The French, while amusing the Allies with negotiations for a peace, commenced the campaign of 1677, with great vigour, and with such an immense army, that the feeble preparations of the Dutch, and the apathy of the Spaniards, left the Prince of Orange without an army capable of resisting the enemy. He, however, resolved to attempt the relief of St. Omers, which was besieged by the French; the English Brigade was ordered to West Flanders, to take part in the enterprise, and it was encamped a short time on the plains of the Yperlee. In the early part of April, the Prince advanced with his little army, and on the 11th of that month he fought the battle of Mont-Cassel under great disadvantages in numbers, and in the nature of the ground. The English Brigade behaved with its usual gallantry; but the army was defeated, and the Prince retreated with the loss of his baggage and artillery. The Brigade was afterwards employed in manœuvring and in defensive operations until the autumn, when it went into quarters. The Prince of Orange proceeded to England, and was married to the Princess Mary on the 14th of November, 1677.

Before the following spring, Major-General the Earl of Ossory arrived from England to command the six British regiments in the Dutch service, and ten thousand English troops, commanded by the Duke of Monmouth, were ordered to proceed to Flanders to take part in the war.

The Earl of Ossory's brigade was early in the field: it was employed a short time on detached services in the Netherlands, and was afterwards encamped near the ground where the battle of Waterloo was fought in June, 1815. In the mean time the French besieged Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault, and their covering army occupied a strong position, with its right at the Abbey of St. Denis, and its left at Mamoy St. Pierre. The Prince of Orange assembled his army, and after advancing several stages, he encamped near the little river Senne, about seven miles from Mons; and on the morning of the 14th of August, 1678, his Highness put the troops in motion to attack the enemy.

The British Brigade, led by the Earl of Ossory, moved from its camp along a difficult tract of country, until it came in front of a hill occupied by the enemy's left wing, where it was destined to make its attack, in conjunction with the Dutch Foot Guards. The signal for the attack was given, when the British Grenadiers, springing forward with lighted matches, threw a shower of hand-grenades, which, bursting amongst the ranks of the enemy, did much execution. The Musqueteers followed, and opening a sharp fire, were answered by the volleys of the enemy; their fire was soon succeeded by the charge of the Pikemen, who went cheering onward to the attack, while the Musqueteers, drawing their swords, joined in the onset with admirable spirit and resolution,—and the enemy gave way. One attack was succeeded by another; the French, driven from field to field, still rallied and returned to the fight. Pike to pike and sword to sword, the combatants maintained a fierce conflict, while the hand-grenades flew in every direction, and the heights of Castehau presented a varied scene of turmoil and slaughter, in the midst of which the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Monmouth appeared, mixed with the combatants, and urging forward the storm of battle.[5] A French captain levelled his pistol at the Prince, but General D'Auverquerque killed the captain before he had time to fire, and thus saved his Highness's life, for which service the States made him a present of a valuable sword. Night at length put an end to the fight, and the French afterwards made a precipitate retreat.

The regiment lost in this action Lieutenant-Colonel Archer, Lieutenant Charlton, and about fifty men killed: also Major Hales, Captain Charlton, Captain Coleman, Captain Floyd, Captain Dupuy, Lieutenant Augerne, Lieutenant Marchany, Lieutenant Wilson, Ensign Barnwell, Ensign Arnesby, and upwards of a hundred men wounded. The loss in the other regiments of the Brigade was also equally great.

In the mean time preliminary articles for a treaty of peace had been agreed upon at Nimeguen; a cessation of hostilities took place on the day after the battle; and the Brigade, after encamping a few months in Flanders, marched to Holland, where it received the thanks of the States-General for its meritorious services.

The restoration of peace was followed by a reduction in the numbers of the Dutch Army; but the Prince of Orange, and the States-General of the United Provinces, were so sensible of the advantages they had derived from the services of the British troops, that they were desirous of retaining the six regiments in their service. A new treaty was concluded on this subject, and the States agreed to send the regiments to England, whenever the King required them to do so.

Colonel Wisely's regiment was marched to Grave, where it was employed on garrison duty four years; and in 1680, its Colonel having been drowned when on his passage to England, the Colonelcy was conferred on Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Monk, of Sir Henry Bellasis' regiment (now Sixth Foot).

