was augmented, and its presence at this particular period was of
great service to King Charles II.[49] But his Majesty having (after
disbanding the whole of the army of the Commonwealth) established
three troops of Life Guards, a regiment of Horse Guards, and two
regiments of Foot Guards, in England; and a troop of Life Guards, and
a regiment of Foot Guards in Scotland; it was not deemed necessary to
detain DOUGLAS' veteran corps in England, and it was, accordingly, sent
back to France in 1662.
[Sidenote: 1662]
At the same time, General Andrew Rutherford, who commanded the
battalion of Scots Guards in the French service, having been appointed
Governor of Dunkirk by King Charles II., his battalion was incorporated
in DOUGLAS' Regiment. There was also another battalion of Scots Foot
in the service of France, commanded by Lord James Douglas, and this
battalion was likewise incorporated into DOUGLAS' veteran regiment,
which now consisted of twenty-three companies of one hundred men each,
and its established numbers, including officers and non-commissioned
officers, were upwards of 2500.
[Sidenote: 1663]
The King of France having, after the treaty of the Pyrenees, placed his
army upon a peace establishment, the strength of DOUGLAS' Regiment was
reduced to eight companies of one hundred men each.
[Sidenote: 1665]
[Sidenote: 1666]
Three years after its return to France, a war broke out between England
and Holland; and in the succeeding year Louis XIV. took part with the
Dutch against England, when DOUGLAS' regiment was again ordered to quit
the French service, and to return to England: it accordingly landed at
Rye, in Sussex, on the 12th of June, 1666, and mustered eight hundred
men.[50]
The Roman Catholics in several counties in Ireland were, at this
period, in a state of insurrection; and in a short time after the
arrival of the regiment from France, it was ordered to proceed to
Ireland, where it appears to have remained upwards of twelve months.
[Sidenote: 1668]
[Sidenote: 1670]
After the conclusion of the peace of Breda in 1668, the insurrections
in Ireland having been suppressed, the regiment was again sent to
France; and in an order issued by Louis XIV. in 1670, respecting the
rank of regiments, it appears one of the first.[51]
[Sidenote: 1672]
A war commenced in 1672 between the French monarch and the States
General of Holland; King Charles II. of England also declared war
against the Dutch; and a British force, commanded by the Duke of
Monmouth, was sent to France to co-operate with the army of Louis XIV.
in an attack upon Holland. DOUGLAS' Regiment had, in the meantime, been
augmented to sixteen companies, and when the army took the field, it
formed two battalions; and was in the division of the army commanded
by Marshal Turenne. Several fortified towns were captured by the main
army; and in June, DOUGLAS' Regiment, being encamped in the vicinity
of Nimeguen, was detached with several other corps under the Comte
de Chamilly to besiege _Grave_. The attack on the town commenced
towards the end of June, and in the early part of July the governor
surrendered. A number of the subjects of the British crown, who had
entered the service of Holland, being found in garrison, they were
permitted to engage in the service of Louis XIV., and were received as
recruits in DOUGLAS' Regiment.[52] In August the regiment was withdrawn
from the vicinity of Grave, and ordered to join the forces under
Marshal Turenne.
[Sidenote: 1673]
In 1673 eight thousand British troops served with the French army,
and were engaged in the siege of _Maestricht_, in which service they
evinced signal gallantly; and in repulsing a sally of part of the
garrison, the Duke of Monmouth, Captain Churchill (afterwards the great
Duke of Marlborough), and twelve private men of the English Life Guards
(a squadron of which corps was serving with the French army), highly
distinguished themselves.[53] The town surrendered on the 2nd of July.
