18th Light Dragoons

18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)
Badge of the 18th Royal Hussars
Active	1759–1821 1858–1922
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain (1759–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1922)
Branch	British Army
Type	Cavalry
Role	Line Cavalry
Size	1 Regiment
Nickname(s)	The Young 15th The Drogheda Light Horse
Motto(s)	Pro rege, pro lege, pro patria conamur (For King, for Law, for Country we strive)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Field Marshal Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda General Sir Edward Hodge

Field Marshal Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda

The 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first formed in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War before being amalgamated with the 13th Hussars to form the 13th/18th Royal Hussars in 1922.

The regiment was first raised by Charles, Marquess of Drogheda as the 19th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1759; it was also known as Drogheda's Light Horse. It was renumbered the 18th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1763, and briefly the 4th Regiment of Light Dragoons in 1766 before reverting to the 18th in 1769.Arthur Wesley was briefly a junior officer in the regiment between October 1792 and April 1793. The regiment undertook a one-year tour in Saint-Domingue between February 1796 and February 1797. It was in action at the Battle of Bergen in September 1799 during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.

In 1805 it took the title of the 18th (King's Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, named for George III, and redesignated as hussars in 1807, becoming the 18th (King's Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars). The regiment landed at Lisbon in July 1808 for service in the Peninsular War. It fought at the Battle of Sahagún in December 1808, at the Battle of Benavente later in December 1808 and at the Battle of Cacabelos in January 1809 before taking part in the Battle of Corunna and the subsequent return to England later that month.