HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE FIRST,

OR

THE ROYAL REGIMENT

OF

DRAGOONS.

1661

The anarchy, devastation, and bloodshed which had prevailed in Britain during the rebellion and tyrannical usurpation of Cromwell, having been succeeded by the restoration of monarchy,—the despotic sway of sectarians and republicans put down by the establishment of a regular government on constitutional principles,—and the army of the commonwealth disbanded, King Charles II. directed his attention to domestic concerns, and engaged in a matrimonial alliance with Donna Catherina, Infanta of Portugal; and this event gave rise to the formation of a troop of Cuirassiers, which was the nucleus of the corps now bearing the distinguished title of The Royal Regiment of Dragoons.

By the marriage treaty the ancient and once magnificent city of Tangier, in Africa, and the island of Bombay in the East Indies, were ceded by the king of Portugal to the British crown; and, with a sum equal to three hundred thousand pounds, constituted the Infanta's dowry.

As the possession of the important fortress of Tangier, with its harbour and local advantages, appeared to open a new field for commercial pursuits, and was expected to be followed by the acquisition of extensive possessions in that part of the world, four regiments of foot and a troop of horse were appointed to garrison that fortress, and the Earl of Peterborough was constituted captain general, chief governor, and vice admiral of that part of his Majesty's dominions.

Three of the regiments of foot, commanded by Sir Robert Harley, and Colonels Fitzgerald and O'Farell, were withdrawn from the garrison of Dunkirk, and were composed of men who had fought in the royal cause during the civil war, and afterwards in the Netherlands. The other regiment of foot, (now the second, or Queen's royal,) and the troop of Horse (now Royal Dragoons) were raised in England by the Earl of Peterborough in the autumn of 1661, and were mustered, the former on Putney Heath, and the latter in St. George's Fields, Southwark, in October.[7]

The troop of Horse consisted of three officers, one quarter-master, four corporals, one trumpeter, and one hundred private men; the ranks were completed with veterans of the civil war, who were armed with cuirasses, iron head-pieces called potts, long swords, and a pair of large pistols, to which a short carbine was afterwards added: they were mounted on long-tailed horses of superior weight and power, wore high boots reaching to the middle of the thigh, and scarlet vests: the officers wore hats decorated with a profusion of feathers; and both officers and men ornamented their horses' heads and tails with large bunches of ribands. The officers of this troop were,—

The Earl of Peterborough, Captain and Colonel.

Robert Leech, Captain-Lieutenant.

James Mordaunt, Cornet.

The appearance and equipment of the officers and men were commended in the ephemeral publications of that period. They embarked in the middle of December, and in a letter to the Earl of Peterborough, dated the 21st of December, the King observed: 'I desire you to lett those honest men knowe who are along with you, y^t they shall allwayes be in my particular care and protection as persons y^t venture themselves in my service. And so, wishing you a good voyage, I remain, &c., Charles R.'[8]

1662 1663

The troops arrived at Tangier in January, 1662, and a war commencing soon afterwards between the British occupants of this part of Africa and the Moors, frequent encounters occurred between detachments of the garrison of Tangier and the barbarians, in which the former had a decided superiority, and the English horsemen became celebrated for gallant achievements.[9]

The veteran Earl of Teviot, who was appointed governor of Tangier in 1663, in succession to the Earl of Peterborough, occasionally penetrated into the adjacent country at the head of a detachment of horse, and many brilliant exploits were performed by the gallant English troopers, among the rocks, in the woods, and on the plains of this part of Africa, where they frequently surprised lurking parties of Moors, and captured cattle and other booty. The Africans were, however, expert horsemen, and fought with lance, sword, and short fusils.

1664

In February, 1664, a Moorish army, commanded by Gaylan, usurper of Fez, appeared before Tangier to besiege the fortress. On the 1st of March the Earl of Teviot, observing a body of Moors, with a splendid scarlet standard, stationed on an eminence near the city, ordered the troop of Horse to sally and bring in the standard. The command was instantly obeyed; the brave troopers, led by Captain Witham, issued from the city, traversed the intervening space with signal intrepidity, routed the Moorish band, and captured the standard, with which they returned in triumph to the fortress, and erected it on the top of one of the towers, to the surprise and chagrin of the Moorish chiefs, who, being posted at a distance with the main body of their army, witnessed this brilliant exploit.

Capture of a Moorish Standard by the English Horse, at Tangier, in 1664. Now 1st Royal Dragoons.

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On the 13th of March the English horsemen had a sharp encounter with some of the enemy's best cavalry; and on the 27th, the Earl of Teviot led them against a horde of Moorish lancers and foot who were concealed in ambush, and the barbarians were routed and pursued among the woods and broken grounds with great slaughter. The English horsemen, however, suffered severely on the 4th of May in the same year, when the governor, having been deceived by a false report, advanced too far into the country, and was surprised by a numerous band of Moors in ambush. A fearful slaughter followed, and the Earl of Teviot was numbered among the slain.

1665 1666

Frequent encounters took place in the subsequent years between detached parties of British and Moors, and in this desultory warfare the English horsemen preserved their high character. Hostilities were occasionally terminated, and renewed after short intervals of peace; and during the period of seventeen years the garrison resisted, with firmness and success, every attempt of the Moors against the city.

1679 1680

In 1679 a numerous army of Moors appeared before Tangier, and destroyed two forts situate at a distance from the town. They afterwards withdrew, but re-appeared in the spring of 1680, with augmented numbers, and swarms of expert Moorish lancers, on light and swift horses, hovered round the fortress and confined the Christians within narrow limits. King Charles II. sent a battalion of foot guards and sixteen companies of Dumbarton's (now first royal) regiment, to reinforce the garrison, and issued commissions for raising a regiment of foot (now the fourth, or the King's own) and six troops of Horse in England: at the same time arrangements were made for procuring the service of three troops of Spanish cavalry.

The six troops of English horse were raised by Major-General the Earl of Ossory, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Lanier,[10] Captains Robert Pulteney, John Coy,[11] Charles Nedby, and Thomas Langston:[12] the three last-named officers having been captains in the Duke of Monmouth's regiment of horse, which was disbanded only a few months before, their troops were speedily completed with disciplined men who had served in that regiment; and the demand for cavalry at Tangier being urgent, they were furnished with horses and equipment from the life guards,[13] and arrived at Tangier in the early part of September: at the same time the three troops of Spanish horse arrived from Gibraltar.

The cavalry at Tangier now consisted of seven efficient troops of cuirassiers, who were engaged in a sally on the 12th of September, when the Moorish horsemen were driven from under the walls, and several outworks were recovered from the barbarians. Another sally was made on the 21st of the same month, and on the following day the English cuirassiers had a sharp skirmish with the Moorish lancers, and had eight men killed and twenty wounded. An attack was made on the enemy's lines on the 24th of September, when the governor, Sir Palmes Fairborne, was mortally wounded.

On the 27th of September, the garrison, amounting to about 4000 men, issued from the fortress and attacked the Moorish army of about 15,000 men in its intrenched camp with signal gallantry. So eager were the troopers to engage their adversaries that a dispute occurred between the English and Spanish horse, each claiming the honour of charging first: the subject was referred to the lieutenant-governor, Colonel Sackville, who gave the Spaniards the precedence on this occasion, because they fought as auxiliaries. The Moors, having a great superiority of numbers, stood their ground resolutely for some time; and the thunder of cannon, the roll of musketry, the clash of arms, the loud shouts of the British, the cries of the Africans, produced an awful scene of carnage and confusion. The English horse stood in column of troops until the first intrenchment was carried, and a space levelled for the cavalry to pass, when they filed through the aperture and rushed at speed upon the dark masses of barbarians, who were broken, trampled down, and pursued with a dreadful slaughter; while the musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers followed, shouting as the dismayed Africans fell in succession beneath the sabres of the English and Spanish troopers. Many of the Moors faced about and confronted their pursuers; numerous single combats took place, and the vicinity of the camp was covered with slain. Captain Nedby's troop of English horse particularly distinguished itself, and captured a splendid Moorish colour of curious workmanship. The Spaniards also captured a colour, Dumbarton's Scots another, and a fourth was taken by a battalion of marines and seamen from the fleet.[14]

The Moorish legions, having been driven from before the town with severe loss, this victory was followed by a treaty of peace, and the troops of horse raised by the Earl of Ossory, Sir John Lanier, and Robert Pulteney, not having left England, were disbanded.

1682 1683

The improved military system introduced among the Moors by European renegades, having rendered it necessary to employ a much stronger garrison at Tangier than formerly, the subject was brought before parliament; but the question of a popish successor to the throne was agitating the people, and no grant was voted. The king, being unwilling to bear the expense of the fortifications and troops without pecuniary aid from parliament, resolved to destroy the works and mole, and to withdraw the garrison.

At this period the attention of King Charles II. was directed to the improvement of his army; and, resolving to retain the Tangier Horse in his service, he commissioned Colonel John Churchill (afterwards the great Duke of Marlborough) to raise a troop of dragoons at St. Alban's and its vicinity; and Viscount Cornbury (son of the Earl of Clarendon) to raise another troop of dragoons at Hertford; and His Majesty constituted these two troops, with the four troops of Tangier horse, a regiment, to which he gave the distinguished title of The King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons: the words "King's Own" were, however, discontinued soon afterwards, and the regiment was styled "The Royal Regiment of Dragoons."[15] The colonelcy was conferred on John Churchill, who was advanced to the peerage of Scotland by the title of Baron Churchill of Aymouth; and the lieutenant-colonelcy on Viscount Cornbury, by commission dated the 19th of November, 1683.

1684

The establishment was fixed by a warrant bearing date the 1st of January, 1684, from which the following is an extract:—

"Charles R.

"Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.

"Our will and pleasure is, that this establishment of our Guards, garrisons, and land forces within our Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the Islands thereunto belonging, and of all other officers and charges therein expressed, do commence on the 1st day of January, 1683-4, in the Thirty-Fifth year of our Reign."

