3.50 
IREL 
them were dragged to Vinegar Hill, where, after a mock 
trial, or none at all, they were (hot or put to death with 
.pikes. The number thus butchered is ftated to have 
fallen little (hort of 400; though many lives were (lived 
by the interpofition of Roche and other individuals, in 
whom the feelings of humanity were not yet (tided. In 
the parilh of Killan, the favage mob collected the pro- 
teftants of both (exes with the intention of burning them 
alive in their own parifli-church, or, as they exprefl’ed it, 
making an orange pie of them ; but their atrocious de- 
lign was prevented by the arrival of a body of yeomen 
from the county of Carlow. 
General Lake, having completed his operations, gave 
orders for a general attack upon the enemy’s grand (tation 
of Vinegar Hill, defended by 20,000 rebels, but almoft 
deditute of ammunition. The royal force employed in 
this operation confided of at lead 13,000 ed'eftive men, 
and a formidable train of artillery. General Johnltone at¬ 
tacked Ennifcorthy, while the artillery kept up a bri(k 
cannonade againd the hill. The rebels, after a conted of 
an hour and a half, in which they exhauded all their 
ammunition, fled towards Wexford through the fpace 
which, was to have been occupied by the corps of general 
Needham, who, from caufes not fufAciently explained, 
did not arrive at his pod till two hours after the ap¬ 
pointed time. It has been furmifed that this circum- 
ftance was purpofely contrived by the commander-in¬ 
chief from a motive either of policy or humanity, fearful 
led the infurgents might otherwife be driven to defpair, 
or led he might not be able to reflrain his own troops 
from the maflacre of thefe deluded people. The lofs of 
the royal forces was quite inconfiderable, except in John- 
llone’s corps, in which, by the attack at Ennifcorthy, 
the number of the killed, wounded, and mifling, amount¬ 
ed to ninety-three. That of the rebels in the aftion was 
not much greater; for, though fome hundreds of flrag- 
glers from the main body were killed after the battle, 
thefe were moflly men who, having been compelled to 
accompany the revolters, had taken this opportunity of 
efcape; and among them were many captive protedants. 
General Moore, at the head of 1200 men, was mean¬ 
while marching againd Wexford. On the 20th of June 
he was met at Horetown by Philip Roche, with 5 or 6000 
men, from Three Rocks; to xvhich pofl, after an obfli- 
nate aftion of four hours, they retreated in good order. 
The next day, having received propofals of furrender 
from the inhabitants of Wexford, Moore immediately 
forwarded them to the commander-in-chief, and, march¬ 
ing toward the town, took pod on Windmill Hill, a mile 
diltant from it. A great number of protedants, as well 
inhabitants of Wexford as refugees and prifoners brought 
from various parts of the countiy, were confined in the 
gaol, and in priyife houfes. All thefe were in perpetual 
apprehenfions of being put to a cruel death, notwith¬ 
standing the exertions made tafave them by gentlemen 
among the rebels, who, particularly fuch as were pro- 
teflants, were themfelves in continual danger from the 
caprices of the ungovernable multitude. Some men in¬ 
deed of low education, who held the rank of officers, 
were more difpofeu to incite than check this fanguinary 
dil'pofition. Among thefe, Thomas Dixon, formerly maf- 
ter of a trading vefl'el, and now a felf-commilfioned cap¬ 
tain of the rebels, was didinguifhed for his diabolical 
barbarity. This monfler, who had twice in vain advifed 
a general (laughter of the prifoners, feized the oppor¬ 
tunity, when the greater part of the garrifon had been 
drawn to the Three Rocks, to reinforce the army dedined 
to aft againd general Moore; and proceeded, at the head 
of a mob of peafants infuriated with whifkey, to the work 
of deliberate butchery. At the inltigation.of his wife, 
who proved herfelf truly worthy cf luch a hufband, the 
viftims were led in groups to the bridge, that the people 
might have the pleafure of witneffing the bloody fcene. 
When each of the prifoners was brought forward, a quef- 
tion was afked aloud, whether any one could mention a 
AND. 
good aftion which might entitle him to mercy. Silence, 
or an unfavourable anfvver, was the fignal for death. 
