List of Officers in 1687.

Captains.	Lieutenants.	Ensigns.
——	——	——
Earl of Huntingdon,	Thomas Carleton.	William Delavale.
(col).	William Rhodesley.	Ralph Cudworth.
Ferdinando Hastings	John Hook.	Deacon Garrett.
(lieut.-colonel).	John Fry.	Henry Fern.
Robert Ingram (major).	John Sheldon.	John Orefeur.
Watson Dixie.	Talbot Lacells.	Ambrose Jones.
John Tidcomb.	George Comly.	Hussey Hastings.
Owen Macarty.	Michael Dunkin.	Joseph Byerley
Charles Hatton.	George Keyworth.	Thomas Knivetton.
Sir John Jacob.	Henry Walrond.	William Callow.
Thomas Condon.
Charnock Heron.
Christopher Viscount	}   Bernard Ellis	{  Company of grenadiers
Hatton.	}   William Hawley	{     added to the regiment
		{     in 1687.
Gabriel Hastings, Chaplain. Talbot Lacells, Adjutant.
Claudius Gilbert, Chirurgeon. John Evans, Quarter-Master.

The regiment left Chester in April, 1688, and in June it pitched its tents on Hounslow Heath. In the meantime, the proceedings of the King, to establish Papacy and arbitrary government, had filled the country with alarm, and many of the nobility and gentry had solicited the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch army, to aid them in opposing the measures of the court. The Earl of Huntingdon continued, however, faithful to the interests of the King, and his regiment was ordered into garrison at Plymouth, together with the Earl of Bath’s (now Tenth) regiment. When the Prince of Orange landed, the garrison of Plymouth was divided in its political views: the governor, the Earl of Bath, and Lieut.-Colonel Hastings, of the Thirteenth (cousin of the Earl of Huntingdon), were in the Protestant interest; the Earl of Huntingdon, who was present, and performing the duties of commanding officer, with Lieut.-Colonel Sir Charles Carney, of the Tenth, were devoted to the Roman Catholic interest; but nearly all the officers and soldiers had espoused the Protestant cause. The Earl of Bath, Lieut.-Colonel Hastings, and several other officers, arrested the Earl of Huntingdon, Captain Owen Macarty, Lieutenant Talbot Lacells, and Ensign Ambrose Jones, of the Thirteenth, who were Roman Catholics, and afterwards declared for the Prince of Orange, in which the two regiments in garrison concurred. When the fortress of Plymouth was established in the Protestant interest, the arrested officers were released.

The army refusing to fight in the cause of Papacy and arbitrary government, King James fled to France and the Prince of Orange promoted Lieut.-Colonel Ferdinando Hastings to the colonelcy of the regiment, by commission, dated 1688.

The accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne having met with some opposition in Scotland, the regiment was ordered thither; and on arriving at Edinburgh, in the spring of 1689, it was employed in the blockade of the castle, which the Duke of Gordon held for King James; at the same time Viscount Dundee was arousing the clans to arms.

While the regiment was at Edinburgh, Major-General Hugh Mackay, commanding-in-chief in Scotland, was watching the motions of Viscount Dundee, and he sent orders for Colonel Ramsay to join him with six hundred men of the Scots Brigade, in the Dutch service. The colonel commenced his march, but was intimidated by the menacing attitude of the Athol men, and returned to Perth; when a hundred men of Berkeley’s (now Fourth) dragoons, a hundred of the Thirteenth foot, and two hundred of Leven’s newly-raised regiment (now Twenty-fifth), were ordered to join him. Thus reinforced, the Colonel commenced his march through Athole and Badenoch for Inverness; and with the aid of this detachment, Major-General Mackay chased the clans, under Viscount Dundee, from the low country, and compelled them to take refuge in the wilds of Lochaber: the detachment of the Thirteenth foot was afterwards stationed at Inverness; and the regiment was relieved from the blockade of Edinburgh Castle by the surrender of that fortress on the 13th of June.

