Lord Ralph Hopton's Regiment of Foote.

The third completed Regiment of Foote is that of Lord Ralph Hopton. This was a blue coated regiment that is known to have Red Colours (some of which were captured in it's last campaign in the south west). This goes some of the way to prove that coat colours and regimental standards were not always the same colour. Indeed often they were not but it does not stop many sources informing the reader that such and such regiment had x colour as their standards as well as their coat colours if only because it is not known what colour they are.

Several Hopton's were to play a part during the Civil War all on the side of the King. Hopton is a south west name of good standing. Lord Hopton was not always on the side of the King though but like many Gentry of the time he was prepared to stand against the Kings expansion of his own power and reduction of that of the Lords and Commons but when Parliament started to push to further reduce the Kings powers he was quick to stand on the side of the King. Hopton at outbreak of the Civil War was a MP for Wells and was made Lieutenant General of the West under the command of marquess of Hertford. Hopton was no enthusiastic amateur having fought in the Thirty Years War under the Elector Palatine and was Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment raised by Charles I for Mansfelds Army. Hopton quickly brought Cornwall to the Kings side and the County proved to be Loyal to the Kings cause. Once Cornwall was for the King Hopton moved on to Devon were he had mixed fortunes (including being badly injured when a powder waggon blew up) before the Royalist cause finally took Devon post Roundway Down. Fortunes though were to turn against the King as the war went on and after a series of defeats he was forced back into Devon and beyond. Finally being forced to quit England after the defeat at Torrington in 1646, long after the King had surrendered to Parliament. He was to die in exile in 1652.

As for Hopton's own Regiment this was formed in and around Chard in Somerset. The nucleous of this regiment was a mixture of raw recruits and the absorption of part of the local Trained Bands. It can be assumed that on formation the regiment would not have been given a uniform and would have been a mix of civilian clothes and Trained Band Uniform. It is believed that it saw early action at Landsdowne and Roundway Down as well as the storming of Bristol. As the Regiment would already have been understrength and losses would have been fairly heavy it is thought that it absorbed the remainder of Brutus Bucks regiment after he was killed at Bristol. The main reason for this conclusion is that the regiment disappears from the rolls at this point and Hopton's gained strength. I am not sure if Bucks regiment had a coat colour but one can assume the Regiment by this time looked a real mess. About this time it's possible the regiment was supplied coats of blue. Companies of the regiment fought at the siege of Gloucester and the battle of First Newbury. 5 other companies had been dispatched for the battle but failed to arrive before the battle. So it is safe to assume the regiment at this time (late 1643) that the regiment had at least 8-9 companies. 2-3 on campaign, 5 sent to reinforce and at least 1 kept at Bristol where replacements were trained and sent on the regiment. If this is true then the regiment had a rather modern system and it's fair to assume that it was kept to a reasonable strength during future campaigns. During the Cropredy campaign it was listed as having 5 colours  (companies) which was higher than the majority of regiments in he Oxford Army. The regiment fought in many small engagements and sieges and Second Newbury. The regiment post Oxford campaign could not have withstood the steady drain of combat, disease and a lost cause but was still active to an extent post Nasby though the final destruction is not known.