CHAPTER I

THE RISE OF THE 17TH LIGHT DRAGOONS, 1759

[Sidenote: 1645.]

The British Cavalry Soldier and the British Cavalry Regiment, such as we now know them, may be said to date from 1645, that being the year in which the Parliamentary Army, then engaged in fighting against King Charles the First, was finally remodelled. At the outbreak of the war the Parliamentary cavalry was organised in seventy-five troops of horse and five of dragoons: the Captain of the 67th troop of horse was Oliver Cromwell. In the winter of 1642–43 Captain Cromwell was promoted to be Colonel, and entrusted with the task of raising a regiment of horse. This duty he fulfilled after a fashion peculiarly his own. Hitherto the Parliamentary horse had been little better than a lot of half-trained yeomen: Colonel Cromwell took the trouble to make his men into disciplined cavalry soldiers. Moreover, he raised not one regiment, but two, which soon made a mark by their superior discipline and efficiency, and finally at the battle of Marston Moor defeated the hitherto invincible cavalry of the Royalists. After that battle Prince Rupert, the Royalist cavalry leader, gave Colonel Cromwell the nickname of Ironside; the name was passed on to his regiments, which grew to be known no longer as Cromwell’s, but as Ironside’s.

In 1645, when the army was remodelled, these two famous regiments were taken as the pattern for the English cavalry; and having been blent into one, appear at the head of the list as Sir Thomas Fairfax’s Regiment of Horse. Fairfax was General-in-Chief, and his appointment to the colonelcy was of course a compliment to the regiment. Besides Fairfax’s there were ten other regiments of horse, each consisting of six troops of 100 men apiece, including three corporals and two trumpeters. As the field-officers in those days had each a troop of his own, the full establishment of the regiments was 1 colonel, 1 major, 4 captains, 6 lieutenants, 6 cornets, 6 quartermasters. Such was the origin of the British Cavalry Regiment.

The troopers, like every other man in this remodelled army, wore scarlet coats faced with their Colonel’s colours--blue in the case of Fairfax. They were equipped with an iron cuirass and an iron helmet, armed with a brace of pistols and a long straight sword, and mounted on horses mostly under fifteen hands in height. For drill in the field they were formed in five ranks, with six feet (one horse’s length in those days), both of interval and distance, between ranks and files, so that the whole troop could take ground to flanks or rear by the simple words, “To your right (or left) turn;” “To your right (or left) about turn.” Thus, as a rule, every horse turned on his own ground, and the troop was rarely wheeled entire: if the latter course were necessary, ranks and files were closed up till the men stood knee to knee, and the horses nose to croup. This formation deservedly bore the name of “close order.” For increasing the front the order was, “To the right (or left) double your ranks,” which brought the men of the second and fourth ranks into the intervals of the first and third, leaving the fifth rank untouched. To diminish the front the order was: “To the right (or left) double your files,” which doubled the depth of the files from five to ten in the same way as infantry files are now doubled at the word, “Form fours.”

The principal weapons of the cavalry soldiers were his firearms, generally pistols, but sometimes a carbine. The lance, which had formerly been the favourite weapon, at Crecy for instance, was utterly out of fashion in Cromwell’s time, and never employed when any other arm was procurable. Firearms were the rage of the day, and governed the whole system of cavalry attack. Thus in action the front rank fired its two pistols, and filed away to load again in the rear, while the second and third ranks came up and did likewise. If the word were given to charge, the men advanced to the charge pistol in hand, fired, threw it in the enemy’s face, and then fell in with the sword. But though there was a very elaborate exercise for carbine and pistol, there was no such thing as sword exercise.

Moreover, though the whole system of drill was difficult, and required perfection of training in horse and man, yet there was no such thing as a regular riding-school. If a troop horse was a kicker a bell was placed on his crupper to warn men to keep clear of his heels. If he were a jibber the following were the instructions given for his cure:--

“If your horse be resty so as he cannot be put forwards then let one take a cat tied by the tail to a long pole, and when he [the horse] goes backward, thrust the cat within his tail where she may claw him, and forget not to threaten your horse with a terrible noise. Or otherwise, take a hedgehog and tie him strait by one of his feet to the horse’s tail, so that he [the hedgehog] may squeal and prick him.”

For the rest, certain peculiarities should be noted which distinguish cavalry from infantry. In the first place, though every troop and every company had a standard of its own, such standard was called in the cavalry a Cornet, and in the infantry an Ensign, and gave in each case its name to the junior subaltern whose duty it was to carry it. In the second place there were no sergeants in old days except in the infantry, the non-commissioned officers of cavalry being corporals only. In the third place, the use of a wind instrument for making signals was confined to the cavalry, which used the trumpet; the infantry as yet had no bugle, but only the drum. There were originally but six trumpet-calls, all known by foreign names; of which names one (_Butte sella_ or _Boute selle_) still survives in the corrupted form, “Boots and saddles.”