Upon the prospect of hostilities with France, in 1684, the regiment marched from Grave, and was encamped for a short time near Brussels, and afterwards on the banks of the Dender; but no war breaking out, it proceeded into quarters at Mechlin.

In the succeeding year the death of King Charles II. and the accession of James II., a professed Papist, being followed by a rebellion in Scotland, headed by the Earl of Argyle, and another in England, headed by the Duke of Monmouth, the six British regiments were applied for by the King, and they were accordingly embarked for England under the command of the following officers:—

The three Scots regiments were, in the first instance, ordered for Scotland, but the rebellion in the North having been suppressed, they landed at Gravesend on the 30th of June, 1685, and having been reviewed on Blackheath by the King, marched through London towards the West.[6] The three English regiments landed a few days afterwards; but the rebel army having been defeated at Sedgemoor, on the 6th of July, they encamped on Blackheath, and afterwards on Hounslow Heath, where the Brigade was assembled and reviewed by his Majesty, and the efficiency, discipline, and appearance of the several corps, excited universal admiration.[7] The rebellion having been suppressed, the six regiments returned to Holland, and were again employed in garrison duty. The three English regiments were on the English establishment from the 5th of June, to the 3rd of August, 1685, and the Scots' regiments a few days longer.

The arbitrary proceedings of King James, with his advances towards the subversion of the Protestant religion, occasioned much anxiety to the Prince of Orange, who was married to the presumptive heiress to the throne; at the same time, the King was jealous of the attachment of the nation to his son-in-law, and in 1687 his Majesty demanded the return of the British regiments in the Dutch service. The States-General, in concert with the Prince, resolved not to part with these favourite corps, for whose services they expected soon to have urgent occasion; at the same time they laid no constraint upon the officers, but allowed them either to remain in Holland or to return to England, at their own free choice. Out of two hundred and forty officers,[8] only sixty[9] embraced the latter alternative; the rest bound themselves "to stand by and defend the Prince of Orange against all persons whatsoever."

The colonelcy of the regiment having become vacant by the death of Colonel Monk, it was conferred by the Prince of Orange on Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Tollemache,[10] formerly of the Coldstream Guards.

The violent proceedings of the British Court at length occasioned many of the nobility to solicit the Prince of Orange to come with an armed force to their aid; and as the fate of all the other Protestant States in Europe appeared to depend on the preservation of Great Britain from Papal domination, the Prince and the States-General acquiesced. Thus the six British regiments had the honourable and glorious privilege of engaging in an enterprise for the deliverance of their native land from the attempts to establish Popish ascendancy, and the consequent chances of civil war. On receiving positive advice of the preparations in Holland, "the King was speechless, and, as it were, thunderstruck. The airy castle of a dispensing arbitrary power raised by the magic spells of jesuitical councils vanished away in a moment, and the deluded monarch, freed from his inchantment by the approach of the Prince of Orange, found himself on the brink of a precipice, whilst all his flatterers stood amazed and confounded."[11] The King at length assembled an army of about 30,000 men, and sent Lord Dartmouth to sea with the fleet.

The Prince of Orange's army, consisting of about 15,000 men, of which "the most formidable were the six British regiments,"[12] put to sea, after some delay from tempestuous weather, on the 1st of November, 1688; "the trumpets sounding, the hautboys playing, the soldiers and seamen shouting, and a crowd of spectators on the shore breathing forth their wishes after them."[13] Sailing in three divisions, the first, consisting of the English and Scots, commanded by Major-General Mackay, under a red flag; the second, being the Prince's Guards and the Brandenburgers, commanded by Count Solms, under a white flag; and the Dutch with a corps of French Protestants, commanded by the Count of Nassau, under a blue flag: they passed triumphantly through the British Channel and landed on the Devonshire coast on the 5th of November. Colonel Tollemache's regiment (the Fifth) landed at Brixham key, two miles from Dartmouth, from whence it marched to Exeter and afterwards to Honiton, where, on the night of the 13th, it was joined by a number of men of the Earl of Oxford's and Duke of St. Alban's regiments of horse, and of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, who had quitted the service of King James to espouse the national cause. These desertions were followed by others of a more important character; and King James, discovering that his army would not be subservient to his designs against the kingdom, fled to France, William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, were solicited to ascend the throne; and thus the Revolution was happily effected without that sacrifice of human life which such events usually occasion. Colonel Tollemache's regiment had, in the mean time, marched to the vicinity of London, and it afterwards proceeded into quarters in the western counties. It was now permanently placed on the English establishment, and taking date from the 5th of June, 1685, the day on which it first received pay from the British crown, as before stated, it obtained rank as Fifth Regiment of Foot in the British Line.

