw off their allegiance to their sovereign; consequently, while a few thousands of disaffected persons joined the standard of rebellion, much greater numbers arrayed themselves under the banners of royalty. Many noblemen and gentlemen exerted themselves in raising forces for the King; and it is stated in the public records, that a number of the respectable yeomen and others who volunteered their services in the royal cause, were incorporated into a troop of horse by Charles Earl of Shrewsbury, at Litchfield; another troop of horse was raised by Francis Lord Brudenel, at Kingston upon Thames; a third by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, at Chester; a fourth by Roger Pope, Esq., in the vicinity of Bridgnorth; a fifth by Mr. Francis Spalding, at Bristol; and a sixth by the Honourable John D'Arcy, (guidon of the second troop, now second regiment of Life Guards,) in London. These formed part of an extensive body of troops raised in a few weeks; but the rebellion was suppressed by the old corps which the King had in his service, without the aid of the new levies. His Majesty, however, looking forward to the commotions which would probably follow the execution of the attacks he was urged by his jesuitical councillors to make on the established religion and laws, resolved to retain a considerable portion of the newly-raised forces in his service; and these six troops of horse were, on the 29th of July, 1685, constituted a regiment of Cuirassiers, of which the Earl of Shrewsbury was appointed Colonel, the Honourable John D'Arcy Lieutenant-Colonel, and John Skelton, Esq., Major. This regiment ranked at that period as Seventh Horse; and is now the Fifth Dragoon Guards.

The uniform and equipment of this corps, like that of the other regiments of horse, were hats, long scarlet coats, jacked-leather boots, cuirasses, iron head pieces, swords, pair of pistols, and short carbines. Each corps had a distinguishing colour, then called its regimental livery, and now styled its facing, and the distinguishing colour of Shrewsbury's Cuirassiers was buff; the men had their coats lined with buff shalloon, and their waistcoats, breeches, ribands in their hats, and horse furniture, were of the same colour.

Soon after its formation the regiment marched into quarters near Hounslow, and experienced officers were appointed to teach the men the established military exercises; they formed two squadrons, three troops in a squadron; but each troop had a standard of buff-silk damask; and these loyal cavaliers, being mounted on strong horses, had not only a warlike appearance, but they were well calculated for a charge in line where weight and physical power were necessary. The Cuirassiers had succeeded the ancient Lancers (or Launces), formerly the highest class of military force in Europe, and celebrated for valour, prowess, and feats of chivalry. The Lancers were armed cap à pié, but the lance having, to a great extent, been laid aside before the middle of the seventeenth century, helmets, and armour on the limbs, were also discontinued soon afterwards. The regiments of Horse, having succeeded the ancient Lancers, were held in high estimation; and in the succeeding reigns they acquired great celebrity.

After having been twice reviewed by King James II. on Hounslow Heath, the regiment marched into quarters in Warwickshire, where it passed several months.

The King, having acquired some practical knowledge of military service in the civil war in France, and in the Netherlands, under Marshals Turenne and the Prince of Condé, established several useful regulations for the preservation of order and discipline in his army; two experienced officers, Sir John Lanier and Sir John Fenwick, were appointed Inspecting Generals of Cavalry; and the first half-yearly inspection of this regiment was made by Brigadier-General Sir John Fenwick, of the Life Guards, in its quarters in Warwickshire.

1686

While in these quarters, its establishment was fixed, by a royal warrant dated the 1st of January, 1686, at the following numbers:—

THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY'S REGIMENT OF HORSE.
Field and Staff-Officers.		Per Diem.
		£.	s.	d.
The Colonel, as Colonel		0	12	0
Lieutenant-Colonel, as Lieut.-Colonel		0	8	0
The Major (who has no troop), for himself, horses, and servants.	}	1	0	0
Adjutant		0	5	0
Chaplaine		0	6	8
Chirurgeon iv^s per day, and j horse to carry his chest, ij^s per day	}	0	6	0
A Kettle-Drummer to the Colonel's troop.		0	3	0
		3	0	8
The Colonel's Troop.
The Colonel, as Captaine, x^s per day, and ij horses each at ij^s per day	}	0	14	0
Lievtenant vi^s, and ij horses, each at ij^s		0	10	0
Cornett v^s, and ij horses, each at ij^s		0	9	0
Quarter-Master iv^s, and i horse, at ij^s		0	6	0
Three Corporals, each at iij^s per day		0	9	0
Two Trumpeters, each at ij^s viii^d		0	5	4
Forty Private Soldiers, each at ij^s vi^d per day.		5	0	0
		7	13	4
Five Troops more, of the same numbers, and at the same rates of pay as the Colonel's troop	}	38	6	8
Total for this Regiment per Diem		49	0	8
Per Annum £17,897. 3s. 4d.

The following officers were at this period holding commissions in the regiment:—

Troop.	Captains.	Lieutenants.	Cornets.
1st.	Earl of Shrewsbury (Col.)	John Grosvenor	George Kellum.
2d.	John Coy, (Lieut.-Col.)	James Bringfield	Hon. W. Brudenel.
3d.	Sir Thomas Grosvenor	Henry Grosvenor	James Williamson.
4th.	Roger Pope	Thomas Griffiths	Guy Forster.
5th.	Francis Spalding	Thomas Doughty	William Rowley.
6th.	Charles Orme	Thomas Manning	Ralph Pope.
John Skelton		Major.
Samuel Bowles		Chaplain.
James Arden		Surgeon.
George Briscoe		Adjutant.

The Earl of Shrewsbury's Cuirassiers were withdrawn from their country quarters in the summer of this year, and were encamped with other forces on Hounslow Heath; where they were practised in military evolutions, under the direction of Lieutenant-Generals the Earls of Craven, Feversham, and Dumbarton; and were several times reviewed by King James II.: in August they struck their tents and marched to Buckingham and Wendover.

1687

The King, being surrounded by Roman Catholic priests, soon gave indication of his designs against the reformed religion; the Earl of Shrewsbury, who was a stanch Protestant, resigned his commission, and afterwards proceeded to Holland and joined the Prince of Orange, to whom the nation began to look for deliverance from popish tyranny. His Majesty appointed, in January, 1687, Marmaduke Lord Langdale, to the Colonelcy of the regiment, who was succeeded in the following month by the Honourable Richard Hamilton, a Roman Catholic officer, from the Colonelcy of a regiment of dragoons in Ireland.

1688

From this period until that great national event, the Revolution in 1688, few circumstances occurred, in which Hamilton's regiment was particularly concerned, worthy of being recorded in this memoir. It was encamped on Hounslow Heath in the summer of 1687, and also in that of 1688; and its Colonel being a Papist, the attempt made by the King to introduce officers and soldiers of that religion into the army, would, doubtless, meet with no obstruction in this corps. The majority of the officers and men were, however, firmly attached to the Protestant cause.

The King had raised and equipped a fine army for the purpose of making it subservient to his insidious designs; but the troops proved faithful to the interests of their country and religion, and an association of officers was secretly formed at the camp on Hounslow Heath, in favour of the Prince of Orange, who was preparing an army to invade England and to rescue the kingdom from the power of the Papists.

Information having been received of the designs of the Prince of Orange, Hamilton's Cuirassiers were ordered to Ipswich, where the Earl of Arran's regiment (now Fourth Dragoon Guards), and the Queen's (now Third) Dragoons, commanded by Colonel Alexander Cannon, were assembled under the orders of Major-General Sir John Lanier, to preserve Landguard Fort, and to prevent the Prince landing there; and two regiments of horse and one of dragoons were stationed at Colchester to support this force, if necessary. Sir John Lanier is stated by King James, in his memoirs, to have been one of the associated officers, and to have resolved to seize on the Earl of Arran, and Colonels Hamilton and Cannon, and to have joined the Prince with the three regiments; but this arrangement, in which King James states, in his memoirs, most of the officers had agreed to co-operate, was rendered void by his Highness landing at Torbay.

Hamilton's Cuirassiers were afterwards ordered to march to the metropolis, and from thence to Salisbury; but a general defection appearing in the army, the King fled to France; the Prince of Orange ordered the regiment to march to Fenny Stratford, and its Colonel, the Honourable Richard Hamilton, was confined in the Tower of London, for holding a commission for which he was disqualified by law, he being a Papist.

On the 31st of December, 1688, the Prince of Orange conferred the Colonelcy of the regiment on the Lieutenant-Colonel, John Coy; and during the eight succeeding years it bore the title of Coy's Horse, or Cuirassiers.

All the Papists having been dismissed, the regiment received a draft of one hundred men and horses from the Marquis of Miremont's regiment of horse,—a corps which had been recently raised, and was now disbanded.

1689

These events were followed by the accession of William and Mary, the Prince and Princess of Orange, to the throne; and the first duty in which the regiment was called upon to engage under the new dynasty, was the patrolling of the public roads to prevent highway robberies, which, owing to the commotions recently experienced in society, had become very frequent. It also furnished a detachment to protect the King's herd of deer in the Forest of Dean against the depredations of organized bands of deer-stealers.

From these duties Coy's Horse were soon relieved to engage in military operations in Ireland, which country had become the theatre of intestine war. The Papists were in arms in favour of King James, who had arrived in Ireland with a body of troops from France; and, following that system of cruelty which has invariably been practised when religion has been the subject of contention, the hapless Protestants, being the weaker party, had been made to feel the full weight of Catholic vengeance. Many of the Protestants, particularly in Inniskilling and Londonderry, had taken arms. King William sent a body of troops under Duke Schomberg to their aid, and Coy's Horse embarked at Highlake, in Cheshire, in the middle of August, 1689, for the same service.

After landing at Belfast, the regiment was employed in covering the siege of Carrickfergus, and had its post in the lines before the town. This place having surrendered on the 28th of August, a detachment of the regiment, commanded by Captain Sir William Russel, escorted the garrison, consisting of two regiments of foot, "all stout fellows, but ill clothed," the first stage from the town; and such cruelties had been practised by the Papists, that, according to Story, who was an eye-witness, the troopers experienced some difficulty in preserving the Catholic soldiers from being torn to pieces by the country people, who were stimulated to revenge by the remembrance of past injuries.

The regiment afterwards advanced with the army towards Newry, where a party of the enemy was assembled, who, on the approach of the English, set fire to the town, and retreated over the mountains to Dundalk. The English passed the mountains on the following day, when the enemy quitted Dundalk and retired to Atherdee, where the main body of King James's army was assembled.

Marshal Duke Schomberg, finding Dundalk to be a strong situation, with a convenient harbour for obtaining supplies from England, and knowing that the enemy's army was more than double his own in numbers, formed an intrenched camp, where he resolved to continue during the remainder of the campaign; but the ground where the troops were encamped being low, and the weather proving wet, this injudicious choice of situation proved so fatal to his army, that the infantry corps lost half their men from disease. Coy's Horse remained at Dundalk upwards of a month, and afterwards proceeded to Carlingford for the convenience of forage. During the winter, detached parties had frequent encounters with the bands of armed Papists who prowled the country, committing every description of outrage; and an out-guard of the regiment, posted in the pass of Newry, was sharply engaged with a party of the enemy, who attempted to force the pass, but were repulsed with loss, the gallant English Cuirassiers proving more than a match for their antagonists.

