Historical Record of the Second or Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot

The Second Regiment of Foot was raised in 1661 for the purpose of providing a garrison for Tangier a fortress on the northern coast of Africa which was ceded to England as part of the marriage portion of Donna Catherina Infanta of Portugal who in the following year was married to King Charles II.. The command of this regiment was conferred by King Charles II. on Henry (second) Earl of Peterborough whose commission as Colonel bears date the 30th of September 1661.. King Charles II. having soon after his restoration disbanded the army of the Commonwealth the ranks of Lord Peterboroughs regiment were speedily completed with disciplined soldiers: it is reported to have assembled on Putney heath on the 14th of October 1661 and to have numbered one thousand men.. The destination of Lord Peterboroughs regiment to garrison so valuable a portion of Her Majestys dower was no doubt the cause of its early advancement to royal favour: it was designated the Queens and the Paschal Lamb the distinguishing badge of Portugal was placed on its colours and has ever since been continued to be borne by the regiment.. In a few months after its formation the Earl of Peterborough embarked with his regiment and a troop of horse and arrived at Tangier on the 29th of January 1662 where he found a British fleet under the command of the Earl of Sandwich lying in the roads and Sir Richard Steyner with a detachment of officers and seamen occupying the town: a duty from which the Queens Regiment relieved them on the following day.. The fortress was already surrounded by walls upwards of a mile and a quarter in extent but the English began constructing at immense cost both of money and labour a series of external fortifications. It was also determined to form a secure harbour by building a pier or mole several hundred yards in length. A spirit of enterprise which has since become so conspicuous in British subjects was at this early period strongly evinced in these improvements carried on amidst barbarian tribes on the unpromising shores of Africa.. Tangier was announced after its occupation a place of such concernment that all the world will envy the English the attainment of it; but this opinion was founded more on an expectation that the new colony would open a mart for trade and bring to our influence if not to our power the adjoining states. It was however an acquisition of consequence to a nation aiming at commercial rivalry at a time when the voyage to India by the Cape of Good Hope was of rare occurrence. Tangier was situated so as to be a convenient resting-place for the Mediterranean trader similar to what Gibraltar affords at the present time. These speculations gave the command a great importance made evident by the warrant from King Charles II. on the appointment of the Earl of Peterborough to his government. It designates him Captain General Chief Governor and Vice-Admiral of our City of Tangier and of the ports and coasts adjacent and any of our dominions and territories castles and forts in or near the kingdom of Tangier Fez and Morocco in Africa which are or shall be in our possession or reduced to our obedience &c.. On the arrival of Lord Peterborough at Tangier he found Gaylan the sovereign chief of Fez with a body of 10000 men encamped within a league of the fortress. A treaty of peace was concluded between these commanders and limits were fixed beyond which the English were not to forage or cultivate. No great reliance was placed by the British on their new ally and accounts from the new colony state how the Moors will observe these articles we know not; however we are and we still shall be upon our guard.. To be continue in this ebook...