Ginckel made Commander in Chief of the Army Lords Justices begin their Government The Earl of Marlborough sent with a Fleet into Ireland Cork and Kinsale taken The Irish make Attempts upon our Frontiers Part of our Army move towards the Shannon Rapparees in the Bog of Allen Those People serviceable to the Irish Interest and how My Lord Tyrconnel returns from France Sarsfield made Earl of Lucan The Irish defeated at the Mote of Greenoge Several Adventures with the Rapparees and Parlies of the Irish Army Some of our Regiments take the Field at Mullingar ON the sixth of September our Army marched to Tipperary about fourteen Miles from Limerick where they begun to disperse towards their respective Quarters And we had an Account by some Deserters that my Lord Tyrconnel and all the French Forces were Ship'd off at The French leave Ireland Gallway for France The reason of this was also enquired after by a great many that the French shou'd absolutely quit Ireland at a time when we had raised our Siege which might have given them hopes of re-gaining the next Year what they lost this at least to defend the Province of Connaught against us and so protract the War beyond what they cou'd have hoped for if the Town had been taken and that if the want of Provisions was an Objection it was easier to carry those to the Men than bring the Men to their Provisions But the reason that I have heard given for their departure was That the late King appearing very unexpectedly in France at a time when all People were over-joyed with the News of the Battel of Flerus won at Land and a Victory also gained at Sea to palliate matters therefore as to himself he laid all the blame upon the Irish that they wou'd not fight but many of them laid down their Arms in such order as if they had been Exercising which indeed some of them did Upon which the Fr. K. concluding that all was lost in that Kingdom he sent Orders to Count Lauzun to make the best of a bad Market and so come off for France as well as he could with all his Men. But the Irish taking heart of grace at our Fleets and the Dutch Armies misfortunes they held out beyond expectation And those Orders of the French Kings not coming till after His Majesty had raised the Siege of Limerick Count Lauzun waited about twelve Days for a Countermand but that not appearing he set sail for France tho' he met with contrary Orders at Sea but then it was too late For His Majesty had been a Fortnight at London before they heard at Paris that the Siege of Limerick was raised which shewed that whatever good Intelligence they might have from England or Ireland at other times they wanted it now but whether the Wind was cross or what else was the reason I am uncertain About the fourteenth we heard that Sarsfield with a part of the Irish Army had marched over the Shannon at Banoher-Bridge and besieged the Castle of Birr wherein Birr besieged by the Irish was only a Company of Colonel Tiffin's Foot who stoutly defended the Castle the only temble place but Major-General Kirk marching thither with a part of our Army the Enemy quitted the Siege and marched off At this time Count Solms who commanded in Chief was at Cashel where he received a Letter by a Trumpeter from the Duke of Berwick then at Limerick complaining that they heard of a Design of ours to send all those Prisoners we had taken at several places to be Slaves in the Foreign Plantations and withal threatning ours with the French Gallies But this was only a trick of the Irish Officers themselves to prevent their Soldiers from deserting making them believe there was a Contract to sell them all to Monsieur Perara the Jew for so much Bread which made the name of the Jew very terrible to the Irish But this was a mere Story of their own framing and therefore Count Solms sent the following Answer to the Duke's Letter Henry Count de Solms General of Their Majesties Army in their Kingdom of Ireland HAving never before heard of a Design to send those Numbers Count Solms's Answer to the Duke of Berwick's Letter of your Men we have Prisoners to the Foreign Plantations we detained your Trumpeter here for some Days in hopes we might have been able to trace this Report which you send us word is spread about of such our Intentions but no enquiry we have made giving us the least light therein we have reason to think that neither those Prisoners we have of yours need fear so long a Voyage nor those few of ours in your hands be apprehensive of yielding a small Recruit to the French King's Gallies However we think fit to declare that your Men shall severely feel the effects of any ill usage you shall offer to ours for which they may reckon themselves obliged to their Generals Given at our Head-Quarters at Cashel the 21st Day of September 1690. To the Duke of Berwick or the Officer in Chief commanding the Enemies Forces Soon after this Count Solms went for England and the Lieutenant-General Ginckel made Commander in Chief Baron de Ginckel was made Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of the Army who went to his Head-Quarters at Kilkenny Towards the middle of September Henry Lord Viscount Sidney and Thomas Coningesby Esquire two of the Lords-Justices went to Dublin where they took the usual Oaths of Chief Governors of that Kingdom before the Commissioners of the Great Seal and immediately begun their The Lords-Justices go to Dublin work of putting the Country in as good a condition of Safety as the nature of the times would bear Whilst the King was imployed in the Field with his Army against the Town of Limerick it was first proposed by the Earl of Nottingham to my Lord Marlborough and afterwards approved of in Councel as very Advantageous to Their Majesties Affairs to send a Party from England who joyning with a Detachment from the King's Army might reduce those two important Garrisons of Cork and Kinsale and provisions were made accordingly But not being ready so soon as was designed His Majesty upon His return for England sent the Earl of Marlborough with his own Regiment of Fusiliers Brigadier Trelawny's Princess Ann's Earl of Marlborough sent into Ireland Colonel Hastings's Colonel Hales's Sir David Collier's Colonel Fitz-Patrick's one hundred of the Duke of Bolton's and two hundred of the Earl of Monmouth's with my Lord Torrington's and Lord Pembrook's Marine Regiments CORK CITY After the taking of those two Towns the Irish that lay October 1690. in the County of Kerry made several Incursions and burnt some small Villages in the County of Cork and near the same time another Party burnt Balliboy a Village 8 miles The Irish make some attempts upon our Quarters from Birr wherein there was then six Companies of the Earl of
Drogheda's Regiment who finding themselves very much outnumbred and the Village no ways Tenible they retired all to a Mount nigh the middle of the same Village which they defended till the Irish were obliged to quit the place have killed us about 28 themselves leaving 16 dead upon the Streets besides several more that were killed in Plundering the Houses And several such Accidents hapned up and down the Kingdom most of which are already related in the former part of this History Towards the beginning of December his Majesty for the A Privy-Council appointed in Ireland better ordering the Affairs of that Kingdom appointed a Privy-Council and gave out new Commissions to supply the places of several Judges as yet awanting in the respective Courts of Judicature But though the Irish in and about Limerick and indeed in most other places within their Line were reduced to great necessities both as to Provisions and Cloaths yet this did not prevent them from having a very good opinion of themselves nor blunt the Edge of that Vain-glorious Boasting so peculiar to that sort of People as may appear by a pretended Declaration of the then Brigadeer Dorington's who after several invective Expressions against his Majesty and the English Government and Wheedling Insinuations to all Foreigners and others who he pretends were drawn in at unawares he promises to protect and receive into Pay all Officers or Souldiers that would forsake their Majesties Service and advance them according to their Merit or those that had no mind to serve should be Transported into France having all necessary Accommodation and be provided for in the mean time Dated at Limerick the 13th of December 1690. and Signed W. Dorington But this worthy Declaration had no other effect than to shew the folly and vanity of the Publisher only I cannot but observe what a scurvy Return those Officers and Souldiers of King William's to whom he addresses himself made him for his kind proffer since instead of going to him for his Pass into France they soon after sent his Worship himself Prisoner into England Monday the 15th of December Henry Lord Viscount My Lord Sidney goes for England Sidney being appointed one of the Secretaries of State for England set Sail for that Kingdom And on the 24th Sir Charles Porter another of the Lords-Justices came from thence being Sworn Lord Chancellour of Ireland on the 29th and then received the Purse and Great Seal from the late Commissioners We had now a part of our Army on their March towards Part of our Forces move towards the Shannon Lanesborough Pass Commanded by Major General Kirk and Sir John Lanier Lieutenant General Douglas was also upon his March towards Sligoe as was Major General Tetteau in Munster towards the County of Kerry The first Detachment beat the Irish from their Works on this side the River and staying there some time returned to Quarters as did also Lieutenant General Douglas Major General Tetteau Marched towards Ross taking a Fort called Screnelarld in his way after which the Irish set most of the Country on Fire and retreated He took also another Fort wherein were 80 of the Irish who being attacked by fifty Danes and fifty of the Kinsale Militia our Men carried the place and put most of the Enemy to the Sword Then our Party Marched towards Tralee where Lieutenant General Sheldon bad been with 21 Troops of Dragoons and 7 of Horse but with his Men had deserted the Town and made what haste they could towards Limerick resolving to force their way through Lieutenant General Ginckel's Troops who then was abroad also with a Party if they were not very much stronger or otherways to kill all their Horses and save themselves by crossing the Shannon in Boats But not being informed of this our Men returned without securing a considerable quantity of Provisiâ—â—â— then in Trallee which the Irish got afterwards to supply the Garrison of Limerick The Rapparees by this time were got to the end of the Rapparees in the Bogg of Allen. Bogg of Allen within 12 miles of Dublin and there Robb'd and Plunder'd the Country all about Fortifying an Island in the Bogg to secure their Prey which being so nigh Dublin it made a great noise So that Collonel Foulks with his own Regiment part of Collonel Cutts's and a Detachment of the Dublin Militia as also three small Field-Pieces Marched out towards them The Irish at first seemed to defend the place but as our Men advanced they quitted their Posts leaving us to fill up the Trenches they had made cross the Causeway which done Colonel Foulks Marched over into the Island of Allen where he met with Colonel Piper who had come in at the other side but the Irish betook themselves to the Woods and we only got some small Booty which they had left I have heard that my Lord Baltimore at his coming over from Ireland in King James the First 's time to give his Majesty an account of the State of that Kingdom amongst otherthings told the King That the Irish were a wicked People but had been as wickedly dealt withal I make no Applications of the Expression to our selves tho' most people that have been in that Country know how to do it But as to any publick Action little of moment hapned for some time after we returned to our Winter Quarters tho' the Rapparees being encouraged by our withdrawing were very troublesome all the Country over nor will it be amiss once for all to give you a brief Account how the Irish managed this Affair to make the Rapparees so Considerable as they really were doing much more mischief at this Upon what account the Rapparees were servicable to the Irish time o' th' year than any thing that had the face of an Army could pretend to When the Irish understood therefore how our Men were Posted all along the Line and what advantage might be hoped for at such and such places they not only encouraged all the protected Irish to do us secretly all the mischief they could either by concealed Arms or private Intelligence under the pretence of their being Plundered and abused but they let loose a great part of their Army to manage the best for themselves that time and opportunity would allow them to all these they gave Passes signifying to what Regiment they belonged that in case they were taken they might not be dealt withal as Rapparees but Souldiers These Men knew the Country nay all the secret Corners Woods and Boggs keeping a constant Correspondence with one another and also with the Army who furnished them with all necessaries especially Ammunition When they had any Project on Foot their method was not to appear in a Body for then they would have been discovered and not only so but Carriages and several other things had been wanting which every one knows that's acquainted with this Trade Their way was therefore to make a private appointment to meet at
contrived towards the King's Island 206 A Breach made in the Wall 210 Guns planted near St. Thomas's Island 213 Collonel Earl sent into England 214 My Lord Lisburn killed 215 A Party pass the River upon a Bridge of Boats 216 The Irish in a great Consternation 217 Debates whether the Siege should be continued or turned into a Blockade 220 Orders in case of an Alarm 222 Our Forces pass the River a second time 223 The Attack at Thoumond Bridge where six hundred of the Enemy were killed 224 A Remarkable Paper found in the Pocket of a Collonel in the Irish Army 225 The Enemy beat a Parley 228 A Cessation agreed to Hostages exchanged 229 230 The Irish Proposals rejected by the Generals ibid. Articles agreed to 231 The General 's Letter to Sir Ralph Delaval giving him an Account of the Cessation 232 A brief Account of what happened in other parts of the Kingdom during this Month 268 c. CHAP. IX THE Lords Justices come to the Camp 238 The Articles signed ibid. The Articles at large both Civil and Military with Their Majesties Confirmation of them 239 c. Our men take possession of the Irish Town 256 A Lieutenant-Collonel imprisoned for denying to go into France 257 A Declaration from the General 258 My Lord Lucan's Arguments to the Irish to persuade them to go into France 260 Their Foot drawn out and put to the trial ibid. The Lords Justices return towards Dublin ibid. Our Army decamps and goes to Quarters 263 Some of the Irish go towards Cork 264 CHAP. X. THE Campaign ended and Irish Prisoners of War released 268 Some Rapparees deliver up their Arms 269 A Proclamation of pardon to the rest ibid. The Ulster Irish return home with their Cattle 270 The French Fleet comes into the Shannon 271 Some Objections against the Articles of Limerick answered 275 The last of the Irish march from Limerick 281 The General goes to Dublin and thence for England 288 Major-General Mackay and Major-General Talmash go for England 284 The Danes ordered to be shipt off ibid. Fortifications of Ballymore and Mullingar demolished 285 Our Transport Ships that carry the Irish return from France 288 The Late King's Letter to the Irish at their Landing 289 Their Reception in France ibid. My Lord Lucan's Release to the General 292 The Irish that stay'd with us very unruly in their Quarters Orders and Instructions for breaking them all except two Battalions 294 295 The Oaths taken according to the New Act of Parliament 296 An Order to turn out all Papists from our Regiments 297 A Proclamation declaring the War of Ireland ended 302 CHAP. XI A Brief Account of the former and present Circumstances of Ireland 304 Its Division into Provinces and Counties Bishopricks and Parishes Cities and Corporations It s Soil c. 305 306 Sir John Davis's Reasons why Ireland has been so long in being intirely subjected to the Crown of England 307 What Tavistry is 309 This a Reason why the Irish did not improve their Country 310 Of Fosterings and Cosherings ibid. Ireland ought to be put into a Condition to bear its own Burden 314 What Methods the Irish first took to make the old English joyn with them 315 A brief Account of the Expences of the former War ibid. An Essay towards the Charge of this 316 A modest conjecture at the Numbers lost on both sides and in the Country during the VVar 317 The Interest of England to advance the power of the English in Ireland 318 Our Ancestors sensible of this 320 The former Evils still remain ibid. The Interest of the Irish-Papists themselves to advance the Power of England 321 Two Objections answered 322 Religion in the first place to be taken care of 323 An Invasion from France at this Juncture upon any of these three Kingdoms not practicable 326 A Remark upon the last that endeavoured it 328 A Continuation of the Impartial History OF THE WARS of IRELAND CHAP. I. A brief Account by way of Introduction of the Cause of the War The state of the Protestants in that Kingdom The Late King 's landing there The Sessions of Parliament in Ireland Protestants Routed