[Z] Cartwright (Lt Col William)

Cartwright (Lt. Col. William) Manuscript Standing Orders 10th Regiment P[rince of] W[ales] O[wn] Light Dragoons.
[Circa 1795-1797], 8vo, approximately 104 pages, 2-page index at end, contemporary reversed calf, morocco gilt lettering piece on upper cover, ownership inscription of “Col. Cartwright” to front endpaper.

The 10th Light Dragoons (Hussars) had George, Prince of Wales, as its regimental colonel, and consequently was one of the army’s most fashionable regiments. William Cartwright was the commanding officer from 1793 to 1802.
The introduction to this manuscript volume begins: “It having for a long time been evident [...] that the PWO Light Dragoons might derive considerable advantage from having a set of fix'd regulations [...] Lt Col Cartwright has judged it adviseable to throw together the following Orders...”
What follows is a set of regulations, divided into 33 sections, on subjects including the duties of various ranks, discipline, parade, and treatment of horses. It appears to be a working manuscript since there are scattered revisions and some later entries. Section headings include “Interior Economy of Troops”, “Guard and Black-Hole” (“A man confined to the Black-Hole is to receive no other sustenance but Bread & Water”), “Troop parades on Foot or Horseback”, “Baggage on a March”, and, covering equine matters, “Farriers”, “Hospital Stable &c”, and “Shoeing”. Towards the back of the volume are a small number of “Forms” – templates or examples for such paperwork as a “Certificate to be annexed to the Monthly Return” and the “Surgeons Morning Report”. The latter is followed on the verso by an example form for the “Veterinary Surgeons Morning Report”, handily demonstrating the roughly equal importance of men and horses to the military.