the French army commanded by Marshal Luxembourg, at its camp, near
_Steenkirk_. On the evening of the 23rd of July (O.S.), the first
battalion of the ROYAL Regiment, commanded by Sir Robert Douglas,
the second battalion of the 1st Foot Guards, with the regiments of
Fitzpatrick and O'Ffarrel, and two battalions of Danes, were ordered
forward to commence the attack on the French army, and were accompanied
by a detachment from each battalion of Brigadier-General Churchill's
brigade, with hatchets and spades to make a passage through the woody
grounds between the two armies. Between ten and eleven o'clock on the
following morning these troops arrived in front of the French camp,
and took post in a thick wood, beyond which there was a small valley
intersected with hedges lined with French infantry, and on the opposite
side of the valley appeared the French camp. About eleven o'clock two
batteries opened their fire upon the enemy; and when the main body of
the army had arrived within a mile of the wood, the leading regiments
issued from amongst the trees and commenced the attack. "Certainly
never was a more dreadful and at the same time bolder firing heard,
which for the space of two hours seemed to be a continued thunder. Our
van-guard behaved in this engagement to such wonder and admiration,
that though they received the charge of several battalions of the
enemy, one after another, yet they made them retreat almost to their
very camp."[78] Amongst the foremost in this action was seen the
brave Sir Robert Douglas at the head of the first battalion of the
ROYAL Regiment, emulating the noblest actions recorded in the annals
of war. Having led his battalion against the troops behind the first
hedge, he soon cleared it of French combatants, and drove one of the
enemy's battalions from the field in confusion. A second hedge was
attacked and carried by the gallant Scots in a few moments:--a third
was assaulted,--the French stood their ground,--the combatants fought
muzzle to muzzle,--and again the ROYALS proved victorious, and the
third hedge was won. The toil of conflict did not cool the ardour of
the veteran Scots; but forward they rushed with a loud huzza, and
attacked the troops which lined the fourth hedge. Here the fighting was
severe; but eventually the ROYALS overthrew a fourth French battalion,
and drove a crowd of combatants from their cannon.[79] In this conflict
the first battalion lost one of its three colours. Sir Robert Douglas,
seeing the colour on the other side of the hedge, leaped through a gap,
slew the French officer who bore the colour, and cast it over the hedge
to his own men; but this act of gallantry cost him his life, a French
marksman having shot him dead on the spot while in the act of repassing
the hedge. "Thus the Scots commander improved upon the Roman general;
for the brave Posthumius cast his standard in the middle of the enemy
for his soldiers to retrieve; but Douglas retrieved his from the middle
of the enemy, without any assistance, and cast it back to his soldiers
to retain."[80] While the leading regiments were thus carrying all
before them, the main body of the army was a mile in the rear, and
could not be brought up in time to sustain the corps in advance: the
ROYALS and other regiments of the advance-guard, after displaying a
degree of constancy and valour seldom equalled, were forced to retire;
and eventually the army retreated to its camp.
[Illustration: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Colonel of the Royal
Regiment of Foot, killed at the Battle of Steenkirk, July 24th, 1692.
[To face page 83.]
The loss of the regiment in this action has not been ascertained.
Mention has, however, been made in history of two Captains, viz.
Mackraken and Levingston, of the ROYAL Regiment, who were killed;
and from the returns published at the time, the brigade to which the
regiment belonged lost 6 field officers, 14 captains, 24 subalterns,
and 507 men killed; and 6 field officers, 20 captains, 32 subalterns,
and 608 men wounded[81]; and doubtless a number of these belonged to
the ROYAL Regiment.
A few days after the battle, King William conferred the Colonelcy
on Lord George Hamilton (afterwards Earl of Orkney) from the Royal
Regiment of Fusiliers.
On the 2nd of August, a detachment of the ROYAL Regiment, commanded by
Captain Rowland Mackenzie, was engaged with a party of French troopers
in a wood near the camp, and took twenty prisoners.[82] Towards the end
of September the regiment marched from the camp to Bruges, from whence
parties were detached to Scotland to procure recruits.
[Sidenote: 1693]
Having passed the winter at Bruges, where the losses of the preceding
campaign were replaced by recruits from Scotland, the regiment marched
out of its quarters towards the end of April, 1693, and pitched its
tents on the levels near the town, from whence it proceeded to the
villages near Brussels, where it arrived on the 13th of May. On the
17th, it marched out of its village cantonments and joined the camp at
Dieghem, from whence it subsequently marched to Parck camp in front of
Louvaine, and had its post on the heights near Birbeck. Here it was
stationed until the early part of July, when the army advanced, and,
after several marches, the regiment was in position on the 18th of
July, near the village of Neer-Winden, in South Brabant. The first
battalion had its post in the village of _Neer-Landen_, near the left
of the line, and its grenadier company occupied a strong building at
the head of the village. The second battalion was stationed on the
right of the village, where a slight entrenchment was made during the
night.