After forcing Viscount Dundee to take refuge in Lochaber, Major-General Mackay proceeded to Edinburgh, where he learned that the clans expected to be joined by a reinforcement from Ireland, and would probably soon descend from the hilly country; the major-general, therefore, assembled the Thirteenth foot, and several other corps, and marched from Edinburgh, to watch the motions of the insurgent Highlanders. Arriving at Dunkeld, he received an express from Lord Murray, son of the Marquis of Athol, stating that part of Viscount Dundee’s army had arrived at Blair; and in consequence of this information, he commenced his march at daybreak on the morning of Saturday, the 27th of July, towards the pass of Killicrankie,[6] to confront his opponents, and on this occasion the Thirteenth foot, commanded by their colonel, Ferdinando Hastings, formed the rear-guard, to cover the march of twelve hundred pack-horses, which carried the baggage of the army.

Entering the pass of Killicrankie, the troops moved along the east bank of the river Garry, by a narrow road, confined between a range of craggy precipices on one hand, and on the other the river, considerably below the road, rushing from rock to rock with a murmuring sound; and as the Thirteenth regiment emerged from this difficult defile with the baggage, the royal army was seen in order of battle, on some rising ground at the foot of a hill, on the summit of which appeared the insurgent host, under Viscount Dundee. The Thirteenth foot formed on the right of the line, the grenadier company on the flank, with a supply of hand-grenades, the musketeers formed two wings; and the pikemen stood in column in the centre. During two tedious hours of a bright summer evening the armies stood looking at each other; and about half an hour before sunset, the Highlanders moved slowly down the hill, barefooted, and stripped to their shirts, to commence the battle: as they descended, they quickened their pace, uttered a loud shout, and commenced an irregular fire of musketry, which produced little effect. The King’s troops reserved their fire until the clans came within a few paces, and then by a regular discharge, with a sure aim, produced great havoc on the thick masses opposed to them; but at that moment the Highlanders threw down their muskets, drew their swords, and closed upon their opponents, who had not time to fix their bayonets in the muzzles of their muskets,[7] and being thus attacked, under peculiar disadvantages, many of the king’s troops gave way.

The Thirteenth foot, commanded by Colonel Hastings, stood their ground with great gallantry, and the Highlanders were unable to make any impression on this brave regiment. After being repulsed in their attack on its front, the Highlanders attempted to turn its right flank, when Colonel Hastings wheeled his pikemen to the right, and by a determined charge routed the clans at that point. As the conquering pikemen of the Thirteenth were returning to their post in the centre of the regiment, they discovered that the other corps of the royal army were overpowered, and the soldiers flying in every direction; at the same time the Highlanders had discontinued the pursuit, to plunder the baggage. At that moment Major-General Mackay galloped to the regiment; he collected the fragments of other corps to it, and retreated. In his memoirs of this war, published in 1833, Major-General Mackay commends the conduct of this regiment;[8] and in his life, published in 1836, the author (John Mackay, Esq., of Rockfield) states, ‘Hastings, on the right, sustained the reputation of the English lion, but all to no purpose, so far had the panic extended.’ Yet it was to great purpose, for one corps was preserved entire, which enabled the commander-in-chief to make good his retreat to Stirling.

Viscount Dundee was killed in the action; and the loss of the clans, in killed and wounded, was much greater than that of the king’s troops. Major-General Mackay called to his aid additional corps, resumed the offensive, and by a series of active and skilful operations, restricted the movements of the Highlanders so much, that they separated to their homes.

In the meantime King James had arrived in Ireland with a body of French troops, and all the country, excepting Inniskilling and Londonderry, was subjected to his dominion. To rescue Ireland from his power, an army was sent to that country, under the veteran Marshal Duke Schomberg, and the Thirteenth foot were ordered to take part in this enterprise.

The regiment embarked from Scotland in the beginning of October, landed at Carlingford on the 9th of that month, and received orders to join the army encamped at Dundalk; but these orders were countermanded, and the regiment marched into quarters at Armagh and Clownish, where it was stationed during the winter.

In April, 1690, the Thirteenth were stationed at Belfast, and they had the gratification of serving in the campaign of that year, under King William III., who commanded his army in Ireland in person. They had the honour to contribute towards the gaining of the battle of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, when the army of King William forced the passage of the river Boyne, overthrew the French and Irish forces under King James, and gained a decisive victory.

After this victory, the regiment advanced with the army towards Dublin, and it was stationed several weeks in garrison in that city, under Brigadier-General Trelawny.

