Duke of Gloucester’s Regiment of Foot
Active | 1656 to 1662 |
Country | Ireland |
Allegiance | Royalist |
Conflicts | Anglo-Spanish War |
Type | Foot |
Colonel | Duke of Gloucester |
Lord Taafe | |
William Taafe | |
Area Raised | Flanders |
Coat Colour | |
Flag Colour | |
Flag Design | |
Field Armies | Charles II 1658 |
Regiment raised for Charles II in exile from Irishmen in Flanders
Service History
1656
- Raised in Flanders from Lord Taafe’s Irish Royalists
1657
1658
- May: Regiment mostly captured at Mount Cassel by Turenne
1659
- William Taafe takes over from his father
1660
- Prince Henry dies, Taafe remains Colonel
1661
- Garrison of Mardyke
1662
- November: Disbanded at Mardyke
Notes
The regiment's history is discussed in Firth, C. H. (1898), Royalist and Cromwellian Armies in Flanders, 1657-1662, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, pp. 67–119
Charles II began to raise an army at Bruges in Flanders in 1656, having signed a treaty to ally with Spain against France and Cromwellian England. Nominally commanded by Charles’ younger brother Henry, the regiment was formed from Lord Taafe’s Irish soldiers. When Turenne opened his campaign in May 1658, the Duke of Gloucester's regiment were mostly captured at Mount Cassel and therefore played no part in the Battle of the Dunes. In 1659 William Taafe replaced his father as field commander. By 1661 the regiment were in garrison at Mardyke and in 1662 were disbanded.
Flags and Equipment
Notable Officers
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Lord Taafe
William Taafe
Son of Lord Taafe
Strength
- April 1657: Estimated at 400 men by English news-sheets
- December 1661: 500 men