at Drummore and other Places Derry Besieged and Relieved The Irish beat at Croom Castle Duke Sconberg lands in August 1690. Carigfergus Surrendred Newry Burnt The Army march'd to Dundalk And Encamp there nigh ten Weeks Sligo taken by the Irish A Party of theirs Repulsed at Newry The Battel of Cavan The Danes land in Ireland 5000 French Foot land at Kinsale Charlemont Surrendred THE Actions of Great Men have generally been esteemed so powerful for the instructing of those that come after that most Civil States have made it their Business to Transcribe and preserve them to posterity for their Example and Imitation Even the Irish themselves when they were far from being one of the most Reformed Nations in the World had their Bards and Ballad-makers who have taken no small pains in their way to render the Chieftains of their own Country as famous as others Nay the Greatest Generals and Emperors have in the midst of their Conquests imployed some of their time to leave the immortal Memory of their own and other Great Mens Actions in writing the omission of which has been a great defect in the middle Age of the World since those are commonly the most Competent Judges of the management of Affairs and ablest to give a true Account But because in this Fighting Age wherein we now live their time is other ways imployed and Great Men have scarce leisure to read much less to write great Books we must be contented to take the best Accounts we can get of their Actions from meaner Hands such as have been Eye-witnesses of them or at least have good grounds for what they tell us And forasmuch as the Disturbances in Ireland have made so great a noise in the Ears of all Europe whilst they lasted and my self as a constant Attendant on their Majesties Army having been an Eye-witness to the most Remarkable Occurrences I shall not scruple to tell the World all I know which as it is for the most part little else but the bare matter of Fact I hope it may not be despised though it come from so mean a Hand and in so homely a Dress I need not trouble the Reader with a long Discourse about the Occasion of the War The general Aversion of the People of England to Popery and their being ill treated by a Prince of that Persuasion made such a sudden Change in that Kingdom as the like never happened before in any Age or Countrey But Ireland was under different Circumstances the Roman-Catholick Party being there by much the stronger at least more numerous of whom my Lord Tyrconnell had during the late King's Reign been modelling an Army that might be ready on all Occasions to maintain the Popish Interest by which the Protestants in that Kingdom were brought upon the very brink of Ruine and then
the Town but such a Guard as we think fit to send to one of the Gates which shall immediately be delivered to us according to the Custom of War III. That the Garison shall march out to morrow by Ten a Clock and be conducted by a Squadron of Horse to the nearest Garison of the Enemy and there shall be no crowding nor confusion when they march out IV. That nothing be carried out of the Town which belongs to the Protestants or other Inhabitants V. That the Governour obliges himself to deliver all Cannon and other sort of Arms Munition Victuals of any kind into the hands of such a Commissary as shall be ordered by us to receive them to morrow morning VI. That if there be any thing due from the Garison to the Inhabitants of the Protestant Religion it shall be paid and what has been taken from them shall be restored VII That a safe Conduct for all the Inhabitants of the Countrey and such of the Roman-Catholick Clergy that came for shelter to this Garison shall be allowed and that they go to their respective habitations together with their Goods and there be protected pursuant to King William 's Declaration bearing date the 22 d. of February last past VIII That care shall be taken of the sick and wounded men of the Garison that cannot go along with the Regiments and that when they are in a condition to follow the rest they shall have our Pass SCHONBERG Pursuant to which Articles the Irish marched out tho the Duke himself had much a-do to protect them from the Violence of the Countrey People the Injuries they had received in being plundered and stript by them were so fresh in their memories The Irish had about 150 killed and wounded during the Siege and the Duke near the same number and Wednesday the 28th and the day following the Army marched back to Belfast where they were joined by Duke Schonbergh's French Horse Sir Thomas Gowers Foot and some other Regiments sent from England On Saturday the last of August our Army was Our Army mustered at Belfast Mustered being Four Regiments of Horse one of Dragoons and Eighteen Regiments of Foot viz. Horse Earl of Devonshire's Lord Delamere's Col. Coy's and Duke Schonberg's with Col. Leveson's Dragoons Foot one Battalion of Blew Dutch Carleson's White Dutch Princess Anne's Col. Wharton's Earl of Drogheda's Lord Lisburn's Earl Meath's Lord Roscommon's Lord Lovelace's Earl of Kingston's the Duke of Norfolk's Col. Herbert's Sir Edward Deering's Sir Thomas Gower's Col. Earl's La Mellionere's Du Cambon's La Callimot's and a day or two after we were joined by most of the Inniskilling Horse who stayed with us during the succeeding Campaign The Duke having ordered most of his Artillery and Ammunition on Board at Carrickfergus our Train Horses being many of them as yet at Chester and then to go for Carlingford within eight miles of Dundalk he marched The Army march to Newry his Army forwards on Monday the 2 d. of September and came on the 6th to Newry which he found laid in Ashes by the Duke of Berwick who having been there with about 1700 Foot and Dragoons and two Troops of Horse had retired towards Dundalk the evening before and left Newry in a flame Here the General posted Capt. Palliser of Sir Thomas Gower's Regiment with Fifty men in an old Castle that was unburnt and on Saturday the 7th we Thence to Dundalk marched to Dundalk where the Army encamped on a low moist Ground nigh a mile short of the Town On Sunday the 8th Major-General Kirk's Sir John Hanmer's and Brigadier Stuart's Regiments join'd us from the North. The Irish Army were at this time in a great Consternation The Irish in confusion and it was debated whether they should quit Drogheda and Dublin and so retire towards the Shannon but my Lord Tyrconnel opposed it and when Marshal De Rose understood that Duke Schonberg halted at Dundalk He was sure he said that he wanted something necessary for their going forwards and therefore part of their Army advanced first to Ardee and then in a day or two to a place called the Bridge of Fane upon a small River within three miles of Dundalk whither the late King with his whole Army being about 28000 well arm'd and nigh Ten thousand indifferently arm'd men followed about the 15th at what time we began to intrench our Camp and also some shipping with Provisions came to us Friday the 20th we were alarm'd with the Enemies The Irish make a shew of fighting approach and they did appear upon the Hills above the Town next day drawing out their whole Army with a Train of Artilery which the Duke seeing ordered all his men to stand to their Arms and expected the Enemies attacking him but that they had no great mind to and after a Discovery of a Plot by some French to carry the rest over to King James one Du Plessy and five more being hanged as also Two hundred others sent for England the Enemy seeing that opportunity lost they returned with the main Body of their Army to Ardee where they encamped till about the 4th of November and then they marching off we thought it high time to do so likewise after being encamp'd almost Ten weeks in a very unwholsome place and pestered with all the disadvantages of bad weather by reason of which we lost in the Camp in our going to Quarters and in them and the Hospitals at least one half of our men the Army consisting then of Nine Regiments and Two Troops of Horse Four Regiments of Dragoons and Thirty Regiments of Foot whereof Two Regiments of Horse One of Dragoons and Six of Foot did not come to the Camp but were quartered in the Countrey The English Camp near Dundalk Towards the latter end of November the General ordered a Meeting of all the Countrey Gentlemen then in the North of Ireland to be at Lisburne where his Grace's Head Quarters were fixed at what time they presented the Duke with an Address and then agreed upon Rates for all sorts of Provision which by Proclamation from the General were commanded to be sold accordingly December the 12th Collonel Woolsly marched with a Party towards Belturbet which was surrendred to him by the Irish and on the 13th the Duke went to view Charlemont a strong-hold which the Irish then had and kept for some time afterwards Towards the latter end of December the Irish began to lessen the Coin of their Brass-Money calling in the large Half-Crowns and stamping them a new for Crowns and near the same time Major-General Major-General Mackarty makes his escape Mackarty made his escape from Inniskilling where he had remained a Prisoner ever since the Rout at Croom Castle Collonel Hambleton Governour of the Town was Tried by a Court-Marshal for it afterwards but producing Major-General Kirk's Letter to him wherein he desired that some further Conveniencies might be allowed Mackarty than formerly upon which it
get out again And the second Week in May several English a Brandenburg and Three Dutch Regiments landed By which time also all our Recruits were compleated and the Regiments Cloathed so that we had now an Excellent Army all over-joyed with the Assurance that His Majesty in person designed to make that Campaign in Ireland A part of our Army also begin to take the Field and Encamp almost round Charlemont Cannon and Mortars were sent up that way too in order to force old Teague O Regan the Governour from his Nest if he would not quit it otherways but their Provisions being spent and no hopes of Relief appearing on the 12th of May the Governour desired a Parley and after some time it was agreed That his Garison should march out with their Arms and Baggage which they did Charlemont surrendred on the 14th being about Eight hundred besides two hundred Women and Children four Companies of Collonel Babington's Regiment taking possession of the Place We found Seventeen Pieces of Cannon one large Mortar Eighty three Barrels of Powder with some Fire Arms and other useful Materials in the Castle The same day that Charlemont was surrendred Collonel Woolsley and Collonel Foulks with Twelve hundred men went to a Castle called Bellynacargy in which the Enemy had Two hundred men this was scituate in a small Lough so that our men were forced to march up to their middles in water to make their Approaches the Enemy fired smartly upon us killed us Two Captains an Ensign and Seventeen men and wounded Forty three but when they saw us resolved to have the Place they hung out their White Flag and agreed to march away without their Arms. A Ground Plot of the STRONG FORT of CHARLEMONT in IRELAND With the Town River Marshes Boggs places adjacent ct CHAP. II. His Majesty lands in Ireland Our Army takes the Field The King marches towards the Boyn His Majesty's narrow Escape the day before the Battel The Battel of the Boyn The number of the Dead The Late King quits Ireland Our Army marches to Dublin His Majesty's Declaration to the Irish A List of our General Officers and of those belonging to the Irish Army The number of men in both Armies Our Army divides Lieutenant-General Douglass marches with a Party towards Athlone A Commission granted by the King to secure forfeited Goods Wexford secured Clonmell quitted Waterford and Dungannon-Fort surrendred to His Majesty The King intends for England and sends some Forces thither But returns to the Camp Limerick Besieged Some of our Guns surprized A Fort taken An Attack upon the Town Our men draw off His Majesty raises the Siege and returns to England ALL People were now big with hopes of His Majesty's coming for Ireland who left Kensington the Fourth of June 1690. took Shipping at Hylake His Majesty Lands in Ireland on the 12th and on the 14th being Saturday he landed about Four in the Afternoon at Carigfergus from whence being upon the Road to Belfast he was met by the General Major-General Kirk and a great many more Officers of the Army that were there expecting His Majesty's Landing And that Evening landed his Highness Prince George the Duke of Ormond Earl of Oxford Earl of Portland Earl of Scarborough Earl of Manchester my Lord Overkirk my Lord Sidney with a great many other Persons of Quality some of them Officers in the Army and others Voluntiers The two following days His Majesty was attended by most of the Nobily Clergy and other Gentlemen inhabiting that part of the Kingdom He was presented also with an Address from the Episcopal Clergy and another from several Presbyterian Ministers both which His Majesty received very graciously The King stayed at Belfast till Thursday the 19th and having set out a Proclamation to encourage all People of what Persuasion soever to live peaceably at home His Majesty went to Hilsburrough giving Ordes for his Army to take the Field And on the All our Army takes the Field 22th His Majesty Encampt at Loughbritland with that part of the Army which had their Rendezvouz there and never laid out of the Camp except upon his Journey from Caruck to Dublin after that during his stay in Ireland That Morning a Party of Two hundred Foot and Dragoons going from Newry towards Dundalk to discover the Enemy who ere this had taken the Field and then lay encamped there our men fell into an Ambuscade of about Four hundred of the Irish at a narrow Pass upon a Bog nigh a place called the Four-mile House by which we lost Twenty two of our Party and Captain Farlow with another Officer were taken Prisoners but the Enemy did not gain much by this Attempt for they lost more in number than we did Captain Farlow was the first who gave the Late King a certain Account of King William's being in Ireland for till then he would not believe it June the 27th our whole Army joined at Dundalk making in all about Thirty six thousand though the World called us at least a third part more The Irish at our approach hither had removed to the Boyn And on Sunday the 29th our Army marched beyond Ardee which the Enemy had fortified much after the same manner as they had done Dundalk and early next morning our whole Army moved toward the The Army marches to the Boyn Boyne making their Approaches very finely After some time His Majesty sent down small Parties of Horse to discover the Ways and then rid towards the Pass at Old Bridge having a full view of the Enemy's Camp as he went along His Majesty stopt some time at Old Bridge to observe the Enemy's Posture and then going a little further His Majesty alighted to refresh himself and sate nigh an hour upon the Grass during which time the Enemy brought down two Field-pieces under Covert of a small Party of Horse and planted them at the Corner of a Hedge undiscovered and when His Majesty the Prince and the rest were mounted again and riding softly the same way back their Cannonier let fly and at the second Shot was so near the killing His Majesty His Majesty's narrow Escape from a Great Shot as that the Bullet slanted upon his Right Shoulder took away a piece of his Coat and struck off the Skin which might have been a fatal Blow to his Army and Kingdoms too if the Great Creator of the World who orders and governs all things had not been at his Right Hand where he always is and I hope will be as well for the defence of His Majesty's Sacred Person as the good of those he has undertaken to protect The Enemy then fired those two Pieces as fast as they could charge and discharge doing some damage amongst our Horse that were drawing up before them which made the King give Orders for his Horse to rein a little backwards and have the advantage of a Rising Ground between them and the Cannon About Three a Clock