Colonel Tollemache having been promoted to the command of the Coldstream Guards, the Colonelcy of the Fifth was conferred on Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Lloyd, by commission dated the 1st of May, 1689; and in the following month the regiment marched from the west of England for London, and was quartered in Southwark until October, when it embarked at Deptford and Greenwich for Plymouth, and in December marched into Cornwall, with detached companies in Devonshire.

In the mean time Ireland had become the seat of war, and King James was at the head of the Roman Catholics, and a French auxiliary force, in that kingdom, while the Duke of Schomberg commanded the Irish Protestants and English troops; and in the spring of 1690 the Fifth Foot was ordered thither. The regiment, accordingly, proceeded to Bristol, where it embarked; and having landed at Belfast on the 20th of April, marched to Lisburn, and encamped near the banks of the Lagan until the 9th June, when it proceeded to Armagh and erected its tents on the undulating grounds in that neighbourhood, where an encampment was formed of four regiments of English infantry, with three regiments of Danish horse and eight of foot.

King William having arrived in Ireland, the regiment marched to Dundalk, where the army was assembled; and on the 1st of July the enemy was attacked in his position on the banks of the river Boyne. The Fifth was in Brigadier-General Trelawny's brigade, and by its gallant conduct it contributed to the signal victory gained on this occasion. The enemy evacuated Dublin a few days after the battle, when the regiment was ordered to proceed thither, and it remained in garrison in that city during the remainder of the campaign.

The regiment left Dublin in the early part of 1691, and in April it was stationed at Mountmelick. The troops quartered in that neighbourhood were frequently disturbed by bands of armed Roman Catholic peasantry, called Rapparees, who concealed themselves in the day-time, and at night prowled about the country, committing every description of depredation: to check these proceedings, a detachment of 200 men of the Fifth, commanded by Major Rider, with 100 men of Lord George Hamilton's regiment, and 50 troopers of Colonel Byerley's Horse,—now 6th Dragoon Guards,—the whole commanded by Major Wood,[14] marched out of Mountmelick at nine o'clock on the evening of the 4th of May, and, dividing themselves into several small parties, they traversed the woods and bogs for several miles, frequently encountering lurking parties of the enemy, whom they attacked, killing seventy men and capturing a quantity of cattle, which Major Wood sent to Mountmelick under a guard of thirty men. The remainder continued their search until about ten o'clock on the following day, when Major Wood, with one party of 34 horsemen, and 30 foot, discovered two battalions of the enemy's regular army of about 400 men each, marching silently between the wood and mountains, not far from Castle-Cuff; at the same time the enemy espied Major Wood and his little detachment. The English, with a noble bearing and audacity, formed up in a ploughed field to oppose this formidable host, and the Irish instantly sent forward their grenadiers to commence the attack, but perceiving the undaunted countenance of the detachment, they halted at a distance. A sharp firing was at this instant heard beyond the forest, and Major Wood, apprehending that the party with the cattle was attacked, proceeded to its assistance; but Lieutenant Ellis and the thirty foot, behaved like valiant men; and, having repulsed a superior force, effected their retreat with the booty. The firing had brought a detachment of 80 men of the Fifth from the opposite side of the forest, and Major Wood, having now 34 horsemen and 110 foot with him, resolved, notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, to attack the enemy's column. He accordingly divided his foot into two parties, and directed them to attack the enemy in front, while he himself with the horse made a short compass to gain the enemy's rear. This gallant little band, advancing boldly against the enemy's masses, commenced the attack with a fury and resolution which the Irish could not withstand, and they attempted to retreat; but at that moment Major Wood with his thirty-four troopers came galloping from amongst the trees and charged the flank of the column with admirable courage and resolution; the heavy horse, breaking through the ranks, trampled down the Irish in a terrible manner. The column was now become a confused rabble, scattered in wild disorder, and cut down by the English horsemen on every side; while the English foot, slinging their muskets and drawing their swords, joined in the pursuit and chased the enemy a considerable distance. One hundred and fifty of the Irish were killed on the spot; and 1 major, 5 captains, 9 lieutenants, 2 ensigns, 1 adjutant, 1 surgeon, 6 serjeants, 17 corporals, 3 drummers, and 82 private men, were made prisoners; 150 muskets were also collected, which the Irish had thrown away to facilitate their flight. "And all this was done by 110 of our foot and 34 horse. With the foot were Major Rider, Captain Nenny, Captain Dixey, Lieutenant Barton, and Ensign Russel. With the horse, were Cornet Jocelyn, Cornet Hasleton, and Adjutant Robinson, with Quarter-masters Davies and Cadford; who all, both horse and foot, behaved extremely well, and with the loss only of one corporal killed, and Adjutant Robinson, with two foot soldiers and one trooper, wounded[15]."

