Lance used by an officer of the 19th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers), 1820

This lance's long reach allowed a soldier on horseback to stab an enemy cavalryman before his sword could reach the lancer. The British were so impressed by the deadly effectiveness of the French lancers at Waterloo (1815) that they immediately began to equip some British cavalrymen with lances, including the 19th Dragoons who were made lancers in 1816.