Historical Record of the Twelfth, or the Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment of Lancers / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1848.
Date: 2018-01-02T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Royal Lancers; 12th

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Title: Historical Record of the Twelfth, or the Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment of Lancers

Author: Richard Cannon

Release date: January 2, 2018 [eBook #56294]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWELFTH, OR THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF LANCERS ***

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book.

HISTORICAL RECORDS

OF

THE BRITISH ARMY.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS,
1st January, 1836.

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

—— The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations, in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy.

—— The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action.

—— The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.

—— The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.

And,

—— The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.

By Command of the Right Honourable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

PREFACE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TWELFTH,
OR
THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT
OF
LANCERS:

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF

THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT

IN 1715,

AND OF

ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES

TO

1842.

ILLUSTRATED WITH A PLATE OF THE UNIFORM.

LONDON:

JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.

M.DCCC.XLII.

LONDON:
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

THE TWELFTH,

OR

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL

LANCERS,

BEAR ON THEIR GUIDONS AND APPOINTMENTS

THE

"SPHINX," WITH THE WORD "EGYPT;"

"PENINSULA;" AND "WATERLOO;"

TO COMMEMORATE THEIR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT IN
EGYPT IN 1801;

UNDER FIELD MARSHAL

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON,

IN SPAIN AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, FROM 1811 TO 1814;
AND AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, ON THE
18TH OF JUNE, 1815.

CONTENTS.

Year | | Page
1715 | Formation of the Regiment | 9
—— | Names of Officer | 10
—— | Rebellion of the Earl of Mar | 11
1718 | The Regiment embarks for Ireland | —
1751 | Description of the Uniform and Guidons | 13
1768 | Styled the Prince of Wales's Regiment | 15
—— | Constituted a corps of Light Dragoons | 16
1784 | Uniform changed from Scarlet to Blue | —
1793 | Embarks for the Mediterranean | 17
—— | Capture of the Island of Corsica | 18
1794 | Stationed in Italy—Approbation of Pope Pius VI. | —
1795 | Embarks for England | 20
1796 | Proceeds to Portugal | —
1800 | Embarks for the Mediterranean | 21
1801 | Lands in Egypt | 22
—— | Battle of Alexandria | —
—— | Capture of a French Convoy in the Lybian Desert | 25
—— | ———— Cairo and Alexandria | 27
1802 | Returns to England | 28
—— | Embarks for Ireland | 29
1805 | Returns to England | —
1809 | Expedition to Walcheren | —
—— | Returns to England | 30
1811 | Embarks for Portugal | —
—— | Blockade of Ciudad Rodrigo | —
1812 | Covering the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo | 31
—— | ————————— Badajoz | —
—— | Skirmish at Usagre—Action at Llerena | 32
—— | Action at Castrejon | 34
—— | Battle of Salamanca | 35
—— | Covering the Siege of Burgos-Castle | 37
—— | Skirmishes at Monasterio | —
—— | Covering the Retreat at Burgos | —
1813 | Battle of Vittoria | 39
—— | Skirmishes at Villa Franca and Tolosa | 40
—— | Covering the Siege of St. Sebastian | 41
—— | Passage of the Bidassoa | 42
—— | Battle of the Nivelle | —
1814 | Passage of the Adour—Blockade of Bayonne | 43
—— | Marches to Bordeaux—Skirmish at Etoliers | 44
—— | Returns to England | —
1815 | Embarks for Flanders | 46
—— | Battle of Quatre Bras | 47
—— | Battle of Waterloo | 48
—— | Names of the Officers who received Medals | 58
—— | Advances to Paris | —
—— | Forms part of the Army of Occupation in France | 59
—— | Constituted a corps of "Lancers" | —
1817 | Rewarded with the title of the Twelfth, or Prince of Wales's, Royal Lancers | —
1818 | Returns to England | 60
1820 | Embarks for Ireland | 61
1824 | Returns to England | —
1826 | Embarks for Portugal | 63
1828 | Returns to England | 64
1829 | Proceeds to Scotland | —
1830 | Embarks for Ireland | —
—— | Resumes wearing Scarlet Clothing | —
1833 | Returns to England | —
1837 | Reviewed by the Queen, Victoria | 65
1838 | Her Majesty's Coronation | 66
1839 | His Royal Highness the Prince George of Cambridge attached to the Regiment | —
1840 | Embarks for Ireland | 67
1842 | Resumes wearing Blue Clothing | —
—— | The Conclusion | 68

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

1715 | Phineas Bowles | 69
1719 | Phineas Bowles | 70
1740 | Alexander Rose | —
1743 | Samuel Walter Whitshed | —
1746 | Thomas Bligh | 71
1747 | Sir John Mordaunt, K.B. | 72
1749 | Honorable James Cholmondeley | 73
1749 | Lord George Sackville | 74
1750 | Sir John Whitefoord, Baronet | 75
1763 | Edward Harvey | 76
1764 | Benjamin Carpenter | 77
1770 | William Augustus Pitt | —
1775 | Honorable William Keppel | 78
1782 | Honorable George Lane Parker | 79
1791 | Sir James Steuart, Baronet | 79
1815 | Sir William Payne, Baronet | 81
1825 | Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., K.C.H. | 82
1827 | Sir R. H. Vivian, Baronet, now Lord Vivian, K.C.B., G.C.H. | 84
1837 | Sir H. J. Cumming, K.C.H. | —

Twelfth, The Prince of Wales's Royal Lancers.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWELFTH,

OR,

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S, ROYAL REGIMENT

OF

LANCERS.

1715

On the 20th of January, 1715, King George I. proceeded in state to St. Paul's Cathedral, to return thanks for his peaceful accession to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland; but in a short time afterwards the tranquillity of the kingdom was disturbed by the rash proceedings of the adherents of the Stuart dynasty, who were conspiring to elevate the Pretender to the throne, in which they were abetted by the courts of Louis XIV. of France and of other foreign potentates. These proceedings occasioned the army to be augmented, and in July, 1715, Brigadier-General Phineas Bowles,—a warm-hearted loyalist, distinguished for his attachment to the house of Hanover,—who had acquired a reputation at the head of a regiment in the war of the Spanish succession, was commissioned to raise a corps of cavalry in the counties of Berks, Bucks, and Hants, having his general rendezvous at Reading.

His Majesty's appeal to his subjects was cheerfully responded to, and a number of loyalists coming forward to hazard their lives in defence of their King and constitution, Brigadier-General Bowles was soon at the head of a regiment of six troops, which, having been continued in the service to the present time, now bears the title of The Twelfth, or the Prince of Wales's, Royal Regiment of Lancers.

The following officers were appointed to commissions in the regiment:—

Captains. | Lieutenants. | Cornets.
Phineas Bowles, Col. | W. Wills, Capt.Lt. | William Pomfret
T. Strickland, Lt.Col. | William Bourden | Thomas Johnson
J. Orfeur, Major | Christopher Bland | Richard Hull
John Pierson | James Baker | William Pierce
Giles Stevens | John Johnson | Bret. Norton
John Prideaux | Hugh Hilton | —— Forfar.

While the regiment was in quarters in Berkshire, the Pretender's standard was raised in Scotland by the Earl of Mar; but this rebellion was suppressed without Brigadier-General Bowles's dragoons being required to proceed to the north; in October they escorted a number of state prisoners to London, who were tried, and several of them executed for endeavouring to excite the people to rebellion, and for enlisting men for the Pretender's service.

1716
1717
1718

In 1716 the regiment was stationed in Gloucestershire; in 1717 in Wiltshire; and in October, 1718, it marched to Bristol, where it embarked for Ireland, to replace a regiment of dragoons ordered to be disbanded in that country.

The Twelfth Dragoons were placed upon the Irish establishment, and they remained in that part of the United Kingdom during the following seventy-five years.

1719
1735
1739
1740

Brigadier-General Bowles was removed in March, 1719, to the Eighth Dragoons, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Twelfth, by Lieut.-Colonel Phineas Bowles. This officer was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735; to that of major-general in 1739, and was removed, in 1740, to the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, when King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons on Colonel Alexander Rose, from the Twentieth Foot.

1743
1746

Colonel Rose commanded the regiment until the summer of 1743, when he was succeeded by Colonel Samuel Walter Whitshed, from the Thirty-ninth Foot; and in April, 1746, Brigadier-General Thomas Bligh was appointed to the colonelcy of the regiment, from the Twentieth Foot.

1747
1749

Brigadier-General Bligh was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1747, and removed to the Second Irish Horse, now Fifth Dragoon Guards; and the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons was conferred on Major-General Sir John Mordaunt, from the Eighteenth regiment of Foot. This distinguished officer was promoted to the Tenth Dragoons, in 1749, and was succeeded by Major-General Lord George Sackville, afterwards Viscount Sackville, from the Twentieth regiment of Foot.

1750

On the 18th of January, 1750, Lord George Sackville was promoted to the Third Irish Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards; and the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Whitefoord, Baronet, from the Thirty-fifth Foot.

1751

King George II. issued, on the 1st of July, 1751, a warrant regulating the clothing, standards and colours of the several regiments, from which the following particulars have been extracted respecting the Twelfth Dragoons:—

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

Waistcoats and Breeches,—white.

Hats,—bound with silver lace, and ornamented with a white metal loop and a black cockade; the forage cap red, turned up with white, and XII.D. on the little flap.

Boots,—of jacked leather.

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

Horse Furniture,—of white cloth; the holster-caps and housings having a border of yellow lace, with a green stripe down the centre; XII.D. embroidered upon the housings, on a red ground, within a wreath of roses and thistles; the King's cipher, with the crown over it, and XII.D. underneath, embroidered upon the holster-caps.

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

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

Drummers and Hautboys,—white coats, lined with scarlet, and ornamented with yellow lace with a green stripe down the centre; scarlet waistcoats and breeches.

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

1763
1764

Lieut.-General Sir John Whitefoord died in 1763; and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Colonel Edward Harvey, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the Sixth Dragoons. In the following year, this officer was removed to the Third Irish Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons was conferred on Major-General Benjamin Carpenter, from lieut.-colonel of the second troop, now second regiment, of Life Guards.