How then have these minor distinctions which formerly separated cavalry from infantry so utterly disappeared? Through what channel did the two branches of the service contrive to meet? The answer is, through the dragoons. Dragoons were originally mounted infantry pure and simple. Those of the Army of 1645 were organised in ten companies, each 100 men strong. They were armed like infantry and drilled like infantry; they followed an ensign and not a cornet; they obeyed, not a trumpet, but a drum. True, they were mounted, but on inferior horses, and for the object of swifter mobility only; for they always fought on foot, dismounting nine men out of ten for action, and linking the horses by the rude process of throwing each animal’s bridle over the head of the horse standing next to it in the ranks. Such were the two branches of the mounted service in the first British Army.

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[Sidenote: 1745.]

A century passes, and we find Great Britain again torn by internal strife in the shape of the Scotch rebellion. Glancing at the list of the British cavalry regiments at this period we find them still divided into horse and dragoons; but the dragoons are in decided preponderance, and both branches unmistakably “heavy.” A patriotic Englishman, the Duke of Kingston, observing this latter failing, raised a regiment of Light Horse (the first ever seen in England) at his own expense, in imitation of the Hussars of foreign countries. Thus the Civil War of 1745 called into existence the only arm of the military service which had been left uncreate by the great rebellion of 1642–48. Before leaving this Scotch rebellion of 1745, let us remark that there took

## part in the suppression thereof a young ensign of the 47th Foot,

named John Hale--a mere boy of seventeen, it is true, but a promising officer, of whom we shall hear more.

The Scotch rebellion over, the Duke of Kingston’s Light Horse were disbanded and re-established forthwith as the Duke of Cumberland’s own, a delicate compliment to their distinguished service. As such they fought in Flanders in 1747, but were finally disbanded in the following year. For seven years after the British Army possessed no Light Cavalry, until at the end of 1755 a single troop of Light Dragoons--3 officers and 65 men strong--was added to each of the eleven cavalry regiments on the British establishment, viz., the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Dragoon Guards, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 10th, and 11th Dragoons. These light dragoons were armed with carbine and bayonet and a single pistol, the second holster being filled (sufficiently filled, one must conclude) with an axe, a hedging-bill, and a spade. Their shoulder-belts were provided with a swivel to which the carbine could be sprung; for these light troops were expected to do a deal of firing from the saddle. Their main distinction of dress was that they wore not hats like the rest of the army, but helmets--helmets of strong black jacked leather with bars down the sides and a brass comb on the top. The front of the helmet was red, ornamented with the royal cypher and the regimental number in brass; and at the back of the comb was a tuft of horse-hair, half coloured red for the King, and half of the hue of the regimental facings for the regiment. The Light Dragoon-horse, we learn, was of the “nag or hunter kind,” standing from 14.3 to 15.1, for he was not expected to carry so heavy a man nor such cumbrous saddlery as the Heavy Dragoon-horse. Of this latter we can only say that he was a most ponderous animal, with a character of his own, known as the “true dragoon mould, short-backed, well-coupled, buttocked, quartered, forehanded, and limbed,”--all of which qualities had to be purchased for twenty guineas. At this time, and until 1764, all troop horses were docked so short that they can hardly be said to have kept any tail at all.

In the year 1758 nine of these eleven light troops took part in an expedition to the coast of France, England having two years before allied herself with Prussia against France for the great struggle known as the Seven Years’ War. [Sidenote: 1759.] So eminent was the service which they rendered, that in March 1759, King George II. decided to raise an entire regiment of Light Dragoons. On the 10th of March, accordingly, the first regiment was raised by General Elliott and numbered the 15th. The Major of this regiment, whom we shall meet again as Brigadier of cavalry in America, was William Erskine. On the 4th August another regiment of Light Dragoons was raised by Colonel Burgoyne, and numbered the 16th. We shall see the 16th distinguished and Burgoyne disgraced before twenty years are past.

And while these two first Light Dragoon regiments are a-forming, let us glance across the water to Canada, where English troops are fighting the French, and seem likely to take the country from them. Among other regiments the 47th Foot is there, commanded (since March 1758) by Colonel John Hale, the man whom we saw fighting in Scotland as an ensign fourteen years ago. Within the past year he has served with credit under General Amherst at the capture of Cape Breton and Louisburg, and in these days of August, while Burgoyne is raising his regiment, he is before Quebec with General Wolfe. Three months more pass away, and on the 13th of October Colonel John Hale suddenly arrives in London. He is the bearer of despatches which are to set all England aflame with pride and sorrow; for on the 13th of September was fought the battle on the plains of Abraham which decided the capture of Quebec and the conquest of Canada. General Wolfe fell at the head of the 28th Regiment in the moment of victory; and Colonel Hale, who took a brilliant share in the action at the head of the 47th, has been selected to carry the great news to the King. Colonel Hale was well received; the better for that Wolfe’s last despatches, written but four days before the battle, had been marked by a tone of deep despondency; and, we cannot doubt, began to wonder what would be his reward. He did not wonder for long.

Very shortly after Hale’s arrival the King reviewed the 15th Light Dragoons, and was so well pleased with their appearance that he resolved to raise five more such regiments, to be numbered the 17th to the 21st.