1690

In June, 1690, King William arrived in Ireland to command the army in person, and the regiment was now called upon to serve under the eye of its sovereign. This circumstance is said to have given rise to a laudable feeling of emulation in all ranks of the army, and the troopers longed for an opportunity to distinguish themselves in presence of their King. The desired opportunity soon occurred; the King, advancing up to the banks of the Boyne, found the enemy in position on the opposite side of the river, and the troops prepared for battle. This regiment was with His Majesty on the evening preceding the battle, while reconnoitring the enemy's position, and was exposed to a cannonade, on which occasion the King was wounded in the shoulder, and the regiment had three men and nine horses killed.

Early on the 1st of July, as the rays of morning-light shed their lustre on the camp, the English and Dutch troops appeared in motion, every man displaying a green branch in his hat; and soon the columns were seen advancing towards the Boyne, their glittering arms, waving plumes, and floating banners, exhibiting all the pomp of war: the French and Irish stood to their arms and prepared to defend their post. Coy's Horse, forming part of the cavalry of the right wing, were in the column which forded the river near Slane Bridge; some opposition was made by a regiment of Irish dragoons, which was attacked, and its commanding officer and about 70 men killed. After passing the river, the troops advanced through large corn-fields, crossed several deep ditches, and overcoming every obstacle with an ardour which bespoke the valour and confidence which glowed in every breast, the enemy's left wing was dismayed and retreated towards Duleck. Coy's Horse were amongst the squadrons which galloped forward in pursuit, and charging the Irish foot, cut them down with a great slaughter. While these events were transpiring on the right, King William passed the river with the main body of his forces: the enemy was overpowered at every point, and His Majesty stood triumphant on the field of battle. King James fled to Dublin, and afterwards to France, and was followed by the French troops; but the Irish Papists resolved to maintain his cause to the last extremity.

Coy's Horse advanced with King William to Dublin, and were afterwards with the army before Limerick, during the unsuccessful siege of that place, when His Majesty returned to England, the regiment went into quarters near Cork.

1691

In the depth of the winter an incursion into the enemy's cantonments was resolved upon; and the regiment having joined the forces selected for that service, advanced, on the 31st of December, into the county of Kerry. On arriving near Brewsterfield, the van-guard, consisting of a troop of this regiment and one of Eppinger's Dragoons, encountered a party of 160 of the enemy's cavalry. Coy's Horse and the dragoons instantly drew their swords, and advanced to charge their opponents, who fled in a panic. Continuing its route, the detachment took a number of prisoners, also drove seven troops of Irish horse and twenty-one of dragoons from Tralee, and afterwards returned to its quarters.

When the army took the field in the summer of 1691, Coy's Horse were left in dispersed quarters in the county of Cork to overawe the disaffected, and to check the depredations of the bands of Papists, whose proceedings were very injurious to the Protestants; the regiment was, consequently, not at the battle of Aghrim, but it afterwards joined the army near Limerick, and was employed in the siege of that place.

On the 16th of September, a squadron of the regiment, with a strong party of dragoons and infantry, crossed the Shannon by a pontoon bridge before break of day, surprised and defeated a body of the enemy, and captured a standard; also surprised the troops in the camp near the town, and forced them to make a precipitate flight to the mountains. On the 24th of the same month, a cessation of hostilities took place, which ended in a treaty, and the authority of King James was extinguished in Ireland.

1692
1693

The regiment, having thus performed its part in reducing Ireland to submission to the authority of King William, embarked at Belfast in the beginning of 1692, and after its arrival in England it was quartered at Huntingdon, Chester, and St. Ives; from whence it proceeded to the vicinity of London, and, for a short time, assisted the Life Guards in performing the escort duty for the royal family. It was, however, allowed but a short period of home service before it was called upon to take the field against a foreign enemy.

King William was engaged in a war to restrain the ambitious designs of Louis XIV. of France, who sought to become the dictator of Europe and the destroyer of the reformed religion. After the severe loss sustained by the confederates at the battle of Landen, in 1693, the British monarch gave orders for Colonel Coy to proceed with his regiment of horse to the Netherlands, and to join the army in that country.

1694

On its arrival in Flanders, the regiment was placed in quarters at Ghent; from whence it marched to Tirlemont, and, joining the army commanded by King William in person, took part in the operations of the long and toilsome campaign of 1694, but was not engaged in any action of importance.

1695

In the following year the regiment formed part of the covering army during the siege of the strong and important fortress of Namur, which was superintended by King William in person. Two magnificent armies confronted each other, and manœuvred, the one to prevent, and the other to ensure, the capture of this strong fortress; and it was eventually taken by the forces commanded by His Britannic Majesty. About a month after the surrender of the castle of Namur, the regiment marched into quarters at Ghent.

1696

King William reviewed the regiment near Ghent, in May, 1696, and expressed his approbation of its appearance. During this summer it formed part of the army of Flanders, under the orders of the veteran Prince of Vaudemont, and was encamped for several months on the canal between Ghent and Bruges, and its services were limited to defensive measures for the preservation of these two places, and the maritime towns of Flanders from the attacks of the enemy. On the 4th of October, the regiment returned to its former station at Ghent.

1697

From Ghent the regiment marched in May, 1697, to join the army of Brabant, and was encamped a short time at St. Quintin Linneck. The French besieged the town of Aeth; and a body of troops was sent out, under Brigadier-General Lumley, to make a reconnoissance towards Enghien, with the view of attacking the French army and raising the siege. A detachment of Coy's Horse, commanded by Sir William Russel, formed the advance-guard on this occasion; and when on the march, he encountered a party of French hussars, carabiniers, and dragoons. Upon notice of the approach of the enemy, the main body of the British force concealed itself in the wood, and formed an ambush; and the advance-guard retiring, the French advanced boldly forward, and were nearly every man killed or taken prisoner.

The design of relieving Aeth was afterwards laid aside; King William retired, and subsequently took up a position before Brussels.

Colonel John Coy having obtained His Majesty's permission to dispose of the Colonelcy of the regiment to Charles Earl of Arran,[7] brother of the Duke of Ormond, his lordship was appointed to the regiment on the 1st of July, 1697; and during the succeeding five years it was styled Arran's Horse.

King William, after waging war for the good of Europe a period of nine years, had the satisfaction of seeing his endeavours succeeded by a treaty of peace, which was signed at Ryswick in September of this year.

1698

Shortly after this event, Arran's Horse were ordered to return to England, where they arrived in January, 1698, and were quartered at Coventry, Daventry, and Towcester.

1699
1700

The army in England having been reduced by the House of Commons to the low establishment of seven thousand men, King William was under the necessity of disbanding several corps, and of sending others to Ireland. This regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed to Ireland, where it arrived in the summer of 1700, and its numbers were reduced to thirty-six private men per troop.

1701

The repose granted to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick was, however, of short duration. Louis XIV. of France, procured the accession of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain; this virtual union of two powerful states, rekindled the flame of war; and the Earl of Arran's regiment was one of the cavalry corps ordered to be augmented to fifty-seven private men per troop, and held in readiness to proceed on foreign service; but so great was the difficulty experienced in raising an army of sufficient numbers to meet the exigence of the nation on this sudden emergency, that only three troops of the regiment could, in the first instance, be spared from Ireland.

1702

These three troops landed at Highlake, in Cheshire, in the beginning of March, 1702, and marching to London, embarked in transports on the river Thames in the beginning of April, and sailed for Holland.

The decease of King William, who might justly be styled the protector of the reformed religion, and the accession of Queen Anne, produced no alteration in the foreign policy of the British court. The war was prosecuted with vigour, and the three troops of Arran's Horse, forming one squadron, were attached to Brigadier-General Wood's regiment (now Third Dragoon Guards), and served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough. The British horse, had, however no opportunity of signalizing themselves in action this year; their services being limited to out-post duty, and covering the sieges of Venloo, Ruremonde, Stevenswaert, and the famous city of Liege, which fortresses were captured by the British commander.

1703

The Earl of Arran having been promoted to the Colonelcy of the third troop of Life Guards, Queen Anne conferred the command of the regiment on Brigadier-General Cadogan (afterwards Earl Cadogan), from the Sixth, or Inniskilling Dragoons, by commission, dated the 2d of March, 1703.

The three troops of the regiment on foreign service, now bearing the title of Cadogan's Horse, continued to serve throughout the campaign of this year with Brigadier-General Wood's regiment. In a slight skirmish near Haneff, in the beginning of June, a small detachment evinced the martial spirit and valour of British troopers; and in the various movements of the army before the enemy, the national character was fully sustained. The French commanders avoided an engagement, and after covering the sieges of Huy and Limburg, Cadogan's Horse went into quarters for the winter in Holland.

1704

In the beginning of the following year the other three troops of the regiment were withdrawn from Ireland, and after occupying quarters a short time at Northampton, embarked (4th April, 1704) for Holland.

The six troops were thus united in time for the whole regiment to take part in the glorious exploits of the campaign of 1704, in which that noble ardour and chivalric spirit which has raised Britain to its present exalted station among the nations of Europe, were displayed by the army under the Duke of Marlborough in a signal manner. Confidence in the commander has always given additional life and vigour to innate valour, and the troops having already proved the military virtues of their leader, the great Marlborough was enabled to march his forces from the ocean to the Danube, and to gain new honours in the heart of Germany.

This enterprise was undertaken in consequence of the armies of France and Bavaria having united against the Emperor of Germany, and the British general advanced to the aid of the house of Austria, which was thus menaced by a force which it was unable to withstand. Quitting the territory of the Dutch republic the army crossed the Rhine, and traversed the various states of Germany with a degree of order and regularity which bespoke a high state of discipline, united with excellent arrangements, while the nations of Europe gazed with astonishment at the undertaking.

Having arrived at the theatre of war and joined the Imperial army, the first action of importance was the attack of a body of French and Bavarians commanded by the Count d'Arco, at their entrenched camp on the lofty heights of Schellenberg, on the 2d of July. On this occasion the cavalry supported the attacks of the infantry, and when the enemy was forced from the entrenchments, the brilliant charge of the English horse, and Royal Scots Dragoons (the Greys) completed the overthrow; the hostile army lost its colours, cannon, and baggage, and numbers of French and Bavarians fell beneath the conquering sabres of the British horsemen, who chased their adversaries to the banks of the Danube, and captured many prisoners. Cadogan's Horse were commanded on this occasion by Lieutenant-Colonel George Kellum, and had Major Napier,[8] Lieutenant Tettefall, and several private men wounded; and sustained a serious loss in troop horses, from having been exposed to a heavy cannonade: their Colonel, Brigadier-General Cadogan, was also wounded.

