Historical Record of the Seventh, or the Queen's Own Regiment of Hussars: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in 1690, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Seventh, or the Queen's Own Regiment of Hussars: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in 1690, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Queen's Own Hussars, 7th
A general attack having been resolved upon, with the view of
compelling the French to evacuate Flanders, the QUEEN'S OWN light
dragoons were selected to take part in this enterprise, and were
attached to one of the columns, under His Royal Highness the Duke
of York, which advanced at an early hour on the morning of the 17th
of May, to the vicinity of Lannoy, where the troops halted a short
period, until a thick fog cleared off, when they resumed their
march. Arriving at _Roubaix_, the place was gallantly captured,
and the troops reposed a few hours in the town. As the sun was
declining in the western horizon, and the shades of evening were
gathering over the provinces of Flanders, Lieut.-General Abercromby
received orders to attack a village two miles distant, called
_Mouvaux_, which was situated on a rising ground, surrounded by
palisades and entrenchments, protected by flanking redoubts, and
defended by a strong body of republican troops. This enterprise
was undertaken with cheerful alacrity; the flank battalion of the
foot guards stormed the works, and the SEVENTH light dragoons, led
by Lieut.-Colonel William Osborne, (a most gallant officer, who
had been twenty years in the regiment[6]), made a detour round
the village, followed by the Fifteenth light dragoons, under
Lieut.-Colonel Churchill. As the French soldiers began to give
way before the furious onset of the foot guards, and issuing from
among the houses, attempted to escape by the rear of the village,
they were charged by the two cavalry regiments with the most
distinguished bravery. The SEVENTH were in front on this occasion;
arriving at a _chevaux-de-frise_, a few men of the regiment
dismounted, and, though exposed to a sharp fire of musketry,
cleared a space for the troops to pass, when the two regiments
rushed with terrific violence upon the French infantry, broke their
ranks, and cut them down with a dreadful slaughter, capturing
three guns. When the two regiments returned from the pursuit, the
evening was far advanced, and they passed the night in the village.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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