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

1760

In the spring of 1760 the enemy brought into the field an army of 100,000 men, commanded by the Duke of Broglio, with a separate corps under the Count de St. Germain; and so far outnumbered the allies, that the latter were obliged to act on the defensive. The Third Dragoon Guards left their cantonments in the early part of May, arrived at Paderborn on the 12th, and on the 20th encamped on the heights near Fritzlar, where they were formed in brigade with the First and Second Dragoon Guards, under the command of Major-General Webb. The enemy, superior in numbers and situation, advanced against the allies, some skirmishing occurred, but Prince Ferdinand was ultimately obliged to retire. Leaving Fritzlar on the 24th of June, the allies proceeded in the direction of the Dymel, and on the 9th of July the main army took post on the heights of Brannau. On the same day the First and Third Dragoon Guards were sent forward to Saxenhausen, to reinforce a separate body of troops commanded by the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick.

On the 10th of July the Hereditary Prince marched towards Corbach, and when he approached that place he discovered a body of French troops formed upon the heights near the town. Imagining it was only the advanced guard of the Count de St. Germain's corps, his Highness determined to endeavour to dislodge them. The attack was accordingly made, and the intrepidity and firmness of the troops were conspicuous; but the enemy proved more numerous than was anticipated, and, being reinforced with fresh troops, it was found impossible to drive them from the advantageous post which they occupied, and a retreat was ordered. This was, however, rendered of difficult execution by the pressure of the enemy's advanced corps. Some disorder occurred. Several German regiments of infantry and cavalry were thrown into confusion, and the enemy, following up this advantage with a large body of dragoons and a numerous artillery, threatened the entire destruction of this portion of the allied army. At this critical moment the First and Third Dragoon Guards were brought forward to undertake a service of great magnitude, – no less than to confront a torrent of superior and increasing numbers, and to drive back the victorious legions that were pouring down upon the allies, – a service which would at once attest the intrinsic worth of these corps; and their conduct proved their genuine bravery, and showed that the same valour, for which the corps had often been distinguished as the Fourth Horse, also glowed in the bosoms of the Third Dragoon Guards. The two regiments instantly confronted the foe, and conscious of their own power they dashed forward upon the foaming ranks of the enemy, and used their broad swords with dreadful execution. The torrent of battle was arrested. The pursuing squadrons were driven back, 'mangled with many a ghastly wound,' and the remainder of the army was enabled to make an undisturbed retreat.44 After driving back the enemy's squadrons the Third Dragoon Guards retired, and joined the main army, encamped at Saxenhausen, on the same evening.

The loss of the regiment on this proud occasion was thirty-five men and thirty-four horses; with one man and two horses wounded.45

In consequence of some movements of the enemy Prince Ferdinand proceeded with the main body of the army towards Cassel, and on the 27th of July the troops encamped near Kalle. At the same time the Chevalier de Muy, who had succeeded the Count de St. Germain, having crossed the river Dymel with 35,000 men, and taken post on the heights near Warbourg, with a view of cutting off the communication of the allies with Westphalia, Prince Ferdinand resolved to attack him in this post. The attack commenced on the morning of the 31st of July, and the brigade of Dragoon Guards had another opportunity, which it did not suffer to pass, of distinguishing itself. The action had been maintained for a short time, although only a part of the allied army had reached the scene of conflict, and the English cavalry were a distance of five miles in the rear, but they advanced at great speed, at the same time preserving such order and regularity as enabled them to charge successfully the instant they arrived on the ground; and after driving the enemy's cavalry out of the field, they attacked the French infantry and chased them from the heights with prodigious slaughter. The town of Warbourg was carried. The Dragoon Guards, led by the Marquis of Granby,46 pressed forward in the pursuit, crossed the Dymel, and the Third Dragoon Guards, after acquiring great honour in the fight and in the pursuit, encamped that night on the heights of Wilda.

The regiment only lost one man and five horses in this engagement, with eight men and three horses wounded.

