Previous to quitting the Netherlands, the regiment sent a detachment of six hundred men to Maestricht to garrison that city, while the Dutch troops were working at the entrenchments on the heights of Petersberg. In the early part of May, 1704, the remainder of the regiment marched from its winter quarters towards the Rhine, and was joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht. On the 19th of May the army directed its march from Bedburg along the course of the Rhine towards the Moselle, and traversed both rivers at Coblentz on the 25th and 26th of that month; thence proceeding towards the Maine, arrived at the suburbs of Mentz in the beginning of June; the cavalry being in advance with the Duke of Marlborough, the infantry and artillery a few stages in the rear under General Charles Churchill. From the Maine the infantry directed its march through the Landgraviate of Hesse, towards the Neckar, passed this river on the 15th of June, and proceeding in the direction of the Danube, was soon afterwards at the seat of war in Germany, and co-operating with the forces of the empire.

On the 2nd of July, at three o'clock in the morning, the army marched in the direction of Donawerth, to attack a body of French and Bavarians under the Count d'Arco, in an entrenched camp on the heights of Schellenberg, on the left bank of the Danube. After traversing a difficult tract of country, the troops crossed the river Wernitz and arrived in front of the enemy's camp, and about six in the evening the leading division, consisting of a detachment from each British regiment, with the Foot Guards, Royals, and Ingoldsby's regiment (23rd), commanded by Brigadier-General Fergusson, and a Dutch force under General Goor, advanced under cover of a heavy cannonade, to attack the enemy's entrenchments. When these brave troops arrived within the range of the enemy's cannon they were assailed by a volley of grape, which produced a dreadful carnage. General Goor and many brave officers fell; Lieut.-Col. White of the Royals was severely wounded; yet the assailants moved forward with a firm tread until they arrived at a ravine which they were unable to pass, when they shrunk back before the shower of bullets which assailed them. At this moment the enemy issued from the entrenchments and charged the British and Dutch with great fury, but were gallantly opposed by the English Foot Guards. The Royals and Ingoldsby's regiment also confronted the charging Bavarians with firmness, and the enemy was repulsed and driven back into the entrenchments. A second attack was soon afterwards made on the heights, and the Royals were again sharply engaged. The French and Bavarians made a vigorous resistance, and sallying from the trenches attacked the leading regiments of the allies; the British and Dutch infantry being exhausted by a continued struggle up a rising ground, and their ranks thinned by a destructive fire, once more shrunk back; they were, however, supported by the cavalry under Lieut.-General Lumley, and having rallied, they returned to the attack with great resolution. This protracted contest shook the strength and weakened the resistance of the enemy. The Imperialists, commanded by the Margrave of Baden, arrived at the scene of conflict and attacked the enemy's left; at the same time the British and Dutch made another furious attack. Three field-officers of the Royals had already been carried from the field wounded, yet the regiment was seen pressing upon the enemy, and making a desperate effort to force the entrenchments; the Scots Greys dismounted to join in the attack; and the French and Bavarians were overpowered and driven from the heights with dreadful carnage. The cavalry under General Lumley charged the fugitives, and completed the overthrow of the enemy. Sixteen pieces of artillery, a number of standards and colours, with the enemy's tents, and the equipage, and the plate of Count d'Arco, fell into the hands of the confederates.

Thus the Royals were triumphant near the same ground where the regiment, when forming part of the Green Brigade in the service of Gustavus Adolphus, distinguished itself in March 1632.

The first battalion of the Royal Regiment had Captain Murray, Ensigns M'Dugal and M'Ilroy, one serjeant, and 38 rank and file killed; and Lieut.-Colonel White, Major Cockburn, Captains Hume, Irwin, and Brown; Lieutenants Kid and Ballatine; Ensigns Stratton, Cunningham, and Stewart; with 3 serjeants, and 103 rank and file, wounded.

The second battalion had Captain Baily and Lieutenant Levingston, with 1 serjeant and 76 private men, killed; and Major Kerr, Captain Carr, Lieutenants Pearson, Moore, Vernel, Hay, Dickson, and Hamilton, Ensigns M'Queen, M'Onway, Moremere, Elliot, Inglis, and Moore, with 12 serjeants, and 184 rank and file, wounded.

