Historical Record of The Fourteenth, or The King's, Regiment of Light Dragoons

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HORSE GUARDS,

1st January, 1836.

His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars, viz.,

By Command of the Right Honourable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

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The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.

Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication.

The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the "London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.

It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.

This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command that every Regiment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.

From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.

In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.

The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers.

In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.

These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.

There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers, our fellow-citizens in arms,—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.

Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.

As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.

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The ancient Armies of England were composed of Horse and Foot; but the feudal troops established by William the Conqueror in 1086, consisted almost entirely of Horse. Under the feudal system, every holder of land amounting to what was termed a "knight's fee," was required to provide a charger, a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance, and to serve the Crown a period of forty days in each year at his own expense; and the great landholders had to provide armed men in proportion to the extent of their estates; consequently the ranks of the feudal Cavalry were completed with men of property, and the vassals and tenants of the great barons, who led their dependents to the field in person.

In the succeeding reigns the Cavalry of the Army was composed of Knights (or men at arms) and Hobiliers (or horsemen of inferior degree); and the Infantry of spears and battle-axe men, cross-bowmen, and archers. The Knights wore armour on every part of the body, and their weapons were a lance, a sword, and a small dagger. The Hobiliers were accoutred and armed for the light and less important services of war, and were not considered qualified for a charge in line. Mounted Archers[1] were also introduced, and the English nation eventually became pre-eminent in the use of the bow.

About the time of Queen Mary the appellation of "Men at Arms" was changed to that of "Spears and Launces." The introduction of fire-arms ultimately occasioned the lance to fall into disuse, and the title of the Horsemen of the first degree was changed to "Cuirassiers." The Cuirassiers were armed cap-à-pié, and their weapons were a sword with a straight narrow blade and sharp point, and a pair of large pistols, called petronels; and the Hobiliers carried carbines. The Infantry carried pikes, matchlocks, and swords. The introduction of fire-arms occasioned the formation of Regiments armed and equipped as infantry, but mounted on small horses for the sake of expedition of movement, and these were styled "Dragoons;" a small portion of the military force of the kingdom, however, consisted of this description of troops.

The formation of the present Army commenced after the Restoration in 1660, with the establishment of regular corps of Horse and Foot; the Horsemen were cuirassiers, but only wore armour on the head and body; and the Foot were pike-men and musketeers. The arms which each description of force carried, are described in the following extract from the "Regulations of King Charles II.," dated 5th May, 1663:—

The ranks of the Troops of Horse were at this period composed of men of some property—generally the sons of substantial yeomen: the young men received as recruits provided their own horses, and they were placed on a rate of pay sufficient to give them a respectable station in society.

On the breaking out of the war with Holland in the spring of 1672, a Regiment of Dragoons was raised[3]; the Dragoons were placed on a lower rate of pay than the Horse, and the Regiment was armed similar to the Infantry, excepting that a limited number of the men carried halberds instead of pikes, and the others muskets and bayonets; and a few men in each troop had pistols; as appears by a warrant dated the 2nd of April, 1672, of which the following is an extract:—

Several regiments of Horse and Dragoons were raised in the first year of the reign of King James II.; and the horsemen carried a short carbine[6] in addition to the sword and pair of pistols: and in a Regulation dated the 21st of February, 1687, the arms of the Dragoons at that period were commanded to be as follows:—

After several years' experience, little advantage was found to accrue from having Cavalry Regiments formed almost exclusively for engaging the enemy on foot; and, the Horse having laid aside their armour, the arms and equipment of Horse and Dragoons were so nearly assimilated, that there remained little distinction besides the name and rate of pay. The introduction of improvements into the mounting, arming, and equipment of Dragoons rendered them competent to the performance of every description of service required of Cavalry; and, while the long musket and bayonet were retained, to enable them to act as Infantry, if necessary, they were found to be equally efficient, and of equal value to the nation, as Cavalry, with the Regiments of Horse.

In the several augmentations made to the regular Army after the early part of the reign of Queen Anne, no new Regiments of Horse were raised for permanent service; and in 1746 King George II. reduced three of the old Regiments of Horse to the quality and pay of Dragoons; at the same time, His Majesty gave them the title of First, Second, and Third Regiments of Dragoon Guards: and in 1788 the same alteration was made in the remaining four Regiments of Horse, which then became the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Regiments of Dragoon Guards.

At present there are only three Regiments which are styled Horse in the British Army, namely, the two Regiments of Life Guards, and the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, to whom cuirasses have recently been restored. The other Cavalry Regiments consist of Dragoon Guards Heavy and Light Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers; and although the long musket and bayonet have been laid aside by the whole of the Cavalry, and the Regiments are armed and equipped on the principle of the old Horse (excepting the cuirass), they continue to be styled Dragoons.

The old Regiments of Horse formed a highly respectable and efficient portion of the Army, and it is found, on perusing the histories of the various campaigns in which they have been engaged, that they have, on all occasions, maintained a high character for steadiness and discipline as well as for bravery in action. They were formerly mounted on horses of superior weight and physical power, and few troops could withstand a well-directed charge of the celebrated British Horse. The records of these corps embrace a period of 150 years—a period eventful in history, and abounding in instances of heroism displayed by the British troops when danger has threatened the nation,—a period in which these Regiments have numbered in their ranks men of loyalty, valour, and good conduct, worthy of imitation.

Since the Regiments of Horse were formed into Dragoon Guards, additional improvements have been introduced into the constitution of the several corps; and the superior description of horses now bred in the United Kingdom, enables the commanding officers to remount their regiments with such excellent horses, that, whilst sufficient weight has been retained for a powerful charge in line, a lightness has been acquired, which renders them available for every description of service incident to modern warfare.

The orderly conduct of these Regiments in quarters has gained the confidence and esteem of the respectable inhabitants of the various parts of the United Kingdom in which they have been stationed; their promptitude and alacrity in attending to the requisitions of the magistrates in periods of excitement, and the temper, patience, and forbearance which they have evinced when subjected to great provocation, insult, and violence from the misguided populace, prove the value of these troops to the Crown, and to the Government of the country, and justify the reliance which is reposed in them.

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IN

THE BRITISH ARMY.

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The records of the military events of the remote ages speak of heavy-armed horsemen being accompanied by others mounted and equipped for light services. The Barons and Knights, who rode the powerful horses celebrated by historians, and took the field completely cased in steel, had a few light-armed attendants; the feudal horsemen were variously armed; and the practice of employing Light, as well as Heavy Cavalry, was adopted, to a limited extent, by several commanders of antiquity. Armour, proof against arrow, lance, and sword, and men and horses of colossal appearance, in whom the greatest amount of weight and physical power, consistent with a moderate share of activity, could be combined, were however held in the highest estimation; but eventually the great advantage of having a portion of Cavalry in which lightness, activity, and celerity of movement, might form the principal characteristics, was discovered. The introduction of fire-arms occasioned armour to be gradually laid aside, or limited to a few heavy horsemen; superiority of weight was no longer thought so necessary; and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the use of Light Cavalry became more general than formerly.

During the seventy years' war between Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, Prince Maurice of Nassau (afterwards Prince of Orange) selected a few English and Dutch heavy-armed Lancers, and constituted them Carabineers, for skirmishing, and other services of a similar character. The Emperor of Germany formed regiments of Hungarian Hussars, who were light men on small horses. The Carabineers were of an intermediate class, being much heavier than the Hussars, and lighter than the English Lancers and Cuirassiers, who rode powerful horses, and wore armour on the head, body, and limbs. The French monarchs adopted the practice of having a few Carabineers in each troop of Horse; and, in 1690, Louis XIV. added a troop of Carabineers to each Regiment of Cavalry. During the campaign of 1691, these troops formed a Carabineer brigade; but their motley appearance, and the defects of the plan, occasioned them to be constituted a regiment of Carabineers, and clothed in blue. In 1693 the French King added a regiment of Hussars to the Cavalry of his army.[7]

In England the same principle was partially carried out; the heavy horse laid aside their armour, excepting cuirasses; they were mounted on horses of less weight than formerly, and they were supplied with carbines by King Charles II. In 1685, King James II. raised several independent troops of Light Horse, and one of them (Sir Thomas Burton's) was retained in his service until the Revolution in 1688, when it was disbanded. In 1691–2 King William III. constituted the Seventh Regiment of Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, a corps of Carabineers, as an honorary distinction, and for the performance of services for which the other regiments of Horse, being Cuirassiers, were not well adapted. The object was to combine with strength and power a greater degree of activity and speed than was to be found in the Cavalry at that period; and His Majesty appears to have contemplated having several corps of this description in his service, as he designated this the First Regiment of Carabineers; but no second regiment was formed.[8] In 1694 a troop of foreign Hussars formed part of the Army commanded by King William in Flanders.[9]

During the wars of Queen Anne the Regiment of Carabineers was again supplied with cuirasses, and was mounted on the same description of horses as the other regiments; retaining, however, the title of Carabineers. The activity, size, weight, and strength of the horses ridden by the British Cuirassiers and Heavy Dragoons, with the bravery and muscular powers of the men, established their superiority in continental warfare over the Cavalry of other nations; they acquired great celebrity in the valley of the Danube and on the plains of the Netherlands, in the early part of the eighteenth century, under the renowned John Duke of Marlborough; and after the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, the reputation of the British Horse and Dragoons was so high that no alteration was thought necessary, and many years elapsed without any attempt being made to revive the practice of having either Carabineers, or Light Horse, in the British Army.

The great utility of the Light Cavalry of the continental armies had, in the mean time, become apparent. Improvements in military tactics, and in the arming and equipment of corps, were taking place in various countries; and a spirit of emulation extending itself to Great Britain, on the breaking out of the rebellion in 1745, his Grace the Duke of Montague evinced his loyalty and public spirit by raising a Regiment of Carabineers for the service of King George II.; at the same time, his Grace the Duke of Kingston, with equal zeal and generosity, raised, at his own expense, a Regiment of Light Horse. The latter regiment approximated, in the lightness of the men, horses, and equipment, to the Hussars of the continental armies; the Duke of Montague's Carabineers were of a heavier description of Cavalry.

At this period the old Cavalry Regiments rode black horses (excepting the Scots Greys) with docked tails; but the Duke of Kingston's Regiment was mounted on light horses of various colours, with swish or nag tails. The accoutrements were as light as possible: the men carried short carbines slung to their sides by a moveable swivel, pistols, and light swords inclined to a curve.

The usefulness of the Duke of Kingston's Regiment of Light Horse was proved in Scotland, where it served under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and was found qualified for every description of service; the light horses traversing hilly grounds with facility. It distinguished itself on several occasions, particularly at the battle of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746, when it charged the clans with signal gallantry, and evinced great spirit and activity in the pursuit of the rebel army upwards of three miles from the field of battle. The Duke of Cumberland was highly pleased with its behaviour during the period it was under his command; and the conduct of the Light Horse throughout the contest reflected credit on the noble peer who had raised them.

The rebellion being suppressed, the regiment was, in consequence of the conditions on which the men had enlisted, directed to be disbanded; but the Duke of Cumberland so highly approved of its conduct that he obtained permission to embody as many of the men as would re-enlist, as his own Regiment of Light Dragoons.

His Majesty's thanks and particular satisfaction were communicated to His Grace the Duke of Kingston, for his zeal and affection for His Majesty's person and Government; and His Grace was desired to convey to the officers and soldiers His Majesty's high sense of their loyalty, activity, and gallant behaviour, at a period of national danger. The regiment was afterwards disbanded at Nottingham, and nearly every man engaged in the Regiment of Light Dragoons, of which, as a signal mark of honour and distinction, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland was appointed Colonel.

The Duke of Cumberland's Light Dragoons were mounted on active nag-tailed horses, from fourteen and a-half to fifteen hands high. The men were from five feet eight to five feet nine inches in height; and their equipment was upon a new and light plan, but retaining the cocked hat of the Heavy Dragoon pattern. This regiment served in the Netherlands, with the Army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland: its general usefulness was fully established, and it distinguished itself at the battle of Val, in 1747. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle having put an end to the war, it returned to England, and was disbanded in 1749.

