1797
In April, 1797, Lieut.-Colonel Erskine arrived at Gibraltar, and assumed the command of the regiment.
In April, the preliminaries of peace were signed at Leoben, in Styria, between Austria and the French Republic, so that Great Britain was left to continue the contest single-handed with France and her allies. In July Lord Malmsbury was sent a second time to negociate a peace, but the demands of the French Directory rendered the attempt abortive. On the 17th of October the definitive treaty of peace between Austria and the French Republic was signed at Campo Formio.
1798
The regiment embarked in transports for England on the 16th of March, 1798. The ships put into the Tagus on the 9th of April, and sailed again on the 15th. After a tedious and boisterous passage, the regiment disembarked at Portsmouth on the 15th of May, and occupied Hilsea Barracks.
The effective strength of the regiment at this period consisted of two field officers, four captains, eleven subalterns, three staff, thirty-seven serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and seven hundred and forty-two rank and file.
By a General Order, dated 26th of May, 1798, it was directed that the coats of the army should be worn buttoned over the body down to the waist.
On the 31st of May, the regiment embarked in ships of war at Southsea Beach, Portsmouth, for Ireland, and arrived at Dublin, on the 15th of June, where it went into barracks.
His Majesty King George III., appointed Colonel the Marquis of Huntly to serve as a Brigadier-General upon the Staff of the Army in Ireland, in which country a spirit of discontent had been fomented by a party of unprincipled men, who had expected aid from France to carry out their designs. On the 21st of June, Lieut.-General Lake defeated the main body of the rebels at Vinegar hill, and the troubles in Ireland would have subsided, had it not been for the expected aid to be derived from France.
On the 2nd of July, the regiment marched at a moment’s notice, in consequence of the disturbed state of the country, the urgency of the service being such that the troops were conveyed in carriages.