WILLIAM III. IN IRELAND, 1690. THE BOYNE
[Sidenote: The French contingent. Dover and Lauzun.]
Lauzun and Dover were in Dublin together early in April, and continued
to quarrel there. The Englishman made light of the French contingent,
saying that Louis was plainly deceiving King James, who would be well
advised to make terms with the Prince of Orange. Uncle and nephew might
then join their forces to those of the Augsburg allies and attack
the tyrant of Europe. The old courtier proposed to go to William and
make terms for himself, but James could not countenance this, though
willing to give him a pass for Flanders, since he could not venture
into France. In the end he was allowed to live and die unmolested in
England. As for Lauzun, he had no hopes of successfully resisting the
Prince of Orange, and proposed to burn Dublin and destroy the country
entirely while retreating from point to point, but James thought this
policy too cruel. In the meantime the French general exerted himself
in the work of arming and organising the Irish, and in this he made
considerable progress. He could not speak or understand English,
and his attendance at the Council was waste of time, so he proposed
to do business with the King and Tyrconnel. The three accordingly
met daily, and Lauzun succeeded in making friends with the Lord
Lieutenant, who had been cautioned by Avaux not to trust him lest he
should usurp all power, seeing that he had already ruined his career
by vaingloriousness, and was not likely to be much changed for the
better. But he assured the French minister that he was a chastened man
and worked with a single eye to the interest and wishes of his own
King.[260]
[Sidenote: Siege of Charlemont.]
[Sidenote: Attempt to relieve it.]
[Sidenote: Fall of Charlemont. Teague O'Regan.]
While Lauzun and Tyrconnel tried to make up for lost time amid the
dissipations of Dublin, Schomberg was growing stronger every day by
the arrival of fresh troops from England and Scotland, including 6000
Danish veterans under the Duke of Würtemberg. Long before William
left London the old general saw that a stand would probably be made
at the Boyne, and he was anxious to take Charlemont, so that no enemy
should be left in the rear. It was James's last stronghold in Ulster,
and Mountjoy had chosen the position well. The castle, which stood on
the right or Armagh bank of the Blackwater, a few miles above Lough
Neagh, had been fortified in modern fashion, and was well armed and
manned. The town or village had been levelled, and the fort was nearly
surrounded by bogs and fields subject to flooding. It was considered
unassailable, except by placing batteries on the left bank of the
river, and Schomberg, who reconnoitred the place, thought it too strong
to attack with the means then at his command. In March Colonel La
Caillemote brought up a small force in boats to stop the garrison from
making incursions into Tyrone. He set fire to the bridge, and drove
the Irish out of two small outworks. Paul Rapin, the historian, was
wounded in this skirmish, and it is much to be regretted that we have
no account by him. As his force increased, Schomberg massed troops
all round Charlemont. Nevertheless, at the beginning of May Colonel
Macmahon, who held Castleblaney, managed to elude the post at Armagh
and brought 500 men, well armed but badly clothed, with provisions
and ammunition, to the blockaded fort. Having got within the lines,
they were quite unable to break out again, and had to encamp miserably
between the inner and outer works, for the governor would not have them
inside. This relief only hastened the end, for men could not carry much
food through bogs and hills, and there were so many additional mouths.
At last starvation-point was reached, and Schomberg was glad to have
the place surrendered without a formal siege. The garrison marched out
with all the honours of war, and made their way to Dundalk. As they
passed, it was noticed that many were chewing pieces of hide with
the hair on. They left nineteen pieces of ordnance behind them, but
nothing eatable. Teague O'Regan himself was a grotesque figure, with
worn-out clothes and draggled wig. He had been drinking brandy--and
it naturally affected the head of a half-starved man. His charger, a
vicious old screw, would scarcely allow him to salute Schomberg, who
remarked that Teague's horse was very mad and himself very drunk. But
William met no braver enemy, and he afterwards defended Sligo with the
same courage and tenacity. The victorious general ordered bread to be
distributed among the vanquished. About 800 marched out, with 200 women
and children. When Schomberg was told that the Irish would not stay in
garrison without their wives and mistresses, he said there was more
love than policy in it. Story himself saw papers in the late governor's
room which showed that he had information as to what was going on
outside. James very rightly knighted O'Regan as soon as he reached
Dublin.[261]
[Sidenote: King William and Ireland.]
It was known at the beginning of 1690 that King William had resolved to
go to Ireland in person. There was strong opposition on the part of the
Whigs, who argued that there were too many active Jacobites in England
for the sovereign to leave it safely. Better to lose Ireland than
England, said some. Nor would he be safe himself, for his courage led
him into danger, in which he furnished a strong contrast to the King of
France. He was reminded of Richard II.'s fate and of his own insecure
position. 'When any one at meat,' said Delamere, 'has unnecessarily
risen from his chair to reach over to the other side of the table, if
by design or chance his stool has been removed, who, suspecting no such
thing, his breech has found the ground instead of his chair--there has
been more in the company who have been pleased with it, than concerned
for him.' An address against the Irish voyage was contemplated in
both Houses, and might have passed had not William prorogued and
afterwards dissolved the Convention Parliament. The general election
was favourable to him, and preparations began in earnest. The Commons
did not give all that the King wished, but they provided money enough
for the immediate purpose. Harbord was superseded for a time, and the
duties which Shales had neglected were committed to others. Both Houses
adjourned on May 23, and did not meet again for business until after
William's return from Ireland. The Government was left in Mary's hands
with a special council of four Whigs and five Tories.[262]
[Sidenote: William reaches Ireland.]
