British Army

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Introduction

Technically, the British Army was created only in 1707 with the Act of Union. Prior to this date, the English, Scottish and Irish armies were distinct entities held in personal union with the sovereign.

British Army

État-Major

Senior Officers

Guard

Household Cavalry

Life-Guards

• 1st Troop of Life Guards
• 2nd Troop of Life Guards
• 3rd Troop of Life Guards
• Scots Life Guards, 1709 4th Troop of Life Guards
• Horse Grenadier Guards, 1709 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards
• 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards

Royal Regiment of Horse aka The Blues

Foot Guard

1st Regiment of Foot Guards
2nd Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards
Scots Guards, 1712 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards

Line Infantry

Organisation
Generalities about the uniforms
Generalities about the colours

Regiments of Foot

Already existing in 1700

Royal Foot aka Orkney's
Queen Dowager's Foot aka Bellasis, 1703 Queen's Royal
Prince George of Denmark's Foot aka Churchill's, aka the Buffs, 1707 John Duke of Argyll's, 1711 John Selwyn's
Queen Consort's Foot aka Trelawney's, 1702 Queen's, 1703 Queen's Own Regiment of Marines, 1710 Queen's Own Regiment of Foot
Thomas Fairfax's Foot, 1704 Thomas Pearce's
Ventris Columbine's Foot aka The Dutch Guards, 1703 James Rivers's, 1706 William Southwell's, 1708 Thomas Harrison's
Royal Fusiliers aka Tyrawley's
Princess Anne of Denmark's Foot aka Webb's, 1702 Queen's
William Stewart's Foot
Sir Beville Granville's Foot, 1703 Lord North and Grey's
Sir John Hanmer's Foot aka Beaufort Musketeers, 1702 James Earl Stanhope's, 1705 John Hill's
Richard Brewer's Foot, 1702 John Livesay's, 1712 Richard Philipps'
Earl of Barrymore's Foot
John Tidcomb's Foot
Hon. Emmanuel Scrope Howe's Foot, 1709 Gen. Algernon (Seymour) 7th Duke of Somerset and Earl of Hertford
Hon. James Stanley's Foot, 1702 Earl of Derby's, 1705 Francis Godfrey's, 1711 Henry Durell's
Sir Matthew Bridges' Foot, 1703 Holcroft Blood's, 1707 Joseph Wightman's
Royal Regiment of Ireland aka Hamilton's
Thomas Erle's Foot, 1712 George Freke's, 1712 Richard Sutton's
Gustavus Hamilton Viscount Boyne's Foot, 1706 John Newton's
Scots Fusiliers aka Rowe's, 1707 North British Fusiliers
William Selwyn's Foot, 1702 Thomas Handasyde's, 1712 Roger Handasyde's
Richard Ingoldsby's Foot, 1702 The Welsh Regiment of Fuzileers
William Seymour's Foot, 1702 John Churchill Duke of Marlborough, 1704 William Tatton's, 1708 Gilbert Primrose's
James Maitland's Foot, 1711 William Breton's
James Ferguson's Foot aka Cameronians, 1705 William Borthwick of Johnstoneburn's, 1706 Lord Dalrymple Earl of Stair's, 1706 George Preston's
Zakariah Tiffin's Foot, 1702 Thomas Whetham

