Regiment of Horse
Encyclopedia
The Regiment of Horse was a cavalry unit active in Scotland in the late seventeenth century, which played an important role in the events of that period.
, disbanded two years earlier. The second troop was led by two young noblemen, James Home, 5th Earl of Home and the Master of Ross
. The third commission went to Captain John Graham of Claverhouse
, a man of less exalted rank, but a highly regarded officer of the Dutch Life Guards, who had gained the powerful patronage of the king's brother, the Duke of York
.
Although Scotland had lent military assistance to both sides in the ongoing Franco-Dutch War
, the Independent Troops seem to have been raised for garrison duty in Scotland, to guard against the perceived threat of the Covenanter
s - committed Presbyterians
who rejected any government that did not obey their religious principles, but were perhaps further radicalized by state repression. In 1679, they formed a small army and defeated an outnumbered Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog
, but the Independent Troops played a key role in the repulse of their assault on Glasgow
.
Subsequently, tensions emerged between the Independent Troops and Lieutenant-General Tam Dayell, the senior professional soldier in Scotland, who became commander in chief before the year's end. It seems that Dayell did not get on well with Airlie or Graham, and tactically, he seems to have favoured the dragoon
s, companies of mounted infantry armed with muskets and polearms, clad in plain hodden grey
uniforms.
In 1681, Dayell had the dragoon companies combined as a regiment under his own command, the famous Scots Greys, in response, Captain Graham seems to have proposed to his patron the Duke of York that the Independent Troops of Horse should be similarly re-organized into a unified regiment.
informed the Scottish Privy Council that "Our Three (formerly Independent) Troops of Horse" were "to be formed a Regt. of Horse", with John Graham of Claverhouse as Colonel. A fourth troop was added, funded by reducing the strength of each unit to around fifty men, and by demobilizing two hundred infantrymen in the foot regiments. An attempt to pay Claverhouse's salary as colonel by dismissing all the staff officers of the Scots Greys was not successful, and deepened the existing hostility between the Horse and the Dragoons.
In 1684, two more troops were added, raised from the House of Douglas
and their followers. The troop commanders now included two Earl
s, a Lord of Parliament
and a Duke
's son, a concentration of aristocracy unparalleled in Scotland's other regiments at that time. Colonel Graham was still only a laird, but in 1685, his patron the Duke of York became king.
As a sign of royal favour, the regiment was renamed on 21st December 1685 as the King's Own Regiment of Horse, sometimes subsequently referred to as the Royal Regiment of Horse. Soon after, the regiment was exempted from the purview of the Inspector of the Forces alongside the Life Guard
, suggesting that like the similarly named unit
in England, it shared some of the prestige of the Household troops.
. Claverhouse was ennobled as Viscount Dundee, and the Royal Regiment of Horse and the Royal Scots were willing to put up a fight, but the king was discouraged by large numbers of military and political defections, and London was occupied by Dutch troops; English resistance collapsed, and James agreed to go into exile, leaving the country on 23 December.
In the confusion, it is not entirely clear what happened happened to the King's Own Regiment of Horse. Claverhouse remained firmly committed to King James, but his second-in-command, the Earl of Drumlanrig
went over decisively to William of Orange, and was rewarded with command of the Scottish Troop
in his Life Guard.
In spite of the defections among the Scottish soldiers and politicians in England, James still remained in theory as King north of the Border, where loyal commanders controlled the main fortresses, so Claverhouse and one of his troop commanders, the Earl of Balcarres
, resolved to ride north in February 1689 - almost certainly accompanied by Claverhouse's own troop, and perhaps by other elements of the regiment. In March, Claverhouse's troop acted as his bodyguard at the Convention of Estates
, dramatically riding out of Edinburgh with him when it became clear that the Parliament would accept William as king; in April, they formally took up arms in the name of King James.
William III had appointed Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk as the new commander of the King's Own Regiment of Horse, and planned to send them to fight in Ireland; but any meaningful force of troopers that remained seems to have drifted away. Some perhaps joined their old Colonel (the Royal Scots also attempted to march north), but a number may have followed Drumlanrig into the Williamite Life Guard, while others
simply laid down their arms. Either way, payments of wages to the Williamite regiment ceased on 30 March 1689, marking the effective end of the Royal Regiment of Horse as a unit.
