Richard Cannon

“ During the night the Duke of Monmouth marched out of Bridgewater with the view of surprising the royal army; but the piquet in advance gave the alarm, and after exchanging a few shots with the rebels, retreated to the camp, and formed on the right of the infantry; at the same time the remainder of the Royal Dragoons, being aroused in their quarters in the village of Weston, turned out in the dark in good order, and formed on the left of the foot. The rebels commenced the attack with loud shouts,—the contest became general along the whole line,—and the moor sparkled with fire. ”

“ The Royal Dragoons, undaunted by this audacity, met the French horsemen with a cool, determined bearing, and, encountering them in mid-onset, overthrew the presumptuous squadrons, cut them down with a dreadful slaughter, and captured a STANDARD. The Royal Dragoons were afterwards engaged with the enemy's household troops; they were again victorious, and, though without armour, fought and triumphed over their steel-clad opponents, and received the thanks of his Majesty for their gallant conduct. Eventually the French army was [62] overthrown, and driven from the field with great loss. ”

“ Some, despairing to escape, abandoned their arms, and threw themselves on the ground, and the Royals, Greys, and Inniskillen dragoons were seen trampling down and sabring the French infantry with uncontrollable power. Crowds of French soldiers appeared at different points, surrendering as prisoners: many, however, defended themselves to the last; and others again, rising up, after being ridden over or passed by the dragoons, were observed firing on their rear, the slope of the position being left literally covered with dead. ”

“ The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers. ”

“ A powerful French army was in the field menacing the frontiers of Holland. The Earl of Marlborough assembled the forces under his orders towards the end of June, and in July the Royal Dragoons joined the army with the train of artillery. By a daring advance the British commander disconcerted the designs of his opponents, who retired without venturing an engagement. ”

“ When the order was given for attacking the enemy, he led the three regiments forward with that noble ardour for which he had been distinguished in the campaigns in the Peninsula. Having cut through the first column, he proceeded where the Royals were so hotly engaged, and found himself outflanked by a regiment of Polish lancers in a newly-ploughed field, the ground of which was so soft that his horse became blown, and was unable to proceed. He was attended by only one aide-de-camp. At this instant the lancers were approaching him at full speed. ”

“ Meanwhile the French and Spanish forces which, after raising the siege of Barcelona, had retired to France, re-entered Spain, and uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, compelled the army of Portugal to retire from Madrid. The Royal Dragoons marched from Valencia in July, together with Pearce's dragoons, a regiment of Castilian foot, and a regiment of Germans, and on the 8th of August joined the army of Portugal at Guadalaxara, from whence they marched to Chinchon, a town of Toledo, eighteen miles from Madrid, where they remained about a month. ”

“ Disputes having occurred between England and France relating to the boundaries of the British possessions in North America, hostilities commenced in 1755, when an augmentation of one hundred men was made to the establishment: a light troop, consisting of three officers, one quarter-master, two serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and sixty private soldiers, [48] was raised and added to the regiment on the same principle as the light companies to regiments of infantry. ”

“ The succeeding campaign was splendid in glorious achievements. He led his [120] army from the ocean to the Danube; forced the heights of Schellenberg on the 2nd July, 1704, and compelled the enemy to take shelter behind the lines of Augsburg. New armies and new generals appeared, and their overthrow, at the decisive battle of Blenheim on the 13th of August, added new lustre to the reputation of the British commander: there the heaps of slain gave dreadful proofs of British valour, and whole legions of prisoners of their mercy. ”

“ On the morning of the 18th of June the army was formed in order of battle. "We" (the Royals) "found ourselves," states the Major, in his journal, "in our place in close column behind the second line of infantry, fetlock deep in mud; no baggage for the officers, and neither provision nor water for the men (though some stray cattle had been killed and eaten, and a small supply of spirits had, a short time before, been found on the road) , so that we might be said to go coolly into action, for every man was wet to the skin." Notwithstanding these disadvantages the Royals proved "true Britons." ”

“ The French and Irish, commanded by King James, took post on the banks of the Boyne, to dispute the passage of that river. King William marched to the opposite bank on the 30th of June, and, on the morning of the 1st of July, the army forded the river and drove the enemy from his position with great slaughter. The Royal Dragoons and other British troops engaged in forcing the passage of the Boyne are reported to have "acquitted themselves well." King James fled from the field and proceeded to France; and the British army advanced on Dublin. ”

“ They took the enemy in flank and a most tremendous fight commenced. Every man fought with unparalleled heroism, for every man had his own individual task to perform. The Royals, fired with a noble emulation, rushed into a column of four thousand men, where they captured the Eagle of the 105th regiment and bore it off in triumph. The greater part of this column then threw down [108] their arms, and were immediately conducted to the rear. The Greys also captured an Eagle. Thus the great attack of the enemy on the left was finally overthrown, and two thousand men made prisoners. ”