indeed the Militia were as active to suppress them However the White Serjeant with one Mackabe and Cavenagh were very troublesome nigh Kildare Those were three Fellows all under the same Circumstances who running away from the Irish Army they got small Parties of Rogues together and haunted the Bogg of Allen and other places of the Country thereabouts which were particularly well known to them and by that means gave the Inhabitants no small disturbance They were hunted by the Militia nigh this time and three of the White Serjeant's men Shot at one time and two of Mackabe's at another and soon after three more were killed near Murney And our publick Accounts tell us of a hundred and ten Rapparees killed by Captain Baggott's Militia Dragoons since the beginning of this Month in several Parties But Cavenagh and his Men being afraid to trade any more in the Bogg of Allen they remove towards the Mountains of Wicklow where Lieutenant Cooly met with them and killing fifteen took their Captain upon which the rest dispersed or joyned with Mackabe and the White Sergeant May the 20th Mark Baggot formerly spoke of Mark Baggâ— hanged being condemned and reprieved till now was this Day hanged having said nothing to the purpose but that our best places to pass the Shannon were Melick and Banoher May 24. Major Welden of the Militia and Captain Phillips of Colonel Earls's Regiment kill thirteen Rapparees near Montmelick Captain Vnderhill of my Lord Lisburn's Regiment with sixty Foot and ten Dragoons goes to Ballenderry May the 26th where they met with a Party of nigh three hundred of the Irish Army whom they engaged killing Captain Geoghagan and four more Officers and as the Account was fifty private Men. Next Day the same Captain went out with only twenty four Men and kill'd twelve but being set upon by a good Party of the Irish commanded by Colonel Geoghagan he made his retreat to Dunore Castle having only one Man kill'd and another wounded The same Day some Dutch Horse being come to the Camp now at Mullingar a Party of them went abroad kill'd several Rapparees and brought in thirty Prisoners At this time Lieutenant-General Douglas was marched Lieutenant-General Douglas encamps with a Party at Ardagh out of the North with a Body of Men and encamped at a place called Ardagh in the County of Longford twelve Miles from Mullingar And the Duke of Wirtenberg was gone towards Thurles where the Foreigners that quartered last Winter in Munster were ordered to Rendezvouz and to be ready to joyn the rest of the Army nigh Banoher where our Great Men had some thoughts at that time of passing Our Train of Artillery was also upon their march from Dublin to Mullingar being such an one as never had been seen before in that Kingdom Major-General Ruvigny is now at the Camp at Mullingar Our Great Officers take the Field whither went Major-General Mackay on the 28th who came lately from Scotland Major-General Kirk and Sir John Lanier go for England and land at Neston on the thirtieth And much about the same time the Duke of Leinster's Regiment of Horse formerly my Lord Devonshire's landed in England and march'd towards Coventry Major-General Talmash being sent by His Majesty to assist the other Great Officers this Campaign in Ireland landed at Dublin the latter end of May having with him Sir Martin Beckman chief Ingineer and in a Day or two he went towards the Camp About this time the Gentlemen of the County of East-Meath meeting at Trim agreed to scoure the Red Bog nigh that place where the Rapparees haunted and had done much mischief during the last Winter the issue was that thirty five were kill'd and six more fairly hanged Some were also kill'd by the Militia of the County of Waterford and others near Kilmallock by Parties that advanced so far By Packets from England the General had an Account by Letters from Monsieur de Opdam Lieutenant-General of the Horse in Holland who went to Breda about the exchange of Prisoners taken at the Boyne Cork Kinsale c. with the Dutch taken at the Battle of Fleur that the French refused to release the Irish Officers under such Characters as they gave themselves but left them under very ill Circumstances upbraiding them in terms very disrespectful tho' they released the Irish Soldiers and sent them to Thoulon Marseilles c. for the Sea-service This Month now draws towards an end and all People that had any business towards the Camp are resorting thither in order to which the Lords-Justices set out a Proclamation Commanding all Sutlers and others to carry no Ale or other Liquors to the Camp but what was good and well brewed and to be at least six Days old to prevent Fluxes and other Distempers There was also another Proclamation Commanding all Persons that designed to be Sutlers to come to Dublin for Licenses and to renew those each Journey But this being found inconvenient for the Army it was recalled May the 30th Lieutenant-General Ginckel went The General goes to the Camp from Dublin and lying that Night at Tycroghan next Day his Excellency came to the Camp at Mullingar where he found Foot viz. Major-General Kirk's Lord Meath's Lord Lisburn's Lord Cutts's Colonel Foulks's Colonel Brewer's Lord George Hamilton's and Colonel Earls's Horse Sir John Lanier's Brigadier Villers's Colonel Langston's Rydesel's Roucour's and Monopovillon's with Colonel Leveson's Dragoons who before his coming over was made a Brigadier by His Majesty The Soldiers every Day in one Regiment or another began to appear fine in their new Cloths and before the Army took the Field the Lords-Justices with the Advice of the General appointed several Officers that had been or were actually then in the Army to Command the Militia in different places of the Kingdom not as being Absolute but rather Superintendents of the whole As in the County of Cork Major Stroud was imployed in the Counties of Wickloe and Wexford Major Brooks and Captain Phillips as were also Major Tichburn Lieutenant-Colonel Toby Caulfield and others in several other places CHAP. V. June 1691. The Fortifications at Mullingar contracted into a narrower compass A Stratagem of the Irish to get Horses The Irish march towards Athlone Our Army goes towards Ballymore That place besieged Its Situation described Four Batteries planted The General 's Message sent in writing A Parley beat The Fort surrendred Ballymore better fortified The Army march towards Athlone and joyned by the Duke of Wirtenberg We approach the Town Batteries planted The order of the Attack The English Town taken Batteries against the Irish Town The Enemy ruin our Works A design to pass the Shannon The Enemy burn our close Gallery A Councel of War held A Party ordered to pass the River The Town stormed An Express sent to St. Ruth A part of our Army left in the Country and why Major Culliford surprizes some of the Irish Inniskeen fortified JVne the 1st Very
loss casting up some Works nigh the Shannon towards the West behind which the Danes encamped and maintained that part of the Work during the Siege We improved also these Forts deserted by the Irish and drew a new Line from the old Church Fort to Mackay's The 27th in the Morning the Prince of Hess with his The Prince of Hess sent to Castle-Connel own Regiment Col. Tiffin's and Col. St. John's five pieces of Cannon and about 700 Horse and Dragoons marched to Castle-Connel which we had not blown up effectually last Year and wherein the Irish had now a Garison of 250 Men. They refused the Prince's Proffers to them at first but after two Days Siege were content to be all made Prisoners of War The same Day Maj. Gen. Scravemore went with another Party and four Guns to Carick-a-Gunnel a Castle upon the River three miles below the Town wherein was a Garison of 150 Men who also submitted to be Prisoners of War as did one or two Castles more the leaving these Detachments in such places being very inaccountable since they had a mind to defend them no better This seems rather want of Instructions what to do than Courage to perform it for to give the Irish their due they can defend stone Walls very handsomly We read that Sir George Carew President of Munster in Queen Elizabeth's Time took the Castle of Dunboy in the West of Ireland by Assault where the Irish made the most resolute Defence of any of the like nature before or since for the Garison being 130 choice Men were all either killed or hanged for holding out and some of them defended the very Vaults during a whole Night though all the rest of the Castle was taken and one Mack Geoghagan being desperately wounded when he saw the English enter the Vault he endeavoured to cast a lighted Candle into a Barrel of Powder to blow himself and them up together but was prevented in his Design and so died The Irish planted two Field-pieces on the opposite side the River by which they obliged two Regiments of our Dragoons that lay close to the Shannon to remove but as soon as we had placed some Guns to flank their small Battery they drew off Orders were given to fit up 600 Bombs and 1000 Hand-Granades and in the Afternoon eighteen of our Ships came up the River within a mile of the Town and fired some Shots into the Irish Our Ships come nigh the Town Horse-Camp as they sailed along they being encamped at that time nigh the River at a place called Craightulagh This put several of the Irish much out of Countenance for till then they were made believe that either we had no Ships in the River or else those we had would quickly be swallowed up by the French Fleet which they hourly expected The 28th an Order was sent to Kinsale for the rest of the Provision-Ships then in that Harbour to sail to the Shannon And the General went on board some of those Ships that came up the Day before giving Command to bring on shoar several Pieces of new Cannon and Mortars which was performed on the 29th And all the Prisoners that had been taken in several Castles being about 400 in number were sent towards Clonmel with a Party of Horse and Dragoons to guard them This Evening our Line of Circumvallation was finished and our other Works by hard labour much improved the Enemy playing hot upon us from the King's Castle and three more Batteries Our Business was now to raise a Battery for ten Guns and seven Mortars which was performed before next Morning and August the 30th our Guns and Mortars were drawn down to it the first began immediately to play on Thoumond-Bridg and the Houses on that side the Town at Night also our Bombs began to fly with pretty good Success 101 being thrown before next Morning The Enemy now desert Killmallock a Town upon the The Enemy desert Killmallock Road between Cork and Limerick whither the Irish flocked in great Numbers in former times to welcome the Earl of Desmond out of England who was sent over upon some Reasons of State by Queen Elizabeth their first Saluations were to throw Wheat and Salt upon him in token of Peace and Plenty But next day when they saw him go to Church they fell to murmur and spit at him and never would own him more And so hateful was not only our Religion but even the Civil Habits and Customs of the English to some of them that in the same Queen's Reign it was with much difficulty that some of the Irish Nobility could be perswaded to put on their Robes when they were to appear in the House of Lords in time of Parliament And I have heard it affirmed by those that knew it that even in this last War and if I am not much mistaken in the Parliament that was held at Dublin by the late King too it was proposed by some to destroy all fine Houses and every thing else that look'd like Improvement and so return to the former barbarous way of living of their Ancestors that it might not be worth the while for England or any other Nation to seek a new Conquest over them but these Men did not consider that England has been at too much Expence and is now too well acquainted with Ireland ever to be without it August 31. One Capt. Morice a Lieutenant and eleven Dragoons belonging to Sir Donald O-Neal's Regiment deserted from beyond the River and tell us that the Enemy were mightily apprehensive of our getting over but that their Horse and Dragoons would endeavour to watch our Motion and do all they could to prevent us Our Batteries play very hard all this Day and at Night four out of each Troop of Horse and Dragoons throughout the Army were ordered to work at a new Battery to the Right of the former and somewhat nearer the Town they wrought very stoutly and finished their Battery before next Morning This was a thing very unusual for Horsemen especially to work in Trenches but there was in a manner a Necessity for it for our Foot were upon Duty by whole Regiments every second Night beside Detachments and Workmen upon sundry Occasions every Day And therefore Adjutant General Withers was commanded to order the Regiments that marched to the Trenches not to mount with Colours that the Enemy might not be sensible how fast our Duty came upon us The same Day a Party of four hundred Horse was Brigadeer Leveson sent into Kerry sent abroad to scour the Country And Brigadeer Leveson with seven hundred Horse and Dragoons went into the County of Kerry to reduce the Irish in those Parts Which some of the Inhabitants in other Places will needs call the most natural Irish in the Kingdom and yet they say every Cow-boy amongst them can speak Latin on purpose to save them from the Gallows when they come afterwards to be tried for Theft For though
four executed two more were hanged at Carlow by Sir Thomas Butler's Orders and one of Mackabe's Servants kill'd and thus ended the Month of August CHAP. VIII September 1691. Our Bombs set the Town on fire The Irish design a Salley but are repulsed by my Lord Drogheda 's Regiment Brigadeer Leveson routs a Party of the Irish in Kerry A Design to pass the River A new large Battery made towards the King's Island A Breach made Some thoughts of storming it Guns planted nigh St. Thomas 's Island The Cannon and Bombs play at the Cathedral and why Colonel Earl sent into England Rejoicing in the Camp for the Defeat of the Turks My Lord Lisburn killed A Party ordered to pass the River by a Bridg of Boats The Irish in a great Consternation The Castle on the Weir taken Debates whether the Siege should be continued or turned into a Blockade Orders in case of an Alarm Some Guns shipp'd Our Men pass the River a second time The Attack at Thoumond Gate Six hundred of the Enemy killed A remarkable Paper found in the Pocket of a Colonel in the Irish Army The Enemy beat a Parley A Cessation agreed to Hostages exchanged The Irish Proposals rejected by the General Articles agreed to The General 's Letter to Sir Ralph Delaval giving him an Account of the Cessation A brief Account of what happened in other Parts of the Kingdom during this Month. SEptember the First Col. Woolsley with a Party of 500 Horse and Dragoons went towards Killalow it being reported that Sarsfield was moving that way upon some secret Expedition into our Quarters All last Night and that Morning our Bombs and Cannon plaid upon the Town setting it on fire in some Places which was no small trouble to those within to put it out It Our Bombs set the Town on fire was ordered that Afternoon that most of our Guns and Mortars should be shipp'd again and at Night Maj. Gen. Tettan commands in the Works A little after our Guards were relieved we understood the Irish designed a Salley in order to which a considerable Body of their Men advanced towards our Works between Nassau's Fort and the great Battery where the Earl of Drogheda with his Regiment was then upon Duty His Lordship The Irish intend a Salley perceived the Irish were coming and therefore ordered his Men not to fire till they should advance within Pistol-shot of us and then to give them a whole Volley But the Souldiers perceiving the others Approach would not forbear to shoot amongst them which was the reason that the Irish could not be perswaded to advance any But are repulsed by my Ld Drogheda's Regiment further though they had then a very good Opportunity since there was but one Regiment at that time to defend above 300 Yards of the Works We had one Man kill'd and two wounded and were in a small time reinforced by Col. Venner's Regiment and a Party of Horse were sent down to remain all Night as near the Works as they could conveniently The Guns plaid and Mortars also for some part of the Night but the General saw that our Batteries were too far off and therefore new Measures were consulted on LYMRICK A Council of War was this day held and also a Court Martial whereof the Earl of Drogheda was President at which amongst other things a Woman was condemned for endeavouring to intice some of our French Souldiers into Town whom she took to be Roman Catholicks This Evening two great Mortars 18 Inches and an half Diameter that were brought from Ship-board were mounted and several Bombs thrown but they did not do the hoped-for Execution which occasioned the drawing them and the Guns off from the Batteries with a design to attempt something elsewhere or if it could be to pass the River which the Enemy having private A Design to pass the River notice of they removed their Horse-Camp about two Miles to the North-East of Limerick posting four Regiments of Dragoons to guard the Shannon below Anighbegg where they had three Regiments of Foot lay intrenched The Cannon however had been so troublesom to the Inhabitants that most of them left the Town and encamp'd under Sheets and Blankets with what else they could procure nigh a Party of their Horse where they and their Army wanted nothing so much as Salt The General seeing the Enemies Camp removed went to a convenient Place to view them The third the Guns and Mortars put on board were again unshipp'd upon new Measures being taken and brought up to the Artillery-Ground One of Col. Nugent's Dragoons deserted from the Enemy leaving them the Night before and says that 17 Regiments of Horse and Dragoons belonging to their Army were most of them at that time beyond the River but neither well equipp'd nor clad nor were the Regiments nigh full The 4th Lieut. Col. Peck with the Princess Ann's Regiment came to the Camp and in the Evening a Party of 300 Horse and Dragoons were sent to reinforce Brigadeer Leveson and some Reports there were that he was surrounded by the Enemy upon which the General sent to him to return but it proved only a Prey of Cows that the Enemy had taken from some of the Countrey-People who had bought them from the Brigadeer's Party at the Rout they gave the Irish However the Brigadeer had Orders afterwards to secure the County of Kerry and to endeavour the reducing the Enemies Garisons there six Guns being ordered for that Service For the Enemies keeping some small Garisons between our Camp and Cork was a great Disadvantage to us in point of Provisions which otherwise we might have expected Plenty of from that part of the Countrey The Duke of Wyrtemberg as 't is said by the Advice of my Lord Castle-connel who was come to our Camp had A new Battery contrived nigh the Kings Island now found out a Place for a new Battery nigh the King's Island on the River-side which was thought nearer the Town than the former and from whence we could batter the English Town more effectually This Place in our publick Accounts was said to be within Carbine shot of the Wall and yet it was at least 300 Yards from it Nor was there any Conveniency to raise a Battery any nearer against this part of the Town by reason of the River to the Right and a low Morass Ground on the Front But some Disputes about this new Battery were raised before it self though at last it was concluded on and several Regiments both of Horse and Foot were ordered to move towards the Right as well for the security of our Battery as to front the Irish Army who were gone that way before us We were at work also very hard upon a Line of Contravallation raising three or four new Forts between the old Church and the King's Island to secure the remaining part of our Army in case some of them should be commanded over the River September the 5th