HIS MAJESTY'S OWN ROYAL REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.

Staff-Officers.Per Diem.

£.s.d.

Colonel, as Colonel, xii^s, and iij horses iij^s0150

Lieutenant-Colonel, as Lieut.-Colonel, vij^s, and ij horses ij^s090

Major, as Major v^s, and j horse j^s060

Chaplaine068

Chirurgeon iv^s, and j horse to carry his chest, ij^s060

Adjutant iv^s, and for his horse j^s050

Quarter-Master and Marshal in one person iv^s, his horse j^s050

Gunsmith iv^s, and his servant i^s050

——————

2178

——————

The Colonel's Troop.

The Colonel, as Captaine, viii^s, and iij horses iij^s.0110

Lieutenant iv^s, and ij horses ij^s060

Cornett iij^s, and ij horses ij^s050

Quarter-Master, for himself and horse040

Two Serjeants each j^s vi^d, and ij^s for horses050

Three Corporals each j^s, and iij^s for horses060

Two Drummers each j^s, and ij^s for horses040

Two Hautboys each i^s, and ij^s for horses040

Fifty Soldiers each i^s vi^d for man and horse3150

——————

600

——————

Five Troops more at the same rate3000

——————

The Major to have no Troop, but instead thereof the pay of a Captain xi^s, in lieu of servants iii^s0140

——————

Total 39118

——————

Total Per Annum £14,447 18s. 4d.

The four troops at Tangier arrived in England in February, 1684;[16] and, having returned their armour into store, the whole were equipped as dragoons with long muskets and bayonets.[17]

The uniform of the regiment was scarlet lined with blue. The men wore hats bound with silver lace, and ornamented with blue ribands, having a metal headpiece fastened inside the crown; also high boots: their horse furniture was made of scarlet cloth trimmed with blue, with the King's cipher embroidered in yellow characters on the housings and holster-caps. The drummers and hautboys were clothed in splendid liveries, which (according to the War-Office Records) cost upwards of 10l. per suit; and each troop was furnished with a crimson standard or guidon, with the following devices embroidered thereon, namely:—

On the standard of the Colonel's Troop,—the King's cipher and crown.

The Lieutenant-Colonel's Troop,—the rays of the sun, proper, crowned, issuing out of a cloud, proper: a badge used by the Black Prince.

The First Troop,—the top of a beacon crowned, or, with flames of fire, proper: a badge of Henry V.

The Second Troop,—two ostrich feathers crowned, argent: a badge of Henry VI.

The Third Troop,—a rose and pomegranate impaled, leaves and stalk vert: a badge of Henry VII.

The Fourth Troop,—a phœnix in flames, proper: a badge of Queen Elizabeth's.[18]

The following officers were at this period holding commissions in the regiment:—

Troops.Captains.Lieutenants.Cornets.

Colonel's.Lord ChurchillThos. HusseyWm. Hussey

Lieut.-Col.'sVisc. CornburyCharles WardPiercy Roche

1st Troop.Alex. MackenzieH. Wyndham[19]John Cole

2nd "Chas. NedbyJohn WilliamsGeorge Clifford

3rd "John CoyCharles La RueWm. Stamford

4th "Thos. LangstonF. Langston[20]Thos. Pownel

Hugh SutherlandMajor

Thomas CrawleyAdjutant

Henry HawkerQuarter-Master & Marshal

Theobald ChurchillChaplain

Peregrine YewelChirurgeon

The Royal Regiment of Dragoons being constituted, generally, of men of military experience and approved valour, appears to have advanced, at once, into royal favour; and as soon as it was regularly organized, it marched into quarters in the borough of Southwark. On the 1st of October it was reviewed, with several other corps, by King Charles II., accompanied by the Queen, the Duke of York, and many distinguished personages, on Putney Heath; and on the 13th of that month marched into quarters at Newbury, Abingdon, and Hungerford. Shortly afterwards the following order was issued relative to the regiment:—

'Charles R.

'For the preventing of all disputes that might arise concerning the rank of Our Royal Regiment of Dragoons, or of any other regiment of Dragoons that shall be employed in Our service, We have thought fit hereby to declare Our pleasure,

'That Our Royal Regiment of Dragoons, and all other regiments of Dragoons which may be employed in Our service, shall have precedency both as Horse and Foot, as well in garrison as in the field, and in all councils of war and other military occasions; and the Colonels and Officers of the said regiments of Dragoons shall command as officers of Horse and Foot, according to the nature of the place where they shall be: that is to say, that in the Field the said regiments shall take place as regiments of Horse, and the officers shall command and do duty as officers of Horse, according to the dates of their commissions; and that in Garrison they shall command as Foot officers, and their regiment take place amongst the Foot according to their respective seniorities from the time they were raised.

'Given at Our Court at Whitehall the 30th day of October, in the thirty-sixth year of Our reign (1684).

'By His Majesty's Command, 'Sunderland.'

1685

The decease of King Charles II. took place on the 6th of February, 1685; and on the evening of the same day, his successor (James II.) commanded the Royal Dragoons to march into quarters in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis. Previous to the coronation they were furnished with new standards, and the drummers and hautboys with new liveries.[21] The ceremonial of their Majesties' coronation was conducted with extraordinary magnificence: but the agitated state of the United Kingdom gave early indication of approaching contests; and, towards the end of April, two troops of the Royal Dragoons were despatched to Carlisle, and placed under the command of the governor, Sir Christopher Musgrave, for the purpose of assisting in the seizure of 'divers outlawed and seditious persons, who, for the avoiding of Justice, have fled from Scotland into the county of Cumberland and parts adjacent.'[22] These troops arrived at Carlisle on the 10th of May, and several persons were apprehended. In the middle of that month an insurrection, headed by the Earl of Argyle, broke out in Scotland; and in June, James Duke of Monmouth raised the standard of rebellion in the west of England and proclaimed himself king. The establishment of the Royal Dragoons was immediately augmented to sixty men per troop: an independent troop of dragoons, raised by Colonel Strother in 1683, was incorporated in the regiment; and five troops of dragoons were raised in the vicinity of London by Richard Leveson, John Williams, Edward Lea, Francis Russel, and Thomas Hussey, and added to the Royal Dragoons: the numbers were thus increased to twelve troops, amounting to about nine hundred officers and men.

Two troops of the regiment, with some other forces, were despatched under Brigadier-General Lord Churchill against the rebels in the west; and on the 19th of June two other troops marched for the same destination under the orders of Lieutenant-General the Earl of Feversham, who was appointed to the chief command of the King's army. The royal forces having been united, the four troops of dragoons were placed under the orders of Viscount Cornbury; and the whole marched in pursuit of the rebels.

After several marches and skirmishes the Duke of Monmouth took post at Bridgewater; and the Earl of Feversham, having sent a troop of the Royal Dragoons, commanded by Captain Coy, to Lamport, to secure that pass, and to gain intelligence in the event of the rebels marching westward, advanced with the royal army to Weston (about three miles from Bridgewater), where he arrived on Sunday, the 5th of July. Having quartered the cavalry in the village, and ordered the infantry to encamp on a plain fronting Sedgemoor, he sent a party of life guards to patrole in the direction of Bristol, and posted a piquet of fifty of the Royal Dragoons with a squadron of the blues supported by one hundred men of the royal regiment of foot, on the moor, in front of the camp. A guard of the Royal Dragoons was also posted over the artillery, which consisted of sixteen pieces, and was drawn up on the high road from Weston to Bridgewater.

During the night the Duke of Monmouth marched out of Bridgewater with the view of surprising the royal army; but the piquet in advance gave the alarm, and after exchanging a few shots with the rebels, retreated to the camp, and formed on the right of the infantry; at the same time the remainder of the Royal Dragoons, being aroused in their quarters in the village of Weston, turned out in the dark in good order, and formed on the left of the foot. The rebels commenced the attack with loud shouts,—the contest became general along the whole line,—and the moor sparkled with fire. The rebel horse soon gave way and fled in disorder; but their infantry stood firm and fought with great resolution. Day at length began to break; and the King's foot advancing to the charge, whilst the Royal Dragoons and other cavalry attacked the flanks of the rebels and put them in disorder, their whole line then gave way and fled in confusion, and were pursued across the moor and adjoining corn-fields with great slaughter. Two troops of the Royal Dragoons continued the pursuit as far as Bridgewater, where they were ordered to halt by the Earl of Feversham.

In the mean time Captain Russel's troop of the Royal Dragoons had been attached to three Scots regiments of foot, which had recently arrived from Holland under the command of Major-General Mackay, and ordered to join the army in the west; but, on the news of Monmouth's defeat at Sedgemoor, these forces were directed to halt at Bagshot; the Royal Dragoons were subsequently dispersed in small parties into the adjoining counties to seize suspected persons; the Scots regiments returned to Hounslow, and, after encamping a short time on the heath, re-embarked for Holland.

One troop of the Royal Dragoons was ordered to Winchester to escort the Duke of Monmouth and other prisoners to London; on its arrival this troop was quartered in the Borough of Southwark, and it was under arms when the Duke was beheaded on Tower Hill on the 15th of July. Two other troops were ordered to Salisbury to mount guard over the prisoners there, and were subsequently directed to attend Judge Jeffries during the trial and execution of the captured rebels; in which painful service the troopers were spectators of numerous acts of barbarity perpetrated by the remorseless Judge, who sacrificed the lives of upwards of two hundred persons in these "bloody assizes," as historians have denominated them.

After the suppression of this rebellion the establishment of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons was reduced to eight troops, of forty private men per troop; and the supernumerary troops were embodied into a regiment of dragoons, which was commanded by the Duke of Somerset, and is now the third light dragoons.

On the 1st of August Lord Churchill was appointed colonel of the third troop of life guards, and the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons was conferred on Lieutenant-Colonel Viscount Cornbury. The two troops of the regiment having returned from Carlisle, the whole were stationed in London in October, and subsequently marched into quarters in Devonshire.

