De Montmorency was born in 1778 and joined the 13th Light Dragoons
as a Lieutenant on March 8th 1795. A year later the regiment
sailed for the East Indies. The health of the men was initially
good while they were given wine, but when the supply ran out
yellow fever took it's toll. Of the twenty offifers who went out
only eight returned in 1798, De Montmorency being one of them.
The regiment was meant to help deal with the revolt of the
Maroons in Jamaica but through illness became to much
reduced in strength to be of any use.
He bought his rank of Captain in 1799 and found time to become
the member for Dingle in the Irish Parliament.
De Montmorency fought in the Penninsula War. The 13th sailed
to Portugal in March 1810. He missed the 13th's famous
charge at Campo Mayor and later led a reconnaisance patrol
across the River Guadiana. This unfortunately resulted in his
capture and he spent three years as a prisoner of the French,
first at Verdun and later at St. Germain en Laye.
Whilst he was a prisoner, he took the opportunity to study
the lancers in the French army and wrote a treatise on the
use of the lance and how it could be applied to british
cavalry. As a result, the 9th Light Dragoons was converted to
Lancers and three more light dragoon regiments soon followed.
De Montmorency finished his military career as a Lieutenant-
Colonel and died in Rome in October 1827.