On the 12th of May, another party of the regiment was out scouring the woods, when 18 Rapparees were killed and several made prisoners.

In June, the Fifth advanced with the army to Athlone, and took part in the siege, which was commenced on the 19th of that month: on the 30th the Grenadier company formed part of the storming party commanded by Major-General Mackay. The attack was made at six in the evening, when the forlorn hope, consisting of Captain Sandys, with 2 Lieutenants and 60 Grenadiers, all in armour, entered the Shannon, which was breast high, under a sharp fire, and were followed by the remainder of the storming party, who passed, some at the bridge of boats, and others by planks laid across the broken arches of the stone bridge. The party, having gained the opposite shore, threw forward a shower of hand-grenades, which put the Irish in confusion; then gallantly ascending the breaches forced their way through every obstacle, and in less than half an hour were masters of the town, with the loss of only 12 men killed, and 5 officers with 30 men wounded; but the enemy had about 500 men killed. Colonel Lloyd was appointed Governor of Athlone, and when the army advanced, the Fifth, and Lieutenant-General Douglas's regiments, were left in garrison; and the battering train was left in their charge.

After the battle of Aghrim, when the army was about to besiege Limerick, the Fifth, and a party of Militia, were ordered to advance with the heavy artillery; they, accordingly, left Athlone on the 12th of August, and joined the army at Cariganless on the 16th. The siege was commenced a few days afterwards, and the Fifth was actively employed until the surrender of the place on the 3rd of October. This conquest terminated the war in Ireland, and the regiment, being immediately ordered to embark for England, landed at Highlake, near Chester, on the 29th of December, from whence it marched to Nottingham, Derby, and other inland towns, where it commenced recruiting its numbers.

Three weeks, however, only elapsed before it was ordered to march to London, where it remained but a few days, and towards the end of February 1692 embarked for Flanders to join the army of the Allies, who were engaged in a war with France. The regiment was scarcely placed in cantonments in West Flanders, when the King of France assembled about 20,000 men near La Hogue, and ordered his fleet to prepare to convey them to England, with the view of replacing King James on the throne; the Second, Fifth, and Fourteenth regiments of Foot were consequently ordered to return: and these corps, having landed at Greenwich in the early part of May, were stationed along the southern coast. In the mean time the British and Dutch fleets had put to sea, and while England and France were gazing, in anxious expectation, at these preparations, the French fleet sustained a decisive defeat off La Hogue, and the alarm of invasion vanished. The Fifth continued in extensive cantonments near the coast until October, when it marched to Portsmouth to perform duty in that garrison.

During the summer of 1693 the regiment was embarked on board the fleet, and, proceeding with an expedition to Martinico, it effected a landing, drove the enemy's troops from the coast, and laid waste several French settlements on that Island. In the autumn it landed at Portsmouth and marched into cantonments in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

The severe loss sustained this summer by the Allies at the battle of Landen, occasioned a strong reinforcement to be sent to Flanders during the winter, and the Fifth was one of the regiments selected for foreign service. It accordingly embarked at Greenwich and Deptford in December, and, after landing at Ostend, marched to Sluys, a fortified town situated on an arm of the sea, where the regiment remained several months.