[Sidenote: He marches towards Dublin.]
[Sidenote: He Maintains discipline.]
The King, accompanied by Portland, set out from London on June 4,
and slept that night at Northampton. On Sunday, the 8th, he attended
service in Chester Cathedral, and heard a sermon from Dr. Stratford,
who had succeeded Cartwright in that see. On the 12th he took ship at
Hoylake and arrived with 300 sail at Carrickfergus on the 14th. An
eye-witness says that the total number of vessels assembled was 700,
and that Belfast Lough looked like a wood. William mounted his horse
as soon as possible and rode amid cheering crowds through the town on
his way to Belfast. At Whitehouse, Schomberg met him with his coach,
and they drove together; a second carriage was sent by the General to
bring up some of the grandees who had landed. At the north gate of the
town the illustrious visitor was met by the Corporation in their robes,
accompanied by Dr. Walker and a dozen other clergymen. All the way to
the castle there were shouts of 'God save King William,' 'God save
our Protestant King.' At night the streets and all the country round
blazed with bonfires. They were seen, and the signal guns heard by one
of Lauzun's spies, who brought him the news two days later. Next day
being Sunday, William heard Dr. Royse preach in the Cathedral on 'Who
through faith subdued kingdoms,' and on the Monday received an address
from the clergy, with Walker at their head. Good order was kept,
and necessaries were cheap, for the ships brought vast quantities of
provisions, and even of hay and straw. 'We fear no more Dundalk wants,'
says one letter, and the army was thoroughly well provided; but of
money there was no great plenty. William spent four days at Belfast,
reviewing the troops and making arrangements. Sick of inaction and not
fully paid, officers and soldiers longed for active service, and were
not disappointed. On the 19th William dined with Schomberg at Lisburn,
having previously issued a proclamation against plundering or taking
goods without payment, and on the next day he was at Hillsborough,
spurring those in authority under him to fresh efforts. He had not,
he said, come to let the grass grow under his feet. Lest there should
be any doubt about the meaning of his proclamation, he here issued a
special order against pressing horses belonging to the country people
without permission under the sign manual, which was afterwards refused
even for ambulance purposes. A soldier transgressing this order was
to run the gauntlet thrice through the whole regiment. A few months
before Schomberg had rather made light of seizing the little country
horses. On the 22nd William was at Loughbrickland, and by the 27th the
whole army, mustering about 36,000 men, encamped a little to the south
of Dundalk. During the whole campaign the King and Prince George of
Denmark lived each in a wooden hut designed by Sir Christopher Wren,
and capable of being carried on two wagons. When William inspected
his troops he was not satisfied with seeing them march past from a
comfortable eminence, but went in among the ranks, regardless of heat,
wind, and clouds of dust. When a fuss was made about the wine for his
table, he said he would drink water rather than that the men should
suffer. He was deficient in courtly graces, but he was the kind of king
whom soldiers will follow cheerfully against any odds.[263]
[Sidenote: Skirmish near Newry, June 22.]
Before making a general advance, William took care to have the line of
march thoroughly reconnoitred. At a boggy spot about half-way between
Newry and Dundalk, where there was a broken bridge, a party of 200 foot
and dragoons fell into an ambuscade on the day that the King reached
Loughbrickland. Lauzun takes credit for having laid the snare, and he
had reason to know the place, for his horse had fallen under him there
only two days before. The morning was foggy and the surprise complete.
Captain Farlow, who led the infantry detachment, was taken prisoner
with several others, and Colonel Dempsy, who commanded the Irish, was
mortally wounded. There was a sharp skirmish, and the English were
decidedly worsted, but not pursued. From Farlow James had the first
certain news of William's landing.[264]
[Sidenote: James leaves Dublin, June 16.]
[Sidenote: He falls back without fighting.]
Two days after King William's landing, King James left Dublin to join
his army near Dundalk. They were encamped about Roche Castle, and the
prisoners taken with Captain Farlow reported that William was on the
road to Newry with 50,000 men, which was an exaggeration. On the day
after the skirmish there was a general retreat to the old position at
Ardee, where entrenchments had been left unfinished the year before.
James's main object in advancing had been to exhaust the country
through which his rival would have to march, but William, with the
sea open, was in no want of supplies. The guns of the English fleet
could be heard by both armies. The difficult ground about Moyry and
Ravensdale had been the scene of much fighting in Elizabethan times,
and had been slightly fortified by James, who was blamed for not trying
to stop the invader there; but Berwick says that, with the force at
his disposal, William could easily have turned the position from the
Armagh side. Dundalk itself, though well fortified, was judged to be
untenable, and Lauzun evacuated it five days before the final struggle.
He abstained from burning the soldiers' huts because some of last
year's infection still hung about them and might do the enemy more
harm than want of shelter at midsummer. But both Dundalk and Ardee
were thoroughly sacked by the Irish. On June 28, twelve days after
leaving Dublin, James recrossed the Boyne, half of his army marching
through Drogheda and the other half over the ford at Oldbridge, where
entrenchments were begun but not finished, owing to the want of labour.