[Sidenote: 1674]
Before the following year King Charles II. concluded a treaty of peace
with the Dutch Republic; but his Majesty did not withdraw the whole
of his troops from France; and during the campaign of 1674 DOUGLAS'
Regiment, with the Scots regiment of Hamilton, and the English
regiments of Monmouth and Churchill, served with the French army on
the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Turenne. In the early part of June,
DOUGLAS' Regiment was encamped near Philipsburg,[54] a town in the west
of Germany about half a mile from the Rhine, and was formed in brigade
with the French regiments of Plessis and La Ferté, with a battalion of
detachments, commanded by Brigadier-General the Marquis of Douglas.[55]
The opposing armies having taken the field, DOUGLAS' Regiment was
suddenly withdrawn from the vicinity of Philipsburg, and, after
crossing the Rhine, advanced towards the ancient city of _Heidelberg_,
to prevent the junction of the forces under the Duke of Lorraine and
the army commanded by the Duke of Bournonville. This movement brought
on several skirmishes, in which the regiment took part; it was also
engaged in a sharp action on the 16th of June, when the Imperialists
were defeated; and in the accounts of this action published at the
time, the conduct of the regiment is spoken of in terms of commendation.
After chasing the enemy out of the Palatinate, the regiment retired
with the army across the Rhine, to join the reinforcements from Alsace
and other places; and after the arrival of these troops, the army
re-passed the Rhine, and DOUGLAS' and two other regiments were detached
to the vicinity of Landau, and ordered to encamp within a league of
the town. The regiment was subsequently detached towards Manheim, and,
after taking part in several operations, in the beginning of October it
was encamped at Lavantzenaw, in Alsace.
Information having been received that the Germans had passed the Rhine
and advanced to _Molsheim_, the French and British troops quitted their
camp about an hour after midnight on the 3rd of October, and after a
march of several hours, arrived at the enemy's camp, and attacked them
with great spirit. The conflict took place amongst woods and broken
grounds, and the British troops displayed signal gallantry, fighting
with a spirit and resolution which the enemy could not withstand.
Many officers and men fell, yet the conflict was continued, and Lord
Duras (afterwards Earl of Feversham) had three horses killed under
him. Eventually the enemy were driven from the field, with the loss
of ten pieces of cannon, thirty standards and colours, and several
prisoners.[56]
The Germans were subsequently reinforced by a number of fresh troops,
when Marshal Turenne retired with the French and British forces, and
took up a position near Saverne in Alsace, by which he prevented the
Imperialists deriving much advantage from their superiority of numbers.
[Sidenote: 1675]
During the depth of the winter, when the Germans had retreated,
DOUGLAS' Regiment[57] was placed, with several other corps, under
the orders of the Marquis of Vaubrun, and engaged in the siege of
_Dachstein_, a town in the department of the Lower Rhine. The trenches
were opened during the night of the 25th of January, 1675; and during
the night of the 28th, DOUGLAS' veterans were engaged in storming the
works, and lost several officers and men. Amongst the killed was the
Major of the regiment, who is stated by the French historians to have
been an officer of great merit. On the following day the governor
surrendered the town, when the regiment was sent into quarters.
It again took the field in the month of May, and was encamped for a
short time near Strasburg; at the same time the Germans, under the
Count de Montecuculi, menaced the city of Philipsburg with a siege;
but the French and British forces passed the Rhine on the 7th of June,
when the Germans changed their position, and the two armies confronted
each other, and manœuvred for several days in the territory bordering
on the Rhine. DOUGLAS' Regiment, having been on a detached service for
some time, was suddenly ordered to join the main army, from whence it
was afterwards sent to _Treves_ to reinforce the garrison. Several
sharp skirmishes occurred; and on the 27th of July, as Marshal Turenne
was reconnoitring the enemy, he was killed by a cannon-ball. After the
death of this celebrated veteran, the army was commanded _ad interim_
by the Count de Lorge, who retreated across the _Rhine_. The Germans
attacked their adversaries while making this retrograde movement,
when the gallant conduct of two battalions of veteran Scots saved the
main army from a severe loss. _Treves_ was afterwards besieged by the
Germans, and DOUGLAS' Regiment highly distinguished itself in the
defence of this ancient city, under the command of Marshal de Crequi.
The French troops mutinied, and endeavoured to compel the governor to
surrender, but DOUGLAS' Scots stood by the Marshal in the desperate
defence of the town, and were thanked for their conduct by Louis XIV.
Treves was surrendered on the 5th of September, and the regiment was
bound by the articles not to serve for three months, either in the
field or in the defence of any town.
[Sidenote: 1676]
The French monarch having employed the greater part of his forces in
making conquests in the Netherlands, a small army, of which DOUGLAS'
and Hamilton's Scots regiments formed part, was employed on the Rhine
during the campaign of 1676, under the orders of Marshal Luxembourg.