In the meantime, considerable alarm had been produced in England by the defeat of the combined English and Dutch fleets, under Admirals Lord Torrington and Evertsen, by the French navy, under the Count de Tourville. After this disaster, England was menaced with invasion, and a body of French troops landed on the western coast, and destroyed a village; when the Thirteenth, and several other corps, were ordered to return to England.

After landing at Portsmouth, the regiment was encamped, for several weeks, near that fortress; and when the alarm of invasion had passed away, it was ordered to join the expedition against Cork and Kinsale, under Lieut.-General the Earl of Marlborough, (afterwards the celebrated Duke of Marlborough). It embarked on this service in the middle of September, arrived in Cork roads on the 21st of that month, and the co-operation of part of the army on shore having been secured, the troops landed on the 23rd, and besieged the city of Cork. A breach having been made, the Thirteenth regiment was selected to form part of the storming party, which advanced to assault the town on the 28th of September; but before the soldiers gained the breach, the enemy hung out a white flag, and agreed to surrender.

The troops marched out of Cork on the 1st of October, arrived before Kinsale on the following day, and commenced the siege of the two forts. The old fort was taken by storm immediately, and the new fort surrendered on the 15th of October.

After taking part in these services, the regiment was stationed in garrison at Cork. The health of the men suffered from having been employed in sieges during inclement weather, and in the official returns the regiment is stated to have had 462 rank and file fit for duty, and 216 sick.

In the spring of 1691, when the army took the field under General de Ginkell (afterwards Earl of Athlone), the Thirteenth were left in garrison at Cork, from whence they frequently sent out detachments in quest of the bands of Roman Catholic peasantry who prowled about the country in arms, committing every description of depredation. On one of these occasions, when Colonel Hastings was out with two hundred men of the regiment, and five hundred militia, he was informed that a party of the royal dragoons was surrounded by a numerous body of the enemy at Drumaugh, and he instantly marched to their relief. On arriving at the vicinity of Ballycleugh, he found the hedges on both sides of the road lined with opponents; when the soldiers of the Thirteenth rushed into the inclosures, killed fifty adversaries, and chased the remainder some distance. On the following morning the soldiers of the Thirteenth drove the Irish from Drumaugh, and liberated the party of the royal dragoons at that place.

Soon after this exploit, Colonel Hastings marched out of Cork with a party of the regiment and some militia, and seized upon Drummaneer, an important post near the Blackwater.

On the 12th of September, Captain John Orefeur left Cork, with a detachment of the regiment, to scour the country; and arriving in the vicinity of Lismore, he encountered a numerous body of armed partisans of King James, whom he instantly attacked, killed twenty of their number upon the spot, and put the remainder to flight, which so alarmed the armed bands of Roman Catholic peasantry, that they did not again appear in that part of the country for some time.

While the regiment was engaged in these services, the Irish army was defeated at Aghrim, and the city of Limerick was besieged by King William’s forces. The surrender of this fortress, completed the deliverance of Ireland from the power of King James, and terminated the war in that country.

The Thirteenth regiment was relieved from garrison duty at Cork on the 22nd of December, and embarked for England, where it arrived towards the end of that month.

At this period, the desire of conquest, with the disposition, by adding city to city and province to province, to form a vast empire, and to control the nations of Europe with despotic sway, marked the policy of the French court: this rendered it necessary for the British monarch to engage in war to preserve the civil and religious liberties of Europe; and while the army of the confederate states, commanded by King William, confronted the forces of Louis XIV. in the Netherlands, the Thirteenth were selected to form part of an expedition against the French coast, under Lieut.-General the Duke of Leinster (afterwards Duke Schomberg). The French fleet had been defeated a short time previously off La Hogue, and Louis XIV. had anticipated a descent, and had assembled so many forces on the coast, that the Duke of Leinster did not venture to land his troops. After menacing the coast of France at several points, the fleet sailed to Ostend, where the regiment landed on the 22nd of August. The Thirteenth and a number of other corps advanced a few stages up the country, when the French withdrew from Furnes and Dixmude, and the English took possession of, and fortified these towns.

When the army went into winter quarters, the Thirteenth were ordered to return to England, and they were employed on home service during the remainder of the war.

After the loss of the battle of Landen, in July, 1693, by the confederate army under King William, the Thirteenth regiment sent a draft of one hundred and fifty men to Flanders, to replace the losses of the regiments which had suffered most on that occasion.

