After the fall of Landrécies, the regiment proceeded by forced marches to the vicinity of _Tournay_; and on the 10th of May, when the French attacked the British position with thirty thousand men, it had another opportunity of signalizing itself. The enemy having failed in his attempt to turn the British left, directed his efforts against the centre. A favourable opportunity presenting itself, sixteen British and two Austrian squadrons were detached, under Lieut.-General Harcourt, against the enemy's right, and by a determined charge broke the French columns. A second charge proved decisive; the French were defeated, and the British troops were thanked in general orders for their excellent conduct. The SEVENTH had six horses killed; four men and four horses wounded; and two horses missing.
A general attack having been resolved upon, with the view of compelling the French to evacuate Flanders, the QUEEN'S OWN light dragoons were selected to take part in this enterprise, and were attached to one of the columns, under His Royal Highness the Duke of York, which advanced at an early hour on the morning of the 17th of May, to the vicinity of Lannoy, where the troops halted a short period, until a thick fog cleared off, when they resumed their march. Arriving at _Roubaix_, the place was gallantly captured, and the troops reposed a few hours in the town. As the sun was declining in the western horizon, and the shades of evening were gathering over the provinces of Flanders, Lieut.-General Abercromby received orders to attack a village two miles distant, called _Mouvaux_, which was situated on a rising ground, surrounded by palisades and entrenchments, protected by flanking redoubts, and defended by a strong body of republican troops. This enterprise was undertaken with cheerful alacrity; the flank battalion of the foot guards stormed the works, and the SEVENTH light dragoons, led by Lieut.-Colonel William Osborne, (a most gallant officer, who had been twenty years in the regiment[6]), made a detour round the village, followed by the Fifteenth light dragoons, under Lieut.-Colonel Churchill. As the French soldiers began to give way before the furious onset of the foot guards, and issuing from among the houses, attempted to escape by the rear of the village, they were charged by the two cavalry regiments with the most distinguished bravery. The SEVENTH were in front on this occasion; arriving at a _chevaux-de-frise_, a few men of the regiment dismounted, and, though exposed to a sharp fire of musketry, cleared a space for the troops to pass, when the two regiments rushed with terrific violence upon the French infantry, broke their ranks, and cut them down with a dreadful slaughter, capturing three guns. When the two regiments returned from the pursuit, the evening was far advanced, and they passed the night in the village.