Quitting its winter quarters in April, 1703, the regiment traversed the country to Maestricht, and was in position near that city when the French forces, under Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers, made a sudden advance to surprise the British troops in their quarters, but were defeated in their design.

The Duke of Marlborough assembled the army near Maestricht, and the ROYAL IRISH regiment was formed in brigade with the eighth, thirteenth, seventeenth, and thirty-third, under its colonel, Brigadier-General F. Hamilton; and it advanced with the army towards Tongres, when the French quitted their post and eventually retired within their fortified lines, where the English General was desirous of attacking them, but was prevented by the Dutch commanders and field deputies. The services of the regiment were afterwards connected with the siege of Huy, which fortress was captured in ten days.

The ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the covering army during the siege of Limburg, which was commenced on the 10th of September, and on the 27th of that month the Governor surrendered. Spanish Guelderland being thus delivered from the power of France, the Dutch were freed from the danger of an invasion.

After taking part in these services the regiment marched to Breda: during the severe frosts of winter it proceeded to Bergen-op-Zoom, to reinforce the garrison of that fortress, and afterwards returned to Breda, from whence it detached three hundred men to Maestricht, to join the garrison of that city, while the Dutch soldiers were working at the entrenchments on the heights of Petersberg.

Meanwhile the united French and Bavarian armies had gained considerable advantage in Germany, and the Duke of Marlborough resolved to lead his British brigades from the ocean to the Danube, to rescue the Emperor of Germany from the menaced danger. To engage in this splendid undertaking, the ROYAL IRISH regiment marched from Breda on the 5th of May, N.S., and proceeded towards the Rhine; being joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht. Continuing its route, the regiment proceeded to Coblentz, where it passed the Moselle and the Rhine, and afterwards traversed the minor states of Germany towards the seat of war on the Danube; all Europe being surprised at the ability evinced by the British commander in conducting this daring enterprise.

Having united with the forces of the Empire, the British advanced on the 2nd of July to attack a body of French and Bavarians under Count d'Arco, in an entrenched camp on the heights of Schellenberg, on the left bank of the Danube. About six in the evening the leading division, of which a detachment of the ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part, moved forward under a heavy fire, and attacked the enemy's entrenchments with distinguished gallantry. The enemy made a determined resistance, and the assailants were repulsed; but the attack was renewed with heroic courage, and, after a protracted contest, the Germans co-operated in the attack, when the entrenchments were forced, and the French and Bavarians driven from the heights with great slaughter. The British cavalry, charging, completed the discomfiture of the enemy, and sixteen pieces of ordnance, a number of standards and colours, with the enemy's tents, and the equipage and plate of the Count d'Arco, were captured.

The regiment had one serjeant and eleven rank and file killed; Captain Lea, Ensigns Gilman, Walsh, and Pensant, three serjeants, and thirty-two rank and file wounded.[21]

The victory at Schellenberg was followed by the flight of the enemy from Donawerth; and the regiment was engaged in the operations of the army which penetrated Bavaria, and captured Rayn after a short siege. The Elector of Bavaria formed an entrenched camp at Augsburg, to which city the allied army advanced; but found the enemy's camp too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, and the troops retired a short distance. The siege of Ingoldstadt was commenced by the Germans, and the ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the covering army.

Quitting his camp at Augsburg, the Elector of Bavaria joined a strong body of French troops sent to reinforce his army, and the united divisions encamped in the valley of the Danube, near the village of Blenheim.

