Brigadier-General Richard Leveson, 12 July 1659 to March 1699, was the son of a wealthy merchant from Wolverhampton, who served in the army of James II until the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, when he defected to join William III.

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, his Catholic grandfather Thomas held Dudley Castle for Charles I from 1643 to 1646; one of 25 former Royalists named by Parliament in 1651 as subject to "perpetual banishment and confiscation", he died in exile on 8 September 1652.

[4] In late 1687, James tried to ensure a Parliament that would vote for his Declaration of Indulgence, by demanding that all candidates confirm their support for repealing the 1678 Test Act, a measure which required holders of public office to swear to uphold 'the Protestant religion.

'[5] Although Robert Leveson confirmed his willingness to do so, his son Richard refused; combined with the trial of the Seven Bishops for seditious libel in June 1688, many of James' supporters now viewed his policies as going beyond toleration for Catholicism into an assault on the Church of England.

William III landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 in the invasion known as the Glorious Revolution; with the exception of Cannon, Leveson and the majority of the Regiment defected, an action leading to his exclusion from a General Amnesty issued by James in May 1692.