The Nineteenth and Their Times

The Nineteenth and Their Times - Being an Account of the Four Cavalry Regiments in the British Army That Have Borne the Number Nineteen and of the Campaigns in Which They Served

Four cavalry regiments in the British Army have borne the number Nineteen. The first was raised in Ireland, in 1759, during the Seven Years War, and was known as Droghedas Horse. In 1763, its number was changed to Eighteen, which number it bore till it was disbanded in 1821. The history of its achievements has been written by Captain H. Malet. The second regiment that bore the number was raised at a critical period in our history, in 1779. It had but a brief and uneventful existence, and was disbanded in 1783. The third regiment was raised as the Twenty-Third Light Dragoons in 1781, for service in India, where it was immediately sent; the first British cavalry regiment that went to India. On the disbandment of the second regiment, in 1783, the Twenty-third was re-numbered the Nineteenth, and, for fourteen years, it continued to be the only British cavalry regiment in India. During the twenty-four years of its sojourn in the East it bore a conspicuous share in every important military undertaking of the time, with the exception of the campaign against Holkar when it was too far distant from the scene of action to take part. Those twenty-four years, from Warren Hastings to Wellesley, mark the turning point[viii] of our power in India. When the Nineteenth landed at Madras our very existence in Southern India hung in the balance. The gallantry of our army was paralysed by the feebleness of the administration that directed their efforts. When the regiment re-embarked for England, the supremacy of our military power had been fully established. Under their distinguished leader, John Floyd, the Nineteenth played no small part in the campaigns of 1790, 91, and 92, against Tippoo, attracting to themselves an amount of interest in Southern India that no other regiment did. They assisted at the capture of Pondicherry, and the crowning victory of Seringapatam. It was their good fortune to serve under the Duke of Wellington in the first independent commands he held in the field. They took part in the destruction of the noted freebooter Dhoondia Wao; a short but stirring campaign that deserves more notice than it generally receives. At Assaye, the charge of the Nineteenth and the native cavalry brigaded with them restored the fortunes of the fight at a critical moment. They played their part at Argaum, and, a few months before sailing from India, were actors with Gillespie in his remarkable feat at Vellore. Soon after the declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain, in 1812, they were sent to Canada. The conditions of that war afforded little scope for cavalry action, so that the share of the Nineteenth in the various operations was a subordinate one. The campaigns on the Canadian frontier have been so completely eclipsed by our struggles against Napoleon in Europe, that the arduous nature of the lake and forest warfare carried on by a mere handful of British troops and Canadian militia is hardly known. A squadron of[ix] the Nineteenth, under an officer whose whole career was identified with the regiment, formed for eighteen months part of the small band that upheld the honour of the British arms under Sir Gordon Drummond, at Lundys Lane and other actions on the Niagara frontier. In the course of the wholesale reductions that took place after Waterloo this fine regiment ceased to exist, and its place in the Army List knew it no more. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 60290
Author: Biddulph, J. (John)
Release Date: Sep 12, 2019
Format: eBook
Language: English