HISTORICAL RECORD (continued 2)

Shortly after this victory hostilities were terminated, by the removal of Buonaparte from the throne of France, and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. Thus ended the toils and conflicts of this destructive war, and the Fifth Dragoon Guards, after traversing kingdoms, enduring privations, and gaining victories, had the gratification of witnessing the restoration of peace. The French forces, after fighting to add province to province, and kingdom to kingdom, to found new empires upon the ruins of conquered states, to subject mankind to the tyranny of a lawless despot, saw their hopes blasted, their conquests wrested from them, their country invaded and subject to the power of foreigners; but the British army, which fought under the immortal Wellington for the good of Europe,—for the welfare of other nations, preserved its own country from the horrors of war, and had the glory of conquering to establish the peace of Christendom.

The Fifth Dragoon Guards remained in cantonments until the 1st of June, when, having sent their dismounted men and heavy baggage to Bourdeaux, they commenced their march for Boulogne.[12] This long march, from one extremity of France to another, was performed in the short period of six weeks; and, previous to embarking, Major-General Ponsonby expressed to the three regiments in brigade orders, "the high sense he entertained of their uniformly excellent conduct both in quarters and in the field:" adding, "It is a gratifying circumstance that, during the whole period of service, they have, in no instance, individually or collectively, incurred animadversion in general orders; that no individual of the brigade has been brought before a general court martial; and that not one instance has occurred (to the major-general's knowledge) of interior disagreement in the brigade. With equal truth the major-general can assert, that upon every occasion which has presented itself of acting against the enemy, whether regimentally or in brigade, they have nobly sustained the superiority of the British cavalry, and fully justified the high opinion so repeatedly expressed with regard to them by his Grace the Duke of Wellington. The three regiments will ever have to congratulate themselves on its having fallen to their lot to be the brigade employed in that glorious and effectual charge, which contributed in so eminent a degree to decide the fate of the day at Salamanca, and to secure the signal and complete defeat of the French army. It only remains for the major-general to declare his satisfaction at the exemplary conduct of the brigade during the march through France; and he concludes by requesting that Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Manners, Lieutenant-Colonel Prescott, and Major Hugonin, will themselves accept, and have the goodness to communicate to the regiments under their respective commands, his best and warmest thanks for their zealous and steady services during the time he has had the honour of commanding the brigade, together with his earnest and sincere good wishes for their future welfare. He also requests Brigade-Major Hill will accept his best thanks for the zeal and assiduous attention with which he has discharged the duties of his situation."

The Fifth Dragoon Guards embarked at Boulogne on the 17th and 18th of July, landed at Dover on the 19th and 20th, and marched from thence to Woodbridge barracks, where the depôt and heavy baggage joined from Canterbury, and a reduction of two troops was made in the establishment. In October the regiment marched to Ipswich and adjacents.

1815

In April, 1815, "His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to approve of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards, being permitted to bear on its standards and appointments (in addition to any other badges or devices which may have been heretofore granted to the regiment), the word 'Peninsula,' in commemoration of its services during the late war in Portugal, Spain, and France, under the command of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington."

On the 8th of April, the regiment marched to Nottingham, Coventry, Northampton, and Leicester; and the return of Napoleon Buonaparte to France, in breach of the treaty of 1814, having occasioned a declaration of war, six troops were ordered to be held in readiness for foreign service; but, to the great regret of the officers and men, who panted for another opportunity of signalizing themselves under the Duke of Wellington, the order was subsequently countermanded in consequence of the number of young and untrained horses in the regiment.

In June, the officers and men of the Fifth Dragoon Guards received the painful intelligence of the fall of Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, G.C.B., at the battle of Waterloo.[13]

In July, the regiment marched to York, Sheffield, Leeds, Huddersfield, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne: in September, the several troops proceeded to Newcastle, in consequence of the riotous conduct of the seamen in the ports of that neighbourhood.

1816

In January, 1816, the regiment occupied Newcastle, York, Carlisle, Penrith, and Whitehaven; during the summer, it proceeded to Ireland, and, arriving at Dublin towards the end of August, remained on duty in that garrison six months.

General Bland died at Isleworth on the 14th of October, 1816; and on the 18th of that month, His Royal Highness Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg of Saalfield, K.G., G.C.B., G.C.H., was appointed Colonel of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards.

1817

The regiment left Ireland in February, 1817, and proceeded to Scotland, where it remained until the autumn; and, on its arrival in England, it occupied Ipswich, Norwich, &c.

The Princess Charlotte of Wales died on the 6th of November of this year, but the title of the regiment is continued, in honour of the memory of that amiable Princess.

1818 1819 1820

In July, 1818, the regiment proceeded to York, where the establishment was reduced to fifty men and thirty-four horses per troop; in the summer of 1819, it marched to Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton; in April, 1820, to Manchester,[14] Oldham, and Ashton; and in August of the same year, to York, Leeds, and Huddersfield.

On the 3rd of September a communication was received from Major-General Sir John Byng commanding the northern district, enclosing a letter from the Military Secretary, wherein it was stated that "His Royal Highness the commander-in-chief approved highly of the general good conduct, loyalty, and steadiness of the regiment, of which favourable report was made to His Royal Highness from all quarters."