Lord Iveagh was Governor of Drogheda, with 1300 men, and had he been
an enterprising man he might have done much to cover the Jacobite
right. The left wing, extending up the river, was evidently open to
a flank attack, but James rightly says that the country afforded no
better position. Sarsfield's division, which had been detached to guard
against a possible attack on Athlone, joined the main body on June 26,
their leader having satisfied himself that all the troops about Cavan
and Belturbet had drawn towards Armagh, so as to fall in with William's
line of march.[265]
[Sidenote: William's march to the Boyne.]
[Sidenote: He is wounded, June 30.]
On June 27 William's army was encamped a little to the south of
Dundalk. He intended to attack the enemy at Ardee, but a party of
cavalry found that position already abandoned. On the 30th the whole
army marched towards the Boyne, the King himself diverging a little to
the left so as to view Drogheda and the course of the river from the
hill at Tullyesker. Schomberg was with him, and also Prince George,
the Duke of Ormonde, Sidney, Solms, and Scravenmore. The latter, who
had seen many armies, remarked that James's was a small one, but
William said there might be more in the town and behind the hills.
A deserter said they were about 25,000, and the Williamite chaplain
admits that his King had some 36,000. The line of march was through a
deep depression, where a modern road runs to the east of Townley Hall,
which is still known, and will always be known, as King William's Glen.
Thomas Bellingham, an officer who had connections in the country,
took the opportunity of paying Mr. Townley a visit. About noon the
head of the column came out into the open, and took up ground facing
Oldbridge on the other side of the Boyne. William sat down to eat and
rest a little higher up. A party of five officers, of whom Berwick,
Tyrconnel, and Sarsfield were three, were observed riding slowly along
the opposite bank, and shortly afterwards two field guns were quietly
brought up and fired as soon as William was in the saddle again. A
six-pound shot ricochetted and struck him on the right shoulder,
tearing his coat and breaking the skin. He merely remarked in Dutch
that it was near enough. Thomas Coningsby, afterwards an earl, applied
a handkerchief to the bleeding wound, and William made light of it,
retiring to a tent to have it dressed and then remounting. He remained
on horseback for three hours without changing his coat, and laughed at
one Dr. Sangrado who proposed to bleed him. The enemy, says Captain
Parker, 'concluded he was killed, and this news soon flew to Dublin
and from thence to Paris, where they had public rejoicings for it.'
About three o'clock his artillery came up, and both shot and shells
from small mortars were sent across the river, doing some mischief, but
without altering the situation. At sunset there was a council of war,
and Schomberg advised that a strong force should be sent up the river
at midnight, so that James's army might be taken in flank and rear and
cut off from Dublin. William, however, who was supported by Solms and
other Dutch officers, decided upon a frontal attack, somewhat to the
veteran's disgust. Many of the Enniskillen officers knew all the fords,
and with their help the order for next day's battle was arranged. At
twelve o'clock William rode by torchlight through the whole army.
He was a man who kept his own counsel, but his unwillingness to take
Schomberg's advice and perhaps gain a victory as complete as Ulm or
Sedan may fairly be ascribed to his dread of catching James. As at
Rochester, a means of escape was provided, and experience had shown
that it would not be neglected. The necessity of sparing Mary's
feelings and the political danger of a captive king might well prevail
against purely military considerations.[266]
[Sidenote: Battle of the Boyne, July 1.]
Whatever William may have said or thought at the evening council, he
did not entirely reject the idea of a flank movement. Very early in
the morning of July 1 he despatched Meinhart Schomberg with a strong
body of horse and foot and five guns to cross at the bridge of Slane.
They marched by the straight road, leaving the bend of the river far to
their left. Sir Neill O'Neill with his dragoons were sent to guard this
pass, and the bridge itself had been broken down, but there had been
several very hot days, and the river, not being affected by the tide
above Oldbridge, was fordable in many places. Schomberg's men crossed
with ease, partly near Slane and partly at Rossnaree lower down, the
dragoons were beaten back, and O'Neill himself mortally wounded. This
was at about half-past nine. Warned by the trumpets and drums of
Schomberg's force, Lauzun had already begun to extend to his left, and
when he saw what had happened developed this movement gradually in
order to secure the means of retreat. Seeing that Schomberg's party was
in danger, William sent Lieut.-General Douglas with a much larger force
of infantry to his aid. A bog prevented the hostile wings from coming
to close quarters, but Lauzun gained Duleek, which commanded the Dublin
road. In the meantime the passage at Oldbridge, where Richard Hamilton
commanded with eight battalions, had been forced, and soon after noon
most of the Irish infantry were in full flight, nor is this to be
wondered at, for less than a week before, many of them had not learned
how to fire their pieces. The baggage had been sent off at daybreak;
the tents and knapsacks became the prey of the victors. Stevens saw
the hills covered with fugitives running past like sheep before a
wolf. 'The shame of our regiment,' he says, 'only afflicted me before,
but now all the horror of a routed army, just before so vigorous and
desirous of battle, and broke without scarce a stroke of the enemy, so
perplexed my soul that I envied the few dead.'[267]
[Sidenote: Victory of William.]
Schomberg was over the Boyne before the left and centre of William's
army began to move, but at a quarter past ten the Blue Dutch Guards,
eight or ten deep, entered the water opposite the unfinished works at
Oldbridge, their drums beating until they reached the bank. They were
up to their waists, and crossed under a heavy but ineffectual fire,
reserving their own until they reached dry land. The first to climb
the bank was a lieutenant who formed up the leading files, and then
crouched down for them to shoot over his head. The Irish foot abandoned
the first ditch, but their cavalry, under Berwick's command, charged
the Dutch furiously before they were fully in order. They stood firm
against this and several other attacks, gradually pressing the Irish
infantry backwards, and in the meantime the French and Enniskillen foot
passed the river a little farther down, several English and Danish
regiments still lower. The tide was rising, so that some of the men
were up to their arm-pits, and on the extreme left, horses had to swim.
