2nd Troop of Horse Guards
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Origin and History
In 1660, at the restoration of King Charles II, the Duke of York raised a troop of Life Guards in the Netherlands and placed it under the command of Captain Charles Berkeley. The troop was placed in garrison at Dunkerque. In 1661, immediately after the suppression of the rebellion of the “millenarians”, the king commanded the Duke of York’s troop of Life Guards to be withdrawn from Dunkerque and to occupy quarters in London. The king then resolved to disband the whole of the army of the commonwealth, and to augment the new corps of Life Guards to 500 men. The corps was divided into three troops:
- 1st Troop “His Majesty’s Own” of 200 soldiers
- 2nd Troop “The Duke of York’s” of 150 soldiers
- 3rd Troop “The Duke of Albemarle’s” (the present troop) of 150 soldiers
Furthermore, on January 18, 1661, a fourth troop, “His Majesty’s Scots troop of Guards”, was raised at Edinburgh in Scotland. On April 22, the three troops in London were on duty for the coronation. In 1663, a second troops of Scots Life Guards. In 1665, when the king declared war against the Dutch Republic, a number of officers and privates of the Life Guards were permitted to serve as volunteers. In May of the same year, the Life Guards accompanied the king when he took refuge in the country during the plague. In 1666, during the great fire of London, the corps was used to preserve order, In September 1666, a decree confirmed the precedence of the three English troops to all other horse. In 1666, the two troops of Scots Guards took part in the suppression of a rebellion in Scotland. On June 13, 1667, the second and third troops of Life Guards were augmented to 200 soldiers. In 1669, the second troop of Scots Guards was disbanded. On September 16, 1668, the Duke of Monmouth received command of the three troops of English Life Guards. On September 26, each of these three troops was reduced by 100 soldiers. In 1669, the second troop of Scots Guards was disbanded.
On January 3, 1670, after the death of the Duke of Albemarle, the third troops of Life Guards was designated as “The Queen’s” and was numbered second troop while the former second troop “The Duke of York’s” was renumbered third. Thus the Life Guards now consisted of:
- 1st Troop “His Majesty’s Own” (the present troop) of 150 soldiers
- 2nd Troop “The Queen’s” of 100 soldiers
- 3rd Troop “The Duke of York’s” of 100 soldiers
In June 1670, the English troop of Life Guards received an additional 200 men (100 men for the first, 50 men each for the second and third).
In 1672, at the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War (1672-78), a detachment of 150 privates of the Life Guards (50 men from each of the English troops) under the command of Lord Duras formed part of the English contingent which joined the French army. After the departure of the detachment, each troops was completed to its former number. The detachment took part in the capture of Orsoy, Rheinberg, Emmerich, Doesburg and Zutphen. In 1673, it participated in the siege and capture of Maastricht. In 1674, it returned to England. The Life Guards then consisted of:
- 36 officers
- 3 kettle-drummers
- 12 trumpeters
- 600 privates
Furthermore, each troop of Life Guards received 60 additional soldiers.
In 1678, a division of mounted grenadiers was added to each of the three troops of Life Guards. A horse grenadier received only half the pay of a Life Guard. Their uniform and fighting methods were those of dragoons with the addition of the grenade. Each division consisted of:
- 1 captain
- 2 lieutenants
- 3 sergeants
- 3 corporals
- 2 drummers
- 2 hautboys
- 80 privates
In 1679, the three divisions of horse grenadiers were sent to Scotland to quench a rebellion. The king also ordered to raise three additional divisions of horse grenadiers. In June Monmouth assembled an army, including the troop of Scots Life Guards at Blackburn. The rebellion being suppressed before the horse grenadiers passed the border, they were recalled to London and the order to raise three additional divisions countermanded. In November, the Duke of Monmouth was removed from the command of the Life Guards and was succeeded by Christopher Duke of Albemarle.
On January 1, 1680, the three divisions of horse grenadiers were disbanded and the Scots Troop of Life Guards was reduced to 99 soldiers.
In 1684, the king augmented the strength of his Life Guards and re-established the three divisions of horse grenadiers (each of 64 soldiers). In 1685, a detachment of the corps took part in the suppression of Monmouth Rebellion, fighting in the Battle of Sedgemoor. In 1686, a fourth English troop of Life Guards was raised. By July 1, the corps totalled 58 officers and 1,052 NCOs and privates.