At three o'clock on the morning of the memorable 13th of August, 1704, the allied army advanced towards the enemy, and about three o'clock in the afternoon the British developed their attack against the French brigades posted in the village of Blenheim; thus commencing an engagement in which the English troops acquired great distinction. The village being found strongly fortified, it was environed by a few corps, and the army passed the little river Nebel to attack the enemy's lines. The ROYAL IRISH regiment directed its attacks against the right wing of the Gallo-Bavarian army, and was engaged with the chosen troops of France, under Marshal Tallard; its heroic conduct reflected the highest lustre on the British arms, and it contributed materially to the complete overthrow and discomfiture of the opposing host. The French were chased from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of their cannon, baggage, and many troops captured, including the brigades posted in the village of Blenheim: Marshal Tallard, and several officers of distinction, were among the prisoners. The left wing of the enemy was also overpowered by the Germans, and the victory was complete and decisive: the powerful armies of France and Bavaria being literally destroyed. Thus, on the banks of the Danube, was achieved by British valour a trophy which will serve as a monument to commemorate the national glory to the end of time. The conduct of the brave soldiers who conquered in the interior of Germany was the admiration of surrounding states, and has been lauded by numerous historians: the Duke of Marlborough was elevated to the dignity of a Prince of the Roman Empire.

The loss of the ROYAL IRISH regiment was Captains Brown, Rolleston, and Vaughan, Ensign Moyle, five serjeants, and fifty-two rank and file killed; Major Kane, Captains Lepenitor and Hussey, Lieutenants Smith, Roberts, Blakeney, and Harvey, Ensign Trips, nine serjeants, and eighty-seven rank and file wounded.[22]

From the Danube, the regiment traversed the country to the banks of the Rhine, crossed that river at Philipsburg on the 7th of September, and formed part of the covering army encamped at Croon-Weissemberg during the siege of Landau, which was undertaken by the Germans. When the siege drew towards a close, the regiment marched to Germersheim, where it embarked in boats on the Rhine, and in twelve days arrived at Nimeguen, where it landed, and, marching to Ruremonde, passed the winter at that place.

Brigadier-General Hamilton, having become advanced in years, retired from active service, and was permitted to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment to Lieut.-General Ingoldsby, from the twenty-third foot, who was appointed colonel of the ROYAL IRISH regiment by commission dated the 1st of April, 1705.

From Ruremonde the regiment marched to the vicinity of Maestricht, where it joined the army; and afterwards proceeded by Juliers, through a mountainous country, to the valley of the Moselle, where it encamped near the city of Treves. The army passed the Moselle and the Saar in the early part of June, with the view of carrying on the war in that direction; but the Duke of Marlborough, being disappointed of the co-operation of the Germans, marched his army back to the Netherlands, which occasioned the soldiers much fatigue. On arriving at the Maese, a detachment was employed in recapturing Huy, which the enemy had taken during the absence of the army up the Moselle.

A formidable barrier of forts and entrenchments had been constructed with great labour and expense to arrest the progress of the British General; but by menacing the lines to the south of the Mehaine, to draw the French army to that quarter, and afterwards making a forced march to the right during the night of the 17th of July, these stupendous works were passed at Helixem and Neer-Hespen, with little opposition; and the French and Bavarian troops, which hurried to the spot to drive back the leading corps of the allied army, were repulsed with severe loss. The ROYAL IRISH regiment was formed in brigade on this occasion with the twenty-fourth, twenty-ninth, and Temple's (afterwards disbanded), under Brigadier-General Webb, and, being in the main body of the army, did not sustain any loss. After this brilliant success, the designs of the British commander were frustrated by the opposition of the Dutch Generals, and little further advantage was gained.

The regiment returned to Holland for winter quarters, and was stationed at Worcum.

Taking the field in May, 1706, the regiment proceeded to the general rendezvous of the army near Tongres, and, advancing from thence in the direction of Mont St. André, on Whit-Sunday the 23rd of May, the British commander discovered a powerful French army, under Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, in position at that place, with their centre at the village of Ramilies, which was occupied by a considerable body of troops.

Diverging into the plain, the allied army formed line and advanced towards the enemy; the ROYAL IRISH regiment, being in the right wing, formed on the heights of Foulz, and, descending into the low grounds near the Little Gheet river, menaced the enemy's left, at 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 instantly reinforced his centre, and made a determined attack upon the enemy's position at the weakened point. For some time the officers and soldiers of the ROYAL IRISH regiment were spectators of the fight; but at a critical moment they were brought forward, and they contributed to the complete overthrow of the forces of France, Spain, and Bavaria. The warlike brigades of the enemy, a few hours before so formidable and menacing, were driven from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of many officers and soldiers taken prisoners, also of their cannon and many standards and colours. After pursuing the fugitives a considerable distance, the regiment halted for the night, surrounded by the ensanguined trophies of this day of glorious triumph to the British arms.