After leaving Sluys in the middle of May, 1694, the regiment pitched its tents on the levels near Ghent, and afterwards at Tirlemont in South Brabant, forming part of the army commanded by King William III. in person. On the 15th of June it was detached, with other corps, to take post near the Abbey of Lenthen. During the subsequent part of the campaign it was employed in several military operations, and in the autumn marched into barracks at Bruges. The death of its Colonel having taken place on the 26th of August, his Majesty conferred the vacant Colonelcy on Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Fairfax, by commission dated the 6th of November, 1694.

After remaining in garrison at Bruges until the 25th of May, 1695, the Fifth took the field and was encamped a short time on the verdant plains near the river Lys; and when King William undertook the siege of the strong fortress of Namur, the regiment formed part of the covering army commanded by the Prince of Vaudemont.

While the King was carrying on the siege, a French force of superior numbers, commanded by Marshal Villeroy, advanced to attack the covering army. On the evening of the 14th of July the Allies were formed in order of battle; the immense columns of the enemy were seen in the open grounds in their front, and the hostile armies passed the night under arms, expecting to engage at the break of day; at the same time the French had detached a division under Monsieur de Montal to turn the right flank of the allied army. This occasioned the Prince to order a retreat, which he masked with excellent judgment: the cavalry advancing to the front, the dragoons dismounting and forming on foot; while the artillery, and infantry with their pikes trailed, quietly withdrew. The enemy, anticipating success, prepared for the attack; but in a moment, the British dragoons, retiring a few paces, mounted their horses, and when the enemy thought to have commenced the battle, the skeleton squadrons withdrew; presenting to the surprised French the magic spectacle of what appeared to be an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy's cavalry galloped forward in pursuit; but the Allies continued their retreat in good order, and at six o'clock on the morning of the 16th were in position in front of Ghent.

The Fifth was afterwards engaged in a series of manœuvres for the preservation of the maritime towns of Flanders, and for the protection of the troops before Namur. In the early part of August it was encamped between Genappe and Waterloo, and subsequently before Namur, which capitulated on the 22nd of August. From Namur the regiment marched to Nieuport, and encamped on the sand-hills near that town; and, remaining in the field until late in the season, when the weather was particularly wet and cold, the men were ordered to build straw huts; but towards the end of October they marched to Bruges.

On the 12th of May, 1696, the regiment marched out of the barracks at Bruges, and encamped behind the banks of the canal near the town. During the campaign of this year its services were limited to the protection of Ghent and Bruges from an attack which the French commanders made several demonstrations of a design of making on these towns; and it passed the winter in its former station at Bruges.

From Bruges, the regiment marched, in the spring of 1697, to Brussels; and on the 12th of April proceeded through the forest of Soigne and pitched its tents near the village of Waterloo, where an encampment was formed of twelve regiments of infantry under the Count de Noyelles. The Fifth was subsequently employed in a series of defensive operations until September, when the war was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick; and, being ordered to return to England immediately afterwards, it landed in December,—eight companies at Greenwich and two at Dover.

The regiment remained but a short time in England before it was ordered to proceed to Chester, where it embarked for Ireland, and in August, 1698, it arrived at Dublin.

On the 5th of February, 1704, Queen Anne appointed Colonel Thomas Pearce from a newly-raised regiment of foot (afterwards disbanded) to the Colonelcy of the Fifth in succession to Thomas Fairfax.

During the early part of the war of the Spanish succession, this regiment was stationed in Ireland; but the united English, Dutch, and Portuguese armies having, in 1706, advanced to Madrid, the enemy cut off their communication with Portugal; the troops retired from Madrid to Valencia and Catalonia, and from that period their only communication with Portugal was by sea. At the same time it was found necessary to have a small army on the frontiers of Portugal, and the Fifth, Twentieth, Thirty-ninth, and a newly-raised regiment commanded by Colonel Stanwix, having been selected for this service, sailed from Cork on the 22nd of May, 1707, and landed at the capital of Portugal on the 8th of June[16]. This seasonable reinforcement arriving soon after the defeat of the allied army at Almanza, in the south-east of Spain, and at the moment when the enemy, having captured Serpa and Moura in the Alentejo, had seized on the bridge of Olivenza in Portuguese Estremadura, and menaced that important place with a siege, its presence revived the drooping spirits of the Portuguese. The four regiments, being the only British troops in that part of the country, were disembarked with every possible expedition, and marched to the frontiers under the command of the Marquis de Montandre, when the enemy immediately ceased to act on the offensive and retired[17]. The four regiments, having halted at Estremos, a strong town of the Alentejo, situate on an agreeable tract on the Tarra, remained in this pleasant quarter during the summer heats, and afterwards encamped in the fruitful valley of the Caya near Elvas, having detached parties on the flanks to prevent the enemy making incursions into Portugal, in which service the regiments were engaged until November, when they went into quarters in the towns on the frontiers of Portugal.

