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, (afterwards Lord Southampton) whose regiment of foot had been disbanded at the peace of Fontainbleau in 1763.

On the 19th December, 1768, a warrant was issued, by authority of King George III., for regulating the standards, guidons, clothing, &c., of the regiments of cavalry, in which it was directed, that the uniform of the Fourteenth dragoons should be red, with lemon-coloured facings, without lappels, with silver lace; the uniform, &c., being the same as prescribed by the Royal Warrant of the 1st July, 1751.

Colonel Fitzroy was promoted to the rank of major-general and removed to the third dragoons, in 1772, when King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the Fourteenth dragoons on Lieut.-General Daniel Webb, from the eighth foot.

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.

In 1784 the clothing of the light dragoon regiments was changed from scarlet to dark blue; and the following orders were issued on this subject, dated—

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.

The regiment embarked on the 25th of February, 1795, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Carter; on arriving at St. Domingo, it was furnished with such horses as could be procured, and it was soon engaged in active operations against the bands of armed negroes and mulattoes who had enrolled themselves under the banners of the French republic.

During the years 1796 and 1797, numerous actions occurred; but against a hundred thousand trained blacks who had been instructed in European discipline, the few British troops on the island were unable to do more than exhibit many brilliant examples of discipline and valour. In an enterprise against the post of Mirebalais in the beginning of June, 1797, a detachment of the Fourteenth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-first light dragoons, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Carter of the Fourteenth, distinguished themselves. They drove twelve hundred of the enemy with three pieces of cannon from a strong position, captured two guns, and chased a number of opponents into the river Artibonite, capturing their ammunition, mules, &c. The conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Carter, and of the dragoons under his orders, was commended in the public despatches. The climate of St. Domingo was, however, so very injurious to the health of European soldiers, that the regiment was soon reduced to a skeleton. The few surviving men who were fit for service, were permitted to volunteer into other corps, and the remainder, twenty-five in number, embarked for England, where they arrived in the month of October, and were stationed at Chelmsford.

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.

In August, 1798, King George III. was graciously pleased to approve of the regiment being styled "the Fourteenth, or the Duchess of York's own Regiment of Light Dragoons," in honour of Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Catherina, Princess Royal of Prussia, who was married to His Royal Highness the Duke of York in 1791; at the same time the Royal authority was given for the Fourteenth to assume the "Prussian Eagle" as a regimental badge, and the colour of the facing of the regiment was changed from lemon-yellow to orange.

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.

Hostilities were resumed in 1803, and in 1804 the regiment was again augmented to ten troops of ninety rank and file each, for which a supply of new carbines and pistols was received in 1807, from the ordnance stores.

The French Emperor, Napoleon Buonaparte, having attempted to reduce Spain and Portugal to subjection to his power, a British army proceeded to Portugal to aid the inhabitants in their struggles for freedom. Portugal had been delivered, and the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore was advancing into Spain, when the Fourteenth (the Duchess of York's Own) regiment of light dragoons, was ordered to embark for the Peninsula. The regiment marched to Falmouth, where it was put on board of transports, and arrived at Lisbon on the 23rd of December under the command of Colonel Samuel Hawker.

The return to England of the troops which had served under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, whose career of honour was terminated at the battle of Corunna, left only a small British force in the Peninsula, and these troops were quartered near Lisbon, from whence the Fourteenth light dragoons advanced in the early part of 1809, to Bucellas, an out-post of the army. In April the regiment formed the advance-guard on the march of the army to Coimbra, and in the beginning of May it was united in brigade with the sixteenth and twentieth light dragoons under Major-General Cotton, and was reviewed on the plains of Coimbra by Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. The French troops under Marshals Soult and Victor had, in the meantime, invaded Portugal, and Marshal Soult had captured Oporto.

