| Corps. | Present title. | Officers and men. | ||
| Lloyd's Dragoons | 3rd Light Dragoons (Detachment) | 275 | ||
| *Foot Guards | 1st and | Coldstream | 755 | |
| *Sir H. Bellasis' | 2nd | Foot | 834 | |
| *Churchill's | 3rd | " | 834 | |
| *Seymour's | 4th | " | 834 | |
| *Columbine's | 6th | " | 724 | |
| *Royal Fusileers | 7th | " | (3 Companies) | 313 |
| Erle's | 19th | " | 724 | |
| Gustavus Hamilton's | 20th | " | 724 | |
| Villiers's (Marines) | 31st | Foot | (5 Companies) | 520 |
| *Fox's (Marines) | 32nd | " | 834 | |
| Donegal's | 35th | " | 724 | |
| Charlemont's | 36th | " | 724 | |
| *Shannon's (Marines) | 834 | |||
| ——— | ||||
| { Commanded by Baron } | 9653 | |||
| Dutch Regiments | { Sparr and Brigadier } | 3924 | ||
| { Pallandt. } | ——— | |||
| 13,577 | ||||
| The Regiments marked thus * landed at Vigo. | ||||
The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the Duke summoned the place; but his terms being refused, he landed on the 15th, between Rota and Fort St. Catherine, where he encountered and repulsed some Spanish cavalry. The next operation of the army was the attack and capture of Fort St. Catherine and of Port St. Mary; but the attempt on Cadiz failed.
Bishop Burnet, in alluding to this expedition, remarks—'It is certain our court had false accounts of the state the place was in, both with relation to the garrison and the fortifications; the garrison was much stronger, and the fortifications were in a better state than was represented.' As a set-off to the miscarriage at Cadiz, the expedition did good service and made a valuable conquest at Vigo Bay, where the galleons from the West Indies, convoyed by a French squadron, happened at this time to arrive[19]. A passage of three quarters of a mile, which led into the harbour of Vigo, was defended by forts on shore, and secured by a boom extending across the channel; the latter was also protected within by five line-of-battle ships, and flanked by two others. To facilitate the attack on this formidable barrier, the Duke of Ormond landed a portion of his army six miles from Vigo, and took by assault a battery of forty pieces of cannon, situated at the entrance of the bay. A British ensign, hoisted on this fort, was the signal for a general attack; the fleet in full sail approached, broke the boom at the first shock, and became closely engaged with the enemy's ships, whilst the British troops that had landed stormed and captured the batteries. After a vigorous defence, the French, finding they could not escape, destroyed a part of their fleet; but ten ships of war and eleven galleons were, notwithstanding, captured. This glorious exploit was tarnished by some abuses practised during the expedition; and so great was the plunder at Port St. Mary, and at Vigo, that a proclamation was issued for its recovery. Amongst others implicated in those disgraceful acts was Sir Henry Bellasis, who was second in command of the land forces, and was tried by a court-martial on his return to England, and dismissed the service. After this expedition the Queen Dowager's Regiment was landed and stationed at Portsmouth[20].
1703
The Colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment was next conferred on Lieutenant-General David Colyear, Earl of Portmore, whose commission was dated the 27th of February, 1703.
In the early part of the year 1703 Queen Anne augmented her forces in the Netherlands. The Queen Dowager's was one of the corps that proceeded from England on the occasion, and joined the Duke of Marlborough, who was in command of the allied army, and began operations in the month of April. On the 10th of May following, the Queen Dowager's Regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing itself by a service, which evinced the utmost intrepidity and discipline, and, in fact, saved part of the allied army from being surprised by the enemy, and probably from severe defeat. The Duke of Marlborough, being engaged in the siege of Bonn, and the forces under Marshal D'Auverquerque dispersed in quarters, the French Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers determined to attempt the surprise of the latter: by a night march they arrived with a force of 40,000 men in the neighbourhood of Tongres, which was occupied by two battalions of foot,—one of Elst, (afterwards disbanded,) and the other of Portmore (the Queen Dowager's).
The speedy reduction of Tongres was necessary to the success of the French Marshals, and it was accordingly attacked with great vigour; but the two regiments defended themselves, with extraordinary bravery, for twenty-eight hours; and when at length reduced to surrender, they had secured time for Marshal D'Auverquerque to collect his forces in a position under the cannon of Maestricht, so strong, that the enemy declined a general engagement.
For its conduct at Tongres the Queen Dowager's Regiment was made Royal, and obtained the motto, 'Pristinæ Virtutis Memor.'