Retreating to Louvain, the broken remains of the enemy's splendid army halted a short time, and soon afterwards abandoned that city, and also Lierre, Ghent, Damme, and Bruges. The magistrates of these towns, together with those of Brussels, Malines, and Alost, renounced their allegiance to the Duke of Anjou, and declared in favour of the House of Austria. The garrisons of Oudenarde and Antwerp surrendered; Ostend withstood a short siege and then capitulated. Thus the successes of the allied arms were splendid beyond all precedent.

Towards the end of July, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was detached from the main army to take part in the siege of the fortress of Menin, which was considered one of the masterpieces of Vauban, the celebrated French engineer, and was provided with a numerous garrison well supplied with everything necessary for a protracted defence. The garrison disputed every yard of ground with sanguinary tenacity; but the allies carried on the siege with vigour, and brought their approaches to the foot of the glacis, where a storming party was assembled to attack the covered-way. The ROYAL IRISH regiment was appointed to take part in this service. The signal being given, the assailants rushed forward to the palisades, and threw a shower of hand-grenades into the covered-way; then, entering amidst the confusion, overthrew all opposition. General Stearne states,—"This proved warm service; for though we drove the enemy at once out of the counterscarp, they sprung two mines upon us, and from their works plied us with a most violent fire, which we lay exposed to until our workmen had thrown up an entrenchment sufficient to cover us. In this action our regiment had six officers and upwards of eighty soldiers killed and wounded."[23]

The Governor, finding himself unable to arrest the progress of the besieging force, surrendered.

The fortress of Aeth was afterwards captured, and this event terminated the campaign. Thus fortresses which had resisted powerful armies for months and years, and provinces disputed for ages, were the conquests of a summer: the nations of Europe witnessing with astonishment the splendid achievements of the forces under the Duke of Marlborough. After sharing in the brilliant successes of this campaign, the ROYAL IRISH regiment passed the winter at Ghent.

In May, 1707, the regiment again took the field, and was formed in brigade with the second battalion of the Royals, the eighth, twenty-fourth, and Temple's regiments, under Brigadier-General Sir Richard Temple (afterwards Viscount Cobham). During this campaign, the French army avoided a general engagement, and the summer was passed by the opposing armies in manœuvring and watching each other's movements. In the autumn, the regiment marched to the castle of Ghent, of which its commanding officer, Colonel Stearne, was appointed governor.

Finding his armies beaten on the continent, the French monarch fitted out an expedition for the purpose of landing the Pretender in Scotland, to embroil Great Britain in civil war; and the EIGHTEENTH regiment was one of the corps ordered home to repel the invaders: it embarked from Ostend in the middle of March, 1708, and sailed to the river Tyne; but the English fleet chased the French squadron from the British coast, and the regiment returned to Flanders.

When the opposing armies took the field, the French had obtained possession of Ghent and Bruges by treachery; but the English General surprised the French on the march near Oudenarde on the 11th of June, and gained a decisive victory. The EIGHTEENTH regiment formed part of the leading brigade of the van of the army, under Major-General Cadogan, and with the eighth, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh regiments, descended from the high grounds between Eyne and Bevere, forded a rivulet, and attacked seven battalions of the Swiss regiments of Pfeffer, Villars, and Gueder, which had taken post at Eyne: after a sharp contest British valour prevailed, and Brigadier-General Pfeffer, with three entire battalions, were made prisoners of war: the remainder were either killed, or intercepted in their attempt to escape, and made prisoners. The EIGHTEENTH afterwards attacked a body of troops posted in the enclosures, and soon drove the French from their ground. As the regiment was advancing in pursuit, a numerous body of French cavalry menaced it in front and flank, and it fell back to the hedges, where it repulsed the French horsemen. Other British brigades arriving, the whole advanced; a fierce conflict of musketry ensued, and charge succeeded charge until darkness put an end to the conflict, and thus saved the French army from complete annihilation. The enemy made a precipitate retreat during the night.

