The regiment was formed on 16 February 1694 during the Nine Years War by Colonel Thomas Farrington as Thomas Farrington's Regiment of Foot. Disbanded after the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, it was reformed in 1702 when the War of the Spanish Succession began. Together with the 14th Regiment of Foot, the 29th was posted to Boston in 1768. On 5 March 1770, members of the Grenadier company under Captain Thomas Preston were involved in the Boston Massacre, when five colonists died during a riot in front of the Boston customs house. Those involved were tried for murder, defended by John Adams, a future President of the United States; two soldiers, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy were found guilty of manslaughter and branded on the thumb. During the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the Americans tried to capture Quebec City; they were forced to retreat but the 29th arrived in Quebec in June 1776 to reinforce British forces in what is now modern Canada. Following defeat in the Battles of Saratoga, these companies surrendered with the rest of Burgoyne's force in October 1777.