In 1688, fearing a landing of the Prince of Orange, the king increased the size of his Life Guards and placed the Scots Life Guards on the English establishment. The five troops of Life Guards then totalled 1,286 men including officers. In November, when the Prince of Orange landed in England, part of the fourth troop of Life Guards immediately joined him. The army was assembled at Salisbury but the large number of defections induced the king to retire to London, escorted by his Life Guards. When the king fled to France, the Life Guards declared for the Prince of Orange. On December 17, the Life Guards marched from London: the first troop proceeded to Maidstone; the second, to Chelmsford; the third, to St. Alban's, the fourth, to Epsom and Ewell; and the Scots troop, to Bicester.
On April 23, 1689, the Life Guards attended the coronation of King William III. William disbanded the fourth troop of Life Guards and replaced it by his own troop of Dutch Guards, under the command of Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk which was numbered fourth. The Dutch troop was mounted on grey horses and the English troops on black horses.
In 1689, at the outbreak of the Nine Years' War (1688-97), the second troop of Life Guards formed part of the British contingent sent to Flanders where it took part in the Battle of Walcourt. In 1690, this troop was recalled to England to guard the Queen with the Scots Guards.
In 1694, during the Nine Years' War (1688-97), the second troops of Life Guards rejoined the other troops which were already operating in Flanders. In 1695, the second troop, along with the third, guarded William III during the siege and capture of Namur. In 1697, the entire corps of Life Guards returned to England.
During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13), the Life Guards did not served abroad, nor were they employed on any of the expedition during the war.
On October 20, 1715, the troop attended to the coronation of King George I.
On October 11, 1727, the troop attended to the coronation of King George II.
In 1742, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), the third and fourth troops of Life Guards were sent abroad for service. These troops were at the battles of Dettingen (June 27, 1743) and Fontenoy (May 1,1 1745). At the end of 1745, they were recalled to Great Britain at the outbreak of the Jacobite Rising. On December 25, 1746, the third and fourth troops of Life Guards were disbanded.
During the Seven Years' War, the troop was under the command of:
- from 1742 to 1776: Charles, Earl Cadogan
Service during the War
As of May 30, 1759, the troop was stationed in England. It remained in Great Britain throughout the war.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear | black tricorne laced gold with a black cockade | ||||||||||||
| Neck stock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | red with blue lining and with 8 yellow buttons and 8 narrow gold buttonholes
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| Waistcoat | buff laced in gold | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | buff leather | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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| Horse Furniture |
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Troopers were armed with a sword, a pair of pistols and a musket (gold musket sling with two white - blue in 1758 - stripes). The Life Guards rode black horses.
Officers
As per the regulation of 1751, the officers wore the same uniform with the following exceptions:
- a narrow gold lace at the bindings and buttonholes
- gold buttons
- a crimson silk sash worn over the left shoulder
- crimson and gold sword knot
- housings and holster caps laced gold
NCOs
no information available yet
Musicians
According to a document entitled “The Establishment of H.M. Guards, Garrisons, and Land Forces,” dated December 25, 1735, a kettle-drummer was allowed to this troop.
The kettle-drummer and trumpeters rode grey horses. They wore red uniforms with blue facings, the whole heavily laced in gold. Their swords had a broken blade because they were not considered as combatant.
Standards
Standard and guidon were made of damask.
2nd troop Standard (as per the 1751 Warrant): white field (changed to blue in 1758), fringed gold; centre device consisting of a rose and thistle on the same stalk surmounted by a large crown (yellow with red cushions, white pearls and ermine headband) with the letters G and R in gold on either side; a golden scroll carrying the motto "Dieu et mon droit" in black below the centre device; 3 smaller crowns below the scroll (identical to the larger crown depicted above).
2nd troop Guidon (as per the 1751 Warrant and the Windsor Colour Book): white field (changed to blue in 1758), fringed gold; centre device consisting of a rose and thistle on the same stalk surmounted by a large crown (yellow with red cushions, white pearls and ermine headband) with the letters G and R in gold on either side; a golden scroll carrying the motto "Dieu et mon droit" in black below the centre device; 3 smaller crowns below the scroll (identical to the larger crown depicted above).
References
This article incorporates texts of the following source:
- Cannon, Richard: Historical Record of the Life Guards, London: Longman, Orme, and Co, 1840
Other sources
Franklin, Carl: British Army Uniforms from 1751 to 1783, Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, pp. 43-44
Funcken, Liliane and Fred, Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle
Lawson, Cecil C. P., A History of the Uniforms of the British Army - from the Beginnings to 1760, vol. II
Mills, T. F.: Land Forces of Britain the Empire and Commonwealth through the Way Back Machine
- 2nd Troop of Horse Guards