Lieut.-Colonel Stearne commanded the regiment on this occasion, and he states in his journal,—"Our regiment, though the first that engaged, had only one lieutenant and eight men killed, and twelve men wounded."

The ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the force employed in the siege of the important fortress of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, and the regiment had numerous opportunities of distinguishing itself during the long and determined defence made by a numerous garrison under Marshal Boufflers. The citadel did not surrender until the 9th of December. The EIGHTEENTH had two captains and three subalterns killed, the major and several other officers wounded, and two hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers killed and wounded.

A strong detachment of recruits replaced the losses of the regiment, and it was in a highly efficient state when it took the field to serve the campaign of 1709. The Duke of Marlborough menaced the French army with an attack, which occasioned Marshal Villars to weaken the garrisons of the fortified towns to strengthen the army in the field, when the allies besieged Tournay. The EIGHTEENTH were detached, under the Prince of Orange, to drive the French detachment from Mortagne and St. Amand, and, having accomplished this service, joined the besieging army, and carried on its approaches at the seven fountains. The regiment was engaged in storming the breaches in the Ravelin and Half-Moon; and on the 29th of July it was in readiness to take part in storming the town, which was prevented by the surrender of the place, the garrison retiring into the citadel.

The EIGHTEENTH took part in the siege of the citadel of Tournay, which was celebrated for the extent of its underground works. Captain Parker, of the regiment, states in his journal,—"Our approaches against this citadel were carried on mostly underground, by sinking pits several fathom deep, and working from thence until we came to their casemates and mines. These extended a great way from the body of the citadel, and in them our men and the enemy frequently met, and fought with sword and pistol. We could not prevent them springing several mines which blew up some of our batteries, guns and all, and a great many men, in particular a captain, lieutenant, and forty (the London Gazette says thirty) men of our regiment." The EIGHTEENTH lost a lieutenant and several men in the combats underground; and ten grenadiers were suffocated in one of the galleries. In the early part of September the governor surrendered.

From Tournay the army marched in the direction of Mons, and, the French taking up a position near Malplaquet, a general engagement took place on the 11th of September, when the enemy was forced from his entrenchments with loss. Captain Parker states,—"The part which our regiment acted in this battle was something remarkable. We happened to be the last of the regiments which had been left at Tournay to level the approaches, and did not come up till the lines were formed. We were ordered to draw up on the right of the army, opposite a skirt of the wood of Sart, and, when the army advanced to attack the enemy, we entered the wood in our front. We continued marching till we came to a small plain, on the opposite side of which we perceived a battalion of the enemy drawn up, a skirt of the wood being in its rear. Colonel Kane, who was then at the head of the regiment, having drawn us up, and formed our platoons, advanced towards the enemy, with the six platoons of our first fire made ready. When we arrived within a hundred paces of them, they gave us a fire of one of their ranks; whereupon we halted, and returned them the fire of our six platoons at once, and immediately made ready the six platoons of our second fire, and advanced upon them again. They then gave us the fire of another rank; and we returned them a second fire, which made them shrink; however they gave us the fire of a third rank, after a scattering manner, and then retired into the wood in great disorder; on which we sent our third fire after them and saw them no more. We advanced up to the ground which they had quitted, and found several of them killed and wounded; and among the latter was one Lieutenant O'Sulivan, who told us the battalion we had engaged was the 'Royal Regiment of Ireland.'[24] Here, therefore, was a fair trial between the two Royal Regiments of Ireland, one in the British and the other in the French service; for we met each other upon equal terms, and there was none else to interpose. We had but four men killed and six wounded; and found near forty of them on the spot killed and wounded. The advantage on our side will be easily accounted for, first from the weight of our ball; for the French arms carry bullets of 24 to the pound, whereas our British firelocks carry ball of 16 only to the pound, which will make a considerable difference in the execution: again, the manner of our firing was different from theirs; the French, at that time, fired all by ranks, which can never do equal execution with our platoon firing."