1686 1687 1688

King James II., being a Roman Catholic, adopted measures calculated to effect the subversion of the Protestant church; and, with the view of overawing his subjects, he doubled the numbers of the regular army, and had large bodies of troops encamped, from time to time, on Hounslow Heath, where he frequently attended in person and witnessed the exercise of the troops. The Royal Regiment of Dragoons formed part of the force at these encampments in the summer of 1686, again in 1687, and in 1688. At this period many noblemen and gentlemen, resolving to preserve the nation from papal domination, solicited the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch force to assist them in opposing the proceedings of the King, and the Prince provided an armament for that purpose.

The colonel of the Royal Dragoons appears to have been a zealous Protestant, and to have entered warmly into the measures taken to resist the proceedings of the Papists who surrounded the court. In November, 1688, when the Prince of Orange had landed, Viscount Cornbury, having marched with his regiment to Salisbury,[23] where the King's army was ordered to assemble, and where the blues and eighth horse had already arrived, resolved, in connexion with Lieut.-Colonel Langston, of the eighth horse, and several officers of the blues, to endeavour to take these three regiments over to the Prince, in the following manner:—

On the night of the 11th of November, directions were given for the adjutants and quarter-masters to await the arrival of the post, as orders to march were expected. At twelve o'clock the post arrived, when Colonel Langston opened the bag before the officers, and the orders, apparently from the Secretary-at-War, were produced, and carried to Viscount Cornbury, who gave directions for the regiments to proceed, at five o'clock, towards the enemy. The regiments were accordingly on the march before daylight on the 12th; continuing their progress throughout that day and the following night (excepting a few short halts to refresh the men and horses[24]), on the afternoon of the 13th, they arrived at Axminster, within six miles of the Prince of Orange's quarters, where they were joined by the Earl of Abingdon, Sir Walter Clerges, and about thirty other gentlemen, who pretended to be volunteers. It was now asserted that a design of the Dutch to surprise the quarters of the King's forces had been discovered, and orders were issued for beating up the quarters of the enemy that night. Accordingly, after dark, the three regiments were again in motion, and the Prince of Orange, apprized of their approach by Lord Cornbury, sent a large body of cavalry to meet them. The greater part of the men, however, resolved not to join the Prince of Orange, and, when they observed what was taking place, they galloped back. Major Robert Clifford, of the Royal Dragoons, marched back that regiment, with the exception of a few officers and about fifty dragoons, who accompanied Viscount Cornbury. The blues also returned, excepting about twenty-seven. But the Duke of St. Alban's regiment (eighth horse) having mustered at a distance, the men, ignorant of the transaction, followed Colonel Langston to Honiton, where they were received as friends by the Dutch general.[25] Many of the men, however, returned to the King's service; and the Duke of Berwick, having collected the remains of the three regiments, marched them back to Salisbury.

The king arrived at Salisbury on the 20th of November, and his Majesty rewarded the loyalty of Major Clifford by promoting him to the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons. The King, however, soon discovered that the defection among the officers was general, and that the soldiers, although they were reluctant to desert his service, were not disposed to fight in the cause of Papacy. The superior officers of the army, with the nobility and gentry, continued to flock to the Prince's standard, and King James, alarmed for his personal safety, returned in haste to London; at the same time the Royal Dragoons marched into garrison at Portsmouth. The Prince of Orange advanced to the capital without experiencing serious opposition; King James fled to France; and the Prince, having assumed the reins of government, restored Viscount Cornbury to the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons, and ordered them to occupy quarters at Farnham and Alton.[26]

1689

After the flight of the King to France, the crown was conferred on William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange. Their Majesties' accession, however, met with opposition; and Viscount Dundee having induced several of the Highland clans to take arms in favour of King James, the Royal Dragoons were immediately ordered to the north.[27] At the same time, the Earl of Clarendon refusing to act with the new government, his son, Viscount Cornbury, was superseded in the command of the regiment by the lieutenant-colonel, Anthony Hayford, whose commission as colonel was dated the 1st of July, 1689.

On the 27th of July, six battalions of infantry and two newly-raised troops of Scots horse, commanded by Lieut.-General Mackay, were defeated at Killicrankie by the Highlanders and a few Irish, under Viscount Dundee and Brigadier-General Cannon. Immediately after the action, the Royal Dragoons were directed to march to the assistance of Lieut.-General Mackay, and they arrived at Perth in the early part of August. The object of the Commander-in-Chief being the prevention of the descent of the mountaineers into the lowlands, the regiment was posted a short time at Forfar, under the command of Major-General Sir John Lanier, and subsequently proceeded by forced marches to Aberdeen. The Highlanders eventually retired over the mountains by paths inaccessible to cavalry, and separated to their homes.

In the mean time, the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Earl Tyrconnel) had retained the greater part of that kingdom in the interest of King James. King William sent an army to that country under the veteran Duke Schomberg; and, immediately after the dispersion of the rebel Highlanders, the Royal Dragoons were ordered to proceed to Ireland. They embarked for this service in the early part of October, landed at Carlingford on the 9th of that month,[28] and were ordered to take post at Armagh and Clownish, from whence they were removed to the isle of Maghee.

1690

Several skirmishes occurred during the winter; and in the spring of 1690 the Royal Dragoons were before Charlemont, which place was blockaded by the King's forces. Charlemont was defended by a garrison of 500 men, commanded by Sir Teague O'Regan, a humorist, who returned the following laconic answer to the summons to surrender:—"Tell the General, from Teague O'Regan, that he's an old knave; and, by St. Patrick, he shall not have the town at all." He, however, surrendered on the 14th of May, and a detachment of the Royal Dragoons escorted the garrison towards Armagh.[29] Soon after the surrender of Charlemont Lieut.-Colonel Edward Matthews, from Leveson's (now third) dragoons, was appointed colonel of the regiment. In June it was encamped near Loughbritland, where it was joined by a remount from England. On the 22nd of June King William arrived at the camp, and "His Majesty was no sooner come than he was in amongst the throng of the troops, and observed every regiment very critically. This pleased the soldiers mightily, and every one was ready to give what demonstrations it was possible both of his courage and duty."[30]

The French and Irish, commanded by King James, took post on the banks of the Boyne, to dispute the passage of that river. King William marched to the opposite bank on the 30th of June, and, on the morning of the 1st of July, the army forded the river and drove the enemy from his position with great slaughter. The Royal Dragoons and other British troops engaged in forcing the passage of the Boyne are reported to have "acquitted themselves well." King James fled from the field and proceeded to France; and the British army advanced on Dublin. A few days after the battle King William reviewed the Royal Dragoons at Finglass, on which occasion they brought 406 private troopers into the field.

On the 21st of July Major-General Kirke proceeded with the Royal Dragoons and Queen Dowager's and Colonel Cambron's regiments of foot to Waterford, and summoned the place, and on the 25th the governor capitulated.

At the moment when success attended the operations of the army in Ireland, the English and Dutch fleets, commanded by Lord Torrington and Admiral Evertsen, were defeated by the French fleet under the Count de Tourville, and the enemy afterwards menaced the descent of a formidable force on the British coast. King William commanded a troop of life guards, with Count Schomberg's horse (now seventh dragoon guards), the Royal Dragoons, and Trelawny's and Hastings' (fourth and thirteenth) foot to be immediately embarked for England.

The Royal Dragoons landed at Highlake, in Cheshire, in the early part of August. The alarm of invasion, however, soon subsided; and they were ordered to return to Ireland, in which country they again landed on the 20th of October, and proceeded into extended cantonments in the county of Cork. Many thousands of the Roman Catholic peasantry of Ireland were, at this period, in arms in behalf of King James: they were called rapparees, and being formed into bands they made frequent incursions into the cantonments of the English regiments. Several men of the Royal Dragoons were murdered in their quarters by these rapparees; and detachments of the regiment were frequently sent out to scour the country and chase these bands of marauders from the English cantonments.

1691

Towards the end of December a detachment of the Royal Dragoons proceeded, with some other troops, on an expedition commanded by Major-General Tattea, and on the 1st of January, 1691, attacked an Irish fort near Scronclaird, which was taken in two hours, although the enemy had employed five hundred men during two months to build it.[31]

In the spring, when the army took the field, the Royal Dragoons were ordered to remain in the county of Cork to restrain the incursions of the rapparees, and to prevent the several forts and small garrisons from being attacked. In the early part of June Major Culliford, with a detachment of the Royal Dragoons and some militia, penetrated that part of the country from whence the enemy received their supplies, defeated the Irish troops, and captured several droves of cattle. At length General St. Ruth, who commanded the French and Irish forces, detached two thousand horse and foot to cover this part of the country. Major Culliford, however, continued to make inroads, and having advanced with one hundred and twenty men of the Royal Dragoons, and fifty militia foot, he encountered two troops of Irish cavalry. The English dragoons advanced boldly to the charge, defeated their opponents, killed twenty men upon the spot, and pursued the remainder to Newmarket, where the Irish, being reinforced, made another stand. The Royal Dragoons, however, attacked them again with great bravery, and having sabred fifteen, the remainder fled in disorder, leaving a quantity of provision and some cattle behind. Major Culliford despatched eleven dragoons and twenty-four of the militia to the rear with the booty, and then pursued the fugitives four miles farther, when he encountered five hundred of the enemy's horse commanded by Sir James Cotter. Notwithstanding their disparity of numbers, the Royal Dragoons boldly confronted their opponents, and made a gallant resistance, but were eventually overpowered; and forty men having fallen, Major Culliford made good his retreat with the remainder. In retiring, the dragoons,—chafed in spirit and burning with revenge,—often turned round upon their pursuers; and at length Captain Bower and twenty men boldly faced about and killed about twenty of the Irish horsemen, whose eagerness in the chase had caused them to advance in front of their main body. In the meantime the eleven dragoons and twenty-four of the militia, with the captured cattle and stores, arrived at Drumaugh, where they were attacked by a detachment of the enemy, but defended themselves with success until relieved by a body of troops under Colonels Hastings and Ogleby.