delivering up their Arms a very small return being made through the whole Kingdom they keeping as yet some thousands of all sorts of Arms still concealed which I hope will effectually be taken care of in time The weather was now so violent that the Adventure of London was cast away going to Dublin and several other Ships lost in and about that Bay And the Swallow one of Their Majesties Ships was forced a ground nigh Charles-Fort at Kingsale and there foundred tho' all the Men were saved except two February the 12th John Stone Esq being dead and Captain South imployed elsewhere in the Army a new Commission was granted putting in their Places Colonel Foulks and William Palmer Esquires Commissioners for stating the Accounts of the Army And nigh the same time the Commissary General was sent into England with all the Muster Rolls February 16. the weather breaking up part of my Lord Oxford's Horse driven back by stress of weather Lieutenant General Ginckel's and Major General Ruvigney's Horse with the Princess Anns Foot were all Shipp'd for England The same day Lieutenant General Scravemore went on Board as did Brigadier Leveson in a day or two after Colonel Coy's Horse also are Shipp'd off at Belfast and the Garison of Athlone that had been very uneasie to the Officers and Souldiers all Winter by reason they had no shelter except some small Hutts of their own making was now relieved February the 20th the Commissioners of the Ordnance Arms and Ammunition sent for England had an Order directed to them to send all the Stores of Amunition and other Stores of War that cou'd be spared out of the Magazines for England to be employed elsewhere in Their Majesties Service and accordingly March 1692. a vast quantity of Arms and other Utensils of War were Shipt off February 28 Captain Townsend of the Earl of Meath's Regiment took eight or ten French Men Prisoners who had come a Shoar from a Privateer nigh Castle-Haven and we had an Account from England that His Majesty had Created Lieutenant General Ginckel Baron of Aghrim and Earl of Athlone February 26 An Order was directed to Colonel Foulk to break my Lord George Hambleton's Regiment which was done accordingly in some days after 150 ' of the Men being sent for England and the rest entertained in the Earl of Drogheda's Brigadier Stuart's Sir Henry Ballasis and Colonel Foulk's Regiments March the first a Pass was given out for a Ship to The Hostages go from Cork to France go to France with the Hostages left at Cork and other sick Officers and Souldiers according to the Articles of Limerick And on the third another Order was granted to Colonel Foulk for the raising five Companies of 100 Men in each of the Irish all the subaltern Officers to be of those Reformed in Colonel Wilson's and O Donnel's Battalions and the whole to be commanded by my Lord Iveigh and employed in the Emperor's Service And March the fifth an Order was directed to Mr. Foliot Sherigly chief Deputy Commissary to Disband the Troop of Provoes which was done accordingly March the 17th Lieutenant-General Ruvigny Landed Lieutenant General Ruvigny lands in Ireland from England being made Commander in chief of the Army left in Ireland and Created by his Majesty Lord Viscount Galway and two days after his Lordship and the Lord Viscount Blessington were Sworn of Their Majesties Privy Council as the Bishop of Kildare had been some time before And March the 23 d. the following Proclamation was Published declaring the War of Ireland to be at an end 1692 WILLIAM REX WHEREAS by An Act made in Our Parliament A Proclamation declaring the Wars of Ireland ended at Westminster in the First Year of Our Reign Intituled An Act for the better Security and Relief of Their Majesties Protestant Subjects of Ireland it was among other things Enacted that all and every Person and Persons whatsoever of the Protestant Religion should be absolutely Discharged and Acquitted of and from the Payment of all Quit-Rents Crown-Rents Composition-Rents Hearth-Money Twentieth Parts Payments and other Chief Rents arising or Payable out of any Houses Lands Tenements Hereditaments Rectories Tyths or Church-Livings incurring or becoming due to us at any time after the Five and Twentieth Day of December in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty Eight until the said Kingdom of Ireland shou'd be by us declared to be reduced and the War and Rebellion there ended We have now pursuant to the said Act of Parliament thought fit by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council to Issue this Our Royal Proclamation hereby Declaring that the said Kingdom of Ireland is reduced to Our Obedience and the War and Rebellion there ended And We do hereby Will and Require that all and Singular such Rents and Payments and all other Duties payable to the Crown which shall henceforth grow incur and become due be duely answered and payed to us in such manner and under such Penalties and Forfeitures as if the said Act had not been made Given at Our Court at Kensington the Third Day of March 1691 2. in the Fourth Year of Our Reign God save the King and Queen After which time little of moment happened save March 1692. that the Lords Justices by Directions from Their Majesties appointed a time for those that pretended to the Benefit of the Articles of Limerick or Galway to give in their Names and make good their claims by the 20th of February which time was by Proclamation enlarged to the first of April and afterwards to the 15th Wednesday the sixth of April was appointed the first Day to begin upon those Claims all those concerned being to enter their Names sometime before with the Clerk of the Council which Names were to be posted up at least ten Days before their Cause was to be heard their Claims being to be made out by at least three Credible Witnesses one of which was to be a Protestant Accordingly on the sixth of April the Council met upon this Affair and continued every Monday Wednesday and Friday so to do which was a much easier way and more to the Interest and Advantage of the Irish than any Court of Claims erected only for that purpose cou'd have been CHAP. XI A brief Account of the former and present Circumstances of Ireland The Division of it into Provinces and Counties Bishopricks and Parishes The Soil of Ireland Sir John Davis his Reasons why Ireland was so long in being entirely subjâ—cted to the Crown of England What Tanistry is This a reason why the Irish did not improve their Country Of Fosterings and Cosherings A Brief Estimate of the Expence of the former Wars of Ireland An Essay towards the reckoning the Charge of this last The former evils still remain The Interest of the King and People of England in general to advance the Power and Trade of the English in Ireland The Interest also of the Roman Catholicks
themselves whether of English or Irish Extraction to advance the Power of England in that Kingdom Two main Objections answered Religion in the first place to be taken care of An Invasion from France upon that Kingdom England or Scotland at this juncture very improbable A Remark upon the last that endeavour'd it I Have now given you all that I know of this last unhappy Irish Wars that is fit at this juncture to be sent to the Press And it 's more possibly than some Men will thank me for or yet the following Remarks that I am going to make upon the Affairs of that Kingdom and its present Circumstances upon which if any please to throw away another half Hour tho' they find nothing worth taking notice of Yet I hope they 'll have no Reason to be angry since Opinion in things indifferent is free to all Men And we have no better way to conjecture what may be hereafter than by comparing our thoughts of it with what now is and formerly has been Ireland next to Great Brittain is the greatest Island The Circumference of Ireland in Europe esteemed by Sir William Petty at Ten Millions Five Hundred Thousand Irish Acres and by others at Ten Millions Eight Hundred and Sixty Eight Thousand Acres which they reckon to be above 17 Millions of English Measure 121 Irish Acres making about 196 English and yet Sir William Petty computes the Irish Acres to make not above 14 Millions of English accounting nigh two Millions of Acres in Mountains Bogs Strands and other unprofitable Land a great part of which however is capable of improvement and makes Ireland in circumference almost equal to England Wales excepted The Latitude of Ireland North is said to be parallel with Dumfrese in Scotland and South to St. Michael's Mount in Cornwal its Longitude West to the utmost point of Ire Conaght in the County of Galway and East to the head of Houth The Kingdom for many Ages past has been divided Itâ— Division into Provinces and Counties into four Provinces three of which before that Division were commonly distinct Monarchies and sometimes the fourth which by degrees as the English Interest prevailed were subdivided into Counties of which there are thirty two at this day in all the Kingdom The Provinces are Leinster Munster Conaght and Vlster Leinster has eleven Counties Dublin Wicklow and Wexford on the Sea-side East-Meath West-Meath and Carlow within Land tho' with a corner reaching to the Sea Kilkenny Kildare Kings-County Queens-County and Longford are Inland Counties also Munster has six Counties two within Land as Tipperary and Limerick but Waterford Cork Kerry and Clare all on the Coast Conaght has Galway Mayo and Sligo towards the Sea with Roscomon and Letrim within Land Vlster has six Counties on the Sea-side Fermanagh Donegal London-Derry Antrim Down and Louth and four within Land as Cavan Monohan Armagh and Tyrone In the Year 1151 according to Cambden Christianus Into Arch-Bishopricks and Bishopricks Bishop of Lismore Legate of all Ireland and Johannes Paperon Cardinal Priest according to Sir James Ware brought four Palls from Eugenius the third and held a Synod or Council at Kells as some say or at Mellefort according to others whereat were present the Bishops Abbots Kings Captains and Elders of Ireland when by General consent four Arch-Bishopricks were Constituted Armagh Dublin Cashel and Tuam under whom there were 34 other Bishopricks viz. ten subordinate to Armagh five to Dublin twelve to Cashel and seven to Tuam But now they are reduced to 21 in all and those divided into 2278 Parishes and those in a political capacity have eight that are called Cities Dublin Kilkenny Waterford Cork Cashel Clogher Limerick and London-Derry besides about ninety Boroughs and Corporations As to the Natural Advantages of Ireland many People The Soil of Ireland can confirm what Sir John Davis a Man of Wit Learning and Prudence has writ several Years ago viz. That having been in all the Provinces of that Kingdom he had observed the good Temperature of the Air the fruitfulness of the Soil the pleasant and commodious Seats for Habitation the safe and large Ports and Havens lying open for Traffick unto all the West parts of the World the long Inlets of many Navigable Rivers and so many great Lakes and fresh Ponds within Land as the like are not to be seen in any part of Europe the rich Fishings and Wild Fowl of all Kinds And lastly the Bodies and Minds of the People Endowed with extraordinary Abilities of Nature And however it has become a Proverb in England The Irish no such Fools as the World Commonly makes them to call a dull unthinking Fellow a Man of an Irish Understanding yet for any thing appears to the contrary they have acted a Prudent part for at least these Five Hundred Years nor is their crafty insinuating wheedling way as yet any thing abated and whosoever will look amongst the Natives of that Countrey at this juncture will probably find some Knaves but as few Folls as in any other Kingdom of the World But since I have mention'd so Judicious an Author Sir John Davis his Reasons why Ireland has been so long in reducing to the Crown of England as Sir John Davis I suppose it will not be unpleasant to hear some of his Reasons why it has been so long a time before Ireland was entirely subject to the Crown of England and why the English were more apt to run into the Irish Barbarous Customs and imitate their way of living than on the Contrary As to the first of these he mentions four main defects of the Armies that at different times were sent out of England to Conquer Ireland 1. They were for the most part too weak for a Conquest 2. When otherwise as in both the Journies of Richard the Second they were too soon broken up and dissolved 3. They were ill paid and 4. They were ill Govern'd a necessary Consequence of the former Which Inconveniences happen'd because the King 's of England for many Ages together were generally otherwise imploy'd either in the Holy-Land or in France or in their Wars with Scotland or else in that unhappy fewd between the two Houses of Lancaster and York So that they cou'd neither attend the Irish War in their own Persons nor spare a Competency either of Men or Money to compleat the Work which was only begun in King Henry the Second's days rather by a few private Adventurers than by any thing that had the face of a Royal Army And besides the standing Forces were seldom or never reinforced out of England that is in the times towards the beginning of the English Government only the King's Treasure there was spent and wholly spent in the King's service so that in the Reigns of four successive Kings Viz. Henry III. Edward I. Edward II. and Edward III. between the Receipts and Allowances this Entry is commonly found in the Pipe-Rolls In Thesauro
the same Religion with the Irish yet they cou'd never be perswaded to stand up for a mere Irish Interest till the Irish in the What Methods the Irish first took to make the old English joyn with them Province of Vlster especially found out the two following Expedients first to intermarry with the English of the Pale and to seek all opportunities of making alliance with them and secondly to perswade the English Gentry always to breed up one of their Sons a Priest by whom and their Irish Wives the English were managed to that degree that tho' at the first breaking out of the Rebellion in 1641. they seemed to detest the Irish ways of proceeding yet in a few Months after a great part of them openly joyned with the Irish and this with the constant troubles in England were the Reasons why that Rebellion was the longest in suppressing A Brief Account of the Expences of the former War and also the most expensive of any before it being on foot 12 Years viz. from the 23 d. of October 1641. until the 26th of September 1653. The Charge to England in suppressing of which and the loss that the Protestant Party in Ireland sustained during this War being computed by Sir John Burlace in his History to amount to Twenty two Millions One Hundred and Ninety One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Pounds Three Shillings and Three Pence And others compute the whole Loss Cost and Charges of the King and Protestant Party to suppress the said Rebellion to amount to 34480000 l. And that the English Adventurers who advanced Money upon the Credit of two Acts of Parliament in the Years 41 and 42 paid 70 Years Purchase for that which was not worth above eight and that the Souldiers paid 115 Years purchase for their Debenters but those People have a mad way of reckoning in the multiplying several of their particulars However as to this last War that we have all seen An Essay towards this I pretend not to so great Skill as to know the Expences of it only thus far is easily computed 1. The Army that Landed with Duke Schonberg and that came some time after into Ireland with those of the Derry and Inniskillin Troops received into Pay under his Grace's Command in the Year 1689. being 9 Regiments and 2 Troops of Horse 4 Regiments of Dragoons and 30 Regiments of Foot the whole pay for which in one Year comes to 869410 l. 7 s. 06 d. 2. His Majesty's Royal Army in that Kingdom in the Year 1690 Consisting of 2 Troops of Guards 23 Regiments of Horse 5 Regiments of Dragoons and 46 Regiments of Foot the Pay of which considering the difference between the Numbers in the Foreign Regiments and our own amounts to 1287630 l. 02 s. 00 d. 3 The Army in that Kingdom in the Year 1691. Commanded by Lieutenant General Ginckel being 