Lieut.-Colonel Stearne gives nearly the same particulars, and adds—"We marched into the wood after them (the Royal Irish in the French service); and when we had got through, we found our army mounting the enemy's last entrenchments, and our brother harpers[25] scoured off as fast as their heels could carry them. Thus ended this great and terrible battle, which was the most obstinate engagement on both sides that has been known in the memory of man: the killed and wounded on both sides was very great."

The EIGHTEENTH were afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons, and passed the winter in quarters at Ghent.

From Ghent the regiment advanced on the 14th of April, 1710, and took part in the operations by which the French lines were passed at Pont-à-Vendin; and also formed part of the covering army during the siege of Douay, and also during the siege of Bethune; and was afterwards detached, under the Prince of Anhalt, to attack the town of Aire, situate on the banks of the river Lys. In the siege of this place many difficulties had to be overcome, from the nature of the ground, and from the determined defence of a numerous garrison: the EIGHTEENTH regiment had three officers killed, and five wounded; also about eighty soldiers killed and wounded. The garrison surrendered on the 9th of November; and the regiment, afterwards returned to Ghent.[26]

The ROYAL IRISH again took the field in April, 1711, and were employed in the operations by which the boasted impregnable French lines were passed at Arleux, and the opportunity of attacking the fortified town of Bouchain, situated on both sides of the river Scheldt, was ensured. The regiment formed part of a detachment 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, and advanced to drive the French from the heights of Wavrechin. Captain Parker states, "Our British grenadiers marched to the top of the hill on the left of their works, in order to begin the attack on that side: here we were posted in a field of wheat, about seventy or eighty paces from their works, expecting every moment the signal to fall on. I must confess I did not like the aspect of the thing: we plainly saw their entrenchment was a perfect bulwark, strong and lofty, and crowded with men, and cannon pointed directly at us: we wished much that the Duke might take a nearer view. * * * * While I was musing, the Duke of Marlborough, ever watchful, ever right, rode up unattended, and posted himself on the right of my company of grenadiers, from whence he had a fair view of the greater part of the enemy's works. It is quite impossible for me to express the joy which the sight of this man gave me. I was well satisfied he would not push the thing unless he saw a strong probability of success; nor was this my notion alone; it was the sense of the whole army, both officers and soldiers, British and Foreigners; and, indeed, we had all the reason in the world for it, for he never led us on to any one action that we did not succeed in. He stayed only three or four minutes, and then rode back: we were in pain for him while he stayed, lest the enemy might have discovered him, and fired at him, in which case they could not well have missed him. He had not been longer from us than he stayed when orders came to us to retire. As the corn we stood in was high, we slipped off undiscovered, and were a good way down the hill before they perceived that we were retiring, and then they let fly all their great and small shot after us; but as we were by this time under the brow of the hill, all their shot went over our heads." This statement of a distinguished officer of the EIGHTEENTH regiment shows how fully the great Duke of Marlborough possessed the confidence of his troops.

During the siege of Bouchain, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was actively engaged in the trenches and the attacks; but did not sustain a very severe loss. Lieut.-Colonel Stearne states,—"In this siege our regiment had four officers wounded but none killed, and about forty men killed and wounded; the grenadiers suffered most. Bouchain being taken, our regiment was ordered to Tournay, where we were quartered the remaining part of the campaign, from whence we escorted what provision came that way to the army which continued about Bouchain." In October the regiment marched to Lisle, where it passed the winter.

