17th Lancers

British Army cavalry regiment November 2020 January 2013 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) 17th Lancers - cap badge, original, antique.jpg Cap badge of the regiment 7 November 1759 – 27 June 1922 Kingdom of Great Britain (1759–1800)United Kingdom (1801–1922) 23px Army Line cavalry Lancer regiment The Death or Glory Boys, The Horse Marines, The Tots, The White Lancers Death Or Glory Quick: The White LancersSlow: Occasional Overture General Thomas Gage Major General Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle General Oliver De Lancey General Lord Edward Somerset Lieutenant-General Sir John Elley Field Marshal Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge General Henry Roxby Benson Lieutenant-General Sir Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe Major General Thomas Arthur Cooke Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Battle of Balaclava (25 October)Battle of Ulundi (4 July) The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922. History Seven Years War thumb|upright|Illustration of the regiment during the American War of Independence thumb|Illustration of the regiment during the Peninsular War thumb|1825 painting of the regiment thumb|1881 painting depicting a regiment patrol discovering two 24th Foot officers who died saving the colours at Isandlwana. However, the regiment had not arrived in South Africa when the officers were found. thumb|The regiment at the Battle of Ulundi thumb|Painting depicting the regiment at Modderfontein In 1759, Colonel John Hale of the 47th Foot was ordered back to Britain with General James Wolfe's final dispatches and news of his victory in the Battle of Quebec in September 1759.Fortescue, p. 6 After his return, he was rewarded with land in Canada and granted permission to raise a regiment of light dragoons. He formed the regiment in Hertfordshire on 7 November 1759 as the 18th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, which also went by the name of Hale's Light Horse.Frederick, p. 36http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D17b(L).htm 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Regiments.org 31 August 2016 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060620105721/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D17b%28L%29.htm 20 June 2006 Colonel Hale chose for the regiment: the Death's Head with the motto "Or Glory".Brumwell, p. 302 The regiment saw service in Germany in 1761Cannon, Historical Record of the Seventeenth, p. 12 and was renumbered the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in April 1763 In 1764 the regiment went to Ireland.Cannon, p. 13 In May 1766 it was renumbered again, this time as the 3rd Regiment of Light Dragoons. It regained the 17th numeral in 1769 as the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. American War of Independence Led by Lt Col Samuel Birch, the regiment was sent to North America in 1775, arriving in Boston, then besieged by American rebels in the American Revolutionary War.Cannon, p. 15 It fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, a costly British victory, in June 1775. The regiment was withdrawn to Halifax.Cannon, p. 16 It fought at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776Cannon, p. 18 and at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. It was in action again at the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in October 1777,Cannon, p. 20 the Battle of Crooked Billet in May 1778Cannon, p. 22 and the Battle of Barren Hill later that month. A troop from the 17th was attached to the British Legion, under the command of Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and was engaged in a number of battles of the southern campaign.Babits, p. 46 With regimental pride, the regular dragoons of the 17th preserved an identity separate from the provincial unit. They kept their fading scarlet coats rather than adopting the green of the Legion.Fortescue, p. 63 A lieutenant was killed and several private soldiers were killed or wounded at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781.Cannon, p. 34 The Legion cavalry included many volunteers from prisoners captured at the Battle of Camden. These replacements refused orders to engage the enemy at Cowpens. Tarleton combined Legion officers with the men of the 17th and led about 50 in a charge, attempting to support the right flank. Although initially successful, the dragoons were counter-charged by a larger force of concealed Patriot cavalry.Babits, p. 125Babits, p. 154-5 The American War of Independence officially ended in 1783. An officer of the regiment, Captain Stapleton, had the distinction of delivering to George Washington the despatch confirming the declaration of the cessation of hostilities.Fortescue, p. 61 French Revolutionary Wars The regiment returned