Some were (hot, but mod were difpatched with pikes, 
and their bodies immediately thrown into the river. A 
concurrence of circumltances at length put a dop to this 
maflacre. The approach of the royal armies to Vinegar 
Hill was announced, and a reinforcement demanded; 
but what produced perhaps a dill dronger iinpreflion, was 
the humane dratagem of a pried of Wexford, named 
Corrin, who, finding intreaties ineffectual, direfted tha 
people to kneel, and then dictated a prayer that God 
would (how the lame mercy to them which they (liould 
(how to the furviving prifoners. The number thus put 
to death in cold blood on this occafion, has been gene¬ 
rally believed to be ninety-feven, but others poiitively 
aflert that it did not exceed thirty-fix. 
O11 the departure of the numerous peafantry to reinforce 
the pod of Vinegar Hill, a defign was formed fora peace¬ 
able furrender of the place to the royal troops. To this 
end lord Kingfborough, who had failed from Arklow to 
Wexford, not knowing that the latter was in pofleffion 
of the rebels, and had by them been detained a pri- 
foner, was inveded on the 2id with the command of the 
town by a refolution of the inhabitants; and three depu¬ 
tations were fent to the approaching armies. By thefe 
lord Kinglborough wrote to the generals, that, on the 
furrender of the place to him, he had folemnly pledged 
his honour for the fecurity of the perfons and property 
of all thofe who had been in the town during the re¬ 
bellion, excepting the perpetrators and indigators of 
murder, and hoped his contract would be ratified. Pro¬ 
pofals were likewife fent by the inhabitants of all reli¬ 
gious perfuafions, that, on the confirmation of that agree¬ 
ment, they were ready to furrender their arms, and to re¬ 
turn to their allegiance. Meanwhile the peafantry, who, 
after the departure of thefe meflengers, had poured from 
Vinegar-hill and Three Rocks into Wexford, were per- 
fuaded to evacuate the town by the pofitive aflurance 
that the terms promifed by lord Kinglborough (hould be 
extended to them. Under full confidence of the rati¬ 
fication of this contraft, they feparated into two bodies, 
one of which took pod under Philip Roche, at Sledagh; 
and the other, under Edward Roche, Fitzgerald, and 
Perry, at Peppard’s Cadle. General Moore took peace¬ 
able pofieflion of Wexford, and, with a humanity highly 
honourable to his memory, employed his utmolt exertions 
to redrain his licentious troops. Lake, without deigning 
to notice lord Kingfborough’s difpatch, replied to that of 
the townfmen, that he could pay no attention to the pro¬ 
pofals of rebels in arms; but to the deluded multitude 
he promifed pardon on the delivery of their leaders, the 
furrender of their arms, and their returning with fincerity 
to their allegiance. On his arrival at Wexford on the 
22d, thofe rebel chiefs, who, confcious of having afted 
with humanity, and relying on the faith of the capitu¬ 
lation, had either remained in the town or returned to 
their homes, fell into the hands of the army, and were 
put to death. Philip Roche, coming alone to fettle with 
his majedy’s generals the manner in which his .troops 
were to furrender, was feized, inhumanly treated, and 
committed to prifon. In confequence of thefe impolitic 
proceedings, his followers, confidering their cafe as def- 
perate, marched to the county of Carlow under the com¬ 
mand of John Murphy, or, as he was commonly called. 
Father John; while thofe infurgents who had withdrawn 
to Peppard’s Cadle, refolved, under the fame impreffion, 
to march to the Wicklow mountains. Receiving intel¬ 
ligence, however, that a body of yeomen were daughtering 
the people who were returning to their homes in the 
neighbourhood of Gorey, they direfted their courfe thi¬ 
ther without lofs of time. Alarmed by the approach of 
the rebel columns on the 22d, the loyalids of Gorey fled 
towards Arklow, whither the yeomen, after an ineffeftual 
attempt to obflruft the progrefs of the enemy, retreated 
with little lofs. The horfemen of the infurgents purfued- 
