Douglas was replaced by his deputy Robert Hodges, an experienced soldier who served in the Royal Regiment and the Tangier Garrison.

[9] As a result of England's involvement in the 1689–1697 Nine Years War, the regiment was posted to Flanders; between 1689 and 1693, it fought at the battles of Walcourt, Steenkirk and Neer Landen, as well as the 1695 Siege of Namur.

When the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702, it returned to Flanders and served throughout Marlborough's campaigns, including the capture of Liège in 1702, as well as the battles of Schellenberg, Blenheim, Ramillies, the Oudenarde and Malplaquet.

[6] In 1739, long-standing commercial tensions with Spain led to the War of Jenkins' Ear, which took place largely in the Caribbean and North America.

[4] A detachment took part in the failed assault on Cartagena de Indias, in modern Colombia; the troops suffered enormous losses from yellow fever, estimated as between 80 and 90%.

[11] The few survivors returned to England in 1742 and the unit brought back up to strength, while the conflict with Spain expanded into the wider European struggle known as the War of the Austrian Succession.

Shortly after the Allied defeat at Fontenoy in May 1745, the regiment moved to Flanders and suffered heavy losses at Melle in July.

When the American War of Independence broke out in 1776, the regiment was ordered to New York, but returned south in the following year to various garrisons in Florida and Georgia.

[4] With the end of the American war, the regiment was reduced to a peacetime complement in 1783, and in the following year moved to garrison duty in Ireland.

[6] In 1793 the French plantation-owners of the colony of Saint-Domingue signed an agreement to place the territory under British sovereignty in return for assistance in halting a slave rebellion.

The regiment took no part in the Napoleonic Wars that was being fought on the continent of Europe, being stationed in England, Scotland and Ireland before sailing to Canada in 1814.

[6] It returned to England in August 1815, moving directly to France to form part of the army of occupation following the final defeat of Napoleon.

In the following year, it moved to Corfu, forming part of the garrison of the United States of the Ionian Islands, a British protectorate.

[13] Following the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the British Army took over responsibility for maintaining a garrison in the sub-continent from the Honourable East India Company.

[13][14] In 1861, both battalions sailed separately to Canada, as part of a reinforcement of British forces there in reaction to the American Civil War.

The diplomatic crisis brought about by the Trent Affair increased tensions, with expectations of war against the United States only receding in 1862.

[14] The 4th (Militia) Battalion was embodied in January 1900, and a contingent of 500 officers and men embarked the SS Goorkha the following month for service in South Africa,[20] taking part in the Second Boer War.

The battalion served in every sector of the Western Front as well as in northern Italy, with Private Edward Warner winning a posthumous Victoria Cross on Hill 60 in May 1915.

[25] The 2nd (Regular) Battalion was mobilised from garrison duty at Pretoria in South Africa and landed in Zeebrugge on 6 October 1914, with the 21st Brigade within the 'Immortal' 7th Division.

It served entirely on the Western Front, with Captain Charles Calveley Foss winning the Victoria Cross during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915.

[24] The 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion was initially posted to the Felixstowe and Harwich garrisons but was mobilised in July 1916, joining the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division on the Western Front that month.

Acting Lieutenant-Colonel John Stanhope Collings-Wells won a posthumous Victoria Cross in March 1918 whilst commanding the battalion through the German Spring Offensive (Operation Michael).

[27] The 5th (Territorial) Battalion was mobilised in August 1914 and, after providing home defence in East Anglia, sailed for Gallipoli in July 1915.

Private Samuel Needham won the Victoria Cross in September 1918 but died from accidental gunshot wounds sustained after the armistice, on 4 November 1918.

[24] 2nd Lieutenant Tom Edwin Adlam won the Victoria Cross during the battalion's assault against the Schwaben Redoubt in September 1916[31] and stretcher bearer Christopher Augustus Cox won the battalion's second Victoria Cross during operations opposite Achiet Le Grand in March 1917.

[24] October 1917 saw it redesignated as the 53rd (Young Soldier's) Battalion, who provided basic training for 18 year old conscripted men, which enabled them to be ready for foreign service once they became eligible.

The nickname '2nd Micks' was also associated with them after their unflinching support of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards' assault against the German position known as Brickstacks near Cuinchy in February 1915.

A similar design was used for the cap badge adopted in 1898, with the addition of a representation of the Garter around the central device, and a scroll with the regiment's title.

In other respects the regiment followed the normal progression of the British infantry from red coats, to scarlet tunics, to khaki service dress and battledress.

[48] When the regiment was formed in 1881, it was unique in having no battle honours to display on its colours, as the 16th Foot had never received such an award in spite of having served for nearly 200 years and having been engaged almost constantly in Europe during the first few decades of its existence.