The imperial army, commanded by the Duke of Lorraine, had great
superiority of numbers. In the beginning of June, the two armies were
manœuvring and skirmishing in Alsace; and on the 5th of that month,
while the French were retiring through the mountains near _Saverne_,
the Germans attacked the rear-guard with great fury, and, having
forced a defile, put several French squadrons into confusion. But
as the German horsemen galloped between the mountains in pursuit,
two battalions of Scots foot having taken post on some high ground
beyond the defile, the musketeers opened so tremendous a fire that the
pursuing squadrons were checked and forced to retire, when a regiment
of German horse, and several squadrons of Lorraine dragoons, were
nearly destroyed. In this rencontre Sir George Hamilton and several
other officers of distinction were killed. The French army subsequently
formed an entrenched camp near Saverne; and the Germans besieged
Philipsburg, which was surrendered on the 15th of September.
[Sidenote: 1677]
During the campaign of 1677, the French army on the Rhine was commanded
by Marshal de Crequi. The British troops with this army consisted this
year of two squadrons of Royal English horse, and two battalions of
DOUGLAS' and a battalion of Monmouth's regiments.[58] The opposing
armies took the field, and after much manœuvring and skirmishing, the
Prince of Saxe-Eysenach, who commanded a division of Germans, having
been driven into an island on the Rhine, was forced to capitulate. A
sharp skirmish afterwards took place at _Kochersberg_, in Alsace, when
the Imperialists were defeated, and sustained great loss. _Fribourg_
was subsequently besieged by a detachment from the French army, and the
garrison surrendered on the 16th of November, when DOUGLAS' regiment
proceeded into winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1678]
At length the conquests effected by France occasioned the English Court
and Parliament to become sensible of the necessity of restraining
the ambition of Louis XIV.; and King Charles II., having concluded
a treaty with the Dutch, gave orders for the British troops in the
French service to return to England; at the same time, his Majesty
issued commissions for an augmentation of about twenty thousand men
to the English army, and declared his determination of engaging in
the war with France. DUMBARTON'S Regiment, as it was now designated,
accordingly received orders in the early part of the year 1678 to quit
the service of the French monarch, and from this period it has been
permanently on the British establishment.
Soon after the arrival of the regiment from France, a number of men,
who each carried a large pouch filled with HAND-GRENADES, were added
to the establishment, and formed into a company, under the command
of Captain Robert Hodges. These men were instructed to ignite the
fuses, and to cast the grenades into forts, trenches, or amidst the
ranks of their enemies, where the explosion was calculated to produce
much execution; and the men, deriving their designation from the
combustibles with which they were armed, were styled GRENADIERS. Their
duties were considered more arduous than those of the pikemen or
musketeers; and the strongest and most active men were selected for the
grenadier company. And although the hand-grenades have long been laid
aside, yet one company, which is designated the "Grenadier Company,"
continues to form part of every battalion.
[Sidenote: 1679]
In 1679, DUMBARTON'S Regiment, which consisted at this period of
twenty-one companies, was stationed in Ireland. In the autumn of
this year, Tangier, in Africa (which had been ceded by Portugal to
Charles II., in 1662, as part of the marriage-portion of his consort,
Donna Catherina, Infanta of Portugal), was besieged by the Moors, who
destroyed two forts at a short distance from the town, and then retired.
[Sidenote: 1680]
They, however, again appeared before the town in the spring of 1680,
when four companies of DUMBARTON'S Regiment were ordered to reinforce
the garrison; and these companies having embarked at Kinsale in the
James and Swan frigates, landed at Tangier on the 4th of April.
