1686
1687
1688

King James II., being a Roman Catholic, adopted measures calculated to effect the subversion of the Protestant church; and, with the view of overawing his subjects, he doubled the numbers of the regular army, and had large bodies of troops encamped, from time to time, on Hounslow Heath, where he frequently attended in person and witnessed the exercise of the troops. The Royal Regiment of Dragoons formed part of the force at these encampments in the summer of 1686, again in 1687, and in 1688. At this period many noblemen and gentlemen, resolving to preserve the nation from papal domination, solicited the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch force to assist them in opposing the proceedings of the King, and the Prince provided an armament for that purpose.

The colonel of the Royal Dragoons appears to have been a zealous Protestant, and to have entered warmly into the measures taken to resist the proceedings of the Papists who surrounded the court. In November, 1688, when the Prince of Orange had landed, Viscount Cornbury, having marched with his regiment to Salisbury,[23] where the King's army was ordered to assemble, and where the blues and eighth horse had already arrived, resolved, in connexion with Lieut.-Colonel Langston, of the eighth horse, and several officers of the blues, to endeavour to take these three regiments over to the Prince, in the following manner:—

On the night of the 11th of November, directions were given for the adjutants and quarter-masters to await the arrival of the post, as orders to march were expected. At twelve o'clock the post arrived, when Colonel Langston opened the bag before the officers, and the orders, apparently from the Secretary-at-War, were produced, and carried to Viscount Cornbury, who gave directions for the regiments to proceed, at five o'clock, towards the enemy. The regiments were accordingly on the march before daylight on the 12th; continuing their progress throughout that day and the following night (excepting a few short halts to refresh the men and horses[24]), on the afternoon of the 13th, they arrived at Axminster, within six miles of the Prince of Orange's quarters, where they were joined by the Earl of Abingdon, Sir Walter Clerges, and about thirty other gentlemen, who pretended to be volunteers. It was now asserted that a design of the Dutch to surprise the quarters of the King's forces had been discovered, and orders were issued for beating up the quarters of the enemy that night. Accordingly, after dark, the three regiments were again in motion, and the Prince of Orange, apprized of their approach by Lord Cornbury, sent a large body of cavalry to meet them. The greater part of the men, however, resolved not to join the Prince of Orange, and, when they observed what was taking place, they galloped back. Major Robert Clifford, of the Royal Dragoons, marched back that regiment, with the exception of a few officers and about fifty dragoons, who accompanied Viscount Cornbury. The blues also returned, excepting about twenty-seven. But the Duke of St. Alban's regiment (eighth horse) having mustered at a distance, the men, ignorant of the transaction, followed Colonel Langston to Honiton, where they were received as friends by the Dutch general.[25] Many of the men, however, returned to the King's service; and the Duke of Berwick, having collected the remains of the three regiments, marched them back to Salisbury.

The king arrived at Salisbury on the 20th of November, and his Majesty rewarded the loyalty of Major Clifford by promoting him to the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons. The King, however, soon discovered that the defection among the officers was general, and that the soldiers, although they were reluctant to desert his service, were not disposed to fight in the cause of Papacy. The superior officers of the army, with the nobility and gentry, continued to flock to the Prince's standard, and King James, alarmed for his personal safety, returned in haste to London; at the same time the Royal Dragoons marched into garrison at Portsmouth. The Prince of Orange advanced to the capital without experiencing serious opposition; King James fled to France; and the Prince, having assumed the reins of government, restored Viscount Cornbury to the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons, and ordered them to occupy quarters at Farnham and Alton.[26]

1689

After the flight of the King to France, the crown was conferred on William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange. Their Majesties' accession, however, met with opposition; and Viscount Dundee having induced several of the Highland clans to take arms in favour of King James, the Royal Dragoons were immediately ordered to the north.[27] At the same time, the Earl of Clarendon refusing to act with the new government, his son, Viscount Cornbury, was superseded in the command of the regiment by the lieutenant-colonel, Anthony Hayford, whose commission as colonel was dated the 1st of July, 1689.

On the 27th of July, six battalions of infantry and two newly-raised troops of Scots horse, commanded by Lieut.-General Mackay, were defeated at Killicrankie by the Highlanders and a few Irish, under Viscount Dundee and Brigadier-General Cannon. Immediately after the action, the Royal Dragoons were directed to march to the assistance of Lieut.-General Mackay, and they arrived at Perth in the early part of August. The object of the Commander-in-Chief being the prevention of the descent of the mountaineers into the lowlands, the regiment was posted a short time at Forfar, under the command of Major-General Sir John Lanier, and subsequently proceeded by forced marches to Aberdeen. The Highlanders eventually retired over the mountains by paths inaccessible to cavalry, and separated to their homes.

In the mean time, the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Earl Tyrconnel) had retained the greater part of that kingdom in the interest of King James. King William sent an army to that country under the veteran Duke Schomberg; and, immediately after the dispersion of the rebel Highlanders, the Royal Dragoons were ordered to proceed to Ireland. They embarked for this service in the early part of October, landed at Carlingford on the 9th of that month,[28] and were ordered to take post at Armagh and Clownish, from whence they were removed to the isle of Maghee.

1690