At the time the Royal Dragoons were making these diversions, the main army, commanded by Lieutenant-General De Ginkell, gained a decisive victory over the French and Irish at Aghrim; and on the 1st of August the regiment joined the army at Banagher-bridge. The enemy collected the remains of their defeated regiments at Limerick; and towards the end of August Lieutenant-General De Ginkell besieged that city, commencing his work on the right bank of the Shannon: the Irish army lay encamped at the same time on the opposite side of the river.

A pontoon bridge having been prepared, several regiments were ordered to cross the river at daybreak of the 16th of September. The Royal Dragoons took the lead; and Brigadier-General Clifford,[32] who commanded four regiments of King James's dragoons, being taken by surprise, made little opposition: some infantry, however, attempted to make a stand; but a squadron of the Royal Dragoons dashed forward and routed them in an instant. Two or three French and Irish battalions retired to a bog and wood in their rear, from whence they were driven with the loss of several men killed, and a French lieut.-colonel, a captain, and a number of men made prisoners. The regiments which had passed the river advanced upon the enemy's camp, where a curious spectacle presented itself:—many of the Irish were running about in their shirts, some were pulling down tents, others driving away cattle, many were making their escape into the town, and others hurrying towards the mountains; a regiment of dragoons, whose horses were two miles distance at grass, dispersed in confusion: at the same time a party of horse buckled on their arms and made a show of fighting; but they fled on the advance of the English, who took possession of the camp, where they found a quantity of beef, brandy, and corn, with the saddles and appointments of three hundred dragoons. The Royal Dragoons were commended by Lieut.-General De Ginkell for their gallant conduct, and they returned to the other side of the river on the same day.[33]

On the 22nd of September the regiment, with several other corps, crossed the Shannon into the county of Clare; when the advance-guard, which consisted of eighteen men of the Royal Dragoons, was attacked by a squadron of the Irish cavalry: this small party sustained the first onset with admirable firmness, but were forced to retire; part of the regiment, however, soon advanced to their assistance, when the enemy was defeated and chased under the range of their batteries, and three small pieces of brass ordnance were captured. Orders were then given for the infantry to attack the works which covered Thoumond bridge. These works were carried after a sharp struggle; when the troops which had defended them endeavoured to enter the town; but the drawbridge had been raised, and they were left to the mercy of the English, who slaughtered such numbers, that the dead bodies lay in heaps on the bridge higher than the parapet walls. Five colours were taken on this occasion, and so many men slain, drowned, and taken prisoners, that the enemy surrendered the place in a few days afterwards.

1692 1693

The conquest of Ireland having been effected, the Royal Dragoons returned to England, where they arrived in January, 1692, and marched into dispersed cantonments in Leicestershire; and during a part of the summer a detachment was stationed in garrison at Portsmouth. The regiment was subsequently stationed, on revenue duty, in the maritime towns on the southern coast of the kingdom; and in the autumn of 1693 it had the honour of furnishing a relay of escorts to attend King William from Margate to London, when His Majesty returned from Holland.

1694

The war with France, which was commenced in 1689, had been continued with varied success; and in the spring of 1694 the Royal Dragoons were ordered to proceed on foreign service. They left England in May; joined the army encamped near Tirlemont in South Brabant, on the 21st of June, and were reviewed by King William on the following day. On arriving at this camp they were ordered to take post in front of the village of Camtich, and this quarter being much exposed to attacks from the enemy, they were reinforced by two regiments of Dutch infantry. The army marched from Tirlemont on the 13th of July, and encamped at Mont St. André and Ramilies, where the regiment was formed in brigade with the royal Scots and Fairfax's (now second and third) dragoons, under the command of Brigadier-General Matthews, and this brigade was encamped on the left of the line. The French army encamped near Huy, with their left upon the Mehaine. On the 17th of July a foraging party of the allies crossed the river, and, meeting with several French squadrons, a skirmish ensued, when the Royal Dragoons lost eight horses and had three men wounded. On the 28th of the same month another foraging party encountered a detachment of the enemy, when the regiment had two men and several horses killed. The allied army was again in motion on the 8th of August: much manœuvring, and some skirmishing took place between the hostile squadrons, but no general engagement occurred. On the 29th of August the Royal Dragoons were stationed at Wacken—a post situate at the junction of the Mandel and the Scheldt; and in October they marched into cantonments in the villages between Ghent and Sans-van-Ghent.[34]

1695

In the spring of 1695 the Royal Dragoons marched to Dixmude, forming part of a division of the army commanded by Major-General Ellenberg, and were brigaded with Lloyd's (now third) dragoons and a regiment of Danish cavalry. On the 7th of June the Duke of Wirtemberg took command of this division, and attacked the French forts at Kenoque as a diversion to conceal King William's design upon the strong and almost impregnable fortress of Namur, which he commanded to be invested shortly afterwards. The Royal Dragoons joined the covering army towards the end of June; but were detached to Bruges in July: they were subsequently recalled from thence and joined the camp between Genappe and Waterloo, from whence they proceeded to the vicinity of Namur, to protect the troops employed in the siege from a threatened attack of the French army. After the surrender of the important fortress of Namur, the regiment marched into cantonments behind Ghent.

1696

The French menaced an attack upon the quarters of the allied army in Flanders in the spring of 1696, when the Royal Dragoons were suddenly called from their cantonments to encamp on the banks of the canal between Ghent and Bruges, where they were reviewed by King William on the 29th of May. They served the campaign of this year with the army of Flanders, commanded by the Prince of Vandemont, and were brigaded with the royal Scots and royal Irish (second and fifth) dragoons, commanded by Brigadier-General Matthews. The object of this army was the protection of Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of Flanders: no general action occurred; but a party of the Royal Dragoons, with a detachment of Langston's horse (now fourth dragoon guards), surprised one of the French out-guards on the night of the 20th of September and took thirty prisoners. This appears to be the only action in which the regiment took part during the campaign of this year; and on the 6th of October it marched into quarters in the villages behind the Bruges canal.

1697

During the campaign of 1697 the regiment served under King William in the army of Brabant, and was brigaded with the royal Scots and Eppinger's dragoons.

On the 28th of May Brigadier-General Matthews died; and on the 30th His Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons on Thomas Lord Raby, afterwards Earl of Strafford.

1698

The enemy, having great superiority of numbers, besieged and took Aeth, and afterwards menaced Brussels; but were frustrated in their designs by King William. The Royal Dragoons were encamped before Brussels in June; and subsequently at Wavre. Hostilities were terminated in September by the treaty of Ryswick, and after the conclusion of peace, the regiment embarked from the Netherlands,—landed at the Red House in Southwark on the 21st of November, and, at the end of the same month, marched into extensive quarters in Yorkshire, where the establishment, which during the war had been eight troops, amounting to five hundred and ninety officers and men, was reduced to six troops of two hundred and ninety-four officers and men.

1699 1700

During the two succeeding years the Royal Dragoons occupied quarters in Lancashire and Leicestershire. In June, 1700, they assembled on Hounslow Heath and were reviewed by King William III., who was pleased to express his royal approbation of their appearance and discipline. Leaving the south of England in July, they proceeded into quarters in Yorkshire and Cumberland, with one troop stationed in garrison at Carlisle and another at Hull.

1701 1702

In 1701 the Royal Dragoons were stationed in Yorkshire, with three troops in garrison at Hull; at this period the ambitious Louis XIV. of France violated the treaties he had entered into, and procured the accession of his grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain. War was resolved upon, and the establishment of the regiment was augmented to eight troops amounting to five hundred and thirty-two officers and men; and it embarked for Holland in the beginning of March, 1702. Before the transports sailed, the death of King William occurred (8th March, 1702), when the regiment was disembarked and placed in cantonments in the villages in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis. In a few days afterwards, Her Majesty Queen Anne having resolved to pursue the foreign policy of her predecessor, the regiment re-embarked, and after landing at Williamstadt, went into quarters at Breda, where it was formed in brigade with the royal Scots and royal Irish (second and fifth) dragoons, under the command of that excellent officer, Brigadier-General Ross, and was placed as a guard to the English train of artillery.[35]

1703

A powerful French army was in the field menacing the frontiers of Holland. The Earl of Marlborough assembled the forces under his orders towards the end of June, and in July the Royal Dragoons joined the army with the train of artillery. By a daring advance the British commander disconcerted the designs of his opponents, who retired without venturing an engagement. The Royal Dragoons were employed in covering the sieges of Venloo, Ruremonde, and Stevenswaert; and took part in the capture of the city of Liege: they afterwards marched back to Holland, and were quartered at Arnheim, the capital of the province of Guelderland, where they were reviewed in April, 1703, by their colonel, Lord Raby, who was passing through Holland on his way to Prussia, as envoy extraordinary to that court.[36]

At the commencement of the campaign of 1703 the Royal Dragoons were employed in covering the siege of Bonn, and afterwards joined the army near Maestricht, with six battalions of infantry commanded by the Prince of Hesse, and were formed in brigade with the same regiments as in the preceding year.

On the advance of the allied army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough, the French retreated, and took post behind their fortified lines.

On the 27th of July the British commander proceeded, with four thousand horse and dragoons, towards the enemy's intrenchments, and Lieutenant Benson, with thirty men of the Royal Dragoons, who formed the advance-guard, charged and defeated a piquet of forty French horsemen, and chased them to the barriers of their intrenchments with signal gallantry, which gave his Grace an opportunity of advancing within musket-shot of the lines. He was desirous of attacking these formidable works, but was prevented by the timidity and pertinacity of the Dutch generals and field deputies. In August, when the siege of Huy was undertaken, the Royal Dragoons were encamped on the banks of the river Maese, to secure the bridge, and to keep up the communication. They were subsequently engaged in the siege of Limburg, a city situated on a pleasant eminence among the woods near the banks of the little river Wesdet. Spanish Guelderland having been delivered from the power of France, and the Dutch freed from the dread of an invasion, the Royal Dragoons quitted the vicinity of Limburg and marched back to Holland. In the mean time circumstances had occurred which occasioned their removal from the army commanded by the celebrated Duke of Marlborough, to another theatre of war.