To expel the French from Oporto, was the first service undertaken by the British commander; on this occasion two squadrons of the Fourteenth, under Lieut.-Colonel Neil Talbot, were detached with the Portuguese troops under Marshal Beresford to intercept the French, if they should attempt to retreat by Amarante; the remaining three squadrons under Colonel Hawker advanced direct upon Oporto, and being employed, with the other cavalry on the advance-piquets, they took part in the rencounters with the enemy on the 10th and 11th of May. Arriving on the 12th of May, on the banks of the Douro near Oporto, unperceived by the French, the English general resolved to pass the river, when two squadrons of the Fourteenth were detached, with the German brigade and two guns under Major-General John Murray, three miles up the river, to Barca de Avintas, where they effected a passage in boats. In the meantime a portion of the army had passed nearer the city, and was engaged in a fierce action with the enemy, when the Fourteenth light dragoons and the Germans were seen advancing down the right bank of the river. The French made a precipitate retreat. The leading squadron of the Fourteenth, commanded by Major F. B. Hervey, and gallantly supported by the second squadron under Major the Honourable Charles Butler, dashed sword in hand upon the enemy's rear-guard and overthrew it, as it was pushing through a narrow road to gain an open space beyond the defile. Some execution was done, the French General, Laborde, was unhorsed, and General Foy was wounded; but no other troops advancing to support the Fourteenth, the gallant dragoons had to fight their way back, and had several men and horses killed and wounded. Major F. B. Hervey lost his right arm; Captain Peter Hawker, Lieutenants Robert Knipe, and Evelyn P. Dormer, were wounded.

The conduct of the Fourteenth was commended in Sir Arthur Wellesley's public despatch, and also in general orders. They had marched eighty miles in four days over the most difficult country, and they were employed in pursuing, along a mountainous region, the discomfited French troops, whose line of retreat could be traced by the smoke of burning houses. Having followed the enemy as far as Ginjo, the Fourteenth light dragoons halted, and afterwards moved towards Abrantes, where the army was concentrated for operations on the Tagus.

From Abrantes the army advanced into Spain, and a body of French troops under Marshal Victor retreated from Talavera de la Reyna. The Spaniards under General Cuesta pursued with avidity; but the French were reinforced, and they drove the Spaniards back upon Talavera, where the allied army formed in order of battle; the Fourteenth light dragoons being posted in the rear of Brigadier-General Alexander Campbell's division.

When the army went into position, Major-General Mackenzie was left with a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, as an advanced post, in the wood on the right of the Alberche, which covered the left flank. The French attacked this post between two and three o'clock on the 27th of July, when the Fourteenth light dragoons were ordered forward, and they crossed the Alberche river, and sent out a line of skirmishers to cover the retrograde movements of the infantry. The regiment was employed in skirmishing until night, and had nine horses killed; Lieutenant Theophilus Thomas Ellis, and one private soldier wounded.

The Fourteenth light dragoons resumed their post in the position occupied by the allied army, and supported the infantry during the severe contest on the 28th of July. The left of the British line was attacked at day-break, and when the enemy was repulsed at this point, a long pause ensued. An attack on the centre was made soon after two o'clock, and the French were again driven back; they also failed in another attack on the left. A strong body of the enemy advanced against Major-General Sherbrooke's division; this attack was repulsed by a charge of the whole division with bayonets; but the brigade of foot guards pursued so far as to be in danger of being annihilated; when the forty-eighth regiment, and the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons were brought forward, and the foot guards rallied and again advanced. This was a moment of great peril to the allied army; but the steady valour of the British troops prevailed, and the French fell back.

The Fourteenth light dragoons had three men and twenty-one horses killed; Colonel Samuel Hawker, Captains John Chapman, and Peter Hawker, Lieutenants William Wainman and Thomas Smith, six rank and file, and three horses wounded; thirteen horses missing; Lieutenant Evelyn P. Dormer taken prisoner. Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Talbot, and Major Baker had each a horse killed under him.

Colonel Hawker was rewarded with a gold medal, and the regiment was subsequently authorised to bear on its guidons and appointments the word "Talavera", in commemoration of its distinguished services in this action.[10]

After this battle the enemy brought forward such very superior numbers, that the British General was forced to act on the defensive, and while the army was encamped on the banks of the Guadiana, a malignant fever proved fatal to numbers of officers and soldiers. The Fourteenth dragoons were removed to Villa Vicosa, a fortified town in the Alemtejo, from whence they marched, in December, to Santarem, a town very pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Tagus, where they were formed in brigade with the royal dragoons under Major-General Slade.

