1706
The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the Earl of Peterborough, with whose achievements its services are connected; and his raising the siege of St. Mattheo, the capture of Morviedro, his exploits in Valencia, and the relief of the capital of that province—successes gained with a small body of soldiers over a numerous army—carry with them the appearance of fiction and romance more than of sober truth; but being supported by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these achievements cannot be doubted. Unfortunately, no documents have been met with to prove what particular corps his lordship left in garrison, and what corps he took with him in his daring enterprise in Valencia; the part taken by the first royal and eighth dragoons, the thirteenth, thirtieth, and thirty-fourth foot, and a few other corps, can be clearly made out from history; but whether the Sixth remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained.
While employed in this part of Spain, the colonel of the regiment, James Rivers, died, and Lieut.-Colonel William Southwell, having been sent to England with despatches, was promoted by Queen Anne to the colonelcy: he kissed her Majesty's hand on the appointment on the 14th of March, 1706, and hastened back to Spain to join his regiment.
King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves to provide for the security of the towns which had come into their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests, spent their time and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the frontiers of Portugal, from Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine, and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to re-capture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish force approached Barcelona by land; a French fleet appeared before the town; and, the garrison being weak in numbers, regiments were hurried from other places, one English regiment travelling one hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part in the defence of Barcelona. The siege was commenced in the beginning of April, 1706, when the soldiers repaired the breaches, and a desperate and resolute defence was made.
The Earl of Peterborough hastened from Valencia with a body of select troops, but found the town so closely beset that he was unable to force his way into it, when he took to the mountains, and harassed the enemy with skirmishes and night-alarms. The Sixth was one of the corps which had the honour of sharing in the defence of this important city, and British valour was conspicuously displayed. When the garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to about a thousand effective men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five regiments of foot, the French fleet hurried from before the town, and the reinforcements were landed. Barcelona being thus relieved, the enemy, having lost five thousand men before the town, made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and vast quantities of ammunition and provision behind them, together with the sick and wounded of their army, whom Marshal de Tessé recommended to the humanity of the British commander. During the siege, the roads by which the enemy could return into the heart of Spain had been broken up, and other obstructions raised among the mountains and defiles, and the line of retreat so crowded with armed peasantry, that the French army was forced to return to France, and re-enter Spain by the passes of the Pyrenean mountains. Thus Barcelona was preserved by British skill, valour and perseverance; that part of Spain was delivered from the presence of the enemy; and the forces were at liberty to engage in new enterprises.
An immediate advance upon Madrid was resolved upon, and the Marquis das Minas and Earl of Galway, who commanded a British, Portuguese, and Dutch force on the frontiers of Portugal, were requested to penetrate boldly to the capital of Spain. To engage in this enterprise the Sixth embarked from Barcelona, and proceeded by sea to Valencia, where King Charles was expected to arrive with the cavalry by land. While in Valencia the regiment furnished a detachment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, which, with similar detachments from other regiments of foot, were formed into a regiment of dragoons, called the Earl of Peterborough's regiment.
From Valencia the regiment was detached, under the orders of Major-General Wyndham, to besiege Requena and Cuenza, which places lay on the line of march from Valencia to Madrid, and were both captured after a short resistance. Meanwhile the army from Portugal had penetrated to Madrid, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of King Charles, who, following the pernicious advice of his Italian counsellors, delayed his journey, and eventually proceeded by way of Arragon. This gave time for the French and Spanish troops under King Philip to re-enter Spain; and, uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, the enemy had a great superiority of numbers. The allies were forced to retire from their forward position; and on the 13th of September, the Sixth and other corps under Major-General Wyndham joined the army at Veles. The troops continued their route towards the frontiers of Valencia and Murcia, where they remained during the winter.
1707
The Sixth now formed part of the allied army, which was composed of English, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, and took the field for offensive operations in the early part of April, 1707. After destroying several of the enemy's magazines, the siege of the castle of Villena was undertaken; and while this was in progress, a French and Spanish force, of very superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, advanced to the plains of Almanza. As the enemy expected the arrival of reinforcements under the Duke of Orleans, the allied generals, though much inferior in numbers to their opponent, resolved to attack him without delay[27].