The regiment again took the field in the spring of 1708, and was encamped at Fuente de Sapatores between Elvas and Campo Mayor. The British division was soon afterwards increased to six regiments, by the arrival of the Thirteenth[18] and a newly-raised regiment (Paston's) from England; and the little army in the Alentejo was commanded by the Marquis de Fronteira; but the characteristic inactivity of the Portuguese occasioned the services of the Fifth to be limited to defensive operations. It was encamped in the autumn at Campo Mayor, and afterwards proceeded into cantonments.

After moving from its quarters in the spring of 1709, the regiment was again engaged in active operations. It was first encamped near Estremos, from whence it proceeded on the 23rd of April to Elvas, and was subsequently encamped with the army on the banks of the Caya, where the Earl of Galway, who had been removed from the army in Catalonia, appeared at the head of the British division.

On the 7th of May the French and Spaniards, commanded by the Marquis de Bay, marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the Portuguese generals, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway, resolved to pass the Caya and attack the enemy. The Portuguese cavalry and artillery took the lead, and, having passed the river and gained the opposite heights, opened a sharp cannonade; but upon the advance of their adversaries to charge, these squadrons faced about and galloped out of the field, leaving their cannon behind. The British division, arriving at the moment, repulsed the enemy; and the leading brigade, consisting of the Thirteenth, Stanwix's, and Galway's regiments, commanded by Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce, charging with great fury, recaptured the Portuguese guns; but the three regiments, pressing forward too far, were surrounded and made prisoners, and with them Major-Generals Sankey and the Earl of Barrymore, and Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce, fell into the hands of the enemy[19]. At the same time the Fifth, Twentieth, Thirty-ninth, and Lord Paston's regiments, though deserted by the whole of the cavalry, made a determined stand, bearing the brunt of the enemy's reiterated attacks with admirable firmness, until the Portuguese infantry had retired; then moving to the rear in firm array—while the balls flew thick on every side, and the Earl of Galway's horse was shot under him,—the enemy coming on in full career, threatening the destruction of this little band; yet, with ranks unbroken and steady tread, these undaunted English calmly retraced their steps—exhibiting one of the most noble spectacles of war,—and occasionally punishing the temerity of their pursuers with a cool and deliberate resolution which laid a thousand Spaniards dead upon the field[20], and impressed the enemy, and also the Portuguese, with a sense of British courage and magnanimity. Thus they effected their retreat, with the loss of only one hundred and fifty men killed and wounded, and passed that night at Arronches.

The Fifth acquired great honour by its signal gallantry on this occasion. It was afterwards encamped at Elvas, was subsequently in position on the banks of the Guadiana, and again passed the winter in cantonments in the Alentejo.

The casualties of the preceding campaign having been replaced by recruits from England, the Fifth again took the field in the spring of 1710, and was employed in the Alentejo; but the army was weak and unequal to any important undertaking, and the French having had some success in the province of Tras os Montes, occasioned a detachment to be sent thither. In the autumn the army advanced across the Guadiana, and on the 4th of October arrived at the rich plains of Xeres de los Cabaleros on the river Ardilla in Spanish Estremadura. It was resolved to attack this place by storm on the following day, and the Fifth, Twentieth, and Thirty-ninth, British regiments, having been selected to perform this service under the command of Brigadier-General Stanwix[21], advanced at four in the afternoon to attack the works near St. Catherine's gate by escalade: a few minutes after the regiments had commenced the assault, the governor sent proposals to surrender, which were agreed to, and the garrison, consisting of 700 men, were made prisoners of war. The army afterwards retired to Portugal by the mountains of Orlor, and went into quarters. This summer the army on the other side of Spain gained two victories, and advanced to Madrid, when the most pressing instances were made by King Charles III. and General Stanhope, to induce the army of Portugal to advance upon the Spanish capital; but the Portuguese generals were unwilling to engage in so great an undertaking.

