The regiment commenced its retreat a few hours after this affair; and the army rested two days at Benevente, a rich open town situate in a plain extending from the Gallician mountains to the neighbourhood of Burgos. The infantry afterwards continued the retreat, while the cavalry remained in the town, and had parties watching the fords of the little river Esla. Soon after day-break on the 29th of December, six hundred cavalry of the French imperial guard crossed the stream and advanced into the plain; the British detachments retired fighting, and a piquet of the Seventh Hussars, under Lieutenant Lowther, was sharply engaged. Being joined by part of the Third German hussars, the piquets charged the French leading squadrons with signal gallantry, the ground was obstinately disputed, and a particularly animating scene presented itself. Baggage mules and followers of the army were scattered over the plain, the town was filled with tumult, the distant piquets and videts were galloping in from right and left; the French were pressing forward, and every appearance indicated that the enemy's whole army was come up and passing the river. Suddenly Lord Paget led the Tenth hussars at speed into the plain; the piquets that were engaged united, and the whole charged. In an instant the scene changed, the French were seen galloping back, with the British at their heels; they plunged into the stream without breaking their ranks, and having gained the opposite heights, they wheeled round and appeared inclined to come forward a second time; but the British horse artillery opening upon them, they retired. Fifty-five killed and wounded Frenchmen lay on the plain, their general, Lefebre Desnouettes, and several other officers, were taken prisoners, and many of those who escaped across the river, were wounded. The piquet of the Seventh Hussars suffered severely, nearly every man being either killed or wounded.
The enemy planted heavy cannon on the bank of the river, and made a show of re-crossing; but Lord Paget guarded the fords all the day, and at night withdrew with the cavalry. The Seventh were constantly in the rear of the army, with the other hussar regiments, during the remainder of the retreat; they, however, suffered little from the swords of the enemy; but the effects of frost, snow, and of a deficiency in the supplies of provision and forage, were severely felt. The want of horse-shoes was a serious evil, which was owing to the impracticability of the forge carts accompanying the regiment. When the army withdrew from the position at Lugo, during the night of the 8th of January, 1809, the Seventh Hussars were left behind to keep up the bivouac fires, and to cover the retreat, and they were in the rear of the army until it arrived within three leagues of Corunna.
On arriving at Corunna, the regiment mounted two hundred and fifty horses only, out of six hundred and eighty which had marched from that port about two months before, and many of those which remained, were destroyed for the want of transport, which could be obtained only for the officers' horses and for about ninety troop-horses.
The French were defeated in a general action fought on the 16th of January, when Sir John Moore fell mortally wounded. The army afterwards embarked and returned to England. Thus the British had intercepted the blow which was descending to crush Spain; time had been given to enable the patriots to re-organize their armies; and Bonaparte being recalled to France, by the news that Austria and Russia were arming to oppose him, the war was protracted in Spain. On the passage to England the Despatch transport, having on board Major the Hon. G. C. Cavendish, Captain G. Dukinfield, and Lieutenant the Hon. Edward Waldegrave, with one hundred and thirteen men, and forty-four horses, was wrecked near the Lizard, on the coast of Cornwall, and only seven men escaped.
After its arrival from Spain, the regiment was quartered at Guildford, from whence it proceeded to Weymouth; in May, 1810, it embarked at Liverpool for Ireland, and was stationed at Dublin, with detached troops at Athy and Carlow.
In 1811 the head-quarters were removed to Dundalk, where they remained during the year 1812; and in 1813 the regiment embarked at Dublin for England.
Having landed at Liverpool, the regiment proceeded to London; it was stationed at Hyde Park barracks, Hampton Court, and Hounslow, and performed the king's duty during the absence of the household cavalry on foreign service.
The glorious victories gained by the allied army under Field Marshal the Marquis of Wellington had, in the mean time, accomplished the deliverance of Portugal, and of nearly all Spain, from the despotic sway of Bonaparte, and the Seventh Hussars were selected to take part in completing the overthrow of the tyrannical power of Napoleon. Eight troops, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel R. Hussey Vivian, embarked at Portsmouth on the 15th of August, and landed at Bilboa, the capital of Biscay, in Spain, on the 1st of September; and two additional troops joined from England in October. The regiment was formed in brigade with the Tenth and Fifteenth hussars, commanded by Major-General Lord Edward Somerset.
