Nog tijdens de 'Glorious Revolution' waarin stadhouder Willem III zijn schoonvader James II in Engeland van de troon wist te verwijderen, ontspon zich een groter Europees conflict waarin diverse landen zich keerdden tegen het Frankrijk van Lodewijk XIV. Die oorlog die uiteindelijk negen jaar zou voortduren, leverde uiteindelijk voor zowel Engeland als de Nederlandse republiek een gezamenlijk sterk landleger op, om zo ook de politieke toekomst van Europa op militaire wijze te domineren. Deze periode van de Negenjarige oorlog krijgt maar weinig aandacht zelf in de militaire geschiedschrijving van Nederland, maar het onderwerp is toch opgepakt in de studie van de Amerikaanse heer Stapleton, getiteld Forging a coalition army.
In zijn inleiding schrijft Stapleton: "The Nine Years’ War (1688-97) as it has come to be called, marked the beginning of a period of almost twenty-five years of war. When the Peace of Utrecht ended the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), the balance of power in Europe was restored and Britain had emerged as a major European power. Britain’s rise from a relatively isolated European power of the second rank in 1688 to a great power following the Peace of Utrecht twenty-five years later came as a result of its participation in those coalition wars against Louis XIV. In 1689, William III, Prince of Orange and Stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel became king of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the result of the Glorious Revolution. William’s acceptance of the crown bound together the fortunes of Britain and the Dutch Republic. Allies in a war waged largely for European — and thus Dutch — interests, Britain and the Dutch Republic fought side by side under the leadership of the Stadholder-King. As Captain-General of both armies, William forged a coalition army unique in military history."
"Using his Anglo-Dutch forces as the core of his army, William created the first “modern” allied military organization with a unified command structure, logistics administration, and even fighting doctrine. Although the “Confederate Army”, as it came to be called, suffered numerous setbacks during the Nine Years’ War, by the latter years of the conflict it had emerged as a military organization every bit as capable as Louis’ own forces. The army would later demonstrate the significance of its tutelage under William during the War of the Spanish Succession through its re-conquest of the Spanish Netherlands highlighted by a string of impressive field victories while under the command of William’s successor and protégé, Sir John Churchill, First Earl of Marlborough."
In 2003 publiceert dhr. Stapleton zijn dissertation (Ohio State University), getiteld FORGING A COALITION ARMY: WILLIAM III, THE GRAND ALLIANCE, AND THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IN THE SPANISH NETHERLANDS, 1688-1697.