During the campaign of 1711, the Fifth formed part of the army which assembled at Olivenza in May, and, having passed the Guadiana by a pontoon bridge at Jerumencha, advanced against the enemy, who took refuge under the cannon of Badajoz. The Fifth was afterwards engaged in the capture of several small towns, and in levying contributions in Spanish Estremadura; but the summer passed without any occurrence of importance, excepting a discovery made by the Earl of Portmore, who commanded the British troops in Portugal, of a clandestine treaty in progress between the crown of Portugal and the enemy, in which the former had agreed to separate from the Allies; and, to give an excuse for this, a mock battle was to have been fought, in which the British troops were to have been sacrificed[22]. This treaty was broken off, but the British Government soon afterwards entered into negotiations with France.

The Fifth continued in Portugal, and was encamped during the summer of 1712 on the pleasant plains of the Tarra. In the autumn a suspension of hostilities was proclaimed at the camp by Major-General Pearce, and the regiment went into cantonments.

From Portugal, the regiment proceeded to Gibraltar, which fortress had been captured by an English and Dutch force in 1704, and was ceded to Great Britain in 1713 by the treaty of Utrecht, when the Earl of Portmore was appointed Governor; and the protection of the place was confided to the Fifth, Thirteenth, and Twentieth regiments. Here the regiment remained in garrison for a period of fifteen years; its establishment was 500 men, and it became as celebrated for its excellent conduct in time of peace, as it had been distinguished for its noble bearing and gallantry in war.

The crown of Spain had relinquished its claim on Gibraltar with reluctance, and having, towards the end of 1726, resolved to engage in a war with Great Britain, a Spanish army was assembled in Andalusia under the command of the Count de la Torres, to commence hostilities with the siege of this desirable entrepôt to the Mediterranean. This gave the Fifth another opportunity of signalizing itself, and of adding to its honours already acquired,—the proud distinction of a successful defence of this important conquest.

The preparations of the enemy were made upon a most extensive scale. Their troops were encamped before the place in January, 1727, the bringing up of cannon, mortars, and stores to the camp, occupied several weeks, and the heavy artillery was removed from the works at Cadiz and other fortified towns; at the same time the whole disposable force, including part of the garrison of almost every town in Spain, was assembled to take part in the siege. The works having been commenced in February, before any declaration of war was made, and persisted in against the remonstrance of the Lieutenant-Governor, Colonel Jasper Clayton, a council of war of the commanding officers of regiments was assembled, and a determined opposition was resolved upon. On the 21st of February the garrison opened its fire on the besiegers, and from that day the storm of war raged round the rocks of Gibraltar with dreadful violence, increasing in fury until the roar of a hundred cannon and the fire of small arms became almost incessant in the day-time, and was partially continued throughout the night, with the most fatal effects to the Spaniards, whose loss was particularly great. This contest was continued with a few partial intermissions until many thousands of the besiegers had perished in the attempt; while the tremendous fire of the Spaniards had produced little effect beyond the bursting of many of their own cannon, and the enlarging of the touchholes of others so as to render them useless. In the early part of June the fire slackened, and on the 18th of that month hostilities ceased. Thus the ostentatious vaunts of Spain terminated in defeat and confusion.

The Fifth embarked from Gibraltar on the 12th of April, 1728, and proceeded to Ireland, in which country it remained seven years.

In September 1732, General Thomas Pearce, who had commanded the regiment for twenty-eight years, was removed to the Fifth Horse, now Fourth Dragoon Guards, and was succeeded by Colonel John (afterwards Sir John) Cope from the Thirty-ninth regiment.

The regiment left Ireland in 1735, and was stationed in England in that and the following year; but in 1737 it again proceeded to Ireland. At the same time Colonel Cope was removed to the Ninth Dragoons, and the Colonelcy of the Fifth was conferred on Alexander Irwin.

A period of seventeen years was now passed by the regiment in Ireland, where it continued to retain its high state of discipline and efficiency, and preserved untarnished the laurels it had previously won.

After the decease of Colonel Irwin, in 1752, the command of the regiment was given to Charles Whiteford; who was succeeded on the 20th of August, 1754, by Lord George Bentinck.

In the spring of 1755, the regiment left Ireland, and was quartered in England; and in September of that year it had the honour to receive King George II. at Chelmsford, on his way from Harwich to London.

