314 William and James.

Battle of the Boyne [1690

of Shales' successor, Pereira, provisions became more plentiful; and at the beginning of March a stream of recruits set in, including nearly 7000 Danes under the personal conduct of Duke Ferdinand William of Würtemberg. That nothing might be wanting when William arrived, stores were laid up, forage collected, roads and bridges on the proposed line of march repaired, and finally in May the fort of Charlemont was attacked and captured.

Nor had Louis been altogether wanting to his ally. At James' request d'Avaux was recalled; and on March 14 the Duc de Lauzun landed at Cork with 7000 veterans, a park of artillery, and considerable stores of arms and ammunition. Numerically both armies were about equal; but in general efficiency William's was infinitely superior. So great, indeed, was the disorder in the Irish camp, that Lauzun at once recog nised the hopelessness of a contest on equal terms, and, as d'Avaux had formerly urged, he too advised setting Dublin in flames and retreating behind the line of the Shannon. To his credit, James refused his consent to such a step. When the news of William's landing reached him on June 16, he moved his army to Dundalk. The position was strategically a good one, though it had the disadvantage of exposing his base at Dublin to a flanking movement from the direction of Armagh. Urged by this consideration and by the importunate advice of Lauzun to avoid risking a battle, he fell back on Drogheda. If he meant to fight, the spot was, as Schomberg had long foreseen, the best he could have chosen. But from the fact that fully a third of his available force was scattered in garrisons, it can hardly have been his intention to risk a decisive battle.

William meanwhile was following closely on his heels. To those who urged precaution in the pursuit he replied that he had not come to Ireland to let the grass grow under his feet; and on June 30, sixteen days after his landing, both armies stood facing each other with only the Boyne between them. The odds against James were very great. Still, the advantage of position lay with him, and to the experienced eye of Schomberg the determination of William to force a passage on the following morning (July 1) seemed little short of folly. Unfortunately for himself, James could not make up his mind either to fight or retreat. His indecision lost him the battle. Forced by William's impetuous attack to turn and defend himself when he was actually on the point of retiring, he was unable to bring half his army into action before his adversary had crossed the river at three different points. Taken more or less by surprise, the Irish and their allies, especially the cavalry, fought with a determination that fully justified Schomberg's criticism of William's tactics. Seeing the centre division falter in the attack, Schomberg himself plunged into the river, when he was surrounded by a body of hostile cavalry and killed. His death allowed the main body of the Irish to make good its retreat through the pass of Duleek,

1690] Flight of James. First siege of Limerick 315

and, according to the Duke of Berwick, saved James' army from destruction. Among the earliest to quit the field was James. At Dublin he snatched a few hours' rest; and, having laid his express commands on the mayor to prevent any attempt to pillage or fire the city, he hastened to Waterford, where he took ship for France.

To William as to Mary the flight of James was a great relief; and, in anticipation that, now that the chief actor was gone, resistance to his authority would cease, he allowed the fruits of his victory in large measure to slip from his grasp. The fact was he had yet to learn that the Irish had not taken up arms out of any feeling of loyalty to James, but solely and entirely in their own interests. They were acute enough to see that Tyrconnel's attempt to restore things to the status quo ante October 23, 1641, had failed and they would have been glad to lay down their arms on terms of a general amnesty. For himself, William would readily have agreed to purchase peace on these terms. Unfortunately the desire for revenge on the part of the colonists rendered a policy of conciliation impossible. Baser motives co-operated. The Irish were still in possession of thousands of acres of fertile land, and the desire to get hold of them was as strong in the breasts of Englishmen as it had been in the days of Parsons and Borlase. So it came to pass that, instead of a general amnesty, which would in all likelihood have put a speedy end to the war, the proclamation of pardon published on July 7 to all who should lay down arms by August 1 was, as it had been in the days of Cromwell, confined to the tenant and landless man. The result might have been foreseen. With ruin staring them in the face, the Irish resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible, and in the extremity of their position the landless man and the landowner awaited their fate shoulder to shoulder. After the loss of much precious time William, on July 9, dispatched Lieutenant-General Douglas with a considerable force to take Athlone, while he himself with the bulk of the army set out two days later in the direction of Limerick, whither Tyrconnel had withdrawn with the bulk of his forces. Wexford, Waterford, Duncannon, Clonmel, and other places fell into his hands. At Carrick-on-Suir he received intelligence of the battle off Beachy Head, and, thinking his presence required in England, he handed over the command of the army to Count Solms and returned to Dublin. There he was met with more reassuring news, and in the belief that the war would be over in a fortnight he returned to the camp. On August 8 he was joined by Douglas, who had failed to capture Athlone, and the next day he sat down before Limerick.

