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Captain James Gubbins mentions this incident in his journal which he kept throughout his time in the Peninsula War, from 12th May 1811 to 14th May 1812. It occured at Arroyo Molinos, a village 40 miles northeast of Badajoz on 28th October 1811: " The battle began by the gun from the enemy; hard rain and a fog. The cavalry formed in a column of half squadrons on the right of the village to cut off the enemy's retreat, and the 92nd Regiment drove them through it at the point of the bayonet. The two squadrons of the Germans (Kings German Legion) charged the enemy, and afterwards, a squadron of the 9th, who cut them up. General Hill came up and took our centre squadron with him to charge the enemy's guns. The General, in high spirits, showed us the direction of the French artillery. Charged obliquely; the right of the squadron first up with them; took the guns (2 guns and a howitzer, 6-pounders). General Howard's brigade cheered us in passing. Rode forward and pursued the fugitives. Sullivan only up with me; took four prisoners and the horse and baggage of the French Colonel of the 4th Regiment; sent them to the rear."
"After nearly six years service in the Peninsula and France, we
returned to England, in 1814, and were almost immediately marched
for Plymouth, and embarked for Ireland, from whence we again took
shipping the following May for Ostend; in due time we arrived at
our cantonments, under the orders of the Duke of Wellington. The
action which shortly after took place, on the plain before Mont
St. Jean, must ever be remembered by those present, from the
severity of the conflict; and on those not present, its result
must fix an indelible stamp. In an affair so warmly contested, it
must occur that cavalry is opposed to almost every description of
forces; this general observation was never more completely
illustrated than on the 18th of June, 1815. On that memorable day,
our gallant regiment was alternately engaged with every arm of the
enemy's service; and out of the twelve principal charges made by
this regiment on that day, but one was incomplete, and even in
this instance, (though much outnumbered,) our retreat was effected
without loss. Our momentary check was, however, shortly after
avenged by the regiment to its complete satisfaction, and, I
trust, has fixed its reputation on the highest pinnacle; I can
only say that we each strained every nerve to appall our enemy.
As
I know you will expect all I can tell you, I will go a little more
into particulars, by informing you that our position, during the
action, was so varied, that I hardly know how to define the exact
one: the principal charges, however, took place in the front of
the centre of the British line. Our brigade consisted of the 15th
and 7th Hussars, and 13th, under Major-General Sir Colquhoun
Grant. Our loss, as may be expected, was considerable. The only
officer that escaped, either personally or by horse, was Capt.
Bowers; from this you can give a clear estimate of the sharp work
we had. Our opponents were infantry and cuirassiers, which made
our exposure more extreme. Our last and most brilliant charge, was
at the moment that Lord Hill, perceiving the movement of the
Prussian army, and finding the French Imperial Guard on the point
of forcing a part of the British position, cried out, - 'Drive
them back, 13th!' such an order from such a man, could not be
misconstrued, and it was punctually obeyed. The 16th was not
calculated for cavalry operations, nor even the 17th, when we
covered the retreat of the army to its position."
Letter from Captain John Booth
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After the Crimean War the regiment stayed in Ireland, moving around from one cavalry barracks to another.. In 1859 they went to Scotland and stayed at Edinburgh, Piershill and Hamilton. In 1861 they were ordered to Manchester and in 1862 they marched to Aldershot in Surrey. Around this time they were titled 13th Hussars instead of 13th Light Dragoons.
They were stationed in Hounslow in 1864 and in 1865 they were divided in three and went to Ipswich in Suffolk, Northampton and Norwich. Then they seem to be all over the country; Birmingham, Newcastle and York.
In 1866 they were ordered to embark for Canada and sailed there on two ships, the Tarifa ( a screw steamer), the Europa (a paddle-wheel steamer) and the Damascus. They were sent to defend the country from a Fenian uprising. The regiment marched out of York on the 11th Sept 1866 and went to Liverpool. It was a bad voyage, lasting a week, with gales blowing most of the way.
Most of the regiment went to Montreal but some went to Toronto and stayed at the New Fort and the buildings of the Crystal Palace. In the summer of 1867 there was a draft of 101 men sent over from England with one cornet and one sergeant. The first part of the regiment embarked for the return to England on 28th and 30th June 1869. They arrived in Liverpool on the 13th July.
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