■^"•v %^-i-'' c -3- >P^, vT-. «^ .X'-- .^ -7;- V *oTo' .^^ O *•, '' '^^ \ '^5^° /\ v^K- .^ ^ ^^«^:^ / lj ^^>°^ -^' .,^ '^ o V \* 'T ^<> 1 A. ^ * ZJ ■^^^■''' ^P; .0 -r,. ^^ij^ ^^. V >■ .1?.^ ' JOHN McCULLOUGH. HISTORY IRISH BRIGADES IN THR SERVICE OF FEANCE HISTORY OT TUB IK'SH BKIGADES IN THB SEEYICE OF PEANCE, EEVOLUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND UNDER JAMES IL, TO THE EEVOLUTION IN EEANCE UNDER LOUIS XVL BY JOHN CORNELIUS O'CALLAGHAN. "I cannot bnt highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland, who, ■with all the disadvan- tages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves, by their falour and conduct, in so many parts of Europe, I think, above all other nations."— Swift. " Long as valour shlneth. Or mercy's soul at war repineth. So long shall Erin's pride TeU how they lived and diedl " — M.00E& p. O'SHEA, PUBLISHER, ^ WARREN STREET, <^ \^ %,^. ^^%'^ PREFACE. Among the deficiencies of information connected with th" hi-fory of Ireland, none, perhaps, has been more regretted, tlian the a'^s.ence of a satisfactory narrative of the services of the great numbers of Irish, who devoted themselves to a military life abroad; at first, as belonging to the army of James II., arid, afterwards, on account of the many obstacles to employment at home, created by the hostile sectar-ian and commercial legislation that followed the Treaty of Limerick. During the century from the fall of the Stuart dynasty in these islands to tha 1st Revolution in France, the Irish exile was to be found, in the vax'ious armies of the Continent, from Russia to Spain. But, as a " restoration of the Stuarts " was, for a long period, the only occurrence to which the oppressed majority of the Irish nation could look for a deliverance from the penal regime of the Revolution, and as tlie Frencli caViinet, from the hostilities in which it was so much involved with England, had a greater interest, than other governments, to elfect such a " restoration," or keep up an expectation of its being effected, there were far more Irish in the service of Fi-ance, than of any other Con- tinental power. The existence, in the French service, of a force so considerable in number, so distinguished in I'eputation, and so attached to the Stuart family, as the Irish Brigades, naturally gave an importance to the cause of that family, which it would not otherwise have possessed, either in these islands, or upon the Continent. An account of thosf? Brigades consequently cannot be without much interest to a British )-eadei', as associated with the claims of opposite dynasties to the government of Ids country. Indeed, without a due comprehension ol the influence of the Irish element in the affairs of the ejected Royal Family, the history of Jacobitism, and, so far, that of Great Britain itself, iiiust remain imperfect. To the feelings of an Irishman, (in the strict sense of the term.) an account of those gallant exiles in the service of France is a subject of higher and more peculiar interest, as constituting, for a century, (and too sad a century!) the bright, as contrasted with the dark side of the national story; Ormuzd abroad, to compensate ior Ahriman at home. A general reader, too, cannot but be attracted by a series of military achievements from France, tlirouL^h Flanders, Italy, Geruuiuy, the Peninsula, be.sides Great Britain in 1745-6, to Sweden, Poland, the Crimea, and. the East Indies in the Old World, and thence to the West India Islands and North Atnerica in the New. "If you would read truly great things," said, a Spartan to Augustus Ca?sar, " read the 7th book of Thueydii^is." And the spirit of the Spartan's observation to the Roman Emperor, with reference to the acts related by Thucydides, will l)e found fully app'ioaI)le to others recorded in tJiis work, with no inferiority io the Athenian in one re- spect, or a love of truth equal to his. The history here submitted to the public consists of 10 books.* The 1st book, after such a view of the Revolution and \\ ar from 1C88 to 1G91, in Great Britain and Ireland, as to explain the origin of the Irish Brigades in Fi-airce, is dev(jted to regii'iental accounts of tli« 3 earliest established Irish corps there, or those of Mountcashel, O'Brien, and Dillon, under their original and subsequent Colonels; and to the Continental campaigns of those corps till the airival in France of the remains of King Jan)es's array from Ireland, after the Treaty of Limerick. The 2nd book proceeds with similar dt'tails respecting the regiments then organized from that army, as well as other subsequently- formed national regiments; such details, like those res[)ecting Mount- cashel's Brigade, comprising biograjihies of the Colonels of each regiment, from its commencement to its extinction. The 3rd book, having accounted for the long-continued emigration of so many Irish, as Boldiers, to France, by legislative as well as dynastic causes, describes the military services of the Brigades from 1692 to 1697, or the Peace of Ryswick; continuing its narrative to the decease of King James II. in 1701, and the acknowledgment of his son as James III. by those Irish corps, as his most zealous and valuable subjects abroad. The 4tli book, opening with the War of the Spanish Succession, contains the interesting campaigns in Italy, Flanders, Germany, and the Peninsula, from 1701 to 1707. The 5th book commences in 1/08 with James III.'s expedition from France for Scotland, in consequence of the Union; gives an account of that measui'e, as productive of subsequent struggles having i-elation to the Irish Brigade ; in mentioning the capture of some ofl&cers of that corps attached to the expedition, alludes to the excite- mejit occasioned by it in Ireland ; and, having brought the War of the Spanish Succession and prolonged hostilities in Germany and Catalonia to a close, relates the Tory ministerial plans, with corresponding appre- hensions among the Whigs, that James III., instead of George I., might be Queen Anne's successor. The 6th book, having contrasted George and James, in 1714, as rivals for royalty, notices thegeneiai aversion to, and the insurrections against, tlie former in Scotland and England, * " All classical histories are in books. Gibbon sa^'s, that, if he came to give a coDijtlete revision and new edition of liia work, he would call his cbaptera Looks." — Wa'poiia/na. PREFACE. V joiner! in Scotland by James and some Ii-ish officers from Finance ; shows tlie consequent alarm of the Wliig-Hanoverian " ascendancy " ia Ireland, and hostility towards the Catholics there; narrates the chival- rous adventures of the ^alhint Irish Jacobite, Charles Wotjan, especially in delivering, along with some of his countrymen of the Brigade, the Princess Sobieski, subsequent Queen of James III., from her A ustro- Hanoverian captivity; gives an outline of the w;rr against France and England by Spain, under the administration of Cardinal Alberoni, and of the very strong Jacobite feeling in Great Britain and Ireland, favoiu-ed by the Cardinal, thi-ongh invasions and risings planned against George I., nnder the Duke of Ormonde, and the last Sarsfield, Lord Lucan ; then, having described the pi-ecautionary government measures, and opposite public feeling in Ireland favourable to Spain, presents a general review of the 7"emarkable military career and obnoxious Jacobitism of the Irish Brigades, from a pamphlet, published in 1728, upon the necessity of the British Government's demanding an abolition of those corps in France and Spain; and, after a sketch of the war from 1733 to 1735 between France and Germany, and notices of eminent deceased officers of the Brigade, proceeds to the War of the Austrian Succession, and consequent engagement at Dettingen, in 1743, between the English and French, before any declai'atiou of hostilities by either ; and concludes with preparations, as regards the Brigade, for tlmt declaration, in 1744. The 7th book, beginning with the French expedition designed in 1744 to land Prince Charles Stuart in England, glances at the state of Ii-eland vi'ith respect to that undertaking, refers to the baffling of England and her Allies in Flanders that year by the Marshal de Saxe, and gives, in connexion with the addition of a i-egiment to the Irish Brigade, a memoir of the Colonel, Count Thomas Arthur Lally. In 1745, it describes the battle of Fontonoy with the important })art taken there by the Irish Brigade, the fortunate results for France during the rest of the campaign, and the consequent hostile legislation to the Brigade ia Ireland by the colonial tind sectarian "ascendancy" there. The enter- prise of Prince Charles Stuart to Scotland, with which so many Irish of the Brigade, or others, were associated, follows, from his landing till his return from England at the close of 1745; when, after a notice of the death, ifec, at Avignon, that year, of the old Duke of Ormonde, as head of the Jacobite party, a sketch is given of thf elfects of the Prince's enterprise in Britain u])on ])olitical feeling in Ireland. The 8th book contains the sequel of the Prince's career in Scotland in 1746, till his escape, after the battle of Culloden, to the Continent; and resumes the narrative of the successl'ul contest of France against England and her Allies in Flanders, from 174G to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and conclusion of the most flourishing period of the history of the Irish Biigade. The Dlh book, retemug to the decline, iroiu 1748, of the VI PREFACE. Brigade as a national force, and after sevei-al memoirs of distingnishod Irisli officers deceased, more especially Field Marshal Count Peter Lacy, shows the hostility, as war with France appi-oached, of the local "ascendancy" in Ireland to the Catholics, and to recruiting for tlie Brigade ; and from the aj)pointment, after the declaration of war between France and England in 1756, of Lieutenatit-General Count Lally to co*tu- mand for France in the East Indies, continues his history till his most nnjust execution at Paris in 1700, tfec. ; next, inclusive of the extensive na>'al and military plans by France for the invasion of Ireland in 1759, details the services of the Brigade on the Continent till the Peace of 1703; and tei'minates with an instance of the liberal feeling arising about that peiiod in Englrtnd as to a relaxation of the Penal Code in Ireland, and tlie ronsequent attem})ts made by George III. and the English cabinet for that purpose, though frustrated by the uni'elenting "ascendancy" of sectarian and agrarian oppressors there. The lOtli book, having shown the generally liigh opinion of the Irish as soldiers on the Continent, with a corresponding regret in England at their legal exclusion from her service, notices the death, in 1765, of James III., at Rome, and the long-enduring loyalty towards the Stuarts in England, as well as among the Irish ; after a reference to the Brigade in Corsica in 1768-9, and elsewhere, adverts to the growing quarrel between England and her North American colonies since 1763, and to partial experiments she had made since 1757, and with satisfactory results, to recruit from Catholics in Ireland, and to the growing indispensability of such recruits, for the approaching contest in America, occasioning those of their faith to be officially acknowledged as subjects through an Oath of Allegiance to that effect ; next mentions the birth of Daniel O'Connell in 1775, from its occuri-ence amidst various family and local circumstance.s relating to the Brigade; then refers to the avowed necessity in Parlia- ment for recruiting against America in Ireland, with the parliamentary admission of Irish Catholics to hold landed property subsequent to the surrender of Genei'al Burgoyne, and the consequent dissatisfaction of France at this legislation, as calculated to undermine her military interest in Ireland ; and, after an account of the services of Walsh's, Berwick's, and Dillon's cor])S with the French in Ai'rica, the West Indies, and North America, during the war against England from 1778 to 1783, and a survey of the several events tending to the dissolution of Irish corps in France, or the ])rospe!-ity of Ireland after 1782, the virtual extinction of the Stuarts by the death of Prince Charles, ia 1788, the ensuing Revolution of 1789 in France and its effects upon the Brigade in 1791, ends the work, with notices of the 2 last eminent officers of that force deceased on the Continent, or General O'Connell in 1833, and the Count de Nugent in 1859. Such, exclusive of the numerous military events to be found under the PREFACE. VU years in wliich they occurred, is a general synopsis of tlie sul)j«ct hei-o treated of, at an expense of more than 25 years' reseai'ch and labour; often, from the difficulties of obtaining information, and otiier cause's, attended by a painful despair of the task undertaken being ever com- pleted, in a manner at all worthy of a portion of history, so " blendinc the rays of modern days with glories of the past," or honourable in itself, and interesting in its antecedents. In anticipation of any superficial criticism of this work as too Jacobite^ it may be observed here, that the work is so Jacobite, as a history of Jacobites. The Irish Catholics wei-e Jacobites, or haters of the Williara- ite Revolution ; and could not feel otherwise towards it, as the repre- sentative to tliem of foreign military invasion, landed confiscation, and breach of treaty by Penal Laws, to degrade them religiously, and pauperize them collectively ; to which were added festivals and numu- nients to gall the feelings of the fallen, c()nti'ary to even the old maxim of Pagan morality, that, though it was lawful to raise a trophy for success, it .should be of perishable materials, and be unlawful to repair it, as tending to keep alive bitter recollections, or a desii'e of revenge. In noticing the sad condition of the older Irish, or " children of the soil," as Catholics, or Jacobites, after the success of the Revolution, Loni Macaulay observes — " To tliem every festival, instituted by the state, was a day of mourning, and every public troj)hy, set up by the state, was a memorial of .shame. We" in England "have never known, and can but faintly conceive, the feelings of a nation, doomed to see constantly, in all ])ublic [jlaces, tlie monuments of its subjugation. Such monumenta every whei-e met the eye of the Irish Roman Catholics. In front of the Senate House of their country, they saw the statue of their conqueror. If they entered, they saw the walls tapestried with the defeats of their fathers." Elsewhere, moreover, they were insulted yearly by several armed public proce.ssions, to commemorate the same events, with Orange colours, tunes, etc., too frequently attended with insolence and outi'age involving a destruction of property and life, yet perpetrated with perfect impunity ! Even in England, which was the gainer, by the way, at the expense of both Scotland and Ireland, by hotlt revolutions in opposition to the Crown, or that under Oliver Cromwell, as well as that under William of Orange, the latter revolution and its results, however " glori- ous," were long the sources of very extensive dissatisfaction. The great leading journal of England, the Times, alluding, July 12th, 1862, to the Revolution of 1688, and its consequences for half a century, remarks — "As for the earlier Princes of the House of Hanover, the nation never could be induced to entertain any cordial feeling towards them, and, indeed, we do not know why it .should. Faction, instead of being extin- guished by our glorious Revolution, became more rife, and more rampant, than ever. A system of Parliamentary corruption was organized, which via PRKFACE. niiglit lead a political purist to regret the clays of naked and unWnslnng tjraiJiiy. We had our ])auics, our assassination-plots, our rebellions, onr vast military expenditure, our bitter feuds between High and Low Chui-ch. Whoever looks back upon tliat period might form very ])lausible reasons for believing, that England was ruined by her glorious Kevolution." If this view could be taken of the "glorious Revolution' in England, which profited so much by it, hoio could that revolution be anything but detested in Ireland by the mass of the population, who, in addition to tlie oppres-^ive laws directed, thi-ough tlie Revolution, against them, as regards I'eligion and property, were pronounced, from tlie judicial bench, to exist, as Papists, merely by a connivance of the ruling powers; and were even not admitted, until considerably within the reigu of George III., or 1774, to the privilege of taking an Oath of Allegiance as subjects! It was consequently not till tJien that the House of Hano- ver could claim allegiance from a people, legally incapacitated or excluded from making any pledge of the kind. Under such circum- stances, the Irish Brigailes were necessarily Jacobites, and have acconl- ingly been written of by their historian only as Jacobites.* Ha|)pily, the Irishman can now serve, and has long been entitled to serve, as well as the Englishman, and the Scotchman, beneath the standard of tljeir common Sovereign ; so tliat, in this respect, there is as much reason fur satisfaction with the present state of things, as for regret at the past. In conclusion, the authoi-, for favours coniiected with the execution of his task, has to ex])ress his specially grateful acknowledgments to the kindness of several friends, now all, alas, no more! " Can storied urn, or animated bust, back to its inansiou call the fleeting breath ? Can Honour's voice provoke the silent thist, Or Flattery soothe the dull cold, ear of death? '' — Gray. To the late Daniel O'Connell, he is indebted forgetting him an admission t'> the State Raider Olfice, London, in 1841, when such a privilege was rire, coninared with what it has tiiuce become; to his son, the late John • Lord ]\Iacaulay, writing October 24th, 1850, to the author, expresses himself more favourably of the Irish, than of the English, Jacobites. " To a considerable e.xtent," he says, "our views coincide. I admit that the Irish Jacobites were not, like the Englisli Jacobites, the defenders of arbitrary power. The cause of James presented itself, no doubt, to the Roman CathcUcs of Muustei-, as the cause of civil and spiritual liberty. Nevercheless, I think, that the dearest interests of the human race were staked on the success of the English in that struggle ; and that, though the victory of William produced much evil, far greater evil would have been produced by the victory of James." This work, however, is merely connected with the "much evil" admitted to have beea "produced" by that "victory;" of which "evil," so great a portion was the existence, for so long a period, of Irish Brigades in the service of France, &c. PREFACE. IX O'Connell, who had contpm])hitecl writing a History of the Iiish Biigades in France, he is also obliged for some useful French IMSS. on that sub- ject, procured at Paris; to tlie late Sir William Bethaui, Ulster King at Ai'ms, for an introduction to M. de la Ponce, and consequently obtaining from that gentleman the use of his extensive collections on Irish famiUetj and officers in France; to the late eniiuent Irish scholars. Dr. Jonu O'Donovan and Professor Eugene O'Curry, for sucli particular's as wtuc needed on the Celtic portion of his work ; and, " though last, not least, ' to the late Rev. J. H. Todd, of Trinity College, (the great promoter and cultivator of his country's literature,) for access to various sources oi information, in manuscript and print, indispensable for the biographical notices of the leading officers of the Irish Brigades. The author-, too, is tliankful for the facilities at all times affijrded to his researches, in the valuable libraries of Trinity College, Royal Irish Academy, and Royal Dublin Society. He now has only to hope, that the result of his long labour and anxiety, abroad and at home, or at London and Paris, as well as in his native city, may prove to be something, that posterity will " not willingly let die." J. C. O'G. 1, Upper Eutlaxd Strkkt, Dublin, January I5th, liOU. HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK I. The History op the Irish Brigades in the Service of France dates its origin from the war between Great Britain and Ireland occasioned by the change of d3^nasty in those islands, which commenced with th« British Revolution of 1688, and was notaccom])lished till the accpiiescence of Ireland in the results of that Revolution, by the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. In Great Britain, it was but natural that such a change of dynasty should have occurred. At a period when theological differences of opinion had such a considerable influence on the politics of Europe in general, and of Great Britain and Ireland in particular, the reigning Sovereign of the 2 Protestant kingdoms of England and Scotland, James [I., had deserted the Protestant for the Catholic faith, and, through the birth of a male heir, was likely to establish a Catholic dynasty over those 2 Protestant nations; who could hardly be expected to acknow- ledge a Catliolic Monarch, but for the expectation, existing previous to tliat birth, of his being succeeded, in the course of a few years, by a race of Protestant Princes. In an age when the boundaries between the monarchical and the other branches of the constitution had not been determined with sufficient accuracy, that Monarch had also considered himself justified in exercising powers, which, whatever may have been their defensibility on the score of precedent, were felt to be incompatible with the state of intellectual and political advancement at which Great Britain had then arrived. Under such circumstances, the a])plicati()ns of the disaffected English and Scotch for assistance against King James were addressed to William, Prince of Orange, and Stadtholder of the Dutch republic, who, besides being the ne])hew of James, was married to that Monarch's eldest daughter, the Princess Mary, and was thus the next Protestant Prince interested in the succession to the sceptre of these islands. William, who, in consequence of the birth of a son to James in June, 1688, would, if a revolution did not occur, V>e debarred of that share in the royal succession to which he had long looked forward, and who, as a Dutch patriot, wished to add the resources of James's dominions to the great League of Augsburg, privately entered into, some time before, by the principal states of the Continent against the overgrown power of Louis XIV., was necessarily glad to avail himself of the invitations he received to invade England. He accoi'dingly equipped such a fleet and army in Holland as he judged to be sufficient for the success of his enterprise, when supported by such a state of religious and political feeling in his favour as he knew to exist in Great B Z ' HISTOIIV OF Tirr, IRTSH BlUOADKS BritKin, and lauded without opposition, Noveml)er 15th, 1088,* at Torbay, in Devonshire. James, though too long deceived respecting the real destination of the Dutch armament, by the treachery of liis minister, Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, had, nevertheless, assembled a force, that, if well affected towards him, would have been ranch more than sufficient to overpower the invaders. But, incapacitated from defending his crown by a defection so general as even to include iiis own daughter Anne, afterwards Queen Anne, and not altogether without reasons to be mindful of the fate of his father, King Charles T., it was soon judged requisite for him to send off his Queen and infant eon pi-ivately to France. After having been turned out of his own ])alace at Whitehall, and for some time a yjrisoner under a Dutch guard, the King likewise considered it necessary for him to escapee from Englaml, and seek in France the protection of his cousin-german, Louis XTV* Early in the following year, 1G89, the flight of James, notwithstanding his pi'opfisal, in writing, from France, to return, summon a Parliament, and endeavour, in a regular way, to adjust matters between himself find his subjects, was voted in England by a Convention, assembled under Willian)'s auspices, to ha\e been an "abdication" of the Crown. The royal dignity, thus pronounced to have been abdicated by James, against his public ])rotest to the contrary, was conferred upon the Prince and Princess of Orange, witii the executive power to be vested in the Prince. The Crown of Scotland, still a separate one from the Crown of England, was, in the spring of the same year, also transferred from James (as James VII.) to his son-in-law and daughter; so that, with the exception of a brave, though compai'atively unim|)ortant, opposition in favour of the deposed Monarch, maintained in a corner of Scotland amongst the Highlanders, the Dutch Prince became the de facto Sovereign of the 2 Protestant kingdoms of Great Britain. But, while England and Scotland considered themselves justified in preferring William as their Sovereign to James, in Ireland, the great mass of the populatifm, or those of Milesian, and Anglo-Norman, or Old English descent, thought that t/tei/ were at least as well entitled to retain James for their Sovereign, as the English and Scotch had been to reject him. On strictly constitutional grounds, or, viewing the Monarchy, in the 3 kingdoms, not as elective, but hereditary, the Irish, in adhering to James, regarded themselves as loyalists, and looked upon the English and Scotch, for deposing him, as rebels. If, by a recognized axiom of British law, " the King can do 7?o wrong" — anything deemed so being chargeable upon his Ministers, as evil counsellors, and to be visited with punishment, not of -him, but o{ t/iem, in order to deter others from acting similarly — ought not such a course of ministerial impeachment and chastisement have been :"i insurrections against himself, in England and Scotland. Such hbuscvS, as those of men, [)hysically inadequate to the service for which they were designed, having becu enrolled among the privates, and even of certain Protestant Lords' servants having been provided for as otiicers, vere exposed. Instead of the former, a superior or native Irish soldiery, remarkable for their stature, were introduced ; instead of the latter, a more trustworthy and respectable class of officers, mostly drawn finm the best old families in the country, that had suffered so much by tho success of the Puritans in Great Britain and Ireland against the Crown. Kotwithstandii'.g the o])i)osition to lie expected in England, from thii general hatred there of tiie Irish,* it was also the King's intention, from the year 1687, to at least considerably modify the injustice of the Acts of Settlement and Ex[)lanation ; through which, after the restoration of Monarchy, in the person of his brother. King Charles II., several thou- sands of tiie Irish Catholic iiroj.rietary, of Milesian, Anglo-Norman, or Old English descent, who h;id f »nght for royalty, at home and abioad, against the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian rebels, were nevertheless ruined, by the transfer of their lands to those rebels. Previous, there- fore, to the Revolution, these unjust Acts in Ireland were already, to use the words of a Williamite writer, "doomed in every coffee-house;" a sentence afterwards carried into effect, by their total repeal in 1689. In short, from the post of Viceroy of Ireland, conferred on the Earl of Tyrconnell, down to the lowest situation in the power of James to bestow, never were the Irish so favoured and ]>romoted, in every capacity, by a British Sovereign, as they were Ijy that Monarch. While, from the success of James's cause, they consequently had everything to hojje, they \/iiYi^ not less convinced, by their experience of the same s])irit of national and religious hostility to them which afterwards violated the Treaty of Limerick, and enacted the Penal Code, that, from James's iall, they would also have everything to /ear. These circumstances natuially rendered the Irish so unanimous in the King's favour, that he had more reason to rely for his "restoration" on tlteni, than on all the i-est of his subjects. Between the j)eriod of his escaping from England to France, in January, 1689, and that of his disembarking from Brest, at Kinsale, in March, the issuing of commissions by the Earl of Tyrconnell to the nobility and gentry of the island, for raising troo])s in the roj'al cause, vas responded to, by no less than 100,000 n)eu coming forward, to take arms in the King's defence. But this abundance of men, for the forma- tion of an army in Ireland, was accompanied with a want of almost all the other means for equipping and mamtMining a regular force. By the results of the long Parliamentarian or Cromwellian war from 1641 to 1653, Ireland, only alxnit 35 years before the Prince of Orange's invasion of England, had been reduced to the most frightful state of misery and depopulation. By the transfer, after the Restoration, in 1660, of so much of the landed pro[)erty of the older Irish or royalists to the Crora- * The Irish, as Lord Macanlay correctly observes, were considered "foreigners" iu Eagkind; "and oi all foreigners,"' he adds, "they were the most hated." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. O wellians, and by other circumstances connected with that transfer, llie Angh)- Protestant "ascendancy," thus established in Ireland, were ren- dered so superior in wealth — as well from the rent of land, and the enK)lunients of office, as from the profits of business — that when, on the prospect of a war in Ii-elaod, in consequence of the Revolution in Great' Britain, as many of ihe nienihcis of that "ascendancy" as could get away to England and ScotUxnd removed there with their money and ])late. Ireland was lelt almost entirely destitute of the circulating mtv.liui'i requisite for the payment of an army. Nor were the Irish loyalists less deticient in suc'i other military necessaries as muskets, cannon, tfec; partly through the policy of the English government, that as few arms and as little ammunition as possible should be kept in Ireland; and jjartly owing to the unlucky circumstance, of some thousands of the best eqiiipped ])ortion of the Irish army, who were sent over to James ia England previous to William's invasion, having been detained there by tlie latter, on the siiccess of his eviterprise; and tlius lust to their country, ■when it stood in the greatest need of their assistance. For the supjJy of .so many discouraging wants, the Irish were therefore obliged to have recourse to their Sovereign's ally, Louis XIV. But, on account of the political and military situation of France with reference to its neighbours, the Irish were disappointed of anything like the a.ssis- tance that was necessaiy to supp'n-t the contest in which th-y engaged. From the commencement of Loui.s's reign, but ])articulai]y frouj his attack on the Dutch Republic, in 1672, that Monarcli's general policy had been such, as to make the principal powers of the Continent tinally consider hira a common enemy ; against whom it was necessary to com- bine, either for the purpose of avenging past injuries, or of averting future insults, and encroachments. With this view, under the pretext of making arrangements for a war upon the Turks, a great confederacy against Fiance, called the League of Augsburg, was secretly entered upon tiiere, by the repi-esentatives of sevei-al of those states, in 1686; and such was the general animosity of the Continental powers, of all religii)ns, to Louis, that, from 1686 to 16^"^S, the adliesions to this alliance confiuued to increase, till it embraced the Emperor of Germany, the Electors of Saxonv, Bavaria, and Brandenburg, the Elector Palatine, the Circles of Suabia and Franconia, the Kings of Spain and Sweden, the Dutch Re- ]>ublic, the Duke of Savoy, and Po])e Innocent XL The political and military soul of this secret confederacy against the French Monarch was the Pi-ince of Orange. As Stadtholder, or first magistrate of his native country, William was interested in the formation of such a League, on account of the injuries which Holland had suffered, and the dangers she had to apiirehend, from the unscrupulous ambition and formidable iiower of France. On personal grounds, he could not forgive the sequiistration of his Pi'incipality of Orange, in the south of France, and the insulting lefusal of redress for that injury, by the French government. As a Protestant, he was naturally indignant at the Revocation of the Edict of ]S1 antes, in 168-^, and the violent persecution directed against the Protes- tants of France (including the inhabitants of his own Princi[)aliry of Orange), for the extinction of Protestantism, in that kingdom.* J>. ar * "The Kevocation of the Edict of Nantz," says Mr. O'Conop, "was a pro- cnediuo- even more oppressive than the Penal Code in Ireland. It sujijiresse i a!l the pnvileoes u;raiited by Henry IV. and Lduis XIII ; inhihited the exercise of the I'lotestuut religion; tiijoined the bauishmeut of all its Ministers w^thm 15 days; 6 iiiSTonY OF THE ii;i?.n et'JGades had the PrincH iUid liis co\iiitrvnicii, fclie Dutch, as members of a Pro- tectant .state, less caaye to be ahii iiied, on the score of tlieir religion; from the fai-t of those sweeping nieasnres, for the destruction of tlie reformed i'aith in Fivince, being accompanied, on the other side of tlie Channel, bv the administrative changes of Louis's relative, friend, and brother-religionist. King Jam^^s, to tlie weakening of the Protestant Es- tablished Church in England and Ii-eland ; while James likewise dejiri\ed the Leaguti of Augslan-g of its best expectation of success, the alliance of England, by signit'ving h'ts determination to remain neuter, between the jiarties to tliat coalition, and the French Monarch. These circumstances, with the invitations William received from England to invade that c-ouiitrv. and the necessity he himself was under, of effecting a revolution there to the prejudice of James and his son, or of resigning any hope of a share in the succession, at once suggested, and facilitated, the nnd«M-- taking of such an enterprise; through the final triumph of which, the important object of adding England to the League of Augs'ourg being attained. France was exposed, everywhere Ijut on the side of Switzerland, to hostilities by laud or sea. While such an immense drain upon the resources of France was thus required for //er defence against so m-ii-iv enemies, the Irish Jacol)ites could not be aided as they might otherwise have . been, and they consequently found themselves abandoned, with comparatively little more than their own very inadequate means of defence, against the enormous supei'iority of every description of force directed against them by the Prince of Orange, as King of England and Scotland, Stadtholder of Holland, and Head of the League of Augsburg. The following jxirticulars respecting the War of the E^evolution in Ireland during the years 168'J, 16U0, and 1691, will give a sufficient idea liere of the courage and persevei-ance, with which, nnder so many disadvantages, the Iiish loyalists sustained the cause of James, for 3 cam])aigns, again.st the power of William. Consisting, at the most, of not above 1,200,000 men, women, and children — having to gv;ard against aiiofJ'er poj)ulation in the country, able to furnish 25,000 hostile Militia ury, and the Lord Chancellor, witli numbers of the nobility of the 3 kingdoms, &c. His Loi'dship having Ijeen married to Lady Margaret de Buigo, only daughter of the celebrated Click de Burgo, 0th Earl of Clanricar-de, left 1 son, Charles-James, who died a minor. The titles and estates of Muskerry and Clancarty consequently devolving to the Honourable Callaghan Mac Cartliy, he, who hail betaken himself iu Fi-ance to an ecclesiastical life, quitted his monastery, became a Pro- testant, married Lady Elizabeth Fitz-Gerald, 6th daughter of George Fitz-Gerald, IGth Earl of Kildare, (ancestor of the ducal family of Leinster,) and by her, besides 4 tlaughtei-s, left, on his decease in 1G76, 1 son, Donough. Of the extensive landed possessions of his ancestors for so many centuries, this Dcmough was the last noble head of the Mac Carthys, who retained a remnant; then producing a rent of <£9,000 per annum, and in our time estimated as yielding one of not less than ■£200,000 a yeai-. He was educated a Protestant by the Archbishoj) of Canterbury, and bred up at (>xrord. Through tiie influence of his uncle, Justin, (afterwai-ds Loid Monntcashel) he was pi-ivately married, before he was 16, to the Lady Elizabeth Spencer, 2nd daughter of Robert iSpencer, Earl of Sunderland, (tlie fame who was Prime Minister to James II.) and sent over to Ireland. W'iien James ascended the throne, Donough became a Catholic, and, with his uncle, who was of the same religion, warmly espoused that Monarch's cause, in opposition to the disturbances attempted against his government in Ireland by the Williamites of Munster, alter the defection of England to tlie Prince of Orange, and the escape of the King to Fiance. Justin, the EaiTs uncle, had, as a younger son, entered the army, and was well connected in England; being married to the Lady Aialtella Wentwoi-th, 2nd daughter of the famous Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stratibrd. In his piofession, Justin had attained the rank of Lieu,tenaiit-General, and was possessed of such courage and talent, that, but for his being somewhat near-sighted, he was considei-ed to have had every qualification for a coni|)lete officer. His moral character is described, in ]>olitically-hostile sources of intelli- gence, as that of a man of honour and liberality. Early iu March, 1689, the inhabitants of Bandon, an Anglo-Protestanfc IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 11 town in the County Cork, (erected from English cDuC^ica>''i(.«k^ vwle la Ireland, at the begiunmif of that, and the conclusion of the T^revioua century,) being from race, from creed, and from the succe.ss of the Prince of Orange in England, equally favouraVde to the Revolution, disaffected to King James, and hostile to the nation arming in liis favour, fell by .sur|)rise uptm their small Jacobite or Irish garrison of only 2 < ompanies of foot, and 1 troop of hor.se, under Captain Daniel O'Xeill, killed a S»"rjeant and 2 ."soldiers, seized all their aims, clothes, and horses, and shut the gates, before the Earl of Clancarty, who was advancing with a reinforcement of 6 companies to that detachment of bis men which was thus overpowered, could reach the place. About the same time, Captain Henry Boyle, father of the 1st Earl of Shannon, and a descendant of the original English " settler " who founded Bandon, also attemjjted aa insurrection, by standing on his defence at his residence of Castle- Martvr, in the same County, with 140 followei's; while William O'Brien, 2ud Earl of Inchiquin, reared a Piote-stant in Loudon, and who was an experienced officer, having fought in .the war of Catalonia, lost an eye in a sea-ffght against the Algerines, and been for several years British (lOvernor and Vice-Admiral of Tangier in Morocco, and Colonel of the. Tangier Eegiment of Foot, headed, with similar intentions to those ot Captain Boyle, a considerable number of Williamite insurgent.s. But Lieutenant-General Justin Mac Carthy })revented any effective co-opera- tion with tho.se movements in the city of Cork, and the adjacent villages, by taking up the arms and horses of the Anglo-Pi'otestant inhabitants or Revolution party there; and collected such a body of mounted men and 2 or 3 tield-pieces, that the Willianiites of Bandon found themselves conqtelled to seek pardon, by opening their gates, agreeing to ])ay £1000, and to level their walls, which have never since been re-built; Captain Boyle was likewise obliged to surrender ; and the Earl of Inchiquin and his folloAvers had to give up their arms. By the.se successes, and the consequent cajntulation, to Ca])tain Phelim Mac Carthy and a sujierior Irish force, of a party of English colonists, who, with their adherents, had fortitied themselves at Kilowen house, in Kerry, under the ex[»ectation of a.ssistance from England, every attempt at Williamite insiu-rection in Munster was put down, ])revious to King James's arrival from France, on the 22nd of Mai'ch, 1689, at Kinsale. That Monarch, upon his landing, was i-eceived by the Lieutenant-General and his nephew, the Earl of Clancarty. By the Lieutenant-Greneral, the King was informed in council of the state of the country, and was entertained by the Earl; whom he rewarded, for his loyalty, by making him a Lord of the Bed- chauil)er, appointing him Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the Pi-ovince by letters patent, and creating his infantry regiment a Royal Regiment of Guards. To the Lieutenant-General, James, in order to establish a regular force as soon as possible, gave directions, before leaving Kinsale, to regiment and weapon the levies designed there for infantry and diagoons; and then to despatch quickly for Dublin the remainder of the arms, landed from the French fleet. Previous, also, to his setting out for Cork, the King, inspecting Kinsale, left due oi-ders for securing the place from any sudden attempt of the enemy; committed the execution of those orders to Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy; and appointed, to command under him, the gallant M. de Boisselot, Cajjtaiu of Louis XlV.'s Guards, v.ho was sent, with the rank of Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, to Ireland ; and who subsequently gained such celebrity 12 ITIPTORY OP THE imSII BUIGADE? for the successful defence of Limerick agitiiist the Prince of Orange. On James's return to Duhliri from Derry early in May, in order to make airaiigenients for the meeting of the Irish Pailiament then at hand, and to forward to his small and very hadly-siiji])lu;d f.irce before the latter j)l;ioe, such means as could be collected for attacking it, Lien tenant- General Mac Carthy, as the best qualitied officer for ins])ecting the ])re)iaration of arms, ordnance, and engintei'ing tools, was made Master- (leneral of Artillery in Ireland. In the Parliament, o])ened by the King in person on the 17th of the sann; month, the Lieutenant-General, who was Lord Lieutenant of the County of Cork, likewise sat as its lepresefitatiA'e along with the Attorney-General for Ireland, Sir Riclianl Tvagle of Aghnakishy and Carrignaconny Casth', in that County, who fcanied the Pill foi- the Repeal of the Acts of Settlement and Explana- tion ; or the restoring to tlie Irish I'oyalists the projierties lost by them in iigliting against the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian revolutionists; and yet confirmed to these revolutionists, after the Kestoi-ation, l)y those Acts. The Bill for their Repeal, thus drawn by one of the rcjiresenta- tives of that County, was brought u|) by the Lieutenant-Geneial as the other, on the 2nd of June, from the Iri.sh House of Commons to the Irish Hou.se of Lord.s. The next day, the Lieutenant-General was created by King James, Lord Viscount Mountca.shel, and Baron of Castle- Tnchy, in the County of Coi'k, and, on the 4th, was introduced, and took his seat, by these titles, among.st the Peers of Ireland. The attention of the King, in military matters, being, next to the Vilockade of Derry, directed towards the equi[)ment of such a force as might, with what were already in the North, be sufficient to reduce Enniskillen, Ijoid Moutitcashel was appointed to command the additional b(j(Iy of troops designed for that undertaking. The Enniskilleners, a hardy and sttibborn race, mo.stly Scotch by origin, and Presbyterians by creed, had commenced their insurrection again.^ King James's government in December, 1G88, by refusing to admit into Enniskillen 2 companies of Sir Thomas Newcomen's Regi- ment of Foot, sent to quarter there. Between the time of this outbreak and the end of January, 1689, they continued to arm, and sent 2 envoys to the Prince of Orange, for assistance from England ; in March, pro- claimed the Prince and Princess as Sovereigns of these islands; and, early in April, rejected the terms offered to them, from King James, by Brigadier Pierce Butler, 3rd Lord Galmoy. That officer, after trying what could be accomplished, rather by intimidation than by other means, again.st the castle of Croni, a frontier post of the enemy, about IG miles from Enniskillen, found himself oblij.#d by the determination of his opponents, the insufficiency of his force, and his want of artillery, to retii-e without effecting any thing. The Enniskilleners, being strength- ened by numbers of the bravest of the Protestants of Sligo, Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, and Monaghan, whom the defeats of their forces else- where by the Irish army could not frighten into submission, occasioned such a diversion to the Irish blockade of Derry, and extended their ))redatory excursions so widely, that, besides a force stationed under Brigadier Patiick Sarsfield on the Connaught side of Lough Erne to guard the country in that direction, and the detachment of another force, under the Duke of Berwick, from the Irish army before Derry towards Enniskillen, that 3rd body of troops, previously mentioned as more especially designed for reducing those insurgents, was to proceed against IX THE SKUVICE OF FRANCT^. 13 them, unrler Lord Moniitcasliel. From the scarcit}' and the dilficvilty of pi-eparinnj military necessaries in Ireland, and the insufficiency with which such sn))plies had been furnished liy France, Lord Monntcashel's troops could not be asseujbled for action at Belturbet, before the Gth of Aui^ust. Tliey consisted of 3 complete regiments of infantry, 2 regi- ments of di-agoons, and some horse; the infiintry 2418, the dragoons 10S{), the horse 96; the total 3600 men; and they had 7 brass field- guns, with 1 heavy iron y)iece, for battery. These levies were the best- equipped portion of the King's army, and, with the aid that might be expected from Brigadier Patrick Sarstield, and the Duke of Berwick, were judged suthcient for the reduction of the Enniskilleners; whoso f -rce then under command, besides irregulars, amounted to 30 com|)anie.s of foot, 17 troops of horse, and 3 troojis of dragoons; the foot 2216, the lK)rse 950, the dragoons 180; the total 3346 men; and their artillery 6 field-pieces. But, as belonging to a class, who, having constituted both a political and religious "ascendancy" in Ireland, were before, as vve'.l as since, the Revolution, familiar with the use of fire-arms, and whose independent sort of creed, and comparatively easy circumstances, served to form an equally spirited and comfortable yeomanry, the Enniskilleii soldiery were composed of an order of men much superior to the mass of Lord Monntcashel's troops; who, besides the moral, political, and military disad%-antages under which they laboured, from the general inferiority of their condition previous to their entering the army, had not subsequently seen any service to raise them above raw levies.'"' Lord Mountcashel, having collected his forces at Beltur-bet on the 6th of August, came on the 7th before Crom castle, and commenced raising a battery against it; of which an account was forwarded by the Governor, Creighton, to Enniskillen, and received there that night. By the morn- ing of the 8th, this battery began to play upon the castle, while the Irish made their approaches very near it; and, though" they suffered by the small shot of the garrison, and the fire of long fov\ ling-pieces in the place, on rests, for killing game about the Lough, which served as a light artillery, yet the Governor was so alarmed at the elftcts of the besiegers' cannon, that he wrote pressingly to Enniskillen for i-elief To this 2tid letter, which reached Enniskiden early the same day, or the 8th, Colonel William Wolseley, an able English officer who had arrived, by the way of Ballyshannon from England, at Enniskillen, only the night betbi'e, and upon whom, owing to the sickness of Colonel Gustavns Hamilton, the command of the town and its forces then devolved, replied, that, by the 10th, he would advance from Enniskillen, to endeavour to raise tlie siege of Crom. The Colonel, from the slight opinion he entertained of the strength of Enniskillen, having determined to march out and engage Lord Mountcashel ahnie, rather than wait to be besieged there both by his Lordship and Brigadier Sarsfield, accordingly despatched away orders, that all the Enniskillen troops who could be spared from Ballyshannon, as well as those quai'tered 2 or 3 miles beyond it, should, the following day, or the 9th, make a forced march, so as to be at Enniskillen that * " I should be very sorry," said Napoleon, "to undertake a war with an army of recruits." The only portion of Lord Monntcashel's force, that would a])iiear to have constituted an exception to the term " recruits." as having had any thiuir like due training, was his own regiment of infantry. The numbers on each side in this Enniskdlen contest are either copied or deduced from data unobjectionable to wilier party. 14 IltSTOIiy OF TIIK iiasii d:igades iiiojlit, anrl be ready, on the 10th, to go and fight Lieutenaut-General Mac Cartliy. The night of the same d.iy, or the 8th, on wliich he issned these coniniaiids, Wolseley, likewiwe rec-eiving a report of Lieuteiiant- Genei-al J\!ac Car-thy's intending to send, next d;vv. an Irish detachment to establish itself at the castle of Lisuaskea, wit n 10 miles of Ennis- killen, directed Lieutenant-Colonel Berry, another Jiinglish officer lately arrived at Enniskillen, to proceed the following nun-ning, or the 0th, with 4 troo])S of horse, 1 of dragoons, and 2 companies of foot, or about 404 men, towards Lisnaskt^a, to garrison its castle, if tenable, and to leai'n all he coukl i-especting the strength and position of the Irish; assuring him of being followed, in due course, by the whole of the Ennis- killen forces, to raise the siege of Crom. Berry marched, on the morning of the 9th, to Lisnaskea, to anticipate the Irish in taking possession of its castle; which, however, he reached, without meeting any hostil% party; and, finding the edifice too much out of order to be worth a garrison, he kept liis men that night in the open fields, about 6 miles from the Irish. By the day of Berry's advance to Lisnaskea, or the 9th, Lord Mounti-islKd had already gained the entrenchments about Crom ca-^tle, with a facility so animating to his raw troops, that, contrary to Ids express orders to go no further, they had im])rudently rushed on towards the very walls of the fortress ; the loss being thus greater thaii it otherwise would, or from 75 to 80 kiHed or wounded, including tiie Lientenant-Colonel and several other officers of his Lordship's regiment, and 3 of his cannoniers. Yet, through the formation of a battery vuider cover of the night, he calculated on being enablt-d to give a genei-al assault, when he was informed 4000 men wore coming from Enniskillen, in order to relieve Crom. In this state of things, his post there being veiy ineligiV)le for giving battle, his Lordship withdrew 2 miles thence towards Newtown-Butler; that if the Euniskilleners approached, he niight be in a better situation to receive them; or that, if they shonhl not do so, he might still be sufficiently at hand to resume his operations a;:;ainst the castle. And, as an additional precaution with reference to the enemy's approach, the Clare or O'Brien's Regiment of Dragoons were to j)roceed early next morning, or the lOth, towards Lisnaskea, and after driving before them such a hostile advanced party as it might appear they would be able to dispose of, they were to halt at, and occupy a certain pass, where, it was said, that 100 men might stop 10.000! The officer to command the dragoons, with these instructions, was Brigadier Anthony Hamilton. This accom])lis!)ed gentleman, and elegant writer, known, m the light literature of France, as the " Comte Antoine Hamilton," author of the " Menioires du Comte de Grammont," (tc, was (by the Lady Mary Butler, sister of James Butler. 1st Duke of ni)ilisli this, tlic English Lieutenant-Colonel resorted to the influence of the Enniskiilen ollicers. On crossing to the side of the stream fartliest fioni the Irish, the horse, hy the exertions of I of tlieir best leaders, ('aptain Martin Armstrong, and the coming up of a brave and skilful infantry officer, Captain Malcolm Cathcart, with about 120 fK)t, wei'e prevailed u))on to rally there. Captain Cathcart then requested the horse-otiicers to let him know plainly, if the horse meant to abandon their foot, as in the recent action against the Duke of Berwick,* or would promise to stand? — which, if they would do, he would answer for the Irish being beaten from that pass. The horse-officers protested, that none of them would fly, but would do their duty; a promise the more likely to be kept, through the arrival of the reinforcement sent on 1^ Wolsel(!y, after the receipt of Bei-ry's express. The strength of the latter, from but 2 companies of foot, 4 troops of horse, and 1 of dragoons, or only 404 men, was thus raised, by the Enniskillen writer Hamilton's account, to 7 or 8 troops of horse, about 3 foot com[)anies, and 2 troops of dragoons; that, according to the variations in the numbers of those troops and cntupanies, would form from 736 to 892 men. Under such combined advantages of numbers and position, arrangements were ad')pted to maintain the defile. Committing the disposition of the ini'antry and dismounted dragoons to Ca[itain Cathcart, who so placed them in the bushes, on each side of the narrow causeway leading to the stream across the road, that the passage would be swept by their levelled muskets and carabines, Berry, for the support of the infantry and dragoons, ranged his horse to the rear of all, or beyond the stream, and gave the word, Oxford. By this time, or about 9 o'clock, the Irish (whom the difficulties of a pursuit through such a causeway would appear to have considerably delayed) came up; and Hamilton, not aware of the Enniskilleiiers being reinfoi-ced bey nd the 5 troops of cavalry and 2 companies of infantry, at which the nature of the ground enabled hiui to estimatt' them in the earlier part of their confused retreat before him to that dehlc, detei'mined on attacking them there. Dismounting, and causing the diagoons to do so likewise, he led them on gallantly. The dragoons, liring smartly and wounding 12 or 14 of the Enniskilleners, advanced without receiving a shot from them, till within about 40 yards of tilt: stream. Then Captain Cathcart, who, with 18 or 20 ambushed marksmen, was to give the signal from one side of the causeway to the marksmen on the other, finding the assailants sufficiently close to him, let fly at one of their flanks, while a similar discharge was poured upoa the other; killing or wounding about 20 of the Irish. Amongst the latter was Hamilton, who, being shot in the thigh, retired a little to the * The particul lead on the men, Hamilton told a Ciptain Lavallin to order a " wheel to the left" — for the ])ur|iose of getting out of thisdonlile line of tire, atiel withdrawing, to rejoin Lord Mountcashel. But Lavallin gave t!ie word as "to the left about," which was understood in a ivwse sense.'"' Tliw Enniskilleners, on seeing this, huzzaed, and exclaiming thai the Trisli were running, advanced to attack them — the infantry and dismounted di-agoons, previously in ambush, taking the bog on each side — the horse rushing through the water along the causeway. The Ii'ish, at first quickening their retreat, soon bi-olce, before the superior numbers of the enemy, into a disorderly Hight, notwithstanding all Hamilton could say, or do, to stop it. He having, wounded as he was, a horse shot under him, with difficulty escaped. For about 3 miles, or from the scene of action, through Lisnaskea, to near Donough, the pursuit continued. The Enniskilleners, by their accounts, .snffiered to no greater extent, thau the 12 or 14 men above mentioned as wounded. The Irish, according to the same accounts, had, from above lOG to about 230 men and officers killed or taken; so many hoi-ses and arms of the dragoons being (in any view of the matter) lost, that they w^ere broken up as a regiment. ISTear Donough the pursuit was stopped by Bei-ry's sounding a retreat to his former fastness, as Lord Mountcashel, who had marched that morning fi'om Newtown-Butler after O'Brien's regiment, came up witli the main body of his cavaliy, to protect the beaten dragoons. This misfortiine of the dragoons, which, besides its natiu'ally depiessing effects u|)on the remainder of Lord Mountcashel's newly-raised foi-ce, deprived him of nearly half his cavalry — the report, lik(;wise, of the entire body of the Enniskilleners, represented as more numerous than they were, op as considerably reinforced from England, being upon their march to attack him^the certainty, in this case, of Sarstield and Berwick not having advanced against Enniskillen, since their doing so woidd have prevented this march of the Enniskilleners — and the consequent expedi- ency, under such circumstances, of being upon his guard — caused his Lordship to determine upon retreating immediately towards Beltui-bet. But the enemv did not give him time to accomplish this. Lieutenant- Colonel Berry, from the j)ass to which, on perceiving the Irish army near Donough, he had a 2nd time retreated, was summoned, about 1 1 o'clock, by Colonel Wolseley, to meet him at the moat beyond Lisnaskea, where the Colonel had arrived, by the upper road, from Enniskillen. • " After a short dispute," states my contemporary Trish Jacol)itp authority on this aifair, " Bri.tjadier Hamilton sent the word by Captaiu Lavallin iu us men to wiieel to the left, as if it were to rejom Mountcashel. Laval.in delivered it to the left about, as he thought it was, though flamilton maintain'd it afterwards, that it was as aforesaid. ... In 3 weeks after the action. Brigadier Anthony Hamilton and Captain Lavallin were V)rouo;ht to a Tryal, before a Court ]\lartial m I)iiblin, wherein General de Eosen sate President. The Brigadier was acquitted; and the Captain condemned to a military death ; tho, at his execution, he pro- tested, tliat he delivered the word as he had receiv'd it : and many Vieliev'd his protestation. He was a gentleman of a good estate in the County of Cork, within 12 miles to that Citty: and was much regretted by his friends." Hamilton, it would seem, was too infiuentially connected at the Castle of Dublin to be con- denujed; or why was he iirit c died to a special account for his complete breach of orders, in risking that pursuit, which led to the destnictiou of so many, as well aa poor Luvalliii? 18 IIISTOr.Y OF I HE IRISH BRIGADES The force, mustered by Wolseley and Berry at the moat, were, according to their own annalist Hamilton, 21 companies of foot, IG troops of horse, and 3 troops of dragoons, "men under command," or regnhirs. Of,, these, the foot would be 15G8, the horse 900, the dragoons iSO— or both, as cavalry, lOtiO — the entire 2G48. There were ''besides," says Hamilton, " some that were not under command," otherwise volunteers, or irregulars, that appear, by the subsequent loss in action, to h-Ave >)orne, to the "men under comiDand-," the considerahJe proportion of 8 to 12.* In fine, the account from Major-General Kirke, published as otRcial in the Lnndon Gazelte, No. 2481, states Wolseley's and Berry's united troops as 2700, or 1500 foot, and 1200 horse. Lord Mountcashel, deducting, say 70, (exclusive of officers) for his killed and wounded at Crom, and 543 for the dragoon regiment subsequently put Iiors de coiubut, would still have 2348 infantry, and 543 dragoons, with 96 horse, or' Ijetween both, G39 cavalry, making altogether 2987 men.t Wolseley, after congiatulating Beriy u[)on his good for-tune, observed to the Enniskillen officers, that, a^, in the haste made to I'elieve their friends, little or no food had been brought from Enniskillen, they should either at once push forward, and fight Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy, or return home. The Enniskillen officers were for going on; but, think- ing it better to learn the opinion of their men on the matter, as.sembled them, in close ordei', and asked them, which course would they adopt? The soldiers, though many of them, only the day before, are related to have marched, in that warm season, between 20 and 23 miles, from Ballyshainion, or beyond it, to Enniskillen, and above 10 miles more that nioi'ning, were so animated, by what they considered the lucky presage of the late success, that they were all for pushing, forward. Wolseley, thereupon arraying them in line of battle, selecting the due number of troopers fo)- a forlorn hope, and giving the word. No Popery! as best suited to draw out all their political, religious, and military enthusiasm, commanded them to advance. Meantime, Lord Mountcashel had re- treated from between Lisna.skea and Donongh, in the directicm of Newtown-Butler, with his army, still more morally than physically weakened by the result of the late unlucky affair against Berry, besides a genei-al, tliough erroneous, belief, as to the foi-ces, hastening after them from Enniskillen, having been rendered greatly superior in number, to what they originally were, by recent reinforcements from England. In this unfavoui'able aspect of affaii's, his Loitlship broke up the arrange- ments he had j)reviously made for resuming the siege of Cnmi ; and directed the ti-oops and artillery, left before the castle, to be diawn off towards Newtown-Butler. When his van, ai-riving there, was about 2 miles from Donough,and his rear not advanced further than about half a mile from the latter place, the forlorn of the Enniskillenei-s apjieared in •The Enniskillen "men under command." and "not under command," are Iwmped by Hamilton, as only "sometliing more tliau 2;i00." Bnt assertion cannot stand liefore arithmetic. Besides the ciruumstance indicating the irregulars to have been to the regulars as 8 to 12, we know, from Enniskillen "evidence/that, about 2 months before, "near 2()()()' Enniskillen troo]m, in marching from Enniskillen to Omagli, were swelled to "double the uun^ber, " by the Protestant /tympathLers on their route. Were there not, consequently, mDvc of such Williamite irregulars, or Orange guerillas, oppused to Lord jMnuutcashel, than icc have a satisfactory account of? t The 7t) fi'ot and 543 dragoons, or G13 men, set down as lost, with 2987 est-imated as remainnig. or still etfective, would fo;m cidUO. the total of Lord Mouutcashel'ti oricjinat force. IN' THE SFKVrCE OF FRAVCE. 19 viow. As the Ti-isli rear retired, the EnniskiUeners continued to cnine on, until the ground, witliin ubout half a mile of Newtown-Bntler, pre- Kciited an opportunity for holding the enemy in check, which was not neglected by the' Irish commander. On the way towards the town was a ^^teep hill only accessible by a bog, and a causeway through it, ca]i;ibio of admitting no more than 2 mounted men side b}' side. Upim the declivity of this hill fronting the bog and the enemy, the Irish rear, alter its passage of the causeway, was drawn out, to assume an iuiposinLC attitude; which the nature of the position enabled it to do, as ('oloiu 1 Wolseley, on coming up, judged it necessarj' to have t'le ground inspected by his officers, and the dispositions made for a regular attack. To further <)ccu]>y his attention, the houses of the adjacent countiy were committed to the flames; the semblance of a design to contest the hill being kept up liy distant firings from it, till his van was within about ninsket-iange. Then, preparations being made for delaying him still more by burning !Newtown-Butler, the Irish wei'e drawn off in good order towards it, after arresting his progress for half an hour. On pas.sing through Newtowii- Ijiitler, they burned it, and continued, for a mile beyond it, to retreat; facing about and tiring, so as to render Wolseley apprehensive of advanc- ing, unless in an equally I'Cgular miuiner. Heie, finding it no hmger possible to retreat towards Belturbet without fighting, and having select;ed such a position, as, under existing circumstances, gave the best hopes from a battle. Lord Mountcashel determined to engage the Enniskillcners. At the foot of an eminence lay a bog, nearly half a mile across. To assail this eminence along its front, cavalry had no way to approach, but a narrow road, through the bog, admitting but 2 tioopers, at most, to jiroceed abreast; while infantry shotdd advance over the bog, on each side of the road. Ahmg the slope of this eminence. Lord Mountcashel ranged his army. His horse and dra'^oons, reduced, by the morning's ivverse, so much below the number of the enemy's cavalry, formed the centre, drawn up acro.ss the causeway leading out of the bog, with 7 jiieces of cannon planted befoi-e tliem, to cover the narrow passage by which the Enniskillen cavalry shouhl come on ; and to the right and left of his horse and dragoons, his infantry, protected by thickets, were jx-sted as wings. Colonel Wolseley made the following dispositions for action. Llis centre, consisting of horse, was to assail the Irish horse and dragoons, ratiged behind their artillery, at the opposite end of the causeway. His rght and left w4ngs, that were to proceed through the bog against the opposite divisions of the Irish infantry among tiie hedges, viere formed out of the nuisketeers of his foot, composing between 700 and 800 of such excellent marksmen, that a hostile officer could hardly show himself without being picked down. Between those wings, the 3 troops of dragf)ons, dismounted, were equally divided. The i-ight wing was placed under an English officei-. Colonel Zachariah Tiffin; the left uncler an Irish officer. Colonel Thomas Lloyd. The centre of horse was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Berry; behind which Colonel Wolseley took his station, as that best calculated for surveying, and directing the ])rogi-ess of, the engagement. The horse of the Ennif,killen centre first attempted to advance, but were*obliged by the Irish cannon to desist. Wolseley then despatched through the bog his 2 wings of marksmen and dismounted dr;igoons, under Colonel Tiffin on the right, and Colonel Llovd on the left, agaimst the Irish left and right of foot statit)neJ m the thickets^ the 20 IIISTOItY OF TIIK ITilRII H^jnADES Etiniskillen winj^s being principjilly «]irrct('(l to Hi" several mile.s. On tlu; Lish right, the slaughter ■would ap[)ear (o have been le.ss than elsewhere; that wing being nearest to the open country Ibr an escape;; the Enniskilleii horsp not being alile to act out of the cau.seway ; and the P^nniskillen infantry, though as swift of foot as their opixnieiits, having marched farther than they did that morning, or about 1-5 miles before engaging. On the Irish left being ])r(!vented from getting across the causeway to the open country by the Enniskilleii lior.se, who secured the road as far as VVattle-Bi-idge, and being also pursued through the bog towards Lough Erne by the Enni.s- Uilh'ii toot, almost all of the infantry, but some officers who received ■ (piartei-, perisiied ; ahout 5U0 in one sjiot, who were driven into a wood on a branch of the lake, and thus deprived of any prospect of escape but swimming acro.s.s, being all shot or drowned, except 1 man, who .saved Idniself from the volleys sent after him! In tine, the Enniskillen troops, continuing the pursuit and search for their enemies until ;ibont lU tlie next morning, and the country-jxiople, as irregulars, being similarly active tor .some days alter, almo.st the whole of the Irish force, excejit such as liail gotten olf through the open country to their right, or with the horse. Mid dragoons of the centre, were destroyed or taken. The Enniskilhmers specify their loss as hut 2 officers (a Captain and Cornet) and about 20 sold.ers, of whom 12 were regulars, and 8 irregulars; and their wounded, at from 4U to ,5U men. As to the Irish los.>^, no Jacobite detail of it being transmitted, we can only know what the Irish are said to have fstimatcd it at, through tiie KniiiskiUen annalist Hamilton, who alleges, th;it those who retuiiied to Dublin coiil'es.sed a deficiency of 30(10 men, Itetween Kille(l, taken, and i/iissing. Under the lasi head, however, he * riunkett iufoiiiis us, of the Enniskilleii party, how tlicy "passed thro' a wood that was at fiiio end of tlie said morass, and marcli'd iniperceiv'd against the rear C'f the Irish ;" tlius, as "■ ilio foe coming sur^irizeuigly upon them in that posture," ice. t "La tcrrcar ])ain(jue des troupes," says a French vtt^ran historian, "est «n mal, aiupaci la valcui, les piiuies, et Ics menaces duii General soiit pres'^uo toi.jcuis uu rcmttle inutile." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 21 af^ils, thi\t they, who admitted this, included many, who, from a fVar of disgrace and ])unisl)ment for their defeat, had availed themselves of the confusion tiiat followed it, to desert the service. According to the most prol)al)le estimate deducible from English and Enniskilleu authority, or all()v\ing for the escape of about GOO cavalry of the centre, and for others that would appear to have gotten off on the right, the Irisli loss, wit'i artillery, colours, camp, baggasje, ifec, would be about loOO slain, 5(K> drowned,* and from above 300 to 500 prisoners, including 46 oi aJ officei's. Among the captured officers was Lord Mountcashel, under circum- stances most honourable to himself, notwithstanding the overthrow of liis army. On the defeat of his cavalry, with whom lie might have easily escaped, he, with 5 or 6 officers, who would not abandon him, retired into a wood, near to where his cannoti were planted; and res(jlved nut to survive that day. Over those guns, the Enniskilleners had placed a guard of about 100 foot, under Captain George Cooper. Lord Mountcashel with his little party, after a short stay wliere he was, to the surprise of the Enniskillen guard, who did not suppose any enemy so neai-, rushi'(i out of the wood, dischai-ging his |iistol at them. Upon this, 7 or 8 of the Enniskilleners, pointing a volley against him, shot his horse dead under him, and brought himself, severely wounded, to the ground. Itr addition to the balls by which he was struck, but fVom wliich he was ])rotected by his armour, he received 2 thiough his right thigh, 1 in his left loin through the lower part of the back-bone, and a slighter hurt in the groin, from part of a bullet, that, had it met with no o]>|iositioTi, would certainly have been mortal; but, after beating his wut, h to jiieces, is stated to have been bi'oken by its wheels into fragments, of which only 1 inflicted an injury. An Enniskillen soldier then clul)bed hia musket, to put an end to the [irostrate nobleman's life and sufferings by knocking out his brains, but 1 of the officers, who accompanied hia Loidship, desired the soldier, — " Hold his hand, as he was about to kiU General Mac Cartliy !" Captain Cooper, being informed of this, cams upj and gave quarter to the Irish commander, and to the officers who were with him. He was carried that night to Newtown-Butler; and b>>i)i'» a.>ked, " How he came so rashly to hazard his life, though he might have gone off with his horse, when tliey made their escape?" he replied, — " Finding the kingdom like to be lost, since /lis army was the best for their number King James had, unless tiiose before Derry, then much broken, he had come with a design to lose his life; and was sorrv tiiat he missed his end, being unwilling to outlive that day!"t xVs our great national bard observes — "The soldier's hope, the patriot's zeal, For ever (hiiiiii il, i'or ever crost -- Oh ! who shall say wh;i.t heroes feel. When all but life aud huuour's lost!" — 'Moore. The wounded General, and some of his officers, (probably those most hurt) were removed from Newtown-Butler to Einiiskillen by water, oi * Could cnnf honour ai-ising from this success compensate for the dis^^race of the eirtremc destractiveness that followed it? But such is " civil war ! " f Of tlics:' interesting particulars of Lord Alouiitcashefs lieroism in connexion with his fall an. I capture, we would lie " iu utter darkness," but for the Eu/Ubkiiitja writers, Hamiltou and Ale Carimck. 22 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES aloTifif Longh Erne,* as the easiest mo'^e of conveyance; the rest of the jji-isoners going there by hind. At Enniskillen, bread being then ex- tren>ely scarce, beer and ale veiy bad, wine not to be had, and surgeons and medicines for the wounded greatly wanted, his Lordship obtaineil ])erinission to make known his condition there to King James. The King thereupon despatched, from Dublin to Enniskillen, 1 of the royal physicians. Doctor Co^inor, and 1 of the royal surgeons, Mr. Huben, accom[)anied by some hogsheads of wine, and such other provisions, as, though most requisite, were not at Enniskillen; to wiiich was added a supjily of money, both for his Lordship, and the officers taken with him. About a fortnight subsequent to tliis disaster of Newtown-Butler, William III.'s General, the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, disembaiking from England near Carrickfei-gus, with the 1st portion of his British, Dutch, and Huguenot army, commenced operations, in the course ot* some days, with tlie siege of that ])lace, by land and water; and, having taken it, after a galhmt defence and honourable capitulation by Colonel Charles Mac Carthy More, pi-oceeded, aboiit the middle of September, tlirough Newry, towards Dundalk, on his intended advance to Dublin. In this interval. Lord Mountcasiiel was reduced to a very weak state of liealth, frora the elfects of his severe wounds, in such an unwholesome place as Enniskillen. Being consequently desirous, for his cure, to obtain leave, on parole, to go to Dublin, upon the condition of after- wards returning as a prisoner to Enniskillen, he wrote to his friend and brotlier rejiresentative for the County of Cork, Sir Richard Nagle, Attorney-General, and Secr'ctary of State and War for Ireland, to apply, in his own name, by letter, to Marshal Schonberg, for this permi,s.sion. Sir Richard having written to that effect, the Irish trumpeter, by whom the letter was forwarded for the Marshal, met the Williamite army on its marcli from Newry, and the communication was presented to the Marshal's Secretai-y; wiio soon after returned it wi,th this message, that his master, the Duke, could not receive that letter, because it was not directed to him as the Duke of Schonberg; which rank he claimed as confei-red n{)nn liim by King William. Besides this message to he brought back by the ti'umpeter along with the returned letter, the Duke's Secretary gave a letter from himself for Sir Ilichard Nagle ; in which, having stated the same reason as that verbally assigned for the refusal of the letter, he added, that his mast(n-, the Duke, Iiad renounced the title of Marshal, when, on account of the recent measures adopted foi- the extinction of the Protestant worship in France, by the Revoca- tion of the Edict of Nantes, he had left that kingdom, foi- the sake of his religion. This application, to obtain for Lord Mountcashel the ])rivilege of going on his parole to Dublin, in order to get cured, there- fore failed. But, it having been the same month agreed by William III., in consequence of an application from the family of Lord Mount- joy, who was a prisoner in the Bastille at Paris, that a negociation should be attemjited, through King James's government in L-eland, to obtain his Lordship's liberty by way of exchange, and Lord Mount- * " I compared," states the English tourist Twiss in 1770, " the beauties of this with tliose of other lakes whicli I bad seen, such as Loch-Lomoiid in Scotland; tlie J^ake of Cieneva, which receives niuch grandeur from the iuimense snow-clad luouiit:nns that liouiid it ou the Savoy side, and much beauty from the vines on the opposite shore; the lakes near Na})le.s, which are all classic scones ; and, tbougli £ ji/tcrwards saw the celebrated Lake on them, to keep a watchful eye u}ion all tlieir actions. This ha])pened \ery fortunati'.!)/ for them, for, lieiiKj ilicrtly (lim-hur-iicd from their inord, they now began to contrive how to save themselves hy liight. " In that contrivance, they were successful ; tho j>oint, however, of their luit being considered to have lu-ohen faith, by cscapui^sj vnder jiic/i circumstances, being all that need be noted hut. 24 IIISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES as were sufficient lor ciUTyiiig away himself, and all he wished to remove ■with him, wei-t; to lie brought in the night by the contrivance of a Serjeant, muned Aclicson, whom he had bribed, and wdio agreed to go off with liini. The Serjeant, retnrning the same night, to deliver a letter, which, and liis Lonlshio's jjuss, were found in the lining of his hat, was next day tried, and shot. JJut Lord IMorajtcushel effected his object, and towards tlie I'nd of Decendier, 1G8D, reached Dublin. His entrance there was preceded by several carriages, and from 200 to 300 horsemen, military or civilians. At the Castle, says the Jacobite official account, "his Lordship was very kindly received by the King with a hearty welcome, and carressed by all the great officers, and otheis, his friends, with all demonstrations of joy and gladness imaginable." The same evening, niniibers of tires were lighted in the streets. The exultation of the metropolis was shared by the provinces; the greatest rejoicings, however,* being at Cork, and throughout Munster, where they more especially- regarded his Lordship as their countryman, and a descendant of their ancient Princes. The loss of a piisoner of such eminence was, on the other hand, a source of mncli vexation to the enemy, whose General, the Maishal Duke of Schonberg, alleged, (or has, more probably, beea represented, on rejiort, by the Williamite annalist. Story, to have alleged,) of Lord Mountcashel, that "he took Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy to be a man of honour, but would not expect tliat, in an Irish- man, any more !" In reference to such an aspersion upon himself and liis coinitrymen, or the hostile rumoin- on which it was based, Lord Mountcashel took no measures till previoiis to the active resum])tion ot liis military duties, after landing at Biest, the following May, with the regiments that commenced the formation of the Irish Brigades in the service of France. His Lordshi]) tlien submitted himself to be tiied by a Frei:ch Court of Honour for the eircuni^^tances under wliich he gob away from Enniskillen, adds the hostile or (_)iange hi.storian liar, is, and was acquitted by that trib\inal, of ha\iug been guilty ot any l)reach of liis parole. Such was the career of the Colonel ot the Ist regiment, and Commander-in-Chief of the 3 regiments, of this Brigade, up to the perioil (if his entering the French service.* The Colonel of the 2nd of those regiments, the Honourable Daniel O'Brien, was descended from the royal race or Dalcassiaii Princes of Thomond; between whom, and the Eugenian Princes of Desmond, the right, as has been said, existed, for so many centuiies, of alternately appointing the supreme King of Minister. (3f those 2 royal lines, that of the Dalcassians attained the highei- eminence in the history of their country, by having produced the renf)wned Brieu Bmu, Ard-Righ or Monarch of Erin, and conqueror of the Danes at Ch)ntaif. in 10l4; from whom the name of O'Brien was henceforth transmitted to his descendants. In the warlike jjeriod of above a century and a half, which elapsed between the death of Brien Boru, at Clontarf, and the Anglo- -Norman invasion of Erin, his descendants of the house of Tiiomond, but with a sway extending far beyond its limits, were among the greatest Princes of the island; as attested, independent of native authority, by * Tliis account of Lord Moimtcasliel has been carefully revised since 1854, and, in refersuce to the ])ortion of it concerning Enniskillen, has leeii parthuktrhj improved, through the additioncal contemporary Jacoliite information supplied liy I'lunkett's Light to tlie Blind, and tlie (Jorrc.<]>oiKlence from Ireland ( f th ■ Ccmitii d'Avaux; for acei s^s to wlucb valuable oiigiiial authorities, lam indebted to my kiud friends, Sir W. W. Wilde and the late John Dalton, Esq. IN THE SEIiVlCE OF FRAXCE. 25 foreign evidence to the connexion of their history with that of Bi-'tjiio and the Continent. On tlie expulsion from England, in lO-H, of the famous Earl Godwin and his family by Edward the Confessor, for the opposition given by the Earl and his sons to the King's too great jtartiality for, and advancement of, Norman adventurei-s ami intriguers in England, Gt)d\vin and some of his sons retired to Flanders, and the others, among whom was Harold, the future King of England, sought an asylum in Erin. There Plarold was compensated t'ov the hostility of one of his brothers-in-law — Edward the Confessor being married to liis sister Edith — by the rece])tion he met from the otlier, or the son of the great Brien Born, JJmiough O'Brien, King of Munster, who, being married to Harold's other sister, Driella, (by whom hn had a son, named Donald,) acknowledged the claim of the illustrious Saxon to protection and assistance, and accordingly supplied him with a body of troops, and 9 ships, for the liberation of his country, and the restoration of his family. With tliis aid from Minister, Harold, joining the fleet of his father and bi'others from Flanders at the Isle of Wight, they, in 1052, were enabled, by the co-operation of their countrymen, to regain their former honours and estates, and effect the downfall of the Norman or foreign and antinational faction at the Court of Westminster.* Donough's successor in Munster, Tnrlongh O'Brien, is addressed by the Norman Primate of England, Lanfranc, as " the magnificent King of Hibei-nia," and by the celebrated Pope Gregoiy VII., as "the illnstrions King of Hibernia." Murkertagh O'Brien, successor to Turlough, is designated by Lanfranc's successor, St. Anselm, as "the glorious," and, " by the grace of God, King of Hibernia."+ Connor O'Brien, another of their successors, in the re- cords of the Abbey of Ratisbon in Germany, chiefly raised throngh his niuniticence, is also alluded to as if "King of Hibei-nia;" the same records adding of that Prince, in reference to the Crusades, how, by lords, or "Counts, of great power and nobility, weaiing the badge of the cross, and on their way to Jerusalem, he torwarded large ])resents to Lotharios, King of the Romans," j or Emperor of Germany. After the Anglo-Norman intrusion under Henry II., the tie Claies, as its leading feudal rej)resentatives in Thomond, by availing themselves of that native division, which was but too favouiuble for the advancement of foreign powei-, endeavoured to establish themselves there. But. though success- ful to some extent for a time, they and their adherents were entirely defeated and expelled. The ambitit)ns Eai-ls of Desmond likewise, wlio would willingly have done what the defeated de Clares had left undone, were on several occasions taught, by "sad ex])erience" in the field, to respect the (J'Brien motto and war-cry, " Lamh laidir abu !" or The strorKj hand for ever! — and the "settlers" in Limerick, and districts far beyond it, had to pay " dubh cios," black rent, or tribute, to the old Dalcassian race, whose heads continued to be Kings or Princes of Thomond, until * Compare Mac Geojhegan, Moore, and O'Mahoiiy's Keating, with Thierry and Lingard, on this incident. t Of King iV.urliertagh, or Murtogh, known at home as "More," or the fireat, one daughter was married to the son of Magnus, Kii;g of Norv\ay, the Hebrides, and Man; another to the Aiiglo-IS'orman noldeuian, Arnuljjh tie Montgomery, Earl of Penihroke; and, in reference to tlse friciulshi[i V)et\\ een the Irish King, and his royal brother of Albany, or 8cotland, it is related that the latter sent liiiu a camel " of wonderful magniiude." t " Per niaL;ii:e nobilitatis ac potentia? Coniites, cruce si(j;natos, et llierosulymau jjetituros, ad Lothariuin, liegem ILoujuiioiuiu, lugeiiliu luuiicia iinsit." 26 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 1543. Then, IVIunough O'Brien, on surrendering liis kingdom, or princi- jmlity, to King Henry VIII., was created 1st Earl of Tliomond for life, with the title of Baron of Inchiquin, to his male heirs; the whole of this Murrough's territorial and other possessions beyond the river Shannon, with their abbeys, and the right of presenting to all spiritual benefices, except bisho])ric.s, being contiruied to him and his descendants. At the same time, Henry conferred on Murrough's nephew, Uonough O'Brien, the dignity of Baron of Ibrackan, with the right of succession to the title of Earl of Tln)mond for life, after his uncle Murrough's decease; Mur- rough, as the de facto ruler of Thomond, at the period of his submission, being considered desei-ving to be created its Earl, though not to transmit that title to his posterity, as having, only through popular election, uftder the old Irish law of Tanistry, attained the principality of his name and teriit.ory, after the death of Conor O'Bi-ien, King or Prince of Thomond^ in \~)\{); to the exclusion of Conor's eldest son, the above-mentioned Honough, who, being then a minor, was set aside by the law of Tanistry, as less worthy to succeed, or gove7-n, than his uncle Murrough. After this Murrough's death, his nephew, Donough, the Baron of Ibrackan, — to whom, as well as to his late uncle, Henry VIII., in 1542, had con- firmed all his castles, lordships, manors, ikc, beyond the Shannon, with a considerable grant of ecclesiastical pro|)erty, — became 2nd Earl of Thomond, for life; which title, by a new patent of Edward VI. in 1552, was confirmed, in perpetuity, to the Baron and his heirs male, along with all the honours and lands that had fallen to the Crown, by Earl Murrough's decease. This Donough O'Brien, surnamed the Fat, and the 2nd Earl of Thomond, dying in 1553, was succeeded, as 3rd Earl of Thomond, by his son, Conor or Cornelius O'Brien. He had 3 sons, Donough, the 4th Earl of Thomond, Teige, whose posterity are extinct, and Daniel, of Moyarta and Carrigaliolt,* in the County of Clare. Daniel, distinguishing himself and receiving many wounds, in the wars of Ireland, iznder Queen Elizabeth, was knighted as Sir Daniel O'Brien, and rewarded by the Crown with considerable grants of land in that County. He was its representative in the Irish Parliament of 1613, and, in consideration of his own and his children's services to the royal cause, both at home and abroad, during the subsequent convulsions and wars, was, after the Restoration of King Charles II., created 1st Viscount of Clare, in the County of Clare, in 1GG2 ; and had his estate of 84,339 acres in Clare, besides lands in Limerick, that had been lost during the Crom- wellian usurpation, restored to him. He was succeeded, as 2nd Viscount of Clare, by his son Conor O'Brien; on whose death, about the year l(i70, his son Daniel became the 3rd Viscount. Daniel had followed King Charles II. in his exile, and served him so zealously until the Re- storation in 16G0, that, after his return with the King to Loudon, his * Carrigaliolt, in Gaelic, or Irish, the rock oflhejl'^.ft, is a commanding clitf, over- looking a bay, so called Ironi it. Ihe Castle, situated on this cliti', and kept iu tirder, as a residence, to our own times, lielonged to Lord Clare till the War of the Ilevolution, when lie forfeited it, with the rest of his estates, for his adherence to King James II. The popular legenils conceniing this Castle, according to a moderu work, were blended witli traditions of the Lord Clare, and the Regiment of Yellow Dragoons (so-called from the colour of their facings) which he levied for the service of King James. . The ghost of that Lord, and those of his dragoons, were supposed to traverse the west, in the stormy nights ot winter, and to disappear at dawn, into the srrues, otf Carrigaliolt ! How comparatively uninteresting is a Castle, without «(.<«« Btoiy ot tlie kiiul, attached Lo it. IN THE SEUVICE OF J^RAXCE. 27 meiit is. in a great degree, supposed to have obtained the title of Vis- count Clare, for his grandfather. On the defection of England to the Prince of Orange in 1688, the loyalty of this noble Irish family was the eaine to King James II. against the Dutch Prince, as it had been to King Charles II. against Oliver Cromwell. Daniel, the 3rd Viscount Clai-e, was Lord-Lieutenant of that County for King James, a member of his Irish Privy Council, sat among the Peers of Ireland in the Parliament of 1(38'.), and raised, for the royal service, a Regiment of Dragoons, called after himself, the Clare Dragoons, and 2 Piegiments of Infantiy. Bv his mariiage with the Lady Philadelphia, eldest daughter of Francis Len- nard, Lord Dacre of the Soutli, and sister to Thomas, Earl of Sussex, his Lordship had 2 sons, for. whom he levied those infantry regiments. The 1st was commanded by the elder son, the Honourable Daniel O Brien ; the 2nd by the youngei- son, the Honourable Charles O'Brien; to both of whom, as 4th and 5th Viscounts, tlie title of Lord Clare aftervv^ards descended. The Infantry Regiment of the Honourable Daniel O'Brien was that selected by King James, to form a j)ortion of the Brigade of Mountcashel. The Colonel of the 3rd regiment of this Brigade, the Honourable Arthur Dilhui, was likew"">arent, was a General OtiictS' in the service of France, as well as Spain, and Governor of Tonrnay iu Flanders. 2. Sir James Dillon, Knight, 8th son of the 1st Viscount Dillon, a Licutenant-tjreneral, Governor of Cimnaught for the royal cause against the Parliamentarian and Cromwellian rebels, and ijro* scribed as such, but tinallv rewarded by the Crown witli a pension oF .£•500 per annum, was a Major-Geueral, both of France and Spain. 3. James Dillon, after the success of the Cromwellians in Ireland, was also a Major-Geneial, or Marechal de Camp, in the service of France, by brevet of jMaich liGth, 1(J53; raised an Irish regiment of liis name, by commission of June 2')th following; until the Peace of the P^rennees, conn)ianded it in Flanders with (listinction, ])articularly at the battle of Dunkitk ; and kept it till his death ; after which, or by order of February 20th, 1{JG4, it was disl)anded. Thomas, the 4th Viscount Dillon, re- mained, with his 4 sons, in banishment, until the Restoration. Hia Lordship then returned home, and, in iCG3, was j)ut into possession of his ])rnsly done. Theobald Dillon, successor to the family title, in 1682, as 7th V^iscount, and married to Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Talbot, of Temple-Oge, County of Dublin, and Mount- Talbot, County of Ros' couimon, was then head of the house of Cc>stelln-Gallen. His Lordship liiu)self served, as Lieutenant-Colonel to the Earl of Clariricarde's Irish Regiment of Guards; and raised 2 Regiments of Infantry for King James. Of these. 1 regiment was commanded by his Lordshi])'s eldest son, and .subsequent successor in the title, the Honourable Henry Dillon, Lord- Lieutenant of the County Roscommon, Member for Westmeath in the Ii-ish Parliament of IGSD, and afterwards Governor of Galway. The ('ohuu 1 of the other regiment, or that appointed to foi'ui part of the Ihigade of Mountcashel, was Lord Theoliald's 2nd .son, the Honourable Arthur LJillon. He was, at the time of his landing with his regiment in France, nut 20 years of age; afterwards rose to high rank in the French army; and was father to the Lords Charles and Henry Dillon, the 1 0th and 11th Viscounts of Costello-Gallen, also oiEcers of distinction in the same ser\ice. These 3 Regiments of Mountcashel, O'Brien, and Dillon, the first of King James's Irish army that entei'ed the French service in the spring of Ki'JO, wei-e followed to France, alter the conclusion of the Treaty of LiuiLiick, iu October IGOI by the rest of the Irish army, that adliered IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 29 to James's can^p, ratlier tlian acknow1erlg« the Prince of Orange, as.;/;^?V Sovereign. Between those who sailed in November, from the Shannon, with the Conite de Chateanrenaud's fleet of 18 men of war, 6 fire-ships, and 22 large vessels of hnrtlien, &c., that, although too late for the relief of Limerick, served to cr)nvey to Brest a lai-ge body of the Irish with their wives and childreij, and the remainder who followed in as many as were required of the 14,000 tuns of shipping, stipulated, by tlie 7th and 8th of the Military Articles of the Treaty of Limerick, to be {provided at .William's expense for the same purpose, the landing in France, of all the Irish who chose to go there, was com]>leted in January, l(J!y2. From the retui-ns of the French " Commissaires," obtained through the. Lord Marshal of Thomond and Clare, the Irish olficers and soldiers, who followed the King to France, are specified by Mac Geoghegan at 19.059 ; which number, added to the previously-arrived Brigade of Mouiitcashel of 5371 military of every rank, would make 24, 430 oUiceis and soldiei-s; and these, with others, who came over at different times not specified, would, according to the English and Irish authority of King James's Memoirs, and abetter of the Chevalier Charles Wogan, nepluv.v of the Duke of Tyrconnell, amount, in all, to about 30,000 men. " Thus," add the royal Memoirs, "was Ireland after an obstinate resistance in 3 ycai-s Campagns, by the power and riches of England and the revolt of almost all its own Protestant subjects, torn from its natural Sovereign; who, tlio' he was divested of the country he was not wholly deprived of ye people, for the gr-eatest part of those, who were th&n in amies for defcmce ^f his right, not content with the service already render'd, got leave (as was sayd) to come and loos tlieir lives, after haveing lost tlieir estates, in (Jefence of his title, and brought by that means such a boily of men into France, as by their generous comp:'rtment in accepting the pay of the country, instead of that which, is uaucUly aUowel there to strangers, and tlieir unimitdble valour and service during the whole coars of the loar, VhUjht justly make their Prince pass for an ally rather than a peutioner or burthen to his Most Christian Majesty, whose pay indeed they received, but acted by the King their master's commission, according to the com- mon method of other auxilliary troo])s. As soon as the King heard of tlieir arrival, (in France) he writ to the Commander to assure him, how well he was .satisfyd with the behaviour and conduct of the officers, and the valour and fidelity of the soldier.s, and how sencible he should ever be of their service, which he would not fail to reward when it shoidd jilease God to pot him in a capacity of doing it." The letter, which, on being informed of the arrival of the Lst body of Irish troo])S, Decembt^r 3rd, at Bre.st, was despatched by the King from St. Germain to their commanding officer, Major-General Doniinick Sheldon, was as follows; — "JAMES Rex. " Having been informed of the Capitulation and Surrender of Limerick, and of the other places which remained to us in our Kingdom of h-eland, ajid of the necessities which forced the Lords Justices and the General Officers of our Forces thereunto; we will not defer to let you know, and the rest of tlie officers that came along with you, that we are extreamly satisfied with your and their conduct, and of the valour of the souldiers during the eie,L;-e," but, most particularly, of your- and their declaration and resolution, to come and serve where we are. And we assure you, and order you, to a.ssnre both officers and souldiers that are come along with you, that we ehull never forget this act of loyalty, nor fail, when iu a capacity, to give 30 HISTORY OF Tin: IlilSlI lilMGADKS them, almve otlicrs, ])articiilar marks of our favour. In tlie moan time, you are to inform tlicm, that tlioy are to serve mider our command, and by our commissions; and, il' we Hnd, that a considerable number is come with the fleet, it will in(hiee us to go personally to see them, and regiment them. Our brother, the King of France, hath already given orders to cloath them, and furnish them with all necessaries, and to give them quarters of refresh- ment. So we bid yon heartily farewell. Given at our Court at St. Germaine, the 27th of November,* 1G91.'" According to tins ])romise, tliat, in case a considerable nunilxT of troops should come from Ireland, he would go to see and regiment them in person, the King set out from St. Germain for Bretagne, about the middle of iJecembcr. Accompanii d by his son, the Duke of B(!rwick, , fames reviewed and reginu'iited at Valines all the men that had arrived i'rom Ireland, rctnincd on tlu^ lllh of January, ltj92, to St. G(irmain, and on the landing of another (U' the last di\isiou, under Major-General I'atrick Sarsfield, Lord Luean, at Bn^st, and the other ports of Bretagne, the King again left St. Ger^jiin, and reviewed and regimented that body, as ho had d(nie the rest. It was decided, that the Irish, who were to act under his commission as his ariny, should consist of 2 Troops of ] Torse Guards, 2 llt'ginn'uts of Horse, 2 Regiments of Dragoons d, pied, or Dismovnted Di-agoons that were to serve as Infantry 8 Regiments of Foot, (containing altogether 1.1 battalions) and 3 Independent Com- panies. The extensive alterations connected with this new formation of the Irish army indicted, like all, great |)ulilic changes, much hardship upon individuals ; some, who had been Major-Generals, being reduced to Colonels, and so downwards to the Ensigns, several of whom had to become Siajeants, and even privates. 'J'he old or Milesian Irish, who had levied regirru-nts for the War of the Revolution, suffered most. Of the O'Neills, for example, of whom several had been Colonels of Regi- in(>nts in Ireland, Brigadier Gordon O'Neill alone obtained a I'egimentj and other regiments, or tho.se of O'Donnell, Mac Donnell, Mac Guire, Mac Mahon, Mac Oennis, and O'Reilly, were dis.-olved as separate corps, and their olfi(',(>rs proportionate sufferers. In the airangements with the French Government concerning the i-ate of pay for the newly- formed regiments, the further sacrifice made by the Irish to their exiled Sovereign's interest — as previously alluded to in the extract from his own Memoirs respecting " their generous comportment in accepting the ])ay of the (;ountry, instead of that usually allowed there to stiungers " — is thus related, with other aft'ecting particulars, in a manuscript, written, after the King's death, by a contemporary Irish Jacobite, or loyalist. " Upon capitulating with the enemy," says this writer, of his country- men, at LiuKM'iek, " they stipulated also with their own French Geneials, that they should be put in France upon strangers' pay; but when they •were rnodled at Rennes. it was regulated they should have but French ])ay, to which they acquiesc'd rneerly to please their own King, and in Lopes the over-Tplus of their just jjay, amounting to oO,()()0 livres a month, retrench'd fi-om them, might abate the obligations of their Master to the French Court. The world knows with what constancy and fidelity they stuck ever since to the service of France, not but that they might push their fortunes faster in other services, but because it v\as to liis Most Christian Majesty their Master ow'd obligations most, and had from him sanctuary and jjrotection; nay so wedded they were for these * December Tth, N.S. IN THE SERVICE OF FllANCE. 31 reasons to the French service, that many who were, some of them Field Officers, others Captains, and Subalterns, and wlio coud not be all jirovided fur, pursuant to the methods taken for the modlement of their troops in France, had submitted to carry arms rather than quit tlie service their Master expected succour from : most of these poor gentle- men moulder'd away under the fatigues and miseries of the musket, before there was room to replace them as Officers. This vast stock of loialty was not appropriated to the officers alone, it ran in the blood of the very common soldiers; an instance whereof was seen in ye wonderful affection they bore to the service, and the confidence the Ca[)tains had in the fidelity f»s well as bravery of their men, who were so little acqua ntcd and tainted with desertion, that, upon a day of march or action, the Corama'aers were not seen in any apprehension their maroders or stracriers woud give them the slip; and it was frequently observed the officers were less in pain for the return of the men, than these wei-e to rejoin their comrades." Of the effects of such conduct of the Ii-ish troops upon King James, this writer then adds — " His late Majesty was so sensibly toucli'd with all these particulars, and especially with tha acquiesence of his troops to be reduc'd to the French pay, that, by an instrument under his hand and seal, he made a solemn promise he would 2)ay them what their actual pay wanted, to make it full English, when- ever God was pleas'd to restore him, and so made it his own and the Crown's debt." Sir Walter Scott remarks, "whatever oxir opinion may be of the cause for which the followers of James abandoned their country and fortunes, there can be but one sentiment concerning the courage and self-devotion, with which they sacrificed their all to a sense of duty;" and the light, in which this conduct of the Irish was I'egarded by all ranks in France, is noticed, as follows, by Count Arthur Dillon. " Louis XIV. wrote with his own hand, in 1704, to the Civil-Lieutenant, Le Camus, ' that he had always treated the Irish Catholics, who had passed into his kingdom, as his own subjects; and tiiat it was his wish that they should enjoy the same rights as natural-born Frenchmen, without being, on that account, obliged to take out letters of naturalization.' This letter of Louis XIV.," continues the Count, "only served to confirm the sentiments of the nation, and every one knows, that all orders of the state, by a sort of universal feeling, had already assigned to the Irish the right of citizenship ; and then it was, that, in order to stamp with a name, for ever menjorable, those sti-angers admitted to the honour of being French citizens, tliey were termed Jacobites, that is to say, failhful to King Jav^es.''' Forman, too, who was att»iched to the change of dynasty effected by the Hevolution of 1688, and, consequently, of opposite political principles to those of the Irish Jacobites, after alluding to so many of the latter, as " unhap]>y gentlemen, who, by the loss of plentiful fortunes at home, had nothing left them but their swords, to procure a scanty, painful maintenance abroad," thus speaks, in the reign of George II., of the general sacrifices of the Irish military fol- lowers of James to his service — " Their inflexible steadiness to the interest of' an unfortunate aud declining King, whom they looked upon to be their lawful Sovereign, notwithstanding our Acts of Parliament to the contrary; their refusal of those advantageous terms which King "William so generously offered them; their exposing th.emselves to inex- pressible hardships, to perpetual dangers, aud even w death itself, rather 82 HrSTOUY OF THR IRISH BHIGADES tlian acknowledge any oilier Prince than King James, at least while any farther resistance in Jiis favour was practicable, first gained them that esteem in Fnuice, which their behaviour ever since has preserved for tiiem even to tliis day." The right, it may be added, of French, citizen- 8hip, so corifei'red upon the expatriated Irish by Louis XIV., being con- tested, under Louis XV., by the Fermiers du Domain, on the pretext, tlint sucli a privilege granted to the Irish Jacobites was not formally legal, a decree Issued the same year, or in Maich, 1736, to the Bureau du Domain, confirming to the Irish exiles in Fiance the right attempted to be contested with them. Again, or in a letter of March 25th, 1741, to the Chapter of Lille, Louis XV. confirmed that right to the Irish. Ills letter on this occusiou, and that of Louis XIV. to the Civil Lieu- tenant, Le Camus, above i-eferred to, and cited by various Fi-ench lawyers, were both deposited in the Bureau de la Guerre at Paris; and, on th^se documents and decisions, the various "arrets" or decrees of the French Council of State, and the Parl.ament of Paris, in suits connected with Irish claims to pro2)erty in France, were based, down to the period of the Be volution. Of the oi igin, and successive changes amongst the commanding officers, of the 3 first Irish regiments in the French service, the following pai'- ticulars are given in my authorities. THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF MOUNTCASHEL. This regiment was formed in 1683, out of several Independent Com- panies of Irish, which King Charles II. withdrew from Tangier, in Africa, when he caused it to be demolished. The cor[)s was composer! of 2 battalions in 16 companies, variously stated, or, as it would appear, at difierent times, consisting of 80 or 100 men a company. Its 1st Colonel was James Butler, afterwards 2nd Duke of Ormonde, who, being made Colonel of a Regiment of Horse in the Irish army, resigned his previous post to the Honourable Justin Mac Carthy, subsequently Lord Mounteasiiel. After the destruction of this regiment at the unlucky atl'air of Newtown-Butler, in August, 1689, it was renewed with fresh recruits, and brought to France, in May, 1690, by his Lordship. Soon after liuiding there, or May 20th, Lord Mountcashel received a com- mission from Louis XIV.; entitling his Lordship to command all the Ii'ish troops taken into the French service, or his own, with the otlier corps of O'Brien and Dillon. May 30th, he was empowered to act as a Lieutenant-General of France, as he already was of England and Ire- land; and, June 1st, was specially commissioned to be Colonel of his regiment under Louis, as he had previously been under James. Em- ployed by letters of July 26th, the same year, with M. de St. Ruth, in l^'avoy, he signalized himself, at the head of his regiment, in the reduc- tion of that province; particularly at a defeat of the Piedmontese, September 12th; where he wa^ wounded, though, but slightly. Trans- ferred by letters of June 13th, 1691, to serve under the Duke de Noailles, with the Army of Rousillon or Catalonia, he was present at the captures of Urgel, the castles of Valence and Boy, and the raising of the siege of Pratz-de-MoUo. He remained, in 1692, with the same army, which kept, however, merely upon the defensive. Despatched, by letters of Apiil 27th, 1693, to the Army of Germany, as 1 of its Lieutenant-Generals, under the Marshals de Lorges and de Choiseul, he JUSTIN^ MAC CAT^THY, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 53 r,T!>l his ivgiment contributetl to the successes of tliat campaiffii ;. at which he squired in the reduction of the city and castle of Hciditlbnrg, of Wingemburg, of Eppenheirn, and of Dai-nistadt. He was to have continued with the Army of Germany, in 1094; but the injurious effects of his wounds obliged hiin to seek the benefit of the waters of Barrege, where he died that summer. His decease is thus announced, under tho head of " Paris, 31st July, 1G94," in tlie French oflicial journal. " My- lord Montcassel, Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the King. Com- mander of 3 Irish Regiments, died the 1st of this month at Bairego, of the wounds that he has received on several occasions, in which he was always extremely distinguished." Lord Mountcashel was succeeded in his regiment by Colonel Andrew Lee, or de Lee, according to the prefi.K given to his and other names by French writers. Lee was born in 1650, and first belonged to the iiif intry regiment of 1500 men, besides oiEcers, permitted by King Chailes 11. to be levied in Ireland, in 1G71, for the service of France, by Sir and Count George Hamilton, from whom, as its Colonel, it was called the "Regi- ment d' Hamilton."'"' After the Count's death in 1G7G, the Irish of liis * George Hamilton was the eldest surviving son of Sir George Hamilton of DiuuialoDg in the County of Tyione, antl Nenagh in the County of Tii)i)er;iry, l»y Lady Mary Butler, 3rd daughter of Tiiomas Butler, Lord Thuiles, and sister to James Butler, 12th Earl and 1st Duke of Ormonde. Sir (Jeorge, who was a (^ath olio, served King Charles L and Charles II. faithfully against the I'arlianientarian and Cromweliian rebels in Ireland, where he was a Cajitain of Horse, and ufcer- wards a Colonel of Foot, and Governor of the Castle of Kenagh, against thosn insurgents, as well as Receiver-Gene7-al for the Crown. On the hnal ineva'ence of the Cromweliian invaders, he resdlved to join the royal family in France; hut, before leaving Ireland, "he staid," says Carte, "to pass his accounts, which he did to the satisfaction of all parties, notwithstanding much clamour had been raised against him." He then, or in 1051, went into e.xile with his iamily, when King Charles II., it is observed, "being sensihle of his good and acce}itable services, and willing to show him all reasonal)le favour for the same, created him a Baronet." As attached, however, only to a nominal or I'efugee Kino;, such as Charles 11. was till IGuO, Sir George, like numbers of banished liish loyalists, had to encounter nuich privation and distress on the Continent. In this interval, the youn"- (ieorge Hamilton was made 1 of the Royal Pages; after the I'estoi'ation wa.i enrolled in the Horse-Guards; and is named by his brother Anthony, in the MeiiK/ii's of their brother -indav/, tiie Coirite de Granmiont, among the hrilli.iut iiitrigaers of the English Court, as a lover of the i)i-ctty Mrs. VVettenhall. In U)(>7, on account of the jealousy of the English against "Popery," the King had to dismiss fiom his Horse-Guards such English, Irish, and Scotch oHicers, &c., as were Catholics; but was enahled to provide for them els where l)y L(mis XIV.. who offered them employment, under young Hamilton. Having gotten due per- mission from King Charles to enter the service of France, and beuig considered, on their arrival there, as "tous bons homnies et bien faits," or, "all g 'od and v.eli- niade men," those who were natives of Scotland were incorporateil with tho ancient Compagnie de Gendarmes Ecossois of the Eoyal Guarcls; tho rest Avero formed into another Compagnie, called Gendarmes Anglois, of which Louis (m order, it would seem, to compliment them the more,) named Idiiiscif the Captain; and, Novemher '.:8th, 1G!)7, aiipointed Hamilton his Captain- Lieutenant. Sir (ienrge Hannlton (thus entitled, either as having been knighted, or as successor tu his fatlicr's baronetcy in 1GG7, or for both reasons,) commanded this Compagiiie de Gendarmes Anglois, at the conquest of Franche-Conue in ICGS. In 1G71, he raised, under an agreement made in April, "un Begimeut d'Infanterie LJojii/oise de 15 compagnies de 100 hommes chacune," exclusive of officers; " sa Llajeste," it is added, "ayant satisfaction des services qu'elle a receua dcs regimens Irlandois qui out este cy-devnnt a sa solde," and this regiiuent, as "infanterie estiangere," to have " les hautes payes." Of this corps, of 2 battalions, Sir George was comnr.ssioned as Colonel, May 12th, and conjmanded it, in iG72, with the French Ajwy of Holland, after its passage of the Khiue. lie 1) 34 IlISTOUY OF THE IRISH CRIGADKS roginient, beiui^ drnfted into tlic Ocrnuui IJe^iiiK'nt of Furstt'inticrg, ;ui(i then of Greider, or (ht'dcr, were ace(>ni])aiiieil by Lee. A Lieutenant in the covjis, in 1078. under its a])|>ellatiou of FurstemLerg, lie foifght against the Branden\)urghers, near Minden, in 1679; and obtained a (•()ni|)any by commission, May 7tli, 16(S2. He served at the siege of Girona, in 1 f;84 ; was made Lieutenant-Colonel, by commission of Decem- ber 11th, 1G87 ; was with the Army of Flanders, under the Marshal d'Humieres, in 1689, wlien he was engag(>d in the unsuccessful afiair of Walcourt; and with better fortune, in 1090, under the illustrious Mar- shal de Luxembourg, at Fleurus; where tli(> regiment, as that of Greidei', was lauded by tshe Marslud, for its vmy good conduct, and its having taken 1 or 2 standards. Shortly before that battle, or June 18th, Lee received a commission of Lieutenant-Colonel, empowering him to hold rank as Colonel of Infantry to tlie new Regiment of O'Brien, (afterwards Clare) under which, sec; him noticed, till appointed, b}' commission of July 28th, 1694, to tlu; Colonelship of the regiment previously Lord then joined the Marshal cleTurenne; shared in the successful 0).eia+inu %i;ainst the Elector of Braiidcnlnngh in [bTA; "and," remarks Lodge, "being to uoruit liis regiment of foot in the service of the French King, his Majesty,'' King Charles II., "sent his directions to tlie L ■rd-bieutenant, 12 January, \()7'A, to give license luito him and his dificers to raise (iOO foot soldiers of his Ji-iah subjects by beat of drum." lie was at the battles of Sintzlieim, Kinsheim, and Midhausen, in 1574. At that of Einsheim, he was severely wounded, and is described, by my French authorities, as having " perfoi-nied great acts of valour," or having "with a bat- talion of his regiment, cut to ])ieces a ho-y the Comte d' Hamilton." And, elsewhere notic- ing this affair at Wilstet, and that at Altenluuni, the same historian spcciiiea Hamilton, to have "given the greatest ]>roofs of valour" against the enemy; liaving "repulsed them after an act'on of the most animated kind," where "the Irish did wonders," as well as tlie English, who were then serving with the French. Created Mar6chal de Camp, or Major-Ceneral, February 2r)th, 107G, and still being with the Army of (Jermany under Tureiine's successor, the Marshal I)i»ke de Luxembourg, Hamilton was present, when, in the retreat of the French on Saverne, their rear was attacked, and thrown into confusion by the enemy, under the Duke of Lorrain. This Luxembourg hastened in person to repair, at the head of his cavalry, "and seconded,' according to the French historian, "by the Comte d' Hamilton, who had ]iosted his regiment advantageously, he put a stop to the enemies by the great tire which he caused to be poured ujion them, and compelled them, by means of the cavalry, to retire in discndor. " But the affair, it is added, "cost his life to the Comte d' Hamilton, whom the King had made Marechal de Camp." At his death, the Count posscss^ed bcjth his Irish Uegiment of Infantry and the Compagnie de (gendarmes Angloia, or rather Anglois ef. Irl(inih>hi. He married, in l(it>5, the beautiful Frances Jennings, elder sister of the famous Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and daughter of Biehard Jennings, Esq., of Sandridge ia Hertfordshii-e. B.y lier, he left 3 daughters, who were all nobly married in Ir«- land; the 1st, Elizabelli, in ]()S."), to Bicli^nxl I'arsons, 1st Viscount Kosse ; the '2nd, Frances, in 1()87, to Henry Dillon, Stli Viscount Dillon ; the ord. Mary, in 16S8, to Nicholas Barnewall, 3rd Viscount Kingsland. IN THE SERVICK OF FRANCE. 