The regiment remained in the south of England during the two succeeding years; and in 1758, another war having broken out, it formed part of an expedition designed to effect the reduction of the maritime power of France, and to make a diversion in favour of the Hanoverians. It accordingly proceeded to the Isle of Wight,—the general rendezvous,—embarked at Cowes eight hundred and eighty-eight men strong on the 25th of May, and its grenadier company was the first to make good its landing on the coast of France on the evening of the 5th of June, when seven companies of French foot, and three troops of dragoons, were quickly dispersed. On the 7th the army advanced in two columns;—the Fifth, taking the main road to St. Maloes, encamped in the evening about a mile from the town, and after sunset furnished, in common with the other regiments, a detachment, which, proceeding to the harbour, set fire to the shipping, magazines, &c., when a grand yet dreadful scene of conflagration presented itself. Having destroyed a valuable fleet and all the stores, the troops re-embarked and returned to England.

In August of the same year, the Fifth was engaged in a second expedition to the coast of France, when Cherbourg was captured, and the harbour, forts, magazines, and ordnance, consisting of 173 pieces of iron cannon and 3 mortars, were destroyed: at the same time 22 pieces of fine brass cannon, and two brass mortars, were brought off as trophies, and sent to England; and these guns, having been seen by King George II. in Hyde Park on the 16th of September, were conducted in procession through the city to the Tower of London.

The Fifth was also engaged in the descent made on the coast of Brittany on the 4th of September, when the batteries in the bay of St. Lunaire were destroyed, and the troops, marching into the interior, crossed the Drouette and Equernon, and advanced to Matignon, while the fleet proceeded to the Bay of St. Cas; thus alarming the country with the view of producing the return of the French army from Germany. While the Fifth was in France, some sharp skirmishing occurred, and when the troops re-embarked at St. Cas, the enemy attacked the rear-guard and occasioned considerable loss. The loss of the Fifth in these three descents was ninety-five men. Towards the end of September the regiment landed at Cowes, and, having encamped a short period near Newport, went into quarters.

The decease of Lord George Bentinck having occurred in 1759, Studholme Hodgson was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Fifth, from the 50th regiment.

In the mean time the war was continued in Hanover and the neighbouring States, and the Fifth, having been ordered to proceed to Germany, embarked at Gravesend on the 12th of May, 1760, and arrived in the Weser on the 22nd of that month. After landing near Bremen, the regiment marched up the country, and joined the allied army commanded by Ferdinand Duke of Brunswick, at Fritzlar in Hesse-Cassel, on the 17th of June; when the grenadier company was detached to form, with the grenadier companies of the other regiments, two Battalions, which, being united in Brigade with the Scots Highlanders, usually formed the advance-guard of the army.

The regiment, after being employed in several manœuvres, formed part of the corps commanded by the hereditary Prince of Brunswick, which marched on the 10th of July to take post on the heights of Corbach; but found the ground occupied by the enemy in force; when a sharp skirmish occurred in which the Fifth lost five men.[23]

Towards the end of July the regiment was encamped at Kalle. At 11 o'clock on the night of the 30th of that month it marched with the main army for Liebenau, and, having crossed the Dymel, advanced at five on the following morning to attack the enemy in his position on the heights of Warbourg.

The German corps and British grenadiers in advance having commenced the action, the French retired before the English infantry arrived. "No troops could show more eagerness than they showed. Many of the men, from the heat of the weather, and overstraining themselves to get on through morasses and difficult ground, suddenly dropped down on their march.[24]" The grenadier company of the Fifth, being in the column which commenced the attack, highly distinguished itself[25], and had four men killed, and Captain Ross, Lieutenant Baker, and twenty-six men, wounded.

The regiment remained for some time encamped near Warbourg; and the grenadier company, being encamped on the heights of Wilda, was engaged, on the night of the 5th of September, in surprising a French force in the town of Zierenberg, which service was performed with distinguished gallantry and success. The grenadiers were afterwards detached to the Lower Rhine, and were engaged in the attempt to surprise the enemy's camp at Rheinberg on the morning of the 16th of October, when a sharp action was fought at the Convent of Campen, in which the company of the Fifth lost several men. In December the regiment left the camp at Warbourg, and went into cantonments in the villages on the bank of the Weser.