to Ireland, where it remained until 1795, when it sailed for the West Indies to reinforce depleted forces battling the French.Fortescue, p. 69-70 Two troops were used to suppress an uprising by "Maroons" in Jamaica soon after arriving in the Caribbean.Fortescue, pp. 81–3 Other detachments were embarked aboard HMS Success as "supernumeraries". Their experience at sea has been suggested by regimental historians to have gained the regiment the nickname "Horse Marines".Ffrench Blake, Volume 17, p. 41 Part of the regiment were stationed in Grenada during the Fédon Rebellion and saw active combat.Luscombe Stephen 17th Light Dragoons https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/17thltdragoons1759.htm 2026-02-16 www.britishempire.co.uk en-GB The regiment returned to England in August 1797.Cannon, p. 44 It was based in Ireland again from May 1803 to winter 1805.Cannon, p. 47 Napoleonic Wars In 1806, the regiment took part in the British invasions of the River Plate in Spanish-controlled South America, then an ally of France during the Napoleonic Wars.Cannon, p. 48 Sir Home Riggs Popham had orchestrated an expedition against South America without the British government's sanction. This invasion failed, but a second invasion was launched. The regiment was part of this second force, under Sir Samuel Auchmuty. The British force besieged and captured Montevideo. In 1807, the regiment was part of the force, now under John Whitelocke, that tried to capture Buenos Aires, but this failed abysmally.Cannon, p. 49 The British force (including the regiment), was forced to surrender, and did not return home until January 1808.Cannon, p. 52 The regiment was sent to India shortly after returning home.Cannon, p. 54 It took part in the attack on the Pindarees in 1817 during the Third Anglo-Maratha War.Cannon, p. 62 Disease ravaged the regiment during its residency.Cannon, p. 70 While in India, the British Army nominally re-classified the regiment as lancers,Fortescue, p. 121 and added "lancers" as a subtitle to its regimental designation in 1822. The regiment did not learn of its new status until 1823, when, during a stopover at Saint Helena on its journey back to Britain, a copy of the Army List was obtained. Although the weapon's use had endured in parts of continental Europe,Featherstone, p. 53 the lance had not been in British service for more than a century.Cannon, Historical Record of the Ninth, p. 50 Its reintroduction by the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, owed much to the performance of Napoleon Bonaparte's Polish Uhlans.Fortescue, p. 116 The lancer regiments adopted their own version of the Uhlan uniform, including the czapka-style headdress.Wilson, p. 23 In 1826, Lord Bingham (later the 3rd Earl of Lucan) became the regiment's commanding officer when he bought its lieutenant-colonelcy for the reputed sum of £25,000.Raugh, p. 209 During his tenure, Bingham invested heavily in the regiment, purchasing uniforms and horses, giving rise to the regimental nickname "Bingham's Dandies".Heathcote, p. 41 Crimean War The regiment landed at Calamita Bay near Eupatoria in September 1854 for service in the Crimean War and saw action, as part of the light brigade under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan, at the Battle of Alma in September 1854. http://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/alma.htm The Battle of the Alma British Battles 26 August 2016 The regiment, commanded by Captain William Morris, was in the first line of cavalry on the left flank during the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. http://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/balaclava.htm The Battle of Balaclava British Battles 26 August 2016 The brigade drove through the Russian artillery before smashing straight into the Russian cavalry and pushing them back; it was unable to consolidate its position, however, having insufficient forces and had to withdraw to its starting position, coming under further attack as it did so. The regiment lost 7 officers and 67 men in the debacle. The regiment went on to take part in the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854.http://www.britishbattles.com/crimean-war/sevastopol.htm The Siege of Sevastopol British battles 27 August 2016 After the inception of the Victoria Cross in 1856, three members of the regiment received the award for acts of gallantry in the charge: These were Troop Sergeant-Major John Berryman,21971 24 February 1857 655 Sergeant-Major Charles Wooden,22194 4575 26 October 1858 and Sergeant John Farrell.20 November 1857 22065 3920 Victorian era In December 1857 the regiment arrived in India to reinforce the effort to suppress the Indian Rebellion of 1857. By the time the regiment was prepared for service, the rebellion was effectively over, although it did take part in the pursuit of the Indian rebel leader Tatya Tope. