416 
THE ARTILLERY IN THE REBELLION OF 1798. 
detachments of the Royal Irish Artillery were present and did good 
work. 
During the Ulster outbreak, the guns were mostly served by infant¬ 
ry. There were two 6-pounders and two howitzers in action at An¬ 
trim, two 6-pounders at Saintfield, and eight light pieces at Ballinah- 
inch. On the first success of the rebels at Antrim on the 7th June, 
the guns were abandoned under the wall of Lord Massareen's domain. 
The only member of the Royal Irish Artillery present, Lieutenant 
Macartney, who was serving as a volunteer, hastily collected a few 
men, drew the guns up on to the garden wall in the midst of the 
enemy's fire, and dislodged the latter after a few rounds. This proved 
to be the turning point of the action ; re-inforcements arrived almost 
immediately, and the rebels were defeated. 
The heroes of the last act of the rebellion are General Humbert 
and his Frenchmen ; but the Royal Irish Artillery gathered laurels on 
the scene of one of the most disgraceful reverses that the British arms 
have ever met with. Humbert's forlorn expedition, numbering in all 
about a thousand, landed in Killala Bay on the 22nd August. He 
took Killala and marched on Castlebar, where he was opposed on the 
27th by a large force under Major-General Hutchinson. Lecky's 
estimate of the numbers engaged, which is most likely correct, is as 
follows : British 5,200, French 700, insurgents about 500. The De¬ 
tachment of Royal Irish Artillery, with eleven field-pieces and one 
howitzer, was under the command of Captain Shortall, who had left 
in the town of Castlebar two curricle guns under Lieutenant Bluudel. 
The British force occupied a ridge north of the town. Humbert 
formed up behind some rising ground in front, and twice attempted 
to charge Hutchinson's position. On each occasion he was checked 
by the artillery fire and obliged to retire behind his cover. In a third 
attack he masked his men by driving cattle on in front, but the 
artillery fire was still too fierce for them to advance. He then made 
a fourth attempt, by deploying rapidly from his centre and rushing 
the British position. The whole defending force here upon broke up 
in confusion, except the artillery, who had only time to fire three 
rounds. The gunners were then cut down and the guns taken. 
The Irish insurgents called this affair “ the race of Castlebar" 
from the way in which the British ran. Some of the fugitives rallied 
at the bridge of Castlebar, where was posted one of the curricle guns 
which Shortall had left behind. This gun, worked by Sergeant Gib¬ 
son and a detachment of Royal Irish Artillery, checked the advance 
of the French for a short time, until all the detachment were killed. 
The enemy then rushed the gun, and the remainder of the British 
force joined their comrades in flight. Fourteen pieces altogether 
were captured by Humbert in this engagement. 
Humbert, unable to raise the populace to any extent, abandoned 
Castlebar on the 4th September and surrendered to Lord Cornwallis 
at Ballinamuck on the 8th. With the capture of Killala on the 23rd 
September the rebellion ended. 
Before concluding this short review of the conduct of the artillery 