20 Regiments of Horse 5 of Dragoons and 42 Regiments of Foot whose Pay for that Year came to 1161830 l. 12 s. 10 d. Then the General Officers Pay the Train Bread Waggons Transport Ships and other Contingencies make at least as much more which is 6637742 l. 05 s. 00 d. And the Irish Army living for the most part upon the product of the Country cou'd not cost much less Besides the farther Destruction of the Protestant Interest in that Kingdom by cutting down Improvements burning of Houses destroying of Sheep and Cattle taking away of Horses with Infinite other Extortions and Robberies as also the loss of People on both sides most of which however disaffected yet they were Subjects to the Crown of England As to the particulars of our and their losses of People A modest Conjecture at the Numbers lost on both sides during the War in both Armies since the Landing of Duke Schonberg in Ireland the best Computation I have been able to make by comparing Accounts and conferring on both sides with those that have made some Observations on that matter the thing runs thus Irish Officers killed 00617 Souldiers killed belonging to the Irish Army 12676 Rapparees killed by the Army and Militia 01928 Rapparees hanged by Legal Process or Court-Marshal 00112 Rapparees killed and hanged by Souldiers and others without any Ceremony 600 Officers killed in the English Army 00140 Soldiers killed in the Field 02037 Murdered privately by the Rapparees that we had no account where they died 00800 English and Foreign Officers died during the three Campaigns 00320 Souldiers dead in the English Army since our Landing in Ireland 7000 Tho' its to be observed that in the two last Campaigns there died very few except Recruits and such as died of their Wounds Nor are we to believe that the Irish did not lose a great many by Sickness also but no doubt the Destruction of the People in the Country wou'd do more than double all these Numbers so that by the Sword Famine and all other accidents there has perished since first the Irish began to play their mad Pranks there have died I say in that Kingdom of one sort and another at least One Hundred Thousand Young and Old besides treble the Number that are Ruined and undone All which being considered it 's certainly most expedient to find out an Eternal Remedy that the like may never happen again And this I humbly suppose must not be any endeavour to root out and destroy the Irish but in the advancing the English Interest both in Church and State in that Kingdom so as to make the Irish themselves in love with it And tho' it has been the Ruining Fate of that Kingdom The Interest of England to advance the Power of the English in Ireland to have some great Men both in Court and Parliament Judge it the Interest of England to keep Ireland poor and low and it may seem strange to hear an English Man by Birth and a meer Stranger to the having any Interest in Ireland to endeavour the contradicting of it But in my humble Opinion whatsoever may be allowed in this as to the promoting the private Advantages of a great many Trading People and even Men of Estates in England which all would suffer by the advancing of these in Ireland yet it 's so far from being the real Interest either of the Kingdom of England to cramp Ireland in its Prosperity that the Wealth and Greatness of Ireland in Trade and Manufactures is to be promoted both by the King and People of England as much as possibly it can And first as to the Kings of England it is the same thing to them whether they have their Customs from Bristol or Dublin from Cork or Newcastle c. or whether their Levies of Men when occasion offers are made in the Counties of Wickloe and Waterford Cumberland or Yorkshire provided the Interest were one and the same in both Kingdoms And as to the People of England in general one shou'd think it 's their business to promote and encourage the Trade and
much more so to others especially in an Age wherein so many Learned and Great Men have brought our Language to so great Perfection But all the hopes I have is That the most Learned Men are aptest to put the most favourable Construction upon a private man's Endeavour and will be ready to pardon a great many Defects in one that means well and as for all the Censorious men in the world I shall not be much concerned at what they say ERRATA PAge 1. l. 6. for 1690. read 1689. p. 27. l. 10. for Coltiers r. Cottiers p. 28. in the Marg. dele A List of Their Majesties Army p. 42. l. 2. dele a p. 46. l. 10. for have r. having p. 50. l. 29. for Raparees r. Raparee p. 53. l. 4. dele here p. 57. l. 15. for drawn on r. drawn up p. 90. l 10. for Handshot off r. Head shot off ibid. l. 32 for terrible r. terribly p. 109. l. 30. for in these r. these p. 116. l. 20. r. necessaries p. 126. l. 29. for 1000 r. 10000. p. 151. l. 13. for went r. going p. 162. in the Marg. for Monks r. Mackay ' s. p. 165. l. 16. for litera r. literae p. 181. l. 19. for bene r. breve p. 187. l. 17. for Connor r. Connel p. 191. l 25. for amounted r. mounted p. 215. l. 16. the word being misplaced p. 249. l. 5. for Commader r. Commander p. 254. l. 15. for Account r. which Account p. 260. l. 32. for each r. reach p. 292. l. 8. r. Major-Generals ibid. l. 11. r. Boats p. 295. l. 29. dele Sir p. 318. l 31. before the word Kingdom add King or p. 324. l. 35. for Conversation r. Conversing There are some other small Errors in Pages Months or Names which the Reader may please to Correct as he finds them THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. A Brief Account of the Cause of the War Page 2 The State of the Protestants in that Kingdom 3 The late King lands there from France Ibid. Protestants routed at Drummore Ibid. An Irish Parliament called 4 Derry Besieged and Relieved 4 5 The Irish beat at Croom-Castle Ibid. Duke Schonberg lands in August 1689. 6 Carigfergus surrendred with the Articles of Surrender 7 Newry burnt by the Irish 9 Our Army march to Dundalk Ibid. And encamp there nigh Ten weeks 10 Sligo taken by the Irish Ibid. A Party of the Irish repulsed at Newry Ibid. The Battel of Cavan 14 The Danes land in Ireland Ibid. 5000 French Foot land at Kinsale 15 Charlemont surrendred 16 CHAP. II. HIS Majesty lands in Ireland 18 Our Army marches towards the Boyne 20 His Majesty 's narrow escape the day before the Battel Ibid. The Battel at the Boyne 22 The Number of the Dead 23 The late King quits Ireland 25 Our Army march to Dublin 26 His Majesty's Declaration to the Irish 27 A List of our General Officers 28 And of those belonging to the Irish Page 30. The Number of men in both Armies 31 Lieutenant-General Douglass sent with a Party to Athlone ibid. A Commission granted by the King to secure Forfeited Goods 32 Wexford Waterford and Dungannon Fort surrendred to his Majesty 34 35 Limerick besieged 36 Some of our Guns surprized 37 A Fort taken then an Attack made upon the Town 38 His Majesty raises the Siege and returns to England 39 40 CHAP. III. THE French Forces quit Ireland 41 Bi r besieged by the Irish 42 Count Solm's Answer to the Duke of Berwick's Letter 43 Lieutenant-General Ginckle made Commander in Chief Ibid. Lords Justices begin their Government 44 Earl of Marlborough sent into Ireland Ibid. Cork and Kinsale surrendred 45 The Irish attempt our Frontiers 46 Part of our Army move towards the Shannon 48 Rapparees in the Bog of Allen 49 Those people serviceable to the Irish Interest and how 50 My Lord Tyrconnel returns from France 51 Sarsfield made Earl of Lucan 55 The Irish defeated at the Mote of Greenoge 57 Several Adventures with the Rapparees and Parties of the Irish Army 58 59 60 c. Some of our Regiments take the Field at Mullingar 68 CHAP. IV. THirty Rapparees killed 72 Major Wood defeats a Party of the Irish 73 Several Skirmishes between the Irish and Militia 74 75 Some of our Sea-men and Militia join and march into the Enemies Quarters 77 Monsieur St. Ruth lands in Ireland to command their Army 78 Our great Officers take the Field at Mullingar 80 CHAP. V. THE Fortifications at Mullingar contracted Page 85 A Stratagem of the Irish to get Horses Ibid. The Irish Army march towards Athlone 86 Our Army Besieges Ballimore 87 Its Scituation described ibid. The Fort surrendred 91 Its Fortifications improved ibid. Our Army joined by the Duke of Wertenberg nigh Athlone 94 That Town Attacked with the manner of it 95 The English Town taken Batteries against the Irish Town 98 A Design to pass the Shannon frustrated 100 The Enemy burn our Close Gallery 102 A Councel of War held 105 The Town Stormed 107 The Number of the Dead 108 A part of our Army left in the Country and why 110 What happened in other Places of the Kingdom during this Month ibid. CHAP. VI. THE Irish Army Removes 114 The Dead buried at Athlone ibid. The Irish resolve to give us Battel 115 Irish Prisoners sent towards Dublin 117 The Lords Justices Declaration to the Irish ibid. The Enemy's Camp and Posture at Aghrim described 122 Monsieur St. Ruth's supposed Speech to the Irish 123 The Battel of Aghrim 127 The number of the dead on both sides and of the Irish Prisoners 136 Instances in former Battels wherein the Irish have been routed with little loss to the English 142 An Account of some Irish Prophecies 145 Loughrea deserted by the Irish 148 Portumna Surrendred ibid. Our Army marches towards Galway 259 The Town Besieged 160 The Articles of Surrender with their Majesties confirmation of them 165 Our Army returns towards Limerick 174 An Account of what happened in other places of the Kingdom during this Month 174 175 CHAP. VII SEveral fresh Regiments ordered towards the Camp to recruit the Army 179 Brigadier Leveson sent with a Party towards Nenagh A Treaty with Balderock O Donnell 182 Our Army marches to Cariganliss 186 News of the death of my Lord Tyrconnell 187 Irish Lords Justices Act after his death 188 An Order about the Rates of Provisions 186 Another prohibiting the Buying of Cattel without the General 's License ibid. Our Army approaches Limerick 188 Ireton's and Cromwell's Forts taken 189 A Party sent to Castle Connell 190 Our Ships come up the River near the Town 191 Brigadier Leveson sent into Kerry 193 A brief Account of what happened in other places of the Kingdom during the Month of August 195 CHAP. VIII OUR Bombs set the Town on fire 240 The Irish design a Sally but are repulsed ibid. Brigadier Leveson routs a Party of the Irish in Kerry ibid. A Design to pass the River 205 A new Battery
being done with the Duke's consent who took Mackarty for a man of Honour the Governor was acquitted The beginning of January our Regiments being all very thin and it appearing a little difficult to recruit them in England most people being then out of humour for the loss of their Relations and Acquaintance nor altogether that number of Voluntiers appearing then as formerly therefore several Regiments were broke one into another and the supernumerary Officers continued at half-pay till Provision could be made for them in other Regiments Sir Tho. Gower being dead my Lord Drogheda's Regiment was broke into his and his Lordship made Collonel of it my Lord Roscommon's Regiment was broke also into Collonel Earl's and Collonel Zanchy's formerly my Lord Lovelace's Sir Henry Inglesby's and Collonel Hambleton's of Inniskilling were broke into other Regiments and about the 12th 16th and 20th most of the Officers designed for that Service went from Lisburne towards England for Recruits to the Army January the 18th A Proclamation was published strictly forbidding Cursing Swearing and Prophaneness in Officers or Soldiers under the Penalties enjoined in the Articles of War and his Grace's utmost Displeasure but neither this nor yet the Judgments of God then hanging upon us for those and a great many other sins had that effect that the General and other good men heartily wished for and no doubt of it the Debaucheries in Armies are the high-way to Ruin since those both obey and fight best that are the most sober The 22 d. Brigadier Stuart went with a Party of Five hundred Horse and Foot towards Dundalk destroying several Cabins amongst the Mountains where the Irish used to shelter themselves and his Party brought in a considerable Prey at their return The 25th the General went from Lisburne in order to visit our Frontier Garisons and appointed stores of Bread Cheese Shooes and other Necessaries at several places especially at Armagh the Metropolis of the whole Island On the 11th of February a part of our Army being The Irish Army in motion drawn together to attend the Enemy's Motion who we understood were then in a Body towards Dundalk The General himself went to Drummore and so to Loughbritland in order to give the Enemy Battel if they advanced our Men and Horses having recovered by this time from their late Diseases to a Miracle Sir John Laneir and Brigadier La Mellionere advanced with a Party towards Carlingford but returned with an Account that there were only three Regiments at Dundalk as formerly but the Design of the Irish lay another way For whilst the Duke was abroad on that side Collonel Woolsley had notice that the Enemy were resolved to fall upon Belturbet where he then commanded to which purpose they had already crouded a Garison of theirs called Cavan eight miles from Belturbet at what place they expected a greater Force in a day or two but Collonel Woolsley to be before-hand with their visit marched from Belturbet on the 12th about Four in the Afternoon with Seven hundred Foot and Three hundred Horse and Dragoons hoping to surprize the Enemy next Morning early but he met with so many Difficulties in his march that instead of being at the Place before day as he designed it was fair day-light before he came near it the Enemy had also taken the Alarm and were so far from being surprized that instead of the usual Garison which we only as yet expected there the first thing that our men saw was a Body of the Enemy's drawn up in good order and judged to be about Four thousand It was rather therefore a surprize upon us than them however we fought and routed The Battel of Cavan them killed Brigadier Nugent with several other Officers and about Three hundred Soldiers taking Twelve Officers and Sixty private Men Prisoners burnt the Town and returned with a good Booty having lost Major Trahern Captain Armstrong and Captain Mayo with about Thirty private Men and double the number wounded And to let the Enemy see that we were ready Sir John Lanier goes to Dundalk with a Party for them on all sides Sir John Lanier marched again on the 15th towards Dundalk with a Party of One thousand Horse Foot and Dragoons he came before the Place early next Morning which the Enemy had fortified very regularly And placing some of his men near the Works on the North-east Side towards the Bridge he sent a Party of Collonel Leveson's Dragoons cross the River who took Bedloe's Castle an Ensign and Thirty men surrendring themselves Prisoners In the mean time another Party marched in at the South-west End of the Town and burnt most of what was left without the Works in which Service we lost a Lieutenant and two or three Dragoons our Men returning with a Prey of Fifteen hundred Cows and Horses The beginning of March landed the Duke of Wertenberg The Danes land in Ireland with Six Thousand Danes being proper men very well Cloathed and Armed On the 12th Colonel Callimot with a Party endeavoured to burn the Wooden Bridge at Charlemont which he set fire to and killed about Twenty of the Enemy lost his own Major with about Six men and so returned March the 14th Five thousand French Foot under 5000 French land in Ireland Count Lauzune and the Marquess de Lery landed at Kinsale in order to join the Late King's Army for whom in exchange Major-General Macharty and near the same number of Irish were sent into France our English Fleet then attending the Queen of Spain made this Undertaking more easie to the French April the 6th Collonel Woolsley with a Party of Seven hundred men attacked the Castle of Killyshandra seven miles from Belturbet where the Enemy had a Garison of One hundred and sixty men commanded by one Captain Darcy after some Mines were fixed and a brisk Assault or two made upon their Works in which we lost Eight men the Besieged surrendred and we left a Garison of One hundred men in the Place Nigh which time a great many Recruits as also Collonel Cutt's Collonel Babington's with a Danish Regiment of Horse landed at White-House April the 18th Sir Clousley Shovell went into the Bay Sir Clousley Shovell takes a Frigat out of the Bay of Dublin of Dublin and brought from a Place called the Salmon Pool a Frigat of Sixteen Guns and Four Pattereroes loaden with Hides Tallow some Plate and other Rich Moveables designed for France the Late King and several of his Irish Regiments marching as far as Rings-End where they were all Witnesses of so wicked an Action as they called it done on so good a Day it being Good-Friday May the 2 d Lieutenant-Collonel Mackmehon with Relief put into Charlemont about Four hundred men Ammunition and some small quantities of Provisions got into Charlemont in the Night but our French and other Regiments posted thereabouts watched him so narrowly that though he made two or three Attempts yet he could not