From this period the value of light horsemen was more appreciated in England than formerly; the general utility of this arm, on home and foreign service, had been fully proved; and at the commencement of hostilities with France, in 1755, King George II. resolved to possess the advantage of a body of Light Cavalry in the approaching contest. His Majesty accordingly commanded a troop of Light Dragoons to be added to the First, Second, and Third Regiments of Dragoon Guards, and First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Regiments of Dragoons. The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Irish Horse (now Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Dragoon Guards), and the Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Dragoons, being on the Irish establishment, did not receive the same addition.

These troops of Light Dragoons were mounted, armed, equipped, and trained, according to specific instructions, calculated to render them available for the services for which they were designed. Several of them were reviewed in Hyde Park by His Majesty; and their neat appearance, celerity of movement, and the spirited and exact manner in which they performed their evolutions, were much admired.

Nine of these troops were formed into a brigade in 1758, under the command of one of the King's aides-de-camp, Colonel George Augustus Eliott, of the Horse Grenadier Guards; and they were employed in the expeditions to the coast of France under Charles Duke of Marlborough and Lieut.-General Bligh. They landed in France twice; skirmished with the French Cavalry; and throughout these enterprises they evinced activity, spirit, and general usefulness. After their return to England, they were augmented to 125 men per troop.

At this period, the war on the Continent had involved most of the European states; and the extended and active operations which were taking place in Germany rendered it necessary for a British force to join the Allied Army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. This gave rise to a further augmentation of the Army; and the increased estimation in which Light Cavalry was held induced the King to give directions for the raising of entire Regiments of Light Dragoons, in addition to the five Regiments of Horse, three of Dragoon Guards, and fourteen of Dragoons, already on the British and Irish establishments. The following corps were accordingly embodied:—

Light Dragoons.

Incorporated in 1759.

Fifteenth, in England, by Colonel George A. Eliott;—now the Fifteenth, or the King's Hussars.

Sixteenth, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Burgoyne;—now the Sixteenth, or the Queen's Lancers.

Seventeenth, in Scotland, by Captain Lord Aberdour;—disbanded in 1763.

Eighteenth, in England, by Lieut.-Colonel John Hale;—now the Seventeenth Lancers.

Nineteenth, in Ireland, by Lieut.-Colonel Lord Drogheda;—numbered the Eighteenth in 1763; constituted Hussars in 1807; and after performing much valuable service at home and abroad, it was disbanded at Newbridge, in Ireland, in 1821.

Incorporated in 1760.

Twentieth, in Ireland, by Captain Sir James Caldwell;—disbanded in 1763.

Twenty-first, or Royal Foresters, in England by Lieut.-General the Marquis of Granby, and Colonel Lord Robert Sutton;—disbanded in 1763.

After the peace of Fontainebleau, three of these corps were disbanded, and the other four continued in the service. The light troops attached to the heavy regiments were also disbanded, but a few men of each troop were afterwards equipped as Light Dragoons.

A more perfect knowledge of the efficiency and capabilities of Light Cavalry, acquired during the campaigns in Germany and Portugal, had advanced the estimation in which that arm was held; and, in 1768, the Twelfth Dragoons (one of the heavy regiments raised by King George I. in 1715), underwent a change of equipment and clothing, and was constituted a corps of Light Dragoons, by General Carpenter, in Ireland.

This alteration served as a precedent for subsequent changes; and further experience, during the American war, from 1775 to 1783, confirming the value of Light Cavalry, the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Regiments of Dragoons were changed from heavy to light. The Light Dragoons attached to the heavy regiments were incorporated into newly-raised corps, and the following regiments of

Light Dragoons

Were embodied in 1779.

Nineteenth,—by Major-General Russell Manners;—disbanded in 1783.

Twentieth,—by Major-General Richard Burton Phillipson;—disbanded in 1783.

Twenty-first,—by Major-General John Douglas;—disbanded in 1783.

Twenty-second,—by Lieut.-Colonel John Lord Sheffield;—disbanded in 1783.

Embodied in 1781.

Twenty-third,—by Lieut.-General Sir John Burgoyne, Baronet, for service in India, and was numbered the Nineteenth after the peace in 1783. This regiment signalized itself on numerous occasions in India, and was rewarded with the honour of bearing on its guidons and appointments the Elephant, with the words Assaye and Seringapatam. The word Niagara was also added in commemoration of the gallantry of two troops, in the year 1813, in North America. In 1817 it was constituted a corps of Lancers. It was disbanded in Ireland in 1821.

Thus a few years had produced a great change in the British Army. Twenty-five years previously to the termination of the American war there was not a single Light Dragoon Regiment in the Service, and in 1783 there were seventeen; four of them were disbanded at that period, and thirteen retained in the Service.

Soon after the termination of the American war, the French monarch having, by aiding the rebellious British provincials, taught his own subjects a lesson of insubordination, was deprived of the reins of government; and the violent conduct of the French revolutionists in the West Indies occasioned the Twentieth or Jamaica Regiment of Light Dragoons to be raised in 1791 by Colonel Henry F. Gardner, for service in that island. Besides its services in Jamaica, detachments of this regiment served at Malta; Sicily; at the taking of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1806; at the capture of Alexandria, in 1807; at the attack on Monte Video; in Portugal; at Genoa; and on the eastern coast of Spain; and acquired the honour of bearing the word Peninsula on its guidons and appointments. It was disbanded in Ireland in 1818.

War with France commenced in 1793, and was followed by augmentations to the Army. It was not found necessary to add a single Heavy Cavalry Regiment; but the following Regiments of

Light Dragoons

Were incorporated in 1794.

Twenty-first,—by Lieut.-Colonel Thomas R. Beaumont. This regiment served at the Cape of Good Hope and in India thirteen years; a detachment was sent to do duty at St. Helena, when Napoleon Buonaparte was removed thither. This regiment was disbanded at Chatham in 1820.

Twenty-second,—by Major-General William Viscount Fielding;—served in Great Britain and Ireland;—disbanded in 1802.

Twenty-third,—by Colonel William Fullerton;—served in Great Britain and Ireland;—disbanded in 1802.

Twenty-fourth,—by Colonel William Loftus;—served in Great Britain and Ireland;—disbanded in 1802.

Twenty-fifth,—by Major-General Francis Edward Gwyn. This regiment was numbered the Twenty-second after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. It served with reputation in India; was employed at the reduction of Java; signalized itself on several occasions; and was rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word Seringapatam on its guidons and appointments. It was disbanded in England in 1820.

Raised in 1795.

Twenty-sixth,—by Lieut.-General R. Manners;—numbered the Twenty-third in 1803. This regiment served in Egypt, Portugal, Spain, Flanders, and France; and its distinguished conduct was rewarded with the honour of bearing on its guidons and appointments, the Sphinx, with the words Egypt, Peninsula, and Waterloo. In 1816 it was constituted a corps of Lancers. It was disbanded in England in 1817.

Twenty-seventh,—by Major-General Wynter Blathwayte;—numbered the Twenty-fourth in 1804. This regiment served in India, distinguished itself at the battles of Ghur and Delhi, and was permitted to bear the Elephant, with the word Hindoostan, on its guidons and appointments. It was disbanded in England, on its arrival from Bengal, in 1819.

Twenty-eighth,—by Major-General Robert Lawrie;—served in Great Britain, Ireland, and at the Cape of Good Hope;—disbanded in Ireland in 1802.

Twenty-ninth,—by Major-General Francis Augustus Lord Heathfield;—numbered the Twenty-fifth in 1804. This regiment served in India, and was at the reduction of the Isle of France. It was disbanded at Chatham, on its arrival from India, in 1819.

Raised in 1794.

Thirtieth,—by Lieut.-Colonel J. C. Carden;—disbanded in 1796.

Thirty-first,—by Lieut.-Colonel William St. Ledger;—disbanded in 1796.

Thirty-second,—by Lieut.-Colonel H. J. Blake;—disbanded in 1796.

Thirty-third,—by Lieut.-Colonel J. Blackwood;—disbanded in 1796.

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Soon after the re-commencement of hostilities with France in 1803, the Seventh, Tenth, Fifteenth, and Eighteenth Light Dragoons were equipped as Hussars. Since the termination of the war in 1815, the Third and Fourth Dragoons have been changed from heavy to light; the Ninth, Twelfth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Light Dragoons have been constituted Lancers; and the Eighth and Eleventh Light Dragoons have also been equipped as Hussars.

At this period (1847), the Cavalry of the British Army consists of twenty-six regiments—thirteen Heavy and thirteen Light; and is composed of three regiments of Cuirassiers, ten of Heavy Dragoons, four of Light Dragoons, five of Hussars, and four of Lancers.

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THE FOURTEENTH,

OR

THE KING'S, REGIMENT

OF

LIGHT DRAGOONS,

BEARS ON ITS APPOINTMENTS

THE KING'S CREST,

AND THE WORDS,

"TALAVERA"—"FUENTES D'ONOR"—"SALAMANCA"—"VITTORIA"—"ORTHES"—"PENINSULA."

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THE WHITE HORSE AND THE PRUSSIAN EAGLE,

As shown in Plate opposite to Page 62,

WERE BORNE ON THE REGIMENTAL GUIDON UNTIL THE YEAR 1834, WHEN THE GUIDONS OF THE REGIMENTS OF LIGHT DRAGOONS, HUSSARS, AND LANCERS, WERE DIRECTED TO BE DISCONTINUED.

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OF THE

FOURTEENTH (THE KING'S) REGIMENT

OF

LIGHT DRAGOONS.

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The accession of the house of Hanover to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, was the commencement of a dynasty under which this kingdom has attained a splendid elevation of naval, military, commercial, and political importance; has extended its possessions in remote countries;—and its armies have fought and conquered in every quarter of the globe. The first year of His Majesty's reign had, however, not expired, when it was found necessary to augment the regular army, and the Fourteenth, (the King's) Regiment of Light Dragoons, is one of the corps incorporated on that occasion. It was raised in South Britain, by Brigadier-General James Dormer, who had acquired a reputation in the war of the Spanish succession; and the following officers were appointed to the regiment, by commissions dated the 22nd July, 1715.

His Majesty's protestant subjects arrayed themselves under the royal standard with great cheerfulness, but before the regiment was complete in men and horses, the arrangements of the Jacobites were in such a state of forwardness, that the Pretender's standard was raised in Scotland by the Earl of Mar, who was soon at the head of ten thousand men. A body of rebels having penetrated into Lancashire, Dormer's dragoons were among the corps directed to advance, under Major-General Wills, and fight the insurgent bands: the regiment was formed in brigade with Pitt's horse, now second dragoon guards, under its Colonel, Brigadier-General Dormer. Arriving at Preston, about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 12th of November, the rebels were found in force in the town, with the avenues barricaded and defended by cannon. The Fourteenth dragoons were directed to dismount and form as infantry, to take part in storming the avenue leading to Lancaster, in which they were assisted by Wynne's (ninth), and a squadron of Stanhope's dragoons (afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-Generals Dormer and Munden; Pitt's horse, Munden's (thirteenth), and a squadron of Stanhope's dragoons forming in support. The first barrier was carried with great gallantry; but the inner barricade could not be forced for want of cannon. The houses were afterwards set on fire, and measures adopted to prevent the escape of the rebels, who were eventually forced to surrender at discretion. The regiment had three men and sixteen horses killed on this occasion, Brigadier-General Dormer, and four private soldiers wounded.

The regiment escorted a number of the captured insurgents to Lancaster gaol, and was afterwards quartered in that town, and in the early part of 1716 the rebellion was suppressed by the troops under the Duke of Argyle.

In May 1716, the regiment marched from Lancaster, into cantonments at Lincoln and the neighbouring towns.