Notwithstanding the signal bravery of the British troops, the enemy, by superior numbers, was enabled to gain possession of several important towns; and, on the advance of the main army under the Duke de Broglio, the Dragoon Guards left their advanced post at Wilda, repassed the Dymel, and joined the lines near Warbourg on the 3rd of August. During the remainder of the campaign many brilliant services were performed by the British troops and their allies. By secret and expeditious movements, by daring and rapid advances, and by sudden and unexpected attacks, the enemy was kept in constant alarm; and this warfare of detachments, in which the Third Dragoon Guards took an active part, prevented the French from deriving that advantage from their superior numbers which had been anticipated. At the conclusion of the campaign the British troops went into quarters in the bishopric of Paderborn, where they suffered great hardship from a scarcity of forage and provision.

1761

The French having, by their superior numbers, gained possession of Hesse and the Lower Rhine, amassed immense magazines of provision and forage in convenient situations; and having secured the communications necessary for their subsistence, they possessed great advantages over the allies, whose numbers were daily diminishing in consequence of privations.

Prince Ferdinand, conscious of the difficulties of his situation, formed one of those daring schemes which he knew the innate ardour of his troops would execute. In the most severe season of the year, when military operations were least expected, he made a sudden, extensive, and vigorous attack upon the enemy's cantonments, threw the French into the utmost consternation, and drove a superior army before him for many miles. Having taken several strong towns, and captured many of the enemy's magazines, the allies returned to their former quarters, and the Third Dragoon Guards went into cantonments in the villages near the banks of the Dymel.

On the advance of the French army in the middle of June, 1761, the allies, having assembled from their cantonments, marched in several columns to Gesecke, and subsequently took post with their left on the river Lippe, the left centre under the Marquis of Granby at Kirch-Denkern, and the right extending towards the village of Werle; at the same time the Third Dragoon Guards were posted on the heights of Wambeln.

The combined French armies, commanded by Marshals Soubise and the Duke de Broglio, advanced against the allies; frequent skirmishes took place in the early part of July, and on the 15th of that month a furious attack was made upon the post occupied by the Marquis of Granby; but the enemy were repulsed and driven back to the woods, where the fire of the skirmishers was kept up throughout the night. The division of the allied army commanded by the Prince of Anhalt having been removed to support the Marquis of Granby, a body of British troops, under Lieutenant-General Conway, took possession of the ground vacated by the Prince, being an eminence, between Illingen and Hohenover; and here the brigade of Dragoon Guards, commanded by Major-General Douglas, was posted. On the following day the French drove in the skirmishers, and renewed the attack with additional forces, at the same time extending the sphere of their operations; and an attempt was made upon the post occupied by the brigade of Dragoon Guards. The assailants were, however, everywhere repulsed, and they were eventually driven back with the loss of above 5000 men, 9 pieces of cannon, and 6 colours. Unfortunately the nature of the ground prevented the cavalry from taking part in the engagement.

In August the Third Dragoon Guards were engaged in a general attack upon the enemy's posts, near the Dymel; and afterwards crossed that river and advanced to the vicinity of Cassel. In the early part of November they were engaged in dislodging a French corps from its post near Capelnhagen. On the 6th and 7th of that month they skirmished with the enemy's advanced posts at Eimbeck, in the Electorate of Hanover. On the same evening the Dragoon Guards, with several other corps, marched through a heavy snow, and the following morning arrived at Foorwohle, where they erected their tents; but just as the encampment was formed, an alarm was given by the out-posts of the advance of the enemy in force. The British horsemen instantly formed, attacked the enemy with their accustomed gallantry, and drove them back with loss. Prince Ferdinand was a spectator of this act of gallantry, and expressed great admiration of the spirited conduct of the officers and men.47 This warfare by detached parties, which occasioned considerable loss in men and horses from fatigue and exposure to inclement weather, produced no decisive results; and in the beginning of November the Third Dragoon Guards went into quarters in East Friesland.

1762

In the spring of 1762 the allies made an excursion into the country of Berg, where they raised contributions. On the 18th of June the main army encamped at Brakel, where the First and Third Dragoon Guards formed a brigade under the command of Major-General the Earl of Pembroke. On the 20th of the same month the army advanced towards the Dymel; and the French, under Marshals d'Etrées and Soubise moved forward and encamped at Groebenstien; when a favourable opportunity presenting itself, Prince Ferdinand immediately made dispositions for attacking the enemy.