1821

In April, 1821, the Fifth Dragoon Guards marched to Scotland, and occupied Hamilton, Glasgow, and Paisley: in August the regiment proceeded to Ireland, and was quartered at Belfast, Belturbet, Sligo, Enniskillen, and Dundalk; at the same time a reduction of two troops was made in the establishment, leaving the numbers six troops, of three officers, fifty-five men, and forty-two troop-horses each.

1822 1823 1824

The regiment marched to Porto Bello barracks, Dublin, in July, 1822; from thence to Ballinrobe, Gort, Loughrea, Athlone, Roscommon, and Dunmore, in May, 1823: and in July, 1824, to Dundalk and Belturbet.

1825

The regiment left Ireland in April, 1825, and proceeding to Scotland, was stationed at Glasgow and Hamilton.

1826

Leaving Scotland in the spring of 1826, the regiment proceeded to York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with a detachment on revenue duty at Beverley. In April the regiment was ordered into the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire, in consequence of some disturbance amongst the operatives, but returned to York in June.

1827

In February, 1827, the regiment proceeded to Leeds, Rochdale, and Sheffield.

1828 1829

In May, 1828, the regiment marched to Dorchester, Weymouth, Troubridge, and Christ Church, with detached parties on coast duty, and in the following summer it proceeded to Canterbury.

1830

Leaving Canterbury in April, 1830, the regiment marched to Coventry and Birmingham. In July of the same year His Majesty, King William IV., was pleased to command that the Fifth Dragoon Guards should proceed to Windsor, to undertake the duties usually performed by the household cavalry; and, shortly after their arrival there, they were inspected by Field Marshal Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, when his Royal Highness expressed himself much gratified with the excellent appearance and discipline of his corps.

On the 14th of August the Fifth Dragoon Guards, commanded by Prince Leopold in person, were reviewed in the barrack square at Windsor, by his Majesty King William IV., accompanied by the Queen and other members of the royal family. His Majesty having made a minute inspection of the regiment, was pleased to express his high approbation of its martial appearance and efficiency: and the officers were then severally presented to the King, by Prince Leopold. After the review their Majesties, with the other members of the royal family and distinguished personages present, partook of a déjeuné prepared by order of Prince Leopold, under tents on the green, and in the officers' mess-room.

His Majesty, accompanied by Lord Hill (the general commanding-in-chief) inspected the Fifth Dragoon Guards in the great quadrangle at Windsor Castle, on the 29th of August, and again expressed his royal approbation of their appearance and discipline.

In October of the same year the regiment marched to Maidstone and adjacent places. In the following month the head quarters proceeded to Tunbridge Wells, and, in consequence of the riotous conduct of the agricultural labourers in Sussex, the remainder of the corps was dispersed in various parts of that county. In December the head quarters proceeded to Brighton, and occupied the cavalry barrack at that town during His Majesty's residence at the Royal Pavilion.

1831

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg having been elected king of the Belgians, resigned the commission of Colonel of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and King William IV. was graciously pleased to confer that appointment on Lieutenant-General Sir John Slade, Bart. G.C.H., by commission, dated 20th July, 1831.

1834

The regiment embarked at Bristol on the 17th April, 1831, and landed at Dublin on the following day. It continued on duty at various stations in Ireland until April, 1834, when it again returned to England, disembarked at Liverpool on the 22d of that month, and was stationed for one year at Manchester.

1835 1836 1837 1838

In May, 1835, the regiment proceeded to Scotland, from whence it returned in the following year, and was stationed at Leeds; in April, 1837, its head-quarters were established at Birmingham; and in May, 1838, at York.

The foregoing pages contain an account of the services of the Fifth Dragoon Guards to the termination of the year 1838, and its record bears ample testimony to the zeal and bravery which have been evinced by this distinguished corps on occasions when it has had an opportunity to attest its valour in presence of a foreign enemy.

Its noble and gallant conduct, as a regiment of Horse, at the battle of the Boyne in 1690;—at the heights of Schellenberg;—also at the memorable battle of Blenheim, where the French and Bavarian armies were nearly destroyed, and their commander, standards, and colours were captured, in 1704;—its heroic achievements in 1705 at the forcing of the French lines at Helixem and Neer-Hespen, where it captured the standards of the Bavarian horse-guards;—the glorious part it took in annihilating one of the finest and best appointed armies France ever brought into the field, at Ramilies in 1706;—its intrepid bearing, as a corps of Cuirassiers, in 1708 in the field at Oudenarde, and in the action at Wynendale;—the valour it displayed in close combat with the French household troops at the sanguinary battle of Malplaquet in 1709;—the ardour it evinced in the movements and skirmishes which led to the capture of the fortress of Bouchain in 1711;—its gallantry as a corps of Dragoon Guards in 1794 at the battle of Cateau, where the French commander, many officers and men, and thirty-five pieces of cannon were captured;—its brilliant charge at Llerena;—its victorious career on the plains of Salamanca in 1812;—its spirited conduct at Vittoria in 1813;—and at Toulouse in 1814;—the eminent qualities it displayed on these and other occasions, as set forth in the public despatches and national records, afford most honourable proof that the Fifth Regiment of Dragoon Guards has never lost sight of the ancient motto on its standards Vestigia nulla retrorsum.

The conduct of the regiment on home, as well as on foreign service, has, on all occasions, been such as to evince its usefulness, efficiency, and constant readiness to support the honour and dignity of the crown, and the prosperity of the country; thus holding forth a bright example to stimulate to good conduct the soldiers of the present and future ages, under all the circumstances of service in which the calls of their sovereign and country may occasion them to be placed.

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