IRELAND. 



"". ' _!*- 

 fcattj. 



Amrtl of 

 Cromwell, 

 Aug. 1849 



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tion, and no small difficulty. At length it was resolv. d 

 to seize the castle of Batrg.it rath, by which means the 

 enemy's cavalry would he excluded from iheir only 

 pastures, and means might he taken to stop up the port 

 Mia. 



For this purpose a detachment was sent off, but it 

 was led astray by the treachery of the guide; and Or- 

 mond found hiinelf under the necessity of hazarding 

 an engagement Before, however, he had commenced 

 the attack, his army was itself suddenly attacked, and 

 thrown into utter confusion, by Jones. Eighteen hun- 

 dred prisoners were taken, and 600 men were slain, 

 Ormond himself retiring to Kilkenny with the remains 

 of hi* army. 



As some counterbalance to this misfortune he re- 

 ceived overture* from O'Neil, which being accepted, 

 and that leader having joined him with 6000 foot and 

 5OO cavalry, Onnond resolved to make another attempt 

 aaiinst the capital. Scarcely, however, hud he formed 

 , 'an, when he learned that Cromwell had landed 

 in Dublin, with 8000 infantry, 4000 cavalry, a formid- 

 able train of artillery, and every thing else necessary 

 to carry on the war with vigour, promptitude, and ef- 

 fect. The first effort of Cromwell was the reduction of 

 Droghfda ; in it Onnond placed a chosen garrison of 

 upwards ol' 2000 men, commanded by a Catholic, on 

 whose bravery and skill he placed the utmost confi- 

 dence. As it was the grand purpose of Cromwell to 

 strike tenor into his opponents by the boldness and ra- 

 pidity of hi* operations, he issued orders to take the 

 town by assault, and though the garrison resitted with 

 the aaost determined bravery, and twice repulsed the 

 assailants, yet they could not stand the third attack, at 

 the bead of which Cromwell placed himself. The 

 town was taken by storm, and the garrison and Roman 

 Catholic prietti found in it, were put to the sword. 

 Losing no time in reaping the advantages of the suc- 

 cess and of the dismay which it bad created, he took 

 Trim and Dundalk without opposition ; and while he 

 himiilf inarched towards the sooth, the whole of the 

 north, except the castle of Carrkkfergus, submitted to 

 his authority. 



inwell having reduced Wexford, notwithstanding 

 Ormond had thrown a garrison into it, pursued that 

 general, who bad retired to ROM, and afterwards having 

 cross tid the Barrow, compelled him to retreat further 

 to Kilkenny. Indeed Ormond, unless reinforced, was 

 utterly incapable of standing against Cromwell ; and 

 the only source from which he could look for reinforce- 

 ment* was by an agreement with O'Neil. This gene- 

 ral was himself dangerously ill ; but having come to 

 an sffiMnaauilsliioi with Ormond, he sent his army, 

 eomiattna; of a very large body of troop*, to join hnii. 

 Ormond immediately reaolved to give battle to Crom- 

 well, but the latter bad proceeded to Waterford, which 

 he was besieging. Into this place Onnond threw re- 

 inforcement . but a detachment from his army having 

 failed in their attempt to reduce Carrick on the Soir, 

 he did not deem it prudent to attack Cromwell. 



Having received intelligence, however, from the in- 

 habitants at Waterford, that they could no longer hold 

 ut, he resolved, at all hazards, to attempt their relief; 

 and he succeeded in throwing in a second reinforce- 

 ment, and in obliging Cromwell to raise the siege, 

 (lad be been supplied by the inhabitants with boats, 

 and thus ejiableu to cross the river, he would have pur- 

 sued Cromwell ; but not only were these refused him. 

 but hi* request that his soldiers should be permitted 

 to lodge in hiits under the walls was rejected; and it 



was even proposed tc seize his person. This extraor- 

 dinary display of ingratitude arose from the influence 

 of some bigotted and ignorant priests in Waterford, 

 aided and fostered by the Marquis of Antrim, who 

 wished to supplant Ormond in the chief governor- 

 ship. 



Cromwell, on his retreat from Waterford, took up 

 his winter quarters in Munster ; the principal garrison 

 in this province having declared in his favour, in con- 

 sequence of the insnlta they received from the Catho- 

 lics. Ormond, not supposing that his opponent would 

 leave these quarters till the spring, had dispersed his 

 troops in various places ; but as soon as Cromwell learn- 

 ed this, he suddenly advanced, in the depth of winter, 

 and laid siege to Kilkenny, which most probably he 

 would not have reduced, had it not been for the treach- 

 ery of the mayor and citizens. His next object was 

 Clonmell. This place was garrisoned by 1200 troops un- 

 dtr Hugh O'Neil; and such was their intrepidity, 

 th.it in lii-i first assault Cromwell lost 2000 men. This 

 obliged him to commence a blockade ; and O'Neil, af- 

 ter a siege of two months, being exhausted of his pro- 

 visions and ammunition, and yet unwilling to surren- 

 der, contrived to withdraw his troops, with which he 

 arrived safe at Waterford. 



In consequence of the Scotch having embraced the 

 cause of Charles 1 1. Cromwell judged it expedient to 

 return to England, having previously placed Ireton in 

 the command of the army which was to act against 

 Onni>nd and the Irish confederates. But there was 

 now little to do ; the greater part of Ireland was sub- 

 dued : Cromwell had been very successful in the 

 south, and, after his depsrture, Carlow, Waterford, and 

 other places of importance, were surrendered. Li- 

 merick, too strong to be taken by assault, or even by a 

 regular siege, till Ireton was reinforced, was blockad- 

 ed. In the north, Coote had reduced Carrickfergus. 

 To the junction of the forces of this general, and of 

 Ireton, for the purpo*e of subduing the western coun- 

 tie*. there was now no impediment, and for this pur- 

 pose they both marched towards Athlone, while Or- 

 mond, with the few troops he could collect, directed his 

 march to the Shannon, to prevent the enemy from 

 pawing that river. 



The cause of the confederates, bad a* it was render- 

 ed by the SUCCCM of Cromwell, was made still worse 

 by their own violence, opposition to Ormond, and want 

 of plans and unanimity among themselves. Ormond 

 ana the royalists wished merely to support the king's 

 cause ; many of the confederate* went rather farther 

 than this : and the Catholic clergy in ide no scruple in 

 avowing that they still indulged the idea of establish- 

 ing their own religion, under the protection of a fo- 

 reign prince. Even the inhabitant* of Limerick, thniigh 

 sensible of the danger* with which they were threat- 

 ened, refused to admit 1800 men, with which Ormond 

 proposed to reinforce the garrison. An attempt was 

 indeed made to arrange matters in such a manner that 

 Onnond might act with effect in favour of the royal 

 cause ; but these attempts having been rendered of no 

 avail by the intrigues of the violent Catholics, Ormond, 

 unable to keep his army on the Shannon, destitute as 

 it was of support or supplies from the inhabitants, and 

 even apprehensive for his own safety, resolved to leave 

 Ireland. But this resolution he changed when the Ca- 

 tholic clergy required him to repair to the King, de- 

 claring that now he would not quit the kingdom un- 

 less forced to it. This declaration produced formal ar- 

 ticles against him, in which he was accused of being an 



History. 



Siege of 

 Kilkenny, 

 A. D. 1639. 



State of tlw 

 confede- 

 rate*. 



Their bcln- 

 viour to 

 Ormond. 