Moving from their camp at an early hour on the morning of the 24th of June the Third Dragoon Guards, forming part of the centre column, crossed the Dymel between Libenau and Silen, and took part in surprising the enemy in their camp, and in driving them from their ground, with the loss of their camp equipage and many prisoners. At the same time a French corps, consisting of the grenadiers of France, the Royal Grenadiers, the Regiment of Aquitaine, and other troops, under the command of General Stainville, threw themselves into the woods near Wilhelmsthal, to cover the retreat of the army; when the Third Dragoon Guards, with the main body of the allied army, surrounded the wood, and nearly every man of this French corps was either killed or taken prisoner, two battalions only escaping.

The Third Dragoon Guards afterwards pursued the main body of the French army in the direction of Cassel, and at night encamped on the heights between Holtzhausen and Weimar.

In the middle of July the regiment took part in an attack on the enemy's posts on the Fulda; and was subsequently engaged in several military operations on that river, and also on the Eder. By a succession of combined operations the allies compelled the enemy to evacuate a considerable portion of territory, and the campaign ended with the taking of Cassel. The success of the British army was followed by a suspension of hostilities, which took place in November, and the troops went into quarters in the Bishopric of Munster.

1763

The Third Dragoon Guards having received, in common with the whole army, the thanks of Parliament for their eminent and meritorious services during the war, commenced their march on the 27th of January, 1763, through Holland to Williamstadt, where they embarked for England: the numbers of the regiment on embarkation appear to have been 14 officers, 328 men, and 434 horses, with 32 officers' servants, and 33 women who had accompanied their husbands through these long and toilsome campaigns.48

After its arrival in England the regiment was stationed at Canterbury; and its establishment was reduced to 28 private men per troop. At the same time the LIGHT TROOP, which had not been on service with the remainder of the regiment, was relieved from the King's duty at Windsor by the 15th Light Dragoons, and disbanded. Eight men per troop of each of the old troops were, however, subsequently equipped as LIGHT DRAGOONS, a practice which appears to have been general in the heavy cavalry regiments.49

In consequence of a representation of the increase of smuggling, and of the inability of the officers of the revenue and civil authorities to resist, successfully, the organized gangs which infested the maritime towns and villages, the Third Dragoon Guards were dispersed in detachments along the Kentish coast, the head-quarters being at Canterbury.

1764

In April, 1764, the regiment was ordered to call in its detachments and march into quarters near London; and on the 14th of May it was reviewed in Hyde Park, by His Majesty King George III., who was pleased to express his approbation of the uniform and compact appearance of the regiment, and of the manner in which the various evolutions were executed. After the review the regiment marched to Leicester, Northampton, and Kettering.

This year His Majesty commanded the recruiting and remounting of the several cavalry corps to be submitted to the consideration of a Board of General Officers; and in consequence of its report, orders were issued for the recruits received into the regiments of dragoon guards to be from five feet eight inches to five feet ten inches in height; and that the remount horses should not be under fifteen hands, nor above fifteen hands one inch: at the same time the several regiments were ordered to be remounted with long-tailed horses: jacked leather boots were also laid aside, and boots of a lighter description were adopted; and the men were ordered to wear epaulettes on the right shoulder instead of aiguillettes.

1765

The reputation which the regiment had acquired in the field, and its uniform good conduct on all occasions, attracted the attention of the King, and in 1765 his Majesty was pleased to confer upon it the title of The Prince of Wales' Regiment of Dragoon Guards, in honour of the heir apparent to the throne (afterwards King George IV.), who was then in the third year of his age: at the same time it obtained, – as a regimental badge, – a coronet, with a plume of three feathers, a rising sun, and a red dragon, with the motto 'Ich Dien.' In the month of March of the same year, it proceeded to Scotland; and in September Major-General Lord Robert Manners was appointed its Colonel in succession to Sir Charles Howard, deceased.

1766

In the spring of 1766 the regiment returned to England, and was stationed at Manchester and its vicinity. In July the Drummers were taken off the establishment, and Trumpeters were appointed in their place.

17671768

The regiment left Manchester in April 1767, and proceeded to Coventry, Warwick, and Birmingham. In March of the succeeding year, the several troops assembled at Coventry, from whence they proceeded to Newbury and Speenham-Land, and after having been reviewed by His Majesty on Bagshot Heath, marched to quarters at Dorchester, Sherbourn, and Blandford.

