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Vedette Guides?

Posted by Steve Marshall on 8/7/2021, 5:03 am

I am researching a captain who served in the Devon Yeomanry at Bideford c.1798 and then relocated to Starcross serving in the Vedette Guides c.1801-1804.

Can any member tell me what the Vedette Guides was?

Thanks,
Steve
Sydney, Australia.

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Vic on 9/7/2021, 6:39 am, in reply to "Vedette Guides?"

A Vedette is defined as a mounted sentinel stationed in advance of pickets.
Perhaps it relates to a specialist unit of the Yeomanary.

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Steve Marshall on 9/7/2021, 7:49 am, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Thanks Vic. You're probably right but it's strange that I can find no reference to it other than in my original source.
Regards,
Steve

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Peter Selley on 9/7/2021, 9:52 pm, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Hi Steve
I wonder if this as another name for the "Devon Guides" yeomanry ?cavalry regiment, about which there is a little more information. There was some discussion in the "Western Morning News" in 1828 referring to an 1893 memoir of Edward Calvert which mentioned "… His father, Rowland Calvert, during the patriotic movements exerted by the threatened invasion of England, held commission in 1798 as captain of a troop of cavalry in the town of Bideford, and afterwards as captain of Vedette Guides for the county of Devon, 1804; on his appointment to the Devon Guides he moved to Starcross, and shortly after this moved to Lostwithiel and died about the year 1811."

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Peter Selley on 10/7/2021, 9:07 am, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Intriguing Steve.
Around this time almost every able-bodied man was part of a regiment - there were about 40 in Devon at that time.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044106489644&view=1up&seq=154&q1=guides

As regards your Rowland, you have opened a can of worms! Briefly he was born Rawlings/Rollings Edward CROUCH. Married famous singer Anna Maria PHILLIPS (qv "Anna Maria Crouch"). They separated, he adopted the surname CALVERT, remarried bigamously, came to Devon.

Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter has some correspondence about his endeavours with militias.
https://devon-cat.swheritage.org.uk/search/all:all/0_50/dateRange%3A1803-1803/score_desc/calvert
(not Gen Calvert). (Staplake Cottage is in Starcross.)

His will is copied in Cornwall OPC website.
https://opc-cornwall.org/Par_new/t_z/pdfs/winnow_st_will_edward_calvert.pdf

Hope I haven't spoilt your weekend!

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Peter Selley on 10/7/2021, 10:09 am, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

R.E. CALVERT (CROUCH at that time) was a Cornet in the 12th Light Dragoons and wrote to the Prince of Wales in 1795 requesting promotion.

https://gpp.rct.uk/GetMultimedia.ashx?db=Catalog&type=default&fname=GEO_MAIN_39089.pdf

It it has been suggested that this was part of a deal with Prince of Wales (later George IV) who was having an affair with Anna Maria. See this letter to the Prince of Wales which refers to destroying the correspondence between them.

https://gpp.rct.uk/GetMultimedia.ashx?db=Catalog&type=default&fname=GEO_MAIN_39119-39122.pdf

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Steve Marshall on 9/7/2021, 11:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Hi Peter,

Great detective work! My source is indeed A Memoir of Edward Calvert, Artist, by his Third Son. published in 1893. I am researching whether this book fabricates or exagerates the military record of Edward Calvert's father Rowland, hence my question, and I'm just not sure if the problem is a general lack of documentary evidence from that time.

Thanks for your input.

Regards,
Steve

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Vic on 10/7/2021, 6:21 am, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Might it be worth contacting the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon which is home to the military collections of the Royal Devon Yeomanry?

Re: Vedette Guides?

Posted by Steve Marshall on 10/7/2021, 8:55 am, in reply to "Re: Vedette Guides?"

Thanks Vic,

I have now sent them an email.

Best wishes,
Steve

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