A reduction of the army took place in the spring of 1717, and in May, Dormer's dragoons marched to Bristol and embarked for Ireland, to replace a regiment ordered to be disbanded in that country.

The regiment remained in Ireland during the succeeding twenty-five years. In 1720, Brigadier-General Dormer was removed to the sixth regiment of foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons, by Colonel Clement Neville, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the thirteenth dragoons.

Colonel Neville commanded the regiment seventeen years, and was removed in 1737, to the eighth dragoons, and the colonelcy of the Fourteenth was conferred on Colonel Archibald Hamilton from the 27th foot.

Charles VI. Emperor of Germany, died in 1740; the succession of the Archduchess Maria-Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was disputed by the Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by a French army; and, in 1742, King George II. sent a British force to Flanders to aid the house of Austria; at the same time the Fourteenth dragoons were withdrawn from Ireland, to replace the cavalry regiments which had proceeded on foreign service from England.

The regiment was stationed in Great Britain during the years 1743 and 1744; and in 1745, when Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, raised his father's standard in Scotland, it was ordered to Stirling. After Lieut.-General Sir John Cope had marched from Stirling with the infantry and some artillery, the Fourteenth dragoons proceeded to Leith, where they were stationed when the rebel army advanced towards Edinburgh. They were suddenly ordered to join Colonel Gardiner, who was retiring before the rebel army, with the thirteenth dragoons; they rode through Edinburgh at a brisk pace during public worship on Sunday, the 15th of September, when the congregations rushed out of the churches and chapels and filled the streets, and four hundred volunteers, with a thousand men of the trained bands, appeared in arms. The Fourteenth dragoons joined Colonel Gardiner at Carstorphin, from whence they fell back to Coltsbridge, where they were joined by the city guard and Edinburgh regiment. On a report of the approach of the rebel bands, the Edinburgh regiment and city guard withdrew within the walls, and the dragoons moved towards Haddington, the citizens refusing to admit them into the place; and while a tumultuary council was being held to decide about the mode of defending the city, the insurgents gained possession of one of the gates: thus Edinburgh fell into the hands of the young Pretender.

The Fourteenth dragoons were afterwards ordered to join Lieut.-General Sir John Cope, who had arrived at Dunbar with a small body of infantry, and he advanced towards Edinburgh, when the rebel army was put in motion to meet him. On the 20th of September the King's troops confronted the insurgents near Prestonpans and the night was passed in the field: the Fourteenth dragoons, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Wright, furnished videttes and patrols on the flanks of the army. Before day-break, on the following morning, a chosen band of Highlanders advanced through the thick atmosphere, and attacked the right of the King's troops; their sudden advance in the dark, their superior numbers, and peculiar mode of fighting, struck with consternation the few men who guarded the artillery, and who faced about and fled. The dragoons advanced to charge the Highlanders; but seeing the very superior numbers of their opponents, and being discouraged by the loss of their artillery, they made only a feeble effort to stem the torrent of battle, and afterwards retired from the field. Several officers, and a few private soldiers, however, behaved with great gallantry, and among others, Major Richard Bowles, of the Fourteenth dragoons, particularly distinguished himself; the few troopers, who rallied round him, had been cut down, and his own horse killed; but he continued to fight on foot; he was surrounded, and had received eleven wounds, when a rebel leader interposed and saved his life. When once troops are put into confusion, and are afterwards closely pressed by the enemy, no reserves being at hand for them to rally upon, the difficulty of restoring order becomes particularly great, and, in this instance, the loss of the battle was the result. The Fourteenth dragoons withdrew from the field, and afterwards marched to Berwick.

The regiment subsequently joined the army assembled under Field-Marshal Wade at Newcastle; when the rebels penetrated into Derbyshire, it was employed in covering Yorkshire; and when the young Pretender made a precipitate retreat to Scotland, the Fourteenth dragoons marched to Edinburgh, where a few regiments were assembled under Lieut.-General Hawley.

On their return to Scotland, the rebels besieged Stirling Castle; and Lieut.-General Hawley put the King's troops in motion to raise the siege. The Fourteenth dragoons left Edinburgh on the 13th of January, 1746; they took part in driving a body of rebels out of Linlithgow, and were subsequently encamped near Falkirk.

On the 17th of January, as the soldiers were at dinner in the camp, the approach of the rebel army was descried, and the troops moved towards some high grounds on Falkirk-moor, where the insurgent bands were formed. The action was commenced by a charge of the cavalry; the enemy's first line was broken, and some execution done; but the second line of insurgents repulsed the dragoons. The infantry was, soon afterwards, brought into the fight; but a heavy storm of wind and rain beat so violently in the soldiers' faces, as nearly to blind them, and the wet prevented their muskets giving fire. Several regiments retired in some disorder; others maintained their ground and repulsed the Highlanders, and after dark the whole withdrew to Linlithgow and afterwards to Edinburgh.

The Duke of Cumberland subsequently took the command of the troops in Scotland, and advanced towards Stirling; when the rebels made a precipitate retreat. His Royal Highness pursued; but the Fourteenth dragoons were left behind, and were directed to patrol along the roads leading westward from Edinburgh, to prevent the rebels obtaining intelligence. At length the Highlanders were overpowered in the field of Culloden, and the rebellion was suppressed.

In 1747 the regiment returned to Ireland, and was stationed in that country during the succeeding forty-eight years.

Lieut.-General Hamilton died on the 8th of July, 1749, and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons on Lieut.-General James, Lord Tyrawley, from the tenth regiment of Foot.

The following description of the clothing and guidons of the regiment is taken from the Royal Warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751.

Coats,—scarlet; double-breasted, without lappels; lined with lemon colour; slit sleeves turned up with lemon colour; the button-holes worked with narrow white lace; the buttons of white metal, set on three and three; a long slash pocket in each skirt; and a white worsted aiguillette on the right shoulder.

Waistcoats and Breeches,—lemon colour.

Hats,—bound with silver lace, and ornamented with a white loop and a black cockade. Red forage cap turned up with lemon colour, and XIV. D. on the flap.

Boots,—of jacked leather, reaching to the knee.

Cloaks,—Scarlet, with a lemon-coloured cape; the buttons set on three and three, upon white frogs or loops, with a red and green stripe down the centre.

Horse Furniture,—of lemon-coloured cloth; the holster caps and housings having a border of white lace, with a red and green stripe down the centre; XIV. D. embroidered upon a red ground, within a wreath of roses and thistles, on the housing; and upon the holster caps G.R., with the crown over it, and XIV. D. underneath.

Officers,—distinguished by silver lace and embroidery; and a crimson silk sash worn across the left shoulder.

Quarter Masters,—to wear a crimson sash round their waists.

Serjeants,—to have narrow silver lace on the cuffs, pockets, and shoulder-straps; silver aiguillettes; and green, red, and white worsted sashes tied round their waists.

Drummers and Hautboys,—clothed in lemon-coloured coats, lined and faced with scarlet, and ornamented with white lace, having a red and green stripe down the centre: red waistcoats and breeches.

Guidons,—the first, or King's guidon, to be of crimson silk, with a silver and red fringe; in the centre, the rose and thistle conjoined, and crown over them, with the motto Dieu et mon droit underneath; the white horse in a compartment in the first and fourth corners; and XIV. D., in silver characters, on a lemon ground, in a compartment in the second and third corners: the second and third guidons to be of lemon-coloured silk; in the centre XIV. D. on a red ground within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk; the white horse, on a red ground, in the first and fourth compartments; and the rose and thistle conjoined, on a red ground, in the second and third compartments; the third colour to have a figure 3, on a circular red ground, under the wreath.

Lieut.-General Lord Tyrawley commanded the regiment two years, and was removed, in July, 1752, to the third dragoons, and was succeeded by Colonel Lewis Dejean, whose regiment of foot had been disbanded at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748–9.

Colonel Dejean was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1756, and in 1757 he was removed to the third Irish Horse, now sixth dragoon guards; and His Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons on Colonel John Campbell, from the fifty-fourth regiment.

The rank of major-general was conferred on Colonel Campbell in 1759; in 1761 his uncle, Archibald, third Duke of Argyle, died, when his father, General John Campbell of the Scots Greys, succeeded to that title, and Major-General Campbell of the Fourteenth Dragoons obtained the designation of Marquis of Lorne: he was removed to the first, the royal regiment of foot, in 1765, and was succeeded in the command of the Fourteenth dragoons, by Colonel Charles Fitzroy, (afterwards Lord Southampton) whose regiment of foot had been disbanded at the peace of Fontainbleau in 1763.

On the 19th December, 1768, a warrant was issued, by authority of King George III., for regulating the standards, guidons, clothing, &c., of the regiments of cavalry, in which it was directed, that the uniform of the Fourteenth dragoons should be red, with lemon-coloured facings, without lappels, with silver lace; the uniform, &c., being the same as prescribed by the Royal Warrant of the 1st July, 1751.

Colonel Fitzroy was promoted to the rank of major-general and removed to the third dragoons, in 1772, when King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons on Lieut.-General Daniel Webb, from the eighth foot.

Lieut.-General Webb died in 1773, and was succeeded by Colonel George Warde, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the fourth dragoons.

Hostilities between Great Britain and her North American Colonies commenced in 1775, and the rugged valleys and trackless forests which became the theatre of this war, were not adapted for the operations of heavy dragoons. The necessity of having a greater proportion of light cavalry had become apparent, and in 1776, the Fourteenth, which were then in Ireland, were constituted a corps of Light Dragoons. The standard height for men and horses was reduced; the cocked hats were replaced by helmets; arms and appointments of a lighter description were adopted, and in the annual army list for 1777, the regiment was designated, "The Fourteenth Light Dragoons."

In 1778, Major-General Warde was removed to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Fourteenth light dragoons, by Major-General Robert Sloper.

In 1784 the clothing of the light dragoon regiments was changed from scarlet to dark blue; and the following orders were issued on this subject, dated—

The foregoing orders were sent to the officers commanding the 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 17th, and 18th light dragoons; to the Earl of Drogheda; to the major of brigade for the general officers; and to the agents, Messrs. Montgomery, Wybrants, and Cane.

The regiment remained in Ireland performing the usual duties of a cavalry corps on home service, until the events attendant on the French revolution occasioned it to be employed in continental and colonial warfare. When this revolution assumed its wild and violent character, the spirit of republicanism soon extended to the French West India Islands. The resolution to grant the immediate freedom of the slaves, for which they were unprepared, was followed, in 1791, by acts of outrage and spoliation committed by the blacks against the properties of their owners. In 1793 the planters of St. Domingo obtained British aid; and the revolutionists afterwards received assistance from France.

In the same year, a British army appeared in Flanders under the Duke of York, to arrest the progress of the French aggressions on the continent; and in 1794, two troops of the Fourteenth light dragoons were withdrawn from Ireland to engage in the contest. On their arrival in Flanders, the two troops of the regiment were attached to the eighth light dragoons; and they formed part of the van of the forces under Lieut.-General the Earl of Moira, on the march from Ostend to join the army under His Royal Highness the Duke of York. The squadron of the Fourteenth also shared in the toils and hardships of the winter campaign in Holland; it took part in several skirmishes with the enemy, and after enduring great privation and suffering from an unusually severe season, which occasioned the loss of several men and horses, it arrived in the early part of 1795, in Germany, where it was incorporated in the eighth regiment of light dragoons.

The contest in the West Indies had, in the meantime, been carried on with varied success, and the seven troops of the Fourteenth light dragoons in Ireland were ordered to give up their horses to the twenty-fourth light dragoons at Clonmel, and to embark for the West Indies dismounted. This transfer took place under the direction of Major-General Egerton, who bore testimony to the alacrity with which the officers and men prepared for embarkation.

The regiment embarked on the 25th of February, 1795, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Carter; on arriving at St. Domingo, it was furnished with such horses as could be procured, and it was soon engaged in active operations against the bands of armed negroes and mulattoes who had enrolled themselves under the banners of the French republic.