In February, 1810, Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo were both menaced by the enemy, and in March the regiment returned to the Alemtejo, and took the advanced posts of Lieut.-General Rowland Hill's corps at Arronches, a town situate at the conflux of the Caya and the Algrette, near the Spanish frontiers. A concentration of French troops near Ciudad Rodrigo afterwards relieved the other provinces. Ciudad Rodrigo was eventually beseiged by Marshal Ney, and the British commander, hoping the enemy, by detaching troops, would furnish an opportunity for relieving this fortress, withdrew the Fourteenth light dragoons from the Alemtejo. The regiment advanced to Almeida in June; it was attached to the light division under Brigadier-General Craufurd, who was behind the Agueda river, watching the enemy's motions; and with the sixteenth light dragoons, and first hussars King's German Legion, took the out-post duty on this frontier.

No opportunity to relieve Ciudad Rodrigo occurred; but during the siege marauding parties of French soldiers entered the villages of Barquillo and Villa de Puerco on three successive nights. Brigadier-General Craufurd, thinking to cut off the next party, formed two ambuscades, one near Villa de Puerco, with six squadrons, another of three squadrons near Barquillo, and he also placed his artillery, five companies of the ninety-fifth, (Rifle-brigade) and the third Portuguese Caçadores in reserve; the Fourteenth light dragoons were employed in these ambuscades. On the morning of the 11th of July, a little after day-break, a party of French infantry was observed near Villa de Puerco, and a small body of cavalry at Barquillo; and the open country on the right would have enabled the six squadrons to place themselves between the infantry and their point of retreat; but this was circuitous, and Brigadier-General Craufurd preferred passing along a narrow defile between two stone walls. This proved difficult; in threading the defile in a long line the dragoons were separated, and the French infantry, two hundred strong, had time to form square, being hidden in high standing corn. The French dragoons coming out of Barquillo, were charged by the German hussars and a squadron of the sixteenth, and two officers and twenty-nine men were made prisoners. In the meantime the Fourteenth light dragoons had threaded the defile, and mounting the hill, rode with distinguished gallantry against the square; but the French infantry remained perfectly steady, and opened such a fire, that Lieut.-Colonel Talbot and eight men fell dead close to the bayonets, and twenty-three men were wounded.[11] The survivors withdrew a short distance to reform their ranks, and the French square commenced its retreat with singular steadiness and good order. The Fourteenth dragoons seeing this, prepared to launch against it another squadron, which was already in speed for the purpose, when Colonel Arentschildt of the hussars, observing cavalry approaching in front and flank, checked the movement. It was afterwards regretted that he took this step, as the horsemen, who alarmed him, proved to be the German hussars and sixteenth returning from the pursuit of the French dragoons, the whole of whom they had captured.

On the death of Lieut.-Colonel Talbot the command of the regiment devolved on Lieut.-Colonel F. B. Hervey, under whose directions the Fourteenth became celebrated as an efficient corps of light cavalry, remarkable for the excellent manner in which they performed the out-post duty.

Meanwhile Ciudad Rodrigo had surrendered; the Fourteenth remained in the villages near Fort La Conception until the 21st of July, when the enemy's masses approaching, they fell back to Almeida, where Brigadier-General Craufurd halted the few troops under his orders, and, with astonishing hardihood, confronted the whole French army. During the night of the 23rd of July, the videttes and patrols of the regiment were exposed to a heavy storm of wind and rain, and as daylight appeared, they discovered the approach of numerous legions of the enemy: a few shots were fired; the cavalry reserves and guns moved forward, and a skirmish ensued in which the Fourteenth had one serjeant killed; Lieutenant John Blachford, one private soldier, and four horses wounded. After opposing the superior numbers of the enemy for some time, the British withdrew beyond the river Coa; and Brigadier-General Craufurd stated in his despatch,—'The retreat of the Fourteenth light dragoons from Val-de-la-Mula to Almeida, was conducted in the most regular and soldier-like manner, though opposed to a superior force of French cavalry.'

A squadron of the regiment and a squadron of the royal dragoons, on duty at Frexadas, were sharply engaged with a superior force of the enemy on the 28th of August, and highly distinguished themselves.

