Historical Record of the Third or Prince of Wales' Regiment of Dragoon Guards: From Its Formation in 1685 to 1838

Sir John Fenwick, adhering to the interest of King James, resigned his commission; and the Colonelcy of the regiment was given to Lord Colchester, from the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Fourth Troop of Life Guards, who was one of the first officers that joined the Prince of Orange at Exeter, and took with him several men of his troop.

1689

After the flight of the King, the Roman Catholic soldiers committed some irregularities; and in January, 1689, a squadron of the Fourth Horse, with a detachment of Sir George Hewyt's Horse (now Sixth Dragoon Guards), marched to Lewes and Chichester, where they caused three regiments of Irish Roman Catholics12 to lay down their arms, and afterwards escorted them to Portsmouth; from whence they were removed, under a strong guard, to the Isle of Wight, and were subsequently, sent to Hamburg, and disposed of in the service of the Emperor of Germany.

In the mean time the accession of King William and Queen Mary to the throne was opposed in Scotland, and Viscount Dundee was actively engaged in exciting the northern shires, particularly the Highlanders, to take arms in favour of King James. The Fourth Horse, after transferring thirty men and horses to the Blues (which regiment was ordered to proceed to Holland), marched for Scotland, and were placed under the command of Major-General Mackay.

Having arrived at Edinburgh early in April, the Fourth Horse formed part of the force employed in the siege of the castle, which the Duke of Gordon held possession of for King James. Shortly afterwards one squadron of the regiment, with two squadrons of the Royal Scots Dragoons (the Greys), and two hundred foot, accompanied Major-General Mackay to the town of Dundee, where two troops of the Royal Scots Dragoons were left, and the remainder proceeded in quest of the rebels.

Major-General Mackay having ascertained that Viscount Dundee had joined Macdonald of Keppoch, who lay before Inverness with a thousand men, determined to confront them with his little band. He crossed the Spey, and advanced to Elgin with all possible speed, and throughout the march he was rejoiced (as he observes in his memoirs) to find his troops animated with the same spirit as himself.

At Elgin the squadron of the Fourth Horse halted two days in quarters of refreshment, the men and horses being nearly exhausted. On the third day they proceeded towards Forres, and on the march the General ascertained that Viscount Dundee had taken the road through Badenoch to Lochaber. The squadron then proceeded to Inverness, where Major-General Mackay invited the influential persons in the neighbourhood to meet him to concert measures for opposing the rebels; and, expecting that Viscount Dundee would soon appear with a vast accession of force, several additional corps were ordered from Edinburgh to Inverness. At the same time the remainder of the Fourth Horse were also directed to proceed to the same destination.