During the years 1796 and 1797, numerous actions occurred; but against a hundred thousand trained blacks who had been instructed in European discipline, the few British troops on the island were unable to do more than exhibit many brilliant examples of discipline and valour. In an enterprise against the post of Mirebalais in the beginning of June, 1797, a detachment of the Fourteenth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-first light dragoons, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Carter of the Fourteenth, distinguished themselves. They drove twelve hundred of the enemy with three pieces of cannon from a strong position, captured two guns, and chased a number of opponents into the river Artibonite, capturing their ammunition, mules, &c. The conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Carter, and of the dragoons under his orders, was commended in the public despatches. The climate of St. Domingo was, however, so very injurious to the health of European soldiers, that the regiment was soon reduced to a skeleton. The few surviving men who were fit for service, were permitted to volunteer into other corps, and the remainder, twenty-five in number, embarked for England, where they arrived in the month of October, and were stationed at Chelmsford.

On the 1st of June, 1797, General Sir Robert Sloper. K.B., was removed to the fourth dragoons, and the colonelcy of the Fourteenth was conferred on Major-General John William Egerton, afterwards Earl of Bridgewater, from first lieut.-colonel of the seventh light dragoons. This officer being on the staff when the few men of the regiment arrived from St. Domingo, he was employed in superintending the recruiting and remounting of his corps, and in a short time he had the satisfaction of seeing it a fine body of light cavalry mustering six hundred mounted men, who were divided into eight troops.

In August, 1798, King George III. was graciously pleased to approve of the regiment being styled "the Fourteenth, or the Duchess of York's own Regiment of Light Dragoons," in honour of Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Catherina, Princess Royal of Prussia, who was married to His Royal Highness the Duke of York in 1791; at the same time the Royal authority was given for the Fourteenth to assume the "Prussian Eagle" as a regimental badge, and the colour of the facing of the regiment was changed from lemon-yellow to orange.

The establishment was augmented to ten troops, of ninety rank and file each, in 1800; but at the peace of Amiens, in 1802, a reduction of two troops took place.

Hostilities were resumed in 1803, and in 1804 the regiment was again augmented to ten troops of ninety rank and file each, for which a supply of new carbines and pistols was received in 1807, from the ordnance stores.

The French Emperor, Napoleon Buonaparte, having attempted to reduce Spain and Portugal to subjection to his power, a British army proceeded to Portugal to aid the inhabitants in their struggles for freedom. Portugal had been delivered, and the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore was advancing into Spain, when the Fourteenth (the Duchess of York's Own) regiment of light dragoons, was ordered to embark for the Peninsula. The regiment marched to Falmouth, where it was put on board of transports, and arrived at Lisbon on the 23rd of December under the command of Colonel Samuel Hawker.

The return to England of the troops which had served under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, whose career of honour was terminated at the battle of Corunna, left only a small British force in the Peninsula, and these troops were quartered near Lisbon, from whence the Fourteenth light dragoons advanced in the early part of 1809, to Bucellas, an out-post of the army. In April the regiment formed the advance-guard on the march of the army to Coimbra, and in the beginning of May it was united in brigade with the sixteenth and twentieth light dragoons under Major-General Cotton, and was reviewed on the plains of Coimbra by Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. The French troops under Marshals Soult and Victor had, in the meantime, invaded Portugal, and Marshal Soult had captured Oporto.

To expel the French from Oporto, was the first service undertaken by the British commander; on this occasion two squadrons of the Fourteenth, under Lieut.-Colonel Neil Talbot, were detached with the Portuguese troops under Marshal Beresford to intercept the French, if they should attempt to retreat by Amarante; the remaining three squadrons under Colonel Hawker advanced direct upon Oporto, and being employed, with the other cavalry on the advance-piquets, they took part in the rencounters with the enemy on the 10th and 11th of May. Arriving on the 12th of May, on the banks of the Douro near Oporto, unperceived by the French, the English general resolved to pass the river, when two squadrons of the Fourteenth were detached, with the German brigade and two guns under Major-General John Murray, three miles up the river, to Barca de Avintas, where they effected a passage in boats. In the meantime a portion of the army had passed nearer the city, and was engaged in a fierce action with the enemy, when the Fourteenth light dragoons and the Germans were seen advancing down the right bank of the river. The French made a precipitate retreat. The leading squadron of the Fourteenth, commanded by Major F. B. Hervey, and gallantly supported by the second squadron under Major the Honourable Charles Butler, dashed sword in hand upon the enemy's rear-guard and overthrew it, as it was pushing through a narrow road to gain an open space beyond the defile. Some execution was done, the French General, Laborde, was unhorsed, and General Foy was wounded; but no other troops advancing to support the Fourteenth, the gallant dragoons had to fight their way back, and had several men and horses killed and wounded. Major F. B. Hervey lost his right arm; Captain Peter Hawker, Lieutenants Robert Knipe, and Evelyn P. Dormer, were wounded.

The conduct of the Fourteenth was commended in Sir Arthur Wellesley's public despatch, and also in general orders. They had marched eighty miles in four days over the most difficult country, and they were employed in pursuing, along a mountainous region, the discomfited French troops, whose line of retreat could be traced by the smoke of burning houses. Having followed the enemy as far as Ginjo, the Fourteenth light dragoons halted, and afterwards moved towards Abrantes, where the army was concentrated for operations on the Tagus.

From Abrantes the army advanced into Spain, and a body of French troops under Marshal Victor retreated from Talavera de la Reyna. The Spaniards under General Cuesta pursued with avidity; but the French were reinforced, and they drove the Spaniards back upon Talavera, where the allied army formed in order of battle; the Fourteenth light dragoons being posted in the rear of Brigadier-General Alexander Campbell's division.

When the army went into position, Major-General Mackenzie was left with a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, as an advanced post, in the wood on the right of the Alberche, which covered the left flank. The French attacked this post between two and three o'clock on the 27th of July, when the Fourteenth light dragoons were ordered forward, and they crossed the Alberche river, and sent out a line of skirmishers to cover the retrograde movements of the infantry. The regiment was employed in skirmishing until night, and had nine horses killed; Lieutenant Theophilus Thomas Ellis, and one private soldier wounded.

The Fourteenth light dragoons resumed their post in the position occupied by the allied army, and supported the infantry during the severe contest on the 28th of July. The left of the British line was attacked at day-break, and when the enemy was repulsed at this point, a long pause ensued. An attack on the centre was made soon after two o'clock, and the French were again driven back; they also failed in another attack on the left. A strong body of the enemy advanced against Major-General Sherbrooke's division; this attack was repulsed by a charge of the whole division with bayonets; but the brigade of foot guards pursued so far as to be in danger of being annihilated; when the forty-eighth regiment, and the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons were brought forward, and the foot guards rallied and again advanced. This was a moment of great peril to the allied army; but the steady valour of the British troops prevailed, and the French fell back.

The Fourteenth light dragoons had three men and twenty-one horses killed; Colonel Samuel Hawker, Captains John Chapman, and Peter Hawker, Lieutenants William Wainman and Thomas Smith, six rank and file, and three horses wounded; thirteen horses missing; Lieutenant Evelyn P. Dormer taken prisoner. Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Talbot, and Major Baker had each a horse killed under him.

Colonel Hawker was rewarded with a gold medal, and the regiment was subsequently authorised to bear on its guidons and appointments the word "Talavera", in commemoration of its distinguished services in this action.[10]

After this battle the enemy brought forward such very superior numbers, that the British General was forced to act on the defensive, and while the army was encamped on the banks of the Guadiana, a malignant fever proved fatal to numbers of officers and soldiers. The Fourteenth dragoons were removed to Villa Vicosa, a fortified town in the Alemtejo, from whence they marched, in December, to Santarem, a town very pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Tagus, where they were formed in brigade with the royal dragoons under Major-General Slade.

In February, 1810, Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo were both menaced by the enemy, and in March the regiment returned to the Alemtejo, and took the advanced posts of Lieut.-General Rowland Hill's corps at Arronches, a town situate at the conflux of the Caya and the Algrette, near the Spanish frontiers. A concentration of French troops near Ciudad Rodrigo afterwards relieved the other provinces. Ciudad Rodrigo was eventually beseiged by Marshal Ney, and the British commander, hoping the enemy, by detaching troops, would furnish an opportunity for relieving this fortress, withdrew the Fourteenth light dragoons from the Alemtejo. The regiment advanced to Almeida in June; it was attached to the light division under Brigadier-General Craufurd, who was behind the Agueda river, watching the enemy's motions; and with the sixteenth light dragoons, and first hussars King's German Legion, took the out-post duty on this frontier.

No opportunity to relieve Ciudad Rodrigo occurred; but during the siege marauding parties of French soldiers entered the villages of Barquillo and Villa de Puerco on three successive nights. Brigadier-General Craufurd, thinking to cut off the next party, formed two ambuscades, one near Villa de Puerco, with six squadrons, another of three squadrons near Barquillo, and he also placed his artillery, five companies of the ninety-fifth, (Rifle-brigade) and the third Portuguese Caçadores in reserve; the Fourteenth light dragoons were employed in these ambuscades. On the morning of the 11th of July, a little after day-break, a party of French infantry was observed near Villa de Puerco, and a small body of cavalry at Barquillo; and the open country on the right would have enabled the six squadrons to place themselves between the infantry and their point of retreat; but this was circuitous, and Brigadier-General Craufurd preferred passing along a narrow defile between two stone walls. This proved difficult; in threading the defile in a long line the dragoons were separated, and the French infantry, two hundred strong, had time to form square, being hidden in high standing corn. The French dragoons coming out of Barquillo, were charged by the German hussars and a squadron of the sixteenth, and two officers and twenty-nine men were made prisoners. In the meantime the Fourteenth light dragoons had threaded the defile, and mounting the hill, rode with distinguished gallantry against the square; but the French infantry remained perfectly steady, and opened such a fire, that Lieut.-Colonel Talbot and eight men fell dead close to the bayonets, and twenty-three men were wounded.[11] The survivors withdrew a short distance to reform their ranks, and the French square commenced its retreat with singular steadiness and good order. The Fourteenth dragoons seeing this, prepared to launch against it another squadron, which was already in speed for the purpose, when Colonel Arentschildt of the hussars, observing cavalry approaching in front and flank, checked the movement. It was afterwards regretted that he took this step, as the horsemen, who alarmed him, proved to be the German hussars and sixteenth returning from the pursuit of the French dragoons, the whole of whom they had captured.

On the death of Lieut.-Colonel Talbot the command of the regiment devolved on Lieut.-Colonel F. B. Hervey, under whose directions the Fourteenth became celebrated as an efficient corps of light cavalry, remarkable for the excellent manner in which they performed the out-post duty.

Meanwhile Ciudad Rodrigo had surrendered; the Fourteenth remained in the villages near Fort La Conception until the 21st of July, when the enemy's masses approaching, they fell back to Almeida, where Brigadier-General Craufurd halted the few troops under his orders, and, with astonishing hardihood, confronted the whole French army. During the night of the 23rd of July, the videttes and patrols of the regiment were exposed to a heavy storm of wind and rain, and as daylight appeared, they discovered the approach of numerous legions of the enemy: a few shots were fired; the cavalry reserves and guns moved forward, and a skirmish ensued in which the Fourteenth had one serjeant killed; Lieutenant John Blachford, one private soldier, and four horses wounded. After opposing the superior numbers of the enemy for some time, the British withdrew beyond the river Coa; and Brigadier-General Craufurd stated in his despatch,—'The retreat of the Fourteenth light dragoons from Val-de-la-Mula to Almeida, was conducted in the most regular and soldier-like manner, though opposed to a superior force of French cavalry.'

A squadron of the regiment and a squadron of the royal dragoons, on duty at Frexadas, were sharply engaged with a superior force of the enemy on the 28th of August, and highly distinguished themselves.

