698 -ENG 
the fhoulder. A report of his being {lain was inflantly 
propagated through the Irifh camp, and was even fent 
ofFexprefs to Paris; but William, as foon as his wound 
was dreffed, rode through the camp, and encouraged his 
army. 
_ Upon retiring to his tent, he continued in meditation 
till nine at night, when lie fummoned a council of war, 
in which he declared his refolution to force a paffage over 
the river the next morning. The duke of Schomberg 
attempted at firft to expoftulate with him upon the dan- 
ger of the enterprife ; but finding the king inflexible, he 
retired to his tent with a difconfolate afpedt, as if he had 
a prefcience of his own fate. In the morning, at fix 
o’clock, king William gave orders to pafs the river. 
This the army undertook in three different places ; and, 
after a furious cannonading, the battle began with un¬ 
common vigour. The Irifh, after an obftinate refiflance, 
fled with precipitation, leaving the French and Swifs re¬ 
giments to make the beft retreat they could. William 
led on his cavalry in perfon, and contributed, by his ac¬ 
tivity and vigilance, to fecure the victory. James was 
not in the battle, but flood aloof, during the adlion, on 
the hill of Dunmore, furrounded with fome fquadrons of 
horfe ; and at intervals was heard mod generoufly to ex¬ 
claim, when he faw his own troops rep'ulfing thofe of the 
enemy, “ O fpare my Englifh fubjedts!” The Irifh loft 
about fifteen hundred men, and the proteflants aboutone- 
third of that number. The vidtory was decifive ; but 
the death of the duke of Schomberg, who fell in the ac¬ 
tion, feemed to outweigh the whole lofs fuflained by the 
enemy. This veteran foldier had fought under almoft 
every power in Europe. His (kill in war was unparal¬ 
leled, and his fidelity equal to his courage. See his hif- 
tory under Schomberg. 
This defeat totally depreffed the hopes of James. He 
fled to Dublin, advifed the magiflrates to obtain the 
beft terms they could for themfelves, and then fet out 
for Waterford, where he embarked for France. His 
friends, however, were flill determined to follow up 
thofe interefls which he himfelf had abandoned. Li¬ 
merick, a ftrong city in the province of Munfter, flill 
held out, and braved all the attempts of William’s ar¬ 
my to reduce it. Sarsfield, an experienced general, put 
himfelf at the head of the army that had been routed at 
the Boyne, and haftened to the banks of the Shannon, 
where he refolved to difpute the further progrefs of the 
enemy. But James appointed St. Ruth, a French gene¬ 
ral, to command over Sarsfield, which gave the Irifh 
great difcontent, as it feemed to imply that the king could 
neither rely on their fkill nor their fidelity. General Ginc- 
kle, who was appointed to command the Englifh army 
in the abfence of William, who had returned to England, 
advanced with his forces towards the Shannon, and in¬ 
verted the town of Athlone, built on both fides the river. 
That part of the town on the hither fide was quickly 
taken fword in hand by the Englifh ; but the part on the 
©ppofite bapk being defended with ftrong ramparts, was 
thought impregnable. At length it was refolved that a 
chofen troop fhould ford the river in the face of the ene¬ 
my ; which delperate attempt was performed with great 
refolution; the enemy were driven from their works, and 
the town furrendered at difcretion. St. Ruth now marched 
his army to give Sarsfield relief, but too late ; for when 
Jhe approached the walls, their own guns were turned 
againft him. He then took port at Aughrim, ten miles 
off, where he determined to wait for the Englifh army, 
and decide the fate of Ireland by one reliftlefs blow. 
