The regiment was first raised by Colonel Edward Fox as Edward Fox’s Regiment of Marines in 1702 to fight in the War of Spanish Succession. Elements of the regiment joined the fleet which sailed from Spithead in July 1702 and saw action as marines at the Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702. The marines returned to England in November 1702. The regiment also took part in the capture and defence of Gibraltar in July 1704 and suffered very heavy losses at the Battle of Almansa in April 1707. It was disbanded in 1713 but re-raised as Jacob Borr’s Regiment of Foot in 1714. It then served in Ireland from 1716 to 1734.