Marshal Massena invaded Portugal with such an immense superiority of numbers, that the British commander was under the necessity of withdrawing from the frontiers, and the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons, with the first German hussars, had the honour of covering the retrograde movements. On the 24th of September the enemy skirmished with the piquets in front of Mortagao, from whence a squadron of the Fourteenth under Captain Thomas W. Brotherton, with one of the sixteenth and first hussars, covered the retreat of the light division four miles to some strong ground. The three squadrons repulsed four of French hussars; some of the enemy's dragoons approaching too close, were charged by the squadron of the Fourteenth, and overthrown with the loss of about thirty men. On the following morning the cavalry skirmishers exchanged a few shots, and the Fourteenth were employed in covering the retreat of the light division to the position of Busaco. During this retreat Captain the Hon. Henry Percy was taken prisoner while reconnoitring the flank movement of the enemy.

The Fourteenth were in reserve during the battle of Busaco on the 27th of September; and they were subsequently employed in covering the retreat of the army to the strong lines of Torres Vedras.

On the 1st of October, the out-posts were attacked and driven from the hills bounding the plain of Coimbra to the north, when three troops of the Fourteenth, under Major the Honourable Charles Butler, proceeded through the town, and formed the rear-guard on the main road from Coimbra to Pombal. The remainder of the regiment was formed on the plain, with the other cavalry corps, and withdrew before a superior force of the enemy, crossing the Mondego at a ford below the town, and skirmishing to prevent the passage of the river by the enemy.

The French army continuing to press forward, its advance-guard skirmished with the rear of the allies almost every day, and the Fourteenth light dragoons had frequent opportunities of exhibiting brilliant instances of the innate valour of British soldiers. At Rio Mandevilla the Fourteenth and sixteenth light dragoons, first German hussars, royal dragoons, and Captain Bull's troop of artillery, repulsed a very superior force of the enemy, on which occasion the first French hussars were nearly annihilated. The Fourteenth had six men and six horses killed; eight men and twelve horses wounded.

The French legions continued to press forward as to an assured victory; but the lines of Torres Vedras arrested their progress, and while they remained in front of these extensive works, the Fourteenth light dragoons took the line of out-posts from the Sobral road. The French army withdrew during the night of the 14th of November; the morning of the 15th was foggy, and it was some hours after day-break when the British General discovered the void space in his front. The Fourteenth were ordered forward along the Cartaxo road, and their patrols took a number of French stragglers prisoners. Marshal Massena took up a position at Santarem; the head quarters of the allied army were established at Cartaxo, and the Fourteenth light dragoons furnished the out-posts, extending from the causeway and bridge over the river.

After wasting his army by privation and sickness, the French marshal retreated; and at day-light on the 6th of March, 1811, Lord Wellington discovered the empty camps at Santarem, and moved his own army forward in pursuit. On the 8th of March, a squadron of the Fourteenth commanded by Captain Babington, and supported by the other squadrons of the regiment under Colonel Hervey, made a successful charge on four squadrons of the eleventh and twenty-sixth French dragoons at Venta de Serra, and captured fourteen men and fourteen horses; with the loss of two men and two horses.

Continuing to press upon the rear of the French army, the regiment was present at the skirmish at Pombal on the 10th of March, at Redinha on the 12th, at Casal Nova on the 14th, and at Foz d'Aronce on the 15th. The Fourteenth were also present at the action near Sabugal, on the 3rd April, but did not sustain any loss.

The French Commander continued his retreat to Salamanca, and the British General stood victorious on the confines of Portugal; the Fourteenth light dragoons furnished the out-posts on the left bank of the Agueda at Villa del Egua, where a peasant arrived from Ledesma, with intelligence that the French army was reinforced and re-organized, and was advancing. A squadron under Captain Brotherton was sent to Santa Espirita, and it fell back behind the Agueda as the French army advanced.

Almeida being blockaded by the allied army, Marshal Massena advanced to its relief; the Fourteenth withdrew gradually as the enemy approached, and on the 3rd of May they were engaged behind Gallegos; when Lieutenant John Townsend retired with the piquets under a heavy cannonade towards Fuentes d'Onor, and a squadron, under Captain Brotherton, had a sharp affair near Pozo Velho.

