Historical Record of the Twelfth, or the Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment of Lancers / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1848.

by Richard Cannon

SUCCESSIONS OF COLONELS

OF

THE TWELFTH,

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF

LANCERS.

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Phineas Bowles,

Appointed 22nd July, 1715.

Phineas Bowles served in the wars of Queen Anne, and succeeded, in July, 1705, Colonel Caulfield, in the command of a regiment of foot, with which he proceeded from Ireland to the relief of Barcelona, when that fortress was besieged by the French and Spanish forces under Philip, Duke of Anjou. He subsequently served in Spain under Archduke Charles, afterwards emperor of Germany; and his regiment distinguished itself at the battle of Saragossa in 1710, but was surrounded, and made prisoners in the mountains of Castille in December following. At the peace of Utrecht this regiment was disbanded, and he remained unemployed until the summer of 1715, when he was commissioned to raise a regiment of dragoons, now the Twelfth Royal Lancers. He was removed in 1719 to the Eighth Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1722.

Phineas Bowles,

Appointed 23rd March, 1719.

This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and served the campaigns of 1710 and 1711, under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was also employed in suppressing the rebellion of the Earl of Mar in 1715 and 1716, and was promoted in 1719 to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735, to that of major-general in 1739, and was removed to the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, in 1740. He died in 1749.

Alexander Rose,

Appointed 20th December, 1740.

Alexander Rose obtained a commission in the army on the 5th of May, 1704; he served several campaigns under the great Duke of Marlborough, and afterwards rose to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Fifth, the Royal Irish, Dragoons, from which he was promoted, in May, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. In December following he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons. His decease occurred in 1743, before he had attained any higher rank than that of colonel.

Samuel Walter Whitshed,

Appointed 14th June, 1743.

Samuel Walter Whitshed entered the army in August, 1704, and served in the war of the Spanish succession under the Earl of Galway and Archduke Charles of Austria. King George II. promoted him to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Eighth Dragoons, and in December, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of Foot. In 1743 he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons, the command of which corps he retained until the spring of 1746, when he was succeeded by Brigadier-General Thomas Bligh.

Thomas Bligh,

Appointed 6th April, 1746.

This officer entered the army in the reign of King George I.; rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Horse, now Fifth Dragoon Guards, and in December, 1740, he was appointed colonel of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. On the 27th of May, 1745, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general; was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons in the following year, and promoted to the rank of major-general in 1747. He was removed to the colonelcy of the Second Irish Horse in December of the same year, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1754.

War having commenced between Great Britain and France in 1756, Lieutenant-General Bligh was appointed, in 1758, to the command of an expedition designed to make a descent on the coast of France, with the view of causing a diversion in favour of the army commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany. The fleet sailed in the beginning of August, and in seven days arrived in Cherbourg roads. The troops were landed, the town of Cherbourg was captured, the harbour, pier, and forts were destroyed, and the brass ordnance brought away as trophies of this success. In September a landing was effected on the coast of Brittany with the view of besieging St. Maloes, but this being found impracticable, the troops, after marching a short distance up the country, retired, and re-embarked at the bay of St. Cas. The enemy advanced in great numbers under the command of the Duke of Aguillon, and attacking the rear of the British army, occasioned great loss. Lieutenant-General Bligh was much censured for his conduct on this occasion, and soon after the return of the expedition, he retired from the service.

Sir John Mordaunt, K.B.,

Appointed 22nd December, 1747.

John Mordaunt entered the army in August, 1721, and after a progressive service of several years he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. In January, 1741, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifty-eighth (now Forty-seventh) Foot, and in June, 1745, he obtained the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade of infantry at the disastrous battle of Falkirk, fought on the 17th of January, 1746, and his distinguished conduct was commended by Lieut.-General Hawley, in his public despatches. He also held an appointment in the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and was sent in pursuit of the rebels from Stirling, with two regiments of dragoons and the Campbell Highlanders. At the battle of Culloden he commanded a brigade of infantry, and gained additional reputation; and he also signalized himself at the battle of Val in 1747. His meritorious conduct was rewarded, in the autumn of the same year, with the rank of major-general; he was also appointed colonel of the Twelfth Dragoons in December; and was removed in July, 1749, to the Fourth Irish Horse (now Seventh Dragoon Guards), and in November following to the Tenth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1754, and to that of general in 1770. He was also rewarded with the dignity of a knight companion of the most honorable military order of the Bath, and the government of Berwick. He died at Bevis-mount, near Southampton, on the 23rd of October, 1780, at the age of eighty-three years.