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/17thlancers1822.htm 17 th Lancers 1 September 2016 During the course of the pursuit, Lieutenant Evelyn Wood earned the Victoria Cross for gallantry.22419 4 September 1860 3257 The regiment returned to England in 1865. The regiment became the 17th Regiment of Lancers in August 1861. When, in 1876, it gained Prince George, Duke of Cambridge as its colonel-in-chief, the regiment adopted the title of the 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers. The regiment was sent to Natal Colony for service in the Anglo-Zulu War and fought at the Battle of Ulundi under Sir Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe in July 1879. The regiment was deployed inside a large British infantry square during the attack by the Zulu Army, which had surrounded the British. When the attack appeared to be wavering, the regiment was ordered to advance: their charge routed the warriors with heavy loss and proved to be decisive. The regiment returned to India the same year, remaining there until about 1890 when they returned to England. Second Boer War In February 1900 a contingent from the regiment, comprising Lieutenant-Colonel E. F. Herbert and 500 troops, was deployed to South Africa for service in the Second Boer War,The War - embarkation of troops 15 February 1900 4 36066 and arrived to Cape Town on the SS Victorian early the next month.Latest intelligence - The War - Movements of Transport 12 March 1900 5 36087 The contingent missed the large pitched battles, but still saw action during the war. In 1900, Sergeant Brian Lawrence won the regiment's fifth and final Victoria Cross at Essenbosch Farm.27266 308 15 January 1901 The contingent's most significant action was at the Battle of Elands River (Modderfontein) in September 1901. C Squadron was attacked by a unit of Boers under the command of Jan Smuts; the Lancers mistakenly assumed the unit was friendly because of their attire.http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol131rs.html Modderfontein, 17 September 1901 Military History Journal RW Smith 2004 13 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20090403043105/http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol131rs.html 3 April 2009 live 2009-08-02 The Boers immediately opened fire, attacking from both the front and the rear. The Lancers suffered further casualties at a closed gate that slowed them down. Only Captain Sandeman, the squadron commander, and Lieutenant Lord Vivian survived. The regiment suffered 29 killed and 41 wounded before surrendering, while Boer losses were just one killed and six wounded.Pakenham, p. 524. They stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended June 1902 with the Peace of Vereeniging. Four months later, 540 officers and men left Cape Town on the SS German in late September 1902, and arrived at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Edinburgh.The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home 2 October 1902 4 36888 First World War The regiment, which was based in Sialkot in India at the start of the First World War, landed in France as part of the 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Indian Cavalry DivisionAnglesey, Volume VII, p. 223 in November 1914 for service on the Western Front.http://www.1914-1918.net/lancers.htm The Lancers The Long, Long Trail 1 September 2016 The regiment fought in its conventional cavalry role at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. The regiment was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Brigade, part of the 3rd Cavalry Division, in February 1918 and was used as mobile infantry, plugging gaps whenever the need arose, both as cavalry and as infantry during the last-gasp German spring offensive. After the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the regiment remained in continental Europe, joining the British Army of the Rhine in Cologne, Germany. Irish War of Independence thumb|upright|The grave of Sergeant William George Gibbs The regiment then served in County Cork, Ireland, where it operated against the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence. On 28 September 1920, IRA volunteers led by Liam Lynch and Ernie O'Malley raided the British Army barracks in Mallow, County Cork. They captured weaponry, freed prisoners and killed a sergeant of the 17th Lancers.CWGC record It was the only British Army barracks to be captured during the war. In 1921, the title of the regiment was altered to the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own). Amalgamation The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922. Regimental museum The regimental collection is held at The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum which is based