Hodson's Horse is a cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 which originated as part of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

. It was raised by Brevet

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

 Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson

William Stephen Raikes Hodson

Brevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson was a British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . He was known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse."His most notable action was to apprehend the Emperor of India...

 during the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

, and exists today as the 4th Horse Regiment in the Indian Army. The first risala or troop was raised by Risaldar-Major Man Singh.

The force was raised as an irregular cavalry regiment to assist with putting down the rebellion, and continued as part of the British Indian Army. The official designation has changed several times since the regiment's inception in 1857. In 1859, the regiment was split up into two regiments which survived broadly as the 9th Bengal Lancers and 10th Bengal Lancers. In 1878, the 10th Bengal Lancers came to be known as the "Duke of Cambridge's own." In 1921, the British decided to cut down on the number of cavalry regiments, and re-amalgamated the two as the 10th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers (Hodson's Horse).
The regiment fought at the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Cambrai in the First World War. It still recalls the latter as the regiment's most splendid battle, and celebrates Cambrai Day every year.

The regiment is now an armoured regiment of the post-independence Indian Army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

.

Name changes

• 1857 Hodson’s Horse
• 1858 2nd Regiment of Hodson’s Horse
• 1861 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
• 1864 10th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers)
• 1874 10th Regiment of Bengal Lancers
• 1878 10th Bengal (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Lancers
• 1901 10th (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Bengal Lancers (Hodson’s Horse)
• 1903 10th Duke of Cambridge’s Own Lancers (Hodson’s Horse)

Notable officers

• Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson
  William Stephen Raikes Hodson
  Brevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson was a British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . He was known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse."His most notable action was to apprehend the Emperor of India...
  
   , Commanding officer on formation.
• Colonel Osmond Barnes
  Osmond Barnes
  Colonel Osmond Barnes CB was a British soldier of the Indian Army and Chief Herald of India.-Early life:The son of John Barnes, of Portland Place, London, and Chorleywood House, Hertfordshire, Barnes was born in Bryanston Square, London, on 23 December 1834, and educated at Rugby School.His...
  
  , commanded 10th Bengal (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Lancers and was Chief Herald
  Herald
  A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
  
   of India
• General Sir Henry Dermott Daly
  
• Risaldar Major Man Singh, raised the first troop or risala

Photographic image, 1858

This is a photograph about whose subjects there is disagreement in reputable academic circles. (1) www.britishempire.co.uk states the Europeans to be: Lt. Clifford Henry Mecham (standing); Major Henry Dermot Daly (seated); The Sikh officer standing at the far left with long beard is given as Man Sing; the Sikh seated on floor as Jai Singh. (2) National Army Museum, London, names the European officers as: Lt. Clifford Henry Mecham (standing); Asst. Surgeon Thomas Anderson (seated). (3) The Bridgman Art Library gives the European officer seated as Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson; officer standing: Lt. McDowell and seated on the ground is Sikh officer Risalder major Man Singh. The attribution to Hodson is surely incorrect, unfortunately, as there is apparently otherwise only one extant image of this famous officer, the engraving printed as frontispiece to his biography "Rider on a Grey Horse", by B.J. Cork, 1958. There appears to be no disagreement as to the title of the photograph, or its year.

External links

Follow this link to view the uniforms of the late 19th Century

• http://www.members.tripod.com/~Glosters/IAcavalry1.htm