In the meantime the second battalion had marched from Scotland to York. In August it proceeded to Hertford and Ware; and in September to Gravesend, where the first battalion had previously arrived from Hounslow Heath; and the two battalions being again united, occupied Gravesend, Tilbury-Fort, Sheerness, and other places along the banks of the Thames and the coast of Kent.

At this period the nation was violently agitated by political events. The King, being a roman catholic, and being guided by jesuitical councils, and countenanced and encouraged by a few families of the same persuasion, was attempting to effect the subversion of the established religion and laws. At the same time many noblemen and gentlemen who felt the greatest concern for the welfare of their country had invited the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch army to aid them in resisting the proceedings of the court. Thus the kingdom was divided against itself, and men were looking forward, with a mixed feeling of hope, terror, and consternation, to the great convulsion which threatened the State. The King made preparations to avert the danger, and augmented his army, when the Royal Regiment was increased to 26 companies, and the total strength to 1858 officers and soldiers, each battalion having now a grenadier company.

In the early part of November, the Dutch fleet having sailed past Dover, the Royal Regiment was ordered to the west; and when the Prince of Orange had landed at Torbay and advanced to Exeter, it proceeded to Warminster, which was the most advanced post of the royal army. The head-quarters were at Salisbury, and King James reviewed his army on Salisbury Plain on the 21st of November. But his Majesty found that his conduct had alienated the affections not only of his subjects in general, but of the officers and soldiers of his army, many of whom forsook his camp and joined the Prince of Orange. Yet, while many of the nobility and gentry, with officers and soldiers from almost every regiment in the army, were quitting the King's standard daily, the Royal Regiment of Foot was an exception; it preserved its ranks entire, and stood with an unshaken loyalty amidst the general defection which prevailed in the kingdom.

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A company of 200 men would appear thus: —

The musket carried a ball which weighed 1/10 of a pound; and the harquebus a ball which weighed 1/23 of a pound.

The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705.

The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, observes: – "I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.

Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot.

"Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt, to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed on the consideration of every part of the army, that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which has given the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under circumstances of peculiar difficulty."General Orders in 1801.

In the General Orders issued by Lieut. – General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated: – "On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield, – that no circumstances can appal, – and that will ensure victory when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means.

Bishop Lesley; and Abercromby's Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation.

L'Escosse Françoise, par A. Houston; and the Translator's Preface to Beauge's History of the Campaigns in 1548 and 1549.

Bishop Lesley; and Philip de Commines.

List of the French army printed at the time.

L'Ecosse Françoise, par A. Houston.

Histoire de la Milice Françoise, par Le Père Daniel. 2 tom. 4to. Paris, 1721.

The companies obtained from the Netherlands were part of a distinguished body of Scots, who had been many years in the service of the States-General of the United Provinces; and were, in consequence of a truce having been concluded for 12 years, at liberty to engage in the service of Sweden. Vide Historical Record of the Third Foot.

Introduction de Puffendorf, tome iv. p. 84.

Harte's Life of Guslavus Adolphus.

The regiment alluded to was raised by Donald Mackay, Lord Reay, in 1626, for the service of the King of Denmark; it was afterwards in the service of the King of Sweden, and was reduced in 1634 to one company. In 1637, Colonel Robert Monro, who had served in the regiment from the time it was raised, published an historical account of its services, under the title of Monro's Expedition; from which history much valuable information has been obtained relating to the Royal Regiment, and its first Colonel, Sir John Hepburn, who had lived in terms of intimacy and strict friendship with Colonel Monro from the time they were schoolfellows.

Monro's expedition; and Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus.

Swedish Intelligencer.

Monro's Expedition.

The Imperialists had previously enacted a cruel tragedy on a party of Scots at Old Brandenburg.

Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus; Monro's Expedition; and the Swedish Intelligencer.

In a list of Gustavus's army published at the time, in the Mercure François, the regiment is stated to have displayed four colours at the battle of Leipsic.

"The King having noticed that the Duke of Saxony was leaving the field, and that Count Tilly was ready to charge his main body, selected 2,000 musketeers of the brave Scots nation, and placed 2,000 horse on their flanks. The Scots formed themselves in several bodies of six or seven hundred each, with their ranks three deep (the King of Sweden's discipline being never to march above six deep;) the foremost rank falling on their knees, the second stooping forward, and the third standing upright, and all giving fire together, they poured, at one instant, so much lead amongst the enemy's horse, that their ranks were broken, and the Swedish horse charging, the enemy were routed." —Account of the battle of Leipsic published at the time.