The victory at Schellenberg was immediately followed by the flight of the enemy from Donawerth, which place was taken possession of by the allies. At the same time the Royal Regiment crossed the Danube, and advancing into Bavaria, was engaged in operations with the army; while the French and Bavarians, having made a hasty retreat to Augsburg, formed an entrenched camp near that city. The enemy also abandoned several small towns, which were taken possession of by the allies, and Rayn was captured after a short siege. The army afterwards advanced towards Augsburg, and halted a short time within sight of the enemy's fortified camp. In the mean time each regiment sent out parties to plunder the country. This occasioned the Elector of Bavaria to engage in a treaty with the view of an accommodation; but he soon afterwards received information that another reinforcement of French troops had traversed the Black Forest, when he broke off the treaty, which so incensed the Imperialists that they laid a great part of Bavaria in ashes.

The fortified camp at Augsburg being found too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, the troops retired a few stages, and the siege of Ingoldstadt was undertaken by a detachment of Germans, at the same time the Royal Regiment formed part of the covering army.

The Elector of Bavaria quitted his entrenched camp, and having formed a junction with the reinforcements which Louis XIV. had sent to his aid, the united armies encamped in the valley of the Danube, near the village of Blenheim. At the same time the allied army, commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, had advanced to the village of Minster, and was encamped with its left to the Danube.

At three o'clock on the morning of the eventful 13th of August, 1704, the allies advanced to attack the French and Bavarians. About seven the heads of columns arrived in presence of the enemy, and a pause ensuing, the chaplains performed the usual service at the heads of their respective regiments. About mid-day, a column, of which one battalion of the Royal Regiment formed part, advanced under the direction of Lieut.-General Lord Cutts and Major-General Wilks, to attack the village of Blenheim, where the French commander, Marshal Tallard, had posted a considerable number of troops, and entrenchments and pallisades had been constructed. This column, consisting of the two British brigades, commanded by Brigadier-Generals Row and Fergusson, a brigade of Hessians, and a brigade of Hanoverians, proceeded to the banks of the little river Nebel, and took possession of two water mills, which the enemy evacuated, and set on fire. Thence advancing towards the inclosures, the leading brigade received the fire of the troops in Blenheim, and many officers and men fell; but the gallant Row struck his sword in the enemy's pallisades before he gave the word "fire." His brigade was, however, unable to force the entrenchments against the superior numbers of the enemy; and while retiring it was charged by the French cavalry, but the enemy was repulsed by the Hessians. Soon afterwards, Fergusson's brigade and the Hanoverians traversed the Nebel, near the lower water-mill, and attacked the front of the village, but were repulsed three successive times; the firing was, however, continued against Blenheim; and the remainder of the forces traversed the rivulet, and attacked the main body of the French army. The other battalion of the Royal Regiment was now brought into action; the blaze of musketry extended along the whole front; and the troops of the several nations fought with distinguished bravery. The combat of musketry, and the charges of the cavalry, were continued for some time with varied success. Eventually the main body of the enemy was overpowered, and chased from the field with great slaughter; many prisoners were also captured, and amongst them the French commander, Marshal Tallard.

When the main body of the French army was defeated, the troops posted in Blenheim attempted to escape by the rear of the village, but were repulsed. A second attempt was made in another direction, but was checked by the Scots Greys. A third attempt was also made, but the French were again driven back, and forced to take shelter behind the houses and inclosures. Though encompassed and intercepted on every side, the French obstinately defended their post. Additional forces were brought against them; the batteries opened a tremendous fire; Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney attacked the French troops posted in the churchyard with eight battalions; Lieut.-General Ingoldsby attacked the right side of the village with four battalions, supported by the Royal Irish (late 5th) Dragoons; and both battalions of the Royals were now engaged. A sharp struggle ensued, which ended in a parley, and eventually twenty-four French battalions of infantry, and twelve squadrons of cavalry, surrendered prisoners of war. The Germans who attacked the enemy's right were also triumphant. Thus the struggle of this eventful day ended in a complete victory, which reflected lustre on the confederate arms, and showed in its native colours the true character of the British soldier. The French and Bavarians are reported to have lost in killed, wounded, prisoners, and from other causes, about forty thousand men, with nearly all their tents, cannon, and ammunition, and a great number of standards, colours, and kettle-drums.