This action was the precursor of a greater overthrow to the forces of the enemy, who made efforts to retrieve his affairs; new armies and new generals appeared; but these only served to augment the splendour of victory, and to enhance the value of the conquerors in the estimation of the world. The action was fought in the valley of the Danube, near the village of Blenheim, on the 13th of August, and the English horsemen, who during the two preceding campaigns had panted for an opportunity to signalize themselves, had a fair field in which to display their valour and prowess, and they gave undeniable proofs of their good qualities. The Gallo-Bavarian army was destroyed; its commander, Marshal Tallard, and many entire battalions and squadrons were made prisoners of war; and the field of battle was literally covered with trophies.

The victory was most complete and decisive, and it was not gained over new levies; but over an army of veterans fully instructed in the art of war,—select troops flushed with former successes, and commanded by generals of great bravery and experience.[9] This regiment had only one officer (Lieutenant Groubere) killed; its loss in non-commissioned officers and private men has not been recorded.

The regiment took part in the subsequent operations of the main army; and after covering the siege of Laudan, it marched back to Holland for winter quarters.

1705

In the following summer the regiment marched with the army through the Duchy of Juliers, and crossed the Moselle and the Saar, in order to carry on the war in Alsace; but the Duke of Marlborough, being disappointed of the promised co-operation of the Imperialists, marched back to the Netherlands.

The French had, with much labour and art, constructed a line of fortifications of many miles extent to cover their recently acquired territory in the Spanish Netherlands, and Cadogan's Horse having been selected to form part of the division to be employed in forcing these lines, had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, and their valour shone forth with as bright a lustre as in any of the heroes in the ancient days of chivalry. The British commander, having by skilful movements succeeded in drawing the main body of the French army from the point selected for the attack, forced the lines at Helixem and Neer-Hespen at day-break on the morning of the 18th of July, and the pioneers levelled a space for the cavalry to pass over; but scarcely had the British horse passed the barriers, when the Marquis d'Allegre appeared with fifty squadrons of cavalry and twenty battalions of infantry to drive back the British forces. The sun had risen, and the French army was in full march to oppose this sudden attack on their lines; hence every moment was of importance, and a sharp fire of musketry having forced the enemy from a hollow way, the Duke of Marlborough ordered forward his heavy cavalry to charge the hostile horsemen. The two squadrons of this regiment led the attack with their characteristic gallantry, and were opposed to adversaries of valour and renown,—the famous Bavarian Horse Grenadier Guards. Against these celebrated antagonists Cadogan's Horse advanced; the weight and power of their compact line were irresistible, and the Bavarians were broken at the first shock; but they soon rallied, and renewing the conflict with increasing ardour, gained a temporary advantage. At this critical juncture the Duke of Marlborough was separated from his troops and in imminent danger, when Cadogan's Horse, exasperated at the momentary repulse, and still more so at the peril of their renowned chief, returned to the charge; the grand spectacle of two spirited corps of heavy cavalry rushing upon each other with reckless fury, was soon followed by the clash of swords and shouts of the combatants as they fought hand to hand with sanguinary fury; but British prowess and British valour soon proved triumphant, and the Bavarians were overpowered and fled before the conquering sabres of Cadogan's troopers, who chased their adversaries from the field, took many prisoners, and captured four standards. In their flight the hostile horsemen rode over two battalions of their own foot, and these battalions were severely handled by the British horse. Finally, the enemy was routed; the Marquis d'Allegre, and many officers and men were made prisoners, and this gallant enterprise was attended with complete success.

On this occasion the regiment, which forms the subject of this memoir, gained great honour; the Duke of Marlborough observed in one of his letters,—"Never men fought better!" and in his public despatch he states, "They acquitted themselves with a bravery surpassing all that could have been hoped of them." The author of the Annals of Queen Anne observed:—"All the troops of the confederates behaved themselves with great bravery and resolution; but among the Horse the regiment of Brigadier Cadogan distinguished themselves, having had the honour to charge first, which they did with that success, that they defeated four squadrons of Bavarian Guards, drove them through two battalions of their own foot, and took four standards; and this with the loss only of Lieutenant Austin and some few men killed."

The following description of the standards captured on this occasion is copied from the London Gazette.

"Nine standards of blue satin, richly embroidered with the Bavarian arms; six belonging to the Elector's own troops, and three to those of Cologne, having the following devices and mottoes."

1st. A laurel; motto, Aut Coronari aut rumpi.

2d. An olive-tree on a rock; motto, Per Ardua Laurus.

3d. A pillar reaching to the clouds; motto, Tantum Umbra movetur.

4th. A bear rampant; motto, Ex Vulnere Crudelior.

5th. A dove with a laurel branch; motto, Uni servo fidem.

6th. A chaos; motto, Obstantia firmant.

7th. A helmet with a feather on a pedestal; motto, Ex duris Gloria.

8th. An olive-tree shading serpents; motto, Nocet Umbra nocenti.

9th. A standard of the Elector's guards with the colour torn to pieces.

Four of these standards were taken by Cadogan's Horse; the corps which captured the other five standards are not specified.

Brigadier-General Cadogan's Horse forcing the French Lines, 18th July, 1705:—
NOW FIFTH (THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES'S) REGIMENT OF DRAGOON GUARDS.

1706

After this victory the regiment was employed in several manœuvres; but it was not engaged in any action of importance until the battle of Ramilies, fought on Whit-Sunday, the 23d of May, 1706, when the French, Bavarians, and Spaniards, commanded by Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, sustained another decisive overthrow, and Cadogan's Horse acquired new laurels in the contest. On this occasion the English cavalry were kept in reserve near the heights of Foulz until towards the close of the action, when they were brought forward, and the weight and fury of the charge of these heavy horsemen were irresistible; the enemy's squadrons and battalions were broken; and the British troopers,—strong men on powerful horses,—smote their antagonists to the ground with a dreadful slaughter. The victorious squadrons pursued their adversaries throughout the night, capturing officers and soldiers, colours, standards, and cannon; and thus, in a few hours, the French monarch's fine and well-appointed army was nearly annihilated, and its commanders escaped from the field with difficulty.

This glorious victory was followed by the submission of a great part of Spanish Brabant and Flanders to the house of Austria; and in a few days after the battle, this regiment was selected to form part of a detachment commanded by its Colonel, Brigadier-General Cadogan, sent from the main army, to summon Antwerp, which place was surrendered on the 7th of June.

The regiment was subsequently employed in the blockade of Dendermond, and continued before that town until its surrender on the 5th of September.

1707

During the campaigns from 1702 to 1706 the British regiments of horse had not worn cuirasses. In the preceding century armour had, as already stated, fallen, to a great extent, into disuse; several English regiments of heavy cavalry delivered their cuirasses into the Tower of London in November, 1688; but subsequently had them returned: they were, however, again placed in store after the peace of Ryswick. The French and other continental nations had continued the use of defensive armour, and it having been observed that the English heavy cavalry, though they proved victorious, frequently sustained a very serious loss in killed, they were, in order to place them on an equality with their antagonists, again supplied with cuirasses in the spring of 1707.

In the summer of this year, when the regiment took the field, it again appeared as a corps of Cuirassiers: the campaign was passed in manœuvring; and the French acting on the defensive, a few skirmishes between detached parties was all the fighting which took place.

1708

The following campaign was, however, distinguished by more important events. The enemy assembled an immense army, and advancing from behind their lines, gained possession of Ghent and Bruges (which places had been wrested from them in 1706), and advanced to Oudenarde, with the design of besieging that town. The Duke of Marlborough sent Major-General Cadogan forward with three brigades of infantry and eight squadrons of Hanoverian cavalry, and following with the main army, this movement brought on a general engagement, which was fought in the ground near the banks of the Scheldt on the 11th of July. The reputation already acquired by the British regiments of horse, occasioned them to be accounted a choice body of troops; and they were kept in reserve ready to advance at the moment when a powerful charge of heavy cavalry was likely to prove decisive. For a short time they were formed in column behind the right wing; and advancing from thence, supported the attacks of the infantry; but the enemy was overpowered, and darkness put an end to the conflict before this compact body of Cuirassiers was called upon to charge.

After this victory, the Duke of Marlborough was joined by a body of Germans, under the orders of Prince Eugene of Savoy, and, to the astonishment of all Europe, these two commanders resolved to besiege the important fortress of Lisle. Cadogan's Cuirassiers formed part of the covering army, and the attempts of the enemy to raise the siege were all frustrated.

Six hundred waggons, laden with necessaries for the army, were advancing from Ostend towards Lisle, under an escort commanded by Major-General Webb; and the enemy having detached twenty-two thousand men to intercept this convoy, the Duke of Marlborough sent Major-General Cadogan with a body of horse to reinforce the guard, and this regiment formed part of the force sent forward. The enemy attacked the convoy in the wood of Wynendale, and Major-General Webb made a most skilful and gallant defence. As this regiment approached the wood, the noise of combat was heard; the squadrons galloped forward, and the moment they arrived at the scene of conflict, the French desisted, and made a precipitate retreat; and the waggons were brought in safety to the camp. The fate of Lisle depended, in a great measure, on the safe arrival of this convoy; and Major-General Webb was rewarded with the thanks of Parliament and the approbation of Queen Anne for his conduct.

The siege of Lisle was continued, and the enemy being unable to relieve the place, resolved to make an attack upon Brussels. The covering army, of which Cadogan's Cuirassiers formed part, was put in motion; and having forced the passage of the Scheldt, the Elector of Bavaria raised the siege of Brussels and retreated. The citadel of Lisle surrendered on the 9th of December, and Ghent and Bruges were also recaptured before the army entered into winter quarters.

1709

In the summer of 1709, when the siege of the strong fortress of Tournay was resolved upon, this was one of the regiments which first invested the town on the 27th of June, 1709. After the capture of this place, the army advanced towards Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault, with the design of capturing that important city. The French army, commanded by Marshals Villiers and Boufflers, manœuvred to prevent the loss of Mons, and this brought on the sanguinary battle of Malplaquet, where the British regiments of horse encountered enemies who fought with greater spirit and obstinacy than on any former occasion during this war. This battle was fought on the 11th of September, 1709. The enemy had an advantageous position, covered by thick woods, protected by barriers of trees cut down and laid across each other, with a treble entrenchment, batteries, and pallisades; and within these formidable works were collected the choicest troops of France under commanders of renown. This post was attacked with a bravery which overcame all opposition; the woods were pierced, the obstacles were overcome, and the fortifications were trampled down. The position having been forced, the Duke of Marlborough led the British Cuirassiers and Prussian cavalry against the French gens d'armes, who were routed and chased from the ground; but scarcely were these squadrons overcome, when the British and Prussian horse encountered a compact line of French cavalry of the royal household, and were driven back in some disorder. The British horse soon rallied, and returning to the charge, overcame their celebrated adversaries, and the French squadrons were driven from the field. The allies were victorious, but they sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded.

Cadogan's Horse were afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons, which was terminated by the surrender of the place on the 20th of October.

1710

During the campaign of 1710, the regiment was employed in covering the sieges of Douay, Bethune, Aire, and St. Venant, and in protecting convoys of military stores to the besieging troops.

