The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
The regiment's history began in 1678, when three independent troops of Scots Dragoons were raised. In 1681, these troops were regimented to form The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, numbered the 4th Dragoons in 1694. They were already mounted on grey horses by this stage and were already being referred to as the Grey Dragoons.
Following the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, they were renamed The Royal North British Dragoons (North Britain then being the envisaged common name for Scotland), but were already being referred to as the Scots Greys. In 1713, they were renumbered the 2nd Dragoons as part of a deal between the commands of the English Army and the Scottish Army when the two were in the process of being unified into the British Army.[2] They were also sometimes referred to, during the first Jacobite uprising, as Portmore's Dragoons.[3] In 1877, their nickname was finally made official when they became the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), which was inverted in 1921 to The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons). They kept this title until 2 July 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers, forming the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
The Royal Scots Greys began life as three troops of dragoons; this meant that while mounted as cavalry, their armament was closer to that used by infantry units. Troopers were equipped with matchlock muskets, sergeants and corporals with halberds and pistols; only the officers carried swords, though Lieutenants were armed with a partisan.[4] The original uniform called for the troopers to wear grey coats, but there is no record of any requirement that the horses be a particular colour.[5]
On 21 May 1678, two troops were raised by Captains John Strachan and John Inglis with a third under Captain Viscount Kingstoun added on 23 September. These were the first mounted units raised for the Crown in Scotland and were used by John Graham, Viscount Dundee to uphold the Episcopalian order by suppressing prohibited Presbyterian assemblies or Conventicles in South-West Scotland.[6] Some of the persecuted Presbyterian civilians took up arms to defend their Conventicles from the dragoons' attacks in June 1679, and this resulted in the Bothwell Bridge.[7]
In 1681, an additional three troops were raised and added to the existing three to create what became the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons. In this period, regiments were considered the personal property of their colonel and changed names when transferred. At senior levels in particular, ownership and command were separate functions; 'Colonel' usually indicated ownership, with operational command generally exercised by a lieutenant colonel.[8]
Charles II's commander in Scotland, Lieutenant-General Thomas Dalziel, 1599-1685 was appointed Colonel with Charles Murray, Lord Dunmore as Lt-Colonel.[9] Shortly after James II & VII became King in February 1685, a Scottish revolt known as Argyll's Rising broke out in June which was easily crushed: the regiment saw action against Argyll's army at Stonedyke near Dumbarton.[10] Dunmore became Colonel of the Regiment himself in 1685. The Lt-Colonel at this time was William Livingston, Viscount Kilsyth.[11]
Scotland grew increasingly restive in the period before the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and the regiment was employed in an ultimately vain attempt to stem the tide of rebellion. It arrived in London shortly before William of Orange landed but saw no fighting and in December, Dunmore was replaced as Colonel by Sir Thomas Livingstone, a Scot who had served William for many years and was related to Kilsyth.[12] Now officially known as Livingstone's Regiment of Dragoons, after loyally serving the Stuarts' Episcopalian Scottish government they were now part of the force used by Hugh Mackay to support William's new Presbyterian Scottish government and oppose erstwhile comrades who remained loyal to the Stuarts and rebelled against William and his government in the first Scottish Jacobite Rising of 1689-1692. As cavalry, their role was to secure the roads between Inverness and Stirling and so were not present at the Jacobite victory of Killiecrankie in July 1689. In 1692, William III confirmed the regiment's designation as 'Royal' and they were ranked as the 4th Dragoons.[13]
When inspected by William III in 1693, it was noted the regiment was mounted on grey horses. One suggestion is these were inherited from the Dutch Horse Guards, who had returned to the Netherlands but this has not been confirmed.[14] The original grey coats were replaced with red, or scarlet, coats with blue facings, proclaiming the Scots Greys "Royal" status.[14]
Transferred to the Netherlands in 1694 during the Nine Years' War, they were used for reconnaissance duties, but did not see any significant actions during their three years on the continent.[14] Following the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, they were based in Scotland; after the War of the Spanish Succession began, they returned to Flanders in 1702 as part of Marlborough's army. They played an active role in the campaigns of 1702 and 1703, including the capture of a large shipment of gold in 1703.[15]
