THE SEVENTEENTH,
OR THE
LEICESTERSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
1688
In the autumn of 1688, when the adoption of pernicious counsels by the Court had given rise to the preparation of an armament in Holland to support the British people in the preservation of their religion and laws, and King James II. began to entertain apprehension for the permanence of his government, His Majesty issued commissions for adding to his regular army five regiments of cavalry and seven of infantry, including two corps formed of men who had quitted the Dutch service; and of these twelve regiments, the sixteenth and SEVENTEENTH regiments of foot in the British line are the only remaining corps.[6]
The SEVENTEENTH regiment was raised in London and its immediate vicinity, and the colonelcy was conferred on Solomon Richards, by commission dated the 27th of September, 1688.
Great success attended the efforts made to procure men for completing the ranks of the regiment, and in three weeks after the letter of service for its formation was issued, it was embodied, armed, and clothed. It was composed to a great extent of men who had entered the army at the augmentation in 1685, and had been discharged after the suppression of the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion. The regiment was speedily reported fit for duty, and on the 23rd of October orders were received for four companies to march to Colnbrook and Longford, four to Staines and Egham, and five to Windsor, Datchet, and Slough; at the same time two companies were directed to mount guard at the Castle at Windsor: thus were the first duties of the regiment those of a guard to the Royal person.
On the 29th of October the quarters were changed to Maidenhead, Datchet, and Windsor; and on the 6th of November, when the Prince of Orange had landed in Devonshire, the regiment received orders to march to Greenwich and Deptford, to be in readiness to protect the establishments in the vicinity of those places, and to aid, if required, in the preservation of the peace of the Metropolis.