FormationThe regiment was first raised by Brigadier-General Richard Cunningham as The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons in May 1689, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and was ranked as the 7th Dragoons and named for Queen Mary. The regiment fought at the Siege of Namur in July 1695. The Hon William Kerr became colonel in 1709 in the closing stages of the Nine Years' War. The regiment was disbanded in 1714, with its squadrons joining the 1st and 2nd Dragoons, but reformed in 1715 as The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Dragoons, named for Princess Caroline.
The battle of Austerlitz took place on the 2nd of December 1805, for this battle Napoléon 1er develops a trap against the Austrian force, this trap is intended to make the enemy believe that the forces of Napoleon are too weak to win the match. To do this, he uses many tricks (organize the withdrawal of his troops during clashes or skirmishes, ask to be received by the other emperors to negotiate, etc.). The enemies then think that Napoleon has only 40 000 men (instead of 73 400).
Napoléon 1er win the battle of Austerlitz with 1290 men killed, 6943 wounded against 16 000 men killed or wounded and 180 cannons lost at the camp of Austria.
This is one of the greatest victory of the Napoleonic wars for the French army.
Napoleonic WarsIn October 1808 the 7th Hussars were sent to Corunna to reinforce Sir John Moore's Army which was in retreat: the regiment supported Moore's retreat at the Battle of Sahagún on 21 December 1808 and at the Battle of Benavente on 21 December 1808. Many horses had to be destroyed for want of transport as the troops re-boarded their ships at Corunna. On the return journey the transport Dispatch, was wrecked, on Black Head, a few miles to the south of the Lizard on 22 January 1809. The regiment lost 104 men in the wrecking: only seven men from the Dispatch were saved. The regiment arrived back on the Peninsula again in August 1813 and undertook two highly successful charges at the Battle of Orthes in February 1814 leading the Marquess of Wellington to report: "The 7th Hussars distinguished themselves on this occasion and made many prisoners."
In March 1814 the regiment was ordered to proceed to Brighton and put down rioting caused by the imposition of the Corn Laws. The regiment then embarked for the Netherlands and was ordered by General Lord Uxbridge to undertake a series of charges on the advancing enemy, the French 2nd regiment of lancers under Colonel Jean Baptiste Joseph Sourd, at the action at Genappe on 17 June 1815. The following day, at the Battle of Waterloo, the regiment was held in reserve until the evening, but then again undertook a series of charges. Standish O'Grady, then a lieutenant in the 7th Hussars mentions is a letter to his father:
"We charged twelve or fourteen times, and once cut off a squadron of cuirassiers, every man of whom we killed on the spot except the two officers and one Marshal de Logis, whom I sent to the rear".
In May 1838 the regiment was deployed to Canada as part of the response to the Lower Canada Rebellion.
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