FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES TO THE LANDING OF KING JAMES IN
IRELAND.
Tyrconnell, seeing that a civil war could no longer be averted in
Ireland, bitterly regretted the loss of those troops that he had sent
to England. A few well-equipped regiments: those of Mountcashel,
Clancarty, Lord Antrim, Lord Bellew, and his own, about three
thousand,--were all that remained in the country. Men by thousands
daily presented themselves for enrollment, but they were destitute of
every thing that constitutes the soldier, "excepting courage and good
will," and he had neither money nor arms to equip them. The Williamite
organization grew more powerful and extended, day by day. Along with
the province of Ulster, it soon embraced the counties of Longford,
Meath, and Dublin; its leaders, in the mean time, feigning to treat
with Tyrconnell, while privately soliciting arms and succors from the
Prince of Orange. Tyrconnell at last determined to make a final appeal
to the country, and for this purpose issued colonels' commissions
to the heads of the old Catholic houses and the loyal Palesmen of
Leinster. The effect was electric. With a common impulse they rushed
to his standard, and threw the wrecks of their former fortunes in
the balance. In a short time, the regiments of McMahon, O'Reilley,
MacDonnell, Maguinness, Maguire, O'Donnell, Nugent, Loutrell,
Fitzgerald, Felix O'Neil, Gordon O'Neil, Cormac O'Neil, Bryan O'Neil,
Sir Neale O'Neil, Clare, Galway, O'Moore, O'Dempsey, and others were
in the field, to the number of 20,000, nearly all recruited from their
respective households.
But the people having been long deprived of the right to bear arms,
were necessarily unprovided with them, and the state to which the
country had been reduced by the misgovernment and oppression of the
last forty years, rendered them unable to provide any other than the
rudest weapons, hastily improvised. They had, therefore, to be armed
and provisioned at the individual expense of their leaders, and it was
found impossible to equip and sustain the multitudes that presented
themselves for service. The murmurs of the people were loud and deep,
but there was no remedy. The organizations of the Council, all well
armed, and supplied with the necessaries of war, were wide-spread
throughout the country, and were levying, in the name of the Prince
of Orange, on the Catholic people of Ulster, and even the eastern and
southern provinces had to yield to their exactions. Notwithstanding
all this, thousands had to be dismissed to their unprotected homes,
with promises that a little time would remove those difficulties. It
was represented, as it was indeed believed by all, that an immense
armament was fitting out in France, to accompany the king, who was
daily expected to arrive; that his presence would rectify every thing,
and afford them the means and opportunity of giving active proof of
their patriotism; and with these promises, though chafing at delay,
they retired to watch the current of events, and bide the arrival of
their king. The new regiments were reduced to a limited standard of
about 250 each, so that 12,000 men, including those already enrolled,
were rendered fit for service, and with this force Tyrconnell opened
the campaign of 1689.
Carrickfergus and Charlemont in the north, and all the forts on the
Shannon, from Lough Allen to the estuary, were still in the possession
of the Irish, and each had to be reinforced and put in a better state
of defence: the town of Kilkenny, and the cities of Cork and Waterford,
had each to receive its quota of troops; Dundalk, an important
seaport, had to be secured against the excursions of the insurgents
of Monaghan and Armagh; and the metropolis could not dispense with
the few veteran regiments that had been stationed there since the
inauguration of the deputy. After the distribution of his forces among
these posts, Tyrconnell found at his disposal a small army of 6,000 men
available for the field, and, dividing it into three corps, he gave
the command of one to Lieutenant-General Justin McCarthy, to operate
in Munster, where Inchiquin had raised the standard of revolt; one to
Lieutenant-General Richard Hamilton, for the reduction of the rebel
garrisons from Dundalk to Derry; and another, a co-operative force of
about 1,000 men, was placed under Lord Galmoy, to give countenance to
the outlying posts around Cavan and Enniskillen.--The limits prescribed
these pages preclude a detailed account of these expeditions, although
each presents some of the most striking and agreeable events of that
period. McCarthy, at the head of 2,000 regulars and a few hundred
followers, reduced, in a few days, the rebels of Castle-Martyr and
Bandon, and turning his attention to Inchiquin, who was plundering and
laying waste the country, from the Shannon to the Blackwater, he drove
him back on his stronghold in Clare, and marched uncontrolled from the
Fergus to the Barrow. The Williamites of Munster, surprised by these
events and the rapidity of their execution, laid down their arms,
returned to their homes, and all apprehension of future trouble in that
quarter was at an end:--for this important service McCarthy henceforth
received the title of "Pacificator of Munster."
