1694
Cunningham's dragoons commenced their march from Scotland in February, 1694, and on arriving at Berwick they were placed on the English establishment; at the same time exertions were made to complete an augmentation of two troops, and of ten additional men and horses to each of the six old troops. The augmentation troops left Scotland in the spring, and the six old troops continued their march southward until they arrived at London, where the eight troops were united in May, and the whole embarked at Greenwich for the Netherlands.
The regiment, commanded by its colonel, Robert Cunningham, landed at Williamstadt, in North Brabant, on the 31st of May; advanced up the country to the vicinity of Arschot, and was reviewed by King William on the 16th of June, together with Livingstone's regiment: and the hardy and warlike appearance of the Scots troopers elicited the commendations of His Majesty, and of the British and foreign general officers present at the review.
After several marches the regiment was encamped at Mont St. André, where an army of eighty-eight thousand men of several nations was assembled under the command of the British monarch, and Cunningham's dragoons were formed in brigade with Eppinger's (foreign), Essex's (now fourth), and Wynne's (late fifth), regiments of dragoons, under the orders of Brigadier-General Wynne. No general engagement occurred; and after taking part in the operations of a toilsome campaign, the regiment went into cantonments for the winter among the Flemish peasantry, in the villages between Ghent and Sas van Ghent.
1695
From its winter quarters, the regiment marched in April, 1695, to Dixmude, in West Flanders; it joined the army in May, at the camp at Arseele, and was formed in brigade with Dopf's (Dutch) dragoons under Brigadier-General Wynne.
In the beginning of June, the army advanced to Becelaer. On the 14th of that month five hundred dragoons (among whom was a large detachment from Cunningham's regiment) under the command of the Earl of Portland and Brigadier-General Wynne, left the camp with the view of intercepting a numerous French force, which was moving quietly across the country to attack the bread-waggons of the confederate army, on their way from Bruges to the camp. On arriving at Moorsleede, the French detachment was found in the village, with the streets barricaded with waggons and implements of husbandry. The dragoons instantly dismounted and attacked the barricades with signal gallantry, Cunningham's men evincing true Scottish heroism; and in a few moments the French gave way and fled, leaving a number of killed and wounded behind them, and one captain and thirty men prisoners. Count de Soissons, brother of Prince Eugene of Savoy, served as a volunteer on this occasion, and expressed, in the strongest terms, his admiration of the valour of the dragoons. Lieutenant Webb, and several men were killed; Captains Collins and Holgate were wounded. Brigadier-General Wynne, who commanded the brigade of which Cunningham's dragoons formed part, received a severe wound of which he afterwards died.
When King William undertook the siege of the important fortress of Namur, the regiment formed part of the covering army under Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont, and on the evening of the 14th of July, it was formed in order of battle, while the immense columns of the enemy, commanded by Marshal Villeroy, were seen in the open grounds in front. The two armies confronted each other during the night, and the French commander, having an immense superiority of numbers, detached a division to turn the right flank of the confederate army. The Prince ordered a retreat, which he masked with judgment; the cavalry advancing to the front—the dragoons dismounting and forming on foot at extended files, while the artillery, and infantry, with their pikes trailed and colours furled, quietly withdrew. The enemy prepared for the attack, and sent forward a cloud of light musketeers to commence the action; but the dragoons retired a few paces and mounted their horses, and when the enemy thought to have commenced the battle, the skeleton squadrons withdrew; presenting to the astonished French what appeared to be the magic spectacle of an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy's horsemen galloped forward in pursuit; but the allies effected their retreat in good order to Ghent, from whence Cunningham's dragoons were detached, with Rosse's troopers, and twelve battalions of infantry under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis, to cover Nieuport, a place celebrated for the victory gained by the English and Dutch, over the Spaniards under Archduke Albert, on the 2nd of July, 1600[2].
The regiment was stationed between Bruges and Nieuport, until Marshal Villeroy advanced towards Namur with the view of raising the siege, when it proceeded to Brussels, which city the French had, a short time previously, bombarded. The enemy's designs were frustrated; Namur was captured; the regiment left Brussels, and, after encamping a short time on the Bruges canal, went into cantonments in the villages on the banks of the canal of Ostend, in the Pays du Nord.
1696