Recently painted No 40 NYW Clifton's/Lesley's regt

Once again the figures are from Essex (I really should have shares in Essex minis??) bases are from Warbases and if so inclined you can download the flags from one of my earlier posts, here!!

Clifton's regiment was the last one raised in 1685. Sir William Clifton was appointed by commission of 22 June 1685. He retired in May 1686 and was succeeded by Arthur Herbert, afterwards Earl or Torrington. Rear-Admiral Arthur Herbert was then Master of the Robes and one of the favorites of James II, who asked his cooperation in repealing the test acts. This Herbert refused to do and he was thus disgraced in March 1687, loosing all his appointments. His regiment was then rumored to be transferred to Major General Donough Maccarty, but it seems that this appointment did not come through. In April 1687 Sackville Tufton was appointed as colonel of Herbert's regiment. In the 1688 events Tufton was at Canterbury with his regiment and he later stated that he would gladly have fought against the Prince of Orange. Anyway, on 19 December 1688 the Tufton's regiment was ordered to Berwick. Sackville Tufton refused to pledge to the new government and was therefore succeeded by Sir James Leslie. Under James Leslie the regiment marched to Inverness. It then marched to reconstruct Fort William and was thereafter in the battle of 30 April 1690. From the Highlands the regiment was then moved to Flanders. James Leslie was succeeded by Emanuel Scrope Howe in November 1695.

The Howe regiment survived the 1699 disbandings by hiding on the Irish establishment. In 1704 the regiment participated in the battle of Blenheim. In 1709 the regiment participated in the siege of the citadel of Tournay. After Emanuel Scrope Howe died on 26 September 1709 his regiment went to Algernon Seymour, Duke of Somerset on 23 October 1709.

In 1694 the army under King William in person, at the camp at Hertogendale, on the 6th of June.The tenth,fourteenth, fiftheenth, seventeenth, Castleton's, and Lauder's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Stuart, in the division under Major- General Bellasis.

The Prince and Princess of Orange having been 1689 elevatedto the throne by the title of King William the Third and Queen Mary, their accession was opposed in Scotland, where the Duke of Gordon held the Castle of Edinburgh in the interest of King James, and Viscount Dundee aroused the Highland clans to arms. In con- sequence of these proceedings, the regiment was ordered to Scotland, in the spring of 1689; and it was stationed at Leith, as a reserve and support to the troops blockading Edinburgh Castle, until the beginning of June, when it was ordered up the country to join the forces under Major- General Mackay, who was retreating before the Highlanders under Viscount Dundee. The regiment joined Major- General Mackay about six o'clock on the evening of the 5th of June ; other troops also arrived, and the major-general being thus rein- forced, advanced against the clans, who instantly retired towards the mountain fastnesses. The 15th foot followed the retreating Highlanders to the borders of the wilds of Lochaber, and afterwards proceededto Inverness, where the regiment was stationed some time.

The regiment took part in the operations of this campaign, and the numbers of the confederate forces were so far augmented, that the progress of French conquest was arrested, the enemy was forced to act on the

defensive, and in the autumn the allies besieged and captured the fortress of Huy. The 15th formed part of the covering army during the siege; and afterwards marched to Dixmude, where they halted a few days, and subsequently went into cantonments in the villages along the canal of Nieuport, where they were stationed during the winter. 1695 From these quarters, the regiment was called in May, 1695, to enter upon the active services of another campaign, and it pitched its tents near Dixmude, where a small force was assembled under Major-General Ellemberg; at the same time the main army took the field under King William. In June, the Duke of Wirtemburg took the command of the troops at Dixmude; reinforcements also arrived ; and an attack was made on Fort Kenoque, situated at the junction of the Loo and Dixmude canals, with the view of drawing the French forces to the Flanders side of their fortified lines, to favour the design of besieging Namur. On the 9th of June, the grenadiers of the 15th, and other corps employed on this enterprise, drove the enemy from the entrenchments and houses near the Loo canal, and the attempts made by the French to regain this post were repulsed. A redoubt was afterwards taken, and a lodgment effected 695 on the works at the bridge, in which service the regiment

had several men killed and wounded. These attacks produced the desired effect; the fortress of Namur was invested, and the attack on Fort Kenoque was soon afterwards desisted from, when the 15th regiment returned to Dixmude.

During the early part of the siege of Namur, the 15th foot, commanded by their colonel, Sir James Lesley, were in garrison at Dixmude, a fortress of very little strength, under Major-General Ellemberg, a foreign

officer. On the 15th of July, this place was invested by a strong division of the French army, under General de Montal, who commenced the siege with vigour. Major-General Ellemberg failed to make that spirited opposition to the enemy which the circumstances of the case called for: he appeared to view the progress of the besieging army with apathy, and eventually called a council of war, to which he advanced several reasons why the town could not be defended, and proposed to capitulate to save the garrison, which was agreed to by the majority of the council of war, although opposed by others. When the soldiers were informed they were to become prisoners of war, they became enraged at not being permitted to defend the place, many of them broke their arms to pieces, and some tore their regimental colours from the staves, that they might not be delivered to the enemy. D'Auvergne states, in his history of this campaign, 'The body of the garrison had the same ' heart and soul with their comrades which did such wonders before Namur,' but the soldiers were delivered into the power of the enemy against their will. All the officers concerned in the surrender of Dixmude, were tried by a general courtmartial : Major- General Ellemberg was sentenced to be beheaded, and executed at Ghent on the 20th of November. Colonel Sir James Lesley, and several other officers were cashiered.