1740 Henry Hawley -- 1759 Honourable Henry Seymour Conway 128 1764 Henry Earl of Pembroke 129 1794 Philip Goldsworthy 130 1801 Thomas Garth -- 1829 Lord Edward Somerset 131 1836 Sir Frederick C. Ponsonby -- 1837 Sir Hussey Vivian, Bart. 133 LIST OF PLATES. The regimental guidons;--with the Eagle and Colour of the 105th French Infantry Regiment, captured at Waterloo; to follow the title-page. The capture of a Moorish Standard at Tangier in 1664, to face page 4. The uniform of 1839 to face 116. HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE FIRST, OR THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS. [Sidenote: 1661] The anarchy, devastation, and bloodshed which had prevailed in Britain during the rebellion and tyrannical usurpation of Cromwell, having been succeeded by the restoration of monarchy,--the despotic sway of sectarians and republicans put down by the establishment of a regular government on constitutional principles,--and the army of the commonwealth disbanded, King Charles II. directed his attention to domestic concerns, and engaged in a matrimonial alliance with Donna Catherina, Infanta of Portugal; and this event gave rise to the formation of a troop of CUIRASSIERS, which was the nucleus of the corps now bearing the distinguished title of THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS. By the marriage treaty the ancient and once magnificent city of TANGIER, in Africa, and the island of Bombay in the East Indies, were ceded by the king of Portugal to the British crown; and, with a sum equal to three hundred thousand pounds, constituted the Infanta's dowry. As the possession of the important fortress of TANGIER, with its harbour and local advantages, appeared to open a new field for commercial pursuits, and was expected to be followed by the acquisition of extensive possessions in that part of the world, four regiments of foot and a troop of horse were appointed to garrison that fortress, and the EARL OF PETERBOROUGH was constituted captain general, chief governor, and vice admiral of that part of his Majesty's dominions. Three of the regiments of foot, commanded by Sir Robert Harley, and Colonels Fitzgerald and O'Farell, were withdrawn from the garrison of Dunkirk, and were composed of men who had fought in the royal cause during the civil war, and afterwards in the Netherlands. The other regiment of foot, (now the second, or Queen's royal,) and the troop of HORSE (now ROYAL DRAGOONS) were raised in England by the Earl of Peterborough in the autumn of 1661, and were mustered, the former on Putney Heath, and the latter in St. George's Fields, Southwark, in October.[7]