1768

Although the necessity for maintaining an efficient military force in Ireland, had prevented the regiment sharing in the perils and conflicts of the war from 1741 to 1748, and from 1755 to 1762, during which periods several corps had acquired never-fading laurels, yet its excellent conduct during its service in Ireland had been noticed and appreciated; it was held in high estimation, and in 1768, King George III. conferred upon it the distinguished title of "The Prince of Wales's Regiment," in honor of the heir-apparent to the throne, afterwards King George IV., who was then in the seventh year of his age. At the same time the arms, clothing, and equipment were changed, and it was constituted a corps of "Light Cavalry," and was designated "The Twelfth, or The Prince of Wales's Regiment of Light Dragoons." The regiment was also permitted to assume as a regimental badge, a coronet, with three feathers, and the motto "Ich Dien;" also a rising sun, and a red dragon.

1770

Major-General Carpenter was removed to the Fourth Dragoons in 1770, and was succeeded by Major-General William Augustus Pitt, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the Tenth Dragoons.

1775
1782

After commanding the regiment five years, Major-General Pitt was removed to the Third Irish Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and was succeeded by Lieut.-General the Honorable William Keppel, from the Fourteenth Foot, who died in 1782, when His Majesty appointed Lieut.-General the Honorable George Lane Parker, from the Twentieth Foot, to the colonelcy of the Prince of Wales's Light Dragoons.

1784
1785

In 1784 the uniform was changed from scarlet to blue, and in 1785 blue cloaks were adopted.

1789

On the 25th June, 1789, Lieutenant the Honorable Arthur Wellesley, now Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, was removed to the Twelfth Light Dragoons from the Forty-first Foot, and continued to belong to this regiment until the 30th June, 1791.

1791

Lieut.-General Parker commanded the regiment nine years, and dying in the autumn of 1791, was succeeded by Colonel Sir James Steuart, Baronet, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the Fifth Dragoons.

1793
1794

The French revolution, which occurred at this period, occasioned the regiment to be withdrawn from Ireland, where it had been stationed seventy-five years, and to be employed in more active services. Although the King of France was beheaded, and the republicans maintained their authority by the terrors of the guillotine, yet many patriots stood forward in the cause of royalty, and the inhabitants of the celebrated port of Toulon,—the principal station of the French navy, delivered up their port and city to Admiral Lord Hood, who took possession in August, 1793, in the name of Louis XVII. A French army advanced against Toulon, which was defended by a few British, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Sardinian troops; succours were sent out, and the Twelfth Light Dragoons embarked for the Mediterranean. Toulon was, however, abandoned, and arrangements were made for attacking the island of Corsica; part of the regiment landed and was at the taking of Bastia, which surrendered on the 22nd of May, 1794; and an assembly of the deputies afterwards agreed to unite the island to Great Britain. The remainder of the regiment sailed to Italy, and landed at Civita Vecchia,—a fortified sea-port in the bay of the Tuscan sea,—and the conduct of the officers and soldiers attracted the notice of Pope Pius VI., whose thanks were communicated by Cardinal de Zelada, Secretary of State to His Holiness, in the following letter:—

"From the Vatican, May 30th, 1794.

"The marked consideration which the Holy Father has always entertained, and never will cease to entertain, for the generous and illustrious English nation, induces him not to neglect the opportunity of giving a proof of it, which is now afforded by the stay of a British regiment at Civita Vecchia. As his holiness cannot but applaud the regular and praiseworthy conduct of the troops in question, he has determined to evince his entire satisfaction by presenting a gold medal to each of the officers, including General Sir James Steuart, Baronet, and Colonel Erskine[1], though absent; and since these medals, twelve in number, are not, at the present moment, in readiness, nor can be provided before the departure of the regiment from Civita Vecchia, the Holy Father will be careful that they shall be sent, as soon as possible, to Sir John Cox Hippesly, who will be pleased to transmit them to the respective officers, making them acquainted, at the same time, with the feelings by which His Holiness is animated, and with the lively desire which he entertains of manifesting, on all occasions, his unalterable regard, whether it be towards the nation in general, or towards every individual Englishman. In thus making known to Sir John Cox Hippesly, member of the British parliament, the dispositions of the Supreme Pontiff, the Cardinal de Zelada, Secretary of State, begs leave to add an offer of his own services, and the assurances of his distinguished esteem[2]."

1795

The Twelfth Light Dragoons were withdrawn from Italy and Corsica, and, sailing to England, landed at Plymouth in January, 1795; they were stationed, during the summer, at Tavistock, and passed the winter at Nottingham.

1796

In the summer of 1796 the regiment was removed to Croydon, and in October to York. The French republic was, in the mean time, conspiring the destruction of British commerce, and having concluded a treaty of peace with Spain, had entered into negociations with the Portuguese; but the Queen of Portugal refused to ratify the treaty, and agreed to receive British troops into several ports of Portugal. The Twelfth Light Dragoons were selected to proceed to Portugal, to assist in the defence of that kingdom, in the event of its being attacked by France or her allies.

1797

The regiment left England during the winter, arrived at Portugal in the beginning of 1797, and was followed by the Twenty-sixth Dragoons, the second battalion of the First (Royals), and the Eighteenth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first regiments of foot.

1800
1801

The Twelfth Light Dragoons were stationed at Lisbon, where they remained until the winter of 1800, when they embarked to join the expedition under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, destined to undertake the expulsion of the French "Army of the East" from Egypt. The regiment sailed under the convoy of the Braakel, armed en flûte, and arrived on the 11th of January, 1801, at the Bay of Marmorice, in Asiatic Turkey, where the fleet was anchored in a splendid basin of water, surrounded by mountains covered with trees. The regiment landed, and received a supply of Turkish horses, which proved of so very inferior a description, that the commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Mervyn Archdall, solicited to serve with the regiment as infantry; the necessity of having a body of mounted cavalry was, however, urgent, and three hundred of the best of the horses were trained[3]; a number of men, however, remained dismounted. The Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Light Dragoons were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Finch.

From the Bay of Marmorice the fleet sailed on the 23rd of February, and the greatness of the armament, with the gaiety of the brave men on board, was calculated to excite a deep feeling of interest respecting the destiny of the expedition, which involved the dearest interests of Great Britain. The gallant troops employed on this enterprise proved worthy of the confidence reposed in them, and they more than realized the expectations of their king and country. Arriving off the celebrated city of Alexandria in the beginning of March, the fleet bore down into the Bay of Aboukir, and on the 8th of that month, the troops landed, and defeated a numerous body of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, formed to oppose them. Advancing towards Alexandria, the army encamped, on the 12th of March, near Mandora Tower, and on the following day marched through a grove of date-trees, and drove the enemy from a position he occupied. The Twelfth Light Dragoons had one man and four horses killed; one serjeant, and one private soldier wounded.

After this success the army encamped, and the Egyptian peasantry brought a supply of sheep, goats, poultry, and eggs. On the 18th of March, when a great part of the regiment had left the camp to water the horses, information arrived of the approach of a reconnoitring party, and Lieut.-Colonel Archdall collected sixty men, with whom he advanced to meet the enemy, taking also a piquet of twenty men. After proceeding about three miles, he met one hundred and fifty French hussars and infantry, under General D'Estin, and, notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, he instantly detached Lieutenant Levingston with twelve men to attack the left flank of the French hussars, while he charged the front with the main body. Dashing furiously upon his opponents, Colonel Archdall broke the French infantry at the first onset; their cavalry instantly fled, and the British troopers pursued, killing and wounding several, but the main body of the French hussars, being better mounted than the British, escaped. The precaution of securing the French infantry had been, inconsiderately, omitted, and when the troopers returned from the pursuit, they were fired upon by the foot from behind a sandhill, which occasioned some loss, and, finally, the French infantry effected their retreat. The Twelfth Light Dragoons had five horses killed; Lieut.-Colonel Archdall, and one serjeant wounded; Captain the Honorable Pierce Butler, Cornet Earle Lindsay Daniel, and seven men, who had been most eager in the pursuit, were intercepted in their return, and made prisoners.

Lieut.-Colonel Archdall lost his arm, and the command of the Twelfth Dragoons devolved on Lieut.-Colonel Robert Browne.

On the 21st of March the British repulsed an attack of the French on their position; but they had to lament the loss of Sir Ralph Abercromby, who was mortally wounded. The loss of the Twelfth Light Dragoons was limited to seven men wounded.

From the vicinity of Alexandria the regiment afterwards traversed the country to Rosetta, and advanced from thence along the banks of the Nile, taking part in the operations by which the French were forced to quit their fortified post at Rahmanie, where the Twelfth lost several men and horses.

While possession was being taken of the fort of Rahmanie, Lieutenant Drake and thirty men of the regiment went out to water their horses, and hearing a firing at a distance, they proceeded to the spot, and found fifty men of the Twenty-second French Dragoons skirmishing with a party of Arabs. The Twelfth advanced with the most determined gallantry, but at the moment when they were about to charge, the French captain held up a white handkerchief, and agreed to surrender. An aide-de-camp, with despatches, was also made prisoner on this occasion.

From Rahmanie, the army advanced along the banks of the Nile towards Cairo, and arrived on the 16th of May at Algam and Nadir. On the following morning some Bedouin Arabs arrived at Colonel Browne's tent with information that a body of French were in the Lybian Desert; the colonel sent them to head-quarters, and immediately despatched Lieutenant Francis Raynes with a small detachment into the desert; also ordered the light artillery and cavalry to feed and water their horses, and be ready to move at a moment's notice: Lieutenant Catson was afterwards sent out with another small detachment to keep up the communication with the first. Soon afterwards Brigadier-General Doyle was directed to enter the desert with his brigade of infantry,—the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Light Dragoons (two hundred and fifty men) and some artillery. At the same time Colonel Abercromby and Major Wilson galloped forward to find the enemy. After proceeding some distance at a brisk trot the Light Dragoons came in sight of the French column, which had been skirmishing with the Arabs. The enemy was very superior in numbers; the British artillery was some distance in the rear, and the infantry was not in sight; but Major Wilson advanced with a white handkerchief on the point of his sword, and proposed to the French commander, Colonel Cavalier, to surrender on condition of being sent to France, and the officers to retain their private property. This was at first refused, but Colonel Browne forming the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Light Dragoons rank-entire, with extended files, they presented a formidable appearance; and the French officers and soldiers, being weary of Egypt, and desirous of returning to France, surrendered. This proved to be a valuable French convoy of

- 28 officers.
- 570 rank and file,
- 1 stand of colours,
- 1 light four-pounder,
- 300 horses and dromedaries, and
- 500 camels.