On the 28th of May the squadron of the regiment at Inverness, with some other troops, in all 640 men, accompanied General Mackay in his advance towards Ruthven Castle, where he expected to meet Colonel Ramsay with 600 Dutch infantry from Edinburgh; but before the general reached the Castle, he ascertained that Ramsay had been intimidated by the threatening aspect of the Athol men, and finding himself in a wild country, to which he was a stranger, surrounded by enemies, he had returned towards Perth: at the same time General Mackay was informed that Viscount Dundee with 2000 hardy mountaineers had arrived that morning at the heights of Badenoch. Under these perplexing circumstances, Mackay turned to the left; then, proceeding down Strathspey, he continued his march for twenty-four hours without a halt; when, having attained a considerable distance in advance of the enemy, he slackened his pace, and was soon afterwards joined by two troops of the Royal Scots Dragoons from the town of Dundee. In the mean time, the enemy followed with all possible expedition, and on their near approach, General Mackay ascertained that several of his officers carried on a secret correspondence with Viscount Dundee, at the same time he had reason to doubt the fidelity of the Scots dragoons. The general, having only the squadron of the Fourth Horse and a few Dutch infantry and Scots irregulars on whom he could depend, once more found himself in a perplexing situation; and, not deeming it prudent to march through an hostile country – all papists, with an enemy at his heels four times more numerous than his own little detachment – he commenced his march, at dusk in the evening, by the side of the river, with hungry men and hungry horses, though resolute, particularly the squadron of the Fourth Horse, and 200 fusileers, on whom he principally relied.13 On arriving at Balveny, the troops halted to procure bread for the men and oats for the horses. Having, however, sent out scouts, and none of them returning, General Mackay ordered his party to march forward before the bread was baked, or the horses had eaten a feed of corn, nor halted until four o'clock on the next morning, when neither cavalry nor infantry were able to proceed. However, after two hours' rest, during which time the horses were permitted to feed in a field of corn, he proceeded three miles farther, and took post at the foot of Suy Hill, where he had a view for two miles in every direction in which the enemy could approach. Here the men had some repose, and, their provisions being exhausted, a further supply was sent for from a house in the neighbourhood belonging to the Lord Forbes; but before the food was prepared the general found it necessary to resume his march. On the same day he was joined by Berkeley's (now Fourth) Dragoons, and Leslie's (now Fifteenth) Regiment of Foot. Thus reinforced he resolved to confront the enemy; but the Highlanders, though not inferior in numbers to the King's forces, made a precipitate retreat, and the troops pursued them from the low country until they took refuge in the wilds of Lochaber. The Fourth Horse afterwards returned to the lowlands for refreshment, of which they stood in great need: having in this, their first campaign, undergone the greatest fatigues and privation with a constancy and patience, which occasioned General Mackay, who was an officer of much experience, to speak of them in terms of commendation.

Two days after this action, in which Viscount Dundee was killed, and the command of the mountaineers devolved on Brigadier-General Cannon, the Fourth Horse joined General Mackay, who proceeded with the reinforcements he received towards St. Johnston, to prevent the junction of the disaffected in the shires of Perth and Angus with the rebels, and to keep the latter to the hills. When on this march, a squadron of the regiment highly distinguished itself in an action with a detachment of the enemy, and fully verified the previous commendatory assertions of General Mackay in behalf of the corps. The particulars of this encounter are as follow.

This casual encounter produced important results. The enemy, disheartened by the repulse, proceeded towards the north, keeping near the Grampian Hills; and General Mackay with 1400 horse and dragoons marched along the plains at the base of the hills, to restrain the enemy from descending. In this service the Fourth Horse were subject to many harassing marches and counter-marches. By day the troops were perpetually in motion; during the night they lay in the fields in a body; and their commander having no confidence in the reports of the country people, who were nearly all hostile to the existing government, he was continually sending out small parties throughout the night to procure intelligence. At length the enemy retreated over the mountains by paths inaccessible to cavalry, and many of the Highlanders proceeded to their homes.

The regiment having sustained considerable loss in this campaign from fatigue and privation, particularly in horses, marched into England to recruit, and was quartered at Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon.

1690

Having completed its ranks to the numbers borne on the establishment, the regiment marched to the vicinity of the metropolis, and in June, 1690, it furnished a relay of escorts to attend the King to Highlake, in Cheshire, where His Majesty embarked for Ireland, in order to rescue that kingdom from the power of King James. The regiment was subsequently employed in assisting the Life Guards in their attendance on the court; for several months it furnished a daily guard for the Queen-Dowager, at Windsor; and one troop afterwards accompanied Her Majesty to Newmarket.

1691

From the south of England the regiment marched in the spring of 1691 to Lancashire; but it returned to the south in November of the same year, and on the 25th of that month received orders to embark for foreign service.

King William was actively engaged in a war with Louis XIV., who used every means to promote the aggrandizement of France. The Fourth Horse formed part of a reinforcement sent to the British army on the Continent; and, after landing at Williamstadt in North Brabant, they marched to Flanders, and went into village cantonments.

1692

On the 23rd of January, 1692, John Lord Berkeley was appointed Colonel of the regiment, in succession to Lord Colchester, who was promoted to the command of the Third Troop of Life Guards.14

The Fourth Horse were called from their cantonments in the spring of 1692, to engage in active operations; and they formed part of the army commanded by King William in person, which advanced to the relief of Namur, when that fortress was besieged by the French. But on arriving at the banks of the Mehaine, that river was found impassable from heavy rains; the enemy arriving on the opposite bank, the two armies viewed each other across the river, but no action took place; and while the army was thus delayed, Namur fell into the hands of the enemy. The Fourth Horse were subsequently engaged in several manœuvres; and they took part in the attack of the French in their position near Steenkirk, on the 3rd of August.