he admitted my Lord Dover to a more particular Protection than ordinary because he had applied himself formerly by a Letter to Major-General Kirk to desire a Pass for himself and Family to go into Flanders His Majesty at his return to the Camp declared The King intends for England his Resolution to go for England and leaving Count Solmes Commander in Chief he went as far as Chappel-Izard nigh Dublin with that Intention ordering one Troop of Guards Count Sconberg's Horse formerly my Lord Devonshires Collonel Matthews's Dragoons Brigadier Trelawny's and Collonel Hastings's And sends some Forces thither Foot to be shipt off for that Kingdom And on the first of August His Majesty published a Second Declaration not only confirming and strengthening the former but also adding That if any Foreigners then in Arms against him in that Kingdom would submit they should have Passes to go into their own Countries or whither else they pleased A Proclamation was also published for all the Irish in the Countrey to deliver up their Arms and those who refused or neglected to be abandoned to the Discretion of the Soldiers As also another Proclamation for a Weekly Fâ—st And then His Majesty appointed Richard Pine Esq Sir Richard Reves and Robert Rochfort Esq Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal who began now to act accordingly But the King received a further Account from England But returns to the Camp That the loss at Sea was not so considerable as it was at first given out and that there was no danger of any more French Forces landing in that Kingdom they having already burnt only a small Village and so were gone off without doing any further damage The danger of that being therefore over His Majesty returned to the Army which he found encamped at Golden Bridge nigh Cashell and about seventeen miles from Limrick where His Majesty had intelligence of the Posture of the Enemy in and about that City August the 8th Lieutenant-General Douglas and his Limerick Besieged Party from Athlone joined the King's Army at Cariganlis And on the 9th the whole Army approached that strong Hold of Limerick without any considerable loss the greatest part of their Army being Encampt beyond the River in the County of Clare His Majesty as soon as his Army was posted sent a Summons to the Town which was refused to be obeyed by Monsieur Boiseleau the Duke of Berwick Sarsfield and some more though a great part of their Army were even then willing to Capitulate Next Morning early the King sent a Party of Horse and Foot under Major-General Ginckell and Major-General Kirk to pass the River which they did near Sir Samuel Foxon's House about two miles above the Town The same day some Deserters from the Enemy gave his Majesty an account of their Circumstances and one of our own Gunners did as much for us who informed the Enemy of our Posture in the Camp as also of Eight Pieces of Cannon with Ammunition Provisions the Tin-Boats and several other Necessaries then upon the Road which Sarsfield with a Party of Horse and Dragoons had the luck to surprize two Some of our â—â—ns surprized days after at a little old Castle called Ballynedy within seven miles of our Camp killing about Sixty of the Soldiers and Waggoners and then marched off with little or no opposition tho his Majesty had given Orders for a Party of Horse to go from the Camp and meet the Guns the night before Tuesday the 12th Brigadier Stuart went with a Party Castle Connel taken and four Field-Pieces to Castle-Connel a Strong-hold upon the Shannon four miles from Limerick the besieged being 126 under one Captain Barnwell after some time submitted and were brought Prisoners to the Camp Sunday the 17th at night we opened our Trenches Our Trenches opened which were mounted by Seven Battalions under the Duke of Wirtenbergh Major-General Kirk Major-General Tetteau and Sir Henry Bellasts beating the Irish out of a Fort nigh two old Chimneys where about Twenty were killed and next night our Works were relieved by Lieutenant General Douglas my Lord Sidney Count Nassau and Brigadier Stuart with the like number and the day following we planted some new Batteries which his Majesty going to view as he was riding towards Ireton's Fort he stopt his Horse on a sudden to speak to an Officer a Four and twenty pound Ball the very moment grazing on the side of the Gap where his Majesty was going to enter which certainly must have dash'd him to pieces had not the commanding God of Heaven prevented it who still reserves him for greater matters This I saw being then upon the Fort as I did that other Accident at the Boyne before Wednesday the 20th we attack'd a Fort of the Enemies A Fort taken nigh the South East Corner of the Wall which we soon took and killed 50 taking a Captain and twelve men Prisoners and about an hour after the Enemy sallyed with great Bravery thinking to regain the Fort but were beat in with loss there being killed in the Fort and the Sally about Three hundred though we lost Captain Needham Captain Lacy and about Eighty private men A PROSPECT of LIMERICK BEARING DUE WEST Exactly shewing the Approaches Batteries Breach ct Sold by R. Chiswell in St. Pauls churchyard Next day the Soldiers were in hopes that his Majesty would give orders for a second Attack and seemed resolved to have the Town or lose all their lives but this was too great a risque to run at one place and they did not know how our Ammunition was sunk especially by the former day's work we continued however our Batteries and then a storm of Rain and other bad weather begun to threaten us which fell out on Friday the 29th in good earnest upon which his Majesty calling a Council of War it was concluded the safest way was to quit the Siege without which we could not have secured our heavy Cannon which we drew off from the Batteries by degrees and found much difficulty in marching them five miles next day Sunday the last of August all our His Majesty raised the Siege Army drew off most of the Protestants that lived in that part of the Countrey taking that opportunity of removing further into the Countrey with the Army and would rather leave their Estates and all their Substance in the Enemies hands than trust their persons any more in their power His Majesty seeing the Campaign nigh an end went towards Waterford where he appointed Henry Lord Viscount Sidney Sir Charles Porter and Tho. Conningsby Esq Lords Justices of Ireland and then setting And returns to England sail with a fair Wind for England his Majesty was welcomed thither with all the Joy and Satisfaction imaginable CHAP. III. September 1690. The French Forces quit Ireland Birr besieg'd by the Irish who draw off towards Banoher Bridge Count Solms 's Answer to the Duke of Berwick 's Letter Lieutenant-General
sufficient Hostages shall be given 11. That the Garrison of Clare-Castle Ross and all other Foot that are in Garrison in the Counties of Clare Cork and Kerry shall have the advantage of this present Capitulation and such part of those Garrisons as design to go beyond Sea shall march out with their Arms Baggage Drums beating Ball in Mouth Match lighted at both ends Colours flying with all Provisions and half the Ammunition that is in the said Garrisons and join the Horse that marches to be transported or if then there is not Shipping enough for the Body of Foot that is to be next transported after the Horse General Ginckel will order that they be furnished with Carriages for that purpose and what Provisions they shall want in their March they paying for the said Provision or else that they may take it out of their own Magazines 12. That all the Troops of Horse and Dragoons that are in the Counties of Cork Kerry and Clare shall also have the Benefit of this Capitulation and that such as will pass into France shall have Quarters given them in the Counties of Clare and Kerry apart from the Troops that are commanded by General Ginckel until they be shipp'd and within their Quarters they shall pay for every thing except Forrage and Pasture for their Horses which shall be furnished Gratis 13. Those of the Garrison of Sligo that are to join the Irish Army shall have the Benefit of this Capitulation and Orders shall be sent unto them that are to convoy them up to bring them hither to Lymerick the shortest way 14. The Irish may have liberty to transport nine hundred Horses including Horses for the Officers which shall be transported Gratis and as for the Troopers that stay behind they shall dispose of themselves as they shall think fit giving up their Arms and Horses to such Persons as the General shall appoint 15. It shall be permitted for those that are appointed to take care for the Subsistence of the Horse that are willing to go into France to buy Hay and Corn at the King's rates where-ever they can find it in the Quarters that are assigned for them without any lett or molestation and to carry all necessary Provision out of the City of Lymerick and for this purpose the General will furnish convenient Carriages for them to the Place where they shall be embarked 16. It shall be further lawful to make use of the Hay preserved in store in the County of Kerry for the Horses that shall be embarked and if there be not enough it shall be lawful to buy Hay and Oats where-ever they can be found at the King's rates 17. That all Prisoners of War that were in Ireland the 28th of September shall be set at liberty on both sides and the General promises to use his Endeavours that those that are in England or Flanders shall be set at liberty also 18. The General will cause Provisions and Medicines to be furnish'd to the sick and wounded Officers Troopers Dragooners and Soldiers of the Irish Army that cannot pass into France at the first Embarkment and after they are cured will order them Ships to pass into France if they are willing to go 19. That at the Signing hereof the General will send a Ship Express to France and that besides he will furnish two small Ships of those that are now in the River of Lymerick to Transport two Persons into France that are to be sent to give Notice of this Treaty and that the Commanders of the said Ships shall have Orders to put ashore at the next Port in France they shall make 20. That all those of the said Troops Officers or Soldiers of what Character soever that will pass into France shall not be stopp'd on the Account of Debt or other Pretext 21. If after the Signing this present Treaty and before the Arrival of the Fleet a French Packet-Boat or other Transport-Ship shall arrive from France in any Part of Ireland the General will order a Pass-Port not only for such as must go on Board the said Ships but to the Ships to come to the nearest Port or Place where the Troops to be transported shall be quartered 22. That after the Arrival of the Fleet there shall be free Communication and Passage between it and the Quarters of the abovesaid Troops and especially for all those that have Passes from the Chief Commanders of the said Fleet or from Monsieur Tameron the Intendant 23. In Consideration of the present Capitulation the two Towns of Lymerick shall be delivered and put into the Hands of the General or any other Person that he shall appoint at the Times and Days hereafter specified viz. the Irish Town except Magazines and Hospital on the day of the signing these present Articles and as for the English Town it shall remain together with the Island and free Passage of Thomond-Bridge in the hands of those of the Irish Army that are now in thâ— Garrison or that shall hereafter come from the Countiâ—â— of Cork Clare Kerry Sligo and other Places abovâ— mentioned until there shall be Conveniency found fâ—â— their Transportation 24. And to prevent all Disorders that may happeâ— between the Garrison that the General shall place â—â— the Irish Town which shall be delivered to him and the Irish Troops that shall remain in the Enâ—lish Town and the Island which they may do untâ— the Troops to be embarked on the first Fifty Shiâ—â— shall be gone for France and no longer they shaâ—â— intrench themselves on both sides to hinder thâ— Communication of the said Garrisons and it shall bâ— prohibited on both sides to offer any thing that â— offensive and the Parties offending shall be punished oâ— either side 25. That it shall be lawful for the said Garrison tâ— march out at once or at different times as they caâ— be embarked with Arms Baggage Drums beating Match lighted at both ends Bullet in Mouth Colouâ— flying six Brass-Guns such as the Besieged shall chusâ— two Mortar-Pieces and half the Ammunition that â— now in the Magazines of the said Place and for thâ—â— purpose an Inventory of all the Ammunition in the Garrison shall be made in the presence of any Person that thâ— General shall appoint the next Day after the present Articles be signed 26. All the Magazines of Provisions shall remaiâ— in the hands of those that are now employed to take caâ—â— of the same for the Subsistence of those of the Irisâ— Army that will pass into France and that if there shaâ—â— not be sufficient in the Stores for the Support of the said Troops while they stay in this Kingdom and are crosâ—ing the Seas that upon giving an account of their Numâ—ers the General will furnish them with sufficient Proâ—isions at the King's rates and that there shall be a free â—arket in Lymerick and other Quarters where the said Troops shall be And in Case any Provisions shall â—emain in the Magazines of Lymerick when the Town
Men had Orders to march into the Irish Town that Night but it was after Sun-set before the Articles We take possession of the Out-Works were signed and therefore Major-General Talmash that was appointed to take possession of the Town did not think it convenient to march in the Night but commanded Count Nassaw's and Colonel Gustavus Hamilton's Regiments to take possession of the Stone-Fort and all the Out-Works of the Irish-Town And on the fourth five of our Regiments march'd in and took possession of the Irish Town wherein we found 14 pieces of Canon and a Church heap'd full of Oats which the Irish had â—nd of the Town the Benefit of according to the Articles The Works were all exceeding strong and the Town as dirty the Irish had left very little else in it however but carried every thing away that might do them the least Service Our Regiments in Town were relieved every day as long as the Army staid because the Place was so disordered that we could not abide long in it till things were in some measure better disposed of At our going in we planted a Guard at one end of Balls-Bridge as the Irish had at the other October the Fifth One hundred Men out of each Foot-Regiment Our Batteries levelled were ordered to level the Works that we had cast up against the Town and about Ten a-Clock the General received a Letter from a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Irish Army complaining that he was imprisoned A Lieutenant-Colonel imprison'd for denying to go with the Irish into France for denying to go with them into France which the General took so very ill that he ordered four Guns to be carried immediately down and planted upon Balls-Bridge saying with some heat that he would teach them to play Tricks with him which my Lord Lucan hearing of for so we may venture to call Lieutenant-General Sarsfield now since the Articles do it he came out to our Camp and several sharp Words passed my Lord Lucan saying at last that he was then in the General 's Power Not so replies the other but you shall go in and then do the best you can but he endeavoured to excuse the thing by saying there were Prisoners of War and Prisoners of State for some Misdemeanors against their Government some of those though not obliged by the Articles they had set at liberty who coming warm from our Camp afterwards they begun to rail and speak dis-respectfully of the Irish Officers for which this Lieutenant-Colonel was imprison'd and not for desiring to leave them so that after some other Replies all things were quiet and the Prisoner enlarged The General however sent ten Field-Pieces and six Canon into the Irish Town and in the Afternoon ordered the following Declaration By Lieutenant-General Ginckel Commander in Chief of Their Majesties Forces THeir Majesties having sufficiently manifested to the World their Intention of bringing this Kingdom into a state of Quiet and Repose and to the flourishing Condition it formerly was in and for that Reason have extended their Grace and Favour to those that till now have been in Arms against them We cannot but let the Officers and Soldiers of the Irish Army know how willing we are to indulge and provide for them that by remaining in this Kingdom or serving Their Majesties abroad had rather promote the British and Irish Interest than the Designs of France against both And do therefore promise and declare that all Officers and Soldiers of the said Army that have a mind to return to their homes shall have leave to do so with all their Goods and Effects and there be permitted to live quietly and peaceably under the Protection and Encouragement of the Government And although by the Capitulation all the Troopers of that Army besides the six hundred that have License to go beyond Sea were to deliver up their Horses without payment to such Persons as shall be appointed to receive the same yet we do hereby give the said Troopers and Dragoons leave to sell their Horses to whom they think fit and will pay them for their Arms upon their giving them up to the Officer commanding the Train of Artillery either in the Irish Town of Limerick or the Camp As also to the Foot-Soldiers they shall likewise be paid for their Arms they bringing them in As for those Officers and Soldiers that are willing to take Service under Their Majesties they shall have Quarters immediately assigned them and receive Subsistence till Their Majesties further Pleasure for which end they may send two Officers of their own to England or elsewhere to receive from Their Majesties themselves what further Orders they shall please to give herein And whereas it has industriously been spread about that such of the Irish as enter into Their Majesties Service will be sent into Hungary and other remote Parts contrary to their Inclinations and Desires We assure them they shall not be obliged to serve in any Place against their Wills no more than be constrained to take Service here or return to their homes they being at full and entire liberty to chuse what part they will take but if once they go into France they must not expect to return into this Kingdom again Given at the Camp by Lymerick the 5th of October 1691. Baron De Ginckel That Afternoon my Lord Lucan and Major-General Waughop made Speeches to the Irish Souldiers in Town and in the King's Island telling them that though they were under indifferent Circumstances at present yet next Spring or soon after they would either be landed in England or else in Ireland with a powerful Army every Officer amongst them keeping their present Posts at least and would always be upon an English Establishment and receive English Pay even in France it self and a great many other Advantages were laid before them which would have seem'd improbable to any but Irish-Men who easily believe what they wou'd have but are as soon dejected at any frivolous Misfortune And whilst they were at this Work the General was settling the Quarters of several of our own Regiments who now had endured a very long and active Campaigne The Sixth in the Morning a Sermon was preached to each Irish Regiment by their Priests declaring the Advantages to them and their Religion by adhering to the French Interest and the Inconveniences nay certain Damnation of joining with Hereticks and then a good Quantity of Brandy given them to wash it down After that the Bishops gave their Blessings and then the whole Body of the Irish Foot were drawn out on the County of The Irish Foot drawn out and put to the trial who would go or stay Clare-side being at least Fourteen thousand Men by Poll. The Lords-Justices and General went over the River to view them Adjutant-General Wythers being appointed to acquaint them with the Advantages of our Service above that of France and how unnatural it was for them to chuse to go serve in a