In the early part of 1695, an accusation was preferred against Colonel Ferdinando Hastings, of charging the soldiers too high a price for certain articles which he, as Colonel, was in the habit of providing for them; an investigation afterwards took place, he was proved guilty of extortion, and deprived of his commission on the 4th of March. On the 13th of March, King William conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the Lieut.-Colonel, Sir John Jacob, Baronet, who had served in it several years, and distinguished himself in Scotland and Ireland.

In 1697 the war was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, and King William saw his efforts to arrest the progress of French conquests attended with complete success. The regiment was placed upon a peace establishment in 1698; the army was further reduced in 1699, and the Thirteenth proceeded to Ireland to replace one of the corps ordered to be disbanded in that country.

When a powerful monarch adopts measures of unprincipled aggression, and pursues schemes of aggrandizement without regard to the stipulations of treaties, to the rights of nations, or to the privileges of individuals, peace is not of long duration; but princes of a pacific disposition, and people devoted to the interests of industry and commerce, are forced to assume the profession of arms, and to fight in defence of their just rights and privileges. Such was repeatedly the case during the reign of Louis XIV., who terminated the repose granted to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick, by procuring the elevation of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain;—by taking possession of the Spanish Netherlands,—making prisoners the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns, and other acts of aggression. The interests of every state in Europe being affected by the change in the dynasty of Spain, the preparations for war were universal, and King William sent thirteen British battalions to Holland, to act as auxiliaries.

The Thirteenth regiment was selected to proceed on foreign service: it was augmented to eight hundred and thirty officers and soldiers; and sailing from Cork in the middle of June, 1701, arrived at Helvoetsluys, in South Holland, on the 8th of July. The British troops were afterwards sent up the Maese to Breda, and other fortified towns; and on the 21st of September they were reviewed on Breda heath by King William III.

After passing the winter in garrison in Holland, the regiment quitted its quarters on the 10th of March, 1702, and proceeded to Rosendael, where the British infantry encamped under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, then Colonel of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Colonel Sir John Jacob, Baronet, being desirous of retiring from the active duties of commanding officer of the regiment, which were performed by all colonels not having higher rank, procured permission to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment for fourteen hundred guineas, to his brother-in-law, James Earl of Barrymore, whose appointment was dated the 15th of March, 1702, being seven days after the death of King William III., and the accession of Queen Anne.

In the middle of April, the Imperialists besieged the strong fortress of Kayserswerth on the Lower Rhine, and the Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps which traversed the country to the duchy of Cleves, and joined the covering army, under the Earl of Athlone, encamped at Cranenburg.

A French army of superior numbers proceeded, by forced marches, through the forest of Cleves and plain of Goch, to cut off the communication of the troops at Cranenburg, with Grave and Nimeguen. In consequence of this movement, the British and Dutch struck their tents on the evening of the 10th of June, and retreating throughout the night, arrived, about eight o’clock on the following morning, within a few miles of Nimeguen, at which time the French columns appeared on both flanks and in the rear. Some sharp skirmishing occurred: the British corps forming the rear guard behaved with great gallantry, and the army effected its retreat under the works of Nimeguen. Kayserswerth surrendered three days afterwards.

Additional forces arrived in Holland, the Earl of Marlborough assumed the command, and the Eighth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Frederick Hamilton. This brigade took part in the manœuvres by which the French army was forced to withdraw from the frontiers of Holland; and when the siege of the fortress of Venloo—a town in the province of Limburg, situate on the east side of the Maese, with fortifications beyond the river—was undertaken, Brigadier-General Hamilton’s brigade formed part of the force of thirty-two battalions of infantry and thirty-six squadrons of cavalry, detached from the main army for this enterprise, under Prince Nassau Saarbruck.