The Honorable James Cholmondeley.,

Appointed 24th July, 1749.

The Honorable James Cholmondeley, third son of George, second Earl of Cholmondeley, was appointed guidon and major in the first troop, now first regiment, of Life Guards, in 1725; in 1731 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and lieut.-colonel in the third troop of Life Guards; and in 1741 he obtained the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment, which was numbered the Forty-ninth, now Forty-eighth, Foot, from which he was removed in 1742, to the Thirty-fourth regiment. Accompanying his regiment to Flanders, in 1744, he served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade. He was at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745, and was afterwards promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the breaking out of the rebellion in Scotland, he returned to England with a brigade of infantry, and afterwards took the charge of two battalions recently arrived from Ireland, with which he joined the army in Yorkshire under Field-Marshal Wade. On the flight of the rebels from Derby, he was detached to Scotland, and signalised himself in a most conspicuous manner at the battle of Falkirk on the 17th of January, 1746; but the excessive fatigue he underwent, with continued exposure to severe weather, deprived him of the use of his limbs for some time. In 1747 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and was removed in 1749 to the Twelfth Dragoons. In November of the same year he was removed to the third Irish Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and in 1750, to the Sixth Dragoons. In 1754 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and he was many years lieut.-governor of Chester. He died in 1775.

Lord George Sackville,

Appointed 1st November, 1749.

Lord George Sackville, youngest son of his Grace the Duke of Dorset, choosing a military life, entered the army in 1737, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Twenty-eighth Foot in 1740. His distinguished behaviour at the head of his regiment at the battle of Dettingen, recommended him to the notice of King George II., and his lordship was shortly afterwards rewarded with the rank of colonel, and appointed one of His Majesty's aides-de-camp. Continuing to serve on the continent, he distinguished himself at the battle of Fontenoy, where he was shot in the breast. His lordship was also employed under the Duke of Cumberland, in suppressing the rebellion in Scotland, and was promoted, in 1746, to the colonelcy of the Twentieth Foot. He served the campaigns of 1747 and 1748, on the continent; and was removed, in 1749, to the Twelfth Dragoons, from which he was removed, in 1750, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers; he was also appointed secretary of state for Ireland. In 1757 he was removed to the Second Dragoon Guards, and appointed lieut.-general of ordnance, and in 1758 he was sworn a member of the privy council. He was second in command of the expedition to the coast of France, under Charles Duke of Marlborough; also, second in command of the troops sent to Germany; and, after the Duke of Marlborough's decease, his lordship was appointed commander-in-chief of the British troops in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Owing to some misunderstanding with his serene highness at the battle of Minden, his lordship returned to England, and was, shortly afterwards, deprived of his military employments. He was endowed with extraordinary talents as a statesman, and he filled, subsequently to this unpleasant affair, some of the highest offices in the administration. He assumed, by act of parliament, the surname of Germaine; and, in February, 1782, he was elevated to the peerage by the titles of Baron Bolebrook, and Viscount Sackville. He died in 1785.

Sir John Whitefoord, Bart.,

Appointed 18th January, 1750.

Sir John Whitefoord, of Blairquan, a Baronet of Nova Scotia, having served in the subordinate commissions several years, was promoted to the majority of the Sixth Dragoons in 1743, and served with his regiment in the Netherlands. He was subsequently promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Thirty-fifth Foot, and in January, 1750, he was appointed colonel of the Twelfth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1758, and to that of lieut.-general in 1760. He died at Edinburgh on the 1st of March, 1763.

Edward Harvey,

Appointed 17th March, 1763.

This officer held a commission many years in the Sixth Dragoons, with which corps he served at the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, and Val. In 1754 he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment, and proceeding to Germany in the summer of 1758, he was present at nearly every general engagement and skirmish in which British cavalry were employed, during the remainder of the seven years' war, and on several occasions he commanded a brigade of heavy dragoons: he was twice wounded, viz.: at Wetter, in August, 1759, where he surprised a French corps, and took many prisoners, and at Campen, in October, 1760. In 1763 he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons, and was removed, in the following year, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1762; to that of lieut.-general in 1772; and in 1775 he was removed to the colonelcy of the Sixth Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1778.

Benjamin Carpenter,

Appointed 20th September, 1764.

