5th Dragoon Guards

5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's)

Badge of the 5th Dragoon Guards
Active 1685-1922
Country

 Kingdom of England (1685–1707)
 Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1746, 1788–1800)

 Kingdom of Ireland (1746–1788)
 United Kingdom (1801–1922)
Branch Army
Type Cavalry of the Line
Role Heavy Cavalry
Size 1 Regiment
Nickname The Green Horse[1]
Motto Vestigia nulla restorsum (Latin - We do not retreat)
March (Quick) The Gay Cavalier
Anniversaries Salamanca Day
Commanders
Notable
commanders
7th Earl of Cardigan

The 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685.[1] It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards in 1922.

The regiment was first raised as the Duke of Shrewsbury's Regiment of Horse in 1685, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 6th Regiment of Horse. In 1746 it was transferred to the Irish establishment, where it was ranked as the 2nd Regiment of Horse, and transferred back to the British establishment in 1788 as the 5th Regiment of Dragoon Guards. In 1804 it took the title 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards (later simply the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards) for Princess Charlotte.

William Simpson lithograph depicting the 5th Dragoon Guards at Balaklava during the Crimean War
Rough Rider Michael MacNamara after serving in the Crimean War in 1856

After service in the First World War, it retitled as 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) in 1921, and was amalgamated with The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons), to form the 5th/6th Dragoons the following year.

History

List of titles[2]

Principal battles & campaigns

Museum

  • The Cheshire Military Museum, The Castle, Chester, CH1 2DN - Tl: 01244 327617 Open April–October 11am - 5pm (Sunday 2pm - 5.30pm)
  • The Regimental Museum of the Royal Dragoon Guards (successor regiment), 3A Tower St, York, YO1 9SB. Tel: 01904 461010. Open 1st Feb-Christmas, 09.30-16.30 (Mon-Fri)/10.00-16.00 (Sat). Closed Sundays.

Bibliography

See also

References

Footnotes