260 



IRELAND. 



Kmclty of 

 the insur. 

 gents. 



Battle of 



Vineg- 



June il 



erueltien of 

 Weiford "' 



only about 4000 or 5000 of thee had guns. They ad. 

 vanced with great impetuosity to the cannons' mouths, 

 ljut ^^y were - m ev agsau i t driven back with immense 

 laughter. The battle lasted four hours ; and though, 

 during the whole of that time, the Durham fencibles 

 bore the brunt of it, yet they stood firm and undaunted. 

 The pikemen of the insurgents had not, however, yet 

 come into action, and General Needham, apprehensive 

 that the fencibles, wearied out with repeated attacks, 

 would not be able to withstand these formidable as- 

 sailants, sent directions to Colonel Skerret, who com- 

 manded the fencibles, to retreat. This, however, he 

 refused to do ; and though it was now dark, and the in- 

 surgents might have profited by this circumstance, they 

 discontinued the attack, and retreated. 



The insurgents, of. whom we have been hitherto 

 speaking, consisted almost exclusively of Catholics. 

 They hoped to be assisted in thc\r plans by the Pro- 

 testants of the north of Ireland ; but in this they were 

 disappointed. There were, indeed, insurrections in 

 Antrim and Down ; but the Protestants -who engaged 

 in them, after a few skirmishes with the royal troops, 

 gave up the enterprize, chiefly in consequence of being 

 assured that the rest of the Protestants in the north, 

 though in general well disposed, would not co-operate 

 with them, having learned, that the insurrection in 

 Wexford was totally of a religious character, and that 

 the Catholics engaged in it had repeatedly behaved 

 with great cruelty to the Protestants. 



The insurgents in Wexford were thus left to them- 

 selves, and measures were taken by government to 

 crush them effectually and speedily. On the 20th of 

 June, their whole force was assembled on Vinegar-hill, 

 near Enniscorthy. General Lake immediately formed 

 his plan, which was, to surround this post ; and for this 

 purpose, all the divisions of the royal army were put 

 in motion. 



In the mean time, the insurgents were guilty of the 

 most atrocious acts of cruelty, not merely against those 

 wno nac i O pp OSel l their plans, but even against those 

 who were known to be favourable to them, in case 

 they were Protestants. These were dragged to Vine- 

 gar-hill, where, without trial, they were either shot or 

 transfixed with pikes, or, in some cases, put to death in 

 a still more barbarous manner. At Killan, the Pro- 

 testants of both sexes were collected, with an intention 

 of burning them alive in their parish church, when for- 

 tunately their design was prevented by the arrival of a 

 body of yeomen. 



General Lake had collected nearly 13,000 troops, 

 with a train of artillery proportionate to that number, 

 for the attack on Vinegar-hill. This attack took place 

 on t he 21st of June. The town of Enniscorthy was 

 *' le " rst bJ ect f ^tack, and the insurgents were dri- 

 ven from their post. They fled through a space of 

 ground which was to have been occupied by the troops 

 of General Needham. These had not come up, whe- 

 ther from missing the road, or some other accidental 

 cause, or, as was supposed, because General Lake wish- 

 ed to leave the insurgents some outlet, is not ascertain- 

 ed. Wexford was taken by the royal troops the same 

 day as Enniscorthy : Previously, however, a battle had 

 taken place at Horetown, between the troops of Gene- 

 ral Moore and the insurgents under Roche. The com- 

 bat was long doubtful, but at length terminated in the 

 defeat of the rebels. General Moore immediately en- 

 camped near Wexford, in order to secure the Protest- 



*"** '" th * t tOWn f rom massacre - Before his arrival, 

 however, the rebels in it had committed great outrages. 



HUtory. 



These were principally directed and encouraged by a 



man of the name of Dixon. While the rebel force con- ^^^T*^ 



tinned in Wexford, this man had not been able to car- 



ry his designs into execution ; but soon after they 



marched out against General Moore, Dixon, at the head 



of a mob, which he had previously inflamed with whis- 



ky, murdered the Protestants in a manner to which, 



for wanton cruelty, not even the atrocities of the French 



revolution can produce a parallel. In the mean time, 



the battle at Vinegar-hill, though strenuously contend- 



ed by the insurgents, ended in their complete defeat. 



They were completely broken, ami fled ; and their loss 



in the battle and pursuit was so considerable, that the 



whole party was completely disheartened. v 



Before General Moore arrived at this town, many 

 of the inhabitants, being freed from the presence of 

 the insurgents, who had joined their companions on 

 Vinegar-hill, were desirous of submitting, and giving 

 up the place. Lord Kingsborough, colonel of the 

 North Cork militia, was at this time a prisoner in 

 it ; and he agreed to receive the surrender, pledging 

 his honour for the safety of all, except those who had 

 been concerned in the murders. On this pledge, which 

 was made known to the British general, the insurgents 

 who had fled into the town after their defeat at Vine- 

 gar-hill, evacuated it, separating into two bodies, in the 

 full confidence of the ratification of the terms ; but 

 General Lake ordered all the chiefs of the rebels to be 

 seized and put to death. 



The movements and proceedings of the insurgents, 

 after the battle of Vinegar-hill, were desultory, without 

 union or plan. One body of them marched to Arklow, 

 and, rinding no royal troops there, massacred many of 

 the inhabitants. Another body, under Murphy, who 

 had originally raised the insurrection in Wexford, di- 

 rected their march towards the county of Carlow, with 

 the design of stirring up the inhabitants there and in 

 Kilkenny ; but in this they were disappointed, partly 

 by the measures of the royal forces, and partly by the 

 indisposition of the inhabitants. They now determined 

 to return to Wexford, and on the 26th of June arrived 

 at Kilcommy. Here they again changed their route, 

 and moved towards the VVicklow mountains ; but they 

 soon found that they had no other chance of safety but 

 by dispersing into small bodies, being no longer capa- Final dis- 

 ble of withstanding the forces that were sent against persion of 

 them. After various movements and skirmishes, there- tne 'nsur- 

 fore, they finally dispersed. gents. 



Government, in the mean tine, had been proceeding Trials and 

 in the trials of those leaders of the union whom they executions. 

 had apprehended. Among these were . the two bro- 

 thers Sheares ; M'Carra, the secretary to the provin- 

 cial committee of Leinster; and Byron, delegate from 

 Wicklow. 



Soon after these events, Lord Camden* who had been 

 viceroy during the rebellion, was recalled, and Earl 

 Cornwallis was appointed his successor. This appoint- Arrival ani 

 ment gave great and general satisfaction : The character measures of 

 of few noblemen, for political honour^and humanity, was jMld . Corn " 

 higher than that of Lord Cornwallis, and his appoint- w 

 ment seemed a pledge on the part of government, that 

 they meant to pursue a different system in Ireland. He 

 carried with him a general pardon for all who would 

 submit, with very few exceptions ; but his arrival could 

 not immediately put a stop to the system which had 

 been hitherto pursued. On the 3d of July, the pardon 

 which Lord Cornwallis brought with him was publish- 

 ed in the Dublin Gazette. His majesty's generals were 

 thereby authorised to give protection to such insui> 



