Historical Record of the Third, or Prince of Wales' 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

It was again encamped at Swinley in the summer of 1800, and was reviewed on the downs by his Majesty King George III., who was pleased to express to Lieut.-Colonel Payne, through Sir William Fawcett, the colonel of the regiment, his high approbation of the appearance of the officers and men, and of the superior description and high condition of the horses.

1803
1804

In 1803 it proceeded to Scotland, and was stationed at Piershill Barracks, near Edinburgh; from whence it marched, in February, 1804, to Portpatrick, and embarked for Ireland. After debarking at Donaghadee, it occupied quarters at Londonderry, Enniskillen, Dundalk, and Belturbet.

On the 2nd of April, 1804, His Majesty appointed Major-General Richard Vyse to the Colonelcy of the Third or Prince of Wales' own Regiment of Dragoon Guards, in succession to General Sir William Fawcett, K.B., deceased.

1805

In the summer the regiment marched to Dublin, from whence it subsequently proceeded to Limerick, Fermoy, Mallow, and Bandon, and returned to Dublin in December, 1805.

1808

Orders having been given for the Third Dragoon Guards to join the intended expedition to the Continent, one-half of the regiment embarked from Dublin and sailed to Liverpool, but the expedition, having been countermanded, on the arrival of the remainder of the regiment, the whole proceeded to Exeter, where the head-quarters were stationed until June, 1808, when the regiment marched to Dorchester; and shortly afterwards to Chichester and Arundel.

The Third Dragoon Guards were present at the review which took place at Brighton on the 12th of August, 1808, in honour of the birth-day of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. They afterwards occupied quarters at Brighton and Lewes, and in the autumn they were called upon to hold themselves in readiness to proceed on foreign service, to participate in the victories gained by the British forces in Portugal and Spain serving under that illustrious commander, now Arthur Duke of Wellington, whose splendid achievements are interwoven with the history of Europe.