The army in England having been reduced by the House of Commons to the low establishment of seven thousand men, King William was under the necessity of disbanding several corps, and of sending others to Ireland. This regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed to Ireland, where it arrived in the summer of 1700, and its numbers were reduced to thirty-six private men per troop.
1701
The repose granted to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick was, however, of short duration. Louis XIV. of France, procured the accession of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain; this virtual union of two powerful states, rekindled the flame of war; and the Earl of Arran's regiment was one of the cavalry corps ordered to be augmented to fifty-seven private men per troop, and held in readiness to proceed on foreign service; but so great was the difficulty experienced in raising an army of sufficient numbers to meet the exigence of the nation on this sudden emergency, that only three troops of the regiment could, in the first instance, be spared from Ireland.
1702
These three troops landed at Highlake, in Cheshire, in the beginning of March, 1702, and marching to London, embarked in transports on the river Thames in the beginning of April, and sailed for Holland.
The decease of King William, who might justly be styled the protector of the reformed religion, and the accession of Queen Anne, produced no alteration in the foreign policy of the British court. The war was prosecuted with vigour, and the three troops of Arran's Horse, forming one squadron, were attached to Brigadier-General Wood's regiment (now Third Dragoon Guards), and served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough. The British horse, had, however no opportunity of signalizing themselves in action this year; their services being limited to out-post duty, and covering the sieges of Venloo, Ruremonde, Stevenswaert, and the famous city of Liege, which fortresses were captured by the British commander.
1703
The Earl of Arran having been promoted to the Colonelcy of the third troop of Life Guards, Queen Anne conferred the command of the regiment on Brigadier-General Cadogan (afterwards Earl Cadogan), from the Sixth, or Inniskilling Dragoons, by commission, dated the 2d of March, 1703.
The three troops of the regiment on foreign service, now bearing the title of Cadogan's Horse, continued to serve throughout the campaign of this year with Brigadier-General Wood's regiment. In a slight skirmish near Haneff, in the beginning of June, a small detachment evinced the martial spirit and valour of British troopers; and in the various movements of the army before the enemy, the national character was fully sustained. The French commanders avoided an engagement, and after covering the sieges of Huy and Limburg, Cadogan's Horse went into quarters for the winter in Holland.
1704