Historical Record of the Fourth, or Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards. Cannon Richard
they were deprived of their arms and sent prisoners to the Isle of Wight, from whence they were eventually transported to Hamburgh, to be disposed of in the service of the Emperor of Germany.
Thirty men and horses of the regiment were transferred, in April, to the Blues, to complete the establishment of that corps previous to its embarkation for Holland.
During the summer three troops of the Sixth Horse were encamped on Hounslow Heath. King William had reasons to suspect that several old corps were not well affected towards his interests; but His Majesty appears to have placed entire confidence in the attachment of the officers and men of this regiment to his person and government; and in August a strong detachment left the camp at Hounslow, to take part in the duties of the Court and metropolis. The remainder of the three troops of the Sixth Horse, encamped on the heath, proceeded into quarters at Croydon and Mitcham; and in December, the three troops in the Isle of Wight were removed to Salisbury.
The detachment having been relieved from the King's duty in London, the regiment was removed in February, 1690, into quarters at Oxford and Abingdon. In the following month it received orders to embark for Ireland, to serve under King William, against the French and the Irish Roman Catholics under King James. This order was, however, countermanded, and when the King proceeded with three troops of Life Guards to Ireland, this regiment marched into quarters in the villages near London, in order to take part in the duties of the Court. Having been relieved from this duty by the Fourth Horse (now 3rd Dragoon Guards), the regiment marched into quarters at Portsmouth and Isle of Wight, and subsequently to Salisbury and Winchester.
During the winter, the Fifth Regiment of Horse9 was disbanded in Ireland; and the Sixth Horse obtained rank as Fifth Horse from this period.
From Salisbury and Winchester the regiment, now taking rank as Fifth Horse, was withdrawn in May, 1691, and proceeded to Hertford, Dartford, and Romford, and one troop furnished the guard at Windsor for the Queen Dowager, Catherine, consort of the late King Charles II. In June one troop was in attendance on the Princess Anne at Tunbridge; and in the autumn the regiment furnished a relay of escorts to attend the King from Harwich to London, when His Majesty returned from the Netherlands.
The conquest of Ireland having been achieved, the King was enabled to augment his army in the Low Countries; and, soon after His Majesty's arrival in England, Godfrey's Horse were selected to proceed on foreign service. The regiment was, accordingly, embarked in transports on the river Thames on the 27th of November, and sailed on the following day. After its arrival in Flanders it went into quarters at Ghent.
In the spring of the following year, the Fifth Regiment of Horse took the field to serve its first campaign with the army under King William III. in person, who was fighting for the preservation of the Protestant religion and the balance of power in Europe, against the forces of Louis XIV. of France. After several movements, King William attacked the French army, commanded by Marshal Luxembourg, at its position near Steenkirk, on the 24th of July, 1692. The Fifth Horse supported the attacking column, and when the infantry deployed, it drew up on the right skirts of a wood, through which the main body of the army had to pass. The leading corps behaved with signal gallantry, but were repulsed, and the main body of the army was too far in the rear to give the required support. An immense body of French cavalry menacing the British infantry, the Fifth Horse were ordered to advance, and they succeeded in checking the enemy's squadrons. Lord Mountjoy10, a young nobleman of great promise, who was serving as a volunteer, was killed by a cannon ball at the head of the regiment. It soon afterwards received orders to retire, and this movement was covered by a squadron of Horse Grenadier Guards. The regiment was subsequently engaged in several movements, and in the autumn it proceeded into winter-quarters.
Shortly after the battle of Steenkirk, the Princess Anne of Denmark's regiment of horse,11 which had lost many men and horses in the action, was disbanded; and on the 7th of March, 1693, its Colonel, Francis Langston, was appointed to the command of the Fifth Horse, vice Colonel Charles Godfrey, who retired.
In the ensuing campaign the regiment was again engaged for several weeks in marches, manœuvring, and occupying positions on the rich plains of the Netherlands, to defeat the designs of the enemy; and on the 19th of July it was engaged in the hard-contested battle of Landen, where it had an opportunity of distinguishing itself. It was formed, during the early part of the action, near the village of Neer-Landen, to support the infantry on the left, and sustained some loss from a heavy cannonade to which it was exposed. At length Marshal Luxembourg, by means of an immense superiority of numbers, carried the village of Neer-Winden, forced the position occupied by his opponents, and his numerous cavalry overpowered the squadrons in the right wing of the confederate army. King William instantly ordered the English horse on the left to oppose the victorious career of the enemy; and Langston's Regiment, galloping to the scene of conflict, charged the French horsemen with signal gallantry. The right squadron of this regiment, led by its Colonel, Francis Langston, broke the French squadron to which it was opposed, and made great slaughter; and the heroic Langston, an officer remarkable for prowess and valour, who had served against the Moors in Africa, and at the battles of the Boyne, Aghrim, and Steenkirk, was seen using his broadsword with terrible execution, but he was eventually surrounded, severely wounded, and taken prisoner. Fresh squadrons of French cavalry, flushed with the prospect of victory, renewed the fight, and, notwithstanding the bravery evinced by the English horse, superiority of numbers prevailed. King William ordered a retreat, which, having to be made across bridges and by narrow defiles, was not executed without much confusion and loss. His Majesty remained on the ground until nearly surrounded by the enemy; but he was rescued by a party of his Life Guards and a troop of Horse.