Independent Troops of Horse, 1678-1682
The regiment had its origin in three Independent Troops of Horse established on 23rd September, 1678, each with four officers and sixty men. The first troop to be issued with its royal warrant was commanded by the veteran Cavalier James Ogilvy, 2nd Earl of Airlie and his nephew Adam Urquhart of Meldrum, who had previously been the officers of the Lord Chancellor's Troop of the Life Guard4th Troop of Horse Guards
The 4th Troop of Horse Guards was the Scottish unit within the Horse Guards Regiment. It was part of the United Kingdom military establishment from 1709 to 1746, but before the Union of the Parliaments, it had been an independent unit in Scotland, sometimes referred to in modern works as the Scots...
, disbanded two years earlier. The second troop was led by two young noblemen, James Home, 5th Earl of Home and the Master of Ross
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross , was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician.-Origins:Ross was born in about 1656. He was the son and heir of George Ross, 11th Lord Ross, who died in 1682, by Grizel, daughter of William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald...
. The third commission went to Captain John Graham of Claverhouse
John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee
John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee , known as the 7th Laird of Claverhouse until raised to the viscounty in 1688, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian...
, a man of less exalted rank, but a highly regarded officer of the Dutch Life Guards, who had gained the powerful patronage of the king's brother, the Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Although Scotland had lent military assistance to both sides in the ongoing Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
, the Independent Troops seem to have been raised for garrison duty in Scotland, to guard against the perceived threat of the Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s - committed Presbyterians
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
who rejected any government that did not obey their religious principles, but were perhaps further radicalized by state repression. In 1679, they formed a small army and defeated an outnumbered Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog
Battle of Drumclog
The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at High Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.- The battle :...
, but the Independent Troops played a key role in the repulse of their assault on Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
Subsequently, tensions emerged between the Independent Troops and Lieutenant-General Tam Dayell, the senior professional soldier in Scotland, who became commander in chief before the year's end. It seems that Dayell did not get on well with Airlie or Graham, and tactically, he seems to have favoured the dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s, companies of mounted infantry armed with muskets and polearms, clad in plain hodden grey
Hodden
Hodden or wadmel is a coarse kind of cloth made of undyed wool, formerly much worn by the peasantry of Scotland. It was usually made on small hand-looms by the peasants themselves. Grey hodden was made by mixing black and white fleeces together in the proportion of one to twelve when weaving...
uniforms.
In 1681, Dayell had the dragoon companies combined as a regiment under his own command, the famous Scots Greys, in response, Captain Graham seems to have proposed to his patron the Duke of York that the Independent Troops of Horse should be similarly re-organized into a unified regiment.
Regiment of Horse, 1682-1689
On Christmas Day 1682, King CharlesCharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
informed the Scottish Privy Council that "Our Three (formerly Independent) Troops of Horse" were "to be formed a Regt. of Horse", with John Graham of Claverhouse as Colonel. A fourth troop was added, funded by reducing the strength of each unit to around fifty men, and by demobilizing two hundred infantrymen in the foot regiments. An attempt to pay Claverhouse's salary as colonel by dismissing all the staff officers of the Scots Greys was not successful, and deepened the existing hostility between the Horse and the Dragoons.
In 1684, two more troops were added, raised from the House of Douglas
Clan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
and their followers. The troop commanders now included two Earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
s, a Lord of Parliament
Lord of Parliament
A Lord of Parliament was the lowest rank of nobility automatically entitled to attend sessions of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. Post-Union, it is a member of the lowest rank of the Peerage of Scotland, ranking below a viscount...
and a Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
's son, a concentration of aristocracy unparalleled in Scotland's other regiments at that time. Colonel Graham was still only a laird, but in 1685, his patron the Duke of York became king.
As a sign of royal favour, the regiment was renamed on 21st December 1685 as the King's Own Regiment of Horse, sometimes subsequently referred to as the Royal Regiment of Horse. Soon after, the regiment was exempted from the purview of the Inspector of the Forces alongside the Life Guard
4th Troop of Horse Guards
The 4th Troop of Horse Guards was the Scottish unit within the Horse Guards Regiment. It was part of the United Kingdom military establishment from 1709 to 1746, but before the Union of the Parliaments, it had been an independent unit in Scotland, sometimes referred to in modern works as the Scots...
