1689
On the accession of King William III. and Queen Mary, the Regiment did not lose its title of "The Queen's," but that designation was not used, and numerical titles not having been then introduced, it was usually styled Leveson's regiment; it was, however, again called "The Queen's," after its return from Ireland in 1692.
Under its new sovereign the regiment was quickly employed in active service. King James proceeded from France to Ireland, and finding an army, levied by Earl Tyrconnel, ready to support the Roman Catholic interest, he soon reduced the greater part of that country to submission to his authority. King William sent the veteran Duke Schomberg with an army to Ireland, to rescue that country from the power of papacy; and Leveson's dragoons embarked at Highlake on the 21st of August, for the same destination. Having landed near Carrickfergus, they joined Duke Schomberg's camp a mile beyond Belfast, on the 30th of August, and were reviewed on the following day.
The army quitted Belfast on the 2nd of September, and advancing towards Newry on the 3rd, found the town in flames, and the enemy fled; Leveson's troopers and some Inniskilling horse, rode forward in pursuit, but were unable to overtake the rear of the fugitive army.
A camp was afterwards formed at Dundalk, and, on the 13th of September, as a party of the regiment was cutting forage in the fields, a detachment of the enemy appeared; the dragoons instantly threw down their forage and advanced to meet their opponents, who, though superior in numbers, faced about and retired. On the 21st of September the enemy appeared in force, displaying their royal standard, but retired without venturing to attack the camp; when a party of Leveson's Dragoons galloped forward in pursuit, and overtaking the enemy's rear, killed five men. On the 17th of October, as a detachment of the regiment and some Inniskilling horse, were reconnoitring, they advanced with great audacity to the immediate vicinity of King James' camp, and a party of Irish horse gained a pass in their rear to cut off their retreat; but the gallant dragoons, by a determined charge forced their way through the defile, killed four opponents, and brought off six prisoners.
These instances of bravery gave Duke Schomberg a high opinion of the regiment, and about midnight on the 27th of October, he sent out two hundred of Leveson's troopers with some Inniskilling horse and French protestants, who dashed across the country to the neighbourhood of Ardee, routed the enemy's out-guards, and captured a drove of oxen and some horses, with which they returned in triumph to the camp at Dundalk.
In November the army went into winter quarters in the north of Ireland, and a party of Leveson's troopers was stationed at a frontier post at Tandrogee. On the 26th of November, sixty men of the regiment accompanied Colonel Cambron, while making a reconnoisance of the enemy's post at Charlemont; when they discovered a party from the garrison posted in the hedges near the place. The Dragoons, with their characteristic intrepidity, dismounted, drove the enemy from the hedges in gallant style, killed seven men upon the spot, and captured two Irish musketeers, twenty horses, and a number of cattle, with the loss of one man who was killed by a shot from the town, and eight men, whose ardour led them too forward in the pursuit, and who were surrounded and made prisoners.
1690
In February, one squadron of the regiment formed part of a reconnoitring party under Major-General Sir John Lanier; and on arriving in the vicinity of Dundalk, Leveson's dragoons dismounted,—stormed Bedloe's Castle,—killed ten of the garrison,—took the remainder prisoners,—and burnt the building. The same party captured about fifteen hundred head of cattle, and afterwards returned to Newry,—having lost one lieutenant, three dragoons, and four horses, killed, in this expedition.
Although no general engagement had occurred, Leveson's dragoons, by their spirited conduct on all occasions, had become celebrated in the army; Colonel Leveson was foremost on every occasion of danger, the men were proud of their commander, and the character of the corps was already established, when King William III. arrived in Ireland to command the Army in person. His Majesty landed at Carrickfergus on the 14th of June, and proceeded from thence to Belfast, where he was met by the principal officers of the army. Leveson's troopers were, at this time, at Newry, with a division of the army commanded by Major-General Kirke; and on Sunday, the 22nd of June, a squadron of the regiment, under the orders of Captain Crow, and a company of Kirke's (now second) foot, commanded by Captain Farlow, were ordered forward to reconnoitre the enemy's camp at Dundalk.