Some of the Danish infantry carried their guns over their heads, but
others fired steadily as they waded over. William was looking on, and
said he had never seen anything better done. They were at once attacked
by the Irish cavalry, and there was hard fighting for half an hour.
A regiment of French Huguenots was broken by a charge, and Colonel
La Cailemotte was carried off the field mortally wounded, but still
encouraging his men, 'A la gloire, mes enfants, à la gloire!' Seeing
his friends in difficulties, Schomberg crossed himself, reminding
them that their persecutors were before them. He fell, shot through
the neck, and with sabre wounds on the head. Dr. Walker, the still
unconsecrated Bishop of Derry, was killed soon afterwards, and his
brother clergyman Story, offers as an excuse for his presence, that he
was going to look at the wounded general. Walker, says the chaplain,
was stripped at once, 'for the Scots-Irish that followed our camp were
got through already, and took off most of the plunder.' When the news
of Schomberg's death was brought to William, he laid his finger on his
lips, and lost no time in passing the river himself with the left wing
of his cavalry, Dutch and Dane chiefly, with Wolseley's Enniskilleners
and Cutts's English regiment. His right arm was stiff from yesterday's
wound, and he carried a stick only. He was unable to bear his cuirass,
and when he drew his sword later, had to hold it in his left hand. He
crossed where the little Drybridge stream enters the Boyne, but his
horse stuck fast in the boggy ground beyond the river, and he had to
dismount before it could be extricated. He was at once engaged in the
thickest of the fight, and a bullet which struck the heel of his boot
killed a horse close by. He put himself at the head of the Enniskillen
cavalry, saying, 'What will you do for me?' Owing possibly to a
mistake, the Enniskilleners were driven back for a short distance, and
then William led on his steady Dutch. The Enniskilleners soon recovered
themselves, and the Irish foot were pressed backwards, but the cavalry
for the most part fought bravely, making repeated and often successful
charges, but being gradually overborne by the disciplined troops
opposed to them. Lord Dungan was killed early in the fight, and his
dragoons would do nothing afterwards. Lord Clare's yellow dragoons also
ran away, and some of them never stopped until they got far beyond the
Shannon. The broken troops rode right through the retreating foot as if
they had been enemies. But Tyrconnel's and Parker's regiments of horse
performed prodigies of valour. The latter was wounded, and Sheldon,
who commanded the former corps, had two horses killed under him.
Berwick's was shot, and rolled over his rider. Hamilton, who headed the
last charge, was wounded and taken prisoner near Plattin House, which
stands two miles back from the river. William said he was very glad
to see him, and asked if the cavalry would make any more fight. 'Upon
my honour,' said the prisoner, 'I believe they will.' 'Your honour!'
said the King; and that was his only revenge. Hamilton was sent to the
Tower as a prisoner of war, and was exchanged for Lord Mountjoy in
the spring of 1692. Neither of them saw Ireland again, and Mountjoy,
whom William made Master of the Ordnance, was killed at Steenkirk soon
after his release from the Bastille. He had had enough of passive
obedience. There was no more fighting, but the Irish cavalry rallied
to protect the retreat with the unbroken French contingent. The flying
infantry threw away their arms, and even their boots, and not many were
overtaken, though little quarter was given. The loss of the victors
was about one-third as great. The pursuit continued as far as Naul,
when the light began to fail. Drogheda surrendered the next day, the
garrison marching out without arms, rather than undergo the horrors of
an assault. The terms offered were pretty much the same as Cromwell's,
forty years before, and the memories attaching to his siege were not
favourable to resistance.[268]
[Sidenote: Flight of James.]
On the fatal morning King James posted himself near the church at
Donore, whence he could see both armies. He took no part in the battle,
and as appears from his own account was chiefly concerned lest his
retreat should be cut off. As soon as the danger seemed imminent he
drew off to the left and joined Lauzun, who strongly advised him to
take care of himself. He needed but little pressing, and with four
troops of horse and four of dragoons he passed Duleek first and led
the way back to Dublin. The French kept their ranks and prevented the
victors from pressing too hard upon the routed army. Berwick reached
Duleek about the same time as William himself, and had to gallop hard
to avoid being intercepted. Lauzun and Tyrconnel kept together. The
loss in James's army was perhaps 1500, that in William's about 500. To
compare the conduct of the two Kings, it need only be said that one led
the advance and the other the retreat.[269]
[Sidenote: Importance of the battle.]