When the rumor of William's conspiracy first became known to the Earl
of Tyrconnell in the preceding year, he sent General Hamilton, as
already indicated, with about four thousand men, for the service of
James in England. After the invasion of William this force was either
slain, dispersed, or forced into his service, and their general,
contrary to the usages of war, and to the terms accorded to the
other adherents of the king, was detained a prisoner. Being an Irish
gentleman by birth, of great family influence, and one of the best
cavalry officers of his time, William saw in him one who, if weaned
from his allegiance to the king, would be a powerful agent of success
to his designs on Ireland, and accordingly, 'tis said, made overtures
to that effect. History, however, is not clear as to the nature of
these proposals, nor of the manner in which they were met by Hamilton.
This much at least is known, that he was released from captivity, was
sent with proposals of an accommodation to Tyrconnell, but on arriving
in Ireland he urged the most determined opposition to William, and was
appointed to lead the expedition against the rebellion in Ulster.
Leaving Drogheda on the 8th of March, with a force of about two
thousand men, he marched through Dundalk and Newry, and on the 13th
took up a position between Loughbrickland and the river Bann, and sent
out Colonel Butler to take a reconnoissance of the enemy, said to be
in force between him and the Laggan. The service was one of extreme
peril, and required the utmost courage and address:--he was in the
midst of a mountainous country, surrounded by a wary foe, and the
slightest misconduct on his part, was sure to result in the capture or
destruction of the main body.
The task was, however, performed to the satisfaction of the general:
the enemy were found strongly intrenched at Dromore-Iveagh, on the
north side of the Laggan, to the number of 8,000 men, under the command
of Hugh Montgomery, Lord Mount Alexander. It was soon decided to attack
them; so breaking camp with the dawn, on the morning of the 14th,
Hamilton crossed the Bann and advanced boldly on their position. The
cavalry regiment of Montgomery advanced to meet him, but after the
first charge of Hamilton's dragoons they fell back in confusion on the
main body, and his infantry having also crossed the river, a general
attack was ordered. The enemy, however, did not wait the assault, for
Montgomery himself running away, his men followed the example, and a
complete rout succeeded. The Irish remained masters of the encampment.
Montgomery continued his flight to Hillsborough, into which he threw
a few companies, and ordering the bulk of his forces to Coleraine,
embarked at Donaghadee, and sailed for England. This was the first time
the forces of "The Council" met the Irish in the field. They had been
organizing and levying on the country for months; they were well armed;
had an intrenched position of their own selection, behind a deep and
rapid river, and the result was the loss of their camp equipage, four
hundred slain, and that disgraceful flight known in the history of the
period as "The Break of Dromore."
After stopping here for a day to rest his men and secure the advantages
of his victory, Hamilton pushed on to Hillsborough, the headquarters of
the Council, while Sir Arthur Rawdon advanced rapidly from Lisburn to
its relief, at the head of 4,000 men. Rawdon, however, only arrived in
the vicinity to find the place in the possession of Hamilton, and to
see its paroled garrison making their way home across the country. On
learning that Rawdon was in the neighborhood, the Irish troops advanced
to meet him, but he, ordering his men to make the best of their way
towards Coleraine, abandoned them to their fate, and, like Mount
Alexander, embarked for England.
The capture of Hillsborough was of great service to the Irish cause.
It had been the headquarters of the "Council" since its formation, and
was the repository of its papers, plans, and secret correspondence with
William; but, above all, it contained immense stores of provisions,
wrung from the inhabitants of the surrounding country since the
preceding winter. The evacuation of Dungannon, on the west side of
Lough Neagh, a fine central position of the Williamites, and one
of their chief depots for provisions and military stores, followed
closely on that of Hillsborough; and Hamilton, pursuing the retreating
insurgents through Belfast, Antrim, and Ballymena, drove them in
on Coleraine, and halted to recruit his little army in the town of
Ballymoney, within a few miles of their only remaining stronghold in
Antrim. While here, he was assailed by a strong force sent out to cover
the movements of a foraging party, but he attacked them so vigorously
that he drove them within the gates of the town, inflicting a severe
loss, and capturing all the booty collected in their excursion.