During Marlborough's march to the Danube in 1704, the Scots Greys served as part of Ross's Dragoon Brigade.[16] Used as dismounted infantry, they took part in the Battle of Schellenberg, then the Battle of Blenheim on 2 July 1704; despite being heavily engaged, they did not have a single fatality, though many were wounded.[15]
At the Battle of Elixheim in 1705, the Scots Greys participated in the massed cavalry charge which broke through the French lines.[17] At Ramillies in May 1706, as part of Lord Hays' brigade of dragoons, the regiment captured the colours of the elite Régiment du Roi.[18]
Renamed the Royal North British Dragoons, their next significant action was the Battle of Oudenarde.[18] At the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709, they captured the standard of the French Household Cavalry; This was their last significant action prior to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.[18]
Following the 1707 Acts of Union, the English and Scottish military establishments were merged, causing debates over regimental precedence; this was connected to the price of commissions, seniority and pay. The Scots Greys were to be designated the first dragoon regiment and the Royal Scots the first regiment of infantry but having both Scots regiments first led to protests. A compromise was reached, whereby the English dragoon regiment was designated as the first, and the Scots Greys became the 2nd Royal North British Dragoons. [2] This was the origin of the motto Second to None.[19]
Once back in Britain, the Scots Greys returned to Scotland where they helped police the countryside. In 1715, the Earl Mar declared for the "Old Pretender", James Stuart, sparking the Jacobite rising. Remaining loyal to the Anglo-German king, the Scots Greys were active in putting down the uprising. This included taking part at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715. There the Scots Greys, under the Duke of Argyll, were stationed on the right of the Government forces.[20][21] Also known at that time as Portmore's Dragoons, the Scots Greys initially attacked the left flank of the Jacobite army. Advancing around a bog, which the highlanders had thought would protect their flank, the Scots Greys surprised the highlanders, making repeated charges into disordered ranks of the Jacobite infantry.[3] The Scots Greys continue to pursue the shattered left wing of the Jacobite force as it fled for nearly two miles until it was blocked by the river Allan. Unable to fall back, disorganised, they were easy targets for the Scots Greys' dragoons. It is reported that the Duke of Argyll was said to cry out to "Spare the poor blue bonnets!". However, little quarter was given by Scots Greys to any group trying to rally that day.[3] The rest of the royal forces were not as successful. The Jacobites managed to rout the left wing of the Royal army, the day ending in a tactical standoff.[2]
Although the fighting was indecisive, the battle had halted the Jacobites' momentum. For the next four years, the Scots Greys continued to suppress Jacobite supporters in Scotland.[21] With the final end of the First Jacobite rising in 1719, the Scots Greys went back to their traditional role: policing Scotland. The next 23 years passed relatively uneventfully for the regiment.[2]
During the 1740 to 1748 War of the Austrian Succession, 'British' forces served on behalf of Hanover until 1744. The Scots Greys transferred to Flanders in 1742 and garrisoned the area around Ghent.[2] The regiment fought at Dettingen in June 1743, now chiefly remembered as the last time a British monarch commanded troops in battle.[22] An attempt by the Allies to relieve Tournai led to the May 1745 Battle of Fontenoy; this featured a series of bloody frontal assaults by the infantry and the cavalry played little part, with the exception of covering the retreat.[23]
When the 1745 Rising began in July many British units were recalled to Scotland but the regiment remained in Flanders, fighting at the Battle of Rocoux on 11 October 1746, a French tactical victory. After Culloden, Cumberland and other British units returned to the Low Countries, in preparation for the 1747 campaign.[24]
The French won another tactical victory at Lauffeld on 2 July, where the Scots Greys took part in Ligonier's charge, one of the best known cavalry actions in British military history. This enabled the rest of the army to withdraw but Ligonier was taken prisoner and the Scots Greys lost nearly 40% of their strength.[25] By the time it was back to full strength, the 1748 Peace of Aix-la-Chappelle ended the war and the Scots Greys returned to Britain.[26]
The Scots Greys passed the seven years between the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and the start of the Seven Years' War moving from station to station within Great Britain. The years passed relatively uneventfully for the regiment. The major development during this period was the addition of a light company to the Scots Greys in 1755.[27]