at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-14295666 Charge of the Light Brigade bugle stars at new museum BBC 26 July 2011 5 June 2018 Battle honours The regiment's battle honours were as follows: Early wars: Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Central India, South Africa 1879, South Africa 1900–1902 First World War: Festubert, Somme 1916 1918, Morval, Cambrai 1917 1918, St. Quentin, Avre, Lys, Hazebrouck, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18 Regimental Colonels Colonels of the regiment were: 18th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, or Hale's Light Horse 1763–1770: Gen. John Hale 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1769) 1770–1782: Lt-Gen. George Preston 1782–1785: Gen. Hon. Thomas Gage 1785–1795: Maj-Gen. Thomas Pelham-Clinton, 3rd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne 1795–1822: Gen. Oliver de Lancey 1822–1829: Gen. Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers) (1823) 1829–1839: Lt-Gen. Sir John Elley 1839: Lt-Gen. Sir Joseph Straton 1839–1842: Gen. Sir Arthur Benjamin Clifton 1842–1852: F.M. HRH George William Frederick Charles, 2nd Duke of Cambridge 1852–1854: Maj-Gen. Thomas William Taylor 1854–1867: Gen. Sir James Maxwell Wallace 17th Regiment of Lancers (1861) 1867–1875: Lt-Gen. Charles William Morley Balders (b. Sunderland 1804; d. Brighton 1875) https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/104522282 Harts Army List 1872 NLS Digital National Library of Scotland 19 March 2024 1875–1884: Gen. John Charles Hope Gibsone 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers (1876) 1884–1892: Gen. Henry Roxby Benson 1892–1908: Lt-Gen. Sir Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe 1908–1912: Maj-Gen. Thomas Arthur Cooke 1912–1922: F.M. Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (to 17th/21st Lancers) In 1922, the regiment, as the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own), was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Notable members Samuel BirchCannon, p. 66 Frederick John Cokayne FrithGreaves Adrian https://books.google.com/books?id=-rs1AgAAQBAJ Crossing the Buffalo: The Zulu War of 1879 Orion 2012 978-1-4091-2572-3 London 299–300 en See also British cavalry during the First World War References 30em Sources Anglesey Marquess of 1997 A History of the British Cavalry, 1816–1919, Volume VII, The Curragh Incident and the Western Front 1914 Pen & Sword Babits Lawrence Edward 2001 A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens The University of North Carolina Press 978-0807849262 Babits Lawrence Edward Howard Joshua B. 2009 Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse The University of North Carolina Press 978-0807832660 Brumwell Stephen Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe Hambledon Continuum 2007 9780826436351 https://books.google.com/books?id=92CBkB0estkC Cannon Richard Historical Record of the Ninth or the Queen's Royal Regiment of Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841 John W. Parker 1841 https://books.google.com/books?id=evAQAAAAYAAJ Cannon Richard Historical Record of the Seventeenth Regiment of Light Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1759 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841 John W. Parker 1841 https://books.google.com/books?id=VVykrSD7MG0C Featherstone Donald F. 1978 Weapons and Equipment of the Victorian Soldier Littlehampton Book Services 9780713708479 Fortescue Sir John William 1895 A History of the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) https://archive.org/details/ahistorythlance00fortgoog Macmillan and Co. Frederick John Bassett Moore 1969 Lineage book of the British Army; Mounted Corps and Infantry, 1660–1968 Hope Farm Press Ffrench Blake Robert Lifford Valentine 1968 The 17th/21st Lancers Hamish Hamilton Heathcote Tony The British Field Marshals 1736–1997 Leo Cooper 1999 0-85052-696-5 Pakenham Thomas 1992 The Boer War Abacus 978-0349104669 Raugh Harold E. 2004 The Victorians At War, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History ABC-CLIO 978-1576079256 Wilson Frank 1956 Regiments at a Glance Blackie Further reading Terry Brighton Brighton Terry Hell Riders: the Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade London Penguin 2004 0-14-101831-3 Hinde Robert https://books.google.com/books?id=jB5EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA537 The discipline of the light-horse Hinde W. Owen 1778 London 8046100 External links The home of the recreated 17th Lancers – The 17th Lancers 17 Lancers Category:Military units and formations established in 1759 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 L17 Category:Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Category:Regiments of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War Category:1759 establishments in Great Britain