3-3 MonTitC'sluTs. He served that year with the Army of Tt;ily ; ])nsse(1 to that of Gernianv. in 1G95 ; was with the Army of tlie Men e, nmler t!ie Marshal de Bouffle)-s, in 1696; at the taking of Ath, by the Marslial de Oatinat, in 1697; at the great encampment, and the graTid review, hy J/onis in person, at Coudun, near Couipiegne, by letters of Augnst 13tii, 1698; with the Army of Flanders, by letters of June 6th, 1701; witli tlie Army of Germany, under the Marslial de Catinat, by letters of May 8th, 1702; and was created Marechal de Camp, by brevet of D.'ceml>t-r !^-!rd, that year. Em]iloyed with the Army of Bavaria, under the Mai-- shal de Villais, in 1703, he was at the siege of Kehl ; at tlie taking of tlie lines of Stolhoffen, and the retrenchments of the Valley of Hornbeig; at the combat of Munderkingen ; at the defeat of the Count de Stirum, in the 1st battle of Hochstedt, where he was wounded; and "was also afc the taking of Kemjiten. In June, 1704, he transferred the command uf his regiment to his sou. Then, attached to the Army of Bavaria, under the Marshal de jMaicin, he commanded the French force, united with the Bavarian troops, at the glorious defence of the reti^enchments of Schellem- bcrg, in July; next fought at the 2nd or unfortunate battle of Hochstedt, (more generally called that of Blenheim) in August; and obtained the grade of Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the King, by a power of 26th October. In 1705, he served with the Army of the Moselle, under the Marshal de Villars; with the Army of the Rhine, under the same General, in 1706 and 1707; and, during the winter of the last-mentioned year, was employed in Alsace, by order of 31st October. In 1708, he was with the Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick; when, hearing of the enemy's design of besieging the important fortress of Lisle, in Flanders, he threw himself into that place; under the gallant and worthy Marshal de Boufflers, contributed nobly to its celebrated defence, at which he was wounded; and, by brevet of 12th November, was nominated by Louis XIV. to the next vacancy of a Grand Cross of the Order of St. Louis, with permission, meanwhile, to wear the insignia of that honour. In 1709, he served with the Army of Germany, under the Marshal d' Harcourt; in 1710, 1711, and 1712, with the Army of Flanders, under the Marshal de Vilhirs. The cami)aign of 1712 was Ids last; in which, he was present at the ca])tures of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. He obtained the post of a Grand Cross of the Order of i^.t. Louis, by provision of July 3rd, 1719. His son Francis, on whom he had devolved the command of his regiment since June, 1704, having died, he resumed the Colonelshif), by commission of December 13th, 1720. In 1733, he made an arrangement, through which he had the regiment granted, by commission of Septendier 16th, to the Comte de Bulkeiey; and died not long after, or February 16th, 1734, aged 84. The Comte Franc^ois de Bulkeiey, as he was called in France, was of a noble British Jacobite family, derived from Robert de Bulkeiey, Seigneur or Lord of the manor of Bulkeiey, in the Palatinate of Chester, under the Anjou-Norman King of England, Johan, or John. Iti January, 1643, Thomas Bulkeiey, Esq., of Baron Hall in the Isle of Anglesey, was, for his great merit and strict loyalty, created by King Charles I., at Oxford, Viscount Bulkeiey of Cashel, in the Kingdom of Ireland. The Viscount's 4tli son, the Honourable Henry Bulkeiey, was made Master of the Household to Kings Charles II. and James II. , and married Lady Sojihia Stewart, by whom he had 2 sons, and 4 daughters; who all joined the 2nd exile of the royal race, or that under King O') HISTORY OF TIIR IR"''!! BRIO \DKS James II. find his f;uiiily, in France. Tlie names cf the sons were Jaines unci Ffancis. Those of tlie danglitci's were Charlotte, Aime, Henrietta, and Lanra. James established himself in Fi-ance, and lefb i.esue there; Francis was the particular hidjecfc of this notice; Charlotto was married, 1st, to Cliarles O'Bi'ien, 5th Viscount Clare, 2tidl3', to I/ientenant-General Count Daniel O'Mahony; Anne to tlie illustrious James Fitz James, Marshal Duke of liciwick; Henrietta and Lanra, each the theme of the muse of our couiitryman, Count Anthony Hamil- ton, aut!)or of tiie Memoirs of (jri'ammojit, &c., both died unmarried. Francis Bulkeley, born in London, September 11th, 16SG, passed into France, in 1700, tin; year of his sister's marriage to the Duke fif Berwick. He coniiueuced his military career as an Aide-de-(^amp to that noVdeman, witii whom he was piesent at the defeat of the Dutc^i, al)Out Nimeguen, in 1702. Ho was at the victory of Eckeren over the Banie eneuiy, in 1703; and obtained a Lieutenancy in the Duke's regiment. In 1704, he fcdlowed the Duke into Spain, and was at the i-ervvick. Again jiassing with the Duke into Spain for the campaign of 1706, he shared in its very varied operations, concluded l>y the siege and capture of Carthagena, in November, at which he took jiart. In 1707, he f(jught, A|iril 25th, at the famous battle of Almanza; o'otained, by comnn'ssion of May 11th, a regiment of infantry of his name, wliicli v.'as ])ieviously the Chevalier de Te.ss6's ; and commanded that regin)ent at the taking of the town and ca,>tle of Lei-ida, the ensuing autumn. He acted, in the same capacity, at the redv;ction of T(irtt)sa, in 1708. He cpiitted this corps, May 23rd, 1709; i-esumed, by commission of same date, l)is former grade of reformed Colonel to the Ilegiment of Berwick ; and remained this year with the army of Sjiajn, which kept on the defensive. The 3 following campaign.s, or those of 1710, 1711, and 1712, he served und(^r the Marshal Duke of Berwick, in th« Army of Dauphine. In 1713, he was with the Army of Ger- many, under the Marshal de Villaivs, and was present at the captures of Landau and Friburgh. In 1714, he accompanied the Marshal Duke of Berwick to the reduction of Barcelona. Brigadier by brevet of February Isc, 1719, and employed, under the same General, with the Arn)y of Spain, he was at the .siege and capture of Fontarabia, of the town and citadt'l of St. Sebastian, of tlie Castle of Urge!, and also at the siege of Roses. Attached, by letters of Se[)tember 15th, 1733, to the Aruiv of the Rhine, under iiis illu.^trious brother-in-law, and becoming, by com- mission of the Kith, Colonel of the Irish Regiment of Infantry previously Le(i's, he v.-as at the capture of Kehl; and was employed at Strasburgh, during the winter, by kttei.s of December 1st. Marechal de Camp, or Major-Genei-al, by brevet of February 20th, 1734, and continued with the Army of the lihiue, by letters of April 1st, he mounted sevei'al tanehes at the siege of Philipsburgh; and, by order of Novemljer 1st, commanded dtiring the winter in Flanders, under the Marshal de 1 liy.segur. In 1735, he remained by letters of May 1st, with the same IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 37 Army, wlio iinrlertook nothing, on account of tl)e ap])roaching peaco, Aviiich was made in October. Lieuteiiant-General of tlie Armies of the King, liy power of March 1st, 1738, lie was employed, in 1742, witli tho Army (jf Bavaria, under the Marshal Duke d' Harcourt, and tlien under tiie Comte (afterwards Marshal) de l^axe, by letters of April Isb, an I ■was with the 4th DivisitJU, at the Camp of Neideraltack ; where they maintained themselves for 5 months, in spite of the enemy's .siipeiind* numbers. He then marched to the frontiers of Bohemia, uniUr ihij Marshal de Maillebois, and returned to France after ihe campaigu. Attaciied to the Army of the Rhine, by lettei-s of Aj)ril 1st. 1743, he ibught at the battle of Dettingen, in June. With the Army of Flanders, under the King, Louis XV., 1)}' letters of April 1st, 1744, he was at the .siege and ca|)ture of Menin and Y[)res; and then pas.sing, by letters of July 1st, under the orders of the Mai-shal de Saxe, he terminated the campaign at the Camp of Courtray. He was by letters of April Isfe, 1745, with the Army of the Lower Rhine, under the Prince de Ccniti; wlio made themselves masters of Guermsheim, July 15th, and cros.se(l the Rhine, within sight of the enemy, the liJth; but continued on tho defensive, till the end of the camjiaigu. He was i-et lined at Strasburgh, during the winter, by order of November 1st. Transferred to the Army of Flanders, under the Marshal de Saxe, by letters of May 1st, 1746, he fought at the victory cf Rocoux, in October; commanded, during the winter, at Bruges, by letters of November 1st; and was not removuii from that command till April 30th, 1748. That year, January 1st, he was named Chevalier of the Orders of the King, and was received as such February 2nd. He was made Governor of St. Jean-Pied-de-Purt, hy provision of January 29th, 1751 ; resigned his regiment, in favour of hia »5<>n, in March, 1754; and died, January 14th, 175G, in his 70th year. 1'he Lieutenant-General had married a daughter of Piiilip de Cantillon, a gentleman of Noi-man-lrish origin, who had followed the foi-tunes of the exiled Stuarts to France, and, besides founding one of the principal banks in Europe at Palis, was distiugui.'ut to death, the unnatural rebel; in consequence of which, the King rewarded Raymond, about the year 1177, with the territox-y of Lixnaw, in Kerry. There Raymond established his son, Maurice ; whence the territoiy was designated as that of Clan-Maurice ; and the descendants of its owner were known by the name of Fitz-Maurice. The lieads of this family, though subordinate to the great Earls of Desmoud, were re- markable for bravery, power, nolde alliances, &c., and were styled Barons of Lixnaw and Lords of Kerry — the 21 st of whom, Thomas Fitz-Maurice, was created, by (Jeorge I., in January, 1722, Viscount Clan-Maurice, and Eaid of Keny. In France, the chief officers df the Irish Brigade, named Fitz-Maurice, were, — 1. Thomas Mac Robert Fitz-Maurice, born in 1721, at Dingle, in Kerry. He joined the Irish Regi- nient of Roth (afterwai'ds Roscommon) very young ; retired with the rank of Ijientenant-Colonel in December, 176(5 ; and was a Chevalier of St. Louis. 2. Thoma3 J''itz-Abiurice, born in 1725, at Listowel in Kerry ; entered the Regiment of Roth, as a (.'adct at IG, in wliicli corps lie continued to serve under its successive Col nels, I;ord itosconimon and the Comte de Walsh-Serrant ; was created a Chevalier of St. Ldiiis in 1770; and -svas afterwards a [ieutenant-Colonel, and (lovernor of the Isle ol bt. Eustache. He receivcu the retuing pension of his rank in 178J. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 39 Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of O'Brien, with power to hold rank as Colonel; and an order was likewise given, to withdraw, from Greidcr's corps, all the Irish veterans, nearly 200 in nniuber, the remains of Count George Hamilton's levies ; that, by snch an incorporation of old officers and soldiers with O'Brien's regiment, it might be the sooner fitted for the field. Lee, whom the Marshal de Luxembonig noticed as an officer, that, from his professional merit, and the esteem in whicli he was generally held, would be well suited for the new post allotted to him, acted as Colonel to the R(>giment of O'Brien, in Savoy, that summer, with much distinction ; and, October 17th, was commissioned Inspector General of the Ii'ish Troops. He was subsequently stationed with tlie regiment at Pignerol, and served with the Army of Piedmc nt. under the Marshal de Catinat, till 1G93. Meantime, the Honourable Daniel O'Brien, by the decease of his father in 1G91, becoming 4th Viscount Chire, the regiment was named that of Clare, instead of O'Brien. This Daniel, 4th Viscount Clare, dying at Pignerol, in 1G93, of the wounds he received at tlie victory of Marsaglia, gained October 4th, by Catinat, over the Allies, and at which the Regiment of Clare was present, Lee was commissioned, November 18th, in his Lordshi])'s place, as full Colonel, and served in Piedmont the remainder of that year, and during the next; wlien. on Ft bruary 6th, he was created a Chevalier of St. Louis, and, on Jidy 26th, he was made Colonel of the Regiment of Mountcashel. The Colonelship vacated by Lee, in the regiment previously his and Lord Clare's, was next filled by a natural son of the celebrated Duke of Tyrconnell, and bearing a simihir name, or Richard Talbot. Tliis officer had served in France froni his youth; had greatly distinguished himself at the decisive if[i\dse of the Prince of Orange, September 6th, 1690, before Limerick ; was Colonel of the Regiment of Limerick, on the jiass'ng of the Irish army into France ; became there, (as he had pi-e- viously been in Ireland duiiiig the Williamite war) a Brigadier, April 28tli, 1694; and, August 2-)th following. Colonel in the place of Lee. Brigadier Talbot remained Colonel until April, 1696, when, from some observations or proposals offensive to Louis XIV., that Monarch ordered him to be committed to the Bastille, and deprived of his command. He never regained the regiment, lost by his imprudence; yet was, after a year's detention, released from confinement, i-estored to active service, and fell, at the battle of Luzzara, in Italy, August 15th, 1702. After the disgrace and imprisonment of Talbot, the regiment was granted, by commission of April 8th, 1696, to Charles O'Brien, 5th Loid Clare, who, on his elder brother Daniel's decease, at Pignerol, in J 693, became his successor in the title. As the Honourable Charles O'Brien, he connnanded, in 1689 and 1690, 1 of the regiments of foot in Ireland, raised by his family, for King James IL, against the Revolutionists; and, in 1691, he was Colonel of a cavalry regiment, that served as late as the 2nd siege of Limerick. But, of this corps, after the Treaty, only a renmant existing to sail for the Continent (with similar portions of the cavalry regiments of Tyrconnell, Galmoy, Lucan, Sutherland, Luttrell, Abercorn, Westmeath, and Purcell) Charles O'Brien was made, before leaving Ireland, a Captain in the Gardes du Corps or Horse Guards of King James, with which rank he arrived in France. He was afterwards attached to the Queen of England's Regiment of Dragoons a pied, under Colonel Francis O'Carroll, with which he fought at the battle of Mac- saglia, in Italy, October 4th, 1693; and, on the fall of that distinguished 40 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES officer tliefe, was appointed to his post. His Lordsliip, (for, abont the t-anie time, this Cliarles, as before obsm-ved, succeeded his brother, Daniel, in tlie title of Clare) was Colonel of the Queen of England's Dnigoons a pml. until his ti-ansfer, by comuiissiou of April Sth, IfiDG, to the Colonelship of the corps originally raised by his fauiiiy; and its title as the regiment of Clare was revived by hiin. He commanded it the s;ime year at the siege of Valenza in Lombaidy; and with the Army of the Meuse, in 1GD7, the year of the Treaty of Ptyswick. On the renewal of hostilities, he was attached with his regiment to the Army of Germany, in 17('l and 1702. Created Brigadier of Infantiy by brevet, Api-il 2nd, 1703, he and his coi-ps were at the 1st or successful battle of Hochstedt, September 2Uth, that year ; at the 2ud or unsuccessful battle of Hochstedt, (better known as that of Blenheim) August 13th, 1704; and signalized themselves, in the latter day of advei-sity, as well as in the former of j)rosperity. His Lordship was made Marechal de Camp, by brevet of October 2Gth following; was employed with the Army of the Moselle under the Marshal de Villai-s in 1705; and, having been ]irespnt at the disastrous engagement of Bamillies, May 23rd, 1706, he died at Bruxelles, or Brussels, of the wounds he had received in the action, under circum- stances of great ghny to himself and his regiment. By his marriage with Charlotte Bulkeley, (eldest daughter of the Honourable Henry Bulkeley, Master of the Household to Kings Charles II. and James II.) his Loid- ship left (besides a daughter, Laura, married to the Comte de Breteuil) a son Cliarles, the 6th Vi.scount Clare, born at St. Germain-en-Laye, March 27th, 1G09. He was consequently but a child at his father's death; and as Louis XIV. did not wish to let this regiment out of a family, that had abandoned all but their lioriour and their swurJs for the cause tliey embraced,* his Majesty re.served a right of succession to the Colonelship of the regiment ior the minor; in the meantime appointing its Lieutenant-Cohmel Murrough O'Brien, a very experienced and distinguished officer, to command by brevet; in consideration of ])aying to th<" \'oung Loi'd Clare, out of the ap}K)intmeuts of the corps, an annual pension of GOOD livres. Murrou:,li O'Brien of Carrignginniol, or C-ii-iigogunnell, in the County of Limerick, belonged to a branch of the O'Briens, derived iVom Conor O'Brien, King of Thomond in 140G, through his son Brian, suinamed " Dubli," or "Huff," otherwise tlie dark, who settled in that B;irony of the County, yet styled " Pobble-ni-Brien," or " Pobble-Brien," that is, the (umntrij of Brian. This Brian tJie dark, established his residence at Garrigogunnell, where his castle, and that of his descendants, nobly situated u[)on the summit of a lofty hill, continued to be a place of * The estate forfeited liy Lord Clare, for his loyalty to his legitimate Sovereicru, consisted of not less than 5G,93l acres! This pro[)erty, like the rest of the Insli forfeitures, M'as designed by Parliament to he sold, for paying the debt of the War of the l!evolntion. But William, instead of reserving such lauds, as far as possible, for thnt ]mrpose, made immense a=:signments of them to several of hi.s favourites — the Dutch ones, of course, not being without ample shares of what was going! — and, among such Batavian grantees, Joost Van Kc2)pel, besides being created Karl of Albemarle, had the moilcst transfer to him, by patent, in lG9o5, of the Clare projjcrty ! The result of this transaction, between the royal, nolde, and other parties concerned in it, was, that the 5G,931 acres, when resumed by Parliament, and sold, brought, towards defraying the cost of the wa.-, Init the com;)aratively trilling >.uiii of £10,101, 17.S-. 5:j(/. ! 8ee Mr. O'Donoghue's learned Historical Memoir of t!ie O'Briens ; and, for fiu-ther misappropriatious of the Jacobite forfeited estalcs, the uexb Book of (h.6 history. IN THE SKliVICE OF FliANCE. 41 ptvptic:tli till ufti-T tlie War (if the Revolution. Mnrrnngh O'Brien was a volunteer in the Irish regiment of his countryman Count George ](aniiltoii, when it jiassed into J''rance in 1G71. He was present at tho sieges of Orsoy and IiliimV)erg, at the passage of the Rhine, and the tnking of Duesbnrgh, in 1672; at the siege of Maestricht, in 1673; ami tliat year became an Ensign. He was at the battles of Sintzheim, Ein- sheim,and MnUiansen, in 1674; and of Turkheira and Altenluim, in 1675. He was at the combat of Kokesberg, in 1676; and, after the death of his Colonel, Count Geoige Hamilton, that year, was involved in the changes by which tiie Irish of his regiment were transferred into the corps, successively eii titled the Regiment of Furstembei-g and of Greider. He was at the siege of Fribnrgh, in 1677 ; at the combat of Seckingen, and at the siege,-; oi Kehl and Lichtendjerg, in 1678. He served at the siege of Girona, in 1684; obtained a commission, as a reformed Captain, in 1688; ar.d a company, in 1689. He commanded the company with the Army of Rnnsillon, or Spain, under the Duke de Noailles, in 1690 and 1691 ; and from this company, in the regiment of Gi-eider, was I'emoved, in the latter year, to a similar command in the Regiment of O'Brien, or Clare; ])reserving his rank of Captain, according to the date of his commission in the older regiment. He fought at the victory of Mar.saglia, in October, 1693; was made Major by brevet of March 12th, 1694; and remained with the Army of Italy till the conclusion of the war there after the siege of Valenza, at which he took part. In 1697, he was attached to the Army of the Meuse. He made the campaigns of 1701 and 1702, in Germany. He was at the siege of Kehl, the combat of Munderkingen, and the victory of Hochstedt in 1703; and at the defeat of Hochstedt, (or Blenheim) in 1704. Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment by com- mission of January 25th, 1705, he served that year f)n the Mo.selle; fought valiantly at the unsuccessful engagement of Ramillies, in May, 1706; and, to the Colonelship vacated by Lord Clare's fall there, waa commissioned August 11th following. He commanded the regiment iu Flanders during the 6 fullowin .; campaigns; in which important interval, he was present at the battle of Oudenarde, in July, 1708; that of Malplaquet, in September, 1709; was made Brigadier of Iniantry by brevet, March 29th, 1710; served at the attack of Arleux, in 171 1 ; and at the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouehain, the ensuing year. Transferred to the Army of the Rhine, in 1713, under the Mar.shal de Villai's, he was engaged in the sieges of Landau and Friburgh. He was brevetted as Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, February 1st, 1719; and held the regiment, again known under his Colonelship as die " Regiment d' O'Brien," until July 1720, when he died. Murrough O'Brien is characterized as having been an officer both of bravery and ability; in pi'oof of which, his gallantry at Ramillies, and the tine manoeuvre at Pallue, by which he saved Cambray, are particularly cited; and it is added, on official authority, — "If M. le Marechal de Montesquiou had done him the justice which was due to him for the affair of Pallue, he would have had a greater share of the royal favv)urs than he attained" — or have been elevated, (as would seem from the context) to a higher rank, than that of Marechal de Ciinip, or Major- General. "That biave old soldier, Majoi-General Morongh O'Brien," ob.serves a contem|)orary adherent to the House of Hanover, "has left a son behind him, that joins all the abilities of the statesman, with the politeuess of the courtier, to the martial spirit of his father." This sou, 42 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Daniel O'Brien, was a Colonel of Influitrj' in tlie service of France; waa made a Chevalier de St. Lazare, or Knight of St. Lazaru.s, in 1716; was, by the e.xiled son of King Janie.s IT.,»whoin lie regarded as King James III., created a Peer of Ireland, in 1747, vinder the title of Earl of Lismore, and Visconnt of Tallow; was appointed a Grand Cross Clievalier or Knighc of St. Lonis, in 17o0; and was Secretary of State to, as well as Minister fioni. his Sovereign, at the Court of lionie, where he died, November 5th, 1759, aged 76. James III. writing, N(jvember 20th, to the gentleman who was to succeed, " in quality of Minister, but without the title of Secretary of State," thus expresses himself i-especting liis Lordship, — "You will, I am sure, be concerned for poor Lord Lismore's death. I am myself very much, and with reason; for I have lost in him a true friend, and an old and most faithful servant." His LordshijAs son, James Daniel O'Brien, the 2nd and last representative of this* Stuart title, was born in 1736; finally attained the grade of a reformed Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of Clare, and the honour of a CJjevalier of St. Louis; and died, some time ])revious to the year 1789. Charles O'Brien, 6th Viscount Clare (usually styled in France Mylord Comte de Clare) as pensioned ui)on, and destined to tlie command of, the family regiment, was, when veiy young, enrolled among its officers as a reformed Captain, July 1st, 1703, as Captain-en-Second, October 24th, 1704, and was commissioned, as a r( formed Colonel d, la suite, October 14th, 1718. He commenced his active military career with tlie Army of Spain, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 1719, at the sieges of Fontarabia, of St. Sebastian and its citadel, of Urgel, and of Roses. On the decease of the Mai-echai de Camp and Colonel Murrough O'Brien, in July, 17:^0, he was commissioned, as full Colonel of the Regiment of Clare, Ajigust 3rd following. During the peace which prevailed between France and England, under the reign of George L, this young nobleman "was invited, and came over several times, to England, to see his cousin Henry O'Brien, the 8th Earl of Thomond. On one of these occasion.s, he is related to have been presented to King George by the Earl, as the heir-at-law to his estates and honoui'S, and to have been promised forgive- ness fiir the opposition of his family to the alteration of d3'nasty effected by the Revolution of 16^8, if he would conform to the Established Church of England and Ireland. But Lord Clare could not be induced, by considerations of mere dignity and emolument, to forsake a religion, which he had been r(!ai-ed to believe as the only true one. On the Ijreak- ing out of the war between France and the Empire in 1733, his Lordshij) ■was attached to the Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, and was present at the siege of Kehl, which capitulated October 28th. Made Brigadier of Infantiy V)y brevet, Februaiy 20th, 1734, he served, by letters of April 1st, with the same army; was at the siege of Philipsl)urgh, taken July 18th; and received a contusion on the shoulder there, from the same cannon-shot which killed his uncle, the Marshal Duke of Berwick. He remained, by letters of May 1st, 1735, with the same ai-my, which undertook no ex])edition. He was advanced to the grade of Marechal de Camp by bi'evet of March 1st, 1738; became Inspector General of Infantry by order of May 22nd, 1741 ; and was em])l()yed with the Army of B.)hemia by letters of July 20tli. The same year, Henry O'Brien, the 8th Earl of Thomond, died in Dublin: willing his estates to Muirough, Lord O'Brien, eldest son and heir to the Earl of liichi(|uin, as being a Protestant; yet not forgetting Lord Clare, as a IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 43 Catliolic, but bequeatliing him a legacy of £20,000. On his relative's decease, Lord Clare took the title in France of Corate or Earl of Tliomoud.* Intrusted, in 1742, with the defence of the town of Lintz, in Upper Austria, under the Comte de Segur, he displayed much reso- lution and bravery, until comprised in the capitulation of the place, signed February 23rd ; by which the troops and General Officers w Iv) had been inclosed there were not to serve for a year. Employed witli the Army of the Khine, under the Marshal Duke de Noailles, by letters of May 1st, 1743, he fought, June 27th, at the battle of Dettingen. Emjiloyed with the Army of Flanders, under Louis XV. and the Marshal Duke de Noailles, by letters of April 1st, 1744, and created Lieutertant- General May 2nd following, he marched to the siege of Menin, wliich capitulated Jane 4th. Acting by letters of the 7th as Lieutenant- General, and serving at the siege of Ypres, he mainly contributed, by a successful attack, to tlie capitulation of the place on the 27th. He was at the siege of Furnes, surrendered July 11th; and remained with the army under the Marshal de Saxe, by letters of the 19th, when Louis XV. quitted Flanders for Alsace. Attached to the Army of Flanders by letters of April 1st, 1745, he was present, May 11th, at the victory of Fontenoy ; the gaining of which was so much owing to the valour of the Irish under his command, in contributing to break the previously-success- ful English and Hanoverian foi-ces. He received 2 musket-shots there, but luckily on his cuirass; and, a few days after, was wounded by the bursting of a bomb, at the siege of Tournay, which was entirely reduced, by the surrender of the citadel, June 20th. Continued ia Flanders, under the Duke de Richelieu, by letters of December 18th, he was destined for an emliarkation, and landing in England, to second the invasion of Prince Charles Edward Stuart; which plan of co-o])eratiori was, however, frustrated, by the superior maritime force of the English. Nominated Chevalier of the Orders of the King, January 1st, 1740, he obtained permission, February 2nd, to wear the insignia of that rank. Remaining with the Army of Flanders, by letters of April 1st, he took a leading part in the gaining of the battle of Rocoux, fought October 1 Ith. He was received as Chevalier of the Orders of the King, January 1st. 1747; and, early in the same year, he signalized himself, by his dt-fence of Malines, of the biidge of Valheim, and by other operations, tlii'KUgh which the best intelligence was acquired respecting the enemy, for Louis XV. Acting with the Army of Flanders, by letters of May 1st, he fought, with the Irish. July 2nd, at the battle of Lafl'eldt; there, as at Fontenoy and Rocoux, had a principal share in the success of the day; and had 1 of his Aides-de-Camp shot next him. Employed with the Army of Flanders by letters of April 15th, 1748, he commanded at Bilsen a body of troops, which covered the right of the army, occupied with the siege of Maestricht. During the armistice, he was placed over the troops cantoned in the territory of Malines. He was, by letters of November 1st, 175G, Lieutenant-General in Normandy, under the Marshal de Belle-Isle. He was made Govei-nor of Neuf-Brisac, by pro- vision of the 5th. Created Marshal of France at Versailles, Februaiy 24th, 1757, he was nominated to command in Guienne, by order of * Of "les ilhistres maisons des 6 Briens," notes Abbe Mac Geoghegan in France, in 1758, " le cli>^f aiijoiu'd'hui est Charles 6 Brien, Lord Cointe de Thomond, ci- devant a]i])elle Lord Clare, Marechal de France, Chevalier des Ordres du Itoi trea- Clirutieu, et Colonel du Eegimeut Irlandois de Clare, au service de Sa Majeste." 44 HISTORY OF TKE IlilSII BRIGADES March 1st. He took the oath, as Marslial of France, the 13th. He was named to comniaiid the ticops on t!ie coasts of the Meiliterranean, by ])ii\ver of November 1st, 17-37; and Cotnmander-iti-Chief in tlie Province of Latigiiedoc, by order of the same day. He obtained the entrees cltez le Rui, by brevet of May 7th, 175'>. In 1759, he was specially considted iipdii. and woidd have been eno;a,:fed in, the great landing meditated from Ihi t: g i(i in Mnnster by the French, but for the d<'feat of C'onflans at sea by Havvke. The veteran noV)Ienian's decease, at Muntpeliier, in his (i3rd year, Septeitdx-r 9th, 17C1, is mentioned in a contemporary (jiintinental periodical, with an enumeration of his dignities, as that of "Charles O'Biien, Earl of Thomond, Viscount of Clare, &c, in the Kiu'ddiu (if Ireland, Mai-slial of France, Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Gliost, Commander for the King in the Province of Langnedoc, Covcrnor of Neuf-Brisac in Alsace, and Colonel of a Ri'giment of Irish ] iirintiy." The " ]\Iarecha] de Thomond," as he was called, was much jegietted, and, iy his marriage, in 175-5, with the Lady Marie Genevieve Loni'^e Ciiutliier de ( 'hiffreville, Marchioness of Chilfreville in Normandy, ](4't, as his heir, Charles O'Brien, 7tli Viscount Clare, and Idth Comte or Earl of Tlionion was followed, as Colonel-en-8econd, in 1770, by the Chevalier de Meade — the i-eprc^sentative of a name, respectable in Munster to our own times. Tiiis ]ace, in comruaud of the rear-gnard, hy r<er:itioji of consequence yirecediu"- the Peace of Ryswick. On tlie commencement of the War of the S]ianish Succession, he was under the command of the Marshal de TiJleiov with rhe Army of Germany, which undertook no expedition. In 1702, he was removed to the Army of Italy, under the Duke of Tendome, then op]X)seuke's brother, Lieutenant-General and Gi-and Prior Philippe de Tendome, he served at the siege of Mirandola, taken in May; signalized himself at the very gallant defence of the Cassiue of Moscolino against the Prince of Wirtemberg in June; and at the victoi-y of Cassano, gained, August 16th, by the Duke, over Prince Eugene. He likewise signalized him.self \uider the Duke, at the defeat of the Count de Pveventlau. April IDth, 1706, in the battle of Calcinato; and September 9th following, under the Count de Medavi, at the defeat of the Prince of Hesse, in the battle of Castiglioue. The 24th of that month, he was made a Lieutenant- General. Employed, by letters of Ajiril 20th, 1707, with the army on the frontiers of Piedmont, under the Marshal de Tesse, he eminently con- ti-ibuted to the disastrous result of the great expedition of the Allies against Toulon, under the Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene, aided by Admii-al Sir Cloudesly Shovel He continued with the same army under Tesse s successor, the Marshal de Tillai-s, in 1708; and under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 17U9. While stationed that year in the vicinity of Briancon, he defeated 2 considerable bodies of the Allies; the former, August 2Sth, under General Count Eebeiider; and the latter soon after, under the Governor of Esille-s. In 1710, 1711, and 1712, he remained in the south, under the orders of the same ^lait^hal; and geneially commanded at the camp of Briancon. On the expedition into Catalonia, undeitaken in December, 1712, for the relief of Girona, then besieged by the Couut de Stahremberg, he accompanied the Marshal Duke of Berwick, as 1 oi lis 5 Lieutenant-Generals : and, being ordered, in January 1713, to pursue Stahremberg who raised the 48 HTSTOIiY OF THE TRTSH BRIGADKS siege, he routed tlie detaclinient left by that Greneral at a defilp, to covet liis )-etreat. ISenmved to tlie Afiny of tiie Rhine in 1713, under the Marslial de Vdlars, lie took Kaisevslaiiterri and made its garrison prisoners of wai-, in June; also took the Castle of Verastein ; mounted the trenches, on several occasions, at the siege of Landau, which defended itself from June till August; and, during the operations for the reduc- tion of Friburgh, whicli occupied from Se})tember 30th to November IGth, was placed, by the Marshal de Villars, at the head of a separate force, to foim a camp for the protection of the siege. His last campaign was that of 1714, when he served with much distinction, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, at the conquest of Barcelona. Lieutenant- General, the Honourable Count Arthur Dillon, is represented to have been a gallant and able oilicer, universally esteemed by the gr^at Generals of his time, and beloved by the soldiery. He was in person beautiful, and very fortunate, having never received a wound, notwith- standing ail the dangers to which he was exposed, from 1691 to 16'J7, and froiu 17U1 to 1714. Though led into some irregular amours during his cara])aigns, he is stated to have been a fond husband, as well as an attached father; and, in short, to have ranked, in an age of illustrious men, among its best and most estimable characters. It is consequently the more to be regretted, that the literary materials left by him for a liistory of his life, were destroyed, amidst the excesses of the 1st Revolu- tion in France. Such materials, too, from the leading position which he occupied at Paris with reference to the affairs of his exiled Sovereign, or James III., would have been very valuable, as comprising so much in- formal ion respecting the plans concocted, and the corres})ondence kept up, from "l)(ith sides of the water," by the restless Jacobites, in order to realize what tliey used to sing — " We'll root cat nsi'irpation Eiitii'ely from the uation, And cause the re.'^toration Of James, our lawful King ! " By his mnrringe with Catherine Sheldon, daughter of Ralph Sheldon, Esij., niece , quitiiiig the service, as he was then in his GOth year, he resigned Ii;s regiment to his eldest son; and died, February otli, 17''3, at the I'alace of ^t. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 yenrs. The C(iiiit(^ Churles de Dillon, born in 1701, was, so ea!iy as 1705, named on the rolls of his father's regiment as one of its iri tended officers; became a i\dl Captain, November 10th, 1718; and Colonel, May 1st, 1730. He commanded the i-egiment on the Rhine against the Germans, in 1734; was advanced to be a Brigadier, January 1st, 1740; and re- tained his Colonelship till the following year. Having married his Irish cousin-german, Lady Frances Dillon, in January, 1735, he came over to I)-eland, in September, 1736, to take possession of the property to vvhicli he was entitled; and, on the decease of her father, Richard, 9th "Viseotint Dillon, in 1737, succeeding to the family honofir,s and estates as 10th Viscount, he did not return to Fiance. He died in London, e-ivly in November, 1741, aged 40, without issue. He was succeeded, as 11th Viscount Dillon in Ireland, as well as in the coaiaiand of the family IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 49 regiment in France, by his next brother, the Comte Henri de Dillcui. This i^)V)lemun was, when very young, or in 1716, Ensign to the Colonel, his father; became full Captain in May, 1730; in the war from 1733 to 1735, against the Germans, served at the sieges of Krhl and Philips- burgh, and the affairs at Etliiigen and Clausen; between February, 1735, and November, 1738, obt;i:ued b.is Majority, and a commission to hold lank as Colonel; was appointed full Colonel, November 14tli, 1741; and was made Brigadie-r by brevet, February 20th, 1743. But, after the battle of Dettingen, at which he was present, the English, from auxili- aries, becoming principals in. the war against Louis XV.; and an Act of Parliament being then in pi-eparation, to prevent Briti.sh subjects from entering foreign service; hy which his Lordship's remaining in the French army would have exposed him, as a Peer of Ii-eland, to the con- fiscation of his estates; he, by the consent, and even by the advice, of Louis, quitted France in the spring of 1744. He arrived in London in May; and not long afterwards married the Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest daughter of George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Litchfield; by whom, besides daughters, he left 3 sons, and died in October, 1787. When he was about to quit France, in 1744, he resigned his regiment there to his next brother, the Chevalier Jacques (or James) de Dillon, Knight of Malta, who was killed at its head, May 11th, 1745, at the victory of Foutenoy. The Colonelship was then given, on the field of battle, by the French Monarch, to the 4th brother, the Comte Edouard de Dillon, who, like the Chevalier, did not long survive his advancement; being mortally ■wounded at the victory of LafTeldt, July 2nd, 1747. After the death of this Colonel Count Edward Dillon, no son of Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon remained in France, but the 5th, or >oungest, Arthur Bichard. He had entered the Gallican Church, in which he became one of the most eminent Prelates of his time. He was succxissively Bishop of Evreux, Archbisliop of Toulouse, then of Narbonne, Commander of the Order of the Holy Ghost, Primate of tha Gauls, President of the States of Languedoc, twice a Member of the Asstanbly of Notables, and twice President of the Clergy of France. "To this Pi-elate," adds our leai'ued Protestant countryman, the Bevd. Mervyn Archdall, previous to the 1st French Revolution, "the literati of this country confess much obligation ; he has manifested a liberality of principle, almost hitherto unknovvti; and, through his enquiries, and exertions, the antiquities of Ireland have lately been much elucidated." This only sui-viving son of Lieutenant-Genei-al Dillon in France; being t-hus incapacitated for military employment, Louis XV. was earui-stly solicited to give away the regiment, on the plea, that there was no Dillon to claim it. But the French Monarch good-naturedly replied, in allusion to the nobleman, whom he had kindly advised, in 1744, to leave the French service, for fear of forfeiting the family estates in Ireland — "Lord Henry Dillon is married; and I cannot consent to see, that a j)roprietorship, cemented by so many good services, and so much blood, should go out of a family, as long as I may entertain a hope of witnessing its renewal." From 1747, the jnoprietorship of the regiment was conse- quently allowtd to remain with the Lord Henry Dillon referred to; who, though I'esident in England, drew the profits on the ap])ointinents; as far as circumstances admitted, took part in the alHiirs of the corj)s, and recommended those to be employed in it; the actual militai-y crat I We are goimi to tear him Ux pieces, lie and all that hehiiKj to him! Rochambea.u must also perish, and all the nuhi/itij in the army ! Dillon is coming in a cabriole ; hii thigh ii aheaily broken; let's go and finish him !' The cabriole soon appeared; the General was in it, without a hat, ivitlt, a ctdm and firm look; he was escorted by 4 horse-guards; he had hardly passed through the gate, when more than 100 bayonets were thrust into the cabriole, amidst the most horrible shouts. The horse-gnards made use of their sabres, it is true; but, I don't know, whether it was to defend themselves, or to protect the (j'eneral. The man who drove the cabriole disa{)peared, the horse jilnnged, and no bayonets had yet been iatal, when a shot was fired into the carriage, and I think this killed M. Dillon, for I never saw him move afterwards; he was taken from the carriage, and thrown into the sti-eet; when they trampled upon his body, and ran 1000 bayonets through it, I neitiier heard from him com])laints or groans. Between 7 and 8 o'clock, I wnnt to the maiket-place, where a great fire was lighted, in which his body was thrown. French soldiers danced round the bui-ning body of their General. This barbarous scene was intermixed ■witii the most savage bowlings. Parties of Swiss were ])assing and j-epassing in good i)rder during this atrocious scene, with the greatest indignatiim painted in their countenance." The National Assembly, when informed of this Tuurdei-, and other >»'.rocities with which it was flccomjianied, denounced the jierpetiators for punishment, and setll^d ])en.si(.ns on the family of the unfortunate Count Theobald Billon. The Count was the last Colonel-Proprietor of the Regiment of Dillon; wliich alone, of all the Irish Regiments in the French service, continued under the command of members of the same name during about lOl years,. that elapsed, from the landing of Lord Mountcashel's Prigij'e in France, in 1600, till 1791, the period of the breaking uj) of the Irisli Brigade. It was towards the close of the Colonelship of Theobald Dillon, or in the latter year, that, according to the regulation occasioned by the Revolution, the various regiments of the French Army, except the Swiss, instead of being named from any ymrticular district, family, or nation, were numbered; when the ci-devant Regiment of Dillon was entitled, the 87th. A number, also, it may be observed, illustriously associated with Irish militaiy fame, in the Ai'my of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as represented by the 87th Regiment of Infantry, or Royal Irish Fnsileers. Of Lord Mountcashel's Brigade, as the 1st body of King James's troops who went to the Continent, it is now necessary to notice the services there during the 2 cam|)aigns of 1690 and 1691; or down to the arrival of the remainder of tiieir countrymen in France, after the ratification of the Treaty of Limerick, in the autumn of the latter }^ear. In May, 1690, when Mountcashel's Brigade landed from Munster at Brest, the enemies of Louis XIV., though already so numerous, were increased, on the side of Italy, by Victor Amadeus II., the ducal Sovereign of Piedmont and Savoy. The French, by the 2 great foitresses of Pignerol and Casal, had a sort of bridle over his state»; 54 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES and, wlienever tlie garrisons of tliose places i-eqnired any change or re- viotnalling, Louis's imy)efio\is Minister of War, Louvois, was accustomed to send troops through the territory of the Duke, as if he were a inere vassal to France. This was natuially so ii-ritating to the Duke, who was a Prince of equal courage and ability, that, although from a similar aversion to Protestantism as Louis XIV. 's, he had for some time united his forces with that Monarch's, to wage a war of extermination against the poor Waldenses, Vaudois, or Barbets of the Alps, he had long determined ujioii joining the Allies, in order to vindicate his indepen- dence He had tlierefore been a secret party to the League or Augsburg from the tnne of its formation, and had more recently gtrengtliened his connexions with the Allies, though ])rivately; that he might not be overpowered by the French, before he coidd be joined by a sufficient aid, to enalih- him to set them at defiance. Louis, becoming aware of this, directed Lieutenant-General Catinat, with 12,000 men, to enter Piedmont in May, 1690. and to demand a satisfactory explanation fi-om Victor Amadous. Should the Duke not give it, he was to be attacked there ; wliile another French force was to invade Savoy. The Opei-ations of the latter expedition alone belong to our subject. The cam])aign in Savoy commenced later than in Piedmont; and, when it was decided upon by Louis XIV., lie appointed Monsieur de St. Ruth to command. That otiicer had served from 1667, through the wais of Holland, Flanders, and Germany; became a Lieutenant-General in 1688; and was attached to the Army of the Moselle, when he received his commission of June 28th, to ])roceed to Dauphine, in order to make the neces.sary arr-angements there against Savoy. The troops were to consist of aV)out 5(j0O French, and 3000 lri.sh belonging to the Iiegiments of Lurd Mountcashel and the Honourable Daniel O'Brien. I'he royal order, for St. Kuth to leave the Army of the Moselle for Dauphine, being dated so late in the season; the distance between such opposite destinations being so considerable; and the 3000 Iiish, iu addition to the remodelling which they (with the re.st of their country- men) underwent after landing in Bretagne, having to take such a long march as that to Savoy; the summer was necessarily far advanced, before every thing could be ready for action. When the preparations fur invading that diflicult, or rocky, mountainous, and precii)itous country were completed, St. Ruth directed the Marquis de Varennes to march towards its cajjital, Chamberry, by the route of Les Echelle.s, (or the ladders) while he himself sliould a])proach it by (?hamparluen. The Coiujt de Bernex, Governor of Chamberry for Victor Amadous, on intelligence of those movements by the French, evacuated the {)lace. St. Ruth reaching it, August 12th, garrisoned the town with 400 of the Irish, and the castle, or citadel, with as many more troops of the same nation, under the command of the Marquis de ThoUy, Brigadier. Annecy, following the example of Chamberr3% was likewise secured by a garrison; Rumiily, attempting to dei'end itself, was cai'ried by assault; and 2000 militia, and 500 fusileers, that were collected to defend the river Rue, having retired before the French Genei-al, the noblesse and peasatitry of that part of the country suV)mitted to the King of Fra'nce. St. Ruth then reduced the districts of the Chablais, of Fansilly^ th(! Tarentaise and the Genevais, or territory as far as the borders of the little Calvinistic Republic of Geneva. His next object was to overtake, and defeat, 2 bodies of Victor Amadeus's troops, under the Baroii, IN THE SERVICE OF VVf-rrV 55 Marquis, or Coiint, de Sales, or de Salles, (as he was variously entitled) and the Count de Bernex. Their superior knowledge of such an intricate country, and the facility for retreat amongst its mountains, assisted them to elude all j)ursuit, until they had clmseu 2 such strong positions about the river Isere, as the}' judged woidd best enable them to defend the passes that led into Italy by the Little St. Bernard and Mount Cenis. St. Ruth, marching with 2 battalions of infantry, and a regiment of cavalry, for the banks of the Isere, directed the Brigadier Marquis de Tluiiy, who hud been left at Chamberry as its commandanfc with c^OU Irish truo]>s, to set out and join him with those troo])s; and "the Marquis de Vins to do the same from Annecy, with the Brctagne regiment of dragoons, and a detachment of cavahy. They were all 3 to meet ou the Isere: whence, after being joined by 2 ])ieces of light artillery, thej' were to proceed to action. Having entered the upper valley of tlie Isere, and gone to inspect the ways with 300 men, St. Ruth found De Sales in the lower valley, posted, with 1200 men, u]ion a rock, fronted by the river, and extending to the great mountain of the same naiue. At the foot of this mountain, he ordered the Brigadier Marquis de Tholiy, with the regiment of Bretagne, and 100 of the Irish, to watch during the night between the 11th and 12th of September, for the purpose of guarding against any design of De Sales to escape in that direction; who, however, was so far from making such an attempt, that he occu])ied himself in adding as much as possible to the strength of his position by an abbatis of felled trees, that embarrassed the whole way between the rock and the river. It was necessary to pi-oceed by this way, although it constituted a defile so narrow, that it could only bo passed 1 by 1. St. Ruth, after reconnoitring the ground, arranged his troops ior attacking the rock, at 3 different points. The dragoons, under the Maiquis de Vins, were to pass by the little way along tho river, in order to ascend the rock. The cavalry were to clamber up iu the centi-e. Lord Mountcashel., at the head of his own Irish regiment of infantry, with the Brigadier Maiquis de Thoiiy, was to march along the mountain, to gain the same rock, through a very rugged gorge. St. Ruth himself ascended among the first, at a very steep ])lace. The a.ssailants were recei\ed with a great tire. But the defenders of tlio i-ock were dislodged ; vigoiously ])ursued to the highest tops of the mountains; and about 150 of them .slain. Their leader, De Sales, after his Lieutenant-Colonel had been killed beside him, took refuge amidst some vines, where he was, with difficulty, discovered, and made ])risoner, by the Irish. Several other officers were also taken. St. Ruth is related to have had only from 10 to 15 men, and 3 or 4 horses, killed or wounded. There were, say the French accounts, " 3 Irish killed, and 2 wounded, with Milord Moncassel slightly, by a musket-shot, in the left breast; having been very much distinguished, as well as those of hi.s nation." And a hostile narrative observes of the same troops — "The Irish, commanded by Milord Moncassel, who were present at this encounter, fought exceedingly well, and having seen how their Chief was wounded, they refused to abandon the pursuit of their enemies, till they should have taken the Comte de Sales, who commanded them. They led him in triumjih to Lord Moncassel, in order to console hiui for the wound which he had received." After this advantage, St. Ruth, being joined by more cavalry, and the Irish infantry of the Regiment of tlio Honourable Daniel U'Brien. proceeded towaids the souices of the iscio 56 HISTORY OF THE IIIISII CIUGADES in tlu- Tfi,L;li Alps, between tlie little St. I5ernard and Mount Cenis; in order to di.slodjft! the Count do Bernex Ironi a still stronger position, where he was entrencli(Hj, with 400 men. It was situated in a very narrow delile. bounded, to the left, by niountaiiis, regarded as inaceessilile, and, to tli(; right, by the isere, which was no where forduble. Neverthe- less, under Lieutcniant-Colonel Andi-ew Lee, the officer then in command of the Regiment of O'Brien, "a mountain to the left was climbed up to the top, and gotten round by passes, which seemed so impracticaVjle, that the imagination could with difficulty be brought to conceive the success of such an attempt!" liy these means, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee " came right down upon the enemy's I'etrenchments, [)rotected by several fosses, as wide as they were deep. As soon as the enemy saw this, they fled ; abandoning those retrenchments, with their cannon and falconets," or lighter artillery. Then, descemling the river to a bridge, leading, on the other side, to a mountain upon the right, the beaten troops escaped, in the direction of Italy, by the Valley of Aosta. After a ))ursuit for some ti nu', the; enemy's spoils were very fairly applied, by the French General, to leward those troops, to whom, on this occasion, his success was moiit attribut:d)le. "We found in their camp," says my contem- j)orary French historian, " some bread and some wine, which Monsieur de St. Kuth caused to be given to the Irish; whom," it is likewi.'^e added, "he allowiid to go into the mountains, to seize the flocks, that were known to be at pasture there." The French, in this affair, are eaid not to have had 1 man killed, and but 3 wounded. The same evening, St. lluth recc'ived the Deputies of Montiers, and the L3th, in the morning, at a small distance from the town, had its keys brought to him by the Archbishop and Magistrates; u[)on which, making his entry, he caused Te Deum to be chanted there. Two days after, he marched to Mori(niiie, whose keys were also brought to him; and, the 15th, reaching Brisansonnet, with his whole army, he encamped there, to rest. Lord Mountcashel, with the 3000 Irish, were appointed to garrison Chamberry ; and no post remaining untaken in Savoy, but the town and Ktnmg citadel of Montnudian built on a lofty rock, St Ruth blocked up the placi!, caused it to be bombarded, and was able to spare 3 of his Fri'nch reginu'uts, to reinforce Catinat in Piedmont. By these con- quests, foi- which he was so much indebted to tlic Iiish, the French General rendered a great .service to his master; it being calculated, that, in addition to the quartering of troo[)s, a considcu'able i-evenue could he vealizid I'rom Savoy; while a country was secured, respecting which, it was alleged, on the side of the Allies, that 50,000 of their men could not be better employed than there, from the facility it would aUbrd, of communicating with, and exciting an insuirection among, the ojiprcssed Huguenot or Protestant population of L)au]jhine, Provence, and Lan- guedoc, agaiiKst their government. The next campaign, or that of 1691, the Irish of Ijord Mountcashel's Brigade served partly in Savoy, and ])artly towards Catalonia. Lieu- tenant-General St. Ruth, being destined to command for King James II. in Irehind in 1091, was replaced in Savoy, in the autumn of 1690, l)y the ]\Iar(piis de la Hoguette, Mai'echal de Camp, who had returned, with the iorce of tlie Count de Lauzun, from Ireland. The blockade of th(! town and citadel of Montmelian was continued ; the French and Irish lroo]is being stationed in palisaded lines and redoubts at certain distances around the place, to I'cduce it, if possible, by famine; and it was IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 57 attempted, early in Febmavy, to apjiroach so near, as to subdue it, b}' a regular liattering, and bombardnient. The Frencli bombs did consideralile injury to a magazine of grain in tlie place; but the garrison could not be jire vented making i'requent soi-ties or forays, with considerable losses to both sides, of which the Irish had their share. The French cannon and mortars were also dismounted; so that close operations had to be given up, and the blockade resumed, until a regular attack could be undertaken, with a foi'ce both stronger as regarded the garrison within, and entirely secured against any interruption from without. To effect this security ere such a force could be as.sembled, M. de la Hoguette, leaving the Tarentaise, June 16th, with 7 battalions and 2 dragoon regiments made his way, in spite of the enemy's parties, across the rivers and through the difficult passes of those mountainous regions, as far as the valley and town of Aosta. On his approaching the town, the 22nd, it submitted; the valley furnishing a great abundance of cattle. Alter securing a general submission of the country, and niiuing or blowing up such bridges as might give a passage to any relief conring from Piedmont by Ivrea and the Little St. Bernard, through the Valley of Aosta, to Mont- melian, the French commander had trenches o]jened before that town, the night between July 27th and 28th. It was tinally agreed, August 4th, that the town of Montraelian should suri-ender the 5th ; its reduction having cost the besiegers, in these last operations, but from 100 to 200 men killed or wounded. The citadel very advantageously situated, and still defended by the brave Marquis de Bagnasco, with 600 men, 30 or 40 guns, ifec, was then blocked up, till fuither assistance to attack it could be obtained from the Marshal de Catinat, in Piedmont. There, meanwhile, the Allies, having collected a veiy ffne and numerically superior army in order to arrest that Marshal's progre.ss against Victor Amadeus, the tirst design of their Generals was, to relieve Montmelian ■with a detachment of 8 battalions of infantry and 5 regiments of c;ivalry, by the way Hoguette had foreseen. But that officer, in addition to his other ])recautions, having obtained a i-einforcement from Catinat, so as to command the pass, by the Little St. Bernard, with 12 battalions of infantry and 3 regiments of cavalry, the intention of relieving Mont- melian had to be abandoned. After the campaign in Piedmont was terminated, Catinat, to complete the reduction of Savoy, made such arrangements with Hoguette, as, by November 22nd, to assemble, lor attacking the castle of Montmelian, a competent force, with 40 cannon, 25 mortars, and proportionable amnnmition. The castle held out till December 22nd, when, of 600 troops that liad comjio.sed its gan-ison, the gallant Governor (already named) having only 200 lamished men, capitulated, on condition of marching out with military honour.s, arms, baggage, 3 cannon, and of being escorted, with sufficient ])rovisions, carriages, etc., into Piedmont ; where he was knighted, and pensioned, as he deserved to be, by Victor Amadeus. In the blockade of tliis {)lace, the Hegiment of O'Brien took part, being marked as stationed at Montcassel, under the title of the Kegiment of '■Clare;" its Colonel, the Honourable L)aniel O'Brien, by the death of his father, Daniel, the 3rd Lord Clare, this year, in Ireland, having become the 4th Lord Clare; and a consequent change being made iu tiie name of the regiment, fi-oui that of " O'Brien," to that of "Clare." At this blockade, also, was slain James O'Mrrllaly or Lally. Esq. of Tulachr)adala. Tolenadally, or "^rolerrdal. Comity of Guhvay, who, in Irelarid had been, under King James iL, iu 16S7, 1)8 mSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Sovereign of th<' OorporMtioTi, and, in the Purlinment of 1G89, Memher for the Borough, of Tiiani, and wlio, through the several Inde] pendent Companies, raised by himself and his younger brothei-s, Gerard. William, nr.d Mark, having niairdy contributed to form the 2iid battalion of the regiment of his first-cousin, the Honoui-able Colonel Arthur Dillon, had, in that corps, by commission of June 1st, 1C90, the rank of C(jlonel, too, as commandant of the battalion in question, hence called " Lally's battalion." On the side of Catalonia, wdiere its Viceroy, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, was expected to have a force of 10,000 foot, and 4000 horse, the Duke de ISToaillcs was appointed, in April, to command for the cam]>aigu of inOl. The French army, besides the disadvantage of its being genei-ally made np of new troops, consisted of but 6500 infantry, and 2340 cavalry. With these. Lord Mountcashel, Colonel Arthur* Dillon, and a select body of 1000 of their cout)trymen, were to serve. Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances for offensive operations ])resented by broken-up roads and a I'ocky and mountainous country, through which, while favourable for native skirmishers, yet an invader's artillery, in many places, was only to be conveyed by clearing a ]iassage for it with mines, the French General determined to advance against and besiege Uigel. Tiie roads being repaired, and the Catalonian miqnelets, militia, or guerillas, being repulsed by the detachments sent forwai-d in May to open the march towards XJrgel, the Duke secured his communi- caticnis with France against the Duke of Metlina Sidonia, by encamping and fortifying himself in the post of Belver, or Belvert, where he kept the 1000 Irish with him; and, meantime, caused his battering guns to be drawn across the mountains, and gotten through the rocks, with gunpowder. The management of the siege of XJrgel was committed to M. de Quinson, Marechal de Camp. Ground was brokeii before the place, June 5th; the artillery coining up the 10th, ojiened tire the 11th, and, with such effect, that, in the course of a few hours, the Spanish Governor had to surrender himself prisoner with his garrison, of between 900 and lOOO regulars of 2 regiments, among the best in Sjjain, and 1200 armed peasantry, or guerillas. The Duke, after some weeks, demolished the fortifications — while strengther)ing his head-quarters at Belver, sent t>ut detachments that advanced, in the direction of Barceh)na, 3 days' march beyond Urgel, and towards the frontiers of Aragon, foi-agitig the country and capturing several castles, among which were those of Valence, Boy, and Soor — beat the hovStile parties wdien they showed themselves^obliged the Spanish army, after retiring from before Belver, to abandon the siege of Pratz-de-Mollo — and, notwithstanding the con- siderable numerical inferiority of his force, closed the campaign with honour to himself, and such good care of his troops, that their loss, in every way, was no more than between 400 and 500 men. Of the Irish generally, it has been observed, that the 1000 men, of whom they con- sisted, were disposed of by the Duke, for the security of his head-quarters at Belver. Of the Irish officers. Lord Mountcashel is mentioned to have been at the taking of Urgel, the castles of Valence and Boy, and the relief of Pratz-de-M(jllo; and Colonel Arthur Dillon to have been ])i-esent at the first and last of these affairs. The loss suffered by Mountcashel's Brigade, in those 2 campaigns, was, on the whole, considerable ; since, tor the 3 regiments, 5371 strong, when organized in France Ijefore the campaign of 1690, and subsequently increased by nearly 200 veterans nr THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 59 drnftt^d from the Regiment of Greider, we find, by a letter of the French Minister of War, Louvoisi, to the Duke of Tyrconnell, that, even so early iis the spring of 1691, there were 1:^00 recruits then required from Ireland. Tliis loss mostly occurred in Savoy, owing to the hardsliips necessarily connected with a blockade and siege like that of Montuielian, which lasted, in those Alpine regions, from the autumn of 16UU till the latter end of December, 1691. Henceforward, the history of tiie llegiments of Mouutcashel's Brigade unites with that of the rest of tho Irish troops, who followed the fortuues of Kiug James II. to the Coutineut. HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE BOOK II. Of the Irish forces, amonntitig to above 19,000 men and officers, who, from tlie conclusion of the Tieaty of Limerick, in October, l(i91, to the monlh of January, 1G92, left their country in successive embaikations for Fiance, it has already been stjited, that those who were to act under King James's commission, as his army — or, so far, as a distinct force front Lord Mountcashel's Brigade, and others of their countrymen in the French service, — were to lie divided into 2 Troops of Horse Guards, 2 Piegiments of Horse, 2 Regiments of Di-agoons. d. pied, or dismounted, in order to serve as Infantry, 8 Regiments of Foot, (these last making between them 15 battalions) and, finally, 3 Independent Companies of Foot. The heads of the original capitulation, or agreement, between Louis XIV. and James II., with reference to those troops, specified, thab they were to be, says the abbreviator of the document, " under the com- mand of James, and of such General Officers as he should appoint. All the officers were to receive their commissions from him, and the troops were to be subject only to such rules and discipline of war, as he should appoint." For the government of those forces, lie was to have a Secietary at War, a Judge Advocate General, a Provost Marischal General, a Chaplain General, with subordinate Piiests, besides Physicians and Surgeons. The last article of this document, in which, from a previous statement, it appears, that the Brigade of Mountcashel, as well as ti\e troops arrived from Limerick, were to be equally comprehended, siiould James choose to require the aid of both for his " restoration," is as lollows, — "That the King of Great Britain be at liberty, at any time hereafter, to bring all, or such part of, the said forces, as he shall think fit, into any of his Majjfsty's dominions, or elsewhere, as he shall judge necessary, or convenient." The 3 Regitnents of the Brignde of M(3unt- cashel and their commanding officers having been duly treated of, the remaining corps of the Irish troops in France have now to be similarly noticed. THE 2 TROOPS OF IRISH HORSE GUARDS. The formation of these 2 Troops of Horse Guards, or Gardes dn Corp^, ir: Ireland, was commenced by King James II. in 1689, some time after his arrival from France. Previous to the eneounter of the Boyne, or in A[!ril, 1690, each of the Troops of Guart^a in stated to have consisted of 200 privates; the 1st Troop, under Ht.'nry Jcruiyn, Lord Dover; tlio 62 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 2nd Trcyop, uruler the King's son, James Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick. To these, there is mentioned to have been a Trooj) of Mounted Grenadiers attached, comrnarided by Colonel Butler. According to the regulations of the service 9t that period, the privates of the Troojis of Giuud-j were gentlemen, ana tiie officers stood liigher, botli in point of rank and pay, than the officers of other corps. The proportion of officers, &c., to each Ti-oop of Guards, besides its commander or Captain, who raidced as a Colonel, consisted, by the same regulations, of 2 Lieutenants, 1 Cornet, 1 Guidon, 4 Exempts, 4 Brigadiers, 4 Sub-Brigadiers, 1 Chaplain, 1 Surgeon, 4 Trum])ets, and 1 Kettle-dium. The officers, etc., of tlie Troop of Mounted Grenadiers attached, besides their Captain, or Colonel, were 2 Lieuteniants, 2 Serjeants, 2 Corporals, 2 Drums, and 2 Hautbois. Thus each Troop of Guards would contain 224, both Troops 448, the Troop of Mounted Grenadiers attached 71, and the whole, 519 men anff officers. These Gardes du Corps, as was to be expected from their com- position, distinguished themselves during the war in Ireland, and suffered in proportion. On the remodelling of the Irish army, after its arrival in France, the Irish Life Guaid, as it was called, was again formed into 2 Troops. The complements of these Troops of Guards are specified as 80 privates, (if this word can be applied to gentlemen) and 20 officers in each Troop; the total of both Troops consequently making 200 men. The 1st Troop was bestowed, by King James, on the Duke of Berwick; a memoir of wliom will be given, in connexion with the Infantry Regi- ment of Berwick. The 2nd Troop was conferred on Major-General Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan. This nobleman was descended from a sufficiency old and respectable race jxiternally, and from a most ancient and illusti-ious race maternally. The name of Le SaresfcKl, Sarstield, Ac, is related t(» have first appeared in Ireland with King Heni-y II. ; it occurs among those of the Anglo- Norman gentry of the Pale, summoneil tor militaiy attendance, on King Edward I. and King Edward HI., into Scotland, in 1302 and 133o; and, between the reigns of King Henry VIII. and (^ueen Elizal)eth, that name is to be found among tho.se of tlie chief civic magistrates or Mayors of Dublin, distingui-shed for munihcent hosjiitality in the city, and activity and gallantry in the field. Of the Sarsfields, in the reign of King James I., the head of one branch, Sir Dominick Sarsfield, was the 1st Baronet ci'eated in Ireland, and was likewise ennobled l:)y the title of Viscount Kinsale, subsequently agreed to be changed to that of Viscount Kilraallock; another bianch, represented by Sir William Sarsfield, held the manor of Lucan, in the County of Dublin. The origin of the race of O'Moi'dha, O'Mori'a, 0'Mf)re, or O'Moore, is deduced from the mo.st remarkable royal house of Erin, in the heroic times; that of the Kings of Uladh, or Ulster, of the line ot Ir, who ivigiied ;it Eman, or Emania, li!l its destruction by the brother Princes, ('olhi, of the Heremonian line ')f Con of the Hundred Battles, a.d., o32. Ot this Irian dyriasty in liitidh, the most celebrated epocli at I^inania (according to our best technical cioonology, idiout the eoniiiKiicemetit of tlie Christian era,) was the period of King Conor Mac iN'essa, and his Champions of the Red Branch, of whom the icnowned Conall, or Conneil, him.self of the royal race, and known as " Cearnach," or tl(e Viitorians, was the most eminent hero. A descendant of this Achilles of Uladh, and, like him, a great wairior, was Lugad I aighis. The people of Mnndia, or Mnnster, having attacked Laighiu, or Leinster, and overrun the country almost as far as IX TTIK SKUVrCE OF FRANCE. fi3 the bill of Mullacli-Maisteat), now Mulla^li-inast, the King of Laighm, Cuclioi-b, sought the aid of Lugad Laigliis, who, in a sei-ies of encounters, (U'stroyed the previously-Riiccessfnl invaders; in consideration of which, he was granted the district, called Laigliis, or Laoighis, subsequently latinised into Lagisia, or Lisia, and anglicised into Leix, oi- Leax. Lugad's descendants, after the introduction of surnames, tot)k that of O'Mordha, (otherwise O'Morra, O'More, or O'Moore,) from " Mordlia," or tlie Majp-stic, the 25th in descent from Conall " Cearnach," or the Victorious. Over the territory of Leix, comprehending, at lirst, that portion of the modern Queen's County coramensurate witli the B.ironies of East and West Maryborough, Stradbally, and Cullenagli, and sub- sequently all but the Baronies of Poitnahinch, Tinnaliinch, and Upper Ossory in that County, the posterity of Lugad Laigliis, who for ages resided at Dun-Mask, now Dunamase, were the ruling race, with more or less power as Princes or Chiefs, according to the fortune of war, niitil about the middle of the 10th century; and, even when expelled, they recovered their country more than once by the strong hand, until the time of Calvagh 0'Moi-ra, or O'More, and the final ].lantation of his country by "the stranger." This Calvagh, called Charles in English, had 2 sons, Rory or Roger, and Lewis, both Colonels; the former oi ■whom was, in 1041, so famed in song among his countrymen, whose general exclamation was, "God and our Lady be our assistanci% and Rory O'More!" — or, as the idea has been well versified, in the ballad ou the subject — " Do you ask why the beacon and banner of war, On "the inountaiiis of Ulster, are seen from afar? 'Tis the signal, our rights to regain, and secure, riirough God, and our Lady, and Kory O'Moore!" Colonel Rory O'More, or O'Moore, by his marriage with Jane, eldest daughter of Sir Patrick Barnewall, of Turvey, and Grace-Dieu, in the County of Dublin, had 1 son, Charles, (Colonel of Foot, nnder King James IL, slain, at the battle of Aughrini, without issue,) and several daughters.* Of these, Anne O'More was married to the grandson of Sir William Sarsfield, head of the branch of Lucan, in the reign of James L, or Patrick Sarsfield, Esq., by whom she was the mother of 2 sons, ^Villianl and Patrick. William Sarsfield, leaving no son by his marriage with iMary, sister of the unfortunate James, Duke of Monmouth, the family residence and estate of Sarsfield at Lucan, &c., were inherited by Patrick Sarsfiehl, with an income of about £2000 sterling a year. Patrick first served in France as Ensign in the Regiment of Monmouth ; then as Lieutenant in the Guards in England; whence, on the success of the Revolutionists supjiorted by the Dutch invasion, he followed King * The race of Colonel Rory O'More, of KUl celebrity, ending in Colonel Charles O'More, the headship of the O'Mores, with the property of Ballynagh, or Ballyua, (a grant from Queen Elizabeth,) devolved to the line of his brother. Colonel Lewis O'More ; from whom descended, in successive generations, Anthony, Lewis, and James. This James O'More, Esq., of .Ballyna, (whose will is dated l~)ecember loth, 1778,) left no issue but a daughter, Letitia, who married Itichard O'Ferrall, or O'Farrell, Esq.— also of old Irian descent. Their eldest son wa-s Ambrose O'Ferrall, Esq., of Ballyna House; and that gentleman was father of the Eight Honourable Richard More O'Ferrall, Member of Parliament for the County of kddaie, and Governor of Malta. A portrait (in his po.ssession) of his famous maternal ancestor. Colonel Roger or Rory O'More of 10 il, had, very properly, a liliice at the great Exhibition in Dublin, in 185,1 64 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES James II. into Franca In March, 1689, he accompanied the King to Ireland; was created a Member of the Privy Council; made a Colonel of Horse, and Brigadier; and appointed to command the roj'al force for the protection of Connaught against the northern Revolutionists, whose head-quarters were at Iniskilliug, or Enniskillen. With that force, he remained in north Connaught, until the effects of the unlucky affair at Newtown-Butler, and the raising of the blockade of Derry in August, by the Innding of Major-General Kirke's relief from England and Scotland, coni])elled him to retire to Athlone. That autumn, however, lie retook Sligo, and entirely ex])elled tlie Revolutionists from Connaught. In July, IG'JU, he was present at the affair of the Boyue; and, after the Kings departure to France, he, by his vigorous exhortations to his countrymen to continue the war, and, by his surprise of the Williamite battering-artillery, amnnniition, rey. The mothers listen ; but the bleating lambs Securely swig the dug, beneath the dams." Dryden's Virgil, ^neis ix., GG-73. Tlie Earl of Clancarty, on the other hand, having, unluckily, been ^pounced ujion the year before the Treaty of Limerick, or at the suri-ender of Cork, his merciless hi;nters were proportionably determined, that such .a rich and keenly -anticipated banquet, as the ])artition of his Lordshi])'3 immense inheritance would furnish, should be secured, beyond doubt, by' the ravening partiznns of the " glorious Revolution. " Tlieir princi])ie, with reference to what would afibrd such ample and savoury " cutting ■up," was— " This be the burden of our song, To day a stag must, die ! " f In noticing how the opulent Duke of Bedfoi-d would fare at the hands of the Fx-ench Jacobins — or rather how the French Jacobins wo dd fare at the expense of the opulent Duke of Bedford — if, alter effecting one "glorious Revolution" in France, they could have landed to elf'ecb another "glorious Revolution" in England — our great countryman, Edmund Burke, remarks, how, according to the maxims of such Revo- lutionists, " his Grace's landed possessions" would be " irresistibly inviting to an agrarian experiment" as " a downright insult upon the rights of man!" — while, as to any alleged claims of his Grace to those jiossessions, it was not to be imagined, that such " flimsy cobwebs" should '■ stand between the savages of the Revolution, and their natural prey !** • Memoire donn§ par un homme dii Comte O'Donnel a M. d'Avaux. + The Clancarty arms disjJay a stag on the shiekl, as if in allusion to the " days of old," when the heads of that race had such iimple territory, iu South Mausteffj " to liuut the deer, with houud and horu." IN TIIK SKRVrCE OF FRANCE. 67 Ar\i] so it was with iinfovturiMte Lord Claiicartv. o her "savages of the Revohition," and what they, in his case, regarded as " their natural jtrey !" Burke a(his of the Jacobin advocates for such a partition, at the cost of the English Duke — "the sans culotte carcase butchers, and tlie ])hih)Sophers of the shambles, are pricking their dotted hnes npon his iiide, and, like the print of the poor ox that we see in the shop windows at Ciiaring-Cross, alive as he is, and thinking no harm in the world, he is divided into rumps, and sirloins, and briskets, and into all sorts of ])ieces for roasting, boiling, and stewing!" Just, in fact, as the extensive possessions of the Irish Eiirl likewise caused him to be marked out for Williamite subdivision into several joints, on which othe7-s were to feed, to his ruin ! This confiscation-roaring party, as specially represented by the colonial, Ci'omweUo-Williamite, "glorious-revolution," or Whig Grand Jury of the County of Cork, exerted itself but too successfully to frustrate any ]n'oposal in favour of the obnoxious, or Hiberno- Popish, Earl. Their learling advocate for this meriforioiis object was the Williamite Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland. Sir Richard Cox; who, having had the drawing up of the Declaration of William III. after his success at the Boyne, instead of endeavouring to end the war, as Wi/Jiam ivas inclined, by offering an amnesty for the past, excluded all the Irish Jacobites, with estates, from an// terms short of forfeiture, in order to make them persevere in resistance, v»ntil forced, as he hoped, to submit merely at discretion, or thus be all reduced to forfeit; who was conse- quently dissatisfied at the very different termination of the struggle, not by an/j submission at discretion, but by the regular Treaty, or Articles, at Limerick, that nullitied his scheme for such -A^^eneral forfeiture; and who, in fine, was under the influence of a two-fold, or national and sectarian animosity to the Irish, that cannot be better illustrated than by the reflection, which, in his work, called llihenda Anglicana, he connects with the execution of King Charles I., in 1649. "And now how gladly would I draw a curtain over tiiat dismal and unha])])y 30th of January, when the royal Father of our Coimtry suffered martyrdom. Oh: fJuU I c/inld sa.ij they were Irish iw^n that dkl tliat abominable fact, or thid I could, jnstly lay it at tlie door of the Papists!"* Cox was success- ful in ])is application to the prejudice of the unfortunate Earl, whose enormous landed spoils in Williamite " appi'opriation claws," gave rise to due j)olitical and legal joV)bing, at the expense of justice and humanity even to women ; or to such a with-holding even of the fair i)ecuniary claims of the female members of the family, on the property, for their sup- port, as reduced those unfortunate Ladies to great {privation and suffering. The printed Case of the Ladies Margaret, Catherine, and Elizabeth Mac * The pickings whi :h this land-robherj'-ad vocating gentleman had out of the estates of the Earl of Clancartyandof the Dul^e of York, or James 11., in Ireland, are adduced hy liiniself, in August, 1714, as due reasons for his attachment to the Hanoverian succession. "The part I have acted," he writes, "has heen jierfectly Hanoverian, as to the succession; and £400 p^r annum I have of Lord Clancarfifs forfeiture, and £150 per annvm mit of the. Duke of York'ti pi irate estate, are suffir'ient niotirfs t/iereunto." Of this bitter enemy of tlie old Ii-ish, nUve and dead, it may he added here, how, accordoig to Mr. Gilbert's History of Dul)lin, lie "availed himself of liia position, to imprison illegally, for a year, in Newgate, Hugh Mac Curtin, an Irish liistoriographer of the County of Clare, for having, in a treatise, published in 1717, exjxised the nnfo'jnded statements, whicn were ])romul:iated, in his Hrooiiiia Au-licana, reUtiv^a to the laws aa«i customs of the Iriah, previous to fcko EiigiisSt invasion. " 68 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES CVi'tliy, dmighters of Callaglian, and sisters of Donnnijli, Earl of Olancart.y, addressed to the English Parliament, presents a melancholy picture of the state to which they were reduced, by this Willianiite seiziu'e of theT lirother's estate. Having, among other matters, set forth, how the Countess of Clancarty, their mother, was entitled to a sum of al^ve ■£12,0(10, and each of themselves to a fortune of £-1:000, from thc'w )trothei-'s ])roperty, and how William's Queen, Mary, pitying their con- dition under the detention of this money, gave the Countess, in July, liiyy, a letter to receive by patent the larger sum from the forfeited testate, accompanied with assurances of the Countess's 3 daugliters being likewise paid, the document adds of William III.'s gras|)ing Dutch favourite, William Bentinck, whom he created Baron of Cirencester, Yiscount WotKlstock, and Earl of Portland. — "Bi.i, before the said Countess, or her said daughters, could have anij benetit of the said grants, or prevail to have the same pass the seals, the whole estate was granted to the Lord Woodstock, who had better success in passing patent, without nny, the least provision, for the said Countess or daughters, or any notice taken of her said grants, or of several caveates entered against the said Lord's passing patent of tlie said estate. The said Countess, having lived 8ome years in misery, and being quite si)ent and fatigued by her solici- tation about this affair, and worried by creditors, wlio, upon the credit of this debt, advanced money for the managing and carrying on her .said business, and for the support of hei'self and her daughters: and seeing, by these disa))pointments, all her credit failing, and no way left to pay ■what she owed, or to keep herself or her said daughters from the greatest distress and want, she died; leaving her said daughters in a most deplorable condition, w.ithout any, the least subsistence, and exposed to «ll the calamities, that can attend persons of their age, sex, and circum- stances. Therefore, the said Ladies, Margaret. J^lizabeth, and Catherine, being all Protestants, do humbly address themselves to tiie honor and justice of the great and wise Council, the Parliament of England, for relief, in their most dejilorable condition;" &c. "And," concludes the document, " the parties in this case have this farther to say for themselves, that they are so many innocent persons, and miserably necessitous, to the highest degree of distress; to which may be added, the consideration of their sex and quality; in all wdiich regards, over and above the equity e to be found proper objects of Christian ciiarity, humanity, and common justice." lu the "Report made to the Honourable House of Commons, December loth, 1699, by the Com- missioners appointed to Enquire into the Forfeited Estates of Ireland," Ave find, among other extravagant grants of such lands, from Williaoi IlL to his foreign favourites, — " To William Bimtinck, Esq., commonly called Lord Woodstock, 135,820 acres of land." And how anxious tjiis Dutch patentee was to wring all he could out of the property he had gotten into his ])o.ssession, before such unjustifiable grants of William could be resumed, as they afterwards weiv, by Parliament, ap[)ears in another part of the Report, or that respecting the enormous waste perpetrated on the forfeited estates, by felling the woods, in order to turn the trees, as quickly as possible, into ready money. On this hoad, the Report ol)serves, ~ '-The waste on the woods of the late Earl of Clancarty 's estate, now iu gr.int to the Lord Wood.stock, is computed at £27, 000" — adding in illus- tration of such waste, how, " indeed so liasty have several of the Grantees, or tiieir Agents, been in the d';;^position of the forfeited woods, that vast IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, G9 ■numbers of trees have been cut and sold for not above 6 pence a piece!"* Thus, tlu'v, who were so unfortunate as to have incumbrances on such properties, were, like the Ladies Clancarty, kejit out of their just (hiinis, or reduced to poverty; and we read of the forfeited estates in Ireland having been so much deteriorated in value before they could lie resumed by Parliament, that, when finally sold, they realized iiothino; like what was expected, towards defraying the great expense of tlie Irisli Avar! The audacious begging, by the above-mentioned Bentiuck, L ud Woodstock, Earl of Portiaud, &c., from William, in 1695, of the Loivl- ships of Denbigh, Bronifield, and Yale, with other lands in the Priuri- jiality of Wales, the ancient demesnes of its Princes, and William's monstrous grant, also, of such a territory and revenue to his favourite, until obliged, by the English Parliament, to recall that j)resent, constitutes a portion of English histoiy. But the foreigner, though compelled to disgorge in England, was left "ample room and verge enough," to till his pockets, from the devastation and misery of Irdaiid! At ail events, " What a king onght not, that he cannot give, And what is more than meet for princes' bounty Is jiltuider, not a grunC — Young. Of the exih^d Earl Donough, my English aiithority says, — "This unfortunate noVdeman retired to Hamburgh, on tlie Ell)e; and, of the citizens of Altena," or Altona, "on the same river, (which Vielongs to Denmark, though but h:Jf a mile from Hamburgh,) purchased a little island, in th-e mouth of the Elbe, which went by his own name. There he built a convenient dwelling-house, with a range of store-houses, and formed a convenient plan of an useful garden. In this place, he made great profit by shipwrecks that drove on shore; vtot like tlie robbers on oiir coasts in England, thit wish as much for a storm, as our farmers do for a good harvest,'' and " who will sooner murder tlie unfortunate wretches^ that tlieg may plunder at pleasure, than assist them. But this unfortunate nobleman gave the distressed all the assistance in his power; saviug the lives of many; taking them from the arms of death; and, by proper remedies, restoring them to life. With the same assiduous care, he endeavourod to save their vessels from a wreck, when the fore-.ninitione t hrutes loill murder, to make one. All this gentleman's profit arose Imm those goods that were tlu'owu upon the coast of his little island, whicli he carefully placed in his store-house; and, if demanded by the true owners within the year, he honestly returned them, receiving only 2 per cent, for store-room ; if not, he made use of them as his own. When my brother and I were at Hamburgh, in our travels home last year," con- cludes this fair English writer, " our Consul there, Sir C 1 W h, took us in his yacht to view this island; and, from that worthy gentle- man, I had this account." t Under King George I., or in 17-1, Earl * As an additionally-flagrant instance of such " eeneral waste committeil on tlie forfeited woods" in Ireland, the iieporfc mentions that, on the Kenmare estate, in Kerry, "where, to the value of £'20,00L> has," it says, "been cut down, and destroyed! " + A Tour tlirouiih Ireland in several Entertaining Letters, Avlierein the Present State of tliat Kingdom is considered; and the most noted Cities, Towns, Seats, IMvers, Bu Idin-s, &o., are described. Interspersed with Observations on the Maimers. Customs, Aiiti(|uifcies, Curiosities, and Natural History of that Country," &r., " by 2 English geufcleuien. Dublin: Fiiuced for Peter VVilaoa, Bookaellor in Uame-slreet. 1 74S. 70 IIISTOIIY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Donou^h's attaiiidf-r was reversed, and liis hoiiciurs restored. But lie remained abroad till liis deatli, which occurred at Prals-Hoff, in tliH territory of Hanibnrnh, September 19th, 1734. His titles and a]»|)oint- ments under King James II., in Ireland and France, were " Eail of Clancarty, Viscount of Muskerry, and Baron of Blarney, Lord of the Bedchamber, Lord Lieutenant or Civil and Military Govei-nor of the County of Cork, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the Province of Munster, Colonel of a Royal Regiment of Foot Guards, Captain of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards, and Brigadier-General t>f Infantry." The Earl's death was regretted abroad and at home by his countrymen of the race and religion to which he belonged. Of those abroad, Janie.s jVIac Geoghegan, author of ^'■Qeuvres Melees en Latin, Anglois, et Fram^nis SHI' Divers Sujets, ea Prose et en Vers" printed at Haml>urgh, in 1730^ and dedicated to his Lordship, comp(Jsed an elegy on his patron's decease, soon after its occurrence, and ])ublished it the same year, 1734, at Hamburgh. Of those at home, Eoghan or Owen Mac Carthy, a gentle- man of the Earl's own tribe and district, and a good Gaelic poet, in a song to the praise of the river Lee, which flows through Cork, does iif)t conclude, without an ajtpropriate allusion to the fall of the great head of his clan. After dwelling upon the beauties of the country along Le adds- " That river, so sliinina;. so sni'ioth, 8u fam'd both fur watera ami shore," " And yet tho' the noliles, and jiriests, And (xaels, of both lii^h and low i-anks, Tell tales, and induli^e in ^ay feasts, On its dark -green and flowery banks, I mourn for the great who are gone — And who met Viy the Lee long ago — • Bat viDntfor the Church's trwi son. Who now in Altuna lias low.'" By his estimable English Lady, who accompanied him into banish- TTienr,, and died abroad in June, 1704, the Earl's son Robert, Lord. Muskerry, Commodore in the British navy, was his successor in the title of Clancarty, as he should also have been in tho family estates. These hail been so secured by Donough's marriage-settlement, that no alleged ■ie.hell\on or treason, on his part, in supporting King James II. against the iu-vulutionists, even admitting the snpi'oi't of the King to have really X^i't'w rebellion m' treason, ct Le Lion Ei,uge, in that town. On these days, there was a lai'ge round of ox-beef, brought over from Leaden-Hall Market by one of the Boulogne packets, ready salted, and this was served up boiled, entirely in the English fashion. To this was added 2 courses in the French style; and, for this dinner, with as much Burgundy, Champagne, and other liquors, as the company could drink, (such vxis the cheapness of living in France) the reckoning amounted to no moie tlian 6 livres per head. At these meetings, his Lordship always ])re- sided, and was partic\darly convivic\l. He enquired, with obliging attention, after the healths of the persons present, and their families; gave his eye, and ear, to everybody around him; told his stories very ])]easantly; and generally finislied the eveuiijg, in an oblivion of all his foi-mer cares and misfortunes." As for the Eai'l's disengaged evening.s, he mostly pas.sed them "at O'Doherty's Hotel, where he selected 1 or 2 of the townsmen to drink a bottle with him. In these lounges, he \sas fond of some butt, on whom he could let olf his wit and sarcasms — and Monsieur Jacques, (a partner of O'Doherty'.s, and a shrewd, humorous IVtilow,) always undertook this character with great readiness. The Earl lo\ed his bottle, as well as joke, and, as the latter generally encouraged 74 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES a repetition of tlie former, Monsieur Jacques, at a certain hour of the iiit(ht, did not lose siglit of liis knowled,2;e of multiplicatioit, in the reclcon- ing. This the Earl knew very well, tliov.gh he blinked at it, and some- times used to say — ' Well, Jacques, though I joke ujwn your head, yovi are even with me, for you score upon iniae most damnably.' ... In this sim])le, uniform life, his Lordship passed the remainder of his days, veiy vigorous, both in body and mind, to the last. He died, after a few days' illness, at his cliateau, about the year 1770, in the 84th year of his age; leaving 2 sons, who were very little better provided for, than having commissions in the army." The Earl "was, in his person, about the middle size; stout-made, long-visaged, pock-marked, and, until he softened in the civilities of cun- versation, had rather an austere and haughty look." He had lost tlie^ sight of 1 of his eyes, having, in the younger or wilder period of his career, one night given the lie direct to the infamous Duke of Wharton; M'ho, in consequence, flung a bottle of claret at him, thereby occasioning- the injiuy mentioned. It is asserted of the Earl in the Magazine, that "his Lordship always owned the justice of his punishment"- — though, as an Irish Peer, and I may add, as a British naval officer, it will nut be believed, that this was all he did, in connexion with the matter— but, at any rate, could obtain nothing in the way of "])ersonal satisfaction" from such au unblushing compound of the bully and the poltroon — such a " Monster, mix'd of insolence and fear, A dog in forehead, but in lieait a deer! " — Pope's H.,mer, llkid f., 297-298. as W^harton. "He wanted personal courage," writes Dr. William King of Oxford respecting Wharton, which " would ])i-obably have been con- cealed, if he had been a sober man. But he drank immoderately, and was very a6^f6•^^'e, and .sometimes vi^xy mischievous, in his wine; so that lie dreiv on Jilniself frequent chcdlenges, tvhich he tvouJd NEVER answer! " The Earl, "though not very highly educated, had a .strong, observing mind, lo\ed,"as has been shown, "the ])leasures of the table, and con- tributed very considerably to them himself, by his wit, and humour." In tli<^ early portion of his life, " lie was a visiting member of the famous Saturday Club, established by Lord Oxff)rd in Queen Anne's reign, con- sisting of most of the leading Tories of that time, and which Swift so much celebrated in his Journal, Letters, etc. . . . The Earl was likewise an acquaintance of Swift, and he always coincided with Lord Oirery, in thinking tlie Dean was not wliolly entrusted with the secrets of Oxford's Ministi'y.* Tlie Saturday Club, he said, as it appeared to him, was merely convivial and literary, and when juditics were introduced, they were no more than the rej)orts, or the published news, of the day. He acknowledged the Ministers paid great court to Swift, as likewise most men of the Club. . . . He disci-editeil the assertions of Swift and Bolingbroke — 'That Queen Anne's last Ministry had no thonghts* of bi-inging in the Pretender, in bar to the Hanoverian succession.' He said, he knew to the contrary, and that the tirst of the quarrel between Oxford and Bolingbroke was upon that head — the latter Mantiiig to ])iisli that matter forward with expedition, and the other Wcivering • Or. it would s^cm, among tliose "secrets," tJiat of the correspondence for con- tinuinjf the royal fciiccession, after Queeu Axiue's decease, in the pei-sou of her bidther, as ,bunes 111. IN TIIK SK1!VICE OF FRANCE. 75 lietweeii the danger and the impracticability of it. Had the Queen lived a little longer, Bolingbroke would have attempted it alone.* . . . He alwaj's spoke on this point with warmth, and," I'emarks the Georgeite wi-jter of this nar'i'ative, "in such terms as were not so pleasant for a Britisli subject to hear. . .• . The Duke of Ornumd was anotlier of his contemporary friends, of whom he always spoke, as a noblenuui of the highest honour and integrity, and with whom he corresponded till the Duke's death, which ha])pened at Avignon," in 1745. "He always spoke of !?;irali, Duchess of Marlborough, with great res])ect, and pro- fessed his obligations to her, V)oth for the share she had in lier protection of him, and education. . . . He, however, totally disliked her politics — she was a Whig — and the Earl, from ])rinciple, as well as the bias which his misfortunes gave hinj, was a rank Tory, or, in the language of that day, a Jacobite." Throiigh his grandmother, jirevious to her marriage, Lady Elizahetli Fitz-Grei'ald, the Earl " was allied to the Leinster family," and used to call James, 20th Earl of Kildare, and 1st Duke of Leinster, " when only Earl of Kildare, his cousin ; but, no sooner did he hear of his being created a Duke, than he renounced the relationship in great con- tenif)t" — as, it appears, a connexion with one, who had dishonouied the antiquity, &c., of his race so much, in accejjting a Dukedom from such a reprehensible or Hanoverian source. The " original estates in L-eland," of which, through the ^^ glorious Revolution," or dominant Whiggery, the Earl of Olancarty was so scandalously I'obbed, " were, \ipon a loose calculation 20 years ago," concludes my authoi-ity in 1796, "supposed to be worth £150,000 per year ; and, perhaps, now, what from the rise of lands, and the cultivation they may have undergone by the industiy of so manyditferent families, may be worth £200,000 ; whilst his 2 sons, if living, have, perhaps, little moi-e than their commissions, in the French service, to support them." We know no more of those 2 sons than is here stated; so that, in the person of their father — additionally alluded to by his venerable contemporary, Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, as "a noble- nuin of the strictest probity, a sea-otficei' of the greatest valour and ex- jjerience," and his unjust treatment as "the hard fate of one wortliy of a better- — the Earldom of C'lancarty, as a dignity denoting the head of the great sept, or name, of Mac Carthy, may be said to disa])pear from history. Of the Irish Brigade, in the naticmal Regiments of Lee, Dorrington, Roth, Clare, Berwick, Walsh, there were Mac Carthys officers, including various Clievaliers of St. Louis, down to the Revolution under Louis XVI. The heads of the eminent branch of Mac Carthy " Reagh," from Spring-House, in the County of Tippei-ary, have also flouri.vhed in France with the honours of French nobility, heightened by those of literary taste and military rank, down to the present century. Nor have other Mac Carthys been without distinction in the services of the 2 kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, and that of Austria. The Duke of Berwick was Captain of the 1st Troop of Guards, as long as it was kept up in France. After the Peace of Ryswick in 161J7, a great reform or reduction, among the Irish troo[)s in France, being resolved upon, the remains of the Ii-ish Life Guard, amounting to no ni and ricldy-woided bank over the Lififey," &c., states — " This Castle is supposed to have been erected, in the reign of Henry II., by Adam de Hereford, one of the chief followers of F]arl Stronghow, from whom he received, as a gift, the tenement of the Salmon Leap, and other extensive possessions. It is said to have been the occasional i-esidence of Prince John, during his governorship of Ii'eland," or i-ather of the Anglo-Norman sMle- nieijts in Ireland, " in the reign of his father ; and, in i-ecent times, it was a favourite retreat of several of the Viceroys." • According to legal documents connected with the family of Dongan, William Dongan, Earl of Limerick, died in 1G98, without leaving issue ; in consecpience of the death of his son. Lord Walter Dongan, Colonel of Dragoons, at the Boyne, in lb!)0. The title of Earl of Limerick then came to Colonel Thomas Dongan, lirother of Earl William. Thomas, under the will of his father, Sir John Dongan, Baronet, inherited an estate in the Queen's County, and served in the army of Louis XIV., tdl 1(578, as Colonel of an Irish Kegiment, "worth to him above £5000 per annum." He had from Charles II. a life-pension of £500 a year; was made Lieutenant- (Jovei-nor of Tangier in Morocco; and subsetpiently Governor of New York in America. The title of Earl of Limerick ceased, in the Dongan family, m December, 1715. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 79 officers of eminence ; (Mii-iwlopher, attaining tlie rank of Lieutenant- Colonel of Horse under King James II., and of MmJ or- Gen era I of Cavalry in France, of whom moiv, at laige, farther on ; Patrick, after serving as Captain in Lord Dongan's Dragoons, becoming Lieutenant- Colonel to the Duke of Beiwick's Regiment in Fi'ance ; and Walter, (who was the elder brother of Patrick) succeeding, as Colonel, to liis cousin, Lord Dongan. Colonf>l Walter Nugent being slain at the battle of Aughrim or Kilconnell, in July, 1091, the next Colonel w;is the Honourable Richard Bellew, 2nd son of John Bellew, 1st Lord Bellew. The origin of the Bellevvs, (or, as the name is sometimes corruptly ■written, " Bedlow," and " Bedloe,") is traced to Normandy ; whence a nobleman, called " Belew," and holding a high post in Duke William's army, appears enrolled in the lists of the French conquerois of England. It is uncertain, at what period, after the extension of the invasion of those conquerors from England to Ireland, the Bellews passed into the latter country, and commenced the acquisition of those large estates, owned by bearers of the name to this day. But from the latter end of the 14th century, the immediate ancestors of the ennobled representatives of the race appear, on the records of the English settlements in Ireland, among those of honourable rank ; or with considerable landed possessions, and intermai-ried with the leading families of the Pale, such as the Fitz- Geralds, Nugents, Dillons, Talbots, Barnwells, Fhnnings, Plunkets, Fitz- Williams, Sarstields. After the restoi-ation of King Charles II., John Bellew, Esq. of Custletown, near Dundalk, in the County f)f Louth, was, by the Act of Settlement, reinstated in the lands belonging to his father, and which had been usurped by the Parliamentarian or Cromvvellian rebels. Li the reign of King James II., he was at first knighted ; after- wards, or in 1G!S6, was ennobled by the title of Baron Bellew of Dnleek, in the County of East Meath; and was also made a Member of the P.oyal Privy Council for Ireland. At the Revolution, Lord Bellew adhered to the royal cause against the Prince (jf Orange; early in 1689 was a[)pointed Ijord Lieutenant and Governor of the County of Louth for King James, and Colonel of a Regiment of Infantry in the Irish army; and, in the Parliament of the same yeai-, tof)k his seat in the House of Peers. When, towai'ds the latter end of that campaign, the Williamite forces, under the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, occu])ied Dundalk, Lord Bellew suffered a great loss upon his property; his castle, not far from that town, having been made a garrison-post by the invaders; about 2000 of his sheep having been killed by them ; and his orchard-trees cut down, as wood for their camp. In the autumn of 161)0, the 2nd year of the war in Ireland, his Lordship, for his continued services to King James, had all his estates sequestered by William II [., for the benefit of 1 of his English favourites, Henry Sidney, created Viscount Sidnt-y, and Earl of Romney, and enriched by grants of 49,517 acres of the forfeited lands of Ireland, intended by Parliament to have been appropriated towards defraying the large public debt incurred for the War of the Revolution there ! In Ajjril, 1691, Lord Bellew was outlawed by the Revoluti.onists ; and, the ensuing July, being present with his regiment of infantry in the Irish army at the battle of Aughrim or Kilconnell, he was severely wounded there, and made prisoner by the enemy. His Lordship only survived the effects of his wound until the following Januai-y, 1692, and with his Lady, who died iu 1694, was^ in the mitldle of the south aisle of Duleek Bo HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Churcli, interred in a large tomb, decorated with their coat armour, and ^us inscribed — •'This tomb hath been repaired and the vault made by Dame Mary Eekmingiiam of Dunfert, wife to John, Lord Bellew, who was shot in the belly in Aughrim fight, the 12th of July IGlJl. As soon as he found himself ABLE to undertake A JOURNEY, HE WENT WITH HIS LaDY TO London, where he died the 12tii of January 161)2. He WAS laid in a vault in Westminster, till the April follow- ing, HIS CORPSE was brought IHTHEK." By his inarriapje, in 1663, to Mary Berniinghara, who, with her younger sister Anne, (afterwards Lady Chmmalier,) was co-heiress of* Walter Berininghani, Esq. of Dunfcrt, in the Connty of Kildare, to a property of about c£1500 a year, Lord Bellew hail 2 sons, the Honourable Walter find the Honourable Richard Bellew, both officers, like their father, in liie Irish army. Walter, Captain of a trooj) of horse in the Regiment of Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell, fought tlu'oughout the war in Ireland, or till its conclusion by the Articles of Limerick. He then succeeded his father, as 2nd Lord Bellew; and, partly by be ng included in those Articles, and, partly by forgiving Lord Sydney £oW0 received o\it of the Bellew propei'ty while in his jiossessioii, as well as remitting Lord Raby a debt of between £1700 and £1800 in order to secure the favourable influence of those 2 English Lords with King William, recovered the family estate, which still produced £1000 a year. This Walter, 2nd Lord Bellew, died in 1094, likt; his father, as it is said, or from the effects of a wound at Aughrim; leaving by his Lady, Frances Arabella, eldest daughter of Sir William Wentworth, of North-Gate- Head, Yorkshire, sister to the Earl of Strafford and Maid of Honour to Mary, Queen of King James II., only 2 daughters. The other son of John, the 1st. and brotiier of this Walter, the 2nd, Lord Bellew, or the Honourable Richard Bellew, the immediate subject of (inr notice, was, early in the War of the Revolution in Ireland, Ca))tain of a troop of dragoons in the Regiment of the Eail of Limerick. On the first i'lisui rectionary disturbances by the Prince of Orange's partizans in Ireland, he was only a Lieutemyit, and commenced his active military career with distinction, at the head of his troop, against a body of tlie enemy, doulde his number, under a Major Pooe ; the circumstances of which affair are thus given in a Jacobite account. "Major Pooe, a Cromwellian officer, opened the scene, and began hostilities. He com- manded 2 troops of hiu-se, and desiring to put the country under con- tribution, he commenced his demands with tin; tenants of Lord Bdlew. He required of them the sum of £500 sterling, on pain of military execution. The Lf)rd Bellew, being informed of what was going on, despatched, to the assistance of his farmers, his 2nd son, aged 18 years, at tlie head of a troop of dragoons, of which he was Lieutenant. These 2 parties meeting one another, a brisk engagement took ])lace ; but young Belluw, having shot the Major through the head with his pistol, the 2 troops of tlie latter weie defeated ; snme being slain, others made prisoners, and the rest saving themselves by flight." The same troop of dragoons. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 81 not long after, or in May 1689, are likewise mentioned as takiiig a dis- tinguished jiait against tlie Williamites of the (Joimty of Down, at the over- tlirow, near Cuiitlter, beside Lough Stranglbrd, of Captain Heni-y Hunter, and liis adheients, by King James's commander, Major-General Thomas Buchan. On tlris occasion, Hunter, and liis insurgent force of somo thousands, being bi'uken and rotited by the royal troops, the Cajitaiii himself witli difficulty effected his escape, in a little boat, to the Isle of JMan ; while his defeated followers were chased as far as Donaghadee, and driven into the sea by young Bellew's troop of dragoons, until this ])ur- suit AViis ai-rested by the fire from a vessel, armed with 4 cannon, under a Captain Agnew, then lying at anchor otf the coast; by which inter- position, G8. of the fngiti^■es were saved fron) the Jacolnte dragoons, and thence conveyed to Scotland. Of the further personal conduct of the Honourable Captain Richard Bellew, we are, from the want of suffi- ciently minute information, without any knowledge from this period, or May, 1G89, toJuly, 1691; but may justly suppose his behaviour was veiy creditable, both troni what has been related, and from his being, though only about 20 years of age, the successor of Colonel Walter Nugent, iu the command of the regiment, after the fall of that officer at Anglirim. On tlie termination of the war in Ireland, by the Treaty of Limerick, iu the autumn of 1691, the Honourable Colonel Richard Bellew broiiglib the regiment to France, under the designation of the King of England's Dismounted Dragoons. There, however, notwithstanding liis merit and that of his father and brother, it being found imperative to provide for an older officer, and one of a higher grade in the sei-vice, by giving that officer the Colonelship of the regiment, young Bellew i-cgardin.g him- self as the)-eby unjustly treated, returned to Ireland. On the decease of his elder brother, the Lord Walter, iu 1694, he became 3rd Lord Bellew ; in May, 1695, married Frances, youngest daughter of Francis, Lord Brudenell, and widow of Charles Livingston, 2nd E:irl of Newburgh in Scotland, with a fortune of £17,000; conformed to the Established Church of England and Ireland, early iu 170o; took his seat in the House of Peers there, in Jnly, 1707; had a pension of £300 a year from Queen Anne; and, dying iu March, 1714, leit, as his successor, Joliu, the 4th Lord Bellew, born in 1702; on whose decease at Lisle, in Flanders, in Sejttember, 1770, the title became extinct.'"' The officer, through whose snpei'iur age, and political influence, as well as militaiy rank, under King James's Government in Ireland, and tlio consequent possession of a similarly superior intei-est at the Court of St. Gernuiin for his subsequent promotion in France, the Honourable Colonel Richard Bellew was necessarily supplanted in his command, was Thomas Maxwell. He was a Catholic gentleman of an ancient family in Scotland, and married in England to the handsome Jane, Duchess of 2Srrted by BMDill ]iensinns," adds the.Cai)taia, '•leceued. me vsith ^teat generosity, and treated nic with much good uftture." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 83 Irolanfl, as Sir Pnminick Savsfifld; and, by King Charles T., was created, ill May, lii2d. Lord Viscount Kilmallock. His Lordship's descetidatitii evinced tlie usual attaclinietit of the Irish nobility to tlie CDwn in tho I'arlianientarian and Croravvellian wars, and that of the Revolutimi (if 1688. The representative of the title of Kilinallock at the Restoratinn was, with other Irish Peers, (or the Lords Westmeath, Mayo, Galinoy, Athenry, and Brittas.) oi'dered to be i-einstated in the lands, usurpi-d fri>in them by tlie Cromwellians. That order, however, though actrd Tipoii in tlie otliFr cases, would not seem to have been carried into effect }is regards the Kilmalluck property, by what the Comte d'Avaux, Louis XIV.'s- Ambnssad(n- to James TL in Ireland, writes from Ardee, OctoUe^r 3Uth, 1689, to the French Minister, Louvois, regarding the Lord Kil- niallock here treated of; who is mentioned by the Count, as having ht-en obliged, by the deprivation of his estate, to conceal his rank, and serve, for several years, as a soldier in France, till enabled to return, with the King, to Ii-eland, resume his title, and regain his patrimony. " Estaut Irlandois Catholique, eb depouille de tons ses biens, il changea de nom, et alia porter le mousquet dans le Regiment de . Son Cajiit.iiue, luy tronvant de la valeur, et de I'application, le tit Seijeant. Mylonl Kilmaloc ne voulut pas dire qn'il estoit, et exerca cet employ pendant q .elques annees, ji'sques a ce qn'il soit revenu en Irlande avec le Roy d'Angletorre ; et il a este reniis par le Pavlement en posses.sion de sou bien, qui va, a ce qn'on dit, a plus de 50,000 francs par an." After King James's arr val from France in Dublin, in Ajiril, 1689, Doniiiiick Sarstield, Lord Kilmallock, was made a Member of the Royal Privy Coinicil for Ireland ; sat in the House of Peera of the Parliameut .soon alter held by the King; and was Colonel of a Regiment of Tiifanuy in the national army,"'' din-ing the canipai<";ns of 1689 and 1690; in tlie latter of which, he distinguished liimseif, at the successful defence of Limerick against the Prince of Urangt^ Next year, when his Lordship was outlawed by the Revoluticaists for his loyalty to King J;imes, he commanded a Regiment of Horse in that Monarch's service, with which lie is mentioned to have been at the battle of Aughrim; though not killed there, as hostile or Williamite accounts pretend, since he accom- j)ani(!d the Jacobite troops who went to France, alter the Treaty of Limerick, His Lordshiji's "broad acres" in the County of Coi'k with tho.se of other Stuart loyalists there, became the prey of Willi;un Ilf.'d Principal Secretary of State for Ireland, Sir Robert Southwell, a duly luiscrupulous confiscation-clutcher from the Irish, and non-resident pen- sioner uf)on Ireland. + At the reorganization of King James's forces in Bretagne, in 1692, Lord Kilmallock was apyo'nted 1st Lieutenant in the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards commanded by his brother-in-law, the * As might Le expected, from what D'Avavx tells ns of his Lordship's ante- cedents, he proved an exa-lh-nt Colonel. D'Avaux adds of him, " il a este ties assidii et tres applique, et il ne s'est occupe qu'a. maintenir son regiment eu Lou estat." t Even the moderation of Mr. Dalton has not been " so good, or so cold," as to pass uucensiued 8ir RoLert SoutliwelFs estate-graLLings from unfuitunato Irisfi families. See Kinj.- James's Irish Army List, vol. I., pp. 444-5, and vol. II , p. A'M. In 1C90, William apj'ointed Sir EoLert " his Principal Secretary of Statf., and Keeper of the Signet and Privy Seal for the Kingdom of Ire and,'' says Hanis, " with the sallary of f 2U() a year, and an augmentation of £1(H) a year, to Im^KI dining nleasnre ; which office his family have enjoyed ever since.' Namely, liil 1749, when Harns's work was puLlished!— and how muck Loiiytr i knovi^ uot. 84 HISTOrtY OF THE lUISIl BRIGADES Eail of Lucrm ; and, in ICOH, snccossnr to Major-Genpuil Maxwell, as CoJonel to the King's Rtgiment of Di-agoons h pied. His Lonlsliip continued to be Colonel of tliis corps until after the Peace of Rysvvick. Then, or early in l()i)8, Lt>rd Kihnallock's Dragoons weie broken up, Hnd incor))orated with the Athlone, or Colonel Walter Boui'ke's, llegi- rjient of Foot, and the 3 Independent Companies of Foot ]>reviously mentioned; and the new regiment, thus organized, was conferred upon James Fitz-Janies, Duke of Berwick. Lord Kilmallock is stated to have died abroad, about 12 years subsequent to the Peace of Ryswick. According to the 1st formation of the Irish troops after their landing \n France, in 16!):^, the King's Ixegiment of Dragoons h pied contained 6 companies of 100 privates. The officers to each company would be 5; namely, 1 Ca])tain, 2 Lieutenants, and 2 Cornets or Ensigns; these 5 to exich of the 6 companies would make 30 for the entire corps; so that, between soldiers and otlicers, the former 600, angal race was that of O'Carroll; whose head was poetically known, as *• King of Eile of the gold," of " the land of cattle," of " the most hospi- table mansion in Erin," and of " the host of yellow, curling hair, brave at gathering a l)rey." Donald O'Carroll, from whom the principal houses of the name have descended, was Kii;g of Ely O'Carroll in the 12th cfTitury, when tlie Anglo-Nornum intrusion into Erin took ])lace; after which period, the princijiality, chiefdoin, loidship, or captainship, of Ely O'Carroll became limited to the Baronies of Cionlisk, and Ballybrit, in the King's County; but, with no dimiinition, during the middle ages, of the rejaitation of the O'Carroll.s, as some of the stoutest and most formidable borderers to " the stranger," among the old races of Eiin. Of tiie heads of "that celelirated tribe," the veiy learned native or Oaf'lic scholar and lexicographer, Edward O'Reilly, testifies, — "It i.s indisputable, that they uere, in very eaily ages, the su))renie Princes of the entile district ; and, in more moilern times, when sirnames became Lfixditury, gave their patronymic name to that jiart of the district which IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 85 tliry tlien pr)ssess(' children ahve; and the number of ihose who liavo from 15 to 20 is mniiensc!! ' In our own day, a most eminent autlioiity, Dr. (Villiirs, Master of the Rotunda byin.;-in lIos[)ital, meiitiims, tliat, in Irolanl, '•t!xa pi-(ip irtionai iiund)er of women, giving birtli to twins, is nt^ariy a ^rd greator, thaa ' la ..aiy other country, of which he liad been able to obtain authontio recoids !*"' 86 HISTORY OF THE IRISH EUIGADKS •Bociety in Ireliind, a respectable branch of this tribe was fonnrlerl in Dulilin by Thomas O" Carroll ; who, in consequence of a disagreement with the head of his se|)t, removed thither, and was the father of J.iines, that, Tinder King James I., was kniglited, granted 1000 acres of land ia "Wexford, apjiointed King's Remembrancer, and, between 1(513 and 1G34, was thrice Mayor. Francis, the officer here under consideration, who lias been identified with the " Francis Carroll, Esquire," attainted by the Williamites, in May, 1691, at the Tholsel, in Dublin, :is possessing pvo- pert}' in the metrojxdis, was, most probably, of this family. In 168(5, as Captain in the Colonel's conq)any of Colonel Justin Mac Carthy's Regiment of Foot, we find Francis dispensed, along with other (Jatholio officers, by King James II., from taking such sectarian or English-con- cocted oaths contrary to their i-eligiun, as would have precluded thetn from serving their king and country. During the contest that ensued in Ireland, Francis became a Colonel of Dragoons and a Brigadier; was most engaged in the winter and spring warfare of outposts between 1690 and 1691, directed, by the Government of King James at Limerick, against the Williamites in the County of Cork; and to a later ])eriod, or August, 1691, acted, for King James, as " Governor and Comniandaut- in-(Jhief of his Majesty's Army in the Counties of Kerry and Cork." Oa the rearrangement of tiie Irish army in France in 1692, he wa.s nominated Colonel (as has been said) to the Queen's Regiment of Dis- mounted Dragoons, and fell gloriously in Italy, in 1693, at the great victory of Marsiiglia. Besides this gallant representative of his name, Tnrenne O'Carroll, after serving in Ireland, as IMajor, and Lieutenant- Colonel of Dragoons, was, in France, Lieutenant-Colonel to the King'.s Regiment of Dismounted Dragoons; 2 O'Carrolls have been Lieutenant- Oolonels to the Regiment of Berwick; some have been Chevaliers of St. Louis; and, to our own day, O'Carrolls have been officers in the armies of France. Francis O'Carroll's successor iu the Colonelshi]) was Charles O'Brien, oth Lord Clare; of whom a fuller notice has been already given, under tlie head of the Infantiy Regiment of O'Brien, or Clare. His Lordship having been advanced to the Colonelship of his family n ginient, in 1696 we find the Queen's Dragoons under the command of the chief of Lis name. Colonel Oliver O'Gara. The O'Gadhras, or O'Garas, were another branch of the Clan-Kian, or race of Kian, youngest son of Olil Oluni, King of Munster in tin; 3rd century. The original territory of the O'Gai-as consisted of the district, in the County of Mayo, yet known as " Sliabh Lugha," or Loue<' s Mountain; of which, it is noted, in the old account of the privileges "of the supreme King of Connacht of the red swords," that " one of his jn-e- rogatives " was " the hunting of Sliabh Lugha." This territory embraced the portion of tlie modern Diocese of Achonry, including the northern half of the Barony of Costello, or the Parishes of Kilkelly, Kilmovee, Kilbea, Kilcolman, and Castlemore-Costello. After the invasion of Erin by Henry II., the "Tighearnas" or Lords of Sliabh Lugha, as the heads of the O'Garas were styled, were driven, by the Anglo-Norman families of the Nangles and Jordans, (subsequently nationalized into Mac Costelh'S ami ]\Iac Jordans,) to seek another territory. This was acquired in tlio district, anciently known as "the Grecigraidhe of the fine trees," and alterwards as the Barony of Coolavin, in the County of Sligo. Tli« I'epreseiitatives of the former Lords of Sliabh Lugha, thus became Lords ol Cuolavm; and, iu the Liulily cuUeil iroui ihtm " Moy OGaia, ' or IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 87 O'Garas plain, on the north-east extremity of Longli Techet, which like- wise changed its name to Longh 0'(jiara, they built their principal castle. To the head of this race in the early pai-t of the IJtli century., or Fergal O'Gara, then Lord of Conlavin, as well as 1 of the Members? for the County of Sligo in the Irish Pailiament, those venerable memorials f)f our old native or Celtic history, the Annals uf the Four Masters, were dedicated; in gratitnde for his ])atronage and support of the brothers O'Clery, and their assistants in the work, after the O'Clerys had been dispossessed of the castle and lands, with which they, as the local chroniclers of Tir-Counell, had been so liberally endowed, nndei- its ancient Princes, or Chiefs, the O'Donnells. Another gentleman, and namesake of this distinguished patron of his country's literature, or the Ilev. Fergal O'Gara, displayed a similarly creditable zeal for its y)»-eser- vation, by making abroad, or (as an exile from Cromwellism) in the Netherlands, in 1G5G, a most valuable collection of Irish historical ].ioems, and transcribing them into a volume, yet extant. And it was to a lady of this race, fameil among the native poets, or Celia O'Gara, that the air was composed, which Moore has incorporated with our national Melodies, to the beautiful words, beginning, " Oh ! had we some hrinht little isle of our own, lu a bhie suiniiier ocean, far oil' and alune." In the Parliamentarian and Crom\v ranee, his Lordship was restored, by an English Act of Parliament, under Queen Anne, to his Peerage, though not to his estates; and died in July, 1726, withoub male issue, in his 45th year-. He had a pension of £500 ]ier annum allowed him, and his ne]ihe\v William Fleining, commonly called Lord Slane, also had a pension of f .'iOO a year, till his decease, in 1747 — from .^o»ii' shame, it would seem, at the ^\'illiamite, or " <:l(iriousrevolution " plunder of the famdy of its tine property, for the benetit of the Dutchman, Ginkell— already rewarded, fur his services in Iieland, tt ith the lai-ge estate ot the Earl of Limerick. 88 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES liostacros, on the part of tlie Iiisli, for the safe return, from Frrrnce, of the Wiliianiite sliips, l)y whicli the Irisli troops, etc., were to be con- veyed there, pursuant to the Treat}' of Limerick. After the satisfactory termination of every thing connected with tliis conveyance, and tlie consequent dismissal, in March, 1(592, of Cohn el O'Gara for France, lie appeal's to have been involved, on the resumption of liis militai-y (hitics there, in the same reduction of rank as so many otiier Irisli olhcers were; beinj^ made, instead of ('('huivl, a Licutenant-Colond, to which post he was appointed in the King's Ifegiment of Irish FMut Guards, luider Colonel William Dorriugton. As Colonel, however, of the Queeii'.s Dragoons, with which he served in Spain under the Duke of Vendome, O'Gara e\eutually regained the rank he had po.ssessed in the Iiish wars. By his marriage with the Lady Mary Fleming, the Colonel had 4 sons* The 3 elder of these entered the Spanish service, in which, the 1st died with the rank of Brigadier; the 2nd was Colonel of the Rei;iMient of Hibernia; the 3rd Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Irlaiidia, and signalized himself so much at the affair of Veletri in Italy, in 1743, that the King of Spain rewarded him with a Commandei-ship in the Ordei- of Calatrava. The 4th, boi-n at. St. Germain-en-Laye in IGIJD, was baptised, in tlic " Chapelle du Chateau Viel " there, as C.'harles, " pai- M. I'Abbe Ronehy, Anmonier du lioi et de la Reine, d' Angieterre ' and having for " parrain," the " tresdiaut et tros-puissant I'rince Jacques II., Roi d'Angleterre," signing accordingly '• Jacque-*, Roi." Although reduced to live in Fi'ance on but small means as a follower of James II., Cdlonel Oliver O'Gara managed to situate this, as \v( 11 as his other sons, in such a manner, as was suitable to the respectability of their origin; olitaining, through his distinguished counti-yman and frieno niade a Count, and died in opulent ciicumstances without issue, at Brussels, the latter end of the year 177o, or early in 1776. After tlie Peace of Eyswick, or in February, 1GU8, Colonel Oliver O'Gara's or the Queen's Regiment of Dragoons a ;:>/e/, which had signalized itself ujioti several occasions, being subjected to the general change amongst the Irish troops in France, was broken up; and, along with the Charlemont Regiment of Intantry, or that of Colonel Gordon O'Neill, was formed into a Regiment of Foot, wiiich was given to Brigadier Pierce Butler, 3rd Lord (ralmoy, late Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Horse, meiged into Brigadier Dominick Sheldon's. Like the King's Regiment of Dragoons (i pied, the Queen's, by the, earliest organization ot the Irish hu-ce in France, when they came over after the Treaty of Limerick, contained 6 companies of 100 privates each, with a regimental complement of 30 officers; j)resentiiig a total, for the battalion, of 630 men. The list of the otlicers of the " Regiment de la Heine, Dragons," in 169-5, shows the same increase in its oliicers, as in the King's. Tliose of the Queen's, by that li.st, were — " Charles, Viscount Clare, (O'Brien,) C(4onel — Alexander Barnevvyl, Lieutenant- Colonel — CharU's Maxwell, Majoiv — 5 Captains — 14 Lieutenaiits — 14 C'Ornets." At its coiu^ lete amoimt, towurus t. e eu 1 of the war, when IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 83 tlie soldiers were so many less, while tlie officers were so many more, tlie Queen's Dragoons, like the King's, mustering 450 soldiers, and 103 oihcers, would be SoS strong. THE KING'S ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT GUARDS. This regiment was ordered hy King Charles IT., in the spring of 1662, to be raised in England, to tlie nunjber of 12U0 men, for his service iti Ireland; James Butler, 1st Didce of Ormonde, and Viceroy of Ireland, being, by the royal patent, constituted its Colonel; and empowered, ujiou tlie conveyance of the men to that country, to name whoever he might think fit, as his subordinate officers. Partly, it appears, from the men thus levied, and ])artly from others, belonging to the old detached or Independent Companies at that time existing in Ireland, the new regi- ment was eventually formed. It consisted of 2 battalions; Avas first called the Royal Irish Regiment; and afterwards the King's Foot Guards. In the succeeding reign, or that of King James II., the loyalty of the corps was insured, by its being generally ])uritied, or nationalized, like the rest of the army in Ireland, under the superintendence of Richard Talbot, Eai-1 of Tyrconnell.* The ColoneLshijj, however, remained in the Ormonde family; James, the 2ud Duke of Oianonde, filling that post at the time of the Revolution. The Duke going over to the Prince of Orange in 1688, the command of the regiment in Ireland was reserved, with other honoiu's, for its Lieutenant-Colonel, William Dorrington. The day after King James's arrival, in April, 1689, from France, at the Castle of Dublin, that officer — with the Dukes of Powis and Berwick, the Earls of Clanricarde, Abercorn, Carlingford, and Melfort, the Lords Kilmallock, Clare, Meryon, and Kenmare, the English Lord Chief Justice, Sir Edward Herbert, (who followed the King's fortunes, and subsequently became hi.s Lord Ciiancelloi- for England, at St. Germain,) Colonel Patrick Sarstield, afterwards Fail of Lucan, and Sir Ignatius White of Limerick, Baronet of England, and Baron de Vicke, and Marquis d'AUjeville, on the Conti- nent, — was sworn befoi-e his Majesty, as a Member of the Royal Privy Council for Ii'eland. The Lieutenant-Colonel was then a]j])ointed Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards, instead of the Duke of Ormande, who adhei-ed to the cause of the Revolution, in opposition to that of the King. Dorrington, who was an Englishman, (but unaffiicted by Whiggery,) had belonged to the Regiment of Guards from its forma- tion. During the War of the Revolution in Ireland, he signalized him- self at the blockade of Derry in 1689, at the action of tin; Boyue in IGOf), was Governor of the City and County of Limerick, ami was taken prisoner at the Imttle of Anghrim, or Kilconnell, in 1691. He was succe-Ksively transferred to Dublin, Chest(!r, ami the Tower of London, t but was so tii'ou exchanged, or released, by the Revolutionists, as to be able to " From the officiil correspondeoce with Ireland, in the State Paper Office, Lon- don, it appears, that the Earl of Tyrcoiiuel] wisli.d tu have as few as possiWe of any lint nativL'ti of Iielaiul in the Irish ariuy, and tliat he torvvanled an intimation of that kuul to the Kint;. t There was an order, in Septemljer, for Major-General Dorrington "to liave tlie lilierty of the Tower, and for his friends and relations to visit hnn." Yet, among I'ther niatteis ibr'which, in 1()V(4, Lord Lucas, as " (joveruor of the Tower," was "several times called before the Couucil," is uaeutioued, '"the ill usage of Major- Gciierai Dorringtou." 90 >IIST0UY OF THK IRISH BRIGADES resume, ill ?^ ranee, his active adliei-cnce to the JacnLito cause, with the fdi-ccs w Itieli cauie over from Ii-elaiul after the Treaty of Limerick. Re- tainim:; in France his C'ohmel.sliii) of the Royal Irish Foot Guarfls, lie gcrvc'il witii that r(\ginient on tlie coasts of Norraaiuly, as ])art f>f the arniv designed foi- the invasion of Enghuiil, and restoration of King James, in IG'Jli; and at the taking of Huy, tlie defeat of WiHiam III. at the battk^ of Landen, and the ca]>ture ot C'hail^roy, by the Marshal de Luxembourg, in 1003. Brigadier by brevet in the service of France, (as previously in that of Great Britain and L-eland) April 28th, 1094, he was employed tliat year with the Army of Flanders. He was prestnit at the bombardnn nt of Bruxelles (or Brussels) by the Marshal de Villeroy in 1605; and was with the Army of Flanders, under the same Marshal, in 16U6 and 1G1)7. The Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards beina^ broken n]i, after tlie Peace of Ryswick, by order of Februaiy 27tl), 1698, and another regiment formed out of it, the Brigadier was named its Colonel, by commission of the same day. He served with tlie Army of Germany, under the Duke of Burgundy, by letters of June 21st, 1701; with the same Ainiy, under the Marshal de Catinat, by lettei's of May 8th, 1702; and, the 23rd of December following, was made a Marechal de Cam]), or Major-General of France, by brevet. Employed with the Army of Bavaria, under tl^e Marshal de Villars, in 1703, he was present at the siege of Kehl, at the ca|iture of the lines of Stolholfeii, and of the retrenchments of the Valley of Hornberg, at the c(nnbat of Munder- kingen, at the 1st battle, or victory, of Hochstedt, and at the taking of Kemiiten. Remaining with tiiis army under the Marshal de Marcin in 1704, he fought at the 2nd battle, or defeat, of Hochstedt, iamous, in Englisli history, jis the battle of Blenheim. He was made Lieutenant- General of the Armies of the King, by power of the 2Gth of October following. He was attached, with this rank, in 1705, to the Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal de Marcin; in 1706, under the Marshal de Villars; and to the Army of Germany, under the Marshal d'Harcourt, in 1709 and 1710. With the last of these campaigns, his active services terminated ; though he keyit the Colonelship of his regiment, hence known as that of Dorrington, till his death at Paris, December 11th, 1718. In a Dublin newsjiaper, the Morning Reyister, of March 27tli, 1841, the following additional information respecting this English Jacobite officer and his family is cited from a contemporary French )irint, the Paris Qiioiidienne ; in which, however, the mistake of an " English," instead of an '• Irish," regiment must be noted and corrected, from what has been stated here. "At Abbeville, there have just died, within a few days of each othei", the Comte and the Chevalier Maeclestield Dorrington, aged the one 85, the other 74, and descended from Lord William Dorrington, Colonel of an EiKjUalb regiment, which- bore his name. He emigrated with James II., and was created, during his exile, a Peer of England, by the Monarch, whose melancholy fortunes he had served and followed, with the most courageous tidelity. In these 2 brothers, the branch of the Dorringtons, established in France since the expulsion of the Stuarts, lias become extinct." When I was at Paris, in the summer of 1841, to collect materials for this work, and a History of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, I met an elderly French gentleman, who told me, he hatl been acquainted with those 2 brothers. He regretted, that I had not c me to France previous to their decease, or in time to be intrMiluccd to them, lioni tJie interest tliey would naturally have kit in the 2 subjects of IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 91 ny respa relies, as both connected with the establishment of their distin- g\iislied ancestor in France. Tlie regiment was next transferred to the Comte Michael de Rc)th. The family of Roth (or, according to its earlier s[>elling, Rothe,) was among the oldest and most wealthy of the mercantile famiUes of Kilkenny; where it was one of particular note in the reigns of Qiieeti Elizabeth, King James 1., and King Charles I.; and, in addition to its emoluments from commerce, was possessed of considerable ])ropei-ty in houses and binds. The town i-esidence of the head of the Rothes, which Avas l)uilt in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, has remained, to our own times, in Kilkenny; with tlie family arms carved in stone, over the arch- way conducting to the entrance. The edifice was raised by John Rothe Fiiz-VwA-^ — the use of Fitz, (then, and long after, so observable among the names of the higher burghers of others of onr leading towns, as well as Kilkenny,) evidently pointing back to the times, wjien a Norman name or ccmnexion w;is most honourable iu England, and in the different settlements fstablished from that country in Ireland. A learned anti(]uarian, the Rev'\ James Graves, who, Avith a well written article in 1841), has given a lithograiihic re]iresentation of the " Enti-ance Arch to Rothe's Honse," says — '• This building exhibits a most interestiiig and nearly perfect- example of the urban avchitectui-e of the period; affcn'diiig ample accom- mocl'ition to the opulent merchant's family, his appi'entices, and servants, together with storage for his goods." Of this family was Dr. David Rothe, Catholic Bishop of Ossory, during the reigns of James I. and Chai'les I. ; author of varions ])ublications in l^atin, connected with the history of Ireland; and of whom the great Archbishop U.ssher speaks in high terms, for his extensive erudition upon that subject, or as '■'■ patri- aruiik antiquifafum iiidagator diligeniisshiivs." Another gentleman of the name of Rothe, a contemporary of the Bishop, or Robert Rothe, Esq.. who was family-lawyer, and agent, to the Earls of Ormonde, com- ]»iled a pedigree of that renowned leading branch of the house of Le Botiler, or Butl.er, to the year 1616; wdiich has been made nse of by Carte, in his Life of the 1st Duke of Ormonde, and yet remains in mann- RCript. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Under King James IL, John Roth, Esq., Avas Mayor of Kilkenny iu 1687, and also in 1G8D; as well as Member of Parliament, the same yeai-, for that city. Of the 24 Aldermen of the remodelled, or reforn)ed, Corporation of Kilkenny, headed by Richard Butler, 5th Visconnt Mountgruret, there were 3 Aldermen of the name of Roth, or Edward, David, and Michael; the 1st, a merchant, and the 2 others, gentlemen. Among the 3G Burgesses of the same Corporation, we find Matthew Roth, merchant, and Robert Roth, gentleman. In other Corporations of the County Kilkenny, or those of Gowran and Knocktopher, there were also gentle- men of the name; and, for the neighbouring County of Wexford, Francis Roth, merchant, was 1 of the Members of Parliament in 1689. Michael Roth (our present subject) was born September 29t,h, 1665. Under Colonel Dorrington's ])redecessor in command, the Duke of Ormonde, lie entered the Irish Foot Guards, as a Lieutenant, in 1686. Alter the breaking out of the Revolution in 1688, he was a Captain of the 1st or King's Couijiaiiy of the corps.. He I'einained in it through the succeed- ing war in Ireland; on the termination of which, by the Treaty of Limeiick, in the autumn of 1691, he jiassed into France. He served on thoi cuiists of Nunuandy, with the French and Irish force designed for 92 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES the invasion of Ens^laud in 1G92; at the capture of Hiiy, tlie victoiy of Landen, (or Neerwinden) and the reduction of Charlproy in 1603; with tviie Army of Germany in 1G94; with the Army of the Moselle in 1G9.>. He became Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment in March, 169G; con- tinned that campaign witli the Army of the Moselle; and was attaclied, in 1G97, to the Army of Flandei-s. King James's Regiment of Foofc Guards being formed, by order of February 27tii, 1G98, into the Regi- ment of Dorrington, M. de Roth was made its Lieutenant-Colonel, by commission of April 27th following. Gi'anted by commission of May yth, 1701, the rank of Colonel, he sei'ved that year witli tlie Army (if Germany, under the Duke of Burgundy; and with the sam(i ai-niy, tli(! following y(>;ir, under the Marshal de Catinat. Acting under the Marshal de Villars in 1703, he was at the capture of Kehl, at tlie storm- ■ ing (»f the retrenchments (»f Stolhoffen and Hornberg, at the comliat of Munderkingen, at the 1st, or successful, battle of Hochste Army of Flanders, by letters of June 8tli, 1709, he highly signalized himself by his bravery at the great battle of Malplaiiuet. App(mited Marechal de Camp, or Major-Genei-al, by brevet of March 2yth, 1710, and being next in command to M. du Buy de Vaubati in the remarkable defence of Bethune against the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, he was so distinguished for professional ability as well as courage, that Louis XIV., by brevet of December loth, named him for the 2nd Commandership of the Older of St. Loui.s, that should become vacant. He served with the Army of Flanders, in 1711; oV)tained, by provision of April 9th, 1712, the post of a Com- mander of the Order of St. Louis; was |)re.scnt, that campaign, at the taking of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, by the Marshal de Villars, in Flanders; and, in 1713, was at the reduction, by the same General, of Landau and Friburgh, in Germany. He was granted, by commission of Deceirdier 12th, 1718, the Irish regiment of infmtry of which he was so long Lieutenant-Colonel; and the Colonelship of which became vacant the [ireceding day, by the decease of Lieutenant-General Dorring- ton. Attached, in 1719, to the Army of Spain under the Marshal Duk(; o:' Berwick, he served at the capture of Fontarabia, of the town and castle of St. Sebastian, and at the siege of Roses. Created a Lieutenant- General of the Armies of the King by power of March 30th, 1720, he transferred his regiment, in May, 1733, to his son, next-mentiuned; served no more; and died in his 7(ith 3'ear, May 2nd, 1741. Chai'les Edward Comte de Roth, to whom his father resigned the regiment known, from the period of his becoming its Colunui, as the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. V-i Iiogiineiit of Eotli, was born December 23ril, 1710. Having been flesigtied iVotn liis childhood for the military profession, he was com- niiy.-ioned, May 28th, 1719, as a Caj)itaine-cn-Second in the family regiiiifut. He hail a company, June titli, 1729, and on the secession ('f Ills father, or May 2t!tli, 1733, became Colonel. He acted in that rank, the same year, at the reduction of Kehl; at the forcing of the lines of Etlingen, and the capture of Fhilipsbuigh, in 1734; and continued lo serve with the Army of the Rhine, in 1735. He was attached to tlie Army of Flanders, which kept on the defensive, in 1742. Ap))ointed Brigadier by brevet, February 20bh, 1743, he was with his i-eginient at the battle of Dettingen ; finished the campaign on the Lower Rhine, under the Marshal de Noailles; and commanded, during the winter, at St. Oraer, by order of November 1st. Employed with the Army of the King (Louis XV.) in Flanders, by letters of April 1st, 1744, he was at the sieges of Mcnin, Ypres, and Furnes; then passed into the army commanded by the Marshal de Saxe ; and finished the camiiaign at Courtray. Again employed, by letters of April 1st, 1745, with the Ai-iny of the King, and made Brigadier by brevet, May 1st, he fought, with the Irish Brigade, on the 11th, at the victory of Fontenoy; con- tributed to the retluction of Tournay, of Oudenarde, of Dendermonde, and Ath; and, during the winter, was stationed at Dunkirk, by letters of November 1st. Having embarked in 174G, to join Prince Charh s Edward Stuart in Scotland, he was made prisoner by the English at sea; but, being exchanged in April, 1747, repaired to Bruxelles, or Brussels, the 15th. Included in the Army of Flanders, by letters of May 1st, and engaged at the battle of LjifTeldt, July 2nd, he was distinguished along with the Irish Brigade, to whom the gaining of that victory, as well as Fontenoy, was so much owing. He also cove)'ed the siege of Bei'gen-op-Zoom ; and was stationed, during the winter, at Ostend, by letters of November 1st. He served in 1748 at the siege of Maestricht; obtained the grade of Lieutenant- General of the Armies of the King, by p )wer of May 10th ; returned to cfunmand at Ostend, after the taking of Maestricht; and, having been declared Lieutenant-Geiieral in December, lie quitted Ostend, and le- turned to France. He was created Lieutenant General of the Irish ;ind Scotch troops in the service of France, by commission of JNIarch 3i.>c, 1759; was employed with the Army of Germany, by letters of May 1st, 1761; was present with it at various acti(n).s, in which he signalized himself; and died, in his 56th year, August 19th, 17GG. He mairied an English lady of the noble house of Gary. Of the several branches of this race, connected with the Peerage, were, besides the representatives of the title of Falkland, the Barons, Viscounts, or Earls of Hunsdon, Eochfort, Dover, and Monmouth; and, ot liranches not ennobled, yet of eminent respectability, were the Carys of Torr Abbey and of Follaton, in Devonshire. The founder of the house of Falkland, Sii' HeTiry Caiy, Knight of the Bath, was the son of Sir Edward Cary of Berkhampsteail, Master of the Jewel Office to Queen Elizabeth and King James 1., by Lis marriage with Catherine, widow of Henry, Lord Paget. Sir Henry, who was elevated, in November, 1620, to the Peerage of Scotland, as Viscount Falkland of Fife, was, from 1622, for several years, Lord Dej)uty of Ireland ; and his son Lucius, 2nd Viscount Falkland, was the accomplished nobleman, whose high character and lamented fall ;,t L'ewbury, in September, 1C43, during the war between King Chailes I. C4 HISTORY OF THE lU'RII aJUIGADES iin(] t1io rjirliinnont, are SO celebrated in tlie Lord Chancellor Claren-lon's l,istoi-y of tliiit cilainitons or revolutionary period. Of Liicii.s Henry (!arv, 5t!i Viseoiint Falkland, by liis 2ud niairiage to Lnura, dangliter of tli(! 1st Lieiitenant-vieiieral Count Arthur Dillon, the issue was a daughter, who became the wife of Licutenant-General Count Cliarle.s Edward de l\oth. Their family, too, consisted of a daughtt^r Lueic, or Lucy, married, as before related, to the 2nd Lieutenant General Count Arthnr DiUon. in the fcv^rvice of France. The Countess de Roth, or as islie was called in England, the Honourable Mrs. Roth, had a pciisiou fi-om the French Government |)ro])ortii)ned to the military rank of her husband, and survived him till February 9th, ISOf; when, after an illness of nearly 3 years, borne with great fortituue, she died, at her house in Somei-set-street, London, aged 7*5. On the decease of Lieutenant-Genei-al Coiint de Roth, his regiment became that of Roscomnion. It was so called from being transfer-red to the commaud of the representative of that Peerage; first conferred, in l')22, on tSir James Dillon of Moymet, and most honoured in the j)erson of Wer.twoi'th Dillon, the 4th Eail, deceased in 1084; of whom, as a poet, Dryden say.s, " The Muse's eTiii)ireis re^^tovM aijcain 111 Cluu-les's rci^u, ami liy Uo.scum.uou's p3n; " — and rojte, with more point, adds, " T(i him the wit of (-irecce ami ftoine were known, Ami cv'ry author's lueiifc, Init liis own." The successor, in the Colonelship, to the Count de Roth, Robert Dilloa, t!(ui of Patrick Ddlon, Esq., of Tuaghraore or Twomere, County of Ros- common, took the title, in France, of Eaid of Roscommon, as he was, by right, Llie Hth Earl, and could have established his claim in form, had he attempted it. He was born at his father.s residen e above-mentioned, in Novendier, 1712. Peing, at first, only a younger son, he was attached, when a l)oy, as a Cadet, to the Regiment of Roth. He was a fidl Lieutenant in March, 1734; a reforaned Captain in February, 1739; obtained his company, or was full Captain, in SeptemVjer, 1741; was a Chevalier of the Royal and Military oi'der of St. Louis in 174-"); was a Ca])tain of Grenadiers, and entitled to i-atdc as Colonel, in March, 17->7; Biigadier by brevet, in Februaiy, 1759; Major, in JMay, 1701; and ]jieutenant-Co]onel, in February, 1764. Li August, 1700, he became Colonel, and his regiment that of Roscommon, from his title; since the decease of his elder brother, and that of James Dillon, the 8th Earl, in August, 1746, at Harold's Cross, near Dublin. He was present at the attack of the lines of Etlingen, and the siege of Philipsburgh, in 1734; iit th,' affair of Cl.iusen, in 1735 ; at the b:ittle of Dettingen, in 1743; ab the virtorv of Foutenny, and the reduction of Tournay, Ondenarde, Dendermonde, and Ath. in 1740 ; at the victory of LalFeldt, in 1747 ; at tlie taking of Maestricht, in 1748; and served with the Army of Ger- .nany, in 1700. He was made a Marechal de Cauip, or Major-Gfiieral, i\\ April, 1707; and died, in his 58th year, at Paris, in March, 1770. The regiment was then given to the Comte Antoine Jose[)h Pliilippa de Walsh-Serrant. After having been attached to the Irish llor.se Regiment of Fitz-James. the Cmuit joined the Regiment of Roscoinmiui ; ol wJiich, from August, 1760, he was Colonel-Coiuuiaudant under Lord IN THE SERVICK OF FRANCE. 95 Roscommon, as Colonel-in-Cliief; and, by becoming that nobleman's successor, altei'ed the appellation of the corps to that of Walsh. The origin of the family of VValsh-StUTant has been generally deduced from tlie Walshes, or Welshes, of Ireland, styled l)y tlie natives, Brannaghsy i. e. old Britons, as having come over from Wales. The earliest repre- sentatives of the name of Walsh, in Ireland, were 2 noblemen, in the time of Henry II. — viz. : Philip Walsh, distinguished for his gallantry, in 1174, at a naval engagemi'ut against the Ostnien. or Danes, of Cork, by boarding the hostile Admiral, Turgesius, and killing his son, Gilbert — and David Walsh, who signalized liiraself, in 1175, at the ciossing of the Shannon, when Raymond /e Gros attacked Limerick. From this Philip and David .sprang the Walshes of Castlehoel, in the County of Kilkenny, (where a range of mountains is called by their name); of Ballykilcavan, in the Queen's Ci)unty; of Bally carrick more, in the County of Waterford; of Greaghlabeg. in the County of Tipperary ; of Old Court and Old Connaught, about Bray, in the County of Wicklow; and of Carrickmaine, or Carrickmines, in the County of Dublin. Of these Walshes, upon the confines of the Counties of Wicklow and Dublin, Camden remarks, on their numbers having been equal to the nobility of their origin — " quorum ut nubilitas antiqna, ita faruilia }i,0G tractu nutiierosa." And they required to be not less warlike than numerous on this southern, or most dangerous, frontier of the Pale, towards the high lands or mountains of Wicklow, the territory of tliose formidable border clans, the O'Tooles and the 0'B3'rnes; by 1 of whose leaders, so late as L53'), or in the reign of King Hemy VI [ I., the Castle of Dublin itself was taken, and sacked ; and who, down even to the latter end of the reigu of Queen Elizabeth, weve the diead of Dublin and its vicinit}'. In the War of the Revolution, the Walshes contributed tlieii- ])roi)ortion of infantry, horse, and dragoon officers to the Irish army; and, in the priva- teering hostilities, which, after the conclusion of the contest in Ireland, by the Treaty of Limerick, the expati'iated adherents of King James II. carried on with the French, from the ports of St. Malo, Brest, ifcc, against the English and Dutch, and along tlie coast of Ireland, as suVyect to the antinational ?-%i/>ie established there by the detested Revolution, v/e hud, among the Irish cruiser.s, the name of Walsh, or Welsh, several times connected with the annoyance of the enemy's commerce. Of representa- tives, in France, of the name of Walsh from Ireland, Abbe Mae Geogliegari adds, about the year 17G2 — "We behold, at the present day, 2 l)rothers, otf-.shoots of the noble family of the Walshes of Ii-eland, estaljlished in France, one of whom had conveyed, in 1745, Prince" Charles "Edward into Scotland; a service so sigual, as to merit for him the title of Lord : the other, having purchased the line estate of Sei-an," or Sorrant, "in Anjou, was honoured with the title of Count by the King of France." Sucli is the origin of the family of Walsh-Serrant which I would witik to believe, if I did not meet with another and very different account of the matter. It is set forth in a pamphlet of 157 pages, thus entitled — ■ " Meiiinir of M. Macdonagh, a Native of Ireland, Lieut-.nant-Colonel ufthe GOt/h Regiment of Infantry, (Royal Marine) Clievalier of tlie Roijal and Military Ord'ir of St Louis, shut up, during 12 years and 7 uto/iths, in a Dungeon in the Islei of St. Margaret, (the same in which was imprisoned the famous Man with the Iron Mask) by virtue of a Li-ttre de Cachet granted by M. de Montbarrey, formerly Minister of Wa.r. I'rinfel at Lyons, by Louis Cutty ; and to be had in f'aris at Deseues, Buokiellar, 96 HISTORY OF THE tRISII BRIGADES Palais Royal; in Rnchdie at Roy s .il.Vii-SeiTaiit, who took iipoii ijiiii.selt' to hunt out tiic I'Ure ive.«..i, the Regiment of Walsh was likewise brokiti up, arx; nios^; p'>;'a;ef this family of Walsh, until the advance of the Revolution, and the con- sequent change of the titles of all, except tlm Swiss, regiments in France, from a family, feudal, or local, to a simuly numerical, designatidu. Ac- C'rding to this new arrangement, the cni'p.s previously knovv-n as the Regiment of Walsh, became the 92nd Regiment. The exile of tlie Bourbon family was anticipated, and so far as may be surmised from Lieutenant- Ct)l(inel Macdonagh's terrible exposes, and the guillotine-doom that menaced any ci-devant aristociats at all conce)-ned in tlie misdeeds of the aitvien reyime, was, with Jewish cunning, most seasonably anticipated, by Anthony Count Walsh de Serrant, and Charles Viscount Walsh de Serrant; who, with the same craft, turning tliis altered state of things to their own account, contrived to be provided f u-, in tlie light of " suffering loyalists," as Cidonels of 2 of the Reginients of the Irish Brigade, formed in tile British service, after the fall of the French Monarchy. From 1692 to 1698, or from the year of the 1st Continental organiza- tion in Bretagne, as the King's Foot Guards, to that of the 1st great reform among the Irish troops in France, that regiment, which, like all the Irish infantry regiments of King James's army there, but 1, (to be hereafter noted) consisted of 2 battalions, diifered considerably, at different times, in the ])roportions of its officers and privates. My earliest account of the number of privates and officers, after the Treaty of Limerick, specifies that there were in the regiment 2 battalions, these containing 16 companies between them, or 8 in both battalions ; that, in each of the 16 companies, there were 100 soldiers, or 1600 in the entire regiment; that the officers to each company wei-e 4, namely, 1 Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and 1 Ensign, who would form 64 officers; and thus, the total foice of the regiment wonkl be 1G64. Mac Geoghegan's later list of officers to the Irislrreginients in 1695 mentions those of this " Regiment des Gardes du Roi, Jnfanterie," as "William Dorrington, Cohmel — Oliver O'Gai-a, Lieutenaiit-C(jlonel — John Rothe, Major — 12 Captains — 28 Lieutenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants — and 14 Ensigns." By other and contemporary documents, giving, to a more recent period of the war, tlie strength, both in men and officers, of every cor))S belonging to King James's Irish army in Fiance, the jircportion of oilicers is much greater; H 98 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES and of privates nrach less, in the regiment, than those al>ove-state(l ; the 2 liattalions of the Foot Guards being set down as 1342 men; or llUO privates, and 212 officers, THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF INFANTRY. This regiment was one of those organized in France, from the Irish who came over after the Treaty of Limerick; there being no mention made of any foot i-egiment, called the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, among those ot King James's army, during the 3 campaigns of the War of the Revolution in Ireland. Its Colonel was the Honourable Simon L\ittrell, of Luttrell's-tovvn, in the County of Dublin. This officer was si)rung frt)m the ancient Norman or French race of the Luttrells — otherwise written Loterel, Lottrell, Luterel, and Lutterell — several of whom are stated to have been, Oct(kber 14th, 1066, amongst the chiefs of the army of the Duke of Normandy at the battle of Hastings, wjiere England fell beneath its French invaders. Of the confiscated lands of the vanrpiished English, or Saxons, the Luttrells, like others of the dominant race, obtained their share. Under the Norman Conqueror's son, Henry I., or Beauderc, as well as his royal successor, Estevene or Etienne de Blois, otherwise Stejihen, we find the Chevalier Johan de Luterel, or according to the modern English mode of expression. Sir John Luttrell, Knight, holding in capite the manor of Hoton-Pagnel, in Yorkshire, by certain feudal services, as his descendants continued to do, until the 6th year of King Henry V. In the time of King Henry II. the Chevalier Andre de Luterel or Sir Andrew Luttrell, Knight, founded the Abbey of Croxton-Kyriel in Leicestershire, with a dependent cell at Hornby in Lancashire. The 1st of the name of Luttrell who acquired an establishment in Ireland was the Chevalier Geofl'roi de Luterel, or Sir Jeotfry L>itt!ell, Knight. Jeoffry, having attached himself to the interest of King Richard I.'s brother, Johan, sans-terre, afterwards King John, the Luttrell estates in the Counties of Derby, Leicester, Notting- ham, and York, were confiscated by Richard. On that Monarch's death, however, .and the «*consequent accession of John to the throne, the confiscated estates of JeoU'ry were not only restored to him, but some good additions were made to them. The Chevalier de Luterel attended his royal benefactor to Ireland; was much intrusted with public business there; and, upon the conditions of paying 20 ounces of gold, and of liolding by military service, obtained, fi-om the Crown, a gi-ant of the castle, lands, and manor of Luttrell' s-town, in the County of Dublin.* In the 16th year of the same reign, this Chevalier Geoffroi de Luterel was the King's representative at the Court of Rome; the next year was appointed his Eml)assador Extraordinary there along with the Arch- bishops of Bourdeaux and Dublin, and Johan, (or John) le Mareschal, to request assistance, from the Pope, against a hostile confederation of the *The fine castle and noble demesne of Liittvell's town, situated npon the right hank of the river Lifiey, along the delightful Lower Road leading from Dublin" to Lucan, and at a distance of about 6 miles from the Irish metrofxilis, were disposed of, by the last proprietor of the name of Luttrell, Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl ox Carliainpton, to that excellent and liberal-minded citizen, Luke White, Esq., of DuMin, early in the j)resent century. Since Mr. White's purchase of the castle and demesne of the Luttrells, the former n.une n{ LaUreU'd-tuivii has been changed, or attempted to be changed, for that of Wood -la ads; an appellation, true, indeed, to Nature, but uuinteresting U> History. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 99 ' Anglo-Norman Barons; and finally surviving his royal friend, died in the 3rd year ot the ensuing reign, or that of King Henry III.; leaving issue by his wife, the daughter of Henry de Newmarche, whose ancestors were Barons as early as the Conquest. The next chief representative of the Luttrells, another Chevalier Andre de Luterel, or Sir Andrew Luttrell, Knight, j)roved his claim, before Henry III. at Westminster, in 1229, to certain estates, as heir to Maurice de Gant; the 1st settler of Avhich name in England was the nephew of the great Duke-King, Guillaume le Conquerant, or William the Conqueroi; and the sou of Baudouin, or Baldwin V., Conite or Earl of Flanders, by a daughter of Robert, King of France, son of Hue Chafjet, or H^ugh Capet, the founder, in 988, of the Capetian line of the French Monarchs. This Chevalier Andre de Lul^erel, shortly after ])roving his claim to those estates of the De (rants, Comtes or Earls of Lincoln, Barons of Folkenhaui, ttc, like- wise made out his right, through the same Maurice De Gant, to the Barony of Yrneham, or Irnhaui, in the County of Lincoln, together with Quantock-head in Somersetslnre, and more lands in the west. From other circumstances in this reign, or that of King Henry III., it appears, that the Chevalier Andre de Lutei-el, while thus nobly descended in tiie male line, was likewise so on the female side, through the great family of the Paganels or Paynels in Normandy, who became, by the conquest of England, Barons of Dudley, Lords of Newport- Paguel, itc, in that country. From this ])eriod of the 13th, till the latter half of the 17th century, or during upwards of 400 years, the house of Luttrell continued to display, through various branches, an illustrious line of descent in England and Ireland — in the former, as Barons of Iridiam, Lords of Hoton-Pagnel, Quantock, the Isle of Lundy in the Bristol Channel, Dunster Castle, Carham{)ton, &c., distinguished, likewise, in the wars of France, Scotland, and the 2 Roses — and, in the latter, as the ancient pro])rietors of Luttrell's-town, connected, in various ca]>acities, with the English government of the country, and intermarried with the leading nobility and gentry of colonial origin. The great-grand-father of the Honourable Simon Luttrell, or Thomas Luttrell, Esq., of Luttrell's- town, was, early in the 17th century, 1 of the Members for the County of Dublin in tlie Irish Parliament, a Privy Councillor for Ireland, and a man of ability and high spirit; as evinced by his speeches in Parliament, and by his having hiul, in the reign of King James I., " the confidence," adds iny Anglo-Irish authority, " to make comparisons, with the Earl of Thcmiond (chief of the O'Briens) even in the Lord Deputy's presence!" Simon Luttrell, Esq. of Luttrell's-town, the eldest son of the preceding Thomas, (by the Lady Eleanor Preston, 5th daughter of Christopher, 4th Lord Viscount Gormanstown,) having succeeded to the property of his father, adhered to the royal cause, in the Parliamentarian and Crom- wellian wars. He shared the general fate of the Irish loyalists; hi.s castle of Luttrell's-town being seized by the regicide Colonel Hewson, Cromwellian Governor of Dublin, and detained fi-om its legitimate owner, while the military interregnvuri called a Commonwealth, and Pi-otectorate, lasted. This Simon died in 165U; leaving, as heir to Luttrell's-town, his eldest son, Thomas; who, alter the accession of King Ciiarles II., was restored to his estates by the Act of Settlement; was made a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the King; and dying, in l(i74, left, by his lady, the daughter of William Segrave, Est]., of the County of Dublin, 4boi,x; the 2 elder of whom were named Siinou and Heniy. 100 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Simon, tlie eltlest, and immediate subject of the present notice, snc- ceeded to tlie estate of Luttivll's-town, and was, in the ivigii of King James II., placed in the puVjlic position to which it was conJ^idel•ed that lie was entitled, as well as the members of those otlier loyal Ii'ish families of Milesian, Norman, and Old English blood, who, on account of their religion as Catholics, amongst a nation the vast majority of whom were of that belief, had, nevertheless, been, as far as possible, excluded from o!11ce in their native land, by the intolerant "ascendancy" of a recentlv- ])lanted minority of Bi-itish republican intruders. The owner of Luttrell's- town was consequently ap})ointed by that Monarch to be Lord Lieutenant of the metropolitan county of Ireland, in which his ancient cistle and e.state were situated; his brother Henry, who had served for some camjjaigns in the French army, being likewise made Governor of Slig(^. Of the 2 brothers, the Duke of Berwick, who knew them both, says, Simon was "of a mild disposition, and always appeared to him to be an lionest man;" while Henry possessed "a great deal of talent, a great deal of intrigue, a great deal of courage, and was a good officer, cajialile of every thing in order to bring about his own ends." When Ireland, after the success of the Revolution in England and Scotland, declared in favour of maintaining King James as lier Sovereign, the 2 brothers who were a\)road in France came home, and zealously embraced that Monarch'.s cause; raising, arming, and equipping, between them, no less than 5 squadrons of cavalry, for the Ii-ish army. Simon was made Colonel of a Pi:(>giment of Dragoons, and Henry Colonel of a Regiment of Horse, in tlie royal service; and the 2 brothers sat in the Irish Parliament of 1689; the former, for the County of Dublin, and the latter, for the County of Carlow. Simon was also appointed a Member of the Rojal Privy Council for Ireland, and Governor of the City and Garrison of Dublin. Tliis last post he continued, during the royal residence ia Ireland, to till, under the designation of the Honourable Simon LuttreU. When, after landing in August, 1689, near Carrickfergus, and capturing that place, the Prince of Orange's commander, the Marshal Duke de Schonl)erg, proceeded as far as Dundalk towards Dublin, and, by way of distracting the attention of King James, who was advancing from the Irish metropolis to oppose him, sent off, in September, 10 or 12 Englisli ves els, with some troops, into the Bay of Dublin, to attempt a diversion there, such effectual measures were taken for the security of the capital under the directions of its Governor, that the national army was not interrupted in its march after the King to Dundalk, and the English vessels were obliged to .sail out of the Bay, without effecting any thing. The following November, the Governor's brother. Colonel Henry Luttrell, at the expedition umler Brigadier Patrick Sarsfield, which terminated in the expulsion of the Williamites from Sligo, greatly distinguished himself, in a successful affair, near tliat place. Simon continued to be the Governor of Dublin till alter the action of the pDyue, July 11th, 1690; during which he was stationed in the metropolis, with a body of militia, to keep down disaffection, and pri'serve order; and, hite in the evening of the following (lay, when the Irish ai my li;id niaiehed out, and the militia had follovvcd, he was among the last who left the city, and ictreated to Limerick with the rest of the "loyal party," or Jacohites. Alter i defeat of the Prince of Orange at Limenck, where lleniy Luttrell was also disi inguishe'il, tli'^ 2 lirothcrs, as opjKUHT.ts of the auiiuuiaciatiuu 'jf the Duke oi rjicuum;!! lu IrcLaid, were nouiiuaied, IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 101 ■with Colonel Nicliolas Ptircell, Baron of Longhnioe, and Dr. .Jolin Molony, Catholic Bishop of Cork, to go, with charges against the Duke, to St. Germain. Simon, as ha.s been seen, then justified the good char- acter given of him, by being, during the voyage to France, the means, along with the Bislioj) of Cork, of saving the life of the Scotch Major- Geneial, Thoma.s Maxwell; who was judged hostile to the embassy, from the circumstance of his being sent with it by the Duke of Berwick, to give Ids views on the matter to the King, and who, on that account., would have been thrown over board, but for the opposition of llij Bishop, and the late Governor of Dublin. In the 3rd or succee.liti;_; campaign of 1691, which was decisive of the fate of Ireland, and towards the end of which, Henry Luttrell, being accused of a treasonable cor- respondence with the enemy's commander, Lientenant-General Baron de Ginkell. was arrested, tried for it by Court Martial, and committed to the Castle of Limerick, we hear nothing important of Simrm, nntil the conclusion of the Ti'eaty of Limerick, when it was stipulated, in tlie 4th of the Civil Ai-ticles, that, in case he, and other Irish officers then in France with him, should choose to retui'n within 8 months, and take the Oath of Allegiance to King William III. and Queen Mary, he and his companions should have the benefit of the 2nd of those articles, or, ia other words, be restored to the possession of tlieir estates, (Src. Henceforth, as well as for some time previous, or from the commence- ment of Henry Luttrell's corres|H)ndence with the invadeis of his country, and the enemies of his king and religion, the fate of the 2 In'others was very different. Simon, unwilling to abandon what lie considered to be equidly the cause of his country, his king, and his religion, would not retui-n from France, to avail himself of the advantageous stipulation made for him in the Treaty. Henry, with the popular odium on his character of being a traitor, had, in case his In-other did not return, the promise, from Lientenant-General Baron de Ginkell, of being ])ut into ))osse.ssion of the family property of Lutti-ell's-town, &c. ; and in con- sideration of bringing over, alter the Treaty, his fine horse regiment of 12 troops, the horses and arms of which were worth X10,000, was to be Tinder King William, as ])revionsly under King James, a Brigadier- General, and Cohniel of a liegiment of Horse. Fi-oni this period. Henry Luttrell was admitted to the confidence of King William's government at home;* attended his Majesty abroad in Flanders; had, in lieu ui hi.s Kegiment of Horse, which was disbanded, a royal pension of £500 a year; and, when the next war'' after the Peace of Eyswick, or that of the Spanish Succession, was at hand, he was appointed by tlie King to be a Major-General in the Dutch Army; and was likewise to have been created a Colonel of Hor.se in the service of the States, but for tliat * From official clocumeii*"s of 1692 and 160.3 in the State Pajter Office, London, and other ufficiul sources of iiifoniiatioii, we liad Colonel Henry Luttrell employed, inider Isinic Wiiliam's admiuistratio i in L-elaud, as the agent to enlist for the service ot the Itepublic of Veiuee, then eu^a^ed in a war against the Turks, (and into which service L'i.«h refnuees had previously gone as early as after the Cromwellian war,) a l>ody of loUJ or 20J(J Irish Catholics. In a French otiicial journal of May "lid, 169.S, under a para;r,iph from Venice in April, after an enumeration of the aids received against the Turks, from the Pope, the Kniglits of Malta, the Arcli- bisho]) of Saltzhurgh in Clerniany, &c., it is added — "The re])ublic has decided on a negotiation for procariug 2vJJ) Irish, who are to be ciiiducted hy the uoble ]^eren:;aiii as far as Zaiite, in order to pa-is from that into the Aiorea, wnere each of t'acm shall receive a prescm; of o\i (iucai/S." 103 HTSTOUY OF THE IRrSH BRIGADES Prince's death.* After William's decease, Henry Lnttrell retirerl to Lnttrell's-town, and mostly resided tliere, till JSToveraber 2ud, 1717; when, being waylaid between ID and 11 o'clock at night, in Dublin, as lie was proceeding from Lucas's Cotfee-Honse, situated where the Royal Exchange now stands, to his tovvn-lumse in Stafford-street, he was fired at, and mortally wounded, in his sedan-chair. He lingered until the next day, and then died, in the 63rd year of his age. A Proclamation on the sul)ject was issued by the Duke of Bolton, Lord Lieutenant, and the Privy Council in Ireland, 2 days after, premising how, on Tuesday, &c., "between the hours of 10 and 11 at night, a tall man, with long, lank hair, in a short, liglit-coloured coat, did, in Stafford-street, in the City of Dublin, in a most barbarous and inhuman manner, murther and assassinate Colonel Henry Lutterell. as he was going in a hackney-chair, trom a coffee-house on Cork-hill, to his own house in.Staifoi-d-street afoi-esaid, by firing a pistol, or gun, loaden with ball, into the said chair, and thereby so dangerously wounding the said Henry Lutterell, that he was since dead, of his said wounds; and that thp said assassin found means to make Lis escape, and the authors and contrivers of such an horrid murther were still undiscovei-ed." In consecpience of which, continued the docu- ment, " We, the L(U-d Lieutenant and Council, having a just abhorrence of all such barbarous and horrid practices, and thinking it absolutely necessiuy, that all due encouragement should be given for the discovery and apprehension of the said assassin, and the authors and contrivers of the murther of the said Colonel Henry Lutterell, do, V)y this, our Pro- clamation, |)iibli.sli and dei.-lare, th it we will give the nece.-isary orders for payment of the sum of £300 to such person, or persons, as shall discover, take, and ayjprehend the person who fired the said pistol, or gun, or any of the authors, or contrivers, of the said horrid murther, so as he, they, or any of them, may be convicted thereof; and, in case any of the persons concerned ther-ein, (other than and except the person \yho fired the said ]nstol, or gun,) shall make a full discovery of his accomplices, so as one or more of them may be apprehended, and thereof convicted, such dis- coverer shall, besides the said reward, have and receive his Majesty'.s most gracious pardon for the same." The same month, it was moved in the colonial and sectarian Ho ise of Commons, Dul)lin, that there being reason to suspect, the late barbarous murder of Colonel Henry Luttrell was don", by Papists, on account of Ids services to the Protestant interest o/ tioc Kingdom, the Hou.se should address the Lord-Lieutenant, to offer by Proclamation a suitable reward, or £1000, for such as should cause the guilty to be convicted. This motion, unanimously passed, was as expe- Colonel Henrj' Luttrell, being a Catholic, was to be provided for in the Dutch service by William IIL, as Stadtliolder of Holland; the Dutch Republic, althout;!! a Prote.staiit state, admitting, unlike England, Catholics, as well as Protestants, into the national land and sea forces. As to any exclusion of the former from such employment in Holland, the famous Pensionary Fagel, in his letter of November, !■ 87, to Mr. Stewart, says—" That had indeed been hard, since, in the first for- niation of our State, they joined with us in defending our public liherty, and did divers eminent services during the wars " — or those against S[)ain &c. Tlje zealous English Williamite, Oldmixon, also remarks of the goverinnent of the Seven Uuited I'lovinces— "They /(«(/ (xenerals of their Armies, and Admirals of their Fleets, who were Papists. Witness,'' he adds, " a saying of one of their Adinir;ds, Mij conscience *-'-■ niji God's, but mil siiionl is thair Hi.eriod of the Cf)ntest between Louis XIV. and the League <^'f Augsburg, the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, or that of Lutti-ell, in 2 battalions, ap})ears with a less number of j)rivates, and an increased amount of officers, or 1100 of the former, and 242 of the latter; making 1342 men, of every description. THE IXFAXTllY REGIMENT OF THE MARINE. This regiment was originally levied in Ireland for the War of the Revolution, and finally established as that of the Lord Henry Fitz- James, otherwi.se the Lord Grand Prior of England. Its Colonel, then very young, owed this post to his being of royal blood, or the offspring of 1 of the various intrigues, which his father. King James, both aa Duke of York and King of England, though twice married to young and handsome women, carried on with married and unmarried females of the Court, or the Ladies Southesk, Che.stertield, Robarts, Denham, and Dar- lington, as well as the more immediate subject of this narrative, Miss Arabella Churchill. This lady, born ia March, 1648, was the sister of the famous John Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, and the daughter of Sir Win.stan Churchill — de.scended from the Courcils of Anjou, Poictou, and Normandy, through Roger de Courci!,* who, coming over from France to England in 1056, with Duke William of Normandy, received his portion of the forfeited estates ot the conquered Saxons, or English, in Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, and Devonshire. Sir Winstan Churchill, having adhered to the cause of Kings Charles I. and Charles II. against the Parliamentarians and Cromwellians, and having been proportionably punished under the usurpation, and fined above ^4400 for his loyalty, was i-ewarded with suitable appointments by the Crown after the Restoration; and had his daughter, Arabella, created Maid of Honour to the 1st wife of James, Duke of York, Anne Hyde, daughter of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon. Miss Churchill, though described by our countryman, Colonel Cotint Anthony Hamilton, in no better terms than "a tall creature, jiale-faced, and nothing but skin and bone," was, however, sufficiently attractive not to escape the attentions of the Duke of York ; who, as one of the gi-eatest "oglers" of his time, looked upcm his wife's Maids of Honour, as "A«.9 jiropei'ty." The dis- covery of those hidden charms, which led to the mistress of them likewise becoming the mistress of his Royal Highness, occun-ed during a summiT •"Courcil" became gradually altered into Curichil, Chirchil, Cherchile, Church- ile, Churchill, as the surnames of otliers of the x^onnan cou((uerors, takeu, for instance, frc.m " Rocbefort, La Rochelle, C'aliors,'' in France, liave, in Enj;land, says Thierry, "become, by corruiitirtn, Rnrhford. li<)h''i)i, C'lUiiivn'.h.'''' And tliiis, it may be observed, Marlborough was uoC of Amjlu-i'saxDH, buc French, origin- 106 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES excursion to Yoi'kshire, in 1665, for the amnsemeut of the Duchess, at a coursing-match, where tlie Maids of Honour had to be present on horse- back. "The Duke," says Count Hamilton, "attended Miss Churchill, not for the sake of besieging her with soft, flattering tales of love, but, on the contrary, to chide her for sitting so ill on horse-back. She was one of the most indolent creatures in the world ; and, although the Maids of Honour are generally the worst mounted of the whole Court, yet, in order to distinguish he.r, on account of the favour she enjoyed, they had given her a very pretty, though rather a high-spirited, horse; a distinction she would veiy willingly have excused them. The embar- rassment and fear she was imder had added to her natural paleness. In this situation, her countenance had almost completed the Duke's disgust, ■when her horse, desirous of keeping pace with the otiiers, set oif in u' gallop, notwithstanding her greatest eiforts to prevent it; and her endeavours to hold him in, firing his mettle, he at length set off at fuli speed, as if he was running a race against the Duke's horse. Miss Churchill lost her seat, screamed out, and fell from her horse. A fall, in so quick a pace, must have been violent ; and yet it proved favourable to her in every respect; for, without receiving any hui't, she gave the lie to all the unfavourable sui)positioiis that had been formed of her person, in judging from her face. The Duke alighted, in oi'der to help her. She was so greatly stunned, that her thoughts were otherwise em])loyed, than about decency on the pr. sent occasion ; and those, who first crowded around her, found her rather in a negligent posture. They could hardly believe, that limbs of such exquisite beauty could belong to Miss Churchill's face. After this accident, it was remarked, that the Duke's tenderness and affection for her increased every day ; and, to- wards the end of the winter, it appeared, tiiat she had nob tyrannizedov^er his ])assion, nor made him languish with impatience." Of this illicit connexion of the Diike and Miss Churchill, the following were the off- Sf)ring, who came to maturity. 1st, James Fitz-James, born in August, 1670, created, during his father's reign in England, Duke of Berwick, Earl of Tinmouth, and Baron of Bosworth, Kniglit of the Garter, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Hanger of the New Forest, C-overnor of Ports- mouth, successively Colonel of the Infantry Regiment, now the 8th Foot, of the Cavalry Regiment, now the Blues, and Ca))tain of the 3rd Troop of Life-Guards; besides, by commission fr). 3rd, * * * Fitz-James, bf)rn in 1672, and a nrin in France, where she died in February, 17()2, aged about 90, 4Lh, Henry Fitz-James, born in 1673, and Lord Grand Prior of England. •^'Vip T>nkp of York having granted to Miss Churchill, in January, 1668, ■tiUUO a }<..u-, fioni a leiit-charge on the manor of Newcastle, in the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 107 Comity of Limerick, she was married, when her concubinage with him ceased, by Charles Godfrey, Clerk Comptroller of the Green Cloth, Waster of the Jewel Office, and Colonel, for some years, of the 1st Regi- ment of Horse — since 1788, the 4th or Royal Irish Regiment of Dr'agooa Guards. By this union, she had 2 daughters, Charlotte and Elizabeth, highly married in England; and died in May, 1730, aged about 82; having long survived her husband, deceased in 1715. When King James, on account of the general defection of the English to the Prince of Orange in 1688, had to retire to France, the Lord Grand Prior shared his father's exile there, and thence accompanied him to Ireland, in the spring of 1689. His Lordship was present at the royal entry into Dublin, on Palm-Sunday that year; on which occasion, he, says the contemporary Williamite account, "rid alone, in 1 of the Earl of Tyrconnel's coaches, with 6 hoi'ses." He was subsequently a]ipoiuted Colonel of an Infantry Regiment in the Irish army, thenceforward known as the Lord Henry Fitz-James's, or the Lord Grand Prior. According, however, to the letter of the Comted'AvauX to Louis XIV.. from Dublin, February 11th, 1690, this "graceless scion of royalty" was so sunk in dissipation as to be a mere nominal ColoneL " C'est un jeune homme fort debauche, qui se ci-eve tons les jours d'eau de vie, et qui a este, tout cet este, par ses debauches, hors d'estat de monter a cheval." But his regiment served at the blockade of Demy, and being afterwards stationed at Drogheda, and I'ecndted to oppose the Willianiite invasion under the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, it formed part of the national force, with which the Marshal's progress, farther south than Dundalk, was'aiTested by the King. Next campaign, or that of 1690, it was present at the action of the Boyne, and the defence of Limerick, where, along with the Munster Regiment of Major-General Boisselot, the French Governor, it is mentioned, as having highly signalized itself at the defeat of the great assault of September 6th, which led to the raising of the siege by the Prince of Orange. The Lord Grand Prior, as well as the King, returning to France after the affair of the Boyne, his Loi'dship's I'egiment in Ireland was left under the orders of Nicholas Fitz-Gerald. That officer, who was of an old and respectable branch of his name, had entered the service, as a Cadet, in 1675; and successively rose to be Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel, acting as Colonel in command, of this corps. After the 2nd defence of Limerick in 1691, . where he took a leading part, as 1 of the " Lieutenants of the King," he passed, with his regiment, into France. From the Lord Grand Prior's being originally destined for the British navy, and his having, on account of his father's dethronement in Great Britain and Ireland, entered the French sea-service, this regiment of the Irish army on the Continent, of which he was the Colonel, was st\le 1 in France, the "Regiment de la Marine;" and, owing to his necessary absence in the French navy, and the command in the field consequently devolving on the 1st, or most experienced, of its 2 Lieutenant-Colonels, Nicholas Fitz-Gei'ald, the corps is sometimes mentioned, as if that officer had been its Colonel. While the Lord Grand Prior distinguished him- self on sea — particularly at the severe blows, inflicted, off the coasts of the Peninsula, in 1G93, upon the English, Dutch, and S])anish shipping, by the celebrated Chevalier Comte de Tourville — the Irish Regiment of tiie Marine had its due share in the cam])aigns on the Continent, under LieuteuauL-Colouel Fitz-Gerald. With him, it served on the coast of 108 IIISTOltY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Noiinandv, in 1092, as a jiortion of the Ir'iKh and French force, intended to elTect tiie "restoration " ot Kin^' Jatiies — witli tlie French array of Ger- many in 16i)3, 10!)+, and ICDo— witli that of the Mense in 169G-and with that, of the Moselle in 1007 — when the War of tlie Leaijne of Aiigsbuig was terminated in autumn, hy the Pea( e of Ryswi(d<. In the extensive reform, anioiiir Kin;,; James's troops in France, in Fehruary, 1698, the Regiment of the Marine was, by an order of the SOtli of tliat month, included; yet, not that it might be broken up, or disl)anded, like several otliers of the Irish corps, but remodelled under tlie designation of the "Regiment d'Albeniarh'," Irom the adilitional title of Duke of Albemarle conferred bv King James in France upon Iiis son, the L(ud Giaml Prior ; ant, that year. Brigadier of Infantry. After having been long in ii.id health, llie Colonel I'ropi-ietor of the Regiment, lienry Fitz-Jauies, L) years after the coming of the Anglo-Normans into Erin. The O'Muldorys and O'Canannans were the septs of the race of Connell, whose head.s, accord- ing as either clan happened to be the more powerful, had previously been the supreme rulers of Tir-Connell.* The original countiy of the O'Don- nells was contined to a mountainous district of Donegal, between the waters of the Suileach, or Swilly, and the Dobhar, or Simmy ; the latter of which falls into the sea, near the pre.sent village of Glenties. About the centre, however, of this district, — and as if preligurative of the final pre-eminence to be acquired by the clan who possessed it, — stood the Hill of Doon and the Church of Kilmacrenan, the locality appointed, from the earliest times, for the inauguration of the chiefs, designed for the supreme rulers of Tir-Connell. "The ceremony of inaugurating the Kings of Tyrconnell," according to the native account in Keating, " waa this. The King, being seated on an eminence, surrounded by the nobility and gentry of his own country, 1 of the chief of his nobles stood betoi-e him, with a straight, white wand in his hand; and, on presenting it to the King of Tyrconnell, used to desire him — ' To receive the sovereignty of his country, and to preserve equal and impartial justice in every part of his dominions.' The reason that the wand was straight and white was, to put him in mind, that he should be unbiassed in his judgement, and ])ure and upright in all his actions." Eignechan O'Donnell, Prince of Tir-Connell from 1200 to 1207, was the 1st of the O'Donnells, fi-oni whose acces.sion to power Tir-Connell may be considered the country of " /Ae O'Donnell ;" or of the heads of that name, during the 403 years which elapsed, until the land of Connell ceased to be a Princi])aliry. i>r Chiefdom, at the commencement of the reign of King James I. During those 4 stormy centuries, the O'Donnells proved how well they were entitled to be the rulers of Tir-Connell, by the bravery with which, in ages when bravery was every thing, they not only defended their terri- tory again.st foreign and native foes, but extended their sway far beyond the limits of that territory. The O'Donnells were celebrated for their attachment to the litei-ature of their country as well as for their bravery. Tlie O'Clerys, as Ollaves, or Professors of History, Antiquities, and * The Chief Poet of O'Kelly of Hy-Many, Shane O'Dugan, who died in 1.^7'2. all'ules, in his topooraphical poem, to the original pre-eminence of the ()'MuMor\^, ami O'Canannans, among the Kinel-Connell, and yet to their entire it, when his sea-sicknesse was past, he lodged in the Earle's house; and upon the 27th of lanuaiy, Odunnell departed from the Groyne, accompanied by the Earle (and many Captaines and Gentlemen of quality) wVto evermore gaue Odonnell tlie rigid hand, WHICH, within his govehnment, hee would not haue done TO THE greatest DUKE IN SPAiNE ; and, at his departure, hee presented Qilonnell with 1000 duckets, and that night hee lay at Santa Lucia: the Earle of Caragena being returned, the next day hee went to Saint lames 112 HISTORY OF TIIT^ lETSH BRIGADFS of ConiposfeJ^a, where lie was received with inugnificence by the Prelats, citizens, and religious persons, and his Uxlging was made ready lor hiin at Saint Marthas, but before bee saw it, hee visited the Archbishop, who instantly piayed him to lodge in his honse ; but OdonneU excused it. The 29t.h, the Archbishop, saying masse with pontiticall solemnity, did minis- ter the sacrament to OdonneU, which done, hee feasted him ;it tlinner in his house; and, at his departure, hee gaue him 1000 duckets." Of tl.e Chieftain's further progress, and interview with Philip III., the Donegal chroniclers inform us, "he proceeded to the pluce where the King was, in Castile, for it was there he happened to be at this time, (after making a visitation of his kingdom) in the city which is called Samoia," or Zamoi-a. " And, as soon as O'Donnell arrived in the presence of the Kijig, he knelt down before him; and he made submission and obeisance to him as was due to his dignity, and did not consent to rise, until the King )iro- niised to grant him his 3 requests. The 1st of these was, to send (in annif wit/i. him to Erin, with suitable engine,'^ and necessary arms, iv/iatever ti/j.e they should be prepared. The 2nd, tliat, should the King's Majesty obtain, ])0Lcer and sway over Erin, he would never place aiiy of the nobles of his blond in power or authority over hiin, or his successo)S. The 3id request M as, not to lessen, or diminish, on himself, or Ids successors for ever, the right of his ancestors, in' any place tclterelds ancestors had power and' stcay lej'ore that time in Erin* All these were promised him to be complin ain by the exiled Chief of Tir- Coimell, with the stipulations previously quoted from the letter of his predecessor to Henry II. of Fi-ance, in February, 1550. The claims of " dauntless red llugli," with respect to his own principality and that of his ancest^.rs, as elsewhere explained by another candidate for the Chiefdom of Tir-Connell, implied, that " wheiesucvcr aiiij of the O'Donnells had, at that time, extended their power, hee made accompte oil was his." This extension of the jiovver of 'J'irConnell was more ])articulr.i .y towards the south, or iu the direction of Connaught ; where the OT>(,nnells held a high hand, alter the great diniinuticn and division of the power of the house of O Conor, winch followed the Au^lo-Norman invasion of Erin. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, 113 formerly held the sceptre of Constantinople in the person of John C'anUi- cnzeno, the famous Emj)eror and Historian, who reigned from 1;j47 to 1355. This matrimonial alliance has not been the only one f(>i'nied hy the O'Donnells with the Cantaciizenos in Germany, and, through t})eni, with the House of Austria ; and it is a sufficient evidpneeof tlie high con- sideration with which the membcis of old or Milesian Irish families of ]aiik were regai'ded in the haiiglifiest Court on the Continent, that has claimed for itself a succession to the ancient majesty of the Cu?sars, ami has been so sniiercilious towards all who could not produce a pedigree, indicative of what was demied "nuble blood." Alter the junction of the Crowns of England, Ireland, and Scotland, in the 1st English and Irish Monarch of the House of Stuart, Ivory or lloileiic O'Donnell, the last Prince or Chief of his name, was created, in Se])tember, IGOS, Earl of Tyrconnell, with the title, during his own lile- time. for his eldest son, of Btirou of Donegal ; till the flight of both to the Continent, in 1607, led to that fall and dispersion of the O'Donnells in their own country, which has been s cceeded, to our times, by the existence of the name of O'Donnell in the higliest posts, that military merit could attain, abroad. Of the several gallant ofHcers so distinguished, all, however, acquired their honours in the services of Spain and Austria,* except the immediate object of this narrative, Daniel O'Donnell. On the commencement of the revolutionary disturbances in Ireland, excited by the successful l»inding and progress of the Prince of Orange in England against King James, Daniel O'Donnell was appointed Captain of a com- pany for the royal service, December 7th, 1G88, and, in 1689, was autho- rized to act as a Colonel; in which cajiacity, there were seveial officers of merit attached during this war to various i-egimeiits, raised by. and, as such, beai'ing the names of, other Colonels. Passing, after tiie Treaty of Limerick, into France, Daniel O'Donnell appears to have suffered much by the new arrangements of the Irish troops there ; under which he did not obtain a higher post, than that of a Ca])tain in the Regiment of the Maiine, by commission of Februaiy 4th, 16!J2. He sei'ved, in this grade, on the coasts of Normandy, with the Irish and French forces designed for the invasion of England, and "restoiation" of King James, thai }ear; with the Army of Germany fiom 1603 to 1695 ; and with the Army of the Meuse till 1697, or the Peace of Pyswick. On the remodelling of his iTgiment into that of Albemarle in 1698, he was I'etained as Captain, by oommission of A})ril 'llth, that year. Next war, he served with tlu Army of Germany in 1701, and, from 1702 to 17< 6. in the Army of Italy; during which 5 campaigns, he was at the battle of Luzzara, the reduction of Borgofoite, of Nago, of Arco, of Vercelli, of Ivrt a, of Verrua, of Chi- vasso, at the battle of Cassano, and the siege and battle of Turin. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, at the last-mentioned siege and battle; having attained that rank the preceding year, or October 20fch, 1705. Transferred to the Army of Flanders in 1707, he fought at the battle of Oudenarde, in July, 1708; and was appointed successor to Nicholas Fitz-Geiald as Colonel, by commission of August 7th following. He commanded the legiment, as that of O'Donnell, in Flanders, from 1708 to 1712; being with it, at the battle of Malplaquet, the attack of Aileux, the aflair of Denain, and the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. Removed to the Army of Geiiiiany, under the Marshal de * See, with reisjieot to them, Dr O'Donovan's Topograjiliiccal Poems of O'JDugaa and O'Keeriii, mtn ductioii, pp. 31-35 : Dubliu, 1802. L 114 HISTORY OF THE lEISIi BRIGADES Villars, in 1713, he was at the reduction of Landau and Frihnr2;h, and the forcing of the retrencluncnts of General Vaubonue, which led to the Peace between France and Austria, at Rastadt, in March, 1714. The regi- ment of O'Donnell was reformed 11 months after, or by order of February 6th, 1715; half of it being incorporated with the Regiment of Colonel Francis Lee, and half with the Regiment of Major-General Murrongh O'Brien. To the latter corjis, O'Donnell was then attached, as a reformed or su})ernumeiary Colonel. He was made a Brigadier by brevet. February 1st, 1719; and finally retired to St. Germain-en-Laye, where he died, without issue, in his 70th year, July 7th, 1730.* Brigadier Daniel O'Donnell was descended from Aodh Dubh. or Hugh the dark, known as "the Achilles of the Gaels of Erin," and younger brother to Manus O'Donnell, Chief of Tir-Cunnell, deceased in 15o3« The Brigadier's father was Terence O'Donnell, and his mother Johanna O'Donnell, both of the County of Donegal ; and, as their son, being thus, on eadi, side, an O'Donnell, he retained through life the feelings of the old name and territory with which his origin was associated. From the early ages of Christianity in Erin, there were handed down, among her leading races, certain memorials of the Saints whom they most venerated ; respecting which memorials, there were predictions, that connected the future destinies of those tribes, for good, or for evil, with the preservation, or loss, by them, of such local )ialladiums. That of the KinelConnell, or descendants of Connell, consisted of a portable square box, of several metals, variously ornamented, and gemmed, and containing, in a wmall wooden case, a Latin Psalter, believed to have been written by the hand of him, who was the most eminent ecclesiastic, and great religious patron, of their race — the famous St. Columba, or Columb-kille, who flourished from A.D. 521 to 597, was the A})ostle of the northern Picts, anrl tiie founder of the celebrated monastery in Hy or lona through which it became "that illustrious island," in the language of Doctor Johnson, " cnce the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence sav:ige clans, and roving barbarians, derived the benefits of knowleilge, and the bh'ssings of j-eligiou." + The consecrated reliquary above-mentioned was styled the catliach — pronounced caagli, or caa/i — of St. Columb-kille, from tlie per- suasion entei-tained and handed down by tradition, tliat it was a sort of spiritual talisman, wiiich would procure victoi'y for the forces of Tir-C(Ui- nel, if conveyed with, and accom])anied by, a cei'taiu ceremonial among them, previous to their giving battle.j. Accoidingly, the custody of it * Other O'Donnells, besides the Brigadier, were officers in the rtegiinents of O'Donnell, Berwick, Clare, and Dillon. Of these, Michael O'Donnell was Captuiu in the Beoiment of Berwick, in June, 177t), and a L'hevaher of St. Limis, hi May, 1777. Yet some of those officers were not of the great O'Donnellsof Uisler, but of the less noted sept of the O'Doiniells of Munster; or originally of the district <»f Oorcobaskin, Oonnly of Clare, until disjiossessed by the Mac Mahons (a brancli of the O'Briens) early ui the 14th centiuy. + Doctor Johnson might likewise have described Tona, through St. Columba's great monastic. and missionary foundation there, as not merely the "luminary of the Cnledomin regions,' but of the "' Amj o-Saxuii regions," too; the far greater jior- tion. of the Saxtm llc])tarchy having tieen indebted to the Columban or Irish }>reachers from that island, but more especially to St. Aidan, and St Fiiian, for being reclaimed from .Paganism and ignorance to Christianity .nnd letter.s. X Manus O'Donuell, Kruice of Tir-Ccnnell, in his life of St. Cohunb kille, written ahoutthe year \o'Al, sajs of the mystical box alluded to— "El; (Jnthnch, id est pneliit- t:r, vulgo" ai)pellatur, fertque triidit o, (["oil si circa illiiis e.xercituni, antequain Lostein adoriautur, tei;ti'j .cum debita revcieuLiacircuuiduoatur, eveuiat ufc victoriam IN THE SEKATCE OF FKANCE. 1 15 was conimitted to a incniber of a ]iarticular family, named Magroarty of Bally magroart}', near the town of Donegal ; and it was usually borne: ta the field, with the banner of the Kinel-Connell. It was once, or in 14!J7, lost by the O'Donnells, when they were defeated by a sujierior foicf) nnder Tiege Mac Dermot, Chief of Moyhirg, (or the old Barony of Boyle^ (Jounty of Roscommon.) but was regained in 1499, when Cormac iMac Dern\ot was obliged to submit to the Chief of Tir-Connell, to pay tribitte, and to restore the prisoners previously taken, as well as the aiiujli. Ifc ■was ai'tei'wai'ds carefully preserved by the O'Donnells, with refeicnce, as it would seem, to that warning, attributed to St. Caillen, in the Book of Fenagh. "He doth admonish the sept of Conall Gulban, which is the O'Donells, to look well to the Caacjh, that it should not come to the handes of Enylisliinen, which yf yt did, it should be to the overthrowe and confusion of the sept of Conall Gui.baa, and to the great honnor ol" the EnglisJo." Of the Jacobite possessor, and conveyer to the Continent, of that remarkable relic, as a sort of "household god" of his race, Sir AN'illiam Betham adds — "Colonel O'Donell, in 1723, to preserve the box, had a silver case made, and placed round it, 0|)en at the top and bottom, so as to show them, but which totally hid the sides. On this case, he caused to be engraved the following inscription. — 'Jacobo 3° M. B. Regr EXUL.\N'I'E, D.ANIEL O'DuNEL, IN Xl'IANlSS "^ IMP " FU^FKCTUS HEt BiLLICVE, HUJUSCE H^REDrfARlI SaNCTI CoLUMBANI PIGNOHIS, VULGO CAAil DICTI, TEGMEN ARGENTEUM, VETISTATE C\).\>UMPTLM, RE.-TAURAVIT ANNO SALUTIS, 1723.'" This hereditary pledge of St. Columha, always considered hy the O'Donnells as containing reliques of the great Saint of their race and princijiality, after its being repaired by Brigadier Daniel O'Donnell, was deposited in a monastei'y of Belgium — a country most friendly to Irish' exiles, as well from community of religion in modern times, as from its inhabitants having been anciently so much indebted to Ireland for their conversion to Chiistinnity ■"' — and the Brigadier directed, by his will, that this old family memorial shoiild lie given to whoever could prove himself to be the \wm\ of the O'Donnells. Tlie catiyk was discovered at that monastery in our own times, and the purport of the Brigadier's will likewise ascer- tained by an Abbot of Cong, Comity of Mayo; who, on his return to Ire- land, aequaintiiig Sir Neal O'Donnell, Baronet, of Newport in that County, with the ciicnmstance. Sir Neal, as believing himself to be "the O'Donnell," ai>i)lie'- Fro/Hii/iithtuc Fi'lei ChrlHtiawe in Jjf.)/io, per iS(i)/rt(i.'< c-.r IJiLtnikl ]"iri/>t,' - (iv Isoies 4 ami y of my edition of Mucunix Ejcckiium for the Irish Arclia;ologicai Sociecy. 11 G HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES France already mentionerl, or Dorrington's and Lnttrell's, consistpd, at first, or in 1G92, of 2 battalions, of 8 companies eacii ; 100 soldiers iu evfry company; and consequently IGOO between the 2 battalions; that, with 64 officers, would make the whole 1G64 men. According to Mae- Geoghegan, the officers of the " Regiment de la Marine, Infanterie," in lG9o, were— "The Lord Grand Prior, Colonel— Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, 1st Lieutenant-Colonel — Richard Nugent, 2nd Lieutenant-Colonel— Ed- niond O'Maddin, Major— 11 Captains — 28 Lieutenauts— 28 Sub- Lieu- tenants — 14 Ensigns." By later accounts of the numerical sti-ength of tlie corps, it, as well as the 2 preceding Irish infantry regiments, had, in its 2 liattalions, a smaller complement t>f soldiers, and a larger complement of officers^ or 1100oftheone,and 242 of theother; forming 1342 men altogether. THE INFANTRY RE'.^IMENT OF LIMERICK. Gf the 1st Colonel of this corps, Brigadier Talbot, an account has been given, under the Infantry Regiment of O'Bri-ni, (u* Chire. The next officer that I find Colonel of the " Regiment de Limerick, Infanterie," wa.s Sir John Fitz-Gerald, Baronet, or, according to liis Fiem-h designation, the "Chevalier Jean Fitz-Gerahl." Sir Jolm, wlio \iore tlie character of '•■a person of known worth and lionoui'," had suffered under the nnscru- jmhjus sectarian machinations of the Whigs, in the reign of King Charles II.; having been 1 of the Irish Catholic gentlemen arrested and con- veyed to England, "on account of the jiretended Popish ))lot, in the year 1G80." After the accession of King James II. he was appointed Lieu- tenant-Colonel to the Infantiy Regiment of the Hiuiouiable Justin Mac Carthy, (subsequently Lord Mountcashel) and, in 1G89, was Colonel of 1 of the regiments f>f the national army, raised for the defence of the King, against the coh)nial partizans of the Revolutiel. Fioiu Otho's having been such a fionrishing y)otentate in England in Km^ E- Gaidtier, or Fiiz-Waltkr, had a grant, from King Henry I., of Moles- ford in Berkshire; and serving against the Welsh, was made the Norman Constable of Pendiroke Castle, in their country. This fortress ha strengthened and defended with success; slew the Welsh Loi'd or Chieftain of Cardiganshire; was ayj])ointed President of the County of Pembroke; and rewarded with the grant of many lands in Walea. There he settled, and, like his father Walter Fitz-Otho, married a nati\'8 of that country, Nesta. daughter of the Prince of South Wales, «ho had been the misti-ess of King Henry. Amimg liis family by this marriage, Gerald Fi*-z-Walte!- had that Moiiz, Moiice, or Maurice, accordingly designated son ofGerall — which Ma\irice, through the King of Leinster 3 invitation, became, as lias been said, the founder of the race of FlTZ- Gerald in Ireliind, where he died in September, 1177. Of the ]jotsterity of Maurice, the 2 ])rincipal houses were that ot OfJaley, or Kildare, in Leinster, and that of Der-mond, in Munster. Tho former, or that established in Leinster, sprang from Maurice by \iiA descendants the Barons of Offaley, the 3rd of whom, John Filz- Thomas, was created, in 131G, by Edwaicl II., for great .services \ii. Ireland and Scotland, 1st Earl o Ksldaue — whcjse line, through 20 Earls so entitled, and, since 1766, through several Dukes of Leinster, have transmitted their honouis, for above 5 centuries, with a landed revenue, consisting, in our days, of many th(ui,sand jiounds a year. Tha latter branch of tlu^ Fitz-Geralds, or that established in Munster, S]irang' Irom Mauiice Fitz-Thdmas, 4th Lord of Decies and Desmond, whom ]idwai(l 111. eni.ubhd in 1. ■52!), ci'eating him Earl of Desmond by patent; according to which, tJie Earl and his male heirs were to hold from the CroNsn the Cminty of Keny, as a County Palatine, or vua under a, separate jurisdiction; rLiidcring him, in whom it was vested, a kind of 118 HISTORY OF > E HUSH BRIGADFS sovereign prince, witliin tlie ten-itory tlms granted. The Lord PiL-itine Lad the power of exei-cising capital piiiiishiiient><, of erecting his own tril)niml.s for civil and criminal causes, and of appointing his own Jii(!g:^s, ^herifls, Seneschals, Coroners, &c. He had likewise Courts for the pay- ment of his feudal revenues, vv'hich would appear to have included si» many Sources of emolument as to constitute a vei-y large increase to tin; inconui deiived from his own innnediate lands, or estate. Finally, like other great Anglo-Norman potentates of a simdar rank in Ireland, the Loids j'alatine of Kerry had the power of making tenures 'm. (■iii>ifp., and were tJie heads of a subordinate local aristocracy, or nt)l)lesse, of their own; respecting which, we are told, that, of the kindred and suiiiame of tho liniise of Desmond alone, there were aliove 50U gentlemen. From Maurice, appointed 1st Earl of Desmond in 132!), by Edward III., to tl|H unfortunate Gei-ald, attainted in 1582, under Queen Elizaljetli, 16 Eai-ls of this race ruled over their numerous followers, or in the language of an eminent English writer, their '^ Cohu/kh/s, irho" he observes, '' w tills land Jume euer bin niore deunUul to their iuLiuciliafe Lords henr whom thp.if uno eiie.ry day, tJieii -ivnto their Situeravjue Lord and I^ing, whom iheij nener saw." Henee Francis I., King of France, in a treaty of allianco against Henry VIII. with Earl James III. of Desmond, June 20tli, l-')2'i, the oiigin;d of which was deposited in the Chambre des Comptes at Pa)-is, in addition to the designation of Comte or Earl of Munstei', entitles tliat nolileman, '•^Prince in Irelaml." But the vast extent of j)ower and wealth, to which the heads of this great southern branch of the race of Fitz-Gerald arose, may be more clearly estimated from the facts — that, about the middle of the 14th century, when we read of the salary of the Viceroy of the Pale, as having been but £500 a year, tho Eai 1 of Desmond is alleged, to have been able to expend, in every way, iJ 10,001) per annum — that the great Earl of Kildare, writing, in 1507, from Castle-deiniot, to the Gherardini faunly of Florence, (who claimed an affinity willi the Irish Fitz-Geralds) describes his kinsman, the Earl of Desmond, as having then "under his Lordship 100 miles in length of country" — that the Earl of Desmond, liefoie-inentioned, as attainted, in 1582, under Queen Elizabeth, is asserted to have been able to raise, at a call, 2000 foot and 600 horse, but, with more prei)aratiou, to have been aide to bring 40(l0 foot and 750 horse into the field — that the number of acres directly acquired by the Crown, through the Earl's attainder, was 674,028 indeiieudent of those in the teriitoiy over which he claimed jurisdiction, and which were above double as many more — that, at a jieriod, when the Queen's revenue in Ii-eland was not so much as £23,600 per annum, the Eurl's rents alone, consisting, as a hostile authoiity observes, of " a |)rodigious revenue for those times, and perhaps greater than any other subject's in her Majesty's dominions," amounted to more than £7039 a year — and yet, that this very large annual sum, for those days, would apfiear, from information derived through the son of 1 of the mo.st trusty of the unfortunate nobleman's followers, to have been but a ))ortion of the yearly emoluments of the head of the house of Desmond fiom Lis spacious domains. "Alas! the noble tree of the Geraldines, Eai Is of Desmond," — exclaims Dr. Dominick O'Daly, Bishop of Coimbra in Poitugal, and son of Cornelius O'Daly, a failhl'ul adherent of the ruined Earl, and commander of a body of his troops, — " 450 years had its bi'anche.s (^tended over the 4 ]irovinces of Ireland; no less than 50 Lords and •Barons paid their tribute, and were ever ready to march under their IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCK 119 banners. Besides the Palatinate of Kerry, the country, for 120 m\hs in lei^^th, and 50 in breadth, was tlieirs. The people paid submission to them throughout all their holdings; they had, moreover, 100 castles and strong-holds — numerous sea-ports — lands that were charming to the eye, and rich in fruits — the mountains were theirs, together with the woods — theirs were the rocky coasts, and the sweet, blue lakes, which te(!mefl with fish. Yea, the fairest of lands did they win with the sword, and govern by their laws; loved by their own, dreaded by their enemies, tliey were the delight of Princes, and patrons of gifted youth. . . Alas! alas ! the mighty tree was doomed to perish, when scathed by the lightning of England's hate. . . Desmond's possessions were foifeited to the Crown, and all those, of every age or sex, who honoured his memory, were maltreated and outraged. The entire property was parcelled out amongst adventurers, and they were put in possession of those great domains, which used to [lay the Geraldines more than 40,()0(J goldeu pieces per annum." Of the various families of the name of Fitz-Gerald, — a name eminently identitied with bi'avery, at home and abroad, in our military annals, — there wei-e a number of infantry, horse, and dragoon officers in the national army during the War of the Revolution, as well as the sub- sequent Colonel, in France, of the " Regiment de Limerick, Infauterie." Sir John Fitz-Gerald, Baronet, called among the Irish, from the seat of liis ])roperty, the Lord of Cloaglas — at ])resent Clordish, on the frontiers of the Counties of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick — belonged to the previously- describfd great soutliern branch of the race of Fitz-Gerald; being des- cended, though illegitimately, from the celebrated John Fitz-Thomas Fitz-Gerald, ancestor of the house of Desmond 5 who, from his death, at the severe defeat given by Fitu^en Mac Cai'thy to the Fitz-Geralds and tiieir confederates in 12G1, is known in history as John of Callan, the ])lace of the engagement in Kerry. Sir John Fitz-Gerald, as disbelieving that good faith would be observed to his countiymen by their enemies, at.taciied no value to the Treaty of Limerick. In Ireland, indeed, writea an English Protestant clergyman, " the English had been, though a superior people, yet not sufficiently so to warrant the attempt at dominion by mere force; they had been obliged, therefore, to affect an unity of interests, and equality of rights, with their victims, which their illiberality lorbade them really to intend, and their insufficient refinement incapici- tatt'd them to effect. They had, in consequence, continually violated the most solemn compacts, to wliich their want of brute power compelled them to have recourse."* The belter, in short, the Treaty was for thfi Iriah, the less likely it was, that tlie English loould observe it. "And hissing Infamy proclaims the rest!" — Dr. Johnson. Sir John, accordingly, influenced as many of his retainers as he could, to * Vindiciaj Hihernicte, &c., Dedicated by Permission to His Royal Highness, the Duke of Sussex, by a Clergyman of the Church of England, as cited in ]Macari<0 Excidium, Note 144. Of ;^ great instances, in European history, of breach of treaty betwemi ]iaities of opjiosite religions— or that of the treaty of Granada by Sjiain witli the Moors— that of the Edict of Nantes by France with the Hu^,aienot3 - and that if the Treaty of Liineiick by England with the Irish Catliolics -were the results, in any case, so l/ei/rjicial as to ci'mpensate the viohitors of public faith, i'ov the disliciuour incurred by such conduct? History says they were not, but of quite a oiilrurj nature. 'UiaCite juslilium mijuiti, el nou temnere divosl ' — Vikgil. 120 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES emigrate with Lim, and "went," says liis native Irish pedigree, "to I'rance, with the Chitifs of the Gaels in TsToveniber, 1691 " — where he finally died.* His regiment, or that of Liineric-k, formed, with the majority of the Irish troops in France, a poi-tion of tlie hind force, designed, in 1692, but for the defeat of the French at sea, to hmd in England, for the pnrpose of restoring King James to his throne. From 1693 until 169G, when, in consequence of the treaty between Louis XTV, and Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy, peace was restored to Italy, the r.'ginient shared in the successes of the French army in that country, under the Marshal de Catinat. In 1697, the regiment served with the French army of the Ehine, under the Marshal de Choiseul; and was eventually broken up with other regiments, by the extensive reform, or i-eductitm, which, early in 1698, was ordered among the Irisli* troops, in con.sequence of the Peace of Hyswick, the preceding autumn. Like Dorrington's, Luttrell's, and the Lord Grand Prior's regiments of infanti-y, the 16 companies, or 2 battalions, of Brigadier Tall)ot'.s, after- wards 8ir John Fitz-Gerald's, regiment would muster originally, or in 1692, 16U0 privates, and 64 officers. The officers, by the'li,st of 169j, were — "The Chevalier John Fitz-Gerald, Colonel— Jereunah O'Mahouy, Lieutenant-Colonel — William Therry, Major— 12 Captains — 28 Lieu- tenants - 28 Sub-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." The subsequent statements, showing, in the 2 battalions of the regiment, an augmentation in the officer.s, and a diminution in the soldiers, make the former 242, and the latter 1100; or 1342 on the whole. THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF CHARLEMONT. The first estnblishment of this corp.s, as the Regiment of Colonel Gord(m O'Neill, was at the counnenceinent of (he War of the Pevolution in Ireland. During that contest, it was, like other Irish legimenfs, known by the name of its Colonel ; and it was probably designated in France the " Regiment de Cliarlemont," from its Colonel having been Governor of Cliarlemont Fcnt at the beginning of the revolutionary disturbances in Ulster, and fron; its subsequent connexion with the long and honourable defence, amidst the W^illiamite quarters, of that fort,t under Major Teague O'Regan, for which that brave old officer was so deservedly knighted by King Janie.s. Of the royal houses of Heber, Heremon, Ir, and Ith, to which, from the conquest of Erin by the sons of Milidh, or Milesius, her Ard-Righs, or Monarchs, are recorded to * The leading officers of the name of Fitz-Gerald, belonging to the Irish Brigade in France, have vaw been noticed. Of minor officers of the Brigade, there were Beveral Fitz-Geralds, Captains and Lieutenants in the Regiments of Dillon, Clare, Berwick, O'Donnell, Bulkeley, and Walsh ; the ])rincipal of whom was a Capcain Fitz-Gerald of the Regiment of Dillon in 1777, who was a Chevalier of St Louis. Under the other mnditication of tlie name, or that of Gn'aldine, there was likewise a noble house in France, derived from Raymond Geraldine, Esq., a native of Water- ford, deceased at St. Malo, in June, 1057. His descendants in France were Seigneurs de Lajienti, de St. Symphorien, de Coi^sine, &c. ; and an otlicer named Geraldine, born in 1714, was Lieutenant-Colonel of Fitz-Janies's Regiment of Horse, and Brigadier of the Armies of the King, in July, 17G2. + After the defeat of Lord Mountcashel, King James, writing from Dublin Castle, August 3rd, O. S., IGS9, to Lieutenant-General Richard Hamilton in Ulster, directs that, among the troops to be left at Charlemont, should be Colonel Gordoa O'Neill's Regiment of Foot; for which many recruits were to be made, as it hail been amongst those engaged iu the hariissiug blockade of Derry. IN THR SKUVICF. OF FRANCE. 121 liave beloncjpfl, the house of Heremon— fVnm the niiinhei- of its Princes, or gi-eafc fiiinilies — from the multitude of its (listiuij;uisiie(l cliaractevs, as laymen, or churchmen— and from the extensive ten itorifs acquired by those belonging to it, at home and abrond, or in Alba* as well as in Erin — was regarded as by far the most illustrious. So much so, says the best native authority, that it would be as reasonable to affirm, 1 ]iound is equiil in value to 100 jxumds, as it would be to compare any other line with that of Heremon. Towards the " decline and fall " of Druidism, and the rise of Christianity in Erin, or from a.b. 379 to a.t>. 40i3, the head of the line of Heremon was the Ard-Righ Niail, styled " More," or (he Great, and " Naighiallach," or of the A'itte //osfages — in refei-ence to the princijjal hostile powers overcome by him, and compelled to render so many pledges of their submission. Niall was chiefly renowned for his transmarine ex])editions against the Roman emjjire in Britain, as well as in Gaul; where he finally fell, on the river Liane, not far fn'm Boulogne, by the ])oisoned arrow of an assassin. In one of those expeditions, Niall carried off. among his numerous captives, the yontii Succat, afterwaids so famous as St. Patrick. And when, many years subsequently, that liberated captive, entering, in a maturity of manhood and experience, upon his mission, was summoned before the supreme assend)ly at Tara, to show whi/ he pre- sumed to interfere with the old religi n of the country, by endeavouring to introduce a new creed? — it was Laogaire, the son of his former captor, !Niall, who presided as Sovereign thei-e. In the posterity of the "Hero of the Nine Hostages" — 4 of whose sons, that settled in Midhe, or Meath, and its vicinity, were styled South Hy-Niall, the otlier 4, estab- lished in Uhidh, or Ulster, being called North Hy-Niall — tlie dignity of Ard-Righ, as re{)resented sometimes by the head of one branch, and sometimes by that of another, was maintained, with an interval of but 20 years, (or the reign of Olil Molt.) down to the year 1002. During this period, making, from th(! reign r)f Laogaire inclusive, to the deposition of Maelseachhiin or Malachy II. by tiie celebrated Brian " Boru," in the year last speciHed, about ■')5i years,+ the Monarchs of the race of Niall amounted to 46. Of the 4 sons of the hero Niall who established them- * Alba is the orig;incal Irish or Gaelic name for Scotland, whose Kincrs v/ere derived from the race of the Ard-Uighs of Erin, of the Heremonian line. The 1st J'rince of the Hoti.se of Stuart who reigned over the .3 Kingdoms of the British Isles, or Ja)nes VL of Scotland and I. of England and Ireland, observed, of the latter Kingdom, to the Irish Agents, in IfiM, — "1 have an old claim as King of Scotland -for the ancient Kings of Scotland are descended from the Kings of Ii eland." The Hanoverian dynasty, through its connexion with the Stuarts, has succeeded them uiion the throne. And hence, says a writer of the last century, Foraian, respecting the earliest origin of that dynasty's clami to the government of the 3 nations — " Even the greatest antiquity, the august House of Hanover itself can boast, is deduced from the royal stem of Ireland "- as the origin of the " royal stini " of Scotland. Accordingly, it is related, adds the learneil Hardiman, of King George IV., that his Majesty, "during his visit to Ireland, ])assnig in view of the hill of Tarah, declared himself proud of hi.i descent from the ancient Monarchs of the land." t Niall's son, Laogaire, having reigned 35 years, or from 428 to 463, after the next or excejitional reign of Olil Molt for 20 years, or from 4G3 to 483, Laogaire'a son, Lugad, in 483, restored the succession in Niall's line, which, as generally v.ninterru)ited from 483 to 10D2, would include 519 years, and, with the 35 ol Laogaire, 554 years. Niall's own reign, from 379 to 4tl6, or 27 years, with the abo\ e-mentioned 554, would constitute a sujirenie royalty, in the hero and his descendants, until 1002, of 581 yeai-s ; and, f(jr the Icrjitlninle rcsuni])tion of power, after Brian's death, by Maelseachlain, or Malachy, from 1014 to 102'»!, an addition of S more gives a connected total of 589 yeara. 