Drenth Publishing ~ Half pay 1699

180 pages, with indices of regimental colonels and reduced officers, and various appendices

The Treaty of Rijswijk brought an end to the Nine Years' War in September 1697. Since the chaotic days of December 1688, when the British army had practically ceased to exist, Britain's land forces had increased by the war's end to over 75,000 men, 100,000 when counting foreign troops, in about 100 regiments. This number was brought to about 25,000 my March 1699. These massive reductions were achieved by disbanding most of the regiments, and by establishing the remaining ones on a peace-time footing. A large number of officers became redundant this way, meaning there was no room for them in any of the regiments that remained part of the standing forces. Instead of discharging these officers from the army, they were granted half-pay as a retainer for future services, and as a means of financial support. Moreover, establishing a list of half-pay officers gave King William III a pool of trained officers available to do duty when required. The peace of 1697 was in reality nothing but a cessation of hostilities, and many of these officers found employment again in 1701 and 1702, when the army was mobilised for the conflict over the Spanish inheritance.

This publication pursues to give an overview of the reduced officers in 1699, and provide insight in the mechanism of the reductions between 1697 and 1699. By virtue of being a regimental list, the officers are listed under the regiments from which they were reduced in 1698 and 1699. Narratives are provided for each regiment, and include a succession of regimental colonels and details of the regiment's war service. In total, close to 120 regiments are detailed with the names of over 2,000 officers. Lists of regiments at specific events during the war are provided to complement the regimental narratives, and a variety of appendices give additional information on ancillary topics considered of interest.