Historical Record of the Fourth, or Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards

From this period the rebellion may be considered suppressed; some of the most obstinate of the rebels, however, continued in a body and committed many enormities; and the French endeavoured to revive the conflict by sending General Humbert, with upwards of 1000 men, all desperate characters, who landed at Killala on the 22nd of August. The Fourth Dragoon Guards were immediately ordered to march for Connaught, but the French having been made prisoners, the order was countermanded, and the regiment returned to its quarters at Maryborough. Thus was this unnatural contest terminated; but the repeated atrocities of the Catholics led to equally frightful retaliations, and the sanguinary hatred engendered by religious antipathy and a thirst for revenge produced a fearful catalogue of crime after the rebels were subdued. The loss of the insurgents during this rebellion has been estimated at 50,000 men, and that of the royalists at 19,000 men.

1799

Scarcely were the troubles in Ireland terminated and the country restored to tranquillity, when the regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service, and, having marched to Dublin, it there received a draught of men and horses from the 6th Dragoon Guards.

Embarking from Dublin in August, 1799, it landed at Liverpool, from whence it proceeded by forced marches to Northampton, expecting to form part of the Anglo-Russian army, destined to attempt to rescue Holland from the power of France; but the Dutch not seconding the efforts made for their deliverance, the troops were withdrawn, and the Fourth Dragoon Guards continued at Northampton during the remainder of that year.

During the summer the regiment received orders to cut the horses' tails, which had been worn of the natural length since 1764, and the operation occasioned the loss of several valuable horses, which died of locked-jaw.

1800

In the beginning of the following year the establishment was augmented to ten troops, and the total numbers to 850 officers and men. In February the regiment marched from Northampton for Scotland, and on its arrival occupied Hamilton barracks; in the autumn it proceeded to Edinburgh, where it remained nearly two years.

1802

After the conclusion of the peace of Amiens with the French government, the establishment of the Fourth Dragoon Guards was reduced to eight troops, and the total numbers to 550 officers and soldiers and 500 troop horses. In August, 1802, the regiment proceeded to Ireland, and, having landed at Donaghadee, it occupied Belturbet, Longford, and Enniskillen. This year the length of the skirts of the men's coats was reduced, and the blue half-lappels discontinued.

1803

The peace, ratified in 1802, did not long 'diffuse its blessings o'er the land.' The First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, soon found opportunities to violate the conditions of a treaty which he never intended should be permanent, – merely wishing to have the army of Great Britain disbanded or reduced to a peace establishment, to further his hostile views against the country; and he ventured to make preparations to invade England. Happily his designs were frustrated; the spirit and energy of the British people were soon roused; an extraordinary feeling of patriotism pervaded the whole country, – the regular army was augmented, – the militia called out, – the yeomanry and volunteers enrolled, – and in a few months a force of 500,000 men was prepared for any emergency. Bonaparte's threat of invasion soon evaporated, his proud spirit quailed before such a mighty preparation, and he feared to attempt the shores of Britain with his legions. The establishment of the Fourth Dragoon Guards was augmented on this occasion to 670 officers and soldiers.

After a service of sixty years the veteran General, George Warde, died (11th March, 1803) in the 78th year of his age, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards by Major-General Miles Staveley, whose regiment, the 28th, or Duke of York's own Light Dragoons, had been disbanded a few months previously to this period.

In April of this year (1803) the regiment marched to Longford and adjacent towns; and the efficiency of the corps was increased by the addition of three Captains to the establishment, which released the Field Officers from the charge of troops.

On the 16th December Captain Charles Dodgson, who commanded the troop at Philipstown, went in search of an outlaw, for whose apprehension the government had offered a large reward: arriving at the ruins of an old castle, where the rebel had established himself, the captain summoned him to surrender: he refused, and instantly fired at the captain, and so severely wounded him as to occasion his death in a few moments. This murder caused a great feeling of regret in the regiment, by which Captain Dodgson was much beloved.

1804

In the spring of the following year it marched to Dublin, and embarked for England; and, after landing at Liverpool, marched to Exeter, Truro, Totness, and Honiton; and in December, 44 men and 80 horses were added to the establishment.

