This officer's first commission was dated the 4th of February, 1704, and he had the honour to serve under the renowned John Duke of Marlborough. At the augmentation of the army in the summer of 1715, he was appointed major of the eleventh dragoons, and he subsequently obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of that corps. He was employed in suppressing the rebellion which broke out in 1715, and was wounded at the attack of the insurgents at Preston, in Lancashire. He subsequently held a commission in the royal dragoons, and also in the King's horse, now first dragoon guards, and in June, 1737, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the thirty-sixth foot, from which he was removed to the Thirteenth Dragoons in 1741, and in 1743, he obtained the colonelcy of the third dragoons. He served as brigadier-general at the battle of Dettingen, in 1743, and at Fontenoy, in 1745. In the following winter he served as major-general under the Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland, where he signalized himself on several occasions, and commanded a regiment of cavalry at the battle of Culloden. He subsequently returned to the continent, and was wounded at the battle of Val, in 1747. In 1752, he was removed to the colonelcy of the first dragoon guards, which he retained until his decease in 1763.
James Gardiner,
Appointed 18th April, 1743.
James Gardiner, son of Captain Patrick Gardiner, who died while serving in Germany under the great Duke of Marlborough, in 1704, was born in 1688. At the commencement of hostilities, in 1701, he obtained a commission in one of the Scots regiments in the Dutch service, and in 1702, he was appointed ensign in a regiment in British pay. He served under the Duke of Marlborough, and at the battle of Ramilies, on the 23rd of May, 1706, he was at the head of the troops which attacked the French infantry posted in the church-yard, and while in the act of planting his colours on an elevated spot, and calling to his men to advance, he was shot in the mouth. He lay all night on the ground, and on the following day some foreign soldiers engaged to remove him to Huy; but being unable to bear the fatigue of the journey, they left him at a convent, where, owing to the kind care of the lady abbess, and the aid she procured, he recovered in a few months[12]. This year he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and he was soon afterwards removed to the Scots Greys, commanded by Lord John Dalrymple, afterwards Earl of Stair, who became much attached to Lieutenant Gardiner. On the re-formation of the seventh dragoons, in February, 1715, Lieutenant Gardiner was appointed captain-lieutenant in that corps, and in July following he was promoted to captain, in Stanhope's dragoons, of which regiment he was appointed major in 1717; but in the following year this corps was disbanded. During the war he was aide-de-camp to the Earl of Stair, and he was attached to the splendid retinue of that nobleman, while his lordship resided at Paris, as ambassador extraordinary at that court, from whence he was frequently despatched with important information to London. While thus employed he became changed, from a sprightly participator in all the gaieties of life, to one of the most sedate and pious men of the age in which he lived, and was remarkable for his punctilious observance of religious duties. His steady attachment to the protestant succession, and numerous services, were rewarded, on the 24th of January, 1730, with the lieut.-colonelcy of the sixth dragoons, and he performed the duties of commanding officer to this corps, many years, with the most exemplary care and zeal. He proceeded on foreign service with the Inniskilling dragoons, in 1742, and soon after his arrival in Germany, in 1743, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth Dragoons. He commanded the regiment in Scotland, in 1745, when the rebellion, headed by the Pretenders eldest son, broke out in that country, and he eventually joined the troops under Lieut.-General Sir John Cope. During the night preceding the battle of Preston-pans, the army occupied a position near his own family residence, and he was attended by four of his domestic servants, whom he dismissed about three o'clock, on the following morning, with a pious exhortation to preserve their loyalty to their sovereign. He spent a considerable time in private devotion before the battle. At the commencement of the action, he was wounded in the left breast by a musket shot, which caused him to give a sudden spring in his saddle, when his servant, who held a spare horse, endeavoured to persuade him to withdraw, but he refused, saying it was only a wound in the flesh. In the charge, he behaved with the most heroic gallantry, and afterwards attempted to rally his men; but being unable to accomplish this, he joined some infantry, and while in the act of encouraging them, he was struck on the right arm by a Highlander with a scythe fastened to a pole. His sword dropped; other opponents came round him; he was unhorsed, and left for dead. About two hours after the engagement had ceased, his servant found him; he was alive, and the servant removed him in a cart to Tranent church, from whence he was conveyed to the minister's house, and put to bed; but he expired soon afterwards. "In person, Colonel Gardiner was strongly built and well-proportioned; in stature unusually tall; and in the expression of his countenance, intellectual and dignified. In calm heroism, he has never been excelled. The energy he displayed, notwithstanding his bodily infirmities, on the day preceding the fight, at Preston-pans, his pious exhortation to his domestics, his devotion before the battle, and his calm unflinching bravery during the contest, have thrown a romantic charm around his memory, by which it will, doubtless, be long and deservedly embalmed[13]."
Francis Ligonier,
Appointed 1st October, 1745.
Francis Ligonier, descended from the ancient family of Ligonier, many years resident in Languedoc, in France. Being of the Protestant religion, he withdrew from that country in the time of Louis XIV., and, with his brother John, (afterwards Earl Ligonier,) entered the British service. In his first commission he was designated Francis de Ligonier, but the de was afterwards discontinued. He was appointed major of the eighth horse, now seventh dragoon guards, in 1729, and lieut.-colonel in 1737, and under his care that regiment became celebrated for efficiency and exemplary conduct in quarters and in the field. He commanded the eighth horse at the battle of Dettingen, where he highly distinguished himself, and was wounded; and he was rewarded in April, 1745, with the colonelcy of the forty-eighth foot, from which he was removed in October to the Thirteenth Dragoons. He served under Lieut.-General Hawley, in Scotland, in January, 1746, and while suffering from an attack of the pleurisy, he quitted his bed to command the cavalry at the battle of Falkirk, where he again signalized himself; but fatigue, and exposure to the cold and wet, brought on a disease, of which he died a few days afterwards, much regretted by all who knew him.
Philip Naison,
Appointed 17th February, 1746.