Horse Grenadier Guards

The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to Horse Grenadiers were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Guards, they became independent for a century before being disbanded. However, the men of the troops formed the basis of the new troops of Life Guards.

The origins of the Horse Grenadiers lie in the grenadiers a cheval of the French l'armee. Louis XIV added a troop of 154 to the Maison Militaire du Roi in December 1676, making it perhaps the most impressive regiment in Europe. Charles II was eager to copy the exciting new innovation of grenade technology.Grenadiers, soldiers specially trained to carry and use hand grenades, first appeared in the British Army in 1677. Particularly tall and strong soldiers were usually picked to become grenadiers, because of the weight of extra equipment that they carried. Their use became general in the British Army in 1678, when a company from each infantry regiment was picked and trained as grenadiers. It was at this time that the horse grenadiers were first raised.

Their intended role was to reinforce the troops of Horse Guards, which were composed of gentlemen volunteers. The horse grenadiers, however, were recruited as in the rest of the army.John Evelyn, in his Diary entry for 5 December 1683, described the appearance of the horse grenadiers:

The King had now augmented his guards with a new sort of dragoons, who carried also granados, and were habited after the Polish manner, with long picked caps, very fierce and fantastical.

In 1680 the Horse Grenadiers had been briefly disbanded due to protest from anti-militarists in the backlash to the Popish Plots. But the King was insistent that they provided much needed protection, and they were promptly reinstated in 1683. The Exclusion Parliaments attempted to dismiss the standing army and separate the militia from the king's command. In May 1679 they passed another Disbanding Act, calling for disbanding of all troops and the prohibition of domestic quarter billeting without householder consent. The controversy caused the downfall of Tory minister Earl of Danby. From August the Horse Grenadiers were all quartered at the Royal Mews, Charing Cross, stabling for 222 horses.

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