View source for 5th Dragoon Guards

{{Short description|British Army cavalry regiment}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's)
|image=5th Dragoon's badge.jpg
|caption= Badge of the 5th Dragoon Guards
|dates= 1685–1922
|country= {{flagcountry|Kingdom of England}} (1685–1697)<br> {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Ireland}} (1698–1800)<br>{{flag|United Kingdom}} (1801–1922)
|branch= Army
|type= Cavalry of the Line
|role= Heavy Cavalry
|size= 1 battalion
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|nickname=The Green Horse<ref name="Gale&Polden-9">{{cite book|title=Regimental nicknames and traditions of the British army|publisher=Gale & Polden|location=London|year=1916|page=9|url=https://archive.org/stream/regimentalnickna00londuoft#page/9/mode/1up|access-date=2010-03-10}}</ref><br>The Green Dragoons<ref name="Burnham">{{cite book |last1=Burnham|first1=Robert|last2=McGuigan|first2=Ron|year=2010|title=The British Army against Napoleon|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Frontline Books|isbn=978-1-84832-562-3|page=122}}</ref><br>The Old Farmers<ref name="Burnham"/>
|patron=
|motto= ''Vestigia nulla restorsum'' ([[Latin]] – We do not retreat)
|colors=
|colors_label=
|march= (Quick) The Gay Cavalier <br> (Slow) Soldier's chorus from Gounod's Faust
|march2= 
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles= [[Battle_of_the_Boyne|The Boyne 1690]] [[Battle_of_Blenheim|Blenheim 1704]] [[Battle_of_Ramillies|Ramillies 1706]] [[Battle_of_Malplaquet|Malplaquet 1709]] [[Battle_of_Salamanca|Salamanca 1812]] [[Battle_of_Balaclava|Balaclava 1854]]
|anniversaries= Salamanca Day 
|decorations=
|battle_honours= Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Beaumont, Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse, Peninsula, Balaklava, Sevastopol, Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899–1902; France and Flanders 1914–18 {{efn|Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 '18, Flers-Courcelette, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, St. Quentin Canal, Baurevoir, Pursuit to Mons}}<ref name=regiments/>
|disbanded= 1922
<!-- Commanders -->
|commander=
|commander_label=
|notable_commanders=[[William_Cadogan,_1st_Earl_Cadogan|1st Earl Cadogan]] <br> [[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan|7th Earl of Cardigan]]
<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_label=
|identification_symbol_2=
|identification_symbol_2_label=
|identification_symbol_3=
|identification_symbol_3_label=
|identification_symbol_4=
|identification_symbol_4_label=
}}

The '''5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards''' was a [[Cavalry regiments of the British Army|British army cavalry regiment]], officially raised in January 1686 as '''Shrewsbury's Regiment of Horse'''  or the '''Earl of Shrewsbury's Horse'''.

By 1687, it was known as '''Langsdale's Horse''', from 1687 to 1688 as '''Hamilton's Horse''', then from 1688 to 1691 as '''John Coy's Horse'''. In 1691, it was given a number and known as the '''6th Horse'''. In 1697 the regiment was known as '''Arran's Horse''' and later became '''Cadogan's Horse'''.

As Coy's Horse, the regiment fought at the [[Battle of the Boyne]]. In 1804 it became the '''5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards'''. 