One hundred and twenty men of Bonaparte's famous dromedary corps were among the prisoners, and presented a grand and novel appearance; and the horses and camels formed a valuable acquisition to the British army.

Brigadier-General (afterwards Sir John) Doyle expressed, in a letter to Colonel Browne, his approbation of the excellent conduct of the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Light Dragoons, adding,—"With such troops I shall always feel a pride to serve; and at their head, be content to fall, being convinced it must be with honor." When this officer received supporters to his arms, he chose, as one of them, a light dragoon of the Twelfth, holding the French color taken with the convoy.

The army, continuing to advance, arrived, on the 8th of June, near the Pyramids, where it halted several days, and subsequently advanced to Cairo, and invested the city; the Twelfth Light Dragoons being posted on the left of the river. In a few days the French surrendered the capital of Egypt, which added additional lustre to the British arms, and the brave soldiers, whose skill and valor gained these honors, were rewarded with the approbation of their Sovereign, and the thanks of Parliament.

From Cairo the army retired down the Nile, and commenced the siege of Alexandria, which city was surrendered in September, and the deliverance of Egypt from the power of France was thus completed.

1802

On the evacuation of Egypt, the Twelfth Light Dragoons returned to England, where they arrived in 1802. The officers received each a gold medal from the Grand Seignior, and the regiment was subsequently honored with the royal authority to bear on its guidons and appointments, a "Sphynx," with the word "Egypt," as a mark of His Majesty's approbation of their gallant services in the Egyptian campaign[4].

1803
1804

After their return from Egypt, the Twelfth Light Dragoons were stationed at Weymouth until the end of the year, when they proceeded to Ireland, and the head-quarters were established at Clonmel, from whence they were removed, in 1803, to Limerick, and in 1804, to Dublin.

1805
1806
1807
1808

Returning to England in 1805, the regiment was stationed at Guildford and Romford; in 1806 the head-quarters were at Blatchington, with numerous detachments on the Sussex coast. In 1807 they were removed to Hythe, with detachments on the coast of Kent. In 1808 the regiment marched to Hounslow and Hampton Court, and took the escort duty for the royal family.

1809
1810

The regiment was relieved from the escort duty, in 1809, and embarked with the expedition to Holland under General the Earl of Chatham. It was on board the fleet during the siege and capture of Flushing on the island of Walcheren; and when the object of the expedition was relinquished, the regiment returned to England; the head-quarters were established at Deal, with detached troops along the coast of Kent, where they were stationed in 1810.

1811

In the spring of 1811 the Twelfth Light Dragoons received orders to hold themselves in readiness to join the allied army commanded by Lord Wellington, engaged in the glorious struggle to effect the expulsion of the legions of Bonaparte from Spain and Portugal; and six troops of the regiment embarked at Portsmouth in May and June. On the 11th of June Lieut.-Colonel Hon. F. C. Ponsonby was appointed lieut.-colonel in the regiment in succession to Major-General Robert Browne. The regiment landed at Lisbon on the 25th of June, and, after a halt of ten days, advanced up the country. The allied army retired, soon afterwards, from its position on the Caya in the Alentejo, and moved towards Ciudad Rodrigo; and the Twelfth Light Dragoons were formed in brigade with the First (Royal) Dragoons under the command of Major-General Slade. This brigade was employed in the operations connected with the blockade of Ciudad Rodrigo, and with the action at El Bodon, which took place when the armies of Marshal Marmont and General Dorsenne advanced to relieve the blockaded fortress. A series of movements followed, in which the Twelfth took part, and after the retrograde of the French army, the brigade went into cantonments in the valley of the Mondego, the Twelfth occupying Celerico.

1812

In the winter, when the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo was undertaken, the Twelfth Light Dragoons advanced to take part in covering the operation, and were posted at Regarda, and on the capture of fortress in January, 1812, they fell back to Seixo, in the valley of Mondego, where they were formed in brigade with the Fourteenth and Sixteenth Light Dragoons, under the orders of Major-General Anson.

In February the Twelfth Light Dragoons marched to Thomar, where they remained until the siege of Badajoz was undertaken, when they proceeded to the Alentejo. On the approach of the French army, they crossed the Guadiana and advanced to Los Santos, where they took the outpost duty, and Badajoz was captured by storm on the 6th of April. The covering army afterwards advanced towards the enemy, who fell back, and on the 10th of April the Twelfth Light Dragoons drove the enemy's posts from the vicinity of Usagre, and occupied the town. On the following day the brigade, commanded on this occasion by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Frederick Ponsonby of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, moved towards Llerena, and kept the attention of a large body of French cavalry engaged by skirmishing, while the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Dragoons, commanded by Major-General Le Marchant, passed secretly at the back of some heights, and gained the enemy's flank. Everything succeeded according to expectation; as three squadrons under Lieut.-Colonel Ponsonby skirmished, the Fifth Dragoon Guards issued from a grove of olive-trees and charged the enemy's flank; and in the next moment the light brigade charged the front of the French line, which was instantly broken and pursued for several miles. A hundred Frenchmen were killed and wounded in the field, and a much greater number, including one lieut.-colonel, two captains, and a lieutenant, were made prisoners. The loss of the Twelfth Light Dragoons was limited to one serjeant, two private soldiers, and one horse killed; one serjeant, four private soldiers, and three horses wounded. A cavalry order was issued on the following day, from which the following is an extract:—

"Lieut.-General Sir Stapleton Cotton begs Major-General Le Marchant and the Honorable Lieut.-Colonel Ponsonby will accept his best thanks for the gallant and judicious manner in which they commanded their brigades yesterday, and he requests they will make known to the officers commanding regiments the lieut.-general's high approbation of their conduct, as well as of the zeal and attention displayed by all ranks. The order which was observed by the troops in pursuing the enemy, and the quickness with which they formed after every attack, does infinite credit to the commanding officers, and is a convincing proof of the good discipline of the several regiments."

The French army under Marshal Soult retired; but another army under Marshal Marmont had entered Portugal, and Major-General Anson's brigade left Spanish Estremadura, and marched for the province of Beira. Marshal Marmont retired; and the Twelfth Light Dragoons, having halted a short period at Castello-Branco, were afterwards removed to Cano.

In June, when the army took the field, the Twelfth Light Dragoons proceeded to the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, and subsequently advanced upon Salamanca, from whence the French were driven; the regiment, having crossed the Tormes below that city, with the column under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton, advanced, by St. Christoval, along the road to Toro, and after skirmishing with the French rear-guard, took the outposts in front of St. Christoval, where the army was placed in position during the siege of the forts.

After the capture of the forts at Salamanca, the army advanced to the bank of the Douro, and the French under Marshal Marmont were posted on the opposite side of the river. In the middle of July the French passed the Douro, when Lord Wellington united his centre and left on the Guarena; but caused two divisions, and Major-General Anson's brigade of cavalry, to halt at Castrejon, on the Trabancos, under Lieut.-General Sir Stapleton Cotton. The Twelfth Light Dragoons arrived at Castrejon on the 17th of July, and in the evening the piquet under Captain Dickens was attacked. On the following morning at day-break, the out-posts were driven in, and the French appeared in great force; the cavalry formed in front of the infantry, but afterwards advanced towards the river and some sharp skirmishing occurred. Lord Wellington arriving, the whole were directed to retire behind the Guarena, which was executed with little loss. The Twelfth Light Dragoons had five rank and file, and eight horses killed; Adjutant Getterick, twelve rank and file, and four horses wounded; one rank and file and three horses missing.

The Twelfth Light Dragoons were actively employed during the operations which followed the retreat behind the Guarena, and on the 20th of July, when the opposing armies were moving parallel to each other, Captain Barton's squadron suffered from a cannonade; this squadron furnished the out-posts at night.

The army subsequently withdrew to the vicinity of Salamanca, where a general action was fought on the 22nd of July. The Twelfth Light Dragoons were stationed on the left, and not far from the rocky Arapiles, and they had the honor of taking part in the overthrow of the French army. The regiment charged twice in the evening, and broke some French infantry, after which a squadron under Captain Andrews moved to Huarte. Its loss was Captain Dickens, one serjeant, one rank and file and one horse killed; two rank and file and three horses wounded.

On the day after the battle, the Twelfth joined the other regiments of the brigade, which had been in pursuit of the enemy's rear-guard, and following the French army in its retrograde movement, arrived at the ancient city of Valladolid, in Leon, on the 30th of July. The pursuit was not continued; but the Marquis of Wellington left a small force in the neighbourhood of Valladolid, including the Twelfth Light Dragoons, and marched with the army to Madrid, a distance of about one hundred miles.

When the allied army had left the vicinity of the Douro, General Clauzel advanced with the French troops which had been defeated at Salamanca, and occupied Valladolid, and Major-General Anson's brigade was withdrawn across the Douro at Tudela in the middle of August, when the Twelfth had one man killed in a skirmish with the French.

On the return of the army from Madrid, the French retreated; the British moved forward, and on the 7th of September the Twelfth Light Dragoons entered Valladolid, and skirmished with the enemy's rear-guard when the bridge was blown up.

Leaving Valladolid the French army retired down the beautiful Pisuerga and Arlanzan valleys; the allies followed, and the ground being favorable for a retiring army, repeated skirmishes took place, in which the Twelfth Light Dragoons were engaged. Arriving at Burgos, the capital of Old Castille, the army halted, and commenced the siege of the castle; the cavalry being pushed forward to Monasterio, where the Twelfth Light Dragoons had frequent skirmishes with parties of the enemy.

The French army having been reinforced and placed under the orders of General Souham, advanced upon Burgos; and this circumstance, with the movements of the forces under Joseph Buonaparte and Marshal Soult, induced the British commander to raise the siege of Burgos castle, and to retire.