Thus, in less than a fortnight after his departure from Drogheda, all
the eastern counties of Ulster--Armagh, Down, Antrim, and the greater
part of Tyrone--were reduced to obedience; but, as he was now about
to approach the walled town of Derry, he halted for a few days in his
career, to await artillery and reinforcements from the capital.
In whatever light this campaign is considered--whether from a
Williamite or a Jacobite point of view--it confers immortal honor on
Hamilton and his little band, for it can scarcely be dignified by the
name of an army. In a season of unusual severity, in the face of a
vigilant foe, four times his number, and established in the strongest
positions that could be selected, he, by vigilance and audacity,
baffled all attempts at surprise, and with an insignificant loss, and
without a single repulse, cleared the greater part of the province
from the grasp of an enemy that a few days before had uttered defiance
before the gates of Dundalk, and bore away their booty undisturbed
within sight of the capital.
The co-operative force, under Galmoy, was scarce less successful. The
scene of his operations embraced Monaghan, Cavan, and Fermanagh, where
the leading rebels, Lord Blaney and Gustavus Hamilton, carried fire and
sword wherever they went. The first to arouse the infatuated people,
by the cry of religion, they were the persistent violators of all
religious precepts. The total extirpation of the Catholics could alone
appease them, and to this end they kept the minds of their followers
inflamed by every species of misrepresentation and calumny. The people
were driven from their homes, and wholesale murder and rapine, with
crimes too revolting for detail, marked their course among the doomed
fugitives. In the few months that had elapsed since the advent of the
Prince of Orange in England, this section of country had become almost
desolate. Few were to be seen but the destroyers let loose over it, or
the stealthy Rapparees, that tracked their steps, to wreak a deadly
revenge for the crimes that rendered them at once both homeless and
merciless. But the contest was unequal; the unarmed people were forced
to give way before the trained-bands of Hamilton and Blaney, when
Galmoy entered on the scene, to add fresh fuel to the flame. He soon
roused the flagging spirit of the Jacobites. Blaney and Hamilton, now
joined by Wolseley, put forth all their strength to oppose him, but
they were met by measures as arbitrary and effective as their own.
"No quarter" became the cry on both sides; but the military skill of
Galmoy proclaimed him the master-spirit, and after a few reverses,
and a rigorous retaliation, they fell back wherever he advanced; all
opposition in the open country soon ceased, and they were forced to
take refuge within the walls of Enniskillen.
The poor countenance shown by the rebels in the field, now emboldened
Galmoy to attempt the reduction of Enniskillen, which was their chief
rendezvous in the south-western portion of the province; and for
that purpose he approached the Castle of Crom, one of its principal
defences, and having driven in its outposts, invested it about the
middle of March. This fortress, which stands on a peninsula in the
waters of the Lower Erne, being impregnable to his light-armed
infantry, he now had recourse to stratagem. He got some tin cannon
constructed, and giving out that artillery had reached him from Dublin,
placed them in battery within musket range of the castle. On the 21st
he summoned it to surrender, but the garrison, having been apprised of
the _ruse_ intended for them, provided themselves with the long guns
used in duck-shooting on the lake, and answered his summons with a
well-directed fire that killed about forty of his men, and compelled
him to retire to a safer distance, leaving his mock cannon behind him.
They were soon conveyed into the fort, and were exhibited as trophies
at many a succeeding celebration of "the glorious and pious, etc.,"
furnishing the Enniskilleners with a theme of boastful merriment.[9]
The name "Enniskilleners," has now become nearly obsolete, and is only
applied to a regiment of dragoons in the English army, kept up in
perpetuation of the part they took in the ruin of their country; but
at the time of the Revolution it was applied without distinction to
the partisans of William, who, when driven before the Jacobites, took
refuge within the town of Enniskillen, and held out until the relief
of Derry, to which it was next in importance. It is a place of great
natural strength, and has many historic memories dating farther back
than the unhappy events that have given it such unenviable notoriety.
