The two regiments of light dragoons which constituted the cavalry arm of the United States Regular Army during the War of 1812 have generally been neglected by historians of that conflict. The closest thing to an official history of the U.S. Cavalry to appear in print, (Albert G. Brackett, History of the United States Cavalry...., 1865), provides only a few short paragraphs on the role of the light dragoons in the war. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no historian has ever attempted to gather a fuller account of the dragoon's service. In the course of my research, I have been able to amass enough information on these regiments to provide the following short narrative of their service in the war. At a later date, I hope to be able to elaborate on this rather thin account. It should be noted that, throughout the war, the U.S. Army found it very difficult to provide horses for their mounted troops. In the following account, however, unless it is otherwise noted, the dragoons were mounted. US Light Dragoons War of 1812 Introduction The First Regiment of Light Dragoons The Second Regiment of Light Dragoons The Regiment of Light Dragoons (Combined) Uniforms and Equipment Illustrations Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 23 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1978 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com