page_title: Governor's Body Guard of Light Horse
section_title: Castle Hill convict rebellion
hierarchical_section_title: Governor's Body Guard of Light Horse / Castle Hill convict rebellion
caption_attribution_description: English: A painting by an unknown artist is of the Battle of Vinegar Hill, where several hundred convicts broke out of Castle Hill prison farm to take on the British redcoats. Photo: National Library of Australia
context_page_description: The Governor's Body Guard of Light Horse was a military unit maintained in the Colony of New South Wales between 1801 and 1834, and reputedly the "first full-time military unit raised in Australia". It was established by Governor Philip Gidley King by drawing men from the New South Wales Corps, the British garrison in the colony. Normally consisting of one or two non-commissioned officers and six privates, the Guard provided an escort to the governor and carried his despatches to outposts across the colony. From 1802, the men of the Guard were drawn from convicts pardoned by King. Men from the unit were deployed during the Castle Hill convict rebellion of 1804 and a trooper of the Guard assisted in the capture of two of the rebel leaders.
  After King was succeeded by William Bligh in 1806, the Guard reverted to being drawn from the New South Wales Corps. The unit seems to have been absent during the Corps' 1808 mutiny against Bligh and, by one report, supported it. It was ordered to disband by the Earl of Liverpool but was granted a reprieve in 1812 by Liverpool's successor Earl Bathurst.
context_section_description: Unrest among the Irish convicts led to the Castle Hill convict rebellion, which broke out at 8 pm on 4 March 1804. The convicts were headed for Parramatta and King, with his provost marshal and four men of the Guard, set out for that settlement immediately. One trooper of the Guard was sent to carry orders to Major Johnston who was at his house in Annandale. Johnston was to assemble forces to intercept the convicts.
  The convicts retreated ahead of Johnston's force, through Toongabbie, but were caught at Castle Hill before they could reach the Hawkesbury. Johnston, intending to delay the convicts whilst he assembled his forces, sent the Guard's Trooper Anlezark to parley with them. The convicts removed Anlezark's pistol flints, rendering his weapons useless, but allowed him to return unharmed. Johnston decided to speak with the convict leaders in person, accompanied by Anlezark. The convicts refused to surrender and began forming up on a nearby hill, later nicknamed Vinegar Hill. Johnston requested another meeting with the convicts at which he and Anlezark drew their pistols and seized two of the convict leaders. Men of the New South Wales Corps then advanced on the hill. The convicts were quickly defeated and the rebellion ended. The next day, Johnston wrote to King that there had been 250 "Runaways" and his force had "been under the necessity of killing nine and wounding a great many – the number we cannot ascertain. We have taken 7 prisoners and 7 stand of Arms, and other Weapons ...". Among others, his letter mentioned "the two Troopers" favourably.
  The battle, which became known as the Second Battle of Vinegar Hill, is illustrated in a contemporary painting now in the collection of the National Library of Australia. The painting depicts Anlezark (erroneously shown as a corporal) drawing his pistol and ordering a rebel leader: "Croppy lay down". Anlezark, a convicted burglar and fourteen-year British Army cavalry veteran, was promoted to corporal in the Guard in May 1804, replacing the existing NCO who was discharged for "gross abuse to a superintendent". The Guard's actions in quelling the rebellion and a favourable report from Johnston led King to propose increasing the unit to thirty men. It seems this was never implemented; such an action required the approval of the British colonial secretary, which was not forthcoming.
caption: A contemporary depiction of the early stages of the Second Battle of Vinegar Hill, 1804, showing Trooper Anlezark (of the Guard) and Major Johnston seizing the convict leaders and the New South Wales Corps opening fire
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