During the retreat from Burgos to Ciudad Rodrigo, the Twelfth Light Dragoons were actively employed in covering the rear, and they had frequent rencontres with the French advance-guards, on one of which occasions their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Frederick Ponsonby, was wounded; Lieutenant Taylor was also wounded; and the regiment had several private soldiers and horses killed and wounded.

After passing the Agueda the army went into quarters; the Twelfth Light Dragoons were stationed at Oliveira de Condé; and from the period they had taken the field in June, they reckoned thirty-three skirmishes and one general engagement, in which the regiment, or a portion of it, had taken part.

1813

In February, 1813, the regiment was removed to St. Pedro de Sul, on the Vouga, and in April to Agueda, between Coimbro and Oporto. In the mean time arrangements were made for opening the compaign, and in May, the British cavalry of the left wing crossed the Douro, some at Oporto, some at Lamega and other places, and entered the mountainous district of the Tras-os-Montes; they were followed by several divisions of infantry, and by the pontoon train; the whole under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham. The Twelfth Light Dragoons formed a part of this force; they passed the Douro at Oporto, accompanied this portion of the army in its difficult march through mountainous regions held to be nearly impracticable even for small corps, and forded the Esla at the end of May. The French, finding their position turned, fell back without hazarding a battle, and a series of retrograde movements brought them behind the Ebro. The Twelfth Light Dragoons followed close on the rear of the retiring enemy, and moving towards the sources of the Ebro, traversed those wild, but beautiful, mountain-regions, through which the Marquis of Wellington moved his numerous columns to turn the position occupied by the French, who fell back upon Vittoria. On the 18th of June, the Twelfth Light Dragoons overtook a French division, with which they skirmished until a British column came up, when the enemy retired.

The skilful and brilliant movements of the British commander had forced the enemy back in confusion from the banks of the Tormes to the confines of the Pyrenees, in three weeks; and this splendid success was followed by a great victory in the valley of Vittoria on the 21st of June, in the gaining of which the Twelfth Light Dragoons had the honor to take part. They formed part of the left column under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, and supported the attacks of the infantry and artillery on the right of the enemy's positions at Abechuco and Gamarra Major, and towards the close of the action they crossed the little river Zadora, turned the enemy's right, and cut off his retreat by the Bayonne road. The loss of the regiment was small, viz.:—Cornet Hammond and one man killed, and three men wounded: its gallant bearing throughout the action, and the zeal, spirit, and activity evinced by the officers and men, were, however, conspicuous, particularly in its movements in the evening of that eventful day.

On the 23rd of June, the Twelfth Light Dragoons were detached, with other forces under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, by the pass of Adrian to the district of Guipuscoa, in the province of Biscay, and in the evening the head of the column, having crossed the Mutiol mountain, descended upon Segura. The Twelfth passed the night in the mountain, resumed the march on the following day, and arrived in the evening in the neighbourhood of Villa Franca, at the moment when the rear-guard of General Foy's division, which was escorting a valuable convoy towards France, was entering the town. The French took up a strong position, some sharp fighting occurred, and eventually General Foy fell back to Tolosa, from whence he was driven with the loss of four hundred men killed and wounded; but the convoy entered France in safety.

In the beginning of July, St. Sebastian was besieged, and the Twelfth Light Dragoons were employed in covering the siege of that important fortress. Towards the end of July, when Marshal Soult advanced with a powerful army to drive the allies from the Pyrenees and relieve the invested fortresses, the siege of St. Sebastian was turned into a blockade, and Major-General Anson's brigade of cavalry was employed in keeping up the communication through the mountains, between the left and centre of the allied army. The communication was interrupted on the 27th and 28th of July; but was renewed on the 29th, and after much hard fighting in the mountains, the French were driven back with loss. The siege of St. Sebastian was then renewed, and the Twelfth Light Dragoons took post at Usurbil, from whence a squadron was subsequently detached to Renterio to furnish the out-posts in that direction. St. Sebastian was taken by storm on the 31st of August, and on the 9th of September the citadel surrendered. About this period Major-General Vandeleur was appointed to the command of the brigade of which the Twelfth Light Dragoons formed part.

After the fall of St. Sebastian, the troops which had been employed in the siege advanced to the frontiers, and on the 7th of October the passage of the Bidassoa was forced, and the army entered France. Unprincipled aggression was thus overtaken by retributive justice, and the kingdom which had sent its legions to other countries to ravage and devastate, became the theatre of war. After the passage of the river, the Twelfth Light Dragoons bivouacked on the great road, with posts at Urogne.

Pampeluna having surrendered, a forward movement was made on the 10th of November, when the enemy's works on the river Nivelle were attacked and forced. The Twelfth supported the infantry, and lost several men and horses from a cannonade to which they were exposed. The river Nive was passed in the early part of December; but the weather became so severe as to confine the troops to their quarters, and the Twelfth Light Dragoons returned to Urogne, and took the out-post duty in front of St. Jean-de-Luz. The French army occupied a strong camp at Bayonne.

1814

When the severity of the weather abated, the army was again put in motion; and in the second week of February, 1814, the British commander advanced against the enemy's left to draw Marshal Soult's attention to that quarter, while the passage of the Adour was effected, by the division under Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, below Bayonne. By a difficult night-march a body of troops approached the river on the morning of the 23rd of February; the artillery forced the French flotilla to retire, and sixty men of the foot-guards were rowed across in a pontoon; a raft was formed, a hawser was stretched across, and six hundred of the foot-guards, the fifth battalion of the sixtieth regiment, and part of the rocket-battery crossed, and repulsed the attack of a French column from Bayonne. On the 24th a squadron of the Twelfth Light Dragoons crossed the Adour, the men in boats, and the horses swam across the river. A British flotilla afterwards arrived, a bridge of boats was thrown across, and Bayonne was blockaded.

In the mean time important events had transpired in various parts of Europe, and the gigantic power of Bonaparte was reduced. A party favorable to the Bourbon dynasty was known to exist at Bordeaux, towards which city a body of troops was detached under Sir William, now Lord, Beresford. The Twelfth Light Dragoons moved by the old road across the Landes towards Bordeaux, where they arrived on the 12th of March, and the magistrates and city-guards displayed the white cockade. The regiment was left at Bordeaux under Lieut.-General the Earl of Dalhousie; it furnished posts and patroles between the Garonne and Dordogne. Two squadrons were subsequently attached to part of the seventh division which occupied La Réolles; and on the 7th of April, a squadron commanded by Major Bridger, crossed the Dordogne, with Lord Dalhousie, and made a successful charge upon a body of French infantry at Etoliers.

Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated by the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. After reposing a short time in quarters, the regiment commenced its march through France to Calais, which was performed in a month, and in the second week of July it embarked for Dover, from whence it proceeded to Hounslow, where it was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of York; it was afterwards removed to Dorchester.

In closing the account of the services of the Twelfth Light Dragoons in the Peninsula, it is worthy of being recorded, that the regiment never had a piquet surprised, nor a patrole taken; neither did any instance of desertion occur.

1815

In February, 1815, the regiment marched to Reading, in consequence of some disturbances in Berkshire.

After commanding the regiment for twenty-three years, General Sir James Steuart Denham, Baronet, was removed to the Scots Greys, and was succeeded by Lieut.-General Sir William Payne, Baronet, from the Nineteenth Light Dragoons, by commission dated the 12th of January, 1815.

His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, appreciating the important services rendered by the army during the war, conferred rewards for gallant conduct on officers and corps; and the Twelfth Light Dragoons were authorized to bear on their guidons and appointments the word "Peninsula," to commemorate their services in Portugal, Spain, and the south of France, under Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington. Their commanding officer, Colonel the Honorable F. C. Ponsonby, was rewarded with a medal and two clasps for the battles of Barrosa, Salamanca, and Vittoria. Before these distinctions were all conferred, the reappearance of Bonaparte in France,—his re-assumption of the imperial dignity,—and the flight of Louis XVIII. from Paris to the Netherlands, occasioned a British army once more to take the field against the legions of the usurper.

Six troops of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, commanded by Colonel the Honorable F. C. Ponsonby, embarked at Ramsgate, in the beginning of April, 1815, leaving a depôt of two troops in England, (which was subsequently augmented to four,) and landing at Ostend, on the 3rd of that month, advanced up the country; they were formed in brigade with the Eleventh and Sixteenth Light Dragoons, under Major-General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur. Soon after their arrival in Flanders, they were reviewed by the Duke of Wellington, who was pleased to express his "approbation of their appearance; that he was happy at having again under his orders, a corps which had always been distinguished for its gallantry and discipline, and he did not doubt, should occasion offer, but it would continue to deserve his good opinion; and he hoped every man would feel a pride in endeavouring to maintain the reputation of the regiment."

When Bonaparte endeavoured, by a sudden advance of his numerous legions, to interpose between the British and Prussian armies, and beat them in detail, the Twelfth Light Dragoons were suddenly ordered to march, on the morning of the 16th of June, to Enghien, from whence they continued their route, a great part of the way at a trot, to Quatre Bras, where they arrived at sunset, at the moment when the French troops, under Marshal Ney, were withdrawing from the contest. The regiment bivouacked on the ground behind the field of battle, and furnished small piquets along the front, in communication with the infantry. On the following day, when the army made a retrograde movement, to keep up the communication with the Prussians, the Twelfth Light Dragoons withdrew by the lower road, through the woods and open grounds, passed the river Dyle, at a deep ford, below Genappe, and took post on the left of the position, in front of the village of Waterloo, where they bivouacked in the open fields, and were exposed to a heavy rain during the night.

On the following morning (18th June) two powerful armies confronted each other; each occupied a range of heights of easy access, and a narrow valley was between them. Both armies were confident in their leader, and, as daylight appeared, they prepared to engage in deadly conflict.

