MEMBERS AND GUESTS ASSEMBLED FOR THE 2025 NOMINATING DINNER, CENTER FROM LEFT: JIM DEANGELIS, BOARD MEMBER FOR CHARITIES, JOHN CONLIN, MESS PRESIDENT, JEFF WACKER, SHOOTING CAPTAIN, OX GARA, MR. VICE
This is the website of Gold's Dragoons, which was raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1657 and passed under Royal control in 1660 as a British colonial militia unit to fight the Dutch and Pequots. The troop was incorporated into the colonial militia following the signing of the Royal Charter of King Charles II in 1662. We are the second oldest chartered military unit in the Americas, the only colonial unit founded by Royal Charter and the oldest cavalry unit in the Western Hemisphere. A successor volunteer Connecticut reserve force cavalry unit of the same name was re-raised, in 1932, from members of the Fairfield Hunt Club. Gold's Dragoons is a published club in the Social Register and a member of The Centennial Legion.
Gold's Dragoons events for 2025 include:
September 19-21, The Great British Invasion, Stowe, Vermont
October 9th, Historical court martial, Mil. Ord. of Foreign Wars, Squantum As., Providence, R.I.
October 18th, tbc, fall shoot, Sandanona, Millbrook, NYS (third Saturday in October)
October 18th, tbc, Shoot Dinner, Charlotte's, Millbrook, NYS
October 26th, Squadron A Annual Memorial Service, is rescheduled from September
October, tbc, "M" Troop, Gold's Dragoons, shoot mess dinner, at a private club in Philadelphia
November, tbc, Evacuation Day ceremony, Bowling Green, NYC, noon, then Fraunces Tavern
December 4th to 7th, Centennial Legion annual meeting, Charleston, SC
December 5th, Squadron A Christmas party, 6 pm, possible mess dinner to follow at the WNRC December 19th, 350th anniversary of the Gold's Dragoons "Great Swamp fight", NYC
Gold's Dragoons events for 2026 include:
February 6th, Victorian Military Society mess night, Newport, Rhode Island
April 25th, tbc, Parade and military ball, Lounsbury Hall, Ridgefield, Ct
May 1st, Gold's Dragoons Nominating Dinner
May 2nd, Gold's Dragoons spring sporting clays shoot, Sandanona, N.Y.S
June 1st, The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, parade and banquet
June 14th, tbc, Flemington Foot Parade, Flemington, NJ
September 12th (Saturday), Gold's Dragoons annual polo match versus Squadron A - Westport, Ct
The aim of the site is to perpetuate the memory of Gold's Dragoons and its members, past and present, who have joined together over the years to celebrate the spirit of military service in the United States and British Commonwealth. Gold's Dragoons 1660 is a fraternal military society and a 501(c)(7) corporation but is not itself a charity and contributions are not tax-deductible, although we do support The Equus Effect, a charity that supports military veterans and all those donations are tax-deductible. For more information on the charity click on "more" above, then on the "The Equus Effect" tab.
Members of Gold's Dragoons are authorized to wear the scarlet, blue and gold mess dress that continues the scarlet uniform worn by Gold's troopers in the 1930s and the scarlet parade uniform, illustrated below, which was described in the following historical paragraph:
"Gold's Dragoons were well placed young men who loved horses, certainly as much as they loved their wives. They dressed in beige britches, scarlet jackets, chains of silver epaulets, wide-brimmed hats with chin straps, black leather boots and dazzling spurs."
"The Other Side of Loneliness" a biography of life in 1930s Westport © Ned O'Gorman, 2006.
Gold's Dragoons events for 2025 include:
September 19-21, The Great British Invasion, Stowe, Vermont
October 9th, Historical court martial, Mil. Ord. of Foreign Wars, Squantum As., Providence, R.I.