In February, 1712, Lieut.-General Ingoldsby died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieut.-Colonel Stearne, who had held a commission in the corps thirty-four years, and wrote an account of its services.[27]

From Lisle the regiment advanced in April to some high ground beyond Bouchain, where a camp was formed of several corps, and entrenchments thrown up. The ROYAL IRISH regiment afterwards joined the army under the orders of the Duke of Ormond, and its grenadier company advanced on a reconnoitring party into Picardy; but a suspension of hostilities took place soon afterwards, and the army withdrew to Ghent, where the regiment passed the winter. The power of France was reduced, its armies defeated, its frontier towns captured, its ambitious monarch was forced to sue for peace, and the treaty of Utrecht gave repose to Europe.

The ROYAL IRISH regiment had acquired a high reputation during the war; and a board of officers being assembled in London, to decide on the rank of regiments, Colonel Stearne sent Captain Parker to England to claim rank for the regiment from the date of its formation in 1684, which would have given it rank as FIFTH foot; but this was not granted, and it continued to take date and rank in the English army from the time of its arrival in England in the autumn of 1688.[28]

During the winter, a very serious mutiny occurred among the troops stationed at Ghent, to which the soldiers were incited by a man, whom Captain Parker calls "a pettifogging attorney from London," who had entered the EIGHTEENTH regiment. This dangerous combination was suppressed, and ten of the ringleaders were executed.

After the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the British regiments quitted Flanders, excepting the eighth and EIGHTEENTH, which were appointed to garrison the citadel of Ghent until the barrier treaty was signed. The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough passing through Ghent, the officers of the two regiments met His Grace without the town, to show their respect to the character of their former commander.

On the breaking out of the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, in the autumn of 1715, the regiment was ordered to proceed to England, leaving the lieut.-colonel and a hundred men in the castle of Ghent; it landed at Greenwich, and marched to Gloucester, where it was joined by the party from Ghent in February following.

From Gloucester the regiment marched to Oxford; many persons at this celebrated university were disaffected to the government of King George I., and on the Prince of Wales's birthday, when the officers of the regiment were assembled at one of the inns, to celebrate the day, they were assailed by stones thrown from a house on the opposite side of the street. A number of soldiers, hearing that their officers had been thus assailed by the Jacobites, came running to the spot, and soon destroyed the windows of the house from whence the stones had been thrown. They afterwards went from street to street, and broke the windows of persons who refused to illuminate for the Prince of Wales's birthday. The Vice-Chancellor sent a complaint to His Majesty's privy council, and the officers were called upon for an explanation. The subject was afterwards investigated by the House of Lords, and, after several debates, the university was censured for not observing the birthday of the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George II.

In May, 1717, the regiment marched to Portsmouth, where it received orders to hold itself in readiness to proceed abroad.

Brigadier-General Stearne obtained permission to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment to Lieut.-Colonel William Cosby, from the first troop, now first regiment of life guards.

Soon afterwards the regiment embarked for the island of Minorca, where it arrived in the early part of 1718, and it was stationed there many years, during which period little occurred worthy of being recorded.

In 1727, when the Spaniards besieged Gibraltar, a detachment from the regiments at Minorca proceeded to that fortress, under Colonel Cosby of the ROYAL IRISH regiment, to reinforce the garrison. This detachment took part in the successful defence of Gibraltar against the power of Spain, and when the siege was raised, it returned to Minorca.

While the regiment was at Minorca, Colonel Cosby was succeeded by Sir Charles Hotham, Baronet, in 1732; and, in 1735, King George II. nominated Colonel John Armstrong to the colonelcy. This officer, dying in 1742, was succeeded by Colonel John Mordaunt, from the forty-seventh regiment.

In the same year, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was relieved from duty at Minorca, and returned to England: it landed at Portsmouth and Southampton, and marched to Taunton, and the neighbouring towns, where it passed the winter.

From Taunton the regiment marched, in the spring of 1743, to Exeter and Plymouth, where it was reviewed by Lieut.-General Lord Tyrawley.

In the spring of 1744, the regiment marched to Richmond, and other towns near Hounslow Heath, and was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. "The regiment gained great reputation by its discipline and good appearance, and had the pleasure of being assured of His Royal Highness' approbation."[29] After the review, the regiment marched to Fareham, and mounted guard over the French and Spanish prisoners at Portchester Castle.

