When King James II., who was a zealous Roman Catholic, pursued the interests of papacy so far as to occasion much alarm among his Protestant subjects, the Earl of Bath stood aloof from the measures of the Court, and he was one of the noblemen who communicated privately with the Prince of Orange, to whom the nation looked for aid to oppose the arbitrary proceedings of the King. In November, 1688, when the Prince of Orange arrived with a Dutch armament, the Tenth and Thirteenth regiments were in garrison at Plymouth,—the Tenth occupying the citadel, and the two colonels were with their regiments. The Earl of Bath was in the interest of the Prince of Orange; but the Earl of Huntingdon adhered to King James: the lieut.-colonel of the Tenth, Sir Charles Carney, was a steadfast supporter of the Court, and the lieut.-colonel of the Thirteenth, Ferdinando Hastings, was a warm advocate for the Prince of Orange; thus the interest of the superior officers of the two regiments was equally divided. It appeared doubtful, for some time, to which party the garrison of Plymouth would devote itself; but eventually, the Earl of Bath, being the senior officer and governor of the fortress, ordered the Earl of Huntingdon to be arrested: he also ordered four Roman Catholic officers of the Thirteenth,—viz., Captain Owen Macarty, Lieutenants William Rhodesby, Talbot Lascelles, and Ensign Ambrose Jones, to be arrested; he then declared for the Prince of Orange, and induced the two regiments to engage in the same interest. The garrison having been settled in the name of the Prince of Orange, the Earl of Huntingdon and the Roman Catholic officers of his regiment were released.
The news of the loss of Plymouth, and of the two regiments having declared for the Prince of Orange, together with similar events taking place in other parts of the kingdom, proved to King James that his soldiers would not fight against the Protestant religion and the laws of the realm. His Majesty deprived the Earl of Bath of his commissions, and appointed Lieut.-Colonel Sir Charles Carney to the colonelcy of the Tenth foot by commission dated the 8th of December. The regiment had, however, engaged in the interest of the Prince of Orange, and this change in the colonel produced no alteration in the sentiments of the regiment. King James fled to France, and on the 31st of December the Prince restored the Earl of Bath to the colonelcy.
1689
The accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne was followed by a civil war in Scotland and Ireland; but the Tenth were intrusted with the charge of the citadel of Plymouth, and they were not employed in the field in 1689 or 1690; they, however, detached six companies to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
1690
1691
In 1690, the powerful efforts of the French monarch to reduce the Spanish provinces in the Netherlands under his dominion, occasioned the regiment to be called into active service. Embarking from Jersey, Guernsey, and Plymouth, the Tenth foot, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Beville Granville, nephew of the Earl of Bath, sailed to Ostend, and landing at that port marched up the country, and joined the army commanded by King William III. The regiment enjoyed the confidence of the King to a great extent, and on joining the army, it was ordered to pitch its tents near His Majesty's quarters at Anderlecht. It was formed in brigade with the seventh, sixteenth, and Fitzpatrick's (afterwards disbanded), under Brigadier-General Churchill, and after taking part in several movements, went into winter-quarters.
J. M. Jopling delt.
Madeley lith. 3 Wellington St. Strand.