October 18th, tbc, fall shoot, Sandanona, Millbrook, NYS (third Saturday in October)
October 18th, tbc, Shoot Dinner, Charlotte's, Millbrook, NYS
October 26th, Squadron A Annual Memorial Service, is rescheduled from September
October, tbc, "M" Troop, Gold's Dragoons, shoot mess dinner, at a private club in Philadelphia
November, tbc, Evacuation Day ceremony, Bowling Green, NYC, noon, then Fraunces Tavern
December 4th to 7th, Centennial Legion annual meeting, Charleston, SC
December 5th, Squadron A Christmas party, 6 pm, possible mess dinner to follow at the WNRC December 19th, 350th anniversary of the Gold's Dragoons "Great Swamp fight", NYC
Gold's Dragoons events for 2026 include:
February 6th, Victorian Military Society mess night, Newport, Rhode Island
April 25th, tbc, Parade and military ball, Lounsbury Hall, Ridgefield, Ct
May 1st, Gold's Dragoons Nominating Dinner
May 2nd, Gold's Dragoons spring sporting clays shoot, Sandanona, N.Y.S
June 1st, The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, parade and banquet
June 14th, tbc, Flemington Foot Parade, Flemington, NJ
September 12th (Saturday), Gold's Dragoons annual polo match versus Squadron A - Westport, Ct
The aim of the site is to perpetuate the memory of Gold's Dragoons and its members, past and present, who have joined together over the years to celebrate the spirit of military service in the United States and British Commonwealth. Gold's Dragoons 1660 is a fraternal military society and a 501(c)(7) corporation but is not itself a charity and contributions are not tax-deductible, although we do support The Equus Effect, a charity that supports military veterans and all those donations are tax-deductible. For more information on the charity click on "more" above, then on the "The Equus Effect" tab.
Members of Gold's Dragoons are authorized to wear the scarlet, blue and gold mess dress that continues the scarlet uniform worn by Gold's troopers in the 1930s and the scarlet parade uniform, illustrated below, which was described in the following historical paragraph:
"Gold's Dragoons were well placed young men who loved horses, certainly as much as they loved their wives. They dressed in beige britches, scarlet jackets, chains of silver epaulets, wide-brimmed hats with chin straps, black leather boots and dazzling spurs."
"The Other Side of Loneliness" a biography of life in 1930s Westport © Ned O'Gorman, 2006.
HONARARY TREASURER, CHESTER BURLEY AND TROOP COMMANDER JOHN CONLIN WEARING THE GOLD'S DRAGOONS MESS DRESS. RED JACKET WITH DARK BLUE FACINGS, WITH GOLD SHOULDER BOARDS AND GOLD TRIMMED SLEEVES. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WEAR A GOLD GORGET, BUT THERE IS OTHERWISE NO RANK DISTINCTION IN THE MESS UNIFORM
FROM THE LEFT, GUIDON FLANK GUARD, RORY CAPRA, GUIDON BEARER, STEPHEN RYAN, COMMANDER, JOHN CONLIN
Above right, Troop Commander John Conlin wears the Gold's Dragoons parade uniform, red jacket, Sam Browne belt, black top boots and beige riding britches worn by the troop in the 1930s, when a part of the Connecticut state forces. We have replaced the broad brimmed hat with a more modern version but the uniform is otherwise identical to the active troop when on parade, the oldest cavalry unit in the Western Hemisphere. See the reference above, from the O'Gorman book.
FROM THE LEFT, STANDING, LT. EDWARD GOBORA (FIRT CITY TROOP), FRANK SPANO (MR VICE), HANS KLOTZBACH, ROGER BYROM, NEIL TANNER, JOHN CONLIN (MESS PRESIDENT), CHARLES BOHNENBERGER, CAPT. COLIN YABOR (FIRST CITY TROOP), RYAN LEONARD, DAVID PALLADINO-SINCLAIR (DUTY PIPER). KNEELING, FROM THE LEFT, WILLIAM FORBES, JOHN MCMEEKIN
Above is the formal group photo of "M" Troop (Main Line, Philadelphia) at their mess dinner at a private club in Philadelphia, on July 10th, 2025. The mess president presided, with Frank Spano as "Mr. Vice". Members are encouraged to form individual troops for local celebrations, in addition to our events in Westport, Ct. The initial variant was "L" Troop, out of Litchfield, Ct.
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In honor of the 250th birthday of the United States we have ordered a new guidon in blue silk with gold and scarlet embroidery. The obverse shows our regimental badge, the reverse has the cypher of our patron, King Charles II, who chartered the troop in 1662, and our two battle honors.
The 2024 polo dinner dance gala, which was also our Annual Guest Night, was held on Saturday, September 7th, as an event in support of our official charity, The Equus Effect of Sharon, Ct. Photographs from prior evenings are on the polo dinner dance tab.
The annual 2025 polo match between Fairfield’s own Gold’s Dragoons and New York City’s Squadron A was played at the Fairfield Hunt Club, 174 Long Lots Rd. on Saturday, September 6th, to continue a long tradition. Admission was free and the gates opened at noon. The game went off at 1 pm to beat a threatening weather front. Gold's Dragoons won the game in some exciting action for a final score of 8 to 6. Photos of the 2025 game will be on polo tab page, when available.