1711

In the summer of 1711, the imperialists, under Prince Eugene, having returned to Germany, the Duke of Marlborough confronted the French army with the forces under his orders. The French had constructed very extensive and strong lines of fortifications to cover their frontiers, and within these lines they had collected a numerous army. The Duke, by a skilful device, induced them to destroy their fort at Arleux; and then, by menacing their lines between the head of the Sanzet and Hesdin, caused them to withdraw part of their garrisons from Arras and Cambray, with the troops which guarded the lines in the direction of Arleux. In the mean time his grace was continually sending detachments towards Douay, where a considerable body of troops was assembled without attracting notice, and amongst these forces were the two squadrons of Cadogan's Cuirassiers. Having reconnoitred the lines on the 4th of August, the Duke gave orders for the troops to prepare for the attack on the following morning, and the French army prepared to receive him with eclat; but at the dead of the night, Lieutenant-General Cadogan, having advanced with great secrecy with the troops from Douay, passed the lines at the causeway of Arleux, which the French commander, in his anxiety to collect all the troops he could to resist the menaced attack, had left unguarded; and the main army struck its tents in the night, and marched in the same direction. When Marshal Villiers heard that his lines were passed, he was astounded. He took with him the household cavalry, and, ordering his army to follow as quickly as possible, rode with all speed, until he came within the English out-guards, and his feelings were so excited, that he was nearly surrounded by a troop of Cadogan's Horse before he was conscious of danger; he had proceeded with such rapidity that the whole of his escort, except a hundred of the best mounted dragoons, was left behind; he ordered these dragoons to throw themselves into the old castle of Oisy, which was at hand, and himself and two officers of his staff escaped; but the dragoons were surrounded and made prisoners.

Having thus passed these extensive lines, which the French commander had vauntingly called Marlborough's ne plus ultra, his grace besieged the strong and important fortress of Bouchain, situate on the Scheldt, in the taking of which place, difficulties of great magnitude had to be overcome. Marshal Villiers, by a secret march, during the night of the 9th of August, gained possession of the heights of Wavrechin, in order to preserve the line of communication which runs from thence, through a morass between the Scheldt and the Senset, to the town of Bouchain, that he might be enabled to relieve the garrison from time to time. The Duke of Marlborough, observing the enemy at work, throwing up entrenchments on the hill, ordered Lieutenant-Generals Cadogan and Fagel to march with a body of troops, of which Cadogan's Horse formed part, to dislodge the French. As the British grenadiers advanced to the attack, his grace rode forwards to reconnoitre the works on the hill; and observing that the entrenchment was a perfect bulwark, strong and lofty, and crouded with men and cannon, he gave orders for the troops to retire.

On the following day Marshal Villiers issued from the works with a hundred hussars, to observe the progress of his opponent, and encountered Lieutenant-General Cadogan, who was reconnoitering with a squadron of horse. A skirmish ensued, and four squadrons of French carabineers advanced to aid the marshal. Cadogan, being thus out-numbered, made a precipitate retreat, which occasioned the enemy to pursue with great eagerness. Meanwhile, Cadogan's Horse and two other squadrons, advanced from the camp, and formed up beyond the summit of a rising ground, where they were out of the enemy's sight; and the moment the French carabineers appeared on the top of the hill, they were charged by Cadogan's squadrons with such resolution, that they were immediately broken. Marshal Villiers was in danger of being surrounded and taken prisoner, but a French brigadier-general interposed, with singular bravery, and rescued the marshal. The gallant brigadier was severely wounded and taken prisoner, and most of his men cut down by the British Cuirassiers; and Marshal Villiers galloped back with his shattered squadrons with greater haste than he had advanced.

Fortifications were afterwards constructed, with a causeway through the inundations, and the communication between the town of Bouchain and the troops on the heights of Wavrechin was cut off. The siege was prosecuted with zeal and energy, and Marshal Villiers and a numerous French army were spectators of the capture of this important fortress. After the works were repaired and the place put in a state of defence, the troops were placed in winter quarters.

The splendid successes of the army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough, who never fought a battle which he did not win, nor besieged a town which he did not capture, had effected a complete revolution in the affairs of Europe, and the King of France saw his generals over-matched,—his armies beaten and dispirited,—his possessions wrested from him,—the barriers of his kingdom trampled down,—his fortresses captured, and a powerful army, with an invincible leader, ready to carry all the horrors of war into the heart of France: with his designs thus frustrated, and his kingdom thus menaced, the ambitious Louis XIV., who had thought to have dictated laws to christendom, became a negociator for peace.

1712

In the summer of 1712, while the conditions of the treaty were under consideration, the regiment again took the field, and, advancing to the frontiers of France, formed part of the army under the orders of the Duke of Ormond, and encamped at Cateau-Cambresis during the siege of Quesnoy.

A suspension of hostilities was soon afterwards published between the British and French, and the army retired from Cateau-Cambresis to Ghent, where the English Cuirassiers and several other corps were encamped for a short time, and afterwards were placed in quarters.

Political events connected with the amity which had been induced between the British and French courts, in consequence of a change of measures; the conditions of the treaty of peace then under consideration; and the disagreement between the Duke of Marlborough and Queen Anne; occasioned Lieutenant-General Cadogan, who was a stanch Protestant and a warm advocate for the succession of the house of Hanover, to be called upon to dispose of his commission; and he was succeeded in the Colonelcy of this regiment by Lieutenant-General George Kellum, who had been many years the Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, and whose commission as Colonel was dated 22nd of December, 1712.

1713
1714

The regiment, now styled Kellum's Horse, was placed upon the Irish establishment in June, 1713; but it remained in comfortable quarters in Flanders until the early part of the year 1714, when it embarked for Ireland. The treaty of peace having been concluded, the troopers of this regiment could look back with triumph and exultation at their brilliant career during the late eventful and important war; and although there were circumstances connected with the conduct of their government calculated to produce painful feelings, yet, conscious of their own merit and justly acquired fame, the officers and soldiers could rejoice that, by their well-directed exertions, they had humbled the enemies of their country, the British troops had become celebrated for valour and intrepidity throughout Europe, and that the turmoil and horrors of war were succeeded by the blessings and enjoyments of peace.

1715
1716

After its arrival in Ireland, the regiment was stationed for a short time at Dublin; and having been thus removed from the scenes of conflict and bloodshed in which it had for several years been engaged, to the more pacific and easy duties of home service, the Cuirasses were again returned into store. Ireland was not, however, in a state of internal tranquillity; the decease of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I. were followed by great exertions on the part of the friends of the house of Stuart, who were numerous in Ireland; and when the rebellion broke out in Scotland in 1715, and extended itself to England, this event gave buoyancy to the expectations of the malcontents in Ireland. The troops in Ireland were kept in a state of constant readiness for active service; several corps embarked for England, and the fidelity of the ARMY preserved the kingdom from anarchy and papal domination; by the exertions of the troops the rebellion was suppressed, and the country restored to tranquillity.

1717

In the spring of 1717, Lieutenant-General George Kellum retired from the service, and King George I. was graciously pleased to confer the Colonelcy on the Lieutenant-Colonel, Robert Napier, who was celebrated for his conduct at the head of the regiment in several actions in the Netherlands, and was wounded in the action at Schellenberg.

About this period, the distinguishing colour, or facing of the regiment, was changed from buff to green, and it has continued of this colour to the present time (1838); its lace was also changed from silver to gold. The men having green waistcoats, breeches, and horse furniture, the regiment was emphatically styled the Green Horse, and this appellation has been continued to the present time.

1718
1740

The regiment remained in Ireland performing a successive routine of court and country duties, at the establishment of twenty-five private men per troop, until 1740, when an augmentation of ten men per troop was made to its numbers.

After the decease of Lieutenant-General Robert Napier, King George II. conferred the Colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Clement Neville, from the Eighth Dragoons, his commission bearing date the 6th of May, 1740.

1741
1742
1743
1744

Another war having broken out on the continent, the establishment of the regiment received a further addition of ten men per troop in 1741. In the following year a British army was sent to Flanders under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair; but the necessity for retaining a considerable body of troops in Ireland, occasioned this regiment to remain in that country. It, however, sent a detachment of sixty men and horses to Flanders in the beginning of 1743, to complete the three regiments of horse on foreign service, and another detachment was sent in 1744.

1745

Lieutenant-General Neville died on the 5th of August, 1744, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Richard Viscount Cobham, who, when Sir Richard Temple, highly distinguished himself in the wars of Queen Anne. He was removed in 1745 to the Tenth Dragoons, when His Majesty conferred the command of this regiment on Major-General Thomas Wentworth, from the Twenty-fourth Foot.

1746

When this regiment was first raised, it ranked as Seventh Horse; in 1690, the Fifth regiment of Horse was disbanded in Ireland, and the Sixth Horse became Fifth, and this regiment obtained rank as Sixth Horse, which rank it held until December, 1746, when the First Horse,—the royal regiment of Horse Guards,—ceased to bear a number: the Second, Third, and Fourth Horse were then constituted the First, Second, and Third Dragoon Guards; and this regiment was styled the Second Irish Horse, and sometimes called the Green Horse from the colour of its facings.

1747

In 1747, Major-General Thomas Wentworth died at Turin, where he was employed in a diplomatic capacity, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the Second Irish Horse, by Major-General Thomas Bligh, from the Twelfth Dragoons.

1748
1749

On the conclusion of a treaty of peace at Aix-la-Chapelle, a considerable diminution was made in the strength of the regular army, and in 1749 the establishment of the Second Irish Horse was reduced to twenty-one private men per troop.

1751

From the period of the formation of the regiment, several alterations had, from time to time, been made in the uniform and standards. The practice of having a standard to each troop had been discontinued, and one to each squadron was substituted. In 1742, King George II. caused a series of coloured engravings, representing the uniform of the several regiments of the army to be executed; and, as a few alterations had subsequently been made, a warrant was issued on the 1st of July, 1751, regulating the standards, colours, and clothing of the several regiments, from which the following particulars have been extracted relative to the Second Irish Horse:—

Coats.—Scarlet, the facings and lapels of full green; the button-holes worked with yellow, the buttons set on two and two; and a long slash pocket in each skirt.

Waistcoats } full green.
Breeches }

Hats.—Three-cornered cocked-hats, bound with yellow lace, and ornamented with a brass loop and a black cockade.

Boots.—Made of jacked leather.

Trumpeters.—Clothed in full green coats, faced and lapelled with red, and ornamented with white lace, having a red stripe down the middle: their waistcoats and breeches of red cloth.

Horse Furniture of full green; the holster caps and housings having a border of broad white lace with a red worm down the centre, and II H embroidered on a red ground, within a wreath of roses and thistles on each corner of the housings; and on the holster caps, the King's cypher and crown, with II H underneath.