At the battle of Fuentes d'Onor, on the 5th of May, the Fourteenth and first royal dragoons covered the movement of the right of the army from Nave d'Aver, retiring by alternate squadrons, under a heavy cannonade; one squadron of the regiment charged with signal gallantry some French artillery, but was repulsed, and Captain Robert Knipe commanding the squadron was mortally wounded: he was succeeded in the command of the squadron by Lieutenant (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel) John Townsend: Lieut.-Colonel Hervey had his horse killed under him, and received a severe contusion.

An attack was made on the position in the rear of the village. 'The French with one shock drove in all the cavalry out-guards, and cutting off Captain Ramsay's battery, came sweeping in upon the reserves of horse and upon the seventh division. But their leading squadrons approaching in a disorderly manner, were partially checked by the British, and, at the same time, a great commotion was observed in their main body. Men and horses there closed with confusion and tumult towards one point, a thick dust arose, and loud cries, and the sparkling of blades, and the flashing of pistols, indicated some extraordinary occurrence. Suddenly the multitude became violently agitated, an English shout pealed high and clear, the mass was rent asunder, and Norman Ramsay burst forth at the head of his battery, his horses, breathing fire, stretched like greyhounds along the plain, the guns bounding behind them as things of no weight, and the mounted gunners followed in full career. Captain Brotherton of the Fourteenth dragoons, seeing this, rode forth with a squadron and overturned the head of the pursuing troops, and General Charles Stewart joining in the charge, took the French General Lamotte, fighting hand to hand.'[12] The French were repulsed in their attempt to relieve Almeida, and they withdrew from Portugal.

The Fourteenth light dragoons had Captain Robert Knipe and three private soldiers killed; Captain Thomas Potter Milles, Lieutenants John Townsend, John Gwynne, Lovell B. Badcock, Theophilus Thomas Ellis, six serjeants, and twenty-one rank and file wounded; three private soldiers missing. Lieut.-Colonel Hervey was rewarded with a gold medal, and the royal authority was subsequently given for the regiment to bear on its guidons and appointments the words "Fuentes d'Onor," as a special mark of His Majesty's approbation of its conduct on this occasion.

Viscount Wellington subsequently proceeded to Estremadura, where the strong fortress of Badajoz was besieged by the allies, and the Fourteenth dragoons formed part of the force left on the Agueda. Marshal Marmont advanced with a numerous French army, and having introduced a convoy into Ciudad Rodrigo, he drove back the British posts. On the morning of the 6th of June, two French columns appeared, when the light division was directed to retire from Gallegos upon Nave d'Aver and subsequently upon Alfayetes, and the royal dragoons, with a squadron of the Fourteenth, covered the retreat. Two thousand French cavalry, six thousand infantry, and ten guns, bore down upon the British squadrons and menaced their destruction; but the French horsemen were attacked and defeated twice, and the retreat was effected with little loss.

Marshal Marmont afterwards marched to Spanish Estremadura, and the British General withdrew from before Badajoz. The allied army subsequently proceeded to the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, and eventually blockaded that fortress, the Fourteenth taking part in the out-post duty as usual. When the French army advanced to relieve the blockade, the regiment was stationed at Espejo, on the lower Azava, with advanced-posts at Carpio and Marialva. Having thrown a supply into Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal marched against the allied army, and on the morning of the 25th of September, fourteen squadrons of the imperial guards drove the out-posts from Carpio, across the Azava; the lancers of Berg crossed the river in pursuit, but were charged and driven back by a squadron of the Fourteenth and two squadrons of the sixteenth light dragoons, and Carpio was again occupied by the British. Another body of the enemy attacked the troops at El Bodon, and when the British had withdrawn from this post, the Fourteenth fell back from Carpio, and a succession of retrograde movements followed, until the allied army took up a position behind Soita, when the French withdrew into Spain.

In the action at Carpio, and in the subsequent movements, the regiment had Lieutenant Hall and several private soldiers wounded; and the conduct of its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Hervey, was commended in the public despatches; the excellent behaviour of Captain Brotherton was also particularly mentioned.