On the morning of the 19th of July, when the first rays of light
appeared, a French army, commanded by Marshal Luxembourg, of nearly
double the numbers of the confederates under King William, was
discovered in order of battle within cannon-shot of the position.
The batteries instantly opened their fire, and, about eight o'clock,
six French brigades attacked the post at Laér and Neer-Winden, but
were repulsed. The enemy next attacked the village of Neer-Landen
with four brigades,[83] and the first battalion of the ROYAL Regiment
stood its ground manfully. The French came rushing to the attack with
great fury, but the head of their column was pierced by a shower of
musket balls, and the killed and wounded crowded the street, while the
grenadiers of the ROYAL Regiment threw their grenades, with unerring
aim, from the windows of the house they occupied. The French, however,
pressed forward, and the battalion, being unable to resist the host
of combatants which assailed it, was forced to retire; at the same
time the house occupied by the grenadiers was set on fire. At this
moment the Queen Dowager's Regiment (now 2nd Foot, or Queen's Royal)
advanced to the assistance of the ROYALS, and the two battalions
renewed the fight with great bravery. Prince Frederick's and Fagel's
Dutch regiments also advanced to support the two British battalions; at
the same time King William came galloping to that part of the field,
and his presence inspired the combatants with new ardour. The French
disputed the ground for some time, but after a fierce conflict of
about two hours' duration, they gave way, and were driven through the
defile into the plain; and the ROYAL and Queen Dowager's battalions,
which had fought together at Tangier in Africa, stood triumphant at the
end of the village, and were thanked for their gallantry by the King.
Notwithstanding this success, the fortune of the day turned eventually
in favour of the French, who carried the village of Neer-Winden, and
broke into the King's camp, when their superiority of numbers gave them
a decided advantage. The ROYALS were withdrawn from their post; and the
King ordered a retreat, which was effected with difficulty, and was
attended with great loss. The loss of the enemy was, however, so great,
that he derived little advantage from this victory, excepting the power
of besieging Charleroi, which was taken in the autumn. The loss of the
ROYAL Regiment does not appear to have been great; the only officers
of this corps mentioned by D'Auvergne amongst the killed and wounded
are--Captain Young died of his wounds, with Captain Sir James Cockburn,
Lieutenants Brown and Blake, and Ensign White wounded. In October the
regiment marched to Bruges, and parties were again sent to Scotland to
procure recruits to replace the loss sustained during this campaign.
[Sidenote: 1694]
On the 18th of May, 1694, the first battalion marched out of its winter
quarters, and on the following day encamped near Ghent; and, resuming
its march on the 21st, proceeded to the general rendezvous of the army
near Louvaine, where it arrived on the 28th of that month.
Meanwhile, the second battalion remained in garrison at Bruges, and in
June it marched out of the town and encamped along the banks of the
canal towards Ghent, where a small army of observation was assembled
under the orders of the Spanish general, Count de Merode Thian.
The first battalion marched with the army commanded by King William in
person, from the vicinity of Louvaine, on the 13th of July, and was
afterwards encamped at Mont St. André. In the middle of August the King
attempted by a forced march to cross the enemy's lines and penetrate
into French Flanders; but the French, by extraordinary exertions,
gained the pass first, and thus preserved their country from an
invasion.
Towards the end of August the second battalion quitted its post on the
Bruges Canal, and joined the first battalion at the camp at Rousselaér;
and both battalions formed part of the covering army during the period
the Prussians and Dutch were engaged in the siege of Huy, and the men,
having to remain in the fields in wet weather, erected huts of wood and
straw. Huy surrendered on the 17th of September, and in October the
ROYAL Regiment returned to its former station at Bruges.
[Sidenote: 1695]
Having passed the winter and spring in convenient quarters, the ROYAL
Regiment again took the field on the 26th of May, 1695; and on the 21st
of June the first battalion, commanded by Colonel Lord George Hamilton,
was detached to engage in the siege of the strong fortress of _Namur_;
at the same time, the second battalion remained with the covering army,
commanded by the Prince of Vaudemont, encamped near the river Lys.
