Between 1701 and 1714, a war was fought between various European powers over the disputed succession to the Spanish throne and sovereignty over Spanish dependencies. This became known as ‘The War of the Spanish Succession’ and Queen Anne’s army fought on the side of the Grand Alliance seeking to prevent French King Louis XIV declaring his Bourbon grandson as Philip V of Spain. The prospect of the French and Spanish Empires united under a single House of Bourbon crown was in itself a threat to the sovereign states of Europe. When the Spanish defeated a Portuguese and British force at la Guidina, Portugal, Britain despatched a force commanded by Major General Wills aboard Admiral Baker’s fleet bound for a counterstroke on Cadiz.

The Inniskillings embarked with Admiral Barker’s fleet at Cork in September 1709. Unfortunately the intelligence concerning the defenses of Cadiz was flawed and the action was abandoned. It was decided to sail on to Catalonia where Wills’ force could be of value to the Army of the Grand Alliance commanded by Marshal Starhemberg. The Inniskillings landed at Alicante, Spain, on 8 October 1709, where they joined Starhemberg’s forces. Although they remained under his command, they took no part in any actions and eventually sailed as reinforcements for the garrison of Minorca in December 1710, where they would remain until May 1718.