After the surrender of the castle of St. Sebastian the regiment advanced, and having joined the army, supported the infantry at the passage of the Bidassoa, and advanced as far as Vera on the borders of France. The Seventh Hussars subsequently retired through the Pyrenean mountains to the vicinity of Pampeluna, which fortress surrendered on the 31st of October.
Colonel Richard Hussey Vivian having been appointed to the command of a brigade of cavalry, the command of the regiment devolved on Lieut.-Colonel Edward Kerrison.
After occupying village cantonments near Pampeluna for several weeks, the Seventh Hussars marched through the Pyrenees and joined the army in France. On the 18th of December they took the out-post duty at Cambo, a town eight miles from Bayonne, where the French army, under Marshal Soult, lay in a fortified camp. On the 31st of December, the regiment took the out-post duty on the road leading to St. Jean Pied de Port, where a French division was stationed. The weather becoming very severe, the regiment went into cantonments in the beginning of 1814, near Hasparan, in Gascony, thirteen miles from Bayonne: in these quarters forage was particularly scarce, and the horses suffered in condition from being fed on chopped gorse and about three pounds of oats a day. The foraging parties sent towards the French lines, had frequent skirmishes, and on one of these occasions, Captain Peter Augustus Heyliger was wounded.
The weather having become more clear, the army advanced in the middle of February, and on the 24th the hussar brigade proceeded to the bank of the Gave d'Oléron, in the expectation of being engaged. Captain Fraser and twelve men of the Seventh passed the river under a heavy fire, and were followed by Captain Verner's squadron, for the purpose of supporting a body of infantry which had crossed the stream and were seriously engaged; but the enemy being in force, and the ground such that cavalry could not act, the squadron was re-called. The enemy abandoning his position, the regiment crossed the river in pursuit, and halted at the village of Boren.
Marshal Soult concentrated his forces behind the Pau at Orthes; the allies advanced to attack him; and the Seventh Hussars, having crossed the river, were engaged in driving the enemy from his position on the 27th of February. About 10 o'clock the regiment was ordered to cover the sixth division and the guns; and when the French gave way, it dashed forward in pursuit, and by a brilliant charge it overthrew a body of opponents, and took sixty prisoners: this occurred about 3 o'clock. Shortly afterwards the regiment was again ordered to charge, and being led forward by Colonel Kerrison with signal gallantry, it was once more successful, and sixteen officers, with about seven hundred men, were made prisoners. The Marquis of Wellington observed in his public despatch: "Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton took advantage of the only opportunity which occurred, to charge with Major-General Lord Edward Somerset's brigade in the neighbourhood of Sault de Navailles, where the enemy had been driven from the high road by Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill. The Seventh Hussars distinguished themselves upon this occasion, and made many prisoners."
The regiment had four men and five horses killed; Major William Thornhill, Captain P. A. Heyliger, Lieutenant Robert Douglas, nine men, and eleven horses wounded.
After the battle of Orthes the Seventh Hussars were employed a short time at Villeneuve de Marsan, in the department of the Landes; also at Roquefort and Captieux, in protecting the rear of the army from the depredations of parties of brigands. From these quarters the regiment advanced, and rejoining the army near Toulouse, supported the infantry in the action at that place on the 10th of April.
When the French withdrew from Toulouse, the regiment moved forward and was employed in the out-post duty.
At length hostilities were terminated by the abdication of Bonaparte and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. Thus a war of unprincipled aggression, begun in acts of fraud and perfidy, and carried on with treachery, cruelty, and rapine, ended with the downfall of its author, and the humiliation and dispersion of his boasted invincible legions.
After the termination of hostilities, the regiment reposed a month in village cantonments; and on the 1st of June commenced its march for Boulogne, where it embarked for England, and, after landing, it marched to Romford, and in September to Brighton. Its services were subsequently rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Peninsula" upon its appointments.
