The regiment was formed during the 1688 Glorious Revolution from independent companies raised in Devon by Colonel Francis Luttrell, to support William III. In 1690, it supplied detachments for Ireland and Jamaica, incurring heavy losses from disease, including Luttrell who was replaced by Thomas Erle. Transferred to Flanders in early 1692 during the Nine Years' War, it was present at the battles of Steenkerque and Landen, as well as the Siege of Namur. after the 1697 Peace of Ryswick, it escaped disbandment by being made part of the Irish garrison, where it remained until the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702.