It was originally the stronghold of the Maguires, who held it for
centuries against each successive invasion, but had passed into the
hands of Sir William Cole, after the civil war of 1641. It stands on a
river connecting the upper and lower waters of Lough-Erne, which, lying
from the north-west to the south-east of the County Fermanagh, and
connecting with Lough-Oughter on the south, extends over a distance of
more than forty miles. These lakes and their tributaries, studded with
islands innumerable, render the country for several miles a labyrinth
almost impassable to all but the natives. There is not, perhaps, in
the world, for the same extent of country, a place so well adapted to
insurgent warfare. In such a country the people of La Vendée would have
exhausted all the resources of the French Directory; and the wonder is,
not why Galmoy could not take it, but how he even approached it, in the
face of such overwhelming odds.
Meanwhile the exiled king was keenly alive to all that was passing
in his late dominions. Assured of the strenuous support of Louis, on
the first demonstration of popular will in his favor in England, his
agents there were active in their endeavors to effect a change of
public sentiment; nor did their efforts seem barren of good results.
The way of William, since his accession, was not strewn with flowers.
Signs of reaction manifested themselves daily, and it required all the
efforts of his Dutch and German mercenaries, to check the spirit of
disaffection. The people had been taken by surprise. Their subjugation
to the arms of Holland had been effected by a conspiracy between a few
of the nobles and William, in which they had no part, and many of the
moderate nobles had begun to regret an action by which they intended
only a change of the royal policy, but which had terminated in a change
of sovereigns. Nor was the result, in any light, very flattering to
their vanity; nor a comparison between the sovereigns favorable to the
new incumbent. It was, however, from the dignitaries of the Established
Church that William experienced the greatest opposition. The Archbishop
of Canterbury and six others, though active in their opposition to the
reforms introduced by James, would never acknowledge any other king,
and continued to pray publicly for his welfare and protection. Mary
sent to the Archbishop to ask his blessing, but received for answer:
"When she has obtained her father's blessing, I shall be very ready to
give her mine." The Prince of Orange was outraged by such perverseness
of spirit, and as an example of the religious liberty that he had
established in England, deprived them of their bishoprics. Throughout
the country a reaction had really set in. The Dutch guards and the
English soldiers came frequently into collision, and the insolence of
the former, being generally overlooked by William, he became an object
of popular disfavor. To silence this disaffection he determined to send
the malcontent regiments to Holland, and supply their place with Dutch
soldiers. A Scotch regiment mutinied, and marched northward "with drums
beating and colors flying," but were overwhelmed by three regiments
of Dutch dragoons, under Ginkle, and sent off to the continent. This
revolt caused the passage of the famous "Mutiny Bill," which deprives
the British soldier of the right of citizenship, shuts him off from the
benefit of civil law, and makes him an alien in his own country.
The Jacobite cause in Scotland was still hopeful, for there, Viscount
Dundee kept the field, and refused all terms of compromise, while in
Ireland three provinces remained steadfast in their allegiance, and
the adherents of William in the other province, though still obstinate
in the course they had adopted, were unable to keep the field. The
Earl of Tyrconnell, faithful to his trust, animated the people by
word and example, and "retained," says the Duke of Berwick, "all the
kingdom in obedience;" so James, at last, rousing himself from his
apathy, determined to assume the management of affairs in his Kingdom
of Ireland. The state of the country demanded his presence; the people
clamored for it; and the French king hastened it by his counsel, and
gave promise of adequate military support. Accordingly, James set sail
from France, under an escort of thirty-three war-ships, and arrived at
Kinsale on the 12th of March, 1689. He was accompanied by his son, the
Duke of Berwick, M. de Rosen, M. de Momont, M. de Pusignan, de Lery,
Boïsselau, Lestrade, Guidon, and about one hundred French officers of
different grades, and twelve hundred of his guards, who had joined him
in his exile.
The people, who expected to see this imposing array of ships pour out
its thousands of armed men on their shores, were greatly disappointed;
but the arrival of the king banished every other consideration. His
adversity awakened all the sympathies of their nature, and he had an
abiding-place in every heart. From Kinsale he proceeded to Cork, which
he entered amid the greatest rejoicings. After the usual formalities,
of which religious ceremonies formed the most solemn and imposing
part, he received from the deputy an account of his stewardship. It
exceeded even what he had been led to expect, and as a mark of his
approval, Tyrconnell was raised to the rank of Duke, and McCarthy,
"_The Pacificater of Munster_," was created Lord Mountcashel, and
honored with a seat in his cabinet. After a short delay here, the
king proceeded to the metropolis. His route through the country was
one continued ovation. Crowds of people lined the wayside, invoking
blessings on his cause, while religious ceremonies, pledges, and
addresses of loyalty, arrested his way at every step of his route.
