The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the Earl of Peterborough, with whose achievements its services are connected; and his raising the siege of _St. Mattheo_, the capture of _Morviedro_, his exploits in _Valencia_, and the relief of the capital of that province--successes gained with a small body of soldiers over a numerous army--carry with them the appearance of fiction and romance more than of sober truth; but being supported by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these achievements cannot be doubted. Unfortunately, no documents have been met with to prove what particular corps his lordship left in garrison, and what corps he took with him in his daring enterprise in Valencia; the part taken by the first royal and eighth dragoons, the thirteenth, thirtieth, and thirty-fourth foot, and a few other corps, can be clearly made out from history; but whether the SIXTH remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained. While employed in this part of Spain, the colonel of the regiment, JAMES RIVERS, died, and Lieut.-Colonel WILLIAM SOUTHWELL, having been sent to England with despatches, was promoted by Queen Anne to the colonelcy: he kissed her Majesty's hand on the appointment on the 14th of March, 1706, and hastened back to Spain to join his regiment. King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves to provide for the security of the towns which had come into their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests, spent their time and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the frontiers of Portugal, from Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine, and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to re-capture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish force approached _Barcelona_ by land; a French fleet appeared before the town; and, the garrison being weak in numbers, regiments were hurried from other places, one English regiment travelling one hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part in the defence of Barcelona. The siege was commenced in the beginning of April, 1706, when the soldiers repaired the breaches, and a desperate and resolute defence was made.