nihil for the Affairs of the State and those of the Army spent all and that all was not sufficient In the Reign therefore of King Edward II. Maurice Fitz Thomas Earl of Desmond as his Ancestor was the first of English Race that took part with the Irish against his Native Country Men he being now Commander in Chief of the Army against the Scots then Invading Ireland he only changed the name of the Ancient Irish Custom called Bonaught but began to practice the thing it self under the names of Coigne and Livery and Pay that is he and his Army took Horse Meat and Mans Meat and also Money at their pleasure without any satisfaction so much as of a Bill And this afterwards proved the general fault of all the Chief Commanders in this Kingdom for finding the advantage of this way of proceeding they begun to oppress the Poor English heavily who rather than endure it would give them a part of their Land to have the rest free which Land so given the Lords put Irish Tenants upon and incouraged them in several particulars that so they might pay their Rent And then the Kings of England not being at leisure to attend the War in their own Persons they could do no less in Honour than give a great part of the Land to those that Conquered it But those Scopes of Land given at first to the English Adventurers were generally too large and the Priviledges so great that they begun to set up for themselves no fealty being reserved to the Crown by the Tenants but only to their Lords which first made them Proud and then Contentious Upon which account to strengthen their Parties they Allyed themselves with the Irish and drew them in to dwell amongst them and not having English Tenants enough for their Lands they were obliged to take Irish By living amongst whom and having their Servants and Nurses generally of such they and their Children by degrees became of the same stamp and having no other means to pay or reward the Irish that were of their Faction they suffered them to take Coygne and Livery from the English Freeholders which Oppression was so intolerable as that the better sort were forced to quit their Free-holds and flye into England never returning more though Laws were made in both Kingdoms to remand them and the rest that remained soon became degenerate and meer Irish Then the English Lords finding the Irish Exactions to be more profitable than the English Rents and Services and loving the Irish Tyranny which was tied to no Rules of Law or Honour better than a just and lawful Seigniory did reject and cast off the English Laws and Government and some with the Irish Customs assuming their very Names also which Customs of theirs were all Enemies to the English Interest in this Countrey Whether it was that called Tanistry What Tanistry signifies that is when any of their Chieftains or Heads of Factions died then the Goods of the whole Sept or Family were to be divided a-new nor did the Sons always succeed but such of the Kindred as could purchase the Election by strong hand by which there cou'd be no encouragement either to Build or Plant or indeed to have any thing but from hand to mouth since they knew not who might reap the fruits of their Labour For tho' it 's said the Irish received the Christian Faith above twelve hundred years ago and were lovers of Musick Poetry and all kinds of Learning Possessing also a Countrey abounding with all things necessary for the life of Man yet did they never build Reasons why the Irish did not improve their Countrey formerly Houses of Brick or Stone before the time of King Henry II. some few poor Religious Houses excepted and when afterwards they saw the English build Castles they only did it for their Chiefs and not for themselves nor endeavoured they to imitate the English in any sort of Improvements which being against all common Sense and Reason must needs be imputed to their Customs in making all their Possessions incertain and wou'd have hindred the improvement of their Countrey to the Worlds end if those Customs had not been abolish'd by the Law of England The Irish had also Cosherings Visitations and Progresses Cosherings made by their Chief and his Followers among his Tenants Sessings for his Horses Dogs and Boys Cuttings Tallages and spendings at his pleasure which made him an absolute Tyrant and his Vassals poor Slaves Add to these their Fosterings the Irish of all Fosterings People having the greatest inclination to Nurse other Mens Children because Fostering amongst them is always reputed a stronger alliance than Blood and when once they have Nursed a Child in any Family they think themselves so near Related thereto that they are obliged to perform whilst they live all the faithful Services in their Power and from whence ever after they expect a Supply of what Necessaries they have occasion for and as often as they have a mind to call for them Then they had Gossipred or Compaternity which tho' by the Canon-Law a Spiritual affinity yet no Nation ever made so Religious account of it as the Irish Now these and many other such like Customs made strong Parties and Factions whereby the Great Men were enabled to oppress their Inferiours and to oppose their Equals Besides which their frequent Divorces their Promiscuous Begetting of Children and neglect of Lawful Matrimony were no small Temptations for vitious Minds to degenerate and fall into the like Extreams Those were the Irish Customs which the English Collonies did embrace after they had rejected the Civil and Honourable Laws of England which especially fell out in the later end of King Edward the Second and the beginning of King Edward the Third proving of very Fatal Consequence to the English Interest in that Kingdom the degenerate English being always harder to subdue than the Natives for tho' their Minds and Manners were alter'd yet they had so much English Blood left in their Veins as gave them English Courage and Resolution whereby the Fitz Geralds and Earl of Desmond's Rebellions were worse than those of meer Irish Then Sir John Davis proves out of several Records that in former times most of the Inhabitants were not the King's Tenants but derived their Titles from the Irish and English Noblemen who kept an awe and dependance upon them for tho' the Kings of England were formerly owned as Lords of Ireland yet the Lords of Irish Lords formerly stiled Kings Ireland Ruled as Kings and were so stiled by the Kings of England themselves as appears by the Concord made between Henry 2. and Rotherick O Connor King of Conaght in the Year 1175 Recorded by Hoveden in this Form Hic est finis Concordia inter Dominum Regem Angliae Henricum filium imperatricis Rodoricum Regem Conactae scilicet quod Rex Angliae concessit praedicto Roderico Legeo Homini suo ut sit
Rex sub eo paratus ad servitium suum ut homo suus c. And King Henry the II. making William Fitz Audelm his Lieutenant of Ireland he hath it thus in his Commission Archiepiscopis Episcopis Regibus Baronibus omnibus fidelibus suis in Hibernia salutem King John also granted divers Characters unto the Irish Lords under the Title of Kings and so did Henry the III d. unto a Petty-King of Thoumond Rex Regi Thoumond Salutem c. Those Governed the People by their Brehon Laws they made their own Magistrates and Officers they Pardoned and Punished all Malefactors and made War and Peace one with another without Controulment After which several Attempts were made and Rebellions more or less broke out in every King's Reign And to omit those of Perkin Warbeck and others in the Reign of Henry 7. The Rebellion of Fitz Gerald and the rest of that Faction in King Henry 8th's time in the Year 1535. cost England Forty Thousand Pounds a Summ reputed so great in those days and so much disturbed that blustering Prince that he called the appeasing this Rebellion a New Conquest and put the Question to his Council how Ireland should be managed to bear the Charge of its own preservation and whether by Act of Parliament every Man's Estate should not be made liable to contribute its proportion or wehther by Virtue of this New Conquest the King might not seize on all the Estates of that Kingdom Temporal and Spiritual Cox 242. But tho' this wou'd not do yet he found out another A Statute against Absentees way to make a Statute against Absentees whereby a great part of the County of Carlow was taken from the Duke of Norfolk and other Lands from other great Men and from some Monasteries in England that held Land in Ireland for that by the absence of these and the neglecting their own private Estates whereby the Irish daily gained ground they brought the Publick into danger However this Rebellious Spirit continued in Ireland all Queen Elizabeth's time even to the ninth of King James the First as Sir John Davis observes but if he had lived in our days he wou'd have seen good reasons to say it was always the Genius of the People And one Mr. Lawrence has since that endeavoured to prove that Ireland was never intirely subjected to the Crown of England nor the Lands properly called the King's Lands until the Act of Settlement passed in the 12th Year of King Charles the Second for before this the Chief Inhabitants in all Cities and Towns were Papists as Sheriffs Justices of the Peace c by which means that Party was wonderfully encouraged and strengthened and besides the Irish before the late Rebellion were by far the greatest Proprietors tho' afterwards they enjoyed not much above a fifth part of the whole that is in propriety by which means and the industrious Management of some of the Chief Governours the English Interest was very far advanced in this Country before the death of King Charles the Second for tho' some Clouds arose before yet the Sun shone pretty clear till the Death of that Monarch made it more than Twilight with the English of that Country and then the late dark Night of Confusion approached so suddenly that it gave them no time to set things in Order till they cou'd not in a manner see where they were a going This put a full stop to the Carreer of all their Prosperity for a great many considerable Buildings and other Improvements in and about Dublin and other places in the Kingdom being pretty far advanced at that Juncture they were left off very abruptly the Workman throwing away his Tools and the Husbandman neglecting his Plow at the News as if they had then foreseen their approaching Misery and were amazed to find the Irish arm so fast on all hands by which they were assured that other sorts of Weapons than they had used for the Country's improving were soon like to grow more in fashion and that to the undoing of what themselves had so honestly endeavoured to make up So that the Irish were not then nor indeed are as yet so subdued as that no further Storm may ever be feared to arise from that corner And certainly the not thorowly endeavouring to make Ireland bear the Charge of its own preservation has in all Ages been very much to the disadvantage of Ireland shou'd be put into a Condition to bear its own Burden England But to carry this no higher than the Year 1595 the time of Tyrone's Rebellion which Cambden in his Annals tells us cost 1198717 l. to suppress Or if we compute the Charge of its first Conquest and the suppressing the several Rebellions from that time till this of Tyrone's to cost but double as much as this did as they needs must since before that Ireland never enjoyed seven Years peace at one time Then I say long e're this all those Rebellions had been forgot and the Trade and Product of Ireland more than trebly recompenced England for her former Blood and Treasure But as the Degenerate English grew more and more in love with the Irish and their Customs and so took their part against England The Charges encreased to more prodigious Sums and they generally make use of it as a great Argument for what they did of late that it was the Blood and Treasure of their Ancestors that first gained that Kingdom to the English Interest and therefore tho' they differed in Opinion yet it was very unreasonable that they should be quite excluded from sharing in the Government with those that were of a much later Date But this Objection is of an older standing than either the former War or this last for we are told that so great Heats have arose formerly between the English of Birth and the English of Blood in Ireland that they held different Parliaments and endeavoured by all means Possible to ruine one another But 't is observ'd by very Learned Men in this Kingdom that tho' the English have often fallen out amongst themselves and there were generally found in many places of the Kingdom such of English extraction as would joyn with the Irish against England yet the People of the Pale were always firm and Loyal to the Crown and the greatest strength that England had against the Irish Nation for which they were often plentifully Rewarded 'till in the Year 1641 they all broke loose which they say was occasioned thus Tho since the first Conquest of Ireland there have been continued feuds in that Kingdom between the People of both Nations upon the account of Interest yet when the Reformation was once set on foot the Breach was widned upon that account it being what the Natives of that Country have always endeavoured to destroy and with it the English Interest there but finding this a very difficult Task by reason that the old English of the Pale tho' many of them were of
