The Project Gutenberg eBook of Historical Record of the The Fifth or Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment of Dragoon Guards, by Richard Cannon.

War having commenced between Great Britain and France in 1756, Lieutenant-General Bligh was appointed, in the summer of 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.

The Hon. John Waldegrave obtained a commission in the First Foot Guards in 1737; in July 1743, he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the Third Foot Guards; in September following he obtained the command of a company, and in 1748 he was promoted to the commission of major in the same corps. On the 26th of June 1751, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Ninth Foot; he was removed to the Eighth Dragoons in 1755; and to the Second Irish Horse in 1758. Having been promoted to the rank of major-general, he proceeded to Germany, and commanded the brigade of infantry which so highly distinguished itself in 1759, at the battle of Minden, where his gallantry and extraordinary presence of mind at a critical moment decided the fate of the day. In September of the same year he was removed to the Second Dragoon Guards, and continuing to serve in Germany during the remainder of the seven years' war, gave signal proofs of ability and valour in numerous actions with the enemy, and was equally conspicuous for kindness of heart and regard for the soldiers who served under his orders. In 1763, he succeeded to the title of Earl Waldegrave; he was afterwards advanced to the rank of general, and in 1773, he obtained the colonelcy of the Second Foot Guards, which he retained until his decease in October 1784.

The Hon. John Fitz-William obtained a commission of captain and lieutenant-colonel in the First Foot Guards, in 1745; was promoted to the colonelcy of the Second or Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot in 1755; and in June, 1759, he obtained the rank of major-general in the army. In the following year he was removed to the colonelcy of the Second Irish Horse; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1761; to that of general in 1783; and died in 1789.

John Douglas was many years an officer in the Second Dragoons (Scots Greys), with which corps he served at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1755; proceeded with the regiment to Germany in 1758, and was appointed major in the following spring. He served four campaigns under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany, and was at numerous battles and skirmishes. In 1770, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Scots Greys; he was advanced to the rank of colonel in the army in 1775, and to that of major-general in February 1779. In April of the same year he was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-first Light Dragoons,—then first embodied and formed of the light troops belonging to certain dragoon regiments. At the termination of the American war in 1783, his regiment was disbanded; and in April 1787, he was appointed Colonel of the Fourteenth Foot: he was also promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in the same year. In 1789, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, which he retained until his decease, on the 10th of November 1790.

This officer obtained a cornetcy in the Seventh Dragoons on the 30th of March, 1754, and continued in that regiment upwards of thirty-six years. He served three campaigns in Germany under the Duke of Brunswick; was appointed major of the regiment in 1765, and lieutenant-colonel in 1771. In 1782, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1790 he was appointed from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Seventh Dragoons to the colonelcy of the Fifth Dragoon Guards. In 1796, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and to that of general in 1781. He died on the 14th of October, 1816.

This illustrious Prince, whose military services have become connected with the Record of the Fifth Dragoon Guards, by his appointment to the colonelcy of the regiment, entered the army of the Emperor Alexander of Russia in 1803, and rose to the rank of major-general; but in 1810, Bonaparte demanded that His Royal Highness should quit the Russian service, and the Prince was induced to acquiesce, in order to conciliate Napoleon, and to preserve the possessions of the house of Coburg from being seized on by the French. Prince Leopold was subsequently employed in negotiating an arrangement respecting the principality of Coburg, with the crown of Bavaria, in which he displayed superior diplomatic talents. At the commencement of 1813, he exerted himself, as far as his situation permitted, at that critical and momentous period, to prepare the emancipation of Germany, and in February he proceeded to Poland, to the Emperor of Russia, by whom he was cordially received, and a command in the Russian army was given to His Royal Highness. He was at the battle of Lutzen on the 2d of May; was subsequently sent by forced marches towards the Elbe, to support the Prussian General Kleist; but the Prince's destination was afterwards changed, and on the 19th of May he marched to support General Barclay de Tolly: His Royal Highness was, however, recalled, to take part in the battle of Bautzen, on the 20th and 21st of the same month; and after supporting the line at various points, he covered the retreat on the evening of the second day, with the cavalry under his orders, amidst the hottest fire.

On the 26th of August His Royal Highness was detached to support the corps under Prince Eugene of Wirtemberg, posted near the fortress of Königstein; and Prince Leopold maintained, with his cavalry, a precarious position for five hours, against the repeated attacks of a force treble his own numbers, by which he defeated the designs of the enemy, and preserved Prince Eugene's troops from destruction. On the following day the corps took post beyond Pirna, which place the enemy took by storm, and endeavoured to extend with his cavalry upon the level ground near the Elbe; but was driven back by the troops under Prince Leopold. The main army, however, retired towards Bohemia, by which the retreat of the corps near Pirna was rendered difficult, and the abilities of His Royal Highness were particularly conspicuous in the masterly dispositions and skilful movements of the cavalry under his orders, in facilitating and covering the retrogade movement of the corps. A sharp action occurred in the village of Peterswalde on the 29th of August, when His Royal Highness signalized himself; several other actions occurred on the same day in the mountains, and towards the evening, the Prince repulsed the attack of a superior force near the village of Prisen, with signal bravery and astonishing success; and on the following morning he received from the Emperor Alexander the Cross of the military order of St. George. The action was renewed on the 30th of August, and the allied army having been concentrated, the French were defeated with considerable loss. Prince Leopold had a distinguished share in the engagement, and he pursued the retiring enemy to the village of Peterswalde: the brilliant conduct of His Royal Highness between the 26th and 30th of August, was rewarded by the Emperor of Austria with the military order of Maria Theresa.

