=Source.=--Carlyle, _Letter IV.: To the Speaker_, September 17, 1649.
... Upon Tuesday the 10th of this instant, about five o'clock in the
evening, we began the storm; and after some hot dispute we entered,
about seven or eight hundred men; the enemy disputing it very stiffly
with us. And indeed, through the advantages of the place, and the
courage God was pleased to give the defenders, our men were forced
to retreat quite out of the breach, not without some considerable
loss; Colonel Castle being there shot in the head, whereof he
presently died; and divers other officers and men doing their duty
killed and wounded. There was a "Tenalia"[2] to flank the south
wall of the Town, between Duleek Gate and the corner Tower before
mentioned;--which our men entered, wherein they found some forty or
fifty of the Enemy, which they put to the sword. And this they held:
but it being without the Wall, and the sally-port through the Wall
into that Tenalia being choked up with some of the Enemy which were
killed in it, it proved of no use for an entrance into the Town that
way.
Although our men that stormed the breaches were forced to recoil, as
is before expressed; yet, being encouraged to recover their loss,
they made a second attempt: wherein God was pleased so to animate
them that they got ground of the Enemy, and by the goodness of God,
forced him to quit his entrenchments. And after a very hot dispute,
the Enemy having both horse and foot, and we only foot, within the
Wall,--they gave ground, and our men became masters both of their
entrenchments and of the Church; which indeed, although they made
our entrance the more difficult, yet they proved of excellent use to
us; so that the Enemy could not now annoy us with their horse, but
thereby we had advantage to make good the ground, that so we might
let in our own horse; which accordingly was done, though with much
difficulty.
Divers of the Enemy retreated into the Mill-Mount: a place very
strong and of difficult access; being exceedingly high, having a good
graft, and strongly palisadoed. The Governor, Sir Arthur Ashton, and
divers considerable Officers being there, our men getting up to them,
were ordered by me to put them all to the sword. And indeed, being in
the heat of action, I forbade them to spare any that were in arms in
the Town: and, I think, that night they put to the sword about 2,000
men;--divers of the officers and soldiers being fled over the Bridge
into the other part of the Town, where about 100 of them possessed
St. Peter's Church-steeple, some the west Gate, and others a strong
Round Tower next the Gate called St. Sunday's. These being summoned
to yield to mercy, refused. Whereupon I ordered the steeple of St.
Peter's Church to be fired, when one of them was heard to say in the
midst of the flames: "God damn me, God confound me; I burn, I burn."
The next day, the other two Towers were summoned; in one of which
was about six or seven score; but they refused to yield themselves:
and we knowing that hunger must compel them, set only good guards
to secure them from running away until their stomachs were come
down. From one of the said Towers, notwithstanding their condition,
they killed and wounded some of our men. When they submitted, their
officers were knocked on the head; and every tenth man of the
soldiers killed; and the rest shipped for the Barbadoes. The soldiers
in the other Tower were all spared, as to their lives only; and
shipped likewise for the Barbadoes.
I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these
barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent
blood; and that it will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for
the future. Which are the satisfactory grounds to such actions,
which otherwise cannot but work remorse and regret. The officers and
soldiers of this Garrison were the flower of their army. And their
great expectation was, that our attempting this place would put fair
to ruin us; they being confident of the resolution of their men, and
the advantage of the place. If we had divided our force into two
quarters to have besieged the North Town and the South Town, we could
not have had such a correspondency between the two parts of our Army,
but that they might have chosen to have brought their Army, and have
fought with which part of ours they pleased,--and at the same time
have made a sally with 2,000 men upon us, and have left their walls
manned; they having in the Town the number hereafter specified, but
some say near 4,000....
And now give me leave to say how it comes to pass that this work
is wrought. It was set upon some of our hearts, that a great thing
should be done, not by power or might, but by the Spirit of God.
And is it not so, clearly? That which caused your men to storm so
courageously, it was the Spirit of God, who gave your men courage,
and took it away again; and gave the Enemy courage, and took it away
again; and gave your men courage again, and therewith this happy
success. And therefore it is good that God alone have all the glory.