Marshal Massena invaded Portugal with such an immense superiority of numbers, that the British commander was under the necessity of withdrawing from the frontiers, and the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons, with the first German hussars, had the honour of covering the retrograde movements. On the 24th of September the enemy skirmished with the piquets in front of Mortagao, from whence a squadron of the Fourteenth under Captain Thomas W. Brotherton, with one of the sixteenth and first hussars, covered the retreat of the light division four miles to some strong ground. The three squadrons repulsed four of French hussars; some of the enemy's dragoons approaching too close, were charged by the squadron of the Fourteenth, and overthrown with the loss of about thirty men. On the following morning the cavalry skirmishers exchanged a few shots, and the Fourteenth were employed in covering the retreat of the light division to the position of Busaco. During this retreat Captain the Hon. Henry Percy was taken prisoner while reconnoitring the flank movement of the enemy.

The Fourteenth were in reserve during the battle of Busaco on the 27th of September; and they were subsequently employed in covering the retreat of the army to the strong lines of Torres Vedras.

On the 1st of October, the out-posts were attacked and driven from the hills bounding the plain of Coimbra to the north, when three troops of the Fourteenth, under Major the Honourable Charles Butler, proceeded through the town, and formed the rear-guard on the main road from Coimbra to Pombal. The remainder of the regiment was formed on the plain, with the other cavalry corps, and withdrew before a superior force of the enemy, crossing the Mondego at a ford below the town, and skirmishing to prevent the passage of the river by the enemy.

The French army continuing to press forward, its advance-guard skirmished with the rear of the allies almost every day, and the Fourteenth light dragoons had frequent opportunities of exhibiting brilliant instances of the innate valour of British soldiers. At Rio Mandevilla the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons, first German hussars, royal dragoons, and Captain Bull's troop of artillery, repulsed a very superior force of the enemy, on which occasion the first French hussars were nearly annihilated. The Fourteenth had six men and six horses killed; eight men and twelve horses wounded.

The French legions continued to press forward as to an assured victory; but the lines of Torres Vedras arrested their progress, and while they remained in front of these extensive works, the Fourteenth light dragoons took the line of out-posts from the Sobral road. The French army withdrew during the night of the 14th of November; the morning of the 15th was foggy, and it was some hours after day-break when the British General discovered the void space in his front. The Fourteenth were ordered forward along the Cartaxo road, and their patrols took a number of French stragglers prisoners. Marshal Massena took up a position at Santarem; the head quarters of the allied army were established at Cartaxo, and the Fourteenth light dragoons furnished the out-posts, extending from the causeway and bridge over the river.

After wasting his army by privation and sickness, the French marshal retreated; and at day-light on the 6th of March, 1811, Lord Wellington discovered the empty camps at Santarem, and moved his own army forward in pursuit. On the 8th of March, a squadron of the Fourteenth commanded by Captain Babington, and supported by the other squadrons of the regiment under Colonel Hervey, made a successful charge on four squadrons of the eleventh and twenty-sixth French dragoons at Venta de Serra, and captured fourteen men and fourteen horses; with the loss of two men and two horses.

Continuing to press upon the rear of the French army, the regiment was present at the skirmish at Pombal on the 10th of March, at Redinha on the 12th, at Casal Nova on the 14th, and at Foz d'Aronce on the 15th. The Fourteenth were also present at the action near Sabugal, on the 3rd April, but did not sustain any loss.

The French Commander continued his retreat to Salamanca, and the British General stood victorious on the confines of Portugal; the Fourteenth light dragoons furnished the out-posts on the left bank of the Agueda at Villa del Egua, where a peasant arrived from Ledesma, with intelligence that the French army was reinforced and re-organized, and was advancing. A squadron under Captain Brotherton was sent to Santa Espirita, and it fell back behind the Agueda as the French army advanced.

Almeida being blockaded by the allied army, Marshal Massena advanced to its relief; the Fourteenth withdrew gradually as the enemy approached, and on the 3rd of May they were engaged behind Gallegos; when Lieutenant John Townsend retired with the piquets under a heavy cannonade towards Fuentes d'Onor, and a squadron, under Captain Brotherton, had a sharp affair near Pozo Velho.

At the battle of Fuentes d'Onor, on the 5th of May, the Fourteenth and first royal dragoons covered the movement of the right of the army from Nave d'Aver, retiring by alternate squadrons, under a heavy cannonade; one squadron of the regiment charged with signal gallantry some French artillery, but was repulsed, and Captain Robert Knipe commanding the squadron was mortally wounded: he was succeeded in the command of the squadron by Lieutenant (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel) John Townsend: Lieut.-Colonel Hervey had his horse killed under him, and received a severe contusion.

An attack was made on the position in the rear of the village. 'The French with one shock drove in all the cavalry out-guards, and cutting off Captain Ramsay's battery, came sweeping in upon the reserves of horse and upon the seventh division. But their leading squadrons approaching in a disorderly manner, were partially checked by the British, and, at the same time, a great commotion was observed in their main body. Men and horses there closed with confusion and tumult towards one point, a thick dust arose, and loud cries, and the sparkling of blades, and the flashing of pistols, indicated some extraordinary occurrence. Suddenly the multitude became violently agitated, an English shout pealed high and clear, the mass was rent asunder, and Norman Ramsay burst forth at the head of his battery, his horses, breathing fire, stretched like greyhounds along the plain, the guns bounding behind them as things of no weight, and the mounted gunners followed in full career. Captain Brotherton of the Fourteenth dragoons, seeing this, rode forth with a squadron and overturned the head of the pursuing troops, and General Charles Stewart joining in the charge, took the French General Lamotte, fighting hand to hand.'[12] The French were repulsed in their attempt to relieve Almeida, and they withdrew from Portugal.

The Fourteenth light dragoons had Captain Robert Knipe and three private soldiers killed; Captain Thomas Potter Milles, Lieutenants John Townsend, John Gwynne, Lovell B. Badcock, Theophilus Thomas Ellis, six serjeants, and twenty-one rank and file wounded; three private soldiers missing. Lieut.-Colonel Hervey was rewarded with a gold medal, and the royal authority was subsequently given for the regiment to bear on its guidons and appointments the words "Fuentes d'Onor," as a special mark of His Majesty's approbation of its conduct on this occasion.

Viscount Wellington subsequently proceeded to Estremadura, where the strong fortress of Badajoz was besieged by the allies, and the Fourteenth dragoons formed part of the force left on the Agueda. Marshal Marmont advanced with a numerous French army, and having introduced a convoy into Ciudad Rodrigo, he drove back the British posts. On the morning of the 6th of June, two French columns appeared, when the light division was directed to retire from Gallegos upon Nave d'Aver and subsequently upon Alfayetes, and the royal dragoons, with a squadron of the Fourteenth, covered the retreat. Two thousand French cavalry, six thousand infantry, and ten guns, bore down upon the British squadrons and menaced their destruction; but the French horsemen were attacked and defeated twice, and the retreat was effected with little loss.

Marshal Marmont afterwards marched to Spanish Estremadura, and the British General withdrew from before Badajoz. The allied army subsequently proceeded to the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, and eventually blockaded that fortress, the Fourteenth taking part in the out-post duty as usual. When the French army advanced to relieve the blockade, the regiment was stationed at Espejo, on the lower Azava, with advanced-posts at Carpio and Marialva. Having thrown a supply into Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal marched against the allied army, and on the morning of the 25th of September, fourteen squadrons of the imperial guards drove the out-posts from Carpio, across the Azava; the lancers of Berg crossed the river in pursuit, but were charged and driven back by a squadron of the Fourteenth and two squadrons of the sixteenth light dragoons, and Carpio was again occupied by the British. Another body of the enemy attacked the troops at El Bodon, and when the British had withdrawn from this post, the Fourteenth fell back from Carpio, and a succession of retrograde movements followed, until the allied army took up a position behind Soita, when the French withdrew into Spain.

In the action at Carpio, and in the subsequent movements, the regiment had Lieutenant Hall and several private soldiers wounded; and the conduct of its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Hervey, was commended in the public despatches; the excellent behaviour of Captain Brotherton was also particularly mentioned.

During the winter the strength of the regiment on foreign service was reduced two troops.

Ciudad Rodrigo was captured in January, 1812; the regiment subsequently proceeded to Spanish Estremadura, and was stationed near Badajoz when the siege of that fortress was undertaken. The Fourteenth subsequently joined that portion of the covering army which was under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, and when the French army under Marshal Soult advanced, the British fell back upon Albuhera; the Fourteenth were employed in covering the retrograde movement, and they skirmished with the enemy's advanced-guard near Villa Franca. Badajoz having been captured by storm during the night of the 5th of April, the French army marching to its relief fell back.

In a few days after the capture of Badajoz, the Fourteenth were engaged in an enterprise against several regiments of French cavalry. The Regiment moved, on the night of the 10th of April, from Villa Franca upon Usagre, and afterwards along the Road to Llerena; the light brigade skirmished with the French, until the heavy brigade turned their flank; the enemy was then charged, overthrown, pursued, and many prisoners taken. On the following night a party of the Fourteenth, under Lieutenant Edward Pellew, took a piquet of twenty-two French dragoons prisoners. The regiment had upwards of twenty men and several horses wounded; and the conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Hervey was commended in Lieut.-General Sir Stapleton Cotton's despatch.

From Estremadura, the regiment marched towards the Agueda, and it formed the advanced guard of Sir Thomas Graham's column in the march towards Salamanca, near which city it skirmished with a body of the enemy on the 16th of June, and had one serjeant and one trumpeter killed; four private soldiers and five horses wounded.

The enemy retired behind the Douro, and the allies followed to the banks of that river, where the Fourteenth were formed in brigade with the first German hussars, and took the out-posts at Tordesillas. In the middle of July, Marshal Marmont commenced offensive operations and passed the Douro at several points, when Lord Wellington united his centre and left behind the Guarena stream, and the Fourteenth and German hussars covered the retreat from Rueda. The right wing of the allied army and a brigade of cavalry were at Castrejon on the Trabancas, and to cover the retrograde of this force, the Fourteenth and German hussars moved, on the 17th of July, to Alaejos. On the 18th some sharp skirmishing occurred, and the troops at Castrejon fell back behind the Guarena; the Fourteenth retired from the plain near Alaejos under a heavy fire, and took post behind the Guarena at Castrillos. The French army advanced to the opposite side of the river, and General Clausel, sent a brigade of cavalry across under Brigadier-General Carier, supporting it with a column of infantry, and manifesting an intention to press the British left. Major-General Victor Baron Alten led the Fourteenth and first German hussars against the French cavalry, and some sharp fighting occurred, during which General Carier was made prisoner. While the British and French horsemen were warmly engaged, the twenty-seventh and fortieth regiments, supported by a Portuguese brigade, came rushing down the hill and broke the French infantry with an impetuous bayonet charge; the Fourteenth and German hussars had, in the meantime, driven back the French cavalry, and the two regiments charged the broken infantry, and sabred some, and made others prisoners. The regiment had eighteen men and twenty horses killed; Captain Brotherton, Lieutenants John Gwynne, Francis Fowke, thirty-four rank and file, and eighteen horses wounded.

The regiment was actively employed in the operations of the succeeding three days, and occasionally skirmished between the opposing armies.

On the 22nd of July the memorable battle of Salamanca was fought; the Fourteenth skirmished with the enemy's advanced posts at day-break, and afterwards took their station in the line. By several changes of position, the French Marshal endeavoured to turn the right of the allied army and gain the road to Ciudad Rodrigo; Lord Wellington detected a false movement in the opposing army, and instantly ordering his divisions forward, commenced the battle. The Fourteenth light dragoons participated with the third division in its attack upon, and complete discomfiture of, the enemy's left; two squadrons under Lieut.-Colonel Hervey reinforced Brigadier-General D'Urban's Portuguese brigade, which turned the enemy's flank, and the regiment shared in the glorious struggle by which the French army was overthrown and driven from the field with a severe loss.