Fort Henrietta, which stood at a short distance from the town, was
at this time besieged by the Moors, and two breaches having been
made, and the works undermined, the garrison could not maintain the
place; consequently a sally from the city was resolved upon, to give
the garrison an opportunity of blowing up the fort, and of cutting
their passage through the Moorish army to the town; and Captain Hume,
Lieutenant Pierson, Lieutenant Bayley, four serjeants, and 80 private
men, of DUMBARTON'S Regiment, were selected to form the forlorn-hope
in the sally. Accordingly, at eight o'clock on the morning of the 12th
of May, DUMBARTON'S veterans issued from the town, and made a gallant
attack on the Moorish army; at the same time the garrison in the fort
blew up the building, and rushed forward, sword in hand, to cut their
passage through the barbarians. The conflict was sharp: the Moors came
running forward in crowds to cut off this devoted band; yet these
resolute Britons forced the first trench, and gained the second. This
was, however, twelve feet deep; and while struggling to overcome the
difficulty, Captain Trelawny and 120 men were killed by the Moors;
and only forty-four officers and men succeeded in joining Captain
Hume and his party of veteran Scots. This party was also attacked by
several bodies of Moorish horsemen, who were all expert lancers; but
the barbarians were repulsed. One Moorish chieftain rode over Captain
Hume; but his horse fell, and the barbarian was immediately killed.
The men continued skirmishing, and retiring in good order until they
arrived under the protection of the guns of the fortress. The companies
of DUMBARTON'S Regiment lost on this occasion fifteen men killed, and
Captain Hume[59] and several men wounded.
In a few days after this action a cessation of hostilities was agreed
upon with the Moors for four months; and during the summer twelve
additional companies of DUMBARTON'S Regiment arrived at Tangier, from
Ireland, under the command of Major Sir James Hackett. The arrival of
these celebrated veterans is thus announced in one of the publications
of that period:--"After this landed the valorous Major Hackett with
the renowned regiment of the Earl of Dumbarton; all of them men of
approved valour, fame having echoed the sound of their glorious
actions and achievements in France and other nations; having left
behind them a report of their glorious victories wherever they came;
every place witnessing and giving large testimony of their renown: so
that the arrival of this illustrious regiment more and more increased
the resolutions and united the courage of the inhabitants, and added
confidence to their valour."[60]
Hostilities again commenced in September, when the garrison quitted
the town, and encamped under the walls; and the Lieut.-Governor, Sir
Palmes Fairborne, is reported to have made the following speech to
DUMBARTON's Scots:--"Countrymen and fellow-soldiers, let not your
approved valour and fame in foreign nations be derogated at this time,
neither degenerate from your ancient and former glory abroad; and as
you are looked upon here to be brave and experienced soldiers (constant
and successive victories having attended your conquering swords
hitherto), do not come short of the great hopes we have in you, and the
propitious procedures we expect from you at this time. For the glory of
your nation, if you cannot surpass, you may imitate the bravest, and be
emulous of their praises and renown."[61]
The expectations of the Lieutenant-Governor, with regard to these
celebrated Scots, appear to have been realised; and in the various
skirmishes and actions which followed, they always signalised
themselves. In the account of a sharp action fought on the 20th of
September, it is reported that "The grenadiers under Captain Hodges
behaved themselves very bravely." On the 22nd of the same month, "Some
of the Moorish horse advanced resolutely to the very line where our men
were lodged, but were repulsed, and several of them killed. Several
of the Scots grenadiers, who were very active and daring, advancing a
little too far, were killed, and others, advancing to their relief,
were likewise hard put to it." A sharp skirmish was afterwards kept up
throughout the day, and "The Scots and the seamen from the fleet were
hotly engaged, having beat the Moors out of several trenches." While
retiring, Captain Fitzpatrick was attacked by a Moorish chieftain, but
was delivered by a shot which brought the barbarian down at the moment
he was about to spear the captain. A Scots grenadier, of undaunted
bravery, being desirous of possessing the Moor's charger, leaped over
the trenches and seized the horse; but this brave man was immediately
afterwards cut to pieces by a party of Moors, who came galloping
forward at the moment he was about to retire with the horse. On the
same day it was resolved, in consequence of a newly-erected fort being
completed, to retire within the walls, when Sir James Hackett, at
the head of DUMBARTON'S Scots, covered the retrograde movement, and
repulsed several charges made by the Moorish lancers.
A sally was made from the town on the 24th of September, when the
Scots again distinguished themselves, and had Captain Forbes and eight
men killed. The Lieut.-Governor, Sir Palmes Fairborne, also received
a mortal wound, and was succeeded in the command of the garrison by
Lieut.-Colonel Sackville of the Foot Guards.