Raised during the war

Thomas Brudenell's Foot raised in 1701, 1708 Joseph Johnson, 1709 Charles Churchill (jr)
William Viscount Mountjoy's Foot
Sir John Gibson's Foot raised in 1702, 1704 Sampson de Lalo's, 1706 John Viscount Mordaunt's, 1709 Andrews Windsor's
Earl of Mar's Foot raised in 1702, 1706 Alexander Grant's
Thomas Farrington's Foot raised in 1702, 1712 Lord Mark Kerr's
Earl of Huntingdon's Foot raised in 1702, 1703 Henry Leigh's, 1705 Robert Duncanson's, 1705 George Wade's
Lord William Strathnaver's Foot raised in 1702, 1710 John Pocock
Lord Lucas's Foot, 1705 Hans Hamilton's, 1712 Thomas Chudleigh's
Earl of Donegall's Foot raised in 1701, 1706 Gorges's
Charlemont's Foot raised in 1701, 1706 Allnutt's, 1709 Earl of Ilay's, 1710 Disney's
Thomas Meredith's Foot raised in 1702, 1710 William Windress's
Richard Coote's Foot raised in 1702, 1703 Nicholas Sankey's
Lord Mohun's Foot raised in 1702, 1708 James Dormer, disbanded in 1713
Temple's Foot raised in 1702, 1710 William Newton, disbanded in 1713
Thomas Stringer's Foot, 1706 John Duke of Argyll's, 1707 Charles Earl of Orrery's, 1710 Charles de Sybourg's
Richard Gorges's Foot raised in 1703, 1706 Thomas Allen, 1708 Thomas Moore, 1710 Richard Molesworth
Thomas Pearce's Foot raised in 1703, 1704 John Caulfield, 1705 Phineas Bowles
William Evans's Foot raised in 1703
Roger Elliott's Foot raised in 1703
George Macartney's Foot raised in 1704, 1709 Richard Sutton, 1712 James Leigh
Heyman Rooke's Foot raised in 1704
William Pastons's Foot raised in 1704, 1710 Richard Franks
Lord Henry Scott's Foot aka Deloraine raised in Ireland in 1704, disbanded in 1712
William Earl of Inchiquin's Foot raised in Ireland in 1704, 1710 Edward Stanhope, 1711 Maurice Nassau, disbanded in 1712
Pierce Viscount Ikerryn's Foot raised in Ireland in 1704, 1705 Toby Caulfield
Marcus Viscount Dungannon's Foot raised in Ireland in 1704, 1706 Francois, Marquis Montandre
Charles Earl of Orrery's Foot raised in Ireland in 1704, 1707 Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1710 George Maccartney, 1710 Richard Kane
Owen Wynne's Foot raised in 1705
William Bretton's Foot raised in 1705, 1711 James Butler
Nicholas Lepell's Foot raised in 1705, 1710 Michael Richards, 1711 William Stanhope
Edmund Soames's Foot raised in 1705, 1706 Watkins, 1709 Sir Robert Rich
Sir Charles Hotham's Foot raised in 1705
Luke Lillingston's Foot raised in 1705, 1708 James Jones's, 1711 Francis Alexander's
Mark Kerr's Foot raised in 1706
Thomas Stanwix's Foot raised in 1706,
Lord Lovelace's Foot raised in 1706, 1708 Richard Munden, disbanded in 1712
Roger Townsend's Foot raised in 1706, 1709 Philip Honywood, 1710 Jasper Clayton
William Viscount Tunbridge's Foot raised in 1706, 1707 Humphrey Gore
Sir Roger Bradshaigh's Foot aka Bradshaw raised in 1706, 1709 James Tyrell
Nicholas Price's Foot raised in 1706
James Oglethorpe's Foot raised in 1707
Edward Jones's Foot raised in 1708, disbanded in 1712
Lord Slane's Foot raised in 1708, disbanded in 1712
Peter Carles's Foot raised in 1708, 1709 Bladen's, 1710 Vesey's, disbanded in 1712
Robert Dalziel's Foot raised in 1709 in Portugal, disbanded in 1712

Huguenot regiments raised during the war

Six Huguenot regiments of foot were raised in England in April and May 1706, in preparation for an expedition to support the Camisard revolt in the Cévennes. However, this plan was aborted and three regiments were broken in August 1706. Only three were fully raised and sent to the Iberian Peninsula. From these, one regiment was reduced and drafted in early 1707.

Frederick de Sibourg's Foot raised in 1706, 1709 D'Albon, 1709 Du Bourgay, disbanded in 1712
Count Nassau's Foot raised in 1706, 1707 Magny disbanded in 1708
Paul de Blosset's Foot raised in 1706, drafted into Sibourg's Foot in 1707
Josias de Vimaré's Foot raised in May 1706, disbanded in August 1706
Louis de Fontjuliane's Foot raised in May 1706, disbanded in August 1706
John Thomas la Barthe's Foot raised in May 1706, disbanded in August 1706

Regiments of Marines

These regiment were raised during the war.