The Twelfth Light Dragoons were formed in column of squadrons, and posted in a pea-field, above Papilot, a short distance from the left of the fifth division, which formed the left of the British infantry. Soon after mid-day Count D'Erlon's corps attacked the British left, but was repulsed, on which occasion a brilliant charge was made by the Royals, Greys, and Inniskilling Dragoons. One column of the enemy, on the extreme right of the attacking force, had not been engaged, and it continued to advance. Major-General Vandeleur had proceeded, with part of his brigade, to support the Royals, Greys, and Inniskilling Dragoons, whilst re-forming after their charge; but the Twelfth remained on the left, and Colonel Ponsonby, having authority to act discretionally, resolved, notwithstanding the inferiority of his numbers, to attack the French column with the regiment. He formed the Twelfth in open column, cautioned the men "to be steady, and do their duty," and led them forward over ploughed ground, saturated with rain, to attack this formidable column of infantry, which was supported on the flank by lancers, and covered by the fire of artillery from a rising ground in its rear. As the French column crossed the valley between the two armies, the Twelfth passed the hedge-row occupied by the Highlanders, and descended the rising ground on which the British line was formed, exposed to the fire of the enemy's artillery, and receiving a volley from the column of infantry, to which the slope, the regiment was descending, rendered it a conspicuous mark. As the regiment moved forward, it gradually increased its pace; the men were anxious to charge; but Colonel Ponsonby, whose courage they admired, and in whose talents they placed unlimited confidence, restrained their ardour, that he might maintain their compact formation, and reserve the power of the horses for the critical moment. When that moment arrived, he gave the word "Charge." The French, dismayed by the heroic bearing of the regiment, gave way, and the Twelfth plunged at speed into the column, broke its formation, and cut down the French soldiers with a terrible carnage. The moment the regiment had cut through the infantry, it was stopped by the columns of reserve, and charged by the lancers. Having succeeded in the object of the charge, Colonel Ponsonby was anxious to withdraw the regiment, and spare his men, who were fighting against fearful odds; but friends and foes were mixed in a confused mêlée; the colonel fell, dangerously wounded, and the regiment withdrew from the unequal contest.

After returning from the charge, the regiment was re-formed under Captain (now Colonel) Stawell; its loss had been severe; of the three squadrons, which ten minutes before had gone into action, one-third had fallen; it was found necessary to tell off the regiment into two squadrons, and the grief of the soldiers was great at the absence of their colonel, of whose fate they were ignorant[5]. Major James Paul Bridger, whose charger was killed in the attack, procured another horse, and assumed the command of the regiment.

The following account of the charge of the Twelfth, and of his own sufferings, was afterwards written by Colonel Ponsonby to satisfy the inquiries of numerous friends:—

"I was stationed with my regiment (about 300 strong) at the extreme of the left wing, and directed to act discretionally:—each of the armies was drawn up on a gentle declivity, a small valley lying between them.

"At one o'clock, observing, as I thought, unsteadiness in a column of French infantry, which was advancing with an irregular fire, I resolved to charge them. As we were descending in a gallop, we received from our own troops on the right, a fire much more destructive than theirs, they having begun long before it could take effect, and slackening as we drew nearer; when we were within fifty paces of them, they turned, and much execution was done among them, as we were followed by some Belgians, who had remarked our success. But we had no sooner passed through them, than we were attacked in our turn, before we could form, by about 300 Polish lancers, who had come down to their relief. The French artillery pouring in among us a heavy fire of grape-shot, which, however, killed three of their own for one of our men: in the mêlée, I was disabled almost instantly in both of my arms, and followed by a few of my men, who were presently cut down (no quarter being asked or given), I was carried on by my horse, till receiving a blow on my head from a sabre, I was thrown senseless on my face to the ground. Recovering, I raised myself a little to look round, when a lancer, passing by, exclaimed 'Tu n'es pas mort, coquin,' and struck his lance through my back; my head dropped, the blood gushed into my mouth, a difficulty of breathing came on, and I thought all was over.

"Not long afterwards a tirailleur came up to plunder me, threatening to take my life. I told him that he might search me, directing him to a small side-pocket, in which he found three dollars, being all I had; he unloosed my stock and tore open my waistcoat, then leaving me in a very uneasy posture; and was no sooner gone, than another came up for the same purpose; but assuring him I had been plundered already, he left me; when an officer, bringing on some troops, (to which probably the tirailleurs belonged,) and halting where I lay, stooped down and addressed me saying, he feared I was badly wounded: I replied that I was, and expressed a wish to be removed into the rear: he said it was against the order to remove even their own men, but that if they gained the day, as they probably would, (for he understood the Duke of Wellington was killed, and that six of our battalions had surrendered,) every attention in his power should be shown me. I complained of thirst, and he held his brandy-bottle to my lips, directing one of his men to lay me straight on my side, and place a knapsack under my head: he then passed on into the action,—and I shall never know to whose generosity I was indebted, as I conceive, for my life,—of what rank he was I cannot say; he wore a blue greatcoat. By and by another tirailleur came and knelt and fired over me, loading and firing many times, and conversing with great gaiety all the while; at last he ran off, saying, 'Vous serez bien aise d'entendre que nous allons nous retirer; bon jour, mon ami.'

"While the battle continued in that part, several of the wounded men and dead bodies near me, were hit with the balls, which came very thick in that place. Towards evening, when the Prussians came, the continued roar of the cannon along theirs and the British line, growing louder and louder as they drew near, was the finest thing I ever heard. It was dusk when two squadrons of Prussian cavalry, both of them two deep, passed over me in full trot, lifting me from the ground, and tumbling me about cruelly; the clatter of their approach, and the apprehensions it excited, maybe easily conceived; had a gun come that way, it would have done for me. The battle was then nearly over, or removed to a distance—the cries and groans of the wounded all around me, became every instant more and more audible, succeeding to the shouts, imprecations, outcries of 'Vive l'Empereur!' the discharges of musquetry and cannon; now and then intervals of perfect silence, which were worse than the noise;—I thought the night would never end. Much about this time, I found a soldier of the Royals lying across my legs, who had probably crawled thither in his agony; his weight, convulsive motions, his noises, and the air issuing through a wound in his side, distressed me greatly; the latter circumstance most of all, as the case was my own. It was not a dark night, and the Prussians were wandering about to plunder; (and the scene in Ferdinand, Count Fathom, came into my mind, though no women, I believe, were there,) several of them came and looked at me, and passed on: at length, one stopped to examine me. I told him, as well as I could (for I could say but little in German), that I was a British officer, and had been plundered already; he did not desist, however, and pulled me about roughly, before he left me. About an hour before midnight, I saw a soldier in an English uniform coming towards me; he was, I suspect, on the same errand. He came and looked in my face; I spoke instantly, telling him who I was, and assuring him of a reward, if he would remain by me. He said that he belonged to the 40th regiment, but had missed it. He released me from the dying man; being unarmed, he took up a sword from the ground, and stood over me, pacing backwards and forwards.—At eight o'clock in the morning, some English were seen at a distance; he ran to them, and a messenger was sent off to Hervey. A cart came for me. I was placed in it, and carried to a farm-house, about a mile and a half distant, and laid in the bed from which poor Gordon, (as I understood afterwards,) had been just carried out; the jolting of the cart, and the difficulty of breathing, were very painful. I had received seven wounds; a surgeon slept in my room, and I was saved by continual bleeding, 120 ounces in two days, besides the great loss of blood on the field[6]."

The regiment remained at its post on the left until towards the close of the action, when the head of a Prussian column had arrived at the field of battle, the Twelfth Light Dragoons were then removed from the left to the right of the allied army; and, in the general charge, made in the evening of this memorable day, they had the honor of being one of the corps which led the attack of the right wing; they passed over the ground on which the struggle had taken place between the French and English foot-guards, which was covered with killed and wounded; rushed upon the flanks of the enemy's broken columns with distinguished gallantry, and completed their rout and discomfiture. When the French army was overthrown and driven from the field, the regiment halted for the night. Its loss was Captain Sandys, Lieutenant Bertie, Cornet Lockhart, six serjeants, and thirty-seven rank and file, killed; Colonel Ponsonby, Lieutenant Dowbiggen, three serjeants, and fifty-five rank and file, wounded.

The honor of bearing the word "Waterloo" on their guidons and appointments was afterwards conferred on the Twelfth Light Dragoons by royal authority. Colonel the Honorable F. C. Ponsonby and Major James Paul Bridger were constituted companions of the Bath; Major Bridger was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel, and Captain Sampson Stawell to that of major; and Serjeant-Major Carruthers was appointed to a cornetcy. The following officers received silver medals:—

Col. Hon. F. C. Ponsonby | Lieut. W. H. Dowbiggin
Major J. P. Bridger | "    Albert Goldsmith
Capt. Sampson Stawell | "    Abraham Lane
"    G. F. Erskine | "    J. H. Slade
"    H. Wallace | "    Thomas Reed
"    Alexander Barton | Paymaster W. L. Otway
"    Henry Andrews | Adjutant John Griffith
Lieut. William Heydon | Surgeon B. Robinson
"    James Chatterton | Assist.-Surg. J. G. Smith
"    John Vandeleur | Vet.-Surg. James Castley
"    William Hay

Every non-commissioned officer and soldier also received a silver medal, with the privilege of reckoning two years' service for having been present at this battle,—the greatest of past or present times, and one which has increased the reputation of the British arms.

Following the shattered remnant of the French army in its flight, the regiment arrived in the vicinity of Paris, and the submission of the capital was followed by the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. The Twelfth Light Dragoons bivouacked in the Champs Elysées, and, having been reviewed by the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, and other distinguished personages, marched into cantonments in Normandy.

1816

The regiment, having been selected to form part of the army of occupation, was placed in brigade with the Eighteenth Hussars under Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian, and while stationed at Fruges, it assembled on the memorable field of Agincourt, where the Waterloo medals were presented to the officers and soldiers. In May, 1816, the regiment marched to Desvres, (Pas-de-Calais,) where the depôt squadron joined from England, and information was received, that His Royal Highness the Prince Regent had approved of the regiment being armed and equipped as a corps of "Lancers;" a detachment was, consequently, sent to England to learn the use of the Lance.

In October the regiment was reviewed, with the British, Saxon, and Danish contingents of the army of occupation, by their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Cambridge.

1817

As a further reward for its conduct on all occasions, the royal authority was granted, in March, 1817, for the regiment being styled the "Twelfth, or Prince of Wales's, Royal Lancers." At the same time the color of the facings was changed from yellow to scarlet, and the lace from silver to gold.