Standards.—The first, or King's standard, to be of crimson damask, embroidered and fringed with gold; the rose and thistle conjoined, and crown over them in the centre; and underneath, His Majesty's motto, Dieu et mon droit: the white horse in a compartment in the first and fourth corners, and II H in gold characters, on a full green ground, in a compartment in the second and third corners. The second and third standards to be of full green damask, embroidered and fringed with gold; the rank of the regiment in gold Roman characters on a crimson ground, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk, and the motto, Vestigia nulla retrorsum, underneath: the white horse on a red ground in the first and fourth compartments, and the rose and thistle conjoined upon a red ground in the second and third compartments.

Officers to be distinguished by narrow gold lace or embroidery to the binding and button-holes of their coats; sword knots of crimson and gold in stripes; and crimson silk sashes worn over the left shoulder.

1758
1759
1760

On the 23d of October, 1758, Lieutenant-General Bligh was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General the Honourable John Waldegrave (afterwards Earl Waldegrave), who was removed to the Second Dragoon Guards in the following year. The Colonelcy appears to have remained vacant from September, 1759, to November, 1760, when it was conferred by King George III. on Major-General the Honourable John Fitz-William from the Second, or Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot.

1762

Another war having commenced in 1756, between Great Britain and France, a British army was sent to Germany in 1758; the establishment of this regiment was augmented to forty-nine private men per troop; and in 1762 the order prohibiting the regiment recruiting in Ireland was rescinded.

1763

The success of the British arms in Canada, the West Indies, and Germany, was followed by a treaty of peace, and after the return of the cavalry regiments from Germany, in the beginning of 1763, the establishment of the Second Irish Horse was again reduced to twenty-one private men per troop.

1776
1783

At this low establishment the regiment continued until the breaking out of the unfortunate contest between Great Britain and her North American colonies, when an augmentation of ten private men per troop was made to its numbers. No further alteration appears to have been made until the conclusion of the war, when, the independence of the United States having been acknowledged, its establishment was reduced to its former numbers.

1788

At this establishment it continued until the spring of 1788; when King George III., having resolved to form the two troops of Life Guards and two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards into two regiments of Life Guards on a similar establishment to that of the old regiments of horse, and to reduce the four regiments of horse on the Irish establishment to the pay of dragoons, with the title of Dragoon Guards, His Majesty's pleasure was communicated to the regiments in Ireland, in a General Order dated the 14th of February, 1788; and the Second Irish Horse was thus constituted the Fifth Dragoon Guards. In consequence of the regiment being placed upon a decreased rate of pay, compensation was given to the officers; to the colonel 150l. per year; to the lieutenant-colonel a gratuity of 575l.; to the major 525l.; captains, each, 475l.; captain-lieutenant and lieutenants, each, 350l.; and the cornets, each, 250l. Every private man had the option of his discharge, or a bounty of two guineas if he continued to serve.

Several alterations were made in the uniform of the regiment. The officers were directed to wear an epaulette on each shoulder. The flask-string was removed from the pouch belt, and the width of the belts reduced from four inches and a half to three inches; and the equipment was assimilated, in every particular, to that of the regiments of dragoons.

The establishment was fixed at one colonel and captain, one lieutenant-colonel and captain, one major and captain, three captains, six lieutenants, six cornets, one chaplain, one adjutant, one surgeon, six troop quarter-masters, six serjeants, twelve corporals, six trumpeters, one hundred and fourteen private men, and six dismounted men. The several alterations having been completed, the change of establishment took place on the 1st of April, 1788, and from this date the regiment has borne the title of Fifth Dragoon Guards; but the appellation of Green Horse has never been entirely discontinued.

1789
1790

In the following year, the regiment lost its colonel, General the Honourable John Fitz-William, who was succeeded on the 27th of August, 1789, by Lieutenant-General John Douglas, from the Fourteenth Foot. Lieutenant-General Douglas died on the 10th of November, 1790, and was succeeded by Major-General Thomas Bland, from the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Seventh Dragoons.

1793

After passing a period of nearly eighty years in Ireland, the regiment, having previously had a considerable augmentation made to its numbers, was ordered to hold itself in readiness for foreign service. This event was occasioned by the revolution which had taken place in France, where a party of republicans had seized the reins of government, had imprisoned the royal family, and had brought their sovereign to the scaffold; a proceeding which disorganized the state of society in one of the most civilized parts of the world,—gave rise to the formation of a new dynasty,—removed the basis on which the sovereign power was established,—and involved the great European states in a succession of destructive wars for a period of more than twenty years. Great Britain joined the confederacy against the regicide government of France, and sent, in the spring of 1793, a body of troops to the Netherlands, under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of York. At the close of the summer, reinforcements were sent to Flanders, and on the 18th and 19th of September, the Fifth Dragoon Guards embarked at Dublin for the same destination.

1794

After occupying winter quarters in Flanders, the regiment took the field under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable R. Taylor, and entered on a scene of action in a part of Europe where it had, nearly a century before, acquired numerous honours under the great Marlborough, and its conduct did not derogate from its ancient reputation. It was first employed in the attack of the enemy's post at Prêmont, on the 17th of April, 1794, but was not called upon to charge; and it subsequently formed part of the covering army during the siege of Landrécies.

While this siege was in progress, the British troops, under the Duke of York, were encamped at Cateau. On the morning of the 26th of April, which was gloomy and dark, and a thick mist covered the face of nature, the advance of an hostile force was heard, but its movements could not be discerned. At length, the rays of the sun revealed the movements of a French force of thirty thousand men, under Lieutenant-General Chapuy; and a body of cavalry, of which the Fifth Dragoon Guards formed part, was detached, under Lieutenant-General Otto, against the enemy's left flank, while a sharp attack was made on the enemy's front. This movement was conducted with great caution, the enemy's flank was turned, the trumpets sounded a charge, and the British horsemen rushed with irresistible fury upon the ranks of the hostile legions. The French were overthrown and defeated; their commander, Lieutenant-General Chapuy, a number of officers and men, and thirty-five pieces of cannon were captured, and their flying divisions were pursued with immense slaughter to the gates of Cambray. The Duke of York passed the highest commendations on the Fifth Dragoon Guards and other troops detached against the enemy's left flank, and declared they had "all acquired immortal honour to themselves." His Royal Highness further stated, "the conduct of the British cavalry was beyond all praise." The loss of the regiment on this occasion was nine men and twenty-three horses killed; one officer, one quarter-master, eight men and nine horses, wounded; four men and twenty-three horses missing.

After the surrender of Landrécies, the British forces took up a position in front of Tournay, where they repulsed an attack of the enemy on the 10th of May. During the action, a favourable opportunity presented itself for attacking the enemy's right flank; Lieutenant-General Harcourt was detached with sixteen squadrons of British and two of Austrian cavalry, and attacked the enemy with so much resolution and intrepidity, that they immediately began their retreat, in the course of which they were soon broken, and they sustained great loss, including thirteen pieces of cannon, and above four hundred officers and men taken prisoners.

A combined attack was made on the French positions on the 17th of May, but failed from some of the columns not arriving in time at the posts allotted to them.

On the 22nd of May, the French attacked the British position in front of Tournay with an immense force. The Fifth Dragoon Guards were formed up ready for action on their camp ground all the day; but the French did not attack that part of the line; and they were repulsed in their attempts in the other parts of the field.

At length, the defeat of the Austrians having rendered the position occupied by the British in front of Tournay no longer tenable, the troops were withdrawn, and the campaign degenerated into a series of retreats, which were ably conducted under numerous difficulties.

1795

During this short but eventful campaign the British troops had maintained their ancient reputation; but the army was not of sufficient numbers to cope with the enormous masses of the enemy, which darkened the land like a gloomy tempest. In the retreat through Holland, and in the distresses and privations of the winter campaign amidst snow and ice, the Fifth Dragoon Guards took part, and in the early part of 1795 they arrived in Germany.

The regiment remained in Germany during the following summer, and encamped in one of the plains of the Duchy of Bremen, under the orders of Major-General Sir David Dundas; and in November it embarked for England.

1796

In October, 1796, the regiment proceeded to Ireland, which country was in a state bordering on open rebellion. The malcontents had entered into arrangements with the republican government of France, and a French armament was prepared, under the orders of General Hoche, to assist the Irish Roman Catholics in effecting their separation from England, and in forming themselves into a republic. On the 24th of December the French fleet appeared in Bantry Bay; and the Fifth Dragoon Guards were despatched by forced marches to oppose the landing of the enemy. The French fleet was, however, partly dispersed by a storm, and the remainder returned to France without attempting to land.

1797

In 1797 the regiment was encamped, with several other corps, on the Curragh of Kildare, and was there reviewed by Lieutenant-General Sir David Dundas, who expressed, in orders, his approbation of its discipline and appearance. Its establishment at this period was seven hundred officers and men.

1798

The disaffection which had so long prevailed among the Roman Catholics in Ireland, had continued to acquire additional rancour and vehemence, and the passions of the misguided peasantry having been wrought, by wicked demagogues, into fury and madness, they neglected the affairs of civil life, provided themselves with arms, and broke out into open rebellion in the summer of 1798. The Fifth Dragoon Guards were on Dublin duty at the time, and were so distinguished for loyalty and steady conduct that the Lord-Lieutenant committed to the regiment the military charge of the capital.

One squadron under the command of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Sherlock was detached from Dublin into the counties of Wicklow and Wexford, and was engaged in the action at Arklow on the 9th of June, when thirty thousand insurgents, headed by their priests in clerical vestments, attacked the town with great fury, but were repulsed with the loss of an immense number of men. From the circumstance of there being no force of any consequence to prevent the rebels marching upon the capital, this was an action of the greatest importance, and was most obstinately contested.

The same squadron was afterwards instrumental in relieving the loyalists in the town of Ballycarnen, where they were besieged by the rebels, and had only a small party of militia to assist in the defence of the place. The cavalry advanced with great bravery, and was assailed by a sharp fire from behind the fences, and a barrier of carts and other vehicles formed across the road, which it was found impossible to force by cavalry alone, and the troops retired until a body of infantry arrived; when the whole advanced,—routed the rebels, and pursued them with great slaughter.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sherlock was afterwards engaged with the squadron of the Fifth Dragoon Guards under his orders, at Gorey, and charged the rebels several times with success.

The same squadron was also engaged in the action at Vinegar Hill,—the stronghold of the rebels, where the most inhuman tragedies had been committed on hundreds of Protestants. This post was attacked on the 21st of June, and the insurgents were routed with great slaughter and many prisoners were captured. The squadron of the Fifth Dragoon Guards charged and pursued the rebels, and took many prisoners. It afterwards overtook an insurgent corps near a place called White Hills, where, after a sharp contest, the rebels were routed, and they fled in all directions.

While these events were transpiring, another detachment of the regiment was employed in the county of Kildare, and had several skirmishes with bands of insurgents.

A patrole of the regiment, commanded by Captain Pack, proceeding towards Prosperous, encountered one hundred rebels well mounted and equipped; the Dragoon Guards instantly charged with signal valour and intrepidity, routed their adversaries at the first shock, killed twenty on the spot, and captured eight horses.

