 He and his father had served in Dillon's Regiment, and his mother's father and several uncles served in Clare's Regiment.In August 1811 the Legion was renamed the "3e Regiment Etranger (Irlandais)" (3rd Foreign Regiment (Irish)), but throughout the unit's history it was always referred to as the Irish Regiment.In 1808 the Second Battalion fought in the Peninsular War, helping to subdue Madrid during the Dos de Mayo Uprising.