122 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES selves in Uladh, or Ulster, Eoghan, not lv»iig before tlie arrival of the great Apostle of Christianity in Erin, acquired the territory hence styled Tir-Eoghain, or the land of Eagluia, or Owen, (otherwise Tir-Owen, or Tirone,) and its inhtibitants A'2/t of the island, and revered, as the abode of Princes or Chiefs of the country, for ages previous to its acquisition by Eoghan, was referred, in tradition and song, to the wonderful times of the Tuatlia-de-Danans, whose niysterion.s memory is yet preserved in written story, as sidlte, i. e., fairies, or little local deities, haunting the forts ami hills where they formei-ly dwelt; and the mention of whom is still proverbially associated, in the mind of the native Irish peasant, with the idea of a race that possessed super- natnial knowledge and power. At Aileach, Eoghan, (in Latin Eiig-^niiis,) is related to have resided A.D. 442, when he was converted to Christianity by St. Patrick. "The man of God," says the old biographer of the Apostle, "accompanied Prince Eugenius to his court, which he th(m held in the most ancient and celeV)rated seat of kings, called Aileach, and which the holy Bishop consecrated by his blessing." Eoghan, the father of the gi-eat Tlr-Owen, as his twin-brother, Conall, or Connell, was the father of the great Tir- Contiell, line of the race of Niali of the Nine Hostages, died of grief, A.D. 4G5, for the Ljss of the latter the year before, as the Bard notes — "Eoghan, son of Niall, died Of tears — good his nature ! — In consequence of the death of Conall, of hard feats " — and he was b>n-ied, it is added, in Inis-Eoghain, at Uisce-chaoin, or the handsome wafer, a irame modernized into Eskaheen, as that of the town- land in which the oi-igin of both appellations, a heavi'iful loeJJ, is situated, near an old chapel, which occupies the site of a monastej-y, still older. The power of the race of Eoghan continued to increase in Uladh, until, assuming, among her Princes, the suj)remacy of the famous Kings of Eniania of the heroic times, the O'Neill took, {nv his heraldic emblem, the ancient "red hand of Ulster," designated, by an English writer, in Elizabeth's reign, "the bloody hand, a terrible cognizance!" — and, in allusi(jn to that "terrible cognizance," the battle-cry of " Laudi dearg abu !" • It is an interesting feature of the intimacy which existed, in the 4th and 5th centuries, between the Gael and the Sri-xon, as nnited in hostil.ty to tlie Romans in Britain, &c., that the mother of the renowned Niall was ("arinna, a Saxon ])riiicess, and that the wife of his son Eoghan, the founder of the great Tirone rm-e, was likewise a Saxon jirincess, named Indorlui. ■^ + 'Phus, tno, in classic antiiiuity, another penlnmla was, from King i'ebpg, f'.»>-i_,nated Pi!.Loro>:>Eses, or the isiund oj Veuipii. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 123 or, as it would be shouted at present, Tlie red hand for ever ! Of the Ard-Riglis of Erin of the Hy-Niall laee to tlie year 1002, tliere were 16 Princes of Tir-Eoglmin; wliich territory, befoi'e the Anglo-Noi'man inva- sion, inchided tlie modern Counties of Tirone, Londonderry, the Baronies of Ka|)ho and Inishowen, in the County of Donegal, and ])arts of the County of Armagh. In 1088, Dondinall Mac Lougldin, (O'Neill,) Prince of Aileach, as the Princes of Tir-Eogliaiu were then styled — or, in the language of the Bard, " Donrihnall, of the lion fury, Cliief of the geuerous race of Eoghan " — • Iiaving marched against Murkertagh O'Brien, King of Mumha, or Munster, and destroyed his famous family-residence of Kincora, the latter, ♦n 1101, revenged this injury upon "Aileach, among the oak forests immeasurable " — ordering, that, for every sack of ]n'ovisions in his army, a stone, from this great northern edifice, should be carried away to the south. Such, after an existence extending beyond the dawn of history, was the fate of Aileach ; from which its possessor, in old writings, is designated, "King of Aileach of the spacious house — of the vast tribute — of the high decisions — of the ready ships— of the armed battalions — of grand bridles — the Prince of Aileach who protects all— the nn'ghty- deeded, noble King of Aileach." After the destruction of Aileach, the Princes of the North Hy-Niall for some time retained, and for a longer time were given, the title of "King of Ailench," althougli they tixed tlunr residence in the south of the ]n-esent County of Tirone, at Enis- Enaigh, now Inchenny, in the Parish of Uiney ; and the green eminence, and the stone-chair upon which (inch of those Princes was ))roclaimed, were at Tullaghoge, or tlie hill of the. youths, noss' Tullyhawk, in the Parish of Desertcreaglit, and Barony of Dnngaunon; the tribe, in whose imme- diate territory this district lay, or tlie O'Hagans, otherwise known as " the Kiuel-Owen of Tullaghoge," not having to pay any tribute — " Because in it's proud land was assumed The Sovereignty over the men of Erin."t * The Mac Lnnghlins or O'Loiighlins of the north were, from the latter half of the 10th century, a leading otfshoot of the Hy-Niall or O'Neill race there. Of this otfshoot, the head, as well as an O'Neill, was sometimes Fruice in Tir-Owen, until 1-J4] ; when Donnell O'Longhiin, with 10 of his family, and all the chiefs of his party, were cut off hy his rival, Brieu O'Neill, in "tlie battle of Oaiin-Eirge of red s])ears," and the supreme ]>ower thenceforth remained with the O Neills. I. have designated the Domhuall in tlie text, Nedl, iu a parenthesis, as viyiuallj or by orijibi such, though not so named. t The " Leac-na-Riogh," or Fluti-sfonc of the Kwr/s on which the old Princes or Chiefs of Tir-Owen were "inaugurated,' say the native chroniclers, "and called O'Neill after the lawful manner," was deinolished hy Lord Moiuitjny in lGO-2. " Tlie Lord De]iutie," writes his Secretary, " spent some .5 dayes ahout TuUough t)ge, where the Oneales were of old custome created, and tliere he spoiled the corne of all the countrie, and Tyrone'?," i. e., O'NeUl's, "owiie corne, and hraUe downe the chaire M'herein the Oneales were wont to be created, being of stone, planted in the o])en field." Dr. O'Donovan informs lis, "that pieces of Leac naTIiogh were to be seen in the orchard, belongiug to the glebe-honse of Uesertcreaght, till the year 1776, when the last fragmeiit of it was carried away." And he a(hls, "tlie s.te of the ancient re-ideiice of OHagan is to ho seen on a gentle eminence, a short dis- tance to the east of the village of Tnllaglioge. It is a large circular eucaiupment, siirninnded by deep trenches and earthen wcn-k. Within these stood the residence of O'Hatjan. the Eechtaire, or Lawgiver, of Tullaghoue; and here, too, was placed the stone, on which the ' O'Nuale was made,' till it was destroyed, as above men- 124 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES A sovereignty, to which, even when not possessing it, the Chiefs of the race of Eoghan considered themselves best entitled, and are often referred to, in the subsequent native annalists, as really best entitled, had not the existence of so many conflicting potentates in the country prevented the formation of such a royal centre of union, for the general welfare. When Henry IHantayenet, or Fiz-E iiiperiz — authorized by a bull from the Poj)e, and an eineiald ring of investiture, to take possession < f Hibernia, as his great-grandfather, William the />»*■<«?•(/ of Normandy, had been, a century before, empowered l)y a similar d(jcument, and a diamond I'ivjo- from Rome, to conquer Anglia — came to Athcliath, or Dublin, and was acknowledged by the Prelacy, and by the Princes of the South and East, as Sovei'eign or Lord of Hibernia, under the Pope — at the court of the Plantagenet intruder, there were no representatives from tlie North* Hy-Niall — among whose Princes it was not forgotten, that tlteir prede- cessors in the legitimate or native Monarchy of Erin, althotigh great benefactors to their national Church, yet were so, without having admitted of any superior to thetri'-"lves in temporals. In the "con- fusion worse confounded," that, ui, il the reign of King Janies I., or for above 4 centuries, was the result of luis half Anglo-Norman, half Anglo- Papal, settlement in Ireland, — during wiiich what has been so absurdly styled a conquest would be better rejiresented by the text of the HeV)re\v annals, " in those days, there was no King in Isi'ael, every man did that •which was right in his own eyes" — the O'Neills contiiiued to hold a leading position in the history of their country. " O'Neil, Prince of Ulster," says an old treatise on the Statute of Kilkenny, " would never acknowledge obedience to King Henry II." During the century that followed the Anglo-Norman settlement in Erin, the rulers of the North Hy-Niall in Tir-Owen are styled "Kings" in the historical documents of the invaders, as well as in the native writings. In 1174, when the Monarch Ruaidliri, or Poderic, (O'Conor) overran the enemy's principal plantation of Mid he, or Meath, prostrated the castles of the Anglo- tioned. According to the tradition in the country, O'Hngan iraxigiu-ated O'Neill, Viy putting on his golden slipjier, or sandal ; and hence the pandal always apjiears in the armorial bearings of the O'Hagans." With reference to this ol)S9rvance, in Erin, of a superior Prince, or Chief, when inaugurated, having his shoe, slipper, or sandal, put on him by an inferior ])otentate, but still one of consideration, we find that, at the inauguration of the O'Cunor in Ccumaught, the same dthce was per- formecl for him by the powerful Chief of Moylnrg, Mac Dermot, as that performed by O'Hagan fur the O'Neill in Uladh, or Ulster. There is a resendilance l)ecween this custom at the inauguration of the old Pnuces of Erin, and that connected with the ceremonial of the later [toman Emperors, or those of Constantinople, on their creation as such. Under the head of "honours and titles of the Imperud f^iinily,"' Gibbon notes, that "the Em[)eror alone could assume the purple or red bnskuis.'' And subsetpiently relating, how the celebrated John Cantacuzene assumed, in l.,41, the Imperial dignity, he mentions John being accordingly "mvested with the jiurple buskins ; " adding, " his right leg was clothe 1 by his noble kinsmen, the left, by the Latin chiefs, on whom he conferred the oic.er of knighthood" — this oHicc of putting on the buskins being thus one of honour in the east, like that of putting on the shoe, or vandal, in the went. The O'Hagans were distinguished among tlie septs of Uladh, or Ulster,' in the final struggle for Celtic independence under the great Aodh or Hugh <,)'Neill. O'Hagan's ciiHutry furnished, for that contest, to the army of O'Neill, 100 infantry and 80 cavalry; Henry O'Hagan was Constab.e tn O'Neid ; and 7 O'Hagans are named among his Captains of Foot, as commandinti, between them, 500 men. The family of O'Hagan was one of eminence, and seated at Tullaghoge, doivn to Crom wells time; and, in our da^', the name is moat worthily represeuted by the Pvight Honourable Thomas O'Hagan, Lord Chancellor of Ireland- IX TIIK SERVICE OF FRANCE. 12-7 Norman colonists, and devastated tlie territory of the "stran;j;er" as far as Atli-cliatii, or L)iil)lii), the forces of the Kinel-Owen, in Roderic's army, are thus noticed l>y tiie hostile Frencli rhyming chronicler — " De Kineloiii, O'Nel, li Rrh, (Jd bei iiicuud trei mil Yrreis."* In 1244, King Henry III. writes to the famous Brian O'Neill, for aid against Scotland, as to " Bren O'Nell, Retji de Kinekin." In 1275, the colonial municipality of Cragfei-gus, or Carrigtergus, mention Aodh or Hugh (Boy) O'Neill, to King Edward L, as " Od O'Neill, B'^.c/em de Kinelyon." From 1177, when the Anglo-Normans invaded Ulster under De Courcy, the Kinel-Owcn, though having thenceforward so often to resist the Gall, or foi-ei/u enemy, as well as the Gael, or natire foe, nuiintained their independence, under several Princes, until the death, in 1230, of the brave Aodh O'Neill, " Lord of Tir-Owen — King of the Kinel-Eoghain — King of Aileach — King of the North of Erin — Rov damua, or he who should he King of all Eiiu — a King, the most l)osj)itable and defensive that had come of the Gaels for a long period, inferior to none in renown and goodness— a King, who liad never rendered hostages, jiledgcs, or tribute, to (rails, or Gaels — a King, who had been the greatest plunderer of the Galls, and demulisher of castles — wjio had gained many victories over the Galls, and had cut them off with great and frequent slaughter — a man, who, though he died a natural death, it was never supposed tiiat he would die in any other way, than to fall by the hands of the Galls." From the decease of tiiis abU; Prince in 1230 to 131 o, or for about 85 years, the fortunes of tlie Kinel-Owen, as well as the Kinel-Gonnell, very much declined, owing to impolitic wars with each othtu-, and to frequent contests for the supreme power in both prin(;i]jalities, which led to a])])li- cations for aid to the "stranger," and a couhequent extortion of hostages and tribute by him, from both territoi-ies. The great fi-ndal representative of this foreign supremacy, towards the close of tiie loth and at the begin- ning of the 14th century, was Richard de Burgo, the 2nd of the powerful Anglo-Norman Earls of Ulster of his name, generally styled "larla I'uadh," or the red Earl. But this encroachment was interrupted, ihrongh the victory of Bannockburn, in June, 1314, by the illustrious Robert de Brns, (or Bruce) which caused his gallant Inother, Edwar(l, to be invited into Erin, as her Ard-Righ, or Monarch ; in whose favour, the Prince of Tir-Owen, Donald O'NeiU, resigned his claim. By the results of the Scotch invasion, from May, 1315, to October, 1318, the power (jf the red Earl was greatly shattered; and, on the assassination (in a fann'ly fend) of his successor, "larla don," or the brown Earl, near Carrickfergus, in June, 1333, the proud P^arldom of Ulster fell to pieces. The old Princes of the north, O'Neill, O'Donnell, kc, with " ups])ringiug vigour," again became inde))endent; and "the race of Eoghan of red weapons" even extended their immediate po.ssessions farther than ever. * The Norman versifiers coujilet may be thus translated — " Of l^ii)eloii;in, O'Nei, the Kinf/, W ith hun ;^;)UU Yrrds did bruig." Tl:e native Irish were called Yrreis, Irre :s, or Irroh, in the idiom of the dominant r;i( e li(im France in England, and the aettiejnents ixoxa the latter countty in lie and. 126 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES The warlike clan of Aodli Buidhe, or Hugh Boy, O'Neill, Prince of Tir-Owen from 12fiO to 1283, passed the Ban into Ulidia, eastern Ulster, or Antrim and Down, and, between 1333 and 1353, with what colonial antipathy terms "persevering virulence" wrested, from the niixt'd popula- tion of old natives, and descendants of Anglo-Normans planted there by De Courcy, &c., the territory, hence designated Claniiiu>iy. It was divided into North and South — the former situated between the rivers Ravel and Lagan, embracing the modern Baronies of the 2 Antrinis, 2 Toomes, 2 Belfasts, Lower Massereene, and County of Carrickfeigus — the latter, south of the Lagan, including the present Baronies of Upper and Lower Castlereagh. Upon the hill of Castlereagh, about 2 miles fixmi Belfast, was the stone-chair, on which tlie rulers of the countiy were inaugurated/'^ and, from the chieftain-line of this 2nd Hy-Niall, (n- Clan- naboy, principality, has sprung the last ennobled representative of the race of O'Neill in Ireland. t On King Richard II.'s arrival in Irehmd, in 1394, with 34,000 men, the Prince of Tir-Owen, Niall " More," or " le grand O'Nell," did homage, at Uundalk, as "Prince of the Irish in ulster," to the King, though without being really less independent than before; since, notwithstanding the vast ex])ense of this expedi- tion to Richard, "yet," says Sir John Davies, "did he not encrease his reuennue thei'eby 1 sterling jionnd, nor enlai-ged the English l)or'der the Lredth of 1 acre of land; neither did he extend the iurisdiction of his Courtes of Justice 1 foote further then the English colonies" — in which that narrow "itu'isdiction" was previously established. From the ruin of the Earldom of Ulster, the chief exteiiial contest of the O'Neills, till *In 1832, Mr. subsequently Dr. Petrie ])ubliwbed an engraving of, and article on, the "coroDation chair" of the O'Neills of (Jlaiuiabny at C'astlereagh. Having re- Tiiarkeil, that "the curious jiicce of antiquity represented was, for a long ]ieriod, the chair, on which the O'Neils of Castlere.igh were inaugurated, and originally stood on the hill of that name, within 2 miles of Belfast. ' he says- "After the ruin of CdU O'Neil, the Last Chief of Castlereagh, and the downfall of the family, in the reign of James I., the chair was thrown down and neglected, till ahout tlie year 1750, wlien Slewart Banks, Escj., Sovereign of Belfast, (iaused it to he removed to that towu, and had it built into the wall of the Butter-Ma-kct, where it was used as a seat, until the taking down of the market-] ilace, a few years a^o. It was then mixed with the other stones and ruhhish, and was about to be broken, when Ihomas Fitzmorris took jiossession of it, and removed it to a little garden, in front of his house, in Lancaster Street, Belfast, where it I'emaiued till the piesent year, when it was purchased from liim, for a youiur gentleman of cultivated mind and elegant tastes, E. C. Walker, Esq., of Granhy Eow, Dublin, and liathcarrick, in the County of Sligo, who has liad it removed to the latter j)lace, where it will be preserved, with the care due to so interesting a monument. This chair, which," it is added, "is very rudely constnicted, is made of common whin-stone — the seat is lower than that of an ordinary chair, and the back higher and narrower." It is ccuisidered, by the learned archaeologist, to have probably belonged to chiefs of tne country i>revious to the O'Neills, from its resemblance to seats of the kind to be seen in other jiarts of the island, and from the mode of inauguration, connected with such seats, having been of very remote anti()i!ity in Erin; or "said to have bppu introduced, even before the arrival of the ]\'ileuians, by the Tuatha-de-Danan colony." i'ilie Eight Honourable John Bruce Eichard O'Neilk 3rd Viscount and Baron O'Neill of Shane's Castle, County of Antrim, a Eepresentative Peer of Ireland, (ieneral in the Army, Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Ulster, and Constable of Dublin Castle, born at Shane's Castle, Decenibei', 1780, and deceased, February, 1855, in his 75th year. The O'Neill estates devolved to the EeV*. William Chichester, Pre- bendary of St. Michael's, Dublin, who hence took the naine of O'Neill, and has since, or in 18G8, been created Baron O'Neill of Shane's Castle, County of Antrim, in the Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 127 tlie 16t1i century, was witli tlieii- iieiglibouis, the O'Donnells, who, in ]nish-()\ven — the original seat in Ulsttr of the Kinel-Ovven — encroaching, about the middle nf tlie 14th century, ui)oii the hin-der-tevritoi-y there of the race of Owen, which corresponded with the modern Barony of Rapho, and in whicli the old royal residence of Aileach stood, early in the 15ih century su|»])lanted the older O'Gorndeys, of tlie race of Owen, by tiie O'Dogliertys. of the race of Connell. Tlds being naturally resented by the O'Neills, as a usurpation of the ver\' cradle of their race in Ulster, occasioned a long and bh)ody war with the O'Donnells, which was not com- pletely terniiuiited, till O'Neill's final confirmation, by charters, in lo 4, oi luish-Ow en to O'Donnell. Yet the power of the Kinel-Owen, though thus contracted towards Tir Connell, or on the west, extended as usual, to the sea on the north, and was undiminished towards Uriel and Lecale, or Louth and Down, on the south and east; where, to the 16th century, the foreign borderer, or Saxon settler, continued to pay them " black rents," or tribute.* Until tlie reign of Con O'Neill, surnanied "Bacach," or the Lame, in Tir-Owen, the heads of the race of Niall there "despised," observes an Engliibh writer, " the titles of Earles, Marquises, Dukes, or Princes, in regard of that of (Jncale." But, in l.o42. inasmuch as, "of all the Irish Princes, none was then com))aralile to Oiie.ale for antiquity and noblenesse of blond, "t Con was ci-eated, by King Henry VIII., Earl of Tir-Owen. In- 1559, howevei", Con's celebrated son and successor, Shane, or John, known as "an Diomais," or tltf. Proud, set no value on the title of Earl granted to his father, but, after the ancient manner, was inaugurated "O'Neill," and styled "King of Ulster." As a national poet writes of that renerated ceremony, and the feelings of lilM, with wliose " pride of place "J it was ass(>ciated — " Hi^ Crelion's aronnd him -tlie blue heavens o'er him — His true clau behind, and bis broad lauds before linn ; • While, groiii»'d far below him, oil moor, and (.n heather, His taiiists, and chiefs, are assembled together; Tliey give him a sword, and ho, swears to protect tliem ; A slender white wand, and he vows to direct them ; And then, in (iod's sunshine, O'Neill tliey all hail him, 'Ihioiigh life, unto death, ne'er to flinch from, or fail him; And earth hath no sjiell that can shatter or sever Tliat b(aid from llu-ir true hearts— ^Ae ilEU Hand/o?" ewr.'"§ * After the fall of the intrnsive EarLlom of Ulster in 1333, the O'Neills, says Dp. O'Donovan, " were not only free from all Anglo-Irish exactions, but they compelled tlic English of the Pale to ]iay them lilach rent.'" Which tributary state of tlie English of the Pale to the O'Neills in the direction of Lecale and TTriel, or of the setU'VS in Down and Louth, is shown, independent of an// native Irish evidence, by the English records resi>ectin^ Ireland, in the IGth and IGth centuries. t Moryson. A few years before, it was alleged, " O'Neill's mind is to be King of Ireland, and to proclaim himself King, at the hill of Tai'a.'' :;: " An eagle towering in his pride of place." —Slutk.-ijx'ure. § In accounting f^r the failure of all his devices to cut off the great Ulster potentate in UK)-', Queen Elizabeths Lord Deputy, Mountjoy, mentions how he did nut find " any subiects haue a more dreadfuU awe to lay violent hands on their sacred Prince, then these people haue to touch the person of tlieir O'Neales." With reference to the dillerent fate, in the south, of the Earl of Desmond, by the hand of a native assassin, the Secretary of Mountjoy also observes — " wherein th» Vlster men challeiiLie an honour of faithfuhiesse to their Lords abone those ov 'Mounster; for, in the f .bowing warres, iioiif of them could \e induced, by feare, «,!• reward, to lay luuides on their reuerenced Oneale. " And again he notes — " Tbe HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES •' Proud Lords of Tir-Owen ! high chiefs of Lough ISTeagli ! How broad stn»ch"d the lands that were rul'd Vjy j^our swayl Wlaat eagle would venture to wing them right througL, But would droop on his pinion, oer half ere he tiewl From the hills of ISIac Cartan, and waters that ran. Like steeds down Glen Swilly, to soft-flowing Ban — From Claunaboy's heather to Carrick's sea shore, % And high Arma^rh of Saints to the wild Innismore — From the cave of the hunter ou Tir-Connell hills To the dells of Glenarni, all gushing with rills — From Antrim's bleak rucks to the woods of liosstrevor — All ecbo'd ijour war-shout — tke Red Hand/ r tvtr.'" Then, "greatlie it was feared," remarks a hostile contemporary, "that his intent was to haue made a conqnest over the whole land. He pretended to be King of Vlster, euen as he said his ancestors were, anci, affecting tlie manner of the great Turke, was continiiallie garded with 60U armed men, as it were, his lanisaries about him, and had in readi- iiesse to bring into the fields lOUU horssemen and 4000 footmen. He furnished all the pesants and husbandmen of his countrie with arn)our and weaj)ons, and trained tliem vp in the knowledge of the wars. . . . He cared not for so ineane an honour as to be an Earle, except he might be better and higher than an Earle. ' For / am (saith he) in hlcud imd power better than the heat,, and I will giue place to none of tliern; for mine ancestors were Kiyigs of Vlster. And as Vlster v)as tlieir^s, so now Vlster is mine, and shall be mine: ivith the sword I wan it, and with the sword. I will keep it.' " The title of Earl was, in fact, of no account in Tir-Owen to that of O'Neill, "compared with which," says Cauulen. "even the title of Cie.sar is contemptible in Hibernia." After a sanguinary war against the English and his neighbours, but especially the O'Donnells, tliis John the Proud being assa.ssinated in 1567, the i-evival of an O'Neill in Ulster was made, in 1569, " high treason," by the Parliament of the Pale — " forasmuch," it remarked, " as tJte name of 0' Neyle, in the judg- ■inents of the uncivill people of this realm, duth carrie in it selfe so great a iSovereigntie, as the/j suppose that all the Lords and. people of Ulsier should rallier live in servitude to that name, than in subjection to the Crown of England^ Nevertheless, Turlough, John's cousin, " whom, after his decease, the country had elected to be Of Neijle^' continued to be so in Tir- Owen; avenged his predecessor's murder upon tlie Scots, by killing their leader in liattle ; and was exhorted by the Bards to attempt greater tilings, as descended from ancestors, who had been Ard-Righs of Erin. Put his advanced years, and the complicated circumstances of his position, rendered peace with the English most expedient, until his decease, in 15'J5. Meanwhile, as Turlough's destined successoi', and "to sui)press the name and authority of O'Neal,"* tlie famous Aodh, or Hugh, was, ia 1585, de.'^ignated, and, in 1587, confirmed, as Earl of Tirone, by Queen Elizabeth. But that this foreign or antinational, and comparatively modern, title should supersede in Tir-Owen tiie time-honoured distinction name of Oneale was so reuerenced in the North, as none could bee induced to betray him, vj)ou the large reward set vpon his head." This fidelity arose from the syslciu oi c'andiiji, unknown among the English. Or, in the words of the contemporary Lile of 8ir John Perrott, "to abolish the tit'e and power, of 0-Neale in Ulster, who. because they had byn Princes of that l>roviiice, as loiige as the name remayued, they thought the dignitie and prerogative must ever folio w." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 12^ of tlie " O'Neill," as licad of the old rc>y;\\ and inurtial race of Eoghan, M'as so intolerable in their eyes, that, according to the po]>nlar ami traditi'.nial belief, the Benshee, or guardian spirit of the house of Nial), night after night, in the Castle of Duugannon, upbraided tiie so-called Eiirl; and conjured him to cast away such an odious designation, as ni> better than a bi-and of slavery, stamped upon him V)y the enemies of his country; at the same time, summoning him, to draw the sword, for hku deliverance. And, at tJiis period, indeed, the general condition of Ireland was such, that she but too much needed a deliverer. Hence the Earl "did afterwards," adds my Anglo Irisli ann.dist, "assume tjie name of O'Neal, and therewith he was so elevated, that he would often boast, that he, would rather he 0' Need of Uls'er, thtni King of Spdia /" * Under this " illustrissimus Princeps Hugo O'Nellus" — to use his designation oti the Continent, where he was ranked among the greatest Generals of the day — occurred the final struggle for Celtic independence against Queeu Klizabeth— which, from 1595 to 160-3, cost the Queen such an enormous amount of blood and treasure — which was so long unfavourable, and at one time confessedly almost fatal, to her ai-ms in Ireland — which did not terminate by his capitulation until after her decease — and, in reference to which, as concluding a contest of 434 years, from the 1st Auglo- ?Torman landing in 1169, King Jiimes I.'s Attorney-General for Ireland, liir John Davies, has observed — " The troth is, the wnqued of Ireland was made ])eece and pesce, by slow steppes and degrees, and />// seuerall attempts, in seuerall ages; there were sundry reuolutions, as well of tlie Knglisl^ fortunes, as of the Irish, some-ichi'es one previifing, some-whiles the other; and it was neuer brought to a full period, tdl his Afaiestie. tliat now is, came to the Crowne.^' The Earl of Tirone, whose title and estates were contiiiued to him by Eliz;il)eth's successor, James I., in 1603, having subseipiently, or in 1607, to retire, from the machinations of his enemies,t to the Continent, died there, at Rome, in 1616. He has been called '■ the 111--'- Hannibal;" and, as long as he survived his departure from Ireland, .ithough old and finally blind, he was, to his foes, as Hannibal indeed banished, but as Hannibal feared; a rumour of '■' 'I'irone is cuviingi'' was one of alarm to the despoilers of his race; and, in con- nexion with the site of the ancient regal lesidence of Aileach, fiom which the (/Neill, dov^^n to 1283, was styled " King of Aileach," a curious local reminiscence of the great opponent of Elizabeth has existed, in the ]>o]mlar imagination, to recent times. " A troo]) of Hugh O'Neills horse," it was said, "lies, in magic sleep, in a cave, under the hill of Adeach. These bold troopers only wait, to have the s])ell removed, to rush to the aiil of their country; and a man," continues the legend, " who wandered * The celebriited Ulster Pard, Rory O'Cahan, surnamed " Dall," or the Blind, having; made an excursion to Scotland not long before the succession of King James VI. to Queen Elizi'.heth, and having gained great admiration there by his miisic.d skill, is related to have been sent for by the King, to play on the harp before him. " O'Cahan accordingly attended at the Scottish court, and so deli>!,hted the riiyal circle with his ]ierfc>rmance, that James walked towards him, and laid hjs bar.d familiarly on his shoulder. One of the „ourtiers present remarking on the honour this conteried on him, Eorj' observed, 'A greater tliau King James has laid his Land on my shoulder.' 'Who is that man':;' cried the King. ' O'jSieill, Sire,* rejjlicd Eorj-, standing U])." t On tliose machinations of the land-coveting description, (likewise employed, as hns lieen shown, for the ruin of the Earl of Claiicarty,) see the l-ev'- C P. Meehan's leaiueil ami interesting •■ ^'ate and Fottnnes of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Ki/ry O'Donel, Earl of Tyrcuunell, ' &c. K 130 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIG \DES accidentally into the cave, fontid them lying beside their horses, fully armed, .and liolding the briilles in tlieii- iiands. One of them," it is added, "lifted his head, and asked, ' /*• tJiP- time cnyneV — but, receiving no answer, dropped back into his lethai-gy !" This suggestive story very naturally became, in Ulster, the suliject of a suitalile jjoera, on "the awakening of Hugh O'Neill's linrsemen."* The great Hugh was suc- ceeded abroad, in the title of Earl of Tirone, by his sons, Don Heni'y and Don John O'Neill, Colonels, &c.. in the S|lani^sh service; of whom the latter, dying in Catalonia, in 1641. the chief of the O'Neills then in Ireland was Sir Phelini O'Neill of Kiuard, or Caledon, in the County of Tirone. In the civil war of l()41-53, Sir Phelini headed the rising of Ulster; and, during that contest, tl)e name of O'Neill was likewise l-opresented by the illustrious JMajor-Geneial Owen Roe O'Neill, the , defender of Arras against 3 Marshals of Fiance, and the router of the Puritans at Benburb, considered, but for his inopportune death, in 1649, to have been the fittest opponent for Cromwell ; and by Major-General Hugh Duff O'Neill, the subsequent gallant defender of Clonniel and Limeiick. The father of Goi-don O'Neill was Sii- Phelini above-mentioned, and his ■mother, the P>aroness of Stiaban<^, originally Lady Jean Gordon, and daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquis of Huntly in Scotland; whence the name of Gordon, borne by her son. Under King James II , Gordon O'Neill was Lord Lieutenant of, and Member of Parliament for, the County of Tirone. He was Captain of Grenadiers in the infantry regiment of William Stewart, Lord Mountjoy, before the Revolution; and, after it broke out, he raised, for the royal cause, mostly in Tirone, the Regiment of Foot, which bore his name, as its Colonel. He served, in 1689, at the successful operations against the Williamites in Ulster, jirevious to the lilockade of Derry ; then at that blockade, where he was wounded in the thigh; in 1690, was at the B>iyiie; and was jjresent, as Brigadier, July 22nd, 1691, at the battle of Aughrim, or Kilconnell. 'There he was stationed on the Urrachree side of the position, with the Irish right wing, composed of some of the best corps of the army, which wing was victorious that day, but for what happened in other quarters; ,and he duly signalized himself, at the head of his regiment, capturing, after the 3rd great re))ulse of the enemy, some ])ieces of their artillery; till, having been so severely wounded, as to be apparently lifeless, he was .stripped, and left upon the field, among the slain. But, being recognized by some Scotch Williamite officers, connected with him, through his niotliGi", as a Gordon, ihey had him attended to. He was removed to Dublin, recovered, and, being i-eleased under the Treaty of Limerick, he followed his Sovereign to France. No officer had stronger military .claims upon the exiled Court of St. Germain, through his own services, and as the head of a race, among wdiom, besides so many gentlemen of subordinate rank that fought for the royal cause in Ireland, Sir Neal .O'Neill, Colonel of a Regiment of Dragoons, died, after being wounded * This legend, about O'Neill's sleeping horsemen at Aileach, is like another, in Contin ntal literature. " The German," too, we are told, " goes back to the Hdhenstaufexis, to the great Barbarossa, the ideal Emperor, who, accord- ing to po(iular tradition, is not dead, hut asleep, in the Itartz mountain! And he irUl awake some day, anU re.ii)i'ear in Lis strength, to uphold justice, vex evil-doers, aud .€:^t»hlisli the Empire iu its glory: Why does he tarry so luag 'i " IN THE SEUVICE OF FRANCE. 131 »1. the B<\vne,* Sir Donald or Daniel O'Neill was also Onlnnel of a Regiuient of Dragoons, Henry O'Neill was a Brigadier of Infantry, and Oormac, Felix, and Brian were all Colonels of Infantry ; Brigailier Hrnry and Colonel Felix having fallen at Aughrim. Brigadier Gordon O'Neill was therefore made Colonel in France (tf the Irish Infantry Regiment of Oharleinont. From the frustrated invasion of England in 1092 to the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, this regiment served against the Gernuuis; and, in February, 1698, its remains, with those of the Queen's Dragoons a pied, were formed into the infantry Regiment of Galmoy; to which Gordon O'Neill was attached, as a supernumerary or reformed Colonel. By his lady, Mildred, (a Protestant of the Established Church, deceased, in December, 1686, at Derry, where he used to reside before the Revolu- tion,) Gordon O'Neill had a daughter, Catherine, married to John Bourke, 4th Lord Brittas and 9th Lord Castle-Connell, also exiled in Fi-ance, as a Jacobite loyalist. Of this marriage, there were 2 sons — John, 5th Lord Brittas, and 10th Lord Castle-Connell, variously mentioned as Cai)tain and Colonel in the French service — the Honourah'e l'liom;is Bouike, Lieutenant-Geiieral in that of Sardinia. f Brigadier- General Gordon O'Neill died in 1704. In tlie various cor! s of his countrymen .serving in France, numbers of O'Neills have since beeu officers, from the Cadet and Ensign, to the Colonel, Chef-de-Brigade, and Mai-echal de Camp, and several of them Chevaliers of St. Louisj among the most eminent of whom was the late Colonel (Jharles O'Neill, (of the branch of Derrynoo.se, County Ai'magh,) Chef dn Bureau de 1 Infanteiie an Ministre de la Guerre, Officier de la Legion d'Honneuv, &.C.X To Spain, also, the O'Neills have supplied officers of distinctioti • In Sejitember, 1791, at Mailrid, the flecease is mentioned of Don Carlos Felix O'Neill, a great favourite of the Kin j:, an ohl bieiitenant-General, formerly Governor of the Havannah, and the son of Sir Neal O'Neill of the Province of Ulster, &c. f "He," reUites Ferrar, in 17S7, "is a most disinterested friend to his coimtry- men ; so much so, that the King has said to him, 'Bourke, you have solicited many favours for your Irish friends, but nevei' asked one for yourself.' " t To an absti-acfc of this otficer's career, I jirefix a fuller notice of his father's, aa mare a portion of my suhject- the Brigade in France previous to the Revolulion. Jitltn O'Neill was bom January •20th, 1737, at Derrynoose, County of Armagh. He left Ireland when young for Paris, where his brother was Principal in the College des Irlandais. After completing his studies at the College of Plessis, he entered the Kegiment of Clai-e, in December, 1753, as a Cadet; passed, with the same rank, to the ivegiment of Pvoth, in 1759; became, April 2Gth, 1701, a 2nd Lieutenant; March 1st, 1703, Ensign; IMarch 24th, 1709. (when the corps was. for some years, that of Roscommon) a 1st Lieutenant; February 13th, 1774, (when the regiment was that of Walsh) was made Captain Commandant of the Lieutenant Colonel'a company ; and, under the renewed formation as Walsh's, after being merged in tha Legion of Dauphiiie, or in 1770, was likewise a Captain commandant. January 22nd, 1779, he was created a Chevalier of St. Louis; July 0th, 1788, he was ap- pointed Major ; July 25th, 1791, Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, then the 92nd ; and January 8th, 1792, C'olonel of the corps, which he continued to be till 1794; having previously, or May IStli, 1793, been nominated General of Brigade and Marcchal de Cymp. He had gone through the cam])aigns in Germany from 1759 to 1702; those of 1709 and 1770 in Corsica; and, during the war for the emanci- patiou of the United States of America from England, had fought at 3 naval engagements in the Victoire against Ailmiral Rodney, and at the reduction of the 3 West India Islands of Tobago, St Eustache, and St. Christophe between 1781 and 1783. He was stationed in the Isle of France and St. Domingo from 1788 to 1792, and finally served in campaigns from 1793 to 1798. Authorized July 9t!i, 1799, to retire, he was gianted, March 2Sth, 1801. a pension of 3000 francs ; and, at I', ris, where he fixed his residence, died, in his 7pth year, about March, 1811. Colonel Miles Byrne, who mentions the veteran, in 1803, as then en reiraUe witli 132 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIfiADES down to tlie war against Na])oleon I. ; and the name has been connected ■with nobility there to our clays, in the person of Don Juan Antonio Luis O'Neill y Castilla ; whose titles, dating from 1679 to 169.5, are Marques de la Granja, de Valdeosera, de Caltojar, and Conde de Benajiar. Like the preceding Irish infantry regiments of King James in Fiance, that of Charlemont, or O'Neill, in 16!}2, had 2 battalions, 16 companies, 1600 ]>i'ivates, and 64 oflicers. By Mac Geogliegan's sul^scquent list of the oiiicers, they were — "Gordon O'Neill. Colonel — Hugh Mac Midion, Lieutenant-Colonel — Edinond Miir|'hy, Major — 12 Captains — 28 Lieu- tenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants ~ 14 Ensigns." The mure recent strength »if the corps was the same as that of the others, referred to, or 2 battalions, llOU privates, and 242 officers. THE INF.\NTRY rvEniMENT OF DTBLIN. Tlie "Regiment de Dublin. Infanterie," appears to have been so called in Fiance, from having been first levied, on the breaking out of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, liy Sir Michael Creagh. Knight, Lord Mayor of Dublin for 1688-1), Member, also, for Dublin in the Farliament of the latter year, and Pay-Master-(iPiieral of the Forces in Ireland to King James II. The corps was all raised in Dublin, where the Colonel had lunch property. The name of Creagh, anglicizeil from an old Irisli \\oi(l meaning a branch-hedrer, was. according to family tradition, originall}^ Q'Neill — of the North Mnnster or Dalcassian sept of Tradraidhe or Tradry, County of Clare* — until connected with the annals of Limerick, the rank of Oeneral of BriL^ade, adds — "He was a small man, rather handsome, with tiue features," ami, " having been born and hroiiwht up in Ireland, he S|iol\e Eni;lish. He had the reiiutation of Ijeiiig a just chief, though a severe disciplinarian, and a sti'ict ohserver of military rules and honours. Though proud and haughty Rs one of the descendants of the great O'Neill of the North, still he was iniicli hked liy liis oiiicers," who "used to call their Colonel, 'the Monarch,' in their chat a nong themselves."— His son, Charli's O'Neill, horn in France, Sejitemher 29th, 177d. became, April '22nd, 1788, a Sous-Lieutenant in the Regiment of Walsh; and in the course of the wai'S under the Republic, the Empire, and subsequent to the lve^torati(>n of the Bourbons, I'ose to be a Colonel, an ofhcer of the Legion of Hont)ur, and Chevalier of St. Louis, &c. He was wounded, and made ])risonei% November 4th, 1799, at the battle of Fossauo. He served at sea in the Jupiter, the Valeureuse, and the Countgiu.r, from June, 1804, to November, 1807. In the Peninsular contest, which he passed through from 1808 to 1812, he receiveit a contusion on the left aiHi, at the 1st siege of Sai'agossa ; and, at the battle of Salamanca, in command with his battalion of Voltigeurs, was disabled in the left foot, from a gunshot wound, and made prisoner by the English. Though sent back to France, in April, 1813, as so seriously injured, and notwithstaiidnig his consequent severe suffering, he lieaded a battalion of National Guards in the decisive campaign of 1814, where he was engaged at the aifairs of Meaux, of Claje, and in the defence of Paris. After- wards, or in 1823, at the head of the 27th Regiment in Spain he was distinguished, July IGth, before the Isle of Leon. He held the appointment of Chief of the Bureau of Infantry till the Revolution of July, bS.'^O, and died at Paris, in July, 1844. He ap])ears to have been an honoiu' even to the honourable name he bore; a good coraraile and friend; ever willing, while employed in the War Office, to oblige his father's countrymen. He was very fond of music, and both sang well, and plaved on several instruments. * These southern or Clare O'Neills, of the line of Heber, must not he confounded, as they have been by some, with the greater northern or Tirone O'Neill's, of the line lin fur Limerii-k by the reverse at the Boyne ; till wliich time, he, as a leai/ seized a great many black cattle, to the number of .SOI) or thereabout.s, besides horses that were left in the Park after the battle of the Boyne, and which we do not find ever ■ft'ere accounted for to his Majesty; he also seized all the plate and (joods in the h'lUfie o/iS'J/- Michael Creajh; .(Lord Mayor of the City of Duhlin for the year 1689,) which are r/eiieralhi thmiijht to amount to fjrenf, value, but this last is said to be by grant from his Majesty; there were several rich goods and other household stuff," it is ailded, " delivered by the Commissioners of the li'evenue to the then Lords Justices, the Lord S~ dii — // & Lord (^ - n -nnshi/, which we do not find were ever returned accounted for to his Majesty, or left at the Castle, at their departure from tho gii^'eriiinent." Thus, it was iiot snthcient for Sir Aiicliael Creaiih to be plundered, M hi'ii hviti.;, by WiiliaiUite rapacity, without being libelled, when dead, by VViliiamice BHcu.Uicity. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 135 General to the Infante Don Philip in the War of the Austrian Succession in Italy, published, in 2 volumes, at Berne, in 1785, " Tableau de la. Guerre de la Praymatique Sanction en Allemagne & en Italie, a.veo une Relation OriyinaJe de V ExpedUio)i, du Prince Charles Edouard en Ecosse <6 en Angleterre" — the details of the latter interestii)g enterprise, having lieen couiumnicated, as the Colunel states, either by the Prince himself, or by some of his companions. The Regiment of Dublin, like that of Charlemont, was employed in the campaigns against the Germans from 1692 to 1097, and was dis- solved by the general reform in 1698. It likewise coinpi-ised, at first, 2 battalions in 16 companies, or 1600 soldiers, and 64 officers. Its officers afterwards, according to Mac Geoghegan, were — " John Power, Colonel — John Power, Lieutenant-Colonel — Theobald Burke, Major — 12 Captains — 28 Lie\i tenants — 28 Sul)-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." More recently, its 2 battalions mustered 242 officers, and 1100 soldiers. THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF ATHLONE. This regiment was commanded, on the Continent, until 1693, by Sir Maurice Eustace, Baronet, of Castlemartin, in the County of Kildare. Tiie race of Eustace or Fitz Eustace is of French or Norman origin. From 1326 to 1496, the Fitz-Eustaces were several times Lord Treasurers, Lord Cliancellors. and Lord Deputies of the Pale; the most celebrated of whom was Sir Roland Fitz-Eustace of Harristown, in the County of Kildare, who, having filled all those posts, was created Lord Portlester, bv Edward IV.; and the family was further ennobled, with the title of Viscount Baltinglass, by Henry VIII. The subject of our immediate notice. Sir Maurice Eustace, was grandson of William Fitz-John Eustace of Castlemartin, and son of Sir Maurice Eustace, Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1660 to 1665. Previous to the Revolution, Sir Maurice Eustace was Captain, first, in the Infantry Regiment of Sir Thomas Newcomen, Baronet, etc., whose 4th daughter, Margaret, he married; aftei'wards commanded a troop in Colonel Theodore Russell's Regiment of Horse; became a Catholic; and when the Orange invasion took place, and the Revolution broke out, he, with proportionable attachment to King James II., levied, for his service, a Regiment of Foot, in Kildare. The name of Sir Maurice, or of his regiment, -was among the most prominent in the campaigns from 1689 to 1691 ; being mentioned at tiie blockade of Deiry; at the routing of Hunter's insurgents in the County of Down; at the 1st siege of Limerick; at the guerilla or frontier war in Kildare, and the Queen's County; at the defence of Ballymoi-e; at the battle of Aughrim, where Sir Maurice was severely wounded; at the subsequent contest in Kerry; and among those corps, the remains of which left Limerick, after the 2nd siege, to embark foi- France. The name of Eustace had dis])layed, among King James's supporters against the Revolutionists in Ireland, 2 Members of Parliament, a Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel, with several Captains, Lieutenants and Ensigns ; includitig various estated gentlemen attainted for their loyalty, aiul sul jected to Williamite confiscation, in the Counties of Kildare, Carlo w, AVicklow and Dublin. Sir Maurice, as the head of his name in rank and services, was, acr-ordingly, not overlooked at the Court of yt. Germain, on the remodificatiun of the Irish forces in Brittany. He was 136 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES made Colonel of the " Regiment d'Atlilone. Infenterie," wliioli was a[)i)ointefl to serve in Italy; and he held that comnuiTid until the latter end of 1'''93, when the Colonelcy was conferred by King James on its previous Lieutenant-Colonel, Walter Bourke, Esq., of Turlough, in the County of Mayo. This gtrntleman belonged to a i"ace, which ranks, with those of Fitz- Gerald and Le Botiler, or Butler, as among the 3 most illustrious of French, or Norman, oi-igin in Ireland. Tlie name h;is been variously written in France, England, and Ii-eland, as De or Du Bourg, or Burgh, ,De Bui'go or Burgho, Bourke, and Burke. The founder of the race in ^ Ireland, in the 12th century, was Guillaume Fitz-Aldelm, or William Fitz-Adelm, de Burgo. That nobleman, accompanying Henry II. to Ireland, in 1171, as his Steward, was made Governor of Wexford; on » the King's return to England, in 1172, was intrusted with tlii^ nian;ige- ment of his Irish affairs; was named Chief Governor of the Anglo- _ Norman settlements in 1178; obtained large possessions, particularly in ConnauLjht, by the civil war between the rival 0'Con(n-8 "' during the latter portion of that, and the earlier \'ears of the next, century ; and died in 1204-5. The eminence of the hou.se of De Burgo increased, until, through its matrimonial connexion with Maud de Lacie, or Lacy, it acquired, in addition to its own possessions, the E nldom of Ulster, and became the greatest Anglo-iSTorman family in Ireland; its head, Richard, the famous red Earl, having sat as the 1st iKjbleman in the Parliament of the Pale at Dublin in 129.5, and, in all Commissions and Parliament Rolls, being named, even before the Lords Justices them- selves. But upon the murder near Carrickfergus, in June, l.'^3'^, of tliis Richard's successor and grandson, William, or the broivn Eivrl^ leaving only an infant daughter, a gi-eat revolution occurred in Connaught, as ■well as in Uls ei'. That in Ulster has been duly noticed under tlie Regiment of O'Neill, or Cliailemont. In Connaught, Sir William de Burgo's 2 elder sons, the leading male re[)i-esentatives of the house of De Burgo, fi'om whom and those of the name in general, according to Anglo- Norman In w, or if the late Eiirl's daughter were to be his heir, all his lands might be conveyed, in marriage, to a stranger^ preferretl the Irish or Brehon law, which provided that, by a male succession, the territory of a race should be preserved in that race; and they accordingly seized npon, and divided into 2 distinct lordships, the large po.ss^^ssions, from ■which the jireceding heads of the De Burgos had, among their titles, "Lords of Connaught." Then, renouncing Anglo-Norman, for Irish, laws and customs, and causing nearly all those of the same colonial origin in that province to do so likewise, these 2 noblemen henceforth proeliimed themselves Irish Chiefs, as Mac William "Lighter," and Mac William "Onghter;" determining to keep by force what they had gocten. And, in this, they succeeded, although the rights of the former " Lords of Connaught" and "Earls of Ulster " devolved by the marriage of the last Earl's daughter, in 13-52, to no le.ss a pei'sonage than Lionel Plantagenet, * Through the insane and. sanguinary divisions for supremacy amongst the O'Coiiors, their power dechned, and that of the Anglo-Norman feudaHst, invited l)y the conteniling parbies to assist them, increased in Connaught, till Turlough Don, slain in December 1406, was the last of his old royal house, culled K'wj in 0(mLian_'ht. " Because,'' says my authority, "they were not themselves sticady bo eac 1 (ither, they were cruslied l)y lawless power, aud the usurpation of foreiguera. May Uod forgive them their sixia! " IN THE SERVICE OF FUANCE. 137 Dnlce of Clarence, 3rd son of Edward III., King of England; wliich nobleman in vain came over twice, or in loGl, and 1367, as Chief Gover- nor of the Anglo-Norman settlements in Ireland, witii the hope of re- covering what he regarded as Ids property.* The territory of Mac William " Eighter," or tJie Lower, comprehended the 6 Baronies of Loughreagh, Dunkellin, Killtartan, or Killtaraglit, Clare, Athenry, and Leitrim, in the County of Galway; whose chief, Ulick de Burgh, was first ennohled, in the English manner, by King Henry VI 'I., in July, 1543, as Earl of Clanricarde, and Baron of Dunkellin. The territi>ry of Mac William " Oughter," or the Upper, comprehending, in general, tiie County of Mayo, was far more extensive, as observed by the Lord Deputy, Sir Heuiy Sidney, writing of its Ciiief, Sir Richard Fitz-David Bourke, ia 1576. " He is a great man ; his lande lyeth a longe the west, north- west coast of this realnie, wherein he hatlie maney goodly havens, and he is a Lorde of 3 tymes so moche lande as the Earll of Clanricarde is." Of this Chief, or Mac William "Ougliter" — l)y hi.> wife, Grace, daughter of Eoghan or Owen O'Mailley (or O'Malley) Chit^f of the district called the Owle.s, or 2 Baronies of Murresk and Burrislmule, in Mayo, and a heroine, that, under the popular designation of Grduua Weji'e, is so generally known for exploits, suitable to a race, of which the native proverb says, "there never was a genuine O'Mailley who was not a mariner "t — the eldest son, Sir Theobald Bourke, surnanied "ny long," or of the ship, from being born at sea, and who was also a distinguished captain in the Elizabethan wars, was the 1st of the line of Mac William "Oughter" created a Peer, as Viscount Bourke of Mayo, by King Chai'les L, in 1627. The family of Tuilough, a branch from the above chieftain and ennobled line, and |)ossessed of a considerable property, was represented, at the Revolution, by Walter Bourke, as eldest son of Richard Bourke, Esqr., of Turlough, by his marriage with Celia O'Sliaughnessy, of the ancient dynastic house of Kinelea, and subsequently of Gort, in the County of Galway. Like so many of the name of Bourke — who, includ- ing 5 noblemen, or the Lords Clanricarde, Castleconnell, Brittas, Galway, and Boffin, amounted to not le.ss than between 70 and )>0 commissioned ofhcers in the Irish army during the war of the Revolution — Waltei Bourke early embarked in the contest; as Member for the County <•{ Mayo, sat in the national Parliament of 1689 ; and, the same year, under- took to raise a Regiment of Foot,. of which he appears on the muster- rolls, in x\j)ril, 1690, as Colonel, and which was subsequently attached to the army, tliat fought at the Boyne. At the battle of Auglirim, July 22nd, 1691, he was stationed, with his regiment, on the Irish L'lt, in and about the Castle of Aughrim, to arrest an ascent from the iidjoming * The circumstance of tlie De Burgos having been nhli" to set at defiance the claims of a son of the renowned Edward III., tinire acting as the repiesciitative of bis royal father in Ireland, is explained by the very great weakening of tlie power «»f the colonial government tliere, that was a result of the iScotcli or Bruce's inva- siou ; and by the utter inability of Edward, from the ein[)loyment of his forces in so many wars, to s])are anything like a sufficiency of troojis for a defence even of the diminished territory If/t him, which was Init ])recariously held through pay- ments of Ijlack -rents, tributes, or pensions, to some of the old natives, for peace, or protection against others! + This ancient se[)t likewise appear, in Bardic panegyric, as "the olan of the sea- Fent treasures, the prophets of the weHfcher, and the Mauanuaus, or sea-gods, of the western ocean." 138 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES defile, or old broken causeway, which was the key to the Irish position ou that side, as tlie sole access for hostile cavalry there. The defile being but a narrow, boggy trench, 60 yards in length, thro\igh which 2 horse- men at most, or with difficulty, could attempt to proceed abreast, and that ex|)Osed to musketry from the Castle and its environs at between 30 and 40 yards' distance, if not even less, the Colonel might have baffled such an apparently hopeless undertaking, had he been supj)lied with proj)er ammunition. But the barrels of bullets sent him were unfortu- nately found to consist of balls that had been cast for English guns, or too big for the bore of his men's French muskets.* The Williamite cavalry consequently passed l)eyond the Castle, and, through a 2nd piece of good foitiine, in the fall of Bt. Kuth by a cannon shot, (when about to charge tliem with a superior body of horse before they could form,) were enabled to change the fortune of the day; while the Colonel, assailed b^ 2 infantiy regiments, had to retire into, or more immediately about, the Castle. This edifice, though tlihipidatcd, or of little strength, exce[)t as commanding the detile, and though the Colonel was without available bullets, he continued to hold, till nothing more was to be ho])ed from maintaining it. Then sallying, in order to effect his escape, over the adjacent gi'cat bog, towards Galway, by breaking through tlie investing force, he, notwithstanding that they were double his number, and had been duly provided with ball, so roughly handled them, that he would prol)ably have succeeded in his attem])t, l)ut for the arrival of some fresh squadi-ons of Williamite horse and dragoons, to the aid of their infantry; by whose junction the sortie was repulsed, and the Castle taken; the Colonel himself, and 52 more, being all who survived of his regiment, as prisoners.t On the Colonel's release by the Treaty of Limerick, and his subsequent passage into France, he sutfei-ed a similar retluction of rank to that of so many other officers there; being made only a Lieutenant- Coloufl to the Kegiment of Athlone. This regiment was not attached, in 1692, to the Irish and French Force jn-evented landing in England by the naval reverse of I^a Ilogue ; but commenced its active services on the Continent, in the Army of Italy under the Marshal de Catinat, whom it joined May loth, at Fenesti-elles. At the ovc-rthrow of the Allies in the battle of Marsaglia, or Orbas.san, October 4tl), 1693, the Lieutenant- Colonel was distinguished, and he was commissioned by King James, at St. Germain, November 13th, to succeed ISir Maurice Eustace, as Colonel. Till after the siege of Valenza that led to the pacitication of Italy in 1696, Walter Bourke commanded the regiment theie ; and tlie next campaign, or that of 1697, he did so on the Rhine. By the general refbi-m among the Irish troops in 169S, the remains of the Regiment of Athlone, united •"The men,'" says the contemporary Jacobite, Phuikett, "had French pieces, the bore of wliich was small; ami had English ball, which was too large!" He then naturally exclaims, at tliat "miscarriage, thro' heedlessness — «?/;// was not this foieseen, and the damage ])revented?" With Plunkett before Lord iMacaulay, why, too, it n;ay be fairly asked, has his Lordship \)een entirely silent upon such, an important ])oint, as this resi)ecting the unsuitable bullets, iu liU version of the battle? The Williamites were confis--iedly unsuccessful in the contest, up to their attemjit, as a Inut resource, to get through the pass of Aughrim, tlie strongest or most defensible portion of tlie Jacobite jwsition— and should the cansu of their having gotten thron^h be left loitoUl? t In addition to tlie other more generally known authorities concerning Bourke's regiment here^ I am iiidelited to that of tlie Sco'eh VVillianiite veteran, Major General JMackay, who atted at the battle, in the iiiiiuediate direction of the p.iss of Auijhrim. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 139 with those of the King's Disraounted Dragoons, and tlie 3 Indepenrlent Companies, were formed into a Eegiraent of Foot, for the Duke of Ber- wick ; the kite Colonel of the Regiment of Athlone being attached, as a sii pern mn era ry or reformed Colonel, to the new corps, until, (as hereafter shown,) more fully provided for. The Regiment of Athlone, (seemingly named so from some connexion with the defences of that place in 1690 and 1691,) was the last of the larger infantry corps of King James's army in Fiance, which consisted of 2 battalions, and 16 companies of 100 soldiers, with 64 officers. The officers, as s})ecified by Mac Geoghegan, were — '' Walter Burke, Colonel — Owen Maccarty, Lieiitenant-Colonel — Edmond Cantwel, Major — 12 Ca])tains — 28 Lieutenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." After wards the officers of its 2 battalions were 242, and the soldiers 1100. THE INFANTRY EEGIMENT OF CLANCARTY. Among the earliest of the additional infantry regiments, ordered to be established, in 1688, by King James II., previous to the Revolution, was a Regiment for Colonel Roger Mac Elligot ; the formation of which was commenced in the sjiring of that year. The Colonel was an experienced officer, who had served, on the Continent, with 1 of the 6 regiments, per- mitted, by King Charles II., to remain in the pay of the Dutch republic; on condition tl;at, if those corps should be wanted at home, they should be sent back by the repulilic to England, upon a requisition from the Crown, to that effect. When, after having applied, without success, both to i-he Prince of Orange, and to the Dutch government, for the fultilment of tills agreement. King James II., by his Proclamation from Whitehall, in March, 1688, finally ordered those regiments to return home. Colonel Mac Elligot, and such as were Catholics in the regiments, naturally obeyed the Proclamation; while the Protestant officers and soldiers as naturally preferred staying in Holland, in order to form part of the expedition under the Prince of Orange, invited over by the Revolutionists of Eng- land, to aid them against the King. Roger Mac Elligot was of an ancient Munster race, the Mac Elligots or Mac Elligods, whose territory con-iisted of Billy-Mac-Elligod, and otiier possessions, in the Barony of Tiuchan- acmy, in Kerry; a Comity, that sui)])lied, during the War of the Revolu- tion, several other eminent officers to the Irish army — such as Colonel Charles Mac Carthy More, who raised a Regiment of Foot, and so gallantly deiended Carriekfergns in the summer of 1689 against the hind and sea force of the .Marshal Duke of Schonberg — Colonel Daniel ]\Iac Carthy, also commander of a Regiment of Foot, with which he signalized himself, and fell, at the battle of Aughrim, in July, 1691 — Brigadier Dennis Mac Gillicuddy, likewise Colonel of a Regiment of Foot, slain, shortl}-- before, at the 2nd siege of Athlone — Maurice O'Connell of Ihrahagh, or Iveragh, and of Ash-Tower, County Dublin, Brigadier, and Coli>nel of Foot, killed at Auglirim — Sir Valentine Browne, 1st, and his son IJjTicholas 2iid, Lord Kenmare, Vinth of whom were Colonels of Foot, and behaved well, at Aughrim, Limerick, &c. After the breaking out of tiie Revolution, in Ireland, Cohmel Mac Elligot was elected, with Cornelius Mac Gillicuddy, Esqr., to represent the B(U-oiigh of Ardfert in Kerry, in the national Parli.iinfnt of l(i89; iiis Regiment of Infantry appears upon the aiuster-roUs of King James's army for that year; and the Comte 140 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES D'Avaux, Lonis XIV.'s Ambassador to King James in Ireland, in a letter from Dublin of May 6th, referring to " M. Mac Elligott," as then "Gouverneur de Kiiisal," or Kinsale, adds of him, "c'est un foi-t lionneste homme de mes amis." In July, IGUO, the Regiment of Mac EUigot waa among those present at the Boyiie. In the succeeding autumn, the Colonel was stationed in Cork as its Governor, when the Earl of Marlborough (afterwards the famous Duke) hauled from Portsmouth, near the town, with 9 regiments of infantry, 2 detachments of marines, and a due supply of cannon, mortars, and every tin'ng requisite for a siege, besides ships of war, to second, by battery and bombardment from the water's edge, the operations of the army on shore. Colonel Mac Elligot had a garrison of, perhaps, 4500 men. But the town was quite unfitted for enduring a siege, from its completely coijp- manded posititm in a hollow; it was inadequately sup{)lied with ammuni- tion ; and no relief of it could be undertaken by the Duke of Berwick, in opposition to the very superior numbers, &c., of Marlborough, as reinforced and covered by Ginkell; so that nothing better was expected, on the prospect of such a siege, than that the place should be set on fire, and the garrison witlidrawn. The Colonel, nevertheless, defended it from the 4th to the 8th of October; when, a breach, effected from the 7tb, being about to be stormed; a bombardment going on from the sea; and only 2 small barrels of powder being left, he had to capitulate; and ■was conveyed, as a prisoner of war, to the Tower of London. Next year, also, or early in September, IGUl, on the advance of the Williamites under Brigadier Levison to Listowell in Kerry, it is noticed, in their accounts, that among 20 Catholic or Jacobite ladies captured at Lord Kerry's, including Lady Westnieath, Lord Merrion's sister, (fee, tliere was " the wife of Mac-Elicut, formerly Governour of Cork, and who was taken jtrisoner there, when the town submitted to the Earl of Marlborough." In his ca)itivity at London, which lasted till after the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, Colonel Mac Elligot, for nearly 4 years, or to the period of Lord Ciancarty's escape from the Tower, was treated with liberality; having been allowed the range of the Tower at large, and even to go occasionally into town, for his health. But henceforth, although without having given, as he says, any additional cause for offence, he was kept so close a i)risoner, that his constitution suffered "to the last extremity." Meantime, he was not foi-gotten by King James, who, at the remoch^lling of the Irish army on the Continent, made him Colonel to the "Regiment de Clan- carty [nfanterie." That appellation seems to have been given to the rei^iment from the various circumstances of its connexion with South Munster, or Desmond; of which the Mac Carthys, whose head was the Earl of Clancurty, were the royal tribe; from which nobleman's regiment souK^ n)en were originally detached, to make up a regiment for Colonel Mac Elligot; and to which part of Ireland the Colonel himself belonged by race. This regiment, after the battle of La Hogue, in 1692, was attached to the Marshal de Catinat's army in Italy; served against tiie Baibets of the Alps; and was finally transferred to the Duke de Ven- dome's army in Catalonia, with which it assisted at the reduction of Barcelona, in 1697. Among the Irish corps broken up, by the reform of King James's troops in France, early in 1698, was the regiment Ml.' l:!4-.' ]:!+•.' l:i4J l:;iJ VM-J (17 1 James's 10 Kegi- mrut ■ oi Footer l>is- lUDUnted Drafi-ons, in 17 battalions, maUiiis, Willi ■', Indo- 17,2'j(i po idcnt Coiiipani i iOl 11 :!S-.' Infantiy; hm ^ 2 Tro p- of Horse 17,4-Jl I Guards, an 1 2 Regi- mi'iits of Horsp. of I '2 squadrons each, I in.ikitig !I14 Cavalry; and llic whole bilLg V2,o2(i strong. ino 100 /t'-riimcnts. S Ro^jiiionts (or 4 squadrons) and 2 Troops 17,4-.>1 f Louis's force 0,039 !)44 ) James's force 12,326 Grand Total . . ls,;!iir, 1S.W5 By tlie extensive reform rimoiig t]ie Trisli tfoojts in IG )S, the 3 reojiments, ()rio;iiiMllv <>t Lofd Mountcasher.s Brigade, ami tlu! iiitaiitry. or ilisuiomited dragoons, and detached couipanie.s of King James's ;irmy, were reduced, from 20, to Imt 8 hatttdions; eacli of these Itattalions coiLstitnting a regiment of If comnanies of 5U men ])er company, instetid of 100 as formerly. These 8 Regiments of Foot of 1 liatt.ilion consequently mustered 700 soldiers etich ; giving a general total of nGnO nien, besides officers. The 8 were Lee's, Clare's, Dillon's, Dorrington's, Albemaile's, Berwick's, Galmoy's, and Bourke's. The 2Troo])S of Horse Guards were, as already shown, disbanded; ;ind. instead of tht; 2 Regiments of Horse, but 1 regiment, of 2 squadrons, was kept up, as the Regiment of Sheldon. From what lias been related of the 5 first of those infantry corps, it now only remains to give correspomling notices of Berwick's, Galmoy's, and Bourke's Regiments of Foot, and Sheldon's Regiment of Horse. THE INFANTRY EEOIMENT OF BERWICK. This regiment, organized from what remained of the Regiment of Athlone, the King's Dismounted Dragoons, and the 3 Independent Companies of King James's army after the Peace of Ryswick, was granted, February 27th, 1698, to James Fitz-Janies, Duke of Berwick, natural son of Jtimes, Duke of York, subsequently King James II., by Arabella Churohili, sister of the famous John Churchill, Duke of IN THE SEHVICE OF FnANCE. 143 Marlborough. Jfimes Fitz- James was horn Aiigust 21st, 1670, and educated as a Catholic in France, at the Colleges of Jnlly, Dn Plessis, and La Fleche. In 168G, his father, then King of England, placed him under the care of an Irish officer of eminence in the Ini])erial service, Lieutenant-General, the Honourable Count Francis Taafie, (brother of the Earl of Cariingford,) in order to commence his military career, against the Turks, with the Austrian army, under the Duke of Lorrain, in Hungary. He was present there, and distinguished, at the capture of Buda. Returning for the winter to England, he was created, in March, 1687, Duke of Berwick, Earl of Tinmonth, and Baron of Bosworth. He rejoined the Austiians that spring in Hungary; was commissioned, liy the Emperor Leopold I., a Colonel Commandant of Taafle's Regiment of Cuirassiers; was at the defeat of the Tui-ks, in the battle of Mohatz ; and was also made a Serjiant-Genural of Battle, or Major-General, V)y the Emperor, who gave him his jncture, set in diamonds. Between this j)eriod and the Revolution in England, he was appointed Governor of Portsmouth, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Colonel of the present 8th Regiment of Foot, and of the Cavalry Regiment of Oxford Blues, Captain of the 3rd Troo]) of Life Guiirds, and Knight of the Garter. On the success of the Revo'lution, he accomjianied the King, his father, in his escape to France, in January, 1689 ; and thence came with him to Ireland, in March. In the campaign that followed against the Revo- lutionists of Ulster, he served, as Major-General, at the routing of their superior forces into Derry; signalized himself there repelling the sallies, in 1 of which he was wounded; beat a hostile party at Donegal, burning their magazines, and taking a good booty of cattle; defeated another Orange party before Enniskillen ; was made Lieutenant-General; and commanded, with ability, a detachment to delay Marshal Schonberg's advance by Newry towards Dundalk, against the Irish main army, under the King. Despatched, in February, 1690, from Dublin to ('a van, with a force designed to dislodge the Revolutionists from Belturbet, he was anticipated, by their attacking him, with greater numbers, at Cavan. He rep'ulsed them at first, but had his horse shot under him, and was after- wards compelled to retire, with his infantry, into the fort; the Revo- lutionists, with the smaller loss on their side, firing the town, and its magazines, yet having to return, without taking the fort, to Belturbet. In July, as Lieutenant-General, and Captain of a Troop) of Horse Guai'ds, he commanded the cavaliy of the Irish right wing at the Boyne ; charged and recharged the Williamite cavalry 10 times; though it was more numei-ous, broke it, utdess when it was supported by infantry ; had his horse killed, was trampled down and bruised, only rescued in the 7aelee by a trooper; and, with the other Genei-al Oificers, conducted the retreat to Dublin. In August and Septendier, he was at the successful defence of Limerick against William III. On the Did^e of Tyrconnell's departure for France in September, being left Deputy-Governor of the Jacobite territory in Ireland, he, with a body of infantry and cavalry, and 4 guns, attacked Birr Castle; but, on the advance of a very superior Williamite foi-ce against him, had to retire into Connaught. A like Williamite superiority of numbers, &c , prevented his attempting to interrupt the subsequent siege and cajiture of Cork and Kinsale, in Octol)er. He, nevertheless, preserved the Jacobite territory during the remainder of 1690, and till February. 1691; constantly harassing the enemy, trum beyond the Shannon, with a guerilla warfare; and, iu 144 ' HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES January especinllv, when they collected their forces to cross that river, obliged them to retire with loss. Ill February, 1691, quitting Ireland for France, he joined, as a Volun- teer, the army, under Louis XIV., at the siege of Mons; signalized him- self greatly iu the 2 assaults upon the horti-work of that fortress ; after it was taken, remained with tlie Marshal de Luxembourg ; and likewise signalized himself at the surprise and cutting up, September 19th, of thfe Allied cavalry at Leuze ; where he is .stated to have killed an English officer who attacked him. In 1G92, created Cajitain of the 1st Troop o' Irish Horse Guards, he was to have accompanied his father, King James, with the Irish forces, to England, but for the battle of La Hogue; after which, he rejoined the Fi'ench army in Flanders, and was among its most distinguishetl officers, in the defeat of the Allies, August 3rd, at the battle of Steinkiik. Serving as Lieutenant-General in 1693 under Luxembourg, he, at the overthrow, July 29th, of William III., in the battle of Landen, headed the attack upon the village of Nerwiiiden, and carried all before him, until, not being duly snppoi-ted, he was overpowered, maile ])risoner by his uncle. Brigadier Charles Churchill, (hi-othor of the Duke of Marl- borough,) and ])re.sented to William III. Released, not long after, for the Duke ot Ormonde, he, during the reduction #f Chaileroy by Luxem- bourg in September and Octol)er, .sotnetimes mounted the trenches, and sometimes commanded the covering detachment of 17 battalions and gome horse, about Mons. Employed, in 1694, under the Dau)thiu in Flanders, he led a column in the f imous forced march from Vignamont to Pont d'Es|)ieres, which secured French FJandei's from William III. Acting, iu 1695, with the same army under M.irshal de Villeroy, he took several castles garrisoned V)y 400 men, and was at the bombardment of Bruxelle-s. In 1696, nominated by King James Captain-General of his Armies, he went over in disguise to London respecting a projected rising in England, to l)e supported by an expedition from France, for the "restora- tion ' of the King; but had to return, without .success, in the object of that hazardous journey. This, and next year, 1697, he also .served in Flanders, though without being engaged in any operation of consequence. In 16i8, his Ti'oop of Irish Hor.se Guards being broken up, he obtained the Iri.sli Infantry Piegiment named i'rora his English title. In 1701, he went to Eome, on the part of King James and Louis XIV , to compli- ment the new Pope, Clement XL, on his accession ; and to offi^r Irish troops, under his own command, to the Pope, should he, as Louis advised, levy an army against the approaching war in Italy. Clement declined to do .so, but received the Duke favourably; giving him 2000 pistoles for the expen.ses of his journey, 4000 pistoles for the distre.ssed Irish Catholics or Jacobite exiles in France, and .several jiresents for King James, his Queen, and the young Prince of Wal^.s. In 1702, acting as Lieutenant-General under the Duke of Burgundy in Flanders, he led the pursuit of the Dutch General Ginkell from the vicinity of Cleves to Nimeguen, which cost the enemy several hundred men and horses, artillery and other carriages, besides a pillaging of their territory, to the amount of some hundred thousand crowns, and of nniny thousand cattle. In 1703, having served with the same army under the Marshal de Villeroy, he was named, in December, to command 18 battalions and 19 squadrons to be sent into Spain; and, the same month, after ])ermi.ssion ol>tained from King James ir.'s son as James HI., was naturalized a Frenchman. Peeeived in state, February loth, 1704, at Madrid, he, as Cautain-General of Spain, pro« IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 14d ceedcd, March 4th, with King Philip V., to the camp. From his entering Portugal early in May, till obliged by the excessive heats to retire into quarters early in July, he made a most successful campaign, reducing above 30 of the enemy's towns; capturing 8 English, 2 German, 2 Dutcli, 4 Ptu'tugnese battalions, and 18 independent comjmnies; besides taking a very large spoil of bombs, grenades, powder, ball, small arms, saddles, &c., sent from England, 300,000 piastres in coin, and a great qiiantity of ])lato and tents; including those of the King of Portugal, and the Arclidukf Charles of Austria, Pretender to the Ci'own of Spain. On the renewal o£ active operations in September and October, the Duke's army, leduced by drafts elsewhere, was but 10,000 men. That of the King of Portugal and Austrian Archduke was above 21,400 men. With this superiority, accompanied by the figure of St. Anthony of Padua as s]jiritual General- issimo of Portugal, the King and Archduke advanced from Almeida towards the Duke, defensively posted, about Cindad Rodrigo, behind the liver Agueda. There, while by various movements, and the fire of their artillery, the Allies endeavoured to dislodge the Duke, they likewise attempted to bring over his troops to the Pretender; and, at Madrid, the disadvantages ixnder which the Duke laboured appeared to be such, that he was even ordered, not to attempt maintaining his groimd. Yet he re|)ulsed the enemy everywhere, silenced their artillery, harassed thera with parties, and having smashed St. Anthony's image with a random cannon-shot, thereby rendered the superstitious Portuguese so indisposed for further active service, that, before the middle of October, their main force retreated, covered by the English and Dutch, into winter quarters ; the rest, that had laid siege to Valencia d'Alcantara, being also subse- quently compelled to retire. Receiving, in November, from Pliilip V., at Madrid, the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Duke returned to France; in February, 1705, was made Commander in Languedoc, to appease the troubles, re- newed there, among the Camisards, or revolted Huguenots, by eniissarie.s from the Allies; and, having suppressed those disturbances, he was, in October, selected to reduce Nice. It ranked among the first fortresses in Euro|)e; was situated on a lofty rock, accessible only on 1 side; there and elsewhere strengthened by works, which cost a vast sum ; was fur- nished with an ex|)erienced Governor, and garrison of 2000 men; and supplied with about 100 cannon, and other requisites in proportion. To attack the place, secure his rear, and woi'k 86 cannon or mortars, the Duke had only about 5000 men, and the o[)eratiotis ccmsumed alxjve 60,000 cannon-shot, 8000 bombs, and 700,000 pounds weight of powder, until January 5th, 1706, when the fort capitulated. February 15th, created Marshal of France, he, on the 20th, Wcis named to command in Spain, against the Portuguese, English, and Dutch, and, March 12th, reached Madrid. The Allies having assembled their army of 45 battalions and 56 squadrons, he arrived at Badajos, the 27th, to oppose them. But, after thi-owing 8 battalions into Alcaiitara, which was betrayed to the enemy, the marshal was left only 30 squadrons, subsequently reinforced by 8 battalions ! — or too small a force to attempt anything beyond manreuv- ling, to delay, as long as possible, the Allies' advance to Madrid. They entered it, June 25th, under Lord Galway and the Marquis de Lasminas ; and were to be joined there by the Austrian Archduke, as Charles 11[., and by Lord Peterliorough, with more troops. But the Marshal, pre- viously joined by King Philip, Was supplied from the Castiles, Auda- 146 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Insia, I'C, with a force, wliose operations, aided by the loyal peasnntry, o guerillas, rendered Madrid and the surrounding country so untenable, that, before the Archduke coidd arrive, or early in August, that metropolis was recovered; the enemy during their stay, and in their subsetpient retreat out of Castile, having numbers of their ti-oops cut off" or taken, with quan- tities of baggage, and several convo3's intercepted, including 1 with Lord I'eterborough's plate, &c., and 100,000 pieces of 8. The reduction of above 200 cities, burghs, or villages, in Valencia and Murcia, among which was that of Carthagena on November 18th, completed the Mar- shal's achievements in this campaign, that, without a battle, cost the enemy a loss, in prisoners alone, of 10,000 men. Continuing to command the French and Spanish armies against the Allies, under Lord Galway, the Marshal gained his greatest victory at the battle of Almanza, Api'iU 2r)th, 1707, where, with only about 2000 men killed or wounded, he destroyed, or made prisoners, not less than 13,000 English, Dutch, and r«irtugupse; taking 120 military ensigns, all the hostile artillery, &c. For this signal success, which led to the recovery of almost the whole of Valencia and Aragon, the Marshal was rewarded, soon after the action, by King Philip; who conferred upon him the former appenages of the 2nd sons of the Kings of Aragon, or the cities of Liria and Xerica iu Valencia, with their dependencies, accompanied by the title, from those ])laces, of Duke, and the dignity of Grandee of the First Class, for him- self and his descendants. After further conquests in Valencia, including, May Gth, that of its capital, the Marshal was to join the Duke of Orleans, for the siege of the strong fortress of Lerida ; which, from various causes, c<)uld not be commenced until October 2nd, but was successfully termi- nated, November 11th. The 24th, the Marshal was made Governor of the Limousin by Louis XIV. Appointed in May, 1708, to command the Army of the Rhine under the Elector of Bavaria, he sujtplied Fort Louis with additional artillery, rendered the lines along the river secure, and was transferred, for the rest of the campaign, to Flanders. From 1709 to 1712, except while for some time, and not as General- in-Chief, in Flanders, he commanded the Army of Dauphine, or that on the frontiers of Piedmont, for the protection of the southern provinces of France against the Piedmontese and Germans, under the Duke of Savoy and the Imperial Generals. The Marshal's arrangements for this pur- pose were so excellent, that, while he spai'ed for other services so many as 20 battalioiis from the force considered requisite for him, he was al)le to baffle all the designs of enemies, much superior in number. Llence, in France, these campaigns were esteemed masterpieces of defensive tactics, while the Marshal's opponent, the Duke of Savoy, observed of him, in reference to them, that "He had never beheld anyone manoeuvre so well, or make war so skilfully, or so nobly." In the winter of 1709, the Marshal was granted by Louis XIV. the lordship of Warty, the name being changed to that of Fitz-James, and was fui'ther nominated a Peer of France, under the title of Duke of Fitz-James; the royal letters j>atent, to that effect, being dated in May, 1710. In 1712, Girona having been so blocked up by the Coimt de Stahremberg, as to be reduced to great extremities, the Marshal was connnissioned, in Novem- ber, to relieve it from France ; which he accomjilished, early in January, 1713. In September, 1714, his services to the Crown of Sj)ain were completed by the reduction of Barcelona, after a resistance so obstinate, that, between besiegers and besieged, the loss amounted to about 1G,000 IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 147 hilled or woiinrled. For this achievement, Philip V. granted him a ])ension of 100,000 livres a year, and sent him a sword, adorned with diamonds of very great value. In April, 1716, the Marshal was nomi- nated Commander in Guyenne. War having broken out with Spain in 1719, he reduced Fontarabia in June, St. Sebastian in August, Urgel in October; and, peace occurring in 1720, he was elected, for his services, a Member of the Council of Kegency, under Louis XV.'s minority. In 1721, he was intrusted with the command over Guyenne, Beam, Navarre, the Limousin, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Forez, Rousillon, and part of Vivarais, in order to arrest the progress of the plague beyond the southern provinces of France, and most ably achieved that very impor- tant object. He was made Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and of the Orders of the King, in June, 1724, and Governor of Stras- burgh, in April, 1730. Choseu to command upon the Rhine, in 1733, when hostilities broke out between France and Austria, he crossed that river about the middle of October; from the 14th invested Fort Kehl, and occupied it, the 29th. In May, 1734, he passed the lines of Etlingen, considei'ed so impregnable by the minor German powers, as to have mainly influenced them to take part with the Emperor Charles VI. against France. Early in June, he opened trenches before Philipsbnrgh, and, the 12th, visiting the works, about 7 in the morning, he ascended a portion of them, best situated for judging what was fittest to be done, though most dangerous, as exposed to the cannon of both sides, when a French and German battery, firing at the same time, a ball, it is uncer- tain from which, swept off his head, in his 64th year. The Marshal Duke of Berwick was 1 of those commanders of whom it is the highest eulogium to say, that to such, in periods of adversity, it is safest to intrust the defence of a state. Of the great military leaders of whose parentage England can boast, he may be ranked, with his uncle, Marlborough, among the first. But, to his uncle, as well as to most public characters, he was very superior, as a man of pi-inciple. The Regent Duke of Orleans, whose extensive acquaintance with human nature attaches a suitable value to his opinion, observed — " // ever there ■was a perfectly honest man in the world, it was the Marshal Duke of Berwick." In France, he was compared for his virtues, his abilities, and the manner of his death, to the illustrious Marshal de Turenne. In S[)ain, his name, with the triumphs of Almanza and Barcelona, was stamped upon her military annals for ever. In England, his loss was felt, in proportion to the value of his achievements to her enemies. " He left, indeed, behind him," writes Loi'd Mahon, "a most brilliant military reputation; and, though his whole career was passed in the sei-vice of France, yet may England, as his birth-place, and as his father's kingdom, claim some share of his glory as her's ; and, while she dej)lores the defeat of her arms at Almanza, proudly remember, that the blow was struck by an English hand." In Ireland, with which he was variously connectei, mevinnqup ex Marmore disce, Geiiiinc auh hoc Tuui lo qimm pn'tio.sa j'lctif., Iiiclijiu Stirpe Duciiin, Ri'ijalls tSconjuin s Auctiix, Lfda Dacli C njax, Principe dli/nn Partnit. Clanrickard N'ntmii, Ornionc], &^ Clanoartire Neptem, Berwici Dmnliiam, plorat Jerna Nuruiii. Intffjritas, Virtus, Jloven.sc/ui' Modestla Murum, Gnudla sunt Cijelo, ojetera L actus hahet. Pontis Sacia Dumus commix mm I ignu-i lionora, Alortaa deintrltan poscit Honora Vkes.''^ By this lady, the Duke had, October 21st, 1696, 1 son, James Francis Fitz-Jaraes, Marquis of Tinmouth, to whom, after having served 2 cam- paigns with him, he tran.sferred his regiment, in May, 1713. The young Marquis was at the reduction of Barcelona in 1714, and held the regiment until 1716. Then, for having accompanied King James II. 's son to Scotland against Geoi-ge I., with whom France was at peace, the i-egiment was taken from the Marquis. It was given back to his father, who established him that year in Spain, by a marriage with Dona Catarina de Portugal, heiress to the Duke de Varaguas, and by settling upon him the Duchies of Liria and Xerica. There, in addition to his titles of Duke of Berwick, Liria, and Xerica, Earl of Tinmouth. Baron of Bosworth, and Grandee of the 1st Class, he was a Chamberlain to his Catholic Majesty, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, and of the Russian Orders of St. Andrew, and St. Alexander, Colonel of the Irish Regiment of Limerick, a Lieutenant-Genei-ul ; and, after having been Ambassador to Rus.sia, where he obtained the 2 Orders of Knighthood last-mentioned, he was likewise aj)pointed Ambassador to Na])les, where he died, June 1st, 1738; leaving 2 .sons, the succeeding Duke of Berwick and Liria, ttc, and Don Pedro Fitz-James, an Admiral in the Spanish service. The Marshal next gave his regiment to the eldest .son of his 2nd marriage witli Anne, daughter of the Honourable Henry Bulkeley, in 17U0 — the Duke of Fitz-James, boin in 1702. The Duke was Colonel till his death in 1721, with the rank of Mestre de Camp d'lnfanterie. His brotlier, the Lord Henri de Fitz-Jame.s, succeeded in command of the corps till Deceniher, 1729 ; when he, too, was follovyed, as Colonel, by his brother, the Conite Edouard de Fitz-Jaine.s ; who, after serving, first in the * Author of the Memoirs of Grammout, &c. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 149 wars of Germany, then of Flanders, and final I3' of Germany again, from 1733 to 1758, died in May, that year, at Cologne, a Lieutenant-GeneraT. The regiment devolved, the same month, to Ch:irle9, Duke of Fitz-Jamen, born iu 1712; enrolled in the Mousquetaires in 1730; distinguished ia the Continental wars last referred to; Marshal of France in 1775; and deceased in 1787. In 1783, his son, Jean Charles de Fitz- James, subse- quently Duke, and Marechal de Camp, from Lieutenant-Colonel beeainc Colonel-Proprietor of the corp-t, and was so until the Revolution, liy which he was obliged to quit France; and, in 1791, the old ai)pellatii>ii, from 1698, of the " Regiment of Berwick," was changed for that of the 88th Regiment of Infantry — the number, also, it may be remarked, of another Irish Regiment of Infantry, or the Coiuiaught Rangers, 1 of the most celebrated in the army of Great Britain and Ireland. THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF GALMOY. Of the Irish descended from the Normau conquerors of England, no name ranks higher than that of Le Botiler, or Butler. A learned writer on "Feudal Dignities in Ireland," notes — "That 25 patents, ennobling various branches of the house, have issued from the Crown, amongst which may be enumerated, not only Peerages of England and Ireland, but also of Wales and Scotland; and that, of no other family, do so many ancient baronial and castellated mansions still remain, as of the house of Butler in Ireland." It has been represented, in the Peerage ot Ireland, by the titles of Ormonde, Dunboyne, Cahir, Mountgarret, Ikerrin, and Galraoy. The heads of all these ennobled houses, except that of Ormonde, as well as various untitled, though distinguished, branches of the Butlers, fought for King James, in the War of the Revolution ; among whom were several Colonels. Of those officers, the most eminent was Lord Galmoy. Pierce Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoy, in the County of Kil- kenny, and Eail of Newcastle, was born, March 21st, 1652. He was the son of Edward, 2nd Viscount Galmoy, by EUinor, daughter of Charles White, Esq. of Leixlip Castle,* in the County of Kiklare, and widow of Sir Ai'thur Ashtou, Governor of Drogheda, slain, in the massicre tlieie, under Oliver Cromwell, in 1619. The house of Galmoy sutfereil miu-'i, in those calamitous times, for its adherence to the Crown against tiie Parliamentarian and Cromwellian revolutionists. The heir to the title, taken prisoner, in 1650, as a Captain of horse in the royal army, was killed, after quarter, and the family-property was seized by the reb Is, until the extinction of their usurpation, by the re-establishment of the Monarchy. In August, 1677, Pierce, the representative of the title here treated of, was created a Doctor of Laws of the University of Oxford, under the Chancellorship of the great head of his name, the Duke of Ormonde. In the reign of King James II., his Lordship was a Privy Counsellor of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Kilkenny, and Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Hoise in the Irish army. He served Avith distinction, especially at the Boyne and Aughiim, through the War of the Revolution, in the course of which he was a Brigadier, and Major- General of Horse; was 1 of the CV)mmis.sioners to the Treaty of Limerick, on behalf of his Catholic countrymen in 1691; and, though he had been * tjee the note on this family uuder the Kiiv^'s Regiment of Dismounted Dragooa3. 150 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES attainted for liis loyalty by the Revolutionists, might have gotten back his estate ot" several thousand plantation acres in the (Jounties of Kil- kenny and Wexfurd, (or nearly 10,()(iO in the former, and about 5000 in the latter,) had he consented to remain at home, instead of following King James to Fi'ance, and inducing others to do so likewise. On the re-ai rangement there of the Irish troops in 1GJ2, he was made Colonel of the 2nd or Queen's Regiment of Horse. He served with it that year ou the coasts of Normandy, for the proposed invasion of England, to restore the King; and at the siege of Roses, in 1G93. Created Brigadier by brevet (in the service of France), A[)ril 28th, 1694, he was attached that year to the Army of Germany ; to the Army of the Moselle, under the Marquis d'Harcourt in 1G95 ; to the Army of the Meust^, under tlie Marshal de Boufflei-s in 1696; and again to the Army of the Moselle, under the Marquis d'Harcourt in 1697. His Lordship's horse regiment being broken up by the general i eduction among the Irish forctis in 1698, he was conijiensated by urdei-s of Februaiy 27tli-28th; according to which the remains of the Infantry Regiment of Charlemont and tlie Queen's Dismounted Dragoons were forniey counnission, September 3rd, 1702. He was that year at the battle of Lnzzara, at.d thenceforward till 1706 served in the Trentin, at the sieges of Nago. Arco, VercelH, Ivrea, Verrua, and the battles of Cassano and Turin. " In Flanders, from 1707 to 1712, he was at the battles of Oudenarde and Malplaquet, the attack of Aden x, obtaining, by brevet of July 20th, 1711, the grade of Brigadier, and acted as sucit, at the successful affair of Denain, and sieges of Douay and Quesnoy. Transferred in 1713 to Germany, he took part in the reduction of Landau and ?'riburgh; and, afi.^,1' the reform of the Regiment of O'Donnell, in 17 lu, served no more. 152 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES famous affair of Cremona, in FeVjruary, 1702, he was granted the brevet- 7unk of Cohjnel; and, as such, he is mentioned among the officers of the Irish Brigade, captured at sea by the English, in March, 1708, on board 1 of the vessels accom])aiiying the son of King James II. to Scotland. The proposal made by Bourke l)eing finally accepted of under his Scotch successor, that officer passed, in June, 1715, with the regiment, into Spain. There, apparently in reference to its late Colonel, and to its coin- ])Osition, through a coiresponding connexion with Conn;iught, it was entitled the Regiment of Connacia. Having fought with distinction in Sicily, in Africa, and finally in Italy, in the war of 1733, it was given by the King of Spain to his son, the King of Naples ; was there variously styled the King's Regiment, and the King's Irish Regiment; its jnib- lished strength, in 1741, being 2 battalions, each G50 strong, and subse-, quently 4 battalions. Into this service, as previously intimated, another Irish corf)s in Spain, or the Regiment of Limerick, commanded by the Marshal Duke of Berwick's eldest son, the Duke of Berwick and Liria, &c,, was likewise transferred; and, from some of the officers of these regiments, it would seem, that the illustrious Corsican patriot, Pascal Paoli, when an officer, too, at Naples, attained his 1st knowledge of English. "I asked him," says Mr. Boswell in 176o, "if he understood English ? He immediately began, and spoke it, wliich he did tolerably ■well. When at Naples, he had known several Irish gentlemen, who were officers in that service. Having a great facility in acquiring languages, he learned English from them." THE HORSE REGIMENT OF SHELDON, &c. The Colonel of this corps, Dominick Sheldon, an Engh'sh Catholic gentleman, was of an ancient family, whose earliest j)rogenitoi-, Anselme de Sheldon, so called from Sheldon in Warwickshire, is mentioned in the i-eign of King Henry III. In later times, the name was distinguished for fidelity to King Charles II. agaio.st Oliver Cromwell, and to King James II. against the Prince of Orauge. Dominick Sheldon first served abroad, among the troops sent by If-ing Charles II. to aid Louis XIV. against the Dutch. With these, a Lieutenant, February 1st, 1G73, in the Regiment of James, Duke of Monmouth, he was, that year, at the siege of Maestricht. Removed, io 1674, to Germany, he fought at Sintzheim, Einsheim, and Mulhausen; at Turkheim, and Consarbrick, in 1G75; and in Flamiers, at the sieges of Conde, Bouchain, and Aire, in 1676. His regiment being reformed in 1678, he returned to England. Shortly after the accession of King James II., he appears in the Irish army, as a Captain in the King's Regiment of Infantry, or Royal Irish Foot Guards under the Duke of Ormonde; then, or in 168,'5-G, as having exchanged into, and become Lieutenant-Colonel of, the Horse Regiment of Ricliai'd Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell; and, in 1G87, he oV)tained, through the EarVs interest with the King, a pension of .£200 jjer annum fi-om the Irish Concordatum Fund. A Brigadier at the commencement of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, he served with credit through- out tliat contest, in which he became Major-General of Cavalry; par- ticularly distinguished himself at the Boyne, where he had 2 horses killed \inder him; on the Duke of Tyrconnell's departun; f)-.- France after William III.'s deff.itt it Liii^erlck, was 1 of the 12 Counsellors of IV TTfK >!T;r,V[nE of FRANCE. 153 State left to assist the Duke of Berwick in the gov^ernment and defence of the Jiicoliite territory; and, after the Treaty of Limerick iu 1691, commanded the 1st body of the Irish troops who went to France. On the new formation of the Irish army there in 1692, he was created Colonel of the 1st or King's Regiment of Horse. He had a commission FeVjrnary 11th, 169.3, from Louis XIV. to rank as Mestre de Camp de Cavalerie. Brigadier, also, by brevet, March 3rd, 1694, he served that 3'ear with the Army of Germany ; with the Army of the Meuse ia 1696; with the Army of the Moselle in 1697. After the Peace of Ryswick, or early in 1698, the 2 Irish, or King's and Queen's, Regiments of Horse, in France, were formed into 1, as that of Sheldon; the Colonel's commission being dated February l-oth, that year. His name and regiment are mentioned, 1st with the Army of Germany, and afterwards with the Army of Italy, in 1701; towards the close of which, or in Deceml>er, the corps was distinguished again.st the Imperialists, between Mantua and Cremona. Matechal de Camp by brevet, January 29th, 1702, and attached, by letters of February 21st, to the same Army, he was wounded, cutting up the Austrian cuirassier.s, in July, at Santa Vittoria. From this period I do not find him regu- larly employed; .probably from his being chiefly engaged in the service of his Sovereign, the son of King James II. But he was made, October 26th, 1704, a Lieutenant-General ; pai-ted with his regiment, in Januaiy, 1706; appears to have been among the General Officers to accompany his Sovereign to Scotland in 1708; to have been taken pri-soner, pre- vious to the battle of Malplaquet in 1709; and to have been soon released. He went with James to Scotland in 1715; after the failure of the Jacobite rising there, returned, with him, to France, in 1716; and died, in 1721. The name of Sheldon — or, as it was sometimes written in France, "Scheldon" — is to be found in the Regiment of Dilloa down to the Revolution, as well as iu the i-anks of Mareuhal de Camp, or Major-General, and Lieutenant-General. The successor to Dominick Sheldon, in the Colonelship of his regiment, was Christopher Nugent, Esq. of Dardistown, County of Meath. The origin of the Nugents is traced to 1 of the leading French or Norman conquerors of England; whose descendant, in the following century, was the Chevalier Gilbert de Nogent, or Nugent. He came over, under Henry II., to Ireland, with the famous C-hevalier Hugue de Lacie, or Lacy; married his si.ster Rose; and was granted, by that powerful feudal intruder in Midhe, or Meath, the country of Dealbhna, or Delvin, the ancient teriitory of the O'Finnallans,* as a Barony, to V)e held, with the exception of certain ecclesiastical property, by a service of 5 knights' fees. In this considerable territory, GilV»ert provided fn* his brothers and other followeis ; from which period, the race of the Nugents has extended into several honourable Vjranches; the princijial being that of the Barons of Delvin, additionally ennobled, since 1621, as Earls of Westmeath. The he^id of the next greatest branch, that of Moyrath and Dardistown, County of Meath, or Thomas Nugent, Esq., wa.s, the same • The O'Finnallans were of remote Munster or Dalcassian oriirin. Their last Chief in Delvin was Ceallach, or Kellaah, mentioned in 1174. Since then, those of the race, under the oddly-modernized name of Fendon, have been "in a state of oljscurity and ))overty;" and Dr. O'Donos^an adds, that, when he "examined the Parony of Delvin iu 1837, he did not hud niauy of this family iu their original locality." 154 HISTORV OF THE IRISH BRIGADES year, ciratfcl a Baronet; whose 2 sons were Sir Robert, as next Baronefc, and Francis of Daidistown. The latter, by Lady Bridget Dongun, sister of William, Earl of Limerick, had 3 sons, officers in Ireland and France; the 2 younger already noticed, under the King's Regiment of Dis- mounted l)ragt)ons, and the eldest, Christopher of Dardistown, our present subject. Among the distinguished ivpresentatives of the name of Nugent in the War of tlie Revolution — of whom may be mentioned Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath, first Colonel of Foot, next of Horse — his brother, the Honourable John Nugent, afterwards Major- General of Cavalry, and Earl - their uncle, the Honourable William Nugent, Member for Westmeath, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Longford, Colonel, and Brigadier of Infantry — Sir Thomas Nugent, 3rd Baronet, of Moyrath, and Richard Nugent, Esq., both Colonels of Infantry — Walter Nugent, Colonel of Dragoons, &c. — was the head of the house of Dardistown. He was member for the Borough of Fore iu the Pailiament of KiSi); attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Cavalry ; was attached to the 1st Troop of the Irish Horse Guards la 16D1; after the Treaty of Limerick, refused, on condition of remaining iu Ireland, the offer of his estate, though it was a very considerable one; and went to France. He was ajipointed there to be the officer in command of the 2 Troo])S of Irish Hor.se Guards; served on the coasts or in Flanders in 1692, and in 1693, when he was wounded at Landen; acted with the Army of Germany in 1694; and with the Army of the Moselle in 1695. He was commissioned May 25th, that year, to h(jld rank, as a Mestre de Camp de Cavalerie, among the troops of France; and was employed with the Army of the Mo.selle, in 16li6 and 1697. The 2 Troops of King James's Horse Guards being disbanded, February 27th, 1698, he was attached, as a reformed Mestre de Camp, to the new Regiment of Sheldon, by order of March. He joined the Army of Italy, with this I'egiment, in July, 1701, and was present at tlie combat of Chiari, in September. He fought at the battle of Luzzara, in August, 1702; was with the Army of Germany, and very distinguished, and wounded, at the battle of Spire, in November, 1703; and was with the Army of Flanders, in 1704 and 1705. By the retirement of Colonel Sheldon, he obtained his regiment, June 16th, 1706; changed its name to that of Nugent; and commanded it in Flanders till 1711; during which 6 campaigtis, he fought at the battles of Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Mal])laquet. Employed, by order of October 29th, 1711, at Calais, during the winter of 1711-12, he was present, the latter year, at the attack of Denain and the siege of Douay. Transferred to the Army of Germany, he was at the sieges of Friburgh and Landau, and the defeat of General Vaubonne in, 1713, and at the camp of the Lower Meuse in 1714. Having, without permission from the French Government, accom])auied King James II.'s son into Scotland iu 1715-16 against the Elector of Hanover as George I., he was, on the remonsti'ance of the British Ambassador in Paris, deprived of his regi- ment; though only in such a manner as to save a]ipearances. He was made by brevet of Septendjer 13th, 1718, Marechal de Camp or Major- Genei'al of Horse, to take rank from the promotion of March 8tlt pre- ceding. He did not serve afterwards, and died June 4th, 1731. Major- General Christopher Nugent was 1 of the most eminent officers of a name, which, besides himself, and several gallant gentlemen of inferior rank, gave, to the service of Fran ;e, a Major-General of Cavalry in the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 165 HononraWe John Nugent, finally 5th Earl of Westmeath — a Lieutenatt- Geiieral of Cavalry in the Chevalier and Baronet Peter de Nugent — a Mrtjor-General to the service of Venice in Christopher Nugent of Upper Killasonna, County of Longford — and, to Austria, furnished, with other distinguished officers, a com}>anion to her Field-Marshals of Irish paren- tage, in Laval, Count and Prince Nugent, of the house of Bracklyn and Balnacarrow,* derived, through the branch of Dromeng, from tlie 15th Baron of Delvin, and 1st Earl of Westmeath. Major-Genei-al and Colonel Christopher Nugent of Dardistown, by his marriage with the Lady Bridget Barnewall, 2ud daughter of Eobert, 9th Lord Trimleston, had a son, the Comte de Nugent, to whom, in 1716, when only betweea 16 and 17 years of age, his father's fine regiment was transferred. It remained under that son's command, and continued to bear his family name, until 1733, when he resigned it to the Comte Charles de Fitz- James, who was commissioned, March 16th, as Colonel of the corj)S, henceforth known as that of Fitz-James; was finally Marshal of France, and, as already mentioned, was also Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick. By this nobleman, the Regiment of Fitz-James was granted, February 10th, 1759, to his son Jean Charles de Fitz-James, afterwards Marechal de Camp, Duke of Fitz-James, and likewise Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick. Under the Colonelship of this nobleman, the Regiment of Fitz-James was disbanded, December 21st, 1762, after, says the account, " it had served very gloriously, on all occasions." t * This illustrious officer, born in Ireland in 1777, entered the Austrian service in 1794, and died on his estate in Croatia in 1863, or his 86th year. Besides being a Field-Marshal and Proprietor of the 30th Regiment of Infantry in Austria, he was a Count, Imperial Chamberlain, Counsellor of State, and Knight of the Golden Fleece; he was likewise a Roman Prince, a Magnate of Hungary, a Croatian Stelnick ; and held the rank, in the Bi'itish service, of a Lieutenant-GeneraL I had the honour of an introduction to him, when he was last in Ireland. t By Jar the most difficult portion of this work to write has been that, com- menced in the precedimj, and generally concluded in the present. Book— or the portion devoted to the history of the several regiments, and the family particulars respecting their commanding officers. The wide extent of Irish, British, and Continental information, printed and manuscript, which that portion involved, histories, memoirs, peerages, magazines, pamphlets, gazettes, state-pajiers, or letters, squibs of the day, traditions, have been so generally referred to in my volume of 1854 on the Brigade, as to dispense with the cost of a reprinting or rehashing of them, ou the preseat occaaioik HISTOEY OF THE IKISH BEIGADES THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK III. From the foregoing details respecting the different Irish corps in France, except that of Colonel Lally, to be more particularly noticed hereafter along with the account of his services, it appears, that there were, in French pay, from 1690 to 1692, 3 Regiments of Infantry — from 1692 to 1698, including Mountcashel's Brigade, King James's ai-my from Lime- rick, &c, and counting Dismounted Dragoons as Infantry, there were 13 Regiments of Infantry, (in 25 or 26 battalions,) and 3 Independent Com- panies, 2 Regiments of Horse, and 2 Troops of Horse Guards — from 1698 to about the middle of 1699, there were 7 Regiments of Infantry, and 1 Regiment of Cavalry, and, from the remainder of that year to 1714, 8 Regi- ments of Infantry, and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1714 to 1744, 5 Regiments of Infantry and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1744 to 1762, 6 Regiments of Infantry and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1762 to 1775, 5 Regiments of Infantry — and from 1775 to 1791, 3 Regiments of In- fantry. The existence of so considerable an Irish force in Fi-ance, for a century after the Treaty of Limerick, proceeded, at first, from the attach- ment of the mass of the Irish people, as Catholics, to the representative of the Stuart dynasty, as deriving his origin from the old Monarchs of Erin,* as also a Catholic, as excluded on that account, from the Crown, and as the only source from which, through a recovery of that Crown, anything better was to be expected, than a continuance of the Croinwel- " Consult, on this point, among other authorities which might he referred to, the following curious work, hy a County Limerick gentleman of ancient native origin, who, after he had held office under King James II. 's government in Ireland, retired with that Monarch to France. "A Chronological, Genealogical, and His- torical Dissertation of the Royal Family of the Stuarts, beginning with Milesius, the Stock of those they call the Milesian Irish, and of the old Scotish Piace ; and ending with his present Majesty K. James the 3rd of England and Ireland, and of Scotland the 8th. By Mathew Kennedy, Doctor of Laws, Master of the High Court of Chancery, and Judge of the Admiralty of all Ireland. Printed in Paris \>y Lewis Coignard, Printer and Bookseller in St. James-street at the Eagle d'Or, 1705. With Privilege." The Irish Jacobite Doctor's work, in which the pedigree of King James II. 