The situation within the city was strange. Tyrconnel, who had James' authority to come to terms with William or to continue the war as he thought most conducive to his interests, was inclined to treat. He was convinced that the city could not hold out against a regular siege, and his opinion was shared by Lauzun. On the other hand the Irish, animated by Sarsfield and with the example of Derry before them,

[1690-1

316 Siege raised. Marlborough. - St Ruth insisted on defending the place. Finding it impossible to convince them of the futility of their resolution, Tyrconnel withdrew with Lauzun and the French regiments to Galway, leaving Major-Generals Boisselot and Sarsfield with about 6000 men to conduct the defence of the city. The summons to surrender had hardly been rejected, when information reached the besieged that William's heavy siege-guns were approaching. Acting on the spur of the moment, Sarsfield, having collected about 500 horse, crossed the Shannon at Killaloe, and surprising the escort at Ballyneety within seven miles of Limerick, blew up the entire train. The loss of his artillery delayed William's operations; and, after several desperate efforts to storm the place, seeing the rainy season approaching, he raised the siege on August 31, and sailed for England on September 5.

His failure to capture Limerick was a surprise to everybody, and not least of all to Louis, who, after James' sudden reappearance at Versailles full of complaints against the Irish, had issued orders recalling all his troops from Ireland in the belief that "the game there was lost." In obedience to his commands, Lauzun was busily attending to their embarkation at Galway, when the news that the siege had been raised caused him to delay their departure in the expectation of fresh orders; but, more than a week having elapsed and no orders arriving, he and the French brigade sailed from Galway on September 12. With him went Tyrconnel, moved to this step partly in order to explain his conduct, partly to solicit fresh assistance.

Hardly had the French withdrawn when an English fleet, with about 5000 men under the command of the Earl of Marlborough, appeared before Cork. Landing hard by the city on September 22, and being joined by the Duke of Würtemberg with 4000 foot and 1500 horse, he forced the place to surrender within a week and at once proceeded to attack Kinsale, which, after a vigorous but short defence, capitulated on October 15. Though compelled to abandon the greater part of Munster, the possession of the line of the Shannon enabled the Irish during the winter to carry on an exasperating guerilla warfare, with which Ginkel, who had succeeded to the command of the army, found it almost impossible to cope, even with the help of a strong militia force which he had raised.

In January, 1691, Tyrconnel returned from France with an assurance of further assistance from Louis. But month after month passed away, and the hope of assistance had almost died out, when, early in May, St Ruth, accompanied by d'Usson and a number of French officers, arrived at Limerick with large supplies of ammunition and other provisions, and with a commission rendering him practically independent of Tyrconnel in the command of the army. St Ruth's arrival scattered the gloom that had begun to settle down on the Irish; and, encouraged by his presence and energetic measures, they quickly recovered confidence in themselves and their cause.

Meanwhile, Ginkel on his side had been busily engaged in preparing for the coming campaign; and, on taking the field towards the end of May, he found himself at the head of 20,000 well equipped troops with a train of artillery such as Ireland had never seen. Concentrating his army at Mullingar, he set out for Athlone on June 6. Ballymore, which the Irish had occupied with a small garrison, was easily captured; but at this point he lost more than a week waiting for his pontoons, and it was not until the 19th that he arrived before Athlone.

