Wanting to be a soldier and unable to take the oath of supremacy obligatory in the English army, Richard followed the example of his elder brothers George and Anthony and went into French service. In 1671 he was commissioned into the regiment that George had raised. This regiment fought for France in the Franco-Dutch war (1672–1678). He must have fought with George under Turenne in the battles of Sinsheim on 16 June 1674, and Entzheim on 6 October. At Entzheim his brothers George and Anthony were wounded. George's and Anthony's wounds and the voyage to England, described below, undertaken by the three brothers, caused them to miss Turenne's winter campaign 1674/1675, during which the French marched south and surprised the Imperialists by launching a surprise attack on Upper Alsace, which culminated in Turennes's victory at the Battle of Turckheim on 5 January 1675.