First King's Dragoon Guards

Coloured aquatint by and after William Heath, published by J Watson, Vere Street, Bond Street, London, 15 August 1820. From an album of 18 aquatints entitled 'Military Costume of the British Cavalry, 1820'.

Dragoons were originally mounted soldiers primarily intended to fight on foot, but by the late 18th century most dragoon regiments had evolved into conventional heavy cavalry units. At the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the 1st (or The King's) Regiment of Dragoon Guards were part of Major-General Lord Somerset's Household Brigade and took part in the famous charge against Marshal D'Erlon's infantry corps before being subjected to a severe mauling by French lancers and cuirassiers.