At the battle of Fontenoy, the British troops, supporting the interests of the house of Austria against the power of France and Bavaria, were repulsed in their attempts to raise the siege of Tournay, and sustained severe loss; and the ROYAL IRISH regiment was ordered to join the British army in Flanders. The EIGHTEENTH embarked at Gravesend, with a detachment of foot guards and the fourteenth regiment, landed at Ostend, and, advancing up the country, joined the army, commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, at the camp at Lessines, in May, 1745. The French, having a great superiority of numbers, captured several strong towns, and besieged Ostend, when the ROYAL IRISH were selected to reinforce the garrison of that fortress. The regiment accordingly marched to Antwerp, where it embarked on board of Dutch billanders, in which it sailed to Flushing, where it was removed on board of transports that conveyed it to Ostend, which town was found abandoned by the inhabitants, and besieged by a numerous French force. The garrison did not exceed three thousand men, a number very inadequate to the defence of the place; the fortifications had been neglected and were out of repair; and the Austrian governor permitted the enemy to gain possession of the sluices before he had inundated the country round the town. The means of a long defence were wanting, and, after holding out until the ammunition was nearly expended, and the guns of the fortress dismounted, the governor capitulated, on condition that the garrison should march to the quarters of the allied army. The writer of the continuation of General Stearne's journal complains of the treacherous conduct of the French on this occasion, in causing the garrison to make a considerable détour, employing agents to induce, by promises of reward, the soldiers to desert, and, after a march of twenty miles in one day, delivering the garrison up at a frontier village cantonment about seven in the evening, and having a numerous force ready to cut off the fatigued men at an early hour on the following morning. This was, however, defeated; the Duke of Cumberland sent a General officer to take charge of the troops on their arrival, and, instead of allowing the tired soldiers to go into quarters, he ordered them to load their muskets, fix their bayonets, and march for Mons. The writer, before alluded to, states, "As we every moment expected the enemy, we continued our march in the greatest order; not a whisper was to be heard: the officers who were present will always remember with pleasure the discipline and good disposition every regiment showed on that occasion." ... "So narrow was our escape, that the French got to their ground within an hour of our passing it, and we saw them in the morning encamped about two miles from Mons."

The EIGHTEENTH regiment, and other corps from Ostend, remained at Mons about three weeks, watched by a numerous French force; but on the approach of a detachment from the allied army, the enemy retired: the regiments then marched out at midnight, arrived at Charleroi on the following day, and afterwards joined the army near Brussels.

In the autumn of this year, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, raised the standard of his father in Scotland, and, being joined by a number of Highland clans, penetrated into England. On this occasion the ROYAL IRISH regiment marched to Williamstadt, where it embarked for England, and, arriving at Gravesend on the 5th of November, landed and joined the camp at Dartford, where it remained several weeks, and lost the surgeon and a number of men from diseases produced by being exposed to severe weather in a camp in the winter months.

The regiment returned to Gravesend in March, 1746, and embarked for Scotland, with the twelfth, sixteenth, and twenty-fourth foot. These corps arrived at Leith on the 19th of April, as the guns of Edinburgh castle were firing for the victory gained over the rebels at Culloden, and this terminated the rebellion.

The regiment waited at Leith until the return of an express from the army, when it received orders to sail northward; it landed at Nairn on the 1st of May, was cantoned in the neighbourhood of that place three weeks, and afterwards joined the army at Inverness, at which place the regiment was encamped until the autumn, when it marched into quarters at Nairn, Elgin, &c.

In the summer of 1747, the regiment marched to Fort Augustus, and encamped among the mountains near that place, under the orders of Major-General Blakeney, until October, when it marched to Edinburgh castle, and Stirling.

Major-General Sir John Mordaunt was removed to the twelfth dragoons in December of this year, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Colonel John Folliott, from the sixty-first foot, a newly-raised corps, afterwards disbanded.

