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.,

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 THIRTEENTH

REGIMENT OF

LIGHT DRAGOONS;

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF

THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT

IN 1715,

AND OF

ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES

TO

1842.

LONDON:

JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.

M.DCCC.XI.II.

LONDON:

HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,

ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

CONTENTS.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE THIRTEENTH

REGIMENT

OF

LIGHT DRAGOONS.

During the summer of 1715, when treachery, treason, and mistaken notions of duty, united with the intrigues of foreign courts, menaced Great Britain with domestic war, and when the expectations of the friends of the Pretender were become sanguine of effecting his speedy elevation to the throne, King George I. augmented the regular army, and the Thirteenth Regiment of Dragoons was raised in the midland counties of England, by Brigadier-General Richard Munden, whose valour, loyalty, and devotion to the house of Hanover were undoubted. The following officers were appointed to the regiment by commissions dated the 22nd of July, 1715.

After its formation the regiment occupied quarters in Cheshire, where it was stationed, under the command of Major-General Wills, when the rebellion in Scotland, headed by the Earl of Mar, commenced. When the insurgents, under General Forster and Brigadier-General Mackintosh, advanced into Lancashire, the regiment was directed to proceed towards Manchester, to confront and fight the rebel bands; it was formed in brigade with Stanhope's dragoons (afterwards disbanded), under the command of its colonel, Brigadier-General Munden, and at break of day on the 12th of November, it advanced towards Preston, where the rebels had taken post, and had barricaded the avenues of the town. After driving in the rebel piquets, the king's troops formed, about three in the afternoon, opposite the main streets; a squadron of the regiment dismounted, to take part in storming the avenue leading to Wigan, and the other two squadrons supported the storming party which attacked the avenue leading to Lancaster. The first barrier was carried in gallant style; but the inner barricade could not be forced for want of cannon. The soldiers took possession of some buildings, threw a breastwork across the road, and set the houses between the breastwork and barricade on fire; thus blockading the insurgents in the town. Major-General Carpenter afterwards arrived with some additional forces, and the rebel bands surrendered at discretion. The regiment had four men and twelve horses wounded in this service, and its colonel was thanked for his gallant conduct at the head of one of the storming parties.

After escorting the rebel prisoners to the nearest gaols, the regiment was placed in cantonments in Lancashire, where it was stationed until the final suppression of the rebellion in Scotland, by the troops under the Duke of Argyle, in the early part of 1716.

The regiment assembled in April, 1716, at Manchester, where it was inspected, and afterwards marched into dispersed quarters in Wiltshire; in April, 1717, it marched into the counties of Berks and Hants, and passed the following winter at Worcester and Bromsgrove.

In the spring of 1718 the regiment marched to Gloucester and Tewksbury: a reduction in the army took place, and in the autumn of this year, the Thirteenth Dragoons embarked at Liverpool for Ireland, to replace a regiment ordered to be disbanded in that country.

The Thirteenth Dragoons were stationed in Ireland during the remainder of the reign of King George I., and also during the first fourteen years of the reign of King George II. Their colonel, Brigadier-General Munden, was removed, in 1722, to the eighth dragoons, and was succeeded by Brigadier-General Sir Robert Rich, Baronet, whose regiment of dragoons, raised in 1715, had been disbanded. On the decease of Brigadier-General Munden, in 1725, Sir Robert Rich was removed to the eighth dragoons, and was succeeded by Colonel William Stanhope, afterwards Earl of Harrington, who raised a regiment in 1715, which was disbanded in 1718.

Lord Harrington was appointed Secretary of State, and the colonelcy of the Thirteenth Dragoons was conferred, on the 7th of July, 1730, on Colonel Henry Hawley, from the thirty-third foot.

Colonel Hawley was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735, to that of major-general in 1739, and was removed to the Royal Dragoons in May, 1740, when he was succeeded by Colonel Robert Dalway, from the thirty-ninth foot. This officer died in November of the same year, and in January, 1741, King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Colonel Humphrey Bland, from the thirty-sixth foot.