Riots having occurred in London towards the end of February and in the beginning of March, 1815, in consequence of the introduction into Parliament of a bill to regulate the importation of grain, the Seventh Hussars were suddenly ordered to proceed thither from Brighton.
The return of Bonaparte to France, the sudden defection of the forces of Louis XVIII., and the elevation of the usurper to the throne, filled Europe with astonishment. War was resolved upon, and on the 25th of March three squadrons of the Queen's Own Hussars, commanded by Col. Sir Edward Kerrison, marched from London for foreign service; they embarked at Dover, landed at Ostend, and, after marching a few stages up the country, went into cantonments, and were formed in brigade with the Fifteenth hussars, and Second hussars of the King's German legion, under the orders of Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B. On the 29th of May they were reviewed, with other brigades of the cavalry, by Field-Marshal his Grace the Duke of Wellington, accompanied by Marshal Von Blucher, the commander of the Prussian army.
Bonaparte, endeavouring, by one of those rapid movements for which he had been so famous, to interpose between the British and Prussian armies, and beat them in detail, suddenly attacked and drove in the out-posts, and early on the morning of the 16th of June the Seventh Hussars advanced to support the troops engaged at Quatre Bras. After a march of many miles, they arrived at the scene of conflict; the French were repulsed, and the troops bivouacked in the fields.
The Prussians having been defeated and forced to retreat, the Duke of Wellington made a corresponding movement on the 17th of June, to preserve his communication with them, and the Seventh Hussars were engaged, with other corps, in covering this retrograde movement. On passing through the village of Genappe, the French lancers began to press upon the rear of the retiring army, and the Seventh were directed by their colonel, Lieutenant-General the Earl of Uxbridge, to charge. This order was executed with signal bravery; but the lancers, being sustained by a great mass of cavalry, and having their flanks secure, presented an almost impenetrable row of pikes, through which the hussars were unable to break. The regiment rallied and charged a second time; but the lancers, being well supported and advantageously posted, were enabled to maintain their ground. Some impression had, however, been made, and two squadrons of the first regiment of life guards coming up at speed, the weight and power of their charge broke the lancers, who were pursued through the village with great slaughter. The retreat was afterwards continued with skirmishing and cannonading to the position in front of the village of Waterloo, where the army passed the night exposed to a heavy rain.
On the following day the hard contested and sanguinary battle of Waterloo was fought,—a battle memorable in the annals of Europe,—where the fate of empires was decided by the sword, and the British troops acquired immortal honour! During the early part of the action the Seventh Hussars supported the infantry, and towards the evening they were ordered forward. Moving from Hugomont, they acted nearly on the reverse of the enemy, and by a series of brilliant charges, most nobly executed, contributed to the final overthrow of the French army. On this occasion the officers and men proved their resolution to support the high character which the regiment had so long borne; and their conduct was publicly noticed and attested in the strongest and most unequivocal terms by the commander of the cavalry, Lieutenant-General the Earl of Uxbridge, who, after having gone through this arduous day, received a wound at the close of the action by which he lost his right leg.
The loss of the regiment on the 17th and 18th of June was, one serjeant, fifty-five rank and file, and eighty-four horses killed; Captains J. W. Robins, W. Vernor, and P. A. Heyliger; Lieutenants R. Douglas, E. Peters, and R. Beattie; with nine serjeants, one trumpeter, eighty-three rank and file, and one hundred and sixteen horses wounded.
The gallant conduct of the regiment on this occasion, was subsequently rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Waterloo" on its appointments; the officers and men received each a silver medal; and the privilege of reckoning two years' service for that day, was conferred on the subaltern officers, and also on the non-commissioned officers and private men.
On the 19th of June, the regiment advanced in pursuit of the French, who fled in dismay towards Paris; on the evening of the 24th, it was at the capture of Cambray by escalade, by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Colville's division. On arriving at the vicinity of Paris, the war was terminated, by the surrender of the capital, and the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of his ancestors.
