From Barcelona the regiment marched under the command of Lieut.-Col. EDWARD PEARCE, to Tortosa, on the river Ebro. In the meantime the Conde de las Torres having been sent by King Philip, with a numerous force, to retake the towns which had declared for Archduke Charles, he had besieged the fortress of _St. Matheo_, and the THIRTEENTH were ordered to march to the relief of this town. The troops employed in this service were very inferior in numbers to the besieging army; but by night marches among the woods and mountains, and circulating exaggerated reports of his numbers, the British general succeeded in surprising his opponents, and the Spanish commander, being deceived by spies, made a precipitate retreat. After this service was performed, the officers and men were so exhausted by long marches, day and night over the mountains, that the regiment was ordered into quarters of refreshment at Vinaros, where it remained a short period, while the Earl of Peterborough was making preparations for the expedition to Valencia. [Sidenote: 1706] Early in the year 1706, Lieut.-Col. Pearce received orders to march with the THIRTEENTH regiment from Vinaros to Oropeso, where an extraordinary alteration took place in the character of the corps, which is without parallel in the history of the British army. The Earl of Peterborough was much in want of cavalry for his expedition to Valencia, and he procured, with great zeal and industry, about eight hundred Spanish horses; about two hundred of these horses were given to the Royal Dragoons, and other corps, to remount the men whose horses had died, and with the other six hundred he resolved to form a corps of cavalry. He had been much pleased with the conduct of the THIRTEENTH foot on all occasions, and he determined to constitute them a _Regiment of Dragoons_. This was, however, not communicated to the officers and soldiers until every preparation was made, and as the regiment approached Oropeso, it was met by the Earl of Peterborough, and reviewed on a small plain near the town. After the review the horses were produced, and the regiment was constituted a corps of dragoons of eight troops, of which Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce was appointed colonel. The following account of this circumstance is copied from Dr. Freind’s account of the Earl of Peterborough’s campaign in Valencia:--‘No surprise, I believe, was equal to that of the officers and soldiers of Colonel Pearce’s regiment, who had orders to march from Vinaros, to a place called Oropeso, four leagues from Castillon de la Plana: at this place, by ten in the morning, they were met by the Earl of Peterborough, on a plain just bordering on the town. His Lordship having made a review, was complimenting the regiment, and wishing he had horses and accoutrements, to try whether a corps of so good a character would maintain the like reputation upon such a change. They, no doubt, concurred very heartily with his Lordship in his