During the winter the strength of the regiment on foreign service was reduced two troops.

Ciudad Rodrigo was captured in January, 1812; the regiment subsequently proceeded to Spanish Estremadura, and was stationed near Badajoz when the siege of that fortress was undertaken. The Fourteenth subsequently joined that portion of the covering army which was under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, and when the French army under Marshal Soult advanced, the British fell back upon Albuhera; the Fourteenth were employed in covering the retrograde movement, and they skirmished with the enemy's advanced-guard near Villa Franca. Badajoz having been captured by storm during the night of the 5th of April, the French army marching to its relief fell back.

In a few days after the capture of Badajoz, the Fourteenth were engaged in an enterprise against several regiments of French cavalry. The Regiment moved, on the night of the 10th of April, from Villa Franca upon Usagre, and afterwards along the Road to Llerena; the light brigade skirmished with the French, until the heavy brigade turned their flank; the enemy was then charged, overthrown, pursued, and many prisoners taken. On the following night a party of the Fourteenth, under Lieutenant Edward Pellew, took a piquet of twenty-two French dragoons prisoners. The regiment had upwards of twenty men and several horses wounded; and the conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Hervey was commended in Lieut.-General Sir Stapleton Cotton's despatch.

From Estremadura, the regiment marched towards the Agueda, and it formed the advanced guard of Sir Thomas Graham's column in the march towards Salamanca, near which city it skirmished with a body of the enemy on the 16th of June, and had one serjeant and one trumpeter killed; four private soldiers and five horses wounded.

The enemy retired behind the Douro, and the allies followed to the banks of that river, where the Fourteenth were formed in brigade with the first German hussars, and took the out-posts at Tordesillas. In the middle of July, Marshal Marmont commenced offensive operations and passed the Douro at several points, when Lord Wellington united his centre and left behind the Guarena stream, and the Fourteenth and German hussars covered the retreat from Rueda. The right wing of the allied army and a brigade of cavalry were at Castrejon on the Trabancas, and to cover the retrograde of this force, the Fourteenth and German hussars moved, on the 17th of July, to Alaejos. On the 18th some sharp skirmishing occurred, and the troops at Castrejon fell back behind the Guarena; the Fourteenth retired from the plain near Alaejos under a heavy fire, and took post behind the Guarena at Castrillos. The French army advanced to the opposite side of the river, and General Clausel, sent a brigade of cavalry across under Brigadier-General Carier, supporting it with a column of infantry, and manifesting an intention to press the British left. Major-General Victor Baron Alten led the Fourteenth and first German hussars against the French cavalry, and some sharp fighting occurred, during which General Carier was made prisoner. While the British and French horsemen were warmly engaged, the twenty-seventh and fortieth regiments, supported by a Portuguese brigade, came rushing down the hill and broke the French infantry with an impetuous bayonet charge; the Fourteenth and German hussars had, in the meantime, driven back the French cavalry, and the two regiments charged the broken infantry, and sabred some, and made others prisoners. The regiment had eighteen men and twenty horses killed; Captain Brotherton, Lieutenants John Gwynne, Francis Fowke, thirty-four rank and file, and eighteen horses wounded.

The regiment was actively employed in the operations of the succeeding three days, and occasionally skirmished between the opposing armies.

On the 22nd of July the memorable battle of Salamanca was fought; the Fourteenth skirmished with the enemy's advanced posts at day-break, and afterwards took their station in the line. By several changes of position, the French Marshal endeavoured to turn the right of the allied army and gain the road to Ciudad Rodrigo; Lord Wellington detected a false movement in the opposing army, and instantly ordering his divisions forward, commenced the battle. The Fourteenth light dragoons participated with the third division in its attack upon, and complete discomfiture of, the enemy's left; two squadrons under Lieut.-Colonel Hervey reinforced Brigadier-General D'Urban's Portuguese brigade, which turned the enemy's flank, and the regiment shared in the glorious struggle by which the French army was overthrown and driven from the field with a severe loss.