In 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the [[6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons]] to form the [[5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards|5th/6th Dragoons]]. Its history and traditions continue today in the [[Royal Dragoon Guards]], an armoured cavalry unit of the British Army.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Royal Dragoon Guards; who we are |url=https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-armoured-corps/royal-dragoon-guards/ |website=Army |access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Vinhill.gif|thumb|The 5th Dragoon Guards [[Battle of Vinegar Hill|at Vinegar Hill]], 1798]]
On 1 January 1686, several independent troops of horse raised in response to the 1685 [[Monmouth Rebellion]] were formed into the [[Charles_Talbot,_1st_Duke_of_Shrewsbury|Earl of Shrewsbury]]'s Regiment of Horse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=Richard |title=The Fifth, Princess Charlotte of Wales' Dragoons Guards |date=1839 |publisher=William Clowes & Sons |pages=4–5}}</ref> It was first commanded by Lord Shrewsbury, with [[John Darcy, Lord Conyers]], as his lieutenant-colonel.<ref>"Darcy, Hon. John (1659–89) of Hornby Castle" in Basil Duke Henning, ed., ''The House of Commons, 1660–1690: Introductory survey'' (1983), [https://books.google.com/books?id=HW1_upECKUwC&pg=RA1-PA191 pp 191–192]</ref>

After the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, the regiment served in the [[Williamite War in Ireland]], including fighting at the [[Battle of the Boyne]] and the [[Siege of Limerick (1690)|First Siege of Limerick]].<ref name=nam>{{cite web|url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/5th-dragoon-guards-princess-charlotte-wales|title=5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's)|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> When the [[Nine Years' War]] ended in 1697, the regiment escaped disbandment by being made part of the Irish military establishment, where it remained until the creation of the [[United Kingdom]] in 1801.<ref name=empire>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/5dg.htm|title=5th Dragoon Guards|publisher=British Empire|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref>

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the unit was commanded by [[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan|William Cadogan]], close aide to the [[John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]]. It was engaged in many of Marlborough's battles and sieges, including [[Battle_of_Blenheim|Blenheim]], [[Battle_of_Ramillies|Ramillies]] and [[Battle_of_Malplaquet|Malplaquet]]; after the [[Peace of Utrecht]] in 1713, it resumed garrison duties in Ireland, where it spent most of the next 80 years.<ref> Cannon, p. 34 </ref>
[[File:Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet (1791-1834) - Sergeant Benjamin Gilliece (b. 1804)), 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards - RCIN 407018 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|upright|A sergeant of the 5th Dragoon Guards]]
Renamed Second Irish Horse in 1746, it then became 5th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1788.<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/DG5.htm |title=5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) |access-date=December 28, 2015 |last=Mills |first=T.F. |work=regiments.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204143209/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/DG5.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2005 }}</ref> On the outbreak of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] in 1793, it was posted to Flanders where it fought at the April 1794 [[Battle of Beaumont (1794)|Battle of Beaumont]].<ref name=empire/> The unit returned to Ireland and helped suppress the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798|1798 Irish Rebellion]], including the battles of [[Battle_of_Arklow|Arklow]], [[Battle_of_Vinegar_Hill|Vinegar Hill]] and [[Battle_of_Ballinamuck|Ballinamuck]].<ref name=nam/> In 1804, it was retitled 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards after [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)|Princess Charlotte]], later simplified to 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards.<ref name=regiments/> 
[[File:Private Michael McNamara - 5th Dragoon Guards.jpg|thumb|upright|Michael MacNamara, who took part in the [[Battle of Balaclava|Charge of the Heavy Brigade]]; photographed {{circa|1856}}]]
Posted to Spain in 1810, it was part of [[John Le Marchant (British Army officer, born 1766)|John Le Marchant]]'s brigade during the [[Peninsular_War|Peninsular campaign]]. The [[Battle of Salamanca]] in July 1812 is considered one of [[Arthur_Wellesley,_1st_Duke_of_Wellington|Wellington]]'s greatest victories and Le Marchant's attack as the 'single most destructive charge made by a brigade of cavalry in the whole Napoleonic period.'<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fletcher |first=I. |title=Galloping at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsula and at Waterloo 1808–15 |publisher=Spellmount, Staplehurst |year=1999 |isbn= 1-86227-016-3|pages=184–186}}</ref> The regiment celebrated 'Salamanca Day' until its dissolution in 1922; the tradition continues among several units of the modern British army.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rifles Mark Salamanca Day With Families |url=https://www.forces.net/news/rifles-mark-salamanca-day-families |website=Forces.net |date=19 July 2018 |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref>