Namur was, at this period, deemed almost impregnable, and the
garrison, consisting of twenty battalions of infantry, and twenty-four
squadrons of dragoons, was commanded by Marshal Boufflers, an officer
celebrated for bravery and perseverance; a vigorous defence was
consequently anticipated.
The first battalion of the ROYAL Regiment was stationed for several
days at Templeux, a post about five miles from Namur, and on the 8th
of July it took its station in the lines of circumvallation, and was
ordered to take part in an assault upon the covered-way near the hill
of Bouge, on the same evening. The signal for the attack was given
about seven o'clock, when the Foot Guards advanced boldly up to the
enemy's palisades, and placed the muzzles of their muskets between
the staves, fired a volley which put the French into some confusion.
The palisades were afterwards broken, and the troops rushed forward
to attack the second covered-way. During the first attack the ROYALS
supported the Dutch Foot Guards, but when the first palisades were
broken down, the Scots rushed furiously forward with the Foot Guards,
the second covered-way was carried, the French were overpowered,
driven from their works, and chased amongst the batteries on the
brow of the hill, and many of them sought a refuge from the fury of
their assailants in the stone pits. The ROYALS gained great credit
for their conduct on this occasion; and had Captains Sanderson and
Dixon, Lieutenant Penefather, and Ensign Cockburn, killed; and Colonel
Lord George Hamilton, Captain Hamilton, and Ensigns Carre and Vernal,
wounded.
On the 10th of July the battalion was on duty in the trenches, and as
it marched out on the following day Major Macilivan was killed by a
cannon-ball from the castle of Namur: on the same day its Colonel was
promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. The battalion was again
on duty in the trenches on the 13th of July; and on the evening of
the 17th it was engaged in storming the counterscarp. The attack was
commenced by the grenadiers, who rushed to the glacis, cast their
grenades over the palisades into the covered-way, and, following up
this attack with spirit, the troops carried the counterscarp in gallant
style.
An assault was made on the 23rd of July, on the covered-way and
traverses between the bastion of St. Roche and the Porte de Fer, and
the first battalion of the ROYAL Regiment formed part of the storming
party. The attack was made a little before sunset, and, after a sharp
contest, a lodgment was effected. The only loss sustained by the
battalion in this service appears to have been Lieutenant Archibald
Hamilton and a few private men wounded. The Dutch and Brandenburgers
were also successful at their points of attack, and on the 24th of
July, when preparations were making for another assault, the garrison
hoisted a white flag, and agreed to surrender the town, which was
delivered up on the following day, when the garrison retired into the
castle, where they resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity.
After the surrender of the town of Namur the first battalion of the
ROYAL Regiment marched from the lines of circumvallation to Genappe,
where a small force was assembled under the Earl of Athlone to
co-operate with the covering army; Captain Burgh and Lieutenant Wallis
of the ROYALS, however, remained with the forces engaged in the siege
of the castle, in the capacity of engineers. From Genappe the first
battalion marched to the village of Waterloo, and there pitched its
tents. Meanwhile, the second battalion had been engaged in several
movements for the preservation of Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime
towns of Flanders, and was, at this period, encamped near Brussels.
The confederate army being thus divided, part carrying on the siege
of the castle of Namur, and the remainder stationed in various places
in the Netherlands, the French commander, Marshal Villeroy, having
assembled an immense army, advanced to Brussels and bombarded the city;
he afterwards marched towards Namur, with the design of raising the
siege of the castle; when both battalions of the ROYAL Regiment, with
the remainder of the covering army, proceeded to the vicinity of Namur,
and took up a position to cover the siege. This position the French
commander did not venture to attack, and the siege of the castle was
prosecuted with vigour. On the 20th of August, the grenadier companies
of the ROYAL Regiment quitted the covering army to take part in an
assault upon the castle, and were engaged in storming the counterscarp
and breach of the Terra Nova, under the orders of Lord Cutts. This
proved a severe and sanguinary service; the assailants and defenders
fought with distinguished bravery, and, although the castle was not
carried, yet several lodgments were effected. The ROYALS had Lieutenant
William Hamilton and several men killed, and others wounded; Lieutenant
Archibald Hamilton, who was wounded in the third attack on the town,
was again wounded on this occasion. Preparations were afterwards made
for a second assault, when the garrison surrendered, and marched
out on the 26th of August (O.S.) Thus this important conquest was
effected, and the military reputation of King William was elevated; at
the same time, new lustre was reflected on the confederate arms. The
summer having been spent in making this capture, after the works were
repaired, the ROYALS marched back to Bruges.