Returning to England in the spring of 1748, the regiment was stationed at Berwick, Newcastle, and Carlisle, where it remained until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, when it marched to Glasgow, and embarked for Ireland on the 18th of February, 1749. It was stationed at Enniskillen and Ballyshannon twelve months, and was removed in 1750 to Kinsale, and in 1751 to Cork.

In the Royal warrant of the 1st of July, 1751, the uniform of the regiment is directed to be scarlet, faced with blue. The First, or King's colour, to be the great union; the Second, or regimental colour, to be of blue silk with the union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour, the Harp in a blue field and the Crown over it; and in the three corners of the colour, the Lion of Nassau, the arms of King William III. On the grenadier caps, the Harp and Crown, as on the colours. The Harp and Crown to be painted in the same manner on the drums and bells of arms, with the rank of the regiment underneath.[30]

From Cork the regiment marched, in 1752, to Waterford; in 1753 it proceeded to Dublin, and in 1754 to Londonderry and Ballyshannon.

Disputes having arisen between Great Britain and France, respecting the extent of the British territories in North America, hostilities commenced, and the regiment was suddenly ordered to England in the spring of 1755. It landed at Liverpool on Easter Sunday, the 3rd of April, and marched to Berwick, where the establishment was augmented to seventy-eight men per company, and two companies were afterwards added: in October the regiment marched to Edinburgh, where it was stationed during the winter.

In February, 1756, the two additional companies were incorporated in the fifty-sixth regiment, then newly raised; and in May the EIGHTEENTH were reviewed by Lieut.-General Bland, commanding the forces in North Britain, and afterwards marched to Fort William, with numerous detachments at various posts in the Highlands.

Orders were received in February, 1757, for the regiment to proceed to Ireland, and it was stationed in that part of the United Kingdom during the remainder of the seven years' war.

Lieut.-General Folliott died in January, 1762, and in April King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the EIGHTEENTH regiment on Major-General Sir John Sebright, Bart., from the eighty-third foot, which corps was disbanded in 1763.

In 1767 the ROYAL IRISH regiment proceeded from Ireland to North America, where it was stationed when the unfortunate misunderstanding occurred between Great Britain and her North American colonies on the subject of taxation. The Americans manifested a disposition to violence, and three companies of the EIGHTEENTH were stationed at Boston, the capital of the state of Massachusetts, under the Governor of the province, General Gage.

General Gage, having ascertained that the Americans had collected a quantity of military stores at Concord, detached the grenadiers and light infantry, including the companies of the EIGHTEENTH, to effect the destruction of these stores. These companies embarked in boats, under Colonel Smith, of the tenth, on the evening of the 18th of April, 1775, and sailed up Charles river to the marshes of Cambridge, where they landed and marched towards Concord. At the village of Lexington they were opposed by a party of American militia; some firing occurred, and several men were killed and wounded: thus the first blood was spilt, and open resistance followed. The King's troops continued their march to Concord, and effected the destruction of the stores. In the meantime the country had been alarmed for many miles, and, when the soldiers commenced their journey back to Boston, they were fired upon from behind the walls, trees, fences, barns, &c., on both sides of the road, and skirmish succeeded skirmish until they arrived at Lexington, where they were met by Earl Percy's brigade, with two field-pieces. The fire of the artillery checked the Americans, and the troops continued their march to Boston. The flank companies of the ROYAL IRISH regiment had two men killed and four wounded on this occasion.

This open resistance to legal authority was followed by the appearance of multitudes of armed Americans in the neighbourhood of Boston, and on the night of the 16th of June they commenced throwing up entrenchments on the peninsula of Charleston, on a height called Bunker's Hill; and on the following day General Gage detached a body of troops, of which the flank companies of the ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part, to drive the Americans from the hill. The attack was made about three o'clock in the afternoon, and British valour was conspicuously displayed; but the Americans had a great superiority of numbers and a strong post. The King's troops were twice arrested in their progress, but by a determined effort they carried the height at the point of the bayonet, and triumphed over thrice their own numbers. The loss of the EIGHTEENTH was limited to three rank and file killed, Lieutenant William Richardson and seven rank and file wounded.