HISTORY OF THE 30th REGIMENT OF DRAGONS ( By Lt Colonel (H) Henri Azema A nd the participation of General Declety) 1st The decree of the Vendemiaire Y

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1 F RENCH NAPOLEONIC WARS VETERANS ST HELENE MEDAL GROUP TO TH OFFICER WHO SERVED IN THE 30 D RAGOONS Created in 1857 by Napoleon III for issue to surviving soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte's G rande Armée (French, Belgiums, Dutch, Danish, Irish, etc..) who had served between 1792 a nd The document is named Lignieres, Raymond Lieutenant au 30em Dragons.. a nd numbered; Document in old frame, bit of age staining t o document but no damage T he medal obverse shows the bust of Emperor Napoleon I. The reverse inscribed Campagnes de 1792 a Medal with nice original ribbon which looks to have been wor n. T he 30e régiment de dragons served in many of the battles and campaigns of the Napoleonic W ars including ; 1805 Battle of De Caliero during the Italian Campaign 1805, Battle of W agram 1809, Battle of Moskova during the R ussian Campaign and retreat 1812, Germany 1813, including the battle of Leipzig and France 1814 including the Battle of Vauchamps. A t this time it is unknown when Lieutenant Raymond Lignieres served with the Regiment but since the Regiment was disbanded in May 1814 and given Lignieres was a lieutenant, he must h ave served for some time as a junior Lieutenant or even in the Ranks. S carce French cavalry Officers group

2 HISTORY OF THE 30th REGIMENT OF DRAGONS ( By Lt Colonel (H) Henri Azema A nd the participation of General Declety) 1st The decree of the Vendemiaire Year XII (September 24, 1803) prescribes a new r egistration of the cavalry. T hus the 4th Brumaire year XII, the 12th regiment of hussars s tationed in Bern, is transformed into 30th regiment of dragoons. After his creation, he moved to Moulins and then, in 1905, was directed to Italy where he was r ecruited with the 24th dragoons. G eneral Mermet commanded the division of dragoons composed of the 23rd and 29th dragons (general Frésia) and the 24th and 30th dragons ( General Lacour). A s early as October, the regiment joined Villafranca and then Baldoue. C AMPAIGN OF ITALY of 1805: T he Army of Italy entrusted to Massena took the offensive and took possession of Verona and t he two banks of the Adige on the night of 17th to 18th October On October 30, 1805, she fought the Austrian army which had taken position in the village of Caldiero in L ombar dy. D uring the battle, the Mermet division moved on to Bova by way of Santa Croce. S he has many responsibilities and is a brilliant contributor to the success of this commitment. O n 28 October, the dragoons of General Mermet crossed the Brenta river and removed the r ear positions of the Austrians. O n November 12, the cavalry arrived at the Tagliamento. On t he 21st she is at Laybach. The Lacourt brigade, with the 24th and 30th dragons, went to V ilach and advanced to Klagenfurth via the Tarvis pass. T he armistice stops the march of the A rmy of Italy. D ragons take their cantonment in the region of Udine.

3 T HE CONQUEST OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES: I n order to conquer The Kingdom of Naples the Emperor orders the creation of an army. The 30th dragoons are part of it but remain under the orders of General Mermet with the 24th a nd 29th dragons. T he expeditionary corps from Apulia marched on Lagonegro. On August 18, 1806, Mermet defeated the insurgents at Carolet. The capture of Armentla, the last refuge o f the Calabrians, enabled the country to be totally pacified on 6 February The 30th dragoons left the expeditionary force and the army of Naples at the end of October 1806 and t ook garrison at Alexandria. C AMPAIGN OF 1809: T he Austri ans took the offensive on April 10, On May 7, 1809, the 4- squadron regiment was part of Grouchy's cavalry division and fought victoriously during the passage of the Piave to the ford of Saint- N ichols. On May 9, the p ursuit of the Austrian army brought the 30th dragoons, after crossing the Tagliamento, near C anova. O n July 6, 1809, the same squadrons fought at Wagram. By their remarkable charges, the dragoons of the 30th participated actively in the success and brought to the regiment the i nscription "Wagram" to its standard. The battle being won, the pursuit brings the regiment to A usfsthal where it is confined. O n 10 July, the 7th and 30th dragons seized the Vesterrnitz bridge. The armistice of Inaim

4 p uts an end to the pursuit. A t the end of this g arrisoned at Lodi. C AMPAIGN OF 1812: campaign, the 30th Dragon Regiment was T he regiment is part of the Houssaye division with the 7th, 23rd and 28th dragons. They are t he only units of dragoons that will make the campaign of Russia. The 28th and 30th d r agoons form the Seron Brigade. He was in Chemmitz on April 5, Assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Corps of Grouchy, the regiment went on the Niemen fight at Vilna and Ebling and t hen, on July 20, marched on Smolensk where he participated in a memorable charge, T umbling the Russians. On September 7, 1812 he was engaged in the battle of the "Moskova", actively participating i n the charge against the reserves of the Russian infantry and sweeps all the enemy cavalry. T he 30th dragons came out very well from this battle but the combined actions of the Grand A rmy opened the road to Moscow. T he name "Moskava 1812" is inscribed on the banner. O n October 19, 1812, the French troops left Moscow. Then for the 30th dragons the fighting o f Viasma on November 3rd and then, "the cavalry no longer exist", General Grouchy takes c ommand of the dismounted cavalry. On January 6 the remains of the regiment arrived at K oenisberg. C AMPAIGN OF 1813: O n March 7, the 3rd Cavalry Division was formed under the command of Ge neral Doumere. W ith the 7th, 23rd, 28th dragons the 30th is part of the 2nd brigade. F rom 12 to 30 May he fought and stationed in the Dresden area. The armistice was signed on 4 June. O n this date the 30th dragoons are stationed in the circle of Sagan, then on the left b ank of the Bober in Sorau. R esumption of hostilities on August 24, the dragoons are at Gorlitz. They fought victoriously i n Dresden on 26 and 27 August. From 16 to 18 October 1813, two squadrons of the 30th d ragoons were engaged in the bat tle of Lerzig. They are detached from the heavy cavalry of

5 C ount Audemar. On 6 November the cavalry corps moved to Koblenz to watch the Rhine as f ar as Bingen. C AMPAIGN of 1814: O n the 11th of January, the dragoons quartered at Borny near Metz. T he retirement continues: Vitry-le-Brulé on the 29th, Montier-en- d er on January 30th. On the 10th of February, 1814, the 30th battle victoriously at Champaubert, and then the withdrawal to P aris. O n the 30th of March the regiment gave a last battle before the abdication of the Emperor by crushing three Russian battalions in the vines of one of the hillocks of Chaumont d uring a charge led by Colonel Ordener. On May 12, 1814, a royal ordinance reorganized the French cavalry, the 30th dragoons no l onger appear i n the order of battle.