History of the Scots Guards (1642–1804) facts for kids
The Scots Guards are a famous part of the British Army. This article tells their story from 1642 to 1804. They started way back in 1642. King Charles I ordered a man named Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll to create this group of soldiers. They were first called the Marquis of Argyll's Royal Regiment. Their first job was to serve in Ireland.
They stayed in Ireland for some years, doing different tasks. But in the mid-1640s, during a big conflict called the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, they fought against James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. Montrose was fighting for King Charles I. In 1646, Montrose left Scotland after the King lost in England.
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Becoming the King's Own Guards
In 1650, a year after King Charles I was executed, his son, Charles II, came to Scotland. He was there to become the new King of Scotland. That same year, the regiment changed its name to the Lyfe Guard of Foot for King Charles II.
In July 1650, Oliver Cromwell, a powerful leader from the English Civil War, led his army into Scotland. Later that year, Scottish Royalist soldiers, led by David Leslie, met Cromwell's English Army at the Battle of Dunbar. Cromwell's army won, and many Scottish soldiers were killed or captured.
The next year, the regiment joined the newly crowned King Charles II in invading England. They fought in the Battle of Worcester. This battle also ended in defeat for the Royalists. King Charles II had to flee to France. After this, the regiment stopped existing for a while.
Reforming and New Challenges
Oliver Cromwell died in 1658. His son, Richard Cromwell, took over but wasn't successful and stepped down in 1659. The next year, Charles II returned to England. He was declared King by the Convention Parliament.
In 1661, the regiment was reformed. It was now called the Scottish Regiment of Foot Guards. Sadly, that same year, Archibald, the 1st Marquis of Argyll, who had first raised the regiment, was executed for serious crimes against the King.
The regiment was used to fight against the Covenanters in Scotland. These were people who had started an uprising in 1666. They were unhappy with how King Charles II treated them. That year, the regiment fought in the Battle of Rullion Green, where the Covenanters were defeated. In 1679, the regiment fought the Covenanters again at Bothwell Brig, winning once more.
Joining a Grand Alliance
In 1686, the regiment officially became part of the English Army. This was also when the word "battalion" was first used for their groups of soldiers. In 1688, William of Orange arrived in England. King James II had to flee because the English Army joined William. The next year, William and his wife Mary became joint rulers of England and Scotland.
In 1688, England and its allies were at war again in Europe. This was the War of the Grand Alliance, and their enemy was France. The war also spread to North America, where colonists from both sides fought.
The regiment saw action in the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium and Netherlands) the next year. They fought at the Battle of Walcourt, where the Allied Army defeated the French. However, the Allies soon faced defeats. In 1692, the regiment took part in the very bloody Battle of Steenkirk. The Allied soldiers showed great bravery, but they lost the battle. Both sides had many casualties.
The next year, the regiment fought in another tough battle, the Battle of Landen. The Allies bravely held their ground against the French attacks. But they couldn't hold forever, and French cavalry broke through. The Allied Army had to retreat. Like at Steenkirk, this battle also caused heavy losses for both sides.
In 1695, the Guards regiments showed amazing courage during the Siege of Namur. This siege ended in September with the Allies capturing the city in what is now Belgium from the French. The Guards regiments suffered many losses during the siege. But they always showed their skill and bravery. The regiment earned its first special award, called a battle honour, for the Siege of Namur. Their second battle honour would come many years later.
Wars of Succession and New Names
In 1704, the regiment added a new company of soldiers. This was a Highlander company, complete with their traditional clothing and gear. In 1707, England and Scotland officially joined together with the Act of Union. They became the Kingdom of Great Britain. Queen Anne became the first ruler of this new nation.
In 1709, after the War of the Spanish Succession had already begun, the regiment went to Spain. In 1710, they fought in the Battle of Saragossa. Great Britain won this battle against French and Spanish forces. That same year, the regiment fought in the Battle of Brihuega. A British force was surprised by the enemy and defeated, even though they fought bravely. The war ended in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht. This treaty was good for Great Britain.