Benjamin Carpenter was many years an officer in the second troop, now second regiment, of Life Guards, in which corps he was appointed major in 1749, and lieut.-colonel in 1757. He did not serve abroad, but he was celebrated for a punctilious attention to all his duties, and being repeatedly employed in attendance on the court as ivory stick and silver stick in waiting, he obtained the favour and approbation of King George II., and also of King George III., who promoted him to the rank of colonel, and appointed him aide-de-camp to the King, in a few days after His Majesty's accession to the throne. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in July, 1762, and two years after the King gave him the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons, from which he was removed in 1770, to the Fourth, the King's Own, Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1772, and to that of general in 1783. He died in 1788.

William Augustus Pitt,

Appointed 24th October, 1770.

William Augustus Pitt was appointed in February, 1744, cornet in the Tenth Dragoons, in which corps he rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel; he commanded the regiment in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and distinguished himself on several occasions, particularly at the battle of Campen, on the 15th of October, 1760, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in August, 1770; in October following he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons; and in 1775 he was removed to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. In 1777 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and in 1780 he was removed to the Tenth Dragoons. He was created a knight of the most honorable order of the Bath in 1792; promoted to the rank of general in 1793; appointed governor of Portsmouth in 1794; and removed to the First Dragoon Guards in 1796. He died in 1810.

The Honorable William Keppel,

Appointed 18th October, 1775.

The Honorable William Keppel, fourth son of William-Anne, second Earl of Albemarle, was gentleman of the horse to King George II., and an officer of the first foot guards, in which corps he attained the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel on the 28th of April, 1751. In 1760 he was nominated second major of that regiment with the rank of colonel; and in 1761 he succeeded Lord Charles Manners in the colonelcy of the Fifty-sixth foot, with which he embarked with the armament fitted out against the Havannah, in the island of Cuba, having the rank of major-general in the expedition. On the surrender of the Havannah he took possession of fort La Punta, and when his eldest brother, George, third Earl of Albemarle, sailed for Europe, he was left in command at the Havannah, which city he delivered to the Spaniards after the conclusion of a treaty of peace in 1763. In 1765 he was removed to the Fourteenth Foot; in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; in 1773 he was commander-in-chief in Ireland; and was removed in 1775, to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1782.

The Honorable George Lane Parker,

Appointed 18th March, 1782.

The Honorable Lane Parker, second son of George, second Earl of Macclesfield, served many years in the first foot guards, in which corps he attained the rank of lieutenant and captain in 1749; captain and lieut.-colonel in 1755; he was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in 1770; in which year he was appointed second major of the regiment. In 1773 King George III. gave him the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment, and promoted him to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777. In 1782 he was removed to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, and he retained this appointment until his decease in 1791.

Sir James Steuart, Baronet,

Appointed 9th November, 1791.

James Steuart received a military education in Germany, and at sixteen years of age King George III. presented him with a cornetcy in the royal dragoons, his commission bearing the date the 17th of March, 1761. He served the campaign of that and the following year with the regiment in Germany; was at the battles of Kirch, Denkern and Groebenstein, and took part in several skirmishes. In 1763 he purchased a company in the Queen's royal highlanders, and that corps being disbanded soon afterwards, he improved his knowledge of the military profession by travelling in France and Germany. In 1766 he purchased a troop in the second Irish horse, now fifth dragoon guards; in 1769 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Lord Townshend): and in 1772 he obtained the majority of the thirteenth dragoons, from which he was removed, in 1775, to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon guards. In 1776, he was nominated to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the thirteenth dragoons, and having brought that regiment into an excellent state of discipline and efficiency, he was rewarded with the rank of colonel in 1782; in 1783 his regiment was constituted a corps of light cavalry. In 1788 detachments from the cavalry regiments in Ireland were assembled at Dublin, and placed under his command, for the purpose of forming an improved system of interior economy, discipline, and field movements for the cavalry; his labours were honored with the approbation of his sovereign, and his systems, particularly his field movements, having been more completely defined and arranged by Sir David Dundas, were adopted for the cavalry. His services were rewarded in 1791 with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons; and having been promoted to the rank of major-general in 1793, he was placed on the staff of Scotland, and appointed to superintend the formation and discipline of the fencible cavalry in that country, which was encamped under his orders in the summers of 1795, 1796, and 1797. In the autumn of 1797 he was promoted to the local rank of lieut.-general in Ireland, and appointed to the command of the southern district of that kingdom, which district was, by his excellent arrangements, preserved during the rebellion of 1798, in a state of tranquillity not known in any other part of Ireland. He was rewarded with the rank of lieut.-general, in June, 1798; and after the suppression of the rebellion, he resigned his appointment on the Irish staff. In 1803 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in 1815 he obtained the colonelcy of the Scots greys; he was also honored with the dignity of knight grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. His rank and age prevented him from participating in the active measures which led to the wonderful military successes from the recommencement of the war in 1803 to its termination in 1815. He represented in parliament his native county (Lanark) for many years; his mansion at Coltness was proverbial as the seat of kindness and hospitality; and his time, his talents, and his property, were dedicated to the improvement of the district around him. For several years he bore the sirname of Denham; but afterwards discontinued it. He lived to be the eldest general and the oldest soldier in the British army; and died at Cheltenham, on the 5th of August, 1839, at the advanced age of ninety-five.