During the summer the Emperor of Germany and Prince Joseph renounced their pretensions to the Spanish monarchy in behalf of Archduke Charles, who was acknowledged as King of Spain by several of the states of Europe; and a treaty of alliance having been concluded with the King of Portugal, the Royal Dragoons were selected to accompany the Archduke to Lisbon, and to take part in the attempt to place him on the throne of Spain by force of arms.

1704

The Portuguese monarch having engaged to provide horses for the English cavalry, the Royal Dragoons transferred their horses to the British regiments in Holland, and embarked, dismounted, in October; but were so long detained by contrary winds and severe weather, that they did not arrive at the capital of Portugal before March, 1704, when they landed with the remainder of the British and Dutch forces commanded by Duke Schomberg.

In consequence of the horses produced by the Portuguese authorities being of so inferior a description that the English officers rejected the greater part of them, only twenty men per troop of the Royal Dragoons were mounted; the dismounted men proceeded to Abrantes to await the arrival of horses, and the mounted men advanced to the frontiers of Portugal, and encamped on a pleasant plain near Estremos. Tardiness and inability were, however, manifested by the Portuguese authorities to such an extent, that the Duke of Berwick, having arrived from France with eighteen battalions of infantry and nineteen squadrons of cavalry, and taken the command of the French and Spanish forces, attacked the frontiers of Portugal before the allies were prepared to take the field. The court of Lisbon was alarmed, the provinces were in consternation; the Duke Schomberg solicited to be recalled, and the Earl of Galway was sent with reinforcements to Portugal, and appointed to the command of the British forces in that country.

One hundred and twenty men of the Royal Dragoons formed part of a body of cavalry, which crossed the frontiers and made a successful incursion into the Spanish territory. Extraordinary measures were adopted to procure horses, and at the close of the summer the regiment had upwards of three hundred mounted men in the field. In the autumn the army was enabled to act on the offensive, and the Royal Dragoons were among the forces which penetrated Spain; but on arriving at the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, the enemy was found so advantageously posted on the opposite side of the Agueda, that the Portuguese generals would not venture the passage of the river; and, after reconnoitring the hostile army several times, the allies returned to Portugal, and the Royal Dragoons went into village cantonments in the Alentejo.[37]

1705

During the winter and the spring of 1705 the regiment procured an additional supply of horses, and when it again took the field it was much better mounted than in the preceding year. It joined the army in April, and, advancing into Spanish Estremadura, formed part of the force which invested Valencia de Alcantara, which fortress was captured in the early part of May.

Albuquerque was subsequently besieged and taken; and the capture of Badajoz was contemplated, but that undertaking was abandoned until the summer's heat was abated.

In the mean time an expedition had been fitted out in England, and a land force, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Peterborough, embarked for the purpose of furthering the designs of the house of Austria. The fleet arrived at Lisbon in June, and, King Charles resolving to accompany the expedition, the Royal and Cunningham's (now eighth) dragoons, and four regiments of foot, were embarked to strengthen the land force. The fleet put to sea, and, after several consultations among the general and naval officers, an attack on Barcelona was resolved upon. The fleet arrived before that fortress on the 22nd of August (N.S.), and on the 24th the Royal Dragoons landed near a river called Bassoz, on the east side of the city, and encamped about a mile from the walls, in a place well fortified by nature, where the army was joined by many of the country people, who were formed into bands, and acted as a guerilla force: "they were" (as Bishop Burnet observes) "good at plundering, but could not submit to regular discipline, nor were they willing to expose themselves to dangerous services."

The siege of Barcelona was considered a romantic enterprise, and it excited a lively interest in every nation in Christendom. The garrison equalled in strength the besieging army within about two thousand men, and, according to the ordinary rules and chances of war, success appeared impossible. The siege was, however, commenced, and on the 14th of September an attack was made on the strong fortress of Montjuich, situate on an eminence overlooking the town, on which occasion a detachment of the Royal Dragoons was posted between this detached fortress and the city to prevent a sally of the Spanish cavalry. The garrison of Fort Montjuich held out three days, and then surrendered. During the remainder of the siege the Royal Dragoons were almost constantly on duty, the besieging army not having a sufficient number of men to form two reliefs of the ordinary guards in the trenches and on the batteries: the siege was, however, persisted in, and the governor capitulated on the 9th of October. The garrison was preparing to march out on the 14th, when numbers of the guerillas and armed peasantry, having entered by the breach in hopes of obtaining plunder, united with the inhabitants of the town, and attacked the houses of the French and other persons known to be in the interest of the Duke of Anjou; they also threatened to massacre the governor and garrison: but the Earl of Peterborough marched into the town at the head of a troop of the Royal Dragoons and a detachment of grenadiers, and restored order and tranquillity. On this occasion his lordship narrowly escaped falling a sacrifice to his humanity. A Spaniard having fired at the Duke of Popoli, the ball passed through the Earl of Peterborough's periwig. The valour and perseverance of the British and Dutch having achieved the conquest of Barcelona, at which (as Dr. Freind observes) "all Europe wondered," nearly every town in Catalonia declared for King Charles III., and the Royal Dragoons were placed in garrison at Tortosa, excepting a detachment which remained at Barcelona. Shortly afterwards Valencia declared in favour of the house of Austria.

A French and Spanish force, commanded by the Conde de las Torres, was detached to retake the revolted towns, and in December the enemy besieged St. Mattheo, which place was defended by a party of Spaniards, commanded by a stout-hearted Welshman, named Jones, who made a resolute defence. The Earl of Peterborough advanced with two hundred of the Royal Dragoons and a thousand British foot to relieve the place. This force was not more than one-fifth of the numbers of the besieging army: but, by night marches among the woods and mountains, and by circulating false reports, the British succeeded in surprising their opponents; and the Spanish commander, not knowing the numbers of his enemy, and being deceived by spies, made a precipitate retreat, and his rear-guard was pursued by the Royal Dragoons over the mountains to Albocazar.

1706

The French and Spanish army continued to retire, and was pursued by the Earl of Peterborough with a force so much inferior in numbers, that the record of these events appears almost incredible,[38] and exhibits the native valour, spirit of enterprise, and temerity of the British commander, with the pusillanimity and credulity of the Spaniards, in a strong light. Four troops of the Royal Dragoons formed part of that small body of men with which the Earl of Peterborough pursued a numerous army. The services in which they were engaged partook of the nature of a guerilla warfare, and put to a severe test the discipline, bravery, and intelligence of the men. Being divided into small parties, and united with bands of armed peasantry, they were continually performing night marches among the woods and mountains, and, hovering about the rear and flanks of the Spanish army, keeping it in a state of alarm, which services were performed in concert with spies; and although, under these circumstances, it must have been difficult to preserve subordination and discipline, yet the Royal Dragoons performed these duties to the satisfaction of the commander-in-chief. On one occasion "the Spaniards employed by my lord Peterborough informed the Conde de las Torres of a considerable force that was upon his left, somewhat before him, and certainly designed, as they told him, to take some passes which might prevent his entrance into the plains leading to Valencia, and that there were English troops among them. This the Spanish general thinking impossible, one of the spies offered to give any two or three officers he pleased to appoint the satisfaction of seeing what he affirmed. Upon this two officers, in the country habit, went along with him to a place where, pretending to alight and refresh themselves, they were seized by ten English dragoons that were posted there on purpose, and had marched in the mountains all night with the spies. The Spaniards being thus surprised and seized, the spy pretended the guard was drunk, and the officers, seeing a couple of dragoons lying apparently in that condition, slipped into the stable and took three of the horses, and so returned to the Conde de las Torres. This was enough to confirm the intelligence and gain credit to the spy, as officers of that country never fail to magnify their dangers and escapes. Sometimes the dragoons were brought prisoners, by consent, into the Spanish camp, by country people, seeming in their interest. By such artful means, and by such diligent application, a little body of men, about twelve or thirteen hundred cavalry and two thousand infantry, were brought to join in the neighbourhood of Castillon de la Plana."[39] Such were the services in which the Royal Dragoons were engaged, and an immense tract of country was delivered from the power of the enemy. A most romantic part of the adventure was, that the Earl of Peterborough, being deficient in cavalry, procured eight hundred Spanish horses, and constituted Lord Barrymore's regiment (now thirteenth foot) a corps of dragoons, of which he appointed the lieut.-colonel, Edward Pearce, colonel.

The Royal Dragoons accompanied the Earl of Peterborough to Valencia. The enemy brought forward a numerous army to besiege this important place; but the British commander issued from the city with his gallant horsemen, and surprised and captured the Spanish battering-train; he also penetrated, by a night march, to the rear of their army, and attacked and defeated their reinforcements; and by these and other achievements of a similar character, which exhibit the valour and excellent conduct of the troops under his orders, he frustrated the designs of the enemy.

These brilliant successes alarmed the courts of France and Spain, and a powerful attempt to regain the possession of the towns which had acknowledged King Charles was determined upon. The Spaniards were desirous of commencing with Valencia, but they were overruled by orders from France; and, the English fleet having left Barcelona in the autumn, the siege of that place was undertaken by a land force commanded by King Philip in person, and the French fleet under the Count de Toulouse.

The Earl of Peterborough hastened from Valencia with the Royal Dragoons and a select number of men from the other corps, and on his arrival at the vicinity of Barcelona he found the town invested by a numerous army and a fleet. He immediately took to the mountains with his hardy dragoons and about two thousand foot, and, being joined by numbers of the armed peasantry, he was constantly hovering near the besieging army with his detachments, interrupting the enemy's communications, cutting off their supplies, and attacking their out-guards; and on one occasion he succeeded in throwing a number of men into the town. At length the British fleet arrived with reinforcements; the French admiral withdrew with precipitation, and, Barcelona being thus relieved, the enemy raised the siege on the 12th of May, 1706, and retreated towards Roussillon, leaving behind his artillery, ammunition, stores, and sick and wounded men. A squadron of the Royal Dragoons and some other cavalry were ordered to pursue the retiring army, and, being joined by hundreds of armed peasantry, they attacked the enemy's rear-guard several times, and took a number of prisoners. The Spaniards killed every man who fell into their hands; but the prisoners taken by the English and Dutch met with good treatment.