The Royal Regiment lost in this action[89] Lieut.-Colonel White, Ensigns M'Conway and Craig, killed; Captain Lord Forbes died of his wounds; and Captains Montgomery, Bruce, and Lindsay, with Lieutenants Harrowby and Lisle, and Ensign Hume, wounded.

The number of French and Bavarians taken on this occasion was so great that the second battalion of the Royals, with the regiments of Prince George of Denmark, Lords North and Grey, Row and Meredith, commanded by Brigadier-General Fergusson, were sent to Holland in charge of the prisoners. These troops marched with the prisoners to Mentz, where they embarked in boats and sailed to Holland, and, having delivered them into the charge of other corps, were placed in garrison for the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile the first battalion continued with the army in Germany; and the enemy abandoned several important cities, which were occupied by the allies. The battalion of the Royal Regiment proceeded through the circle of Swabia and directed its march to Philipsburg, where it crossed the Rhine on the 7th of September, and subsequently formed part of the covering army during the siege of Landau, a town in the Bavarian circle of the Rhine, situated in a beautiful valley on the river Queich. On the 13th of October this battalion, with the regiments of Hamilton, Ingoldsby, and Tatton, marched from the covering army encamped at Croon-Weissemberg to Germersheim, and embarking in boats, sailed down the Rhine to Holland, and were placed in garrison for the winter.

In the following spring, the losses of the preceding campaign were replaced with recruits from Scotland; and in April the regiment quitted its quarters, and directed its march towards Maestricht, passed that city on the 13th of May, and proceeded to Juliers. From Juliers the regiment proceeded through a mountainous country to the valley of the Moselle, in the midst of which stands the ancient city of Treves, where both battalions encamped on the 28th of May. The British and Dutch, with several German corps, having assembled in the neighbourhood of Treves, the army passed the Moselle and the Saar on the 3rd of June, and advanced towards Syrk, near which place a French army of superior numbers, commanded by Marshal Villiers, was encamped. The allied army halted a short distance from the enemy, and awaited the arrival of the Imperialists under the Margrave of Baden, who had promised to co-operate with the Duke of Marlborough in carrying on the war in this direction: but this co-operation was delayed so long that the British commander was forced to return to the Netherlands, where the French were making considerable progress.

The retreat was commenced during the night of the 17th of June; and on the 20th, Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney was detached with all the grenadiers, and one hundred men of each battalion, to observe the motions of a detachment which Marshal Villiers had sent towards the Netherlands.

The approach of the army towards the Maese alarmed the French, and they raised the siege of the citadel of Liege and retired. On the 4th of July the first battalion of the Royal Regiment was detached, with other forces under General Schultz and Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, to besiege Huy, which had been captured by the French during the absence of the army up the Moselle. On the 6th a battery of twelve cannon and six mortars opened a sharp fire upon Fort Picard; and during the afternoon of the same day the troops forced the covered-way and reared their ladders against the walls, when the French quitted this fort and also Fort Rouge, and fled to the castle. On the 10th the batteries were brought to bear on the castle and on Fort Joseph, and on the following day the garrison surrendered.

Meanwhile the French army, commanded by Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, having taken refuge behind their fortified lines, the Duke of Marlborough had formed a scheme for forcing these stupendous barriers, and the first battalion of the Royal Regiment rejoined the army in time to take part in this splendid enterprise. The lines were menaced by a detachment on the south of the Mehaine, which drew the greater part of the French army to that quarter; and during the night of the 17th of July the allied army marched to its right, and at four o'clock on the following morning the leading regiments approached the works at Neer-Hespen and Helixem. Both battalions of the Royal Regiment were in the leading division. Their advance was concealed by a thick fog, and under the cover of this obscurity one column cleared the village of Neer-Winden and Neer-Hespen, another gained the bridge and village of Helixem, and a third carried the castle of Wange, which commanded the passage over the Little Gheet. Then rushing through the inclosures and marshy grounds, the troops forded the river, and crowded over the defences with an ardour which overcame all opposition. The French guards were surprised and overpowered, and a detachment of dragoons fled in a panic. Thus the lines were forced; the pioneers were instantly set to work, and in a short time a passage was made for the cavalry. While this was in progress, the Marquis d'Allegre advanced with twenty battalions of infantry, and fifty squadrons of cavalry, and opened a sharp cannonade; but his advance was retarded by a hollow way, which gave time for more troops to pass the lines; and eventually his forces were attacked and defeated, and the allies took many prisoners, and also captured a number of standards and colours. Speaking of this action, the Duke of Marlborough observes in a letter published in his memoirs,—"It is impossible to say too much good of the troops that were with me, for never men fought better."

