Historical Record of the Fourth, or Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards. / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685; and of Its Subsequent Services to 1838

by Richard Cannon

Sherrington Davenport.

Appointed 9th February, 1715.

Sherrington Davenport was appointed Adjutant of the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Horse in 1687; and after serving at the battles of the Boyne and Aghrim, and at both sieges of Limerick, in Ireland; and at the battle of Landen, and covering the siege of Namur in the Netherlands, he was promoted to the Majority of the regiment on the 13th of August, 1696. He subsequently obtained a commission in the First Troop (now First Regiment) of Life Guards, in which corps he obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was appointed Brigadier-General in 1707, and Major-General in 1710; and being firmly devoted to the protestant interest, he was permitted, soon after the arrival of King George I. from Hanover, to purchase the Colonelcy of the Fifth Horse, which he retained until his decease on the 2nd of July, 1719.

Owen Wynne.

Appointed 6th July, 1719.

Owen Wynne entered the army on the 8th of March, 1688. After the Revolution he proceeded to Ireland, of which country he was a native, and he was engaged with the Enniskillen men in their determined resistance to the power of King James II. When the Enniskillen bands were incorporated into regiments, he obtained a commission in Wynne's (afterwards Fifth or Royal Irish) Dragoons. With this corps he served in numerous skirmishes and engagements until after the reduction of the whole of Ireland under the power of King William III. He also served under the King in Flanders, and was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment on the 20th of July, 1695. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1703, and was commissioned, in 1705, to raise and discipline a regiment of foot, of which he was appointed Colonel. In 1706 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and on the 1st of January, 1709, to that of Major-General. His regiment of foot served the campaigns of 1710 and 1711 under the great Duke of Marlborough, and that of 1712 under the Duke of Ormond, and was disbanded after the conclusion of the peace of Utrecht; but in 1715, when Jacobite principles had become so prevalent in the nation that an insurrection was expected, a regiment of dragoons (now the Ninth Lancers) was raised, of which Major-General Owen Wynne was appointed Colonel; and he was instrumental in suppressing the rebellion which broke out in the autumn of that year in favour of the Pretender. In 1719 he was removed to the Colonelcy of the Fifth Horse; and on the 10th of March, 1726, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was removed to the Colonelcy of the Royal Irish Dragoons, in which corps he had performed his early services, in August, 1732; and he held the command of that regiment until his decease on the 28th of February, 1737.

Thomas Pearce.

Appointed 27th September, 1732.

Thomas Pearce, choosing the profession of arms, obtained the commission of Ensign on the 28th of February, 1689, and after serving three campaigns in the Netherlands, he was appointed Captain of the Grenadier company in the Second Foot Guards in October, 1694. In the following summer he served at the siege of Namur, and was engaged on the night of the 8th of July in storming the covered way, when, led by his innate ardour, he advanced too far in front of his men, and was wounded and taken prisoner. He served in the expedition to Cadiz in 1702, and commanded the first division of Grenadiers, which effected a landing between Rota and Fort St. Catherine. Himself and eight men only had landed, when they were charged by a troop of Spanish horse. The grenadiers fought manfully, slew the Spanish commanding officer and five men, took two officers prisoners, and forced the remainder to retreat: he afterwards summoned the Fort of St. Catherine, which surrendered: he also commanded a party of grenadiers at the storming of the Forts of Vigo, and was wounded. His gallantry was rewarded, in April of the following year, with the Colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment of foot, from which he was removed in February, 1704, to an older corps—now the Fifth or Northumberland Fusiliers. In 1707, he proceeded with his regiment to Portugal; and in 1709 highly distinguished himself at the head of a brigade of infantry at the battle of the Caya, where he was taken prisoner. After being exchanged he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and returning to Portugal, commanded a brigade in that country until the peace of Utrecht. On the 5th of March, 1727, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and in 1732 he was removed to the Fifth Horse. He was a member of Parliament for Melcombe Regis, and died in 1739.