After occupying village cantonments near Paris for several months, and taking part in several grand reviews, at which the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and the Kings of Prussia and France, were present, the Seventh Hussars were selected to form part of the army of occupation in France, and they proceeded to Estaples and neighbouring villages.
In the summer of 1816, the Seventh marched to quarters between St. Omer and Dunkirk, for the purpose of field exercise and review, and were joined by a squadron from England. On the 22nd of October, the Duke of Wellington reviewed the army on the plains of St. Denain, and witnessed the troops go through the formula of a mock engagement. The Seventh afterwards returned to their former quarters.
In February, 1817, the regiment was again quartered near St. Omer, for the convenience of field exercise; it was subsequently stationed between Cambray and Valenciennes, and was again reviewed in October, by the Duke of Wellington, together with the remainder of British troops, and the Saxons, Danes, and Hanoverians. The regiment was afterwards stationed at Cassel and adjacent villages.
Several changes of quarters took place in 1818; and the regiment was at the grand military spectacles, when the army was seen by their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Cumberland, and when the Russians, British, Saxons, Danes, and Hanoverians were reviewed, by the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Prince of Orange, Grand Dukes Constantine and Michael, &c., &c. After these reviews, the army of occupation quitted France: the Seventh Hussars embarked at Calais, landed at Dover and Ramsgate, and marched to Chertsey, &c.
On the night of the 1st of December the regiment attended the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Charlotte.
In 1819, the regiment marched to Scotland; in August, 1820, it embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland; and the head-quarters were stationed twelve months at Dundalk.
In August, 1821, the regiment marched to Dublin, on the occasion of the visit of His Majesty King George IV. to the capital of Ireland. On the 18th of August, the king reviewed the Seventh Hussars, with the other troops in garrison at Dublin, on which occasion the regiment was commanded by its colonel, the Marquis of Anglesey. In September the establishment was reduced from eight to six troops.
Leaving Dublin in December, 1822, the regiment proceeded to Newbridge; in June, 1823, it embarked at Waterford, and landing at Bristol, proceeded to Richmond and other villages in the neighbourhood of Hounslow.
On the 15th of July the two regiments of life guards, Blues, Third light dragoons, and Seventh and Fifteenth hussars, with a brigade of horse artillery, were reviewed on Hounslow-heath by his Royal Highness the Duke of York.
After the review the Seventh Hussars marched to Brighton, Chichester, and Hastings, with detachments on revenue duty on the coast; but returned to the vicinity of Hounslow in the spring of 1824, the head-quarters being at Hampton Court; and on the 7th of July they were again reviewed, with the same corps as in the preceding year, on Hounslow-heath, by the Duke of York. The head-quarters were afterwards removed to Hounslow barracks, and the regiment took the escort duty.
In July, 1825, the regiment proceeded to York, Beverley, and Newcastle; in April, 1826, it marched to Scotland, and was stationed at Edinburgh and Perth, with parties on revenue duty at Cupar, Angus, and Forfar; and in March, 1827, it left Scotland for the South of England.
On the 12th of April the Seventh Hussars were reviewed on Hounslow-heath by his Grace the Duke of Wellington, who was pleased to express his unqualified approbation of their appearance and discipline. After the review they continued their march to Brighton and Chichester.
Leaving these quarters, the regiment proceeded to Liverpool in March, 1828, and embarking for Ireland, landed at Dublin, where it was stationed until May, 1829, when it was removed to Newbridge, and in May, 1830, to Dundalk, Monaghan, and Belturbet.
On the 2d of August, 1830, a general order was issued for the whole of the cavalry, with the exception of the Royal Horse Guards (Blues), to be dressed in red; the Seventh Hussars were consequently furnished with red pelisses in the following year.
The regiment left Dundalk, &c., in April, 1831, for Newbridge, and in June proceeded to Dublin and embarked for England. After landing at Liverpool, it marched to Birmingham, with detached troops at Coventry and Kidderminster.
In March, 1832, the regiment proceeded to Norwich, Ipswich, and one troop to Boston. In the month of March of the following year it proceeded to Scotland, and was stationed at Hamilton and Glasgow, and in February, 1834, performed much extra duty in consequence of riots among the cotton spinners and calico printers in the neighbourhood of Glasgow.