The enemy made a precipitate retreat, and took up a position behind the river Dyle. The Duke of Marlborough advanced with the design of passing the river, but was prevented by heavy rains. On the 21st of July, a small body of French troops passed the Dyle, when the first battalion of the Royal Regiment was ordered forward, and a slight skirmish ensued. The French fled to their lines, and a few companies of the Royals pursuing too far, were fired upon from the works, and had one captain killed and several men wounded. Major General Wood was also wounded.

The Royal Regiment was subsequently engaged in several manœuvres; but the designs of the British commander were frustrated by the inactivity and want of co-operation on the part of the Dutch generals. The French lines were demolished in the autumn; and a detachment was sent to invest a small town and fortress on the Scheldt, called Sandlivet, which surrendered on the 29th of October. In the early part of November the regiment marched back to Holland, and was placed in garrison for the winter.

The Royal Regiment again took the field in May, 1706, and proceeding to the province of Limburg, arrived at the general rendezvous of the army at Bilsen, near Tongres, on the 19th of that month. Advancing from Bilsen, the army proceeded in the direction of Mont St. André; and on Whit-Sunday, the 23rd of May, as the troops were on the march, the enemy's army, commanded by Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, was discovered forming in order of battle in the position of Mont St. André, with their centre at the village of Ramilies, which was occupied by a considerable body of troops.

The allied army, diverging into the open plain of Jandrinœuil, formed line, and advanced against the enemy. The Royal Regiment, having its post near the right of the first line, formed on the heights of Foulz; then descending, with several other British, Dutch, and German corps, into the low grounds near the river, menaced the villages of Autreglise and Offuz with an attack. This movement occasioned the enemy to weaken his centre to support his left flank, when the duke of Marlborough made a powerful attack on the enemy's centre and right. The Royals were spectators of the fight for above an hour; at length a critical period in the engagement arrived, and the regiment was brought forward. The veterans of Schellenberg and Blenheim fought like men resolved to die rather than lose their reputation; and the French, Spaniards, and Bavarians, were overthrown and driven from the field with a terrible slaughter. The fugitives were pursued many miles, and an immense number of prisoners, with cannon, standards, and colours, was captured. Thus a complete and decisive victory was gained over an army of superior numbers in less than three hours.

The wreck of the French army continued its precipitate flight to Louvain, and immediately afterwards abandoned that city, and also Brussels. The States of Brabant, and the magistrates of Brussels, renounced their allegiance to the Duke of Anjou. The principal towns of Brabant, and several others in Flanders, were immediately delivered up, and others surrendered on being summoned, or in a few days afterwards. Dendermond held out, and was blockaded in the early part of June; and Ostend was afterwards besieged by a detachment from the main army, and surrendered on the 6th of July. Menin was besieged on the 25th of July, and surrendered in August; and Dendermond was delivered up in the early part of September. During these sieges the Royals continued to form part of the covering army; but after the surrender of Dendermond, one battalion of the regiment was detached under Marshal d'Auverquerque and Lieut.-General Ingoldsby, to besiege Aeth, a town and fortress on the river Dender. This place was invested on the 16th of September: the several attacks were carried on with vigour, and the garrison surrendered on the 3rd of October. The capture of Aeth was the last important event of this glorious campaign: and in the early part of November the Royal Regiment marched into garrison at Ghent.

Here the regiment passed the succeeding winter and spring, and again took the field on the 16th of May, 1707, when the first battalion was formed in brigade with the Foot Guards and the regiments of Godfrey and Sabine (now 16th and 23rd), commanded by Brigadier-General Meredith; and the second battalion with the regiments of Webb, Ingoldsby, and Tatton, (now 8th, 18th, and 24th), and Temple's (since disbanded), under the command of Brigadier General Sir Richard Temple, afterwards Viscount Cobham. The opposing armies, however, passed the campaign in manœuvring, and observing each other's movements; the French avoided a general engagement; and in October the Royals returned to Ghent.