On this occasion they formed part of the leading column which, after passing along several narrow defiles and through some woody grounds, deployed on a small plain in front of the enemy, and commenced the attack in gallant style; but not being sustained by the main army, the corps in advance, after gaining considerable advantage and displaying great valour, were obliged to retire. The Fourth Horse, after driving back some French squadrons, had advanced to the right skirts of a wood on the left wing, and their gallant bearing, under a heavy fire which thinned the ranks, was conspicuous; but they were eventually forced from their ground by the torrent of superior numbers which came pouring down upon their front. The King ordered a retreat, and the troops performed the difficult operation of retiring through a broken country in presence of an army of superior numbers, in fine order.

After several marches and changes of position, the regiment proceeded to Ghent, where it was joined by a draft of men and horses from the Princess Anne's Horse, commanded by Colonel Francis Langston, – a regiment which, having suffered severely at Steenkirk, was discontinued on the establishment of the army, and the few remaining men and horses were transferred to other corps.15

1693

Leaving their cantonments in the spring of 1693, the Fourth Horse again took the field, and were with the army in Park camp, – a strong post which covered Louvain, Malines, and Brussels, – and the occupation of this ground enabled King William to defeat the designs of the enemy on Brabant. The Fourth Horse were subsequently engaged in several manœuvres, designed to insure the preservation of the bishopric of Liege, and to raise the siege of Huy, – a strong town, pleasantly situated in a valley on the Maese; but this fortress was surrendered while the troops were marching to its relief, and the governor was brought to trial for surrendering it.

The Fourth Horse were afterwards encamped near the banks of the Geete, in South Brabant, where the army was attacked by a French force of superior numbers commanded by the Duke of Luxembourg. The regiment was posted on this occasion towards the left of the line, near the village of Neer-Landen, to support the infantry in this quarter, and passed the night before the action under arms.

On the 19th of July, as the first rays of morning light glanced upon the hostile armies, the French were discovered in order of battle, and a sudden burst of artillery from the batteries of the allies sent forward a shower of balls, which, rending the ranks of the enemy, formed a prelude to the sanguinary conflict which followed. For some time the fighting was limited to the infantry and artillery, and the Fourth Horse were spectators of the fray; yet a cannon shot or two occasionally plunging into the ranks, laid several troopers and their horses dead on the plain. At length the enemy forced the right of the allied army, and routed the Hanoverian and other foreign horse in that quarter, when King William ordered to their aid the British squadrons on the left. Instantly moving from their post, the Fourth Horse and other English cavalry gallopped to the scene of conflict, and each squadron charging the moment it arrived, the torrent of battle, which was sweeping the plain, was stayed, – the leading squadrons of the enemy were broken, – and the British horsemen, mixing fiercely in the combat, displayed their native valour and intrepidity. Yet the cavalry and infantry on the right wing, having already quitted the field, the chivalrous horsemen of Britain were unable to resist the superior numbers of the enemy which came pouring down on every side; and they were ordered to retire, a movement which was not executed without some confusion and considerable loss.16 The French remained masters of the field, but the number of their killed and wounded exceeded that of the allies.17

The Fourth Horse, having retired from the field of battle by the bridge at Neer-Hespen, proceeded that night to Tirlemont. They were subsequently encamped near Brussels, and after taking part in several manœuvres and skirmishes, they returned to their former station at Ghent.

1694

On the 24th January, 1694, King William conferred the Colonelcy on Lieut. – Colonel Cornelius Wood (an officer of signal merit, who had frequently distinguished himself), from the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards.

