SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE SEVENTH,
OR
QUEEN'S OWN REGIMENT
OF
HUSSARS.
Robert Cunningham.
Appointed 30th December, 1690.
Robert Cunningham was an officer of reputation in the Scots brigade in the service of Holland, and was wounded at the battle of St. Denis, in 1678. Proceeding to Scotland, he became a warm advocate for the principles of the Revolution of 1688, and having performed faithful services in that cause, he was rewarded with the colonelcy of a regiment of foot formed during the winter of 1689-90. When the clans tendered their submission to King William's government, Colonel Cunningham's regiment was disbanded, and he obtained the command of a corps of dragoons, now the Seventh Hussars. He served with his regiment, under King William, in the Netherlands, during the campaigns of 1694, 1695, and 1696, and in the summer of the last-mentioned year he commanded a brigade of dragoons in Flanders. At the close of the campaign he was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lord Jedburgh.
William, Lord Jedburgh.
Appointed 1st October, 1696.
The Honorable William Kerr, son of Robert, fourth Earl and first Marquis of Lothian, steadily supported the principles of the Revolution, and rose to the rank of colonel in the army on the 1st of March, 1692. He succeeded, in the same year, to the title of Lord Jedburgh; and on the 1st of October, 1696, King William appointed him to the colonelcy of a regiment of dragoons, now the Seventh Hussars. In 1702, Queen Anne promoted him to the rank of brigadier-general. On the decease of his father, in 1703, he succeeded to the title of Marquis of Lothian[8]. The rank of major-general was conferred on his lordship in 1704; in the succeeding year he was invested with the order of the Thistle; and in January, 1707, he obtained the rank of lieut.-general. On the 25th of April following he obtained the colonelcy of the third foot guards, from which he was removed in 1713, in consequence of his political views not being in accordance with those of Queen Anne's new ministry. After the accession of King George I., his lordship was appointed to the staff of North Britain. He died in 1722.
Patrick, Lord Polwarth.
Appointed 28th April, 1707.
This officer was the son of Sir Patrick Hume, of Polwarth, who was one of the most conspicuous and vigorous characters of the age in which he lived, was a strenuous opposer of the proceedings of King Charles II. in Scotland, and was created, by King William, Lord Polwarth, and Earl of Marchmont.
Patrick Hume was educated in Holland, and the Prince of Orange gave him a commission in the Dutch service. He accompanied His Highness to England at the Revolution, and when his father was elevated to the dignity of Earl of Marchmont, he was styled Lord Polwarth. He was appointed major of a regiment of dragoons, now Seventh Hussars, in 1694; lieut.-colonel in 1697, and colonel in 1707. He died in 1709.
The Honorable William Kerr.
Appointed 10th October, 1709.
The Honorable William Kerr, third son of Robert, Earl of Roxburgh, and brother of John, first Duke of Roxburgh, served with reputation on the continent, under the celebrated John, Duke of Marlborough. In 1709 he was rewarded with the command of a regiment of dragoons, now Seventh Hussars, and on the accession of King George I. he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales. He highly distinguished himself at the battle of Dumblain, on the 13th of November, 1715, where, according to the accounts published at the time, he had three horses killed under him, was wounded in the thigh, and had his coat torn by a pistol bullet. The care and attention which he paid to the interests of his corps, procured him the affection and esteem of the officers and soldiers. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1727, to that of major-general in 1735, and to that of lieut.-general in 1739. He died in 1741, after commanding the regiment nearly thirty-two years.
John Cope.
Appointed 12th August, 1741.
John Cope entered the army in March, 1707, and speedily rose to the lieut.-colonelcy in the second or Scots troop of horse grenadier guards. He obtained the rank of colonel in the army in 1711. In 1730 he was promoted from the horse grenadier guards to the colonelcy of the thirty-ninth foot, from which he was removed to the fifth foot, in 1732. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735; was removed to the ninth dragoons in 1737; and advanced to the rank of major-general two years afterwards. He served several years on the staff of Ireland, obtained the colonelcy of the Seventh dragoons in 1741, and proceeded, in the summer of 1742, to Flanders with the army commanded by Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair. In the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and having signalized himself, under the eye of his sovereign, at the head of the second line of cavalry, at the battle of Dettingen, he was constituted a knight of the Bath.
