On the decease of General Prescott in the autumn of 1788, the colonelcy was conferred on Major-General the Honourable William Gordon, who was removed in April, 1789, to the seventy-first regiment, and the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers was conferred on Prince Edward (fourth son of King George III.), afterwards Duke of Kent.
1790
In 1790 the regiment embarked from Leith and the Isle of Man for Gibraltar, and, arriving at that important fortress in August, occupied the King's barracks, under the command of its colonel, His Royal Highness Prince Edward.
1791
1792
1793
From Gibraltar the regiment embarked, in May, 1791, for Canada,—the right wing under Prince Edward on board His Majesty's ship "Ulysses," and the left wing under Captain Shuttleworth in the "Resistance;" both wings landed in August at Quebec, where the regiment was stationed, under Prince Edward's command, nearly three years: His Royal Highness afterwards proceeded to the West Indies, and acquired a reputation for valour and intrepidity at the capture of Martinique, St. Lucie, and Guadaloupe.
1794
Two companies of the regiment were detached in June, 1794, from Quebec to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and in October of the same year the regiment proceeded to that station.
1795
1796
A strong draft of recruits arrived from England in September, 1795, and the regiment was formed into two battalions. Both battalions were, however, incorporated, in April, 1796, into one,—consisting of fifty-four serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and a thousand rank and file; and the supernumerary men were transferred to the fourth, or the King's own regiment.