When King William undertook the siege of the important fortress of _Namur_, the regiment formed part of the covering army under Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont, and on the evening of the 14th of July, it was formed in order of battle, while the immense columns of the enemy, commanded by Marshal Villeroy, were seen in the open grounds in front. The two armies confronted each other during the night, and the French commander, having an immense superiority of numbers, detached a division to turn the right flank of the confederate army. The Prince ordered a retreat, which he masked with judgment; the cavalry advancing to the front--the dragoons dismounting and forming on foot at extended files, while the artillery, and infantry, with their pikes trailed and colours furled, quietly withdrew. The enemy prepared for the attack, and sent forward a cloud of light musketeers to commence the action; but the dragoons retired a few paces and mounted their horses, and when the enemy thought to have commenced the battle, the skeleton squadrons withdrew; presenting to the astonished French what appeared to be the magic spectacle of an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy's horsemen galloped forward in pursuit; but the allies effected their retreat in good order to Ghent, from whence CUNNINGHAM'S dragoons were detached, with Rosse's troopers, and twelve battalions of infantry under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis, to cover Nieuport, a place celebrated for the victory gained by the English and Dutch, over the Spaniards under Archduke Albert, on the 2nd of July, 1600[2]. The regiment was stationed between Bruges and Nieuport, until Marshal Villeroy advanced towards Namur with the view of raising the siege, when it proceeded to Brussels, which city the French had, a short time previously, bombarded. The enemy's designs were frustrated; Namur was captured; the regiment left Brussels, and, after encamping a short time on the Bruges canal, went into cantonments in the villages on the banks of the canal of Ostend, in the Pays du Nord. [Sidenote: 1696] When the army took the field to serve the campaign of 1696, the excellent condition of this corps excited admiration; it mustered four strong squadrons, and when King William saw the regiment, he promoted its colonel, ROBERT CUNNINGHAM, to the rank of brigadier-general. During the summer of this year the regiment served with the army of Flanders under the Prince of Vaudemont, and was brigaded with the regiments of Eppinger and Miremont, commanded by its colonel. It was employed in defensive operations for the preservation of Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of Flanders. It passed the winter in the villages behind the Bruges canal. On the 1st of October, 1696, Brigadier-General Cunningham was succeeded in the colonelcy by WILLIAM, LORD JEDBURGH, eldest son of the Marquis of Lothian. [Sidenote: 1697]