Sir John Cope was commander-in-chief in Scotland when the rebellion of 1745 broke out in the Highlands, and a small body of troops, under his immediate command, was defeated by the clans under the young Pretender, at Preston Pans, which unfortunate circumstance enabled the rebels to penetrate into England. He died in 1760.
John Mostyn.
Appointed 18th August, 1760.
John Mostyn served in the thirty-first foot, in which corps he rose to the rank of captain, and in 1742 he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the second foot guards. Having joined his company on foreign service, he was engaged at the battle of Fontenoy, where the foot guards highly distinguished themselves, and he was wounded. In December, 1747, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp to King George II.; and in 1751 he obtained the colonelcy of the seventh foot, from which he was removed to the thirteenth dragoons in 1754. In 1757 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was removed to the fifth dragoons in 1758, and to the Seventh dragoons in 1760. He commanded a brigade of infantry under the Duke of Marlborough in the expedition to the coast of France in 1758; in 1759 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and serving in Germany under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, he distinguished himself on several occasions. At the conclusion of the war he was removed to the first dragoon guards, and was promoted in 1772, to the rank of general. He died in March, 1779.
Sir George Howard, K.B.
Appointed 13th May, 1763.
George Howard entered the army in the reign of King George I., and after serving the crown a period of nineteen years, he obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the third foot on the 2nd of April, 1744. He commanded the regiment at the battles of Fontenoy, Falkirk, Culloden, and Val; and in 1749 he succeeded his father in the colonelcy of the corps. He served with distinction in Germany during the seven years' war; was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1758, and to that of lieut.-general in 1760: and at the conclusion of the peace in 1763, he was removed to the Seventh dragoons, and advanced to the dignity of a knight of the Bath. In 1777 he was promoted to the rank of general; in April, 1779, he was removed to the first dragoon guards; and was promoted to the rank of field-marshal in October 1793; he was also a member of the privy council, and governor of Jersey. He died on the 16th of July, 1796.
Sir Henry Clinton, K.B.
Appointed 21st April, 1779.
Henry Clinton, grandson of Francis, sixth Earl of Lincoln, held a commission in an independent company of foot at New York, from which he was removed in 1751, to a lieutenancy in the second foot guards, and in 1758 he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards. Having gained great credit for his conduct during the seven years' war, in which the foot guards had several opportunities of acquiring distinction, he was promoted, in 1762, to the rank of colonel in the army; and in November, 1766, King George III. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the twelfth regiment of foot, then at Gibraltar; he was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1772. On the breaking out of hostilities in America, in 1775, this distinguished officer was sent with reinforcements to General Gage, at Boston, with the local rank of lieut.-general, and signalized himself at the battle of Bunker's Hill. In January, 1776, he was promoted to the local rank of general in America; he proceeded to North Carolina, and commanded the troops which made an unsuccessful attempt on Charlestown; and afterwards commanded a division of the army, under General Sir William Howe, in the descent on Long Island. In the action at Brooklyn he evinced ardour and ability; also in the skirmish at White Plains, and in the capture of Rhode Island, in December, the same year. In 1777, he commanded the troops at New York, and captured forts Clinton and Montgomery, and was rewarded with the order of the Bath. In 1778 he was appointed commander-in-chief in North America; in May he joined the army at Philadelphia from whence he withdrew to New York, and while on the march he repulsed an attack of the Americans at Freehold. He subsequently had success in several affairs of minor importance; and while engaged in these services, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Seventh dragoons. In December, 1779, he embarked with a large force for South Carolina, and, after overcoming numerous difficulties, he captured Charlestown, for which he received the thanks of parliament. He sustained the character of a brave, zealous, and accomplished officer; but he was so circumstanced in America, that he was unable to add much to his reputation by the energetic and gallant efforts which he made in that country; and after experiencing pain and mortification from numerous causes, he returned to England in June, 1782, having been succeeded by General Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester.
The rank of general in the army was conferred on Sir Henry Clinton in 1793; he held the government of Limerick; and in 1795 he was appointed governor of Gibraltar. He was many years a member of parliament; and was also groom of the bedchamber to the Duke of Gloucester. His decease occurred on the 23rd of December, 1795.
David Dundas.
Appointed 26th December, 1795.
