The 21st Light Dragoons was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. It was raised on 5 April 1760, as the 21st Light Dragoons (Royal Foresters) by

John Manners, Marquess of Granby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Manners, Marquess of Granby (2 January 1721 – 18 October 1770) was a British Army officer and politician. The eldest son of John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland, as he did not outlive ...

, and

Lord Robert Manners-Sutton Lord Robert Manners-Sutton (born Robert Manners; 21 February 1722 – 19 November 1762) was a British Army officer, courtier and politician. He was the second son of John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland by his wife the Hon. Bridget Sutton, and you ...

. This first regiment was however disbanded at Nottingham on 3 March 1763. It was raised again in 1779 by Major-General John Douglas and disbanded in Canterbury in 1783. The regiment was raised a third time in 1794 in the north of England when it was also known as the Yorkshire Light Dragoons, served in Ireland during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and was disbanded in Chatham in 1819. Regimental colonels were Colonel

Thomas Richard Beaumont Colonel Thomas Richard Beaumont (29 April 1758 – 31 July 1829) of Bretton Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire, was a British Tory politician and soldier. Origins He was the son of Thomas Beaumont of The Oaks in Darton, Yorkshire, by his wife Anne Ay ...

(1794–1802) and General Sir

Banastre Tarleton General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British military officer and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He lat ...

, Bt., (1802–?1818) Between 1806 and 1816 it was stationed in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. While stationed here it sent men to the 1807 Battle of Montevideo in South America, as well as sending men to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

between 1808 and 1809. In 1816 it sent men to the

Capture of Tristan de Cunha Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

, and to the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

. However, its presence, and the presence of the other regiments deployed there at the same time, has received little scholarly attention. In 1857, the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

raised the 3rd Bengal European Light Cavalry which, after the passage of the

Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 ( 21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on August 2 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling Briti ...

and the liquidation of the East India Company, briefly became the 21st Regiment of (Light) Dragoons; it was renamed the 21st Hussars in 1863. It became a lancer regiment in 1897, as the 21st Lancers, and in 1899 became the 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers, which adjusted to the 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) in 1921.

References

{{reflist 1760 establishments Cavalry regiments of the British Army