's son is traced not only to the Ard-Riglis or Monarchs of Erin, but to the Kings of Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, and Munster, concludes thus — "And here I eiidthis young Pi-ince's genealogy, as well preserv'd and prov'd as any that can be found in profane history or records; with a hearty pi-ayer to the Holy Trinity, on whose festivity he was born, that he may be speedily establish'd in the safe ]'Ossession of his Crowns, and all the rights of his Eoj'al Predecessors, to the satis- faction of his loyal subjects, and the confusion of his obstinate enemys ; and that from his loins may spring as long a train of Kings and Princes, as this, from which he derives hia most nuble bluud aud extraction," 158 • HISTORY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES lian system of legalized land-usnrpation and upstart sectarian "ascend- ancy," imposed, aiter the Restoration, upon Ireland, by the odious Acts of Settlement and Ex|)lanati()ti,* and rendered worse by the results of the subsequent Williamite rev(iluti(m. But the resort of so many Irish to the French service, so long after the great emigration from Limerick, though jKirtly owing to the feelings whicii occasioned tiiat emigration, was still more owing to such o)»pressive religious and commercial legis- lation, as left midtitudes in Ireland no better means of esca])ing the fate f)f unemployed ])overty at home, than emigration to obtain a livelihood by military service abroad. Thus, to an English writer, denouncing, in 1730, the idea of any countenance being given in Ireland to lecruiting there by the Kings of France or Spain, Swift replied — "Supposing that these 2 potentates will only desire leave to carry otf 6,000 men, between, t'lem, to France and Spain, then, by computing the maintenance of a tall, hungry Irishtnan, in food and clothes, to Vje only at £b a head, here ■will be iSO.OOO per annum sav.d clear to the iration; for they am find mo other emjilcyijietd at home, heside beyyiiiy, i-obbim/, and ftea/ing !'^ Consequently, adds the Dean, in the same vein of bitter sarcasm, justified by the miserable condition to which his country was reduced — "If 30, 40, or 50,()00, wjiich we would gladly spare, were sent on the same errand, what an immense ;«y)/i'/^ it must be to us!" The general position of the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, from the termination of the Jacobite and Wilh'amite contest, till towards the commencement of the American W;ir ot Independence, has been sketclieil as follows by the late learned Dr. William Cooke Taylor. "Time has now set the broad seal of prescriptif)n on the Cromwellian and Williamite settlements of Ireland ; but, in the last century, tlie dfscendants. or reputed descendants, of those whose estates had been forfeited, were accustomed to ])oint out the bi-oad lands of their ancestors to their children, and to imf)ress upon their minds the cruelty and injustice of those by whom they had been confiscated. Like Roderick Dhu, the pauperized descendant of a line of kings could point to 'Poeii-waving fields, and pastures green, Witli gentle grove.-s, and slopes lietueen ;' and, with more truth than the Highland chieftain, he might add, 'These fertile plains, tliat softened vale, ^ AV'ere once tlie birthright of the f^.-iel ; The stranger came with iron hand. And, from uur fathers, reit the land.' The Penal Laws were then in full force; [)riest-hnnting was as favoin-- ite a sport, with the ultra-Protestant gentry, as fox-hunting, and hare- hunting, at a later jteriod; the ritual and services of the Catholic church, proscribed l>y law, were celebrated in the rocky ravines and remote i-ecesses of the mountains; any Protestant could conqiel his Catholic neighbour to give him uj) his best horse for £5, S*-. Od., and this law was absolutely enforced by a Protestant squire, whose horse was worsted in a race by the steed of a Catholic gentleman. He consoled himself for his defeat, by the com]iulsory purchase of the winning horse. The peasants of Ireland, goaded to agrarian insurrections by intolerable oppression, were * On the monsfrons injustice of the Act's of Settlement and Explanation, see Irish Arclneolotrical Society « Macariie j^'xcidinm, Xote 128, and tlie general references, UiiUer •• settlement, Act of " at index, p. 539, of that work. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 155 coerced liy laws, which Arthur Young declared to be 'fit only for tho weridian of Barbary;' and the great bulk of the Prot,estaiit clergv neglected almost every clerical duty, save the levying of tithes." * The system of religious op])ression alluded to arose from the Penal Code, by which the Treaty of Limerick was violated — the Treaty of Limerick guaranteeing to the Catholics of Ireland, on taking a simple oath of allegiance to the Sovereigns established by the Revolution, and "no other oath," those rights, as suV)jects, which the possessors of their religion had by law under King Charles II., or substantially the same us at ])resentt — the Penal Code setting all this aside, by imposing such additional oatlis, and disqualifications, as excluded the members of that faith from both Houses of Parliament, from the legal professions, from the corporations, from acquiriTig any beneficial interest in land, from military and naval employment; and, in short, reducing the ])roscribed majority of the Irish nation so lo v, that, in 1759, it was decided, from the Bench in Dublin, by the Lord Chancellor of the day, — ''That the laws did not 'presume on Irish Papist to exist in the kingdont, where they toere only supposed to breathe, tlirough the connivance of Gover)imentr^ \ The system of commercial o])pressi()n, to which Ireland was simultane- ously subjected, proceeded from the mercantile jealousy in England, which, leaving only the linen manufacture in Ulster, because, at the time, of comparatively little importance, put down the Irish woollen manu- facture, worth ui)wards of £1.000,000 a year, to the ruin and disper.sion of those it employed, or 20,000 persons of both religions ! § and prevented, as far as possible, either the establishment of other branches of industry, in the island, or such a mercantile intei'course as was natural with foreign nations — no commerce being judged suitable ff)r Ireland by this shameless s])irit of monopoly, but such as might enal:)le its insatiable representatives to drain away from the comparatively scanty population that struggled to exist there, even what little profits they could derive from ])astiirage and the linen trade.|| This mercantile tyranny was. indeed, abolished, several years previous to the French Revolution, through the acquisition of Free Trade and Legislative Independence by the Volunteers from • " Eeminiscences of Daniel O'Coiniell," &c., "by a Munster Farmer," i.e.. Dr. Taylor; a native of Manster, a Protestant, a Whig, and, on the whole, a fair Irish, as well as a good foreign, historian. I correct him, however, in substituting " meridian " for " regions," the former being the word used by Young ; and in changing £5, O.s. Oci. into £5, 5.s. 0(/., as the sum legally payable to a Papist for hia horse, according to Meritou's Abridgment of the Irish Statutes, pp. 3SS-9 : Dublin, 1700. + Irish Archffiological Society's Macariffi Excidium, Note 278. + The case, in reference to which that remarkable declaration was made, is men- tioned by Dr. O'Conor, in his Memoirs of his uncle, Charles O'Couor of Belanagare, pp. 376-9. § "In acting upon these commercial restrictions," alleges Sir Walter Scott in his life of Swift, " wrong was heaped upon wrong, and insult was added to injury, with this advantage, on the side of the aggressors, that they could intimidate the in- jured people of Ireland into silence, by raising, to drown every complaint, the cry of rchd and Jncohite. These evils Swift beheld, with all the natural ardour of a disposition which rose in opposition to tyranny. 'Do not,' said he to Delany, 'the corru]>tions and villanies of men eat your tiesh, and exhaust your spirits?'" II From the many ruinous effects of the double yoke of sectarian and anti-com- mercial legislation under which Ireland groaned for the greater part of the century after the Treaty of Limerick, "it can afford no matter of surprise," says tlie learned Newenham, ' ' that, notwithstanding the extraordinary physical advan- ta.;es of that country, it was distinunished, above all others, by immense emigrations of people." The truth of which aastrilun he demonstrates by yaci*-. 160 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 1779 to 1782, anil. fVoia 1774, wlien the political existence of Catliolics was first acknowledged, by a i)ai-liaineiitaiy '■'■ perm.Usion to express alle- giance to the iSuvere'upi whick before lliey luid not,'' the severity of the Penal Code WK8 considecably lessened, in 1778. and 1782. Tiiese improvements, however, in the state of Ireland, wei-e not snfficient to atfect the existence, in France, of regiments entirely officered V)y the descendants of Irislimeii, or Irishmen by birth, who still came there, in greater numbers than there ■were posts for them. That nn'litary connexion with France was not sevei-ed, till the progress of revolutionary opinion there to repiiblicanism, from 1789 to 1791, occasioned a break-up in the existing organization of those coi-ps, on account of the attachment among tliem to monarchy; at ti.'e same time that the contest then approaching, between monarchy in England, and republicanism in France, impressed upon the English cabinet the necessity of uniting the interests of the Catholics, or great body of the Irish nation, more closely witli England, in o])position to France, by a fuller relaxation of the Penal Code. With this view, that Act was passed thi-ough the Irish Parliament, early in 1793, by which the prospect of military as well as other professional advancement l)eing opened to the higher classes of the Catholics, they, no less than the lower orders, might h<)pe for better employment, in war and peace, under the existing government of their country, than what they had been so long obliged to seek elsewhere. In addition to this pi-udent measure, an Irish Brigade was subsequently formed in the British service, to provide for the emigrant otiicers, of Irish origin or birth, from Fi-ance, as well as for others of their religion ; and thus, about a century after tlie Revolution in Great Britain and Ireland, which was the origin of the Irish Brigade.s in the service of France, their history ceased, except as a portion of information respecting the past, for the instruction of the future. Before giving an account of the general exploits of the cor|)S above desci-ibed, it remains to show, in what manner, and to what amount, the armies of France were strengthened, during that century, by exiles from Ireland. Notwithstanding the dan;^er of recruiting there for the Brigades • — the penalty for doing so being death, and tiiat to be decided by a Jury oil lohich, NO (Jatliolic could sit — so extensively did such recruiting exist, that, through agents and vessels, employed by Fiance, as well as by S[)ain, foi' her Irish regiments, men were engaged, and brought away, even from Dublin, and its vicinity. By an abstract, from the Stuart Papers, of a *' M^moire touchant des Moyens pour avoir des Recrues d'l)-lande, 1693," we are informed — " An Agent was to be established at Dublin, who was to have Agents, to act, according to his dii-ections, ia the, several Countie.s. They were to enlist recruits, and to facilitate their escape from Ireland." Of recruits from the Irish metropolis, or its vicinity, succes.sfuUy enlisted for France, (even at a period when a very great alarm was raised by the ruling " ascendancy " against any attempt of tlie kind,) the Protestant Lord Primate Boulter, writing from Dublin, in January, 1730, mentions how, on information that some officers in the French service* had men engaged to sail with them from Bullock, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland, General Pearce, "ordered 50 foot and 4 dragoons to march to Bullock, and either seize or disperse those peo[)le. When they came there on Wednesdav," continues the Piimate, " they found there had been about 40 men listed for abroad, * Irish ones, of course, as sent to recruit in Ireland, for the Irish corps in France, Native French otiicers would uot do for that business. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. -161 and 4 or 5 French officers with them; but that they went on board a sloop, about 11 o'clock, the night before." Of Irish for the service of Spain, Captain Moses Nowland — or rather O'Nowlan, of tlie ancient se]it whose original territory was in the modern County of Carlow,* — before his trial, in the Court of King's Bench, in June, 172G, and subsequent hanging at Stephen's Green, Dublin, in July, for enlisting men, had, according to the evidence on the trial, " shipj)'d off 200 men those 2 months past for the said service, and had 100 more to go off that night," respecting which the fatal information was given. In the pub- lished vei-sion of this unfortunate gentleman's last speech and dying words, (so coloured, under the Penal-Code administration of that day, as to make the suiferer ay)pear as criminal as possible, though otherwise nseful for its information,) he is represented as saying — " I believe there are very few here wdio are not sensible, that some foreign Potentate.^ entertain natives of this Kingdom as soldiers in their service, and that the Kings of France and Spain have several Regiments, composed solely of Irish ; and, as it is next to an impossibility, but that these Regiments must, from time to time, be deficient in their number, so, whenever a compleating is necessary, they send here, for that purpose. About FeVnnai-y last, E was ignorantly employed by an unknown gentleman, well dress'd, to carry some of these I'ecruits, under the notion of passengers, aboard a .ship, then at anchor in the Bay; where, dreadful time and place, whicli with horror I reflect on ! I was made f)rivy to the fatal secret, and, for a few pieces of gold, and the promise of a capital com- mission to satisfy my ambitious spirit, not only biibed to secrecy, but , employ'd as an Agent, to seduce more to enter themselves in the King of Spain's service, under the notion it was for the Pretender; a bait, which the ignorant readily swallow, and by which they ai-e easily deluded." He concludes thus respecting his death. " Nothing troubles me more, than the thoughts of the grief it will give my poor parents at Carlow, whose grey hairs will come with sorrow to the ground." Owing, however, to the Catholic religion having been more peculiarly that of Munster and Connaught; to their situation liaving been moi-e distant fiom the seat of government, as well as more favourable for a communication with France, than the i-est of Ireland; and to a consider- able contraband, or '■'■free trade" having existed between those j)rovinccs and France; the great majority of the soldiers of the Brigades were Munster and Connaught men. The maritime intercourse of France and Ireland had been increased beyond what it ever was by the War of the Revolution. After the termination of the contest, the French [U'ivateers fr.an the ])orts of Bretagne, or Brest and St Malo, that were very active on the look-out for the rich English merchant-men making for the Munster harbours of Cork, Kiusale, &c., were not without aid in these enterprises, * Tiie old Leinster clan of O'Nuallain, O'Nowlan, or O'Nolan (a name sometimes anglicized, or corrupted, as above, into Nowland, or Noland) are descended, accord- Iul; to the ancient Celtic genealosies of their country, from a brother of the renowned "Con of the lOU Rattles," Ard-Riuh or Monarch of Erin in the 2ik]'' century. The last of the Chipfhiiu line of O'Nolan. of the Baroiiy of Forth, in the County of Carlow, died in the time of O'Flaherty, author of Ogygia. But the race, in various subordinate branche;!, has been resi)ectal)le to our days. 'rhe:'9 were several among the oihcers of the Jacobite or national army in Ireland iluriu i the War of the Revolution, as well as among the consequent victims of WilU.rnite )>riiscri()tioii or spoliacinn; and, down to the French Eevolution, the name is co be found in the Irish Brigaile, with the distinction of Chevalier of St. Louis. M 162 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES through a communication witli the native po])ulation of the sea-coast ; eynipathizing with tliose belonging to a nation, so recently the ally of tlieirs, and the enemy of their enemies, the Williamites. Pi-ivateers likewise from France, manned with Irish and Scotch exiles, the adher- ents of King James, and acting by his commission fi-om St. Germain, were so animat(;d V)y the successes obtained against the Williainite trade, that they extended their operations into the Bay of Dublin; and Ii-ish Jacobite officers, comman(h'ng French vessels, are mentioned as very injurious to the same commerce in their cruises. Hence the communica- tion went on between Ireland and France, where there were many Irish, besides the flower of the nation engaged in tlie service of tlteir exiled King aiul Louis XIV. But, through the arl)itrary suppression by Eug- ln!id of the Irish woollen manufacture, her otiier legislation for the* injury or ruin of Irish commerce, and the continued limitations to employment in Ireland by the constant additions to the Penal Code, the causes for such intercourse with France were necessarily increased. Of the productions of Irelarul, the wool and the men, rendered equally iticapalde by law of beconang the great sources of wealth they might have been at home, were in requcrst for the manufactures and the armies of France abroad. Wel]-equi|>|ied smuggling vessels, freigiited with brandy, claret, laces, and silks, ciuisequeutly plied to the co;ists of Kerry, Clare, and Connaught, having Irish officer.s, and occasionally friars, on board, speaking the old language, which was still that of far the greater part of the country, and possessing a pro])ortionable influence with their country- men.'"' For these arrivals from France, cargoes of vjool were returned, accompanied by suitable numbers of hardy recruits, whose periodical emigrations were fancifully styled, "the flights of the wild geese." t These enlistments for the Brigades in France were most extensive to about 1748, or the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Then, on account of the serious injury so long experienced tVoin the valour of the exiled Irish l:)y the Allies in general, added to the more recent and immediate expei'ience of that valour by England herself in particular at tlie defeat of Fontenoy, such prohibitory measures were adopted in Ireland by the government — who, to a certain degree, had hitherto connived at the levies in question as a sort of safety-valve for the relief of the country under the unforLu- * The old Milesian or Gaelic population of Erin were naturally as much attached to their own language, as they were averse to that of the .Sassenaghs, or English. In the niidille ages, when a native or inde])eiulcnt territory was menaced with invasion from the settlements of "the stranger," it was customary for one clan, or sept, to claim aid from another, "for the .sake of tlie language of the Gaels;" since, though "as septs, they might be distinct as the l)i]lows, as to the language, they were one as the sea." Among the Irish Lirigades in France, during the most celebrated period of their existence, or down to tlu; war of Dettingeu, Fontenoy, &c., the (jiaelic was so general, that an officer, not kmiwuig it on entering those corps, subsequently learned it; and the exclamation of vengeance from the Brigade, in charging their opjioneiits at the famous battle last -mentioned, is related to have been expressed in the ancient national t(jngue. + The celebrated English coininercial writer, Dr. Josiah Tucker, Dean of Gloucester, mentions, in 175;>, how, in the west of Ireland, wool -smugglers "got upwards of 50 ]ter cent, by the wool they sold to the PVench ; ' adding, "as long as this is the case, laws, and restrictions, will signify nuthiii;;." And, with that injurious transmission, for England, of the Irisii wool abroad, since it enabled France to rival her "in that most essential article of foreign commerce," a con- temporary English paniphlCiCer connects tlie necessity there was, to "take off tliose numbers fimn the Irish Brif^^ades, who amiually enlist themselves into tlie French or Spanish service, to the inconceivable iletri.neiit of Great Britain." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 163 nate circi: instances in which it was legally placed — that those recruitings may henceforth be said to have comparatively ceased. Yet, until lon-^ after, they did not do so altogetlier. For several years within the preseuu century, tlie numbers of those, who, during the latter half of the pre- ceding one, were in the habit of emigrating to serve in France, esjjecially from the remote and rocky coasts of Kerry and Clare, were a subject of familiar recollection and conversation, in the south of Ireland, witl* tho fathers of men still living. As to the Irish of the rank in society for officers, their emigration to France, from the facilities for going th^re which their superior means afforded tliem, could not be prevented; so that, during the continuance, under the Bourbon monarchy, of regimenta known as Irish, those corps, to the last, were generally officered either by the descendants of Iiish settlers in France, or by natives of Ireland, ' According to estimates, stated to be deduced from the Bureau de la Guerre, or War Office of France, between the troops of the Irish regi- ments in her service, and the Irish in other corps of tbe French army, from October, 1691. to May 1745, or, from the Treaty of Limerick, 1o tlie battle of Fontenoy, those military t-xiles amounted to above 450,<:00, and, from 1745 to 1791 — or the break ing-up of tlie Irish Brig;ide, through the fall of the Bourbon monarchy by the 1st French Revolu- tion, — the rest of those exiles are alleged to have been so many more, as made up, for the century, a grand total of 4^0,000 men.* The existence of such a large number of refugees, during the former ))eriod, will a))[)ear the less surprising from this circumstance, — that, during the earlier, and raoTe generally celebrated, da3's of the services of tlie Irish in France, as ■well as in Spain, their strength was, to a very great extent, kept up by- deserters from the British army. These, though, as Catholics, legally excluded from the British service, yet, having been without any better resource, from their misery, than to enlist in that service, pretended to do so as Protestants: but only acted thus, to get a free passage to the Continent, and there join, as soon as possible, those famous corps of their countrymen, with whom tlx-y might enjoy the exerci.-^e of their religion, then inti r.iicted in the British army; migiit rejoin beloved relative.s, or friends, "not lost, but gone before;" t might obtain, ia * " Par des calculs et des recberches faites au Bureau de la Guerre," observes the Abbe ISIac (jeoghesan, "on a trouve, qu'il y avoit en, deimis larrivee des troupes Irlaudoises en France en 1G91, jusqu eu 1745, que se donua la bataille de Fontenoy, jilus de 450,0i)U Irlaudois, morts au service de la France." After sifting this .itatement of the Abbe by ocher and hostile, yet corroborative, evidence (which might be considei-.tbly augmented) the industrious Protestant statistician, Newen- ha;ii, remarks — " Upon the whoie, I am inclined to think that we are not sufficiently warranted in considering the Abbe Mac Geoghegan s statement as an exaggeration." That statement, however, must be undeistood, as inchiding all the irish who served in France, instead of those who belonged to Irish regiments only. One of my French MSS., entitled, ".Souvenirs des Brigades Irlandaises," in treating of the Irish belonging to the armies of the princi|jal ("ontineutal powers, from the War of the Revolution in Ireland to the tirst lievfihition m France, says, "480,003 sont morts an service xnil de la France." The MS. adds — " Ce resultat est bas6 eur des recherches iaites aux Archives du Ministre de la Guerre a Paris." M. de la Ponce alleges, from Iiis authorities, "que par suite de calculs et de recherches executes dans les Archives du Depa'.tement de la Guerre, il a tte constate, qu'euise les aunees 1610 et 18ii0, plus de 750,1 00 Irlandais avaier.t ete mois?onnes par le I'er cu le l)ou!et sur les divers champs de bataiije, ' for the honour of hin country, or "I'eclat du noni Fran; ais." t An exani]>le (f such desertions, as those abrve alluded to, occurs, amorg the records of the OKeeUe lamiiy, in Iiai*<-e. Arthur UkteLe, Fsq., J.l*. for the 164 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES battlo, some of the vengeance then due for tlie many oppressiotis, and iu.Milts, so long inflicted upon their race, and creed ; and even might, aa tlicy anticipated, return, one day or another, to Ireland, to overtliro^v the detested state of things established thei-e by the Revolution."' Of those numerous desertions from levies made in Ireland, almost to the close of the war ended by the Peace of Utrecht, a well-informed oi- war- office writer notes — " Entire regiments were rais'd in that kingdom, of wliich I can tiaiiie several, until the ex]ierience we had, of their frequint d(\sertions to tiie Fnnich and Spaniards, shcw'd us, that, to list men in Irtland was only to recruit for the Irish troops in the service of France find Spain; and, consequently, to raise forces, at that time, for the Chevalier." Hence, too, the hoj)es thus expressed in the versification of tlie native Jacoljite song — • " O ! the Fi'onc.l) and .'>prmisli Soon mir foes will Wiuiiwh ; Then at once will vanish All our grief ami dread ; City, town, and village, Shall no itmre know jiilhige, Mn?ic, icastino-, tillage Shall al)ouii(l instead; *' Poetry, romances, J{:ices, and long dances. Shouts, and songs, and glances. From eyes bright with sniiles ! — (>in- King's feasts shall Fame hyuin, '/7iini(/h I 1)1111/ not name him, Victory will priiclaun him Jlunarch 0/ the Jslca!'" Under such circumstances, " let no one asperse the character of the Irish," exclaims an Irish Protestant writer, resj)ecting his Catiiolic conntrynien in the foreign military services, " they lent their valour to tlie states whicli sup])orted their dethroned kings, their outlawed religion, their denationalized countiy, their vow of vengeance, or their ho])es of freedom." These legimental and other particulars, connected with the iormation of the Irish Briga(h;s, will suffice, as an introduction to the BU)re attractive ])ortion of their history, on which we noio enter — or the general narrative of their achievements. Ccninty of Cork in King .Tames's reign, raised, for the royal service, a company of foot, which he comniaiuied, as t'aptain, in the licginient of Lord Kenmare, till the end of the War of the Itevolution. Then, ol)hged by his numer'ins family to remain at home, he sent his company to 1*^ ranee, whither 2 of his sons had pre- viously gone; one as Cai)tain, the other as Lieutenant, with tO men, whom they bad raised for the liegiment of O'Brien, or Clare. Some time after, a 3rd son, desirous of following his brothers abroad, got himself into the English army, after the manner noticed in the text; and succeeded in joining the French, "bringing over, ■ -saj's the account, '" 14 men of the army commanded by JNlilord Marlborough." 3 y these means the 'S brothers "all met together,' as officers in the same regi- Eieut The name of O'Keelfe has been one of military distinction in France to our time, or repte.sented among her Genei'al Officers (U)wn to \S'y2. For H iKjuchot desertion, on the other hand, from the Fiench to the English army, see a note to Hook IV., under battle of Abnanza, in 1707. • The Protestant Lord Piimate for Ireland, Dr. Boulter, writing from Dublin, in 1,;;0, to the indie of Kewcastle, in England, remarks — "All recruits, raised iiere for France or Sjiain, are generally considered as persons, that may, some time rr otl.'tr, ])ciy a visit to this country, as enemies. That all, who are listed here, iu th( tfc services, hope and wish to do .o, theie is nu doubt.' IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. l(J-5 The first service ajipointed for the greater portion of the Irish troop.s, after their reorganization in France in 1692, was an expedition to England. That invasion was concerted between James II. and Louis XIV., as equally for the interest of both; of the former, as the means of effecting his " restoration ;" of the latter, as his best resource against the League of Augsburg; since, unless William, its chief, could be dethroned, that great confederacy would be stronger than eve^, from //?'-? being enabled, by the Treaty of Limerick, to employ, on tlic Contin(-i»6 against France, so many of the regular force of 67 regiments, absorlit-d, by the last year's war, in Ireland. The " Armee de Normandie," for James's service, was, including liis househokl and officers, to consist of 30,000 men, with 50 guns. Of these, the Irish — as exclusive of the 3 Regiments of Mounteashel's Brigade, and the Regiment of Athh:)ne, apj)ointed to serve elsewhere — would amount, in round numbers, to 12,400 infantry, and 800 cavalry, or above 13,2ll0 men and oUicers. The whole were to be commanded, under the King, by the veteran Marshal de Bellefonds, to whom Patrick Sarstield, Earl of Lucan, was Marechal de Camp, or Major-General. From the great discontent against the Williamite government in England, tlie correspondence of William's own Ministers with James, and the Jacobite ariangrmonts made, that, if a landing could only be effected, " the King should enjoy his own again," nothing seemed requisite for success, but that tlie Frenc-'i fleet should be ready in time, to protect the proposed disembarkation, befoie the English and Dutch fleets could unite, to opj)ose it. Early in April, the French and Irish troops, destined for the expedition, wera assembled, between Cherboui'g and La Hogue, in Normandy ; and James, with his son the Duke of Berwick, the Marshal de Bellefonds, &c., arrived the 24th at Caen. The embarkation of the troops might (hen have been commenced. But, /"or se,veral, weeks, tlie " Protestant win /*■," as they were styled in Enghind, prevented the attempt, by damaging the French transports, and by preventing the jui-ction of the Toulon fleet, and other vessels, with the Brest fleet under tLe famous Chevalier Comte de Tourville; while the several English squadrons thus had time to unite vinder Admiral Russell, with the Dutch fleet under Admiral Van AUemonde.* Louis, informed that there would be a great Jacobite defection in the English fleet on meeting his, and that the Dutch were 7iot ready to join the English, at length ordered Tourville to enter the Channel, and give battle. Tourville sailed accordingly. But, the Dutch meanwhile joining the English, the Jacobites despatched intelligence of the fact to France, whence 10 light vessels were sent after Tourville with the news, and a counter-order, that he was not to fight, till strengthened by the Toulon fleet. None, however, of the 10 (strange to say!) reaeheJ * "I am sorry, from my heart, for our good King James," writes Charlotte • Elizabeth, Duchess of Orleans, from Paris, May Utli, 1692. "Hitherto Ihnrcn, or, to speak inore strictly, the uunij, tights on the Prince of Orange's side ; for Kuig James has not been able to embark." And Francis Ainiesley, writing toSir Arthrr llawdon, from Loudon, May 29th, 0. S., 1692, on the defeat of the Fiench, observes — "It is concluded their design was, to have taken the advantage of Admiral.^ Carter and Delavalle's squadron, which consisted but of 33, and to have managed tlicm, so as to have made way fur the safe conduct of their trauspoit-ships, wit|» their army, to have ])oured in upon us here; and we may tliauk our Proti-xtanA winds for the escajie." How remarka'ole was the favour from the ntntf quarter exjerienced by William himself in 1()8S, through which he was enabled to reach, and disembark unmolested, in England, is shown by Lord Alacaulay, 166 HISTORY OF TIIK HUSH D?J(7AI)ES liim, when, Mkv 2f)tl), l)ft,wf(»!i Buflonr aiv] Tjii Hocjm-, lie met the combined tlt^cts. 'I'hf'y, aceonliiig fo tlieir publisheil "line of battle," consiste^se, there were, for action, 88 sail of the line. aKdmling 3(> three-deckers, besides minor vessels, or tire- Biiips. The French, bj^ their accounts, had but 44 sail of the line, lJJ,451 inen, and 3216 cannon, with no more than I'i lire-ships —the strength of the Allied armamenc, between men-of-war and minor vessels, consequently bt'ing, as compared witii tliat of the French, in the pro])ortiou of more than 2 to 1! NevertheU>ss, from 10 in the morning till 10 at night, (exc'-'pt while intei-rnpted by a fog.) Tonrville maintained a noble engage- ment, against such enormous odds; not lusing a single vessel himself, and disabling several of the eneniy's; so that never was the glory of the French marine higher than tliatday! The result, however, from May 30th, to June 3rd, wa^, that, obliged to retin; towards his f)wn coasts, where tliei-e was not due harbonraL,'e for his fleet, which he would otherwise have saved, lo of his iirincipal men-of-war went aground at Cherbourg, Fort Lisset, and La Ho^ue, and. with some small craft, were burneil by the eneniv.* This action, though honourable to the French, was a fatal blow to their navy. " T!ie d;-fe it ot La Ho^ue," i-euiarks an English contemporary of Louis XI W, '-was such a siiock to his naval power, that he was never alter aUe to put out a. fleet, to meet tiie Englisli and Dutch fleet in the (JhaTinel. He had been 30 years making til) a navy, at a-i much expenceas would have maintain'd all his garrisons ; it has been computed at 2O,0iK),000 st'^rimg. He had form'd to himself the project of making hin)self master in Ixitli. seas, and, then, of giving laws to ALL Christendom. He cou'd iiot do this without a fleet, su]>erioT- in strength to botJi English and Dutch ; liii own v;as tto in Beacliy Jight ^ 'tieitra (((JO ; and now i(X}(id ii.avf. been so atjdin, had it come up before the Ji/.iK-iiovH alrc'iil I) in.(',atioih d. But this blow put an end to his dream, of of being the iNEPTUNii:, as well as the Mars, of Europe." The expedition Hgainst England was consequently given up; King James returned to St. Gerniain ; and the Irish troo))s were ordered, to join the Armies of Flanders, Germany, Spain, and Italy. The campaign of 1()92 in Flanders commenced with the reduction of Naniur by Louis XIV. in the presence of William III., as Moris had been reduced the preceding campaign. Tlie fdl, under those mortifying circ\imstanccs, of 2 Allied fortresses of such importance, gave rise to sharp reflections and sarcastic songs, oi- squilis, on both sides of the Channel, to the gloiifica.tion of I^onis, at W illium's expense. " II est faclieux, on le sait Idea, Poni' cles gnernevs habiles, De voir, i?aii#entrej>reii(b"e rien, Forcer de teiles villes. Mais. NassaiT, du inoiiis tu sanras (■(iiiiuient il le.s faut prendre; St Miinn )ie 1a i^ii (fi-'unl. />«;;, Ndiiiur dolt te ['appreiulrc .'" • On this engagement, and circumstances connecterl with it, I have availed mypelf of French official sorrces of informatimi; besides more generally Icnowu ail tiiori ties. I'Lerecan be little, if any, doubt, from the very gallant contest rnaiii- iained liy Tonvvj/le under svich disadvantages, that, if joined hy his entire forcd, X)V the Toulon lleet. lie v.-nnld have beaten the Ennlish anil Dutch, as fuiDioi- y ; pial a (lisciid)arkution, and "-iid .SuUart " restoratiuu," lu Eaglaucl, Wuuld then huve Lteii cenUiii, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. IG? ^ The author sure must take great paina, Who fairly wnces his story, In which of these two last campaigns. He gain d the greatest glory. For, while that he march d on to tight, Like hero, nothing fearing, ^ainar wa/i taken in his ni.'/ht. And Monti wiUuii hit: hearing !'''' LoTiis, after the capture of Namm-, returned to Franee, early in July ; leaving the comuiaud of his fore s in Flanders to the Marslial Duke de Luxeniliourg. William, to obtain some satisfaction for this affront, collected his utmost strength, or, according to his own accounts, between 9">,000 and 100,000 men, and, August 3rd, advanced against Luxem- boui'g. From the diminution of the French army at the siege of Namur, and b}' a detachment to Germany, Luxembourg would ajipear, as inferior in numl)er, to have betaken himself to the strong position of the hedged and wooded country between Enghein and Steinkirk. A very warm engagement of infantry took ])lace ; the " firing, muzzle to muzzle, tln-ough the hedges," being compared to "continued claps of thunder." William's main attack was that of his left, under the Duke of Wirtem- bt'rg, upon the French right towards Steinkirk. There the Allies, — ■ having had a great advantage in the way of a surprise of the French, tlirough the medium of a detected and double-dealing spy, — at first carried all before them, and won 7 pieces of cannon; until Luxembourg, ordering up the French and Swiss Guards, accompanied by seveial ])rince»> and noblemen, to charge the assailants sword in hand, the 7 guns were i-ecovered, others taken, and Wii-temberg repulsed with great slaughter. After a close contest, from about midday to 7 in the evening, Luxem- bourg remained master of the field, by the retreat of William — but iu good order. " The King," we are told, " tho' he dissembled the matter very much, yet could not but discover his regret for the disap])ointnient; he being observed, the night after the action, while he sate at sup])er, frequently to frown, and bite his lips." In alluding to a popular English statement of the day, attributing the loss of the battle "to Count Solmes, the Dutch. General, who refused to obey the King's orders, in suppcrting the /iJnglish,'' the British historian, Salmon, remarks — "But, there is no doubt, if the Dutch General had refused to obey the King's orders, lie would have lost his head; whereas, I don't find he was so much a.s turned out, or even tried for breach of orders. I'm afraid Monsieur Luxembourg, was the best General in the field; and, though King William was sensilile there was very little hopes of forcing the French cann», yet he was, in a manner, compelled to fight, to silence the clamour of the Allies, who expected something extraordinary from a King, who had been cried up for the greatest hero and General of the age. And, indeed, we had so high an opinion of the King at that time, that wo were ready to impute the misfortune to any thing, rather than to his want of courage or conduct." This victory of the French was, as a defeat of William, publicly rejoiced at in England, by the Jacobites, notes a Williamite author, " particularly at Bath, and at Windsor. As to Bath," he continues, " no better could be expected from that rendezvous of sharpers and ])r()digals. But Windsor was taken more notice of, b(!cause some of the ofienders were said to be the Princess's" Anne'a 168 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES "servants."'^ The French acknowledged 6906 killed and wounded, and claimed the capture of 1300 men of all rMid<8, 8 colours and 10 crnns. The Allies piiblislied their killed and wounded as 6()-33 ; that, with the above-mentioned ])risoners, would make a total loss of 8003. Among Luxemboui-g's officers, who "gave ]>roofs of a great valour, and a rare capacity," the Marquis de Quincy names •' the Duke of Berwick, and the Earl of Lucan." And the Marshal himself, in his despatch to Louis XIV"., the day after tlie victory, writes — "Monsieur, the Duke of Berwick, was present from the commencement, when we proceeded to reconnoitre the enemy ; and behaved, during the entire comV)at, as bravely as I have rendei'ed an account to your Majesty, that he had done the last campaign. The Earl of Lucan was with him; in whom we have particularly noticed the vah)ur, and the intrepidity, of which he had given proofs in Ireland. I can assure your Majesty, that lie is a very* good, and a very al>le officer."1" The Marquis d'Harcourt was detached, in September, h}^ LnxemV)onrg, ■with a flying camp, towards Namur, and ])roceeded to encamp, the 8th, at Roumont, v/ith the Ourte before him, when 4000 Germans, despatched, ■without baggage, to purprise him, a|)peared, in 30 squadrotis, on the opposite side of the stream. Their advanced party of dismounted dragoons was held in check, among the hedges, by a similar })arty of the Mai^piis's forces and ])iquet, till he drew together his cavalry in 20 squadrons. The Marquis placed at their head King James's 2 Troops of Irish Hor.se Guards, nv the Duke of Berwick's, and Lord Lucan's; next the 2 French dragoon reginu-nts of Asfeld and De Eannes; and, leading the 1st Troop of those Horse Guards himself, while M. de St. Fremont led the 2nd Troo]), cros.sed tlie sti-eam, to attack the enemy. The chai-ge was then niijde with such vigour, that the German cavalry were broken at the 1st shock, put to a precipitate rout, and pursued above 2 leagues. From 300 to 500 were slain, among whom were their leader, a Danish Major- General, 2 Mestres-de-Camp, and several more officers. From 100 to 200, were taken j)risoners, including the Count de Wheten, commander of the troops of Neubourg, 2 Ca])tains of Di-agoons, and other subaltern officers. From 700 or 800 to 1000 of their dragoon-hoises are variously stated to have been captured. The Marquis d'Harcourt's loss is alleged to have been but 1 Irish officer killed, and ordy 13 private men killed or wounded. Of the conduct of the Irish in this dashing affair, the French account says — "The Gu:<,rds of the King of England, and the Irish regiments, have veiy much signalized themselves tliere."| And a •The Pri»C':',s-.s, subsequently Queen Anne, from High-Churcli influences, &c., was no lover of her ungracious brother-in-law, William; and lier " n]ipcr servants," the Marlborouiihs, husliaiid and wife, for revenge against William at tJii/i time, not improbably caused the "under serv.ints" of the Princess, at Windsor, to rejoice the more publicly at the King's defeat. Such sati.sfaction. at an overthrow of William, would lie very generally felt, even where not actually displayed, in Eng- land. According to Lord Macaulay, " 9 clergymen, out of 10, were Jacobites at heart, and had sworn allegiance to the new dynasty, only in order to save their benefices. A large pr. portion of the country gentlemen belouoed to the same X)arty. The whole body of agricultural pro])rieti'rs was hostile to that interest, which the creation of the national debt had brought into notice, and which was believed to be ]ieculiarly iavoured by the Court, the nionied interest " f "Berwick" is, in the French, metamorphosed into " JJurcick;'^ and "Lucan" into " Liwin,'' and even '■' Livdu.^' X " Les (iardes du Eoi d'Angleterre, et les rSgiments Trlandois, s'y sont^ fort signalez. ' The " rOgiaieuts Irlaudois," apparently the '1 Irish Regiments of Hor&e. IN TIIK SEUVICK OF FRANCE. 169 linstile Continental narrative observes — " It is testified of the Gnarcis of King James, that tliey have performed^ then- duty ])erfectly well, as did likewise the Irish regiments who were present there." The Irish officer, who tell on this occasion, in the tirst onset, was Matthias Barnewall, iOth Lord Trimlesten.* The family name, written in old documents, De Berneval, Bernevale, and Baruevale, fii-st appears, as of feudal distinction in Basse Bretagne, connected with the Dukes of Bretagne, and was of hip-h repute there, down to the Bevolution in France. The earliest representative of the race in England is to he found upon the rolls of her French c(uiqnevois, under the Duke of Normandy. Alter tiie sub- jugation and planting of England from France, and tlie extension of the Norman arms to Ireland under Henry IT., the 1st of the De Bernevals who emigrated there acquired large ))ossessions, from whom sprang several eminent houses, under the anglicized designation of Barnewalls, or Barn wells. The 1st of the Barnewalls, created a Peer in Ireland, was Rol)ert, 2nd son of Sir Christopher Barnewall of Crickston, County of Meath; which Fujbert was ennobled, in March, 1461, by Edward IV., as Lord Baron of TrymhMori, m that County. The 2ud of the Barne- walls similarly honoured was Nicholas Barnewall, Esq. of Turvey, County of Dublin, made Viscount Kiugdavd,, in said County, and Baron of Turvey in 1645-G by Charles I. The representatives of both the.so noble houses, with others of their name, adhered to King James II. against the Pi-ince of Orange, as j.reviously to Kings Charles I. and (,'harles II. against the Parliamentarian and Cromwellian rc^volutionists; the Barnewalls having been officers of the Ji-cobite or national army in the Duke of Tyrconnell's, Lord Galmoy's, and Colonel lleni-y LuttrelFs liegiments of Horse, in Lord Dongan's and Colonel Simon Luttrell's Eegiments of Dragoons, in Colonel William Dorrington's, Lord Goiaiians- town's, Lord Slane's, Lord Westmeath's and Colonel Charles O'More's Eegiments of Foot. During the century, also, from the British and Irish Pvevolution under James II., to the French Revolution under Louis XVI., there were Barnewalls officers in the Irish Brigade. Matthias, 10th Lord Trimleston,— eldest son of Robert, 9th Lord Trimleston, by Mai-garet, daughter of Sir John Dongan, Banmet, and sister of William, Earl of Limerick — had fought for King James in Ireland, and was a Lieutenant in the Duke of Berwick's Troop of Guards, wiien slain, aa above mentioned, in action against the Germans, being then not more than 20 years of age. The Irish appointed, in 1692, to reinforce the Marshal Duke de Lorges in Germany, did not join him, till late in the summer. The French and German armies then, or in September, were sepai'ated by the Spirebaeh, which flowed through Sj)ire. The Germans raised a battery near the tower of Spire, as if meditating an attack in that quarter; but, mean- while, niaiching troop.s, on their right, through a wood, to seize upon the village of Dudenhoven, where there was a passage over the river. They established 4 battalions of Swedes there, with 3 pieces of cannon. To cut off the main body of the French troops, and that, under the Marquis de Feuquieres, stationed amidst the ruins of S])ire, the enemy only required to gain the tower of Dudenhoven, which was but a carabine- shot from that village, and where there was a bridge over a Ijranch of * " 11 n'ya eu aucun officier tiio cle nOtre part, siiiou Mylord Tremblestowu IrlauJois, t^ui fut tue a la premiere charge. ' 170 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES the stream, otherwise impassable. There, however, they were prevented crossing by an [rish battalion, which kept their superior numbers at skirmishing distance. This gave time for the whole of the French to come up,* and range their infantry in a well-covered position, extending fi-om Spire beyond Diulenhoven; a brisk cannonade and musketry taking place between both armies. Half an hour before night, the Allies advanctid towards the post of the Marquis de Fenquieres on the right, where the firing Ijccame so lively, that the Marshal de Lorges, with most of his General ()ihcers, hastened there; while the Marqnis de Villars was sent to the left, to guard against an attack on that side. There the Irish battalions, that had come up fi'oni Brisach a little before the action, advanced most opportunely; bore, with such bravery, the fire to which they were exposed, as to signalize themselves gi-eatly; before ti'oops, destined for their support, reached them, silenced the hostile musketry f and compelled tlie enemy, after a considerable resistance, to quit the church and casile of Dudcnhoven, abandoning their dead.t There were 2 Swedish battalions, in particular, (though the Swedes still ranked among the best troops in Europe.) so bewildered by the tire they had to encounter, that they flung down their arms, and ran away in great dis- order, as testiHcd liy the prisoners taken, and by the nunilier of drums, chevaux-dc-tris;-, etc., left behind. Next tlay, the (^ermans retreated, with a I0.SS variously reported, but certainly much larger than that of the Fi-eneh ; among whose killed and wounded, likewise variously reported, were " '2 Irish otKcers." The British historian Ralph notices, how " a part of the Irish troops, by the Articles of Limerick so liberally made o\er to tlu^ .service of France, behav'd extremely well, on this occasion." And, fi'oni the important portion of the position, occupied by the Irish, and their defence of that position, it is sufficiently evident by infci-enre, though not directly affirmed in the French accounts, that to those Irish, in all probability, the preservation of the French army was owing. On the side of Tt:dy, or Piedmont, the campaign of 1G92 was one of defence with the French under Catinat, whose army, (as not duly re- inforced, in order to strengthen that of Flanders,) was but 16,000 men; the Duke of Savoy, between his own Piedmontese and Vaudois troops, and his Spanish, Austrian, and cither confederates, liaving, on the con- trary, above oO.OOO. As Louis XIV., moreover, preferred risking even a ho.stile invasion of France to a loss of Pignei'ol or Su.sa, Catiuat could only intrench himself between tho.se fortres.scs; while the Allies, leaving a sufficient corps to watch him, and a smaller corps to blockade Casal, were able, under the Duke of Savoy himself, the famous Prince Eugene, * "II y avoit wn jtont sur le bras du meme niissoau, qui etoit impiaticable par tout : uuiis j\l. (le la liretfiche y arriva as.sez henreusement, avec 5 or G officiei'S, pour sanver ce poste, uu il etaMit un bataillon Irlaiidois, ce qui ne se jiassa pas sans escarmouche. Cela douna le teius aux tioupe.s, que conduisoib M. d Uxeiles, d arriver, et eiitin a toute 1 arince." t " Les I'ataillons Irlandois, qui avoienfc em embarquez il Brisac, et qui ar- rivereiit un peu avaut raction, essnierent, avec beaucoup de bravoure, le feu dea einiemis, et s'y sinnalereiit." — "Les bataillons Irlandois, qui venoient d'arriver, firent un grand feu. On marcha jtour les soi'ltenir, et on trouva que le premier ieu otoifc tini Les ennemis abandonnerent rej,hse et le chdteau de Dudenhoven avco ]>recipitatiou, iiaia-.it jias retire leurs morts," &e. — "Les bataillons Irlandois, (|ui, arr-vercnt a propos dans '.-e tenjs, tireafc uu trbs-urand feu, et obliiei-ent les ennemis, iDp's n;ie assez l')nj;ue resistance, d'abandonner i'edise et le ohilLcau de i'udeii- h..aeu. ' IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 171 Charles. Duke of Schonberg, (son of the old Marshal, slain at the Eoyne,) and otlier leaders of eminence, to penetrate into Dauphine. with above 28.000 men. through unsusjiected passes, pointed out by the Vandois. The 1st place, which ventured to resist the invaders, was a little town, named Guillestre, having, indeed, a wall, but neither a fosse, nor out- works, and appai-eiitly so inadequate to oppose the force brought against it, that Prince Eirgene accompanied his summons to surrender with a threat of no qnai-ter, if the least resistance should be attem])ted. This menace not being attended to, Eugene ordered an immediate assault; by way of carrying such a place sword in hand, as a matter of course. But, says that Prince's historian, " M. de Chalandreu, a gentleman of the country, commanded there 200 Irish, and (JOO men of the militia of Dauphine ;" and this " Clialandreu, who was a brave man, animated his band so well, and the Irish defended them.selves with so much bravery, that the troofis commanded to escalade the wall were repulsed." The assailants had from 60 to 90 men killed or wounded ; no loss being mentioned on tlie side of tiie defenders. Tiie place, whose only chance of being maintained, for any consitlerable time, would have arisen from an impossibility of conveying a sutiicient battering-tiain across the mountains from Coni, was held for 3 da^'s against the enemy, (when, to delay him was so im[)0!tant,) and did not surrender, until the arrival of such a siege-train, as rendered any further resistance unavailaVde. The Allies next prc-ceeded to attack Embrun, into which the Marquis de Larre threw himself with 3000 men, a portion of them Irish of the Regiment of Clare; and, though the town was not regularly fortified, the Marquis defended it frf)m the 0th to the 15th of August; quitting it only on most honourable terms, after occasioning a lf)ss to the besiegers, differently reported at fi-om 600 or 700 to 1300 or 1400 men; of whom there was a very unusual proportion of great officers woiuided; Prince Eugene himself included.- This much will suffice i'ov the defence of Embrun, since, although a gallant feat of arms, in which Irish troops were concerned, yet I find no particulars of what thei/ did there, as dis- tinguished from their Fre)ic]i fellow-soldiers. The Allies retired into Italy at the end of iSeptember, after extensively ravaging and plundering the French territory ; which would, however, have suffered to a still greater extent, but for the interruptions to their advance, given at Guillestre and Embinin. The ]n-inci])al event, in 1693, of the war in Flanders, was the battle of Landen, otherwise Neerwiuden, or Neerhespen, fought, July 29th, between the Marshal Duke of Luxemboui-g and William HI. Tlie force of the Marshal amounted to 96 battalions, 210 squadrons, and 70 pieces of cannon. The force of the King amounted to 6o battalions, 150 squadrons, and 80 pieces of cannon, besides mortars, or liowitzers. William conqiensated himself for his numerical infei-iority in men by the superioi-ity of his position. It had the well-secured villages of Neer- winden and Neerlanden on the right and left; the intervening ground was generally a commanding eminence, which afforded gi-e.it advantage for tiie i)lay of his artillery upon the French; and this eminence was, moreover, intrenched in front of his infantry, so as ti ])!ace an eneujy. uiaiching up to attack, under a very considerable disadvantage. Tlie contest lasted from 4 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon, or 11 bonis. The generally determined And destructive resistance of the Allie.s, to the greater numbers and fiery perseverance of the French, was well 172 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES eN(Mii|)li(i('(l ;\t tlio time liy a comTnemorative medal, having?, on one side, William's Ijiist and riaine; on the other side, a jjorcupine, keeping, with his prickly (piills erected, 2 bidl-dogs at hay; the motto being, '-Never provoked unreve.ngedy A contemporary letter, in the Rawdon Papers, asserts of this battle — " While the stress ot" the business lay on the foot, and the Sjianish horse, we lost not 1 foot of ground; but, as soon as tlie Dutch horse came to be pvished, they gave way in l(^s than 2 minutes, and ])nt all in c nfusion I am sorry to tell you, some of the Englisk horse made as nrarh liaste to p7-eserve their dear persons, as any body t tere." The letter then indignantly attributes the loss of the day to " the lianmed misfortune of those devils giving way;" and the Williamite historian Oldmixon adds, that, "of ^/ie English Life Gitards, the 1st Troop vere so saird vnth tlie fury of a pursuing enemy, that they did not iJdtiJp (heiiueJrcs secure, till ihey readtd Bteda.'^ * The Allies were driven, from their entire jiosition, across the Geete; suffering severely ere they could ]iass it. thougli sub.sequently able to effect their retreat, for the most part, ri'S[)ectably, or in a body. Among the confused and terrified multitude, who, to escape the French, had rushed into the river, where above 20U0 of them wei-c diowned, was William's late Commander in Ireland, Ginkell, created for his success (through such very su[)erior means) there. Earl of Athlone, and enriched with a due share of confiscated JacoV)ite estates; but who, in tliis less fortunate situation at Landen, was only .so far lucky, as to nan-owly extricate himself from a watery grave. Luxembourg's loss was estimated, by the Duke of Berwick, as at least 8000 menj William's loss was finally owned in the London Gazette, No. 2897, aa 10,473 men of all ranks, killed, wounded, or taken; thotigh other accounts, by General Officers in the action, say several thousands more; and the French published, that they captured 84 pieces of Allied artillery, witii 82 colours or standards, besides d<-ums and pontoons. The leading corfjs of Irish infantry, that of Dorrington, or the Royal Regiment of Foot Guards, was with the French at this victory. Its station is marked, in the 2nd line of the centre of Luxembourg's "ordre de bataille," as with the Brigade of Harbouville, consisting of 5 bat- talions; 3 French, or those of La Marche, Charolois, and Harbouville, and the "Gardes du Roi Jaques" forming the remaining 2. t To these Guards, a gentleman of high respectability in the County of Cork, Colonel John Bai-rett, was attached, in the capacity of a 2nd officer of that rank. His family name, as spelled "Baret" and "Barret," is to be seen in 2 lists of the original French conquerors of England, under the Duke of Normandy; and, after the descendants of tho.se subjugators of the Anglo-Saxons efiected settlements farther west at the expense of the Gaels of Ei in, a district was acquired, yet known, in the County of Coi-k, Concerning the cowardice amon^^ the Allied cavalry here, a Dutch periodical further iafonn.s us — " The King of Great Britain, after liaving cau.sed tlie con- duct of the troops that have fought at Necrwindeii to be carefully examined, and haviiii;- fountl that 4 regiments of cavalnj had not done their duti/, cnnsad the triopcrx to (Irdio lots, and the lot having fallen upon S of each regiment, tlicy were shot to death.'''' + In Quinoy's sheet of Lnaembourg's army, the printer having had to contract "Gardes du Itoi Jaques" into "Gardes du it. J.," a misprint occurred of "D" for "J." This has occasioned Mr. O'Conor, who did not read behind Quincy, to allege, " there was no Irish corjis in Luxembourg's army." I correct the.se errors from 2 ciinteni])orary Coutiueiital documents, an "Ordrc" and a "Liste" of rvu.xemhourir'a ai'uiy in July, lti'J3, both of whioJi.^ive the words " Gardes du iloi Jacques," &c. IN THE SEUVICE OF FHANX'E. 173 as the Barony of Bnrrfils, consisting of aT)ove 26.280 acres. Wlien tlio great Aodli or Hugh O'ISeill, marcliing to the siege of Kinsalc; in l(j()0, as he passed by Castk^niore, near Mallow, asked. '"Who lives in that castle?" he was answeied, "Barrett, a good Catholic, whose family has possessed that estate ahdve 4U0 years." Colonel John Barrett, as the chief i-ej)re.sentative of his name, sat, after the breaking ont of tlu! War of tlie Revolution in Ireland, as 1 of the Members for the Borough of Mallow, in the national Parliament of 1689; and raised a Regiment of foot for King James II., wliich lie commanded during that contest. He was, in IGiJO, Military Governor of Waterford, with his own and another regiment of foot, when, in con.sequence of the advance of the Williamites thither after their success at the Boyne, he had to surrender the town; stipulating, however, to march away with his gairison, their arms, bag- gage, and a military e.scort, to tlie County of Cork. His regiment being sulisequeiitly a portion of the Jacobite garrison of Cork, on its reduction by Marlborough, he was 1 of a number of prisoners placed on board the Beda man-of-war, in the harbour there, to be conve\'ed to Eugland. At the destruction of that vessel, by the accidental igniting of its powder- magazine, he had the good fortune to be among .some who esca])ed, by being merely blown into the shallow watei-, n6;ar the shore. Upon the conclusion, in 1091, of the war in Ireland, by the Treaty of Limerick, the Colonel was am.>ng the princij)al estated gentlemen who decided on going to France,* whert^ as has been observed, he was apjjointed to serve, in his former rank, along with the Royal Regiment of Foot Guards. On this occasion at Landen, the Brigade of Harbouville suffered much from the tire of troops, so well intrenched, and so obstinate in defence, as its Allied opponents were. Indeed, it is admitted, that, to a compar- atively late period of the day, Luxembourg "'repentiid, more than once, for having engaged in a Cf)mbat, the success of wliieli appeared .so doubt- inl !" At last, in that part of the field where the Biigade of Harbouville AViis appointed to act, the Irish "Gardes du Roi Jaques," distinguished as in tlieir own country against Ginkell and his Allied force at Augliriin, t and duly animated by the signal intrejiidity of Colonel Barrett as a leader, obtained a glorious revenge for the reverses of the Bovne antl Limerick, by being the 1st corps ti) make an opening into the Williamite intrenchment, through which their French cou)panii>n.s-in-arms followed — this honourable success, however, having been purchased by the death of the brave Colonel Bariett. J. The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel of the * The Williamite "attainders of 1C91," according to Mr.- Dalton, "include this ofKcer, described as John Barrett of Dublin, Esq., as also of Ca.stleniore, County of (Jork, with 12 others," in that county, for confiscation, as Jacobite loyalists. + The Allied or mixed national composition of the Williamite army m Ireland, for the War of the Revolution, is re^imentally shown further ou, in a note under the j'ear 1(598. Adverting to this mixed com)iosition of it, a Jacobite rhymer boasta of his countrymen, that, but for Luttrell's treachery, ' ' All the A Hies could not them subdue ! " And, in mentioning "the English" at Aughrim, the contemporary Jacobite his- torian, Plt'.nkt'tt, adds — "I moan, under the word English, the Forraigners also, vvlio were the better moyety of the army"— alluding to the Dutch, Danes, and Huguenots, as contrasteii with the English and Anglo-Irish, of Gmkell's 50 regi- ii.tnts ihoie. On the Jaco'nite right wmg, the In^t obiiged to yield, and i>nJy through the result of events €/.s"i/7/.prf, even the Dublin Williamite ace amt refei'S tu "the oppi.aition made by the lloyai liegiuient of Foot so called," or, in other woids, the King's Foot (Juards. J The Light to the Bimd states, respecting the Irish Foot Guards, and Co ouel 174 ITISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Irish Horse Ivegiment of Sheldon, or Cliristopher Nugent of Dardiscown, was likewise at, and received 4 wonnds in, this battle, although his regi- ment does not sreni to have been there. Tn connexion with the high distinction of these Irish Catholic exil«'s on the side of France, as opposed to England and her Allies, it is interesting to observe, how a corps of French Protestant refugees, or Huguenots, the cavali'y Regiment of Ru- vigny, Lord Oalway, (origimdly the Marshal Duke of Schonbrrg's) noted, in Ireland, for its bravery at the Boyne, and still more so for its share in gaining the battle of Aughiim, was headed by William himself in charging here at Landeu, wlieie it was among tlie most rem;irkal)le for bravely, on the side of England and her Allies, against France! Of the General Oilicers of King James, the Duke of Berwick and Lord laican vi'er(( eniployi'd on Luxenibdurg's left wing, to force the strongly- guarded vdlage of Neerwinden on the Allied right. Of the 3 Lieuten- ant-Generals ap])ointed for that dilhcult service, each at the head of 2 French, brigades, the Duke of Berwick was to lead in the centre; M de Rubantel, to whom Lord Lncan was ]\Iareclial de Camp, on the right; and M. de Montclievreuil on the left. "This viHage," says the Duke of Berwick, "extended, like a belly, into the ])lain, so that, as we all 3 marched in 1 front, and as I was in the centre, I attacked 1st. I ]iush(Ml the enemy, chasing them, iVom hedge to hedge, as far as the jdain ; on the border of which I again formed, in line of battle. The troops, who should have attacked on my right, and ray left, instead of doing so, judged that they would be exposed to less fire, by throwing themselves into the village; thus, all of a sudden, they found themselvea behind me. The enemy, perceiving this bad manoeuvre, re-entered the village, on the right, and the left: the tiring then became terrible; con- fusion took place among the 4 brigades under the command of De Rubantel and De Montclievreuil to such an extent, that they were diivtn out ; and I consequently found myself attacked on all sides. After the loss of a vast number, my troops, in like manner, abandoned the head of the village; and, as I strove to maintain myself in it, under the hope, that M. de Luxembourg, to whom I had sen-t for assistance, would forward some to me, I found myself at last entirely cut otf. I then became desirous of attempting to save m^'self in the direction of the jiiain, and, having removed my white cockade, I was mistaken for 1 of the en(Mny's otlicers; unluckily, Br'igadier Churchill, brother of Lord Churchill, at ))resent Duke of Marlborough, and my uncle, was passing near me. and re(;ognized my only remaining Aide-de-Cainf) ; upon which, instantly suspecting the probability of my being there, he came up to me, and made me his prisoner. After having embraced one another, he told me, that he was obliged to conduct me to the Prince of Orange. "We Barrett — '* It was the Irish Eoyal Regiment of Font which first open'd the enemy's retreuchmeut ; wliereby the Gallick' troops imraeiliately reaped advantage, after buii'cring much, fur awhile befoi-e, ni tightnig against an intrenched army. " In this action, L'oli. Barret of Clork, by his'bould Icatleing of the said Irish Regiment siguahzed himself, and slept in the l)ed of honour." Hence, hkewise, the allusion of Forman to "the Irish" liere, where he asserts of France— "It is not apt to for- get, how gallantly Sarstield, Earl of Lucan, and the Irish, behav'd at Landen." Fieffe, m Ins " Histoire des Troupes Etrangferes au Service de France," mistaking the 2 appellations, and 2 battalions, of James's Guards, for 2 different regiments, nevertheless acLjuaints us, how "les Regiments des Gardes Irlaudaises, et des Gardes du Roi d Aiigleterre, y veugerent glorieusement I'affront de la Boyne et de I (Uuerik." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 175 galloped off for a long time, without being able to find him ; at List, we met liim very far away from the action, in a hollow, where neither friends nor enemies were to be seen.* That Prince made me a very ])olite compliment, to which I only replied by a very low bow: after having gazed at me for a moment, he put on his hat, and I mine; then he ordered, that I should be conducted to Lewe." The young Did<:e was subsequently sent to Antwerp, in order to be transferred to the Tt)wer of London and imprisoned there, under the pretext of his having been, as an Englishman, the subject of William, and, consequently, or for being taken in arms against 1dm, a rebel ! But LuxemVionrg soon put down this DiitcJb impudence, by threatening reprisals with respect to several Allied officers, and, among others, the Duke of Ormonde ;t so that the Duke of Bei-wick was, in due course, sent back to the Marshal, instead of being lodged in the Tower of London. As for Lord Lucan, in that attack upon the village of Neerwinden, (which the French took twice, and were driven from as often, ei'e they could master it,) his Lordship, behaving gallantly, was severely wounded, and, being removed to Huy, shortly after died there, of a fever J — "but gained," says a Williamite writer, "as much honour by his generosity and humanity to the English in that fatal battle, as by his bravery and conduct in the field." Mr. O'Conor adds of his Lordship — " Arminius was never more popular among the Germans, than Sarsfield among the Irish — to this day his name is venerated — canitur adhuc. No man was ever more attached to his country, or more devoted to his king, and religion." § In a manu- script volume, written in the reign of William's successor. Queen Anne, and containing a copy of Dean Lynch's Latin version of Keatinc's History of Ireland, &c., (for a knovvledge of which I am indebced to Mr. * William, np to this pei'iod of the engagement, having been successftd, there was no iiecessiby for his incurring any unusual pei-sonal risk. But, when it became requisite, that his troops should he encoiu-aged as much as possilile, he acted, at the head of artillery, infantry, and cavalry, to the admiration of friends and foes. t James Butler, 13th Earl and ^nd Duke of Oi'monde, heading a charge of British cavalry, received 2 sword-wouuds; had his horse shot under him; and, when on the ])oint of being killed, was rescued, as a prisoner, by 1 of the French Guards, who judged him to be a person of distinction, from the rich diamond ring on hia linger. At Namur, to which the iJidve was conveyed, "the misfortune of his Grace," says his biographer, "was a blessing to a great many of the poor prisoners of the Allied troops, who were confined in the same town, as he distributed among them a considerable sum of money." He also amply rewarded the French Guards- man, to whom he owed his life. This illustrious Irish Protestant nobleman had, from vcnj natural apprehensions for the saj\4i of hin Church, deserted King James II. in 16j8, and afterwards voted for the Prince of Oraui^e as King ; but only as ^'fearin;/ a Recent might pavp the way to a Itf/nd/iicL" He finally sacriliced every- thing for the Stuart cause, of which more hereafter. J Those particulars respecting Lord Lucan's death are derived from the Lettrea Histori(|ues for Sejitembei-, 1G93, and from his Lordship's countryman and coutem- porai'y, Plunkett. The editor of the Continental periodical writes — "Le Lord Lucan, .Sarslield, celebre par la derniere guerre d'lrlande, et que je mis an nombre des morts, n'etoit altu'S que blesse; mais on a apris depuis, qu il est mort de sea blessures a Huy, ou il avoit ete transporte " Plunkett states — "The Earl of Lucan, after doeing actions worthy of himself, was des[)erately wounded, and thereby fell into a feaver, of which he dyed soon after." Such is what we know from History, as contrasted with Romance, on the subject. § If comiiared, however, with such commanders, of the old native race, as Hugh O Xcill, in i'Jlizabeth's, and Owen Roe O'Neill, in Ciomwell's time, Sarslield was no better than a puffed Palesman. "In the science of war," Mr. 0'V.'onor elsewhere JListly renuuks, "Hugh, the famous Earl of Tyrone, and Owen Roe O'Nial, far surpassed hun. He had neither their skill, experience, or capacity." 6 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Gilbert,) I find, with Father Ge]:isius Mac Mahon's lines on the DuchesB of Berwick, previously cited, the following : — "Epitaphium III'" D^i Saksfield, Comitis de Ldcan, &a " Ingens exigufi Sarsfiekl hie conclitur urna, liiclyta seel virtus cuncta per ora volat. Stemnia, tides, Patriae pietas, constantia Regi Inviotnm Pngilis vexit ad astra Decus. Hen gratum Auriacis! Heu tlebile fiiniis Hiberiiis ! Teri'or ut Auriacis, his jacet uinis Amor." The Duke of Berwick was employed in operations connected with the reduction of Charleroy, which, after a creditable resistance of 27 days, o])en ti-enches, was surrendered, October loth, to the French : the gallant M. de Boi.sselot, so famous for the successful defence of Limei'ick against William in 1G90, being made Governor of this important acquisition from the Allies. Tiie French Army of Germany, in 1693, was at first commanded by the Marshal Duke de Lorges, and afterwards by Monseigneur. Among its Lieutenant-Generals was Lord Mountcashel ; and the Irish troops attached to it wei-e the Regiments of Mountcashel, Dublin, Gharleniont, and the Marine; forming altogether 9 battalions. But, by the ability of the Im])erial General, Prince Louis of Baden, that army was prevented effecting any thing in f)roportion to its considerable numerical superiority. Hostilities, indeed, commenced in May, with a quick reduction of Heidel- berg by De Lorges ; but, owing to the incajiacity or cowardice of its miserable Governor, who was duly degraded by the Pi-ince of Baden. At Heidelberg, and elsewhere, Loi-d Mountcashel, or his men, are noticed, yet not in any case worth detailing; the campaign, on the French side, having been 1 of plunder, rather than glory. * In S])ain, the conquests of the French, in 1693, under the Marshal Duke de Noailles, sup|)orted by the Comte d'Etrees at sea, were confined to the reduction, June 1st — 10th, of Rosas, or Roses, in Catalonia, and the adjacent Fort of the Trinity. Brigadier John Wauchop mounted the trenches before the town twice, and the Honourable Arthur Dillon, and the grenadiers of his regiment, were among the troops who carried the counterscaf|». In Italy, the Allies were so strong, in 1693, that the Marshal de Catinat was obliged to remain upon the defensive till autumn, when, being well reinforced, he marched against and engaged them, October 4th, in the battle of Marsaglia, or Orbassan. The Allie.s, under the Duke of Savoy, the famous Prince Eugene, and other distinguished Generals, including Charles, Duke of Schonberg, on the part of VVilliara III., consisted of Italian, Imperial, Spanish, Huguenot or Vaudois troops, to the amount of 38 or 39 battalions, and 79 squadrons, t with 31 pieces of cannon. The French army, in which Catinat had some eminent officers of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, or his own countryman, Lieutenant-General the Marquis de la Hoguette, and Major- General D'Usson, besides Major-General Thomas Maxwell, Brigadiers * Henceforth, to the end of this war, no mention is made of the Irish corps serving in Germany, since nothing has been found related, to distlnrjuisk them from their French fellow -soldiers there. What were the national corps acting with the French in that quarter may be collected from the histories of the several regiments pre- Viiinsly given. t Lines of battle, in Quincy, and St. Gervais, compared, and retottcd. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. Jolin "Wancliop, Francis O'Carroll, k some of the hostile cavalry. The Duke of Savoy narrowly escaped with 10 hojsenieii, into his capital cittyof Turin."* Of the Jacobite ofiicei'S who fell, allutled to as "'having i'ought with an extraordinary valour at the head of the Irish regiments," and as having "signalized themselves by the actions which tiiey had jierformed on that day of battle," were the Major-General and Brigadier Thomas Maxwell, Colonel of the King of England's Dismounted Dragoons, Brigadier John Wauchop, also Colonel of Dragoons, "both Scots;" Brigadier Francis C'Carroll, Colonel of the Queen of England's Dismounted Dmgoons, "and others, wcn-thy of lasting mems distinguished " during tlie day, was Cl)ai-les O'Brien, 5th Viscount CUu-e, as "Milord Clare, at the bead of a regiment of dragoons," or that of the Queen of England alKnc, mentioned. Among the iuipnrtant results of this victory, wei-e the reduction of Palamos, Girona, Ostalric, or Hostalrich, and Castelfollit. In Italy, the Marshal de Catinat, assembling, in May, 1G94, a portion of his army near Pignerol, "despatched, in the mean time," observes my French anthoritv, "8 Irisii battalions into the Valley of La Peronse, iu order to oppose the Vandois, and to ])nt a stop to their incursions. Ovto arriving there, they killed a gi-eat number of those who were taken ofF their guard ; which ol)lige(l the Duke of Savoy, who had an interest in protecting them, to send thetn GOO men of his regular trooj)S. and the Marquis de Parelle to command there." King William's historian, Harris, i-ef.-rs to some "'small successes of the Vaudois in the Valley of Pragelas," and " their routing some Irish detachments in the Valley of St. Martin." as not " woi-thy the reader's notice." On the other hand, according to Mr. O'Conor. between the number of the Alpine moun- taineers cut off. and the extent of devastation and pillage committeil among them, by the Irish, Catinat's commission was executed with a ti^rrible fidelity; the memory of which "has rendered the Irish name and nation odious to the Vaudois. Si.x generations," he remarks, "have since passed away, but neither time, nor subsequent calamities, have obliterated the impression made by the waste and desolation of this military incursion." Tliis yeai-, we, in reference to the Irish of Oatinat's army, i-enew our acquaintance with Brigadier Don Hugh O'Donnell, known on the Conti- nent as Earl of Tyrconnell ; so celebrated during the War of the Revolu- tion in Ireland, from the alleged pro])hecies, and consequent popularity, associated with him as " Ball-dearg," or of the "red mark;" and subse- quently still moi"e talked nf, as. like another Jacobite Brigadier, Henry Luttrell, having tinally passed over to the side of William III., receiving a similar government pension, or 1 of X500 per annum. After the concUision of the war in Ireland, or in 1692, O'Donnell, having proceeded by Dublin to London, was offered there the command of that body of his countrymen in Ireland, who, not having chosen to accompany the majority of the Jacobite or national army to France, were formed, as Catholics, into a corps for the service of William III.'s Catholic ally, the Emperor Leopold I. of Austria, to be employed against the Turks in Hungary. Desirous, however, of returning to the service of Sjiain, O'Donnell refused this command ; which was, in consequence, conferred upon a nobleman of the most anciently-renowned or Irian race of Uladli or Ulster, Brian Macgennis, Lord Iveagh ; who accordingly led those Irish destined for the Iin])erial service into Germany, and thence into Hungary." O'Donnell, after being detained by illness till 1693 iu "These Irish, about 2200 in number, were long delayed in Mnnster by contrary ■winds; landed fi-oiii Cork at Hamburg, early in the summer of 1692; and, being mustered by the Imperial Commissary near Bergersdorf, were marched thence into Hungary; where they snfTercd so much against the Ottomans, that the rcnmaul; bad, by November, 109.'J, to be dralted into other corps of the Imperial army. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 181 Lonflon, first went to Flumlefs, and then into Spain. By the Stata Papers, abstracted in Thorpe's Catalogue for 18.')4 of the Soutliweli MSS., we find the Brigadier, in May, 1694, corresponding, from Madrid, with the English Secretary at War, William Biathwayt, lac('s. Yesterday, -notwitlisd^anding the care that is taken to have good intelligence between the several quarters, 100 Barbets ])laced themselves in ambush between Villar and Dihloii. Thev. nevei-theless, did not venture to attack a convoy of meal ])roceed- ■ing from La I'erouse to Villar; and contented themselves with seizing u])on 6 mules, laden with merchandise, that passed 2 hours afterwards, ;witliout an escort. But the news of this having been bi-ought to Villar, where the Irish Regiment of Olancarty was quartered, the enemy were pursued so closdy that the booi v was recovered, with a loss, to the Barbets, of 7 or 8 killed or woumled, and of 3 prisonei's. We destroyed, moreover, 1 of their o^/yw r/« (/^/./vA;." ( )n another occasion, after mention- ing the despatch of a. detaelnnent, under a French Captain, from the gai'rison of Pignerol, and tlie nairow eseaiie of that officer and his men from oOO of the Barbets. aided bv T^OO Germans, who burned a large mass of wooil ]>rovided for the fortress, the same correspondence from " Pignei-ol, March (ith, IGDo," adds -" An Irish officer, who is quartered in the Valley of Pragelas. has made a foray into the mountains of the Barbets, where he has burned many houses, made some j)risoners, and brought away a (juantitv of cattle." In treating of this mouTitain-war, Mr. O' Conor naturally expatiates on the vigour oi' his countrymen, at "the pursuit of the Vaudois, in the unknown and lonely defiles of the Alpine hills, where ileep chasms, and narrow pathways, tit only to afford a footing to the chamois, and the wild-goat, led to the retreats of brave and desperate men ; where every rock afforded cover for a deadly aim ; where the repercussion and echo of distant discharges of musquetry from concealed enemies magnitied their numbei's; where deep caverns and ]u)llows, concealed by treacherous snows or fi'ail glaciers, swallowed the unwary adventurers in fathomless abysses." In such perilous service, "they displayed their wonted bravery, agility, perseverance, and endu- rance of privations. They scaled the highest rocks, jdunged into the inountain streams, evaded the avalanches of stones and trees which the Vaudois rolled down, beat them from their intrenchnients, pursued them into the wildest re.ce.s.se.s, and carried terror and dismay into the heart of the mountains; ])lundered, pillaged, destroyed, and burned what they could not carry off, and returned to the camp, driving before them herds and flocks, the only wealth of the foe." The intelligence from " Pignerol, October 16th, 1695," after a remark, of the campaign having been, to all appearance, over, and the enemy only thinking of getting into winter- quarters, gives this anecdote, as the most interesting exception to that; state of things. "The 12th of this month, 6 Irish soldiers, and 1 of the Regiment of Beam, cros.sed the Cliison, without arms, to go in quest of some forage. They were surprised by an equal number of Barbets, well armed, under a Captain, wdio made them j.'risoners, and conducted them to the top of a mountain, in order to striji them of their clothes. For this ])urpose, they laid down their arms; but the Irish giving the word in /J^eir language, each seized njion 1 of thnm, the soldier of the l'iei,'i- nient of Beam killed 2 of them; and the G Irish soldiers treated, in bke IN THE SEIIVICE OF FRANCE. 1S3 manner, the Captain, and the rest, excey)t 1, who asked for quarter, and ■wl.oni they condncted to tlie cani[) at Dihion; where the Mai-sl)al do Catinut caused some money to be distributed amotiij; them." On February 19th, tliis year, Brigadier Don Hugh O'Donnell addressed, from Turin, to William III., a letter, desci-ibed, iu Tliorpe's Catalogue, as "Jong and interesting," with res})ect to the enlistuient of Iiish fugitives on the side of the Allies, or that of the League of Augs- burg; such refugees to be em])loyed in Catalonia, where William's con- fedeiates in that League, tlie S[(auiar>'s, were so pressed by the French. l>uring this campaign, O'Donnell, who, since lti!)3, had served as a volunteer, obtained a regiment of foot — how far through desertions from Ii-ish in the French army, or from other sources, I cannot say — which regiment he carried into Catalonia, and continued there to the conclusion of the war by the fall of Barcelona, where lie was present. Having, by this time, recovered the favour he had lost at the Court of Madrid, by having its army, in order to es]»ouse the cause of King James in Ireland, O'Donnell, soon after, became a Major-Genei-al in Spain, and iis mentioned, in that raidv, with its forces in Flanders, in August, 1701.* His Williamire ])ension (if i.'oOO per annum was still payable in 1703, or the reign of William's succ<^ssoi-. Queen Anne. It is the 6th on the list of those Irish pensions, to the yearly amount of £17,034, 17s. 0|d, voted nriUeces-saiy by -*.he colonial Parliament in Dublin, under the Lord Lieutenancy of James Butler, '2nd Duke of Ormonde. But, of the general i-e)iresentation based upon this vote, a contemporary English historian says, that it, " when it was perfected, and ])resented to his Grace, met with a cold rece])tion ;" Mr. Secretary Southwell merely informing the House, " that the Lord Lieutenant would take such care of it, as might most conduce to the service of the nation." How much longer O'Doiinell's pension continued to be paid, and consequently when he aied. I have not discovered. The earliest enterprise of the campaign of 1696 was one for the "resto- ration" of King James in EnglanJ, with the aid of a French veteran force of about 16,000 men, under the Marquis d'Harcourt as Captain- General, and the gallant Richard Hamilton of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, as Lieutenant-General. "King James," writes the Duke of Berwick, "had privately concerted a rising in England, to which he had sent over a number of ofiicers. His friends there had found means to raise 20U0 horse well-equipjied, and even rigimented, ready to take the held at the earliest notice. Many persons of the first distinction were also engaged in the affair. But all liad unanimously resolved, not to throw ott ilie mask, until a body of ti-oops should have first landed in the island. The Most Christian King," Loi.is XiV., "had readily consented to supply these ; but he insisted, that, before they should be embarked, tho English should take up arms; as he was not willing to risk his troops, without being sure of finding there a party to receive them. Neither side being desirous of rela.xing from what it had resolved upon, such fair dis- positions could not lead to any thing ; which determined the King of lilngland to send me over, as his envoy on the spot, to endeavour to con- vince the English of the sincerity of the intentions of the Court of France, * vSo far our infdnnatioi; re^'iecting O'Doniiellis brought down by Dr. O'Doimvan, ii. his Icnrncd p;;pers, entiliC I " Tiie O'Donnells in Exile ;" but with'UC fieirit; awara orthecone.spoiidence, fr.)iii the Cdiitinent, oi Djiiuell with the \HlliamitG gavcrxi- uieut, nieutioued. iu Tiior|ie s Catalogue. 184 HISTORY OF THE IPJSH BRIGADES and to engage tlieni to take up ai'ms, withnnt waiting for tlie descent; j)i*omising, that, as soon as they should do so, the Marquis d'Harconrt, who was nominated General of this exi)edition, would cause the troops to embai'k. I then passed over in disguise to England. I proceeded to London, where I had several conversations with some of the jirincipal Lords. But, it was to no purpose, that I said to them whatever 1 could most strongly conceive, and represtrnted to them the necessity of not allowing so tine an opportunity to escape. They continued firm to their desire, that, previous to their rising, the King of England should land with an army. To tell the truth, their reasons were good; for it was certain, that, as soon as the Prince of Orange would have witnessed the revolt, or would have had information of the project, which could not long remain concealed, on account of the ])reparations which it wa^ necessary to make for the landing, he would have immediately ordered a fleet to sea, and would have blockaded the ports of France; by which means, those who might revolt, finding themselves driven, with their liastil3^-raised troops, to fight against a good army, composed of veteran and disci])lined soldiers, it was certain, that they would have been very soon crushed." The Duke, although disguised, could not remain so generally unknown, as he necessarily wished to be, while in England. " I recollect to have heard him say," observes Montesquieu, " that a man had recognized him by a certain family air, and, particularly, by the length of his fingers; and that, fortunately, this man was a Jacobite, who said to him — ^ May God bless you, in alt your undertakings !^ which recovered him from the embari-assment he was in." Unable to accomplish the object of the very unpromising commission with which he was intrusted — or that of endeavouring to make those to whom he was sent act against the dictates of good sense — and being likewise apprised of the formation of a conspiracy against William's person with which Ice did not wish to be mixed iip, the Duke left London, as soon as possible, hy the way he had come, and reached the house, near the coast, where he was to hear of his vessel. There, lying down upon a bench, he fell asleep, until roused, in a couple of hours, by a loud noise at the door, when, on. getting up, he beheld a number of men entering, armed with guns. His lii'st natural sur]mse and alarm were soon dissipated, at recognizing, by the glimmering light of a lamp, the master of his vessel; who, to be the better provided against any accident, had taken the precaution of bring- ing with him a trusty guard of 12 well-armed sailors. The D\ike then embarked, and reached Calais in 3 hours. The general results of this enterprise against William were", that, on the discovery of the Jacobite plot, to be supported by an invasion from France, he obtained forces from Flanders, in addition to the troops he had already in England, and like- wise sent a fleet to sea sufficient to oppose the designed invasion; so that the French corps intended for that imdertaking were finally ordered elsewhere; King James, after remaining for some time at Calais and Boulogne, returned to St. Germain; and the Duke of Berwick, who had rejoined his father, went to serve that year's campaign in Flanders, where nothing of consequence occurred. According to the Iri.sh Jacobite Plunkett, the frustration of the plan, for effecting King James's "restora- tion" on this occasion, was owing, among other causes, to the obstruction offered by the weather to an invasion of England, at a ]>eriod when a landing there might otherwise have been effected, with evei-y prospect of subsequent success. "There was," alleges that \\'riter, "• no oiqjosiiion by IN THF SFHVICE OK FRANCE. 185 spa, nor anv, at that uiek of time, on tlie land of England. Yett this most excellent opportunity miscarryed also. For the wind remained cnntrarij fur (i fortnight, : in whic/t, space 1 of the English fleets came home: and so his Maiesty was forced to return to St. Germains." A similar observation is made by a contemporary Williamite annalist of this war, in reference to the disap|)ointment of the French. '" God," he says, " caused the winds to blow directly against them, till the whole was dis- corered, and the English and Dutr.lb fleet upon their coasts.'^ The Duke of Vendome, in 16;)G, comuianded the French in Catalonia against the Spaniards under Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt, who had fought for William III. in Ireland. At the beating of the Spanish cavalry, June 1st, in the combat near Ostalric, or Hostalrich, the Duko, states my authority, "posted so advantageously, n|)on the heights, the grenadiers, and the Dismounted Dragoons of the Queen of England, that they equally overlooked the |)lain where the combat was to take ])lace, and the retrenchments of Ostalric, so that they covered the flanks of our troops." On the IGth, having advanced to Tordera, in order to cut off the communication of the Spanish army with Barcelona, the Duke, iipon the 22nd. desjiatched the " Laeutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Dillon,* with 600 men," add the French accounts, "to fortify himself at Calella, a little town on the sea-shore, beyond Pineda. He was attacked there, the 23rd, by 2i)00 men of the regular troops, and by 3000 miquelets, or peasant.s, who were repulsed with the loss of 2o or 30 men killed, without o\ir having had more than 3 soldiers wounded. He was again attacked, the 24th; which obliged the Duke de Vendome to send there a detach- ment of cavalry, at whose appearance the enemy took to flight; though they had some brigantines to second them, with the protectioti of their canntm." This Lieutenant-Colonel, by the time the Spaniards assailed him, would seem to have been sufficiently ff)rtifl> d or covered in his post, fi-om the little he suffered, comjiared with wha,t the very superior force of the enemy did. The Duke of Savoy, having finally decided on seceding from the League of Augsburg, and restoring tranquillity to his own dominions, as well as to Italy in general, by a treaty of peace and alliance with Louis XIV., \uiited his forces, in 169G, with tho.se of France uTider the Marshal de (/atinat, to compel the Allies to consent to the neutrality of Italy. The Duke and the Marshal, for this purpose, September 18th, in\'>ested Valenza, in the Milanese. It was under an experienced Governor, Don Francisco Colmenero, with a garrison of between GOO' I and 7000 men, German.«5, Spaniards, and Huguenots in William III.'s )pay. All the prefjarations for reducing the ])lace being completed, the trenches were opened, Sep- tember 24th, and the operations lasted till October 8th, when the siege terminated, in consequence of the submission of the powers confederated against France, on the 7th, at Vigevano, to i-atify the terms dictated to them for the pacification of Italy. At this siege, the Honourable Briga- dier Simon Luttrell of Luttrell's-town, County of Dublin, mounted the * The Honourable Arthur Dillou, havincr been so youno;, or not 20, when he brou.irlit to France the corps levied in Irehxud by the interest of his family, and of which he shoiihl consequently be Colonel, it was necessary, that his inexi)erieiice shouhl be C()in])ensateil by the experieuce of a competent Lii^utenant-L'olonel, the ollicer referred to in the text, who was a Frenchman. The Lieutenant-Oolonera family name, lono- connected with this reuim'n\ was INIanery, or Mauuery, which ], luoie tiiau ouce, Hud misprinted, aud correct iiccordiu^^ly. 186 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES trpnclies, September 28tb, and tlie 2 battalions of his corps, the Queen's Ilegimeiit of Infantry, as well as the 2 of Sir John Fitz-Gerahl, Baronet, of Clonlish, or the infantry Regiment of Limerick, did so, the night between September 30th and October 1st. The most considerable affair was during the night between the 29th and 30th, when, among several regiments upon duty in the trenches, there were 100 of the King of England's Dismounted Dragoons, or the corps of Dominick Sarstield, 4tli Viscount Kilmallock, and the 3 battalions of the infantry Regiment of Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare.. "About 10 o'clock at night." according to the French narratives, "the besieged made a sortie with 200 grenadiers, sustained by 400 fusileers, who had orders not to fire, but to descend into the boyau," a portion of the trenches, "and sword in hand, and with ;ixcd bayonets, to sur[)rise, and kill, all that were to be found there.* This was to avoid drawing upon them the French cavalty ; from which there were, every night, 200 on the right and left of the palisades and trenches. The Allies advanced very silently as far as the head of tlie trench, without being perceived on our part, until the instant they were upon the work- men, who, falling back upon the trench, spread much disorder there. The alarm having been given, the Allies, on perceiving they were dis- covered, fired a severe volley, inflicting much injury upon the companies of Netancourt and of Conde. Bat, as soon as these were reassemWed, rallied, and sustained by a detachment of the Irish Regiment of Clare, the Allies were obliged to retire, and were pursued even to their palisades. In this smart encounter, the besiegers had 25 soldiers, 2 Captains, and some other officers killed, with 35 soldiers, and several officers wounded." In 1697, Louis XIV., strengthened by his peace with the Duke of Savoy, assembled 3 armies in Flanders; the 1st under the Marshal de Villeroy; the 2nd, under the Marshal de Boufflers; the 3rd under the Marshal de Catinat. The 2 former were to hold the Allies, under William III., and the Elector of Bavaria, in check, while the 3rd was to attack the important fortress of Ath. Before this town, defended by the Comte de Ranix, with above 3800 men, Catinat, aided by the great military engineer Vauban, broke ground. May 22nd, with about 40,000 men, and a powerful artillei-y. It held out till June 5th, when the capitulation was regulated, and the garrison marched out, the 7tli. At the reduction of this fortress, Cohmel Andrew Lee, or the 3 battalions of his regiment, are mentioned, as having, on different niglits, mounted the trenches, sometimes accompanied by the illustiious Vauban, and Catinat himself. In Spain, the great object of France, for 1G97, was the reduction of Barcelona. This was a very difficult undertaking — from the strength of the fortifications — from the ample supply of artillery, above 240 pieces, with munitions of war in proportion — from the amount of the garrison, under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, consisting of 11,000 regular infantry, and 1500 cavalry, besides 4000 civic militia — from the compass of the walls, and of the adjacent Foi-t of Montjuich, preventing an entii-e investment, and thus facilitating an introduction of external supplies - while the Count de Velasco, Viceroy of Catalonia, lay encamped abfuit () miles from the town, with a body of 3000 regular cavali-y, forming, with militia, irregulars, or guerillas, not less than 20,000 men. to inten-upt the ])rogr'ess of a besieging army ! Tliat army, under the Duke «)f Vendome, consisted of 42 batialions, and 55 .squadrons, besides marines, Irom its attendant fleet under the Comte d'Etrees; the whole, howevci-, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 187 reprosonted as considerrtbly under 30,000 men,* and consequently appear- injLj ratliev inadequate for the capture of a place, situated, aii.) supplied as Barcelona was. The French battering-train of 84 pieces of artillery, Of 60 heavy cannon and 24 mortars, with ammunition and provisions, being landed from the fleet, June 10th, the troops encamped before the town the 12th, and the trenches were opened the night between the 15th and 16th. The siege, in the crmrse of which, or July 12th, Velasco was ably surprised and routed, at St. Filieu, by Vendome, lasted to August 5th. or for about 52 days' open trenches; the negociations respecting the terms of capitulation occuiiying till the 10th; and the garrison marching away the 11th. This very important conquest, which cost the Fi-encli above 400 officers, with from 8000 to 9000 soldiers, and the Spaniards iu proportion, reflected corresponding honour upon the Duke of Vendome, who was duly rewarded by Louis XIV. Among the Irish attached to the Duke's army there, was the Hon ourable Simon Luttrell of Luttrell's-town, in whose Brigade were the 2 l).ittaiii)ns of his own cox-ps. or the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, the single battalion of the infantry Regiment of Clancarty, or that of Colonel Roger Mac Elligot, and a battalion of Vendome's own regiment. The Honourable Arthur Dillon likewise served with a battalion of his regiment; and Colonel Oliver OGara with his battalion of the Queen's Dismounted Dragoons. On the approaches to the town, June 13th, says the contemporary French nai-i-ative, "the besieged, having almndoned the Convent of tlie Capuchins, 350 toises from the covered way of the ]dace, the Duke de Vendome caused it to be occupied, that evening, by Colonel Dillon, with 600 men." On the night of June 16th-17th, when, not- withstanding " a violent tempest," and " the besieged having lined the rampart, fronting the attack, with 40 yjieces of cannon very well served," the battalions in the trenches acted so well that their progress was bub "little i-etaided," 1 of those corps was the Regiment of Clancarty Finally, or August 4th, the enemy, on the side of the LloV)regat, having "sent out all their cavalry, to cover the entrance of a convoy into the town," while, '■ to cause a diversion, a very large body of infantry, j-ustiiined by some cavalry, came down from a mountain to assail the French posts, the Regiments of Dillon and of Solre, that were encamped conveniently to defend them, flew to arms, and, the Colonels having hi aded them, attacked the foes so vigorously, charging amidst them sword in hand, that they pu-rsued them even to the tops of their moun- tains, after having slain a very great quantity of them." — Which over- thrt)w of this very large body of Spaniards, with the routing elsewhere f>f the main force of their cavalry, prevented the intended entrance of the convoy into Barcelona, and the negociations for a surrender wei"e com- menced the following day. To these French statements respecting the Iidsh there, tlie Whig writer, Forman, adds — "That, in the siege of Barcelona, in the year 1697, the great Vendosme was so charmed with their courage, and so amazed at the intrepidity of their behaviour, that the pui'ticular esteem and notice with which he distinguish'd them, even to the day of his death, is yet very well remembered in France. If what I say here," he concludes, " is nob literally true, there are Frenchmen enough, still living, to contradict me." — And this assertion, concerning * Bellerive saj's of Vendome — " II avoit tout au plus 26,000 hommes, en comptant les troupes de la Marine, et les Milices qui hii e'toient venues du Languedoc." See, likewise, Quiucy, and the Coutiuental publications of the time, ou this siege. 188 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES the higl) opinion of tlu^ Irish as soldiers by Vendonie, is corroborated by the testimony of the Chevulier de Bellerive, wlio afterwards fonght ntider thiit great commander witli the Irish in Spain, and who, noticing their galhuitry there, under liiin. in 1710, says — " M. de Vendosme, who luul a particular esteem for this warlike nation, at whose head he had delivered so many comliat% and gained so many victories, confessed, that he was surprised at the terrible ent(!r[irises which those hulchers of the army (it is thus that he named them) achi(!ved in his i)resence."*— Among the garrison of 10,()()0 men, jilaced in Rarcelot)a by Vendome, was the Regiment of Dillon ; in connexion with which, the veteran Peter Drake of Drakerath, in the County of Meath, observes—'' And here 1 c-mnot omit the mention of a very extraoidinaiv event. The centinels placed on the breach contidetitly affirmed, that they saw, in the night, numbers hi dreadful aj)j)aritions, who were wont t.i engage one another as in an attack ; furiously crying, kill, advance, and such like expnissions, commonly used on those occasions; and what added the greater authority to these asser- tions was, that several centinels on that )>ost were found dead without any visible marks of violence, and so sup))osed to have died of their fears. This occasioned ordei's for doubling the centinels and, being sometimes of the number, imagined 1 both heard and saw the like." The Wa)- of the League of Augsburg against Louis XTV. was soon after terminated by the general Treaty of Peace with France, signed at Ryswick by Holland, Spain, and England, in September, and by the German Emperor, and the Empire, in October following. Early in 1698, Louis XIV., after such a long and burthensome war, was obliged to relieve France, by lessening, as much as ])Ossible, the vast and expensive military establishment he had maintained against the Allies; and since his acknowledgment, by the late treaty, of William, as King of England, was incompatible with a continuation, in France, of the Irish forces, hitherto kept up there as James II. s army, a great i-eform was ordered to be made among the Irish troops in general. The extent of that reform, or reduction, as already sufficiently shown, in connexion with tlu; special histories of the Irish regiments, need only bcj referred to here. But the disbanding of so many soldiers, as had belonged to the several broken corps, was ])i()(liictive of the very bad consequences, that might be expected from the long-accustomed avocation of such a number of men being at an end; while it was so very dillieiilt, it not, in the great majoiity of cases, so impossible, on their part, to obtain oilier regular employment, or means of subsistence, in the strange country wjiich France wai^ to them, that th.ey had, on the whole, but too just cause to sympathize with the purjiort of tlie noble Moorish veteran's exclamatiou in the [ilay — " Farewell content! Farewell the plnmcd troo]), and the bis vvars, That made ambition virtue! 0, farewell! Farewell the neiohiiicr steed, and the shrill trani|i, The spirit-stirriuo- drum, the ear-j>iercmg tife, The royal banner; and all quality, Pride, pomp, and cii ciim^tance of glorious war!^ And, you mortal engines, whose rude throats The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit, Fatiewelll Otludlo's occupaiiuii's (jone!'