Editing Royal Welch Fusiliers (section)

===Formation; 1689 to 1773===
The regiment was raised by [[Henry Herbert, 4th Baron Herbert of Chirbury|Henry Herbert]] at [[Ludlow]] on 16 March 1689, following the 1688 [[Glorious Revolution]] and exile of [[James II of England|James II]].<ref>Cannon, p. 1</ref><ref name = Frederick302>Frederick, pp. 302–6.</ref><ref name = RegtsRWF>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060103213315/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/023RWF.htm RWF at Regiments.org.]</ref> It served throughout the 1689 to 1691 [[Williamite War in Ireland]], including the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in July 1690,<ref>Cannon, p. 5</ref> and the [[Battle of Aughrim]] in 1691 which brought the campaign to an end.<ref name=cannon13>Cannon, p. 13</ref> It joined Allied forces fighting in the [[Nine Years War]] and at [[Siege of Namur (1695)|Namur]] in August 1695, took part in the attack on the Terra Nova earthwork that inspired the song '[[The British Grenadiers]].'<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lenihan|first1=Padraig|title=Namur Citadel, 1695: A Case Study in Allied Siege Tactics|journal=War in History|date=2011|volume=18|issue=3|page=298|doi=10.1177/0968344511401296|hdl=10379/6195|s2cid=159682220 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

On the outbreak of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] in 1702, it became the '''Welch Regiment of Fuzilieers;''' this denoted [[Fusilier|units equipped with light-weight muskets]] or 'fusils' used to protect the artillery, although the distinction later became obsolete.<ref name="The Royal Welch Fusiliers">{{cite web |title=The Royal Welch Fusiliers |url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/royal-welch-fusiliers |website=National Army Museum |access-date=30 March 2019}}</ref> It served throughout [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Marlborough]]'s campaigns in the Low Countries, including the battles of [[Battle of Schellenberg|Schellenberg]], [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]] and [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]].<ref>{{cite web |title=23rd Foot |url=http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=23rd_Foot |website=Seven Years War Project |access-date=31 March 2019}}</ref>

In 1714, [[George I of Great Britain|George I]] gave it the title of the '''Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers.''' The next 28 years were spent on garrison duty in England and Scotland, until it returned to [[Flanders]] in 1742 for the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. At [[Battle of Dettingen|Dettingen]] in June 1743, it rallied after being driven back by the [[Maison militaire du roi de France|elite French Maison du Roi cavalry]]; its steadiness was a major contribution to what is considered a fortunate victory.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fortescue |first1=John H |title=History of the British Army; Volume II |date=1899 |pages=99–100}}</ref> It incurred 323 casualties at [[Battle of Fontenoy|Fontenoy]] in May 1745, before a brief period in [[Scotland]] during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|1745 Rising]]. Over 240 members of the regiment were lost at [[Battle of Lauffeld|Lauffeld]] in July 1747, a defeat that led to the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]].<ref name="Fortescue, p. 161">Fortescue, p. 161</ref>
[[File:Colored Print Battle of Minden 1785.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|[[Battle of Minden|Minden]], 1 August 1759, an action still celebrated as [[Minden Day]]]]
Following the 1751 reforms that standardised naming and numbering of regiments, it became the '''23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers)'''.<ref name="The Royal Welch Fusiliers"/> In the opening battle of the [[Seven Years' War]], it was part of the [[Battle of Minorca (1756)|Minorca garrison]] that surrendered to the French in June 1756; given free passage to Gibraltar, from 1758 it campaigned in Germany. At [[Battle of Minden|Minden]] in August 1759, it was one of the infantry units that routed the French cavalry, an achievement still celebrated as [[Minden Day]] by their successor unit, the [[Royal Welsh]].<ref name="Fortescue, p. 161"/> Between 1760 and 1762, it fought in the battles of [[Battle of Warburg|Warburg]],<ref>Cannon, p. 83</ref> [[Battle of Kloster Kampen|Kloster Kampen]] 1760<ref>Cannon, p. 84</ref> and [[Battle of Wilhelmsthal|Wilhelmsthal]] in June 1762, before the war ended with the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|1763 Treaty of Paris]].<ref name = WestlakeWelsh>Westlake, ''English & Welsh Regiments'', pp. 75–6</ref>

When the [[American Revolutionary War]] began in 1773, the regiment was posted to [[British North America|North America]].<ref>Cannon, p. 89</ref> The [[light infantry]] and [[grenadier]] companies took heavy losses at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] in June 1775;<ref>Cannon, p. 93</ref> it participated in nearly every campaign up to the [[Siege of Yorktown]] in September 1781.<ref>Cannon, p. 113</ref> At Yorktown, it was the only British regiment not to surrender its colours, which were smuggled out by a junior officer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mikelynaugh.com/Yorktown/pages/IMG_3076.htm|title=Sign at the Royal Welch Fusiliers Redoubt in Yorktown, Virginia|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref>

In the early stages of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], it was posted to the [[West Indies]] in 1794 and participated in the 1795 capture of [[Port-au-Prince]] before returning home in 1796.<ref>Cannon, p. 117</ref> As part of the expeditionary force assigned to the 1799 [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland]], it fought at [[Battle of Alkmaar (1799)|Alkmaar]] in October 1799.<ref>Cannon, p. 120</ref>
[[Image:23rd royal welsh fusiliers.JPG|thumb|left|130px| 23rd Royal Welch Fusilier guarding a statue of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]] in London.]]