The 21st Light Dragoons was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

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

Marquis of Granby Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, and Lord Robert Manners-Sutton. 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 The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

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 Ays ...

(1794–1802) and General Sir Banastre Tarleton, Bt., (1802–?1818) In India another mounted 21st regiment was raised in 1862, by renaming the 3rd Bengal European Cavalry, which eventually became the

21st Lancers The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where W ...

, but they have no affiliation to the 21st Light Dragoons.

References

{{reflist 1760 establishments Regiments of the British Army