After passing the winter at Ghent, the Fourth Horse again took the field in May, 1694, and, after several marches, were encamped with the army on the plain near Mont St. André, where they were reviewed by the King on the 16th of August, in brigade with the regiments of Leveson, Wyndham, and Galway.18 They passed the summer in manœuvring and skirmishing on the verdant plains of the Netherlands, and on the frontiers of Liege, – performing many long and toilsome marches through a country which, having for several years been the seat of war, was changed from a land of smiling plenty and contentment to a scene of outrage, devastation, and misery. After forming part of the covering army during the siege of Huy, which surrendered in September, the Fourth Horse marched back to Flanders, and again occupied quarters at Ghent.

16951696

During the summer of 1696 the Fourth Horse and Wyndham's Regiment (now 6th Dragoon Guards) formed part of the army in Brabant, under King William in person, while the remainder of the British cavalry continued in Flanders. For this purpose the two regiments left Ghent on the 1st of June, and having joined the main army on the march near Gemblours on the 20th of that month, were reviewed on the 24th by his Majesty, near Corbais. The summer was passed by the Fourth Horse in manœuvring, patrolling, and skirmishing on the plains of Brabant, and in performing out-post duty; and, returning to Flanders in the autumn, they once more occupied quarters at Ghent.

1697

The regiment left Flanders in the early part of May, 1697, and, having passed the Scheldt at Dendermond, joined the army encamped at St. Quintin Linneck on the 16th of that month. It took part in the manœuvres of this campaign, and, after several marches, was encamped a short time before Brussels, from whence it was detached, for the convenience of forage, to Wavre; and while at this station hostilities were terminated by the peace of Ryswick, when it was ordered to return to England.

From Wavre the regiment marched to Flanders, from whence it embarked for England, where it arrived in December, and was ordered to march into quarters in Staffordshire; at the same time the establishment was reduced from fifty to thirty-one private men per troop.

1698170017011702

During the summer of 1698 it was occupying quarters at Uttoxeter and Penxridge; and in August, of the same year, it was reviewed by the Duke of Schomberg at Lichfield. It remained in Staffordshire until the month of June, 1700, when it proceeded to the vicinity of London, and was reviewed by his Majesty on Hounslow Heath; and in November of the following year, furnished a relay of escorts to attend the King from Margate to London, when his Majesty returned from the continent. It was subsequently stationed in the vicinity of London, and in the beginning of 1702 received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service: at the same time the establishment was again augmented to fifty men per troop.

The accession of the Duke of Anjou (grandson of Louis XIV.) to the throne of Spain, in violation of recent treaties, had re-kindled the flame of war in Europe, and King William once more united with the continental states to reduce the exorbitant power of France. In the mean time the Kings of France and Spain proclaimed the Pretender King of Great Britain, by the title of James III. This proceeding made the nation sensible of the latent designs of France; the preparations for war were expedited; and in the beginning of March, 1702, the Fourth Horse embarked at Blackwall and Deptford. But the death of King William occurring (8th of March) before the transports sailed, the regiment was ordered to disembark and march into quarters in the villages near London. Queen Anne, however, continued the course of policy adopted by her predecessor, and on the 11th of March the regiment was ordered to re-embark and proceed to Holland, where it arrived towards the end of the same month, and went into cantonments near Breda.

The Fourth Horse, with three other regiments of British cavalry and two of infantry,19 were stationed near Breda, until the 21st of June, when they marched under the orders of Lieut. – General Lumley to join the army. The French attempted to intercept these regiments; but by forced marches they eluded the enemy, and arrived at the camp near Duckenburg, towards the end of the same month.

The French, having obtained possession of the Spanish Netherlands, the campaign commenced on the Dutch frontiers. The Fourth Horse, forming part of the army commanded by the Earl of Marlborough, advanced against the immense force of the enemy under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Boufflers. Having crossed the Maese near Grave, the British troops were engaged in several daring and skilful manœuvres in North Brabant and the province of Limburg, by which the designs of the enemy were frustrated.

When the allies besieged Venloo, the Fourth Horse were with the troops employed in observing the enemy, and in protecting the supplies of forage, provision, and ammunition: they were also similarly engaged during the sieges of Ruremonde and Stevenswaert.