The Thirteenth regiment carried on its attacks against the detached fortress of St. Michael, on the west side of the river; and on the 18th of September, the grenadier company of the regiment was ordered to take part in storming the covered-way, which, from the extraordinary gallantry of the soldiers, ended in the capture of the fort. Between five and six o’clock in the evening the signal was given, when the grenadiers rushed forward;—the French fired a few rounds and fled;—the British leaped into the covered-way, and pursued their opponents so closely, that friends and foes entered the ravelin together. The French in the ravelin were soon sabred; those who escaped fled across a small wooden bridge, and were followed so closely that they had not time to remove the bridge, and after a sharp struggle, the English and French entered the fort together. The British got over the fausse-braye, climbed up the rampart with great difficulty,—pulled up the palisades from the parapet, ascended the rampart, and captured the fort sword in hand, making thirty officers and one hundred and seventy soldiers prisoners; the remainder of the garrison, which consisted of six hundred men, were either killed in the attack, or drowned in attempting to escape across the river, excepting twelve men, who passed the stream in small boats.

In a few days afterwards, information arrived of the capture of Landau by the Germans, when the army before Venloo assembled to fire three rounds for that event, and the batteries were ordered to fire three volleys. When the garrison and inhabitants saw the preparations in the besieging army, they imagined it was for attacking the place by storm: the magistrates begged the governor to surrender, and the town was delivered up.

After the surrender of Venloo, the Thirteenth regiment was engaged in the siege of Ruremonde, which fortress was invested towards the end of September, and surrendered on the 7th of October.

The army afterwards advanced towards Liege; the city was immediately delivered up, and the citadel was captured by storm on the 23rd of October: on which occasion the grenadiers of the army distinguished themselves. A detached fortress, called the Chartreuse, surrendered soon afterwards, and these conquests terminated the campaign.

Quitting the valley of Liege on the 3rd of November, the regiment marched back to Holland, and was stationed in garrison at Breda during the winter.

From Breda the regiment marched, in April, 1703, towards Maestricht. The French attempted to surprise the British troops in their quarters, but the gallant resistance of two regiments, at Tongres (the second, or Queen’s Royals, and Elst’s), gave time for the army to assemble in order of battle at Maestricht. The regiment served this campaign in brigade with the same corps as in 1702: it was employed in several movements designed to bring the enemy to a general engagement; but the French withdrew behind their fortified lines, where the Duke of Marlborough was desirous of attacking them, to which the Dutch generals would not consent.

In August, the fortress of Huy, situate on the Maese above the city of Liege, was besieged, and it was captured in ten days. Another proposal to attack the French lines having been declined by the Dutch, Limburg, in the Spanish Netherlands, was besieged, and on the 27th of September, the garrison surrendered, which completed the deliverance of Spanish Guelderland from the power of France.

After taking part in these captures, the regiment was selected to transfer its services from the Netherlands to Portugal, to take part in the attempt to place Archduke Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms; several states of Europe having acknowledged him as king of Spain, the British, Dutch, and Portuguese had engaged to aid him in gaining possession of the throne. The regiment embarked from Holland in October, and sailed to Portsmouth; but it was detained so long by contrary winds, that it did not arrive at Lisbon, before March, 1704, when it landed, and marched to Abrantes; but was afterwards removed to the Alemtejo.

The British troops in Portugal were commanded by General Mainhard Duke Schomberg, and he suggested active measures; but tardiness and inability were manifested by the Portuguese authorities, to so great an extent, that the Duke of Berwick invaded Portugal with a French and Spanish army, before the allies were prepared to take the field. The court of Lisbon was alarmed; Duke Schomberg solicited to be recalled; and the Earl of Galway was sent with reinforcements to Portugal.

In the early part of the campaign, the Thirteenth foot were employed in the Alemtejo: they were reviewed at the camp at Estremos on the 21st of July, and were afterwards removed to Vimiera.

After the summer heat had abated, the regiment joined the army, and penetrated into Spain as far as the bank of the Agueda, near Ciudad Rodrigo; but the Duke of Berwick had made so skilful a disposition of the French and Spanish forces under his orders, on the opposite side of the river, that the allies were prevented passing the stream, and the British troops returned to Portugal for winter quarters.

In the meantime the important fortress of Gibraltar[9] had been captured by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and garrisoned by a body of marines under the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt. The capture of this fortress revived the hopes and expectations of the allies, and disconcerted the measures of King Philip, of Spain, and his grandfather Louis XIV.; a combined French and Spanish army was assembled to retake Gibraltar, and the French monarch, who possessed, at that period, a naval force of great magnitude, directed his fleet to co-operate in this service. The troops under the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt defended the fortress with great gallantry, and eventually applied to the commander of the forces in Portugal for aid, when a battalion of the first and second foot guards, the Thirteenth and thirty-fifth regiments, the Dutch regiment of Waes, and the Portuguese regiment of Algarve, were selected to reinforce the garrison.