When the rebellion was nearly suppressed, the French endeavoured to revive the contest by sending General Humbert with about a thousand men, who landed at Killala on the 22d of August. The Fifth Dragoon Guards marched from Dublin to oppose the combined rebel and French forces, and were attached to the column under the Marquis of Cornwallis's command. The action at Ballinamuck on the 8th of September followed; the French surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and the insurgents were dispersed. After the action, the Marquis of Cornwallis selected a squadron of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, commanded by Captain (afterwards Sir William) Ponsonby, to escort him on his return to Dublin.

1799

The rebellion in Ireland having been suppressed, the Fifth Dragoon Guards were embarked in 1799, in order to join the expedition to Holland, commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York; but the order for their proceeding on this service was countermanded, and after disembarking at Liverpool, they marched into quarters in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

1802
1803

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens, a reduction of two troops was made in the establishment; but on the breaking out of the war in 1803, the army was again augmented, and an addition of two troops was again made to the strength of the regiment.

1804

In the following year King George III. was pleased to confer upon the regiment the distinguished title of The Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards, in honour of Her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte Carolina Augusta, daughter of George William Frederick Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), by Carolina Amelia Elizabeth, second daughter of the Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel. The Princess Charlotte of Wales exhibited in her early life a most amiable disposition with excellent traits of character, and, being considered as the future sovereign of Great Britain, the nation saw in her qualities calculated to adorn the throne, and to make a great and civilized people happy; hence, the conferring of Her Royal Highness's title on the regiment, was considered a special mark of His Majesty's favour and approbation.

1805
1808

The regiment proceeded to Ireland in 1805, and remained in that country until the summer of 1808, when it returned to England.

1811

On the 8th of July, 1811, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who was Regent of the United Kingdom during the indisposition of King George III., reviewed the regiment on Wimbledon common, on which occasion it was commanded by its Colonel, the veteran General Thomas Bland, and the Prince Regent was graciously pleased to express his approbation of its appearance, and of the rapidity and brilliant execution of its movements; and as the regiment was about to proceed on foreign service, the most lively anticipations of its achievements at the theatre of war were produced. It was not, at this period, mounted on horses of so heavy a description as formerly; but, while it bore the title of a heavy cavalry regiment, and retained sufficient weight for a powerful charge in line, it had acquired a lightness which rendered it available for every description of service. The heavy cavalry corps which formerly constituted so important a portion of the armies of England, had been improved in efficiency and usefulness by mounting them on horses of a lighter description.

The occasion of the Fifth Dragoon Guards proceeding abroad at this period, was the attempt made by that tyrannical power which had risen out of the French revolution, of which Napoleon Bonaparte had become the head, to subjugate the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal: the inhabitants of those countries were in arms against the usurper; a British force commanded by Lord Wellington had been sent to their aid; and this regiment was one of the corps selected to reinforce the army under his lordship's command.

Six troops of this regiment, amounting to five hundred and forty-four officers and men, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable William Ponsonby, embarked at Portsmouth on the 12th of August, and having landed at Lisbon on the 4th of September, occupied quarters at Belem about six weeks, and afterwards advanced up the country. When the army went into quarters for the winter, the Fifth Dragoon Guards were stationed at Thomar.

1812

The army resumed operations in the beginning of January, 1812, with the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo: and in March the Fifth Dragoon Guards proceeded into the south of Spain to watch the movements of Marshal Soult, and to cover the siege of Badajoz. The regiment arrived, with the remainder of its brigade (the Third and Fourth Dragoons), at Borba, in the Alentejo, on the 5th of March, crossed the Guadiana on the 15th, and formed the van of the covering army until it arrived at the foot of an extensive chain of mountains called the Sierra Morena. On the advance of Marshal Soult, the covering army retired upon Albuhera. The fortress of Badajoz was captured by storm on the 6th of April; and in a few days afterwards the regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing itself in action with the enemy. A large body of cavalry advanced upon Llerena; the Fifth Dragoon Guards marched on the 10th of April to Los Santos, and continued their route during the night to Bienvenida,—proceeding a distance of sixty miles without halting, and the last four miles at a brisk pace, through a country abounding with obstructions; then forming with celerity, advanced through a grove of olive-trees, beyond which a body of French cavalry, of more than thrice the numbers of the regiment, was formed up. The sight of so numerous an enemy did not intimidate the Fifth Dragoon Guards; but acted as a spur to their energies, and excited them to exertions which evinced their native valour and intrepidity, and occasioned them to rival the deeds of their predecessors in the field of glory. The fatigues of the previous march were forgotten, and the gallant troopers charged with such spirit and resolution, that the French squadrons were broken, and being also attacked by the light brigade, they retired in disorder under cover of their infantry and artillery, leaving behind about one hundred killed and wounded, and one lieutenant-colonel, two captains, one lieutenant, and one hundred and forty men prisoners, also nearly one hundred horses. Actions in which the numbers engaged are not very great, do not produce, in their bearing on the affairs of nations, very important results, hence they are often overlooked, or but slightly noticed, by general historians; yet on these occasions individual corps often distinguish themselves in an eminent degree; and the excellent conduct of the British cavalry at Llerena, elicited the following orders:—

"Lafra, 12th April, 1812.

"Cavalry Orders.

"Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton begs Major-General Le Marchant and the Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel Ponsonby will accept his best thanks, for the gallant and judicious manner in which they commanded their brigades yesterday, and he requests they will make known to the officers commanding regiments, the lieutenant-general's high approbation of their conduct, as well as of the zeal and attention displayed by all ranks. The order which was preserved by the troops in pursuing the enemy, and the quickness with which they formed after every attack, does infinite credit to the commanding officers, and is a convincing proof of the good discipline of the several regiments.

"The Lieutenant-General was very much satisfied with the conduct of the Third and Fourth Dragoons, in supporting the Fifth Dragoon Guards and Major-General Anson's brigade.

"To Lieutenant-Colonel Elley, Sir Stapleton's warmest thanks are due, for the great assistance he derived from the zeal and activity displayed by that officer; and the Lieutenant-General begs that Captain White and Captain Baron Deckan will accept his acknowledgments for the assistance they afforded him yesterday. Sir Stapleton Cotton has only to assure the cavalry that their gallant and regular conduct yesterday has made him, if possible, more proud than ever of the high command entrusted to him.

"Stapleton Cotton,
"Lieutenant-General."

"Olivenza, 15th April, 1812.

"Brigade Orders.

"Major-General Le Marchant has great satisfaction in conveying to his brigade the approbation and thanks of Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton commanding the cavalry, for their gallant conduct near Llerena on the 11th instant.

"Whilst the Major-General is perfectly satisfied with the zeal shown by every individual of the brigade in the execution of his duty on that occasion, he considers that the charge made by the Fifth Dragoon Guards deserves his particular admiration and approval, and he requests that Major Prescott and the officers of that corps will accept his best thanks, as well for their services as for the credit which their gallant conduct reflects on the command which he has the honour to hold.

"T. Hutchins,
"Brigade-Major."

These orders were forwarded to the depôt of the regiment in England, to be inserted in the records, accompanied by a letter, of which the following is an extract:—

"Crato, Portugal, 7th May, 1812.

"Sir,—I have great pleasure in communicating to you, by direction of Colonel Ponsonby, the cavalry and brigade orders issued on a late occasion, when the Fifth Dragoon Guards attacked a very superior enemy, and forced him to retire with the loss of about one hundred killed and wounded, besides one lieutenant-colonel, two captains, one lieutenant, and one hundred and forty men taken prisoners, with near one hundred horses. This affair presents a pledge of the future good conduct of the regiment whenever an opportunity again appears of meeting the enemy, and must be peculiarly gratifying to you and to the remainder of the corps at the depôt in England, to hear from such undoubted authority, that the regiment still continues to support that high character which it gained on many former glorious occasions, and in our estimation this last is not the least:—the regiment having, previous to the attack on three times its numbers of the enemy's best cavalry, made a forced march of upwards of sixty miles without halting,—four of the last of which was at a very brisk pace, through a difficult country, over rocks, ravines, and stone walls; then forming with unexampled celerity, and charging with equal and regular rapidity through a grove of olive-trees until it came in contact with the enemy, who retired in great disorder under the cover of his infantry and guns. Our loss in this brilliant affair was comparatively trifling, as will be seen by the subjoined statement of the names of the brave men who fell.

"W. Jackson,
"Adjutant."

Thus the Dragoon Guards of the nineteenth century are found rivalling the celebrated heavy Horse of the preceding ages. The regiment lost, on this occasion, one corporal and fourteen private men killed; Major Prescot, Lieutenant Walker, three serjeants, one corporal, and twenty-one private men wounded.

A detachment of the Fifth Dragoon Guards escorted the prisoners captured on this occasion to the fortress of Elvas in Portugal. The regiment afterwards marched to Crato.

Advancing from Crato into Spain, the Fifth Dragoon Guards took part in the movements by which the French were driven from Salamanca, and the forts at that city were besieged and captured.

After the capture of the forts, the regiment advanced upon Toro, but was subsequently ordered to retire to Alaejos to support a body of troops, under Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton, posted on the Trabancos; and several retrograde movements followed, which were succeeded by the battle of Salamanca. During the night before this eventful day, while the regiment was dismounted, a violent storm occurred. The thunder rolled with tremendous violence over the heads of the men and horses; the lightning played in sheets of fire and shed its blazing gleams upon the polished arms; and the rain fell in torrents. One flash fell among the Fifth Dragoon Guards; the terrified horses breaking loose galloped wildly about in the dark, and every additional clap of thunder and blaze of lightning augmented the confusion. Twenty men of the regiment were trampled down and disabled, and several horses escaped into the French lines.

On the morning of the memorable 22d of July, the Fifth Dragoon Guards, commanded by Colonel the Honourable William Ponsonby, moved from their bivouac and formed in the rear of the centre of the position occupied by the allied army.