[Sidenote: 1696]
In this city they passed the winter, and the losses of the preceding
campaign were replaced. On the 9th of May, 1696, they marched out of
Bruges, and pitched their tents along the banks of the canal towards
Ghent; and having received their new clothing from England a few days
before, they were reviewed, with several other corps, on the 16th of
May, by the Prince of Vaudemont, and on the 28th by King William, and
their appearance and discipline excited admiration.
The regiment passed this summer in camp along the banks of the Bruges
canal, having its post on the right of the bridge at Mary-Kirk; and
in the autumn it again proceeded into quarters at Bruges, where five
regiments of cavalry and eleven of infantry were stationed during the
winter.
[Sidenote: 1697]
In the spring of 1697, when the ROYAL Regiment took the field, four
companies were left in garrison at Bruges, where they remained during
the summer. The remainder of the regiment marched to Brussels in the
early part of March, and advanced from thence on the 12th of April
to Waterloo, where a camp was formed of four English and eight Dutch
battalions. The regiment was subsequently engaged in the several
operations of the main army under King William; during the latter part
of the month of May and the beginning of June it was encamped, with
the army, on the plain of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and was stationed in
front of the King's quarter; in the middle of June it marched to the
vicinity of Brussels, and was encamped before that city until the war
was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, which was signed during the
night between the 10th and 11th of September, 1697.
[Sidenote: 1698]
[Sidenote: 1699]
After the conclusion of the peace of Ryswick the ROYAL Regiment
marched from Brussels to Ghent, and during the winter it embarked for
Ireland; at the same time a reduction of four companies was made in
the establishment. A further reduction was subsequently made, and in
a warrant under the sign manual, bearing date the 1st of May, 1699,
the numbers of the regiment are fixed at 22 companies of 3 officers, 2
serjeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 34 private men each.[84]
[Sidenote: 1700]
Events transpired in Europe at the close of the year 1700 which
occasioned the regiment to be again placed on a war establishment and
sent on foreign service.
These events were the decease of Charles II., King of Spain, on the
1st of November, 1700, without issue, and the accession of Philip Duke
of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV. of France, to the throne of Spain, in
violation of existing treaties, and to the prejudice of the house of
Austria. Several European states being averse to the accession either
of an Austrian or Bourbon prince to the throne of the Spanish monarchy,
a partition had been contemplated; but the sudden acquisition of the
dominions of Spain by a grandson of the most potent and ambitious
monarch in Europe, with the prospect of France and Spain being
eventually united under one sovereign, rendered the partition-treaty
abortive, agitated the public mind, and produced a sensation of alarm
throughout the greater part of Christendom.
[Sidenote: 1701]
The interest of every state being affected by the change in the
dynasty of Spain, the standing armies were augmented, and, while
the din of hostile preparation was heard on every side, negotiations
were commenced with the view of preventing a war. The French monarch,
however, sent a body of troops to take possession of the Spanish
Netherlands, and detained 15,000 Dutch, who, in virtue of a convention
with Spain, formed the garrisons of the barrier towns. The loss of so
large a body of their best troops, with the advance of a French army
towards their frontiers, alarmed the States General of the United
Provinces, and King William sent thirteen British battalions to Holland
to assist the Dutch.
The ROYAL Regiment, having been augmented to 24 companies of 3
officers, 3 serjeants, 3 corporals, 2 drummers, and 59 private men
each, was one of the corps selected to proceed on foreign service;
it accordingly embarked at the Cove of Cork on the 15th of June,
1701, in two ships of war, and sailing on the following day, arrived
at Helvoetsluys, on the island of Voorn, in South Holland, on the
8th of July. Here the English troops were removed from the ships of
war on board of Dutch vessels, and sailed up the river Maese to the
several garrisons of Breda, Gertruydenberg, Huesden, Worcum, Gorcum,
and Borsch. From these stations they were recalled in the middle of
September to the vicinity of Breda, and encamped on Breda Heath, where
they were reviewed on the 21st of that month by King William, and
afterwards returned to their former stations.[85]
Meanwhile the death of King James II. had occurred at St. Germain in
France, and Louis XIV. caused the Pretender to be proclaimed King of
England, Scotland, and Ireland. This indignity offered to the British
sovereign and nation aroused the indignation of the people; the army
was again augmented, and in the following spring additional forces were
sent to Holland.
[Sidenote: 1702]
The ROYAL Regiment, having passed the winter amongst the Dutch, quitted
its cantonments on the 10th of March, and proceeded to Rosendael,
where the British infantry assembled and encamped under the orders
of Brigadier-General Ingoldsby. Here the troops received information
of the death of King William III. on the 8th of March, and of the
accession of Queen Anne. They also learnt that Her Majesty was resolved
to prosecute the war with vigour, and the officers and soldiers took
the oath of allegiance to the Queen.