176917701772

In 1769 the Third Dragoon Guards were on coast duty in Sussex, with their head-quarters at Lewes. After calling in the detachments, the regiment assembled at Chichester in 1770, from whence it proceeded to the vicinity of London, and had the honour of passing in review before His Majesty on Blackheath. In May it marched to Colchester, Chelmsford, and Ingatestone; and in the spring of 1772 proceeded to Scotland.

17731777

After remaining in Scotland twelve months, the Third Dragoon Guards returned to England and occupied quarters in South Britain, until the spring of 1777, when they again proceeded to the north.

1778

The nation was at this period engaged in a war with its North American colonies, and the French monarch having agreed to assist the revolted provincials, the army was augmented, and during the time this regiment was in Scotland, an addition of one serjeant, one corporal, and fifteen private men was made to the establishment. It returned to England in April, and in May a squadron was in attendance on the King and Queen at Portsmouth, whither their Majesties proceeded to witness a naval review, &c. In August, a further addition of eight men, who were to be equipped as light dragoons, was made to its numbers. During the summer it was encamped on Salisbury Plain.

1779

In 1779 the men of the Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards equipped as light dragoons, with the men of the 1st, 6th, and 11th Dragoons were formed into a regiment, which was numbered the 20th regiment of Light Dragoons; and from this period the heavy regiments ceased to have a portion of their men equipped as light cavalry.

During the summer the Third Dragoon Guards with the 1st Royal Dragoons, and the 15th, 20th, and 21st Light Dragoons, were encamped on Lexdon Heath, near Colchester.

1780

During the summer of 1780 the regiment was stationed at Shrewsbury, and on the breaking out of the memorable riots in London, it was suddenly called upon to proceed thither. Severe measures being found absolutely necessary to preserve the metropolis from destruction, the suppression of these riots was a painful service to the troops, and the violence of the misguided people was so great, that about 300 rioters fell victims to their own folly, before order was restored.

The Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards returned to their quarters at Shrewsbury in July, where they continued for some time.

1782

On the 7th of June, 1782, his Majesty conferred the Colonelcy on Lieut. – General Philip Honeywood from the 4th Regiment of Irish Horse (now 7th Dragoon Guards), in the place of Lord Robert Manners, deceased.

1783

After the British Government had recognised the independence of the United States of America, the strength of the army was reduced, and the establishment of the Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards was decreased 154 men.

1785

The decease of General Honeywood having occurred in January, 1785, his Majesty appointed Major-General Richard Burton Philipson Colonel of the Third Dragoon Guards.

17881789

The regiment continued in England until the spring of 1788, when it again proceeded to Scotland, and remained in that kingdom the usual period of one year. After its arrival in England, in 1789, the establishment was increased nine men per troop.

1792

In August, 1792, the Colonelcy of the Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards, vacant by the decease of General Philipson, was conferred on Major-General Sir William Fawcett, K.B., then Adjutant-General of the Forces.

1793

A further augmentation was made in the establishment in the spring of 1793, with a view to its being employed in actual warfare against the revolutionary party in France, who had seized the reins of government in that country, and beheaded their sovereign.

A French army under General Dumourier, having attacked the frontiers of Holland, a British force was sent to the continent under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, to co-operate with the Austrians, Prussians, and Dutch; and on the 25th of May, four troops of the Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards embarked at Northfleet for this service. Having landed at Ostend, they advanced to the vicinity of Tournay, and formed part of a corps of reserve to the covering army during the siege of Valenciennes, which place surrendered to His Royal Highness the Duke of York on the 26th of July. The siege of Dunkirk was next undertaken, with the view of replacing that fortress under the dominion of England, and the Third Dragoon Guards formed part of the force employed in covering the operation. The enemy having brought forward an immense body of troops, attacked the covering army with great fury; when some severe fighting occurred, during which the Third Dragoon Guards, owing to the nature of the ground, had to dismount and act as infantry; and the covering army, being eventually driven from its ground by the superior numbers of the enemy, the Duke of York raised the siege. The British troops afterwards returning to the vicinity of Tournay, were engaged in several skirmishes with the enemy; and towards the end of the year the Third Dragoon Guards proceeded to Ghent and Bruges for winter quarters.