1818

In the autumn of this year the regiment was reviewed, with the army of occupation, near Valenciennes, by the King of Prussia and several princes and nobles; and in the autumn of 1818 the Russian, British, Danish, Saxon, and Hanoverian contingents, were reviewed by the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Prince of Orange, and the Grand Dukes Constantine and Michael.

After this review, the army of occupation was withdrawn from France; the Twelfth Royal Lancers embarked at Calais on the 10th of November, landed at Dover on the following day, and proceeded from thence to Chichester and Arundel. At the end of November they marched to Staines, and were on duty at the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte. They subsequently proceeded to Canterbury, and furnished detachments to Hythe and Deal.

1819

On the 21st January, 1819, Captain Alexander Barton was promoted, with other officers, to the rank of major in the army, for distinguished conduct in the field, while on service in the Peninsula, upon the recommendation of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.

1820

In the summer of 1819, the regiment was removed to Hounslow and Hampton-court, and was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. In August, 1820, it embarked at Bristol for Ireland, and after landing at Waterford, the head-quarters were stationed at Cahir.

Colonel the Honorable F. C. Ponsonby exchanged to the half-pay, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel T. W. Brotherton, who had served with distinguished gallantry in the Fourteenth Light Dragoons during the Peninsular war, and who assumed the command of the regiment in October of this year.

1821

From Cahir the regiment marched, in the spring of 1821, to Dublin, where it was stationed when King George IV. visited Ireland, and took part in the duties required on that occasion.

1822
1823
1824

After remaining at Dublin a year, the Twelfth Royal Lancers marched into the Connaught district, with their head-quarters at Ballinrobe, from whence they were removed, in May, 1823, to Cork; and in July, 1824, the regiment embarked at Waterford for England, landed at Bristol, and marched from thence to Brighton and Chichester.

1825

General Sir William Payne, Baronet, was removed to the Third Dragoon Guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Twelfth Royal Lancers by Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., K.C.H., by commission dated the 2nd of June, 1825.

In the summer of this year the regiment marched to the vicinity of London, and was reviewed, with the Household Brigade, First and Second Dragoon Guards, Scots Greys, Seventh Hussars, and a brigade of artillery, on Hounslow-heath, on the 28th of June, by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who was accompanied by the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex.

1826

From London the regiment marched to Coventry, Birmingham, and Abergavenny; and in April, 1826, it was removed to Hounslow and Hampton-court.

While the regiment was employed in the escort duty, commotions took place in Portugal, where a constitution had been conferred on the people, which gave them privileges previously unknown in that country; at the same time they were menaced by an invasion from Spain. In consequence of an application from the Portuguese government, a body of British troops was sent to Lisbon, and four troops of the Twelfth Royal Lancers, commanded by Major Barton, (Colonel Brotherton being on leave of absence,) embarked at Portsmouth in December, and landed at Lisbon in January, 1827.

1827

On the 22nd of January Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant was removed to the Fifteenth Hussars, and the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian, K.C.B., G.C.H.

The two squadrons in Portugal were stationed for several weeks at Belem, from whence they marched to Alhandra, and Alverca, and one troop was attached to the brigade of Foot Guards at Cartaxo. They proceeded to Torres Novas in March, retired to the vicinity of Lisbon in July, and subsequently occupied the barracks at Luz.

Lieut.-Colonel Brotherton exchanged to the half-pay, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Stawell, who joined the service troops in Portugal, and assumed the command of the regiment in September of this year at Luz.

1828

In these quarters the Twelfth Royal Lancers remained until the spring of 1828, when the British troops were withdrawn from Portugal; the regiment embarked from Lisbon on the 12th of March, landed at Ramsgate on the 26th, and joined the depôt troops at Canterbury on the following day.

1829

Leaving Canterbury in April, 1829, the regiment commenced its march for Scotland, and after short halts at London and York, arrived at Piershill-barracks, Edinburgh, on the 12th of May; one squadron being stationed at Glasgow.

1830

In April, 1830, the regiment embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland, landed at Donaghadee, and marched from thence to Dublin.

In this year orders were received to resume wearing scarlet clothing.

1831
1832
1833

The head-quarters were removed to Newbridge in June, 1831, to Cork in April, 1832, and in the spring of 1833 the regiment marched to Dublin, where it embarked for England; it landed at Liverpool in the middle of April, and proceeded from thence to Manchester.

Previous to the embarkation of the regiment from Dublin, a dinner was given, at the Royal Hospital, to the whole of the non-commissioned officers and privates, and to their wives and children, by their colonel, Lieut.-General Sir Hussey Vivian, Baronet, who was then commander of the forces in Ireland, as a testimony of his approbation of the good conduct and efficient services of the regiment. On his advancement to the dignity of Lord Vivian, in 1841, he chose for one of his supporters "A bay horse, guardant, caparisoned, thereon mounted a Lancer of the Twelfth, or Prince of Wales's, Royal Regiment of Lancers, habited, armed, and accoutred, supporting his lance, proper."

1834
1835
1836

From Manchester, the regiment marched in May, 1834, to Birmingham; leaving this station in April, 1835, it proceeded to Dorchester, and in the spring of 1836, to Coventry.

1837

On the removal of Lieut.-General Sir Hussey Vivian to the Royal Dragoons, he was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Twelfth Royal Lancers by Lieut.-General Sir Henry John Cumming, K.C.H., by commission dated the 20th of January, 1837.

From Coventry the regiment marched, in May, 1837, to Hounslow.

On the 28th September the Twelfth Royal Lancers, with the First Life Guards, and Grenadier Guards, were reviewed by the Queen in the Home Park, Windsor, being the first troops reviewed by Her Majesty after her accession to the throne; and on the 9th November the regiment had the honor of escorting Her Majesty on her visit to the City of London.

1838

On the 28th of June, 1838, the regiment was on duty at the coronation of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria. It is a singular coincidence, that three of the cavalry regiments, which attended the coronation of Her Majesty, were commanded by lieutenant-colonels who served together in the Twelfth Light Dragoons at the battle of Waterloo, viz.:—

Lieut.-Colonel Stawell | Twelfth Royal Lancers,
Lieut.-Colonel Chatterton | Fourth Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, and
Lieut.-Colonel Vandeleur | Tenth Royal Hussars.

Colonel Stawell, and the officers commanding the other regiments, which attended this august ceremony, had the honor of having a gold medal presented to them by command of Her Majesty.

On the 9th of July the Twelfth Royal Lancers were reviewed, with a number of other corps, in Hyde Park by Her Majesty; they subsequently marched to Brighton, where they were stationed in 1839.

1839

On the 28th December of this year, Colonel His Royal Highness The Prince George of Cambridge, was, by authority of Her Majesty, attached to the Twelfth Royal Lancers, and authorised to wear the uniform of the regiment. The Prince joined in February, 1840, and continued to do duty with the regiment for two years[7].

1840

Leaving Brighton in June, 1840, the regiment proceeded to Liverpool, where it embarked for Ireland.

1841

The regiment has since continued in the garrison of Dublin, and remains on that duty at the period of the termination of this record.

1842

In 1842 the regiment was again clothed in blue.

The Historical Record of The Twelfth Royal Lancers, as given in the preceding pages, which is confirmed by the testimony of the highest military commanders, under whom the regiment has served, sufficiently proves the value of this corps to the crown, and that it has, on all occasions, either in conflict with a foreign enemy, or in patient endurance, when domestic disturbances have required its services, fulfilled its duties with honor, and with advantage to the country.

The distinguished conduct of the regiment in Egypt; its gallant bearing and esprit de corps during the Peninsular War; the noble and daring charge made by the corps, on a column of French infantry, at the battle of Waterloo, on the 18th of June, 1815, with the heroic manner in which it led the attack of the right wing, at the close of the action, have established the character of the regiment, and proved its merit of the honors which have been conferred on it by royal authority.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The colonel and lieut.-colonel of the Twelfth Light Dragoons.

[2] Some of the officers proceeded to Rome, and had the honor of being introduced to the Pope, who received them in a very gracious manner, and taking a helmet into his hand, ejaculated a wish "that Heaven would enable the cause of truth and religion to triumph over injustice and infidelity," and he then placed it on Captain Browne's head.

[3] About three hundred men were mounted in the first instance, and three hundred more at a subsequent period.

[4] The following is a description of the Column erected by General R. Browne Clayton, K.C., D.C.L. and F.S.A. on the Rick of Carrig-a-Dagon, county of Wexford, Ireland, the estate of 3,000 statute acres, bestowed on him by his father in 1801.

Height of Column, 94 feet, 3 inches.

"This Column is to commemorate the conquest of Egypt, and the events of the Campaign under the command of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, K.B., in the year 1801, when General Browne Clayton (then Lieut.-Colonel) commanded the 12th Light Dragoons, and afterwards commanded the Cavalry in pursuit of the Enemy to Grand Cairo, taking, besides other Detachments, a Convoy in the Lybian Desert, composed of 600 French Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery, commanded by Colonel Cavalier, together with Bonaparte's celebrated Dromedary Corps, one four-pounder, and one stand of colors, and capturing 300 horses and dromedaries, and 500 camels. The events of this Campaign are further to be commemorated by the appointment of Trustees, under the will of General B. Clayton, who shall annually at sun-rise on the morning of the 21st of March (when the French, under the command of General Menou, attacked the British Encampment, before Alexandria) raise the Standard on the Column, and hoist the tricolor French flag, which shall remain until the hour of ten o'clock, when the British Flag shall be hoisted and kept up until sunset, as a Memorial of the Defeat of the French, which event forms the prelude of Britannia's Triumphs, through a regular and unbroken series of Glory and Prosperity down to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815; and on the 28th March, annually, the British Flag shall be hoisted half-standard high, as a Memorial of the Death of the brave Commander-in-Chief Sir Ralph Abercromby, who died of the wounds which he received before Alexandria, on the 21st March, 1801."

[5] Colonel Ponsonby's groom, an old soldier, who was in the rear with a led horse, rushed forward, with tears in his eyes, and continued to search for his master, regardless of his own danger, until he was driven away by the French skirmishers.