The Thirteenth regiment, mustering thirty-nine serjeants, thirty-nine corporals, twenty-six drummers, and six hundred and fifty private soldiers, marched from the frontiers of Portugal to Lisbon, and embarked on board of transports on the 8th of December: two days afterwards the fleet sailed under the convoy of four frigates, and on the 17th it was becalmed, when the boats were hoisted out, and attempts made to gain some progress by the use of oars. A fleet of men of war appeared in sight, under English and Dutch colours, and it was supposed to be the squadron under Vice-Admiral Leake and Rear-Admiral Vander-Dussen; but observing the men-of-war forming a half-moon to surround the transports, a private signal was made, and the men-of-war being unable to answer it, instantly hoisted French colours. The danger was great, with a hostile fleet so near, but the transports put out every boat, and made some way by towing: the enemy was becalmed, and in the evening a breeze sprung up, which enabled the British vessels to escape, excepting one ship, which was captured. On the following day, the Thirteenth regiment landed at Gibraltar, at the moment when the garrison was beginning to despair of assistance.

The regiment was not long at Gibraltar before it had opportunities of distinguishing itself, and a detachment formed part of the body of troops which issued from the fortress during the night of the 22nd of December, forced the Spanish posts, routed a body of cavalry, levelled part of the works, burnt many fascines and gabions, and retired with little loss.

Still anticipating success, the French and Spaniards prosecuted the siege; and, in the beginning of February, 1705, a chosen band of French grenadiers attacked the round tower: they climbed the rock by the aid of hooks, but were repulsed with loss.

About four days afterwards, six hundred select French and Walloon grenadiers, supported by a large body of Spaniards, ascended the hill with great silence in the night, and concealed themselves until daybreak on the morning of the 7th of February; and when the night-guard had been withdrawn from the breach near the round tower, they made a sudden rush, and drove the ordinary guard from its post with a shower of hand-grenades: at the same time, two hundred grenadiers attacked the round tower. The troops in garrison were soon alarmed, and Captain Fisher, of the Queen’s marines (now fourth foot), charged the enemy at the head of seventeen men; but his party was soon over-powered and himself taken prisoner. Major Moncall of the Thirteenth foot, a most gallant officer, collected between four and five hundred men, principally of his own regiment, and charged the enemy, sword in hand, so vigorously, that he soon drove them back, recaptured the round tower, after it had been in the possession of the enemy about an hour, and liberated Captain Fisher and several other prisoners. The soldiers of the Thirteenth regiment were aided, in this gallant effort, by Colonel Rivett of the foot guards, who climbed the rock on the right of the covered way with twenty grenadiers, and favoured Major Moncall’s success. Additional men were brought forward, and the French and Walloon grenadiers were driven from the works with severe loss. On the following day, the brave Major Moncall of the Thirteenth lost his leg by a cannon-shot.

The French and Spaniards continued their unavailing attempts on Gibraltar, and the siege became a subject of great interest throughout Europe; but towards the end of March, they withdrew the shattered remains of their formidable army from before the place, and left the English in quiet possession of the fortress they had so gallantly defended, and which they have preserved to the present period.

In a few weeks after the siege of Gibraltar was raised, an expedition sailed from England, under Charles Earl of Peterborough, either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Sicily and Naples, or to further the progress of Archduke Charles in Spain, as should appear most advantageous for Her Majesty’s service; and the latter course was adopted. The expedition arrived at Gibraltar in the beginning of August; and the Thirteenth foot were relieved from duty in that garrison by a newly-raised regiment from England, and embarked on board the fleet, which put to sea in a few days afterwards.