“ At present there are only three Regiments which are styled Horse in the British Army, [vii] namely, the two Regiments of Life Guards, and the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, to whom cuirasses have recently been restored. The other Cavalry Regiments consist of Dragoon Guards, Heavy and Light Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers; and although the long musket and bayonet have been laid aside by the whole of the Cavalry, and the Regiments are armed and equipped on the principle of the old Horse (excepting the cuirass) , they continue to be styled Dragoons. ”

“ In the spring of 1706 another campaign opened, when the discipline he had introduced, and the confidence he had inspired, again proved invincible. He met, attacked, and triumphed over the French, Spaniards, and Bavarians, at Ramilies, on the 23rd of May. This decisive action was followed by the surrender of Louvain, Brussels, Malines, Liege, Ghent, Oudenarde, Antwerp, Damme, Bruges, and Courtray; and by the capture of Ostend, Menin, Dendermond, and Aeth,—places which had resisted the greatest generals for months—for years; provinces, disputed for ages, were the conquests of a summer. ”

“ The old Regiments of Horse formed a highly respectable and efficient portion of the Army, and it is found, on perusing the histories of the various campaigns in which they have been engaged, that they have, on all occasions, maintained a high character for steadiness and discipline, as well as for bravery in action. They were formerly mounted on horses of superior weight and physical power, and few troops could withstand a well-directed charge of the celebrated British Horse. ”

“ The British, though invested by a force of more than ten times their own numbers, resolved on a vigorous defence; but unfortunately they had no artillery, very little ammunition, and the wall round the village was in a ruinous condition. The enemy forced the gates, battered down part of the wall with their cannon, and assaulted the place by storm, but were repulsed with severe loss. A second assault was given, and the British troops, having spent all their ammunition, defended themselves a short time with stones and other missiles; but were eventually forced to surrender prisoners of war. ”

“ A party of the enemy's cavalry made a gallant charge, and captured two guns belonging to Captain Bull's troop of horse artillery; when a squadron of the Royals dashed forward, routed the enemy, and retook the guns, which they brought back to the British line, with several French prisoners. Finally, the French were repulsed at every point of attack, and forced to relinquish their design of relieving Almeida. The Royal Dragoons had four men and nineteen horses killed; also two serjeants, thirty-four men, and twenty-four horses wounded ”

“ In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved. ”

“ In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose. ”

“ The establishment of the Royal Dragoons was immediately augmented to sixty men per troop: an independent troop of dragoons, raised by Colonel Strother in 1683, was incorporated in the regiment; and five troops of dragoons were raised in the vicinity of London by Richard Leveson, John Williams, Edward Lea, Francis Russel, and Thomas Hussey, and added to the Royal Dragoons: the numbers were thus increased to twelve troops, amounting to about nine hundred officers and men. ”

“ The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour, by which all who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted. ”

“ Two troops of the regiment, with some other forces, were despatched under Brigadier-General Lord Churchill against the rebels in the west; and on the 19th of June two other troops marched for the same destination under the orders of Lieutenant-General the Earl of Feversham, who was appointed to the chief command of the King's army. The royal forces having been united, the four troops of dragoons were placed under the orders of Viscount Cornbury; and the whole marched in pursuit of the rebels. ”

“ The British again moved forward in pursuit, and on the 14th of March the Royal Dragoons supported a successful attack of the infantry on a French force posted in the mountains at Casal Nova: they also supported the attack on the French position at Foz d'Aronce on the 15th; and on the 18th they encountered a party of the enemy near Sernadilla, when they took a serjeant and twelve men prisoners, and captured twelve mules: the Royals had only one man wounded on this occasion. They continued hovering near the French army ”

“ During the summer of 1800 an encampment of about thirty thousand men was formed on Swinley common, near Windsor; the Royal Dragoons joined the camp in July; the troops were frequently exercised in the presence of the royal family, and the King reviewed the several corps previous to their departure. On the 11th of August the regiment quitted the camp, and proceeded to Croydon barracks and Epsom, with a squadron detached on coast duty in Sussex. ”

“ The regiment left Dublin in the autumn of 1837, and was stationed during the following year at Cork; from whence it embarked, in May, 1839, for Liverpool; and, after landing at that port, was removed to Sheffield, where it has remained until the conclusion of this memoir.
In taking a retrospective view of the services of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, its conduct cannot fail to excite admiration. The details given in the preceding pages afford numerous instances of determined bravery, steady discipline, and constant efficiency. ”

“ The French pressing upon the retiring army near Pombal on the 5th of October, their audacity was punished by a piquet of the Royals commanded by Lieutenant Carden, who charged the enemy and drove them back with loss; but, having advanced too far in pursuit, the lieutenant and one man, who were both wounded, were taken prisoners: the piquet, however, captured and brought off a French cavalry officer. The enemy's leading corps, being supported by immense columns, continued to hover round the rear of the allied army ”

“ An expedition, commanded by the Duke of Ormond, was prepared in Spain for a descent on the British coast; but the fleet was dispersed and disabled by a storm: two ships, however, reached the coast of Scotland, and between three and four hundred Spaniards landed, and were joined by a number of Highlanders. When information of this event reached London, orders were issued for the Royal Dragoons to proceed with all possible expedition to Scotland, where they arrived in May. ”