Lodge
St. Andrew Kilmarnock
No.126
Established 1771
"The Ensign ewart"
Sergeant Charles Ewart
Freemason of 126 ~ Scottish Military Hero
“The Hero
of the Battle Of Waterloo” Charles Ewart, who, single-handedly captured the
standard of the famous French Invincibles at the Battle of Waterloo. Ensign
Ewart's grave is marked by a granite block on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
The standard he so bravely won can be seen in the castle itself. . On the
18th of June 1815, Charles Ewart was a Sergeant in the Royal North British
Dragoons when he captured the standard of the French 45th Regiment, from which
the badge of the Royal Scots Greys (now the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards) was
derived. He was born at Biddles Farm in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1769 and
enlisted in the 2nd Royal North British Dragoons (The Scots Greys) in 1789.
At the time of the Battle of Waterloo, therefore, he was 45 years old and
a veteran of many battles. A giant of a man, thus various sources place him
at anything between 6'4"and 7'0" tall, and he was an expert swordsman.
In the portrait, we see him at the age of 75, in the uniform of an Ensign
of the 5th Royal Veteran Battalion, into which he was commissioned after Waterloo
by the Prince Regent. On his breast is the Waterloo medal. This medal set
the precedence in the British Army for issuing campaign medals to officers
and other ranks alike.
WATERLOO
- "Les Terribles Chevaux Gris" In the spring of 1815, Europe's hopes
of a lasting peace was shattered by the news of Napoleon's escape. Landing
in the south of France, he re-raised his army within the astounding space
of a hundred days. the Scots Greys were rushed to Belgium to form part of
an Allied Army under the command of the Duke of Wellington. On 17th June they
covered the withdrawal of the Allies from Quatre Bras to Waterloo., where
Wellington was to make his stand. The battle of Waterloo began shortly before
noon on 18th June with a diversionary attack by the French on the Allied right.
This was soon followed by the main onslaught by d'Erlon's Corps on the left
centre of the Allied position which was guarded by Belgians and troops of
Picton's Division, including three battalions of Highlanders. The former fled,
causing a critical situation. As the Highlanders were being beaten back the
Royal Dragoons, the Scots Greys and the Inniskilling Dragoons, who together
formed the famous Union Brigade, representing the three countries of the Kingdom,
were ordered to charge. As the Greys passed through the Gordons many of the
Highlanders grasped their stirrups and shouting "Scotland Forever!"
were carried headlong through the ranks of the leading French division. Sergeant
Charles Ewart captured the Imperial Eagle standard of the French 45th Regiment
(Les Invincibles) after a desperate fight and well deserved the commission
later awarded by the Prince Regent. In commemoration the Eagle forms part
of the cap badge worn by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards to this day (formerly
the cap badge of the Royal Scots Greys - details in timeline further down).
Ewart had made straight for the French Standard Bearer, and on fighting his
way through, three Frenchmen threw themselves in the way. In his own words
:- "One made a thrust at my groin, I parried him off and cut him down through
the head. A lancer came at me - I threw the lance off by my right side and
cut him through the chin and upwards through the teeth. Next, a foot soldier
fired at me and then charged me with his bayonet, which I also had the good
luck to parry, and then I cut him down through the head". Thus he made his
way to the Eagle which he grasped firmly and carried off, and earned himself
a name forever as "the greatest and most illustrious Grey in military history".
Ewart lies buried on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, while the Eagle and
Standard are displayed in the Castle itself. Having completely destroyed the
foremost division, the charge continued and, breaking through the ranks of
the second division, many of the Scots Greys, led by the Commanding Officer,
who was last seen alive with both wrists slashed and holding the reins in
his teeth, reached the hill beyond. where they cut down the enemy artillery
batteries. Later in the day the remnants of the Regiment made further repeated
charges but the price of (their) bravery was high - out of the four hundred
and sixteen men who began the day two hundred men and two hundred and twenty
four horses were killed or wounded, Napoleon, who witnessed the devastation
wrought by the Scots Greys, was overheard to refer to them as "those
terrible grey horses", while their charge has since been described as
the greatest thunderbolt ever launched by British Cavalry.
Ewart eventually left the Army in 1821. He and his wife Maggie (Margaret Geddes, of Stockport) moved to Salford. He kept busy teaching swordsmanship. Ewart moved to a cottage in Bent Lane, Davyhulme, where he spent the last 16 years of his life, on his £100 a year Army pension. When he died in 1846 he was buried in a church in Salford. Eventually the church closed, became a factory and the burial ground was paved over. It was not until 1938, that workmen clearing the site found his grave. Ewart's body was exhumed and re-buried beneath a granite memorial, on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. However that was not the end of his travels. In 1967, repairs became necessary at the Castle, and so with full military honours Ewart's body was once again exhumed and taken to a temporary resting place at Preston Hall, Midlothian. Today, however, he is back at Edinburgh Castle (as stated in historical account above).
A
large cast iron replica of the badge of the Royal Scots Greys ( The Greys
Eagle) is bolted securely to one of the walls of the "Ensign Ewart Inn"
on the Royal Mile leading to Edindurgh Castle Esplanade. The original Standard
of the French 45th Regiment (Les Invicibles) captured by Ewart on the battlefield,
can be viewed at Edinburgh Castle, however, it is very frail and enclosed
in a glass case.
HISTORICAL & MILITARY TIMELINE: (with regard to subsequent or future regimental
developments)
1678 - Three independent troops of Scots Dragoons raised.
1681 - Further troops raised and together formed The Royal Regiment of Scots
Dragoons.
1694 - Ranked as 4th Dragoons by a board of William the 3rd (English regiments
being given precedence). The entire
regiment mounted on Grey horses.
1702 - Unofficial titles such as "Grey Dragoons" and "Scots
Regiment of White Horses" in use.
1707 - The "Act of Union" of the Scottish and English Crowns caused
a restyle to the "Royal North British Dragoons" but the name "Scots
Greys" is (at this time) in normal use.
1713 - Re-numbered 2nd Dragoons, it having been proved that there was but
one English Dragoon regiment when the regiment crossed the border.
1877 - Restyled 2nd Dragoons (The Royal Scots Greys).
1921 - Restyled The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons).
1971 - Amalgamated with 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards) to
form thus:
"The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers & Greys)"
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are Scotland's senior regiment and her only "regular cavalry". The Regiment was formed in 1971 from the union of two famous regiments, the 3rd Carabiniers and the Royal Scots Greys. The 3rd Carabiniers had themselves been constituted in 1922 from the amalgamation of the old 3rd Dragoon Guards and the Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards). The history of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is therefore the record of three ancient regiments and, through the Royal Scots Greys, can rightly claim to be the oldest Cavalry of the Line in the British Army.
Webmasters note - This page is a tribute to the military hero of Scotland, who carried out his duties above and beyond those that the regular pledge demanded. Fifteen years previously Sgt. Charles Ewart humbly solicited to become an initiate of Lodge St.Andrew Kilmarnock No.126. These events were not then related yet here they are thus commemorated. As a small addendum, research of early minute books appears to indicate a significantly large number of initiates listed as "Scots Greys". Further research into this is being undertaken. A replica of the standard is a "work in progress" with co-operation from the regiment and the "Waterloo 200" action group.
Lodge Petition Book Entry
Minute book entry 06-12-1800
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