The expedition appeared off the coast of Valencia: a thousand Catalonians and Valencians threw off their allegiance to King Philip, acknowledged Archduke Charles as sovereign of Spain, and seized on Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to the expedition. Thus encouraged, the Earl of Peterborough undertook the daring enterprise of besieging Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, which assumed a romantic character, in consequence of his being unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines, the garrison consisting of nearly six thousand men, and of this fortress having resisted a French army of thirty thousand men, eight weeks, in 1697, and cost the French monarch twelve thousand men to take it. The troops landed on the 23rd and 24th of August, and the Thirteenth regiment took part in the siege. On the 13th of September, the grenadier company of the regiment left the camp, and after a night march among the mountains, appeared before the detached fortress of Montjuich, at daylight on the following morning, and took part in storming the outworks of that place, in which it had several men killed and wounded. Three days afterwards, the strong castle and citadel of Montjuich surrendered, which greatly facilitated the progress of the siege of Barcelona.

The besieging army was so very weak in numbers that extraordinary efforts were necessary: the soldiers and seamen were incessant in their exertions; cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men, and a practicable breach having been made, a detachment of the Thirteenth foot was in readiness to take part in storming the works, when the governor surrendered.

The capture of so important a fortress, by so small a body of men, produced a great sensation throughout Europe, and this splendid achievement was followed by the submission of nearly all Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain.

Elated by this success, the Earl of Peterborough resolved to undertake another enterprise of a more romantic character than the former, namely the invasion of Valencia, with a body of troops not sufficiently numerous to form the advance guard of the opposing army. The Thirteenth regiment being conspicuous for its efficiency, and for the gallant bearing of the officers and soldiers, was selected to form part of his Lordship’s force.

From Barcelona the regiment marched under the command of Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce, to Tortosa, on the river Ebro. In the meantime the Conde de las Torres having been sent by King Philip, with a numerous force, to retake the towns which had declared for Archduke Charles, he had besieged the fortress of St. Matheo, and the Thirteenth were ordered to march to the relief of this town. The troops employed in this service were very inferior in numbers to the besieging army; but by night marches among the woods and mountains, and circulating exaggerated reports of his numbers, the British general succeeded in surprising his opponents, and the Spanish commander, being deceived by spies, made a precipitate retreat.

After this service was performed, the officers and men were so exhausted by long marches, day and night over the mountains, that the regiment was ordered into quarters of refreshment at Vinaros, where it remained a short period, while the Earl of Peterborough was making preparations for the expedition to Valencia.

Early in the year 1706, Lieut.-Col. Pearce received orders to march with the Thirteenth regiment from Vinaros to Oropeso, where an extraordinary alteration took place in the character of the corps, which is without parallel in the history of the British army. The Earl of Peterborough was much in want of cavalry for his expedition to Valencia, and he procured, with great zeal and industry, about eight hundred Spanish horses; about two hundred of these horses were given to the Royal Dragoons, and other corps, to remount the men whose horses had died, and with the other six hundred he resolved to form a corps of cavalry. He had been much pleased with the conduct of the Thirteenth foot on all occasions, and he determined to constitute them a Regiment of Dragoons. This was, however, not communicated to the officers and soldiers until every preparation was made, and as the regiment approached Oropeso, it was met by the Earl of Peterborough, and reviewed on a small plain near the town. After the review the horses were produced, and the regiment was constituted a corps of dragoons of eight troops, of which Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce was appointed colonel. The following account of this circumstance is copied from Dr. Freind’s account of the Earl of Peterborough’s campaign in Valencia:—‘No surprise, I believe, was equal to that of the officers and soldiers of Colonel Pearce’s regiment, who had orders to march from Vinaros, to a place called Oropeso, four leagues from Castillon de la Plana: at this place, by ten in the morning, they were met by the Earl of Peterborough, on a plain just bordering on the town. His Lordship having made a review, was complimenting the regiment, and wishing he had horses and accoutrements, to try whether a corps of so good a character would maintain the like reputation upon such a change. They, no doubt, concurred very heartily with his Lordship in his wishes, little expecting the execution of them in a moment: but his Lordship having ordered his secretary to give the commissions already prepared, the officers at last believed the general in earnest; when, turning to the edge of a hill, they saw eight bodies of horses, drawn up separately, and found them all ready accoutred. Among these there were three good horses for each captain, two for each lieutenant, and one for each cornet. My Lord left to the field officers the choice of their troops; the other captains drew lots: and immediately they all mounted and marched to the quarters appointed for them.’

In the ‘Annals of Queen Anne,’ it is stated:—‘He (the Earl of Peterborough) collected above six hundred horses, with which he recruited his horse, and formed a regiment of dragoons of the Lord Barrymore’s regiment of foot, the command of which new regiment he gave to Lieut.-Col. Pearce, ordering the remaining officers of the old corps to return to England to recruit the same.’

