Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in the Reign of King James VI. of Scotland, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in the Reign of King James VI. of Scotland, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 1st (Royal Scots)
Before the following year King Charles II. concluded a treaty of peace
with the Dutch Republic; but his Majesty did not withdraw the whole
of his troops from France; and during the campaign of 1674 DOUGLAS'
Regiment, with the Scots regiment of Hamilton, and the English
regiments of Monmouth and Churchill, served with the French army on
the Rhine, commanded by Marshal Turenne. In the early part of June,
DOUGLAS' Regiment was encamped near Philipsburg,[54] a town in the west
of Germany about half a mile from the Rhine, and was formed in brigade
with the French regiments of Plessis and La Ferté, with a battalion of
detachments, commanded by Brigadier-General the Marquis of Douglas.[55]
The opposing armies having taken the field, DOUGLAS' Regiment was
suddenly withdrawn from the vicinity of Philipsburg, and, after
crossing the Rhine, advanced towards the ancient city of _Heidelberg_,
to prevent the junction of the forces under the Duke of Lorraine and
the army commanded by the Duke of Bournonville. This movement brought
on several skirmishes, in which the regiment took part; it was also
engaged in a sharp action on the 16th of June, when the Imperialists
were defeated; and in the accounts of this action published at the
time, the conduct of the regiment is spoken of in terms of commendation.
After chasing the enemy out of the Palatinate, the regiment retired
with the army across the Rhine, to join the reinforcements from Alsace
and other places; and after the arrival of these troops, the army
re-passed the Rhine, and DOUGLAS' and two other regiments were detached
to the vicinity of Landau, and ordered to encamp within a league of
the town. The regiment was subsequently detached towards Manheim, and,
after taking part in several operations, in the beginning of October it
was encamped at Lavantzenaw, in Alsace.
Information having been received that the Germans had passed the Rhine
and advanced to _Molsheim_, the French and British troops quitted their
camp about an hour after midnight on the 3rd of October, and after a
march of several hours, arrived at the enemy's camp, and attacked them
with great spirit. The conflict took place amongst woods and broken
grounds, and the British troops displayed signal gallantry, fighting
with a spirit and resolution which the enemy could not withstand.
Many officers and men fell, yet the conflict was continued, and Lord
Duras (afterwards Earl of Feversham) had three horses killed under
him. Eventually the enemy were driven from the field, with the loss
of ten pieces of cannon, thirty standards and colours, and several
prisoners.[56]
The Germans were subsequently reinforced by a number of fresh troops,
when Marshal Turenne retired with the French and British forces, and
took up a position near Saverne in Alsace, by which he prevented the
Imperialists deriving much advantage from their superiority of numbers.
[Sidenote: 1675]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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