In the middle of April a strong fortress on the Lower Rhine called
_Kayserswerth_, which was occupied by the French, was besieged by the
Germans, and a few days afterwards the ROYAL and other British corps
quitting their camp at Rosendael, marched across the country to the
Duchy of Cleves, where they joined a body of Dutch and Germans under
the Earl of Athlone, and encamped at Cranenburg on the Lower Rhine to
cover the siege. While the ROYAL Regiment lay with the army at this
camp, a French force of superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of
Burgundy and Marshal Boufflers, traversed the forest of Cleves, and
advanced through the plains of Goch to cut off the communication of the
allied army with Grave and Nimeguen. In consequence of this movement,
the allied army struck its tents a little before sunset on the 10th of
June, and having continued its retreat throughout the night, arrived
about eight o'clock on the following morning within a few miles of
_Nimeguen_, at the same time the French columns appeared on both flanks
and in the rear, marching with all possible expedition to surround the
allies. Some sharp skirmishing occurred; the ROYALS, Foot Guards, and
other British corps forming the rear guard, behaved with distinguished
gallantry, and having taken possession of some hedges and buildings,
held the enemy in check while the army effected its retreat under the
works of Nimeguen: in three days afterwards Kayserswerth surrendered.
In the meantime additional forces had arrived from England, and the
Earl of Marlborough assumed the command of the British, Dutch, and
auxiliary troops. The French had, at this period, overrun the Duchy of
Cleves, and were menacing the frontiers of Holland; but when the Earl
of Marlborough had assembled the troops of the several nations, he
advanced against the enemy, and by skilful movements forced the French
commanders to retire. The ROYALS formed part of the force under the
Earl of Marlborough, and were engaged in several movements designed to
bring on a general action, which the enemy avoided. In September the
regiment was encamped a few miles from Maestricht, and formed part of
the covering army during the siege of _Venloo_, a town in the province
of Limburg, on the east side of the river Maese, which surrendered
on the 25th of September. In a few days after the capture of this
place, the siege of _Ruremonde_ was undertaken; at the same time one
battalion of the ROYAL Regiment, commanded by Brigadier-General the
Earl of Orkney, was detached, with other troops, from the main army
near Maestricht to besiege _Stevenswart_, or Fort St. Etienne, situated
on a small island in the river Maese, nineteen miles from Maestricht.
Two batteries opened a sharp fire against the fort in the beginning of
October, and at day-break on the morning of the third of that month the
troops reared their ladders against the walls and began to ascend to
attack the place sword in hand, when the garrison beat a parley and
surrendered. The battalion of the ROYAL Regiment rejoined the army on
the 6th of October, and Ruremonde surrendered on the same day. On the
tenth, at one o'clock in the morning, the main army struck its tents
and advanced in two columns towards the city of _Liege_, and at four
in the afternoon encamped near the works. The French set the suburb
of St. Walburgh on fire, and retired into the citadel and Chartreuse,
when the magistrates delivered up the city, and the army commenced the
siege of the citadel, which was taken by storm on the 23rd of October;
the British grenadiers and fusiliers engaged in the assault highly
distinguished themselves, and had 154 officers and soldiers killed,
and 380 wounded. The Chartreuse surrendered a few days afterwards; and
these conquests terminated the campaign. The British troops quitted
the pleasant valley of Liege on the 3rd of November, and marched to
Tongres, where they halted one day, and afterwards continued their
route to Holland; the ROYAL Regiment proceeded to Breda, in which city
it appears to have passed the winter in garrison, together with a
battalion of Foot Guards and two or three other corps.
[Sidenote: 1703]
Leaving these quarters towards the end of April, 1703, the ROYAL
Regiment traversed the country to the vicinity of Maestricht. Meanwhile
the Dutch and Germans were besieging Bonn, a strong town on the Rhine;
and the French commanders, Marshal Villeroy and Boufflers, thinking
to take advantage of the dispersed state of the army, made a sudden
advance to surprise the troops in their quarters. The first attack
was made on two British regiments[86] at Tongres, a town surrounded
by a wall and defended by a few dilapidated towers; these regiments,
however, defended themselves upwards of twenty-four hours before they
surrendered. While the contest was in progress at Tongres, the ROYALS,
with a number of other corps, struck their tents, and proceeding to
Maestricht, formed in order of battle near the works; the French
commanders advanced and reconnoitred the position, and, after a sharp
cannonade, retreated to Tongres.