Historical Record of the Thirteenth Regiment of Light Dragoons: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Thirteenth Regiment of Light Dragoons: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Light Dragoons, 13th
[2] Major Vigoureux, who was employed on the reconnoitring service,
gave Captain White information of the presence of the enemy, and
concerted with him the plan of attack. He requested Captain White
to mount him, which he did, on one of the largest horses of his
troop, and being a very tall and powerful man, his appearance was
most formidable. He charged with Captain White at the head of the
THIRTEENTH, and rode with uplifted sabre straight at the French
commanding-officer who was leading: on their meeting, that officer,
instead of defending himself, dropped his sword to the salute,
and turning it, presented the hilt to Major Vigoureux; the sword
was afterwards presented by Colonel Vigoureux to Lieut.-Colonel
Brunton, and is now in his possession.
[3] Captain White was afterwards appointed to the staff of the
army. He was killed at the battle of Salamanca.
[4] List of French cavalry attacked by two squadrons of the
THIRTEENTH Light Dragoons at Campo Mayor, 25th March, 1811.
Second French Hussars 300 men.
Tenth ditto 350 "
Twenty-sixth Heavy Dragoons 150 "
Fourth Spanish Chasseurs 80 "
----
880 "
[5] Paymaster Gardiner obtained possession of Colonel Chamarin's
handsome helmet, and brought it to England. The colonel's sword was
given to Lieut.-Colonel Head.
[6] The following incident in allusion to the Campo Mayor affair is
taken from the journal of an officer published in CLARKE'S _Life of
the Duke of Wellington_:--
"Yesterday a French captain of dragoons brought over a trumpet,
demanding permission to search amongst the dead for his colonel.
His regiment was a fine one, with bright brass helmets and black
horse-hair, exactly like what the old Romans are depicted with. It
was truly a bloody scene, being almost all sabre wounds. It was
long before we could find the French colonel, for he was lying
on his face, his naked body weltering in blood; and as soon as
he was turned up, the officer knew him: he gave a sort of scream
and sprang off his horse, dashed his helmet on the ground, knelt
by the body, took the bloody hand and kissed it many times in an
agony of grief; it was an affecting and awful scene. I suppose
there were about six hundred naked dead bodies lying on the ground
at one view. The French colonel was killed by a corporal of the
THIRTEENTH. This corporal had killed one of his men, and he was so
enraged, that he sallied out himself and attacked the corporal, who
was well mounted and a good swordsman, as was the colonel himself.
Both defended for some time; the corporal cut him twice across the
face; his helmet came off at the second, when the corporal slew him
by a cut which nearly cleft his skull asunder, cutting in as deep
as the nose through the brain."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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