1805

The regiment quitted Devonshire and Cornwall in the spring of 1805, for Kent, and was assembled at Canterbury in May. On the 23rd of August it was inspected by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and was honoured with his royal approbation of the appearance and discipline of the regiment. It was also inspected, on the 4th of October, by its Colonel, Major-General Staveley, who expressed great satisfaction at its condition. During its stay at Canterbury its establishment was augmented to 769 men and 769 troop horses.

In September of this year a regulation was established in the regiment, for each man to pay 1s. per month, and the sums thus produced to be invested in the public funds, and to be designated St. Patrick's Fund. From this fund every soldier, after a continued contribution for twelve years or upwards, was to receive, on his discharge, either the whole amount of his subscription, or a yearly pension, according to a fixed scale. Great advantages have accrued to the men of the regiment from this excellent institution. There are now (1838) 36 pensioners upon the fund, and the highest upon the list receives 6l. 1s. 6d. annually, after twenty-seven years' contribution. The stock amounts to 3350l. reduced 3 per cent. annuities.

1806

The regiment quitted Canterbury in December, on route for Scotland; and in February, 1806, was established in quarters at Piershill barracks, Edinburgh, with Hamilton and Glasgow; but it was recalled to England in a few weeks afterwards, and occupied Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester.

On the 8th of August two troops were inspected at Liverpool by His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by the Duke of Clarence (afterwards King William IV.); their Royal Highnesses also saw the whole regiment at Manchester on the 25th of September, and expressed their approbation of its appearance and discipline in the most flattering terms.21

While the regiment was stationed in Lancashire its establishment was augmented to ten troops; and the total numbers to 904 officers and soldiers, and 854 troop horses.

1807

The regiment was reviewed on the 9th of June, 1807, at Manchester, by Major-General Fisher; and in the following month two troops marched to Nottingham: in the autumn the regiment occupied quarters at Birmingham (head-quarters), Nottingham, Coventry, Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, and Warrington.

1808

In the summer of the following year great excitement prevailed in the manufacturing towns in Lancashire and the adjoining counties; and in May a serious riot took place at Manchester, in consequence of a bill, fixing the minimum of wages, having been rejected by parliament: so great was the violence of the rioters, that the Fourth Dragoon Guards and militia were obliged to use violent means, and unfortunately eight men were killed and several wounded. This severity did not, however, prevent another body of weavers assembling on the 1st of June, and committing many acts of violence and outrage; and the cavalry was again obliged to act. The weavers of other towns were equally outrageous; and at Rochdale they attacked and burnt the prison, and were only prevented committing further mischief by the arrival of a troop of the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards from Manchester.

The disturbed state of the manufacturing towns, and the numerous calls of the civil authorities for the aid of a military force, occasioned much harassing duty to the regiment throughout the summer, and these services were rendered particularly painful to the troops, from the necessity of frequently using coercive measures to restrain the lawless violence of the people.

In November Major-General Pigott inspected the regiment at Birmingham, and expressed himself gratified at finding it so effective after the severe duties on which it had been employed.

1809

During this year the men's hair, which had been worn long and tied behind with a queue, was ordered to be cut short; and in 1809 the use of powder to the hair was abolished. An order was also received for the appointment of troop serjeant-majors in the place of troop quartermasters, when vacancies occurred. A reduction of one hundred horses was also made to the establishment in 1808, and again in 1809.

1810

Numerous changes of quarters took place during the year 1809, and the spring of 1810, and in the summer of the latter year the regiment occupied York, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Beverley, &c. &c. During the autumn and early part of the winter of this year (1810) four troops (A. B. C. and D.) were employed under Major Ross in suppressing the riotous conduct of the workmen in the coal-districts in the counties of Northumberland and Durham, which, after much difficulty and painful service, was happily effected to the satisfaction of the coal-owners, who presented the regiment with a handsome Silver Vase, with the following inscription: —

'Presented to the Mess of the Fourth Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, by the Coal-Owners on the rivers Tyne and Wear, as a mark of grateful respect for services performed by a part of that corps, called out in aid of the civil power, in suppressing a riotous combination of their workmen in the year 1810.'