The regiment then changed its name to the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. They would keep this name for many years. In 1714, the Highlander Company was disbanded.
In 1740, the War of the Austrian Succession started. This war again put Great Britain and its allies against France. In 1743, the regiment fought in the Battle of Dettingen. This was the last time a British King actually led his army into battle. The British and their allies defeated the French Army. To celebrate this victory, the famous composer Handel wrote a piece of music called Dettingen Te Deum. This battle earned the regiment its second battle honour.
In 1745, the regiment fought in the Battle of Fontenoy in the Austrian Netherlands. This was between British and Allied forces and the French. The British and Allies, led by the Duke of Cumberland, fought very bravely. But they lost the battle to the French, and both sides lost many soldiers. The 3rd Foot Guards suffered a lot, losing over 100 officers and men.
The regiment then had a short time back in Great Britain during the Second Jacobite Rebellion. This rebellion was led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, who wanted to claim the throne of Great Britain. France helped him. The regiment soon returned to the Low Countries. In 1747, they fought in the Battle of Lauffeld. Britain and its allies were outnumbered by the French and lost this battle. The long War of the Austrian Succession finally ended the next year.
The First World War (Seven Years' War)
In 1756, war broke out again between Great Britain and France. But this time, the war spread to many parts of the world. It was like the first ever "world war." In June 1758, the 1st Battalion of the regiment took part in a mission against France. They landed at Cancalle Bay on the Brittany coast. However, this first mission was cancelled, and the troops returned to Britain.
A second mission was launched in August. British forces, including the 1st Battalion, 3rd Foot Guards, landed near the port of Cherbourg in Normandy. The Guards battalions easily pushed away a few thousand French troops who tried to stop their landing. The British force quickly marched on Cherbourg, which surrendered. The British then destroyed many French warships and the port facilities. These would take many years to fully repair.
The soldiers then got back on their ships. In early September, they landed a few miles from St. Malo in Brittany to attack that port. But the attack was decided to be too difficult. The ships that had landed them had to sail to Saint-Cast because of bad weather. This forced the British troops to march there to get back on board. On September 12, the British rearguard was attacked by more French troops. This rearguard included over 1,000 Guards and other soldiers. They bravely defended their position but were eventually forced to retreat to their ships. The British lost hundreds of men killed, wounded, and captured.
The 2nd Battalion of the regiment also served abroad. They were part of a group of Guards sent to Germany. There, they fought under the command of John Manners, Marquess of Granby. The battalion fought in the Battle of Villinghausen in 1761. In this battle, an Allied force defeated a larger French force. The next year, in June, the battalion fought in the Battle of Wilhelmsthal. A much smaller Allied force defeated the French after some tough fighting. The Guards battalions saw a lot of this action. Later that year, the battalion fought in the Battle of the Brücke-Mühle. This was the battalion's last action during the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763.
Fighting in the New World
In 1776, American colonists in Philadelphia declared their independence from Great Britain. This started the American War of Independence. To respond, fifteen men from each company of the 1st, Coldstream, and 3rd Regiments of Foot Guards formed a special battalion. This combined battalion of Foot Guards was sent to North America.
This combined battalion was later split into two battalions. Both battalions saw action at the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of White Plains that same year. The next year, in September, the combined Foot Guards fought in the Battle of Brandywine. The British and their allies, the Hessians, were slightly outnumbered by the Americans. But the British and Hessians won, though both sides had many casualties. Later that year, both combined battalions fought in the Battle of Germantown, which was also a British victory.
In 1781, the two combined Foot Guard battalions fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The British force, led by General Charles Cornwallis, had 1,900 troops. Their American opponents had 4,400. The Foot Guards were in the thick of the fighting for much of the battle, showing amazing skill. During the battle, the Foot Guards had a very tough fight with American Dragoons. The Dragoons attacked them from behind. The Americans also launched a counter-attack, and chaos followed. General Cornwallis made the difficult choice to fire grapeshot into the mixed groups of British and American soldiers. While British troops suffered heavy losses from the grapeshot, the Americans were forced to retreat. The Foot Guards suffered quite badly, losing many men. Their commanding officer, Brigadier Charles O'Hara, was severely wounded.
