An immediate advance upon Madrid having been resolved upon, the Marquis das Minas and the 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 service the Thirty-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 corps of infantry, were formed into a regiment of dragoons, named the Earl of Peterborough’s regiment.
Requena and Cuenza, which places lie on the line of march from Valencia to Madrid, were captured after a short resistance by the troops detached under Major-General Wyndham. 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 afforded 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 being joined on the 17th of September at Veles, by the troops which had been detached under Major-General Wyndham, they continued their route towards the frontiers of Valencia and Murcia, where they remained during the winter.
1707.
The Thirty-sixth, in the year 1707, joined 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. 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, resolved to attack their adversaries without delay.
The following regiments were present at the battle of Almanza, and their effective strength is taken from the weekly return dated 22nd of April, three days prior to the battle:—
| Men. | ||
| Harvey’s horse, now Second dragoon guards | 227 | |
| Carpenter’s dragoons, now Third light dragoons | ┐ | 292 |
| Essex’s dragoons, now Fourth light dragoons | ┘ | |
| Killegrew’s dragoons, now Eighth hussars | 51 | |
| Pearce’s dragoons, disbanded | 273 | |
| Peterborough’s dragoons, disbanded | 303 | |
| Guiscard’s dragoons, disbanded | 228 | |
| Foot guards | 400 | |
| Portmore’s, now Second foot | 462 | |
| Southwell’s, now Sixth foot | 505 | |
| Stewart’s, now Ninth foot | 467 | |
| Hill’s, now Eleventh foot | 472 | |
| Blood’s, now Seventeenth foot | 461 | |
| Mordaunt’s, now Twenty-eighth foot | 532 | |
| Wade’s, now Thirty-third foot | 458 | |
| Gorges’s, now Thirty-fifth foot | 616 | |
| Alnutt’s, now Thirty-sixth foot | 412 | |
| Montjoy’s, disbanded | 508 | |
| Mackartney’s, disbanded | 494 | |
| Bretton’s, disbanded | 428 | |
| John Caulfeild’s, disbanded | 470 | |
| Lord Mark Kerr’s, disbanded | 429 | |
| Count Nassau’s, disbanded | 422 | |
| Total | 8,910 |
After a march of several hours along the rugged tracts of Murcia under a burning sun, the soldiers arrived in the presence of the enemy, at Almanza, about noon on the 25th of April. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon when the battle commenced. The Thirty-sixth were formed in brigade with the Ninth, Eleventh, and Lord Mark Kerr’s regiments under Colonel Hill, and Mino’s Portuguese dragoons were posted in the centre of the brigade, which was stationed in the second line; but nine of the enemy’s battalions having attacked Major-General Wade’s brigade, consisting of the Sixth, Seventeenth, Thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy’s regiments, the Ninth moved forward to their support. Great valour was displayed, but in vain, for the flight of the Portuguese squadrons had left the British and Dutch exposed to the weight and power of the enemy’s superior numbers, and no hope of victory remained. The Earl of Galway effected his retreat with the dragoons; several general officers collected the broken remains of the English infantry, which fought in the centre, into a body, and uniting them with some Dutch and Portuguese, formed a column of nearly four thousand men, which retreated two leagues, repulsing the pursuing enemy from time to time. On arriving at the woody hills of Caudete, the men were so exhausted with fatigue that they were unable to proceed further: they passed the night in the wood without food, and on the following morning they were surrounded by the enemy. Being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, and having no prospect of obtaining food, they surrendered prisoners of war.
Thus ended a battle in which the Thirty-sixth regiment behaved with great gallantry, but was nearly annihilated. Captains Musgrave and Parsons, Lieutenants Ayriss and Ballance, and Ensign Wells were killed; the following officers of the regiment were taken prisoners:—