1717
1718
1719
During the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and the alarm occasioned by the proceedings of the courts of Spain and Sweden in favour of the Pretender, the Sixth remained in Ireland; but when the rash and unjust proceedings of the Spanish minister, Cardinal Alberoni, involved Great Britain and France in a war with Spain, the regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the coast of Spain. The capture of Sardinia and the invasion of Sicily by the Spaniards was followed by a naval war in the Mediterranean; and the British government projected the capture of Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. The attack on Corunna was first determined on; and the Sixth formed part of a land-force of four thousand men, placed under the orders of General Viscount Cobham for this service. The troops embarked in the beginning of September, 1719; but, on arriving off the coast of Gallicia, circumstances occurred which occasioned the attack on Corunna to be laid aside, and an attempt on Vigo determined on. The fleet entered the harbour of Vigo on the 29th of September, and seized on seven ships, three of which were fitting up as privateers; on the following day the grenadiers landed on the south side of the river, three miles above the town; a sharp fire of musketry was opened upon them from the mountains, but at too great a distance to produce effect, and the battalion companies having gained the shore, the troops passed the night under arms. On the 1st of October the army approached the town, and encamped with its left to the sea near the village of Boas, and its right extending towards the mountains; abundance of wine being found in the houses, which were left without inhabitants, the soldiers drank freely, and it was found necessary to enforce strict discipline to prevent irregularities. The town of Vigo, and fort St. Sebastian, were abandoned by the enemy and taken possession of by Brigadier-General Honeywood, with eight hundred men. A thousand Spaniards retired to the citadel, and held out; but after a heavy battery had opened its fire, and the garrison had lost nearly three hundred men, the lieut.-governor surrendered. Two thousand barrels of powder, eight thousand muskets, and fifteen fine brass guns, which had been prepared for the invasion of Britain in favour of the Pretender, were found in the castle: the troops in garrison were also part of the force which had been selected to serve in the expedition under the Duke of Ormond. While the siege of the castle of Vigo was in progress, five hundred men were detached against Rondondella, and they captured and burnt the town. A thousand men embarked under Major-General Wade, on the 12th of October, and, proceeding to the upper end of Vigo bay, landed and marched thirty miles to Pont-a-Vedra; thirteen companies of Spaniards in garrison fled in a panic; the country was thrown into confusion, and the principal inhabitants hurried from their homes. The town of Pont-a-Vedra, the arsenal, barracks for two thousand men, thirteen pieces of brass, and eighty-six of iron ordnance, five thousand small arms, three hundred barrels of powder, and abundance of other stores, were captured. The arsenal, barracks, and Fort Marine, four miles from Pont-a-Vedra, with the iron ordnance, were destroyed; the more valuable stores were removed on board the transports, and the detachment returned to Vigo.
The king of Spain, being oppressed on every side, his sources exhausted, and his projects defeated, dismissed his turbulent minister and made pacific overtures. A treaty of peace was concluded before the projected expedition against Peru was undertaken, and the Sixth were again stationed in Ireland.
1720
1738
On the 9th of April, 1720, Colonel Robert Dormer was succeeded in the command of the regiment by his brother, Colonel James Dormer, from the fourteenth dragoons, who was promoted in February, 1738, to the first troop of horse grenadier guards: the colonelcy appears to have remained vacant until November following, when it was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel John Guise.
1739
1740
The regiment was withdrawn from Ireland in the autumn of 1739, and, after its arrival in England, another war between Great Britain and Spain having become inevitable, its establishment was augmented, and it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed on foreign service.
A formidable armament was prepared for the attack of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies, and the land forces were placed under the orders of General Lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved courage and experience in war. The troops having embarked in October, 1740, sailed under the convoy of a naval force commanded by Sir Chaloner Ogle; and the colonel of the Sixth, John Guise, was appointed to serve as brigadier-general in the expedition. This regiment did not form part of the first embarkation, but it was subsequently ordered to proceed to the West Indies to reinforce the troops employed in this enterprise.
A tempest dispersed the fleet, consisting of about one hundred and seventy sail, in the bay of Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were re-collected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at the neutral island of Dominica, to provide wood and water, the troops sustained the loss of their gallant leader, Lord Cathcart, who died of dysentery; and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas Wentworth.
1741