From the military point of view, the battle of the Boyne is not
interesting, and French writers dismiss it as a skirmish, in which
Marshal Schomberg happened to be killed. With a much superior force,
both in numbers and quality, William forced the passage of a small
river which was fordable in many places. The importance of the action
lies in its international character, and its political effect was
enormous in checking the overweening ambition of France. There have
been other occasions on which very small battles have decided very
great causes. At Valmy the forces engaged were greater than at the
Boyne, but the number of casualties was less than one-half, and yet
the effect is felt to this day. At Calatafimi the killed and wounded
altogether were only about 400, but that fight went far to change
the map of Europe. The great French victory at Fleurus and the great
English disaster off Beachy Head were both neutralised on the banks of
the Boyne. Lauzun's despatch is dated sixteen days after the battle,
and it was a fortnight later that the full news reached Louis XIV. But
King James had arrived at Brest, with the tidings of his own defeat,
laying all the blame on the Irish, and giving faint praise even to the
cavalry who had fought so well. Soon after this it was known that the
Prince of Orange had been hit, and confidently reported that he was
dead. Without any encouragement from the authorities, the Parisians
abandoned themselves to rejoicing. How much the French feared William,
said Bolingbroke, 'appeared in the extravagant and indecent joy they
expressed on a false report of his death.' The citizens dined in
the streets, casks of wine were broached, there were bonfires and
fireworks everywhere. Effigies of William were cast on dunghills,
thrown into the Seine, or broken on the wheel. First President Harlay
and Advocate-General Talon had to drink the King's health, and Bossuet,
though he protested that he was on his way to say mass, was forced
to do the same. Police officers sent to suppress the unauthorised
rejoicings had to drink with the rest. Even in the inner court at
Versailles the guards could hardly prevent the people from lighting a
fire. The excitement spread to remote villages, and was not allayed for
weeks. Even after the middle of August the Abbé de Choisy made a bet
with La Fontaine that the Prince was dead, staking the price of the
poet's works against the books themselves. The report reached Modena,
but with the puzzling addition that James was at St. Germain. Then the
truth came in English and Dutch papers. At Rome, too, the event was
long uncertain. Melfort at first heard that the Prince of Orange was
killed, and he enlarged on King James's opportunity. This was the time
to take the power of the purse from Parliament, to repeal the Habeas
Corpus Act, and to abolish trial by jury in cases of treason. If an
amnesty was found necessary, the list of exceptions should be as long
as possible, and not one of those excepted should ever be pardoned
on any consideration. Alexander VIII., who thought more of enriching
his family than of rescuing England, was horrified that _Te Deums_
should be sung in Austrian cathedrals for William's victory; but he
had no money to spare, and could not venture to go against the general
sense of European sovereigns. Even the French, though they would have
welcomed the death of their great antagonist, had very little sympathy
with his dethroned rival.[270]
[Sidenote: State of Dublin.]
In the morning of July 1 Dublin was full of rumours that a battle was
imminent. The gates were closely guarded, and Protestants kept their
houses. Every hour brought a fresh report. The French were in Dublin
Bay. An express from Waterford had announced that the Isle of Wight was
in French hands, and the victors going to Dover. The English right wing
on the Boyne had been completely routed. But at five in the afternoon
stragglers arrived on tired horses, who said the Irish had the worst,
and an hour later others declared that the rout was complete. 'Till
one that night all the entries of the town were filled with dusty,
wounded, and tired soldiers and carriages perpetually coming in.' A
little before ten King James arrived with 200 horse in disorder, and
was received by Lady Tyrconnel at the Castle gate. He was followed
two hours later by the bulk of the Irish cavalry in good order, 'with
kettledrums, hautboys, and trumpets.' Next morning came the French with
all their guns and many of the Irish foot. But the King was already
gone. He saw some of his Council--Herbert, Fitton, the Duke of Powis,
Price, Nagle, and Albeville being among them--and asked whether the
news of the battle of Fleurus was not a reason for going to France.
He seems to have thought that Louis would seize the opportunity of
invading England while William was away. His advisers urged him to run
no risk of capture, since the victorious enemy might appear in the
morning. At midnight a message came from Berwick to say that he had
rallied some of the fugitives and asking for cavalry. His father sent
a few troops that had not been in the battle, but the gathering soon
dispersed. Tyrconnel sent his chaplain to advise His Majesty to lose
no time, and to send all the troops to meet him and Lauzun at Leixlip.
La Hoguette and other superior officers appeared in Dublin without
their men, which was explained by a mistaken order having been given
to meet Lauzun at Dunboyne. At five in the morning, after a few hours'
rest, James sent for the Mayor and made a speech to him and others
present. Everything, he said, was against him. In England he had an
army that would have fought if they had not proved false; in Ireland
his soldiers were loyal enough, but would not stand by him. He had now
to seek safety for himself, and advised his hearers to do the same.
