Editing Dragoon (section)

== Early history and role ==
Early dragoons were not organized in [[squadron (cavalry)|squadrons]] or [[troop]]s as were cavalry, but in [[company (military unit)|companies]] like the infantry. Their [[commissioned officer|commissioned]] and [[non-commissioned officer]]s bore infantry ranks, while they used drummers, not buglers, to communicate orders on the battlefield. The flexibility of mounted infantry made dragoons a useful arm, especially when employed for what would now be termed "[[internal security]]" against smugglers or civil unrest, and on [[line of communication]] security duties.

In Britain, companies of dragoons were first raised during the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] and prior to 1645 either served as independent troops or were attached to cavalry units. When the [[New Model Army]] was first approved by [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] in January 1645, it included ten regiments of cavalry, each with a company of dragoons attached. At the urging of Sir [[Thomas Fairfax]], on 1 March they were formed into a separate unit of 1,000 men, commanded by Colonel [[John Okey]], and played an important part at the [[Battle of Naseby]] in June.{{Sfn|Ede-Borrett|2009|pp=206–207}}

Supplied with inferior horses and more basic equipment, the dragoon regiments were cheaper to raise and maintain than the expensive regiments of cavalry. When in the 17th century [[Gustav II Adolf]] introduced dragoons into the Swedish Army, he provided them with a sword, an axe and a [[matchlock]] musket, using them as "labourers on horseback".{{Sfn|Brzezinski|1993|p=14-16}} Many of the European armies henceforth imitated this all-purpose set of weaponry. Dragoons of the late 17th and early 18th centuries retained strong links with infantry in appearance and equipment, differing mainly in the substitution of riding boots for shoes and the adoption of caps instead of broad-brimmed hats to enable muskets to be worn slung.{{Sfn|Mollo|1972|p=23}}

[[File:Volontaires de Saxe, Dragon (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|French dragoon of the [[Volontaires de Saxe]] regiment, mid-18th century]]

A non-military use of dragoons was the 1681 ''[[Dragonnades]]'', a policy instituted by [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] to intimidate [[Huguenot]] families into either leaving France or re-converting to [[Catholicism]] by [[billeting]] ill-disciplined dragoons in Protestant households. While other categories of infantry and cavalry were also used, the mobility, flexibility and available numbers of the dragoon regiments made them particularly suitable for repressive work of this nature over a wide area.{{Sfn|Chartrand|1988|p=37}}

In the Spanish Army, Pedro de la Puente organized a body of dragoons in [[Innsbruck]] in 1635. In 1640, a ''[[tercio]]'' of a thousand dragoons armed with the [[arquebus]] was created in Spain. By the end of the 17th century, the Spanish Army had three ''tercios'' of dragoons in Spain, plus three in the Netherlands and three more in [[Milan]]. In 1704, the Spanish dragoons were reorganised into regiments by [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]], as were the rest of the ''tercios''.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Dragoons were at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, and constantly sought to improve their horsemanship, armament and social status. By the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1756, their primary role in most European armies had progressed from that of mounted infantry to that of heavy cavalry. They were sometimes described as "medium" cavalry, midway between heavy/armoured and light/unarmoured regiments, though this was a classification that was rarely used at the time.{{Sfn|Haythornthwaite|2001|p=19}} Their original responsibilities for scouting and [[picket (military)|picket]] duty had passed to [[hussars]] and similar light cavalry corps in the French, Austrian, Prussian, and other armies. In the [[Imperial Russian Army]], due to the availability of [[Cossack]] troops, the dragoons were retained in their original role for much longer.

An exception to the rule was the British Army, which from 1746 onward gradually redesignated all regiments of "horse" (regular cavalry) as lower paid "dragoons", in an economy measure.{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|p=22}} Starting in 1756, seven regiments of [[Light Dragoons|light dragoons]] were raised and trained in [[reconnaissance]], [[skirmish]]ing and other work requiring [[Endurance riding|endurance]] in accordance with contemporary standards of light cavalry performance. The success of this new class of cavalry was such that another eight dragoon regiments were converted between 1768 and 1783.{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|p=24}} When this reorganisation was completed in 1788, the cavalry arm consisted of regular dragoons and seven units of [[dragoon guards]]. The designation of dragoon guards did not mean that these regiments (the former 2nd to 8th horse) had become household troops, but simply that they had been given a more dignified title to compensate for the loss of pay and prestige.{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|p=22}}

Towards the end of 1776, [[George Washington]] realized the need for a mounted branch of the American military. In January 1777 four regiments of light dragoons were raised. Short term enlistments were abandoned and the dragoons joined for three years, or "the war". They participated in most of the major engagements of the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]], including the battles of [[Battle of White Plains|White Plains]], [[Battle of Trenton|Trenton]], [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton]], [[Battle of Brandywine|Brandywine]], [[Battle of Germantown|Germantown]], [[Battle of Saratoga|Saratoga]], [[Battle of Cowpens|Cowpens]], and [[Battle of Monmouth|Monmouth]], as well as the [[Yorktown campaign]].