We must leave the tumultuary horrors of Wexford to follow the movements of the army, which led to the final liberation of that town from the ruthlefs would forbid me, because it would appear, that we claimed gratitude from the individuals, and acknowledgments from the public, which as it ftrikes me would appear oftentatious and indecorous. Certain it is, we could name many, very many perfons, who, I aprehend, would not be pleafed at feeing their names and religious profeffions publifhed by us. I can fay, there is not a Proteftant, Prefbyterian or Quaker in this town or adjoining baronies of Forth, Bargy, Keelmaler, Ballaghkeen, befides many from Enniscorthy, and other more remote parts, who fled and flocked in here, except fuch as quitted the country, that did not call on us for protection, and that we were employed from morning till night writing, fpeaking, and pleading for them, to procure protection from the leaders or chiefs of the infurrection, and in general we fucceeded for the first fortnight. After that, the evil fanguinary fpirit broke loofe, and no protection availed. Our houses were conftantly thronged, and every part, garrets, back houfes, yards, every place filled with the people, their furniture, goods of all kinds. But, it foon became treafon to plead for protection, for they were all Orangemen, and would deftroy us all. In vain did we urge humanity, charity, religion, mercy. I declared, if any of them had killed my friend, my brother, or father, that I would protect and fave him, if he threw himself on my mercy; for it was by fhewing mercy, that I could expect mercy myfelf. This conduct and language graduated me equal to an Orangeman; my house must be pulled down or burnt, and my head knocked off. This last sentence was boldly pronounced to my face, furrounded as I was by four or five thousand pikes, fpears, or muskets, when I was ftriving to fave Lord Kingfborough's life, which we providentially effected by gaining over a few of thofe rebels, who had influence over the reft. That taik engaged me from nine o'clock in the morning till eight in the evening, during which time I had not a moment's reft, nor did I expect it in this wicked world, and I was alone, i. e. without any of the clergy with me the latter part of the day, except the Rev. James Roche, who mostly remained within doors with Lord Kingsborough. There were other priefts there too, from the country, but dared not fhew themfelves or speak, for fear of pikes, &c. I remained until the king's army began to come in (it was Thursday the 21ft of June), then I was in as perilous a fituation as ever, not knowing but an indifcriminate flaughter might be their firft act. However, I fat down with Lord Kingsborough and fome others at his place of concealment to a bit of falt beef at the fall of night, and got a Captain Bourke of the North Cork militia, a worthy fellow, to escort me home. Two days before this the demon of murder broke out, and a banditti as if dispatched from hell affailed the gaol and barrack, both crammed with prifoners, and called them out by dozens to be executed, and two prison ships in the harbour, to be brought out, two others to be executed on the bridge. The Rev. Mr. Corrin dined with me, for my cry to the clergy was, that we should keep together, living or dying; and at the close of dinner a call for him came from Mr. Kellet, who was brought from the fhip to the bridge for execution. He ran with all speed, and found Kellett and feveral others waiting the awful moment. He addreffed the wretches in the best manner he could, warned them, that the blood they were fpilling and to spill must shortly appear against them at the awful tribunal of God, and conjured them to stop, &c. &c. They did fo, Kellett and the reft were allowed to live, and after that there was no maffacre. ruthless tyranny of the rebels. After the battle at Arklow the royal army remained fome days clofe within its quarters, fending out patroles with great maffacre. Some days before there was a fimilar attack on the gaol, when Rev. Meffrs. Corrin and Broe happened to be there and prevented its intended effect. On the above mentioned day, Mr. Corrin went home with Mr. Kellett, and all I could do could not bring him to town for near a week, although I fent him General Lake's protection. He had really pined away to a skeleton. My condition was, providentially for me, the reverfe; for I never felt myself more vigorous, and the more preffing the difficulty and the more imminent the danger the firmer and the more steady was I. I had made up my mind to the worst at the set out, and afterwards took every occurrence as preparatory to the fatal moment I apprehended, and thus continued in unimpaired health, till the week before the laft, when I was vifited by a painful complaint for fix days, but have got well rid of it, thank God. Indeed, the clergy of this town conducted themselves with zeal and activity through the whole, except while on board the vessel in harbour to which they occafionally fled to escape the fire, fury, &c. of the pikemen. When the rebels were defeated every where, and the king's army was approaching, a gentleman, my close neighbour, came to me and told me, he would go out to meet them at the risk of his life and represent me to the commanders as the protector of the proteftants, &c. I thanked him and said, that government well knew my loyalty, and I was satisfied gave