On the 2d of May, 1834, the regiment left its quarters in Scotland, and proceeding to England, was stationed at York and Newcastle; and in April, 1835, it marched to Nottingham, Sheffield, Derby, and Boston.
In April, 1836, the regiment proceeded to Hounslow, and took the escort duty. In June, 1837, it embarked at Bristol for Ireland, landed at Cork, and the head-quarters were established at Ballincollig, from whence they were removed in August to Cork, and in September to Dublin, where they passed the winter.
Orders having been received for the regiment to transfer its services to Canada, it was divided into four service and two depôt troops; the service troops embarked at Cork on the 1st of May, 1838; and arrived at Montreal in June. In November, 1838, they were employed against the insurgents in Lower Canada, and one troop was similarly employed in January, 1839.
During the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, the service troops were stationed at Montreal and Laprairie. In the year 1841 orders were received to resume blue pelisses. The Service Troops have continued in Canada to the summer of 1842, the date of the conclusion of this memoir.
The record of the services of the Seventh, or Queen's Own Hussars, for a period of one hundred and fifty years, (as contained in the preceding pages,) exhibits a proof, among the other portions of the British army, of attachment to their officers, of loyalty and fidelity to their sovereign, and of zeal and devotedness to their country. On all occasions, when their services have been required to meet a foreign enemy, they have entered upon the difficulties of active warfare with readiness and a determination to perform the duties allotted them; and their bravery and contempt of danger have been strongly evinced. Their gallantry at the battle of Dettingen in 1743; their conduct at Warbourg in 1760, under the Marquis of Granby, and on other occasions in Germany during the Seven years' War;—their boldness and intrepid bearing in conflict with the enemy at Cateau, Roubaix, Tournay, and Mouvaux, under the Duke of York, in 1794, which received His Royal Highness's strongest commendations, afford instances of the most determined bravery.
The proofs of true courage were further adduced by the firm conduct of the Seventh Hussars in the advance into Spain under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore in 1808, and in the retreat to Corunna in January, 1809, as detailed in the Regimental Record. The gallantry of the regiment at the battle of Waterloo, in June, 1815, gained an imperishable addition to its fame; and the deeds of the officers and men, who fought on that glorious occasion, are sufficient to perpetuate an emulous desire in the present and future members of the corps to rival the exertions of their brave predecessors.
The smart, active, and soldier-like appearance of the regiment, its correct and orderly conduct in quarters, and its gallantry in the field, have acquired a high character in the estimation of the country, and proved it to be a valuable acquisition to the crown and to the government.
In thus recording the commendations due to so distinguished a regiment as the Seventh Hussars, the compiler of this Record, with true respect towards the gallant officer and nobleman at the head of the corps, ventures to associate his fame and honour with those of his regiment, with which, for more than forty years, they have been identified: General the Marquis of Anglesey, K.G. and G.C.B., assumed the command of the Seventh Hussars as Lieutenant-Colonel on the 6th of April, 1797; he shared with his regiment in the dangers and honours of the conflicts in Holland in 1799; at Sahagun and Benevente in 1808; in the retreat to Corunna in 1809; and at the all-crowning victory of Waterloo in 1815, where he lost his leg by a cannon shot. In future ages the gallant and heroic deeds of this nobleman will be the admiration of every member and friend of the British army.
OF
THE SEVENTH,
OR
QUEEN'S OWN REGIMENT
OF
HUSSARS.
Robert Cunningham.
Appointed 30th December, 1690.
Robert Cunningham was an officer of reputation in the Scots brigade in the service of Holland, and was wounded at the battle of St. Denis, in 1678. Proceeding to Scotland, he became a warm advocate for the principles of the Revolution of 1688, and having performed faithful services in that cause, he was rewarded with the colonelcy of a regiment of foot formed during the winter of 1689-90. When the clans tendered their submission to King William's government, Colonel Cunningham's regiment was disbanded, and he obtained the command of a corps of dragoons, now the Seventh Hussars. He served with his regiment, under King William, in the Netherlands, during the campaigns of 1694, 1695, and 1696, and in the summer of the last-mentioned year he commanded a brigade of dragoons in Flanders. At the close of the campaign he was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lord Jedburgh.