The town lying partly on the Leinster, partly on the Connaught side of the Shannon, and connected only by a bridge, occupied a strong strategical position. To St Ruth it seemed absolutely impossible for Ginkel to capture it by a direct attack; and, in the belief that his real object was to attempt a turning movement from the direction of Banagher several miles lower down the river, he had concentrated his main force somewhat to the south of the town, leaving the direction of the defence to d'Usson. On the 22nd, Ginkel opened a heavy fire upon the enemy's entrenchments on the opposite side of the river. Day and night for days together the cannonade continued. But every attempt to cross the river failed, and as forage began to grow scarce Ginkel's position became very critical. At a council of war on the 30th the advisability of raising the siege was discussed; but in the end it was decided to make one more effort. The defence had somewhat slackened; and, encouraged by the unusual lowness of the Shannon, a picked body of men succeeded early next morning in fording the river a few yards below the bridge. Others followed, and, before the Irish had time to recover from their surprise, Athlone was captured. St Ruth, who could hardly believe his ears when the news reached him, made a desperate effort to recover the position, of which his negligence more than anything else had deprived him; but, failing in this, he withdrew his army in the direction of Galway.

The success was one for which William had been anxiously waiting. A year had passed since the battle of the Boyne and Ireland was apparently as far as ever from being reduced. He had missed one opportunity, and, in the determination not to miss another, he had given his sanction to a proclamation (to be issued at the first moment of success) offering a free pardon with the recovery of their estates and liberty of religion to all who should lay down their arms within a limited time, or by their action be instrumental in bringing the war to a close. The proclamation, published on July 7, though it failed to exercise any immediate effect, undoubtedly prepared the way for the surrender of Galway and Limerick. The terms offered by it being calculated to give great offence both in England and Ireland to those who hoped to see the Irish, according to Lord Justice Porter's expression, "quite beggared," it was kept as secret as such a thing could be.

Having crossed the Shannon and reoganised his army with as little

318 Battle of Aughrim. - Surrender of Galway [1691

loss of time as possible, Ginkel set out in pursuit of St Ruth. On July 12 he came up with him near Aughrim, half-way between Athlone and Galway. St Ruth had made up his mind to fight. His army, though weaker in cavalry, was, so far as numbers went, equal to Ginkel's; and he had the advantage of occupying a strong position. For two hours the issue of the battle hung in the balance. The Irish fought with unexampled bravery; and, seeing the enemy waver, St Ruth was already counting the day his own, when a cannon-ball put an end to his life. His death decided the battle. Deprived of their commander and ignorant of his plans, the Irish continued fighting desperately for some time longer. Then they broke and fled. No quarter was given, and night alone put an end to the slaughter.

A week later Ginkel appeared before Galway. He was anxious to finish the war as soon as possible, and at once offered the benefit of the recent proclamation, if the city would submit" without further trouble." D'Usson, who commanded the garrison, at first refused; but in the end, "considering the ill-will of the citizens," he consented to capitulate. Articles based on the proclamation of July 7, securing the inhabitants in the possession of their properties and the private exercise of their religion, were drawn up; and, having signed them on the 21st, d'Usson surrendered the city and withdrew with the garrison to Limerick. Thither also Ginkel prepared to march. But bad weather, and the necessity under which he lay of recruiting his army and providing horses to drag his siege-artillery from Athlone, greatly delayed his progress. August was drawing to a close before he reached Limerick. It was too late in the year to begin regular siege operations; and his hope of forcing a surrender rested mainly on the effect which a heavy bombard ment was likely to produce on the already depressed spirits of the garrison.

As in the previous year, opinion in the city was divided, as to whether it should be defended or not. Mindful of the mistake he had formerly made, Tyrconnel now insisted on carrying on the defence to the uttermost. Of the ability of the city to hold out there could be no question. But the situation was no longer the same. On August 14 Tyrconnel died. His death deepened the present feeling of despondency, and even Sarsfield began to waver. The summons to surrender was, however, rejected, and on August 30 Ginkel opened up a heavy fire on the city; but the distance was too great to do much damage, and it was soon evident that so long as the Irish continued in unmolested possession of county Clare, the mere battering of the walls was of little use. The pontoons were accordingly got ready; and, advantage being taken of a particularly dark night, a landing was effected on the opposite side before the Irish, who were looking rather to see the siege raised than for any such assault, had recovered from their surprise. Their camp fell into Ginkel's hands; but otherwise he reaped no advantage from his success.

elapsed, and, seeing no sign of surrender, Ginkel recrossed