1811

In November, 1810, and again in May, 1811, the regiment was inspected by Major-General Vyse, who passed very high encomiums on its appearance and discipline. In June following it marched to Radipole barracks, where it received orders, on the 5th of July, for six troops to be held in readiness to proceed on foreign service, to join the army commanded by General the Earl of Wellington, which was fighting against the legions of Bonaparte in Portugal and Spain; and the establishment was augmented to 800 troop horses. The six troops, amounting to 550 men, and 534 horses, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sherlock, embarked at Plymouth on the 24th of July, and, having a quick voyage, landed at Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, on the 4th of August.

The allied army under the command of Lord Wellington was, at this period, on the frontiers of Spain, and the Fourth Dragoon Guards, after halting three weeks at the royal barracks at Belem to refresh the horses, received orders to march up the country and join Major-General Le Merchant's brigade of heavy cavalry. Leaving Belem on the 1st of September, the regiment proceeded by Villa Franca and Santarem, to Abrantes – a romantic-looking town situate on the summit of a lofty precipice on the right bank of the Tagus.

After occupying Abrantes and the adjacent villages a few days, the regiment resumed its march, and proceeded by Niza, and Villa Velha, to Castello Branco, where it was reviewed by Lord Wellington, who expressed his entire approbation of the appearance and discipline of the corps, and of the excellent quality and condition of the horses, and ordered twenty of the lightest to be transferred to the regiments of light dragoons. In October the regiment marched to Bismula, subsequently to Fundão, and from thence to Santa Combadão, and after the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo was raised, it proceeded into quarters for the winter at Fundão.

1812

When the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo was resumed, the regiment moved forward and formed part of the force employed in covering the operation; and whilst engaged in this service a scarcity of forage was so severely experienced, that the condition of the horses was much deteriorated. After the capture of this fortress by storm on the 19th of January, 1812, some changes took place in the cavalry brigades, and this regiment was removed to Major-General Slade's brigade, which consisted of the Third and Fourth Dragoon Guards and First Royal Dragoons. This brigade marched to Santa Combadão and adjacent villages; and subsequently proceeded to the Alentego to join the southern army, and cover the siege of the important fortress of Badajoz. Marshal Soult advanced with a strong French corps to relieve the town; but it was taken by storm (6th April) before his arrival. He then retired, leaving a strong rear-guard at Llerena, towards which place the Fourth Dragoon Guards, and other cavalry corps, advanced; and the French troops at this place were attacked and defeated on the 11th of April, by the British cavalry.

The brigade, of which the Fourth Dragoon Guards formed part, was afterwards attached to the army of the south under the command of Lieut. – General Sir Rowland Hill, and was employed in all the operations and movements performed by that body of troops.

After the important victory gained by the main army under Lord Wellington, on the 22nd of July, at Salamanca, the army of the south advanced upon Madrid, in which city the Fourth Dragoon Guards were stationed for several days; at the same time Lord Wellington was engaged in the siege of Burgos. A powerful French army under General Clausel having advanced to raise the siege, while another army under Marshal Soult, and a third under Joseph Bonaparte (who had been elevated by his brother to the throne of Spain), were advancing upon Madrid, Lord Wellington found himself unable to cope with the combined forces thus assembled to attack him, and he commenced retreating upon Salamanca. At the same time Sir Rowland Hill's corps withdrew from its forward position, and after a long and toilsome retreat the whole army was concentrated near Salamanca. The French afterwards crossed the Tormes at Alba de Tormes, and Lord Wellington retreated across the Agueda and entered Portugal. During this movement the troops suffered severely from the inclemency of the weather and the want of provision: the rain fell in torrents almost the whole of the time; and the bad condition of the roads, added to the scanty supply of forage, was particularly injurious to the cavalry, and occasioned the death of many horses of the Fourth Dragoon Guards, and other corps. The regiment was ordered into quarters at Zarga Maior; from whence it marched, towards the end of December, into cantonments at Brozas.

Several alterations were this year made in the clothing and appointments of the regiment: the men's coats were altered to short coatees, with blue collar and cuffs, and white bar lace with a blue cord across the breast; the cocked hat and white feather were discontinued, and a brass helmet, having the crest surmounted with long black horse-hair, was adopted. The horse appointments were changed from black to brown leather; the leather saddle-bags to a cloth valise; and sabretaches were introduced.

