HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE FOURTEENTH,
OR
THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE REGIMENT
OF
FOOT.
1685
In the summer of 1685 England was in a state of tranquillity; the minds of men were not, however, at ease respecting the religion of their king, James II., but they put the best construction on his conduct, and manufactures and commerce were flourishing; when suddenly James Duke of Monmouth invaded the western shores with a few followers, and asserted his claim to the sovereignty of the realm. The din of hostile preparation instantly resounded throughout the kingdom, and thousands of His Majesty's subjects laid aside the pursuits of industry, and arrayed themselves under the royal standard, to oppose the invader and his adherents. At this juncture Sir Edward Hales, Baronet, of Woodchurch, in the county of Kent, stood forward in the support of the Crown, and raised a company of one hundred musketeers and pikemen, for the king's service, at Canterbury and in its vicinity. Companies were also raised by the following loyal gentlemen:— —— Boynton, Esq., Robert Middleton, Henry Vaughan, Richard Brewer[1], William Broom, John Gifford, Thomas Gifford, Mark Talbot, John Chappell, and Rowland Watson, and these companies were constituted a regiment, of which Sir Edward Hales was appointed colonel, —— Boynton lieutenant-colonel, and Robert Middleton major, by commissions dated the 22nd of June, 1685; and the corps thus formed now bears the title of the Fourteenth Regiment of Foot. The general rendezvous of the regiment was at Canterbury; two companies had their rendezvous at Rochester and Chatham, and others at Sittingbourne and Feversham.