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The raising of the first of these regiments, that now known to us as the Seventeenth Lancers, was intrusted to Colonel John Hale, who received his commission for the purpose on the 7th November. For the time, however, the regiment was known as the Eighteenth, for what reason it is a little difficult to understand; since the apology for a corps which received the number Seventeen was not raised until a full month later (December 19th). As we shall presently see, this matter of the number appears to have caused some heartburning, until Lord Aberdour’s corps, which had usurped the rank of Seventeenth, was finally disbanded, and thus yielded to Hale’s its proper precedence.

[Sidenote: 7th Nov.]

On the very day when Colonel Hale’s commission was signed, which we may call the birthday of the Seventeenth Lancers, the Board of General Officers was summoned to decide how the new regiment should be dressed. As to the colour of the coat there could be no doubt, scarlet being the rule for all regiments. For the facings white was the colour chosen, and for the lace white with a black edge, the black being a sign of mourning for the death of Wolfe. But the principal distinction of the new regiment was the badge, chosen by Colonel Hale and approved by the King, of the Death’s Head and the motto “Or Glory,”--the significance of which lies not so much in claptrap sentiment, as in the fact that it is, as it were, a perpetual commemoration of the death of Wolfe. It is difficult for us to realise, after the lapse of nearly a century and a half, how powerfully the story of that death seized at the time upon the minds of men.

Two days after the settlement of the dress, a warrant was issued for the arming of Colonel Hale’s Light Dragoons; and this, being the earliest document relating to the regiment that I have been able to discover, is here given entire:--

GEORGE R.

Whereas we have thought fit to order a Regiment of Light Dragoons to be raised and to be commanded by our trusty and well-beloved Lieutenant-Colonel John Hale, which Regiment is to consist of Four troops, of 3 sergeants, 3 corporals, 2 drummers, and 67 private men in each troop, besides commission officers, Our will and pleasure is, that out of the stores remaining within the Office of our Ordnance under your charge you cause 300 pairs of pistols, 292 carbines, 292 cartouche boxes, and 8 drums, to be issued and delivered to the said Lieutenant-Colonel John Hale, or to such person as he shall appoint to receive the same, taking his indent as usual, and you are to insert the expense thereof in your next estimate to be laid before Parliament. And for so doing this shall be as well to you as to all other our officers and ministers herein concerned a sufficient Warrant.

Given at our Court at St. James’ the 9th day of November 1759, in the 33rd year of our reign.

To our trusty and well-beloved Cousin and Councillor John Viscount Ligonier, Master-General of our Ordnance.

These preliminaries of clothing and armament being settled, Colonel Hale’s next duty was to raise the men. Being a Hertfordshire man, the son of Sir Bernard Hale of Kings Walden, he naturally betook himself to his native county to raise recruits among his own people. The first troop was raised by Captain Franklin Kirby, Lieutenant, 5th Foot; the second by Captain Samuel Birch, Lieutenant, 11th Dragoons; the third by Captain Martin Basil, Lieutenant, 15th Light Dragoons; and the fourth by Captain Edward Lascelles, Cornet, Royal Horse Guards. If it be asked what stamp of man was preferred for the Light Dragoons, we are able to answer that the recruits were required to be “light and straight, and by no means gummy,” not under 5 feet 5½ inches, and not over 5 feet 9 inches in height. The bounty usually offered (but varied at the Colonel’s discretion) was three guineas, or as much less as a recruit could be persuaded to accept.

Whether from exceptional liberality on the part of Colonel Hale, or from an extraordinary abundance of light, straight, and by no means gummy men in Hertfordshire at that period, the regiment was recruited up to its establishment, we are told, within [Sidenote: December.] the space of seventeen days. Early in December it made rendezvous at Watford and Rickmansworth, whence it marched to Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon, and thence a fortnight later to Coventry. Meanwhile orders had already been given (10th December) that its establishment should be augmented by two more troops of the same strength as the original four; and little [Sidenote: 1760. 28th Jan.] more than a month later came a second order to increase each of the existing troops still further by the addition of a sergeant, a corporal, and 36 privates. Thus the regiment, increased almost as soon as raised from 300 to 450 men, and within a few weeks again strengthened by one-half, may be said to have begun life with an establishment of 678 rank and file. To them we must add a list of the original officers:--

_Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant._--John Hale, 7th November 1759.

_Major._--John Blaquiere, 7th November 1759.

CAPTAINS.

Franklin Kirby 4th Nov. Samuel Birch 5th „ Martin Basil 6th „ Edward Lascelles 7th „ John Burton 7th „ Samuel Townshend 8th „

LIEUTENANTS.

Thomas Lee 4th Nov. William Green 5th „ Joseph Hall 6th „ Henry Wallop 7th „ Henry Cope 7th „ Yelverton Peyton 8th „

CORNETS.

Robert Archdall 4th Nov. Henry Bishop 5th „ Joseph Stopford 6th „ Henry Crofton 7th „ Joseph Moxham 7th „ Daniel Brown 8th „

_Adjutant._--Richard Westbury.

_Surgeon._--John Francis.

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