proper instructions to the commanders, that I had nothing to fear from the king's forces, except by a general conflagration, but, if neceffary, I would avail myself of his kind offices, &c. I mentioned to you in a former letter my introduction to General Lake and his polite and kind attention to me, to the clergy, &c. His ftay was short; but General Hunter, the day after he came here, called on me. I can't say it was fo much a vifit, as a confidential friendly conference. He has occafionally called on me fince in the fame confidential way, nor can I determine whether he deferves more credit for his found understanding and judgment, or for his humane, compaffionate feelings. He knows the spirit of prejudice prevailing here, as if he had lived many years among us. He condemns it as inimical to peace, tranquillity, and the public good. In a word, Providence has fent him a protecting angel to us. Now, my dear friend, do not call on me for further general detail; for I affure you, it fickens me on recollection, more than in the actual fuffering. Infandum amice, jubes renovare dolorem. Through the whole I appeared publicly and with every degree of confidence, and for several days was ftopt in the ftreet at every ftep, to receive gratulations and thanks from the Proteftants, for having faved them. Wishing you every happiness, I remain, &c. P. S. I did not go to the gaol or prison fhip at all, nor did I hear of the horrid murders committed there, till the bloody scene was over, and it was then too late. I could not find that there were more than two or three of this town engaged in the maffacres; for the townfmen had been that morning ordered out to camp near Enniscorthy, and a horde of mifcreants, like so many blood-hounds, rushed in from the country, and swore they would burn the town, if the prisoners were not given up to them; and, at the time there was not a force fufficient to reftrain them. Indeed, most of the United men themselves fhuddered at the horrid deeds. Lord Kingsborough, Meffrs. Kellett and Bland, and many other Proteftant gentlemen may be applied to for particular information concerning my conduct and that of the Catholic clergy of this town, on and previous to the 21k of June, when the king's army entered it, caution, caution, at first to a very small diftance, and afterwards gradually farther. At laft a troop of yeomen cavalry ventured fo far on the road toward Gorey as to approach near the rebel ftation on Afk Hill. This poft had been fo thinned by perpetual defertions, that not more than a hundred men fit for action were then remaining in it, and thefe without a leader. About half of them fled with precipitation at the approach of the cavalry; the reft ftripping to their fhirts that they might be more expedite for the bufinefs, ran full speed to charge the cavalry with their pikes: but the latter avoided the attack, and retreated to Arklow with expedition. Immediately after, the country about Gorey was evacuated by the rebels, to the exceffive joy of the loyalifts, on whom they had been living at free quarter. The army, at laft, under Major General Needham, moved from Arklow to Gorey, on the 19th of June, and thence towards Ennifcorthy on the 20th, according to a concerted plan, conducted by Lieutenant General Lake, that the great station of the rebels at Vinegar Hill fhould be furrounded by his majefty's forces, and attacked in all points at once. For this purpose, different armies moved at the fame time from different quarters; one under Lieutenant General Dundas; another under Major Generals Sir James Duff and Loftus; that already mentioned from Arklow; and a fourth from Rofs, under Major Generals Johnson and Euftace, who were to make the attack on the town of Enniscorthy. The march of the army from Rofs was a kind of furprize to the bands of Philip Roche, on Lacken Hill, who fled in the utmost confufion, leaving their tents and a great quantity of plunder behind; feparating into two bodies, one of which took its way to Wexford, the other to Vinegar Hill, where the Wexford infurgents were concentrating their force. This eminence, with the town of Eunifcorthy at its foot, and the country for many miles round had been in poffeffion of the rebels from the 28th of May, during which time the face of affairs had been indefcribably horrid. Of the haplefs prifoners, who had fallen into the hands of the rebels, fome were put to death when taken, but most were dragged to Vinegar Hill, where, after a fham trial, often without any form of trial, many of them were shot, or tranffixed with pikes; fome lafhed; or otherwise barbaroufly treated before their final * execution. Reports have carried the numbers of men thus butchered on The rebel General Murphy experienced fimilar treatment from the army. He was tauntingly defired to work miracles, and otherwife fcoffed at and infulted by a young officer, who went the length on this fatal spot to about four hundred in all. The Rev. Mr. Gordon gives a fingular inftance of his own parish of Killegny, five miles to the fouth-west of Ennifcorthy, from the general flaughter; not one proteftant of that parish having been killed in the rebellion, nor a house burned. Thefe people furrounded on all fides before they were aware, found flight impracticable. Their prefervation he afcribes to their temporifing conformity with the Roman Catholic worship. The army employed to furround the rebel poft of