Redesignated heavy cavalry, it was sent to the [[Crimean War]] in 1853 and fought in the October 1854 [[Battle of Balaclava]].<ref name=nam/> The Charge of the Heavy Brigade was a famous action but casualties were relatively light; the Brigade as a whole lost 92 dead and wounded in total, 15 of whom came from the 5th Dragoon Guards.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Balaclava |url=https://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/battle-of-balaclava/ |website=British Battles |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref>  A small detachment joined the [[Nile_Expedition|1885 Nile Expedition]] in 1885 but its next serious action was during the 1899–1902 [[Second Boer War]], when it fought at the battles of [[Battle_of_Elandslaagte|Elandslaagte]] and [[Battle of Ladysmith|Ladysmith]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/520-5th-princess-charlotte-of-waless-dragoon-guards|title=5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards|publisher=Anglo-Boer War|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> 

During the [[World War I|First World War]], it formed part of the [[British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_I)|British Expeditionary Force]] that landed in France in August 1914.<ref name=trail>{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/dragoonguards.htm|title=The Dragoon Guards|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> Retitled 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) in 1921, the following year it was amalgamated with the [[6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons|Inniskillings (6th Dragoons)]], to form [[5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards|5th/6th Dragoons]].<ref name=regiments/>

==Regimental museum==
<gallery> 
Enniskillen Cathedral of St. Macartin North Aisle Royal Inniskilling Dragoons Window Detail Insigna 1685-1922 2012 09 17.jpg|Memorial window at [[St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen]]
St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - GWGC grave of J Whiston (d 1918).JPG|J Whiston, 5th Dragoon Guards; gravestone, [[St Mary's Church, Eccleston]]
</gallery>
The regimental collection is held in the [[Cheshire Military Museum]] at [[Chester Castle]].<ref>{{Citation| url = http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/museums/0000000024-Cheshire-Military-Museum.htm| title = Cheshire Military Museum| access-date = 18 February 2011| publisher = Army Museums Ogilby Trust| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110617114853/http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/museums/0000000024-Cheshire-Military-Museum.htm| archive-date = 17 June 2011| url-status = dead| df = dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/5dg.htm|title=5th Dragoon Guards|publisher=British Empire|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>

==List of Colonels==
The colonels of the regiment were as follows:<ref name=regiments/>
<gallery> 
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|[[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury|Earl of Shrewsbury]] <br> 1686-1687
File:William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan by Louis Laguerre.jpg|[[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan|William Cadogan]] <br>1703-1712
Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham by Jean Baptiste van Loo.jpg|[[Richard_Temple,_1st_Viscount_Cobham|Viscount Cobham]]<br> 1744-1745
cardigan.jpg|[[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan|Earl of Cardigan]] <br> 1859-1860
James Yorke Scarlett (1799-1871), British soldier.jpg|[[James Yorke Scarlett|Sir James Scarlett]] <br> 1860-1871
Tom Bridges 1918.jpg|[[Tom_Bridges|Sir Tom Bridges]] <br> 1920-1922 </gallery>

===<small>1686</small> Named after Colonel eg Shrewsbury's Horse===
*1686: [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury|Earl of Shrewsbury]]; resigned in 1687 and joined [[William_III_of_England|William III]] in the Dutch Republic;
*1687: Marmaduke Langdale, 2nd Baron Langdale; 
*1687: Richard Hamilton; Irish Catholic, removed from command and jailed in the [[Tower of London]] 31 December 1688;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Child |first1=John |title=The British Army of William III, 1689–1702 |date=1990 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0719025525 |page=16}}</ref>
*1688: John Coy; Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment since 1686, experienced veteran with service in France and the [[Tangier Garrison]];<ref> Child, p.16 </ref>
*1697: [[Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran]];
*1703: [[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan|William Cadogan, later Earl Cadogan]]; [[John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough|Marlborough]]'s quartermaster-general and head of intelligence, succeeded him as [[Master-General of the Ordnance]] in 1722.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalton |first1=Charles |title=English army lists and commission registers, 1661–1714 Volume VI |date=1904 |publisher=Eyre & Spottiswood |page=30}}</ref> 
*1712: George Kellum; in service with the regiment since its formation in 1686;<ref> Cannon p. 6 </ref>
*1717: Robert Napier 
*1740: Clement Neville 
*1744: Field Marshall [[Richard_Temple,_1st_Viscount_Cobham|Viscount Cobham]];
*1745: [[Thomas_Wentworth_(British_Army_officer)|Thomas Wentworth]] (died November 1747); 