William, Lord Jedburgh.
Appointed 1st October, 1696.
The Honorable William Kerr, son of Robert, fourth Earl and first Marquis of Lothian, steadily supported the principles of the Revolution, and rose to the rank of colonel in the army on the 1st of March, 1692. He succeeded, in the same year, to the title of Lord Jedburgh; and on the 1st of October, 1696, King William appointed him to the colonelcy of a regiment of dragoons, now the Seventh Hussars. In 1702, Queen Anne promoted him to the rank of brigadier-general. On the decease of his father, in 1703, he succeeded to the title of Marquis of Lothian[8]. The rank of major-general was conferred on his lordship in 1704; in the succeeding year he was invested with the order of the Thistle; and in January, 1707, he obtained the rank of lieut.-general. On the 25th of April following he obtained the colonelcy of the third foot guards, from which he was removed in 1713, in consequence of his political views not being in accordance with those of Queen Anne's new ministry. After the accession of King George I., his lordship was appointed to the staff of North Britain. He died in 1722.
Patrick, Lord Polwarth.
Appointed 28th April, 1707.
This officer was the son of Sir Patrick Hume, of Polwarth, who was one of the most conspicuous and vigorous characters of the age in which he lived, was a strenuous opposer of the proceedings of King Charles II. in Scotland, and was created, by King William, Lord Polwarth, and Earl of Marchmont.
Patrick Hume was educated in Holland, and the Prince of Orange gave him a commission in the Dutch service. He accompanied His Highness to England at the Revolution, and when his father was elevated to the dignity of Earl of Marchmont, he was styled Lord Polwarth. He was appointed major of a regiment of dragoons, now Seventh Hussars, in 1694; lieut.-colonel in 1697, and colonel in 1707. He died in 1709.
The Honorable William Kerr.
Appointed 10th October, 1709.
The Honorable William Kerr, third son of Robert, Earl of Roxburgh, and brother of John, first Duke of Roxburgh, served with reputation on the continent, under the celebrated John, Duke of Marlborough. In 1709 he was rewarded with the command of a regiment of dragoons, now Seventh Hussars, and on the accession of King George I. he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales. He highly distinguished himself at the battle of Dumblain, on the 13th of November, 1715, where, according to the accounts published at the time, he had three horses killed under him, was wounded in the thigh, and had his coat torn by a pistol bullet. The care and attention which he paid to the interests of his corps, procured him the affection and esteem of the officers and soldiers. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1727, to that of major-general in 1735, and to that of lieut.-general in 1739. He died in 1741, after commanding the regiment nearly thirty-two years.
John Cope.
Appointed 12th August, 1741.
John Cope entered the army in March, 1707, and speedily rose to the lieut.-colonelcy in the second or Scots troop of horse grenadier guards. He obtained the rank of colonel in the army in 1711. In 1730 he was promoted from the horse grenadier guards to the colonelcy of the thirty-ninth foot, from which he was removed to the fifth foot, in 1732. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735; was removed to the ninth dragoons in 1737; and advanced to the rank of major-general two years afterwards. He served several years on the staff of Ireland, obtained the colonelcy of the Seventh dragoons in 1741, and proceeded, in the summer of 1742, to Flanders with the army commanded by Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair. In the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and having signalized himself, under the eye of his sovereign, at the head of the second line of cavalry, at the battle of Dettingen, he was constituted a knight of the Bath.
Sir John Cope was commander-in-chief in Scotland when the rebellion of 1745 broke out in the Highlands, and a small body of troops, under his immediate command, was defeated by the clans under the young Pretender, at Preston Pans, which unfortunate circumstance enabled the rebels to penetrate into England. He died in 1760.
John Mostyn.
Appointed 18th August, 1760.