[6] Hon. Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, second son of Frederick third earl of Besborough, was appointed cornet in the Tenth Light Dragoons in 1800, and rose in 1803 to the rank of captain in the same corps, from which he exchanged to the Sixteenth Light Dragoons in 1806. In 1807 he was appointed major in the Twenty-third Light Dragoons, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at the battle of Talavera in 1809; and in 1810 he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment. In 1811 he served under Lieutenant-General Graham, at Cadiz: and at the battle of Barossa, in March of that year, he attacked, with a squadron of German dragoons, the French cavalry covering the retreat, overthrew them, took two guns, and even attempted, though vainly, to sabre Rousseau's battalions. On the 11th of June, 1811, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, at the head of which corps he served under Lord Wellington, and distinguished himself, in April, 1812, at Llerena, in one of the most brilliant cavalry actions during the war. At the battle of Salamanca he charged the French infantry, broke his sword in the fight, and his horse received several bayonet wounds. He repeatedly evinced great judgment, penetration, and resolution in out-post duty, and was wounded, in the retreat from Burgos, on the 13th of October, 1812. At the battle of Vittoria he again distinguished himself: his services at Tolosa, St. Sebastian, and Nive were also conspicuous; and, on the King's birth-day, in 1814, he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army. He commanded the Twelfth Light Dragoons at the battle of Waterloo, where he led his regiment to the charge with signal intrepidity. His services were rewarded with the following marks of royal favour:—Knight companion of the order of the Bath,—Knight grand cross of the order of St. Michael and St. George,—Knight commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic order,—a cross,—a Waterloo medal,—Knight of the Tower and Sword of Portugal,—and Knight of Maria Theresa of Austria. In 1824 he was appointed inspecting field-officer in the Ionian islands; in 1825 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was removed to the staff at Malta, and retained the command of the troops in that island until May, 1835, in which year he obtained the colonelcy of the Eighty-sixth Regiment, from which he was removed to the Royal Dragoons, in 1836. He was an ornament to his profession. In him, great military talent was united with the most chivalrous bravery,—calm judgment,—cool decision,—resolute action,—and modest deportment. He died on the 11th of January, 1837.

[7] (Copy.)

Horse Guards, 28th December, 1839.

Sir,

I have the honor, by direction of the General Commanding-in-Chief, to acquaint you, that Her Majesty has been pleased to approve of Colonel His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge being attached to the Twelfth Royal Lancers, and permitted to wear the uniform of that regiment without holding a commission in it.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) JOHN MACDONALD,

Adjutant-General.

Officer Commanding Twelfth
Royal Lancers, Brighton.

SUCCESSIONS OF COLONELS

OF

THE TWELFTH,

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF

LANCERS.

Phineas Bowles,

Appointed 22nd July, 1715.

Phineas Bowles served in the wars of Queen Anne, and succeeded, in July, 1705, Colonel Caulfield, in the command of a regiment of foot, with which he proceeded from Ireland to the relief of Barcelona, when that fortress was besieged by the French and Spanish forces under Philip, Duke of Anjou. He subsequently served in Spain under Archduke Charles, afterwards emperor of Germany; and his regiment distinguished itself at the battle of Saragossa in 1710, but was surrounded, and made prisoners in the mountains of Castille in December following. At the peace of Utrecht this regiment was disbanded, and he remained unemployed until the summer of 1715, when he was commissioned to raise a regiment of dragoons, now the Twelfth Royal Lancers. He was removed in 1719 to the Eighth Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1722.

Phineas Bowles,

Appointed 23rd March, 1719.

This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and served the campaigns of 1710 and 1711, under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was also employed in suppressing the rebellion of the Earl of Mar in 1715 and 1716, and was promoted in 1719 to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735, to that of major-general in 1739, and was removed to the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, in 1740. He died in 1749.

Alexander Rose,

Appointed 20th December, 1740.

Alexander Rose obtained a commission in the army on the 5th of May, 1704; he served several campaigns under the great Duke of Marlborough, and afterwards rose to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Fifth, the Royal Irish, Dragoons, from which he was promoted, in May, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. In December following he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons. His decease occurred in 1743, before he had attained any higher rank than that of colonel.

Samuel Walter Whitshed,

Appointed 14th June, 1743.

Samuel Walter Whitshed entered the army in August, 1704, and served in the war of the Spanish succession under the Earl of Galway and Archduke Charles of Austria. King George II. promoted him to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Eighth Dragoons, and in December, 1740, to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of Foot. In 1743 he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons, the command of which corps he retained until the spring of 1746, when he was succeeded by Brigadier-General Thomas Bligh.

Thomas Bligh,

Appointed 6th April, 1746.

This officer entered the army in the reign of King George I.; rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Horse, now Fifth Dragoon Guards, and in December, 1740, he was appointed colonel of the Twentieth regiment of Foot. On the 27th of May, 1745, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general; was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons in the following year, and promoted to the rank of major-general in 1747. He was removed to the colonelcy of the Second Irish Horse in December of the same year, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1754.

War having commenced between Great Britain and France in 1756, Lieutenant-General Bligh was appointed, in 1758, to the command of an expedition designed to make a descent on the coast of France, with the view of causing a diversion in favour of the army commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany. The fleet sailed in the beginning of August, and in seven days arrived in Cherbourg roads. The troops were landed, the town of Cherbourg was captured, the harbour, pier, and forts were destroyed, and the brass ordnance brought away as trophies of this success. In September a landing was effected on the coast of Brittany with the view of besieging St. Maloes, but this being found impracticable, the troops, after marching a short distance up the country, retired, and re-embarked at the bay of St. Cas. The enemy advanced in great numbers under the command of the Duke of Aguillon, and attacking the rear of the British army, occasioned great loss. Lieutenant-General Bligh was much censured for his conduct on this occasion, and soon after the return of the expedition, he retired from the service.

Sir John Mordaunt, K.B.,

Appointed 22nd December, 1747.

John Mordaunt entered the army in August, 1721, and after a progressive service of several years he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. In January, 1741, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifty-eighth (now Forty-seventh) Foot, and in June, 1745, he obtained the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade of infantry at the disastrous battle of Falkirk, fought on the 17th of January, 1746, and his distinguished conduct was commended by Lieut.-General Hawley, in his public despatches. He also held an appointment in the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and was sent in pursuit of the rebels from Stirling, with two regiments of dragoons and the Campbell Highlanders. At the battle of Culloden he commanded a brigade of infantry, and gained additional reputation; and he also signalized himself at the battle of Val in 1747. His meritorious conduct was rewarded, in the autumn of the same year, with the rank of major-general; he was also appointed colonel of the Twelfth Dragoons in December; and was removed in July, 1749, to the Fourth Irish Horse (now Seventh Dragoon Guards), and in November following to the Tenth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1754, and to that of general in 1770. He was also rewarded with the dignity of a knight companion of the most honorable military order of the Bath, and the government of Berwick. He died at Bevis-mount, near Southampton, on the 23rd of October, 1780, at the age of eighty-three years.

The Honorable James Cholmondeley.,

Appointed 24th July, 1749.

The Honorable James Cholmondeley, third son of George, second Earl of Cholmondeley, was appointed guidon and major in the first troop, now first regiment, of Life Guards, in 1725; in 1731 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and lieut.-colonel in the third troop of Life Guards; and in 1741 he obtained the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment, which was numbered the Forty-ninth, now Forty-eighth, Foot, from which he was removed in 1742, to the Thirty-fourth regiment. Accompanying his regiment to Flanders, in 1744, he served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade. He was at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745, and was afterwards promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the breaking out of the rebellion in Scotland, he returned to England with a brigade of infantry, and afterwards took the charge of two battalions recently arrived from Ireland, with which he joined the army in Yorkshire under Field-Marshal Wade. On the flight of the rebels from Derby, he was detached to Scotland, and signalised himself in a most conspicuous manner at the battle of Falkirk on the 17th of January, 1746; but the excessive fatigue he underwent, with continued exposure to severe weather, deprived him of the use of his limbs for some time. In 1747 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and was removed in 1749 to the Twelfth Dragoons. In November of the same year he was removed to the third Irish Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and in 1750, to the Sixth Dragoons. In 1754 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and he was many years lieut.-governor of Chester. He died in 1775.

Lord George Sackville,

Appointed 1st November, 1749.

Lord George Sackville, youngest son of his Grace the Duke of Dorset, choosing a military life, entered the army in 1737, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Twenty-eighth Foot in 1740. His distinguished behaviour at the head of his regiment at the battle of Dettingen, recommended him to the notice of King George II., and his lordship was shortly afterwards rewarded with the rank of colonel, and appointed one of His Majesty's aides-de-camp. Continuing to serve on the continent, he distinguished himself at the battle of Fontenoy, where he was shot in the breast. His lordship was also employed under the Duke of Cumberland, in suppressing the rebellion in Scotland, and was promoted, in 1746, to the colonelcy of the Twentieth Foot. He served the campaigns of 1747 and 1748, on the continent; and was removed, in 1749, to the Twelfth Dragoons, from which he was removed, in 1750, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers; he was also appointed secretary of state for Ireland. In 1757 he was removed to the Second Dragoon Guards, and appointed lieut.-general of ordnance, and in 1758 he was sworn a member of the privy council. He was second in command of the expedition to the coast of France, under Charles Duke of Marlborough; also, second in command of the troops sent to Germany; and, after the Duke of Marlborough's decease, his lordship was appointed commander-in-chief of the British troops in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Owing to some misunderstanding with his serene highness at the battle of Minden, his lordship returned to England, and was, shortly afterwards, deprived of his military employments. He was endowed with extraordinary talents as a statesman, and he filled, subsequently to this unpleasant affair, some of the highest offices in the administration. He assumed, by act of parliament, the surname of Germaine; and, in February, 1782, he was elevated to the peerage by the titles of Baron Bolebrook, and Viscount Sackville. He died in 1785.

Sir John Whitefoord, Bart.,

Appointed 18th January, 1750.

Sir John Whitefoord, of Blairquan, a Baronet of Nova Scotia, having served in the subordinate commissions several years, was promoted to the majority of the Sixth Dragoons in 1743, and served with his regiment in the Netherlands. He was subsequently promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Thirty-fifth Foot, and in January, 1750, he was appointed colonel of the Twelfth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1758, and to that of lieut.-general in 1760. He died at Edinburgh on the 1st of March, 1763.