On the 27th of September, a general sally of the garrison was made
on the Moorish lines, where between fourteen and fifteen thousand
barbarians were encamped. About three in the morning, the troops
issued in silence from the town, and formed in order of battle. Soon
afterwards the signal for the attack was given, when DUMBARTON'S[62]
company of Scots grenadiers, led by Captain Hodges, and followed by
the remaining companies of the regiment, rushed towards the Moorish
lines with the velocity of lightning. The Moors, who were reposing
beyond their trenches, were suddenly aroused by the sound of a
trampling multitude rushing to battle; and the next moment a shower of
hand-grenades bursting amongst them put them in some confusion; yet
they sprang to their arms, and, standing firm to receive the charge,
disputed the ground with firmness. Soon the action became general, and
"Nothing was heard but the roaring of cannon, the firing of muskets,
and the loud acclamations of the Christians, who, ever and anon, when
they gained any trench of the enemy, raised a shout which pierced
the clouds, and echoed in the sky.[63]" DUMBARTON'S veterans quickly
carried the first trench, then mixing in fierce combat with the Moors,
soon proved that a valiant Scot was more than a match for one of the
dusky sons of Africa. The first trench having been won, a portion of
it was levelled for the cavalry, and the British and Spanish horsemen
charged the Moors, and plunging amidst the dark masses, trampled
and cut down the astonished Africans. At the same time the British
grenadiers were seen using their hatchets with dreadful execution on
one side, the pikemen were bearing down all before them on another,
and, the musketeers, having slung their muskets, were fighting, sword
in hand, with an impetuosity which the Moors could not withstand. The
waving masses of barbarians were broken, and they fled like a scattered
swarm over the land; the British troops pursued, and a number of single
combats followed, for the Moors were more expert in personal conflicts
than in fighting in large bodies. These combats, however, generally
terminated in favour of the British; and the Scots, particularly
Captain Hodges and his grenadier company, were distinguished for the
number they slew. Thus the siege of Tangier was raised, and DUMBARTON'S
veteran Scots captured a splendid colour[64] from the Moors. The
regiment lost[65] in this action, Lieutenants Scott and St. Leger;
Ensigns Farrell, Murray, Bell, and Rhue; six serjeants, and thirty
private soldiers killed; Captains Lockart, Lundy, Hume, Douglas,
and Percy; Lieutenants Glascock, Murray, Ennis, Corson, Bainesman,
Macrohen, Stuart, Aukmooty, and Butler; with Ensign Mowast, and one
hundred serjeants and private men wounded.
In a few days after this engagement a truce was concluded with the
Moors for six months; and in the early part of December a regiment of
foot (now the Fourth, or King's own), with 200 recruits for DUMBARTON'S
Regiment, arrived from England.
[Sidenote: 1681]
During the winter, Lieut.-Colonel Kirk was sent on an embassy to
Muley-Ismael, Emperor of Morocco. In the spring of 1681, a treaty of
peace for four years was concluded and sent to England by Captain
Thomas Langston.
[Sidenote: 1682]
[Sidenote: 1683]
King Charles II., however, found the maintenance of a sufficient
garrison at Tangier too expensive to be continued without the aid
of a grant from parliament. At the same time the nation was more
alarmed at the prospect of a popish successor to the throne than at
the apprehension of losing this fortress, which they feared would
become a nursery for popish soldiers. The advantage derived from the
Levant trade, and other arguments, were brought forward in favour of
maintaining Tangier; but the parliament refused the necessary supply;
and towards the end of 1683, Admiral Lord Dartmouth was sent with a
fleet to demolish the fortress, and to bring away the garrison and
British inhabitants.
[Sidenote: 1684]
One company of DUMBARTON'S Regiment arrived from Tangier, in November,
1683, and landed at Gravesend; and the remainder arrived in the river
Thames in February, 1684, and, having landed at Rochester, were
quartered--eight companies at Rochester and Chatham, six at Winchester,
and two at Southampton. At the same time directions were sent to the
Duke of Ormond, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, to send the five
companies of the regiment in that country to England.
In June of this year four companies attended the Duchess of York
(afterwards Queen of England) at Tunbridge Wells; and in the autumn
King Charles II. conferred upon this celebrated regiment the title of
THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT.[66]