John Mostyn served in the thirty-first foot, in which corps he rose to the rank of captain, and in 1742 he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the second foot guards. Having joined his company on foreign service, he was engaged at the battle of Fontenoy, where the foot guards highly distinguished themselves, and he was wounded. In December, 1747, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp to King George II.; and in 1751 he obtained the colonelcy of the seventh foot, from which he was removed to the thirteenth dragoons in 1754. In 1757 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was removed to the fifth dragoons in 1758, and to the Seventh dragoons in 1760. He commanded a brigade of infantry under the Duke of Marlborough in the expedition to the coast of France in 1758; in 1759 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and serving in Germany under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, he distinguished himself on several occasions. At the conclusion of the war he was removed to the first dragoon guards, and was promoted in 1772, to the rank of general. He died in March, 1779.
Sir George Howard, K.B.
Appointed 13th May, 1763.
George Howard entered the army in the reign of King George I., and after serving the crown a period of nineteen years, he obtained the lieut.-colonelcy of the third foot on the 2nd of April, 1744. He commanded the regiment at the battles of Fontenoy, Falkirk, Culloden, and Val; and in 1749 he succeeded his father in the colonelcy of the corps. He served with distinction in Germany during the seven years' war; was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1758, and to that of lieut.-general in 1760: and at the conclusion of the peace in 1763, he was removed to the Seventh dragoons, and advanced to the dignity of a knight of the Bath. In 1777 he was promoted to the rank of general; in April, 1779, he was removed to the first dragoon guards; and was promoted to the rank of field-marshal in October 1793; he was also a member of the privy council, and governor of Jersey. He died on the 16th of July, 1796.
Sir Henry Clinton, K.B.
Appointed 21st April, 1779.
Henry Clinton, grandson of Francis, sixth Earl of Lincoln, held a commission in an independent company of foot at New York, from which he was removed in 1751, to a lieutenancy in the second foot guards, and in 1758 he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards. Having gained great credit for his conduct during the seven years' war, in which the foot guards had several opportunities of acquiring distinction, he was promoted, in 1762, to the rank of colonel in the army; and in November, 1766, King George III. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the twelfth regiment of foot, then at Gibraltar; he was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1772. On the breaking out of hostilities in America, in 1775, this distinguished officer was sent with reinforcements to General Gage, at Boston, with the local rank of lieut.-general, and signalized himself at the battle of Bunker's Hill. In January, 1776, he was promoted to the local rank of general in America; he proceeded to North Carolina, and commanded the troops which made an unsuccessful attempt on Charlestown; and afterwards commanded a division of the army, under General Sir William Howe, in the descent on Long Island. In the action at Brooklyn he evinced ardour and ability; also in the skirmish at White Plains, and in the capture of Rhode Island, in December, the same year. In 1777, he commanded the troops at New York, and captured forts Clinton and Montgomery, and was rewarded with the order of the Bath. In 1778 he was appointed commander-in-chief in North America; in May he joined the army at Philadelphia from whence he withdrew to New York, and while on the march he repulsed an attack of the Americans at Freehold. He subsequently had success in several affairs of minor importance; and while engaged in these services, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Seventh dragoons. In December, 1779, he embarked with a large force for South Carolina, and, after overcoming numerous difficulties, he captured Charlestown, for which he received the thanks of parliament. He sustained the character of a brave, zealous, and accomplished officer; but he was so circumstanced in America, that he was unable to add much to his reputation by the energetic and gallant efforts which he made in that country; and after experiencing pain and mortification from numerous causes, he returned to England in June, 1782, having been succeeded by General Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester.
The rank of general in the army was conferred on Sir Henry Clinton in 1793; he held the government of Limerick; and in 1795 he was appointed governor of Gibraltar. He was many years a member of parliament; and was also groom of the bedchamber to the Duke of Gloucester. His decease occurred on the 23rd of December, 1795.
David Dundas.
Appointed 26th December, 1795.