1813

Strenuous exertions were made during the winter to render the regiment particularly efficient for the ensuing campaign: men, horses, clothing, and appointments, arrived from England, and the corps was brought into the most perfect condition for the field; when an order was given for four regiments of cavalry to transfer their horses to the other corps and proceed to England; and to the extreme regret of the officers and men, who panted for an opportunity to distinguish themselves in action with the enemy, the Fourth Dragoon Guards was one of the regiments ordered to return home, – the other three were the 9th, 11th, and 13th Light Dragoons. The commanding-officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sherlock, used his utmost endeavours to have the order rescinded, and to obtain permission for the regiment to remain on foreign service, but without avail; and the only St. Patrick's Day the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards ever hailed with sorrowful feelings was the one which brought the order for the surrender of their horses to other corps, and for their ceasing to form part of the army under Lord Wellington's command.

Having transferred 220 horses to the First Royal Dragoons, and 110 to the Third Dragoon Guards, the dismounted men proceeded to Lisbon, where they embarked for Portsmouth, and after their arrival marched to Hilsea barracks. On the 3rd of June they re-embarked at Portsmouth, and proceeded by sea to Hull, and from thence to York, where the four depôt troops and heavy baggage joined under the command of Major Ogilvie, from Canterbury.

During the period the regiment was serving in Portugal and Spain, it sustained, from change of climate, sickness, fatigue, privation, and other causes arising out of the arduous duties in which it had been employed, a loss of 239 men, and 445 horses.

While on foreign service a schoolmaster-serjeant was added to the corps, and that excellent institution, the regimental school, was established under the auspices of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, whose kind care and attention to the interests and welfare of the soldiers on numerous occasions renders the memory of His Royal Highness dear to every individual of the British army.

1814

In October of this year (1813) the regiment was inspected at York by Major-General Cheney, who expressed great satisfaction at its appearance. In the following spring it occupied quarters at York, Sheffield, Newcastle, and Durham; from whence it marched, in May, in divisions for Edinburgh, and was there inspected by Major-General Sir Granby Calcraft on the 29th and 30th of that month: one squadron was afterwards stationed at Haddington.

In the meantime the legions of Bonaparte had not only been driven out of Spain, but he had also lost that immense accession of territory which had been acquired by the armies of France since the revolution; and even the capital of their country had fallen into the hands of the allied powers, who had removed the tyrant of Europe, the perfidious Emperor Napoleon, from his throne, and sent him into exile, and had restored the Bourbon dynasty. Thus tranquillity was restored in Christendom under circumstances which warranted the anticipation of a long period of peace and prosperity to the nations of Europe. The strength of the British army was consequently diminished, and the establishment of the Fourth Dragoon Guards was reduced to eight troops, and the total to 545 men and 453 horses.

Soon after this reduction had been made in its numbers, the regiment was ordered to proceed to Ireland; it embarked at Port Patrick in the middle of August, and after landing at Donaghadee, it occupied Belturbet, Longford, Enniskillen, Sligo and Mullingar.

Lieut. – General Miles Staveley, who had held the Colonelcy of the regiment upwards of eleven years, died in September, 1814; and was succeeded by Lieut. – General Sir Henry Fane, G.C.B., by commission dated the 3rd of the following month.

A slight alteration was this year made in the uniform: the bars of white lace across the breast were discontinued, and two broad stripes of white lace with a blue worm were placed down the front of the coat and upon the cuffs; the jacked-leather boots were also replaced by others of a lighter description called Hessian boots; – the white plush breeches, by white web pantaloons; and a blue and white girdle (or sash) was adopted for the men.

1815

The anticipations of a lengthened peace vanished in the spring of 1815, and the long-wished for repose of Europe was disturbed by Bonaparte, who violated the conditions of his treaties and engagements, quitted the island of Elba, and once more trod the soil of France. His former associates in war flocked to his banner; his advance was rapid and decisive; Louis XVIII. was forced to vacate his newly-acquired throne and fly to the Netherlands; and the edicts of Napoleon were again issued from the Tuilleries. He was now singly opposed to nearly the whole of Europe; and, with the hardihood of desperation, he braved the resentment of the united powers. The Royal Irish Dragoon Guards were not fortunate enough to be again called on foreign service: but, every power in Christendom increasing the strength of its armies, the establishment of this regiment was augmented ten men per troop, and subsequently a further addition of 48 men and 128 horses was made to its numbers.