In 1742 a British army was sent to Flanders, to support the house of Austria against the combined efforts of the King of France and the Elector of Bavaria, and the Thirteenth Dragoons were withdrawn from Ireland, and stationed in South Britain.

Brigadier-General Bland was removed to the third dragoons in April, 1743, and King George II. promoted Lieut.-Colonel James Gardiner, from the Inniskilling Dragoons, to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth dragoons.

Colonel Gardiner left the sixth dragoons in Germany, and joined his regiment in England, and being a most zealous and efficient officer, he bestowed much care on its discipline, equipment, and the condition of the horses.

The Thirteenth Dragoons were stationed in Scotland when the rebellion, headed by Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, broke out in that country in the summer of 1745, and they were ordered to take post at Stirling, from whence Lieut.-General Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, advanced with a small force into the Highlands, but he was unable to stop the progress of the numerous bands of mountaineers which had joined the Pretender's standard, and he embarked with some infantry from Aberdeen for Leith. When the rebel army advanced to cross the Firth, the Thirteenth Dragoons moved to Falkirk, and their commanding officer, Colonel Gardiner, was desirous of being reinforced by other troops, in order to be enabled to make some effectual opposition; but he was suddenly ordered to proceed with his own and Hamilton's (fourteenth) dragoons, by forced marches, to Dunbar, to join Sir John Cope. This hasty retreat before an enemy which the soldiers were desirous of attacking, produced a bad effect on the minds of the men, and they were further disheartened by hearing that the rebels had gained possession of Edinburgh, towards which city they were directed to advance. The young Pretender put the clans in motion to meet the king's troops, who were not half so numerous as their opponents; and on the 20th of September the two armies confronted each other near the village of Preston-pans, seven miles from Edinburgh. When the Thirteenth Dragoons had formed in line, Colonel Gardiner rode along the ranks and addressed the men in the most animated manner; the soldiers desired to be led against the enemy, and Colonel Gardiner suggested to Sir John Cope the advantages which would probably result from an immediate attack on the insurgent bands; but a defensive plan was adopted, which proved another source of discouragement to the dragoons[1].

The troops passed the night in the fields, and the Thirteenth Dragoons furnished videttes and patroles to watch the motions of the rebel army, which advanced to the attack before day-light on the following morning. A chosen band of Highlanders was discovered through the thick atmosphere advancing against the right; and two other columns of mountaineers were in motion to join in the attack; as they drew near, they raised a loud shout, fired a volley, threw down their muskets, and rushed sword in hand upon the soldiers guarding the artillery on the right, who, finding themselves assailed by more than three times their own number, gave way and fled. The dragoons, seeing the artillery lost, became disheartened; the Thirteenth fired their carbines, and then advanced to charge a column of Highlanders, so numerous, that the dragoons were dismayed, and being seized with a sudden panic, the greater part of them fled. A few, however, including Colonel Gardiner, and Lieut.-Colonel Whitney, charged manfully; Colonel Gardiner highly distinguished himself, and though shot in the breast, refused to retire; Lieut.-Colonel Whitney was shot in the arm, and was forced to withdraw; Lieutenant Grafton and Quarter-Master Burroughs were wounded and taken prisoners; Quarter-Master West, a man of distinguished bravery, and about fifteen dragoons rallied round their colonel, but were overpowered, the quarter-master was taken prisoner, and few of the men escaped. Colonel Gardiner afterwards rode towards some infantry, and while in the act of encouraging them to make a resolute stand, he was cut down by a Highlander with a scythe fastened to a pole, and as he fell, another Highlander gave him a mortal blow on the head; thus terminated the career of a most meritorious officer, who was distinguished for strict attention to duty, personal bravery, and christian virtues.

The infantry having been overpowered, the whole fled from the field. The Thirteenth Dragoons passed through Preston, and were rallied at the west end of the town, from whence Lieut.-General Sir John Cope retired with them to Berwick.