They were not to wreak present vengeance on the Protestants, nor to
injure a city in which he still had an interest. He then took horse
for Bray, ordering Simon Luttrell to evacuate the town and to do no
mischief. La Hoguette and the other French officers asked for horses,
but he had none to give them, and they were left to follow as best they
could. Brigadier Wauchop was posted near the north end of Dublin to
turn the stream of fugitives towards Limerick. Luttrell was the last
man to leave his post, and by sunset the Castle was in sole charge of
Captain Farlow, who had been a close prisoner since the skirmish near
Ravensdale.[271]
Louvois had strictly charged Lauzun not to attempt any dazzling
exploit, but to devote himself entirely to gain time and to prolong the
war. From the slavish way in which he addressed the great minister,
belittling himself and claiming no merit but in strict obedience, it is
evident that Lauzun distrusted his own powers. He had no belief in the
cause for which he was fighting, and his main objects were to get King
James safely back to his wife and to restore to King Louis his money,
his guns, and as many of his soldiers as possible. Above all things he
longed to get out of Ireland himself. The glory of defending Limerick
was left to Boisseleau, the credit of keeping the French troops
together after the retreat from the Boyne chiefly belongs to the Swiss
Colonel Zurlauben and to a captain named La Pujade, of whom little
else seems to be known. John and Anthony Hamilton as well as Tyrconnel
accompanied Lauzun in the retreat to Limerick. La Hoguette and several
other field officers seemed only anxious to get to the sea. During
the battle the only French officer of rank killed was the Marquis
d'Hoquincourt, who commanded an Irish battalion. Finding that his men
would not stand, he charged alone and fell covered with wounds. Lauzun
certainly gained no glory, and was quite unfit for the task in hand,
but he maintained order during the retreat on the day of the Boyne, and
the rear was then the post of honour. Long imprisonment may have shaken
his nerves, but it seems hard to call him a coward, as Rousset has
done, and he is more fairly to be judged by what he wrote to Louvois
from Galway shortly before sailing for France:--'The bad state of
affairs and my small capacity will cause me to make many mistakes, but
I beg you to excuse me to His Majesty; and at least I can assure you
that death would be sweeter than what I suffer here.'[272]
King James had been most careful to provide for his own escape. More
than a week before the battle he sent Sir Patrick Trant to prepare
a ship at Waterford, and on the day after it he rode hard in that
direction. Leaving Dublin about five in the morning, he soon reached
Bray with two troops, which he left behind with orders to defend the
bridge until twelve. No man pursued, and he travelled unmolested
through the Wicklow highlands to Arklow, where there was a halt of two
hours. Soon after leaving this place he was overtaken by La Hoguette
and his three comrades, who had succeeded in mounting themselves, and
who declared that they had been followed by troops. This was certainly
not the case, but James was easily persuaded to mend his pace. At
Enniscorthy he entered the house of Francis Randall, a Quaker, who
observed that 'the dejected monarch' had been riding with his pistols
at full cock. The man of peace set this right, prevented his men from
seizing the King in hope of reward, and provided fresh horses. James
reached Duncannon Fort about sunrise. La Hoguette and his friends went
to Passage, higher up the Suir, where they found a ship of St. Malo
mounting twenty-eight guns. The captain, who may have been in treaty
with Trant, dropped down with the tide and was out of the river before
night. King James's Tower at Duncannon still preserves the memory of
his flight. When safe at sea the Frenchmen wished him to go straight
to Brest, but he preferred Kinsale, which was reached in the morning.
There he found ten out of the twenty-five French frigates, provided
at Mary of Modena's request to secure her husband's retreat and, if
possible, to stop William's supplies. The rest of the squadron did not
reach Ireland. Before sailing finally James wrote to Tyrconnel giving
him power to continue the struggle or to make terms at his discretion,
and leaving him 50,000 pistoles, which was all the money he had. He
reached Brest on the ninth day after the Boyne, bringing the first news
of his own overthrow to France. Louis XIV. was as kind and hospitable
as ever, but took care not to trust his guest with another army.[273]
The ground over which the Jacobite army retreated was so difficult
that no very close pursuit was made. Some scattered horsemen hung
about Lauzun's flanks next morning, and added to the confusion of the
beaten army, but without making any real impression. The glen at Naul
formed an obstacle not to be attempted when daylight was failing.
William went back to Duleek and spent the night in his carriage, the
army bivouacking round him. The night was cold, though the day had been
hot, and the soldiers made fires out of four or five thousand pikes
and muskets which the fugitives had thrown away so as to run faster.
Next morning, parties were detached to bring the tents and baggage
from beyond the Boyne. Suspense reigned in Dublin during the day after
the battle. Simon Luttrell had intended to carry off some of the chief
Protestant inhabitants as hostages, but was prevented by rumours of a
force landing near the town. Most of the well-to-do Roman Catholics
followed him southwards, but their poorer co-religionists were soon in
as bad a position and subjected to as great fear as the Protestants had
been. They were protected by Captain Robert Fitzgerald, uncle of the
Earl of Kildare, who lived in England. But some outrages were committed
by the Galway Protestants, who had been long prisoners. Fitzgerald had
been turned out of the army by Tyrconnel, deprived of his troop, for
which he had paid 2000_l._, and imprisoned for some time. He now formed
a guard of the most respectable Protestants, who prevented plunder, the
hope of which had drawn some of King James's men back into the town. A
French soldier was caught trying to burn the thatch in Kevin Street,
but was released after two days because he had acted under the orders
of his major. Dublin narrowly escaped the fate of the Palatinate.