1794

Early in 1794 the regiment was again in the field; and it was engaged in the general attack on the enemy's positions at Vaux, Premont, Marets, and Catillon, on the 17th of April; and was subsequently encamped, with nearly the whole of the British army, on the heights of Cateau, to cover the siege of Landrécies, which was undertaken by the Austrians.

On the evening of the 25th of April a French corps of about 30,000 men, commanded by Lieut. – General Chapuy, marched out of Cambray, and on the following morning advanced against the British troops. At day-break the enemy formed line, and being concealed by a thick fog, took possession of a village in front of the British position. At length their movements being plainly seen, His Royal Highness detached the Third Dragoon Guards and other cavalry of the right wing, to turn the enemy's left flank; and this movement having been executed, the British squadrons charged with their characteristic gallantry, overthrew the troops of the enemy, and pursued them to the gates of Cambray. In the midst of the conflict the Third Dragoon Guards, ever emulous of glory, were seen carrying destruction and defeat through the enemy's ranks; and in their victorious career, the allies captured thirty-five pieces of cannon, with a number of prisoners, amongst whom was the French commander, Lieut. – General Chapuy, who surrendered his sword to Major Tiddieman, the commanding-officer of the Third Dragoon Guards.

The regiment, however, purchased its laurels with the loss of Captain Pigot, Lieutenant Fellowes, 1 quarter-master, 1 serjeant, 36 private men, and 46 horses killed, besides a great number wounded. His Royal Highness the Duke of York expressed his admiration of its conduct,50 and inserted the following paragraph in the General Orders issued on this occasion.

'The Austrian Regiment of Cuirassiers of Zetchwitz, the Blues, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Dragoon Guards, the Royals, Archduke Ferdinand's Hussars, and the 16th Light Dragoons, who attacked and defeated the principal column of the enemy on the right, HAVE ALL ACQUIRED IMMORTAL HONOUR TO THEMSELVES.'

After the surrender of Landrécies, the Third Dragoon Guards marched to the vicinity of Tournay, and on the 10th of May were engaged in repulsing the attack of the enemy, whose troops were forced across the Marque, with the loss of thirteen pieces of cannon. The regiment behaved on this occasion with its accustomed gallantry; and sustained a loss of 2 officers, 1 serjeant, and 14 private men, with 25 horses killed; and 2 officers, 2 serjeants, 6 men, and 2 horses wounded.

The allies subsequently sustained several severe losses in actions with the enemy, and the Austrians having resolved to abandon the Netherlands, the Duke of York, who had maintained his position in front of Tournay against all opposition, was obliged to make a corresponding movement. The Third Dragoon Guards shared, in common with the other regiments, the hardships which this event occasioned. In the subsequent retreat through Holland, which was occasioned in a great measure by the defection of the Dutch people, the incessant fatigue, the inclemency of the season, and the difficulty experienced in procuring supplies, reduced the British troops to a most distressing state of ill health, and occasioned the death of hundreds of brave men. At length the Maese and the Waal were frozen; the French, with their cannon and all the matériel of their army, passed these rivers on the ice: some hard fighting occurred, but the British, in their reduced condition, were unable to oppose effectual resistance. The army retired in the midst of a rigorous winter, through a hostile country covered with ice and snow, without necessaries, and without accommodation: consequently numbers perished from want, and others were frozen to death; yet the survivors preserved a firm and undaunted countenance, and defeated the attacks of the pursuing army. 'Such was the fate of as brave a body of men as ever Great Britain sent into the field. Both men and officers behaved themselves throughout the whole of the campaigns of 1793 and 1794, with a spirit that distinguished them wherever they were employed, and that fully corresponded with that idea of British valour, so justly entertained by foreign nations. It was, however, in the last stages of this unsuccessful campaign that their courage appeared with the most lustre. The undesponding perseverance with which they met and surmounted every hardship and obstacle, arising from the various incidents of war, was the more remarkable, that they contended against an enemy in full possession of every advantage occurring from victory, and whom they could only expect to impress with a sense of their valour. Herein they certainly succeeded.'51