The regiment had several men and horses killed and wounded; Captain Brotherton, though still suffering from his wound received on the 18th of July, mounted his charger during the fight, and was again wounded; and the gallant bearing of the regiment was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to display the word "Salamanca" on its guidons and appointments; its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Hervey, was presented with a gold medal as a mark of royal favour and approbation.

On the following day the regiment pursued the rear of the French army, and two squadrons were sharply engaged and took several prisoners near Penerada. On the 26th, a patrol of three dragoons of the Fourteenth, and four of the German hussars, under Corporal William Hanley of the former corps, detached to Blasco Sancho, captured a party of the enemy, consisting of two officers, one serjeant, one corporal, and twenty-seven mounted dragoons, with one private servant and two mules, for which they received the expressions of the approbation of the Commander of the Forces. The French horses were given to the Fourteenth and German hussars, to complete deficiencies; the amount was divided among the patrol, and a further pecuniary donation was afterwards made to the men engaged in this gallant exploit.

After driving the enemy across the Douro and taking possession of Valladolid, the army marched to Madrid, and the Fourteenth light dragoons passed Segovia and bivouacked near Escurial, a place celebrated for its magnificent palace, built by Philip II. and used as a monastery. The head quarters of the regiment were established at Getafe, and it took the out-post duty. Lieutenant Cust commanded a post of observation at Consingia, in La Mancha, and Lieutenant Ward a post of communication between that station and Madrid.

When the Marquis of Wellington left Madrid to undertake the siege of Burgos, the Fourteenth were left in the vicinity of the capital of Spain; and when a concentration of the French forces rendered a retrograde movement necessary, the regiment assembled, with the first German hussars, at Guadalaxara, and fell back upon Madrid. From Madrid the regiment formed part of the rear-guard of Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill's corps, to Alba de Tormes, and for several days it was almost constantly engaged in manœuvring and skirmishing to retard the advance of the enemy. On the 16th of November the regiment repulsed the charge of a body of French lancers of superior numbers, at Matilla, and had several men killed and wounded. Colonel Hervey again signalized himself, and narrowly escaped being made prisoner.

In the retreat from Salamanca to Ciudad Rodrigo, the regiment took part in the piquets and other duties of the rear-guard, which it continued to perform until the army went into cantonments behind the Agueda; and Captain Badcock was detached with a reconnoitring party to the Sierra de Francia and river Alagon.

After passing the winter in cantonments among the Portuguese peasantry, the regiment crossed the confines of that kingdom, and formed part of the centre column of the allied army in the advance in May 1813. Arriving at Salamanca on the 26th of that month, the bridge and streets were found barricaded, and a division of French infantry, three squadrons of cavalry, and some artillery, under General Villattes, were formed on the heights above the ford of Santa Marta. A British brigade passed the river at the ford, and the Fourteenth light dragoons and first German hussars removed the barricades and pushed through the town, when the enemy fell back, but was overtaken, and lost about two hundred men killed and wounded, and two hundred prisoners.

The line of the Tormes was thus gained; that of the Douro was soon afterwards won; and the allied army, proudly confident in its distinguished commander, advanced with a firmness which the enemy could not withstand, and the Carion and the Pisuerga were speedily passed: the Fourteenth light dragoons forming, as usual, part of the advance of the allied army, were engaged, on the 12th of June, in forcing a division of the enemy from a position near Burgos, when one squadron, under Captain Milles, charged and took some prisoners and a gun. The loss of the regiment was limited to one man and one horse killed; and one man and five horses wounded.

Unable to withstand the combinations of the British general, the French destroyed Burgos castle, and fell back with tumult and confusion behind the Ebro; the British urged their march towards the sources of that river, and traversing a wild but beautiful region, turned the enemy's position: the Fourteenth being in advance, crossed the Ebro at the bridge of Frias on the 15th of June, and a patrol fell in with a body of the enemy near Pancorba.

The enemy concentrated in front of Vittoria; the Marquis of Wellington examined their position on the 20th of June, and the Fourteenth skirmished with the French near the village of Huarte.

On the 21st of June, the long-expected battle was fought near Vittoria, and the Fourteenth light dragoons had the honour of sharing in a conflict in which the French army sustained a decisive overthrow. The regiment was attached to the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, and supported the attacks of the infantry and artillery; in the afternoon it was detached to out-flank the enemy's left, and in the evening it pursued the wreck of the French army along the Pampeluna road, passing the whole of the enemy's baggage, which had been abandoned.

The gallant bearing of the Fourteenth on this occasion was subsequently rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word "Vittoria" on their guidons and appointments; and an additional honorary distinction was conferred on their commanding officer, Colonel Hervey.

On the following day the regiment went in pursuit of the remains of the French army, and on the 24th of June, fell in with the rear-guard at a pass about two leagues from Pampeluna, when two battalions of riflemen drove the French infantry through the pass, the horse artillery killed several men, and dismounted one of the two pieces of cannon brought off from Vittoria; at the same time the leading squadron of the Fourteenth, under Major Brotherton, charged and captured a tumbril.

The French withdrew into the passes of the Pyrenean mountains; the Fourteenth light dragoons followed the enemy, and on the 28th of June, a patrol of three men of the regiment, under Lieutenant Ward, penetrating to the village of Ostiz, found twenty-five French foot soldiers regularly armed and formed up at the village, who surrendered themselves prisoners of war.

Advancing further into the mountains, a patrol of six men of the regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Clavering, encountered, on the 1st of July, a body of infantry of the French rear-guard, on the road from Roncesvalles to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, dispersed them, and took eighteen prisoners.

A strong body of French troops occupied the fruitful valley of Bastan, in the mountains, from whence they were driven by the troops under Sir Rowland Hill. The Fourteenth were attached to Lieut.-General Hill's division, and a squadron, under Major Brotherton, was engaged, on the 4th of July, with a body of the enemy near Almandoz. The allied army was established in positions in the mountains; the Fourteenth took the out-post duty in front of Maya, and also furnished posts of correspondence for several weeks. At length, the French army having been reinforced, re-organized, and placed under the command of Marshal Soult, advanced and commenced offensive operations. During the action of the 26th of July, the regiment was employed in carrying off the wounded from the pass of Maya, and received the thanks of Sir Rowland Hill. A squadron under Captain Milles was similarly employed on the 30th of July, when Sir Rowland Hill's post at Arestegui was attacked, and another squadron under Major Brotherton had a rencounter with the enemy.

The French having been repulsed, fell back in disorder, and were pursued to the confines of Spain. The Fourteenth formed the van of Sir Rowland Hill's division, and were engaged with the enemy in the valley of Bastan, on the 1st and 2nd of August: on the 5th the regiment took the out-post duty in front of Maya.

On the 10th of November the troops descended from the Pyrenees, and traversed the mountain passes by moonlight, until they arrived at the line of piquets, where they halted until the day dawned, when they transferred the seat of war to France, and taught the admirers of splendid but unprincipled aggressions, that the day of retribution had arrived. The Fourteenth light dragoons were attached to Sir Rowland Hill's division, and one squadron formed the advance-guard to Marshal Beresford's corps. The enemy's position on the Nivelle was forced, and the regiment was united at Espelette on the following day. The regimental baggage, which was attached to the second division, fell into the hands of a party of the enemy, in the rear of the pass of Maya, on which occasion the regiment had one troop serjeant-major and two private soldiers killed.

From the 15th of November to the 9th of December the regiment furnished the out-posts on the river Nive: it formed the advanced-guard to Sir Rowland Hill's corps at the passage of the Nive at the fords near Cambo, and the stream being deep, two men and two horses were drowned. On the 11th of December, a squadron, under Major Brotherton, encountered a body of the enemy in front of Mendionda, and captured a convoy of corn, wine, and salt, and made four men and horses of the escort prisoners. On the 13th the regiment was engaged with the French Light cavalry, under General Pierre Soult, (brother of Marshal Soult), at Hasparren, when Major Brotherton and Lieutenant Southwell were taken prisoners; also one serjeant and one private soldier wounded, and one taken prisoner.

The regiment took the out-post duty in front of Urt on the 14th of December; and was formed in brigade with the thirteenth light dragoons, under Colonel Vivian, who was succeeded, in the beginning of the following year, by Major-General Fane.

After reposing a short period in quarters during very severe weather, the army resumed operations in the middle of February, 1814, and the Fourteenth light dragoons took the van in the advance against the enemy's left, which led to the actions at Hellette, Garris, and Sauveterre.

On the 27th of February the battle of Orthes was fought; the Fourteenth shared in the operations of the troops under Sir Rowland Hill, and passing the stream above Orthes, advanced towards the great road to St. Sever, thus operating against the enemy's left. The French were overpowered and driven from the field; the Fourteenth light dragoons earned another inscription, the word 'Orthes,' for their guidons and appointments, and Colonel Hervey was rewarded with another honorary distinction.

The French fell back in disorder, the Fourteenth followed the enemy; crossed the Adour on the 1st of March, and, continuing the pursuit, were engaged, on the following day, at Aire, from whence the French were driven by the troops under Sir Rowland Hill. Serjeant Vernor, and privates Craig and Rose, distinguished themselves on this occasion.

A party, favourable to the house of Bourbon, was known to exist in this part of France, and Marshal Soult sent a body of troops to Pau on the night of the 7th of March, to arrest the nobles who had assembled to welcome the arrival of the Duke D'Angouleme; but Major-General Fane had arrived at Pau with a brigade of infantry and two regiments of cavalry, and defeated the enemy's design. The Fourteenth light dragoons, with two guns attached, made a strong patrol to Pau on the 7th of March, and on the following day fell in with the French detachment, and Captain Townsend and four private soldiers were taken prisoners.

Some offensive movements were made by the enemy on the 13th and 14th of March, and General Pierre Soult proceeded with three regiments of cavalry to Clarac, on the Pau road, to intercept the communication with that town, and to menace the right flank of the allies. The piquet of the Fourteenth at Clarac, repulsed the enemy on the morning of 14th of March, but Captain Babington was taken prisoner. In the evening the piquet under Captain Badcock was attacked by the whole of the fifth regiment of chasseurs and being reinforced by a squadron under Captain Milles, kept its ground until another squadron arrived under Captain Anderson, when the French were repulsed with loss. Captain Milles was rewarded with the brevet rank of Major.

On the 16th of March the regiment repulsed an attack of the enemy in front of Castel Paget. On the 18th at daylight, the army was in movement; the French right was turned by the valley of the Adour, and their out-posts driven back upon Lembege: the leading squadron of the Fourteenth, under Captain Anderson, was engaged with the French on the Lembege road, and Lieutenant Lyons was killed.

A squadron of the regiment, under Captain Milles, was attached to Lieut.-General Stewart's division, and was engaged, on the 19th of March, near Vic Bigorre; on the 20th the regiment took part in the affair at Tarbes, and assumed the out-post duty in the evening; and it was in advance during the march of the army towards Toulouse on the 22nd of that month.

The Fourteenth light dragoons had the honor of serving at the battle of Toulouse on the 10th of April; they were attached to the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, and took part in the operations by which the French army was driven from its ground. Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated; Napoleon Buonaparte abdicated the throne of France, and the Bourbon dynasty was restored.

Thus terminated, with glory to the British arms, a war in which the Fourteenth, the Duchess of York's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons, had acquired a high reputation; it had become justly celebrated for the excellent esprit-de-corps which pervaded the ranks, and especially for the superior style in which the officers and soldiers had, during several years, performed the duties of piquets, patrols, videttes, and other services which devolve upon a corps employed in the out-post duty.

At the termination of the contest, the regiment marched into quarters at Monte Marsan, where the reputation it had acquired occasioned it to be selected from among the other cavalry corps of the army, to take part in the contest between Great Britain and the United States of North America. The regiment marched to Bourdeaux in May, and being there reviewed by Major-General Lord Dalhousie, was complimented on its appearance and efficiency; but the order for its embarkation for America was countermanded.