Prince Leopold had a distinguished post at the battle of Leipzig, and, with the cavalry under his orders, contributed materially to the decisive termination of that gigantic contest. His Royal Highness was actively employed in the beginning of 1814; was at the battle of Brienne, and in the pursuit of the defeated army on the 2d of February, and in several minor affairs. On the 25th of March the Prince was in the action with the French at La Fere Champenoise, when, attacking the enemy's right flank at Caunentrai, he carried the position, captured five pieces of cannon, and, when attacked in turn, he repulsed the enemy, and maintained his ground with signal intrepidity. The battle of Paris concluded the campaign, and on the 31st of March, the Prince entered that city with the cavalry of the reserve, and remained there in garrison. These important events were succeeded by the abdication of Napoleon, and, when the Congress assembled at Vienna, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg conducted the business relating to his own country.

On the return of Bonaparte to France, in 1815, Prince Leopold proceeded to the grand army on the Rhine, and soon afterwards reached Paris. On the termination of the war he visited England; became a suitor to Her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and, having obtained the consent of the Prince Regent, the nuptials between Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and the presumptive heiress to the British throne, were eventually solemnized.

On the 2d of May, 1816, Prince Leopold obtained the rank of general in the British service, and on the 24th of the same month he was promoted to the rank of field-marshal. The colonelcy of the Fifth, or Princess Charlotte of Wales' Regiment of Dragoon Guards was conferred upon Prince Leopold in October of the same year, and he presented to the officers' mess a handsome service of plate. His Royal Highness was also honoured with the Order of the Garter, and the Order of the Bath; but in the midst of these accumulated distinctions he sustained the loss of his amiable consort, whose decease on the 6th November, 1817, occasioned the most sincere grief throughout the kingdom, and Prince Leopold was for some time inconsolable.

The events which transpired in the Netherlands in 1830, having led to the separation of several provinces from Holland, and to the formation of an independent state, called Belgium, Prince Leopold was invited to accept of the sovereignty of that kingdom in 1831, and His Royal Highness acquiesced. Thus the Fifth Dragoon Guards had the gratification of witnessing the elevation of their colonel to a throne.

On resigning the colonelcy His Royal Highness was pleased to cause the following farewell address to be sent to the regiment:—

"Claremont, 14th July, 1831.

"The Prince Leopold is desirous on quitting England, to communicate to his regiment, that the circumstances which call him to another country have made it necessary for him to relinquish the command of the corps; and he has reserved it, as one of his last and most painful duties, to bid them farewell. It would have been His Royal Highness's wish on this occasion, to have expressed personally to the regiment his regret in leaving them, and the sincere wishes he shall always entertain for their happiness and welfare; but their distant quarter, and the hurry which unavoidably attends his departure, render such a desire impracticable.

"In taking leave of the regiment, which it has been his happiness for so many years to command, many subjects press on His Royal Highness's attention that he would be anxious publicly to advert to; some of these bear paramount claim to his thankfulness and recollection; and it is such that he is chiefly solicitous to notice and record, on this last occasion of his addressing them:—he alludes particularly to the uniform maintenance of discipline, efficiency, and high character, which have marked the corps as one of the most distinguished in the service, throughout the long period he has known them;—this has been conspicuous, whether considered with respect to their efficiency in equipment,—their discipline and conduct in quarters,—or their movements and perfection in the field,—in every point, these have been eminently and invariably supported, and have established a name to the regiment, that, as it should be the first ambition, so it is among the highest rewards, a soldier can know. To Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace, whose zeal and knowledge of the service have guided and perfected this state of discipline;—to the officers, who have ably and successfully devoted their efforts to uphold it;—to the non-commissioned officers and privates, who have maintained the discipline marked out to them, and, sharing the feelings of their officers in the character of the regiment, have by their conduct assisted to uphold it;—to one and all,—individually and collectively,—His Royal Highness returns his most hearty thanks, with his unqualified approbation of their conduct, under every view of discipline or exigency of service:—to such officers and to such men, it is unnecessary to say anything that can urge or stimulate their future zeal; His Royal Highness feels assured, that their Sovereign's approbation will ever remain their first aim, while the name of the regiment, deeply honoured by them and cherished in their hearts, will never cease to influence them in attaining that high distinction. His Royal Highness has always felt pride in being one of their number, and he can never cease to feel the truest interest in whatever can affect their name as a corps, or their welfare and happiness as individuals; and with his heartfelt wishes for the uninterrupted prosperity and perfection of both, he reluctantly bids them, Farewell.

(Signed) "Robert Gardiner.

"To Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace,
"Commanding Fifth Dragoon Guards."