Ginckle, having put Athlone in a pofture of defence, 
parted the Shannon, and marched towards the enemy, 
determined to give them battle, though his force did not 
exceed eighteen thoufand men, while that of St. Ruth 
was above twenty-five thoufand. The Iriih were ported 
in an advantageous fituatiori, upon a rifing ground, be¬ 
fore which lay a deep bog, that to appearance was paffa- 
ble only in two places. Their right was fortified by en¬ 
trenchments, and their left fecured by the caftle of Augh- 
2 
LAN D. 
rim. Ginckle, having reconnoitred tKeir Situation, gave 
the neceffary orders for the attack; and, after a furious 
cannonading, the Englifh army, about twelve o’clock, 
began to force the two paffages of the bog, in order to 
poffefs the ground on the other fide. The enemy fought 
with furprifing fury, and the horfe were feveral times re¬ 
pul fed ; but at length the troops on the right, by the 
help of fome field-pieces, carried their point. At fix 
o’clock in the evening the left‘wing of the Englifh was. 
advanced to the right of the Irifh, and obliged it to give 
ground. In the mean time, a more general attack was 
made upon the centre ; the Englifh wading through the 
middle of the bog up to the waift in mud, and forming 
wkh fome difficulty on the firm ground on the other fide, 
renewed the combat with great fury. St. Ruth being 
at this critical moment killed by a cannon-ball, fo difpi- 
rited his troops, that they gave way on all fides, and re¬ 
treated to Limerick, after having loft above five thou¬ 
fand of the flower of their army. Limerick was the 
laft retreat of the Irifh forces. Ginckle advanced with 
his victorious troops to the bridge foot, and prepared for 
a general affault, when the Irifh offered to capitulate ; a 
negotiation was immediately begun, and hoftilities ceaied 
on both fides, A.D. 1691. The Roman catholics by t his 
capitulation were reftored to the free exercife of their re¬ 
ligion, and all perfons were indulged with leave to re¬ 
move with their families and effedts to any other country, 
except England and Scotland. In confequence of this 
regulation, about fourteen thoufand of thofe who had 
fought for James went over to France, where they en¬ 
tered into the fervice of Louis XIV. 
The chief hopes of King James now lay in a confpiracy 
among his Englifh adherents, and in the fuccours which 
were promifed him by the French king. Tire fuccefs of 
the confpiracy was thought unqueftionable, having been 
fet on foot by fome difcontented vvhigs, united with the 
tory intereft. Ahey affembled together ; and the refult 
of their deliberations was, that the reftoration of James 
fhould be entirely effedled by foreign forces ; that he 
fhould fail for Scotland, and be there joined by five thou¬ 
fand Swedes, who, becaufe they were of the proteftant 
religion, it was thought would remove a part of the 
odium which attended an invafion by foreigners ; that 
affiftance fhould at the fame time be fent from France, 
and that full liberty of confcience fhould be proclaimed 
throughout the kingdom. It was refolved to fend over 
two trufty perfons to France to confult with the banifhed 
monarch ; and lord Prefton and Mr. Affiton were the 
perfons appointed for this embafTy. Information, how¬ 
ever, had been given of their intentions ; and lord Car¬ 
marthen had them feized and brought to trial. They 
were both condemned ; Afhton was executed, without 
making any confcffion; but lord Prefton had not the fame 
refolution. Upon an oiler of pardon, he difcovered a 
great number of aflociates ; among whom the duke of 
Ormond, lord Dartmouth, and lord Clarendon, were 
foremoft. 
A formidable defcent upon the coaft cf England was 
now decided upon by the confpirators. In purfuance of 
this fcheme, the French king fupplied James with an ar¬ 
my confifting of a large body of French troops, fome 
Englifh and Scots refugees, and the Irifh regiments 
which had been tranfported from Limerick. This army 
was affembled between Cherbourg and La Hogue, and 
was commanded by king James in perfon. More than 
three hundred transports were provided for landing it on 
the Englifh coall ; and Tourville, the French admiral, 
at the head of fixty-three fhips of the line, wasappointed 
to cover the defcent. His orders were, at all events, to at¬ 
tack the Englifh fleet, in cafe they dared to oppofe him ; 
that the tranfports, during the adtion, might land the 
troops without oppofition. Thefe plans and preparations 
were foon known at the Englifh court, and every precau¬ 
tion taken for a vigorous defence. All the fecret machina¬ 
tions of the banifhed king’s adherents were difcovered to 
the Englifh miniftry by fpies; and by thefe they found, 
„ ‘with 