However, soon after the light company was raised, with Britain entering into the Seven Years' War, it was detached from the Scots Greys and combined with the light companies of other cavalry regiments to form a temporary, separate light battalion. This light battalion would be employed raiding the French coast.[26] One of the most notable raids was the attack on St. Malo from the 5 to 7 June 1758. The raid resulted in the destruction of the shipping at St. Malo.[28]
The balance of the regiment was transferred to Germany, where it joined the army commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Assigned to the cavalry under the command of Lord George Sackville, the Scots Greys arrived in Germany in 1758.[28] The following year, the Scots Greys took part in the Battle of Bergen on 13 April 1759. There, the forces of Britain, Hanover, Brunswick, and Hesse-Kassel were defeated, leaving the cavalry, including the Scots Greys, to cover the retreat. Because of the rear-guard action by the British cavalry, the army was able to survive to fight again later that year near Minden.[26]
Reeling after the defeat at Bergen, the British army and its allies reformed and engaged in a series of manoeuvres with the French armies. Eventually, the two forces collided on 1 August 1759 at the Battle of Minden.[29] The Scots Greys, still part of Sackville's command, were held back due to Sackville's delay. Eventually, while Sackville consulted with his superiors, his deputy, on his own initiative, finally ordered the Scots Greys and the rest of the cavalry forward. However, when Sackville returned, he countermanded the order and the cavalry held its place.[30] Once the battle appeared won, with the French retreating, the Scots Greys and the rest of the cavalry pressed the pursuit of the retreating French army.[31]
With Sackville sacked as commander of the British cavalry on the continent and court-martialed for his actions at Minden, the Scots Greys and the rest of the British cavalry came under the command of Marquess of Granby.[32] The following year, 1760, saw the British cavalry more aggressively led at the Battle of Warburg. There, on 31 July 1760, the Scots Greys participated in Granby's charge, which broke the French left flank and then defeated the counter-charge of the French cavalry.[31] Three weeks later, the Scots Greys, along with the Inniskilling Dragoons, met with the rearguard of the French forces near the town of Zierenberg. There the dragoons, supported by some British grenadiers, encountered a French cavalry force covering the retreat. Two squadrons of the Scots Greys charged four squadrons of French cavalry.[31] The Scots Greys and Inniskillings routed the French, sending them in a disorderly retreat into the town of Zierenberg. Soon after, infantry was brought up to storm the town; the town and the survivors of the Scots Greys' attack were captured.[33]
The Scots Greys began the following year by conducting patrols and skirmishing with French troops. Eventually, the Scots Greys were with the main army under Brunswick at the Battle of Villinghausen on 15–16 July 1761.[31]
The start of 1762 found the Scots Greys again raiding and clashing with French cavalry along the Hanoverian frontier. With the war approaching the end, the French decided to make one last concerted effort to overrun Hanover. At the same time, Brunswick, still commanding the Anglo-Hanoverian-Brunswick-Hessian forces in western Germany, wanted to take the initiative once the campaign season arrived. The two forces met at the castle of Wilhelmsthal near Calden.[34] Still attached to Granby's command, the Scots Greys were present for the Battle of Wilhelmsthal, on 24 July 1762. As the French centre gave way, the Scots Greys were ordered to exploit the victory. The Scots Greys drove the French forces through the village of Wilhelmsthal, capturing many prisoners and part of the baggage train.[31]
The Battle of Wilhemlstahl was to be the Scots Greys' last major engagement of the war. The following year, the French and British concluded the Treaty of Paris ending the hostilities, for the moment, between the two. With the end of the fighting, the Scots Greys returned home to Great Britain via the low countries.[35]
Between 1764 and 1815, the Scots Greys remained on home service. Unlike many of the other regiments of British cavalry, they did not see any combat during the American Revolutionary War. Also, except for the Flanders Campaign of 1793–94, they saw no other active service during the French Revolutionary or Napoleonic Wars until the Waterloo Campaign of 1815. For most of the 20 years following the Seven Years' War the Scots Greys remained in Scotland and England.[36]
During this time, however, change was happening to the Scots Greys. Through a series of changes in uniform and equipment, the regiment began to be identified more as cavalry, rather than as mounted infantry. Drummers, an instrument of the infantry, were replaced with trumpeters, as was standard for cavalry regiments, in 1766.[37] Two years later, the Scot Greys traded in their mitre-style grenadier cap for the tall bearskin hat that would remain a part of the regiment's uniform until its amalgamation in 1971.[38] During this period, the Scots Greys also underwent an organizational change. Although deemed to be a heavy dragoon unit, each troop of the regiment was reorganised to include a detachment of light dragoons. These light dragoons were mounted on l