The regiment marched from Bourdeaux to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landing at Dover on the 17th of July, proceeded from thence to the vicinity of London. It was reviewed on Hounslow Heath, by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who complimented Colonel Hervey on the appearance and efficiency of the several troops, adding, "They appear as if they had never been on service." After the review the regiment joined the depôt at Weymouth.

The non-effectives during the five years and a half the regiment had been on foreign service, including men invalided and sent home, and horses cast and sold, were 654 non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, and 1564 troop horses. From the period of its leaving Ireland in 1795, it had been recruited from the counties of Worcester, Warwick, Salop, and Bucks, with some volunteers from the fencible cavalry in 1800, and from the royal waggon train in 1810.

The contest in North America, which had been recommenced in 1813, had not terminated, and in the autumn two squadrons of the regiment, dismounted, embarked, and sailing from Plymouth, arrived, on the 24th of November, at Jamaica, where an expedition was assembled under Major-General (afterwards Lord) Keane, for an attempt on New Orleans, situate on the river Mississippi, one hundred and ten miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The approach to this place was particularly difficult; and when the fleet arrived, on the 10th of December, off the coast of Louisiana, the troops had to be removed into light vessels, and eventually into open boats, for the tedious navigation of Lake Bargne, and were afterwards obliged to traverse a difficult morass. Emerging from the morass, the soldiers were opposed by such immense bodies of Americans, with extensively fortified lines and batteries, and armed vessels on the river, that after extraordinary efforts, and exhibitions of valour and perseverance, the enterprise was relinquished.

In the attack on the enemy's lines, on the 8th January, 1815, the two squadrons served dismounted. Major-General the Honourable Sir Edward Pakenham, K.C.B., was killed; Major-Generals Gibbs and Keane were dangerously wounded; and the command devolved on Major-General Lambert, who stated in his public despatch, 'The conduct of the two squadrons of the Fourteenth light dragoons, latterly under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baker, previously of Major Milles, has been the admiration of every one, by the cheerfulness with which they have performed all descriptions of service.'

The troops returned on board the fleet; and one boat, containing Lieutenant Brydges, Cornet Hammond, one serjeant-major, and thirty-nine rank and file of the regiment, was captured by the Americans.

Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated by a treaty of peace; and the two squadrons arrived in England, and joined the regiment at Hounslow in May; a third squadron which had embarked for America, also rejoined the head-quarters.

This year the regiment was authorized to bear the word "Peninsula" on its guidons and appointments, in commemoration of its services in Portugal, Spain, and France.

Napoleon Buonaparte having quitted Elba, and returned to France, and having regained the throne of that kingdom, war was immediately recommenced; three squadrons of the Fourteenth having sailed for America, the regiment was prevented sharing in the contest which followed; but Colonel Hervey and Major Percy served on the staff of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.

In December the regiment embarked at Bristol for Ireland, and landed at Waterford and Cork in January, 1816: at the same time the establishment was reduced to eight troops.

A further reduction took place in the two following years; and in 1818 Captains Townsend and Badcock received the rank of major in the army for services in the field during the Peninsular war.

During its stay in Ireland the regiment was several times commended for its conduct and discipline by Major-General White, and Major-General Sir Sydney Beckwith: and on the 27th of May, 1819, it was formed in column and received the personal thanks of Sir George Beckwith, commanding the forces in that part of the United Kingdom. The regiment embarked from Dublin in June, and landed at Liverpool on the 11th of that month.

In the autumn of this year the Fourteenth light dragoons lost their commanding officer, Colonel Sir Felton Bathurst Hervey, Baronet, who died on the 24th September, 1819, and whose death was regretted by the corps.[13] His services had been rewarded with the dignity of a Baronet, and the following distinctions; a cross for the battles of Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, and Orthes; a medal for the battle of Waterloo; Companion of the Bath; Companion of the Guelphic Order; the Russian Order of Wladimir; Maria Theresa of Austria; St. Henry of Saxony; Tower and Sword of Portugal; Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria; and the Prussian Order of Merit. He was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Baker.

In 1821 the establishment was reduced to six troops.

On the 1st of June, 1822, the regiment was reviewed on Hounslow-heath, with the first and second life guards, royal horse guards, tenth and fifteenth hussars, and a brigade of horse of artillery, by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief, who was pleased to express his approbation of the appearance and movements of the troops.

In the autumn of 1823 General the Earl of Bridgewater died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieut.-General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, G.C.B., whose regiment, the nineteenth light dragoons, had been disbanded two years previously.

The regiment remained in England until April, 1825, when it embarked at Bideford for Ireland, landed at Waterford, and marched to Cork and Fermoy.

In 1826 the Fourteenth marched to Dublin, where its appearance, discipline, and interior economy, were commended by Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., at the inspections in June and September. From Dublin the regiment marched in January, 1827, to Athlone, Ballinrobe, Gort, and Loughrea; it returned to Dublin in March, 1828; was commended for its appearance, efficiency and discipline, and also for its good conduct while in Ireland, by Lieut.-General Sir George Murray, K.C.B., commanding the forces in that country, at the inspection on the 22nd of March; and embarked for Liverpool on the 26th of that month.

From Liverpool the regiment marched to Birmingham and Coventry, and while in these quarters Lieut.-Colonel Baker retired,[14] and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel John Townsend, by commission dated the 16th of April 1829. In May, 1829, the regiment marched to Leeds, Burnley, and Rochdale.

In April, 1830, the regiment proceeded to Brighton and Chichester, and its appearance, discipline, and interior economy, were commended by Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian at the inspection on the 24th of May.

The regiment was inspected at Brighton on the 19th of June by its colonel, Lieut.-General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, G.C.B. who was pleased to express himself 'much gratified by the highly military appearance of the regiment, the celerity and precision of its movements in the field, and the clean and orderly state of the barracks, as well as the fine condition of the horses, all of which prove the zeal and ability of the commanding officer, and the active assistance he receives from the other officers, as well as the steady good conduct of the non-commissioned officers and privates, which he shall not fail to report to the Commander-in-Chief. He requests Lieut.-Colonel Townsend to accept his thanks, and also to communicate them to the officers, and to the regiment. He cannot omit observing the excellent management of the school, and the great progress of the pupils.'

In the same month Lieut.-General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur was removed to the sixteenth light dragoons, and was succeeded by Major-General Sir Edward Kerrison, Baronet.

In July the regiment marched to London, and was reviewed by His Majesty, King William IV. on the 26th of that month, who was graciously pleased to express his royal approbation of its appearance, and to command that it should in future bear the distinguished title of "The Fourteenth, or The King's, instead of the Duchess of York's Own, Regiment of Light Dragoons." This distinctive appellation occasioned the regiment to discontinue the orange, and, as a Royal regiment, to assume the scarlet facing.

From London the regiment marched to Birmingham and Coventry, where it was stationed until July, 1831, when the head-quarters were removed to Gloucester.

In October, 1831, the political feelings of the lower classes of the city of Bristol being in a highly excited state, and riotous proceedings being anticipated, a troop of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons (with one of the third dragoon guards) was ordered to the vicinity, for the purpose of aiding the magistracy in the preservation of order. The arrival of the Recorder, Sir Charles Wetherell, on Saturday the 29th October, for the purpose of holding the sessions, was the immediate cause of the outbreak. Large bodies of the populace assembled from every quarter, parading the streets, throwing stones at the authorities, breaking windows, and committing other acts of violence. This continued throughout the day; but it was not until evening, that serious consequences began to be apprehended. At dusk, the mob attacked and forcibly entered the mansion house, the Riot Act was consequently proclaimed, and the troops were called to the immediate scene of outrage. They cleared the streets in the neighbourhood of the mansion house, but there not being at hand a sufficient body of constables to act in concert with the troops, the mob still retained possession of the courts and alleys of the city, whither the dragoons were unable to follow them. On Sunday the rioters assembled in greater numbers, and during that day, and the following night, succeeded in destroying the mansion house, custom house, excise office, the bishop's palace, and a vast amount of private property.

On the morning of the 31st October, an additional troop of the Fourteenth light dragoons arrived, and Major Beckwith, who had preceded it, (travelling post from head-quarters at Gloucester), having concerted with the magistrates, who saw the necessity of energetic measures, placed himself at the head of the squadron, and proceeded against the rioters, who were engaged in plundering the cellars of the bishop's palace, which they had destroyed on the day before: the troops were assailed with bottles, stones, &c., but they quickly dispersed the mob; and it having been ascertained that in another part of the city the rioters were about commencing the destruction of the remaining portion of Queen-square, the squadron of the Fourteenth proceeded thither, and put the mob to flight; thence it repaired to the jail, which was regained possession of, and restored to the charge of the civil authorities. The squadron then traversed the quays and wharfs, dispersing every riotous assemblage with which it came in contact, and driving out and pursuing, for some miles, a large body of colliers who had been attracted to the scene of outrage. To this energetic conduct of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons, under Major Beckwith, may be ascribed the restoration of tranquillity and the preservation of the remainder of the city of Bristol.

In June, 1832, the regiment was removed to Hounslow, and was employed on the King's duty, in furnishing escorts for their Majesties and the royal family, &c.

In 1832 the King's Crest was permitted to be borne on the Appointments; and the Prussian Eagle, which had been carried as the regimental badge from the year 1798, was authorised to be continued on the second and third corners of the Regimental Guidon.

In March, 1833, the regiment embarked at Bristol for Dublin, from whence it marched in April, 1834, to Longford.

On the 24th May, 1834, His Majesty commanded that the use of Guidons in regiments of Light Dragoons should be discontinued. The Guidons in regiments of Hussars and Lancers had been directed on 12th March, 1834, to be discontinued.

In May, 1835, the regiment was removed to Dundalk, and in May, 1836, it embarked at Belfast for Glasgow.

The regiment was stationed at Glasgow until the spring of 1837, when it marched to Edinburgh, and occupied Piershill barracks.

In the summer of 1838 the regiment left Scotland; it was stationed at Birmingham until April, 1839, when it marched to Hounslow, from whence it proceeded to Dorchester in May, 1840.

The regiment remained at Dorchester until the 30th of March, 1841, when it was removed to Canterbury, where it arrived on the 10th of April, preparatory to its being embarked for Bombay to relieve the fourth light dragoons.

The regiment being augmented to the India establishment, Major William Havelock, K.H. (from the fourth light dragoons) was promoted to be the second Lieut.-Colonel, and Captain Edward Harvey was promoted to be second Major, on the 30th April, 1841.

On the 24th of May, the first division, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Townsend, embarked at Gravesend for India in the freight ship "Repulse," and arrived at Bombay on the 8th of September, from whence it proceeded to Kirkee: the second division embarked at Gravesend on board of the freight ship "Reliance" on the 14th of June, under the command of Major Barton, and landing at Bombay on the 5th of October following, marched to join the regiment at Kirkee, where it arrived on the 13th of that month.

The Fourteenth light dragoons during the years 1842, 1843, and 1844, continued to be stationed at Kirkee: two squadrons however proceeded on field service to Kolapoor in October, 1844.

Lieut.-Colonel Townsend received leave from India, and he died at Castle Townsend, in Ireland, on the 22nd April, 1845.[15] He was succeeded by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Edward Harvey, on the 23rd of April.

The two squadrons of the Fourteenth light dragoons, which had proceeded on field service in the southern Mahratta country, rejoined the head-quarters on the 19th of March, 1845, and in the following December the regiment marched from Kirkee, en route to Mhow and Agra.

On the 4th of March, 1846, the regiment marched from Agra to Meerut, arriving at the latter station on the 16th of that month; and in April, 1846, the regiment proceeded to Umballa, where it has continued to the end of the year 1846.