Fitzgerald occupied the Castle immediately after Luttrell had left it,
and in the morning a committee of nine, of which Dr. King was one,
took charge of the city, and appointed him Governor until the King's
pleasure should be known. At noon he sent a letter to William, asking
for help lest the enemy should return and injure the town. During the
day the rescued Protestants ran about saluting and embracing each
other, and blessing God for their wonderful deliverance, as if they
had risen from the dead, and when at eight in the evening a troop of
dragoons came in with an officer to take charge of stores, they hugged
the horses and almost pulled the men off in their joy. When the King
himself arrived, the rejoicings were not so great as for that first
troop. Early on July 4, a large body of cavalry came in accompanied by
the young Duke of Ormonde as a volunteer, and the Blue Dutch Guards
followed later. William encamped at Finglas, and on Sunday, July 6,
rode into Dublin to attend service at St. Patrick's and hear a sermon
from Dr. King. He returned to camp afterwards, and next day issued a
declaration offering protection for person and property to 'all poor
labourers, common soldiers, country farmers, ploughmen, and colliers,'
and inhabitants of towns who had fled, provided they returned home
by August 1, surrendered their arms, and gave their names for
registration. Tenants were to pay their rents to Protestant landlords,
but in other cases to hold the money until further orders. All disorder
was to be sternly repressed, but 'the desperate leaders of the present
rebellion,' who had called in the French, oppressed the Protestants,
and rejected pardon offered a year before--these were to be left to
the event of war unless they showed themselves fully penitent. William
would have given better terms to the hostile landowners, but the
men who had been included in the great Act of Attainder were in no
forgiving mood, and he had to yield. When the time allowed had expired,
this declaration was found to have had little effect, and the period of
grace was extended to August 25, somewhat better conditions being given
to the tenants and labourers. But for men of superior rank and quality,
and for holders of office, no course was left but to surrender and
betake themselves to some town where they might be allowed subsistence
if destitute. Foreigners who came into the King's quarters, might have
passports to go home to their respective countries.[274]
[Sidenote: Final ruin of the Stuart cause.]
The reign of the Stuarts ended with the second flight of James II.,
though the military reduction of Ireland was deferred for more than
a year. Owing chiefly to Sarsfield's exploit, William abandoned the
siege of Limerick, the defence of which forms a kind of counterpart
to that of Londonderry. The international character of the contest is
emphasised by the fact that in the decisive battle of Aughrim, the
English army was commanded by a Dutchman, and the Irish by a Frenchman.
Later on no Jacobite insurrection took place in Ireland, but vast
numbers of Irishmen entered the French service and worked against
England though they were unable to do anything for their own country.
Sarsfield fell at Landen. At Paris in 1715, said Bolingbroke, 'care
and hope sat on every busy Irish face. Those who could write and read
had letters to show, and those who had not arrived to this pitch of
erudition had their secrets to whisper. No sex was excluded from this
ministry. Fanny Oglethorpe kept her corner in it, and Olive Trant was
the great wheel of our machine.' But Ireland herself was quiet during
the ill-starred movements in Scotland and in the North of England. In
1745 again nothing happened in Ireland, though the refugees had much to
do with the events of that year, and were largely instrumental in the
English defeat at Fontenoy. Of the seven men of Moidart who stood by
Charles Edward on the Inverness-shire shore, at least two were Irish,
one being a son of Tyrconnel's secretary, Thomas Sheridan.
Sir Charles Wogan, who escaped from Newgate in 1715 and served both
France and Spain, secured Maria Clementina for the Pretender. He told
Swift that Irish soldiers abroad 'had always the post of honour allowed
them, where it was mixed with danger, and lived in perpetual fire,' but
that their reward was systematically scanty. Promises made to them were
not kept. But they continued to fight bravely, to plot, and to hope
against hope. During the dreary period of the penal laws the exiles
damaged England without benefiting Ireland, but many of them or their
children achieved success abroad. The names of O'Donnell, Macmahon, and
Wall have a place in continental history.
FOOTNOTES:
[260] Lauzun to Seignelay, April 6/16 and July 16/26, in Ranke's
appendix.
[261] There is a full account of the Charlemont episode in Story's
_Impartial Account_, and an accurate contemporary plan in the
_Continuation_. Compare Schomberg's letters in State Papers,
_Domestic_, December 26, March (p. 534), May 5, 11, 12, and 19.
[262] Delamere to Carmarthen, n.d., but calendared in State Papers,
_Domestic_, under 1689, p. 381. _Grey's Debates_, ix. 512, x. 2, 150.
'Is the King so cock-sure of his army?' was one of Delamere's questions.
[263] Story's _Impartial Hist._ June 1690, and _Continuation_, chap.
ii. Proclamations of June 19 and 24. General order of June 20 among the
_Clarke MSS_. Colonel Culter's application, endorsed, 'Not granted,'
July 10, _ib._ Luttrell's _Diary_, ii. 12, and throughout the first
half of the year. Contemporary letters in Benn's _Hist. of Belfast_, p.
180-182. Lauzun to Louvois, June 16/26. The _Clarke MSS._ are rich in
details as to the preparations.
[264] Story's _Impartial Hist._, p. 68. Lauzun to Louvois, June 23/July
3, in Ranke's appendix. _Light to the Blind_, p. 96.
[265] Lauzun to Louvois, June 21/July 1 to June 26/July 4, and to
Seignelay, July 16/26. Clarke's _Life of James II._, original memoirs,
ii. 391-393. _Light to the Blind_, p. 97. Lauzun quite understood that
William was well supplied by sea, but the author of _Macariæ Excidium_
imagined that he was dependent on the resources of Ulster. Stevens's
_Journal_, June 23-29. Two Scotch ensigns who deserted to William said
it had been resolved to defend the Moyry pass. _Diary_ of Dean Davies,
June 22.
[266] Story's _Impartial Hist._, pp. 70-8, and _Continuation_, pp.
19-22. Bellingham's _Diary_, June 26-30. Parker's _Memoirs_, p. 21.