After the flight of the enemy from before Barcelona, the Royal Dragoons returned to Valencia, from whence they expected to advance with King Charles immediately upon Madrid, to join the allied army commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, which being superior in numbers to the French and Spanish forces on the frontiers of Portugal, arrived at the capital of Spain towards the end of June. King Charles, however, delayed to proceed to Madrid, and being guided by pernicious councils, he eventually went round by way of Arragon. Meanwhile the French and Spanish forces which, after raising the siege of Barcelona, had retired to France, re-entered Spain, and uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, compelled the army of Portugal to retire from Madrid. The Royal Dragoons marched from Valencia in July, together with Pearce's dragoons, a regiment of Castilian foot, and a regiment of Germans, and on the 8th of August joined the army of Portugal at Guadalaxara, from whence they marched to Chinchon, a town of Toledo, eighteen miles from Madrid, where they remained about a month.

The allied army, being unable to make head against the superior numbers of the enemy, retired, and having crossed the Tagus at Fuente Duennas, continued their march through the fine champaign country of La Mancha, and took up their winter quarters in Valencia, extending their cantonments from Requena to Denia.

1707

In the spring of 1707 the Royal Dragoons were ordered to take the field, and after a long and difficult march they joined the army in the beginning of April; but no expectation of a general engagement being entertained, and land carriage being difficult to procure, they were detached on the 9th of April as far as Denia, for their clothing, and to refresh their horses a short time in village cantonments. While they lay at Collera, a town situate at the mouth of the river Xucar, in the province of Valencia, the battle of Almanza was fought on the 25th of April, when the allied army, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, was nearly annihilated by the French and Spaniards under the Duke of Berwick.

Soon after this disaster the Royal Dragoons joined the wreck of the allied army, which had been collected by the Earl of Galway, and were employed for three months in marches and countermarches, observing the motions of the opposing army and endeavouring to preserve the rich and extensive province of Catalonia from the power of the enemy. They afterwards formed part of the force assembled for the relief of Lerida, but the undertaking was found to be impracticable. The enemy gained possession of Arragon and Valencia, but were prevented acquiring all the advantages from the victory at Almanza which had been anticipated.

1708

During the winter and succeeding spring exertions were made to bring the regiments in Catalonia into as efficient a state as possible; and when the Royal Dragoons took the field to serve the campaign of 1708, they were reported to be "in excellent condition."[40] The allied army in Catalonia was under the orders of Marshal Count Guido de Staremberg, an officer of reputation, who had commanded the Imperial troops in Hungary. The services of the Royal Dragoons were of a defensive character; sending out detachments to reconnoitre, furnishing piquets and patroles, and traversing the mountain districts of Catalonia in small parties, were the only duties they were called upon to perform. They were encamped a short time in a valley near Monblanco, subsequently on a fertile plain near Cervera, and they passed another winter in cantonments in Catalonia.

1709

The early part of the campaign of 1709 was also passed in defensive movements: the Royal Dragoons were encamped with the army on the banks of the Segré, and having forded that river in August, the town of Balaguer, situate at the foot of a hill on the banks of that stream and in a district of uncommon fertility, was captured; also Ager, a place twelve miles from Balaguer. After placing garrisons in these towns the army repassed the river, and the regiments went into cantonments.

1710

The campaign of 1710 was distinguished by more important events, the two claimants to the throne of Spain heading their armies in person. The enemy was first in the field, and commenced operations with the siege of Balaguer, but retired on the approach of the allied army. The Royal Dragoons were subsequently encamped on the banks of the Segré; and when King Charles joined the army, they were detached to meet his Majesty and to escort him to the camp.

After some manœuvring, Lieutenant-General Stanhope (afterwards Earl Stanhope), who commanded the British troops in Spain, being at the head of the leading column of the allied army on the march towards Alfaras, discovered, on the evening of the 27th of July, a body of the enemy's forces in front of the village of Almanara, and obtained the King's permission to attack them with the cavalry, of which the Royal Dragoons had the honour to form part.

The sun was declining from the horizon, and the shades of evening were gathering over the valleys of Catalonia, when the British commander led forward his warlike horsemen. Before him appeared twenty-two squadrons of Castilian cavalry, the pride and flower of the Spanish army, with King Philip's life guards on the right; a second line of the same numbers was seen in the rear, and nine battalions of infantry supported the cavalry. Against this force the gallant Stanhope advanced at the head of Harvey's horse (now second dragoon guards); his front line consisted of sixteen squadrons, with a reserve of six squadrons. The Spaniards came forward to meet their opponents in all the pomp of war, and a noble spectacle presented itself. The foaming squadrons dashed upon each other, but the contest was of short duration. The enemy's left soon gave way,—the Spanish life guards were routed with the loss of a standard and a pair of kettle drums,—their second line fled in confusion,—the infantry were seized with a panic; and Stanhope's troopers chased the fugitives from the field with great slaughter, following them among the rocks and dells until the darkness rendered it impossible to distinguish friends from foes.

The result of this cavalry action disconcerted the plans of the enemy; King Philip called in his detachments and retired; and the allied army moved forward in pursuit. After following the retiring army many days, sometimes crossing valleys, and at other times traversing wild but beautiful regions among rocks and mountains, and obtaining possession of numerous towns in Arragon, the Royal Dragoons overtook the enemy's rear-guard in the pass of Penalva, on the 15th of August, when a sharp skirmish ensued, and Lieut.-Colonel Colberg, who commanded the regiment, was wounded and taken prisoner.

Continuing the pursuit during the four succeeding days, the Royal Dragoons passed the Ebro with the leading column under Major-General Carpenter, and on the evening of the 19th of August the French and Spanish forces were discovered in order of battle on the right of Saragossa, a city pleasantly situated on the river Ebro, in a very plentiful country, abounding with every necessary for the support and convenience of life, and once the delight of Julius Cæsar, who erected a splendid palace there. Preparations were made to attack the enemy on the following day; the Royal Dragoons formed part of the cavalry of the left wing, commanded by Lieut.-General Stanhope, and were opposed to the enemy's right on the brow of a steep hill.

Early on the morning of the 20th of August a heavy cannonade commenced; and as the mountains re-echoed the sound, and the smoke, tinged with the rays of the sun, rose in curling clouds and formed a glittering dome over the opposing armies, King Charles and his suite galloped along the line, and his Majesty's presence infused a glowing ardour into the troops. About mid-day Lieut.-General Stanhope led the Royal Dragoons and other British horsemen on the left against their adversaries, and a sharp cavalry action ensued, in which the French troopers (being superior in numbers) had the advantage; but Stanhope's second line of cavalry repulsed the enemy. The British dragoons rallied, and returning to the charge, a sanguinary sword-fight took place at the foot of the hill; but six squadrons of Portuguese dragoons on the extreme left fled before the troops advancing against them, without waiting to be attacked. The battle extended along the front to the banks of the Ebro, and the Imperial, Dutch, and Palatine troops vied with the British in feats of gallantry. The Royals, Pepper's (now eighth) and Stanhope's dragoons, continuing the fight, gained some advantage; Harvey's horse signalized themselves; and four English battalions, commanded by Major-General Wade, being mixed with the cavalry of the left wing, behaved with remarkable intrepidity and heroism. The British infantry, throwing off their knapsacks, sprang up the acclivity and attacked their opponents sword in hand: finally, the enemy was driven from the field with prodigious slaughter, and the loss of six thousand prisoners, twenty-two pieces of cannon, seventy-two standards and colours, the ammunition, baggage, and plate of King Philip; and the city of Saragossa was captured, with its military stores of ammunition, provision and clothing. The Royal Dragoons passed the night in the fields near the town, and were thanked by King Charles for their distinguished gallantry.

After this victory the army once more advanced to Madrid, and King Charles made his public entry into the capital on the 28th of September; but the army of Portugal not advancing to sustain this forward movement, the most disastrous results followed. King Philip called to his aid troops from Estremadura,—reinforcements arrived from France,—the Castilian peasantry took arms in his behalf,—and the allied army was once more forced to retire.

On the 11th of November King Charles withdrew from the army, taking with him the Royal Dragoons and Staremberg's Imperialists, and proceeded to Cienpoznelos. The Royal Dragoons appear to have become a favourite corps with his Majesty, and when he retired to Barcelona he took with him two squadrons of the regiment as a body-guard. The other squadron remained with the army, and during the retreat it formed part of the rear column on the left commanded by Lieut.-General Stanhope. This retrograde movement was performed under great difficulties from the hostile spirit of the Castilians, inclement weather, and a scarcity of forage and provision. On the 6th of December the column of which the Royal Dragoons formed part arrived at Brihuega, a village of about a thousand houses, situate in the mountains of Castile, near the river Tajuna, where they halted on the following day. While the troops were reposing in this rural seclusion, the town was suddenly surrounded by the French and Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Vendosme. The British, though invested by a force of more than ten times their own numbers, resolved on a vigorous defence; but unfortunately they had no artillery, very little ammunition, and the wall round the village was in a ruinous condition. The enemy forced the gates, battered down part of the wall with their cannon, and assaulted the place by storm, but were repulsed with severe loss. A second assault was given, and the British troops, having spent all their ammunition, defended themselves a short time with stones and other missiles; but were eventually forced to surrender prisoners of war.[41]

1711

The officers and men of the Royal Dragoons who were thus made prisoners were sent to France, and, after being exchanged, were removed to England, and subsequently to Scotland. The remainder of the regiment continued in Spain, where it served under Lieut.-General the Duke of Argyle.