The battle of Waterloo disposed of Bonaparte and his legions, and a few days of contest sufficed to re-establish the tranquillity of Europe. The peace then restored has continued, with the exception of commotions in particular kingdoms, to shed its benign influence over Christendom for a longer period than on any former occasion during the two preceding centuries; and knowledge, refinement, arts, and manufactures have advanced to a state beyond that to which they ever previously attained.

The head-quarters of the regiment were removed from Belturbet to Tullamore in April, 1815; and various changes took place in the stations of the detached troops22.

1816

The peace of Europe having been re-established, the strength of the regular army was reduced, and in August, 1816, the numbers of the Fourth Dragoon Guards were decreased to 493 men and 333 horses.

1817

In February, 1817, the head-quarters of the regiment were removed to Dublin, and detachments were stationed at Tullamore, Longford, Kavan, Philipstown, and five other places.

1818

The regiment assembled at Dublin in June, 1818, and having embarked for England, landed at Bristol in the early part of July, and occupied Radipole barracks, with two troops at Bristol, and one at Taunton; and furnished a strong detachment on revenue duty on the coast. In the autumn the head-quarters were removed to Nottingham, and the detached troops occupied Northampton and Leicester. The regiment was inspected at this station by Major-General Bolton, in October; and again in May of the following year. In December, 1818, the establishment was reduced to 405 men and 273 horses.

1819

A change of quarters took place in June and July, 1819, and the regiment was stationed at York, Sheffield, Leeds, and Huddersfield. In the middle of August five troops were employed in suppressing riots at Leeds; and in September one troop proceeded to Durham, in consequence of some commotions among the people of that city.

A further alteration was made in the uniform this year: the coats were made with long skirts, with four bars of white lace with a blue worm upon the sleeves, two bars on each side of the collar; and four bars, two rows in each bar, across the breast. The colour of the cloth overalls was changed to blue-grey, with a blue stripe down the outside of the leg. The officers wore aiguillettes on the right shoulder, and a stripe of silver lace on their overalls.

1820

The decease of His Majesty King George III. having taken place on the 29th of January, 1820, on the 31st of that month the troops of the Fourth Dragoon Guards at head-quarters attended the Lord Mayor, corporation, and societies of the city of York in solemn procession, while making proclamation of the accession of King George IV.; and on the 8th of February, 1820, they marched in procession at 8 o'clock, P.M., in funeral order to York minster, where a solemn dirge and funeral service was performed on the death of King George III.

On the 11th of April three troops marched from York to assist the civil power in suppressing some serious disturbances which had occurred in the neighbourhood of Wakefield. A collision afterwards took place with the rioters near Sheffield, when one sergeant, one private, and two horses were wounded with pikes, many of which were found in possession of the people.

1821

Another change of quarters took place in August of this year, and the regiment was stationed at Newcastle upon Tyne, Carlisle, Penrith, and Whitehaven; and in October it was inspected by Major-General Sir Andrew Barnard, at Newcastle. In March, 1821, it marched to Scotland, and was stationed at Piershill barracks, Edinburgh, Greenock, Irvine, and Ayr. On the 6th of June it was inspected by Major-General Sir Thomas Bradford; and, in August, the establishment was reduced to six troops. Previous to this date the troops were classed according to the colour of the horses, and the regiment consisted of two black troops, two brown, two bay, one bright bay, and one chestnut; when this reduction was ordered, the horses of one of the black troops, and of the chestnut troop, were transferred to the others; the horses thus became mixed, and they have since been trooped without reference to colour. The reduced establishment was 27 officers, 24 serjeants, 18 corporals, 6 trumpeters, 6 farriers, 281 privates and 253 troop horses. In September the regiment was again inspected by Major-General Sir Thomas Bradford; and in a few days afterwards the head-quarters were removed to Glasgow, where five troops were stationed, and one troop was quartered at Hamilton.