The regiment had several men and horses killed and wounded; Captain Brotherton, though still suffering from his wound received on the 18th of July, mounted his charger during the fight, and was again wounded; and the gallant bearing of the regiment was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to display the word "Salamanca" on its guidons and appointments; its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Hervey, was presented with a gold medal as a mark of royal favour and approbation.

On the following day the regiment pursued the rear of the French army, and two squadrons were sharply engaged and took several prisoners near Penerada. On the 26th, a patrol of three dragoons of the Fourteenth, and four of the German hussars, under Corporal William Hanley of the former corps, detached to Blasco Sancho, captured a party of the enemy, consisting of two officers, one serjeant, one corporal, and twenty-seven mounted dragoons, with one private servant and two mules, for which they received the expressions of the approbation of the Commander of the Forces. The French horses were given to the Fourteenth and German hussars, to complete deficiencies; the amount was divided among the patrol, and a further pecuniary donation was afterwards made to the men engaged in this gallant exploit.

After driving the enemy across the Douro and taking possession of Valladolid, the army marched to Madrid, and the Fourteenth light dragoons passed Segovia and bivouacked near Escurial, a place celebrated for its magnificent palace, built by Philip II. and used as a monastery. The head quarters of the regiment were established at Getafe, and it took the out-post duty. Lieutenant Cust commanded a post of observation at Consingia, in La Mancha, and Lieutenant Ward a post of communication between that station and Madrid.

When the Marquis of Wellington left Madrid to undertake the siege of Burgos, the Fourteenth were left in the vicinity of the capital of Spain; and when a concentration of the French forces rendered a retrograde movement necessary, the regiment assembled, with the first German hussars, at Guadalaxara, and fell back upon Madrid. From Madrid the regiment formed part of the rear-guard of Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill's corps, to Alba de Tormes, and for several days it was almost constantly engaged in manœuvring and skirmishing to retard the advance of the enemy. On the 16th of November the regiment repulsed the charge of a body of French lancers of superior numbers, at Matilla, and had several men killed and wounded. Colonel Hervey again signalized himself, and narrowly escaped being made prisoner.

In the retreat from Salamanca to Ciudad Rodrigo, the regiment took part in the piquets and other duties of the rear-guard, which it continued to perform until the army went into cantonments behind the Agueda; and Captain Badcock was detached with a reconnoitring party to the Sierra de Francia and river Alagon.

After passing the winter in cantonments among the Portuguese peasantry, the regiment crossed the confines of that kingdom, and formed part of the centre column of the allied army in the advance in May 1813. Arriving at Salamanca on the 26th of that month, the bridge and streets were found barricaded, and a division of French infantry, three squadrons of cavalry, and some artillery, under General Villattes, were formed on the heights above the ford of Santa Marta. A British brigade passed the river at the ford, and the Fourteenth light dragoons and first German hussars removed the barricades and pushed through the town, when the enemy fell back, but was overtaken, and lost about two hundred men killed and wounded, and two hundred prisoners.

The line of the Tormes was thus gained; that of the Douro was soon afterwards won; and the allied army, proudly confident in its distinguished commander, advanced with a firmness which the enemy could not withstand, and the Carion and the Pisuerga were speedily passed: the Fourteenth light dragoons forming, as usual, part of the advance of the allied army, were engaged, on the 12th of June, in forcing a division of the enemy from a position near Burgos, when one squadron, under Captain Milles, charged and took some prisoners and a gun. The loss of the regiment was limited to one man and one horse killed; and one man and five horses wounded.

Unable to withstand the combinations of the British general, the French destroyed Burgos castle, and fell back with tumult and confusion behind the Ebro; the British urged their march towards the sources of that river, and traversing a wild but beautiful region, turned the enemy's position: the Fourteenth being in advance, crossed the Ebro at the bridge of Frias on the 15th of June, and a patrol fell in with a body of the enemy near Pancorba.

The enemy concentrated in front of Vittoria; the Marquis of Wellington examined their position on the 20th of June, and the Fourteenth skirmished with the French near the village of Huarte.