"We were as in a dark cloud, not seeing the half of our actions, much less discerning either the way of our enemies, or the rest of our brigades; whereupon, having a drummer by me, I caused him to beat the Scots March, till it cleared up, which re-collected our friends unto us." —Monro's Expedition.

Monro's Expedition.

"His Majesty, accompanied by a great and honourable train of cavaliers, alighted from his horse at the head of our brigade; the officers coming together about his Majesty in a ring, his Majesty made a speech of commendation of the brigade, thanking them for their good service, and exhorting them to the continuation thereof, promised he would not forget to reward them; and turning towards the superior officers, they did kiss his Majesty's hand; the inferior officers and soldiers crying aloud, they hoped to do his Majesty better service than ever they had done." —Monro's Expedition.

Harte.

"The foot brigades were commanded to their several posts. Colonel Hepburn's brigade (according to custom) was directed to the most dangerous post, next the enemy; and the rest to theirs. The night coming on, we began our approaches, and prepared for making ready our attacks, when certain men were ordered to make cannon baskets, some to provide materials, some to watch, some to dig, some to guard the artillery, some to guard the workmen, and some to guard the colours before the brigade. The day approaching, we having made ready the batteries in the night, the service on both sides beginneth with cannon and musket." —Monro's Expedition.

Monro gives the name of every British officer above the rank of Captain in the Swedish army. Many Scots officers had been promoted to the command of Swedish, Finland, and Dutch regiments.

"Here also we see the valour of Hepburn and his brigade praiseworthy, being, first and last, the instruments of the enemy's overthrow." —Monro's Expedition.

"The King returned Hepburn public thanks for suggesting the idea of crossing the Wernitz, and for executing his plan with such judgement and valour." —Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus.

In some accounts of the battle of Lützen the Green Brigade, of which Hepburn's regiment formed a part, is mentioned by mistake amongst the troops engaged, instead of the White Brigade. As Colonel Monro commanded the brigade at the time the battle was fought, his narrative is considered sufficient authority for stating that it was not present.

Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden was born on the 9th of December, 1594. He learnt the duty of a musketeer as soon as he could carry a musket; and when seventeen years of age he was Colonel of a Cavalry corps, and served a campaign against the Danes. In the same year (1611) his father died, and the young Gustavus succeeded to the throne of Sweden; and he soon afterwards evinced, to the surprise of all Europe, the most distinguished abilities as a commander, a hero, and a politician. The discipline which he introduced into his army was strict beyond all precedent, and to this many of his victories may be attributed. His improvements in arms, equipment, and in military tactics, were particularly important; and he was brave even to rashness. He was wounded in action on six different occasions, had three horses killed under him, and was several times in the power of the enemy, but was rescued by his own men. On the fatal 6th of November, 1632, he fought sword in hand at the head of the Smoland cavalry, and was shot through the left arm, but continued fighting until his voice and strength failed from loss of blood, when he attempted to retire. At that instant an Imperial cavalier came galloping forward, and, crying "Long have I sought thee," shot the King through the body; and the next moment one of his Majesty's attendants shot the cavalier dead on the spot. As the King and his attendants were retiring, they were charged by a troop of cuirassiers; his Majesty was held for a few moments on the saddle, but his horse, being shot in the shoulder, made a desperate plunge, and threw the rider to the ground. After his fall the King received five wounds in different parts of his body, and was shot through the head. Thus fell the brave Gustavus, the most distinguished warrior of his age; with whose life the early services of Hepburn's regiment, now represented by the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, are intimately connected.

Monro's Expedition.

"The most deplorable accident was the death of the Scottish "Colonel Hepburn, who, with his usual coolness, surveying the breach, received a ball in his neck, and died, extremely regretted in the army, and by the Court of France." —Anderson's History of France, vol. v. p. 90.

"Le combat fut fort opiniâtre en ceste prise, et de telle façon; que le Colonel Hebron Escossois, y fut tué d'une mousquetade dans le col, qui luy passoit dans les reins, ayant laissé une reputation digne de sa valeur, fidelité, et experience au fait de la guerre." —Mercure François, tom. xxi. p. 277.

