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Royal Scots
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I. The regiment existed continuously until 2006, when it amalgamated with the King's Own Scottish Borderers to become the Royal Scots Borderers, which merged with the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Black Watch, the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
In April 1633, Sir John Hepburn was granted a warrant by Charles I to recruit 1200 Scots for service with the French army in the 1618–1648 Thirty Years War. The nucleus came from Hepburn's previous regiment, which fought with the Swedes from 1625 until August 1632, when Hepburn quarrelled with Gustavus Adolphus. It absorbed other Scottish units in the Swedish army, as well as those already with the French and by 1635 totalled around 8,000 men.
Sir John was killed in 1636 and succeeded as Colonel by his brother George, then, after his death in 1637, Lord James Douglas; following the custom of the time, the unit became known as the Régiment de Douglas. James died in a skirmish near Douai in 1645 and was replaced by his elder brother Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, who remained in Scotland and had little contact with the regiment, other than supplying recruits. In 1653, he assigned the Colonelcy to his younger half-brother, George Douglas, later Earl of Dumbarton.
In 1660, Charles II was restored as king; in January 1661, Douglas's was sent to England in response to Venner's Rising, an attempted coup by Fifth Monarchists. The revolt was quickly crushed and it returned to France, since the recently elected Cavalier Parliament quickly disbanded the New Model Army but refused to fund replacements. It remained in France until 1679, apart from a period during the 1664-67 Second Anglo-Dutch War when it was based at the naval dockyard of Chatham. The diarist Pepys met George Douglas in Rochester and recorded that "Here in the streets, I did hear the Scotch march beat by the drums before the soldiers, which is very odde." In 1667, the regiment was accused of looting after the Raid on the Medway and ordered back to France; while awaiting transport, over 700 of the 1,500 men deserted.
During the 1672-74 Third Anglo-Dutch War, Douglas's was part of the British Brigade that fought with the French, commanded by the Duke of Monmouth. It served in the Rhineland throughout the Franco-Dutch War, even after the Anglo-Dutch war ended in February 1674; it became the Régiment de Dumbarton in 1675, after George Douglas was made Earl of Dumbarton. The 1678 Treaties of Nijmegen required the repatriation of all Scots and English units from France; reluctant to lose veteran troops, this was made as hard as possible. Dumbarton's was posted to the Dauphiné in Southern France before being disbanded and its men prevented from travelling for 30 days thereafter; many chose to remain, while those who arrived in England did so without money or possessions.
The regiment was listed on the English military establishment as the First Foot or Royal Scots, a temporary measure during the Exclusion Crisis of 1679–1681. Four of its twenty-one companies joined the Tangier Garrison in April 1680, with another twelve in September. It was awarded a battle honour for 'Tangier' in 1908, but the colony and its garrison was evacuated in 1684. A war diary for 1680 was kept by its commander, Sir James Halkett, allegedly one of the first examples to survive.
On its return, the unit was renamed His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Foot in June 1684. When James II succeeded Charles in 1685, the regiment fought at the decisive Battle of Sedgemoor that ended the June Monmouth Rebellion; a second battalion was raised in March 1686 and posted to Scotland.
It was the only unit where the majority remained loyal to James during the November 1688 Glorious Revolution; Dumbarton followed him into exile and one of William's subordinates, Frederick Schomberg, was appointed Colonel. While awaiting transport from Ipswich to Flanders, it mutinied on 15 March 1689, a combination of not being paid and dislike at being commanded by a foreigner. However, the mutineers were treated with leniency and later agreed to the move.
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Royal Scots
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I. The regiment existed continuously until 2006, when it amalgamated with the King's Own Scottish Borderers to become the Royal Scots Borderers, which merged with the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Black Watch, the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
In April 1633, Sir John Hepburn was granted a warrant by Charles I to recruit 1200 Scots for service with the French army in the 1618–1648 Thirty Years War. The nucleus came from Hepburn's previous regiment, which fought with the Swedes from 1625 until August 1632, when Hepburn quarrelled with Gustavus Adolphus. It absorbed other Scottish units in the Swedish army, as well as those already with the French and by 1635 totalled around 8,000 men.
Sir John was killed in 1636 and succeeded as Colonel by his brother George, then, after his death in 1637, Lord James Douglas; following the custom of the time, the unit became known as the Régiment de Douglas. James died in a skirmish near Douai in 1645 and was replaced by his elder brother Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, who remained in Scotland and had little contact with the regiment, other than supplying recruits. In 1653, he assigned the Colonelcy to his younger half-brother, George Douglas, later Earl of Dumbarton.
In 1660, Charles II was restored as king; in January 1661, Douglas's was sent to England in response to Venner's Rising, an attempted coup by Fifth Monarchists. The revolt was quickly crushed and it returned to France, since the recently elected Cavalier Parliament quickly disbanded the New Model Army but refused to fund replacements. It remained in France until 1679, apart from a period during the 1664-67 Second Anglo-Dutch War when it was based at the naval dockyard of Chatham. The diarist Pepys met George Douglas in Rochester and recorded that "Here in the streets, I did hear the Scotch march beat by the drums before the soldiers, which is very odde." In 1667, the regiment was accused of looting after the Raid on the Medway and ordered back to France; while awaiting transport, over 700 of the 1,500 men deserted.
During the 1672-74 Third Anglo-Dutch War, Douglas's was part of the British Brigade that fought with the French, commanded by the Duke of Monmouth. It served in the Rhineland throughout the Franco-Dutch War, even after the Anglo-Dutch war ended in February 1674; it became the Régiment de Dumbarton in 1675, after George Douglas was made Earl of Dumbarton. The 1678 Treaties of Nijmegen required the repatriation of all Scots and English units from France; reluctant to lose veteran troops, this was made as hard as possible. Dumbarton's was posted to the Dauphiné in Southern France before being disbanded and its men prevented from travelling for 30 days thereafter; many chose to remain, while those who arrived in England did so without money or possessions.
The regiment was listed on the English military establishment as the First Foot or Royal Scots, a temporary measure during the Exclusion Crisis of 1679–1681. Four of its twenty-one companies joined the Tangier Garrison in April 1680, with another twelve in September. It was awarded a battle honour for 'Tangier' in 1908, but the colony and its garrison was evacuated in 1684. A war diary for 1680 was kept by its commander, Sir James Halkett, allegedly one of the first examples to survive.
On its return, the unit was renamed His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Foot in June 1684. When James II succeeded Charles in 1685, the regiment fought at the decisive Battle of Sedgemoor that ended the June Monmouth Rebellion; a second battalion was raised in March 1686 and posted to Scotland.
It was the only unit where the majority remained loyal to James during the November 1688 Glorious Revolution; Dumbarton followed him into exile and one of William's subordinates, Frederick Schomberg, was appointed Colonel. While awaiting transport from Ipswich to Flanders, it mutinied on 15 March 1689, a combination of not being paid and dislike at being commanded by a foreigner. However, the mutineers were treated with leniency and later agreed to the move.
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