During the Great Northern War, the regiment fought in the Battle of Narva on 30 November 1700. The Russian guard (Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments) firmly defended themselves from the Swedes and avoided a defeat. For their bravery, the Swedish king Charles XII agreed to allow them to keep their weapons; the Russian guard regiments marched with standards unfurled, drums rolling and in possession of their weapons. For their prowess, all soldiers of the Semyonovsky regiment wore red stockings from 1700 to 1740, as "in that battle, they stood knee-deep in blood". In the battle, the regiment lost 17 officers (including the commander, podpolkovnik Cunningham) and 454 enlisted personnel. Major Yakov Lobanov-Rostovsky was judged and condemned to death for his flight from the battlefield, but subsequently pardoned.