On the 21st of June, the long-expected battle was fought near Vittoria, and the Fourteenth light dragoons had the honour of sharing in a conflict in which the French army sustained a decisive overthrow. The regiment was attached to the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, and supported the attacks of the infantry and artillery; in the afternoon it was detached to out-flank the enemy's left, and in the evening it pursued the wreck of the French army along the Pampeluna road, passing the whole of the enemy's baggage, which had been abandoned.

The gallant bearing of the Fourteenth on this occasion was subsequently rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word "Vittoria" on their guidons and appointments; and an additional honorary distinction was conferred on their commanding officer, Colonel Hervey.

On the following day the regiment went in pursuit of the remains of the French army, and on the 24th of June, fell in with the rear-guard at a pass about two leagues from Pampeluna, when two battalions of riflemen drove the French infantry through the pass, the horse artillery killed several men, and dismounted one of the two pieces of cannon brought off from Vittoria; at the same time the leading squadron of the Fourteenth, under Major Brotherton, charged and captured a tumbril.

The French withdrew into the passes of the Pyrenean mountains; the Fourteenth light dragoons followed the enemy, and on the 28th of June, a patrol of three men of the regiment, under Lieutenant Ward, penetrating to the village of Ostiz, found twenty-five French foot soldiers regularly armed and formed up at the village, who surrendered themselves prisoners of war.

Advancing further into the mountains, a patrol of six men of the regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Clavering, encountered, on the 1st of July, a body of infantry of the French rear-guard, on the road from Roncesvalles to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, dispersed them, and took eighteen prisoners.

A strong body of French troops occupied the fruitful valley of Bastan, in the mountains, from whence they were driven by the troops under Sir Rowland Hill. The Fourteenth were attached to Lieut.-General Hill's division, and a squadron, under Major Brotherton, was engaged, on the 4th of July, with a body of the enemy near Almandoz. The allied army was established in positions in the mountains; the Fourteenth took the out-post duty in front of Maya, and also furnished posts of correspondence for several weeks. At length, the French army having been reinforced, re-organized, and placed under the command of Marshal Soult, advanced and commenced offensive operations. During the action of the 26th of July, the regiment was employed in carrying off the wounded from the pass of Maya, and received the thanks of Sir Rowland Hill. A squadron under Captain Milles was similarly employed on the 30th of July, when Sir Rowland Hill's post at Arestegui was attacked, and another squadron under Major Brotherton had a rencounter with the enemy.

The French having been repulsed, fell back in disorder, and were pursued to the confines of Spain. The Fourteenth formed the van of Sir Rowland Hill's division, and were engaged with the enemy in the valley of Bastan, on the 1st and 2nd of August: on the 5th the regiment took the out-post duty in front of Maya.

On the 10th of November the troops descended from the Pyrenees, and traversed the mountain passes by moonlight, until they arrived at the line of piquets, where they halted until the day dawned, when they transferred the seat of war to France, and taught the admirers of splendid but unprincipled aggressions, that the day of retribution had arrived. The Fourteenth light dragoons were attached to Sir Rowland Hill's division, and one squadron formed the advance-guard to Marshal Beresford's corps. The enemy's position on the Nivelle was forced, and the regiment was united at Espelette on the following day. The regimental baggage, which was attached to the second division, fell into the hands of a party of the enemy, in the rear of the pass of Maya, on which occasion the regiment had one troop serjeant-major and two private soldiers killed.

From the 15th of November to the 9th of December the regiment furnished the out-posts on the river Nive: it formed the advanced-guard to Sir Rowland Hill's corps at the passage of the Nive at the fords near Cambo, and the stream being deep, two men and two horses were drowned. On the 11th of December, a squadron, under Major Brotherton, encountered a body of the enemy in front of Mendionda, and captured a convoy of corn, wine, and salt, and made four men and horses of the escort prisoners. On the 13th the regiment was engaged with the French Light cavalry, under General Pierre Soult, (brother of Marshal Soult), at Hasparren, when Major Brotherton and Lieutenant Southwell were taken prisoners; also one serjeant and one private soldier wounded, and one taken prisoner.

The regiment took the out-post duty in front of Urt on the 14th of December; and was formed in brigade with the thirteenth light dragoons, under Colonel Vivian, who was succeeded, in the beginning of the following year, by Major-General Fane.