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Year Page

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

Year Page

LIEUTENANT-COLONELS.

Succession of Lieutenant-Colonels from the year 1800 75

MAJORS.

Succession of Majors from the year 1799 78

List of the Battles, Sieges, &c. which took place in the Peninsula from 1808 to 1814 81

PLATES.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

FOURTEENTH REGIMENT

LIGHT DRAGOONS.

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

James Dormer . Jas. Stevens Edward Stroude. H. Killegrew Henry Lasale. Thomas Ellis. Sol. Rapin. Peter Davenport. Thomas Delahaye. Henry Pelham. Jonathan Pirke. William Hamilton. William Boyle. Cuthbert Smith. Rigley Molyneux. Beverly Newcommin. James Flemming. Andrew Forrester.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAISTCOATS AND BREECHES,--lemon colour.

BOOTS,--of jacked leather, reaching to the knee.

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

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

QUARTER MASTERS,--to wear a crimson sash round their waists.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'His Majesty's pleasure having been signified to the Lord Lieutenant, that the clothing of the light dragoon regiments shall hereafter be made in conformity to the following regulations, it is the Commander-in-Chief's order that the said regulations be observed accordingly.'

The clothing of a private light dragoon is to consist of a jacket, shell, under-waistcoat, and leather breeches.

The breeches to be of buckskin.

N.B. The make of the dress and method of placing the cord upon the breast of the jacket, to be exactly conformable to the pattern approved by His Majesty.

N.B. A pattern suit may be seen at the Commander-in-Chiefs office at the Royal Hospital.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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