Edward Harvey,

Appointed 17th March, 1763.

This officer held a commission many years in the Sixth Dragoons, with which corps he served at the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, and Val. In 1754 he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment, and proceeding to Germany in the summer of 1758, he was present at nearly every general engagement and skirmish in which British cavalry were employed, during the remainder of the seven years' war, and on several occasions he commanded a brigade of heavy dragoons: he was twice wounded, viz.: at Wetter, in August, 1759, where he surprised a French corps, and took many prisoners, and at Campen, in October, 1760. In 1763 he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons, and was removed, in the following year, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1762; to that of lieut.-general in 1772; and in 1775 he was removed to the colonelcy of the Sixth Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1778.

Benjamin Carpenter,

Appointed 20th September, 1764.

Benjamin Carpenter was many years an officer in the second troop, now second regiment, of Life Guards, in which corps he was appointed major in 1749, and lieut.-colonel in 1757. He did not serve abroad, but he was celebrated for a punctilious attention to all his duties, and being repeatedly employed in attendance on the court as ivory stick and silver stick in waiting, he obtained the favour and approbation of King George II., and also of King George III., who promoted him to the rank of colonel, and appointed him aide-de-camp to the King, in a few days after His Majesty's accession to the throne. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in July, 1762, and two years after the King gave him the colonelcy of the Twelfth Dragoons, from which he was removed in 1770, to the Fourth, the King's Own, Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1772, and to that of general in 1783. He died in 1788.

William Augustus Pitt,

Appointed 24th October, 1770.

William Augustus Pitt was appointed in February, 1744, cornet in the Tenth Dragoons, in which corps he rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel; he commanded the regiment in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and distinguished himself on several occasions, particularly at the battle of Campen, on the 15th of October, 1760, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in August, 1770; in October following he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons; and in 1775 he was removed to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers. In 1777 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and in 1780 he was removed to the Tenth Dragoons. He was created a knight of the most honorable order of the Bath in 1792; promoted to the rank of general in 1793; appointed governor of Portsmouth in 1794; and removed to the First Dragoon Guards in 1796. He died in 1810.

The Honorable William Keppel,

Appointed 18th October, 1775.

The Honorable William Keppel, fourth son of William-Anne, second Earl of Albemarle, was gentleman of the horse to King George II., and an officer of the first foot guards, in which corps he attained the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel on the 28th of April, 1751. In 1760 he was nominated second major of that regiment with the rank of colonel; and in 1761 he succeeded Lord Charles Manners in the colonelcy of the Fifty-sixth foot, with which he embarked with the armament fitted out against the Havannah, in the island of Cuba, having the rank of major-general in the expedition. On the surrender of the Havannah he took possession of fort La Punta, and when his eldest brother, George, third Earl of Albemarle, sailed for Europe, he was left in command at the Havannah, which city he delivered to the Spaniards after the conclusion of a treaty of peace in 1763. In 1765 he was removed to the Fourteenth Foot; in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; in 1773 he was commander-in-chief in Ireland; and was removed in 1775, to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, which he retained until his decease in 1782.

The Honorable George Lane Parker,

Appointed 18th March, 1782.

The Honorable Lane Parker, second son of George, second Earl of Macclesfield, served many years in the first foot guards, in which corps he attained the rank of lieutenant and captain in 1749; captain and lieut.-colonel in 1755; he was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in 1770; in which year he was appointed second major of the regiment. In 1773 King George III. gave him the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment, and promoted him to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777. In 1782 he was removed to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons, and he retained this appointment until his decease in 1791.

Sir James Steuart, Baronet,

Appointed 9th November, 1791.

James Steuart received a military education in Germany, and at sixteen years of age King George III. presented him with a cornetcy in the royal dragoons, his commission bearing the date the 17th of March, 1761. He served the campaign of that and the following year with the regiment in Germany; was at the battles of Kirch, Denkern and Groebenstein, and took part in several skirmishes. In 1763 he purchased a company in the Queen's royal highlanders, and that corps being disbanded soon afterwards, he improved his knowledge of the military profession by travelling in France and Germany. In 1766 he purchased a troop in the second Irish horse, now fifth dragoon guards; in 1769 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Lord Townshend): and in 1772 he obtained the majority of the thirteenth dragoons, from which he was removed, in 1775, to the first Irish horse, now fourth dragoon guards. In 1776, he was nominated to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the thirteenth dragoons, and having brought that regiment into an excellent state of discipline and efficiency, he was rewarded with the rank of colonel in 1782; in 1783 his regiment was constituted a corps of light cavalry. In 1788 detachments from the cavalry regiments in Ireland were assembled at Dublin, and placed under his command, for the purpose of forming an improved system of interior economy, discipline, and field movements for the cavalry; his labours were honored with the approbation of his sovereign, and his systems, particularly his field movements, having been more completely defined and arranged by Sir David Dundas, were adopted for the cavalry. His services were rewarded in 1791 with the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons; and having been promoted to the rank of major-general in 1793, he was placed on the staff of Scotland, and appointed to superintend the formation and discipline of the fencible cavalry in that country, which was encamped under his orders in the summers of 1795, 1796, and 1797. In the autumn of 1797 he was promoted to the local rank of lieut.-general in Ireland, and appointed to the command of the southern district of that kingdom, which district was, by his excellent arrangements, preserved during the rebellion of 1798, in a state of tranquillity not known in any other part of Ireland. He was rewarded with the rank of lieut.-general, in June, 1798; and after the suppression of the rebellion, he resigned his appointment on the Irish staff. In 1803 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in 1815 he obtained the colonelcy of the Scots greys; he was also honored with the dignity of knight grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. His rank and age prevented him from participating in the active measures which led to the wonderful military successes from the recommencement of the war in 1803 to its termination in 1815. He represented in parliament his native county (Lanark) for many years; his mansion at Coltness was proverbial as the seat of kindness and hospitality; and his time, his talents, and his property, were dedicated to the improvement of the district around him. For several years he bore the sirname of Denham; but afterwards discontinued it. He lived to be the eldest general and the oldest soldier in the British army; and died at Cheltenham, on the 5th of August, 1839, at the advanced age of ninety-five.

Sir William Payne, Baronet,

Appointed 12th January, 1815.

Sir William Payne first entered the army, as cornet in the royal dragoons, on the 25th of January, 1776; and having served in the subordinate commissions, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the regiment in 1794. He served in the Netherlands under his Royal Highness the Duke of York, and was present at the principal actions during the campaign of 1794. In 1796 he was removed from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the royal dragoons to the third dragoon guards; in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army; and in 1805 he was removed to the tenth light dragoons. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in the same year, and served four years on the staff in Ireland. In November, 1807, he obtained the colonelcy of the twenty-third light dragoons; and in 1809, he proceeded to Portugal with the local rank of lieutenant-general, and served the campaign of that year under Sir Arthur Wellesley. He took an active part in the operations by which the French were driven from Oporto; and commanded the British cavalry at the memorable battle of Talavera, fought on the 27th and 28th of July, 1809, for which he received a medal. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general on the 4th of June, 1811; was removed from the twenty-third to the nineteenth light dragoons in July, 1814, and to the Twelfth Light Dragoons in January, 1815. He was further advanced to the rank of general on the 27th of May, 1825, and, in the following month, he obtained the colonelcy of the third dragoon guards. He died in April, 1831.

Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., K.C.H.,

Appointed 2nd June, 1825.

This officer was appointed ensign of the thirty-sixth foot in 1793, and joined his regiment at Trichinopoly immediately after his appointment. In 1797 he exchanged to the twenty-fifth light dragoons, with which corps he served the Mysore campaign, and was at the taking of Seringapatam. In 1800 he was appointed captain in the ninth dragoons; and he was promoted to the majority of the twenty-eighth light dragoons in the following year. In 1802 he obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the seventy-second foot, which regiment he commanded at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, and was wounded; "but the heroic spirit of this officer was not subdued by his misfortune, and he continued to lead his men to glory, as long as an enemy was opposed to his Majesty's seventy-second regiment[8]." In 1808 he exchanged to the fifteenth, the King's Hussars. He commanded the fifteenth in Spain in 1808, and highly distinguished himself at Sahagun, where he was wounded, and he was rewarded with a gold medal. In 1811 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent, and promoted to the rank of colonel. He embarked with his regiment for the Peninsula in 1813; and commanded the hussar brigade at the action at Morales, where he was wounded; he also commanded the hussar brigade at the battle of Vittoria, and was rewarded with an additional honorary distinction. He subsequently commanded a brigade composed of the thirteenth and fourteenth light dragoons. On the 4th of June, 1814, he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was also honored with the dignity of a knight commander of the order of the Bath, and in May, 1815, he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. At the battle of Waterloo he commanded a brigade of hussars (seventh and fifteenth British., and second hussars King's German Legion), and had several horses killed under him. His services were further recompensed with the grand cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order; and he obtained permission to accept the Orders of Wladimir of Russia, and Wilhelm of the Netherlands. In 1825 he was appointed colonel of the Twelfth Royal Lancers, and was removed in 1827, to the Fifteenth King's Hussars; in July, 1830, he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. He died in December, 1835.

The Right Honorable Sir R. H. Vivian, Baronet,
now Lord Vivian, K.C.B., G.C.H.,

Appointed 22nd January, 1827.

Removed to the First (Royal) regiment of dragoons, 20th January, 1837.

Sir H. J. Cumming, K.C.H.,

Appointed 20th January, 1837.

FOOTNOTE:

[8] Major-General Sir David Baird's despatch.

LONDON: PRINTED BY HARRISON & CO., ST. MARTIN'S-LANE.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, out-post, outpost; foot-guards, foot guards; sirname; shalloon; accoutred.

Pg 13, 'without lappels' replaced by 'without lapels'.
Pg 31, 'and and advanced to' replaced by 'and advanced to'.
Pg 79, 'colonelcy of the Tweltfh' replaced by 'colonelcy of the Twelfth'.

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Table of Contents

- HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWELFTH, OR THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF LANCERS:

- CONTENTS.

- SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

- HISTORICAL RECORD

- FOOTNOTES:

- SUCCESSIONS OF COLONELS

- FOOTNOTE:

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE