Royal Cardigan Militia: Difference between revisions

Military unit

The Cardiganshire Militia, later the Royal Cardigan Rifles, was an auxiliary^[a] regiment reorganised from earlier precursor units in the Welsh county of Cardiganshire (modern Ceredigion) during the 18th century. Primarily intended for home defence, it saw active service at the Battle of Fishguard in 1797 and served in Britain and Ireland through all Britain’s major wars. It was converted into garrison artillery in 1877 and continued until it was disbanded in 1909.

Cardigan Trained Bands[edit]

The universal obligation to military service in the Shire levy was long established in England and was extended to Wales.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} King Henry VIII called a ‘Great Muster’ in 1539, which showed 2858 men available for service in the County of Cardiganshire, of whom 609 had ‘harness’ (armour), and 184 horsemen.^[5][6]

The legal basis of the militia was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters (4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and the maintenance of horses and armour (4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 2). The county militia was now under the Lord Lieutenant, assisted by the Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace (JPs). The entry into force of these Acts in 1558 is seen as the starting date for the organised Militia of England and Wales.^{[7][8][9][10]} Although the militia obligation was universal, it was clearly impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, so after 1572 the practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained Bands, who were mustered for regular training.^{[4][11][12][13]}

In the 16th century little distinction was made between the militia and the troops levied by the counties for overseas expeditions. However, the counties usually conscripted the unemployed and criminals rather than send the trained bandsmen. Between 1585 and 1602 Cardiganshire supplied 500 men for service in Ireland and 30 for the Netherlands. The men were given three days’ ‘conduct money’ to get to Chester or Bristol, the main ports of embarkation for Ireland. Conduct money was recovered from the government, but replacing the weapons issued to the levies from the militia armouries was a heavy cost on the counties.^[14]

With the passing of the threat of invasion, the trained bands declined in the early 17th century. Later, King Charles I attempted to reform them into a national force or ‘Perfect Militia’ answering to the king rather than local control.^[15][16] The Cardigan Trained Bands of 1638 consisted of 300 men, half armed with muskets and half ‘Corslets‘ (body armour, signifying pikemen). They also mustered 35 horse. Part of this force may have been organised as the North Cardigan Trained Band. ^[17] Cardiganshire was ordered to send 150 men overland to Newcastle upon Tyne for the Second Bishops’ War of 1640. However, substitution was rife and many of those sent on this unpopular service would have been untrained replacements.^[18]

Civil Wars[edit]

Control of the militia was one of the areas of dispute between Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War. When open war broke out between the King and Parliament, neither side made much use of the trained bands beyond securing the county armouries for their own full-time troops. Most of Wales was under Royalist control for much of the war, and was a recruiting ground for the King’s armies.^[5][19][20] In 1644 Colonel John Jones of Nanteos raised a regiment in Cardiganshire for Charles I.^[21][22]

Once Parliament had established full control in 1648 it passed new Militia Acts that replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners appointed by Parliament or the Council of State. At the same time the term ‘Trained Band’ began to disappear in most counties. Under the Commonwealth and Protectorate the militia received pay when called out, and operated alongside the New Model Army to control the country.^[23] By 1651 the militias of the South Welsh counties appear to have been combined, with the ‘South Wales Militia’ being ordered to rendezvous at Gloucester to hold the city during the Worcester campaign.^{[17] [24]}

Cardiganshire Militia[edit]

After the Restoration of the Monarchy, the Militia was re-established by the Militia Act 1661 under the control of the king’s lords lieutenant, the men to be selected by ballot. This was popularly seen as the ‘Constitutional Force’ to counterbalance a ‘Standing Army’ tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell’s military dictatorship.^{[5][25][26][27]}

The militia forces in the Welsh counties were small, and were grouped together under the direction of the Lord President of the Council of Wales.^[28] As Lord President, the Duke of Beaufort carried out a tour of inspection of the Welsh militia in 1684, when the Cardiganshire^[b] Militia consisted of one troop of horse and three companies of foot.^[5][21] The 1697 militia returns showed the Cardigan Regiment as consisting of 142 foot and 60 horse under Col Viscount Lisburne.^[21][32][33]

Generally the militia declined in the long peace…