In this year, the Union of Scotland with England having taken place, the Cross of St. Andrew was placed on the colours of the English regiments in addition to the Cross of St. George—previously displayed; and the Royal Regiment obtained as a regimental badge—the Royal Cypher, within the circle of St. Andrew, surmounted with a crown; instead of St. Andrew's Cross, which it had formerly borne on its colours.

While the regiment was reposing in winter quarters in Flanders, the King of France fitted out a fleet and embarked a body of troops at Dunkirk for the purpose of making a descent on the British coast in favour of the Pretender; and the Royals, with the Foot Guards and seven other corps, were ordered to return to England to repel the invaders. The Royal Regiment marched from Ghent on the 8th March, 1708 (O.S.), embarked at Ostend on the 15th, and arrived at Tynemouth on the 21st. Meanwhile the French fleet, with the Pretender on board, had sailed from Dunkirk; but being chased by the British men-of-war, the enemy returned to Dunkirk without effecting a landing. The Royals were then ordered back to Flanders, and having landed at Ostend on the 20th of April, proceeded in boats along the canal to Ghent.

The regiment remained at Ghent until the 22nd of May, when it took the field and engaged in the general operations of the army, and soon afterwards the French obtained possession of Ghent and Bruges by treachery. A more important advantage was, however, gained on the 11th of July by the allied army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough, who crossed the Scheldt and defeated the French army, commanded by the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Vendôme, near Oudenarde. The Royals formed part of the division of twenty battalions commanded by the Duke of Argyle, and having traversed the Scheldt by the pontoon bridge between Oudenarde and the Abbey of Eename, they ascended the heights of Bevere; then, inclining to the right, engaged the enemy in the fields and open grounds beyond the rivulet. A fierce conflict of musketry ensued, and charge succeeded charge, until the shades of evening gathered over the scene of conflict, and the combatants could only be discerned by the flashes of musketry which blazed in the fields and marshy grounds. The French, having been driven from hedge to hedge, and from thicket to thicket, were eventually overpowered. Part of their army being separated from the remainder was nearly surrounded and destroyed, and the work of destruction was continued until the darkness became so intense that it was impossible to distinguish friends from foes, when the troops were ordered to cease firing. Night favoured the enemy; many of the corps, which were nearly surrounded, escaped in the dark, and the wreck of the French army made a precipitate retreat to Ghent, leaving the allies in possession of the field of battle, with many prisoners, standards, colours, and other indisputable marks of victory.

The Royals were subsequently employed in covering the siege of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, which was captured by Louis XIV. in 1667, and ceded to France by the treaty of peace in 1668. This city being situated on a plain watered by several streams, and protected by a series of stupendous works constructed under the superintendence of Vauban, the celebrated French engineer, and being defended by a garrison of 15,000 men commanded by the veteran Marshal Boufflers, who was prepared with everything requisite for a protracted defence, the siege was considered an undertaking of great magnitude, and it excited universal attention. The French made strenuous exertions to preserve the place, and an immense body of troops advanced against the covering army, of which the Royal Regiment formed a part; but the French Marshals were dismayed by the determined countenance of the allies, and frustrated by the superior tactics of the Duke of Marlborough. The enemy next attempted to cut off the supplies of military stores and provision from the army; and a quantity of stores having been sent from England to Ostend, and there placed in waggons, one battalion of the Royal Regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton, was detached from the covering army to protect the stores from Ostend to the camp. This battalion was sent, in the first instance, to Oudenburg, with orders to wait there until the convoy had passed, and afterwards to join the escort at Turout. The waggons left Ostend on the 27th of September, and continued their route towards the army; at the same time the French commanders sent a detachment of 22,000 men under the orders of Count de la Motte to intercept the convoy. After the waggons had proceeded a considerable distance on their way, the battalion of the Royal Regiment quitted Oudenburg and proceeded to Turout, where information was received of the movements of the enemy, when the battalion marched with all possible expedition to succour the convoy, and arrived at the wood of Wynendale at the moment when Major-General Webb was forming the few troops he had with him in an opening beyond the wood. The French had to pass through the wood, and Major-General Webb placed a battalion in ambush amongst the trees on each side of the defile, and drew up the main body of his detachment, which consisted of about 8000 men, in an open space at the end of the defile. The French advanced in full confidence to overwhelm a force which did not amount to half their own numbers; but, when passing through the wood, they were assailed by the ambush on their left, which put them in some confusion. They, however, continued to advance and broke through two of the battalions of the allies posted at the end of the defile; but the battalion in ambush on the enemy's right having opened its fire, and the head of their column being attacked, the French were repulsed and driven back through the wood. They soon rallied and returned to the attack, and were again assailed by a destructive fire in front and on both flanks, and they shrunk back in dismay. The attack was repeated, and the destructive cross fire was again opened with the same results; and Count de la Motte, being unable to induce his men to return to the charge, he was forced to relinquish the contest and retire. At this moment Lieut.-General Cadogan arrived with a few squadrons of cavalry, and the convoy was conducted in safety to the army. This gallant exploit excited great admiration, and Major-General Webb was honoured with the thanks of parliament, and the approbation of the Queen, for his conduct on this occasion.