Prosperity of Ireland that thereby it might not only support it self in time of Peace but defend and maintain it self in War which nothing but promoting its Trade and Wealth will do For what Ireland cannot do in order to its safety England must supply to prevent its own danger since if ever a Foreign Enemy Surprize and Possess Ireland especially the French then England must maintain a greater Standing Force to secure themselves than wou'd have secured Ireland if imploy'd in its defence it being no groundless Saying of some Old-fashion'd Poet. He that wou'd England win Must with Ireland first begin For tho' in former times when little or no Shipping appear'd upon these narrow Seas and France and other Countries knew not what it was to have a Fleet and there was but small Commerce even between England and Ireland themselves yet in this active Age of the World it wou'd go very hard with England if the French shou'd possess Ireland who have all the Harbours from Dunkirk to Brest and if they had Cork Baltimire and Bantry where wou'd our Western Trade be Besides by the possessing the Eastern Coasts of Ireland they wou'd surround three parts in four of England and a great part of Scotland and cou'd Invade either when they pleas'd which wou'd necessitate England to be always at the Charge of a Considerable Standing Army and then farewell both their Wealth and long enjoy'd Liberty And so sensible have our Ancestors been of something or other to be done in this Affair that Sir Henry Sidney that most excellent Governour who had spent great part of his time in that Kingdom holding a Parliament Our Ancestors sensible of this there for a Subsidy in the Eleventh Year of Queen Elizabeth He with the Lords and Commons in the Preamble to the Act of Parliament thus express themselves to the Queen Considering the infinite masses of Treasure able to purchase a Kingdom that your Noble Progenitors have exhausted for the Government Defence and Preservation of Your Majesties Realm of Ireland c. Which Evils still remaining the Remedies are as yet The former Evilâ— still remain to be found out at least to be put in practice for tho' the War be now happily ended yet there are at this day at least three differnt Interests on Foot in that Kingdom the English Irish and Scots the first of which seem to be the least concern'd in their own advancement but the last gain ground daily in the North there being at least Ten Thousand People come thither out of Scotland within these Twelve Months which in time will make their Party Considerable for the People of England live better than the Scots at home and so are not so easily invited to look abroad Whereas the Scots their part of Ireland by this means in a few Years is like to be more than it has been And as to the Irish every one sees their indefatigable Industry in promoting the Interest of their own Party no discouragements being able to blunt but rather serve to sharpen their endeavours for the effecting of what they believe may be some steps towards their future Prosperity making every particular Man's Case a general Grievance and each assisting other as being all concerned in the same general cause whilst the English even in that Country who still feel the smart of their former Calamities will yet rather sett their Lands to an Irish Man or a Scot that shall give them Sixpence in an Acre more and never improve it further than to an English Farmer that if he had Encouragement wou'd in a few Years make good Improvements which will still continue one great reason why Ireland will not easily be made an English Country But I can carry the matter yet higher and affirm that The Interest of the Irish Papists themselves to Advance the Power of England it 's the real Interest of the Roman Catholicks of Ireland themselves whether of Irish or English Extraction to promote that of England as much as they can in their Country if they will but consult the future safety of themselves and their Posterity since without the support of some other Nation they can never hope of themselves to be an Independant Kingdom and if they were we scarcely can find out how they wou'd agree amongst themselves who should Command or who Obey which they never could yet from the beginning do and what did the Irish ever get by accompanying either their Lords or Followers into Rebellion Or what should they have gotten if the late Attempt had absolutely succeded but a more absolute Servitude under the French And therefore it 's better for them to have their old English Friends they have been so long acquainted with than run the hazard of either setting up new Tyrants of their own or having them come to 'em from abroad Besides if the English Interest were strong and powerful in Ireland this wou'd cut off the hopes of all disaffected People for ever thinking to withstand it and wou'd make them reject all Tenders from abroad and Inticements from their Jesuited Priests at home and never wou'd they more run such desperate Risks which still fall upon their own heads at last so that if the English Interest were so fortified that all hopes of removing it were cut off the Irish would not be prevailed upon to make such destructive attempts to themselves and Posterities as they often have done hitherto by the Insinuations of their Priests who have nothing to lose nor Families to provide for but only hazard the Lives and Fortunes of others that have both Since as Sir William Petty observes there are and ever will be in England Men ready for any Exploit and Change either by being discontented with their present Condition or otherways well inclined to the service more than are sufficient to quell any Insurrection which the Irish can make and abide by Which wou'd spare both the Blood and Treasure of England if those of that Nation in Ireland cou'd do it of themselves There are only two Objections that I know of which Two Objections answered seem to be considerable against this Opinion of promoting the Trade and Wealth of Ireland The first that if Ireland should be encouraged so far as to make it altogether an English Country it would drain the wealth and Inhabitants of England to that degree that we should impoverish our selves by putting our Trade into their hands who wou'd be equal if not Superiour to us in a small time since their Country lies as Convenient in all respects for Trade as ours and has several Advantages above it Answer This would rather incourage England to be more industrious in Trade and Manufactures when they saw their younger Sister of Ireland by having the same priviledges of Trade with her self begin to contend with her in this particular and would create a profitable emulation amongst the People of both Kingdoms since I have not that Opinion of Trade that
some People have of Motion that there 's a determinate quantity and when it fails in one place it increases in another There is Trade enough no doubt abroad in the World for them all if they will but be Industrious however there can no disadvantage accrue either to the King of England or his People in general by having this effected nay this wou'd soon be more for the advantage of the Crown of England than any poor Customs that are got by dividing the Nations can ever amount to for who sees not the good effects of the Vnion between England and Wales But then those who are so hardy as to leave England and venture their Lives and Fortunes at any time for the reducing of Ireland if they survive it and once come to settle there they are so far from having Encouragement to Trade and grow Rich that by several Laws made on the account of Trade they are under the same Circumstances with the Conquered Irish themselves as all the English of that Kingdom really are in the point of all the Western Trade especially The other Objection is That if Ireland were so far encouraged in Trade and other Advantages as to become absolutely an English Country and equally Entitled to the Benefit of its Laws c. the People there after some time wou'd grow Rich and consequently Proud so that they wou'd then set up for themselves and deny all manner of dependance upon England which would soon create a more dangerous Civil War than ever Answer There can be no fear of this since nothing cou'd be got by such a Revolt but their own destruction and it 's as probable that the English on the North of Trent should upon any disgust endeavour to set up for themselves which they are sensible could bring nothing but Ruin to the whole Besides since the Royal Seats of the Kings the Principal Courts of Judicature and also the Royal Navy are always on this side the Water all Attempts of this kind wou'd prove vain and fruitless and the rest of the World laugh at such a Destructive folly and madness I pretend not to meddle with any particular Methods Religion in the first Place to be taken care of for the promoting the English Interest in Ireland only it 's worth the Knowledge and Care of every one especially those in places of Authority and Trust what was in my Lord Barkley's Instructions Dated May 21 1670. relating to Matters of Religion That forasmuch as all good Success doth rest upon the Service of God above all things you are to settle good Orders in the Church that God may be better served in the True Established Religion and the People by that means reduc'd from their Errors But whilst the Irish are in the Power of the Romish Clergy they keep them in such Awe and Ignorance that they scarce dare or can enquire into the differences in Religion nor Read the Scriptures or yet confer with any Protestant Divine so that all they generally know of Religion I speak of the Vulgar Sort is some Fabulous Legends of the Priests Invention or that their Fathers or Families were of that Persuasion and so must they be also But tho' they be much given to Lying yet they are not in the main so ill-natured as some People make them since they own our Baptism and other Institutions to be Essential and will of their own accords come to us when they have not the conveniency of a Priest several instances of which I could give of my own Knowledge There are a great many very Learned Pious and Devout Clergymen of the Protestant Church in Ireland discharging the Duties of their Function with such Religious and Godly Sincerity as becomes the Messengers of Christ But there being a great many Impropriations in that Kingdom and by this means half a score Parishes in some places not able to afford one Hundred Pounds per Annum to a Minister this has given occasion for the Union of several Parishes and not only so but for frequent Pluralities and that in several places very much to the disadvantage of the Church by which means there are a great many Parishes Inhabited only with Papists which for that Reason are generally called Sine Cures as if the Minister had no Business there at all But this I can by no means Subscribe unto since to me they seem to be the clean contrary and not impossible to remedy by finding out some means to allow each Minister a Competency and then oblige him to reside upon it whether his Parishioners be Papists or Protestants since the Living among those People and the frequent Conversation with them wou'd be of more force than all the Penal Laws in Christendom There was a view of Ireland writ by Spencer as I take it towards the latter end of Queen Elizabeth's Reign and amongst other things he has this Remarque Several Irish Families says he are already become English and more would if the English would do their parts in supplying the Country with Learned Pious and painful Preachers who cou'd Out-Preach and Out-Live the Irish Priests For Religion must not be forcibly imposed upon them with Terrors and sharp Penalties as now is the manner but rather delivered and intimated with Mildness and Gentleness so as it may not be hated before it be understood which yet is not so difficult a Task as some People make it for if the Ancient Godly Fathers who first Converted them when they were Infidels to the Faith were able to pull thâ—m from Idolatry and Paganism to the true Belief of Christ as St. Patrick and St. Columb how much more easily shall Godly Teachers bring them to the Vnderstanding of that which they already Profess if they did but shew as much Zeal in disswading them from their Errors as the Priests do Care and Industry to keep them in them However thus far Spencer seems to be in the right of it That True Religion is not to be planted by Penal Laws or the Terrour of Punishment which may fill a Church with Temporizing Hypocrites but never with Sincere Professors for tho' Humane Laws are a good Hedge about Religion and an Encouragement to Vertue yet that which is solely founded upon such binds the Conscience no longer than those Laws are in force But what I am sorry to see so true is that Idleness is the malus Genius of that Kingdom and except you can persuade the People to be Industrious too as well as Religious you are not much nearer the matter for they are Naturally a lazy Crew and love nothing so much as their ease and if an Irishman has but a Cow and a Potatoe Garden it 's all the Wealth he commonly aspires to which way of Feeding a great many give for the Reason that they are generally so mean spirited for you 'll see them in Companies lye loytering in the Streets of any Country Village or by the High-way sides enquiring after and telling
News to one another but not one in twenty either at work in the Fields or otherways Honestly imploy'd which is the Reason that at this very day most of the Goals of the Kingdom are filled with Thieves and the Streets with incredible numbers of importunate houling Beggars who yet most of them had rather Live so than otherways But I 'm afraid a great many People will think I have been too busie and therefore I have only this to say further that notwithstanding all the Wagers that have been proffer'd of late whether Ireland would not be in the French King's Hands by such a time I dare freely venture one of as great value as I am able that tho' he begin to morrow it will not be in his Power with all the Force he can spare to take it from that handful of Men left in that Kingdom for its security these Seven Years for if the Irish who were but indifferently provided for at best were able to hold it out so long against all the Power and Strength of England what can Men that have better Supplies and full as good Hearts do And as for those vain hopes of that unhappy Party An Invasion from France upon any of the three Kingdoms not very practicable at this time who are still buoyed up with the Fancy of the French King's Greatness and that he will at some time or other certainly make an Invasion either upon England Scotland or Ireland any who know what War means can assure them that it 's much sooner said than done For if his present Majesty of England was obliged to imploy nigh 600 Vessels when at his first coming he Transported only 14000 Men into this Kingdom and if the Irish War has for Three Years past imployed such a considerable number of Transport Ships in that narrow Channel between England and Ireland which lye so convenisently and contiguous one to another what Provision must needs be made in France for such an Attempt as an Invasion upon any of the Three Kingdoms which if it miscarries they are certainly undone For suppose the French still a match for our Fleet which I hope they will never be now whilst the World stands and the French Invasion designed upon England tho' there be a Factious and unnaturally discontented Party there that are no well wishers to the present Government vet there are so many Loyal and True Hearted English-Men still left at home that all the Ships in France are not able to Transport Men enough from thence to subdue them since we know their affection to both the French and Irish that are with them should they once indeavour to look into England whose Strength is in the Hearts and Affections of the People intirely devoted to Their Majesties Service I allow that 20000 well Disciplin'd and Experienc'd Men are able to beat four times the number of Raw unexperienc'd Country People but then I leave the English standing Army and a well Disciplined Militia especially in and about the City of London to shew how unwelcome the French wou'd be to them And as for Scotland its Soyl in most places is Naturally poor and barren and an Army of Foreigners Landed there must either eat Heath or one another in a small time if once they leave the Coast for admit they have Provisions brought by Sea into their Harbours yet the Country in few places is so level as to admit of either a marching Train of Artillery or of Provision Waggons which an Army has no Business any where without and soon wou'd look very foolish for want of suppose but an indifferent Enemy to oppose them Then as for an Invasion to be made upon Ireland the Country is already so destroyed by being the Seat of War that whosoever attempts it must bring all from abroad likewise as well Horses as Provisions which is no easie Task of it self suppose no opposition either at Sea or in the Country but then our Garrisons especially upon the Coasts are made so strong to our Hands by the Irish themselves by the help and directions of the best French Ingineers and are Manned with part of an Experienced and Victorious Army that it will not be the work of a few days to pick any of them out of our hands since there is Ammunition Artillery and Provisions suitable to each Garrison's Necessities And as an advantage to the established standing Army now in Ireland consisting of Colonel Woolsley's Horse Colonel Wynns and Colonel Eiklin's Dragoons Sir Jo. Hanmer's Briggadeer Stuart's Colonel Gustavus Hambleton's Earl of Drogheda's Sir Henry Bellisis Colonel Roe's Colonel Coot's Colonel St. John's Colonel Muthelburms and Colonel Creighton's Foot besides Colonel Frederick Hambleton's and three French Regiments all upon the Irish Establishment as also the Earl of Donegal's Foot and Colonel Cunningham's Dragoons now raising besides all these I say what deserves no mean Character is the Militia of Ireland being formerly at least Twenty Five Thousand Men and tho' they cannot make so many now this War having destroy'd a great many Protestants yet whoever serve now upon that account are all well Armed and Experienced Active Men which circumstances being all known to France they will scarce hazard all upon such uncertainties suppose they were really at leisure to do it as an Invasion upon any of their Majesties Dominions must needs prove It may also be remembred that the Spanyards in the A Remark upon the last that endeavoured it Year 1588 had not only a great mind to Ireland but with a powerful Army endeavoured also to Invade England in which Attempt their loss was so considerable that they have not as yet recover'd it And the disappointment that the French King met withall the very last Year in such another undertaking gives us more than ordinary hopes that thro' God's Blessing it will always so be done to the Enemies of England FINIS