^ — SiiAicsrK.'VRE, * F!pe a further comujeudatioa of the lush by Vendome, in Book iv., under battle of CabbiLiio m ijOj IS THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 180 Accordingly, " tlie route between St. Germains and PniMS," writes Dr. Doran, " was not safe, because of them ; and they added murder to robbeiy, when tliey met with resistance. One Irish Jacobite ti-i)o]ier, named Francis O'Neil. was bi'oken alive upon the wheel, for the double crime of plunder, and as-assination. Two other ex-soldiers in James's service, lii/glis/i/nen, lacked nerve to take tlieir chance against stout travelleis on the road ; but they practised the double profession above named, in a quieter and more cowardly way. On pretence of being ill, they sent for a physician, and, when the latter entered tlieir ajjartment, tliev fell u|)on, stal)bed, and robbed him. The law was .stringently apjVlied to these Jacobite riiiKuis, whose desperate crimes testity at once to their own utter destitution, and the fallen condition of their Sovereign." In fine, " the t(d, and piit into jiossession of the inheritances of his sujipliants, because his Majesty was in a position, rather to- give, than to receive, examples of charity, and of compassion. That they were satisfied with representing to him, that they had no way of making out a subsistence, in a toreign country, except by casting themselves at the feet of his JNIajesty. That such of them, as would be fit for other occupations than those of war, liad neither the me:ins, nor the friends, necessarv to enable them so to ap])ly themselves. That it had ])lr;ised liis M^ijesty to ]>romise the reformed allowance to Captains and Lieutenants who cliose to remain at- tached to tlieir regiments ; but that this retormcid allowance was so trifling, that srtircely enuld it supply them with inditferent food, without leaving them nnything (or eluthnig. Tliat the coiubtion of the SuV)-Lieutenants :Mid (if tiie Eesiuiis was nmeli more lamentable still, since they iiad only be(^n ]:rn reap tJoe Jridis of their bloud, and of their labour , and see all the rest of his subjects rival, or outdo, if possible, tJie Irish, in fait) fulness and duty I" Of these "sul)jects," the most important abi'oad were the Iri.sh Brigade; so that a noble Spaniard observed in Paris — " Were it not for the (jreat actions of the Irish on the Continent, the cause of King James III. would he quite forgotten in Europe f' This high i-eputation of the Irish military abroad had a due influence on their enslaved countrymen of the same creed at nome; especially those of the ancient Milesian or Gaelic population, who longed, in the translated words of 1 of their songs, that "The Prince, then an exile, should come for his own, The isles of his lather, his rights, and his thi'oue," 194 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. *' Oh ! where art thou, Louis ? our eyes are on thee — Are thy lofty ships walking in strength o'er the sea ? In Freedom s last strife, if you linger, or quail, No moru e'er shall break, on the night of the ( jael ! " * That *' night," however, was destined to grow darker and darker, and "no morn" was to "break" upon its starless gloom of religious and political thraldom, till above half a century after the remains of the gi eat Louis were deposited, with those of his ancestors, at St. Denis; and till his protege, the exiled sou of James II., had found an appropriate sepulchre at Rome, for whose religion the Stuax'i family forfeited the trijjle royalty of the British Islands. * See the "Jacobite relic," commencing, "Osay, my brown Drimin, thou silk of the kiue," as versiHed by J. J. Callaxiaa. HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK IV. Charles II., tlie last King of Si):iin of the Aiistrian line, deceased in November, 1700, having, by his will, nominated, as heir to his dominions, Philip, Duke of Anjou, giundson of Louis XIV., in order tliat, through the aid of France, the Spanish monarchy might be preserved from the dismemberment with which it was menaced, Louis, by accepting tiiis will, gave rise to the confederacy against him, between the House of Austria, England, Holland, and other i>owers, which occasioned the long and sanguinary contest, known as the " War of the Spanish Succession." The 1st hostilities occurred in Italy, in 17"1, between the Imperialists, under the illustrious Pi ince Eugene, and the French, Spanish, and Pied- montese forces, undei- Victor Ainadeus II., Duke of Savoy, (then allied with Fi-ance) and the Marshal de Catinat. Through the talents of Eugene, a considerable disposition of the Italians in his favour, and the treachery of the Duke of Savoy, (who corresponded with him) the ;nmie8 OL the 2 crowns, tlmugh superior in number, were so outmauoiuvred, that Louis XL v., annoyed at Catiuat's want of success, sent the Marshal Duke de Villeroy to act in his place, and bring the Iniperi;dists to a battle. The day after Villt-roy's arrival at the camp of Antignato, or August 24:th, he reviewed the united forces there, consisting of 04 bat- talions and 73 squadrons. Of these, there were 4 battalions Irish, or the Duke of Berwick's, Loid Galmoy's, Colonel Walter Bourke's, and the Honourable Colonel Arthur Dillon's, and 2 squadrons, or Colonel Dominick Sheldon's. Writing to Louis XIV. next day, the Mar.shal represents the Ii-ish battalions as better, or stronger, than others. Having specified " the 40 first battalions as from 360 to 400 men," he says, "except the Irisli, who are numerous, with a great lium- ber of reformed (jfhcers." Tlie combined forces marched, September Ist, to attack Pi'ince Eugenie, who, duly aware of their design, had made such preparations to receive them, at Chiari, that they conlJ not have di.s- lodged him, even if their very considerable superiority of numbers had been much licyoncl what it actually was. His position was protected by the town, l>y fcsscs and rivulets, and by intrenchments ; from behind which, his infantiy. with the tops of their hats only visible along the j'arapet, might secu'cly direct tlieir musketry, seconded by a raking fire from 50 piec^is of canih'U, loaded with c H'tridge-shot ; ami, in advance of tho.se foi-midalile obstacles, he had country-houses, and mills, occiipi<',l by some of his troops. The approaches to his p!)sit.iou were likewise so 'iiiUcult, as to |iie\eaL the cuutedciutcs bringing ny more than a few 196 mSTOliY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES cannon. After a massacre, ratlier than a battle, of between 1 and 2 hours, Villeroy had consequently to (h;i\v off, with not less, if not inmii/ more, than between 1000 and 2(iO0 killed and wounded, ineludinuf several eminent otticers, and, among the former, '■ 'J Irish CJolonels" (not named) — while Eugene's acknowledged loss was but 117 men in all, or oidy 36 killed, and 81 wounded!""" The Irish, who were engaged in support of the 2 first French brii;ades wliieh nttackey Prince Eugene, which I notice more fully than other events, in proportion to the very high distinction acquired there by the Irisli. That ancient city, then behtiiging to the Sjianish dominions in nch'thern Italy, and fuviiished with a good citadel, ramparts, fosses, etc., was under the government of a loyal, active, and g.dlant Spanish officer, Don Diego d(! la Concha. The Marshal de Villeroy, as commander of the French and Spanish troops during the ■winter, had made it his head-quarters. The principal officers of the garrison, nnder the Mai-shal, were, the Lieutenants-General Count de Revel and Marquis de Crenan, the Marechal de Camj), Count de Mont- gon, the Marquis de PrasTin, acting as Commandant of Cavalry, the Brigadier d'Arene, acting as Commandant of Infantry and the Etat- Major, and M. Desgrigny, [nteudant of the French Forces in Italy. The garrison consisted of 12 battalims, and 12 squadrons; all French, exce])t the 2 battalions of Colonels Arthur Dillon and Walter Bourke. The whole, however, made, acconling to the FreU' h official journal, only "about 4000 men." Of these, the 2 Irish battalions are elsewhere stated to have fu-med no more than GOO men ; a circumstance lequisite to be noted, in order to duly estimate the extent of their merit, at the defence of the place. As the capture of such an impoiitant city, with its garrison, military stores, and so many of the principal officers of the confederate forces, would enable Prince Eugene to drive the French and S[)aniards out of Italy, by putting him in a ])osition to fall upon and conquer their various detachments in detail, he directed his particular attention, during the winter, to the surprise of the town; and the intel- ligence he reci'ived, respecting the state of things there, inspired him with the liveliest hopes of accomplishing his design. The Marshal de Villeroy, indeed, was most attentive to his military duties; but his subordinate officers, npon whom the maintenance of projier discipline among the. garrison devolved, allowed a shameful neglect of the details of the ser- vice to jirevail. The guards, stationed at the gates and upon the works, had no communications with each other at night, by rounds. No sentinels were [)laced on the ram])arts, over the gates, to give notice of any approaches that might be made tov\^ards the town. No out])osts were obliged to traverse or scour the different roads, leading from the surrounding country towards those gate-*. No jiatrols of horse or foot were ordered to parade the strt'ets. In short, the heedlessness was such, as to be most favourable for Eugene's des gn. At this time, there was iu his army a native of Cremona, Antoaio l-'S HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES OozzoH, wild liad been obliged to leave it for debt. He was brother of the Rev'.' (iianantonio Cozzoli, Rector of the Parish of Santa Maria Niieva ; whose chuich and ))rivate residence, hut ])articulai-ly the lattei-, stood near a sewer for cairying off tlie foul water and other imfniritie.s of the city into the trenches surrounding the walls. At the entrance of the sewer was an iron gmting. If tliis wei'e removed, and other rneasure.s taken, troops might l)e introduced, by the subterraneous passage, into the Priest's wine-cellai-, and might thence ascend into the town. The (■ozzoli were j)artizans of the house of Austria; and in consideration, it is said, of a sum in hand to the Priest, and a promise of his being suitably jn'omoted in the Church, by the Imperial interest, he agreed to support Eugene's project. He accordingly applied to the (governor, Don Diego de la Concha, to have the grating removed, and the sewer cleaned out, as being, he alleged, so choked with tilth, that it was a great* i)nii.sance, particularly to himself, since his win(i-cellar was injured V)y the water, that could not tind a due vent elsewhere. The Spaniaixl, little suspecting the ti'eacherous olijecj; of this modern Sinon, ordered some soldiers to do what the Priest desired. A ]iassage from the sewer into the Priest's cellar next remained to be opened ; fur which purpcjse Eugetu; despatched to his reverend friend 8 al)le miners; who, being intro- duced into the celhir, completed their task, covering the aperture which was required, merely with such a thin coat of masonry as could be easily removed. Eugene then, or from January 20th, commenced slipping V)y degrees into the town, in different disguises, several experienced officers, and, as variously stated, from 300 to 60U picked men or grenadiers, who, till the time for action, were to i-emain concealed with Father Cozzoli, and otlier partizans of the Emperor. The Prince likewise ol)tained fiom ( Vemona a jjlan of the town representing eveiy- thing necessiiry to be known, esuecially with I'espect to the fortifications and barracks, the nmnher and disposition of the troops of the garrison, th(! particular quarters intrusted to, and the lodgings occupied by, the ])rincipal otiicers, Sic. Afte)- these arrangements for the surpri.se of the y)lace, Eugene formed 2 bodies of his best troops. The 1st body was to march from Ostiano on the Oglio to Cremona, in order to enter it ou tliat side of the river Po, where the measures for doing so had been specially concerted with Father Cozzoli. The 2ud body was to proceed through the Parmesan territory, on the other side of the Po ; to profit by the admission of the 1st body into the place, so as to master a redoubt wiiich guarded a bi-idge of boats, leading over the river to that gate of Cremona, hence called the Po gate, and then, getting by it into the town, was to effect a junction there with the other body of troops from Ostiano. Against such a junction within the ])lace, i-esistance by the garrison would have been unavailing. The 1st body of ti-oops drafted from the infantry Regiments of (jfeschwind, Herberstein, Bagni, and Lorrain, and the cavalry Regiments of Neuburgh, Taaffe, Lorrain, and Diak, was to be under Eugene himself The infantry amounted to 3000 j)icked men, or grenadiers, and the cavalry to 1500 men; or 1395 cuirassiers, and 105 hussars. Thus, on entering Cremona, Eugene would have 4500 men ; and, according to his being reinforced by 300 or 600 more in waiting for him there, he would be at the head of from 4800 to 5100 Ti;eu. The 2nd body of his troo[)s, or that intended to proceed through tiie Parnipsan territory against Cremona, was to be under the yoMtig l*ri"ce de Vaudemout. Its infantry, selected from the Regiments of IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 199 Stahremberg and Daun, consisted of 2000 men ; its cavalry, composed of the young Priijce's own regiment, with those of Darmstadt and Deid- richstein, made 3000 men; and lioth consequently 5000 men. The united forces of Eugene and Vaudemont, (according to the foregoing particulars, deduced from German, as well as French, sources of infor- mation.) would form from 9800 to 10,100 men; or more than sufficient, within Cremona, to overpower a surprised gai-ri.son of only about 4000 men — if there was not even reason to believe, that garrison would be much diminished by the absence of a considerable detachment, designed for service elsewhere.* Eugene commenced his march January 31st, at an hour before mid- night, from Ostiano. Having to travel about 6 leagues, or 18 mile.s, over roads in bad order from heavy rains, and being accompanied by a number of carpenters, masons, smiths, &c., with everything necessary for passing over ditches, breaking through walls, and opening gates, he coidd not collect all his troops before Cremona, till it was nearer morning than he wished. The Germans, however, loorJ.erl, and the French slept, so well, that not only the gate of All Saints, nearest to Father Cozzoli'.s ■wine-cellar and to the passage into it from the sewer, was surprised, but the gate of St. Margaret, which had been walled up, was reopened iu good time. The one served for the entrance of the Imperial foot, the other for that of the horse ; and the Prince himself was by day-light in the town, with from 3,000 to 3, GOO grenadiers, and 3 divisions of heavy cavalry, or 1016 cuii-assiers ; leaving about the gate of St. Margaret, and to patrol the roads by which aid might come to, or fugitives escape from, the place, a reserve of 379 of Dnpre's cuirassiers, and 105 of Diak's hussars.t Before any alai'm of consequence occurred, the Germans, besides the 2 gates of All Saints and St. Margaret, and the Priest'.s house and Church of Santa Maria Nueva, were masters of the leading squares, and the adjacent streets, tlie great street which separated half the garrison of the town fi'om the other half, the Podesta, or Hotel de Ville, the Cathedral, the Round Chapel, and, in short, the principal portion of Cremona ! Eugene established himself, with the Prince de Commercy and General Stahremberg, at the Podesta, or Hotel de Ville; many officers were cajitured in their lodgings, pointed out to the Ger- mans by a native of Cremona who had come from Ostiano, and by Father Cozzoli ; and, as the consternation spread, several of the garrison whose quarters were so .situated towards the gates, or ramparts, that an escai)e seemed possible by getting out of the town, attempted to do so ; but there, too, they were intercepted by Du pro's cuiraSsiers and Diak's hus.sars. In the words of my Italian historian — "Confusion, terror, violence, rage, flight and .slaugnter were everywhere ! Dreadful for all was the awakening ! Still more dreadful what they saw when awake ! The citizens believed, that their last hour was come ! The French, between fury and surprise, arming tliemselves hastily and irregularly, seized their muskets, sabres, and bayonets, and sallied out from their * It had been inteuded, that 800 foot and 500 horse should be detached from the garrison of Cretnnna ; an intention fortunately not acted on; yet attended with preparations, of which the Anstrian partizans and spies did not fail to take note there, and transmit information to the Prince. t These and the previous calculations of Eugene's and Vaudemonfs forces are given, as the closest estimates I could form, from a minute comparison and analy.sia of the various statements on the subject, in the writings on botit, sides. JJUU HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES lodgings or posts, naked and bare-footed, or covered only witli a sliirt, ignorant of where they were rushing, what enemy they were going to engage, or what had reduced ill-fated Cremona to such extremities, during that horrible night. The Austrians believed," adds the historian, " that victory was already within their grasp I " Like the Greeks of old, under similar circumstances, "To sev'ral posts, their parties tliey divide; Some block the narrow streets, some scoin- the wide; The bold they kill, th' unwai-y they surprise; Who titrhts finds death, aurl death finds him who flies!" Dkvden's Virgil, .Eueis ii., 447-450. Meantime, the Marshal de Villei-oy, whose quarters lay in that part of the city towards the gate of St. Mai-garet, was aroused. As watchful,* as others were careless, he had inquired several times, during the night, "Was there any news from the enemy?" and was ah\ays answered, "iVone.'"* It was about 7 o'clock when he was awoken by 3 or 4 inusket-.shots to the left of his residence, followed by his valet's running into his chamber, crying — " The Germans are in the town !" The Mar- shal huiried out of bed, had his hoi-.se saddled and bridled, dressed himself as rapidly as possible, and, I'rom the continuing increase and ap))roach of the musketry no longer doubting that he was betrayed, and would soon be visited by the enemy, he directed his papers and cypher of correspon- dence to be burned, flung on his military cloak, mounted, and galloped otf alone for the principal square, in order to head some ti'oops there, and fii'st endeavour, with them, to set matters to rights. His situation on this occasion, at Cremona, reminds us of that of ^neas at Troy, as also betrayed and surprised. " Now peals of shouts came thiind'rino; from afar, t.'ries, threats, and loTid laments, and mingled war ! The noise approaches ; * * * « Louder, and j'et more loud, I hear th' alarms Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms ! Fear broke m}* slumbers ; I no longer stay — New clamours, and new clangors, now arise, The sound of trumpets, mix'd with fighting cries! With frenzy seiz'd, I run to meet th' alarms, Resolv'd on death, resolv'd to die in arms ; But first to gather friends, with them t' opjjose, (If Fortune favour d) and repel the foes.' Dryden's Vn-gil, zEueis ii., 397-426. "When about 30*) paces from his house, the Marshal was fired at by a hostile detachment, but esca])ed uninjured, took a round to avoid being intercepted, reached the square, and was doing all he could to encourage his men assailed there by the Germans, when more of their horse and foot, rushing from 2 neighbouring streets, surrounded all attem])ting to resist. In the jnP.lce, 12 gi-enadiers fell upon the Marshal, seized the bridle of his horse, pulled himself to the ground, wounded him (though but sliglitly) in the «ide and hand, were dragging hat, peruke, cloak, coat, Eugene's surjirise of Cremona would have been rendered impossible, had but 1 order of the Marshal been executed— that 50 horse of the garrison should patrol all that night, and until the evening of the follow ing day, on the road to Ostiano, in quest of intelligence respecting the euemy. What a heavy penalty was the result of this ueglectj IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 201 cravat, &c., from luni, and would probably have killed him, when, for- tunately, an Imperial officer, iu a red uniform, and armed with a halbert, hastened up to rescue him, and did so, though not without much diffi- culty. This officer, an Irishman, Francis Mac Donnell, belonged to a name, of which he was not the last who attained distinction in the service of Austria.* He appears to have been of the old gaUoylass, or heavy- infantry, sept of the Clan Donnells, subsequently Mac Donnells. of Mayo ; whom the English Lord Dejnity, Sir Henry Sydney, in 1576, refers to as so powerful, in mentioning the reduction of the great Mayo Cliief, Sir Richard Fitz-David Bourke, or the Mac William Fighter. ''Out of the Countye of Maio," writes Sir Henry, "came to me to Gal way, first 7 [irincipall men of the Clandonells, for everye of theire 7 linagies 1 of that surname, and enhabiting that Countye, all, by profession, mercenarie soldiers, by the name of GaUoglas ; they are verie stronge, and moche of the wealth of the countrie is under theim," &c. Then Sir Henry adds of Mac William Fighter, — "I wan his chiefe force from hym, in getting theise Clandonells." f Francis Mac Donnell himself was connected with the best of the old native races of Connaught— with the O'Rourkes, whose heads were Princes or Chiefs of Brefny-O'Rourke, or Leitrim. from the 10th to the 17th century, some of them anciently Kings of Connaught, several of them distinguished officers in vai'ious Continental services, their name being represented, to our days, among the nobility of the ranks of Prince and of Count in Russia — with the O' Conors, so long Kings of Connaught, in some instances, Monarchs of Ireland, in modern times, among the leading gentry of their province, and still more respec- table for theirs ervices to the litei-ature of their countiy. His uncle, Captain Tiernan O'Rourke, who had accompanied the Irish army from Limerick in 1691, and had signalized himself upon various occasions, was then in the French service. His hrst-cousin, the Captain's son. Doctor O'Rourke, had been Chaplain and Domestic Secretary to Prince Eugene, till invited by his countrymen to become Bishoj) of Killala, and thereby doomed to a miserable end, in those intolerant days. His second-cousin was the venerable Charles O' Conor of Belanagare, the eminent anti- quarian and ])atriot. Mac Donnell, who had long been in the Inqieiial service, was then a Captain in the infantry Regiment of Bagni, and had an important part assigned him in effecting the passage into the town. Without knowing the rank of his captive, the Marshal, he conveyed him * James Mac Donnell, of the Mayo race, died in the Austrian service, Octolter 4th, 176(>, a Coiuit, a General, Imperial (Jhamberlain, and Inspector-General of the Ciuard in Cam]); and was sncceeded, from Ireland, in his Conntship, by his nephew, F'-ancis MacDonnell. This Conut James was very generous to his relatives in . Ireland, daring his life ; and their descendants derived pecuniary advantages from Vienna, under his will, as late as lS-il-2. t Cox, in noticing this submission, introduces a circumstance, indicative of the education of an Irish Chief, or gentleman, of those times. " To Gal way came 7 of the famil}' of the Clandonells, and, after them came Mac William Eighter, who could S[ieak Latin, though he could not speak English. He submitted, by oath and indenture, and agreed to pay 250 marks per annum for liis country, besides contri- bution of men, on risings out, and consented the Clandonells should hold their lands of the Queen," &c. Sir William Betham, too, observes — " The Irish Chiefs, not understanding the English language, their correspondence with the Eni;]isli was carried on in I^atiu." During the great civil war under (.'iiailes I., we hud the stout Catholic Bishop of Clogher, Rober Mac Mahon, in the (Jeneral Assembly of the Confederates at Kilkenny, v hil ■ he "addressed them in Latin,' admit- ting his equal "ignorance of the iixujh and >Sowered and slain there. The Marquis de Crenan, Lieutenant-General, with another party of troops, after a similar success in the little square, was mortally wounded, made prisoner, and his men also driven out of that square. The brave Sjianish Governor, Don Diego de la Concha, heading a detach- ment, was likewise mortally wounded. Desgrigny, too, the Intendant of the French Forces in Italy, was captured, with several more officers and soldiers\ In sliort, by this time, the comuiunications between the different portions of the garrison became so intercepted, that of lis 12 ly THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 203 batt;"ilions only 6 and a few fragments of the others could assemUe ; ami of its 12 squadrons only 5 could be extricated for action. The Irish presented the 1st insurmountable obstacle to the enemy's success. Though tlie bavi-acks of the 2 battalions of Bonrke and Dillon were situated in streets not far from the Po gate, and Major Daniel O'Mahony, who commanded the latter battalion in the absence of Colouel Lally, had directed it to be up for reviewing near that gate, at the same early hour that the Chevalier d'Entragues had ordered his men to be i-eady, none of the Irish were prejiai-ed for action when the Austriaus surprised the town, except a Captain and -^.5 men, who were sta- tioned at a barrier before the Po gate. Upon the 1st alarm of the Germans being in the city, Entragu&s, as having had the only considerable corps (or one of about 200 men) equipyied for action, hastened, from the scene of his intended review, towards the principal square, to meet the enemy ; thus leaving the 36 Irish at the barrier to themselves. The Baron de Mercy, on the ojiening of St. Margaret's gate for the admission of his cavalry, lost no time in attending to the special order he had received fioui Prince Eun'pne to master the Po gate ; since, without the possession of it, for the introduction of the Prince de Vaudemont's corps, the fall of Cremona could not be looked upon as certain. With above 2-50 cuiras- 8 ei-s, sword in hand, the Baron galloped towards that gate. But the Iiish Captain there (whose name I i-egret not to find mentioned) was too quick for the cuirassiei-s; ordering the barrier to be shut in time — by which he was the 1st saviour of the pltice. Mercy, foiled in his attempt to carry that Irish post by a dash, was brought to a stand before it, and had still further to defer assailing it, owing to the non-arrival of Lieutenant- Colonel Baron de Scherzer with 400 infantry designed to aid in the attack, but whose advance was delayed through the death of his guide, by a shot from a window. These infantry coming up after some time, and the cavalry under Mercy's orders being increased to 800 cuirassi rs, he blocked up, with his horse and foot, all the space between'' the Po gate and the gate of Mo.s.sa or Mantua to his left, and to the i-ight of the Sli Irish at the barrier ;. thereby confining to their barracks, between liis own and another Austrian force to his rear and left, the greater portion of the French cavalry, whose quarters lay towards the gate of JMossa; but omitting to shut up the passages from those streets towards his right, iu which were the barracks of Bourke's and Dillon's battalions. However, no aid from those battalions having yet reached the Iiisli Captain and his 35 men a.t the barrier before the Po gate, Meii-y ordered that j^ost to be assailed Vjy a body of his best infantry or grena- diers. The bai-rier was constructed in the form of a palisade, and the German grenadiers had orders to march up, and, thrusting their bayonets through the openings, to ovei-power the Irish, by the combined supeii- oiity of fire and numbers. The Irish Captain, causing his men to remain as much as po.ssible out of bullet-reach, made them keep their muskets and bayonets steadily fixed between the intervals of the pali- sades, and not give out theii- fire till they could give it in with the best effect. The Austrian grenadiers, directing a tempest of musketry against the barrier, were accordingly allowed to come so near, as about a halbert's length of it. But they then found the openings a.ssigned for fJiea^ weapons to be most fatally preoccupied; being saluted with such a destructive volley, that they had to fall back amidst loss and disorder, ^lei-cy again endeavoured to make his grenadiers close upon the barrier ::«)4: iiisTor.Y of the irish b?x1Gades and cany it liy the bayonet. Bnt the Irish availed themselves so well of the protection afforded by their ]>ost, tliat. even without being seen by their enemies, they marked them (nit, and picked them down, at ])leasure; so that the German infantry couhl effect iiothiug against the "line of bayonets, and of musket-months vomiting fire and death." The enemy were only able to take possession of an adjacent battery of 8 twenty-four pounders, called the battery of St. Peter, wdiich had been left without a gviard. By this time, the 2 Irish battalions of Boui'ke and Dillon, at their bariacks in tlie streets not far from the Po gate, wei-e alarmed at the noise of the attack u](on their countrymen at the barrier. The greater jiart of the officers of tho.se l)attalions wire eitlu-r away on leave from their reginu^nts, oi- were lodged in various pai-ts of the city, more or less remote from their men. Nevertheless, the sdldiers, with such o^hcers as they had, pre|)ared to rush, in their shirts, from their barracks, to the aid of their countrymen against the Germans. Among those officers quar- tered away from their men in the town, was Major Daniel U'Mahnny. He was of a respectable branch f)f one of the best Milesian names of Desmond, or South Mini.ster, as derix ing its origin Imtli from the blood of the old Princes of Desmond, and that of the Princes of Thomond, or North Munster; the immediate founder of the race Mahoon or JNIahon — wdience the name, in its modern or general form, of O'Mahouy — having been the son of Cian, Prince of Desmond, and of Sabia, daughter of the illustrious Brian •'Born." head of the line of Thomond, oi- North Munster. This ('ian was famous for his gi'ticnisii v to the Bards, as well as his statiire and liea\ity; for which, at the hattle of Clontarf, where he had a high command in the army of his renowni'il fatli»'r-in-law. he is noted as excelling all the other men of Erin, or as '• altissiums et ptilcherrimus Hibernorum." The O'Mahonys survived the convulsions of the middle ages with various lands and castles, belnngitn;- to representatives of the nam.e, in those districts comprised within the ancient Kingdom of Des- mond, or the Gounties of Cork and Kerry. Among tin- officers of King James, during the War of the Revolution in Iivland. were several gentle- men of the O'Mahonys, including '1 brothers, Dermod anon the flank of the Germans, in the direction of the rampart and the streets Vjordering upon the Po gate. The Baron, on recovering from his first surprise, commanded his infantry to advance against the Irish; causing a detachment of his cuirassiers, at the same time, to su{)port the attack of the infantry. But Bourke's and Dillon's battalions received tho.se infantry and cuirassiers with such a galling fire, and charged them with such fury, that they were defeated; * Of the several O'Mahonys who were officers in France, may be mentioned 2 of distinctiou w'd/iin the present century. 1. Barthelemy O'Mahony, Chevalier of St. Louis in 1781 ; Colonel en Secoude to Regiment of Berwick from 178S to 1791 ; Count, Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Order of St. liouis, after restoration of the Bourbons in 1814; and living in 1819. 2. The Chevalier Jean Francois O'Mahony, Colonel of the .3rd Regiment Etranger in 181.'3; Colonel of the 41sb Regiment of the Line iu 1S19 ; Marechal de Camp from 1823 to 1833; and a Com- inanduut of the Le'fiou uf Honour. 206 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES the Baron himself, in atteinitting to rally liis men, ht-ing wounded. The To gate, the adjoining rampMrt, battery, and Phice of St. Peter were thus freed from tlie enemy, except such of tlieir infantry as availed themselves of the protection of the oppo.site houses ; and, in addition to the good •service done by the preservation of the contested gate, the recovery of the battery &c., such of the French cavalry, as Mercy had pi'eviously blocked up in their bariacks. weie enabled to get out to the assistance of their infantry. The Austrians kept up a fire fcom the houses where they had sheltered them.selves; but it was answered so effectively from St. Peter's battery by tlie Irish, that they were able, at the same time, to iiet about barricading themselves with barrels, carts, ikc. in the position they had won. Brigadier d' Arene, who joined the Irish just as they had chased the ctiirassiers from the battery, stationed the 2 battalions at the different posts about the Po gate in which they were to intrench them- selves; then directed the battalion of Beaujolois, which happened to come up, to place themselves beside the battery; also caused the Church of St. Salvador, on the left of it, to l»e occupied; and next sent to the Citadel for ammunition, which was beginning to be wanted, and at a mo.st critical juncture. F(»r the young Prince de Vaudemont's corps of 5()0O men — whose arrival, too late by several hours, should have been simul- taneous with that of Eugene's force — was now to be seen advancing, on the opposite side of the river, towards the redoubt and bridge of boats, conducting to the Po gate; so that the artilierj^ had to be turned round, fi-om playing upon the Austrians 'within the ])lace, in order to be fired upon those approaching it from vnthtmt. The Irish, in this emergency, jierceived what was best to be done would be, to withdraw, at once, the small number of men, or only about 50, who were in the redoubt on the other side of the river; and to bi'eak the bridge, by removing every boat of which it consisted to their own side; through which simple remedy any danger from Vandemont would be obviated, .since he could not then cross the stream; while the garrison, so far from being weakened, by having to detach men from itself to o]ipose him, might be strengthened by the ])arty withdrawn from the redoubt. Such a suggestion i-especting the bridge was accordingly made to D' Arene by tlie Irish. But he, not venturing to adoJ)t it, withovit y)eimi.ss on from his superior officer the Count de Revel, preferred, meantime, to endeavour to defend the redoubt; dispatching 100 of the battalion of Beaujcdois. U^ strengthen the little outpost there, of about 50 men, under Captain Stuart of Dillon's battalion. And this arrangement of D'Aretie, aided bv the miscon- ception under which the ap|)roaching enemy a]»pear to have laboured as to the obstacles they would have to deal with at the ied(»ubt, answered the temporary object for which it was intended. For Vandemont, to whom a fi-iendly signal was to have been made from the ramparts of the town, finding from the very different .salute, or tlie tire of hostile artillery, with which he was hailed, that the garri.son had the superiority there, and the 100 men being seen passing over the bridge of boats to the redoubt, the Austrian troops were ordered to halt, preparatory to a di.s- tribution of fascines among them for a regular attack upon that outpost, as if it had been much stronger than it reall}^ was, or not to be carried \)y a coup-de-riumi,. Such was D'Arene's conduct on this point, answering, indeed, his purpose, on account of the ignorance, and conse- quent timidity, of the Austrians. But, as to owe our .safety to our own loresight is better, than to be indebted for that safety merely to the IN TUK SKRVICK OK FKAN-CE. 207 incapacity or error of an eneniy, the advice oi' th° Iri.sh was far the better comisel to have acted on, even were it not eventiuilSy found necessary to lie followed, as the 07i/i/ mole of preserving the place — for, had Yaude- inont's Austrians been better inforineioach of Vaudemont's corps. Com- mercy, on returning, stated, that he thought the Irisli were too well ])Osted at the gate to be forced fi-om it. Then Eugene, says tiie Italian historian, " took it into his head, to try, if the Irish were ;is juoof against gold, as against steel." He accordingly desiMtched to them, as his best deputy for a proposal of that nature. Captain Francis MacDonnell, both as their countryman, and as the very otiicer who had captured the Marslial de Villeroy. Mac Doniiell, on arriving oppo ite the Po gate, where he found his 400 countrymen obstinately defending their ])ost against 1200 Germans, advanced from the i-anks of the lattei- towards the former, with a white handkerchief in his hand as a sign of truce, and demanded, if he might make them some propositions? The Irish replying, that he was welcome to do so, and the combat ceasing. Mac Doiinell thus addressed himself to the Irish officers. "My fellow-countrymen, his Serene Highness, Monsieur, the Prince Eugene of Savoy, semis me here to tell you, that, if you wish to change sides, and to pass over to that of the Emjjeror, he pi-omises you higher j)ay, and I'ewards more considerable, than you have in France. The affection which I have for all persons of my nation in general, and for you besides, gentlemen, in particular, com- pels me to exhort you, to accept the offers which the General of the Emperor makes to you ; for-, should you reject them, I do not see how you can escape inevitable destruction. We are masters of the city, with the exception of your ])Ost. It is, on this account, his Highness only waits for my return, to attack yon witii the gr(;atest part of his forces, and to cut you to pieces, should ycm not acce|>t of his offers." Mac Doanell added, as an instance, among others, of the bnd situation in which the garrison were, that he himself had made the Marshal de Villeroy prisoner; he likewise specified, that the ])ay which the Iiish should receive from the Emperor Leopold would be equal to the highest in France, or that of the Swiss regiments, besides a s])ecial giatuity in money, proportioned to the service rendered his Imperial Majesty, by joining him on this occasion; and finally stated, that such as acce])ted of those terms might also have their peace made with the King of England, (Wi liam III.) through the influence of Prince Eugene — this last proviso referring to tlie })enal regulations, by which such Irish as entered the service of France after the Treaty of Limerick were capitally interdicted ever to revisit their native soil, unless with an expiess or written permission from tlie revolutionary Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland. To these offers of Mac Donnell, O'Mahony, as the Commandant of Dillon'.s battalion, acutely replied — " Prince Eugene seems to fear us more than he esteems 2^)8 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES lis, since lie causes such propositions to be made to us." A Lientenant of Grenadiei-s bluntly added — " Though your Prince Eugene should send us all the Eni])eroi's cuirassiers, I would not believe that he could drive us out of this." Then, addressing himself to O'Mahony, he observed — " Let us send back that man, /to convey our answer." Upon which, O'Mahony, resuming the conversation, said to Mac Donnell — " Monsieur, if his Higliness oidy waits for your return to attack us and cut us to pieces, there is a likeliliood, that it will be long beft)re he will do so; for we are going to take measures against your returning in sufficient time. With this view," continued the Major, " I arrest you as a prisoner, not looking upon you any longer as the envoy of a great General, but as a suborner; and it is by such conduct we wish to earn the esteem of the Prince who has sent you hei-e, and not by an act of cowardice and treason, unworthy of men of honour."* O'Mahony then had Mac Donnell arrested, amidst the exclamations of the Iri.sh officers, that " they would die to a man, in the service of tlie King of France, and never serve any other Prince but him " — whilst tiie Irish soldiers, if not prevented, would, in a rage of fidelity, have killed the prisoner on the spot. Mac Donnell was next transferred to the commander of the 2 Irish battalions, Lieutenant-Colonel Wauchop of the Regiment of Bourke. By this officer, and 2 or 3 others of that battalion, he wns conducted and presented to Brigadier d'Arene. then occu[)ied with the arrangement of the battalion of Beaujolois. The Biigadier, on hearing from Mac Donnell, and from the officers who accompanied him, the circumstances of his detention, told him, that "he deserved rather to be treated as a suborner, than a hostage;" and, after causing him to be disarmed by the Irish themselves, had him conveyed to the Citadel, along with other prisoners whom they had taken. Carried away by the force of this last accusation against Mac Donnell — and one, natural enough, indeed, on the part of those who made it — the Italian historian, Botta, has joined in aspersing that officer, on the ground of his having engaged to corrupt others, although incor- ruptible himself. But, in thus censuring Mac Donnell, has Botta duly considered, that the Irish Ca})tain, in making the proposals he did to his countrymen, was acting in obedience to his General, and tliis not in any uiiderhand manner, (like the British Adjutant-General John Andre, with the American traitor Major-General Benedict Arnold,) but openly and fairly, or in presence of the forces of botli, parties — from which circum- stances, it does not ap])ear why any stigma sliould be attached to Mac Donnell's chai-acter. That his conduct, in refusing the tempting offiirs made him, was approved of in Austria, and admired throughout Europe at the time, and long after, is certain. Being soon exchanged as a prisoner, he was made a Major by the Emperor; but fell, the following August, at the battle of Luzzara. And an English periodical, under the date of October, 1772, in noting how "old Macdonnel, the Irish officer, who lately died, at the age of 118, at Madrutz, in Croatia," or the Austi'ian dominions, " was father to the brave officer of that name, who, in 1702, in the war about the Spanish Succession, made prisoner the * The liveliest or most dramatic accounts of the interview between Mac Donnell and his countrymen at the Po gate ai-e given in the Histoire du Pi'iuce Eugene de Savoye, and the valuable French Letter from Milan, or " Kelation exacte de I'Entreprise faite sur Cremoue par le Prince Eugfene. Copie d'nne Lettre ecrite de Miliui, le Vl Ffevrier, 170'2." To what I have selected from those accounts,|I have made suitable additions from the currespoudeuce of the Depot de la Guerre, &c. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 209 MMi-shal de Villeroi," and slinwed such integrity tliere, adds — '• Snch gmitness of sonl so well estalilished Ids r putation, that ids father, iiiteri'ognted by his friends, ' Row lie niauiiged to look so fresh and well, in his old age?' usefl commonly to re])ly — 'That the remenda-ance of thv. disinterestedness and fidelity of his son contr-ihnted greatly to prolonjif Ins days!'"'^ Upon Mac Dontiell's arrest, the liring recommeneed. and the ])reservation of the place became even inore attributable thim befoi-e to the Irish. For the cannonade from St. Peter's battery, which thej/ liad wrested fi-om the enemy, among others of Vaudemont's troops mortally wounded Count de Deidi-iclistein, tlie officer intrusted with the anangements for attacking the redoubt; owing to which fortunate shot, the attack that, if made as proposed, imist have succeeded, was post- })(med, until time was given, by the delay, to evacuate the redoubt, and remove the bridge of boats, at last, according to the suggestion of tiio Irisli, at tirst. Prince Eugene, now suspecting, from seeing no more of Mac Donnell, that he was detained by those to whom he was sent, resorted to another sti-atagem, to make the Irish lay down their arras. He proceeded with the Prince de Commercy, to the captive Marshal de Villeroy, to induce him, if possible, to issue such an order as would cause the resistance of the Irish to cease. " You have. Monsieur," said the Prince to the Marshal, " travers(ed the entire city, and you must have observed that we are masters of it. Ycni have still some musketeers upon the rampart. If they continue there, they will at last oblige me to ]mt them all to the sword." But the Marshal, comprehending surhciently, that those very Irish musketeers, whom the Prince aifected to despise, weie the special cause of his embarrassment, replied — " Having the mistortune to be your jirisoner, I have no longer any orders to give in the town, and those wlio are uj)on the i-ampart must be left to act as they have done." Eugene, baffled in this attempt upon Villeroy, bet?»)Ught himself of anotiier expedient for effecting his object. This was to procure ihe municipality of Cremona to embrace his ])arty, and to excite l«iieir fellow-citizens to aid his forces against the garrison, which, in that case, would undoubtedly be overpowered. He accordingly summoned those magistrates, by the sound of the tocsin or alarm bell, to meet him at the Hotel de Ville, where he was with the Prince d^ Commercy. There he addrosed them with gi-eat ability, omitting nothing that could be nio.st likely to persuade or terrify them into the course he wished them to adopt. Those wise Italians, however, very pi-o[.erly resolving to incur no additional danger for the sake of a mere change of masters, could not l)e gotten to make Eugene any more satisfactory answer than this—" That they were not in a condition, under existing circumstances, to act in the manner he required them ; but that the Imperialists, when entirely masters of the city, should meet with such a reception as had been granted to the French." Eugene, in fine, co\dd obtain nothing more from the meeting, than what, to avoid the imprudence of refusing him all he demanded, was granted, a suj)[)ly * To this interesting notice of the Annual Register maj' be joined another fron Collet's Relics of Literature, under the year 1112. " Died, at Madiutz, in Croatia, in the 118th j-ear of his age, Henry MagdoneL To that place he had retired, wit'i a property sufficient to support hiin decently. He had been in the service of dif- ferent Sovereigns. He was father to the brave officer of that name, who, in I702, in the War aluait the Spanish Succession, made prisoner, at Cremona, theMar.shal de Villeroi," &c. P 210 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES of bread for his troops; which. pvithMitly for the ;^nrpose of makins; those troops be thought many uiure than tiu-y i-eully were, he dxed at twetca thonamtd rations! Meanwhile, the Count de Revel, by the cry of "Frenchmen to the ramparts !" got together a considerable luimber of infantry, and arrayed them near the Citadel ; the Marquis de Praslin likewise collecting as many cavalry there, as, tlirough the facilities afforded by the success of the Irish against Mercy, or other ()[)portnnities, had been able to escape from the blockade of tlie Austrians. T,.e plan adopted by the Count de Revel for the expulsion of the enemy was, after securing a connexion with the Marquis de Praslin at the Citadel, to march, by the ram|)arts on his left, to recover the gates of Milan, All Saints, and St. Margaret. Having reached the 1st, he found it possessed by some of his own men; bui, before advancing against the 2nd, it was requisite to guard his rear at an avenue, through which it was assinlal)le by the enemy's horse and foot. For this service, 40 French infantry were placed under Captain Mac Donough of Dilhm's battalion, who, like so many of his brother-officers, was separated from his own corps. And, scarcely had Mac Donough causi'd his little guard to barricade or intrench themselves, when tiie Austrian infantry and cavalry came down upon him. But he obliged them to retire; and, though they renewed their attempts upon his posi- tion throughout the day, they could not force it* Thus covered by Mac Donough, the Cotmt recovered from the enemy the Church of Santa Maria Nueva, or that of Father Cozzoli, as well as his residence, through •which they had surprised' the town; the reverend traitor, however, escap- ing, by the sewer, to his Austrian friends beyond the walls, in time to avoid the gallows, which awaited him, if he were caught, t An intrench- snent, and bastion, on the way to the gate of All Saints, were likewise regained by the Count de Revel. Nevertheless, before the Count pro- ceeded to attack that gate, he sent word to the Irish at the Po gate, that, while he advanced on his left, tliAu, after leaving 100 men at their intrench- nieut, or barricade, and St. Peter's battery, should endeavour to push forward to the gate of Mantua, or Mossa, upon their right ; on arriving at which, the}^ should get fresh orders. When Major O'Mahony received these commands, (for Lieutenant- Colonel Wauchop now appeai-s to have been prevented acting in chief as wounded,) the IMajor manned the intrenchinent and batteiy as directed, and marched into the open ground, towards the gate of Mantua, with the rest of the Irish. They first encountered, and drove before them, 200 Austrian grenadiers, as tar as a guard-house, where there were above 200 more. From this post, the Austrians "poured a fire so terrible," says my French axithority, " that it was capable of disheartening any troops, except such as resolved to conquer, or to die." Nevertheless, this superior force was beaten out of the guard-house, and put to flight. In the mean- time, Prince Eugene, finding that nothing was to be gained by negocia- tion, determined to avail himself of the advance of the Irish from the • Besides the above Captain, there were, of the old Sliojo sept, in the Regiment of Dillon, at Cremona, 3 brothers, of whom Andrew, the youngest, was a])pointed Lieutenant-Colonel to that corps in 17.>5, and died, with the rank of Colonel, ia 1745. Other noted oflicers of the name are mentioned elsewhere, or in connexion with the E-egiment of Walsh, and the battle of Fontenoy. t His house was levelled with the ground, as that of a traitor. He is reported to have been, concerned, in 1705, iu a 2nd Austi'ian desigu to surprise Cremona. Jiut it came to nothing. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 2 ! 1 protection of tlieir iiifcrenchraent, as well as of their lessened nnrl harassed state, to overpower them, and so reach the Po gate. For this service, he appointed, as successor to Baron de Mercy, tlie Baron de Freil)etg, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Taaffe. * Freiberg was furnished with such a body of cuii-assiers, as, with the infantiy and other cuirassiei a l)y whom he was to be joined, were supposed capalile of overcoming any opposition they could meet with. The ground occupied by the Trisli wai^ so open, owing to the distance of any houses from the rampai-ts, tli.it cavalry could march in squadrons. The Baron de Freiberg, on surviyini^ how very favourable the place was for the design he meditated, com- manded his men to advance — in order, as he supposed, to trample to tlie earth such a comparatively small and feeble force as that of the Irish — • and. by way of shortening the work, he caused them to be charged at once, with the greatest fury, in front, flank, and rear. But 0'Mahi)ny, arraying the Irish so as to face their assailants on every side, i-eceivcd the onset of the Imjierialists with an intrepidity that astonished them. The fire of the Irish battalions strewed tlie gmund with men and horses- compelling the cuirassiers to fly with such precipitation, that the infantry, advancing to suj)port them, was obliged to ojien. in order to give them a passage through its ranks. It was in vain that the officers of those jjanic- struck horsemen attempted to rally them for anothei- effort. They con- tinued their flight to the main body of cavalry in the Sabatine square. Another coi-ps of cuirassiers, however, came to the aid of Freiberg, who, enraged at this reverse, put himself at their head, and, with the assistance of the infantry, resolved, "to perish, or to crush the Irish." And he accordingly brokethrough, and penetrated even into tlie midst of, Dillon's battalion. O'Mahony, rushing up to arrest the Baron's career, seized the bi'idle of his horse, and desirous to preserve, if possible, the life of such a gallant young man, exclaimed—" Good quarter for Monsieur de Frei- berg!" But the Baron fiercely replying — "This is no day for clemency, only do your duty, I'll do mine !" — and endeavouring to ])ush forward, was fired at. and killed ; to the regret of his enemies, as well as hi.s friends, and j)articularly of Prince Eugene. The cuirassiers, dismayed at their brave leader's fall, wavered, and suffered so much by the bullet and bayonet, that they were routed by the Irish, who took a ])air of their kettle-drums, and made a number of their officers prisoners. The remains of those beaten cuirassiers (whose fate their infantry appears to have shared) fled towards that body of their troops engaged in blocking up the French about the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. t Tne slaughter of the *Tliis corp.s, previously the Duke of Lorrain's Regiment of Cuirassiers, and at ita full complement lOtlO strong, was called that of Taaflf'e, from its Colonel, the cele- bi-ated Francis, 4th Viscount Taaife, and 3r(l Earl of Carlingford in Ireland, Count, Im]ierial Chamberlain, Counsellor of State and Caliinet, Lieutenant-General of the Horse, and Veldt-Marslial in Austria, and Kiiight of the (iidden Fleece in Spain, deceased in ITU-i. Among the Imperial otticers who fell at Cremona was a nephew of thatilistinguished nobleman, or the Hnnourahle Lam bar t Taaffe, son of the Honour- able Major John Taafte, siain in King James If.'s army hefore Uerry in 1689, and whose other son, Thev>l)ald, succeeded to the family titles. The name of Taaffe ha3 continued to our times connected vr-ith Irish and Austrian nohility. + The Abbe de Vairac, in bis " History of the Kevolu'ions in Spain," (as trana- lated and printed at London in 17'2i, ) observes — " It must be said, to the honour of the Irish, that this day was appointeil hy Fi'ovidence to signalize their tidelily and undauntedness. The '2 regiments of that nati(ui. which were in giirrison, at Cremona, made a most tenible fire ujion those who otfcr'il to aiipru.nch near the post they Lad taken; and what is most singular in it is, that the oflicer, who had lakcii tlia 212 HISTOKY OF TIIR IRISH BRIGADES Germans, in this attack, was great; Imt, as the Trisli likewise snfTered Koverely ; as, in tJiP-ir fatigued and diminished condition, tliey would have to enconnter new and increased opposition, should they contimm their march towards the iasfc-mentioned gate; and, as tlie battery of St. Peter would be infallibly retaken dni-ing their absence, O'Mahony judged it better, for the present, to return to his inti-enchuient, at the Po gate. And he judged correctly. For, as he returned, his retreat was harassed by the musketry of fresh troops sent against him ; and, on his lesmning liis post at the gate, the enemy likewise opened lire upon it, i'rom a housa ■which they had seized for the pnrf)ose. But O'Mahony, stationing hiui- eelf near the batteiy, drove tlie Austrinns out of the house by ])]aying the artillery upon it; and, with cai-tridge-shot, swept the enemy's troopa away, wherever they attempted to show themselves. The Austria ns, on the other hand, did not cease to answer tliis tire from such eminences, «ngles of bastions, or other places, as they could do so, under cover. So various were the conllicts now raging thi'ouuli the city, that the most voluminous French historian of Louis XIV.'s wars observes on this occasion — " I do not. ])retend to enter into a (h'tail of each jiarticular action, or to report in full all that happene 1 there, since tliose actions would be sufficient to till an entire volume." And the biographer of Prince Eugene, after expressing his inability to record so many combats, adds — "Notliing was to be seen u])on the paveuient but blood, and filaughtered men and horses, in every direction. The cries of the weunded, and of the dying, joined with the lamentations of the towns- })eople who witnessed this frightful s[)ectacle, increased lIic horrois of the struggle." During the stubborn contest of the Irish with the enemy about the Po gate, the Count de Kevel, whose force was augmented by ditferent ])arties of his countrymen, stormed the gate of All Saints, and other |iosts beyond it, or in the direction of St. Margaret's gate. Tlicn ])re[iaring to clear his way towards, and attack, the latter gate, — which l^rince Eugene had .particularly strengthened to retreat by in case ;]C de Veaddme le .3 JNlars, 1 /(>:?," reports —"' Lc3 Irliuidais, apres avoir laisse ''>U hoiiiiiies dans lear retranchement, marcherent auX fciiLiCUiis, 6uab avoir de cavale:ij pour les soutei.ir." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 213 several posts upon the rampsivts to the riglit. But, on reaching a s[)ot of ground very open, and where the streets, bcixlering upon the rampart, were very wide, the Irish were attacked, in front, flank, and rear, by the enemy's horse and foot. A most obstinate combat ensued ; both parties heing, for a very long time, mixed up in close conflict. Finding, how- ever, from the superior force opfiosed to tliem, that it wovdd be imfiossible either to maintain themselves where they were, or to advance any farther, the overpowered remains of the 2 battalions retired to and re-cutered their retrenchment, through the aid of the 100 men left to guard ifc. In this a,ttack, the Count de Leiniugen, 1 of the enemy's chief and bra\e.-t officers, was killed, and the Banni de Mercy was wounded a 2nd time, and; made prisoner. The Connnandant, and Caj)tain of Grenadiers, Dillon, although wounded on this occasicni, would not withdraw till he had jilaced Lis regiment within the intrenchment, and had caused that position to be so additionally fortified, as to prevent a recapture of the cannon by the enemy, which there was reason to apprehend. It was not till this late [leriod of the day, or till the attack of the posts lea'ding to the enemy's last gate, of St. Margaret, that the long and dangerous delay which occurred between Brigadier d'Arene, the Count de Revel, and the Marquis de Praslin, with respect to the affair of the redoubt and bridge of boats, was tenniuated. The Marquis then pro- ceeding to the bridge, sent orders to the officers that defended the approacli to it on the other side of the Po, or Captain Stuart of Dillon's battalion, and Cajttains de Cliateauperrs and Caussade of the battalion of Beaujoloifij to retire with their men, after destroying the redoubt and works coa- nected with it. This was efl'ected,' notwithstanding the superior nunibei-s and fire of Vaudemont's corps; and a lirave Serjeant, with a paity of soldiers, completed the removal of the bi-idge, b\ bui-ning some of the boats, and by pulling away the i-emainder, to the Ciemona side of the river. The 150 men withdrawn, of wlioui Captain Stuart's proportion, or 50, appear to have been Irish, were placed under Major O'Maliouy, to reinforce the posts about the Po gate. Thus, towards 3 o'clock, wa* Cremona finally secured on this side, after its safety had been too long; endangered, by not ado])ting the counsel of the Irish. And now tlnxse biidies of Eugene's infantry and cuirassiers that had hitherto occupied tiie ram[)arts and streets towards the Po gate, seeing any further attempt npon it to be hopeless, and beiug affected by che successes of the garrisou elsewhere, fell back towards the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. In the division of the city called "the New Town," and to which that gate belonged, a noble resistance had been made to the enemy, since morning. That quarter of the town had been so filled by the Imperial- ists, that the greater portion of the French cavalry were at first block*;(l np in it; afterwards, the 2 Irish battalions, ordered to force their way to the gate there, were tioice obliged to desist ; and, in fine, so completely occupied by the enemy was the district su|)pose:l to be, that the gate.s of All Saints and St. Margaret were not believed to have been more certainly gained by the Germans, than that (jf Mantua, or Mossa. Such, however, was not the case. For, when the Austrians poured into this ]iart of the city. Captain Lynch, of Dillon's battalion, was stationed afc tiiat gate. Like his countryman, the Captain, with the 35 men at the Po gate, Lynch was not to be surprised. Collecting what men he could from the vicinity, and being lucky enough to find ])Ovvder and ball at the guard-house to his gate, he intrenched himself there; maintaining it the 214 HISTORY OF THE IRISH ERIOAOES wliole dav agMi'vist tlip rnipei-ialists, whose commander, Count de KufTstein, Lieutenant-rolouel of the ileifJuient, of Herbeistein, was wounded at the attack. Lynch did more. For, the Germans ()ccu])ying tlie adjacent Church of St. Mary of Bethlehem, and placing musketeers in the steeplo «s a post from which tJieir fire wouhl completely command his inti'encli- rnent at the gate, he dislodged the enemy from the Church, and ktM)t possession of it, as well as the gate. The achievements of the Irish this memorable day, on wi;ich, in the words of a French General Officer, tliey '' [)erformed incomprehensible things," * wei-e concluded, by the remains of the troops at the Po gate at last fulfilling the orders they had reeeived, to ]ieneti-ate to the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. Although so much weak- ened by fatigue, cold, fasting, and wounds, as well as diminished by thosg killed or taken in such a long struggle against superior numbers, thw comparatively few effective survivors of Boinke's and Dillon's battalions did not allow the enemy to "depart in ])eaee," but followed his retiring infantry and cuirassiei-s bej/ond the gate last-mentioned, chaiging both with great eflect, especially the cnii-assier.s, from whom they wrested a 2nd pair of kettle-drums, and some standards. Eugene's contest with the French, at St. Margaret's gate, was well maintained, his assailants being repentedly repulsed, and succes.sfuUy kept at bay tliei'e, until it was late, or dark; when, after a conflict of about 11 liouijs, (or irom 7 in the morning, to a little before 6 in the evening.) the fate of Cremona was decided, by his having to abandon that city, "taken by a miracle," as was said, "and lost by a still greater one!" He retired in good order, bi-inging away, as companions for the Marshal de Villei'oy. who h;id been sent off to Ostiano, 8U or 9U officers, of whom 38 were Iri.sh, besides about 400 soldiers, including 29 Irish, and above 50'' hoises captured from the garrison. According to the most probable accounts on the Pi-ince's side, liis loss was from 1500 to 1600 men, of whom about 12i)() we-re killed or wounded, and the rest prisoners. j'he oliiciiil table of the killed, wounded, and prisoners of the French and Irish ■nij'antry — lor 1 have seen no such return of the cavalry of the garrison — ]>r('sents a total of 1421) men and officers; of whom the French were 1079, and the Irish 350 ; the last number a large proportion out of (100 men ! The details of the loss of the 2 Irish battalions, counting Serjeants among the privates, were thus : — Killed. Officers, .... 1 Soldiers, .... 53 BOURKE'S. Wounded. . . . 13 . . . . 78 . Taken. . 2 . . 3 . Total. 16 134 54 91 150 DILLON'S. . Killed. Wounded. Taken. TotaL Officers, . • . . 6 . . . . 29 . . . . 36 . . . . 71 Soldiers, . . , . . 37 . . . . 06 . . . . 26 . . . . 129 43 95 62 200 • The "Bricndier Count de Vandrey, above alluded to, wiites thus — "Les Irlao- (^ais, (jui avuicnt fattaqiie de la droite, dn cote dii P6, tvt fait de.s c/ioxrs inn>ni/>i-A. hi'ii^ihlrn. ... lis out avraclic les, etendards des cuii'assiers do rEiiipereur, e« ee soiit emi/ures de 2 paites de timbales qu'ils avaient a leur t6te." IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCK. 215 Tlie officers clistingnishecl in Bourke's battalion were Liputenaiit-Colonel Wauchop, PluDkett, Captain of Grenadiers, Ca])taiiis Donnellan and Mac Auliffe, and tlie Lieutenant of Grvenadiers, Mac AiilitFe, besides the reformed officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Connock, and the Lieuter)ant^ Corrin, Power, Nugent, and Ivers.* Those distinguished in Dillon's battalion were its 2 successive Commandants, Major O'Mahony and Dillon, Captain .of Grenadiers, Captains Lynch, Mac Donough, and Macgee, Lieutenants. Dillon and Gibbons, and 2 gentlemen, mentioned, without any rank attached, as John Bourke and Thomas Dillon. Tho Count de Revel, who, thongh his countrymen, the French, did wonders where they fought, yet acknowledged (as well as the enemy) that it was to the obstinate courage of the Irish in defence of the Po gate the j)reservati(>n of Cremona was principally owing,+ apiiointed, as the'ir most distinguished representative, Major O'Alahony, to carry the despatch to Paris. The Major, for his excellent character in the service, previously known to Louis, was, on the day of his reaching Versailles, received by his Majesty, according to the Duke de Saint Simon, in a manner proportioned to the importance of the intelligence from Italy. The King, on rising from dinner, proceeded to his private cabinet accom- ])anied by the Irish officer only, and continued there, with shut doons, for about an hour; while the numerous courtiers, including, U the general surprise, Chamillart, the Minister of War himself, had to remain in the apartment outside, where the deliverance of Cremona was the topic of universal curiosity; as Chamillart sufficiently experienced, from the inces- sant questions to which he was exposed respecting such a remarkable event. After quitting his cabinet, the King, while changing his dress in order to walk in the palace garden, expressed himself with great approbation on the affiiir of Cremona, and especially on the conduct of his principal officers there; at the same time evincing how gratified he was with O'Mahony in particular, by the length at which he spoke of him ; alleging that he had never heard anybody give so good an account of everything that occurred; or a narrative displaying such clearness of |)erception and exactness, united with an agreeable manner of communi- cation. From another contemporary, the Chevalier de Bellerive, we are informed of Louis and the Major on this occasion, how his Majesty, having listened to the description of what happened at Cremona with pleasure, intimated that he was only dissatisfied with the deficiency of the narrator's details respecting the acts of his own countrymen. Tho King observed, on that point, to the Major — " Vovs ne me paries que * Printed, in French, " Yvert." The old name of O'Hiorahair, famous for valour in the wars of Tliomond, was anglicized into " Ivers." + The historian of Prince Eugene observes of the garrison of Cremona — " II faufc rendre justice aux Franyois ; ils y fireiit des merveilles. Les Irlandois s'y distin- guerent aussi beaucoup ; et leur obstination a la defenne aauva la place.''' In fact, of the 4 gates fought for, or those of the Po, Mantua, All Saints, and St. Margaret, the Irish, though but GOO men, preserved the 1st, and, throiigh it, tho town, as their countryman, Lynch, held the 2nd, till they forced their way to, and drove the Imperialists from, it; while the French, though 3400 men, only regained the 2 remaining gates. It was, likewise, in connexion with the contests for the Po and Mantua gates, that the chief Imjjerial officers were put /lor.s de comhnt, or Mercy, Deidrichstein, Freiberg, Leiningen, and Kuffstein. The illustrious Lieu- tenant-General Pelefc, Directeur Ge'neral du Bureau de la Guerre, writing how "chacun fit des prodiges de valeur," adds, " surtout les 2 regiments Irlaudais." lii (jther words, they were, " Where all were brave, the bravest of the brava!" 216 niSToRY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES des Franqois, lie! qiC auront done fa't mes braves Irlandois?" — "Sire," I'ejoined tlie Major, merely paying bjick as an Irishman, to the French, the couipliment which Louis, as a Frenchman, had ]>aid to the Trisli — "Nons avons siiivi leiir rapidite gueiiieie." A reply, presenting, says Mr. O'Conor, "a meniorahlc instance of the modesty of merit, or of pride, conscious of merit, and disdjiiuful of vain-glory." Louis rewarded the Major with a Invvet as Colonel, and a pension of 1000 livres, "besides a pi'e.sent of 1000 louis d'ors, by way (as it were) of defraying the expense of his journey.* Lieutenants-Colonel Waucliop and Con- nock were likewise brevetted as Colonels. And, as a general testimony of the French Monarch's satisfaction at the conduct of the Irish on thi.s occasion, not merely Bourke's, but the other 4 Irish Infantry Eegiments of Doi-iington, Albemarle, Berwick, and Galmoy, like it only on Fi-encti pay, all had their pay raised to the higlun- scale of the 3 corps originally comprised in the Brigade of Mountc.ishel, and, at this period, or 1702, consisting of the Regiments of Lee, Clare, and Dillon. The last, as 1 of those already enjoying that pay, only received a special gratuity in money, for its bra\ery at Cremona. After his interview with Louis XIV., "Coll. Mahoni," notes the contemporary Irish 'Jacobite loyalist, Plnnkett, " went from Versaills to St. Getniaius, for to pay his res[)ects to his own King : who knighted him for his late service, reputeing what was don to his great friend to be dou to himself. And 'tis so in the event. For the greater jjrogress is made by France and her Allyes in the warr, the sooner will tlte Restoration of James III. be effected." The Whig writer, Forman,' reiiuu-king of the affair of Cremona, "that the Irish perform'd there the most iuiportant piece of service for Louis XIV., that, perhaps, any King of France ever received, from so small a body of men, since the foundation of that monarchy," adds — " This action of the Irish, by an impartial way of reasoning, saved the whole French army in Italy; the destruction of which, according to the account itself, as well as the o](inion of all military men, niust have been the itifallible consequence of the loss of Cremona. It was also thought, in England, to have so much influence over the affairs of Europe, as they stood at that time, that, as I have been infoi'uied, a MeniV)er of the House of Commons, upon the arrival of the news, said, in Parliament, that those 2 regiments had done more mischief to the High Allies, than all the Irish abroad could have done, had they been kei>t at home, and left in the entire possession of their estates. . . . Had they done nothing, else," concludes Forman, " this 1 action wotild alone be .sufficient to eternize them." In Ireland, the older natives, though groaning under the many o[)pressions of the Orange revolution, t might naturally exult, " " Mahoni, an Irish gentleman, a reform'd Major in a regiment of hi.s nation," says the Abbe de Vairac, " was apjioiuted to carry to liis Most Ciiiistiau Majesty an account of tliat memorable transaction, and ]>erform\l that commission so much to liis JMajesty's satisfaction, that he gi-anted him a breviate for Colonel, and gave him a pension of lUOO livres, besides lOUO louis-d'ors to defray the expenses of liis journej' to the ('ourt." t M. Picot d'Orleans, in his Memoirs for tlie Ecclesiastical History of the 18th Century, (or from 17U() to 180l), ) after observing, that "all the documents of the times jirescnt a deiilorable picture of how religion was situated in Ireland " previous to and lit the connneucement of that century, says — "The Catholics were markeil out for ail sorts of vexations, and the Trotestniits, although inferior in number, or because they were inferior in number, made their yolce press most severely upon them." 1 bus, in the Dutch Lett.'-ea Histoiiques foi- January, 1702, we read, under head of Ireiaiid, an exact search piaclaimed for ail Priests, Monks, and Jesuits, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 217 on tin's memorable occasion, at such a gratifying realization, in rt^pre- sentatives of their race, of all that the highest eulogium of poetio patriotism could associate with the character of an Irishman — • *' By honour bound iu woe or weal, Whate'er *■//'- h'uU, he dares to do ; Tempt him with bribes, he will not fail, Try him in tire, you'll iind him true. He seeks not safety ; let bis post Be where it ouyht, m dautrer's van, And, if the Held of fame be lost, 'Twill not be by au Irishman " — Ohr. The feeling of a just national pride, at being the countrymen of such heroes, found a popular expression in music; and, to our times, the piper in Munster has jjerfornied the air of — " The da// tcp. beat the Geniuins at Cremona.'^ * A late patriotic wi-iter, Thomas Davis, has well observed — " We would not like to meet tlie Irishman, who, knowing these facts, would pass the north of Italy, and nut track the steps of the Irish regi- ments, through the streets, and gates, and ramparts, of Cremona." + The celebrated Duke of Vendome was app(jinted to succeed Viller(»y in Italy, with a sufficient army to oblige Prince Eugene to raise the blockade of Mantua, and to force him to an engagement. Tlie Irish troops, under the Duke's orders, were the 5 battalions of Bourke, Dillon, Albemarle, Berwick, and Galmoy, and Sheldon's 2 squadrons. Of Colonels present, from May 27th to June 1st, at the reduction of Castiglione delle Stiviere, were Bourke and O'Mahony; the latter of whom, and an officer named O'CarroU, appear as distinguished, July 26th, at Vendome's surprise and cutting up of 4 of Eugene's cavalry regiments under General Annibal Visconti at Santa Vittcn-ia. Sheldon, who volunteered there acting as Aide-de-Camp to Vendome, was si-verely wounded; behaving so very well, that he was 1 of 3 ollicers (2 of them French) specially recommended, for such good service, to Louis XlV.'a consideration, by his grandson, the King of Spain. These movemenfca were followed, August 15th, by the battle, of Luzzara. Eugene's force with the offer of £100 reward for a Popish Archbishop, £50 for a Bishop, and £40 for a Vicar-General, and everj' Jesuit or Monk. Yet how much wurae [leual legislation was to come ! * I allude to the famous (Jansey, deceased iu February, 1S">7 " He passed away calmly and peacefully," says the account, "at Killarney, in the !)Jth year of his age," and, by his performances, left a name "associated, fur over half a century, with the talismanic recollectious of Killarney, in the breast (.f millions, at home, and abroad." The late Maurice O'Conuell mentioned to me, his havnig often heard' the air, on the combat at (Jrcmona, from Gaiisey ; to whom it had l>een transmitted by his Munster predecessors iu "the tuneful arc." t For this narrative of the affair of Cremona (which ha-; cost me an amount of time and trouble painful to think of) I have made use of the French contemporary journals, the various publications, on the Bourbon and the Imperial side, in the JNlercure Historique and the Lettres HistorKpies for 1702, the original documents on the subject in the great work on the War oi the Sjjanish .Succession from the De[>.)t de la Guerre at Pans, the large history of the Marquis de Quiiicy, the accounts of tlie Manjuises de Feuquieres and Dangeau, the Chevalier de Foiard, the Histoire dii Prince Eugene de fSavoye, and the Italian writer Botta, with subordinate matter from the iJuc de St. fciimon, the Chevalier de Bellerive, the Ablie de Vairac, the jiainphleteer Forman, the Abbe Mac Ge^ ghegau, the Memoirs of Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, his grandson's unfinished Miiii&ry Memoirs of ih ■ Irish Nation, Plunkett's Light to the Blind, the M6. iiistory of Kerry, and Ponce MSS., iu the lioyal Irish Academy, &c. 218 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES has been differently represented at from 24,000 to 2G,000 men, with 57 cannon. Vendorae's force has been computed at 35,00 ) men ; of whom, however, not so many as 2-3 ds, could engage, or be up for action; ami they had but 37 cannon. The contest, which, from the broken nature of the country, was one chiefly of musketry and cannon, lasted froui 5 in the evening till 1 in tlie morning. Vendome acknowledged about 2500, and Eugene 2G95, killed and wounded. Both remained intrenched in presence of one another; and the engagement was, so far, a drawn battle. The main attack of Eugene having been against Vendome's left wing, the latter ])osted there " the flower of his troops," including the " Brig.:ide des Irlandois," or Bouike's, Dillon's, Berwick's and Galuioy's battalions; that of Albemaile being upon the French and Spanish right. The French accounts thus notice the .several assaults of the Imperialists upon* Vendome's left wing. At their 1st onset, tliat wing " received them with .so mucli vigour, that they were re])ulsed; leaving the ground covered with dead. Half an hour after, they retiu-ned to the charge, and th«y were again lepuLsed. Then they made fresh troops advance, and charged a 3rd time, with as little succe.ss. At last, the 4th time, they caiised the Irish, and the Regiments of Berche and of Saidt, that had sufl'ered severelv, to lo.se a little gnuind. But the Comte de Be.sons caused the cavalry Regiments of the Colonel-General, of Dourches, of Montperoux, and of Bourbon, to niai'ch, leading them several times to the charge against the enemy, which arrested his progress." After admitting the repulse of tho.se 3 fuiimis charges of the Ini|»erialists, and mentioning their reinforcement by 3 battalions of Daiaes for a 4th effort, - — " At last," says Prince Eugene's historian, " the Brigade of tiie Irish, being no longer able to sustain the Are of the Imperialists, and having lost a quantity of soldiers, and its be.st officers, was obliged to fall back above 500 paces. The majority of the French regiments, when they saw this, fell back also, and the Impeiiali.sts made themselves masters of tlieir ground" Thus, " the Im])erialists penetrated the left wing of the army of the 2 crowns, but they did not dare to pursue the Irish, nor the other brigades which had tui-ned their barks" — this caution [troceeding from "the ap[»rehension fif encountering a 2nd line, and of being surrounded." The same hostile writer subsequently refers to " the disorder of the Irish," and the nece.ssity, on the ])art of M. de Besons, '-to make some squadrons advance to sustain them, and gain time for them to rally." How very hard it was to niake tliam give way is thus attested by the accounts of both sides. The French admit the confusion to have been so great on this wing from its heavy lo.ss, especially of ollicers, that Vendome himself was obliged to I'ally it; and it was not until after aid obtained from the right, and G attacks, that the enemy could be repulsed. Meanwhile, the liattalion of Albemarle, under its Lieuttmant-Colonel, Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, signalized it.self very much upon the i-ight. It is described, in the letters of 3 French General Otficers, as " having, though with a great loss, performed wonders —tlelivering the very distinguished corps of the Carahinier.s, towards the close of tiie action, at a most critical period, or when they were flanked, and on the point of being overpowered by the enemy — the charge, by which tliis deliverance was eliected, having been the most vigorous ])os.sitile — trampling down all before it, though those who iikkK.' it were inferior in number — so that," it is addt'd, " tliey could nob lie too highly praised." Of the general conduct of the Irish, IriJiii the deliverance of Ci-emoua, to the end of this cauip.iign of 170J, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 219 Fieffe says— "D'ans toutes ces actions, les Ii'landais deploient encore la nliT* grande hravoiire." Among the 5'2 battalions and 90 squadi-ons, which, as " le plus en etat de servir," Vendome still kept at hand in November, lest Eugene should attempt any atfensive movement instead of retiring to winter-quartei's, the 5 battalions of the Irish Brigade were included; the number of men in each of those battalions being thns officially returned — Dillon's, 350 — Bourke's, 397 — Galmoy's, 397 — Berwick's, 460— Albemarle's, 327 — in all, 1931. Among the cavalry regiments of the Duke, detached for garrison duty, Sheldon's Irish, as 2 squadrons, are marked, as stationed at Cesoli. In a Stuart document of 1G93, concerning the fittest methods of obtaining recruits for the Irish Jacobite army on the Continent, it is sppcided, how " Irish officers were to be established on the frontiers of Flanders; and 2 louis d'oi-s weie to be given to every soldier, they could engage to desert from tlie Allied army." Accordingly, from th(i.t ren)ote quai-ter, we find arrangements on foot in 1702, to reinforce the Irish Brigade in Italy for the campaign of 1703 Our adventurous country- man, Peter Drake of Drakerath, County of Meath, informs us, how several Irisli officers, of whom he fianies the Ca[)tains O'Driscoll and Mac Carthy Eeagh, were employed in Flanders, so early as the s[)ring of 1702, to engage 600 deserters from Mai-lborough's army ; which number, and a few over, were obtained in the coui'se of the summer; Drake himself having procured so many as 156.* With all these, he left Brussels, in Angu.st, 1702, and reached Bavia, in Felnuary, 1703; minus, indeed, 257 men from desertion on " the long, laborious march by land;" but ■with about 343 remaining, that "were divided among the several officers of the Irish Brigade, who waited there to receive them." The official '• Memoire de M. de Chanday " to Louis XIV., dated October 20th, 1702, likewise shows the solicitude of the French Government, to have as many Irish troops as possible, for 1703. " II faudrait faire passer avec soin eu France les Irlandais qni sont en Espagne, et qui out desei-te de la flotte d'Aiigleteire et de Hollande, quand elle etait anpres de Cadix.+ Je ue doute pas que le Roi n'ait deja pourvu a ce qui est contenu dans cefc article. Je crois que si on s'y ]n-enait bien, on ])ourrait tirer des Irlandais d Irlande. Si cela etait possible, il serait tres-important de le faire an plus tot, ces troupes etant excellentes ; et d'ailleurs cela soulagerait d'antant le royaume. On dit qu'il y a beanconp d'Irlandais repandus en Bretagne. On ponrrait les raniasser, et les mettre dans le service." This year, 1702, began the insurrection of the Camisai-ds, or Protes- tants of the Cevennes, in Languedoc, on account of the pei-secution to which they were subjected, through the measures, connected with the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to compel all tho.se of tJieir ieti"gion in France to become Catholics. This struggle between the Camisards and their government was, as a religious war, attended with the ))eculiar cruelty, for which such Iioly contests have been infamous in every age. *' Nowhere," says the learned and liberal American historian, Pn^scott, "do we find such a free range given to the worst passions of our nature, as in the wars of religion — where each party considei-s itself as arrayed against the enemies of God, and where the sanctity of the caiise throws a " I^rake t!,ot in all 1.59, but .3 gave him the slip. t The English might olitain sailors as they did soldiers, from Ireland, in those times , but, it appears by the text, with dentriiuh ia view, ou the jjart of tiie former, a« well as the latter. 220 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BUIGADES veil over the foulest transii;re.ssions, that hides their enormity from the eye of the transgressor." The contest in the Cevennes continued unahated Tiutil 1704-, towards the close of which, the Marshal de Villars seemed to he entirely successful ; and, on the renewal of the disturbances, in 1705, they were extinguished by the Duke of Berwick. But, since the encounters, in the course of this insurrection, though honourable to tlie courage of the Camisards, and ])roportionably so to that of their op})0- nents, were, amidst a great European w^ar, not of such a nature, as to confer any distinction upon the Irish worthy of more than a passing notice, it will suffice to observe here, that, on several occasions, Irisli a])]iear to have signali7,<>d themselves, especially officers ; and, no doubt, Avith a greater portion of zeal, from the miserable condition to which those of tlieir own race and creed were reduced at home, by the violation? of ilirir Edict of Nantes — the Treaty of Limerick. It has been well rcnnarked, that "intolerance is the vice o? all religionists, when the philo- sophy of the FiiW has not yet instructed and humanized the rtianyJ* For "Philosophy consists not In airy schemes, or idle s])cciilations : The rule and conduct of all social life Is her great province. Not, in lonely cells, Obscure she hu'ks, hut holds her heav'nly light To senates, and to kings, to guide their couucils, And teach them to reform and bless mankind." — THOMSON. In 1 703, the Duke of Vendonie continued to command in Italy ; having the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bourke, Dillon, Galmoy, and Fitz-Gerald, (late Albemarle,) in his army. At the assault and capture, January 13th, of the intrenched post of Bondanello, in an angle at the junction of the Parmeggiana and the Secchia, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Barnewall of the Regiment of Galmoy, witli a detachment from Reggiolo, took a leading part. Tlie Imperialists, under General Stahremberg, were so weakened at the opening of this campaign, that Veudouie, while leaving a force to hold thein in check along the Secchia, was able to march, during the summer, with 32 battalions, and 29 squadrons, into the Tyrol, in order to reduce that territory, through a junction with the Elector of Bavaria i'rom Germany. Among the battalions engaged in this expedition were those of Dillon, Galmoy, Bourke, and Fitz-Gerald. Notwithstanding the many diffiiculties of invading a country of such great natural strength, defended by a peasantry of hardy and active mountaineers, ranking among the best sharp-shooters in the world, and aided by Austrian engineers, the French i)enetrated to the city of Trent ; when, from the failure of the Elector of Bavaria to advance far enough to effect a junctit)n, and, from the meditated treachery of a secession to the Allies, on the part of the Duke of Savoy, against which it was necessaiy to take pi-ecautions, Ven- dome had to retire into Italy. Of Irish officers, in this expedition, the TLinourable Arthur Dillon, as Brigadier, with 1500 men, signalized him- self, at the end of July, in dislodging from a mountain-pass, deemed impregnable in front, and considei'ed inaccessible elsewhere, 5U0 of the enemy ; by which he was able to reach and take the town and castle of Riva, without even the loss of a man ! The Comte de Medavi writes, July 31st, on this affair, to Vendorae, "que M. Dillon s'y est tout a, fait distingue." On the surrender, July 28th, (during Vendome's abstuiee in the Tyrol,) of the important fortitied town of Brescello, Colonel Daniel IN THE SEKVICE OF FRANCE. 221 O'Miiliony was appointed its Governor. At the pursviit, and cutting np, by Veudonie, in October, of the select corps of Imperial cavalry, des- patflied, under General Visconti, to assist the Duke of Savoy, as well as at the similar operations, in Deeember, and January, (1704) against the larger force that marched, under General Stahremberg, to join the Duke, the Regiment of Dillon, and its Colonel, are mentioned, as sharing lu Vendome's successes, at San-Sebastiano, and Castel-Novo-de-Bormida. In Germany, where France was most successful in 1703, the Irish were employed in the Army of the Rhine, first, under the Duke of Bur- gundy, next, under the Marshal de Tallard ; and in the army of the Danube, or Bavai-ia, under the Marshal de Villars. In the ibrmer force, were Lord Galmoy, as Major-General, and the 2 squadrons of Slieldon's horse. In the latter force, were the Major-Generals Andrew Lee, :ind William Dorrington ; Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare, as Bi'igadier of Infantiy, and the 2 battalions of Dorrington and Clare. The ])riiicipal achievement of the Army of the Rhine, under the Duke of Burgundy, was the siege and reduction of Brisach, in the summer. But this acqui.si- tion was much surpassed by the Marshal de Tallard's conquest of Landau, invested October 11th, and surrendered November 18th, in conseqtumce of the Marshal's overthrow, on the 15th, of the Prince of Hesse Cassel's army, at the l)attle of S[)ire, with a loss stated at above 600S men, between killed and i)risoners, from 50, to upwards of 60, colours or standards, 30 ])ieces of cannon, tents, &c.; the French having, it is said, oidy GOO men, but, more })robably, ajar greater numl)er, kdled and wounded. In this battle, the French, at first, are alleged to have had several of their standards and kettle-drums captured by the German cavalry; and several cannon taken from, and turned against, them. But the Regiment of Sheldon, although its 2 squadrons did not muster, exclusive of otHi-ei's, above 180 men, "charged," says an Allied writer, '•'•and routed 2 regi- ments of Inq)erial cuiras.^iei^s, recovered the fortune of the day, and ti)us led the way to the victory." Its Lieutenant-Colonel, with rank as Colonel, Christopher Nugent of Dardistown, County of IMeath, showing himself here, as at Laiiden in 161)3, and on so many other occasions, a gallant man, and a good officer, received 7 wounds;* and, among the Irish killed, was a brave officer, of a name deducing its origin from the heroic ages of Erin, Colonel Bernard Macgennis. He was the father of 4 sons, who all died in the service of France ; as did various other i-epre- .sentatives of the same ancient Irian lace, in the Ii-ish Regiments of Galmoy, Lee, Bulkeley, Roth, Dillon; of whom several were Chevaliers of St. Louis. In noting of the Regiment of Sheldon "•s'etant distingue a la bataille de Spire," Mac (ireoghegan adds, " il fut accorde une augmenta- tion de traitement aux Cajutaines et Lieutenans refornies qui servirent a la suite de ce corps." * The circumstance of Christopher Nugent having been so distinguished, and receiving, " au combat de Spire, 7 blessures," is given in a copy of an official Memorial, endorsed, "Promotion d'Olficiers Generaux Irlandois, iMai, 1705," and described as marginally noted, "in jjencil, apparently by Louis XIV." Tliis df>cu- mi'iit lielonged to a collection of mateiials for an intended History of the Irish Bri.iadp, obtained at Paris by the late John O'Connell, Esq., and kindly triUisferred to me, in 184'2. 'J'he Meinraial, tliough emanating apparently from a French source, dwells mnch, in justice to the Iiish, on the maimer in which such Jri-'i/i officers as l.ord Galmoy, Lord C are, Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, and Christojilier Nugent, were |)yv^ed over in the way of promotion, compared with several Freiick olhcers, of mierior claiiiis to advancement in ilie service. 222 nisTORY OF the irisii brigades At the reduction, early ia the year, of the irnpoi-taiit Fort of Kohl, V)y the Marshal de Villavs, Major-Geriei'al Andi-ew Lee was among bis most distinguished officers, as well as a young Irishman, named Mac Sheehy, acting as an Engineer ; wlio, reconnoitring the hreach, correctly pronounced it, in opposition to the other Engineers, to l)e lu'acticable ; and the operations against tliat fort cost the Regiment of Clare 1 Cai>tain, and nearly 90 men. The engagement, called "the 1st battle of Hochstedt," was fought, September ^Oth, by the Marshal de Villars, and the Elector of Bavaria, against the Imperial General, Count de Stirum. At the commencement of this action, the Count, having a much inferior force to deal with, under Lieutenant-General D'Usson, (the same who formerly commanded in Ireland.) gave that force a very rough handling. But the Maishal, and the Elector, after a long and harassing march, coming up, and falling to work with their cavalry, while tlieir artillery and infantry advanced as quickly as possible to second them, the Count was then so outrmmbered, that he endeavoured to retreat, fighting, towards Nordlingen. And he continued to cTo so most creditably, until, after a combat altogetiier of 9 hours, his army were broken, and routed ; having between 7000 and 8000, (if not more,) killed, or made ])risoners. and their entire artillery, consisting of 33 jiieces, taken, with 22 coloui'S or standards, tents, baggage, &c. ; the French and Bavarian loss not amounting to 1000 men. The i-eputatioa of the Irish Ihigade was much increased at this victory. According to the official letters, or tho.se of D'Usson and Villars, Major-Geneial Dorrington always led on his infantry, with great regularity, and valour. Major-Geneial Lee, in command of a French corps broken by the enemy, displayed his usual resolution, by the manner in which he exposed his j)ersou, to remedy the disorder that occurred; and, in doing so, received 5 ov 6 wounds. In liastening up to gain a village in the centre, whicli it was requisite to pos.sess, in order to advance in front with effect against the enemy, the Irish, under Lord Clare, occujMed that ]iost, with an ardour for fighting tliat c mid not be sufficiently pi-aiscd j and tliry continued to manifest their usual good-will and coi'responding ardour, being the 1st body of infantry, (j'oll.ov:ed by the brigade of Artois, iind some companies of gi-enadiers,) to which was due the final or decisive breaking and dispersion of the German infantry, attended by a great slaughter of that infantry, during the uiglit, in the woods, through whicli tliey endeavoured to escape.* Count Arthur Dillon adds respecting this battle — " The Eegiment of Clare highly distinguished itself tliere. Having lost, at the commencement of the action, 1 of its colours, it ])recipitated itself, a Varme blanche, u])on the enemy, recovered that, and took 2 other colours from the enemy." f This was being "double and quit" with the Germans. * Villars, mentioning to Louis XIV. bow 'Ton attendit que I'infanterie eftt gagne un village, qui etait dans le centre, pour marcher de front aux ennemis," states, "les Irlaiidais, commaiide's par milord Clare, I'avaient occupe', avec una ardeur de conibattre que 1 on ne pent assez louer." And again, or in reference to their (H'Hiral conduct in the action, he alleges, "les irlandais ont marqiig lenr bonne volonte et leur ardeur ordinaires." As to the infantry, whose coming up, &c., with that of the enemy, decided the event of the contest, the Marshal writes, "la brigade des IrJandais, celle d' Artois, et quelques cotnpagnies de grenadiers, ayant joint leurs derniers rangs, le dcsordre s"y mit ; elle fut "entiiircment ronipuc ; uus troupes eu tuiiveiit beaucoup dans les bois, ou le massacre fut trCss-graud, ct duia BJtme toute la unit." t Le Itt'gimeiit de Clare s'y distingua beaucoup. Ayaut perdu, au commence- IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCS. 223 The greatest efforts of the Allies, in 1704, were marie h. Germany, to save the House of Austria, attacked liy the Bavarians and French on one side, and by the Hnngarians on anothei'. For this purpose, in Jnne, the Anglo-Dntch and Imperial armies joined in Swahia, under the Didio of Marlborongh and Prince Lewis of Barlen. Eacli was to command day about, and they pi'oceeded in July to enter Bavaria. To op])ose them, the Bavarian Field-Marshal, Count d'Arco, was stationed on the hill of Sch ell en berg, extending from Donawert on liis left, towards a wood on his right. That eminence, very steep, rouyh, and difficult to ascend, had been, some time before, ordered to be intrenched along the summit. But, accoiding to an Italian otheer there, the Marquis Scipio MatRu, Lieutenant-General in the Bavarian and sleted before they were to V)e attacked ; while the Bavarian and French force for the defence were no more, at most, than SOOO men, and 14 guns. Ju'^^ 2nd, Marlborough, whose day it was to command, cannonaded the imperfectly-intivnched en-.inence, with a corresponding advantage on his side, fi'om 5 to 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and then ordered the post to be attacked in form. In artillery, from the Allied train being previously mentioned as having included 44 (ield-guns, he a))pears to have been much superior. His infantry, by Allied accovints, consisted of .5580 select British and Dutch, 3()00 Imperial grenadiers, 30 additional battalions, half on the right and half on the left, that, at 500 men per battalion, would be 15,000, or, with the 8580 British, Dutch, and grenadier Imperialists, 23,580 ; his cavalry amounted to 30 British and Dutch squadrons, tliat, at 150 men each, wouhl make 4500; and his entire force would thus be (exclusive of officers) 28,080 strong. The assault was commenced, on the side of the hill towards the wood, by the British and the Dutch ; the former headed by a party of their Guai'ds, under Lord Mordaunt, with shouts of ''God save the Quean!" and both being seconded by the rest of the tioops ])resent. But the assailants, for an hoin* or more, were repulsed, and with such a smashing, especially of the British, that, it is said, the survivors could not be gc^tten to make another effort, M'hen the renuiinder of the Allies opportunely came u)). to attack the hill towards Donawert. This they did gallantly, under Prince Lewis of Ba snpeiiur in number, were proportic-nahly fortunate, on their side of the. licld. They maintained their position, and repulsed Eugene's attacks until abovit 7 o'clock, when, obliged not by him, but by 'Jallard's over- throw, to retire, they retreated Jionourably; abandoning, indeed, along with Eugene's artillery, which they had captured, 13 pieces of their own cannon, but carrying off the rest, or 43 guns, accompanied by 30 A.llied colours or standards, 4 yjairs of kettle-drums, and 2U84 prisoners. On this disastrous day, the Gatlo-Bavarians admitted a diminutif>n of nearly 22,100 men ; of whom the killed and wounded, by the Paris account of the action, were '12,000 at most, and the prisonei-s, by the Archives of the Depot de la Guerre, were 1076 officers and iiOli) soldiers, or, 10,095 of both ranks ;t and, with these, there fell into the hands of the Allies, * The Allied battalions are admitfcd to have averaged 500 men, tbe Allied squadrons 150 horses, each ; those of the Gallo- Bavarians but 400 and 100 res])oc- tively. Tlie pro[iortion of tlie confederates of Marlborough to his msular couoiu- geufc, (in both cases, exclusive of othcers,) would be — Continentals, 47,611 British 12.539 Total. 6.), 1.50 ^• The Allies claim many more ; hut must not this have been by inchidijig su(»er- numetanea, or ineifc caui|) lollowcrs, as mUiturij / 226 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES accoi-diiig to Marlbdrongli's and Eugene's bulletin, a total of military ensigns and guns, amounting to above 115 colours or standards, and 47 pieces of cannon. Many nien also perished in the subsequent retreat, under Marcin and the Elector, towards the Rhine ; all the French, that were found straggling, being knocked on the head by the German boors. The Allies enumerated their killed and wounded, as in Millner's tables, at 2234 British, and 10,250 other Confederates, of whom 2196 were Dutch, and 8054 Germans and Danes, making, iu all, 12,484 slain or hurt; that, with the 2084 men, previously referred to as captured, would form a general loss of 14 568 men.* The Irish, at this celebi-ated battle, consisted of the 3 battalions of Majors- General Andrew Lee, and William Dorrington, and Brigadier Charles O'Brien, 5th Lord Clare. Tho.se battalions had been recruited* from France, in May, with 300 of their countrymen. By the " Instruc- tion du Roi a M le Comte de Marcin, 14 Octobre, 1703," &c., it would seem that Louis was particularly desirous to till up, with their own countrymen, the " Regiments Irlandais dans I'Armee d' Allemagne," from the excellent opinion he entertained of those national cor[)s — " Sa Majeste etant persuades, que ce qu'ils poiirrnnt, i/s le/eront, et que ce qwils prometfront, Us le tiendront!" — an eulogium of the Irish regi- ments, by the French Monarch, the more valuable, as ex|)ressed in a document, not intended for the public eye. The 3 Irish corps, as attached to the army of the Marshal do Marcin, formed a ])ortiou of the infantry, stationed, under the gallant Marquis de Blaiaville, (son of the great Minister, Colbert.) about the centre of flie Gallo- Bavarian position, or at the village of Oberglau. Partly by the road, passing, on the Allied Bide of the Nebel, immediately through Underglau, and then, on the (3 alio- Bavarian side of the stream, leading, in a curving direction, to Oberglau, and partly by a fordable place to the right of Underglau, the Duke of Marlborough iiad to advance against, and cause Oberglau to be assailed on its right. Still farther away to the Allied right, or beyond Wilheim, with such of the Dutch infantry (or German and Swiss infantry in Dutch pay) as were nearest to Prince Eugene's army, and ■were accordingly designed to be aided by some [inperial cavalry, another attack was to be made, under the Prince of Holstein-Beek, or Ilolstein- Beck, on Oberglau in front; an almost straight road conducting to it there, on both sides of tlie water. The troops of Marlborough, to act against Oberglau on its right, ■were Danes, Hanoverians, and English. Of these, the Danes and • The sranll diir'^rence between tlie rialloRavarians and the Allies in killed and wounded mciji be ex[)laine(l by tlie ytiry severe execution of the sujierior and well- (served artillery of the foniier agaiust the latter, for several hours before lioth sides could actually charge or eui^ai^'e ; so th.it, if the (iallo-Bavarians lost most men towards the end of the day, t'le Allies seem to have lost most in the earlier part of it. From about 9 to 1 o'clock, (luring which the (iallo- Bavarian artillery played uninterru])teclly u]ioii the Allied masses, they were supposed to have suffered to the amount of abnut 'iOtlO men. Eugene, too, was right well mauled, by Marcin and the Elector, tliroughiut the day. If MarUiorougli was so very successful against; i'allard on the Uallo- Bavarian riglit, "cependant," alleges the Paris narra- tive of September (Jlh, " I'atle gauche de I'infanterie, oummandee ]>ar le Marquis de Blainville, avoienfc, en 5 differentes charges, tonjours enfonco et rompu la droite des enneniis avec un grand carnage, gagne I'artilierie, et pris beaucoup d'etendarts et de drapeaux, de mani&re que TElecteur crnt la victoire certaine. . . . On leur a })ris 3(5 etendarts et drapeaux, et 4 paires de tind)ales." The mimerical dsitiiila of the accoinpany'uKj 2jSi prisouei-a are given by Lieuteuant-Geucral I'eiefc. IN TIIK SERVICE OF FR \NCE. 2-7 RaiiOVPrians, who were cavalry, luiviiig first gotten over the stream afe Uiuleiglaii and on its right, were so wanrily received, that they were immediately driven back to their own side. They renewed the attemut to cross, sustained by infantry, but with no lietter result. A .^nl attempt, however, supported by Marlborough in person, witli souih British squadrons, some Tm[)erial squadrons of the corps c/e reserre, mo *; battalions, and a battery from Wilheim, effected the passage, and made the Gallo-Bavarian outposts of horse ccnnmence retiring towards Obcr- glau. At this time, the Duke, according to the London Gazette, " very narrowly escaped being siiot by a cann(^)n-bullet, which grazed under his horse's belly, and covered him all over with dirt, insomuch that all that saw it concluded him to be dashed to pieces." Tlie fire from Oberg an now flanking Mai-lborough on the rigiit, and so protecting Marcin's cavalry, as to enal)1e them, when repulsed, to form again, and return to the charge, the Duke, who. after establishing his men V)eyond the rivulet' here, was obliged to proceed els.'whei-e, or to act with vigour against Tallard on the left, orderes, of grenades, and of cartridge-shot from the artillery, that the ground ■was very soon covered with their dead." Nevertheless, these attacks from Marluoi-ough's side of the field on Oberglau, although insufficient to carry that stoutly-defended post, were most serviceable to him, as constituting such a diversion, that he was finally able to overpower Tallard elsewhere. Meantime, the Prince of Holstein-Beek, in the Dutch service, had proceeded, as ordered b}' Marlborough, to assail Oberglau in front. The Prince, from the 1st line where he comman;led, drew the 2 infantry brigades of Marlborough's army nearest to Eugene's, or Wul wen's and Heidenbregh's. Of Wulwen's brigade, the battalions or regiments were 6, or Beinheim's, Swerin's, Wulwen's, Varen's, and the Prince of Prussia'*, Those of Heidenbregh's brigade were also 0, or Heidenbregli's, Rech- teren's, Hirsel's, Sturler's, and Goor's. With these 10 battalions, and calculating on the co-operatirisoiier. Of his regiments, 2 suffered terribly by the Irish. Goor's, a line corps, most to the right, is stated to have been destroyed, with tlu; exception of its Colonel, a few more officers, and 50 or 60 ))rivates. Beinheim's, noticed by Marlborough as always distinguished, and })arti- < ularlv so on this occasion, is mentioned by him to have lost so many nilieers as to be inc;ipacitated from future service, or virtually annihilated, lill they could be r('i)laced. The rest of the Prince's troops were put to llic sword, or routed." Obeiglau, in short, was not oidy unapproachable, through tiie tiery hail of musketry and the crushing thunder of artillery < l>v which it was guarded, but, in /) several charges made by its brave def'ende)-, the Martpiis de Blainville, and his choice corps of infantry, including the Irish, (i oth'')- batt ilions, and the brigades (jf Champagne and Bourbonnois, the Alli'S were uuif)rndy overthrown, and very severely han/ tells us) that he "had the honour to serve in the War-Office of Great Britain," he coukl iearu many particulars of the Continental cain]iaigns, not generally kiown. In my extract froui him, I omit, as irrelevant here, his controversial allusions 'to Arnail, a coiitemp'irar/ Whig goveriiment-lilieller, wiiting under the signature of " Francis Walsing lam, ' and a i)r()))f>rtionate delamer of the Irisli ; who is reported to have receivcil tr..iii 8ir Eoliert Walpole "about £1().0>..0 for his ignominious Liliours, and to h.ive retired from them with a pension." He is thus apostrophized \>y Pope — " Spirit of ArnaU ! aid me while I lie!' — !unl consigned to additional infamy, in the Duuciad, as a shameless ^oliLico- literary hireling. 230 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES obtained n knowltnlge of the iiiteiii)r of tlie j)lace through his valet, who liad gotten a ])as.s|i(irt to go in ami out, on the ])retext of purchasing ■wines for his master. On the nigiit of November 9th, whicli was previon.s to a day wlien a qiiantity of hay was expected to reach the town, th« Governor of Fribnrgli, with 4000 i^elect German and Swiss infantry and 100 cavahy, set out to effect his object. His v^^n was preceded by 50 waggons, appai'ently of hay, but containing men and arms concealed ; and those waggons wen^ accompanied by a number of tlie most determined olhcers or grenadiers, disguised as drivers or ])easauts. Tlie vehicles and their immediate escort leaclied 1 of the gates of the town about 8 o'clock in tlie morning, favoured by a very thick fog, and 3, containing men and arms, actually entered the town. But, at this critical juncture, the "Sieur de liierne, Irlandois,"* a Mr. O'Beirne or U'Byi-ne, an Irish-* man, overseer of the labourers on the fortifications, remarked near th« gate about 40 men, who, though disgui^sed as ])easants, could not pass with Jiini as such. U])oti which, he demamleil, " Who they were ? why they were not at their laboui-, like the rest?" — and addressing himself more particularly to 1. who was the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ilegiment of Bareuth, he asked him, " Where 'he came from? what was the meaning of all those faces, that were never there before?" O'otaining no answer to these puzzling questions, the uucomiuomising Hiliernian proceeded, *' more patiio," to extract a rejily l)y a ni(U-e summary process, or by rapid and unsparing ap])lication of the "ar^umentuni baculinum" to the Gernum's wincing back. The Lieutenant-Colonel, not relishing this kind of c/'av.9-exami nation, and so smarting under the Irishman's cane, as to forget, that to take revenge tlieu lor the pain he was in might ruin the enterprise in which he was engaged, rushed to the nearest waggon, and, Riiatching a musket from the hay, discharged it, but inelfectually, at his tormentor. Betvveen L") and 20 of the Lieutenant-Colonel's comjianions likewise iired. and, thougli at only o or G paces' di.stance, missed their mark. Unarmed against so many armed opponents, the Irishman betook liiniM'lf to the ibsse amidst the reeds; in which direction, too, they aimed several shots at him, (the whole, from first to last, about 40!) but still w itiiout even wounding him ; wdiile he gavt; the alarm on them by shouting "to urnis!" with all his strength, and they justified this alarm by their sliotsathim! The consequence of this " Lst alarm" occasioned by the Irishman was, that the garrison and citizens were apprised of their damper in due time to .save the place, in doing which they had but 20 men killed or wounded. The Germans and Swiss, on the other hand, according to Pi'ince Eugene's biographer, lost abf)ut 200 men; including the Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Osnabruck, who was to be Governor of the town if taken; the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Bareuth, who.se premature resort to musketry, under the stimulus of the cudgel, j'uined the undertaking; a Major, and many Captains and Lieutenants. There were likewise left behind sevei-al carts, 500 muskets, a quantity of liatchets, etc. The defeat of this attempt by land on Old Brisach caused the enemy to abandon another meditated by water against New Brisach. Thus was a single Irishman, furnished with no better weapon than a * This vigilant Hif)ernian, "minding his business, just as he ought to be," is fairly acknowledged as "Irlandois," in the (iri(jinal, French account of tlie attempt; oil l'>risach, dated, from that place, Novenilier 11th, 1704. But that acknowledg- nu'iit lias l)eeii uncopied hy succeeding writers, and thus "tlie colil chain of silence hatii lain o'er it Ioiil;, '" or raitii here asbigned a little niche in the temple of hiotoiy. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 231 stict, the medinm of fVusfcrating at Brisacli (-ah his lietter-armed coiintry- Kieu had done at Cremona) an enterprise of Eugene, that, if attended with snccess, wouM liave been very injurious to Fratice. The inipoitance of Brisach to the French will be V)eKt ccmceived, f'oui Lonis XIV. Imving en^|)loyed 40,000 cliosen men, 120 cannon and 40 nim-tars, tlie yeai- before;, for its reduction, under the heir to his crown, the Duke of Burgundy, aided by the famous engineer, tlie Marshal de Vauban, and from the irritation of th<^ Em])eror Leopold I. having been very gi'cat at its loss. . The leading operations in Italy in 1704 were the difficult sieges, by the Duke of Vendo.ne, of Vercelli, of Ivrea, and V"errua, tlie last not terminated till April, 1705. The Irish battalions, acting more imme- diately under the Duke, were Dillon's, Galmoy's and Berwick's. Those of Bourkc and Fitz-Gerald served elsewhere. At Verrua was killed, by a bomb-shell, the veteran Colonel William Connock. As Major, he had accompanied or followed King James II., early in 1689, from Fi-ance to Ireland, to opjjose the Revolutionists; and was then appointed there Lieutenant-Colonel to Lord Boffin's Regiment of Infantry. After the war in Ireland, he continued to serve with the national army on the Continent; and, in 1702, was a ref(nmed or supernumerary Lieutenant- Colonel, as ]iieviou.sly mentioned, to the Regiment of Bourke, when brevetted, for his distinguished conduct at Cremona, to the rank of Colf)nel. The successful campaign of the Duke of Berwick in the Peninsula ia 1704 has been already noticed in the history of his regiment. Biigadier Daniel O'Mahony, who was also sent to serve there, soon signalized himself. The Portuguese having had Monsanto delivered u]) to them, except the Castle, in which a French Ca})tain held out with 50 men, M. de Jeoffre- ville and Don Francisco Rouquillo i-esolved, in Jum^ if possible, to relieve the Captain, when they learned, that the Portuguese General-in- Chief and the greatest pai't of his forces were in battle anviy, only a mile and a half offi Upon this, Jeoffreville and Rouquillo decided, that their infantry should i-emain about Idanha Yelha, while the cavalry should proceed to reconnoitre the enemy, and endeavour to succour the Gap- tain in Monsanto. "The Sieur de Mahoni," observe the c(intem))orary accounts, "commanded on the right, when, towards evening, 20 Portu- guese squadrons were seen, that, after remaining some time drawn up for action, opened, to make room in the centre lor their infantry, apparently amounting to 16 battalions. They advanced with much confidence, as calculating, from the superiority of their numbers, on snr- I'ounding the Spanish troops, and cutting them to pieces. They even took in flank and rear the dragoons, and the Regiments of the Queen, of Milan, and of Orders, which the Sieur de Mahoni,, the Irish Briga- dier, commanded. But he received them with such lirmness, and repulsed them with so much vigour, that he stopped them, until he gained time for the rest of his troops to reach a dehle on their left. When this was passed, he caused the Regiment of the Queen to turn upon them, and chaiged them so effectively, tliat 1 of their- regiments of dragocnis, in a yellow uniform, which had likewise passed, was driven back again in confusion, leaving 200 dead n])on the place. This brought the enemy to a halt, till they could be joined by their infantry, and artillery. Then the Spanish troops retired in good order behind a ravine; the Sieur de Mahoni." on the renewal of the pursuit, "repeatedly hieing the enemy with his rear-guard, and ai-resting their progress, with tile almost unceasing tire which he kej»t up. Thus this retreat was 232 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES accompli sihefl, witliout any greater loss than about 50 men, in the pre- sence of a force 3 times more numerous."" And that retreat was the more honourable to the Irish Bi-igadier, since, on reaching Idanha Vellia, lie met no infantry there; they having left that place in disordei', on a rej)()rt, that their cavalry had been defeated. In 17in, who was present, wi-itcs — " The grenadiers of Auvergne, of Berwick, and Galmoy, entered the first. A more daring feat has never been achieved. M. de Carolh s conimandi'd the grenadiers, and was always at their head." The Duke of Vendome observes to Louis XIV. — " This event has surpassed my hopes, and nothing could occur, at the present conjuncture, more imjiortant for your Majesty's service." The Duke then liighly eulogizes O'Carroll, as well for his past services, as for having " done wonders" on this oc asion; and accordingly requests for him "a brevet as Colonel;" adding, " tlus action which he has just performed is so brilliant, that it deserves the grant of a distinguished reward from your Majesty." August 2nd, at a similar reconnoitring afl'aii-, ending in a coup de main ujion a fortified W(U'k to protect a bridge of the enemy on the Oglio, O'Carroll again signalized himself. " The grenadiers, having at their head MM. de Muret and de Carolles," says my author, "attacked it with so much vivacity, that they carried it in an instant; the troops of the enemy scarcely having time to repass the river, in order to reach Ostiano." * This year, says Mr. O'Conor, "great desertion prevailed in Marlborough's army whilst on tlie Moselle; aud, it is presumed, the Irish Brigade was recruited b^ tljis desertiou.'' IN THK SERVICE OF FRANCE. 233 Aftor iTineh skilful n)arcliiTi<>; and eoiuitenn.ncliinjT l>ptwpen Eiicrnne and Vetirjoine, tiiey came, August iGtii. to the general engagetrient, known as the battle of Cassano. It took place among the canals beyond the river Adda, and the town of Cassano; the French and Spmiards liaving been both inferior in nnniV)er, and so situated, with the Adila behind them, that, if beaten, they rmiM have been utterly ruined. They ■were, moreover, ass;iiled there by Eugene, when th.ey were in a state of disorder, quite unsuited for action, through the vei-y scandalous nii.s- conduct of Vendonie's Ijrotlier, the Grand Prior; out of which alarming ]iosition, it required the utmost exertions of Vendome himself to rescue them. Conspicuous, (like his great progenitor, Henry IV., at the battle of Ivry,) from the tine white plume which he wore, 12 oi- 1-3 of his officers or attendants were killed beside liim by the Imperial musketry and cannon ; his famous bay horse, a present from Louis XIV., and, like Marshal Turenne's formerly, remarkable for its sagacity, fell imder him, pierced by numerous bullets ; while he himself was hit, in vaiions y)or- tions of his dress, from his hat to his boots, V)y 5 bullets, though without being injured. And he would certaiidy have perished there, but for the noble self-devotion of 1 of his officers to save him. Not waiting to be remounted, the Duke headed on foot a bayonet-char-ge with the grena- diers of the Brigades of Grancey and Bourke, to re|)el the Imperialists, when, says my French contemporary historian, "1 of their sohliers hav- ing recognized M. de Vendome in the midst of the tire, detached himself from his trooj), and took aim at him, in order to kill him. M. de Coteron, Captain of his Guai-d, having perceived the soldier, placed himself before Miim, i-eceived the shot in his own body, and thus preserved the life of his master. A remarkable acfion, de.