The Royal Regiment continued to form part of the covering army, and was employed in several services connected with the procuring of provision and stores for the besieging troops. In November, the Elector of Bavaria besieged Brussels, and the Royals formed part of the force which advanced to relieve the place. The strong positions of the enemy behind the Scheldt were forced on the 27th of November; and when the troops advanced upon Brussels, the Elector of Bavaria raised the siege, and made a precipitate retreat.

The citadel of Lisle, being vigorously pressed, surrendered on the 9th of December. The period for military operations had passed away; but notwithstanding the lateness of the season the Duke of Marlborough resolved to besiege Ghent, and the Royal Regiment was one of the corps selected for this service. An attack was made on the out-posts of the town on the night of the 24th of December, when a detachment of the Royals formed part of the forlorn-hope, and had several men killed and wounded. The trenches were opened during the same night, and the siege being prosecuted with spirit and vigour, the garrison surrendered on the 2nd of January, 1709. Bruges was also vacated by the French; and the Royal Regiment, having marched into Ghent when that city was delivered up, remained there during the winter.

The regiment, having reposed for a few months in convenient quarters, and obtained a body of fine recruits from Scotland, advanced from Bruges to the plain of Lisle, and was afterwards encamped with the army on the banks of the Upper Dyle. The French had constructed a new line of entrenchments and forts: the allies advanced with the apparent design of attacking the enemy, when Marshal Villars drew a number of troops out of the neighbouring garrisons, and prepared to make a determined resistance. This was what the Duke of Marlborough wished; and no sooner had a considerable detachment of French troops quitted the garrison of Tournay, than the allies struck their tents, marched to the left, and invested the town. Both battalions of the Royal Regiment were in the besieging army, and took an active part in the several attacks on the works, and in repulsing the sallies of the garrison. On the 29th of July, while preparations were making to attack the town by storm, the governor surrendered. The citadel still held out; but five British regiments, which had not taken part in the siege of the town, were selected for the siege of the citadel, and the Royal Regiment joined the covering army.

During the period the siege of the citadel of Tournay was in progress, Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney was detached, with the grenadier companies of the Royal and several other regiments, and twenty squadrons of cavalry, towards St. Ghislain, to seize on certain passes, and to facilitate the subsequent operations of the campaign; and the citadel having surrendered on the 3rd of September, the army afterwards proceeded towards Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault, which the allies intended to besiege. While the troops were on the march, Marshal Villars made several movements with the view to prevent the loss of Mons; and on the 10th of September the French army was in position in front of Taisniere and the hamlet of Malplaquet, and having thrown up entrenchments and constructed abatis de bois and other defences, until their camp resembled a fortified citadel, they there awaited the attack of the allies.

At three o'clock on the morning of the 11th September, the forces of the several nations which composed the army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, were under arms. The two battalions of the Royal Regiment appeared on parade on the ground where they had passed the night, and divine service was performed by the chaplain. The French camp was a short distance in front; but a thick mist overspread the woods and open grounds, and concealed the armies from each other. Under cover of the fog, the artillery was brought forward, and dispositions made for the attack: the French heard the din of hostile preparations, and seized their weapons, and two powerful armies, headed by commanders of renown, stood arrayed against each other. The troops of both armies had confidence in their leaders, and were anxious for the combat; the one to acquire new laurels under their favourite chiefs, and the other to retrieve the disasters of eight successive campaigns. The fog lingered on the ground until about half-past seven, when the sun broke forth. The fire of the artillery instantly opened on both sides, and the columns of attack moved forward, and commenced one of the most sanguinary and hard-contested battles on record, in which there was a greater sacrifice of life than at the battles of Blenheim, Ramilies, and Oudenarde, put together. "It is impossible to express the violence of the fire on either side. Besides the enemy's advantageous situation, they defended themselves like brave men, and made all the resistance that could be expected from the best of troops; but then nothing could be a finer sight than to see our foot surmount so many obstacles, resist so great a fire, force the enemy's entrenchments, beat them from thence, and drive them quite out of the wood, and after all, to draw up in good order of battle on the plain, in sight of our enemies, and before their third entrenchments[90]."

