A Regimental list of the Reduced officers for the year 1699

Fresh from the press and ready for shipment:

A Regimental list of the reduced officers for the year 1699 

on the English, Scots and Irish Establishments

Please see the publisher's website for more details and ordering information.

This book is the companion volume to the Half-Pay list 1714, that was published in May 2012. Both volumes provide, as the titles indicate, information on the officers that were reduced after the Nine Years' War and War of the Spanish Succession, respectively. But there is more to that. All regiments that were part of the British army, during the respective periods, are detailed (except the subsidy troops), with information on the regimental lineage and a succession of colonels. Moreover, orders of battle are given for a variety of battles, sieges, descents (executed or aborted), expeditions, et cetera.

A Regimental list of the half-pay officers for the year 1714

Fresh from the press, and ready for immediate shipment:

A regimental list of the half-pay officers for the year 1714 

Please see an earlier post on for more details, or visit the publisher's site.

Half-pay list of 1714

One of those scarce contemporary publications: A Regimental list of the half-pay officers for the year, 1714. According to the English Short Title Catalogue only less than a dozen copies are known in libraries in Britain and the United States.

This list, published by order of the House of Commons, shows all officers that were reduced, i.e. placed on half-pay, after the War of the Spanish Succession. And, as such, is a good source for tracing the careers of officers and, of course, the reduction of the army after the war in general. The list gives also an impression of officers available for the military. Not surprisingly, many of the officers are found in the regiments raised under George I after 1715.

Below an example page showing several of the regiments of marines that were disbanded in 1713.

Digital Microfilms at the National Archives

The National Archives made a huge lot of their microfilms available digitally: digital microfilm!

Of particular interest is WO 65. Here you will find army lists covering the period between 1754 and 1885.

Unofficial lists of the army

Nowadays it may seem that almost anything is being put into print, this was also the case in the late 17th century. Of particular interest are the several almanack type of books, published periodically and giving all sorts of information regarding countries, nobility, geography, clergy, and, of the army. Most will be available via Google Books, and two will be discussed here.

Angliae Notitia: or The Present State of England, written by Edward Chamberlain, doctor of laws. The 12th edition of 1684 is considered here, and the 2nd Volume is of particular interest. From page 131 the author gives a description of the present state of the military government of England. Neatly listed are the regiments with their officers, and, not seen before, their quarters and where they were doing duty. For example, the Royal Regiment of Dragoons was moving up and down near London. Also of interest is a description of the military government of the city (that means London) from page 208 onward.

The New State of England under their majesties King William and Queen Mary. Written by Guy Milege in 1691 it is a big work in three parts. The third part has some lists of officers related to the Household, and the various regiments of guards are found there as well. This starts are page 152 of the third part, being page 808 of the downloadable pdf-file. Unfortunately, it is not complete. In part II, from page 168 (550 in the pdf) there is information on the strength, composition and payment of the guards. Noteworthy to read it that two units of Dutch Guards (the Life Guards and Foot Guards) are explicitly mentioned as forming part of the Household troops.

Earl of Dumbarton

In the previous post on the first army list, an image was posted showing the list for the Royal Regiment of Foot. As colonel is listed the Earl of Dumbarton, who, of course was colonel of the regiment until 1688. There is, however, a little caveat. Since Dumbarton was Roman Catholic, he could not subscribe to the Test Act of 1678. Henceforth, he was officially removed from his colonelcy. The vacancy was not filled however. He was only restored to his position in November 1685 by James II.

Dalton, in English Army Lists and Commission Regiments, explicitly mentions this and shows the position of colonel as being vacant. In this Nathan Brooks' Army List, he is mentioned as colonel without any further remark. Perhaps his removal as colonel was not commonly known at that time?

The very first army list (1684)

For enthusiasts (read: aficionados) of regimental lineages like the author, Army Lists form a very important source of information. As these lists are, approximately, a directory of the officers serving in the army at a certain point, the history of the regiments can be derived from it. In particular, studying successive editions of army lists can give a neat impression of the expansion of the army in times of war. For example, studying the army lists prior to August 1914, and those of late 1914 and 1915, clearly shows the growth of the army. (The physical size of the army lists tripled also at least between 1914 and 1918.)

That said, it is unfortunate that army lists started to be published regularly from the 1750s onwards. Thus the period between 1660 and 1750 is relatively obscure. This is best observed in the relative void regarding regiments raised for the duration of a war. The British Library has a pdf document available with some more information on army lists.

The very first army list detailing the post-Restoration army was published in 1684, an is known as Nathan Brooks' Army List. Very fortunate this publication is made available at EEBO! Though only detailing the English Establishment (so troops in Scotland and Ireland are not listed), it gives much contemporary information.

Information includes the establishments of the regiments (i.e., the official size of troops and companies), the colour of uniforms, details of colours carried.

For example, the Holland Regiment, commanded by John, the Earl of Mulgrave consists of twelve companies, but does not have a company of grenadiers. It is coated in red (unsure, the text is faded at this point), and lined with a flesh colour. The colour is a red cross, bordered white in a green field.

The page shown next is for the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, and for the Royal Regiment of Foot (future Royal Scots).



Please contact the author if more information is required or wanted.