Similar statements to the above are contained in Carleton’s Memoirs, Tindal’s History of England, and other historical works. In the official records, it is stated, that twenty-seven officers and six hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Thirteenth foot, then called the Earl of Barrymore’s regiment, were formed into a corps of dragoons in Spain; that Lieut.-Col. Pearce of the Thirteenth was appointed colonel of the new regiment of dragoons, which obtained rank in the army from the 25th of February, 1706; and that 900l. levy money was paid for recruiting the Thirteenth to its establishment in England.

The regiment of dragoons thus formed proved a valuable corps, and distinguished itself on several occasions. It formed part of the force engaged in the Earl of Peterborough’s splendid campaign in Valencia, and evinced great gallantry in the capturing of the Spanish battering train near the city of Valencia. After the siege of Barcelona was raised, this regiment advanced upon Madrid, and joined the army of Portugal, under the Earl of Galway, at Guadalaxara, on the 8th of August, 1706. It subsequently took part in covering the march of the army to Valencia, and was so reduced in numbers by continual service, and the losses it sustained in numerous skirmishes, that in the spring of 1707, it only mustered two hundred and seventy three men. It was one of the corps which displayed great intrepidity and bravery at the battle of Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707, when it had Lieut.-Col. Deloches, Cornets Cundy and Holmes, and Quarter-Master Sturges killed; Lieut. Fitzgerald and Cornet Barry wounded and taken prisoners: it also sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded. It was disbanded after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The remaining officers and soldiers of the Thirteenth, who were not constituted dragoons, returned to England in 1706, and had so great success in recruiting the regiment, that in less than two years it was fit for service.

While the regiment was recruiting in England, the allied army was defeated at Almanza, and a French and Spanish force invaded Portuguese Estremadura and the Alemtejo, when four regiments (the fifth, twentieth, thirty-ninth, and Stanwix’s, afterwards disbanded) embarked from Ireland for Portugal; and during the winter the Thirteenth regiment, being again fit for duty, proceeded to the same destination: it was placed on the strength of the army in Portugal on the 24th of December, 1707.

After landing at Lisbon, the regiment marched under the orders of its colonel, the Earl of Barrymore, to the Alemtejo; in the spring of 1708 it was encamped at Fuentes de Sapatores, between Elvas and Campo Mayor, with the army commanded by the Marquis de Fronteira, and was formed in brigade with the regiments of Stanwix and Galway (newly-raised corps, afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce (of the fifth foot); but the services of the Thirteenth were limited to operations of a defensive character.

In April, 1709, the regiment was encamped near Estremos, from whence it was removed to Elvas, and subsequently to the banks of the Caya. On the 7th of May, the French and Spaniards under the Marquis de Bay marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the Portuguese generals resolved to pass the Caya and attack the enemy, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway. The Portuguese cavalry of the right wing crossed the river, and opened a sharp cannonade; but when the opposing horsemen advanced to charge, the Portuguese squadron galloped out of the field, leaving their cannon behind. The infantry of the allied army stood its ground, repulsed the charges of the Spanish cavalry three times, and afterwards commenced its retreat, when the Earl of Galway led forward the Thirteenth, Stanwix’s, and his own regiment, to favour the retrograde movement. The Thirteenth were in front, and charged the Spaniards with distinguished gallantry; the other two regiments of the brigade also evinced great bravery, and the three corps overthrew the leading columns of the opposing army, and recaptured the Portuguese guns. Animated and encouraged by this success, the three regiments pressed forward until they became exposed to the attack of superior numbers, when the Portuguese cavalry of the left wing were ordered to support them, but instead of obeying these orders, the Portuguese squadrons galloped to the rear. Thus forsaken, the three regiments were cut off from the allied army, surrounded by opponents, and only a few officers and men were able to cut their passage through the host of adversaries which environed them; the remainder were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Among the prisoners were Major-General Sankey and Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce.

The Thirteenth foot sustained a severe loss on this occasion; besides the killed and wounded, it had Colonel the Earl of Barrymore, four captains, eight lieutenants, eight ensigns, three volunteers, and between two and three hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers taken prisoners.