The Royals formed part of the division commanded by General Count Lottum, and were engaged in the assault of the entrenchments in the wood of Taisniere. Two battalions of Foot Guards led the attack, and, having overcome several local difficulties, they commenced ascending the enemy's breastwork, but were repulsed and driven back. The Royals seconded the Foot Guards; Argyle's regiment (3rd Buffs), and several other corps, prolonged the attack to the left; and these troops, rushing forward with the native energy and resolution of Britons, forced the entrenchments in gallant style, and the French fell back fighting and retreating into the woods. The Royals, and other corps, pressed forward: the trees and foliage being thick, the ranks were broken; every tree was disputed, and the wood echoed the turmoil of battle on every side.

When the fighting in the wood of Taisniere, where the Royals were engaged, had assumed the character of a series of skirmishes, a most sanguinary conflict was raging in other parts of the field, particularly in the centre, where the Prince of Orange led the Dutch infantry against the enemy's treble entrenchments, and at the points of attack allotted to the Germans. Eventually the enemy's position was broken, and a conflict of cavalry ensued, in which the allies proved victorious. Meanwhile the Royals, and other corps engaged in the woods, continued to gain ground, and the French were forced to retreat. The allies captured a number of prisoners, colours, standards, and cannon; but this victory was purchased at an immense expense of human life, especially of Germans and Dutch. The Royals having fought a great part of the day in the wood, where the men were partly covered by the trees, the regiment did not sustain a very severe loss. Lieutenant Haley and a few private men were killed; and Lieutenants J. Stratton, Dixon, and W. Stratton, were wounded[91].

The victory at Malplaquet was followed by the siege and capture of Mons, which was terminated by the surrender of the garrison on the 20th of October. The Royals formed part of the covering army during the siege, and afterwards marched back to Ghent.

The regiment having passed the winter in its former quarters, quitted Ghent on the 14th of April, 1710, and directing its march towards the frontiers of France, arrived at the rendezvous of the army, in the vicinity of Tournay, on the 19th of that month. The allies, by a forced march, succeeded in passing the French lines at Pont-a-Verdun without opposition, and invested Douay. The Royals formed part of the covering army during the siege. The French army advanced and menaced the allies with an attack, but retreated after a sharp cannonade, and Douay surrendered on the 27th of June.

After the capture of Douay, the Royals marched in the direction of Aubigny, and formed part of the covering army encamped at Villers-Brulin during the siege of Bethune. This place having surrendered on the 28th of August, the Royals were afterwards detached from the main army, and sent under the command of the Prince of Anhault, to besiege the town of Aire, which is situated on the banks of the river Lys. The governor of this place made a vigorous defence; and the regiment was sharply engaged several times in carrying on the attacks and storming the outworks, and had a number of men killed and wounded. The garrison having surrendered on the 9th of November, the regiment afterwards marched back to its former winter-quarters at Ghent, where it arrived on the 23rd of November.

The Royals again took the field towards the end of April, 1711, and, advancing up the country, joined the army near Douay, and were reviewed with the remainder of the British infantry, on the 8th of June, by the Duke of Marlborough, at the camp at Warde. On the 14th the army advanced to the plains of Lens. The enemy had thrown up a new line of entrenchments; and the French army, commanded by Marshal Villars, was posted behind these formidable works, which were deemed impregnable. But the British commander, by menacing the enemy's left, occasioned the French troops to be drawn to that quarter; then, by a forced march, passed the lines at an unguarded part at Arleux, and afterwards invested Bouchain, a fortified town of Hainault, situated on both sides of the river Scheldt. The Royals formed part of a division of twenty battalions, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, which took post on the north and north-west side of the town and river.