1st Saunderson's Marines, 1704 Thomas Pownall's Marines, 1705 Charles Willis' Marines
2nd George Villiers' Marines, 1703 Alexander Lutterell's Marines, 1706 Josyah Churchill's Marines, 1711 Sir Henry Goring's Marines
3rd Edward Fox's Marines, 1704 Jacob Borr's Marines
4th Viscount Shannon's Marines
5th Henry Holt's Marines, 1710 Queen's Own Regiment of Marines
6th Henry Mordaunt's Marines
Queen's Own Regiment of Marines, a line infantry regiment transformed into a marine regiment between 1703 and 1710
Charles Churchill’s Marines, a line infantry regiment transformed into a marine regiment in 1709

Regiments of Horse

Organisation
Generalities about the uniforms
Generalities about the colours

Queen's Regiment of Horse aka Lumley's Horse from 1702 to 1703
Harvey's Horse aka 3rd Horse
Wood's Horse, 1712 Lord Windsor's
Langton's Horse aka 5th Horse
Arran's Horse, 1703 Cadogan's, 1712 Kellum's
Carabineers aka Wyndham's
Duke of Leinster's Horse aka Schomberg's, 1711 Marquess of Harwich's
Macclesfield's Horse, 1702 Thomas Viscount Windsor's
Sir Daniel O'Carroll's Horse raised in 1710 in Spain

Dragoons

Organisation
Generalities about the uniforms
Generalities about the colours

1st Royal Dragoons aka Raby's
Scots Dragoons aka Hay's
Queen's Dragoons
Princess Ann of Denmark's Dragoons aka Essex's, 1710 Hills, 1710 Temple's
Charles Ross' Dragoons, 1704 Royal Dragoons of Ireland
Robert Echlin's Dragoons, 17?? Inniskilling Dragoons
Richard Cunningham's Dragoons aka Queen's Own Dragoons
Henry Cunningham's Dragoons, 1706 Henry Killigrew's, 1707 John Pepper's
Thomas Erle's Dragoons raised in 1704, 1704 Lord Cutt's, 1707 Lord Tunbridge's aka Rochford, 1710 Nicholas Lepell's
Peterborough's Dragoons raised in 1706 in Spain, 1707 Francis Count Nassau's, 1710 James Stanhope's
Pearce's Dragoons raised in 1706 in Spain from the Earl of Barrymore's Foot
François La Fabreque's Dragoons raised in 1706 from French Huguenot refugees, 1708 Henry Earl of Galway's, 1710 Charles de La Bouchetière's

Walloon (Liège) Dragoons in British Pay

Walef's Dragoons, raised in 1703

Portuguese Dragoons in British Pay

Late in 1708, the British decided to raise 5 regiments (1 dragoon regiment and 4 foot regiments) in Portugal. These regiments would consist of Portuguese soldiers under the nominal command of Portuguese colonels and effective command of Huguenot or British lieutenant-colonels. During recruitment, it was decided to reorganise the 4 foot regiments in 5 dragoon regiments. The six regiments were finally ready by the summer of 1709. They were all disbanded in 1712.

Don Diego de Nerogna Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonel de Foissac), 1712 Foissac
Conde de Prados Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonels de Magny and Dupuy), 1712 Constantin de Magny
Don Pedro Antonia Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonel Desbordes), 1712 Jean Pierre Desbordes
Don Luis de Gama Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonel Trapaud), 1712 Paul de Gually
Don Emanuel Melo Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonel Sarlande), 1712 Joseph de Sarlande
Marquis de Montandre Dragoons (Lieutenant-Colonel Durel), 1712 Hunt Withers

Artillery

Equipment - Guns, Mortars, Carriages
Logistic - Train, Arsenals
Organisation

As in other European countries, the first artillery units of the British armies were made of hired professionals: engineers, artillerymen, blacksmiths, etc. These units had no permanent status, they were created when war broke out and disbanded in peacetime. The first companies were created only in 1716.

Subsidy Regiments

N.B.: Units hired from Hanover, Hessen-Kassel and Palatinate are not yet listed in this section. They are rather listed in the articles depicting these armies.

Line Infantry

Denmark Subsidy Regiments

Prins Carl Infantry (2 bns hired from 1701 to 1712)
Prins Georg Infantry (2 bns hired from 1701 to 1712)
Württemberg-Oels Infantry (jointly hired with the Dutch Republic from 1702 to 1712)
Oldenborgske Infantry (1 bn hired from 1701 to 1712)

Hanoverian Subsidy Regiments

On 21 June 1702, England signed a treaty with Hanover and Celle for taking into service 10,000 men. The initial treaty seems to have been for 12 battalions of foot and two regiments of horse. However, the actual force was composed of three regiments of horse, three, later two, regiments of dragoons and eight battalions, but it is unsure when that was altered.

