During the summer of 1636 Hepburn's Regiment served with the army commanded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and in the month of May it appeared before Saverne, a town of Alsace, situated on the banks of the river Sarre, which was defended by an Imperial garrison commanded by Colonel Mulhein. The siege of this place was immediately commenced, and the garrison made a desperate resistance. A breach having been effected, three assaults were made on the 20th of June, and were repulsed with great loss. On the following day the batteries against the town opened their fire with greater fury than before, and during the progress of the siege the gallant Sir John Hepburn[37] was shot in the neck, and died, regretted, not only by his old companions in arms, but also by the court of France, where his valour and abilities were well known and appreciated. After holding out a few days longer the garrison surrendered; and Louis XIII. conferred the vacant Colonelcy of the regiment on Lieutenant-Colonel James Hepburn, whose name appears amongst the Scots lieutenant-colonels in the service of the King of Sweden in 1632.
1637
The regiment appears to have continued to serve in Alsace, under the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, whose army consisted of French, Scots, Swedes, and Germans, in the pay of France; and during the year 1637 it was engaged in several skirmishes with the Imperialists, but no considerable action was performed by either side.
This year Colonel James Hepburn was killed, and he was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Lord James Douglas, second son of William, first Marquis of Douglas. From this period the regiment was known in France by the title of Le Régiment de Douglas.[38]
While the regiment was in Alsace, Picardy was invaded by the Spaniards, and in 1637 this corps of hardy Scots appears to have been withdrawn from the army commanded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and stationed near the frontiers of Picardy.
1638
In the spring of 1638 it was placed under the command of the Marshal de Chastillon, for the purpose of penetrating into the Earldom of Artois, which at this period formed part of the Spanish Netherlands.
The army having been assembled near Amiens, passed the Somme on the 18th of May, 1638; Douglas' Regiment, forming part of the division under Lieutenant-General Hallier, passed the river at Abbeville, marched from thence to Doullens, and, after taking part in the capture of several small forts, was engaged in the siege of St. Omer, a place of great strength, and provided with a good garrison. The trenches were opened on the night between the 29th and 30th of June. On the 12th of July three hundred of the garrison issued out of the town to attack the men in the trenches, and encountering a party of Douglas' Scots, a fierce combat ensued, and the Spaniards were driven back with the loss of many men killed and taken prisoners; the enemy also lost a strong post which they had held until that time.[39] A Spanish force, however, advanced to the relief of the garrison, and having succeeded in throwing succours into the town, the siege was raised by the French.
After quitting the vicinity of St. Omer, the regiment was engaged in the siege of Renty, a small town on the river Aa. The army appeared before this place on the 1st of August, and on the 9th the garrison surrendered.
The next service in which the troops were employed was the siege of Catelet, a town of Picardy, which the Spaniards had captured in 1636; and this place was taken by storm on the 14th of September.