Sir William Payne, Baronet,

Appointed 12th January, 1815.

Sir William Payne first entered the army, as cornet in the royal dragoons, on the 25th of January, 1776; and having served in the subordinate commissions, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the regiment in 1794. He served in the Netherlands under his Royal Highness the Duke of York, and was present at the principal actions during the campaign of 1794. In 1796 he was removed from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the royal dragoons to the third dragoon guards; in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army; and in 1805 he was removed to the tenth light dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in the same year, and served four years on the staff in Ireland. In November, 1807, he obtained the colonelcy of the twenty-third light dragoons; and in 1809, he proceeded to Portugal with the local rank of lieutenant-general, and served the campaign of that year under Sir Arthur Wellesley. He took an active part in the operations by which the French were driven from Oporto; and commanded the British cavalry at the memorable battle of Talavera, fought on the 27th and 28th of July, 1809, for which he received a medal. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general on the 4th of June, 1811; was removed from the twenty-third to the nineteenth light dragoons in July, 1814, and to the Twelfth Light Dragoons in January, 1815. He was further advanced to the rank of general on the 27th of May, 1825, and, in the following month, he obtained the colonelcy of the third dragoon guards. He died in April, 1831.

Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., K.C.H.,

Appointed 2nd June, 1825.

This officer was appointed ensign of the thirty-sixth foot in 1793, and joined his regiment at Trichinopoly immediately after his appointment. In 1797 he exchanged to the twenty-fifth light dragoons, with which corps he served the Mysore campaign, and was at the taking of Seringapatam. In 1800 he was appointed captain in the ninth dragoons; and he was promoted to the majority of the twenty-eighth light dragoons in the following year. In 1802 he obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the seventy-second foot, which regiment he commanded at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, and was wounded; "but the heroic spirit of this officer was not subdued by his misfortune, and he continued to lead his men to glory, as long as an enemy was opposed to his Majesty's seventy-second regiment[8]." In 1808 he exchanged to the fifteenth, the King's Hussars. He commanded the fifteenth in Spain in 1808, and highly distinguished himself at Sahagun, where he was wounded, and he was rewarded with a gold medal. In 1811 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent, and promoted to the rank of colonel. He embarked with his regiment for the Peninsula in 1813; and commanded the hussar brigade at the action at Morales, where he was wounded; he also commanded the hussar brigade at the battle of Vittoria, and was rewarded with an additional honorary distinction. He subsequently commanded a brigade composed of the thirteenth and fourteenth light dragoons. On the 4th of June, 1814, he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was also honored with the dignity of a knight commander of the order of the Bath, and in May, 1815, he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. At the battle of Waterloo he commanded a brigade of hussars (seventh and fifteenth British., and second hussars King's German Legion), and had several horses killed under him. His services were further recompensed with the grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order; and he obtained permission to accept the Orders of Wladimir of Russia, and Wilhelm of the Netherlands. In 1825 he was appointed colonel of the Twelfth Royal Lancers, and was removed in 1827, to the Fifteenth King's Hussars; in July, 1830, he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. He died in December, 1835.

The Right Honorable Sir R. H. Vivian, Baronet,

now Lord Vivian, K.C.B., G.C.H.,

Appointed 22nd January, 1827.

Removed to the First (Royal) regiment of dragoons, 20th January, 1837.

Sir H. J. Cumming, K.C.H.,

Appointed 20th January, 1837.