Leibregiment zu Fuß (2 bns hired from 1702 to 1705)
d'Herleville Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
Hülsen Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
de Luc Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
Gauvin Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
Du Breuille Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
Tozin Infantry (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1712)
Starcke Infantry (1 bn hired from 1705 to 1712)
Gohr Infantry (1 bn hired from 1705 to 1712)

Prussia Subsidy Regiments

This contingent was subsidized jointly by the Dutch Republic and Great Britain

Anhalt-Zerbst (1 bn hired from 1701 to 1713)
Schlabrendorff (1 bn hired from 1701 to 1713)
Heiden (1 bn hired from 1703 to 1713)
Varenne (1 bn hired from 1701 to 1713)
Sydow (1 bn hired from 1701 to 1713)
Markgraf Albrecht (1 bn hired from 1702 to 1713)

On 12 April 1709, Great Britain signed an additional treaty with Prussia to hire additional foot regiments.

Jung-Dohna (1 bn hired from 1709 to 1712)
Leib-Regiment (2 bns hired from 1709 to 1712)
Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1 bn hired from 1709 to 1710)

Cavalry

Denmark Subsidy Regiments

Oldenborgske Cuirassiers; 1702 Holstein (hired from 1701 to 1712)
2nd Jyske Cuirassiers (hired from 1701 to 1712)
3rd Jyske Cuirassiers (hired from 1701 to 1712)
Ahlefelt Cuirassiers; 1705 Württemberg-Neuenstadt (hired from 1701 to 1712)

Hanoverian Subsidy Regiments

On 21 June 1702, England signed a treaty with Hanover and Celle for taking into service 10,000 men. The initial treaty seems to have been for 12 battalions of foot and two regiments of horse. However, the actual force was composed of three regiments of horse, three, later two, regiments of dragoons and eight battalions, but it is unsure when that was altered.

Leibgarde zu Pferde (hired from 1702 to 1712)
Noyelle Cavalry (hired from 1702 to 1712)
Voigt Cavalry (hired from 1702 to 1712)

Prussia Subsidy Regiments

This contingent was subsidized jointly by the Dutch Republic and Great Britain

Schöning Horse (6 troops hired from 1701 to 1713)
Heiden Horse (6 troops hired from 1701 to 1713)

On 12 April 1709, Great Britain signed an additional treaty with Prussia to hire additional cavalry regiments.

Gens d'Armes (hired from 1709 to 1710)
Markgraf Philipp Horse (hired from 1709 to 1712)
Wartensleben Horse (hired from 1709 to 1710)
Du Portail Horse (hired from 1709 to 1712)

Dragoons

Denmark Subsidy Regiments

Württemberg-Oels Dragoons (jointly hired with the Dutch Republic from 1701 to 1712)

Hanoverian Subsidy Regiments

On 21 June 1702, England signed a treaty with Hanover and Celle for taking into service 10,000 men. The initial treaty seems to have been for 12 battalions of foot and two regiments of horse. However, the actual force was composed of three regiments of horse, three, later two, regiments of dragoons and eight battalions, but it is unsure when that was altered.

Bülow Dragoons (hired from 1702 to 1712)
Villers Dragoons (hired from 1702 to 1712)
Bothmer Dragoons (hired from 1703 to 1706, then jointly hired with the Dutch Republic from 1707 to 1712)

Prussia Subsidy Regiments

On 12 April 1709, Great Britain signed an additional treaty with Prussia to hire three dragoon regiments.

Derfflinger Dragoons (hired from 1709 to 1712)
Markgraf Albrecht Dragoons (hired from 1710 to 1712)
Wittgenstein Dragoons (hired from 1710 to 1711)

References

Dalton, Charles: Army Lists & Commission Registers, Vol VI, pp 261 & Seq (via the Nafziger Collection)

Dorrel, Nicholas: Marlborough's other army p. 168 (Portuguese Dragoons)

Drenth, Wienand: Portuguese regiments in British pay

Falkner, James: Marlborough's War Machine 1702-1711, Pen & Sword Military, 2014

Fortescue, J. W.: A History of the British Army Vol. I, MacMillan, London, 1899

Mills, T. F.: Regiments and Corps of the British Army 1702

The Royal Sussex Regimental Society

Walton, Clifford: History of the British standing army. A.D. 1660 to 1700, London 1894

Acknowledgements

Wienand Drenth and Jörg Meier for additional information on the units of this army (including subsidized troops).