===1746 2nd Irish Horse===
*1747: [[Thomas Bligh]]<ref name=cannon37>Cannon p. 37</ref>
*1758: [[John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave]]<ref name=cannon37/>
*1760: Hon. John Fitzwilliam<ref name=cannon37/>

===<small>1788</small> 5th Regiment of Dragoon Guards===
*1789: John Douglas
*1790: Thomas Bland; previously served 36 years with the [[7th Dragoon Guards]];<ref> Cannon p. 79 </ref>

===<small>1804</small>  5th (the Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards===
*1816: [[Leopold I of Belgium|Prince Léopold Georg Christian Friedrich of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg]]

===<small>1823</small> 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards===
*1831: Gen. [[Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet|Sir John Slade]]; died aged 97 in 1859 and served in the Peninsular War, where contemporaries described him as 'that damned stupid fellow.'<ref>{{cite ODNB |last1=Lloyd |first1=E. M. |authorlink1=Ernest Marsh Lloyd |title=Slade, Sir John, first baronet |date=2004 |edition=Online |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/25706 }}</ref> 
*1859: Lt-Gen. [[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan]]; commanded the [[Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade|Light Brigade]] in the Crimean War;
*1860: Gen. Hon. [[James Yorke Scarlett|Sir James Scarlett]]; acted as CO of the regiment from 1840, led the Charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava;
*1871: Gen. Richard Parker;
*1885: Gen. Sir [[Thomas Westropp McMahon]]
*1892: Lt-Gen. [[Somerset Gough-Calthorpe, 7th Baron Calthorpe]]
*1912: Maj-Gen. Richard Temple Godman
*1912: Maj-Gen. William Edward Marsland
*1920: Lt-Gen. Sir [[George Tom Molesworth Bridges]]
*''1922: Regiment amalgamated with [[The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons)]] to form the [[5th/6th Dragoons]]''

==See also==
*[[British cavalry during the First World War]]
*[[5th Royal Irish Lancers|5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons]] (1756–1799)

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=Richard |title=The Fifth, Princess Charlotte of Wales' Dragoons Guards |date=1839 |publisher=William Clowes & Sons|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54607/54607-h/54607-h.htm}}
* {{cite book |last1=Child |first1=John |title=The British Army of William III, 1689–1702 |date=1990 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0719025525}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dalton |first1=Charles |title=English army lists and commission registers, 1661-1714 Volume VI |date=1904 |publisher=Eyre & Spottiswood}}
* {{Cite book|last=Fletcher |first=I. |title=Galloping at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsula and at Waterloo 1808–15 |publisher=Spellmount, Staplehurst |year=1999 |isbn= 1-86227-016-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Gore|first=St. John|title=The Green Horse in Ladysmith|publisher=Sampson, Low, Marston and Co.|year=1901|url=https://archive.org/details/greenhorseinlad00goregoog}}
*{{cite book|last=Pomeroy|first= Ralph Legge|title=The Story of a Regiment of Horse (5th Princess of Wales's Dragoon Guards) 1685–1922 |publisher=Blackwood |year=1924}}

{{Royal Dragoon Guards}}
{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I}}

[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Dragoon Guards]]
[[Category:1685 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1685]]
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army in World War I|DG5]]
[[Category:Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War]]
[[Category:Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)]]