The loss of the battle of Preston-pans proved a serious disaster, as the rebels obtained possession of a train of artillery, and a great quantity of arms, and were afterwards enabled to penetrate into England. The Thirteenth Dragoons joined the troops under Field-Marshal Wade, at Newcastle, and afterwards returned to Scotland, and the colonelcy was conferred on Colonel Francis Ligonier, from the forty-eighth foot, an excellent officer, conspicuous for zeal for the service and personal bravery.

After the retreat of the rebels from Derby back to Scotland, the regiment marched to Edinburgh, where a small army was assembled under Lieut.-General Hawley, and the rebels having besieged Stirling Castle, the troops advanced, in the middle of January, 1746, to raise the siege, and halted near Falkirk, where a camp was formed. The rebels advanced to meet the King's forces, and a general engagement was fought on Falkirk Moor on the 17th of January. Colonel Francis Ligonier, of the Thirteenth Dragoons, was taken ill of a pleurisy; he was bled and blistered on the 14th of January, but no consideration could keep him from his duty, and he quitted his bed and commanded the brigade of dragoons at the battle on the 17th of January. The action was commenced by a charge of the cavalry; Colonel Ligonier led the Thirteenth Dragoons forward with great spirit, broke the first line of rebels, and cut down a number of opponents, but he was unable to force the second line, and a heavy storm of wind and rain beat so violently in the soldiers' faces as to produce some confusion. Lieut.-Colonel Whitney, who had recovered from his wounds received at Preston-pans and resumed his duty, was killed fighting in the midst of a crowd of Highlanders; several other officers and a number of men were also killed and wounded. The torrent of battle flowed in favour of the rebels, and one wing of the King's army retired; a few regiments, however, maintained their ground with the most heroic bravery, and were supported by Colonel Ligonier with a party of dragoons; after dark, the King's troops being exposed to a heavy rain, retired to Linlithgow. Colonel Ligonier covered the retreat with his dragoons to Linlithgow, and being drenched with rain and benumbed with cold, he was seized with an inflammation in the throat, of which he died on the 25th of January, much regretted by the regiment.

The Thirteenth Dragoons withdrew from Linlithgow to Edinburgh, and when the Duke of Cumberland took the command of the army and advanced against the rebels, the regiment was left at Edinburgh, and directed to patrole along the roads leading westward to prevent the insurgents receiving intelligence.

On the 17th of February, 1746, the colonelcy was conferred on Philip Naizon, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the first royal dragoons.

The rebellion in Scotland was suppressed by the decisive battle of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746.

In 1748, a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle; the dragoon regiments on foreign service returned to England, and in the early part of 1749, the Thirteenth Dragoons embarked for Ireland.

Colonel Philip Naizon died in January, 1751, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Thirteenth Dragoons by Major-General Sir Charles Armand Powlet, K.B. from the ninth regiment of foot. This officer died in November of the same year, and was succeeded by Colonel the Honorable Henry Seymour Conway, from the thirty-fourth regiment of foot.

The following particulars respecting the uniform and guidons of the regiment, have been extracted from a royal warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751.

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

Waistcoats and Breeches,—light green.

Hats,—three-cornered, bound with gold lace, and ornamented with a black cockade and a yellow loop. The forage cap red, turned up with light green, and 13.D. on the little flap.

Boots,—of jacked leather.

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

Cloaks,—of scarlet cloth, with a light green cape and lining; the buttons set on three and three upon white frogs, or loops, with a yellow stripe down the centre.

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

Quarter-Masters,—to wear a crimson silk sash round their waists.

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

Drummers and Hautboys,—light-green coats, lined with scarlet, and ornamented with white and yellow lace; scarlet waistcoats and breeches.

Guidons,—the first, or King's guidon, to be of crimson silk, with a silver and yellow 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 XIII.D. in silver characters, on a light green ground, in the second and third corners: the second and third guidons to be of light-green silk; in the centre XIII.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 corners; and the rose and thistle conjoined, upon a red ground, in the second and third corners; the third guidon to have a figure 3, on a circular red ground, under the wreath.