The statement of the services of the Fourteenth, or the King's, Light Dragoons, from the period of the formation of the regiment in 1715 to the present time, (as given in the preceding pages,) affords abundant proofs of the value of its services abroad, as well as at home; and its order, discipline, good conduct, and bravery, have, on numerous occasions, been attested by the general officers under whom the regiment has been employed.

During the Peninsular War, from 1808 to 1814, the Fourteenth and Sixteenth Light Dragoons were principally employed on the important duties of out-posts, on which the safety of an army in the field, and the success of its movements greatly depend.

In the mode of performing these peculiar and important services, the Fourteenth and Sixteenth Light Dragoons, under the direction of active and intelligent officers, acquired the confidence of the Commander of the Forces, and of the division of the army of which they formed a portion.

At the period of the conclusion of this Record, (1846) the regiment is reported to be in a high state of efficiency, and in readiness to evince its prowess whenever the public service may again require its assistance.

OF THE

FOURTEENTH, (THE KING'S) REGIMENT

OF

LIGHT DRAGOONS.

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James Dormer.

Appointed 22nd July, 1715.

James Dormer obtained a commission at the augmentation of the army in 1701, and his attention to duty, zeal for the service, and personal bravery, evinced while serving under the celebrated John, Duke of Marlborough, were rewarded in 1707 with the rank of colonel in the army, and he was soon afterwards appointed colonel of a newly-raised Irish regiment of foot, with which he embarked for Spain in 1709. He distinguished himself at the battle of Saragossa, and in the advance to Madrid, in 1710, but was surrounded and made prisoner, with his regiment, in the mountains of Castile in the following winter. He was exchanged, and on arriving in England, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General; and in 1712, he succeeded Lord Mohun, who was killed in a duel with the Duke of Hamilton, in the command of a regiment of foot, which was disbanded at the peace of Utrecht. At the augmentation in the summer of 1715, he was commissioned to raise a corps of dragoons,—the present Fourteenth, the King's Regiment of Light Dragoons. He commanded a brigade at the attack of the rebels at Preston, and was wounded at the storming of the avenue leading to Lancaster. He was removed in 1720, to the sixth foot; he was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1727, and to that of Lieut.-General in 1735. In 1738, he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the first troop of horse grenadier guards, and he retained this appointment until his decease in 1742.

Clement Neville.

Appointed 9th April, 1720.

This Officer entered the army at the Revolution in 1688, and he served under King William III, in the Netherlands. He also served in the wars of Queen Anne; was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of Munden's regiment of foot, with which he served in Spain, and signalized himself at the battle of Saragossa in 1710; but was made prisoner at Brihuega. He was shortly afterwards exchanged, and at the close of the campaign of 1711, he was rewarded with the rank of colonel in the army. At the peace of Utrecht, his regiment was disbanded; and in the summer of 1715, he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the thirteenth dragoons. In 1720 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons, from which he was removed to the eighth dragoons in 1737, and in 1739, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. In 1740, he was appointed colonel of the sixth horse, now fifth dragoon guards; and in 1743, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died in 1744.

Archibald Hamilton.

Appointed 27th June, 1737.

Archibald Hamilton entered the army in November, 1688, and at the Revolution he adhered to the Prince of Orange, afterwards King William III, under whose command he served in Flanders. In the reign of Queen Anne, he served in Portugal and Spain, and his regiment (Montjoy's foot), was nearly annihilated at the battle of Almanza in 1707, where he was taken prisoner. This corps was subsequently incorporated into other regiments, and the officers sent home to recruit, and at the peace of Utrecht it was disbanded. In the summer of 1715, he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the eleventh dragoons, and in May, 1732, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the twenty-seventh foot: from which he was removed, in 1737, to the Fourteenth dragoons. He died in 1749.

James Lord Tyrawley.

Appointed 24th July, 1749.

The Hon. James O'Hara was appointed lieutenant in the royal regiment of fusiliers, commanded by his father, on the 15th of March, 1703, and in 1706 he proceeded with his regiment to the relief of Barcelona. In the following year he served on the staff of the army in Spain, and was wounded at the battle of Almanza, where, it is said, he was instrumental in saving the Earl of Galway's life. He served several years at Minorca, and, in 1713, obtained the colonelcy of the royal fusiliers in succession to his father, at whose decease, in 1733, he succeeded to the dignity of Baron Tyrawley. The rank of brigadier-general was conferred on his lordship on the 23rd of November, 1735; that of major-general on the 2nd of July, 1739; and in August of the latter year, he was removed from the royal fusiliers to the fifth horse, now fourth dragoon guards. In March, 1743, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and in the following month obtained the colonelcy of the second troop of horse grenadier guards, from which he was removed, in 1745, to the third troop of life guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of Gold Stick. In 1746, when King George II. had resolved to disband the third and fourth troops of life guards, his lordship was removed to the tenth foot; he was removed, in 1749, to the Fourteenth dragoons; in 1752, to the third dragoons; and in 1755, to the second, or Coldstream regiment of foot guards. He was appointed Governor of Portsmouth on the 1st of May, 1759, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 7th of March, 1761. He held the appointment of Governor of Minorca for several years, and was employed as envoy and ambassador to the courts of Portugal and Russia. He died at Twickenham on the 13th of July, 1773.

Louis Dejean.

Appointed 27th November, 1752.

Louis Dejean served many years in the first troop of horse grenadier guards, in which corps he rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and in 1746 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a regiment of foot, which was afterwards disbanded. In 1752, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons; in 1756, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in 1757, he was removed to the third Irish horse, now sixth dragoon guards; and in 1759, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died at Dublin, in 1764.

John Campbell.

Appointed 5th April, 1757.

John Campbell entered the army in the reign of King George II., and in 1745, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the fifty-fourth regiment, now forty-third, or Monmouthshire light infantry, with which corps he served a short period in the Netherlands. The rebellion breaking out in Scotland, he quitted Flanders, and in January, 1746, he joined Lieut.-General Hawley, with a thousand Argyleshire highlanders, on the day of the unfortunate battle of Falkirk. He subsequently joined the Duke of Cumberland at Perth, and accompanied His Royal Highness to the north. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp to the King in November, 1755; in the following month he was nominated colonel of the fifty-fourth regiment, then first embodied, from which he was removed in 1757, to the Fourteenth dragoons, and in 1759, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and appointed colonel of the Argyleshire fencibles; in January 1761, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General. On the decease of his uncle, Archibald, third Duke of Argyle, in 1761, his father, General John Campbell, of the Scots Greys, succeeded to that title, and Lieut.-General Campbell, of the Fourteenth dragoons, became Marquis of Lorne. In the following year he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and in 1765 he was removed to the royal regiment of foot. He was again appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1767, and in 1770 he succeeded to the title of Duke of Argyle. He was promoted to the rank of General in 1778; removed to the third foot guards in 1782, and advanced to the rank of Field Marshal in 1796. Being distinguished for many social, private, and public virtues, he was highly honoured and respected in society, and he died lamented, on the 24th day of May, 1806, in the eighty-third year of his age.

Charles Fitzroy.

Appointed 11th September, 1765.

Charles Fitzroy, brother of Augustus Henry, Duke of Grafton, was appointed ensign in the first foot guards in 1752; in 1758, he was promoted to the command of a company, with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and in 1762 he was appointed colonel of the 119th, or the Prince's Own regiment of foot, which was disbanded in the following year. He was appointed to the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons, in 1765; was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and removed to the third dragoons in 1772, and in 1777, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General; in 1780, he was created Lord Southampton. In 1793, he was advanced to the rank of General. He died in 1797.

Daniel Webb.

Appointed 20th October, 1772.

Daniel Webb was many years an officer of the eighth horse, now seventh dragoon guards, at a period when that corps acquired a high reputation for discipline, efficiency, and valour, and was designated Ligonier's horse. He rose to the rank of major in the regiment; commanded a squadron at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, where his corps highly distinguished itself under the eye of its sovereign; and he also commanded a squadron at the battle of Fontenoy, in 1745. In a few days after the battle, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel Francis Ligonier, who was promoted to the colonelcy of the forty-eighth foot. Lieut.-Colonel Webb performed the duties of commanding officer of the eighth horse, until November, 1755, when he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the forty-eighth foot: in 1759, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. He served in Germany under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and commanded a brigade of cavalry at the battle of Warbourg in 1760; in 1761, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. In 1766, he was removed to the eighth foot, and in 1772, to the Fourteenth dragoons, the command of which corps he retained until his decease in the following year.

George Warde.

Appointed 11th November, 1773.

This officer held a commission in the eleventh dragoons for many years, and was appointed major of the regiment in 1756. In 1758, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the fourth dragoons, and he brought that corps into so excellent a state of discipline and efficiency, that he received the expression of the high approbation of King George III., on several occasions, when His Majesty reviewed the regiment. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1772; in the following year, the King rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons, and four years afterwards he was advanced to the rank of Major-General. In 1778, he was removed to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon guards, and he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General in 1782. In 1792 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, and while in that country he devoted much of his time in bringing his regiment into a perfect condition for active service. He possessed sound ideas of what cavalry ought to be; he had an aversion to slow movements, and, although nearly seventy years of age, he exercised his regiment five times a week,—often leading it across the country over hedge and ditch, to the astonishment of every one. In 1796, he was promoted to the rank of General. He was celebrated for philanthropy, and is represented by historians as a "man of inviolable disinterested integrity, public and private; and the bestower of benefactions scarcely less secret than extensive." He died in March 1803.

Sir Robert Sloper, K.B.

Appointed 2nd April, 1778.

Robert Sloper was appointed by King George II., to a commission in the tenth dragoons, and at the augmentation of the army in December, 1755, His Majesty promoted him to the majority of the regiment. In February, 1759, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the first dragoon guards, and he commanded that regiment during the remainder of the seven years' war in Germany, where he was repeatedly commended by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and other general officers under whose command he served. While under his orders, the first dragoon guards were preserved in a high state of discipline and efficiency. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1771, and in 1778, King George III. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons. In 1782, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General, and to that of General in 1796; and in the following year he was removed to the fourth dragoons. He was further rewarded with the dignity of a Knight of the Bath, and the government of Duncannon fort. He died in 1802.

John William Egerton.

Appointed 1st June, 1797.

John William Egerton, (eldest son of the Rev. John Egerton, afterwards Lord Bishop of Durham), was appointed cornet in the seventh dragoons in January 1771; he obtained the command of a troop in 1776, and in 1779 he was promoted to the majority of the twenty-second light dragoons, from which he was removed to the twentieth in 1781; and in 1782, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the twenty-first light dragoons, which corps was disbanded in the following year, in consequence of the termination of the American war. In 1790, he was appointed to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the seventh light dragoons; he was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1793, and to that of Major-General in 1795. He served some time on the staff in Ireland, and was removed to the eastern district of England in 1796: in the following year His Majesty conferred upon him the colonelcy of the Fourteenth light dragoons, and promoted him in 1802, to the rank of Lieut.-General. On the decease of his cousin, Francis, third Duke of Bridgewater, in 1803, he succeeded to the title of Earl of Bridgewater, and in 1812, he was promoted to the rank of General. He retained the colonelcy of the Fourteenth light dragoons twenty-six years, and was particularly proud of the high reputation which his regiment acquired during the Peninsular war. He died in 1823.

Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, G.C.B.

Appointed 28th October, 1823.

General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, G.C.B., was removed to the sixteenth lancers on the 18th of June 1830.

Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart., K.C.B., G.C.H.

Appointed 18th June, 1830.

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SUCCESSION OF MAJORS

OF THE

FOURTEENTH, or the KING'S LIGHT DRAGOONS.

The following list of the principal Battles, Sieges, and Actions which took place in the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1814, was prepared by the special command of His late Majesty King William the Fourth:—

[N.B. Honorary distinctions were granted for the nineteen actions marked thus *.]

Adjutant-General's Office, Horse Guards, 7th Nov., 1835.

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London: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

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