Gold's holds a number of sporting clays shoots each year, of which two, in the spring and fall, under the guidance of our shooting captain, Jeffery Wacker, have formal lunches or dinners and trophy awards are contested. Squadron A has donated a cup to be contested by the top squads of Gold's Dragoons and Squadron A at the spring and fall shoots. For prior shoot photographs and trophy winners of past shoots, click on the Sporting Clays tab.
For members preferring a shoot with a more military bent we are planning a historical weapons contest at the General Greene Homestead in Coventry, R.I., when members and guests will be trained in weapons used by Gold's Dragoons in the 17th century. Check the Historical Weapons tab for details. The event is currently postponed into 2026.
For members wishing to combine military history and the opportunity to condemn someone to be shot at dawn by firing squad, we continue our annual historical court martial series with the first 2025 event at the Victorian Military Society dinner on February 2nd, in Newport, R.I. Our earlier 2024 court martial was in Warwick, R.I. on October 25th, with Military Order of foreign Wars. The next court martial will at R.I in the fall for the Military Order of Foreign Wars, tbc. For photographs from prior court martial events, click on the Historical Court Martial tab.
Having dispensed with quill pens and inkwells many years ago we are happy to announce that Golds Dragoons has entered the digital age for payments for all events. Members will be sent links to a Gold's Anedot account for each event, permitting payment by credit card or PayPal. For members of the old guard, checks will still be possible.
We have annual dues payable by all members, except life members, of $25 per year. Dues are payable by the date of our annual Nominating Dinner in the month of May and are usually paid as part of the booking process for the dinner. Members failing to pay their annual dues may not attend any of our formal evening events. Email the address below with any questions.
John Woods Conlin
President
Gold's Dragoons
goldsdragoons@gmail.com
The annual 2025 polo match between Fairfield’s own Gold’s Dragoons and New York City’s Squadron A was played at the Fairfield Hunt Club, 174 Long Lots Rd. on Saturday, September 6th, to continue a long tradition. Admission was free and the gates opened at noon. The game went off at 1 pm to beat a threatening weather front. Gold's Dragoons won the game in some exciting action for a final score of 8 to 6. Photos of the 2025 game will be on polo tab page, when available.
Gold's holds a number of sporting clays shoots each year, of which two, in the spring and fall, under the guidance of our shooting captain, Jeffery Wacker, have formal lunches or dinners and trophy awards are contested. Squadron A has donated a cup to be contested by the top squads of Gold's Dragoons and Squadron A at the spring and fall shoots. For prior shoot photographs and trophy winners of past shoots, click on the Sporting Clays tab.
For members preferring a shoot with a more military bent we are planning a historical weapons contest at the General Greene Homestead in Coventry, R.I., when members and guests will be trained in weapons used by Gold's Dragoons in the 17th century. Check the Historical Weapons tab for details. The event is currently postponed into 2026.
For members wishing to combine military history and the opportunity to condemn someone to be shot at dawn by firing squad, we continue our annual historical court martial series with the first 2025 event at the Victorian Military Society dinner on February 2nd, in Newport, R.I. Our earlier 2024 court martial was in Warwick, R.I. on October 25th, with Military Order of foreign Wars. The next court martial will at R.I in the fall for the Military Order of Foreign Wars, tbc. For photographs from prior court martial events, click on the Historical Court Martial tab.
Having dispensed with quill pens and inkwells many years ago we are happy to announce that Golds Dragoons has entered the digital age for payments for all events. Members will be sent links to a Gold's Anedot account for each event, permitting payment by credit card or PayPal. For members of the old guard, checks will still be possible.
We have annual dues payable by all members, except life members, of $25 per year. Dues are payable by the date of our annual Nominating Dinner in the month of May and are usually paid as part of the booking process for the dinner. Members failing to pay their annual dues may not attend any of our formal evening events. Email the address below with any questions.
John Woods Conlin
President
Gold's Dragoons
goldsdragoons@gmail.com
2024 CHARITY POLO MATCH. GOLD'S DRAGOONS WERE BEATEN BY SQUADRON A BY 7 GOALS TO 4. CENTER, NUMBER 3, GOLD'S POLO CAPTAIN, JAMES DEANGELIS. IN BLUE BLAZER WITH CUP, JOHN CONLIN, MESS PRESIDENT, GOLD'S DRAGOONS. EXTREME LEFT (WITH FLAG), MICHAEL WITTER, PRESIDENT OF SQUADRON A