David Dundas was one of the most distinguished officers of the age in which he lived, for his perfect knowledge of the principles of military tactics. He commenced his military education at the age of thirteen in the academy at Woolwich, and at fifteen he assisted in a survey of Scotland; in 1756 obtained a commission in the fifty-sixth regiment. In 1758 he proceeded with the expedition to the coast of France as an assistant quarter-master-general; and in the following year obtained the command of a troop in a newly-raised regiment of light dragoons (Eliott's light horse), now the fifteenth, or King's hussars. He served with his regiment in Germany in 1760 and 1761; in the following summer he accompanied an expedition to Cuba, as aide-de-camp to Major-General Eliott, and was actively employed in the reduction of the Havannah. After the peace he resumed his post in his regiment, in which he rose to the rank of major; and, urged by an ardent desire to acquire a perfect knowledge of every branch of his profession, he obtained permission to proceed to the continent, to observe the practice of the French and Austrian armies. In 1775 he procured the lieut.-colonelcy of the twelfth light dragoons, joined the regiment in Ireland shortly afterwards, and in 1778 obtained the appointment of quarter-master-general in that country. In 1782 he was removed to the lieut.-colonelcy of the second Irish horse, now the fifth dragoon guards. In 1785 he again proceeded to the continent, attended the exercises of the Prussian troops during three summers, and after his return he presented His Majesty with a detailed account of their evolutions.
Colonel Dundas, having become a proficient tactician, produced, in 1788, a highly useful work on the principles of military movements, which became the basis of our army regulations for field exercises. His abilities obtained for him the favour and attention of King George III., who appointed him adjutant-general in Ireland, for the purpose of introducing his system of tactics into the army of that country. In 1790 Colonel Dundas was promoted to the rank of major-general. In 1791 he obtained the colonelcy of the twenty-second foot, and in the same year was placed on the Irish staff, but he resigned that appointment in 1793 to engage in service of actual warfare. After the commencement of hostilities with the French republic, Major-General Dundas was employed on a military mission to the island of Jersey, and was subsequently sent to the continent to confer with the Duke of York respecting the siege of Dunkirk. From Flanders he proceeded to Toulon, which had recently been taken possession of by a British armament; and his services there, although he was ultimately obliged to evacuate the place, called forth the approbation of his sovereign and of the British nation. After abandoning Toulon, he made a descent on Corsica, which island was reduced and annexed to the British dominions; but shortly afterwards he received directions to proceed to Flanders, where he arrived in the spring of 1794, and commanded a brigade of cavalry at the battle of Tournay on the 22d of May, 1794. Major-General Dundas was actively employed in the retreat through Holland, and the corps under his immediate command gained considerable advantage over the enemy in two successive actions near Gelder-Malsen; he highly distinguished himself also in an attack upon the French post at Thuyl, in December of the same year. He continued with the British troops in Germany during the summer of 1795, and in December was appointed colonel of the Seventh Light Dragoons. After his return to England he was appointed quarter-master-general to the army; and he composed the celebrated regulations for the field exercises and movements for the cavalry, which were approved by his Royal Highness the Duke of York and by King George III., and ordered to be exclusively adopted throughout the cavalry.
In 1799 Lieut.-General Dundas commanded a division of the allied army under the Duke of York, in the expedition to Holland; he distinguished himself in several actions with the enemy, and was highly commended by His Royal Highness in his public despatches. In 1801 he was appointed colonel of the second, or Royal North British dragoons, and was constituted governor of Fort George. In 1802 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in the following year, when the French were preparing to invade England, he was placed in command of the troops in the southern district, which comprised the counties of Kent and Sussex. In 1804 he was appointed governor of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea, and created a Knight of the Bath. On the 18th of March, 1809, His Majesty was pleased to confer on this distinguished veteran the appointment of commander-in-chief of the army, on the resignation of Field-Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of York, which appointment he held until the 25th of May, 1811, when His Royal Highness was re-appointed. He was also appointed colonel-in-chief of the rifle brigade on the 31st of August, 1809. He was promoted to the colonelcy of the King's dragoon guards on the 27th of January, 1813. He died in 1820, after a distinguished service of upwards of sixty years.
Henry W., Lord Paget,
NOW
Marquis of Anglesey, KG., GCB., K.St.P., GCH.
Appointed 16th May, 1801.