During this campaign a question arose respecting the rank of regiments, and the King directed the subject to be submitted to a board of general officers.[14] Captain Parker states,--"As the general officers were most of them colonels of regiments raised in England by King James II., they showed great partiality on this occasion, for they would not allow the regiments, raised in Scotland or Ireland, to have any rank in the army previous to the time of their coming to England and entering upon English pay. By this regulation, ours, that had been regimented in the time of King Charles II., lost rank of eleven regiments, that had been raised by King James II. The King thought it very hard; but as he had left the matter to them, he confirmed their sentence." The rank of the regiment was thus fixed as EIGHTEENTH in the British line; numerical titles were, however, not generally used until the reign of George II.[15] [Sidenote: 1695] Taking the field to serve the campaign of 1695, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Fifth, Seventh, Twenty-third, Collingwood's (afterwards disbanded), and La Melonière's regiment of French Protestants, in the English service, under Brigadier-General Fitzpatrick. When King William undertook the siege of the important fortress of _Namur_, the regiment formed part of the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, against which a French force of very superior numbers advanced under the orders of Marshal Villeroy. During the night of the 14th of July, the hostile columns confronted each other; the French, confident of success, detached a body of troops to gain the rear of the allies, and anxiously waited for daylight to commence the action. The Prince of Vaudemont ordered his cavalry forward; the dragoons dismounting and forming on foot, while the artillery, and infantry with pikes trailed, withdrew unobserved. The French prepared for the attack, when the dragoons of the confederate forces retired a few paces, mounted their horses, and retreated, presenting to the surprised French what appeared to be the magic spectacle of an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy pursued, but the allies retreated in good order, and took up a position in front of Ghent. This retreat has been celebrated by historians as a fine specimen of the art of war.