, suggesting that like the similarly named unit
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
in England, it shared some of the prestige of the Household troops.
Revolution and Rebellion
In 1688, the Scottish army marched south to defend King James against a Dutch invasion, led by his son-in-law William of OrangeWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. Claverhouse was ennobled as Viscount Dundee, and the Royal Regiment of Horse and the Royal Scots were willing to put up a fight, but the king was discouraged by large numbers of military and political defections, and London was occupied by Dutch troops; English resistance collapsed, and James agreed to go into exile, leaving the country on 23 December.
In the confusion, it is not entirely clear what happened happened to the King's Own Regiment of Horse. Claverhouse remained firmly committed to King James, but his second-in-command, the Earl of Drumlanrig
James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry
James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover was a Scottish nobleman.He was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry and his wife Isabel Douglas, daughter of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas.Educated at the University of Glasgow, he was appointed a...
went over decisively to William of Orange, and was rewarded with command of the Scottish Troop
4th Troop of Horse Guards
The 4th Troop of Horse Guards was the Scottish unit within the Horse Guards Regiment. It was part of the United Kingdom military establishment from 1709 to 1746, but before the Union of the Parliaments, it had been an independent unit in Scotland, sometimes referred to in modern works as the Scots...
in his Life Guard.
In spite of the defections among the Scottish soldiers and politicians in England, James still remained in theory as King north of the Border, where loyal commanders controlled the main fortresses, so Claverhouse and one of his troop commanders, the Earl of Balcarres
Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres
Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres was a Scottish aristocrat and politician, one of the most important supporters of James II of England.-Early life:...
, resolved to ride north in February 1689 - almost certainly accompanied by Claverhouse's own troop, and perhaps by other elements of the regiment. In March, Claverhouse's troop acted as his bodyguard at the Convention of Estates
Convention of Estates of Scotland
The Convention of Estates of Scotland sat between 16 March 1689 and 5 June 1689 to determine the settlement of the Scottish throne following the invasion of William, Prince of Orange...
, dramatically riding out of Edinburgh with him when it became clear that the Parliament would accept William as king; in April, they formally took up arms in the name of King James.
William III had appointed Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk as the new commander of the King's Own Regiment of Horse, and planned to send them to fight in Ireland; but any meaningful force of troopers that remained seems to have drifted away. Some perhaps joined their old Colonel (the Royal Scots also attempted to march north), but a number may have followed Drumlanrig into the Williamite Life Guard, while others
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross
William Ross, 12th Lord Ross , was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician.-Origins:Ross was born in about 1656. He was the son and heir of George Ross, 11th Lord Ross, who died in 1682, by Grizel, daughter of William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald...
simply laid down their arms. Either way, payments of wages to the Williamite regiment ceased on 30 March 1689, marking the effective end of the Royal Regiment of Horse as a unit.
Sources
- Charles Dalton, The Scots Army 1661-1688 (Edinburgh 1909)
- Magnus Linklater, "Graham, John, first viscount of Dundee (1648?-1689)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2010), accessed 21 March 2011
- Mowbray Morris, Claverhouse (Longmans, 1887)
- Henry Paton, "Ogilvy, James, second earl of Airlie (1611–1704)", rev. by J.S. Wheeler, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2010), accessed 21 March 2011
- Andrew Ross, Ross HeraldRoss HeraldRoss Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a current Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office is however held in Extraordinary after the retirement of the last holder in Ordinary....
, "Scottish Regiments Disbanded", in The Lowland Regiments, ed. Sir Herbert MaxwellSir Herbert Maxwell, 7th BaronetThe Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet of Monreith, KT, PC, FRS, FRGS was a Scottish novelist, essayist, horticulturalist and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1906....
(Glasgow 1918), pp. 297-329 - John R. Young, "Douglas, James, second duke of Queensberry and first duke of Dover (1662–1711)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2010), accessed 21 March 2011