The regiment was raised in Ireland by Lieutenant-General Thomas Meredyth as Meredyth's Regiment in February 1702. It embarked for the Netherlands in May 1703 and fought under the Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704 and the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706 as well as the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The regiment embarked for Canada in 1711 as part of the Quebec Expedition but lost 8 officers and 253 men when the ships in which it was sailing foundered on the rocks on the Saint Lawrence River; the expedition returned home. It was also in action at the Capture of Vigo in October 1719.