1712

In 1711 the Emperor Joseph died, King Charles proceeded from Spain to Germany, and was elected Emperor of the Romans. This event removed one of the competitors for the throne of Spain. King Philip made a formal renunciation of his claim to succeed to the throne of France, and the danger of an union of the kingdoms of France and Spain was thus removed. Negotiations for a general peace were commenced, and in the summer of 1712 the officers and men of the Royal Dragoons quitted Spain and returned to England. They were mounted on Spanish horses; but before they quitted Catalonia their horses were sold, and the men returned home dismounted.

1713

After their arrival in England the Royal Dragoons were stationed in dispersed quarters in Yorkshire; and the establishment was fixed at twenty-seven officers, eight quarter-masters, and three hundred and twenty-eight non-commissioned officers and private men. During the summer of 1713 a detachment of the regiment proceeded to Dover, and received a draft of two hundred horses from Kerr's (now seventh) dragoons, which regiment was ordered to proceed, dismounted, to Ireland, where it was disbanded.

1714

On the decease of Queen Anne on the 1st of August, 1714, the Royal Dragoons left Yorkshire, and marched into quarters in the villages near London; but after the arrival of King George I. from Hanover they returned to Yorkshire, and a reduction of fifty men was made in the establishment.[42]

1715

In January, 1715, two troops of the Royal Dragoons, with three troops of the Scots greys, and a newly-raised troop of dragoons, were incorporated into a regiment—the present seventh hussars.[43] The establishment was thus reduced to six troops; and on the 13th of June in the same year the colonelcy was conferred on Richard Lord Cobham, who was advanced to the dignity of Viscount three years afterwards.

At this period Jacobite principles were very prevalent in the United Kingdom; and in September, 1715, the Earl of Mar raised the standard of rebellion in Scotland, and excited the clans to take arms in favour of the Pretender. The Royal Dragoons were immediately ordered to the North; and in the early part of October they arrived at Edinburgh, from whence they marched immediately afterwards, and, being placed under the command of Lieutenant-General Carpenter, went in pursuit of a body of rebels.

1716

After several marches and countermarches Lieutenant-General Carpenter arrived at Jedburgh on the 30th of October: three days afterwards he ascertained that a division of the rebel army had marched in the direction of Carlisle, and he instantly went in pursuit of them. The rebels, however, eluded his vigilance, and arrived without opposition at Preston, in Lancashire. Major-General Wills, who commanded in Cheshire, assembled several regiments, and marched towards Preston. In the mean time Lieutenant-General Carpenter, with the Royal, Molesworth's, and Churchill's dragoons,[44] were marching with all possible expedition from Scotland; and they arrived before Preston about mid-day on Sunday, the 13th of November, when they found the town surrounded by the troops under Major-General Wills: some sharp fighting had previously taken place, but on the arrival of the forces from Scotland, the rebels surrendered at discretion. On the same day another division of the rebel army was defeated at Sheriff-moor, near Dumblain; and in the early part of 1716 the Pretender and insurgent chiefs made their escape to France, and the common people retired to their homes.

1717

After the suppression of this rebellion, the Royal Dragoons were stationed in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, from whence they marched, in February, 1717, to Newcastle upon Tyne, and were placed under the command of Major-General Wills. This march was occasioned by the preparations made by Charles XII., King of Sweden, for an expedition to England to place the Pretender on the throne; but the measures taken by the British government defeated the project. The journals of this period speak highly of the condition of the British army, particularly the cavalry, which they represent as the best in the world.[45]

1718

In the spring of 1718 the Royal Dragoons marched into quarters in Yorkshire and Lancashire; and, the King of Sweden having been compelled to relinquish his projected expedition, the establishment was reduced to two hundred and seven officers and men.

1719

The peace of Europe was disturbed in 1719 by Philip V. of Spain, who was desirous of recovering the places ceded by him in the treaty of Utrecht; and among the measures contemplated by the Spaniards was placing the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain, that the interest of this country might be insured in favour of the projected innovations. An expedition, commanded by the Duke of Ormond, was prepared in Spain for a descent on the British coast; but the fleet was dispersed and disabled by a storm: two ships, however, reached the coast of Scotland, and between three and four hundred Spaniards landed, and were joined by a number of Highlanders. When information of this event reached London, orders were issued for the Royal Dragoons to proceed with all possible expedition to Scotland, where they arrived in May. Major-General Wightman advanced with a body of foot and three troops of the Scots greys, and attacked the Spaniards and Highlanders on the 10th of June at the pass of Glenshill, and forced them to retire with considerable loss. On the following day the Highlanders dispersed, and the Spaniards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The Royal Dragoons returned to England in July, and were quartered in Yorkshire; and a detachment was ordered to embark at Portsmouth and accompany the expedition commanded by their colonel, Viscount Cobham, intended to make an attack on Corunna. The design on that place was, however, abandoned; but the troops effected a landing on the coast of Spain, and took Vigo, where they obtained possession of several pieces of brass ordnance, with a magazine of muskets and other arms. Rondendella and Pont-a-Vedra were also taken, and additional captures of military stores effected. The Spanish court made overtures for a treaty of peace; and in November the expedition returned to England.

1720

In February, 1720, His Majesty issued a regulation, fixing the amount of purchase-money to be paid for regimental commissions, and the following prices were established for the

Royal Regiment of Dragoons.

Colonel and Captain£7000

Lieutenant-Colonel and Captain3200

Major and Captain2600

Captain1800

Captain-Lieutenant[46]1000

Lieutenant800

Cornet600

Adjutant200

1721

The Royal Dragoons left Yorkshire in April, 1721, and were stationed at Nottingham and Derby; and on the 10th of that month the colonelcy was conferred on Sir Charles Hotham, Baronet, Viscount Cobham having been removed to the second horse, now first dragoon guards.

1722 1723

During the summer of 1722 the Royal Dragoons were encamped near Durham; and on the 12th of January, 1723, the colonelcy, having become vacant by the decease of Sir Charles Hotham, was conferred on Brigadier-General Humphrey Gore, from the tenth dragoons.

1724 1725 1726

The regiment occupied extensive quarters in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 1724; in the following year it furnished detachments to assist the revenue officers in their duties on the coast; and in October, 1726, it was stationed in Sussex and Essex.

England having agreed to furnish ten thousand men to assist the States-General in their war with the Emperor of Germany, the Royal Dragoons were augmented to nine troops, of five hundred and fifty-two officers and men, and selected to form part of this force. No embarkation was, however, required.

1727 1728

The decease of King George I. took place on the 11th of June, 1727; and a few days previous to the coronation of his successor, George II., the Royal Dragoons marched into quarters near London, and were reviewed in brigade with Honeywood's (now eleventh) dragoons by his Majesty on Hounslow Heath, on the 17th of October. They subsequently proceeded into Leicestershire and Derbyshire; and in the beginning of the succeeding year the establishment was again reduced to six troops.

1730 1731 1732 1733

In the spring of 1730 the regiment marched into cantonments in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; in 1731 it was stationed in Kent, with detachments on coast duty; and in the month of March in the following year proceeded into Somersetshire, from whence it detached, in the spring of 1733, several parties to the maritime towns and villages on the Suffolk coast, where frequent rencounters took place between the military and smugglers.

1734 1735 1737 1738

The several detachments were collected in May, 1734, and the six troops assembled at Taunton, where they were reviewed by their colonel, Major-General Gore. One troop was afterwards detached into Sussex; and in August another troop proceeded to Bath, and furnished a daily guard for the Princess Amelia during her Royal Highness's residence at that city. In August, 1735, the five troops in Somersetshire marched to the north, and were placed under the orders of Lieut.-General Wade, commander-in-chief in Scotland. They, however, returned to England in April, 1737, and were quartered in Lancashire; and during the summer of the following year the six troops were stationed in Essex and Kent, with detachments on coast duty.

1739

In July, 1739, the Royal Dragoons were ordered to call in their detachments and march into quarters at Hounslow and its vicinity; and on the 28th of that month they were reviewed on Hounslow Heath by his Majesty. In the beginning of August they marched into quarters in Worcestershire; and their colonel, Major-General Gore, died on the 18th of that month. On the 1st of September his Majesty conferred the colonelcy on Charles, second Duke of Marlborough, from the 38th regiment of foot.

The Spaniards having repeatedly violated the existing treaties in regard to the commerce of England with America, his Majesty declared war against Spain; and the establishment of the Royal Dragoons was augmented to four hundred and thirty-five officers and men.

1740

In May, 1740, the colonelcy, vacant by the removal of the Duke of Marlborough to the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards, was conferred on Major-General Hawley, from the thirteenth dragoons.

1741

During the summer of 1740 the Royal Dragoons were encamped (with three other regiments of cavalry and six of infantry) near Newbury, and afterwards near Devizes, under the orders of General Wade. In October they marched from camp into quarters in Leicestershire; and in November, 1741, removed into Somersetshire.

1742

In the mean time hostilities had commenced on the continent, and France, Bavaria, and Prussia were endeavouring to deprive the house of Austria of its hereditary dominions. King George II. resolved to support the Austrians; and in the summer of 1742 his Majesty sent Field Marshal the Earl of Stair with sixteen thousand men to Flanders. The Royal Dragoons were selected for this service, and, having been reviewed by his Majesty on Hounslow Heath, they embarked in August, and after their arrival in Flanders were stationed in the cavalry barracks at Ghent.

1743

Leaving Ghent in February, 1743, the Royal Dragoons marched for Germany; and in June they were encamped, with the other forces, near Aschaffenburg, on the river Maine, where they were joined by King George II. and the Duke of Cumberland. On the 26th of June the army marched for Hanau, a town of Hesse-Cassel, and the Royal Dragoons formed part of the advance-column. When on the march the French were discovered in position near Dettingen: his Majesty commanded the army to form opposite the enemy, and the Royal Dragoons were posted near the right of the line.

The French advanced from their position and attacked the left of the allied army; the contest soon became general, and the English cavalry engaged the French cuirassiers with varied success. The Mousquetaires Noirs, a choice corps of French cavalry, separated themselves from their line, and, passing between two columns of infantry, rushed headlong towards the British cavalry. The Royal Dragoons, undaunted by this audacity, met the French horsemen with a cool, determined bearing, and, encountering them in mid-onset, overthrew the presumptuous squadrons, cut them down with a dreadful slaughter, and captured a STANDARD. The Royal Dragoons were afterwards engaged with the enemy's household troops; they were again victorious, and, though without armour, fought and triumphed over their steel-clad opponents, and received the thanks of his Majesty for their gallant conduct. Eventually the French army was overthrown, and driven from the field with great loss.

In this action the Royal Dragoons had six men and thirty-four horses killed and wounded. The Standard of the Mousquetaires Noirs was taken by a serjeant of the right squadron. It was of white satin, embroidered with gold and silver: in the middle a bunch of nine arrows tied with a wreath, with the motto Alterius Jovis altera tela. The lance was broken, the standard was stained with blood; the cornet who carried it was killed without falling, being buckled to his horse, and his standard buckled to him.[47]

The Royal Dragoons passed the night near the field of battle, exposed to a heavy storm of rain, and on the following day marched with the army to Hanau, and encamped on the banks of the river Kinzig, where they remained until the early part of August, when they advanced, and, having crossed the Rhine above Mentz, were employed in operations in West Germany. Nothing of importance, however, transpired; and in October they commenced their march for Mentz, where they repassed the Rhine, and, proceeding through the duchy of Nassau, the principality of Liege, and province of Brabant, entered Flanders, and, arriving at Ghent on the 18th of November, again occupied part of the cavalry barrack at that place.

1744

The campaign of 1744 passed without any general engagement. The army penetrated the French territory; but the services of the Royal Dragoons were limited to piquets, out-guards, and protecting foraging parties from the attacks of the French garrisons; and in October they returned to their former station at Ghent.

1745

In April, 1745, the Royal Dragoons marched from their winter quarters, and encamped near Brussels. The enemy assembled a numerous army, and invested Tournay, the chief town of a district in the province of Hainault; and the Duke of Cumberland, though inferior to the French in numbers by above thirty thousand men, resolved to attack them. His Royal Highness accordingly advanced; and on the 10th of May (N.S.) a squadron of the Royal Dragoons was engaged, with other forces, in driving in the enemy's out-guards and piquets. The French army was discovered in order of battle on a gentle ascent protected by batteries, and rising gradually from the plain near Fontenoy. At daybreak on the morning of the 11th of May the allies moved forward, but, having many defiles to pass, the attack did not commence until near ten o'clock. The British infantry advanced against the enemy, and throughout the day they displayed the greatest valour and intrepidity; but the Dutch did not evince equal resolution, and their failure occasioned the most unfortunate results. It was near the conclusion of the action before the Royal Dragoons were called upon to charge, when they advanced through a hollow way abounding with difficulties, and were exposed to the destructive fire of two batteries: they charged by alternate squadrons with all the spirit and resolution which characterizes the attack of British cavalry. But the Duke of Cumberland, perceiving that, from the failure of the Dutch and other causes, it was impossible to retrieve the fortune of the day, ordered a retreat, and the army marched from the field of battle, and encamped near Aeth.

The loss of the regiment in this engagement was fifteen men and sixty-nine horses killed; with Lieutenant-Colonel Naizon, Cornets Hartwell, Desmeret, and Creighton, thirty-one men, and forty-seven horses wounded.

The allied army afterwards encamped on the plain of the Dender, near Lessines; and subsequently near Brussels.

In the mean time Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland with a ship laden with arms, and, being joined by several of the Highland clans, took the opportunity of the King's army being abroad to make a desperate effort to gain the throne. Several regiments were immediately ordered to England; and in November the Royal Dragoons marched to Williamstadt, in North Brabant, and embarked; but the shipping was delayed for some time by contrary winds, and several horses were lost from the transports being stranded.

1746

After their arrival in England the Royal Dragoons formed part of the army assembled near the metropolis to repel the threatened descent of a French force on the southern coast of the kingdom.

1747 1748

The rebellion having been suppressed by the victory at Culloden, the Royal Dragoons continued in the south of England: they were stationed at Windsor, Reading, and Colnbrook, and had the honour of furnishing travelling escorts for the royal family: in July, 1746, one troop attended the Princess Caroline at Bath. On the 26th of December, 1747, they were reviewed by His Majesty on Hounslow Heath: in the following summer they were employed on coast duty in Lincolnshire, and in suppressing riots among the weavers in Lancashire.

1749 1750

After the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle the establishment was reduced to two hundred and eighty-five officers and men; and in 1750 the regiment marched to Scotland.

1751

A regulation was issued in 1751 relative to the clothing and standards of the several regiments; from which the following particulars have been extracted relative to the Royal Dragoons:—

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

Waistcoats and Breeches—blue.

Hats—bound with gold lace, and ornamented with a yellow metal loop, and a black cockade.

Boots—of jacked leather.

Cloaks—of scarlet cloth, with a blue collar, and lined with blue shalloon; the buttons set on two and two upon yellow frogs or loops, with a blue stripe down the centre.

Horse Furniture—of scarlet cloth; the holster-caps and housings having a border of royal lace, with a blue stripe down the centre; the crest of England within the garter, embroidered on each corner of the housing; and on the holster-caps, the King's cipher and crown, with I.D underneath.

Officers—distinguished by gold lace; their coats and waistcoats bound with gold embroidery; the button-holes worked with gold; and a crimson silk sash worn across the left shoulder.

Quarter-Masters—to wear a crimson sash round the waist.

Serjeants—to have narrow gold lace on the cuffs, pockets, and shoulder-straps; gold shoulder-knots or aiguillettes, and yellow and blue worsted sashes tied round the waist.

Drummers and Hautboys—clothed in scarlet coats lined with blue, and ornamented with royal lace with a blue stripe down the centre; their waistcoats and breeches of blue cloth.

Guidons.—The first or King's guidon to be of crimson silk, embroidered and fringed with gold and silver; 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 I.D in gold characters on a blue ground in a compartment in the second and third corners. The second and third guidons to be of blue silk, in the centre the crest of England within the garter on a crimson ground: the white horse on a scarlet ground in the first and fourth compartments, and I.D within a wreath of roses and thistles upon a scarlet ground in the second and third compartments.

1752 1753 1754

In 1752 the Royal Dragoons returned to England, and were stationed at York, from whence they marched, in October, 1753, into quarters in Norfolk and Essex, and in September of the following year they proceeded into extensive cantonments in Kent.

1755

Disputes having occurred between England and France relating to the boundaries of the British possessions in North America, hostilities commenced in 1755, when an augmentation of one hundred men was made to the establishment: a light troop, consisting of three officers, one quarter-master, two serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and sixty private soldiers,[48] was raised and added to the regiment on the same principle as the light companies to regiments of infantry.

1756 1757

War was declared against France in 1756, when the French monarch made preparations for a descent on the British coast, and the Royal Dragoons were stationed in the maritime towns in the southern counties: during the summer of 1757 they were encamped near Salisbury.

1758

The British military establishment having been considerably augmented, His Majesty was prepared to act offensively against France; and in 1758 the light troop of the Royal Dragoons formed part of an expedition commanded by Charles, Duke of Marlborough, which landed on the coast of Brittany and destroyed the French shipping and magazines at St. Maloes. This troop was afterwards engaged in a second expedition to the coast of France, commanded by General Bligh, when a landing was effected in the Bay des Marées, and Cherbourg was taken: it was also engaged in the second descent on the coast of Brittany.

1759 1760

On the 5th of April, 1759, the colonelcy, having become vacant by the decease of General Hawley, was conferred on Henry Seymour Conway, from the fourth Irish horse, now seventh dragoon guards. In the same year the establishment of each of the six heavy troops was augmented to sixty private men, and the light troop to eighty-nine; making a total of five hundred and forty-four officers and men; and in the following year the light troop was further augmented to four officers, one quarter-master, four serjeants, four corporals, two drummers, and one hundred and eighteen private men.

In the mean time a British army had proceeded to Germany, and was serving in conjunction with the Hanoverian, Hessian, and Brunswick troops, commanded by Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; and in the spring of 1760 the Royal Dragoons, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Johnston,[49] embarked for foreign service, and, having landed at Bremen, in Lower Saxony, on the 16th and 17th of April, joined the army encamped near Fritzlar, in the principality of Lower Hesse, on the 21st of that month. On the 22nd they were reviewed by the Duke of Brunswick, who was pleased to express his approbation of their appearance.

After much manœuvring and skirmishing, thirty thousand French troops, commanded by the Chevalier de Muy, crossed the Dymel to cut off the communication of the allied army with Westphalia. The Royal Dragoons, with several other corps, were immediately sent forward to Liebenau, under the command of the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, to secure the bridge across the Dymel; and being followed by the main body, the Prince advanced to the vicinity of Warbourg, and reconnoitred the French forces in position near that place, whom he resolved to attack on the following day.

At daybreak on the morning of the 31st of July the Royal Dragoons, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Johnston, left their camp on the heights of Corbeke, and making a detour through several villages gained the left flank of the French army. Several other corps having arrived at the same point, the attack was immediately commenced, and after a sharp dispute the enemy gave way and retired upon Warbourg, where he was again attacked and driven across the Dymel with great loss. The Royal Dragoons encountered the French cavalry corps of royal Piedmont, and acquitted themselves with their accustomed gallantry. They afterwards charged a corps of Swiss infantry (the regiment of Planta) with distinguished bravery, broke its ranks, and after sabring many of the men took twenty-one officers and two hundred soldiers prisoners: many of the Swiss attempting to escape were drowned in the Dymel. Three troops of the Royal Dragoons formed part of the force under the Marquis of Granby, which pursued the enemy across the Dymel and halted that night on the heights of Wilda: the other three, having suffered severely in the attack on the Swiss infantry, remained at Warbourg.[50] In a general order issued on the occasion, Prince Ferdinand declared that "all the British Cavalry performed prodigies of valour."