General Douglas's letter of July 7 to his brother, Queensberry,
printed in Napier's _Dundee_, appx. vi., has the following as to
William's wound: 'He said nothing, only three words in Dutch, _T'hoobt
niet naeder_--that is, it needs not to come nearer.' See Portland to
Melville, July 4/14, in _Leven and Melville Papers_. Dean Davies's
_Diary_, June 30. Stevens's _Journal_, June 27-July 1. William said to
Burnet (ii. 46): 'that the going against King James in person was hard
upon him, since it would be a vast trouble both to himself and to the
Queen if he should be either killed or taken prisoner.' In a note to
this Dartmouth says William gave orders to the fleet to take James at
sea and convey him to Holland, but the real order to Herbert was to
do so if he 'took any vessel in which the late King should happen to
be.' The original letter in Nottingham's hand is printed in Ellis's
_Original Letters_, 2nd series, iv., 186. A captive king in Holland
would be much less dangerous than in England.
[267] In his letter of July 7 Douglas, whose authority on this point
seems superior to all others', says the original detachment under
Meinhart Schomberg was 4000 horse and 3000 foot, and that he was sent
to support him with 12,000 foot. Lauzun says: 'Le petit jour venu, nous
les vîmes marcher en colonnes cavalerie et infanterie de l'autre côté
de la rivière droit à Slaine sans que le camp qui était devant nous
branlât ou fît aucun mouvement.' _Light to the Blind_ says Slane bridge
was broken down. G. Bonnivet, whose journal is _Sloane MS._ 1033, was
with Douglas's wing.
[268] Payen de la Fouleresse stood close to William while the Danes
were crossing and heard him praise them: he wrote his letter on a drum
next day. In his letter above cited Douglas says, 'The enemy's horse
fought wonderfully bravely as ever men could do.' Payen's letter to
his sovereign Christian V. of Denmark, July 2, 1690, is in _Notes and
Queries_, July 1877.
[269] 'A saying of Sarsfield's deserves to be remembered; for it was
much talked of all Europe over. He asked some of the English officers
if they had not come to a better opinion of the Irish by their
behaviour during this war; and whereas they said it was much the same
that it had always been; Sarsfield answered: As low as we now are,
change but kings with us, and we will fight it over again with you.'
This was after the capitulation of Limerick.--Burnet, ii. 81. Lauzun
to Seignelay, July 16/26. Clarke's _Life of James_, ii. 397, Original
Memoirs. Berwick.
[270] Dangeau, July 23/August 2 and following days. De Sourches, July
17/27. Abbé de Choisy to Bussy-Rabutin, August 13/23, in the latter's
_Correspondence_, vol. vi. Duke of Modena's letters, July and August,
in _Stuart Papers_, i. Melfort's letters, August and September, in
Ellis's _Original Letters_, 2nd series, vol. iv. Writing to Madame
de Sévigné on May 21/31, less than six weeks before the Boyne,
Bussy-Rabutin says: 'Les affaires d'Irlande vont assez bien; il n'y a
que le roi Jacques qui gâte tout, et qui montre tous les jours par sa
conduite qu'il mérite ses disgrâces.' Writing to Louvois on July 15/25,
a fortnight after the battle, when James was back in France, Luxembourg
says (in Rousset, iv. 423): 'Ceux qui aiment sa gloire ont bien à
déplorer le personnage qu'il a fait.' The Marquis de la Faro says the
rejoicings for William's supposed death were the greatest possible
compliment to him. He had fought like a lion, while James had lost a
throne without fighting, 'malgré la ferocité des Anglais.' The author
of _Light to the Blind_ repeatedly calls the Boyne a skirmish and a
paltry combat.
[271] _Life of James_, ii. 391, Original Memoirs. _True and Perfect
Journal._ Lauzun to Seignelay and to Louvois in Ranke's appendix.
[272] In his éloge prefixed to Berwick's memoirs, Montesquieu says the
English rightly regarded this war as all-important, and the French
merely as 'd'affection particulière et de bienséance. Les Anglais
qui ne voulaient point avoir de guerre civile chez eux, assomèrent
l'Irlande; il paroît même que les officiers français qu'on y envoya
pensèrent comme eux qui les envoyaient: ils n'eurent que deux choses
dans la tête, d'arriver, de se battre et de s'en retourner. Le temps
a fait voir que les Anglais avaient mieux pensé que nous.' Macaulay
sought in vain for the full account of the battle which Lauzun must
have sent to Louvois. His despatch has been printed by Ranke, vi. 117,
but it is to Seignelay and not to Louvois, and written from Limerick,
July 16/26.
[273] _True and Perfect Journal._ Clarke's _Life of James II._, ii.
403, 406. According to De Sourches (May 20, 1690), a letter from
Dublin seldom reached Paris under thirteen days; nine days was a
'diligence surprenante.' Both he and Dangeau complain that the truth
about Ireland was hard to come by. A pair of gold sleeve-links are
preserved at Castleboro' by Lord Carew, whose ancestor is said to have
met and assisted James at Aughnacoppal bridge, and to have received
this keepsake from him. See Mahan's _Sea-power_, chap. iv. Randall's
_Narrative_.
[274] Letter of Payen de la Fouleresse from Duleek, July 2. King
William's declarations of July 7 and August 1, 1690. _True and Perfect
Journal. The Full and True Account of the late Revolution in Dublin_,
dated August 15 and licensed September 15, is attributed in Harris's
_Ware_ to Robert Fitzgerald, but was more probably written by another
from facts furnished by him. The letter to William included in it,
dated Dublin Castle, Thursday, August 3, 8 A.M., is signed by Lords
Ross and Longford, the Bishops of Limerick and Meath, Dr. King,
Fitzgerald himself, and three others. Eight of the eleven signed
Fitzgerald's commission as Governor.