The city of Dublin, proverbial in all times for taste and elegance,
and which had never witnessed the advent of a king since the days of
Henry II., exhausted every effort that art or fancy could suggest, to
grace the royal pageantry. The corporation, headed by the mayor, in
all the pomp of office, went forth to meet him, and tender him the
keys of the city. Farther on, and near the portals of the castle, the
Primate, crowned with the triple tiara, and holding in his hand the
emblem of redemption, awaited to receive his obeisance, and bestow the
benediction. As he approached the august dignitary, a general halt of
the procession took place, and even the multitude, that surged like
a closing sea behind, hushed their acclamations, and bent in lowly
reverence, until the king, rising from his genuflection before the
cross, and, bareheaded, offered them his parting acknowledgments. Then,
as the national flag, standing out above the castle-gate, revealed to
him the terse and significant motto:
"NOW OR NEVER; NOW AND FOREVER,"
one wild and prolonged cheer, deep and fervid, burst from the hearts of
the multitude. The die was cast, and their adherence to the discrowned
monarch was sealed and irrevocable.
Immediately after his arrival in Dublin,[10] James proceeded to the
construction of his cabinet, the leading members of which were
Tyrconnell, Mountcashel, General Nugent, and some of the French
officers that formed his escort. He at once issued a proclamation,
offering pardon and protection to all who would retire peaceably
to their homes, and again announced his unalterable determination
to maintain the civil and religious liberty of all religious
denominations. The army, however, demanded his earliest attention,
for, whatever was its enthusiasm, its real condition was far from
encouraging. The gentlemen who bore the expense of the first levy were
unable to continue the drain on their slender means, and the soldiers
were suffering much privation. It was necessary also to organize a
force sufficient to meet events that might now be daily expected, and
accordingly the king at once appealed to the country. More than one
hundred thousand men, almost simultaneously, offered their services;
"but," says Hume, "not two in every hundred were provided with muskets
fit for service; the rest were armed with clubs and sticks tipped with
iron," and he found himself compelled to decline the service of all but
about twenty thousand.[11]
These, together with those already in the service, constituted an
army short of thirty thousand men; the whole artillery in the country
was twelve field-pieces and four mortars; and with this force, in the
weakest period it had known since the first invasion, Ireland resolved
to measure strength with England, its army of mercenaries, and the most
powerful of her own provinces now arrayed on the side of the usurper.
The king had unbounded confidence in the timely assistance of France;
but the people had realized the purport of this war; for them it was
to be a struggle for national life or total extinction, and though
many retired to their homes wherever it was practicable, thousands
who had already been rendered homeless, seized on every rude weapon
that presented, and, determined to wring a subsistence from the enemy,
took up the bold and reckless life of the Rapparee. Tyrconnell was now
appointed commander-in-chief of the army; M. de Rosen was raised to
the rank of lieutenant-general, and appointed second in command; M. de
Momont was raised to the same rank; de Pusignan and de Lery to that
of major-general; Boïsselau was appointed adjutant-general, Guidon
master-general of cavalry, and a reinforcement of about three thousand
troops, then the best in the country, was sent to Lieutenant-General,
the Viscount of Dundee, who was making head against Mackey, the
commander of the Williamite forces in Scotland.
The condition of affairs now brooked of no delay; the English
Parliament was convened for an early day; William had expressed his
intention of sending an expedition into Ireland, and only waited its
assent: the suppression of the Ulster rebellion before such an event
should take place, was a matter of vital importance to the Jacobite
cause, and an active campaign was at once determined on. Accordingly,
Major-General, the Duke of Berwick, was dispatched to the assistance
of Hamilton, now lying before the fortified town of Coleraine, while
de Pusignan, with a select body of horse and foot, and two pieces of
artillery, was to march through Charlemont and Dungannon, and passing
to the west of Lough Neagh, unite with Berwick and Hamilton, and
proceed against Derry, the chief stronghold of the rebellion.[12]