Vinegar Hill, conftituted a force of about thirteen thousand effective men, with a formidable train of artillery. With this force the whole infurgent army at this poft, in which lay the great ftrength of the rebellion, might have been completely furrounded. The attack began at feven o'clock on the morning of the 21ft, with a firing of cannon and mortars. All the divifions were at their respective pofts, except that of General Needham, who either from neglect or accident arrived not at his appointed position till nine, when the business was over. The rebels, after fuftaining the fire of the artillery and fmall arms for an hour and an half, abandoned their station and fled where the paffage lay open for them, which was the avenue intended to have been occupied by General Needham, moft of them directing their courfe towards Wexford. Some hundreds were killed, who were found ftraggling from the main body after the battle; but most of all the real rebels escaped, and those who fell under the fwords of the purfuers, were perfons who had been forced away contrary to their inclinations, or who took that opportunity of efcaping from the rebel army, or loyal prifoners.* As the flight of the rebels was precipitate, they left behind them a great quantity of rich plunder, together with all their cannon, amounting to thirteen in number, of which three were fixpounders. The lofs on the fide of the king's forces was very inconfiderable, length of offering a most indecent infult to his perfon, which so irritated his feelings, that, though on the very brink of eternity, he doubled his fift and knocked down the officer at a blow; upon which he was ummercifully flagellated and inftantly hanged. * Doctor Hill, of Saint John's, near Enniscorthy, a gentleman highly esteemed by all his acquaintance, was with his two brothers, within a hair's breath of augmenting the number of flaughtered loyalifts on this occafion. These three gentlemen, who had been prisoners with the rebels, and in the most imminent danger of their lives, ran for protection to the first whom they faw of the royal troops, and thefe happened to be Heflians. Three of these protectors immediately put their cocked piftols to the heads of the three gentlemen, when a pikeman, running at full speed paft them to escape from other foldiers, diverted their attention for the moment: they thought proper to dispatch him first, but he led them fuch a chase as saved the gentlemen. VOL. II. 5 C though though one officer, Lieutenant Sandys, of the Longford Militia, was killed, and four others flightly wounded, Colonel King of the Sligo regiment, Colonel Vefey of the county of Dublin regiment, Lord Blaney, and Lieutenant Colonel Cole.* Enniscorthy being thus recovered after having been above three weeks in the hands of the rebels, many loyalifts in it were relieved from a dreadful state of terror. Exceffes, as muft be expected in fuch a state of affairs, were committed by the foldiery, particularly by the Heffian troops, who made no diftinction between loyalifts and rebels. The most remarkable act of this kind was the firing of a houfe, which had been used as an hofpital by the rebels, in which numbers of fick and wounded who were unable to escape from the flames, were burned to afhes.† The town of Wexford was relieved on the fame day with Ennifcorthy, Brigadier General Moore, according to the plan formed by General Lake, having made a movement towards that quarter from the fide of Rofs on the 19th, with a body of twelve hundred troops, furnished with artillery; and having directed his march to Taghmon, in his intended way to Ennifcorthy, on the 20th, was, on his way thither, between one and two o'clock in the afternoon, attacked by a large force of the enemy from Wexford, perhaps five or fix thoufand, near a place called Goff's Bridge, not far from Hore Town. After an action, which continued till near eight, the rebels were repulfed with con * Great difcontents prevailed in the army upon General Needham's conduct on this as on a former occafion. Non noftrum eft, to inftitute a court of enquiry upon those, whose condu&t has been commended by the commanding officer. It has raifed a perfonal conteft between Sir Richard Musgrave and Mr. Gordon. The general has not a very powerful or perfuafive advocate. The farcaftical appellations which became general after the action of the late General Needham and General Needham's gap, thew on which fide the mass of inculpation lay. The following, however, is the official account given by General Lake, and publifhed by government, of as much of that tranfaction as General Needham was or ought to have been engaged in. "Lieutenant General Dundas com"manded the centre column, fupported by a column upon the right under Major Generals Sir "James Duff and Loftus; a fourth column upon the left, was commanded by the Honorable Major "General Needham. To the determined spirit, with which these columns were conducted, and the great gallantry of the troops, we are indebted for the short refiftance of the rebels, who main"tained their ground obftinately for the time above mentioned, but on perceiving the danger of "being furrounded, they fled with great precipitation. †The Rev. Mr. Gordon says, he was informed by a furgeon, that the burning was accidental, the bed clothes having been fet on fire by the wadding of the foldier's guns, who were shooting the patients in their beds. fiderable |