The following return of the establishment of the regiment in 1637 was procured by its Colonel, General Lord Adam Gordon, who died in 1801: —

In a plan of the siege of Hesdin, published at Paris in 1639, Douglas' Scots Regiment appears formed in brigade with the Regiment of Champaigne.

The three Scots regiments in the service of France at this period, are designated by the French historians, the regiments of Douglas, Chambers, and Praslin.

Père Daniel.

Mercure François; and Le Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand, par M. Le Marquis de Quincy.

This division consisted of the following corps; viz.: The French Guards, the Swiss Guards, the regiments of Picardy, Douglas, La Meilleraie, Grancy, and Molondin. —Mercure François.

Account of the battle of Lens, published at the time; Life of the Prince of Condé; and Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand.

A detailed account of this action is given in the Life of King James II., from the memoirs written with his own hand, and published by the Rev. J. S. Clarke in 1818. His Majesty was then (1652) Duke of York, and was serving with the French Army, of which Douglas' Regiment formed part.

Life of King James II., from the Memoirs written with his own hand.

The forces were designated by the following titles: —

"Ce Régiment de Douglas, étant en garnison à Avesnes en 1661, eut ordre de passer en Angleterre, où il rendit des services très considerables au Roy Charles II.

"Il n'était que de huit compagnies en partant de France, et se trouva en y revenant, un an aprés, de trente-trois compagnies, qui étoient composées pour le moins de cent hommes chacune. Mylord George Douglas l'a toujours commandé en France." —Père Daniel.

London Gazette; and Military Records in the State Paper Office.

"Le Régiment de Douglas Escossois. Ce Régiment a servi plusieurs années en France, et s'y est fort distingué. Je trouve dans l'Ordonnance de Louis XIV., de l'an 1672, pour le rang des Régimens, qu'il étoit un des premiers." —Père Daniel.

Comte de Chamilly's despatch, in the original correspondence respecting the campaign of 1672, published in France.

See the Historical Record of the Life Guards, p. 43.

Histoire du Vicomte de Turenne par L'Abbé Raguenet.

Mémoires de deux dernieres Campagnes de Monsieur de Turenne en Allemagne.

London Gazette.

The Colonel of the Regiment, Lord George Douglas, was created Earl of Dumbarton on the 9th of March, 1675; but the French historians continued to designate the corps, "Le Régiment de Douglas."

In the order of battle for the French army on the Rhine in 1677, printed in the Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand, the First Battalion of Douglas' Regiment appears formed in brigade with the regiments of La Marine, Couronne, and Vendôme, and the second battalion is posted between two cavalry brigades, on the left of the line.

"Captain Hume, who commanded our advance-party, showed great conduct and courage, standing several charges of the enemy's horse; and when the action was over, and he was upon his retreat to the main body, one of the Moors' chief commanders charged the rear of his party and overthrew him; but the Moor's horse falling, he was immediately killed." —London Gazette.

Tangier's Rescue by John Ross, fol. 1681.

"This day the Scots and their grenadiers charged first, if there was any time at all between their charging: for, like fire and lightning, all went on at once." —Tangier's Rescue.

Tangier's Rescue.

Four colours were captured in this action; one by Dumbarton's Scots, one by the Admiral's battalion, one by the English horse, and one by the Spaniards. Three guns were also taken; two by the Foot Guards, and one by the battalion of Marines and Seamen.

The following return shows the loss sustained by the British troops in this engagement: —

The First Regiment of Foot Guards was for several years designated the Royal Regiment. There was also at this period a Royal Regiment in Ireland, which was sometimes styled Foot Guards. This corps adhered to King James II. at the Revolution in 1688. One battalion had previously arrived in England, and, being composed of papists, it was disbanded by William III. The men were confined a short time in the Isle of Wight, and afterwards transferred to the service of the Emperor of Germany. The other battalion fought in the cause of James II. in Ireland, until the surrender of Limerick in 1691, when it proceeded to France, and remained in the French service until it was disbanded.

The author of the account of this review here means two battalions of the 1st Foot Guards.

War-Office Records.

Sixteen field-pieces were employed. Nine were sent from the Tower of London, and seven from Portsmouth.

Lediard, and several other historians, attribute the preservation of the King's army from a complete overthrow at Sedgemoor to the excellent conduct of the Royals, in being under arms so quickly as to be able to hold the rebels in check until the other corps had time to form their ranks.

Fountainhall's Diary, p. 59.

War-Office Establishment Book.

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