Because of the many casualties, the combined Foot Guards were reduced to a single battalion. Later in 1781, this combined Foot Guards battalion fought in its last battle, at the Battle of Yorktown. This battle began when Yorktown was surrounded by the Americans. The British defended their positions bravely into October. But on October 19, the British commander, General Cornwallis, marched out with his army to surrender to the Americans. The Foot Guards did not leave America until 1782. They finally returned home to Great Britain in 1783. The combined Foot Guards were disbanded that same year, and the soldiers went back to their original regiments.
Fighting Revolutionary France
In 1789, the French Revolution began. In 1793, the First Coalition was formed to fight against Revolutionary France. This group included Great Britain and other European powers. The 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards fought in the Battle of Famars on May 23. They also took part in the Siege of Valenciennes (1793), which began that same month. The town eventually fell to the Allies in July. The battalion also fought at the Battle of Caesar's Camp near Bouchain and the Siege of Dunkirk, which ended in September.
In August 1793, the 1st Battalion, along with other Guards battalions, fought in the Battle of Lincelles. The Guards, just over 1,000 strong, were ordered to recapture the village of Lincelles. The French had over 5,000 soldiers there. The Foot Guards bravely advanced on the village, facing terrible artillery and gunfire. They suffered many casualties. The Foot Guards fought fiercely with bayonets when they stormed the village. They had tough hand-to-hand combat with the French, causing heavy French losses. They cleared the village of French soldiers and captured it. The regiment earned its third battle honour for their part in this battle. The regiment fought in more battles in 1793, including at Lannoy. The battalion's last battles in this war came the next year.
In 1798, the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France was formed. That same year, the 1st Battalion's light companies took part in a raid on Ostend in what is now Belgium. The goal of the raid was to destroy the lock-gates and sluices of the Bruges to Ostend canal. Warships from the Royal Navy (RN) supported the mission. The locks were destroyed. But bad winds stopped the soldiers from getting back on their ships. So, the 1,300 men of the army, led by Major General Coote, were captured by the French.
In 1799, the 1st Battalion took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. This was in the French-controlled state called the Batavian Republic, which is now the Netherlands. An Anglo-Russian force took part in this campaign. Their goal was to bring back the exiled Dutch King. They hoped the people of Batavia would want this, as they had suffered economically because France stopped all trade with Great Britain. Soon after the landing, many warships of the Batavian Fleet peacefully surrendered to the British. In October, the Foot Guards, along with many other regiments, fought in the battles of Egmont-op-Zee and Alkmaar. The Battle of Alkmaar ended in a British victory. In 1800, the 1st Battalion took part in missions against the Spanish coastal cities of Ferrol, Vigo, and Cádiz. Cádiz would become very important during the Peninsular War a few years later.
In 1798, France invaded Egypt. They wanted to conquer the country. This would have put Great Britain's position in the Mediterranean and India in danger. The next year, Admiral Lord Nelson destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. This trapped the French in Egypt.
In 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. Just a few months later, the 1st Battalion was part of a British Army mission to Egypt. This mission was led by General Sir Ralph Abercromby. They landed at Aboukir Bay on March 8. The landing from the sea was very successful, even though French defenders tried to stop them.
The battalion also fought in the Battle of Alexandria on March 21. The British force had about 14,000 soldiers, while the French had around 20,000. In this battle, the British soldiers showed great heroism and bravery. The Guards Brigade, in the center, acted very professionally against the French forces. The battle ended in a British victory. The British suffered just under 1,500 killed, wounded, and missing. Their commander, General Abercromby, was badly wounded and later died. The French suffered over 4,000 casualties. Cairo and Alexandria were soon captured. All of Egypt was recaptured by late 1801. The regiment earned its fourth battle honour. A Sphinx symbol was placed on its Colours (flags) with "Egypt" written on it.
More History to Come
