Battle of Waterloo

Please post your comments and suggestions for this article.

Comment by Roger Viggers on March 3rd, 2013 at 11:57 am

Re: Charge of the Heavy Cavalry. “The Household Brigade (so-called as formed from the Guards regiments of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, the Royal Horse Guards (the Blues), and the 1st ‘King’s’ Dragoon Guards)”

At the time of Waterloo, the 1st Life Guards and the 2nd Life Guards were the only regiments of the Household Cavalry and are not normally referred to as “Guards” regiments. That is usually only used for the Foot Guards.

The Royal Horse Guards (Blues) did not become Household Cavalry until 1820.

The 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards were a line regiment (now amalgamated with the Queen’s Bays into the Queen’s Dragoon Guards).

Best wishes,

Roger Viggers.

(formerly The Life Guards)

Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on April 3rd, 2013 at 12:00 pm

Thank you, Roger, for your feedback. Revisions are being made to the text.

While your comments are interesting, our sources indicated that the “Household Brigade” (not the Household Cavalry) led by Lord Somerset at Waterloo did consist of the 1st and 2nd Life Guard regiments as well as the Royal Horse Guards and the 1st ‘King’s’ Dragoon Guards. It appears that the Royal Horse Guards regiment was elevated to the status of Household Cavalry in 1813 (according to the British Army website http://www.army.mod.uk/). The 1st King’s Dragoon Guards today are not part of the Household Cavalry, but, as you stated, amalgamated with the Queen’s Bays into the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. Nevertheless, this regiment, the oldest line-cavalry regiment in the British Army, fought at Waterloo.

Thank you again for taking the time to comment and help make NWE a valuable information resource.

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