War having been declared against Spain, the regiment was attached to the armament under General the Earl of Albemarle, destined to attack the valuable settlement of the _Havannah_, on the island of Cuba. Passing through the straits of Bahama, the expedition arrived within six leagues of the Havannah on the 6th of June; a landing was effected on the following day; and on the 9th, the troops took up a position between Coximar and the _Moro_, a fort which it was deemed necessary to besiege and capture before an attack was made on the town. In this service, great hardships had to be endured; a thin soil, hardly sufficient to cover the troops in their approaches, a scarcity of water, and the labour of dragging the artillery several miles over a rocky country, and under a burning sun, called forth the efforts of the army and navy. The works were carried on, the sallies of the enemy were repulsed, and the Moro fort was captured by storm on the 30th of July. A series of batteries were erected against the town; and on the 11th of August they opened so well-directed a fire, that the guns of the garrison were silenced, and flags of truce were hung out from the town, and ships in the harbour. The terms of capitulation were agreed upon, and the British took possession of this valuable settlement, with nine men of war in the harbour, and two upon the stocks. The regiment lost a number of men on this important service; Lieutenant Skene was among the killed; Captain Tyrwhitt and Lieutenant Winter died from the effects of climate. After the capture of the Havannah, the regiment was stationed at that place eleven months. [Sidenote: 1763] In the meantime a treaty of peace had been concluded, and in 1763 the Havannah was restored to Spain; the regiment was relieved by the Spanish troops which arrived to take possession of the colony, and embarked for New York, from whence it proceeded, by Albany and Lake Champlain, to Canada, where it was stationed several years. [Sidenote: 1764] [Sidenote: 1765] [Sidenote: 1768] After occupying quarters successively at Montreal, Quebec, and on the upper lakes, until the summer of 1768, the regiment embarked for England, and landed at Portsmouth in July. Occurrences of a political character having induced Sir Jeffery Amherst to resign the colonelcy of the regiment, he was succeeded, on the 21st of September, 1768, by Colonel Charles Hotham (afterwards Sir Charles Thompson, Baronet) from the sixty-third regiment. [Sidenote: 1769] [Sidenote: 1770] [Sidenote: 1771] The regiment occupied various quarters in the southern and midland counties of England, until the summer of 1770, when it was reviewed at Chatham by King George III. and in the spring of 1771 marched into Yorkshire. [Sidenote: 1772] [Sidenote: 1773] [Sidenote: 1774] In 1772 the regiment marched to Scotland, where it was stationed during the following year, and in the spring of 1774 it embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland. [Sidenote: 1775]