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.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the "London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. 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.
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.
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.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great—the valiant—the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood, "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen—our brothers—our fellow-citizens in arms—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.
Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF
THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1715,
AND OF
ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO
1842.
LONDON:
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.
M.DCCC.XI.II.
LONDON:
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
THE THIRTEENTH
LIGHT DRAGOONS
BEAR ON THEIR CHACOS AND APPOINTMENTS
THE MOTTO
VIRET IN ÆTERNUM;
AND THE WORDS
"PENINSULA," AND "WATERLOO,"
TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICES OF THE REGIMENT IN
PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE,
FROM 1810 TO 1814;
AND AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, ON
THE 18TH JUNE, 1815;
UNDER
FIELD MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
| Year | Page | |
| 1715 | Richard Munden | 82 |
| 1722 | Sir Robert Rich, Bart. | 83 |
| 1725 | William Stanhope | 84 |
| 1730 | Henry Hawley | 85 |
| 1740 | Robert Dalway | 86 |
| 1741 | Humphrey Bland | 87 |
| 1743 | James Gardiner | — |
| 1745 | Francis Ligonier | 90 |
| 1746 | Philip Naison | 91 |
| 1751 | Sir Charles Armand Powlet, K.B. | 92 |
| —— | Hon. Henry Seymour Conway | — |
| 1754 | John Mostyn | 93 |
| 1758 | Archibald Douglas | 94 |
| 1778 | Richard Pierson | 95 |
| 1781 | Francis Craig | — |
| 1811 | Hon. Sir Henry George Grey, G.C.B., G.C.H. | — |
| 1715 } | ||
| to } | Succession of Lieut.-Colonels | 96 |
| 1842 } |
[To face page 1.
OF
THE THIRTEENTH
REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT DRAGOONS.
During the summer of 1715, when treachery, treason, and mistaken notions of duty, united with the intrigues of foreign courts, menaced Great Britain with domestic war, and when the expectations of the friends of the Pretender were become sanguine of effecting his speedy elevation to the throne, King George I. augmented the regular army, and the Thirteenth Regiment of Dragoons was raised in the midland counties of England, by Brigadier-General Richard Munden, whose valour, loyalty, and devotion to the house of Hanover were undoubted. The following officers were appointed to the regiment by commissions dated the 22nd of July, 1715.
| Captains. | Lieutenants. | Cornets. |
| Rich. Munden, Col. | Hen. de Grangues, | Gerald Fitzgerald |
| Capt. Lt. | ||
| Clem. Neville, Lt.-Col. | Philip Bridgman | Chas. Greenwood |
| Sam. Freeman, Maj. | Thomas Mason | William Freeman |
| Francis Howard | Francis Hull | William Williamson |
| Lutton Lister | Henry Dawson | John Watson |
| —— Heblethwayte | John Molyneux | Martin O'Bryan. |
After its formation the regiment occupied quarters in Cheshire, where it was stationed, under the command of Major-General Wills, when the rebellion in Scotland, headed by the Earl of Mar, commenced. When the insurgents, under General Forster and Brigadier-General Mackintosh, advanced into Lancashire, the regiment was directed to proceed towards Manchester, to confront and fight the rebel bands; it was formed in brigade with Stanhope's dragoons (afterwards disbanded), under the command of its colonel, Brigadier-General Munden, and at break of day on the 12th of November, it advanced towards Preston, where the rebels had taken post, and had barricaded the avenues of the town. After driving in the rebel piquets, the king's troops formed, about three in the afternoon, opposite the main streets; a squadron of the regiment dismounted, to take part in storming the avenue leading to Wigan, and the other two squadrons supported the storming party which attacked the avenue leading to Lancaster. The first barrier was carried in gallant style; but the inner barricade could not be forced for want of cannon. The soldiers took possession of some buildings, threw a breastwork across the road, and set the houses between the breastwork and barricade on fire; thus blockading the insurgents in the town. Major-General Carpenter afterwards arrived with some additional forces, and the rebel bands surrendered at discretion. The regiment had four men and twelve horses wounded in this service, and its colonel was thanked for his gallant conduct at the head of one of the storming parties.
After escorting the rebel prisoners to the nearest gaols, the regiment was placed in cantonments in Lancashire, where it was stationed until the final suppression of the rebellion in Scotland, by the troops under the Duke of Argyle, in the early part of 1716.
The regiment assembled in April, 1716, at Manchester, where it was inspected, and afterwards marched into dispersed quarters in Wiltshire; in April, 1717, it marched into the counties of Berks and Hants, and passed the following winter at Worcester and Bromsgrove.
In the spring of 1718 the regiment marched to Gloucester and Tewksbury: a reduction in the army took place, and in the autumn of this year, the Thirteenth Dragoons embarked at Liverpool for Ireland, to replace a regiment ordered to be disbanded in that country.
The Thirteenth