While the French commander was manœuvring, Lord Wellington took advantage of an injudicious movement, and ordered his divisions forward to attack their adversaries, when the Fifth Dragoon Guards took ground to their right, passed the village of Arapiles, and advancing in support of the third and fifth divisions, were exposed to a heavy cannonade. The French army, being attacked at the moment it was making a complicated evolution, was unable to withstand the British forces; in a short time, a favourable opportunity for a charge of the heavy cavalry occurred, and the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, were ordered to attack.[10] The bugles sounded; the brigade moved forward, increasing its pace, with Major-General Le Marchant at its head, and a most animated scene presented itself. The din of battle was heard on every side; clouds of dust and rising columns of smoke darkened the air, and enveloped the foaming squadrons as they dashed forward and shook the ground with their trampling hoofs. In front, the glittering bayonets and waving colours of French infantry were dimly seen through the thickened atmosphere; these formidable ranks of war were, in an instant, broken and overthrown by the terrific charge of this brigade; the resolute troopers, mingling with their discomfited antagonists, cut them down with a dreadful carnage, while the British infantry raised shouts of triumph and applause at the success of the cavalry, and numbers of the enemy laid down their arms, and surrendered prisoners of war. Major-General Le Marchant was shot through the body, which terminated the career of that gallant and talented officer; the command of the brigade devolved on the brave Colonel the Honourable William Ponsonby of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and the officers and men of the regiment, emulating the heroic fire and energy of their favourite leader, performed deeds of valour worthy the high character of their corps. Having subdued one body of infantry, they continued their career through a wood in their front without waiting to re-form their ranks; another formidable mass of fresh adversaries presented itself; the undaunted heavy horsemen, conscious of their power, flushed with success, stimulated to new energies by seeing Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton and his staff at their head, rushed forward with reckless fury; though assailed by a volley of musketry, which proved fatal to many, the survivors passed through the curling smoke, scarcely seeming to touch the ground, and the next moment the French column was broken with a dreadful crash. That mass of infantry, a moment before so menacing and conspicuous, was become a confused rabble, while the victorious troopers, exulting in uncontrollable might, trampled down and plunged their horses through the enemy's ranks, sabring their dismayed adversaries, and producing havoc and confusion on every hand.[11] Five guns and more than two thousand prisoners were captured, and a division of French infantry was destroyed; two guns were seized by the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and sent to the rear immediately after they broke through the enemy's ranks. Such were the splendid results of this gallant and dreadful charge, in which the weight, prowess, and daring impetuosity of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, seconded by the light brigade, proved irresistible, and contributed materially in deciding the fortune of a battle in which the French army sustained a decisive overthrow, and eleven guns and two eagles remained in possession of the conquerors. The British commander stated in his public despatch,—"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:" Colonel the Honourable William Ponsonby was presented with a gold medal for his conduct as commanding officer; and the regiment was afterwards rewarded with the honour of bearing the word Salamanca on its standards and appointments. Its loss was Captain Osborne, two serjeants, one corporal, and twelve private men killed; Lieutenant Christie, one serjeant, one corporal, and fourteen private men wounded.

FIFTH (THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES'S) REGIMENT OF DRAGOON GUARDS,
At the Battle of Salamanca, 22nd July, 1812.

[To face page 60.

The left squadron of the Fifth Dragoon Guards was attached to Major-General Bock's brigade of heavy German cavalry, and sent in pursuit of the wreck of the French army, which retreated by Alba upon Valladolid; the French rear-guard was overtaken about three leagues beyond Alba de Tormes, a sharp engagement ensued, and about nine hundred prisoners were captured.

Colonel the Honourable William Ponsonby, of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, having been appointed to the staff of the army, and to the command of the heavy cavalry brigade, issued the following order on the subject:—

"Camp near Flores de Avila,
25th July, 1812.

"Regimental Orders,

"His Excellency, the commander of the forces, having been pleased to appoint Colonel Ponsonby to the staff of this army, and to the distinguished honour of commanding this brigade, Major Prescott will be pleased to take upon himself the command of the regiment.

"The Fifth Dragoon Guards well know how highly Colonel Ponsonby has always prized the honour of commanding them; and if the pride he has long felt in the command of a regiment deservedly of such high character admitted of augmentation, its most gallant and glorious achievements in the field, as well as its soldier-like conduct in quarters, since its arrival in this country, could not fail to enhance it. He assures the officers and men of the regiment, that it is now with considerable regret he takes his leave of them as their regimental commanding officer, although in the course of professional promotion; and he requests Major Prescott, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and the whole of the regiment, will accept his warm and sincere thanks for the past, as well as his heartfelt and anxious good wishes for the future. May the Fifth Dragoon Guards long continue to be ranked as second to none in His Majesty's service."

The regiment accompanied the army in the subsequent movements, and in the advance upon the capital of Spain; and it formed part of the personal escort of the Marquis of Wellington when he entered Madrid on the 12th of August; it was formed up at the Segovia-gate, when his lordship received the keys from the municipality. The Fifth Dragoon Guards entered the city amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, and occupied quarters there until the 18th of August.

Leaving the metropolis of Spain to engage in operations against the French army, the regiment proceeded to St. Ildefonso, remained there a few days, and afterwards proceeded to the vicinity of Burgos, where the enemy was found in position on the 17th of September. The Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, were ordered to the front, and dispositions were made for the attack; but the French commander withdrew his forces, leaving a strong garrison in the castle of Burgos. This fortress was besieged, and the regiment, forming part of the covering army, was stationed at Villamar, the head quarters of the cavalry. On the 19th of October, the enemy attempted to relieve the besieged, and attacked and carried the village of Quintanapalla; the left wing of infantry and Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, advanced to retake the village, but on the approach of this force the French retreated.

At length, the movements of the superior numbers of the enemy, rendered it necessary for the main army to unite with the forces under Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill, and a retreat was resolved upon. Withdrawing from Burgos with great secrecy on the night of the 21st of October, the army commenced its celebrated retreat to the frontiers of Portugal, which was performed under peculiar difficulties, and in presence of an immense superiority of numbers, with the same signal ability which distinguished all the operations of the British commander, who evinced, on many occasions during this war, the sublimity of military talent.

On the 23rd of October, the army continued its retreat in two columns; the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, covering the retreat of the column from Hormillos; the enemy menaced the rear with an immense force of cavalry, but was unable to make a serious impression, and the British troops bivouacked that night on the hills above Cordovilla. Resuming the march an hour before daylight on the following morning, the column passed the bridge of Cordovilla and crossed the Carrion, covered by Colonel Ponsonby's brigade, and the head quarters were established at Duenas, from whence two squadrons of the Fifth Dragoon Guards and Third Dragoons were detached, to cover the working parties employed in mining the bridges of Palencia for destruction; but the French advancing in great force gained possession of the bridges in an unbroken state. On the 26th the army resumed its retrograde movement, crossed the Pisuerga at Cabeçon, and occupied that town and its vicinity until the 29th, when it again retired, and, having crossed the Douro, occupied a position beyond that river several days. On the 6th of November the army retreated on Salamanca; on the 15th it resumed its march, and having crossed the Agueda, proceeded into quarters in Portugal. The Fifth Dragoon Guards halted eight days at Gallegos, in the province of Biera, and afterwards proceeded to Ervidal, where they remained until the 28th of December, and subsequently marched to Goes.

Thus ended this eventful campaign, in which the allied army, after capturing the two important fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, gaining the glorious victory of Salamanca, and penetrating to the metropolis of Spain, was forced, by the superior number of the enemy's concentrated forces, to return to its former posts. The gigantic power to which the French revolution had given birth was, however, on the eve of being broken; Bonaparte, the tyrant of Europe, had resolved on the fatal expedition to Russia, where he lost a powerful army in the snow, and the victory at Salamanca was the precursor of greater triumphs over the disturbers of christendom. The immense distance marched by the Fifth Dragoon Guards during the year 1812, with the scarcity of forage and constant exposure to every description of weather, occasioned the loss of many horses; it has been computed that the regiment marched about two thousand miles within twelve months.

1813

The regiment was again in motion in February, 1813, and having taken post at Viride, in the valley of the Mondego, occupied that station until the middle of April, when it proceeded to Guimarers, and halted there seventeen days.

In May the army commenced operations with a prospect of more splendid results than on any former occasion; and Colonel Ponsonby's brigade, which still consisted of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, traversed the wild and mountainous country of Trasos-Montes, and crossed the Esla on the 26th of May. The enemy, no longer possessing that superiority of numbers by which he had formerly gained so many advantages, abandoned the line of the Douro; Ponsonby's brigade directed its march on Valencia, passed that town, and advanced on Burgos. On the 12th of June, the brigade overtook the enemy's rear-guard on the heights of Estepar, when the Third Dragoons were detached to cut off part of the enemy's force, in which they succeeded, and Captain Miles, of the Fourteenth Dragoons, charging, took some prisoners and one gun. During the succeeding night, the French blew up the castle of Burgos, and retired behind the Ebro. Colonel Ponsonby's brigade moved to the left, and after traversing a romantic tract of country, over mountains and rugged precipices, crossed the Ebro on the 15th of June, and advanced on Vittoria, where the enemy concentrated his forces and took up a defensive position.

At day-break, on the morning of the 21st of June, the allied army advanced against the enemy, and the Fifth Dragoon Guards supported the columns of attack. The British infantry dislodged their adversaries from the several eminences and strong posts at the point of the bayonet, and being supported and sustained by the cavalry, forced the enemy, after a dreadful slaughter had taken place, to retreat with the loss of his guns, ammunition, and baggage. The cavalry, having been prevented by the nature of the ground from charging during the early part of the day, was enabled to dash forward towards the close of the action, and to complete the rout and discomfiture of the French army. The Fifth Dragoon Guards had only one man wounded on this occasion. Their gallant bearing throughout the day, procured them the honour of displaying the word Vittoria on their standards and appointments, and their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Prescott, was rewarded with a gold medal. The brigade continued the pursuit of the enemy on the following day, and on the 27th of June was detached, to endeavour to intercept the retreat of a division of the French army, under General Clausel; but this body of troops escaped to France by the pass of Jaca. The Fifth Dragoon Guards had advanced to Tafalla, where they remained fourteen days, when, forage becoming scarce, they proceeded to Miranda. In the mean time, the infantry having blockaded Pampeluna, penetrated the Pyrenean mountains. Marshal Soult advanced to relieve Pampeluna, when these celebrated mountains became the scene of several fierce and deadly contests between the English and French infantry, and the cavalry were ordered forward in support. The Fifth Dragoon Guards left Mirando on the 26th of July, and were formed up at the foot of the Pyrenees during the actions in the mountains towards the end of the month, when the French were defeated and forced to retire with great loss.

The heavy cavalry not being required in the mountain operations of the army, the Fifth Dragoon Guards marched to Estella, a city of Navarre, where they arrived on the 11th of August, and remained until the 27th of December, when, forage becoming scarce, they proceeded to the plains of Vittoria, and occupied Guérena and adjacent villages.

1814

Towards the end of February, 1814, the Fifth Dragoon Guards again advanced. After passing through the Pyrenean mountains, they entered France, and followed the route of the French troops retreating on Bayonne. On the 19th of March, the army, under Marshal Soult, was discovered in position near Tarbes, when a division of infantry and Major-General Ponsonby's brigade of cavalry were ordered to turn the enemy's right flank at Rabastens, but the French, being thus threatened, retired. Following the rear of the French army, the brigade crossed the Garonne, on a pontoon bridge, at St. Roques, on the 31st of March, and seized the bridge on the Arriege, at Cintagabelle; but the roads were found so bad in this direction, that the troops were recalled, and the pontoon bridge being removed to Grenade, the brigade passed the river on the 4th of April, took post at Grissolles, and placed a strong picquet on the road to Montauban.