After retiring from the field, the regiment proceeded to Tirlemont; it was subsequently engaged in several movements, and on the 5th of August it was reviewed by King William, with the remainder of the cavalry, near Wemmel. In November it marched into quarters at Ghent.
Having been joined by a body of recruits and remount horses from England, to replace the losses of the preceding campaign, the regiment marched out of Ghent in May, 1694, to cantonments in the villages between Brussels and Dendermond. The campaign of this year was remarkable for the long and fatiguing marches performed by the troops; but no general engagement occurred. After traversing Flanders and Brabant in various directions, and experiencing much privation from the country having so long been the seat of war, the regiment returned to its former quarters.
The services of the regiment during the campaign of 1695 were limited to covering the siege of Namur, one of the strongest fortresses in Europe, and garrisoned by 15,000 men, commanded by a Marshal of France (Boufflers). When the siege was formed, the regiment was detached to graze the horses between Charleroi and Mons; it was subsequently engaged in manœuvring to protect the besieging forces from the attacks of the French army. In the beginning of August the regiment was encamped at Waterloo, and subsequently in the immediate vicinity of Namur. This fortress was eventually captured, and this event was considered the brightest feature in King William's military history, and one upon which he was often heard to declare his satisfaction.
After passing the winter in Ghent, the regiment was brigaded with the regiments of Lumley and Schomberg (now 1st and 7th Dragoon Guards), and was reviewed by the King on the 30th of May, 1696, "and made a very noble appearance." It served the campaign of this year under the Prince of Vaudemont in Flanders; and was encamped – first at Marykirk, and subsequently along the canal between Ghent and Bruges, to protect these places, with Nieuport, and the other maritime towns of Flanders, from the attacks of the enemy. A French army was encamped on the opposite side of the canal, and several skirmishes occurred, but no general engagement took place.
On the night of the 20th of September, Colonel Langston crossed the canal with a squadron of this regiment and a party of dragoons, and attacking one of the French outposts, defeated the guard and took thirty prisoners. The Prince of Vaudemont reviewed the regiment a few days after this event, and on the 5th of October it left the camp for winter-quarters in Ghent.
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The Fifth Horse were embodied in July, 1685, under the command of the Earl of Thanet, who was succeeded, on the 24th of October of the same year, by Major-General Werden. This officer commanded the regiment until December, 1688, when Lord Deloraine was appointed to the command; his Lordship was succeeded in the following year by Colonel Francis Russell, who commanded it until it was disbanded.
Lord Mountjoy was a warm-hearted Irish nobleman, devoted to the Protestant interest. At the Revolution he was desirous of having Ireland delivered into the hands of King William; the Lord-Lieutenant, Earl Tyrconnel, appeared to acquiesce, and sent Lord Mountjoy to France to obtain the sanction of King James, who confined him in the Bastile, where he remained until 1692, when he was exchanged for General Richard Hamilton. He arrived from France a few days before the battle of Steenkirk, and though holding no military rank, he served with this regiment as a volunteer, and was killed as above stated.
The Princess Anne's regiment was formed of independent troops of horse raised in June, 1685, and the Colonelcy conferred on the Earl of Scarsdale, who was succeeded, on the 1st of December, 1687, by Charles, Duke of St. Alban's. This regiment was remarkable for being one of the first corps which joined the Prince of Orange in November, 1688; having been conducted to His Highness's quarters by the Lieutenant-Colonel, Thomas Langston, who was immediately promoted to the Colonelcy of the regiment, and his brother, Captain Francis Langston, of the Royal Dragoons, was promoted to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy. Colonel Thomas Langston died of a fever at Lisburn, in Ireland, in December, 1689, and the Colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on his brother Francis. This regiment served at the battles of the Boyne and Aghrim in Ireland, and at Steenkirk in the Netherlands; but having lost many men and horses, the remainder were transferred to other corps, and the regiment was taken off the establishment of the army in the autumn of 1692. The officers served