The French, by a night march, gained possession of the heights of Wavrechin, from whence they expected to be able to relieve the town; and the Royals formed part of a division of infantry which advanced to dislodge the enemy; but the position was found too formidable to be attacked, and the regiment retired without firing a shot. During the night a series of works was constructed; a causeway was also made through the deep inundations which the enemy had, by means of sluices on the river, caused to overflow the low grounds near the town; and thus Bouchain was completely invested, and all communication with the troops on the heights of Wavrechin cut off. The siege was then prosecuted with vigour, and the Royals took their turn of duty in the trenches, and in carrying on the attacks, and had several men killed and wounded. The total loss of the British troops in this siege was 1,154 officers and men killed and wounded. The garrison agreed to surrender on the 13th of September. The Royals remained at Bouchain until the works were repaired, and afterwards went into quarters for the winter.

In the early part of April, 1712, the regiment once more took the field, and on the 19th of that month pitched its tents near Tournay, where the Duke of Ormond arrived on the 9th of May, and took command of the army, the Duke of Marlborough having, for a political cause, been removed from his military appointments.

On the 19th of May the army advanced, and on the 21st encamped on the hills of St. Denis, near Bouchain; thence proceeding across the Scheldt, arrived a few days afterwards near the frontiers of France; and the two grenadier companies of the Royal Regiment, forming part of a reconnoitring party, advanced a few miles into Picardy.

The siege of Quesnoy was afterwards undertaken, and the Royal Regiment, forming part of the covering army, was encamped at Cateau-Cambresis; but was not engaged in any act of direct hostility. The garrison surrendered on the 4th of July; and soon afterwards the Duke of Ormond having received orders to proclaim a suspension of arms between the British and French, preparatory to a general treaty of peace, the British troops retreated from the frontiers of France to Ghent.

The French monarch having agreed to deliver the city of Dunkirk into the hands of the British as a pledge of his sincerity in the negociations for peace, it was taken possession of by six battalions from England; and on the 4th of August, the Royals, with four other British regiments, twenty pieces of cannon, and four mortars, under the command of Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, marched from the camp near Ghent to Dunkirk, where they arrived on the 6th, and the regiment remained in garrison in this city nearly two years.

A treaty of peace having been concluded at Utrecht, the British troops were ordered to return from Flanders. Several regiments embarked in the spring of 1714; the Royals marched from Dunkirk, in May, to Nieuport, where they remained until after the decease of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I., which occurred on the 1st of August, 1714. The first battalion embarked a few days after this event, and landed—seven companies at Dover, and five at Greenwich and Deptford—on the 15th of August; and the second battalion landed at Gravesend and the borough of Southwark on the 22nd of that month. Both battalions assembled in the vicinity of London, and having been reviewed by the Duke of Ormond, afterwards proceeded into garrison at Portsmouth and Plymouth.[92] At the same time a reduction of four companies took place, and the establishment of each battalion was fixed at 10 companies, of 3 officers, 2 serjeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 36 private men each[93].

After the arrival of King George I. from Hanover, the Protestant succession to the throne appearing to be peacefully established, the Royals were ordered to proceed to Ireland, where the presence of a considerable military force was deemed necessary to restrain the Roman Catholics from taking arms in favour of the Pretender. The regiment was accordingly relieved from garrison duty at Portsmouth and Plymouth by the Third Foot Guards, in March, 1715, and proceeded to Chester, where both battalions embarked for Dublin.

During the remainder of the reign of George I. and the early part of the reign of George II. the regiment was stationed in Ireland. In 1717 its establishment was fixed at 22 companies, of 3 officers, 2 serjeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 38 private men each; and the expense of the regiment was estimated at £16,710 18s. 4d. per annum. Thus it continued for several years; but in 1727, when 10,000 men were held in readiness to embark for Holland to assist the Dutch in the war with Austria, an augmentation of 20 serjeants, 20 corporals, 20 drummers, and 500 men, was added to the establishment; no embarkation, however, took place, and the regiment was afterwards placed upon a peace establishment.

In January, 1737, Field Marshal the Earl of Orkney, who had commanded the Royals nearly 45 years, and had often led the regiment to battle and to victory, died in London; and in June King George II. conferred the Colonelcy on the Honorable James St. Clair, from the 22nd Regiment of Foot.