In the mean time, the French army had taken up a strong position to cover Toulouse, where they were attacked by the allied army on the 10th of April. The infantry attacked the enemy's entrenchments with their usual intrepidity. The cavalry brigade, consisting of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, was commanded on this occasion by Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Manners; it was employed in supporting the Spanish forces, and, by its firm countenance, it enabled them, after having been thrown into some confusion, to rally and re-form their broken ranks. It also saved the Portuguese guns from being captured by the French, and subsequently supported Lieutenant-General Clinton's division: at length, the enemy was driven from his works, and forced to take shelter in the town. The Fifth Dragoon Guards had one corporal killed and Cornet Lucas wounded; and their services on this occasion were rewarded with the honour of bearing the word Toulouse on their standards and appointments.

Shortly after this victory hostilities were terminated, by the removal of Buonaparte from the throne of France, and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. Thus ended the toils and conflicts of this destructive war, and the Fifth Dragoon Guards, after traversing kingdoms, enduring privations, and gaining victories, had the gratification of witnessing the restoration of peace. The French forces, after fighting to add province to province, and kingdom to kingdom, to found new empires upon the ruins of conquered states, to subject mankind to the tyranny of a lawless despot, saw their hopes blasted, their conquests wrested from them, their country invaded and subject to the power of foreigners; but the British army, which fought under the immortal Wellington for the good of Europe,—for the welfare of other nations, preserved its own country from the horrors of war, and had the glory of conquering to establish the peace of Christendom.

The Fifth Dragoon Guards remained in cantonments until the 1st of June, when, having sent their dismounted men and heavy baggage to Bourdeaux, they commenced their march for Boulogne.[12] This long march, from one extremity of France to another, was performed in the short period of six weeks; and, previous to embarking, Major-General Ponsonby expressed to the three regiments in brigade orders, "the high sense he entertained of their uniformly excellent conduct both in quarters and in the field:" adding, "It is a gratifying circumstance that, during the whole period of service, they have, in no instance, individually or collectively, incurred animadversion in general orders; that no individual of the brigade has been brought before a general court martial; and that not one instance has occurred (to the major-general's knowledge) of interior disagreement in the brigade. With equal truth the major-general can assert, that upon every occasion which has presented itself of acting against the enemy, whether regimentally or in brigade, they have nobly sustained the superiority of the British cavalry, and fully justified the high opinion so repeatedly expressed with regard to them by his Grace the Duke of Wellington. The three regiments will ever have to congratulate themselves on its having fallen to their lot to be the brigade employed in that glorious and effectual charge, which contributed in so eminent a degree to decide the fate of the day at Salamanca, and to secure the signal and complete defeat of the French army. It only remains for the major-general to declare his satisfaction at the exemplary conduct of the brigade during the march through France; and he concludes by requesting that Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Manners, Lieutenant-Colonel Prescott, and Major Hugonin, will themselves accept, and have the goodness to communicate to the regiments under their respective commands, his best and warmest thanks for their zealous and steady services during the time he has had the honour of commanding the brigade, together with his earnest and sincere good wishes for their future welfare. He also requests Brigade-Major Hill will accept his best thanks for the zeal and assiduous attention with which he has discharged the duties of his situation."

The Fifth Dragoon Guards embarked at Boulogne on the 17th and 18th of July, landed at Dover on the 19th and 20th, and marched from thence to Woodbridge barracks, where the depôt and heavy baggage joined from Canterbury, and a reduction of two troops was made in the establishment. In October the regiment marched to Ipswich and adjacents.

1815

In April, 1815, "His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to approve of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards, being permitted to bear on its standards and appointments (in addition to any other badges or devices which may have been heretofore granted to the regiment), the word 'Peninsula,' in commemoration of its services during the late war in Portugal, Spain, and France, under the command of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington."

On the 8th of April, the regiment marched to Nottingham, Coventry, Northampton, and Leicester; and the return of Napoleon Buonaparte to France, in breach of the treaty of 1814, having occasioned a declaration of war, six troops were ordered to be held in readiness for foreign service; but, to the great regret of the officers and men, who panted for another opportunity of signalizing themselves under the Duke of Wellington, the order was subsequently countermanded in consequence of the number of young and untrained horses in the regiment.

In June, the officers and men of the Fifth Dragoon Guards received the painful intelligence of the fall of Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, G.C.B., at the battle of Waterloo.[13]

In July, the regiment marched to York, Sheffield, Leeds, Huddersfield, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne: in September, the several troops proceeded to Newcastle, in consequence of the riotous conduct of the seamen in the ports of that neighbourhood.

1816

In January, 1816, the regiment occupied Newcastle, York, Carlisle, Penrith, and Whitehaven; during the summer, it proceeded to Ireland, and, arriving at Dublin towards the end of August, remained on duty in that garrison six months.

General Bland died at Isleworth on the 14th of October, 1816; and on the 18th of that month, His Royal Highness Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg of Saalfield, K.G., G.C.B., G.C.H., was appointed Colonel of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards.

1817

The regiment left Ireland in February, 1817, and proceeded to Scotland, where it remained until the autumn; and, on its arrival in England, it occupied Ipswich, Norwich, &c.

The Princess Charlotte of Wales died on the 6th of November of this year, but the title of the regiment is continued, in honour of the memory of that amiable Princess.

1818
1819
1820

In July, 1818, the regiment proceeded to York, where the establishment was reduced to fifty men and thirty-four horses per troop; in the summer of 1819, it marched to Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton; in April, 1820, to Manchester,[14] Oldham, and Ashton; and in August of the same year, to York, Leeds, and Huddersfield.

On the 3rd of September a communication was received from Major-General Sir John Byng commanding the northern district, enclosing a letter from the Military Secretary, wherein it was stated that "His Royal Highness the commander-in-chief approved highly of the general good conduct, loyalty, and steadiness of the regiment, of which favourable report was made to His Royal Highness from all quarters."

1821

In April, 1821, the Fifth Dragoon Guards marched to Scotland, and occupied Hamilton, Glasgow, and Paisley: in August the regiment proceeded to Ireland, and was quartered at Belfast, Belturbet, Sligo, Enniskillen, and Dundalk; at the same time a reduction of two troops was made in the establishment, leaving the numbers six troops, of three officers, fifty-five men, and forty-two troop-horses each.

1822
1823
1824

The regiment marched to Porto Bello barracks, Dublin, in July, 1822; from thence to Ballinrobe, Gort, Loughrea, Athlone, Roscommon, and Dunmore, in May, 1823: and in July, 1824, to Dundalk and Belturbet.

1825

The regiment left Ireland in April, 1825, and proceeding to Scotland, was stationed at Glasgow and Hamilton.

1826

Leaving Scotland in the spring of 1826, the regiment proceeded to York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with a detachment on revenue duty at Beverley. In April the regiment was ordered into the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire, in consequence of some disturbance amongst the operatives, but returned to York in June.

1827

In February, 1827, the regiment proceeded to Leeds, Rochdale, and Sheffield.

1828
1829

In May, 1828, the regiment marched to Dorchester, Weymouth, Troubridge, and Christ Church, with detached parties on coast duty, and in the following summer it proceeded to Canterbury.

1830

Leaving Canterbury in April, 1830, the regiment marched to Coventry and Birmingham. In July of the same year His Majesty, King William IV., was pleased to command that the Fifth Dragoon Guards should proceed to Windsor, to undertake the duties usually performed by the household cavalry; and, shortly after their arrival there, they were inspected by Field Marshal Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, when his Royal Highness expressed himself much gratified with the excellent appearance and discipline of his corps.

On the 14th of August the Fifth Dragoon Guards, commanded by Prince Leopold in person, were reviewed in the barrack square at Windsor, by his Majesty King William IV., accompanied by the Queen and other members of the royal family. His Majesty having made a minute inspection of the regiment, was pleased to express his high approbation of its martial appearance and efficiency: and the officers were then severally presented to the King, by Prince Leopold. After the review their Majesties, with the other members of the royal family and distinguished personages present, partook of a déjeuné prepared by order of Prince Leopold, under tents on the green, and in the officers' mess-room.

His Majesty, accompanied by Lord Hill (the general commanding-in-chief) inspected the Fifth Dragoon Guards in the great quadrangle at Windsor Castle, on the 29th of August, and again expressed his royal approbation of their appearance and discipline.

In October of the same year the regiment marched to Maidstone and adjacent places. In the following month the head quarters proceeded to Tunbridge Wells, and, in consequence of the riotous conduct of the agricultural labourers in Sussex, the remainder of the corps was dispersed in various parts of that county. In December the head quarters proceeded to Brighton, and occupied the cavalry barrack at that town during His Majesty's residence at the Royal Pavilion.

1831

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg having been elected king of the Belgians, resigned the commission of Colonel of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and King William IV. was graciously pleased to confer that appointment on Lieutenant-General Sir John Slade, Bart. G.C.H., by commission, dated 20th July, 1831.

1834

The regiment embarked at Bristol on the 17th April, 1831, and landed at Dublin on the following day. It continued on duty at various stations in Ireland until April, 1834, when it again returned to England, disembarked at Liverpool on the 22d of that month, and was stationed for one year at Manchester.

1835
1836
1837
1838

In May, 1835, the regiment proceeded to Scotland, from whence it returned in the following year, and was stationed at Leeds; in April, 1837, its head-quarters were established at Birmingham; and in May, 1838, at York.

The foregoing pages contain an account of the services of the Fifth Dragoon Guards to the termination of the year 1838, and its record bears ample testimony to the zeal and bravery which have been evinced by this distinguished corps on occasions when it has had an opportunity to attest its valour in presence of a foreign enemy.

Its noble and gallant conduct, as a regiment of Horse, at the battle of the Boyne in 1690;—at the heights of Schellenberg;—also at the memorable battle of Blenheim, where the French and Bavarian armies were nearly destroyed, and their commander, standards, and colours were captured, in 1704;—its heroic achievements in 1705 at the forcing of the French lines at Helixem and Neer-Hespen, where it captured the standards of the Bavarian horse-guards;—the glorious part it took in annihilating one of the finest and best appointed armies France ever brought into the field, at Ramilies in 1706;—its intrepid bearing, as a corps of Cuirassiers, in 1708 in the field at Oudenarde, and in the action at Wynendale;—the valour it displayed in close combat with the French household troops at the sanguinary battle of Malplaquet in 1709;—the ardour it evinced in the movements and skirmishes which led to the capture of the fortress of Bouchain in 1711;—its gallantry as a corps of Dragoon Guards in 1794 at the battle of Cateau, where the French commander, many officers and men, and thirty-five pieces of cannon were captured;—its brilliant charge at Llerena;—its victorious career on the plains of Salamanca in 1812;—its spirited conduct at Vittoria in 1813;—and at Toulouse in 1814;—the eminent qualities it displayed on these and other occasions, as set forth in the public despatches and national records, afford most honourable proof that the Fifth Regiment of Dragoon Guards has never lost sight of the ancient motto on its standards Vestigia nulla retrorsum.

The conduct of the regiment on home, as well as on foreign service, has, on all occasions, been such as to evince its usefulness, efficiency, and constant readiness to support the honour and dignity of the crown, and the prosperity of the country; thus holding forth a bright example to stimulate to good conduct the soldiers of the present and future ages, under all the circumstances of service in which the calls of their sovereign and country may occasion them to be placed.