These fortresses having been captured, the regiment quitted its camp at Soutendael about midnight, on the 10th of October, and, having crossed the little river Jaar, advanced with the army towards the city of Liege, where it arrived about three in the following morning, when the suburb of St. Walburg was found in flames, the French having, upon the sudden advance of the allies, attempted the destruction of the suburbs by fire, and afterwards retired into the citadel, and into a detached fortress called the Chartreuse.

The Fourth Horse marched into the city of Liege on the 14th of October, where they remained until the 25th, when they were detached across the river to invest the Chartreuse; and, after the surrender of this place, they were employed in escorting the garrison towards Antwerp.20 Having performed this service they went into village cantonments, and before the following spring the British commander was advanced to the dignity of Duke of Marlborough.

1703

Having passed the winter in Dutch Brabant, the Fourth Horse, moving from their quarters in May, 1703, traversed the country to the vicinity of Maestricht; at the same time one division of the army besieged and took Bonn. They were subsequently encamped near the banks of the Maese, where the Duke of Marlborough assembled the army; and on the 24th of May advanced against the enemy, who occupied an advantageous post near Tongres; but on the approach of the allies the French retired, and afterwards took post behind their fortified lines.

The Fourth Horse were subsequently encamped with the army near Haneff, where they were engaged in a slight skirmish with a detachment of the enemy. The Duke of Marlborough was desirous of attacking the French lines, but was prevented by the indecision of the Dutch generals and field-deputies. The Fourth Horse were also employed in the operations which preceded the investiture of Huy, and formed part of the covering army during the siege of that place. They were afterwards in the lines of circumvallation before Limburg; and after the surrender of this place they proceeded to Liege; and on the 4th of October joined the camp at St. Trond, where they halted a few days, and were subsequently distributed into cantonments.

1704

The British horse again passed the winter amongst the rude peasantry of Holland, and assembled with the army in the spring of 1704 near Ruremonde, from whence they directed their march to Cologne, and afterwards proceeded through a delightful country to Coblentz, a town situate at the conflux of the Rhine and Moselle. By these movements the Duke of Marlborough indicated a design of carrying on the war in the direction of the Moselle; but he had a more noble and hazardous object in view.

The Elector of Bavaria, who is presumed to have aspired to the imperial dignity, had commenced hostilities against the Emperor of Germany. In 1703, 30,000 French troops marched through the Black Forest to assist him, the united French and Bavarian armies were carrying all before them, and it was apprehended that if something extraordinary was not undertaken, the Elector of Bavaria would gain the imperial throne, – Germany would be subjected to French domination, – and Louis XIV. would dictate laws to Europe. To avert this disaster, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to march the army under his command from the Netherlands into the heart of Germany.

In pursuance of this object, the Fourth Horse, having crossed the Rhine and the Moselle, moved forward with the other cavalry regiments in advance of the main army, and commenced their march on an expedition which produced the most stupendous results. During the advance the regiments invariably moved from their camp ground at the first dawn of morning light, completed the march before the heat became oppressive, and passed the remainder of the day in repose, or in preparing for the succeeding day's march.21

Continuing their route, under favourable circumstances and in excellent order, the British cavalry arrived towards the end of May at the suburbs of Mentz, in the west of Germany, where they halted a day to rest their horses. From this place they advanced in four days to Ladenburg, in the margraviate of Baden, and having passed the Neckar, halted one day at their camp beyond the town. From thence they directed their march towards the Danube; while the nations of Europe gazed with astonishment at this splendid enterprise, and the different states through which the troops passed hailed their arrival with acclamations. At length a junction was effected between the army of the Duke of Marlborough and the forces of the German empire, and the united troops co-operated in offensive measures.

The Fourth Horse, having thus marched from the ocean to the Danube, took an active part in the operations which succeeded; and they formed part of the forces which advanced at three o'clock on the morning of the 2nd of July, and after traversing many miles of difficult country, arrived in front of the enemy's entrenched position on the heights of Schellenberg, and commenced the attack about six in the evening.