David Dundas was one of the most distinguished officers of the age in which he lived, for his perfect knowledge of the principles of military tactics. He commenced his military education at the age of thirteen in the academy at Woolwich, and at fifteen he assisted in a survey of Scotland; in 1756 obtained a commission in the fifty-sixth regiment. In 1758 he proceeded with the expedition to the coast of France as an assistant quarter-master-general; and in the following year obtained the command of a troop in a newly-raised regiment of light dragoons (Eliott's light horse), now the fifteenth, or King's hussars. He served with his regiment in Germany in 1760 and 1761; in the following summer he accompanied an expedition to Cuba, as aide-de-camp to Major-General Eliott, and was actively employed in the reduction of the Havannah. After the peace he resumed his post in his regiment, in which he rose to the rank of major; and, urged by an ardent desire to acquire a perfect knowledge of every branch of his profession, he obtained permission to proceed to the continent, to observe the practice of the French and Austrian armies. In 1775 he procured the lieut.-colonelcy of the twelfth light dragoons, joined the regiment in Ireland shortly afterwards, and in 1778 obtained the appointment of quarter-master-general in that country. In 1782 he was removed to the lieut.-colonelcy of the second Irish horse, now the fifth dragoon guards. In 1785 he again proceeded to the continent, attended the exercises of the Prussian troops during three summers, and after his return he presented His Majesty with a detailed account of their evolutions.
Colonel Dundas, having become a proficient tactician, produced, in 1788, a highly useful work on the principles of military movements, which became the basis of our army regulations for field exercises. His abilities obtained for him the favour and attention of King George III., who appointed him adjutant-general in Ireland, for the purpose of introducing his system of tactics into the army of that country. In 1790 Colonel Dundas was promoted to the rank of major-general. In 1791 he obtained the colonelcy of the twenty-second foot, and in the same year was placed on the Irish staff, but he resigned that appointment in 1793 to engage in service of actual warfare. After the commencement of hostilities with the French republic, Major-General Dundas was employed on a military mission to the island of Jersey, and was subsequently sent to the continent to confer with the Duke of York respecting the siege of Dunkirk. From Flanders he proceeded to Toulon, which had recently been taken possession of by a British armament; and his services there, although he was ultimately obliged to evacuate the place, called forth the approbation of his sovereign and of the British nation. After abandoning Toulon, he made a descent on Corsica, which island was reduced and annexed to the British dominions; but shortly afterwards he received directions to proceed to Flanders, where he arrived in the spring of 1794, and commanded a brigade of cavalry at the battle of Tournay on the 22d of May, 1794. Major-General Dundas was actively employed in the retreat through Holland, and the corps under his immediate command gained considerable advantage over the enemy in two successive actions near Gelder-Malsen; he highly distinguished himself also in an attack upon the French post at Thuyl, in December of the same year. He continued with the British troops in Germany during the summer of 1795, and in December was appointed colonel of the Seventh Light Dragoons. After his return to England he was appointed quarter-master-general to the army; and he composed the celebrated regulations for the field exercises and movements for the cavalry, which were approved by his Royal Highness the Duke of York and by King George III., and ordered to be exclusively adopted throughout the cavalry.
In 1799 Lieut.-General Dundas commanded a division of the allied army under the Duke of York, in the expedition to Holland; he distinguished himself in several actions with the enemy, and was highly commended by His Royal Highness in his public despatches. In 1801 he was appointed colonel of the second, or Royal North British dragoons, and was constituted governor of Fort George. In 1802 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in the following year, when the French were preparing to invade England, he was placed in command of the troops in the southern district, which comprised the counties of Kent and Sussex. In 1804 he was appointed governor of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea, and created a Knight of the Bath. On the 18th of March, 1809, His Majesty was pleased to confer on this distinguished veteran the appointment of commander-in-chief of the army, on the resignation of Field-Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of York, which appointment he held until the 25th of May, 1811, when His Royal Highness was re-appointed. He was also appointed colonel-in-chief of the rifle brigade on the 31st of August, 1809. He was promoted to the colonelcy of the King's dragoon guards on the 27th of January, 1813. He died in 1820, after a distinguished service of upwards of sixty years.
Henry W., Lord Paget,
NOW
Marquis of Anglesey, KG., GCB., K.St.P., GCH.
Appointed 16th May, 1801.