^erviufj of ecerlnxting remein- hrance, and a fine proof of the sfruiir/ a.ftacJinifnt which he felt fur a I'rince, so useful to his countri/, so heUwfc/, by his troops, and so worthy of being behoved.''* Vendonie's illustrious opponent Eugene likewise exposed himself in the thick of tight, till obliged by 2 shots, one on the neck, and the other below the knee, to retire from the field. Tiie contest was maintained for about 4 hours with a terrible tire of artillery, or of nmsketry at about a pike's length, and witii fur-ious infantry charges, in the course of which, besides those slain or disabled, multitudes were drowned. Vendome's acknowledged killed and v.'(iundtMl were 272<'^; Eugene's acknowledged killed and wounded were SiJGfi. The French and Sj)atiiafds claimed the capture of 9 Im|ierial colours or standanh', with 7 cannon, and l'J42 prisoners; the Imperialists also claimed the capture of several colours or standards, but witliout specifying how many, and witli only 530 prisoner.s.+ The greater amount of killed and woiind<'d. on tiie side of the Imj)erialists, was attributed to tlieir muskets and povv(>. 234 nisTORY OF the trisii brigades battle of Lnzzara, Engone could scarcely be deemed conquered. For both engagemetit.s, hotli sides jiad Te Deum chanted, as both claiming to be victoi'ions! Yet, on bnth occasions, how great soever were Eugene's merits, (and they ivere great.) Vend-ome, a.s results attested, had the better claim to b(! styled tlie conqueror. The Iri.sh acquired very high honour at Cas.sano. Eugene, according to the French reports, having "directed his chief efforts against Ven- dome's centre, opposite to the Brigades of the M: rq lis de Grancey, of (Walter) Bourke, and of the Marine, the Imperialists* bndce through a battalion of the last-mentioned brigade, and forced their way to the artillery in the rear. But Du Heron's and Verac's Eegiuients of Dra- goons, and the Regiment of (the Hoiionrable Arthur) Dillon, belonging to the Brigade of the Marine, then so bravely attacked the Imperialist.'^,^ that they were overtlirown, and the brigades rejoining, ijeai'ly all, who had pierced through, wei'e killed. Others of the enemy, who, in a differ- ent direction, had penetrated between the Brigades of Grancey and of Perche, were vigorously assailed by the Marquis de Gi-ancey and the Sienr (Walter) de Bourke, who, uniting to the right and left, charged so furiously with fixed bayonets, that all who had passed the canal there ■were destroyed, or driven back into it, and nnmbers of tl.em drowned. The Sieiir (Daniel) de Carol, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Ber- wick, signalized himself very much, in this ])art of the action." It is added — "The Sieur Dillon, Mylord Galnioy, and the officers of the Irish Regiments, sustained the greatest efforts of the enemy, with an extreaie bravery," and that "the Irish suffered considerably." The Regiment of Galmoy alone is said to have had so many as 40 oliicei's kiiled or wounded. In addition to the ])receding jjarticulars, it is stated, by Qiiincy, of the battalions of Dillon, Galmoy, and Fitz-Gerakl — "The regiments of Dillon, of Galmoy, and of Fiyueral, being inca]iacitated from acting in the same manner as many of the other brigades, posted themselves ia fosses, with water up to their waists, and holding the liranches of trees and bushes between their teeth in order to raise themselves up, and get a better view of the enemy, by this means opened such a flanking hre upon him, as annoyed him much." Count Dillon, too, after relating how the Irish, on being galled by some Imperial batteries from the ojjpobite bank of the Adda, swam across and captured the batteries, ob.serves of those troops — "Their happy audacity very much contributed to the gain- ing of the battle, and M. de Vendome wrote to Louis XIV. — That the Irish had fought in this affair with an exem])lary valour and intrepidity, and that they formed a band, who.se zeal and devotion might be relied upon, in the most difficult emergencies of war."t In recompense fortlii.s good conduct, as well as for their services at the 2 battles of IToch.stedt, Louis augmented each comyiany of the troops of that nation by 2 officers; and att^ached several more, as supernumerai ies, to each of the regiments, with full |)ay. The campaign between Vendome and Eugene terminated, bv the latter being obliged to retire, for the wintei% towards the Alps, about the Lake of Garila, whence he had taken the field for the summer. In Spain, seveial plots were concerted, and still more were rumoured • A sul).stitutioii here, and elsewhei-e, for tlie less distinctive term of "enemy," or " eiieinie.s. " •|- Lieutenant-rTeneivl ("ouiit .\rtlinr Dillon, the yonn'j;er. See, Hkewise, the cii HiiKMKheion ui ihe iriah by Veuilouie, in iiook Ifl., uueler reiuciiou of Bar- CU.Ll.lU, lu iu'Jl, IN TFIE SKRVICE OF FRANCE. 235 to >iave been concerted, in 1705, Mgainst Pliili|) V., by eraissnries of the Allies in favour of the Archduke Charles of Austria, as Ciiarles III.; which ])lots, though frustiated for the time, were but too sure indications of the formidable footing the latter Prince was about to acquire, and long maintain, in the Peninsula. One of these plots was against Cadiz, but it was discovered, and the safety of that city'clnly ])rovided fur by a stiong garrison, including the " Piegiment de Mahoni Irlandois," at this period one of infantry, and stationed in the Isle of Leon. In June, (according to the Abbe de Vairac, then in the Spanish metropolis) the number of French in each house at Madrid was found marked on tlie door, in tigures of red lead, on the eve of the great festival of Corpus Christi; it was given out, that next day every native of France was to be massacred, and their Majt^sties to be carried off from the Palace of Buen Retiro to Portugal, and even slain on the road, in case of resistance; all which, according to the report, was to be effected by certain foreignei-s, at that time in the city as ])i-etended deserters, but engaged, it was said, for those designs, by no less a personage than the Marquis de Leganez, Grandee of fe])ain. Governor ot the Palace, Grand Master of Artillery, and Vicar General of Andalusia The Marquis, when proceeding at 8 o'clock in tiie morning towards tlie King's apartment, was consequently arrested by the I'rince de Tilly, Captain of one of the Ti()0|)s of Life Guards, and then committed to the custody of a Kilkenny gentleman, Don Patricio or Patrick Lawless, commanding a detachment of the Guards, who had orders to convey the ])risoner to the Castle of Pampeluna. The Marquis, on the way there, made many advantageous offers to the Irishman, to be allowed to escape; but Lawless (who was no more to be tem])ted than his coimtryman Mac Donnell by Villeroy at Cremona) duly fiilHlled the commission with which he was intrusted. Aiter the cajiture of Barce- lona by the Allies for the Archduke Charles, and the revolt, to his party, of nearly all Catalonia and parts of Aragon and Valencia, the Pi-ince de Tilly was despatched, by Philip V., from Madrid, with a force for the defence of Aragon; and, says a British writer, "he had under him the famo\is Colonel Mahoni, who had distinguislied himself, in so extra- ordinary a manner, in dri\iiig the Germans o\it ot Cremona." In the s'liaip and continual struggle which Tilly had to maintain against the Ausiro-Cai'list miquelets, the Irish officer's name occurs with credit. 'i hiis, an account from Madrid, of December 18th, IJOo, after noting how the frontier was assailed by various parties of miquelets, and, in sonie instances, with success, adds— "One advanced on the side of Mequinenc^a, which was put to flight by Colonel Mahoni; and 40 of them, who had rushed into a boat, to save tliemselves on the opi)osite side of the river, were all drowned." The campaign of 1706 in Flanders opened on Whitsundajs May 23i-d, with the battle of Ramillies, between the Duke of Marlborough and the IMarshal de Villeroy. Marlborough had 73 battalions, and 123 squadrons; Villeroy had 74 battalions, and 128 squadrons. In artillery, the Allies were .superior by 48 pieces; they having had 120 guns, or 100 cannon and 20 howitzers ; while the French had only 72 guns, or (JO cannon, and 12 mortars. The arrangements of the French General, for the action ot that day. have been as severely censuied, as the ability with which the Ln>;lish General achieved, and the vigour with which he followed up, Buccess, have been highly commended. After the usual cannonade, the lieuth, having been generally attacked at from 2, to half-past 2, in the 23G IIISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Rftci'iKtoti, w(>re iK'Mteii, by lietAveen fi and 7 in tlie evening. Tlie Allied pnisuit did not cease until about 2 next niornin;^. Villeroy was utterly defeated ; losing 54 cannon, besides mnrtar.s, 87 colours or standard.s, idiout 20(10 waggons, with a quantity of baggage; po'haps lO.OliO men, In'tweeu killed, woundcid. and missing;* and. in cotise(|uence of this ovcrrlirow, all Spanish Flanders. The Allied killed and wounded were finieially jaiblished as 3633; but, according to Kane, Parkc^r, and Mdner, Oil jircseut there, were riiany tnore, or from above 5000 to 6000 men. It \v:is T'lnarked in Fi'ance, alleges my Briti.sh contempoi-ary histoiian of T\1;nllMirongli am] Eugene, respecting the French Mai-shal's preparations for this uufoituuate battle, that Villeroy "made the worst disposition iinagiiiablr, notwithstanding he had the greatest advantages in point of fi-ound ; and he would never alter his disposition, notwithstanding severs*! (jcnei-al Olllctirs, and particularly M. de Gassion, took pains to shew him his errors; and though the enemy gave him 5 hours' time, while they altered \\n\ whole disposition of their troops, in order to take advantaga of his mistakes. He neglected even the common precaution of sending away his baggage, suffering it to remain, during the engagement, between Ids lines', in such a manner, that it hindred any reinforcement from going to his right, and afterwards proved the ruin of the troops by hindring their i-etreat; which could never have been so nnhap])y as it was, but for this blunder of his. since the left wing never engaged at all, but mai'clu'd off" leisurely, and in good ordei', till night came on, and, by tlie breaking of the waggons, the rout became general." Thu.s, in propor- tion as A^illcroy here was but little of a General, jMarlborough was cjreat as a (icnei-al, or, it would seem, "not so great after all" — foi", can mere Muue.Ks really glorify, apart from any consideratitm of the merit, or demerit, of the adversar}', with whom one has to contend'? But, for an ollicer of the ennobled branch of the Molesworths in Ireland, Marl- borough, moreover, would have been taken prisoner, or slain instead of hc'nig riclorums! For, having, in the eng.igement, been ridden ovei% left almost senseless on the ground, and his horse having run away, he was only enabled to escape, or rejoin his own troops, in consequence of b -ing i-emounted by the gallant officer i-eferred to, his Aide-de-Cainp, the Ilonouralile Pilchard Molesworth, Captain of Cavalry, subse(]uently 3rd Viscount Molesworth of Swords, County Dublin, Baron of Phili|istown, Kings County, and Field-Marshal. At the hazard of his own life, the Ca])tain tlius, as observed, "certainly, under God, preserved tli-at of the (reneral "^respecting whom, "this remarkable fact," it is added, "was very iniluslriously hushed u]) in the army," and the more easily, since the Aide-ile-Cani'i, equally modest and brave, "was quite silent upon it!" At the village of l-{amillie.s, only q\iitted when Marlborough's sweeping success to its i-ight rendered a further defence impo.ssible. and last main- t.iimil, in that quai'ter of the field, ])revious to the commencement of A'lllcKiy's retreat, the Regiment of Clare was stationed, under its Colonel, riiarlts O'Brien, 5th Lord Clare, and Marechal de Cam[). or Major- * It is noted, by Lieutenant-Gencral Pelet, of the Comte de Saillant, who coiu- maiided at Naiuur, (which foitress, by the way, was vot reduced by the Allies diu'iinr this war,) how tlie Count sent Home detachrrients from liis garrison, 2 days alter the action, towards tiie field of battle, where, and iu tiie adjacent villacos, ;>4 jiieces of the cannon, with about 800 of the woiuided, that had fallen iutotlio enemy's hands, were left by them. These were broiiuht away to Nainur, and the ('< nr.t also collected, and sent back to Villeroy's army, about 1500 fugitives from the hattle. IX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 237 General. "Lorrl Clare himself." says an Allied writer, "was noted in the French army for hi.s intrepidity in action," and, "at Ramillies, we see Clare's regiment shining with tro[)liies, and cover'd witii laurels again, even in the midst of a discoinlited, routed army." According to Captain Peter Drake of Drakerath, County of Meath, who was at the battle, with Villeroy's army, in De Couriere's regiment, " Lord Clare's ingaged with a Scotch regiment in the Dutch service, between whom there was a great slaughter; that nobleman having lost 281) private centinels, 22 commissioned Officers, and 14 Sei-jeants; yet they not only saved tlieir colours, hut gained a pair from the enemy." This "Scotch regiment in the Dutch service" was, by ray French account, "almost entirely de- Htioyed;" and, Viy the same account, Clare's engaged with equal honnur the "English Regiment of Churchill," or that of the Duke of Marl- borough's brother, Lieutenant-General Charles Churchill, and then commanded by its Colonel's son, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Churchill. This fine corps, at present the 3rd Regiment of Foot, or the Buff!-:, signal- ized itself veiy much in the action with another, or Lord Mordaunt"s, "by driving 3 French regiments into a morass where most of tliem wei-e either destroyed, or taken prisoners." But the "Regiment Anglois de Churchill," according to the French narrative, fared very differently in encountering the Regiment of Clare, by which its colours were captured, as well as those of the " Regiment nollandois,"'or "Scotch regiment in the Dutch service." Following up the advantages thus obtained, observes my Allied authority, Forman, respecting the Regiment of Clare, " their courage precipitated them so far in pursuit of their enemy, that they found themselves engaged at last in the throng of our army, where they braved their fate with incredible resolution, till an Italian regiment, ia the service of France, and a regiment, vulgarly called the Cravats, gener- ously pushed up to their relief, and as bravely favour'd their retreat." Then, alluding to, though unwilling to be precise i-egarding. the capture of English colours, or those of the' Regiment of Churchill, the same writer adds — " I could be much more particular in relating this action, but some reasons oblige me, in prwlence, to say no more of it. However, if you are desirous to know xohat regiment it was they engaged that day, the colours in the cloister of the Irish nuns at Ipres, wliich, I thouglit, had been taken by another Irish reginient, will satisfy your curidsitv." Of this religious establishment — respecting which Mac (jreoghegan like- wise notes, that the "^wo colours, taken from the enemy at the battle of Ramillies, were deposited in the house of the Irish Benedictine nuns ;it Ypres," by the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Clare, Muri-ougli O'Biien — an English tourist, in 172 1, erroneously speak.s, -a^ foande t, instead, more correctly, as endowed, "by the late King James's Queen, for the daughters of such as followed her husband's fortvnies,' in Ireland, and France.* A recent, or contemporary Irish visitor ot this interesting nunnery at Ypres, mentioning "the little chapel as a perfect gem in its way, richly ornamented in the chastest style of Christian art," and refer- *Tlie well-informed writer of "Glimjises d'ontre Mer, No. 1, Ypres," in Duffy's Iliheniian Magazine, July, ISGO, pays of this once Irish nunnery at yi)res -" We looked U[), and beheld the date of If.s e.rcctlui, Ki\2, set, in raised characters, over the narrow, arched (h>orway." Harris, in mentioning the foundation of a convent for Irish Dominican nuns near Lisbn which we stood, ■was but the roof of a necropolis. Ami on that roof, we could reail the names of sleepers, whose hearts once thi-obhed but for tin; glory of God, ami the welfare of Ii-eland of Dainct Margaret Arthur, who died in 1715 • — of Madame Butler, who died in London, in 1719 — of Dame Marie Benedicte Dalton, deceased in 17'^"> - i>f Danu^ Marie SchoListique Lynch, in 1799 -of Dame Mari<^ Bernai'd Lynch, who depa,rted life in 1830— ^ and of Marie Benedicte Byrne — boi-n in Dublin, 1775, deceased in Ypres, 1810. Slui was the last of tlie long line of L'ish Abbesses tiiat governed tlie Benedictine Oonvent of Vpres ; and, l)y a strange permission of Provi- dence, there is not ii.oio—;it least there was not at the period of on?- visit — a single Irish nun amongst a sisterhood, once exclusively Irish. The ■words of the I'salniist arose to our memory — ^ Ad(5. He was one of the best officers of his time, as well as a ecntleman of the greatest Innnanity and generosity, particularly kind to his relatious; so that his death was very generally lamented. In a word, a noble chaiaclcr. tX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 239 expo!=efl, in those timos, to act against tlioir own conntrynif^n in V)attle, the celebrated Lord C'liarlemont, who deplored the circunistance with au illustrious Irish otiicer in Austria, remarks — " My most parf.icidar fiieud, tlifi brave, and truly amiable, General O'Donuell, when speaking on thy tiibject, has often wept." The following epitaphs of 'the gallant Colonel and Major of the Regi- ment of Clare, both mortally wounded on the same dny, both survivors of their wounds to the .same day, and both interred in the same receptacle for the dead, have been preserved, as copied by Dr. de Bui'go, among the .sepulchral monuments of the Church of the Holy Crxusii at Louvain, in 1769. D. 0. M. Hie jacet nimns D. D. Carolus 0-Brien, Ex stirpe Regum Hiberuiae, Par, Comes de Clare, & Maigh-airty, &c. Campi Marischallus, Legionis Hibernicse Colonellua, Qui plurimis heroicis, Pro Deo, Rege, & Patria, Peractis Facinoribus, In Pnelio RamiUensi XXIII Maij MDUCVI vulneratug, Triduo post Bruxellis obijt, ^tatis sure XXXVI. R. I. P. Posuit pia ejus Conjux, Illma Dom. Garcia Bulkelev. D. 0. M. Hie, ulji vohiit, jacet, Praiuobilis Dominus, D. Joannes O-Carroll, Major Hibernicse Legionis De Clare, Vtilneratus in Ramilie, XXIII. Maij MDCCVI. Obijt Lovanij XXVI. ejusdem. R. I. P.* The Irish Horse Regiment of Colonel Chi'istopher Xugent of Dardis- town, consisting of 2 squadrons, likewise suffered much at Ramillies; 80 that, it is marked, above 2 months after the battle, or July 29th, as still unfitted for service. But, with any details of the rough handling of tldfi corps in the engagement, I am unacquainted. The other leading events of the campaign of 1706 in Flanders were the sieges of Ostend, * The late Thomas Davis has celebrated, in prose and verse, as at Blenheim and Ram'dUcs, a regiment he calls "Clare's Drarioons!'' But, during all this •war, there was, in tlie French service, no Regiment of Clare, except one of liif]K>arcd in fmut of his position, April 19th, about daybreak, and attacked hiiu, b<'fnre he could bi-ing uj) his artillery. The Count, nevertheless, opposed the assailants with resolution, and, for some tinr\p, with considerable success, but was finally defeated; losing about GOOO men, between killed, wounded, and prisoners, 6 caniion, above 1000 horses, several colours- or standards, and the greater j)art of his baggage; the Duke having no more than 700 or 800 men, killed or wounded. The princii)al Ti-ish otticers belonging to Vendome's army were the Lieu- tenant-GtMieral Lord Galmoy, Major-General the Honourable Arthur Ddlon, Brigadiers Nicholas Fitz-Girald and Walter Bourke; its Irish battalions were Galnioy's, Dillon's, Fitz-Geiald's, and Bouike's — Ber- wick's nut Ijeing in this engagement. Among the General Officers in the 1st line, of whom Vendome wrote to Louis XIV., as having " done wonders there," was Dillon ; and Fitz-Gerald and Bourke performid important parts with the bi'igades of Piedmont and the Marine, which they led in thi^ action. The conduct of the infantry altngether, or Irish as well as French, was, according to the Duke, "far bey(nKl anything he could say of it. every individual of the battalions engaged, as well aa those \\ho commanded them, being entitled to marks of his Majesty's satisfaction." Tiiis victory at Calcinato was the last where the Irish were generally distinguished in Italy. Prince Eugene, soon after Ileveutlau's defeat, took the command of the Imperial army, largely reinforced ; and the road to his subsequent decisive trium[)h over the French at Turin, which led to their final evacuation of Italy, was opened by the removal of Vendome to Flanders, after the battle of ilaraillies, in order to succeed Villeroy, and recover the army there from the discouragement of that great overthrow. The only success of the French in Italy, after Vendome's recall, was at the battle of Castiglione, gained, September 9th, with very small loss, by the Count de Medavi, over the Prince of Hesse, who had about 4-300 men killed, wounded, or taken, with 33 colours or standards, all his cannon, and all his baggage. The Honourable Arthur Dillon, who connnanded the French left there, routed the enemy's right. For having "acted in such a manner as few General Ofiicei's had acted for a long time past," so that to his, and M. de St. Pater's, " good coh- duct and resolution, the greater porticm of the gaining of the battle was due," Dillon was recommended by the Count de Medavi, to be made a Lieutenant-General. The Count adds of him, in writing to Louis XIV., — " He is a foreigner of merit, aiid of valour, who, on every occasion, has always served yo\ir Majesty welll" In Spain, where the Allies, in 1705. acting for the Austrian Archduke Charles as claimant of that Monarcliy, had gotten possession of ; 11 Catalonia except Roses, and of nsauy places in Valencia, and Aragon, tlie IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 241 famous Charles Mordaiint, Earl of Peterborough, proceeded, early in 1706, to relieve the city of ^'alencia, then threatened to be recovered for Philip V. by the Duke of Arcos. Before Peterborough could reach Valencia, he should pass by Murviedro, (the ancient Saguntum,) where Brigadier Daniel O'Mahony, with his own Regiment of Dragoons, some other troops, and a river in his front, was stationed ; and if O'Mahony were dislodged from that post, there was next a plain of about 2 leagues, where a junction of the Duke with him would present a superiority of cavalry too great for the Englishman to encounter. Despairing of suc- cess by force, Peterborough did not scruple to attempt accomplishing his object by means unworthy of an honourable foej" He despatched a flag of truce to O'Mahony to solicit an interview, which was the more readily granted as there was a connexion between the parties by marriage, through the Lady Penelope O'Brien of the Thomond family, who Avas Countess of Peterborough. The Englishman and Irishman met at the place appointed, each accompanied only by a few horsemen. " In their conversation," says my English authority. Lord Mahon, " Peterborough made every exertion to gain over his adversary to the cause of Charles ; oflfering him high rank, and every other advantage, in the Austrian or English service. Failing in his attempt, he determined to impute the treachery, which he could not produce. In the inteniew, he had so far misused the open-hearted confidence of the honest Irishman, as to draw from him an avowal of his intention to advise Arcos to march across the plain to his assistance ; and he also found means, by pretending an equal frankness and a kinsman's regard, to impress Mahoni with the conviction, that an overwhelming force, both in men and aitillery, lay before him. Peterborough then made choice of 2 dragoons, who, upon the promise of promotion, undertook to go over to Arcos, as pretended deserters. Being admitted to the Duke's presence, they reported, that, while drinking wine together behind a rock, they had witnessed the con- ference between Peterborough and Mahoni; had seen the former hand over to the latter a bag of 5000 pistoles ; and had heard him promise Mahoni the rank of a Major-General on the English establishment, and the command of 10,000 Irish Catholics, to be raised for the service of Charles. On the other hand, they declared, that Mahoni had under- taken, not only to betray his post at Murviedro, but to induce the Duke of Arcos to march across the plain, and thus entrap him into a position, where the English army might find it easy to overpower him* The Duke was confounded with this intelligence, and still doubted its truth ; but, shortly afterwards, he saw Mahoni's Aide-de-Camp arrive with the * Dr. Friend, in his account of the Earl of Peterborough in Spain, savs of tiie Earl — "He chose 2 Irish dragoous out of Zinzendorf s regiment, whichbe well instructed, and well paid, and sent immediately as deserters to the Duke of Arcos. He promised to make them officers, if they succeeded : which was punctually made good to 1, who well had deserved it; the other dying soon after his return." If we disapprove of the conduct of those 2 Irish dragoons, in consenting, for gain, to destroy their con iitryinan,hy hecoming false witnesses agtinxt him, what ai-e we to think of the honour of the English nobleman, who could snhorn them to act thus against a gentleman icith ichom he was connected, and for whun, as such, he affected a corresponding friendship f Such a specimen of honour, on his Lordship's part, too strongly countenances the damning purport of the statement in Biographiana, as to the praise Lady Peterborough deserved, after his Lordship's death, " by preventing the publication of his manuscript ' Memoirs,' in which he had confessed, he had been guilty of 3 capital CKiiiES, before lie was 21 ! " 2i2 niSTORY OF THK IFUSir BUrCADKS V(>.)y proposal of wliich the spies liad forewaniecl liiiu, and of wliieli Lord Piitei'lioroiigli had l)econio apprised by liis enemy's incautious friuikness. No doubt coukl now remain on the tnind of Arcos, as to Mahoni's trea- son : he had liim immediately airested, and sent off a prisoner to i\]adrid; while, so far from marchinjjf across the plain as Mahoni had suggested, and as good policy ri^piired, he broke up his camj), and retreated with ])i'eci))itation to the mountains." Petei'borough was t/iii.t imabled to jiass by Mur-viedro, and the |)lain beyond it, to Valencia, which he entered early in February. On O'Mahony's ex))lanation, at Madrid, of the circumstances of his an-est, he was created by Pliilip V. a INIarechal de Cam]>, or Major- Ceneral, and, before the end of the month, was again sent to the pro- vince of Valencia, to endeavour to ])reserve tin' j)laces there still faitiiful to the King, with such troops as were collected, which were mostly new levies, or country militia. Tn A])ril, having vainly summoned Enguera, he stormed and sacked it, by way of examj)le, which caused many other ydaces to return to their duty. He was at Alicant in the summei-, when it was attacked by the Allied land and sea forces, under Brigadier Richard Gorges and V^ice-Admiral Sir John Leake. The town w;i,s breached and entered. August lace to T-esnnu^ its alK'giance to Philip V. The sumuions not being cou)])lied with, the town was ordered to be attacked ; and, as thei-e was nothing but its fire to prevent the assailants reaching the foot of the • Memoirs of ('ai>t;iiii ricore stren'^tlienod by a Petition and Memorial fniin tlie worthy Ca^itain liiniself u> the Duke of Urnionde, as Lord LieiiteiiauL of heiauJ in i7U3. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 243 ■wall, the Irish vushcrl forwards to a place least exposed to tlio hostile iniisketry; and, "with extraordinary bravery," says the gazette account, "set themselves to open a breach by the pick-axe." When 1 was ■ effected, suthcient to admit a siilgle man, a gallant Spaniard, Ca[)tain Eaimond Escallart; of the Regiment of Pons, and Ca])tain Daniel 0'(Jai-- roll of tiie Regiment of Crofton, led in their troops; who, putting to th« sword those they met, or comy)elling them to throw down their ;!rm^^, became masters of the place, with a loss stated at but 27 killed, besidci ■wounded. Captains Escallart and O'Carroll were appointed to convey 4 standards ca[)tured there to Madrid ; and, among the other oihcers "wounded," or "extremely distinguished," were the Sieur Gibbons, the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Crofton. and the Sieur O'Beirne, Ca])tain of Irish Dragoons. Soon after this, the Aragonese Count do Sastago, -with a detachment of the Archduke Charles's regular troops, and a great immber of iiis insurgent adherents, proceeded to recover Daroca. Although the Chevalier de Pons had taken tlie place in 3 liours, he, with only 500 or GOO harassed dragoons, maintained it for 3 days; slew (as reported) in a sally 400 or 500 of the enemy, from v/honi he likewise gained 4 colours ; and, when at last obliged to abandon the to«n, he did so by night, bringing away to Molina 500 mules loaded with booty; his killed aiul wounded being very few. The enemy's Colours were sent to Madrid by an Irish Captain of Dragoons, the Sieur Henry O'Beirne ; tlie Chevalier de Pons was matended Protestants, gladly availed them- selves of the oppM-tunity, afforded by their capture, to join the regiments of their own nation, and religion, in Spain. On the Rliine, in 1706, Lieutenant-General Andrew Lee and Brigadier Michael Roth, with Lee's and Dorrington's battalions, served under the Marshal de Villars. At the successful attack, in July, upon the Isle du Marquisat, which, although not attended with a great loss of life, pre- sented a. tine military spectacle, and was honourable to the troop.-^ engaged' in it. Roth, with a detachment of grenadiers, displayed his "usual valour," and the Regiment of Lee had its Captain and Lieutenant of Grenadiers, and 5 or 6 other subalterns, killed or wounded. Tlie French campaign of 1707 in Flanders, under the Dulce of Ven- dome, consisted of a judicious system of tactics, by which the Duke of Marlborough was completely foiled, without fighting. "After .so disas-- trous a cam|iaigii as that of 1706," says my contemporary British liistorian of Marlborough, "it was generally supposed, that France would l)e able to make no stand at all on the side of Flanders ; but that the 6ame great genius, whick had destroyed so hue uu urnsy us that lusieurs tentatives pour I'entamer sans oser I'entreprendre, a cause du bon ordre dans lequel les troupes rnarchoient." My military authoi-ity adds, " cette i-etraite fut des plus belles." From Italy, above 38,000 Piedmontese and Germans, under the Duke of Savoy and the famous Prince Eugene, attended by Sir Cloudesley 8hovel with 48 English and Dutch ships of war, and about 60 transports f.onveying 100 heavy cannon, 40 mortars, above 72,000 ball, 35,000 bombs, &c., proceeded, in July, 1707, to attack Toulon, the great naval })(u-t of France in the Mediterranean. Tiie ca|)ture of this ]ilace was so much dcaired by the English, from the very deep wound it would inOict IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 24:5 iiy)o» France as a maritime j)nwer, tliat their government went to an inimeiise ex])eiise for its reduction. And what France would have sutt'ere(i loy losing it aj)[)ears from the number of vessels there, with an arsenal worth several millions, prodigious magazines, and above 5000 pieces of cannon. The Allies came before the town, July 26lh; but, after various operations against the outworks, and a bombardment of the place itself, they found tiiemselves obliged to raise the siege, August 21st — 22nd, at ni'flit, and, with pro])ortionate disappointment and loss, to retrace their Bteps for Piedmont. * Among the Lieutenant-Generals prominently mentioned as serving under the Marshal de Tesse, in this impoi-tant defeat of an enterprise, planned by Marlborough, and conducted by Eugene, was tiie Honourable Arthur Dillon. At the grand assault, more especially, on the Allied position before the place, in the middle of August, which saved the town, and, most probably, France with it, " tlie Sieur de Dillon, who commanded on the left," says the French official journal, "attacked tlie height of the Croix Faron, where all tho.se who defended that jiost were killed or taken." Another officer, named Dillon, Captain of Gieiiadiers in the French Regiment of Vexiri, .signalized him- self, by his deftnice, with 100 men, of Fort St. Louis, 1 of those situated on the shore, to guard against a hostile entrance to Toulon by sea, through the "Grande Piade " into the "Petite Rade." From August the 9th to the 17tli, the Allied fire upon the fort, by land and sea, having effi^cted t^uch a breach as was very ]tractical)le, the Duke of Savoy, on the Ibth, directed General Rebinder, with a suitable body of grenadiers, to advance to the assault. "But," states my French historian, "M. Dillon, Captaiu of the Grenadiers of Vexin, who had oi-ders from the Marechal de Tess0 to evacuate it in the evening at 10 o'clock, managed to withdi-aw his garrison b\' sea into the city; so that, when the enemy marched to attack the place, they found it abandoned altogether." Dillon, it i.s ob.served, "acquired a great deal of reputation by this defence, it having been 3 days since he had received orders IVom the Marechal de Tesse, to retire with his garrison." Prince Eugene's biogiapher takes a like creditable notice of the defender of Fort St. Louis. "It was," remarks that writer, "3 days since M. Dillon, who commanded in this Fort, had received au order of the Marechal de Tesse to abandon it; but he had not judged it would be yet time to do so." In Spain, Count Daniel O'Mahony quitted Madrid, February 10th, 1707, for his command in Valencia, and the Duke of Berwick set out, on the 15th, to pre])are for the leading operations of the campaign. April 1st, the month destined to be sulisequeutiy memoraljle for grt'ater success, was auspiciously commenced by Captain Daniel O'Carroll, with 100 Irish dragoons, at the Castle of Seion, on the frontier of Aragon ; where., having been assailed by 1000 of the enemy's regular troops, or militia, "he received them with sf) much braveiy, that, after a combat of G hours, he obliged them to retire." Meanwhile, Count O'Mahony, from Elche, extended his forays even to the gates of Alicant; spreading con.sternation through the territory of the disaft'ected. The opponent of the Duke of Berwick, as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied, or British, Dutch, and Portuguese forces, wns a French nobleman, Henri de Massue, originally * The concluding data in Qnincv, respecting the numerical strength, and general loss, of the Allies, would, (by a coiTectiou of liis miscalcuhited tot.ils of each,) make the former oS,760 infantry and cavalry, and the latter on both elemeuls, or laiitl ami sea, so many as 15,480 meu. -246 HISTORY OF the ihisii niiiOADEg IVIiirquis do Rnvlt^ny. B;uiislM>tl from France as a Pi-otostnnt, in conse- quence of the violation of the ll^ilict of Nantes, lie served W^illiani III. bravely, in his Irish and Continental cani])ai<^ns; was made by him Earl of Galway, and Lord-Justice in Ircdand from 1G'J6 to 1GD9; was granted al)ov(! 3(i,ll() acres of tlie Jacohite i'orfeited estates there; and, in tho country, whose; revolutionary spoliation lu^ thus so largely shared, was distinguished for liis Calvinistic intdlerancc to tli« majority of its inhabitants, as Catholics.* The British, Dutch, and Portuguese, under t/liis iiohleuian, are st;ited by him iit 42 battalions, and 53 squadrons. The French, S[)aniards, and Irish, unchu' tin; Duke, were, by their line of battle, 51 battalions, and 7(i sqiiadrons. The Duk(; would thus be con- sideralily superior in numbci-, taking the battalions and squadrons on each side as complete. l!ut. this would not .seem to have been the cas» in either army, since the l*]arl, while referring to his own battalions and squadrons as very impei'fect, a)>pears to have considei-ed those of his opponents so much wurse in that respect,t that, notwithstanding their liaving more battalions and squadrons than he hud, yet, by his Council of War, he says, "'twas thought reasonaV)le to run the hazard of a battel, ■wherein we had an equal chance to come olf victor.s." The comparative RtrengLh of the I^ armies in artillery is uncertain; nor was it much used. "To bring the jjord (xalway to a battle, in a ))lace most commodious for bis pui'pi>se, th(! Duke," we nvv. told, "made use of this sti'atagem. He Ord(!red 2 Irishmen, both ollicers, to make their way over to the enemy, as (h^serters; ])utting this story m their mouths, that the Duke of Orleans vas in lull march, to join the Duke of Berwick, with 12,UU0 men; thai; this would 1)0 (lone in 2 tl;iys; and that tiieii they would tind out the Lor«l Cialwav, and force him to light, wherever they found him. Lord Galway, vho, at this lime, lay iicture Villena, receiving this intelligence from those well -in'les of the reformel religion by the care of their pareats; a ^""'^tice very ciuumoii in L'raace after tue IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 247 takfn," was dnly prepared for the decisive en<:fa^ement at Alnianza. Tlie ctimbat coinnienced April 25tb, Easter Monday, about 3 o'cloek in tiie at'teinoon ; Lord Galway displaying very great ititre[)idity, and receiving, in the incite, 2 cuts in the lace, so as to lose an eye; yet beioically returning to the fight, and being gallantly su|)ported by his ui n, espe- ciallv the British — the Dnke uf Berwick, on tbe other hand, acting as a consummate General, and being also gallantly supported by his French, Sfianish, and Irish tro(){is, iintil they gained a victory, "the most fatal blow," says an English contemporary, "that ever the English received, during the whole war with Spain;" and, adds another, "as fatal in itself, and its consequences, to the Allies in Spain, as the battle of Bleidieim, or that of Turin, was, to the French, in Geiinany, and Italy." Tho conquerors mention their loss as only about 2,000 slain, or hurt. The conqueied left u))on the field not less, if not considerably more, tlian 3000 killed, or mortally wounded, and had nearly 10,000 made ])risoners; of ■whom about 800 were officers, including 6 Major-Generals, 6 Brigadiers, and 20 Colonels; the British officers alone, killed, (u- taken, being avknow- hihjed as 374.* All the Allied cannon, 24 in number, were likewi.se Ciqitured, with 120 colours, or standards, and other .spoil, constituting a very large; military booty. The Irish, in this action, consisted of a battalion of the Regiment of Berwick (a 2nd battalion, of deserti-rs from Marlborough's army, haviti:^ been added since 1702-3,) and those of the 4 squadrons of Count O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons. All were in the Duke of Berwick'.s 2nd line; the infantry, in that line of his centre ; tlie cavalry, in that lino of his riglit wing. The battalion of Berwick, ])o.sted between the 3 battalions of the French Regiment of Maine, and another French battalion, or that of Bresse, acted with those 3 battalions, under the general desig- nation of "the brigade of Maine" Opposed to "5 English battalion.s," that brigade of 4, led on by the Duke of Berwick's brother-in-law, and counti-yman, the Honourable Francis Bulkeley, received the hostile tire at about 30 paces, made no reply until almost touching the English, then bluzed into them, and, says Quincy, " charged them with fixed bayonets, and threw them into such disorder, that they gave way, without being able to rally: and as, in flying befoie this brigade, those battalions were obliged to repass a ravine, a great carnage of them then took place." la describing the general routing of the Allies, that writer also obsei'ves, — "The Brigade of the Spanish Guards, and that of Maine, always follow- iiig up their success, drove the enemy even into the mountains"— a distance of 2 leagues, or 6 miles. In addition to 6 Allied battalion.s captured in the action, the remains of 13 more, or 5 British, 5 Dutch, and 3 Portuguese, had to seek refyge in the woods on tho.se mountain.s, where, "next morning," continues the English annalist Boyer, " being surrounded by 2 lines of foot, the commanding officers agreed to the same capitulation that was granted to the French at Blenheim, and sur- rendered themselves prisoners." Of the conduct of the battalion of persecution;" and who "told him, they had entered, as volunteer?, into the French service, in a regiment that was coming to Spain, in hojies of meeting with an o[ipor- tunity to come over to the Enghsh." * Of the rank of Major-Geneial 1, Brig.adior 2, Colonel 12, T.ieutenant-Colonel 17, ]\Tajor 9, Captain 100, Lieutenant 127, Ensign 90, Cornet 6, Adjutant 2, Qu:a-ter- Ma:sler 4, tJhirurgeon or .Surgeon 3, Mate 1, or in all ;)7'4— of whom ^i wore LutcJ-^ and ::b6 taktn. Their huihch are generally preserved. 248 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Berwick, it is noted, Ly Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon, 1if)w, when ordciTfl, with other reginiet)ts, hy the Duke, "to turn the division, of tlie En. Having attained tlie rank of Maj'(ir-( ieiieral in the British ser\'ice, and hcen Governor iu the Channel Islands, lie (.lied, JMay, 17-lU, at Clielsea, iu his Gist year. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 249 General, and Count, Governor of Btjlgrade, under the Emperor Charles VI.; in the service of Rllssi^), V)y an Admiral O'Dwyer, urider the Em])ress Catherine II.* After the rejoicings, at Madrid, for the victory, another oificer, of tlie ancient r;ice of hi.s countiy, Captain Miles Mac Swiny, or Mac Sweeny, of O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons, was granted, by Philip V,, the Cross of the Military Oi-der of St. Jago — as, it may be added, sevei-al other gentlemen of the old galloglass name of that brave Captain have likewise entitled themselves, during the .same century, ill France, to the Cross of the Military Older of St. Louis. And, from the Ii-ish Catholics, among the so-called English ]u-isoners taken at this battle, Philip V. commenced the formation, in 1708, of 3 Ii-ish battalions, and 2 dragoon regiments; to complete which corps, he obtained a due •firof)orti(»n of the sufiernumerary or reformed officers, attached to the Irish I'egiinents in the service of France. CMptain Daniel O'CarrolJ of Crofton's "Regiment of Dragotms, who continued to occupy the Castle of Seron, .sallied out, M;iy 11th, with Captains O'Neill and Fitz-ITarris, and 7U dragoons, to sur[)rise Montea- gudo. gari'isoned by 15U of the enemy. Tiny abandoned that place, betaking themselves to Ariza, where they mustered 150 foot and 60 horse. There, too, O'Carroll followed them, and forced them to leave behind them, in their flight, a quantity of munitions fif war, witli which he returned to Monteagndo. In Valenica, after 5 days' open trenches, Alcyi-a, with an English garrison, under Colonel Stewart, was reduced, June 5th, by Count O'Mahony. From June Sth till July 7th, the Count next besieged Denia, when a breach being made, and an assault given, that proved unsiicce.ssful, he "received orders, .some days after, not to j)ersist, with reference to that jilace, and he raised the siege, from the want of suificient troops, to go on with that entei-prise." This want appears to have been owing, to the Count having been likewi.se obliged to keep the citadel of Xativa blockaded ; which he finally took July 12th. He was then enabled to blockade Denia, with 7 battalions, and 9 squadron.s. In Catalonia, the leading design of Philip V., against the Allies and Au.stro-Carlist insurgents, was to reduce Lerida, for which the French, Spanish, and Irish troops, the last consisting of Dillon's and Bourke'rf battalions, and Berwick's 2 battalit)n.s, were quartered in the adjacent country. There they were not allowed to rest by tiie hostile miquelets, or Carlist guerillas, who particularly attended to surprising the horses at J)astuie. Thus, about the middle of August, 200 miquelets made an attempt of that kind near Lerida; thinking to take the grenadier-com- pany of the Regiment of Dillon off their guard. But Captain O'Helier- iian (or the " Sieur d'Yflernan." as my French document stvles him,) was on the alert, protected his chai'ge at pasture well, and after sustain- ing the enemies tire for an hour, obliged them to retire. The Dukes of Orleans and Berwick, with King Philip's army, broke ground, Octobt^r 2iid — 3rd, before the strongly-fortitied town of Lerida, garrisoned *0f this name, (likewise written "Dwyre,") Abl>e Mac Geo2;liegan notices a fannly, hii^hly coiinecteii in France, whose fouiKJer, .Joliu, .son of Ednioad, euiigrateil to that country from Ireland, about 15.'i7. By the t'rciicli, O'Dwyer ^\■as at tirst changed to 6 Duycr, and tiually into I/auilniref JJuiing the War of the K,evohition, liie name coiitvihuted otticers to the .Jacolii'e or national ;u'iny iu the cavah-y ]\og)nients of Lord.s Alx-rcoru and (Jaliuoy, aud the Liuautiy itegiuieiits of Colouela C'Uaries U'Brieu aud Dudley Baijiiull. 250 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES vith 5 EsigiisI), Diitcli, or Pnrtugupse battalions of rfgnlars, airl 2 of iiiiqnelets, or irrcgiilai-.s, under the Prince of Hesse-Dannstailt, and, l»y No^eml)('r 1 Itli, botli tlie town and the citadel were taken. In the long «nd troublesome opeiations against tliis iuiportaut fortress, Bourke's, Berwick's, and Dillon's battalions had their share. In Valenica, Count O'Mahony, finding Denia too numerously garrisoned to be effectually besieged liy the comph-ment of troops ti)at he commanded, niarcheil against Alcov, vvitli 1400 regulars and 400 miquelets, and reduced it to sucli strait, that its gari-ison agreed, if not relieved in 4 days, to sur- render. To prevent this, the English Governor of Alicant, Sir Charles Hothani, took tlie field witli 800 of his garrison, and 50 mules ladeu with stcjres for Alcoy; and this body was to be joined by oOOO miqnclets, conveying furtlier sup])lies of ammunition and food. O'Maliony routei the great( r ]iarr. (jf tiiose miquelets, and took tlie stores they escorted. But 1200 who i-en)ained, and the detichnient from tlie garrison of Alicant, being too strong for the Count, from the dispersion of his forces in different posts about the place, he cuwU not prevent the relief entering the town, and had, in consequence, to retire. He lost, at this siege, Major O'llonrke of his own Re^giment of Dragnons — "this Major O'Koirk, or O'Roork," writes Captain Carleton, "being much lamented ; for lie was esteemed, both fbr his courage and conduct, one of the best of the Irish ollicers in the Spanish service. I was likewise informed, that he was descended from one of the ancient Kings of Ireland. The mother of the Hono\irable Colonel Paget, one of the Grooms of the Bed- chamber to his present M;ijesty,* was nearly related to this gallant gentleman " The Ansti-o-Carlist Governors of Denia and Denisa i^^ustered, October 4th, at Molinete, lOOU regulars, about 20(J0 miqiu 'efs, and 90 horse, to make themselves masters of Pego. About 300 English, and 800 miquelets, were detached to take })o.ssession of the suburb.^ ; which were 8o well defended by a S|)ani.sh Colonel, that the assailants suffered a considerablt! loss, before he witiidrew into the town. Intelligence of this attack reaching Lieutenant- Colonel Cornelius O'DriscoU of O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons,! at Uliva, he ha.stened, with 100 dragoons. 200 French infantry, and lUO loyal Valencian militia, to make u diversion against the main body of the foreigners, and Austro-Carlists at Ondara. "They," says my KreJich nari-ative, " retired in confusion, and they were jiursned even to the gates of Deuia. Then the Sieur • George ir. + The ohl Itliian sept of the O'Driscolls in Munster duly figure, as Stuart loyal- ists, in the coiili.scation-records of (jroniwelliau and Williamite reliellion anil revolu- tion, at tlie exj'ense of the plundered Irish. Several oihcers of the sept fiuight for King .James II. against the Prince of Orange in Ireland ; of whom a Colonel, (iover- nor of the () d Fort of Kin«ale, fell, at its defence, in Octol>er, 1()!)0, against the Williamites frf)in England, under Marlborough. To Ctjlouel Daniel O'lJonovans Regiment of Foot lu that war, (Jorneiius O'DriscoU, an old cavalier, who, during the Croiiiwellian usurpation, had adhered abroad to King Charles II., and acconl- ingly received, after tlie Restoration, the royal thanks "for services beyond the 8ea,'' was Lieutenant-Colonel ; and, by the eventual success of WilJiainitisin, was attainted as a rehd ! The Lieutenant-Colonel of O'Mahony s Regiment of Dragoons in Spain v.as, probabl}', a Cornelias jniiior, similarly attainted, and Cajitain, in France, in KiS).!, to the 2nd batttdiou of the corps of Henry J''itzJaines, Lord (irand Prior, or the " licginient de la Mar.ne (flrlande. " Down to the Kronch Revolu- tion under L-)uis XV'L, the name of f)'I)riscol!, with the distinction of CLevalior oi St. Louis, i*! to be found aiaoug the offijcrs of the Insli Jjiigaue. IN THE SERVrCR OF FRANCE. 2-")l Odriscol mardipd diligently towards Pego, and, without giving tlie eiK-iiiy, who liad occupied the suhinbs, time to recollect tlieiiiselves, ho cliarged them swoi-d in hand ; in the Lst shock, slaying above 300 of them upon the spot. Tlie others intrenched, and defended themselves for some time, in the houses, which had consequently to be set on lire. Ti)e dragoons cut to ])ieces all those, who, in striving to save themselves from the flames, fell into their hands ; the greater i»art of the rest, especially of the miquelets, were bni'ued there ; so that scarcely any of them got off." In this '• vigorous action" of O Driscoll, his loss was comparatively trifling, being stated at but 22 killed, or wounded; his dr.igoous making 14 of the number, and having 10 of their horses slam. In Novemljer, Count O'Mahony, levying contributions upon the dis- affected Valeucians, demanded 10()0 pistoles frcmi the little town of Muchemiel. But, it was so strengthened with troops, and 4 ])icces of nrtillery, by Brigadier Charles Sibourg, British Governor of the Castle of Alicant, that the Count had to retire towards Griudia. In his march, ho burned down 7 villages in the valley of Gallinar, that there might be no shelter for the hostile Carlists, or miquelets. He likesvise committeTl to the flames, another village, and a Church, to which 11 insurgent or Austro-Cariist Pries;s, with 26 of their followers, betook themselves; the whide <>f whom were put to the sword. The campaign of 1707 in Germany, under the Marshal de Villars, was commenced by the passage, in May, with little or no loss, of the famous lines of StolholFen, or Bihel, previi>usly the bulwark of the Empii'e ; and this success was followed y)y the overrunning of Baden, Wirtemberg, Swabia, Francouia, and tlie Palatinate. From the comitries he overran, and a number of Imperial towns, a vast sum, at the rate, it is said, of not less than 10,000 crowns a day for 3 months, was lev.ed by the Mar- «hal. He thus enriched himself, as well as supported his army, while ia the field ; so that it was no cost, for that campaign, to Louis XIV., who observed — " There is no one can do tfiese ihingn but Villars!" The Marshal Was unchecked, in his prosperous career, till the summer was considerably advanced ; when, his army having been very much diminished in order to .strengthen other quarters again-stthe Allies, while that of the Germans was very much increased, he had to retire towards the Rhine ; yet, without an\' greater reverse, than a surprise, September 24th, by mucli superior numbers, in a morning fog, of 14 detached squadrons of his troops, under the Marquis de Vivans, and their consequent defeat, with the admitted loss of 4U0 or 500 men, besides hoi'ses, tents, and baggage. Among the Irish officers serving under Villars were Lieutenant-Gciicral Andrew Lee, noticed in connexion with the ojjerations against the lines of Stolhofl'en, and Brigadier Michael Roth, who was pre.sent at several successful aflairs, already mentioned in the biographical account of hira given with the history of his regiment. Of Lee, more especiallv, in reference to the measures of Villars, for assailing the lines of .Stolhoti'en, my contemporary British historian notes — " Lieuieuant-General Lee also executed las commission very exactly; for he thundered on tlie Jsle of Dalunde with 10 pieces of heavy cannon, and drew together several boats about Druseuheim ; which gave the Germans to apprehend that he intended to pa.ss, with a consideiable cor[)s of troops, there ; u[)on which, expresses were immediately despatched from one jilace to another, and they,' the Ceiiuans, "were everywhere put into cunlu.siou." HISTOEY OF THE iraSII BrJGADES IN THE SEEVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK V. The warlike operations for 1708 were commenced l)y Louis XIV". with the equipment of an expedition to place Prince James Francis Edward Stuart on the throne of his ancestors as King James VI 1 1, of Scothmd, and James III. of England and Ireland. The Prince was to be landed in Scotland, where his presence was most desired, ])artly from the attachment of that nation to the true or only legitimate mf^» rVore- Bentative of its ancient Sovereigns, and partly from the general indigna- tion there at what was deemed the unprincipled sale of the country, the ju-eceding year, to England, by the so-called Act of Union. On that measure, as here, and subsequently, so connected with the s\iV)ject of this work, some observations are requisite. King James II. of England and Ireland and James VII. of Scotland, in his Advice to his Son, as Prince of Wales, written in 1692, remarks it to have been the ti-ue interest of the Crown (meaning in the direct Stuart line) to keep Scotland separate from England, or governed by its own laws, and constitution ; and he likewise lays it down, that any specious pretence of uniting the 2 King- doms should be regarded, as emanating, either from weak men bribed by some private concern in the matter, or from enemies to the Monarchy; Scotland, as she was, being, in his opinion, a great support to the Crown, which, he considered she could not be, if united to, or swallowed ny) by, England, as in Cromwell's time. And this view of the matter seems to liave been well-founded, with reference to the interest of liifi family. For, notwithstanding the success of the Whig-Orange Revolution in Scotland, to the prejudice of James himself, and his son, from the reign ( t' William and Mary to that of Anne — or, in other words, notwith- standing that Anne, as a Protestant, was accepted as a Sovereign, after William's decease, in preference to her brother, the Prince of Wales, nicknamed a " Pretender ! ^^ — still the Scotch were too much attached to the House of Stuart, to think of excluding it altogether from their Crown, after her decease, for the sake of the completely foi'eign family, or that of Hanover, advocated, as rulers for others, as well as themselves, by the English Whigs, and their y)artizans. And this, although, upon the final trial of strength, in 1702, in tlie English House of Commons, as to Kecuring the royal succession tliere to the House of Hanover, the measure jiroposed only passed by the nairowest possible escape, or, "in a division loi- the affirmative, yeds 118," to " noes 117; so that," remarks my English Whig annalist, nnder George I., "to this happy majority, tho' but of 1 vote, we owe our pieseut glorious Condition, under his most excclleut 2n4 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Mitjesty!" — the earlier observations, or those at the time of this ''escape," Jinviiig been " tlie Prince of Waleii has lost it in the IJouse by 1 vote, or the House oi Hanover litis carried it htdhy 1 vote!'''' * Hence, in tlie next year of Anne's reign, or 1703, "the Earl of Marchmont," writes Lock- liart of Carnwath, respecting the Scotch Parliament, " having one clay ]iresente(l an Act for Settling the Succession on the House of Hanover, it was treated with such contempt, that so"f«^ propos'd, it might be burnt, and otiiei-s, that he might be sent to the Casble, and was at last thrown out of the House, by a plurality of 57 voices!" — a majority, it may be added, strangely enough amounting to the exact number of claimants nearer by blood to the Crowns of Great Bi-itain and Ireland than George I. ! To hunt, therefore, the House of Stuart out of its old Kingdom of Scotland, as well as to exclude that House from its 2 more recently- acquired Kingdoms of England and Ireland; or, to prevent, in case etween Scotland and England — since what slio\dd be thus decreed in Scotland, ]io\Y(!ver unjus, twould be Ix'j'ond any future reversal there, as, after a Union, no Scotch Pailiament would exist, to undo what had been done. The so-called Act of Union was nothing more deserving of respect, in Scotland, than an act of bribery and sale to the amount of £-50,000, backed bv the aid of such Government terrorism, and military force, as were naturally required to secure the job against interruption, from the general and just indignation of those who were to be denationalized by the jobbers.t The bribe to the Scotch Parliamentary Cominissionei-s to treat of the terms was £30,000, for which they sacrificed the rigiits of their countiy as follows — Scotch Peers. Dis ranchised. Retained. English Peers. UiO. 144. 1(). ISO. Scotch Members. Disfranchised. Eetaiiied. English Members. 155. 110. 45. 5i;j. This Anglo-Whig arrangement of but 16 Peers for Scotland against not less than 180 Peers for England, and of but 45 Members for Scotland • The Annals of King George, Year the First : containing not only the Affairs of Great Britain, but the General History of Europe during tliat Time, &c., p. 17: Ijomlon, 17IG. — 'Hie nanuH of the 117 and 118 voters are given by Oldmixou, in his History of England during the Pieign of Queen Aune, pp. 2S.3-4, who further observes, in reference to the Hanoverian succession — "About the same time, one litzgerald was prosecuted, for writing a i)amphlet against that succession, and, being found guilty, had this mild sentence past upon hiiix ; to appear near tho Gourts in Wcstnmister-hall, with a paper pinn'd to his hat, specifying his crime: v.hicli was thought to be a very moderate punishment, and what a zealous Insa .lacdbite would rather have gloried in, than been asham'd of." Is not the niihlness, Of moderation, here alluded to, likewise clearly indicative of the great strength of the Jacobite party then ? + The corruj)t Scotch Members, who voted for the Union, are described as " liaving horses laid, and alwaj's ready, to carry them oil fioiii tlie danger tlicy had reason to dread, aud justly deserved." IN THE SF.RVrCK OF FRANCE. 255 a,2^ainst so many as 513 Members for Eiigland, was more particularly complained of under tlie latter head, or iiiasuincli as, on the .score of revenue, Scotland should have gotten 60, and on that of population, 66, Members — the paramount objection, however, of Scotch natioTialistiS, to the measure, being, that it wjis altogether objectionable, as nothing better than a legislative or national subjection of Scotland to England. Tlio additional bribe of £20,000, given to the party of Scotch Meuibers calh'd the " Flying Squadron," completed the sale of Scottish independence. Never, perhaps, was there viler corruption displayed. " One noble Lord," writes Sir Walter Scott, in leference to Lord Bamf, "accepted of so low a sum as 11 guineas; and," adds Sir Walter, "he threw his religion into the bargain, and, from Catholii% turned Protestant, to make his vote a good one!" In allusion to such baseness, the English Secre- tary, Harley, subsequently said, in i"ej)ly to some Scotch Union Members — " Have we not bought the Scots, and do we not acquire a right to tax them? — or, for what other purpose did we give the equivalent?" The imprincipled Scotch Members of Parliament were, indeed bought. But the Scotch people could, neither morally, nor constitutionally, be tlnis disposed of. The general indignation, therefore, in Scotland, at the shameless ccn-ruption, with which her people's inalienable rights, as those of a nation, and the hereditary claims of her royal family, as a dynasty, were equally bargained away, in opposition to the will of both, by a set of venal wretches, for foreign objects, strengthened the cause of the Stuai'ts in their ancient realm, so far as such cyrcumstances led to the inference, that, as the blow aimed to exclude the true heir to the Crown of Scotland was also one to destroy the Parliament of Scotland, so that Parliament could only be restored, by restoring the true heir to the Crown. Indeed, this reasoning was countenanced by precedent; since, on the restoration of the true heir to the Crown, in the persmi of King Charles II., after Cromwell's death, Charles restored to Scothind, as well as to Ireland, the Parliaments, which had been both extinguished in a United or London Legislature, under the Ci'omwellian nsui'pation. Nor was the conduct of the Pre.sbyterian clergy such, with reference to the Union, as to give them any considerable influence, in opposition to this mode of thinking among their flocks; that reverend body having afforded too much cause for a general belief, of their being actuated by no higher principle, in connexion with the measure, than that of main- taining themselves as "the established clergy" of the land, and propor- tionalile recipients of " the loaves and fishes ;" on being guaranteed which, against such invasion as was feared from a Union, ^/iet?' object was gained, though the independence of the nation might be lost! At first, we are infoi-med, "the Ministers were every where ap])rehensive of," i. e., for, "the Kiik government, and I'oar'd against the wicked Union from their pulpits, made resolves, and sent addresses against it from several Presby- tei-ies, and the Commission of the Assembly. . . . But, no sooner did the Parliament ))ass an Act Jar the Security of the Kirk, than most of their zeal was cool'd, and many of them quite chang'd their notes, and preach'U up what, not long before, they had declar'd anathemas against; yet with no effect, for their auditories stood firm, and the Clergy lust much of tJieir reputation, by sJiewing so much se^fislmess, and little regard to the interest and lionour of tlce coantrTj." Consequently, it is remarked, of the uncorrupted laity, "the Presbyterians appear'd most zealously against the Union." Aud, in the general exaspeiutiou of the Scotch agaiust 253 niRTORY OF THE IRISH BRIfiADES tlvat nioasnre, we nre toM, with reference to .the yonnsf representative of the House of Stiuirt, or James VI f I., tliat even "the PresbyteriaiiB, and Cameioiiians, were ready to pass over tlie ohjection of his Vjeing Papist; for, said they, (according to their predestinating piinciples,) God may convert him, or he mai/ have Protedant children, but the U nioti can never be good!" The Scotch patriotic song, also, in lamenting, how there should be "such a parcel of rogues in a nation," that Scotland, under the pretext of a Union, should be " bought and sold," as " England's province," feelingly notes — "What force, or guile, could not subdue, Through many warlike ages. Is wrought now by a coward few. For hu'eling traitors' wages. The English atpel we could disdain. Secure in valour's station ; • But English rjold has been our bane — Such a parcel of roijuts in a nation!" Another song, known as ^'^ Tlie Curses,'" indignantly di plores that— "Scotland and England must beuow United iu a nation, And we must all peijure, and vow, And take the abjuration ! The Stuarts' ancient freeborn race Now we must all give over, And we must take into their place The bastards of HauGver ! " Then " curs' dr it says, be those ■ "traitor.% who, By their perfidious knavery. Have brought our nation now into An everhisting slavery ! Ciirtid be the Parliament that day, Who gave their conlirmation I And cKVdd be every winning Whia, For the// have damu'd the nation! ^^ Under these circumstances, the Scotch Jacobites and Anti-Unionists having solicited Loiiis XIV. to send over James VIII., accompanied by so many troops, as, with the patriots ready to co-operate, would enable James to recover his Throne, and Scotland to re-establish her Paklia- MKNT, the French Monarch made corresponding naval and military ai'rangements. The disembarkation in Scotland was to be effected at or near Dunbar by a squadron from Dunkirk, under the famous Chevalier de Forbin, which was to convey a land foice of 12 French battalions,, or above '5000 men, with a sujiply of fire-arms, cavalry-equipments, &c., for the rising of the Scotch against the English. Among the subjects of James, Hppomted to sail with him, were several Irish or British veterans of the campaigns in Ireland and on the Continent, or the Lieutenants-General llichard H;imilton, Dominick Sheldon, William Dorrington and Lord Galmoy. Major-General Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, Colonel Francis Wauchop, and a number of subordinate officers of the corps of Lee, Dorrington, Galmoy, Berwick, O'Brien, &c.. whose names generally display their con- Ufxiou with the best races of Ireland, or those of Milesian, and Normal^ IN THE S-ERVICE OF FRANCE. 257 or French, origin. From an iinhicky illness of James, nnrl other causes, the French fleet did not leave Dmikiik till March 17th, could nob reach the mouth of the Firth of Edinburgh till the evejiing of the 23rd, and, wlien about to enter it next nioruing, beheld Sir George Byng'a very superior armament. It thus became necessary to avoid an unseason- able engagement, and, finally, to return to Dunkirk. This was effected, by the French Admiral with the loss of only 1 heavy- sailing ship, tlie Salitihury, that had been formerly taken from the English. On board the recaptured vessel, with Colonel Francis Wauchop of the Irish Brigade, were 15 other officers. Lieutenants ^f the Regiment of O'Brien, (late Lord Clare's,) 10 Serjeants, 10 Corporals, 10 Lanspessade.s, and a French Commissary of War. The 15 officers of the Regiment of O'Brien were of the families of O'Donovan, O'Keeffe, O'Sullivan, O'Clery, Mac Cai-thy, Mac Mahon, Fitz-Uerald, Fitz-Maurice, Prendergast, Arc. These Irish gentlemen were sent up to London, committed to Newgate, with irons to their legs like felons, and were then removed, by order of Government, to the Pres.s-Yard, pre{)aratory to being tried for their lives, and executed. But the French taking 2 ships conveying supplies to the A Hind forces in Spain, as well as several French Protestant officers in the English service, these Huguenc^ts would have been executed in France, had the Jacobite officers been executed in England; so that both were saved, by being exchanged. All the time the Irish officera were imprisoned in London, they met with much kindness, from the sympathy of some worthy Tory or Jacobite loyalist. "There was a dinner of several dishes, with a small hamper of wine, sent from a tavern near Newgate; and they never knew, to lohnn they wei'e obliged, for that benefaction." Tlius well supj/lieo, \t is added, they every day had '-good company; for they never v/ero %^-ithout 2, ?>, or more gentle- men from ai)ioad, to dine with them ; and seldom nvissed a day, of having a visit from one Mr. Hefierii:iM, famous for the harp, which he never failed to bring with him, to d^-t^Jt the gentlemen; and some- times would leave it thei'e for 3 weeks, to avoid the trouble of fetch- ing it." The stout Peter Drake of Draken.tb, who furnishes thess interesfii'g particulars respecting the imprisoned Irish officers, was also, at this time in Newgate, along Vt'ith an English sea-captain, named Smith; and, by the orders left with the dinner, and wine, at the prison, boUb shared the mess sent to the ofTic-"rs. Drake and Smith were imprisoned, as charged with " high treason," for having been taken on board French vessels, fighting against the Plnciioh — a charge justlij made against Smith, as a native-born iCuglishiCRu — but not so against Drake, as an Irishman, privileged to ent",r LIh^ service of France, according to the Treaty of Limeiuck, ratified 'oy Williaio III. Of the consequent Trial at the Old Bailey, in Jur.e, 1708, Drake writes — •'! shall not trouble the reader with many of the jnuticulars of this Tryal, which lasted above 2 hours and a half; ana shall only say, that my Councel ])leaded strongly, my being under the Articles of Limerick; and tiiere- fore hoped tl)e Court would grant me the benefit of them Article.s, which they were ready to prove I was intitled to; and then called my Avitnessex. which were sworn; the chief of which was my Lady Tyrone, who knew me in Limei'ick, at the time of the surrender, and after that in France, at our landing :tt Brest. This, and ail iny defence^ was over- ruled, (ind the dv.rii bronijld in ilieir Verdict, GUILTY. At this, my poor brother, who was close to the Bar, sonuded" — i e., swooned — '-away, S 258 lIIST(iaY OF TIIK IRISH ERIGADK3 and fell down motioiilfss. 'i'liis Verdict made a o^roater im]iression on liini, than it did on me; and I here solemnly declare, that, seeing hiin in that condition for near a quarter of an hour, gave me more concern, than the dread of any sentence that should i)ass upon me. . . . One of the learned Judges, whose name was Powel, made a long harangue to Captain Smith, and to me; which he concluded, telling ns, that good siilijects should chuse rather to lie down in a ditch, and starve, than take up arms against their lain/id Prince. To which I took the liberty to answei', that tJiey must be good subjects, indeed; that, if that doctrine )tad been jireached and adliered to at the Revokuion, I shoidd not be noin hampered as I was. . . . Then Sir Charles Hedges ])roceedHd to pass sentence on ns, as is usual in cases of High Treason." Smith was executed; but Drake, through interest made by his worthy lu'other, was, after some time, released. The cutting pertinencj'of Drake's reply to Judge Poweli needs no connuent. His shameless condemnation to death by an English Court of Justice, in contempt of the Articles of Limerick, was of a piece with England's geiiend conduct to Ireland, as regards the Treaty of Limerick. The alarm, at this expedition from France for Scotland, was great in XiOndon. It is related, that, notwithstanding the intei])ositi()fi of the House of Commons in favour of the Bank of England, the run upon it was such, that it was only on intelligence of the retreat of the French Kquadron the ])anic was arrested, and the concern thus preserved from shutting up, wdien within but 12 hours of having to do so. In Scot- land, it would appear, that James had only to land, in order to succeed. And his success there would not have been without active results in Ireland, whose " disposition," says my contemporary Stuart document, "is constant, and always the same, founded on interest, on liberty, and on religion. It is notorious, from the great number of Bishops, of Priests, and of Moidvs, who have been obliged to seek an asylum in France, how much religion is ojipre-s-sed in Ireland; almost all the ancient families despoiled of their i>roperties; not 1 Catholic admissible to any civil or military office; and all disarmed. Yet, it is certain, that there are, in that kingdom, at least 6 Catholics, for 1 Protestant;"' and it may be easily judged, by the valour and irreproachable conduct of the Irish regiments that served in France, of what their countrymen would be capable at home, if they had arms. In fine, it may be confidently afiirmed, there are no motives in nature to induce a man to adopt a party, which do not exist to make the Irish Catholics adopt that of their legitimate King." The fate, then, of the Cromwello-Williamite oi' Whig settlers in Ireland — whose hated " a.scendancy" there was based npon the landed spoliation, and religions and political op])ression, of the older people of the country — may be easily conceived, had events been Buch, as to embolden the suffering majority of the nation to rise in favour of HIM, to whom alone^/iie^ could look to conij relief from their tyrants. That the contenqtlation of such a fate was, for a time, a cause for appre- hension among the latter, may also be sufficiently inferred, from the tiubsequent admission by their Legislature in Dublin, with resi^ect to the Catholics. " We,"' it observed, " with abhor^-ence call to mind the satis- • The Catholics are Hkewise represented, in an important Presbyterian petition to the colonial House of Commons in Dublin, in 1705, as having been in the pro- portion of 6 to 1 of the entire Protestant population in Irehmd ! — on which assertion, the Jacobite statement, in the text, aecms to have been based. IN THE SERVICE OF FHANCE. 2-39 faction, wliicb too visibly ajipcared in the faces, and the iriKolent behav- iour, of the generahty of tliein, when the late attempt was made, b}' the Pretender, on the north part of Great Britain." The most ancient or Milesian portimi of the population were especially eager for " the Avenger," to use the expression of 1 of their Gaelic songs; which added, with a due perception of the connexion of their cause, as a despoiled Catholic race, with that of their disinherited Catholic Prince — "Ten thousand huzzas shall ascend to hiwh heav'n, Wiieii uur Prince is rttslur'd, and our fettern are rivn!" Besides, as is remarked by the translator of that song, they sympathizpcl with the Prince's misfortune, inasmuch as they regarded " the 8tuarts as of the Milesian line, fondly deducing them from Pei-gus, and the Celts of Ireland."* In Flanders, Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Marlborougli obtained a victory, July lltli, 1708, at Oudenarde, or Audenarde, owiuij to the Duke of Vendome having been so hampered with, and opposed by, the Duke of Burgundy, heir presumptive to the Crown of France, ami his ill advisers, or tiatterers,+ that little, if any, honour could be fairly claimed from the advantage gained over the French under such circum- stances, and no honour at the expense of Vendome, who, when unfettered in command, had shown himself to be an opponent worthy of each of those famous Allied Generals Had his judgment been ])ermitted to direct the movements of the French army, it is certain the French would not have been defeated at Oudenarde ; and when, from the Tinwise con- tradiction he experienced, that disaster occurred, which he predicted would occur, he ])reserved his country from results, still more disastrous. On the disorder becoming general among the troops, he dismounted, and ran from regiment to regiment sword in hand, doing everything he could to bring back the officers and soldiei's to their duty, until it became no longer possible to arrest a torrent, which was the more overwhelming, from the intervention of the night. Then, with a select rear-guard (if 25 squadi-ons, and about as many battalions, he protected the retreatj giving a chosen corps of 40 squadrons, and 12 battalions, sent forward, next morning, by ^lailborough to complete the victory, such an unex- pected or disagreeable reception, on the road from Oudenarde to Ghent, that they had to retire ; numbers of the cavalry being destroyed, parti- cularly 1 Continental regiment, which is naniel as almost annihilated ; and, among the infantry, Major Irwin's grenadiers being repulsed, with the loss of lialf the men, and a quantity of their otKcers, besides Major- General Meredith, wounded. " Who could have believed," exclaims my Allied authority, "that, after so glorious and so complete a victory, the viciors themselves should receive, the next day, a check, from an enemy, • The acknowledgment of the origin of the Kings of Scotland from the old Kings of Ireland, by the 1st Scotch or Stuart Sovereign of England and Irelai.Lh has tieen already cited. Uiion the earliest intelligence receivetl, by the "ascen- dancy" (lovernnient in Ireland, of the sailing of King James II. 's sou for Scot- land from France, several of the chief Cath(jlic laity and clergy were committed to prifcon, and required to take the Oath of Abjuratiou, but they would nut do so. + It is very displeasing to see the Duke of JBurgundy, the excellent }:)upii of tl.'a exemplary and accomplished Feiielon, so much astray, on this (ccasion, us to dis- agree \iith the veteran Vendome. The writers on the side of the Allies arc tha louaest m Veudonie's praise. 2u0 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 'beaten, flying, anrl astonishefl'? But, inc^ecd. it was ni>t so— tliose, who repulsed the Allies, were ti'()0])S nmler the Duke rle Vendome, wdio were never broken." Snhsequently, by the position, which, against the ojtinioii of all. the other Generals, he had the tirniiiess to take at Lovendegheui, Vendome, according to the admission of friends and enemies, saved the French army, and France itself Hence, Eugene's and Marlbox'ough'a historian refei-s to Oudenarde, as "a battle which, but for the D\ike of Vendome's retreat, would have been much more fatal to the French tlian that of Ramillies," though it, "as it was, overturned all that ]>riident General's schemes, and gave the Allies an opjiortunity of besieg- ing Lisle, which otlun-wise perhay)s they would not have found." And, on the impolicy of trusting a Villeroy, whereby the Vjattle of Eamillies was lost, and of not relying uf)on a Vendome, whereby the battle of Oudenarde was li)St, the same writer i-emarks — " We may say, that it \Aras the peculiar felicity of the Duke of Marlborough, that the weakness of the Fi-ench councils contributed no less to his glory, than his own vv'isdom." At this " untoward event" — which should merely be termed, tlie defeat of the iJuke of Bnrfjundi) by Prince EiKjene and tJie Duke if Marlborovgh — I find, as regards the Irish, that Fitz-Gerald's and O'Brien's Eegiments of Foot, and Nngent's Regiment of Horse were present; and that the Colonel of the 1st, or Major-Gem;ral Nicholas Fitz-(Jerald, was anioiig the leading oifieers of tlie French army, who were disabled, made ])risoners, and died, of injuries received in the action. According to the best historian of these wars on the side of the French, they had al)out 7000 soldiers, and 685 officers, slain, or made prisoners. The enen)y, of course, reported the French loss to have been several thou- gands more. The killed and wounded of every rank, on the side of the Allies, as published, at the time, by themselves, present the following aggregates, for the various nations engaged. Dutch, 1503 ; Danes, GOG; Hanoverians, 4GG ; Prussians, 209 ; British, 173 ; the small ]ii-oporti'>n of these last, to the other Allies, and the general amount, having conse- quently been — Eritisli, 173 Utliers, 27^4 Total, 2937 Thus, adds my British authoi*, as he might specially do with reference to the little that Ids countrymen suft'ta-ed, " all things considered, this victory was as cheap, as it was considerable; and it would certainly have been much more so, if, as the Duke of Burgundy and his ])arty designed, the French had quitted the neighbourhood of Ghent, and x-etired towards Ypres " — as they looidd have done, but for Vendome's decision to encamp at Lovendeghem. The most important consequence of the Allied success at Oudenai-de ■was the famous siege and reduction of the skilfully-fortitied and strongly- garrisoned city and citadel of Lisle by Eugene and Marlborough, whose military reputation was very much increased by the ability with which they conducted the enterprise ; they having to guard, on the one hand, against the French army of above 100,000 men eiiileavouring to raise the siege ; and having, on the other, to overcome such a line defence of the jilace. as that under the Marshal de Bonfflers. from August until December; i\ defeuce, which cost hiui, iu every way, above 5000, and IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5^01 the besieging force iY-om 15,000 to 20,000, men ! Tlie Irisli uoUmI ia this defence were a veter-an Lienteiiant-Generai and Chevalier Andrew- Lee, those seemingly of a provisional battilion, styled, from the Queea of King James II., " Fuseliers de la Reine d'Angleterre,"* and the super- iiuuierary or reformed officers, wlio, after returning from the late unsuccessful expedition to Scotland, were attached to the several corps of the garrison of Lisle. Lee, who was wounded in the head by a boirib, received a pension of 6000 livres, with permission to wear the Cordoa Rouge of the Order of St. Louis until a vacancy should occur to a Grand Cross, or Commandershif), wliich he then obtained. At the Camp of Sa,ulsoy on the Scheld, there were Iri.sh also, or the 5 battalions of Lee, O'Brien, Dorrington, ODonnell, and Gahnoy, wlio increased their strength, at the expense of Marlborough's army. " I can," says a writeir connected with the English War Office, "name a regiment or 2, or, perhaps, more, in Flanders, in the year 1708, which we generally call the campaign f)f Lisle, that lost considerably by desertion ; one of them no less than 130 men, as well as I can remember. They all went off to the Irish, and fouglit against us at Malplaquet" — tlie following year. " They were esteemed brave fellows in our regiments; and I can hardly think, that changing sides abated anything of their courage." The youthful repi-esentative of the /.ef/itiniKte as distinguished from the revolw- tiouar// I'oyalty of Great Britain and Ireland served this campaign with the Frencli army as incoyuito, or under the designation of the Chevaliep de St. George, from the popular or legendary tutelar Saint of England. He, relates the Duke of Berwick of the Chevalier, " was present at the combat of Oudenarde, where he disidayed a great deal of valour ami I)resence of mind ; and he acquired, by his affability, the fr-ieudship of every one ; for we are naturally prepossest^ed in favour of the unfortunate, when they have not been so thnnu/h their own fault, and when, moreover^ their conduct is guod.^ It may be added, that the young Hanoverian Prince, afterwards George II., was at the same combat, in the opposite or Allied army, and likewise behaved himself gallantl}'. In Spain, Count O'Mahony, with GOOD i-egular troops, among whom were the Irish corps of Berwick, Bourke, and Dillon, besides sr)nie militia, and lOOO workmen, appeared before Alcoy in Valencia, January 2nd, 1708, The place being breached by his battering train of 6 gunjj on the 4th, was twice, or on the 5th and 7th, assaulted with mucli Jos.s, and without success; but on the 'Jth, was obliged to surrender — the few English there as prisoners of war — the inhabitants as rebels at discretion — and the town having to ])ay a fine of 48,000 piastres. At this siege, repulsing a sally on the 2ud, the Count's brave Lieutenant-Colonel, Cornelius U'Driscoll, was wounded in the foot dangerously. The Coanfc then reduced a long list of places towards the sea-coast, causing his troops to observe the strictest discipline; which was the more gratiiyiiig * Connect this with what apjiears farther on, about the Irish deserters, at the defence uf Touinay, in 17U*J King James IL's Queen suiviveil her husbaiul neaily 17 years, or until May, 1718, wliea she died, at 8t. Germain, in her (JOth year, or the SUtli of her e.xile Ironi England. "In England," writes Mr. Hardiinaii, •' slia was never popular, in consequence of her being a Catholic, and warinly attached to ]ier religion ; but, for the same reason, s!ie was an especial favourite witli the Irish."' See, in that learned and patriotic collector's "Irish Minstrelsy, ' among tlie "Jacobite Relics," tlie native Milesian or Gaelic poet's "Lament for the Qiieen of King James II.," m the original Irish, with a spirited versilicatiou into English, by Henry Grattau Curran, Es(j. 262 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES to tlip. people of the countiy, an tliey had been made to believe, that nothing was to be expected, but massacre and ]>illage. In Marcli, 1708, the Count was ajipointed to command in Sicily, to which lie was to proceed with 3000 iS]i;inish tr()ii])s, and his 500 Irisli dragoons. He reached Messina in April; soon acquired, by his jjolished Hnd generous manners, the frit-ndship of the Sicilians; and inspired them with feelings of confidence, the stronger, in jiroportion to the grent superiority of Jiis abilities and reputatior) to those of their Viceroy, tlie ]\larquis de los Baibases. The Inqierialists, in tlie kingdom of Na|)les, Conquered by tlieni in 1707 from Philip V., were designing to adil Sicily to that acqtiisition ; and the naval ])Ower of their Allies, the English, iu the jMediteri-anean, was very serviceable to the can.se of the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Cliarles of Austria, as claiming to be King t^ 8j»ain, in o])position to Philip V. In A>igust, writes a British historian respecting Sir John Leake, "the Admiral reduced the Island of Sardinia, of which the Conde de Cifuentes was declared Viceroy by King Charles; and, soon alter, by the assistance of Lieutenant-General Stanhope, he teduced Minorca ulso, excepting Port Mahon, and 2 other ports, which were afterwaids reduc'd by Sir Edward Whitaker; who likewise cruis'd in the MeditertMuean, and struck such terror into Italy, that the Pope acknowle horse, assisted by the armed inhabitants, was invested, June 12th, by the Duke, and, after a laborious siege, was compelled to Caj>itulate, August 11th. Of Iiish officers there, William TaVoot of Haggardstown. County Louth, ne]ihew and successor to the Earldom of llichard Tall)ot, Eail and Duke of Tyrconnell, and attainted in Ireland by the Ilevoluticmists as William Talbot of Dundalk, served as Aide-de-(-ainp to the Duke of Orleans; in which capacity he is erroneously noticed by the French historian, as Duke, instead of Earl,, of Tyrconnell. Berwick's battalions several times mounted the trenches. In December, the liattalions of Bervvick, Bourke. and Dillon are mentioned, as constituting j)art of the force with which the Chevalier d'Asfeld reduced the town of Alicant. defended by Colonel Richards, to surrender — the Castle holding out till the ensuing spi-ing. or April, 1701). In 1709, France was reduced to such terrible distress, from the effects of a most ruinous season, condiined with the immense taxation I'cquisite for the maintenance of hostilities against so many natiins, that Louis XIV. s]iared no efforts to obtain ])eace, though he was unable to do so, ijotwithstandmg the fairest oilers on his part In this melancholy state IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 2G3 continue tlie war. "All the people of quality, without distinction, and all the people who had any plate in Paris, sent it ininiediately to the Qiint. The King sent all his own gold ])late, and particulaily some tables At Versailles, the workmanship of wliich came to 4 times the value of the metal." Yet, by every means that could be resorted to, such a military force as was raised for the public defence could only be kept on foot ia "much privation and misery.* The Duke of Marlborough atul Prince Eugene, on the other hand, assembled, in June, for the campaign in Flanders, a very fine, and more numenms army, referred to by an Allied writer, as ^"^ all choice troops, all eager to engage, and all flushed vnth the ho])es of peitetrating into and of plundering France, ivhich was the general discourse in Gennariy, England, and Ilollayid, at tlie opening of this cnmpaign!" The French, nevei'theless, were so skilfully posted, by the Marshal de Villars, from Pont-a-Vendin to Betlmne, that the enemy- could only commence active o])erations by investing Tournay, on the 27th. That town was well fortified, had likewise a fine citadel, and was peculiarly formidable to attack, from the number of mines connected witlx tlie works. The Governor was the Marquis de Surville. distinguished, in 1708, at tlie defenoe of Lisle; and he was well aided b}' M. de Megrigny, the able engineer who had planned the citadel. But the garrison was not proportioned to the foitifications, having been diminished to but G400 men, in order to increase the French army ; and there was an insufficiency of jH'ovisions and money, though ammunition was abundant. The Allies, from tlie night of July 7tli-8th, when the trenches were ojiened, till September 3rd, when the citadel surrendered, suffered severely, especially by the sallies and mines; their admitted lo.ss having been 5340 men. That of the garrison was returned as 3191 killed and wounded, including. 12-5 oflicei's. At this siege, the Irish reformed officers signalized them-. selves, as they had done the year before at Lisle; and a cori)S of Irish formed by M. de Parpaille for the occasion out of deserters from tha English army (under those circumstances already explained) are described, as in a sally, on the night of July 21st-22nd, '"having achieved wonders, and having ruined a great deal of the enemy's works." Soon after the conquest of Tournay, the Allies invested Mons ; but could not besiege it, without first giviiig battle to the French. The Mar- shal de ViUars, assisted by the worthy Marshal de BoutHers, the gallant defender of Namur and Lisle, (who, although an older ollicer, agreed to act under his junior for the public good,) took up a sti'ong jiosition in the territory about the village of Malplaquet, with woods to the right and left, and an open country between, and to the rear of, those woods. Along the woods as his wings, and over the intermediate gi-ound as his centre, the Marshal placed his infantry V)eliind triple intrenchments, trees cut down, and fastened together, &c. The whole of those arrange- ments were such, that an advancing enemy, while struggling with thft difficulties of attacking the intrenchments, might be well torn and. mashed by a crossing fire fiom the musketry and cannon of the defenders ; and the remaining space, to the rear of those works manned by the infantry, the Marshal occupied with his cavalry; having had every obstacle cleared away, which could interfere with their movements to snjjportthe iniantry. The French army, according to its official authori- * Louis XIV. was nndergoino- the ptniishTnent, in Ins old age, for that faidt, or rather chime, which he himself coiiileMined on liis death-hed, of having l)een too fond of Will-, for so luaiiy years oi' his lile, and France was involved in his piuiishuiciit. 2G4 iiisTouY OF THE inisii brigadks ties, consisted of 120 battalions, and 2G0 squadrons; being, in the nimber of both, as well as the complements of eacli, generally inferior to the enemy. Of those troops, too, but a comparatively small proportion were old soldiers; the relies of so many destroyed at Blenheim, Ramil- lies, Tiii-in, Oudenarde, kc. The great remaining majority were merely new levies; and all were naturally under the dis[)iriting influence of that series of misfortunes to their ai'ms for several years, which, as the Marshal de IJoufflers wi-ote to Louis XIV., "had so humbled the French nation, that one hardly dared to own one's-self a Frenchman!" They were likewise inferior in artillery; having, according to their above-mentioned accounts, but SO pieces of cannon. Nevertheless, they were resolved to recover thtir former character, if possible, under Villars; whose past achievements, and present dispo^^itions, inspired them with as much con* fidence, as the recent Allied insolence, which refused their Sovereign any tolerable terms of peace, was calculated to fire thein with loyal and jiatriotic indignation. The Allied army, according to Marlliorough's historian, Archdeacon Coxe, amounted to 129 battalions, and 2o2 squad- rons; but, according to Serjeant Millner, who fought under Mailborough in the action, and whose enumeration is not discountenanced bj' other Allied statements, it consisted of 152 battalions, and 271 squadrons.* Prince Eugene, contrasting the composition of this army with that of France, thus described the Allied troops — " They are all men accustomed to tiie and slaughter; of whom there is scarcely 1, that has not beea ]irespnt at some battle, or at sieges. Besides, with what daring are they not ;^nimated, by the recollection of such a long series of victories?" They had also, according to the Histoire du Prince Eugene, the Marquis de Quiney, and Drake's Memoirs, a much more power! ul artillery than the Flench. It was divided into heavy and light guns. Of the heavy guns, to level the French intrenchments, there win'e, in the 3 chief batteries, 103; and the rest appear to have made u[) 120. The light gun.s, to accompany the respective brigades in their adxance, have not been enumerated, but included a nundier of field-mortars, to dislodge the French from the woods, by discliai'ging such a quantity of shells and stones, as to dash down, or shatter to fragments, the trees upon those about them, and s])read destruction, and confusion, in every direction. With so many circumstances in favour of the Allies, may be noted the generally superior "conditif)n" of their troops to those of France, owing to the vast miseiy there, already mentioned. The ]\Iar.shal de Villars, among his heavy apprehensions respecting the campaign he had to make against an enemy so siqierior in nund^ers, ai'tdlery, etc., jtarti- cularly refers to his " ])erpetual feai' each day of being without bread" — adding how, as he pas.sed through the ranks of his army, the poor soldier, struggling to subsisb on a half or a quarter ration, would address him, in the words of the Lord's Prayer — " Give us this day our daiUj bread!" And, for a day j)revious to the battle of Malplaquet, * Marll)orougli's and Euoene's puhlishrd line of battle, June 2.Srcl, about Lisle, at the openiiiif of the campaign, presents a total of 170 battalions anil 27i squadrons. 'i'he Allies had likewise a cur/i.s-de-re.scrve, to cover Brabant, under Lieutenant-Cileneral Donipre, (quartered about Alosfc; from which, and other Eonices, the French computed that their o])ponents could be swelled, in the field, to ISO battalions and "289 si^uadrous. Subsequently, or August Gth, at Orchies, Marlborough's and Eugene's piihliNliP.il line of battle is given as lt>4 battal lais and 270 squadrons — exclusive, of course, of such as were then absent, or detached. IN THE SKRVTCE OF FRANCE. 265 according to one account, and, even for 2 days, according to another, tliere had not been a di.stril)iition, sufficient to extend to the whole of the army. "On Wednes(hxy, the 11th, early in the morning," alleges Drake, "our army received a day"s bread, which we stood in great need of, not having had any for 2 da.ys before!''^ Of this bread, the last which so many of them were ever to eat! these brave fellows having taken some, threw away a pai-t, that they might be the less encumbered, or mt)re alert, for the ap])roachiug eiigagement. Prince Eugene, and the Duke of Marlborough, perceiving that, to attack the Marshal de Villars, as he was posted, would I'equire the pre- sence of every man they could muster, and, not being able to have all in hand until the 11th, deferred the decisive contest to that day. A dense summer mist, very favourable to the Allies, as enabling them to make their vai-ious dispositions for the action unseen by the French, did not uncurtain the landsca])e before the increasing brightness of the morning sun, till between half-]ia>t 7 and 8 o'clock. The stage then being clear for the bloody drama in prepai-ation, the firing of the artillery commenced, and, from 8 to half-past 8, the entire of the French line in front was assailed by tlie Allied infantry; who, duly encouraged by their leaders, well primed with brandy, animated to the titmost with military music, and most formidably ])ioneered by the destructive discharges of their cannon and mortar batteries, "advanced," as described, "not like men, but devils," against the " infernal gulph" of the Fren<"h intrench- ments. The combat raged with great obstinacy, varied fortune, and a frightful carnage, particularly of trie Allies, until past 3 o'clock in the afternoon ; when the Marshal de Villars having been cariied off senseless from a wound received in repelling an attack towards the left; and the intrench men ts of the left and centre having been completely peneti-ated, so that those on the right, which were the last held, had to be evacuated ; the Marshal de Boutflers, after several gallant and effective cavalry- charges, made an excellent retreat towards Quesnoy and Valenciennes. The French ap])ear to have left behind them 14 or 15 pieces of their artillery as dismounted, with 29 colours or standards, but to have carried off" the rest of their 80 cannon, along with 32 Allied coloui-s and vstandards;* and they had 7837 slain, or hurt, besides, according to Millner, 13G9 irremovably wounded, or made prisoners; forming, so far, a loss of 9206 men. The Allied official list of slain or disabhid intautry, distinguishing the proportion of every nation, makes them 18,353; and a similarly minute list, by Milluei', of the casualties of the Allied cavalry, makes them 1963. By these accounts, there were killed and wounded, of British infantry and cavalry, but 21)40; of tliosc^ of the otiier Confederate nations, 18,276 ; of whom the Dutch, who siiir(ii'all : for the French arms cairy bullets of 24 to the pound : whereas our British firelocks carry ball of 16 only to the pound, which will make a considerable dillerence in the execution. Again, the manner of our tiring was different from theiis ; the French at that time tired all by ranks, which can never do equal execution with our plattoon-tiring, especially when ti plattoons are fired together. This is undoubtedly the best method that has yet been discovered for lighting a battalion ; especially when 2 battalions only engage each other." These remarks of the Captain are deserving of much attention, for more reasons than one; or Istly, as showing the sei-ious disadvantages, in point of-wea])ons and disci]iline, under which the French infantry, as contrasted with the British, labour d in Marl- borough's time, to wiiich disadvantages, no doubt, as well as others, so many defeats of the French were, in a very great degree, attribut- able;" and 2ndly, as demonstrating tliat, even if iht^ whole, instead of " The successes of the Allies, in tl;is liual war respecLiiig the Spamsb succes.sion, 268 HISTORY OF THE IKISH BRIGADES (as it will appear) merely a detachment from, the French Royal Regi- ment of Ireland, was really engaged with the British Royal Regiment of Ireland, still the meeting mentioned by the Captain should not be con- sidered as one upon anytliing like equal terms, since the corps which fired by 6 platoons or, ranks at once, opfjosed to a corps of which only 1 i-ank fii-ed at a time, may be legarded, as , having the advantage of 6 men or bullets to every 1 against it. Besides, even if the whole of both regiments had been arrayed there, the fight would not have been a fair one, unless it could likewise be shown, that there was no superiority of numbers in the British over the French Royal Regiment of Ireland. Tiiat the aflliir mentioned by Paiker was nothing more than one against a detached party or outpost of the French Royal Regiment of Ireland on the outskirt of a wood is made still more obvious, even without a])peal- ing to any French evidence, by the circumstance of Colonel Kane alad* Serjeant Millner, both in Parker's regiment, having each left a descrip- tion of the battle of JNIalplaquet, yet without either of them at all noticing the matter so dwelt upon by Pai'ker ; which is rather irreccmcilahle with an actual occuri'ence of what would have been such a remarkable feat, as tkeii' regiment having beaten the entire reg.inent of the like name ayid nation in the French army ! Neither have 1 found any allusion whatever to anything of the kind, in any contemjiorary British historian. But, according to the Freiich documents, the Fi-ench Royal Regiment of Ireland, or Dorrington's, was mainly engaged, not in such a mere out- j)ost affair at the wood as that last noticed, but in the hottest portion of the battle, under its Lieutenant-Colonel, ranking as Colonel, Brigadier Michael Roth, and a Kilkenny man, as well as Pai'ker , the Briga- dier, in the absence of the Colonel- Proprietor, Major-General William Dorrington in Germany, having commanded the regiment in Flanders, where he is s])eciall3' noticed, as having "combated with the greatest valour at Malplaquet." In connexion with the Regiment of Dorrington forming a portion of the Irish Brigade ea ytiast^e in repelling the English, I translate the following interesting passage in a letter to John O'Connell, Esq., from "Le Baron Cantillon de Ballyheigue," County of Kerry, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Hussars in France, and President of the Council of War at Paris, in 1843— a nobleman, the representative of the old Norman ov French race of the De Cantillons, so long established in Ireland, and still, or after the re-establishment of his branch of the name in France, honoui-ably cherishing recollections of the land, in which his ancestors wei-e so long eminent. "A celebrated ])ainter," writes the Baron from Paris, December 8th, 1843, to Mr. O'Connell, " has reproduced in a picture, which is at present my property, an historical subject, concerning my family and yours. It treats of my great-grandCatlier, who was likewi.se the uncle of Mary O'Connell, the wife ot Maurice, your grand-uncle. The subject is drawn from the Archives of the Minister of War at Paris. This picture represents Ca})tain James Cantillon, at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709, chai-ging, against Louis XIV., will not l>e wondered at by any reader of Voltaire's description, in his "Sit'cle de Louis XIV." chap, xviii., of the vast degeneracy in the military administration of Fi-ance, under C!hamillart. Indeed, if a reader combines, witli that powerful description, the pernicious jobbing connected with the carrying out of the Icing's decree of January 2,jth. 1701, respecting the levies for his infantry, the wonder will rather be, how the French cmild have made such a stand, as they f'iit, in the ensuing ccmtest. See the "History of the French Army," in Colburues Vfw Monthly Magazine for December, labi. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCS. 2G.5 at tlie head of the p-enadiers of the Irisli Regiment of Dovringtou, the En!,'li.sh troops, commanded by tlie Duke of Marlborough. The official documents explain the subject of it in this manner: — 'When the left of the French army, taken in Hank by the right wing of the enemy's army under the orders of the Duke of Marlborough, began to recoil, the Marechal de Villars brought up as quickly as possible the Irish Brigade, which was in the centre. It attacked with fury the English troops, whom it repulsed. Cantillon, at the head of the grenadiers of the liegimeut of Dorrington, (irst approached the enemy's line, exclaiming to his men — Forward, brave Irislnnen ! Long live King James III., and tJie King of France! He had his sword broken in the combat, and fell, covered with wounds, in the midst of the i-anks of the English infantry, after having killed, with his own hand, an officer, and several soldiers. There remained, after the charge, only 15 men of the company of Cantillon; the others were stretched di ad, or wouiidel, around their brave Ca])tain, whose glorious exainjile they had followed!' The painter," concludes the Baron, "has represented Cantillon, sword in hand, pointing out the eneniy''s troops to the Irish, and holding up his hat in his left hand, while exclaiming. Forward, brave Irislimen," ifec. Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, (or, in Jacobite lar)guage. King James III.,) highly signalized himself at Malplaquet, as the Chevalier de St. George. Though ill with a fever at Quesr)oy, he requested the Marshal de Villars, to let him know when the engagement was to take place, in order to be present at it; and, notwithstanding his illness, arriving by post as the action was commencing, he placed himself at the head of the famous Maisou du Roi, or Horse (iuards of Louis XIV., whose behaviour that day was, says the Marshal de Boufflers, '■'indeed beyond himian nature, and above all expression!" After an exposure to the cross-fire of 50 pieces of cannon for several hours, that fine corps gave or received so many as 12 charges; penetrated, sword in hand, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and even to the 4th line of the comparatively fresh Allied cavalry; and was only at last obliged to retire, through the combined strength of the Allied horse and foot, su[)ported by the tire from a flanking battery of 3U pieces of artillery. In the last of these chaiges, the I'rince re- ceived a sabre-wound on his right arm. "77/e Chevalier de St. George," writes the Marshal de Boufflers to Louis XIV., '■'■behaved himself, during tlie ivliole action, with all pussible bravery and vivacity!" * Aceordine to the contempoi-ary unjniblished Irish Jacobite historian, Plunkett — "The King of England was remarked for his valour and zeal, when st-veral ■pcrstriis were killed and wounded about him; and his subjects, the Irish Brigade, under his gallant countenance, exhibited uncommon bravery in 4 occasions." In the words of our native Jacobite song, "He ■wasi as fit to wear the Crown, As any %ohd;i in London town ; But of his right they cut him down, A iioljle Stuart born! '' f * The (Jefails respecting the very gallant conduct of the Maison dn Eoi, and the Prince at its head, are taken from the contemporary French and British authorities of the Marquis de Quincy, and the honest compiler of tlie Military History of Prince Eugeue of Savoy, and the Duke of Marlborough, in 4 volumes. t The song, of which the above is a fragment, and the air "of the right sort," continued to be simg about in Munster, till late in the last century. It bewail thus — "I wish that day would come to pass, With all the Catholics going to masal" 270 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES The arlvov.tnrons Peter Dfake of Drakeriitli, wlio fought most gal- lantly in the Chevalier de Jaiison's Compan}^ of Gendaniierie, ami was very severely vvomided, observes, in relating his arrival at Qiiesnoy 2 days after the l)attle, and his then going to the Prince's quarters there — "Being acquainted with one M^Carty, who was Master of his Wine- C(*llai-s, I got myself conducted thither, in hopes to get some comfortahle refresliment, which T stood much in need of. In this I succeeded, as well as I could wish. Mr. M'^Carty came to me, bi'ought me into the hall, went and brought me a silver cup of excellent wine, and some French bread; I drank some of the wine. Vmt could not touch the bread, though I was very hungry. He went and got me a jiorringer of good soup, with bread well soaked in it, which T sucked in as well as I could, and it was great comfort to me. At this time, General Sheldon came in, and being informed wlio I was, immediately called for one of* the Pretender's Surgeons, and ordered him, to examine and dress my wounds. . . . There came a good number of gentleman on horse- back to the door, belonging to the Pretender, and it was said, he was going to the camp; he soon came down, whicli was luck\' for me, for, as he was going by, he saw me, and General Sheldon told him, I was the gentleman that came from England, and had waited on him about a fort- night ago: he stopt a little, and looked towards me, and went off; in 2 or 3 minutes, one Captain fjooth, who belonged to the Duke of Berwick's Regiment, and was one of the Pretender's Aid-de-Camps, came to me, and gave me 20 French louis d'ors, amounting then to 400 livers; a strong and timely supply." The 3 leading English and Irish Jacobite prisoners, connected with the operations preceding this engagement, or the engagement itself, were Sheldon, acting as Brigadier, who was "taken near Bossu, doing his duty with valour, at the head of 400 horse ;" an Irish veteran of the War of the Revolutirm, belonging to the Regiment of Nugent, Matthew Cooke, Brigadier of Cavalry ; and the Lord Macguire,* Lieutenant- Colonel of the Regiment of Dillon, which corps, however, was yio< serving in Flanders. Tlie French state the killed and wounded officers of the 5 Irish Regiments of Foot thus — Lee's, 17 — O'Brien's, 9 — Dorrington's, 30 — O'Donnell's, 16 — Galmoy's, 11 — in all 83, or, with 2 of Dorrington's alone mentioned as taken, 85. Yet, of ca])tured officers of the Regiments of Doi-rington, Lee, Galmoy, and O'Donnell, I find 1 Aid-Major, 4 Cap- tains, and 7 Lieutenants in a Dutch lis^t of prisoners from the French, printed at the Hague. In this, I am able to make out the names of Condon, Cantillon, Mandeville, Walker, Comerfurd, Ryan, Fitz-Gerald, Murphy, O'Neill. A letter of September 13th, on the battle, from the cam):> at Ruesne, near Quesnoy, by M. de Contades of the Etat- Major, after observing, "all the infantry in general have done wonders," adds, " tjie Regiment of Navarre, Uiat of Royal Champagne, and the Irish have been very distinguished." I derive my knowledge of it from my venernhle mother, who heard it when a child. The italicized word '" irhi'lp," was a conteniptuoiis term, among the Jacobites, for Guelph, the faiiiily name of the House of Hanover. * "Of the MacLjnires," says the introduction to Dr. O'Donovan's edition of O'Dugan and O'Heerin, "the noble representatives of the title of Baron of Ennia- killeu M^ere officers in France, from the rei.;n of Louis XIV. to that of Louis XVL ; nnd dnrini,' tiie same period, gentlemen of that old sejit were to be found there ia tlie national Brigade, or the Regimenta of Lee, Dorrington, Dillon, O'Donnell, Fitz- Jam.es, Biilkeley, and Lally." IN THE PF.nVTOF, OF FUANCE, ^1 I The active operations of 1709 in Fhmdeis terniinaterl in October, with the i-eduction of Mons by tlie Allies, after a creditable defence of between 6 and 7 weeks. Its garrison, though neither nnmerons enough, nor sufficiently sup[>lied, for duly maintaining such a foi'trt'ss, killed or wounded above 2200 of the besiegers ; who, with tlieir fellow-suti'erers at Tournay, and Malplaquet, and, with those lost by minor \varf;ire, deser- tion, and disease, would nmount to consideral)]y more than *0,000, if not, as the French said, above 35,000 men ! Eather a dear price, in eit/ier case, for the successes of t/iis camjiaign ! Maubeuge, was the next post exposed to attack by the Allies, when the French, under the Duke of Berwick, jji'ovided against any further conquests, by the construction of an intrenched camp, where the 5 battalions of Lee, O'Brien, Dorring- ton, O'Donuell, Galmoy, with the 2 squadrons of Nugent, were stationed ; and Eugene and Marlborough, having gotten quite enough of fighting for this year, dismissed thfir tioops into winter-quarters. Of Irish, with the French forces in Spain, Rousillon, or Dauphine, in 1709, or Majoi'-General Walter Bourke, Lieutenatit-Genei'als Arthur Dillon, and Lord Galmoy, and the battalions of Bourke, Dillon, and Berwick ; and Irish in the service of Spain, or Brigadier Henry Crofton and his Regiment of Dragoons acting thei-e, and Count Daniel O'Mahony in Sicily ; the following are the principal circumstances recorded. May 7th, 1709, was fought the battle of the Guadinna, or La Gudina, near Badajos. between the S[>anish army of Estremadura, under King Philip V.'s General, the Marquis de Bay, and the Portuguese and ]>ritish, under the Marquis de Fronteira, and Queen Anne's Genei-al, the Huguenot Fail of Gal way. Tiie Allies, according to the Portuguese account, were 49 regin)ents of infantry and cavalry, against but 40 on the side of their Sj)anish o]>j)onents ; according to the London Gazette, No. 4538, about 17,000 foot and 5000 horse in very good order, and, by the reports from deserters, mucli superior in number to the enemy. The Spanish army were, by their published line of battle, but 24 battalions and 47 squadrons. The artillery of each party was stated as equal, or 20 piects of cannon. The Portuguese and English were defeated, with the loss, in every way, of about 4000 men, 17 cannon, 15 coloui-s or standards, as well as tents, and baggage; the Spaniards having had, it is alleged, only about 400 men, and 100 horses, killed or wounded. Of the British contingent, the Vjrigade of Pearce, consisting of the 2 English regiments of Barrymore and Stanwix, and a 3rd, or that of Galway, composed of recently-levied Cai-list S[)aniards, alter some resistance, were, owing to their total abandonment hy the Portuguese horse, com- pelled to surrenderee masse. The Allies had about 1700 men killed and wounded ; those captured were altogether about 2300 ; of whom the greater number, or 1500, were Queen Anne's troops, and the remainder, or 800, were Portuguese. The chief British (besides Portu- guese) officers, made prisimcrs, were Major-Genei-al James Barry, 4th Earl of Bairymore. and Nicholas Sankey; Brigadier-General Tl)omas Pearce; the 2nd Colonel of the Regiment of Galway, with Major Thomas Gordon of that corps; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Meredith of the Regiment of Colonel Thomas Stanwix, and Lord Henry Pawlet, Aide-de-Camp to the Eail of Galway ; the latter nobleman, (unfoitunate here as at Almai'za,) after having a horse shot under him, only escaping with ditRculty. The Allies were tlius disa])i)ointed in the calculation they liad made, of being able, through their superior numbers, to reduce 272 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Badrtjos, and liad the additional mortification to witness aljove 30 leaijfues of the Portuguese territory ])laced under contribution by the Marquis de Biv, wlio subsisted his army at the expense of his adver- saries, to the end of this campaign. In sliort, so genei'ally discreditable to the Confederates did tlieir intelligence from Portugal appear, that, savs a contemporary London annalist — "For my part, I think the stories, and excuses, sent us from thence, are as mean, and poor, as our fighting, and conduct, seem to be." At the victory, which led to such satisfactory results for Pliilip V., Brigadier Henry Crofton, with hi>i Regiment of Dragoons of 4 squadrons, was in the 1st line of the Spanish viglit wing of cavalry, by whose imp-tuous charge, upon their Portuguese opponents, it is stated, that " all the cavalry of the 2 lines of the enemy's left was, in less than half an hour, broken, overthrown, and put to flight." And Crofton is elsewhere specified, as having "performed wonders, in his capacity of Brigadier, at the head of his Regiment of Dragoons, in the famous battle of Guadinna." lie was created, December 1.5th following, a Mardchal de Camp, or Major-General, by Pliilip V. Elsewhere in the Penins\ila, the bi-ave Don Miguel Pons, STareclial de Camp, with 3 horse-i'egiments and 2 battalions, surprised, August 6th, near the river Noguera, about the bridge of Montannana, 6 regiments of Austro-Car- list infantry and cavalry so successfully, that he routed thein at the 1st volley, only 4 of his men being mentioned as killed, and some of his hor^es slain, or disabled ; while the enemy had about 700 men killed, wounded or taken, with their baggage, and G standards. One of the 2 Lattalicms, engaged, under the gallant Pons, in this well-ma jaged afi'air, was Dillon's. August 2Sth, 1709, Lientenant-General Arthur Dillon, attached to the Army of Dauphine under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, gave a sharp repulse to one of the enemy's Generals, at the head of a detach- ment estimated as superif)r in number, or 3000 foot and 200 horse. The Marshal Duke thus relates the affair. "General Rebender, desirous of pel forming some striking achievement, marched, for that purpose, from his camp al)(>ut Exilles, and traversed Mont-Genevre with the design of plachig under contribution the Val-Despres, and, more especially, the market-town of La Vachette, which was no more than half a league from Brianc^inn. M. Dillon, who commanded in these parts, perceiving that Rtil lender had descended from Mont-Genevre upon La Vachette, marched thither with 2 battalions and 6 comj)anies of grenadiers, whom he stationed liehind the town. As soon as the enemy, (after being arrayed for engaging,) appioached to assail a weak palisaded intrenchment that had been constructed there, M. Dillon sallied out upon them, fnmi the right and left of the town, and charged them with so much bravery, that he beat them ; killing 700 or 800 of them upon the spot, and making 400 prisonei-s. Rebender retired, as expeditiously as possible, towards Exilles, and did not show his nose any more, lor the rest of the campaign." Nevertheless, not long after this sharp re|)ulse, the hostile Governor of Exilles, with 3000 men, came down from a mountain, in sight of .the French guarding Briancjon, and twice retired, in order to entice them after him. Dillon, ex[)ecting the Governor would return a 3rd time, caused the mountaineers to intrench themselves so secretly, and supported them so well with infantry ambushed behind the moun- tain, that the enemy, on their reappearance, had 300 men slain, 70 taken, and the remainder put to the rout. In making his arrange- IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 273 merits for tins campaign, the Duke of Berwick had written from Grenoble, May 4th, to Louis XIV., resy)ecting Dillon — " His activity and his vigiLince cannot be surpassed; and your Majesty scarcely has an otficer more capable of serving you well." And, when the campaign was over, Lieutenant-General Comte de Medavi "rendered justice to the care which M. Dillon had taken, during the campaign, to place the intrenched camp and works in the enviions of Brian^ou in such a state of defence, that everything was in the best order there, for excluding the enemy from that leading ])ass into Dauphine; as well as facilitating the transmission, to other parts of the frontier, of detachments, able to resist such enterprises, as might be directed against them." In Sicily, in 1709, the deficiencies of its Spanish Viceroy, the Marquis do los Balbases, alluded to as "a poor creature," were so well compensated by the ability of Count O'Mahony's arrangements, with the native militia, and regular troops from Spain, for the defence of the island, that it had nothing to fear from invasion. " The Nea})olitans," says an Allied letter in June, " who are the chief promoters of it, and who used to represent it as a slight matter, to be undertaken with 3000 or 4000 men, and 6 ships, do now, when one comes to talk in detail of the execution, insist, that there should be 10,000 men sent, with a good battering train, aiid they all agree, that it will be necessary to besiege Messina, by sea and land. The enemies have, in the island, at least 4000 regulai- foot,, and 1500 horse, commanded by Mahoni, under the Viceroy, who is a ])Oor creature." The naval strength of the English and the Dutch this year in the Mediterranean was such, that they took very considerable prizes; and these advantages led, as might be expected, to an attempt in the direction of Sicily, though not with such a result as its contrivers would have wished. For, alleges my account from " Madrid, July 3()th," on the authority of a courier expressly despatched fi'om Sicily, "a squadron of English vessels appeared off the coasts of the kingdom, from which 2 landings were effected; one between Trapani and Castellamare, and the other near Melazzo. But the Sicilians, sustained by some veteran corps of Spanish troops, received their enemies with such vigour, that they were forced to re-embark with ])recipitation, after having lost about 600 men, including those who were drowned, ere they could I'egain their shipjnng." These unsuccessful landings in Sicily seem to have been predatory attempts, from the Neapolitan territory, through the maritime aid of the English, to retaliate the successful hostile visits from Sicily, the year before, to the Bay, &c., of Naples. On the side of Germany, in 1709, the Allies under the Elector of Hanover, had formed a design, the accomplishment of which, b}' rendering them masters of Franche-Comte and Lorrain, by cutting off all com- munication between France and Alsace, and by other results, would have been a very severe, if not a fatal, blow to Louis. But, by a defeat of the Impei-ial General, Count de Mercy, at Rumersheim, the contemplated design was lendered impracticable, and the Elector of Hanover was prevented undertaking anything further; the French army under tlie Marshal d'Harcourt recovering Hagembach, encamping on the gromid ■where the Germans had pi-eviou.sly ])osted themselves, and levying con- tributions in Baden, and all the country about Landau. In the list of the Marshal d'Harcourt's Lieutenant- Generals were Lee and Dorrington ; but neither accompanied by any Ii'ish troo])8, nor having been so situated, during the campaign, as to gain any particular distinction. T 274 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII Bnir.ADES Amonn; the Gencn-al Oflicers serving umler tlie I\Tarsliiil dc^ Villara, in Flmidcrs. in 1710, were IMajor-General Micliael Roth, Brigadiers Wurrongli O'Brien ami Christopher Nugent; and there were, in the T'larshal's army, the 5 Irish battalions of Lee, Dorrington, O'Brien, Oahnoy, O'Donnell, and the 2 squadrons (or cavalry regiment) of Nugent. The Allies, under Eugene and JNlarlborough, though baulked in tlieir leading object of investing Arras, yet were so superior in strength to the French, as to hold them in check during this campaign, and reduce Douay, Bethune, St. Tenant, and Aire; those 4 sieges, however, costing the Confederates, l)y their own admission, ui)wards of 19,200 men, killed and wounded ; but far more, according to the French.'" In the very able defence of Btithun;-', which, says an Allied writer, "held out much longer tlian any liodv expected, and longer than any )»lace of the .same foi-ce was ever held befoi-e," — the loss of the Allies in taking it having been abo\'^ ?>.'5G0 men, killed and wounded — the Governor, Lienlenant-General "Vanban, a worthy nephew of the great engineer, had. as next-in-eonimand, (H- jMaieehal de C.imp, the Kilkenny veteran, Michael lloth. And, remarks niv French contemporai-y histoi-ian, — " M. de Vanban was use- fully seconded by M. Illiot, Marechal de Camp, who availed himself of tiie opportunity of frequently signalizing his zeal for the service (jf the King his capacity for, and his great devotion to, the military ])rofession, and of giving similar ])roofs of valour to those he iiad manifested in xiumei'ous eiu-ounter.s." Another French authority states of lioth at Bethune — "Commanding under }onrl)on an Trone d'Espagne, puUhshed at Paris in 177-. But the C'hcvalier de Bellerive, as a "tenioin oculaire " in this iinpoiumt cam[)aigu under Vendome, is most satisfactory, from the justice be does to the Irish. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 27.7 tinu.illy narrowed the quarters, diminished the subsistence, and cut off ihe detachments, of the detested invaders, till they had to abandon Madrid, in despair, for Catahmia. The Kin.ij, and the ,Diike, entering that capital in triumph, December 3rd, quitted it, on the 6th, to pursue the retreating enemy ; whose van, or main body, the more advanced upon the retreat under the Count ile Stahremherg, was considerably separated from the rear under Lieutenant-Geneial Stanhope, owing to the difficulty of subsisting such numliers together, in a devastated country. Stanhope had 7 battalions, and 8 sfpiadrons, all Eni^dish b\it 1 Portuguese battalion, and making about 5500 men. The King, and the Duke, coming by surprise upon Stanhope, the 8th, at Brihuega, breached, and entered it, tlie 9th, and compelled the Englishnian, after a brave resistance, in which he spent nearly all his ammunition, and lost about 600 men, to surrender, with the rest, in the evening, as yn-isoners of war; even while Stahremberg's 9 signal-guns, from Can)po de las Vinnas, announced his encampment for the night there, or but 2 leagues off, on his approach to the rescue ! The 2 armies— Stahremberg's experienced tioops, about 12,500, Vendome's in great part new levies, about 17.(^00, and the artillery on each side equal, or 22 pieces. — met, on the 10th, at Villa- viciosa, and, from about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, manoeuvi-ed, cannon- aded, or more closely and decisively engaged, until about 6 in the evening, when the conflict terminated, amidst the darkness of December. After acting in every way worthy of his designation as "a 2ik1 Eugene," and being so vigorously sustained by his veteran forces that they are stated to have "performed such actions as might almost pass for supernatural," Stahremberg was defeated, with the lo.ss of several thousands killed or taken there, all his artillery, so many colours and standards, as, with those captured at Brihuega, made 68, his own equipage, his militaiy chest, containing 30,000 doubloons, (each worth 15 livres, 5 sols, French money,) a quantity of muskets, hoi-ses, mules, &c. ; and was subsequently ])ursaed through Arngon into Catalonia, suffering so much en route, that he reached Barcelona, in January, 1711. with only from 4000 to 5000 men. The successes of Briiiuega and Villaviciosa are alleged to have cost King Philip but between 200<) and 3000 men, killed or wounded; while the Allies, by their advance to Madrid, are repoi-ted to have lost, in addition to their slain, ere the close of December, above 11,250 men, as prisoners of war. From the battle of Saragossa, to the termination of this very imyior- tant and glorious cami)aign — which was a mortal wound to the cause of the Allies, and their Austrian candilate for royalty in the Peninsula, — the Irish proved themselves "good men and true" to King Philip V. In the operations that led to the recovery of Madrid, Count O'Mahony was active at the head of the dragoons of the royal army, includ- ing the Irish regiment recently Crofton's, but transferred to David Sarsfield, 5th Lord Viscount Kilmallock, Governor of Badajos, and brother, and successor in the title, to the Lord Dominick, previously noticed in this history. On the left wing at Villaviciosa under Vendome, the Maison du Roy, or King's Horse Guards, and the dragoons, were, as at Saragossa, with the Count, who flanked the right of the enemy, umou which were the Archduke's Guards. And the Count had a terrible contest to maintain against Stahremberg, who fought theie, with a square body of above (iOOO of his choicest German infantry, supported by cavalry and artillery. lu fact, the battle was iu Stahremberg's 278 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES favour, there, and in tlie centre, until he w;is finally taken in the rear, with a reserve of 15 squadrons of Kin-j; Philip's cavalry, under the Mai> qnis de Val-de-Canas, and Count O'Mahony. " M. de Vendonie," writes Kint? Philip the day after the action, "seeing that our centre gave ground, and that our left of cavalry did not make an impression upon the right," i. e., of Stahremberg, "believed it was necessary to tliink of retiring towards Torrija, and gave the order for that purpose; but, as we Avere going tliere with a consiilcraljle poi-tion of the troops, we were informed, tliat the Marquis de Val-de-Caiias, and INIahoni, had chargeil the enemy's infantry with the cavalry which they liad umler their orders, and had" handled it very roughly. . . . Which caused us imme- diately to adopt tlie resolution of marcliing back, with the rest of tiie ai-iiiy" — that is, tlie rest, except the 15 squadrons under Val-de-Canns, and O'Mahony, and also except the right wing under the King himself;* •which wing alone had fought successfully, but, as is evident, sliuu'd liave retired, as well as the rest, if tlie enemy were victorious in the other 2 portions of the battle, as the King shows they vj^nihl. have been, from the order given to retreat, even by such an experienced commander as "Vendome; and which order was actually in jn-ocess of execution, till the cause fur counteiniandiiig it. alfnrded by the conduct of the 15 squadron.s, under Val-de-C'anas, ami O'Mahony. Indeed, it was only to the inter- vention of a night, the more obscure IVom a great mist, to a want of f?ome artillery by O'Malnniy, and to liis pursuing dragoon-lim-ses being exhausted, without any forage for them, that even Stahremlierg himself and tlie troops he still i-i-tained about him, would seem to have l)een indebted, through a stratagem on his part, for escaping at all ! Ere the night " had entirely set in," says my li'rencli authority, "the brave Comte de Malioiii, having no caniiDn ti) tire upon those troo])S, invested tliem on one side, and then seait a drnnimcr to M. de Stai-emberg. to summon hiin to surrender. This General, who had gotten into very advantageous ground with what remained of his infantry and the frag- iiunfs ..t several regiments who had retired thither, having [lerceived liciw the advantage of this position, the ni^lit, and a very thick fog would !•( aider it the mole easy lor him to eti'ect an honourable retreat, kept the cIinniMier with him until the following day, and exerted his ntmosfc jKissilh^ speed, all that night, to leave the held behind him, by making oft' in the direction of Oifuentes." Nevertheles.s, the Irish officer i^nter- Ce])ted 700 of the; enemy's most valuably-loaded mule.-;, I'eferred to by a British histf>rian, in noting how " M. Malioni took some hundred mules, laden with all the ])lunder of Castile !" It is added elsewhere of him — ■ *' The Comte de Mahoni acquired a great deal of glory on the battle-day of Villaviciosa, at the head of the dragdons. The King was so satisfied with him, that he conferred upon him a Commandership of the Order of St. Jacques," i. e., Jago, " producing a rent of 15,()t)0 livres." Of Major- General Henry Crotton, in this engagement, and at Brihuega, it is Stated, that "he was very much distinguished in the 2 actions, where he did every thing that could be expected from so valiant a man ; lie charged, with an incrediiile ardour, the English and the Germans." Of the 3 Irish infantry Regiments of Mac Donnell, Mac Aulitfe, and Conier- Ibrd. it is observed — "The Sieurs de Magdonel, Makaoli, Coinbefort, Colonels of the Brigade of Irish Infantry of Castelar, each acted at the Lead of his battalion with a great deal of courage and conduct, as they liatl already done at Saiagussa." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 279 The Chevalier de Bellerive sup|)lies these particulars, with respect to Lord Kilmallock's Regiment of Dragoons, his Lordship's death, and that of the Maiquis d'Albeville, (son of King James II. 's Ambassador ia Holhind,) the Chevalier O'Healy, itc. When the 2 armies were so near, (or within cai'ahine-shot) that almost every movement of each was perce[(tible, " M. de Starembeig cansed to be bionght to his right wing, a battery commanded by an officer wearing a red mantle, and mounted upon a white hf)rse, who let fly from the van into the Regiment of Irish Dragoons of Mylord Kilmaloc, which was upon our left, and which nearly closed it n|). This regiment was not long without feelin-' the fire of that battery; the 1st ball killing a horse, and then 2 dragoons. Mv- lord Kilmaloc, its Colonel, being struck by a cannon-shot, 1 of his sons cansed him to be carried to the reaj' of the regiment. The father, tixing his eyes upon him, said to him, — 'My dear son, let uie at least ex[)ire within your arms, since I have so short a time to live.' — ' Father,' he replied to liini, ' it is necessary for me to go, where my duty, and the service of Philip V., summon me.'— 'What ! my dear son, you i-efuse ni« that consolation, and you abandon m>% at the hour of my death !' — ' My dear fatliei", I iro to a\ei)''e it. or to iind my own, with the reariment !' — The camion-shot fell tliei'C like hail; the enemy themselves wei-e sur- ]>rised to see men so firm, as innnoveable and insensible to the terrible discharges of tiieir artillery, and they knew by that what was the courage and the intrepidity of those brave dragoons. . . . Altiiough this regiment had lieen vei-y niucii weakened during the cannonade from the I'ight wing of M. de tStaremberg, it did not ce;ise to charge the enemy's troo])s with such an impetuous ardour, that they could not resist it. The Lieutenant-Colonel of this regiment x'cceived a musket- shot through his body while charging the enemy, and the ^Marquis d'Ableville, 1 of its brave Captains, sabre in hand, lost his life there, all covered wi'.h wounds, after having won admiration by many brave and intrepid actions. The Chevalier de Heli. Captain in the same regiuient, di.sliiiguished himself in it, having had 2 horses killed under him by the eneiny's cannon ; and his brother, a Cadet in his company, was slain there." Their Colonel, Lord Kilmallock, is described to have been 1 of those officers, whose rare merit, and sincei-e devotion to the service of King Philip, caused their deaths to be very much regretted by his Cat!)olic Majesty, who testified his sensibility, on that account, to their relatives. Uf the old Milesian name of O'Callaghan — which has been successively connected with i-oyalty, chiefdom, and nobility, at home, and represented by several officers in the service of France, as well as Spain, abroad, but most distinguished in that of Great Britain and Ireland — • my gallant authority, last cited, in alluding to the conduct of the Spanish cavalry Regiment of Milan, and its Colonel, at Yillaviciosa, observes — • "The Sienr Ockalagan, being, for the 3rd time, in the thick of the light, where he defended the .standards of Milan with a proud intrepidity, received a sword-thrn.st through his body, and many wounds, by which he was, for some time disfigured." * The Majoi", Iikevvi.se, of the very * Of O'Callaghans in the service of Spain, besides the valiant Colonel of the Eegiiiient of Milan, wouiuled at Villa viciosa, tliere were various suhoidiuate orticers. In I'nuice, several O'L'alhxuhaiis were Captains in the lleuinients of Dillon, of Dor- riiigtoii or Ivoth, of U'Brien or Clare, and of Fitz-Janies. Tlie chief modern military representative of the (J'Callaijhaiis, referred to as in the service of Great Briraiu and lieiaiid, was of the titled or "Lisuiore' branch, Lieuteuaut-General the Honour 280 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES fine Spanish cavalry Eegiinent of Viillejo, "an Irisliman by nation, rendered liiuiself remarkable by his coni-age at Villaviciosa. where he received a mnsket-shot in the arm, while cliaraign, by capturing, after- a shoi-t resistance, at the Castle of Iliuera, (or Illuesca) a Spanish Lieutenant-General, " who had gone over to the ]ra.rty of the Archduke," and the detachment which tliat Lieutenant- General had with him in the Castle — '-consisting," acconling to the Marquis de Quincy, "of 6G() men, among whom there were 150 reformed officers, wlio had lost their companies, either in the battle of Villa- viciosa, or in the retreat of the Comte Staremberg." At Saragossa, too, ■which was entered by King Philip's troops on tlie night of December 31st, 1710, an Irish officer ended "this wonderful year" well. Th% dismounted .dragoons of the royal foi-ce were oi-dered to oecupy the Castle of the Inquisition, in which, as containing a considerable magazine that could not be removed, Stahremberg, on i-etiring, had left several thousand pounds of powder; with a train lighted, so as to blow up the building, and all who might enter it. "And," to use the words of the account, " the match, which was in a very forward state, would have effected its purpose, but for the precaution of an Irish Lieutenant-Colonel, ■who had been despatched there to command those dragoons, and who, having soon detected this stratagem, rendered it useless." The Irish, in King Philip's army, were increased, after the victory of Villaviciosa, by rumbei's of their countiymen, who, as having been made prisoners, and being Catholics, agreed to pjass into his service. Such were the very- remarkable and most decisive results of the contest of 1710, in the Peninsula; by which, after having been a defeated fugitive, driven from his ca'pital, Philip V. found himself, writes Lord Macaulay, '■'■much safer at Madrid than his grandfather at Paris" and " all hope of conquering Spain, in Spain, was at an end ! " The Wliig Cabinet in England, by its impolitic pi-osecution of the High-Church Doctor Sacheverell, in 1710, having elevated him to an importance in public opinion, which led to the eventual downfal of that Cabinet, and |)roportionately raised the hopes of the Stuarts and their friends at home and abroad, it was suggested to Louis XIV., that there could not be a more favoiirable op|)oi-tunity for another expedition by King James to Scotland, to recover his dominions, even with no larger force to accompany him, than the Ii-ish troops in France. Tiie Stuart Memorial to Louis's Minister, the Marquis de Torcy, dated August 29th, having noted of the attempt on Scotland in 1708, "tliat both friends and enemies acknowledged, that, if his Britannic Majesty had lamled, Uteri, all Scotland VMidd have declared for him, the Bank of England, vmuld have been shut vp, and consequently/ the Gover-nment of England overturned, and tJie League dissolved" against France, i-emarks — "If his Most Christian Majesty will find this expedition of importance enough to con- sider it as a capital object; in that case, money, arms, and ammunition, as well as ships and troops, will be found, without any difficulty; and he able Sir Robert William O'Callagban, G.C.B., boi-n in October, 1777, deceased in June, 1840, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Scotland and India, 46 years in the army, and s[)ecially decorated for his bravery, during the war against Napoleon J., at tiie battles of Maida, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, aud Orthez. 1 am of a totally diil'ereut or Uldler race of that name. IN THR SERVICE OF FRANCE. 281 •will likewisn find sea-oflicers, who will nndei-talce it, and who, with God's assistance, will accomplish it. . . . His Britannic Majesty, considering how ditficult it would be to transport a greater nmnher, h;is limited his demand to tJie Irish troops, his oioii subjects ; who, at the end of the campaign, will be scaiTe 3000 effective men. What absolutely determines his Majesty to ask the Irish is, that they speak the same language, and are accustomed to the hardy manner of living of the country; and that, of each Irish regiment 2 or 3 may be formed, by incor))orating with them the new levies of the counti-y ; besides, that it vnll be impossible to A'p^.p tJie Irish in France, after the]/ knoio that the King is landed in Scotland. . . . The port of Dunku'k has its advantages for the embarkation, on account of the neighbourhood of the troo[>H, and the shortness of the passage. But the secret can never be kept: for every thing that is done there is known the next day at Ostend; and, when once the English and the Dutch have discovered the design, they will be always in a condition to thwart it. It appears then, that Brest woidd be more suitable, because the enemies could not easily hinder the vessels from sailing from that port, as V)as seen by experience, during the war in Ireland. In case the preference is given to that port, the Irish troops should be put into wintei'-quarters in the neigh- bouring pi-ovinces. It might be likewise examined, whether Portpassage, near Fontai-abia, was fit for endjarkation. In thnt case, the Irish regi- inents might be sent to that quarter, as if they were to go to serve in Spain; and his Britannic IMajesty might i-epair thither, under the same pretext; and his removing, at a distance from his kingdoms, would con- ceal the design. In case the troops embark at Brest, or at Portriassage, they may land any where on the west coast of Scotland, from Kirkcud- bright to the mouth of the river Clyde. . . . The squadron, sailing fi-om Bi-est or from Portpassage, may steer their course thi'ough St. George's Channel, or round the west of Ireland ; the 1st is the shortest course; but is esteemed the most dangerous. Yet the English merchant- ships daily pass thi-ough that Channel, at all seasons. In sailing along the coast of Ireland, some Irish officers ma.y he landed, with arms, ckc, in order to put the inhabitants in a condition to rise. ... It may be added, that tlie Catliolics, who are at least & to \ Protestant, are reduced to such despair, by the last persecution of the English Goveryi- ment, that they are more disposed titan ever to hazard aU, and to undertake every thing, in ordsr to free themselves from the oppression they suffer!''* The proposed expedition, however, did not take place; it appearing better in France, on maturer consideration, not to interrupt, by the " disturbing force" of such an enterprise, the favourable consequences to be expected from the numerous jtoiitico-religious gatherings of Doctor Sacheverell's High-Church followers, with "white ribbons in their hats," &c., when, after that damaging termination of his trial for the Whigs, which led to their ejection from power, "he made a triumphal j^rogress * The editor of the collection of native Irish or Gaelic Jacobite songs, entitled "The Poets and Poetry of Man ster," likewise notes, on "the frequent allusions to France and Spain throughout these popular songs," how, in consequence of the various tyrannical enactments of the Penal Code in Ireland, "the old Irish longed for an appeal to arms, and earnestly desired the co-o])eration of their expatiiated kinsman, whose mihtary acliievements, in foreign countries, had won the admiration of Europe." 282 nisTORY OF the irish brigades throngli England; and was received in college-halls, townlialls, anrl private mansions, with the ])om}) of a Sovereign, and the revereiice of a Saint." The Marshal de Villars, as a Frenchman and a Jacobite, spoke in " ia])tnres" of the Doctor's "monster meetings." (to use a more modern designation) sagacionsly terming those assemblages, "tmr ])e(iple." For the dissolution of the Wliig Parliament, and the ensuing elections, that were owing to those " monster meetings," established in oiKce the Tories, or that party which was as favourable to peace, instead of war, ■with France, as it was attached to the House of Stuart, in preference to the House of Hanover. " Although the Whigs left no stone unturned to ]>romote their interest," says the contemporary Scotch Jacobite loyalist, and T])osed, in Fhmders, under the Marshal de Villars, to the Dnke'of Marlborough ; and the battalion oi Dillon, that of Bourke, and the 2 l>attalious of Berwick, witli jjieutenant-Geneial Arthur Dillon und Major-General Walter Bi;iu .e, were attached to the army of Dau- pliine, op];osed, under the Mars'. al Duke of Berwick, to the Duke of Savoy. But, in the published accounts of the general of)eratioi)S of either Marshal, no fuller notice occurs of any immediate connexion of the Irish with such operations, than has been ])revio\isly given in my biogra])hies of the Colonels oi the Irish legiments. In the sketch of the military career of Murrough O'Bi-ien, an allusion has been made to an excellent manceuvre of liis at Pallue, througli which, after the passing of Villars's lines ir. August, by Marlborough, tiie important city ot Cam- bray was covered, or saved, "until Villais came up with his u hole army, and foiced Marlborough to confine his o))eratii)ns to tiie siege of the small town of Bouchain," the reduction of which was his Last achieve- ment. In Spain, Count Daniel O'Mahony was engaged in the move- ments by which Phili)) V.'s forces, in February, narrowed the enemy's t(;rritory in Catalonia by 2-3rds ; and the Count continued to act, during tliat campaign, under the Duke of Vendome. In 'lai'cli, Major-General ITenry Crofton, beating the famous miquejet leader, Chover, out of several mountain-passes, in the Viguej-ie of C'ervera, occupied Solsona, where that chief had his quarters, aiul likewi.se se'zecl upon the advan- Uigeous post of Ingualada. There, during liis stay, Crofton brought in quantities of provisions from the surrounding country, notwithstanding the constant opposition of the armed inhabitants ; and, tinaliy, when a force of regular and irregular troops, to which his was but a handful, vve)-e despatched by Stahremberg to surprise him, he baffled the design, and effected a judicious retreat, in spite o such a su])erior enemy.* From the scarcity of provisions on the side o. Vendome, and the delay ill the aiiival of reinforcements to Stahrembeig, this campaign was jiassed merely in irregular warfare, mutual cannonading, and attacks on some ])laces, such as Vensi.sque, Castel-Leon, Tortosa and Cardnna, with re.'-»dts mostly in favour of Vendcune. In these occurrences, the Irish, of course, had their share ; though those of their nation (except O'Mahony and Crofton as above-mentioned) are only referred to in tiie account of the wintei-quarters, as "the Brigade of the Irish at Tervel," or rather "Teruel," enumerated of old among the conquests of the Cid. By the close of 1711, and tiie eailier j)ortion of 1712. the Toiy, or Jacobite Cabinet in England — partly anxious to terminate a contest with * Crofton (with whom tliis is our final nipetin'^ on active military duty) died a Lifliiteiiaut-General in Spain in 1722, to the last a Jacobite loyalist ; and, as such, considered "a i^reat loss, ' particularly by liis couutryiiiaii, the Duke of Onnomle, in the various measiu-es with ■which tliat ex. led iioblemaii was occupied abr.iad, to brini;- "the auld Stuarts back aifain.' JJeuteiiaiit-tieneral (jroftou Ici'c, as bis hejr, James Talbot, an Irish (JatlidHc ifentleman, n;uch (liHliiiQ;uisheain owes her safety, and the i-ost Catholic King his Crown. The King of Spain ordered his corpse to be interred in the Monastery of the Escurial ; for, as he revered him living, he was desirous of .'ihfivvnig the utmost regard to his memory, after his death." The Irish might justly 1)0 proud of this renowned Commander's high estimation and repeated eulogies of them, as soldiers. S8G HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES assistance, — maintained the contest apjainst Philip V. in Catalnnia nmler h' fa h rem berg; who, in adilitiou to liis other enterprises, bh)cked up Gii'ona so ch)sely, tliat he calculated on famishing it into a surrender. J n the irregular warfare of this campaigT>, the name of an Irish officer, Avho attaineil to high diplomatic as well as military rank, or Sir Patrick Jjiwless, occurs under the disguise of Don Patricio Laules. . His grand- father, Richard Lawless, Esq., of Kilkenny, in 1648, or during the great ci\il war under King Charles I., was Procurator of the Supreme Couticil of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. His father was Walter LawKss, Esq , of Talbot' s-Inch, near Kilkenny, and High-Sheriff of the County; his mother, Anne Bryan, sister of James Bryan of Jenkinstown in that County, Alderman, and Member for the city of Kilkenny in King James II.'s Parliament of 1689. Patrick entered the national army under that Monai-ch, and attained, in the war against the Revolutionists, the rani*' of Major, when he was taken ])risoner at the battle of Aughrim, in July, 16'.)1. After the Treaty of Limerick, he followed King James II. into France, became Gentleman of the Bedchamber there to Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, (or, in Jacoloite language, King Jauies III.,) l)y Avhom he was selected as his Envoy to Phiii|) V. He was appninted iiy Philip to the command of his Irish Guard with rank as Colonel, (in which capacit}'', he was intrusted with the custody and conveyance of the I^iarqnis de Leganez to Pampeluna in 1705, and of the Duke of JMediiia- Celi to Segovia in 1710,) was also created a Knight (jf the Military Order of St. Jago, and a Camp-Marshal or Major-Geueral. Acting as Commandant (tins campaign of 1712) at Benavarri, 800 miquelets occu])ied Venasque. in order to surprise him. But, instead of their surprising him at Benavai-ri, he surprised them at Venasque. They wei'e beaten, in great disurd(>r, out of the town, and chased into tlie mountains; upwards of 400 of tliem beiiig slain, others made prisoners, and iriost of their horses, aliandorjed liy them in their flight, being captured. In 1713-14, after the peace of Utrecht, Sir Patrick Lawless was Auibassai'or from Philip V. to Queen Anne, and was, at the same time, deputed by her brother, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, as his representative to /ler, in oider to make an arrangement with her Majesty, for a continuation, after her decease, of the Crowns of Great Britain and Ireland in her family, or the Stuart dynasty, as represented by the Prince, instead of permitting those Crowns to be transferred, on revolutionary principles, to the House of Hanover. The reception of Sir Patrick Lawless in state, at the Englisii Court, as the Spanish Ambassadoi-, and his admission to the most confidential or private inter- course with the Queen, as the agent for her brother, * e.xcited great * liaron de Schutz, the Hanoverian Envcy in London, wrltiiio; to Hanover, "Feliruary Gth, 1714," how, "the Queen was in a dangerous situation," adds, that "Sir Patricia Lawless saw her Majest_y last night, having returned from her about miihiight," &c. And, complains a con temporary Georgeite annalist — "The Preten- der's Envoy. Sir Patrick Lawless, was ])ul)lickly entertain'd at (Jourt, while the Electors," or Hanoveiian, "Minister was disgrac'd, for demanding a Writ, that the "Electoi-al Prince might come, and take his place in the House of Lords." Or rather "might come," to be, m hunting phraseology, "in at the death" of the poor Queen. Dr. de Bargo, in his valuahL Hihernia Doininicana, makes a useful refer- ence to Sir Patrick Lawless, as well as to other ennnent Irish e.xiles of the same century, serving on the Continent. With tJint reference to Sir Patrick, 1 have con- nected the sulistance of the several coutemporary allusions to him lu British and Contiueutal publicatious. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 287 exasperation, and proportionable clamour, outside and inside Parliainent, among tlie Whigs, previous to the Queen's death. And this vifilcnt Whig feeling continued after the accession of the Elector of Hanover as George I., or in 1715, when " receiving Patrick Lawless, an Irish Papist, as a Foreiirn Minister, and causing several sums of money to lie jiaid to him," was 1 of the Articles of Imjieachment against the Earl of Oxford, as head of the Queen's Mirnstry. Sir Patrick Lawless was subsequently Ambassador to France from Spain, where he likewise attained the rank of Lieutenant-General, and was Governor of the Island of Maj .rc-a,. The Dnke of Berwick — in whose army were the 2 battalio'.is of bis own regiment, and the battalions of Dilhrn and Bourke— terminated, in October, 1712, a campaign of successful manoeuvres against the Pied- niontese and Imperialists. At its conclusion, he and his regiment were deprived by death of a very gallant officer, Daniel O'Carroll, previously mentioned as so distinguished under the Duke of Vendome in Italy. O'Carroll came to France with the Irish troops of King James's army, that arrived there after the Treaty of Limerick, in 1691, and served thenceforward, with the national corps to which he was attached, in all its campaigns on the Continent till the Peace of Pyswick in IG'.)7, when he was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Dismounted Dragoons. He was ajtpointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick, May 4th, 1698. Employed with the French army of Italy in 1701. he was at the combats of Carpi and Chiari ; in 1702, at the battle of Lnzzaia, and reduction of Borgoforte ; in 1703, at the affairs of Stra- della, Castel-Nova-de-Bormida, with the force that invaded the Trentin, and at the sieges of Nngo and Arco; in 1704 and 170-3, he was engaged at the sieges of Vercelli, Ivrea, Verrua, Chivasso, and August 16th, of the latter year, at the memorable battle of Cassano ; tor his very creditable conduct on wdiich occasion, he was m.ade, on the 30th of the same month, a Brigadier. He was present at the unfortunate siege and battle of Turin in 1706. Removed to Spain, he .served there at the victory of Almanza, and capture of Lerida in 1707; and at that of Tortosa in 1708. From 1710 to 1712, he was attached to the army of Dauphine, where he ended his honouralde career with the last-mentioned cam[)aign; being still Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of Bervvick. After the close of ho.stilities tor the season between the Duke of Berwick and his Piedmon- tese and Imperial opponents, the Duke was ordered to raise Stahrember-g's blockade of Girona ; which he ably did "in the nick of time," just when the place could hold out no longer, or early in January, 1713; Stahrem- berg being obliged to retire preci])itately from before the town, leaving iu his intrenchments several cannon, with much provisions, tools, &c. Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, despatched, by the Duke, with some grenadiers and a good body of horse, to fall, if possible, upon the enemy's rear, ])ieked up several stragglers as prisoners; and then attacking, at a defile, 250 men, ]iosted there to favour the retreat of their army towards Ostalric or Hostalric, he killed, captured, or put to flight, the whole detachment, and i^ejuined the Dnke. A French biograjdier of the Duke, terming this relief of Gii'ona, "an enterprise wdiich had a[)))pared the more difficult, as Count Staremberg had taken all possible precaution to render impracticable the avenues of a town which he expected to reduce by famine," adds — " But all these obstacles, and all the difficulties which arose from the situation of the place, and the rigorous season of the year, were surmounted by Marshal Berwick; who, by saving a town of so great 288 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES importance, did as signal a service, as lie ever rendered, to the King of Spain, or the King of France." Having duly provisioned, garrisoned, and ammunitioned Girona, the Duke "set out from Catalonia, and came ])ost to Versailles, where he arrived on the 5th of Februaiy, and was received by the King, and the whole Court, with deserved esteem, and applause." The last affair of arms in this war between Spain and Portugal occurred in the campaign of 171:^, under circumstances so creditable to an Irish othcer as to deserve notice here, though that gentleman was not in the Irish Brigade. Notwithstanding the negociations for peace at Utrecht, no truce having taken place by September between the 2 Peninsular kingdoms, the Marquis de Bay, (styled " the scourge of the Portuguese,') appeared, on the 28th, with nearly 20,000 men before Campo Mayor in Poi'tugal, and broke ground, October 4th-5th; the plac^ being then in anything but a condition to make a suitable resistance. As, however, it was of the utmost consequence to preserve it, tlie Count de Ribeira, and a gallant French Protestant engineer officer, Brigadier de Masse, contrived, a day or 2 after, to make their way into the town with 200 or 300 Portuguese grenadiers, and 400 or 500 more Portuguese subsequently succeeded in doing so likewise, under an Irish officer, Major-General Hogan — apparently the same " M. Hogan, Irlandois," Lieutenant-Colonel in the Bavarian Guards, tried by Court Martial in 1706 at Mons, for killing a Captain and countryman of liis own in a duel,* and hence, most probably, obliged to enter another service. Having assumed the command of the garrison, the Major-General took due measures for the defence. After battering and bombing the place from October 14th with 33 cannon or mortars, the Marquis de Bay ordered a grand assault to be made on the 27th, in the morning, by 15 battalions, 32 companies of grenadiers, and a reginient of dismounted dragoons, under Lieutenant-General Zuniga. "By the help of a ])io- digious fire from their cannon and small arms," observes my English narrative of the " Compleat History of Euiope" for 1712, witli respect to the enemy, " they made a descent into a part of the ditcli tliat waa dry, and gave 3 assaults with a great deal of fury; but tliey were as bravely repulsed by the Portuguese under Major-General Hogan, and iorced to retire after an obstinate fight th;it lasted 2 hours, though the breach was very ])racticable, and so wide, that 30 men might stand aV)reast in it. Their disorder was so great, that they left most of their arms and 6 ladders behind. This action cost them 700 men killed and wounded, whereas the Portuguese loss did not amount to above 100 men killed, and 187 wounded; and such was their ardour, that they ])ursued the enemy into their very trenches without any manner of order, not- withstanding the endeavours used by Major-General Hogan to put a stop to them, whicl) might have proved very tatal to them, if the enemy had had courage to improve the opportunity." The Spaniards next day • Maffei's Memoirs. The O'Hoqans were a sept located aliout Ballyhogan, County of Tipperary ; and the name was respectable in the County of Clare, &c. During the War of the Revolutiou in Ireland, they sup2ilied oiiicers of the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant, and Ensign, or Cornet, to the Jacobite regular army, in the infantry Eegiments of Dorrington, Mountcaohel, Bagnall, Grace, and in Lord Clare's Dragoons. But the most remarkable representative of the race, in that contest, was the famous L'aptuiu oi mounted irregulai's", guerillas, or rapparees, known aa "galloping Hogau." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 289 raised this siege, stated to have cDst them altogether 3000 killed aix^ wounded, to only about 400 Portuguese ; ;i cessation of hostilities took place a few days after; and for such an honourable conclusion of this war was Portugal indebted to the gallantry of a Hogan, as, a century after, for the successful termination of a greater contest, to the discijiline of a Beresford, and the generalshiji of a Wellington. The Em])eror Charles VI. of Austria not having acceded to the general peace concluded with France at Utrecht, in April, 1713, ami having collected his forces along the Rhine under Princo Eugene of Savoy, to continue the war, Louis XIV. placed under the Marshal de Villars, assisted by the Marshal de Be.sons, such a ])owerful army as might reduce the Teutonic Kaiser of the so-called Holy Roman Empire to reason. " Still, Ctesar, wilt thon tread the paths of blood? Wilt thou, thou n'lDijly, hate thy country's good? Give o'er at lencjth, and let thy labours cease, Nor vex the world, but learn to sutler ])eace ! " KowES Lucan's Pliarsalia, v., 4iG-7, 450-1. Holding Eugene in check, at the lines of Etlingen, and about Muhlbcrg, Villars, in June, laid siege to the strong unl well-garrisoned fortress of La.ndau, which, after b'o days of open trenches, he comj)elled to capitu- late, in August. Meantime, Eugene, though unable to attem])t the relief of Landau, and obliged to remain ^bout the lines of Etlingen, caused General Vaubonne to occupy, with 17,000 or 18,000 men, and a sufficient artillery, 2 lines of such well-con.structed intrench ments in the diffisult country leading to the fortress of Friburgh, that, it was con- sidered, Villars, if not repulsed before them, could only carry them with a loss of half his infantry ; the 2nd line, in particular, of those intreiich- ments having b^en so strong by nature and by art, that, we are told, 4000 determined men behind them might have arrested the progress of 50,000 opponents. But Vaubonne's troop.s, on being attacked, Sei)tem- ber 20th, about 7 in the evening, by Villars, behaved so disgracefully, that the Marshal captiu'ed the whole of their works, with a lo.^s men- tioned as no more than GO men of all ranks, killed, or wounded ! The French, by the end of the month, broke gi-onnd before Fribuigh ; which, having had a Governor, garrison, itc, suited to its im])ortance, made a very stubborn and sanguinary defence, until foi'ced to surrender, about the middle of November. These cf)nqnests of Villars, which opened the way for more extensive acquisitions by the French arms in Germjiny, obliged the Austrian Court, and its deservedly-humiliated General, Eugene of Savoy,* to desist from their unfeeling ])rolongation of human misery and bloodshed after a war of so many years, and to enter upon negociations for a peace with France, which was concluded the following yeai". The chief Irish officers, who served under the Marshal de Villars, in 1713, were Lieutenant-Geueral Andrew Lee, (accompanied by his son, * For the aminhle object of preventincj, if possible, the conchision of the Peace of Utrecbt, Eugene had been over in England ; and his presence at London was jjr.)- portionably welcome to the Wbigs, who were, like himself and Marlboroujrb, lor going on with a war, which had certainly beconie unnet^essary. So his iiKJrtilied Highness met with no more success, as a negociator there, than, as a couimander, ai,ainst V^illars, elsewhere. U 290 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Colonel Francis Lee,) Lieiitpnant-General Arthur Dillon, Major-General Michael Eoth, and Brigadiers Murnmgh O'Brien and Christo[)her Nugent. The Irisli corps were Dorrington's, Galmoy's, and O'Donuell's 3 battalions, Berwick's 2, and Nngeut's 2 squadrons. In the reduction of Landau, which cost the French 2980 men, killed or wounded, Lee, Dillon, and Roth were employed in their respective ranks, and all the above-mentioned Irish battalions, but Berwick's, were attached to the like service. Prince Eugene, with a view to passing the Rhine, having placed above 740 men, and 10 pieces of artillery in the town and castle of Kaiserslautern, Lieutenant-General Dillon was detached, in June, with a body of troo[>s, to reduce that place, which he did the same day, sending the garrison, as prisoners, into France. He likewise took the Castle of Verastein, in which were 80 men; whereby the enemy were deprived of eveiy post between Coblentz and Mayence. Tli§ Lieutenant-General subsequently mounted the trenches at Landau, as well as his regiment ; and Mnjor-General Roth did so too. The sharpest affair, in the trenches before that fortress, at which the Irish were engaged, was, on the night of Jidy 4th-5th, in assailing a work called the Pate. The attack was made by 4 companies of grena- diers, 1 of the Swiss Regiment of Villars, and 1 of each of the 3 Irish Regiments of Dorrington, O'Donnell, and Galmoy. "Although this work," says the account, "was defended by the tire from the redoubt of the denii-lune, and from the works overlooking it, it was carried, never- theless, with a gi-eat deal of valour. It was occupied by 100 men, a Ca])tain, who was made prisoner, and the rest killed, or drowned. There were killed, or wounded, at the taking of this post, a Major, a Captain, and 150 grenadiei's, or woi-kmen." For the operations against Fribnrgh, there were present Nugent's liorse, and Galmoy's, O'Donueirs, Berwick's, and O'Brien's infantiy. At this harassing siege, in the night of October 6th-7th, by the splinter of a rock from a cannon-shot, near the Marshal de Villars in the trenches, was wounded the Captain of his Guards, Colonel JSkiddy, Clievaliei- of St. Louis, of a family long respectable in Munst^r, where, besides such as were the possessors of estates, there wei'e 35 of the name Mayors of Cork, between 1364 and 1621; in which city, also, a charitable founda- tion, or "Skiddy's Aims-House," has preserved their nieuiory to the present century.* On the night of the 14th-15th, Francis Lee, son of the Lieutenant-General, headed 2 battalions of the Regiment of Rousil- lon, in the grand assault, and stoi-ming of the covered way, and of an advanced lunette, under the eye of Villars; which cost the French 1500 men, killed, and wounded, including 183 officers. About the same time, • The name of "Skiddy," usually Frenchified " Sqniddy," is metamorphosed by the Marquis de Quiiicy, or his iiriiiter, into "Esquiddy," on tliis occasion. In 1703, a .Skiddy was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regnuent of Clare. In 17-3, a "Sir George Skiddy" is alluded to, by an Irisli contem]iorary, as havin;/ "acquired a gocd estate in France," as being "a KniL,dit of the Military Order of St. Louis, and a CoUmel of Foot;" and as "great-grandson to Sir George Skiddy, formerly of Waterford, and also of Skiddy's (Jastle, in the County of Cork.' The name is likewise to be seen, among the records of Williamite landed proscription, or Jacobite forfeiture, in Miiuster. In the Me'moires de Villars, " le Sieiu- de Squiddy" is twice named as Captain of the Guards to the Marshal during the campaigns of 1"12 and 1713 ; or first, as sent, after the reduc- tion of Marchiennes, "[torter les drajieaux " to Louis XIV.; aud ne.xt, or at Fi'iburgh, as ":'ultjss.e,iiifes de moi," or wounded near the Marshal, there. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 201 or on the 14th, Prince Eugene, advancing at tlie head of 6000 men, to within 9 miles of Fiiburgh, and it being given out, that he wouM succour it, the Marshal de Villars, among his measures to prevent this^, detached Lieutenant-General Dillon witli 1200 infantry and 6 tr()(i]>s of cavali'V, to the head of the Valley of Kinderstral, to mark out a camp- for 12 battalions there; and no attempt was made by the enemy to save the besieged fortress. Peace was signed, March 6th, 1714, at Piastadt, between France and Germany. Yet Catalonia, though abandoned, since tiie year before, by the Allied troops, through wh(>se aid it had supported Charles of Austria against Phili]) V., still refused to submit to, and maintiined a very obstinate and bloody c(mtest against, Philip, notwithstanding his being every where else the acknowledged King of Spain! Philip's domineer- ing Ministers required the Catalonians to submit to him at discretion, merely on condition of a general amnesty for the past. The Cata- lonians would 7101 submit, unless the several rights, immunities, and ])rivileges, which they had enjoyed under the former or Austrian dynasty in Spain, should be specially giiuranteed to them; and, for a contirraitioiv of those ancient liberties, they olFered, besides submitting, to pay a very large sura, to the King; but otherwise added. tli;it they would oi)pose him to the last. The great focus of this resistance was the strong for- tress and metropolis of the province, Barcelona, where all possible means, political, military, and ecclesiastical, were adopted, in order to make a most vigorous defence. All pro[)erty there, church-])late included, was voted applicable for that object ; all above 14 years old, not excepting priests and monks, were to bear arms at the sound of the tocsin ; and tlie garrison amounted to 16,000 men, with about 215 pieces of artillery. The stubborn valour of the Catalonians, and the exhaus- tion of Spain by so long a war, rendering it impossible for Philip to reduce Catalonia merely by his own resources, he was obliged to seek assistance, for that [)nrpose. from his grandfather, Louis XIV.; and he requested the Duke of BerwiL-k might accompany that assistance, as General-in- Chief of the forces of both Crowns. With an army of the best of those forces, considerably above 40,0 )0 in nmnher, an artillery of 120 pieces, and a profusion of every thing requisite for a siege, the Duke opened the trenches, July 12th, before Barcelona. The Barcelonese, under the signiticant ensign of a death's-head, made a defence worthy of the country of a Suguntum, a Numantia, a Sarago.ssa, and a Girona ; holding out until their provisions were exhausted* and the town was stormed through 7 breaches! Then, or September 12th, they had to surrender, after a total loss, on their part, of about 6000 killed or wounded, including upwards of 540 ecclesiastics; and on the Duke's side, 10,000 men. Of the Irish Brigade, at this remarkable siege, there were the bat- talions of Lee, Dillon, Berwick, and Bourke. Among the most noted British and Irish othcers there, after the Duke of Berwick, were Lieu- tenant-General Arthur Dillon, and Major-General Walter Bourke ; the Duke's eldest son by his 1st wife, widow of Patrick Sarstield, 1st Earl of Lucan, or James Francis Fitz-James, Marquis of Tinmouth, and Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick ; and the Duke's ste])-son, James Francis Edward SarsHeld, 2nd Earl of Ivucan. The Duke, alter having effected such a breach, Viy a tire of sevei'al days from 30 pieces of cannon, that, he resolved, July 30tlj, to assault tlie covered way, lepaiied in person to the 232 HISTORY OF THE lUISII BRIGADES tronclios, to inspect the attack, whicli was committed to Lieiitenant- G<'neral Dillon. On the appainted signal, at 9 in the evening, 4 com- ]ianies of grenadiers on the right, and 4 on the left, advanced agjiinst the cnvered way, extending from the bastion of the Porta Nova to that of Santa Clara. Without wasting tiine at firing, the grenadiers dashed at the work they were to master, carried it, and put all they met there to tlic sword. The workmen, at hand to avail themselves of this succes.s, }iiid pi-otected liy the tire kept up from the trenches, th(ui made good tlie joilgcnient; and Dillon's troops were so well dis])osed there, that, although the Barcelonese sallied o>it, in great force, the same night, to recover the countej'scarp, they hecame discouiaged, and were I'epulsed with a very severe loss; white that of the Lieutenant-General's y)arty amounted only to GO men. Dillon was also prrniinently engaged in the last great assault u])on the place, September llt-h, when 44 companies of grenadieuB, and 49 battalions had to be enotloyed against the Barcelonese, who, from lialf-past 4 in the morning, deh-mled themselves so long as 11 or 12 hours; 1 portion of the works, in [)articulMr, where the besiegers suffered most, not becoming finally theirs until after it had been taken, atid retaken, on both sides, 11 times! At tins assavdt, Dillon, as I^ieutcnant-General, ])av!ng, under his orders, a Fi-eiich and Spanish Major-G(;neral, and ;) Bi'igadiei'S, (2 French and 1 Sp.aiish,) witli 20 companies of grenadicis. no battalions, and 5(10 wdrkuuMi, was inti'usted with the attacks to lu; made, from the right to the centre. He reserved the great breach of the centre for himself and 7 battalions, while 1 of his Major- Generals, M. de Guerchois, ascended that, at an angle flanking the bastion of Santa Clara ; ami the 2 officers made themselves masters of the whole of an intrench- jiicnt behind the Monastery of St. Augustin, and of a portion of that (MJilice; killing all whom they encountered. Nevertheless, the Barce- lonese, leiiewing the coiobat, with desf)eration, and increased nundiers, at 8 in the nK)rning, retook, among other j)osts, part of the Monasteiy of tSt. Augustin. and maintained a hmg and terrible fire against Dillon's troops, as well as the rest of the Duke's -army. This fire continued, until every post was recovered by the final oveipowering and diiving of the besieged into the New Town, at between 3 and 4 in the afternoon; when signals were displayed for a ces.sation of hf)stilities, that led to the sur- render of the jilace, the following day. Of the Duke of Berwick, at thi.s equal]}' important and dilhcult siege, it will suffice to state, that the ability he manifested was worthy of his ])ievious reputation, and his high jiosition, as the General-in-Chief for 2 Monarchs. How he was r(!Com- j'eiised by Philip V. has been elsewhere mentioned. Lieutenant-General Dillon's conduct, there is descriljed, by the Duke, as "everything that was to be expected from an officer of courage and capacity." The Duke's son, the Mai-quis of TinmoutJi, who was appointed to deliver the standards ot the Barcelonese to Philip V., was I'ewarded with the Order of the Golden Fleece. The Duke's steji-son. the Earl of Lucan, who was wounded iu the last assault, leceived from the King the Collar of the Golden Fleece, and a company of his Guardes du Corp.s. The eulogium of the Irish battalions engaged in this trying contest was comprehended in that of the army to which they belonged ; generally referred to, as having dis- jilayed "numberless proofs of extraordinary intrepidity."* " On this shtuirule in rritalniiia. anil siro-e of Barcelona, I have made use of the Pul;t ul iJei »vick.'b .^.eliJVlis. ilie L,Ui..L hib.uiy ot Qiuncy, the couteiii|iuiary .Mercure IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 203 Such were the services of tlie Trisli to the Honse of Bourbon during tlu' War of the Spanish Succession, when, from the intimate nature of t lie alliance between P'ranco and Spain, tlie Irish in the f)ay of I.ouis XIV., jhd (pf his graniy considered so likely to make way for the successioa of the exiled son of James II. to the throne. "Too long /(Y»'s Vieen exchuled ; Too loiii; M'f ve lieen dehii'.ed ; Let '« witli one voice, sing and rejoice, Tltr i-crc- in m/w coiicliiilcd. The Dutch are disappointed; Their Wliiggisli phns di.'^jonited; The sun dis|i]a3'.s h,s glorious ra3's, Tv crown the Lord a anoiidtd!" From the termination of the war, indeed, to the decease of the Queen, the prospects of the Whig Jiai-ty, or that in favour of the House of Hanover, were veiy discotnaging. The Whig writer, in 1710, of the annals of the 1st year of George I., having premised how in England the irietids of the preceding Tory Ministry "were in all the chief posts of the nation," and that Ministry "had a Parliament which they led as they pleased." says— "They had corrupttd great nundjers of the Clergy, and f>f our University-men. so as they zealously maintained, and disper.sed 1 li-itoririrp. Mini l.ottrcs Historiqueg, the resjjectab.e Lit^h histoiian of Ergene a.al ^liuibotL..! a, and Fieti'e. 294 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES tlirougli the nation, those doctrines which were calculated to bring in the Pretender. By their Occasioiteil Act, and other methods, they had so modelled the greatest i)art of our Corporations, as to get in Magistrates, that went along with all their measures. Our metropolis, the City ot" London, formerly an imi)regnable bulwark against Popery and Slavery, was so corrupteil by a few hot-headed Priests, encouraged by the Court, and so poysoned by a Tory Common-Council, imposed upon them Viis et .\f(idis, that it became the princip;d scene of rebellious tumults, and all Elections there were carried b}' Jacobite mobs. The Commissions ot Lieutenancy and Peace, through the nation, were, generally, in tlie hands of persons disaffected to the Hanover Succession; and the meaner sort of people, thruugli the Kingdom, were so much debauched by the iuflnence of such men, of the High-Church Clergy, and of the Officers belonging to the Excise and Customs, that the Pretender, and his friends? thought their game sure. This he tells us him.self, in his Declaration after the Queen's death, and gives it as tlte only rmann of his coritinving quiet for S07)ie years, that he rp.ckuned himself sure of tlie fr endship of the Queen,* bi/ which v)e mast understand, her Mhiistry. and depended xtpnn their pro- onises. The only V)ody of peo})le in Eiiijland, that stood then united in his Majesty's interest, was the moderate Church-men and Dissenters; but the former were put out of all ]:)ower, and the latter were, by law, excluded from it, and put under a new and unnatural hardship by the Schism Act, which was to take place the very day tliat her Majesty died." After noticing the state of Scotland, where the Tory Ministry, " to strengthen their interest, kept the Popish and Jacobite Highlanders in ]iay," etc., this Whig writer remarks, how circumstances did not seem nu)re favouraV)le for his party in L-eland, from the very superior amount of the Roman Catholic population, Jacobites to a man, in connexion Avith the dominant power of the Toiy or High-Church Protestant party there, also averse to a Hanoverian Succession, and proportiouably severe upon such as were not so, or Protestants of Whig and Dissenting opinions. *' Their Dissenters," he remarks, "who are by much the greatest body of Protestants in that nation, were, by the influence of the High-Church ■j)arty, brought under an incapacity to bear any civil or military commis- sion for the defence of themselves, or their country. This was not only highly impolitick, as it weakened the English and Protestant interest in that Kingdom, but highly ungratefl^l to the L-ish Dissenters, and ]>ar- ticulaT-]} to tliose of the Province of Ulster, who had been twice, under God, the j)rincipa] instruments of saving that Kingdom to the Crown of England, as well as the Established Chnrch of Ireland. Yet, such was the rancour of the Hii;h-Church party, that they did all they could to persecute and ojjpress, not only their Dissenting brethren in that nation, but even the moderate Church-men ; and the Government there was put into such hands, and administered in such a manner, as plainly discovered, that the d^slf/ns of the Ministry were so Laid and carried on, in all the S Nations, as to pave tlie Pretender s ivny to the Tlirone. ... In short, tliere was nothing iranting to have entirely delivered up that Kingdom into tlte hands of the I^refender. but to have viudefFd (he Troops there to their pur- pose, by putting out all the honest Officers, and placing Jacobites in their stead." * Queen Ar.ne, "in flying," says Klose, " covfirmcd the belief, that had long pre- vnileil, of her partiaHty for the exiled Prince, by exciaiming — " Ou, my dear biother, liovv 1 pity you I ' " IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 295 The accounts of the Queen's illness were accompanied by informatiou from Ireland, as to what ettbrts were on foot there, to strengtlKni the Brigade in France— " Great numbers of lusty, young fellows, all Papists, having gone, siiice last Michaelmas, into France, on assurances given them, that they should soon return home, with their lawful Kimj, James III. — many recruiting officers being alleged to have arriveil from France in various parts of the island, Dublin not excepted, where James Roche, a considerable Popish merchant, expended large sums of money in listing and vessels, sailing for France, bringing from 20 to GO of the lower order of Irish on board, under the pretence, it was affirmed, of emigrating merely as agricultural labourers, but, in reality, as so many recruits for the Irish regiments abi'oad, in the interest of tlie Pretender. Hence, the proceedings of the House of Commons in Dublin on the subject, the declaration of the Grand Jury of the County of Dublin, for the adoption of immediate measures to st(jp the transpoi-ting of such great numbers of Popish youth into the service of the Pretender, and the consequent issuing of a Proclamation, against such recruiting, from the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland." From the commencement of the, Queen's indisposi- tion, the advocates for the accession of the House of Hanover to the Sovereignty of Great Britain and Ireland likewise referred, with much uneasiness, to the Irish troops in France, as being (quartered too near the coasts opposite to England; with a view, it was believed, of being ready to come over, in support of her brothers claim to the Grown, as King James III. " Upon the first news of the Queen's sickness," writes the Hanoverian Envoy, Baron de Schutz, from London, January 25th, 1714, "several French battalions had orders to march towards the sea, under pretext of changing the garrisons; and they remain there, viz., at Grave- ling, Calais, Bei-g, St. Winnox, St. Omens, and Boulogne. Most of the Ii'ish i-egiments in the French service, who made the campaign on the Upper Rhine, are arrived likewise in the Low Countries. Clare's regi- ment is at Douay, Galmoy's at Valenciennes, and Dorrington's, which was the late King James's Regin)ent of Guaixls, at Avesnes." February 6th, tlie Baron notes, of men of rank of the Hanoverian ])arty in England, how, under such circumstances, " many of them expected to be sent to the Tower, as soon as the French designs were ripe;" and how, con.sequently, 1 of them "gave £100 to an othcer, for going to France, to learn, with certainty, if the Irish troops wei'e assetnbled in the neighbourhood of Boulogne?" The alarm at such intelligence from Ireland, and tlie Con- tinent, caused pu'jlic credit to suffer very much, for several weeks, in London; the funds falling, and a severe run taking place upon the Bank of England. With respect to the Jacobite recruiting in Ireland, we likewise read, how information being given, in May, to the authorities in Dublin, of about 150 men being at the Hill of Howth, in order to sail thence to France for the service of James III., some constables, with a file of musketeers, were despatched against the Jacobite party. Of the 150, but 24 were taken; who were imprisoned, tried, and, by one-sided, hostile Juries, of course condemned for what was called "high treason;" and, .some time after, 3 of the number, " John Reilly, Alexander Bourke, and Martin Carrol, were executed for it, at Stephens's- Green " — or where poor Captain Nowlan subsequently met the like fate. What became ot the other 21 captured Jacobites we do not know, but m»y not unreason- ably suspect, that the Dublin hangman could tell. In Harris's W^illiamite 296 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES account of the notorious Lord Cliicf-Justice, Sir Richard Cox, autlioi' of lEiberuia Aui^dieaua — already noticed in connexion with tlie viruh-ut proscription, after the batth; of the Boyne, ot all the older Irish having Linda in general, and of the unfortunate young Earl of Clancarty in particular — we have addiHonal ciix-unistances respecting the prosecutions, here referred to, of those enlisting for the Brigade in France. Having premised, how in>ich the Irish regiments there recpiired recruits after such a long war on the Continent, Harris states — " Therefore as soon as the Peace was made, several of the officers catne to Ireland to recruit. They, and those whom they employed, the sooner to complete their business, and well knowing that the inclinations of the Papists were all in the interest of tlie Pretender, made use of his name to inveigle them into his service. This ])owerfal argument soon inlistod great numbers, who were firmly persuaded they were to return in a year to extirpate alU the English. In February, 1713, William Lehy, 1 of the persons so inlisted, gave an inf(jrmation of the treason to the Lord Mayor, svho laid it before the Government, and the informant and Michael Lehy were examined before the Co\nicil. Upon this examination, a Proclamation ■was immediately issued, to encourage the appi-ehending the inlisters ami the inlisted, and several were taken, in dilferent parts of the Kingilom, but most about Dublin. In the Spring Circuit in Munster. Lord (Jhief- Justice Cox received 2 letters from the Lord Lieutenant," much ap[)roving his care to punish persons who inlisted men for the Pretender's, or for foreign, service; "and, when he returned to Dublin, his time was chiefly employed in taking Informations, sending out Wai-rants, Guards, and Constaliles to apprehend, and in examining the inlisted persons, when apprehended. So zealous and active were lie, and others lawfully autho- rized, that the Goals of Newgate and Kilmainhain were soon full of these traytoi's; so that the Government thought it necessary, to send a Special Commission to Kilmainham. to try the criminals in custody there. Accordingly, Commissioners of Oyer ami Terminer .sat at Kilmairdiani, the 2nd of July, 1714, and Lord Chief-Justice Cox gave the Charge to the Grand Jury." This charge was. of course, such as might be expected from him, who, in addition to so much land, the sjjoil of Irish Jacobite loyalists, possessed a portion of what was King James II.'s pro[jerty, and, in case of a "restoration," would be King James III.'s;* and, as an address to a jury of opinions corresponding with those of the addresser, was duly effective, to the prejudice of the accused. Consecpu^ntly, we are told, " inany were condemned, and exucutetl^ by virtue of this Commission, and 3 in the Queen's Bench, where Sir Richard ])resided." The great ajjprehension among the Whigs in England, witli respect to the Irish military aln-oad, was the more natural, from Lord Bolingbroke's reported design, with regard to the army at home ; which, if not arrested by the Queen's ])remature death, must have placed her brother, as James III. of England and Ireland, and James VIII. of Scotland upon the thrones of his ancestors. On this design of his Lordship, IbberviUe, the French Agent in London, writing to Louis XIV. the day following the * "Besides," says Harris, of Cox, "he was attainted by King James's Irish Parlia- ment, held everj' foot of his estate under the Act of Settlement, (which stands repealed by the same Parliament,) or luuler the Trustee Act, (which nuist havethe same fate with the Protestant Succession,) so that bis religion, his jiropercy, and hia lii'e, all depended on the House of Hanover." n< THE SEnVIOE OF FRANCE. 2'J7 Qneen's decPMse, and after expressing lu>w penetrated with grief Lord ]ji)iingl)roke was at tliat fatal circumstance, observes of his Lordship — " He has assured me, ■iiieaaures we e so we I taken, tluit, in 6 weeks tiiae^ tilings would huve been put into fuch a co)idit.ion, as tliere vimld hare been ■nutliiiKj to fear from, ioJkU h'ls just occurred." * Of tlie same design, (Jldniixnii informs ns — " 'IMiat the army, in both England and IreUind, was to V)e modell'd, is most certain. Major-General Devenfjort, (Lieu- tenant of the 1st Troop of Life-Guards, who was ordered to sell,) shew'd myself, and others, the next day after the Queen dy'd, a list of 60 or 70 otEcers, most of them of the Guards, that were to be cashier'd, with the names of those that were to have their commissions," ifec. Another Anglo- Whig contem])orary alleges --" The army was to be new modell'd, in such a manner, that all the troops in Great Britain might be blindly devoted to the Ministry. Que br'anch of this scheme was, to break 9 o/* the batttdions in Ireland; entirely to lay aside 72 officers, that were thought improper instruments for the designs in hand ; and to raise L5 otlter battalions, that should be sure to obeij all commands,^' ikc. And we are informed, how the "other branch of his scheme was, to remove such officers of the Guards as were eminently well effected to the most Serene House of Hanover ;" among whom were the names of 3 Major-Generals, 3 Brigadiers, and 21 Colonels, as men who would not consent "to serve the Queen, without asking questions!'''''^ — while, of those who were to be commis- sioned instead of them, it was given out, that "some were Irish Papists," besides "a Po[)ish Lord!" Even as matters stood at the Queen's death, or although it occurred before those military precautious could be taken, the moment she expired, Dr. Francis Atterbury, the famous High-Church Bishop of Rochester, proposed " to go, in his lawn-sleeces, and -proclaim James III., &c., at Charing Cross!" On which, " Bolinbroke's heart failing him," writes Horace Walpole, "Atterbury swore — Tuere was the best cause in Europe lost, for vxi.ntofs/jmtl" With reference to such Tory plans in favour of the accession of the Queen's brother, as King James, and to the particidar apprehension, by Whiggisra, of the Irish * Of Louis XIV. 's sincere attachment to the cause of James TT.'s son. Lord Bolingbroke, in noticing the circumstances of his own flight to Fran(;e after Queen Anne's death, and his taking otKce tiiere under James, alleges — " If the late Kni'j," Louis XIV., "had lived 6 months longer, I verily believe, there had been war again, between England and France." But, continues his Lordship, "when [ arrived at Paris, the King was already gone to Marly, where the nudispositioxi which he had begun to feel at Versailles, increased upon him. He was the hr-it J'rienii the Chevalier had ; and, when I engaged in this business, my princi])al dependence was upon his i)ersonal character; this failed me, in a great degree— he was not in a condition to exert the same vigour as formerly." In short, concludes his Lordship, "all I had to negociate -by myself hrst, and, in conjunction with the Duke of Ormond, soon afterwards, — languished with the King. AI;/ luipes fsuii.h (IS lie declined, and died lulien he expired.'''' Of Iblierville, it is amusing to read, under the head of "St. James's, November 16," this |)ara'.iraph, with reference to King George I., in.stead of King James III., in the London Gazette for 1714, No. o277. " Yesterday, Monsieur d'Ibberville, Envoy Extraordinary from his Most (.Christian Majesty, had a i)rivate audience of the King, to congratulate his Majesty's ha]ppy accession to the throne." Such are ])olitics and jioliticians ! t With such a large majority of the jjopulation of (ireat Britain opposed to a Hanoverian succession, as will be seen in the ne.\t Eu.>k, mu.'il not James have succeeded his sister, had she only lived till such a remodelling of the army, as Lord Bolingbroke planned, should have been completed, to render any Whig opposition hopelesn ? 298 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. Brigade, as the especial cluunjnons of that succession, the zealous Irish Whig. Captain Parker, adds ui his Memoirs — "It is most certain, that, was it not for the brave defence the Catalans made at Barcelona, (for tliey still held out) llie Duke of Berwick^ with his Irish regiments, would have lauded among us, before the Queen's death; and then, ivhat a scene of blood must have follou:ed ! Surely the hand of Providence appeared visibly, at that very critical juncture, in favour of the religion, laws, and liberty of England I " liWMi iMta i>c.<- <-. ■ ■>.- ^ PRINCE CHARLES STUART. HISTOEY OF THE lEISH BEIGADES THE SERVICE OF FEANCE. BOOK VI. George Guelph, Elector of Hanover, Vieing, as George L, Tnade King of Great Britain and Ireland, in August, 1714, on Whig or Revolution principles ; accoi'ding to which King James II. 's son, James Francis Edward Stuart, born Prince of Wales at St. James's Palace, London, in June, 1688, was styled a Pretender, and his claim to the throne, upon legitimate or hereditary grounds, was, on account of his religion as a Catholic, passed over, and set aside ; that Prince, who, nevertheless, regarded himself, and was also regarded by far the larger jjoi'tion of the population of Great Britain and Ireland, as, by right. King James III., ordered his adherents in Great Britain, in 1715, to rise against the Hanoverian, as a usui'per.* Nor, while George appeared to so many, as * The popular feeling in Great Britain respecting the rival dynasties is expressed in the verse of the Jacohite song — "Gort prosper Kinfr Jiimes, and the Geiinan confounri, Aud mail nur.e but true Britons ttr rule Brttish yround!" The Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 1715, from the intelligence he had, asserts, that, beyond tlispiite, o out of 6 persons in England were for James III. " Le gros de la nation Angloise est si bien dispose, qn'oii pent avancer hardiment que, de 6, 11 y en a 5, pour le Eoi Jacques." And this he might safely write, since he tells us, he was informed by the Duke of Ormonde, the Earl of Mar, &c., how the English were never better disposed towards the Stuart cause, 9 out of 10 being for .James against George. " Ormond, Marr, &c., nous assuroaent, que ja7nais les ])euple3 n'avoient ete s? bien dis])oses ; que, de 10, il y en avoit 9, contre George, et par consequent pour Jacques. " Dr. Johnson, likewise, who was born ])revious to the accession of the House of Hanover, observed to Mr. Boswell, on the subject, in the reign of George HI., or 1773 — "The present family on the throne came to the crown against the will of 9-lOtbs of the people. Whether these 9-lOtlis were right, or wrong, it is not our business now to inquire." In fact, with the great Country, Church, or Toiy party, a vast majority of the population of England, generally in favour of the Stuarts, as well as the Episcopalians and Highlanders in Scotland, and the C'atholies in Ireland, similarly inclined, how uninU a niimerical minority of the jiopulation of these islands muftt the supporters of a change of r/> nasty have been, consisting, as they almost universally did, merely of the Wh/gs in England, the I'resbyterians in Scotland, and the comparatively few Protestants in Ireland — these last, too, not being without sovie Jacohites among them! It was oidy in the least-peopled of the 3 kingdoms, or in Scotland, that Whiggery could pretend to claim a majoiity, and even there, that majority was weakened by the disafl'ectiou of many, who were Whigs, indeed, by party inclination, but, as nationalists, were altogether opposed to the Union, and. so far, friendly to the cause of the Stuarts, since their " ?v.s/o?-fl^om'' would have been attended by that of the Parliament cf Scotland. Writing as an English historian, Lord Mahon says — " Wc. on our part. sluniUl do well to remember, that the Pevolution of 1( 88 was not ••<' mjlit, but jorctd upon us." But, in whatever light, the cause of the Stuarts niay be viewed a» 300 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES no better than a usurper, did lie seem entitled to any more respect, from a view of his moral character, mental attainments, and personal endow- ments. " He," says Mr. Jesse, " was indebted for his aggrandizement merely to the accidental circumstance of his having been educated in the Protestant faith ; there being, at the period of his accession, so many as 57 individuals of the blood royal, who possessed superior heredi- tary claims." Married, in 1682, to his young, beautiful, and accom- plished cousin, Sophia Dorothea. Duchess of Zell, who, by bringing him that Sovereign Duchy as her dowry, so much enlarged his Hanoverian dominions, he, nevertheless, only " a few months aftei-, attaclied himself to undeserving mistresses, and even insulted his young wife, by con- stantly introducing them into her presence." In short, " he was himself the most notoiious adulterer, and the most unscrupulous libertine, in his dominions." Yet, though claiming such a wide and shameless range of animal indulgence for himself, he, on a single charge of matrimonial infidelity,* shut up in the Castle of Alden, in the river Aller, in Zell, his unfortunate wife ; keeping her there, under the name of Duchess of Halle, nntil her death; after "a long captivity of 32 years, deprived of the society of her children, and snatched from the pleasures of life, when ahe was best qualified to enjoy them." While thus debauched and cruel, he was likewi.se " ignorant and illiterate, inelegant in his person, and ungraceful in his manners;" and, though in his SSth year, when he came over to rule these islands, he was encumbered with "a seraglio of hideous German prostitutes, who rendered him equally ludicrous by their absurdities, and uni)opular by their rapacity." To this sufficiently repulsive specimen of Whig-Hanoverian royalty, the Tories, or Jacobites, preferred the young representative of the House of Stuart, although a Catholict " Let our great .James come over, And battle Prince H;inover, With hearts and hands, in loyal bands, We'll welcome him at Dover. regards England, in Scotland, as involving, if successful, a Repeal of the hated Union, and in Ireland, a dissolution of the j>erjury -enacted Penal ( Jode, by a fulhlment of the violatrd Treaty of Limerick, that cause ivns the representative of nationality, in opjiosition to provincialism, and of religious emancipation in opposition to sec- tarian oppression, and, -so far, was the cause of justice verniis in.tustice. Great historic events have varioy.f aspects, from which they 7)mst be contemplated, and studied, in order to be duly understood. * The object of George's jealousy was the famous Swedish Count Konigsmark, who, iu desiX)t-fashion, was privately made away with. When George II., after his accession, "first visited Hanover, he ordered some alterations in the Palace, and, while repairing the dressing-room which belonged to his mother, the Princess Dorothea, the body of Konigsmark was discovered under the pavement, where he is supposed to have been strangled, and buried." + Lord Mahon justly considers the Jacobites to have been wrong, "in seeking to impf!se a Eomnn Catholic head upon the Protestant Church of England." In tltaf objection to the Stuart family, the strength of the party for the Revolution vnquistiointbl II lay. Yet political measures, like the Revolution, however desirable in one point of view, niay seem most objectionable from others; and men loill act accordingly. Hence, though the Stnarts were driven out, as has been observed, "to keep them out required a standing army, ni;n y campaigns and battles, the decapitation of many honourable heals, the confiscaiion of estates, the imposition of taxes on almost every useful commodity, and the borrowing of millions of money, which lai 1 the foundation of the present enormous national debt; which swalluwed up, year after year, wealth as it was made ; and prevented much of the best capital, and the most skilful hautls, from engaging in tke jtroduction of wealth." IN THR SERVICE OF FKANCX Of royal birth and hreedins;, , 111 ev'ry grace exceediiis;, Onr hearts will monni, till /i'.s retnu^ O'er lands tliat lie a-bleediug." And again, after exclaiming, that " Eiiylaud musf, s'Trender SOI To him, they cad Pketendbb,' t» it was alleged — " The royal youth deserveth To fill the sacred place ; 'Tis he aJon/', y)reserveth The Stuarts' ancient race. Since 'tis onr inclination, To call him to the nation. Let each niMn, in his station, Eeceive liis King in peace!" As the Stuarts, previous to th*^ junction of tlie 2 British Crowns, in 1603, had l>een the national Sovereigns of Scotland, and, as the so-called Act of Union, recently imposed n])on the Scotch by corruption and terrorism, for the special purpose of excluding their ancient dynasty from the tin-one,* was to be i-ene ded, if that dynasty could be restored, the Stuart interest was proportionably f)Owerful there, and its policy duly directed, to excite a popular insurrection against the Hanoverian. " We," says the Declaration of James to the Scotch, as James VIII., "are come to relieve our subjects of Scotland from the hardshi])s they groan under, on account of the late unhappy Union ; and to restore the Kingdom to its ancient free and independent state." And subsequently, *' We hope," adds the document, "to see Our just rights, and those of the Chtirch, and P<-o]ile of Scotland, once more settled, in a free and indei)endent Scutfi Parliament, on their aneifnt foundation. To such a Parliament, (which we will immediately call.) shall we entirely refer both our and their interests; being sensible that theae iuterp.sts. rujklly understood, are a'toaya the same." The 1st movement against the German consequently occurred in Scotland, where the Earl of Mar, (late Secretary of State under Queen Anne,) with other noblemen, assembled, in September, 1715, a Jacobite force in the Highlands, and jiroclaimed the Stuart Prince, at Brae-Mai-, and elsewhere, as King James. The national and Tory feeling, against tlie English and Whigs, for su])planting tiie old native royal line by a *' foreign brood," was suitably expressed in the songs of the day : — **Oiir King they do despise, boys, Because of .Scottish blood ; But, for all their ritish supporters,* that the latter was obliged to retire northwards, until, in February, 1716, he had to embark by night with Mar, and other noblemen, for the Continent, and the Jacobite force had to disperse. During the short stay he was able to make in Scotland against his Geoi-geite op|)onents and their Dutch sup])orters, James expressed how solicitous he was to obtain the Irish BiiLcade fron\ France; which, how- ever, after a peace, so very recently concluded, and so very necessary to be maintained, with England, could not be sent to him. From " Kin- naird, Jan. 2, 1716," he wrote to his Minister, Lord Bolingbroke, at Paris — "What is absolutely necessary for us, and that without loss of time, is, a competent number of arms, with all that belongs to them;" am! "our 5 Irish regiments, with all the officers of the D." of '' Berwick at their head." Then, alluding to the Recent of France, he states of the Duke of Oruionde and the veteran Lieutenant-Grenerals Michael Roth,+ and Artiiur Dillon— " Could the Regent send him," Ormonde, "with troops iKto England, at the same time that our Irish regiments * Anionic the circumstances, which Lord Macaulay reckons the least "glorions" connected "with the Revolution of 1(>88, was that of James II. havin'^; only been dethroned through the aid of a foreign or Dutch army. AL';ain, or in 171'")-l<5, we see the foreign occui)ant of James's throne excludiug that Monarch's son from it, throngh a treaty for obtaining GOlJO foreignens from Holland, "who," says a contemporary English historian of tl)e Hanoverian i)arty, "did very good service in North Britaui, and were more terrible to the rebels, than the native Bntons in the King's army." Finally, or in 1745, George II. also claimed Dutch aid, which he oi)tained, even to a more considerable amount. And, though such aid was afterwards withdrawn, and though the army with which his son, the Duke of Cumberland, decided the contest against Pruice Charles Stuart at Culloden, in 1741), was not composed of foreigners, yet this army was enabled to advance and fight that decisive battle in" Scotland, by having had about 6000 foreign auxiliaries, or Hessians, to serve elsewhere in the country. Hence, the offer of Piuice Charles, acting as Regent for his fiither in Scotland, in opposition to the Elector of Hanover, a^s George 11. — "Let him, if he pleases, try the ex]ieriment; let him send off his foreign hirelings, and put all upon the issue of a battle, and 1 will trust only to the King my father's subjects!" But the largest amount of /oreiijners was employed to foi-ce the Ptevolutiou upon Ireland, under William IIL, as shown in Book III., imder the year 169S. t Ab also spelled " Rothe," mistaken, by Lord Mahon, for "Roche." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 303 come here, it would end the riisj)ute very soon. ... I should have mentioned before, that Rothe, or Dillon, I must have. One I caa spare you, but not both ; and may be Dillon would be useful in Ireland," &c. Several other Irish officers evinced their loyalty to James, as their King, although they were not able to arrive, from Fi-ance in Scotland, soon enough to be of service in any combat. " They," observes a contemporary, " were seen abandoning all eno;age- ments, and certainties, to follow him, Avithout the least hesitation, into Scotland, as fast as they could ship off. notwith.standing the rigours of a most hard and rigid season, and the many dangers they were to run, by sea, and land, as well as the hardships, and hard shifts, they might guess they should meet with in the service" — which, it will be noted, exposed those engaged in it, if taken ])nsoiiers, to the savage mode of execution, (or half-hanging and disembowelling alive !) appointed, by the law of England, for " high treason." Among the officers of King James II. with his son, as King, in Scotland, were Lieutenant-General Don)inick Sheldon, and Brigadier Christopher Nugent of Dardistown. The Mar- quis of Tinmoutli, son of the Mai'shal Duke of Berwick, and then Cohmel of the Eegiment of Berwick, and the Marquis's kinsnuui, the Honourable Fi'ancis Bulkeley, reformed Oolonel of the same Irish regi- ment, likewise came to serve there. Sheldon was 1 of those who departed, along with .James himself, for the Continent. The Marquis of Tinmoutli, and C^ilonel Bulkeley, had sailed together for Scotland, with 100,000 c7-owns in gfoW, contributed by Fhilij) V. of Spain; but were unluckily shipwrecked by night off the Scotch coast, and lost a'l the m >nei/, as they only had time, to make for land, in a boat.* The Mar- quis, and the Colonel, being finally left behind with the Jacobite force when it was obliged t.o disperse, ventured, instead of seeking a conceal- ment in the Highlands, or Western Isles, to proceed from the north to Edinburgh; passed undiscovered, though 8 days there; embai-ked for Holland ; and thence reached France. They, and the re.st of the officers, who -were with James in Scotland, upon the complaint of George's Ambassador at Paris, were deprived, by the French Government, of their employments, but only to save appearances; the Regiment of Berwick, for instance, though taken from the Marquis of Tinmouth, b"ing given back to his father, the Duke of Berwick, who made another of his sons its Colonel; and the Regiment of Nugent being taken from the Brigadier, but transferred to his son, though then a mere youth. Some of this regiment had gone over with their countryman, James Butler, 2iid Duke of Ormonde, to England. This Irish nobleman, from the antiquity of his family, from the magnitude of his rent-roll, among the laigest in Great Britain and Ireland, besides the emoluments of several high civil and military appointments, from his public spirit, his ]iersonal bravery, affability, magnificence, benevolence, and hos[)itality, was the head and idol of the great Tory or Jacobite party in England,t w hose cry was, we are told, " an Ormond! in opposition to King George," • The Duke of Berwick is the authoritj' for Philip V.'s contribution, thus, as regards James, and .Scotland, destined to be "neither good for king nor country," or " in the deep bosom of the ocean buried ! " James's son, Prince Charles, was likewise very unlurku, with reference to remittances for him, in Scotland, from Spain, as will be seen farther on. t Ou the Whig or Georgeite attainder of the Duke, his friend, Dean Swift, writes 304 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGAlffes or " High Church and Orinond!''' Their feelings of hostility to Hano- verianisiu, and of ])ro|)ortiouable attachment to the exiled and attainted Duke, were ))articn]arly displayed this year, 1715, in London, with j-et't rence to the 1st celeV)ration there of George's hirth-day as King — the Hanoverian's entrance into this world ha])pening, awkwardly enough, to date fi-oni the day immediately previous to that ap|)ointed for coni- niemoratiiig the re-establishment of the House of Stuart on the thrones of Great Br-itain and Ireland, in the jierson of King Charles II. "The ilSth of jMay being the King's birth-day." says an Anglo-Whig annalist with respect to George I., "the great Officers of StHt(»> the Foreign JSIinisters. and Nobility, waited on his Majesty at St. James's, the guns Avere fired, and the flags displayed, itc." But " the Jacobites reserved the demonstrations both of their Jo?/ and iu.w!cnce for the next day, (29th) which, being the Anniversary of the Restoration of the Eoyal Fauiijy, they celebrated in a most extraordinary manner; not so much out of compliment to the. former, as in hopes of what they call -Afnture, Restor- ati(m. Their mobbs in the city broke the windows of such houses as were not illuminated, and, among 'em, those of the Lord Mayor. Tlieir ci"y was, High Church and the Duhe of Oniiond! In Smithtiekl, there was 1 of the greatest mobbs that has been known since SachevercU's Trial, where they burnt a print of King Widia.m, &c." Another Georgite writer of the day, after noting of the Jacobites on this occasion, how " they made greater illuminations and more bonfires than were seen the day before, especially in the City of London," adds, " they insulted 4 liife-Guards who were patrolling, and oblig'd them to cry out, as theij did, High Church and Ormond!" Although the Duke (as above intimated) had found it necessary, soon after the Hanoverian accession, t*o retire to France, where he was at the time of those manifestations, and others of the kind, by his party, he was confidently expected, by that party, to return before long, in spite of his enemies, the Whigs, to get the better of them, and to send their odious foreign importation, George the Elector, packing home again to Hanover! As the Jacobite ballad exclaimed — " What tbo' th' U.mrprrs cause prevail? Renew your constitution I — Exjiel that race, the curst entail (>f Wiiig^'ish I'evolution ! — Be bought and sold no more By a sordid German power, Is it like our old proud-hearted nation? Let King James then he. the toas'. Mail ^''^ tde.ss our loHf/iiH/ cuaM With a speedy and a just kkstoration ! '' In James's court, " over the water," to which, as well as the Duke, Lord Bolingbroke had fled from England, the accounts of siich public — " Now it is done, it looks like a dream to those, who consider the nobleness of his birth, the great merits of his ancestors, and his own ; bis long unspotted loyalty, bis affability, generositj', and sweetness of nature. I knew him long and well, and, excepting the frailties of his youth, which bad been for some years o\'er, and that easiness of teniiier which did sometimes lead him to follow the judgment of those, who bad, by many degrees, less understanding than himself, 1 liave not conversed with a moie faultless person ; of great justice and charity ; a true sense of religion, without ostentation ; of undoul)ted valour, thoroughlj' skilled in bis trade of a soldier; a quick and ready ai>ijrehensiou, with a good share of understanding, and a general knowledge in men and history ; although inider some disadvantage by an uiviiicible modesty, which, however, could not but render him yet more amiabia IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 305 displays of sympathy in England with the " trne King," excited duly favourable anticipations amongst his exiled followers. At that court, writes Lord Bolingbroke, " the Jacobites had wrought one another up, to look upon the success of the pi-esent designs as infallible; every meeting-house which the populace demolished,* every drunken riot which happened, served to confirm them in these sanguine ex))ectatioos; and there was hardly one amongst them, who would lose the air ot con- tributing, by his intrigues, to the restoration, which, he took for granted, would be brought about, without lain, in a very few weeks. Care and hope sat on every busy Irish face." Accordingly, in autumn, the Duke of Ormonde, accomjmnied by 20 officers, and 25 select troopers, of the Eegiuient of Nugent, from their quarters in Normandy, sailed for the op[)Osite coast of England, in order to act upon the extensive arrange- ments which he had made there, for a rising against the new dynasty. On reaching his destination, however, he found nothing could be attempted in the west against the Elector of Hanover, owing to the various measures that Prince had been enaVjled to take for his defence, ])rincipally through the aid of a Colonel Mac Lean. That officer (of a Highland name, most illustii(jus in the annals of loyalty to the Stuarts,) had been the contidant of the Duke with respect to all his plans and dispositions for the rising in question, but turned out such a villain, as to become an inwnner ! " Oh for a tongue to cnrse the plave. Whose treason, like a deailly blight, Comes o'er the cdiuicils of the brave. And blasts them, in their hour of might I " — ^Ioore. In consequence of this baseness. " the principal friends of Ormond," savs Lord Malion, " were arrested ; the others dispersed; ami when the Duke came to the appointed ])lace, he found no signs of a rising — not a single man to meet him, instead of the thousands he ex})ected ; and he was comi)elled to steer again towards France!" After a conference tliei'e, at 8t. Malo, with his young Sovereign, the Duke re-embarked, it is added, " with the daring and indeed des})erate project of throwing himself upon the English coast, and taking the chance of some favourable circum- stances; but a violent tempest forced him back a second time." The Duke eventually retired to Avignon, with his young Sovereign ; and, when that Prince left France, continued to reside at Avignon under the appellation of Colonel Comerford, until invited by Philip V. into Spain, for the purpose to be soon related. Not long after the Earl of Mar had i*isen in Scotland, the English Jacobites of Northumberland, and Cumberland, under Thomas Forster, Esq-., Meinber for the former County, the Earl of Derwentwater and others, joined by a bod}' of Scotch, under the stout Brigadier William to those, who had the honour and ha^jpiness of being thoroughly aoquaifitcd with him. This is a short, imjierfect character of that great person, tlie Duke of Ormond, who is now attainted for high trfason." * Of the Anti-Hanover;an Torj'ism, or High Church Jacobitism, displayed at such deiuolitious, the following sjiecimeii occurs, in a letter, of July, ITlo, from Mr. iSaily of Statfordshiie. " When the mobb puU'd down the Meetin4-H0r.se at Wolverhampton, one of their Leaders, getting on the top of the same, tlourish'd his hat round his head, and cry'd, ' G d Kiny G ge, and the Duke of MarUioronnh ! ^ A fellow, at the same jilace, standing by as an idle spectator, was charu'd by the rioters, with being a spy ; and, to attone for his supposed ofTejuU', they made him go down ou his knees, and cry, ' (Jud bltss King Jaiutio III, !"' X 306 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Mac Intosh of Borhnn, took iij» arms in the name of King Jamas ; and, having caused a much more numerous gathering of Cumbei-land and Westmoreland Militia, tkc, to disperse with disgrace,* advanced, j)ro- claiming James, as far as Preston, in Lancashire. They, however, were finally i-educed to surrender at that ]>lace in November, by a superior corj)s of regular troops, under Lieutenant-Ueneral George Cai'])enter and Major-Genei'al C-harles Wills. With this ca])tured Jacobite force, th(M'e was an Irish gentleman of a most honourable nume, Charles Wogan, of the house of RathcoHy, in the County of Kihlare. By this name, that County was representetl in the Supreme (Jouncil of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland, at Kilkenny, during the great civil war under King Charles I., as well as in the Pai'liament of King James II. during the subsequent War of the Revolution in Ireland. Against the Croui- wellians, the name of Wogan was distinguislied in the annals of cavall-r gallantry by the defence of Duncannon in 1G19, which coinpelled those revolutionists, or rebels, to raise the siege with loss; and, in 1050, that name was still more distingiiisluHl by the unp:iralleled coin-age and devotedness of the hero who, having undertaken "the desperate task of inarching through England with a party of royalist cavalry," in order to join a body of King Chailes II. 's adherents in the Highlands of Scot- land, "made good his romantic undertaking, though all England had then submitted to the Pailianunit ;" and who afterwards "saved the King's life, at the battle, or rather l^ight, of Worcester, by the desj)erate stand he made,, at the head of 300 horse, against Cromwell's whole ai-my," (consisting of 30,000 men,) '* in the suburbs of that town, till the King and Colonel Careless were out of sight !"t With such glorious family recollections before him, and, to use his own words, "as a good subject, ■who despised dangers, and death itself, when he had to execute the orders, or to av(,'nge the honour, of his Prince," Cliarles Wogan did not hesitate to join the Jacobite rising in the north of England; considering Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, as, by hereditary right, Kiny James III., to be denounced, with no more justice, by George of Hanover, and one ' Parliament, than Prince Charles Stuart, or King Charles II., had been denounced by Oliver Cromwell, and anotlter Parliament; both of the Princes, so denounced, having the like title to the Ci-own by birth, as both Princes of Wales; and the denunciation, in the case of Charles, being afterwards reversed, as illegal, by his " Restoi-ation." Upon the forming, early in 1715, of the extensive secret confederacy in England, in favour of James III., with London as its head-quarters, "from which metro- politan and central site, a correspondence was conducteul with the Jacobites who dwelt in different parts of the kingdom," Charles Wogan, his brother. Captain Nicholas Wogan, Colonel Henry Oxburgh, who had long served in King James II. 's army, and James Talbot, Esq., were the Irish Catholic gentlemen delegated to Northumberland, to arrange for •The Cumberland And Westmoreland Mihtia behaved no better, in 1745, at Carlisle. i- Charles Wo^an, commentincr, (as the Chevalier, or Sir Ciiai'les, Wogan,) in his letter to Dean Swift, on the historical nnfairness of Clarendon towards Colonel AVogan, remarks, how Clarendt)n sinks all mention of the (Jolonel's country, and "omits giving hini the honour of having sa\od the Kiii'i's life," as above recited. Abbe Mac Geoghegan, xuidcr "le Comte dc KiMare," notices "la noble famille des Wogans de Rathcotfy;" and, for additional information on this old name, see Dalton"s Irish Army List of King .James II., under Lieuteuaut-CoioiiclJoliu VVogaa of the Ijifantiy .Regiiueut oi Sir Maurice Eustace. IX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. SC? the insnrrpctinn there. Of those 4 Ii'ish Catholics, and 3 English gentletnen, of wlioiu 1 was a Protestant clergyman,* desi)atchetl on the same design in that quarter, we are told — "These gentlemen, under the pretence of being tourists, anxious to examine objects of nature and art, dispersed themselves in every direction. For the alleged protection of their equipments as scientific travellers, yet with the view of jn-eventing surprise froui tlieir ])f character of clergymen,+ and perlornied the cereiiKmies of the Catholic leligion. Under this mask of dissimulation, they insinuated themselves into the confidence of the unwary and unsuspicious, through whom they were introduced to the concealed priests; and, a.«( soon as they had fully ascertained their haunts, and di vi.sed means for their caption, they thiew off the mask, and proceeded, at the head of a licentious sohbery, to com- jilete the work of theii- detestable treachery. Priests were thus dragged ironi their altars whilst celebrating the most solemn ceremony of their leligion. and exposed, in their vestuii nts to deiision and insult, shut up in dungeons, and condemned to perpetual exile." The prosciibed Stuart chiiniant of the Crowns of Great P>ritain and Irelanriut. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 309 OoniiaTiv, iTltrns^ecl the selection of his future brirle there to his (lashing ]nsli cavalier, Cliarles Wogaii, wlio, in 1718, fixed, with excellent taste, Tipnn the Princess Maria Clementina Sohieslii, dangliter of Prince Jame* Louis Sohii ski. son of John Sobieski, King of Poland, so famous for hi.Sj ■wars against the Turks. l>ut, especially, for the great victory, by which, h;i\ing saved Vienna in l(i83, he was designated, in the language of Sri-i])tui-e. "a man sent tioni God. whose name was John." The match j>riv itely agreed to, was, for fiolitical reasons, to be similarly carried into eflect. But the completion of the arrangements for that pur[;ose being taken, by a Scotch ])olitical intrigue in the Stuart court, out of the hands of Wogan, and transfei-ird to '2 Scotch Protestants, the HonouraVile James Murray, and the Honourable John Hay, (subsequently created by. James ICarls of Dunliar and Inverness,) the Elector of Hanover got intelligence of the contemj)lated match. Alarmed at the great additional prestige which his injured competitor for the Crowns of Great Britain and Irehmd would derive from such a connexion with the race of Sobieski, a8 well as at the dangei-oua relationship wdiich that connexion would estab- lish iietween the excluded Prince and the Houses of Austria, Spain, P.ivaiia, itc, the Elector, whom the power and juirse of England enableil to bully and bribe upon the Continent,* resolved, by his inlluence there, to prevent the match, if possible. The Anglo-Hanoverian Minister.s, on the i.ne hand, frightened the Emperor Charles VI. with the prospect of Idsing his extensi\e dominions in southern Italy and Sicily, then, or in \1\^. principally defended against S[)ain by the maritime aid of England, unless he wouhi undertake to stop the accomplishment of that match witiv ])is relative by force; and. on the other hand, the large sum of £100,000 (English money, of course,) was ojOfered as an increase to the Princess Sobiefki's dowry, if she would agree to marry the Prince of Baden-Baden, or any other Prince, than the Head of the House of Stuart, to whom she was atiia need. Tlie Emperor, under tliis " jn-essure from without," had his cousin-german and aunt, the Princess and her mother, arrested, ia September, 1718, and detained, under the guaixl of General Heister, at Inspruck, in the Tyrol; with no more right than Elizabeth Tudor of England had to shut up Mary Stuart. Queen of Scotland; though with suflicient for the satisfaction of the Hanoverian, who had provided for his t)wn unlia|)y)y cousin and wife, in a similar manner! No course now remained to be adopted in the Stuai-t Court, but to apologize to Wogan, for not having left him to conclude tlie business which he had commenced so well; and to induce him. if possilde, to extricate the Princess from her confinement. Though such an attempt, on his part, seemed so little likely to succeed, as to be deemed, by t\\i^. wisest heads to whom it was mentioned, an affair of mere Don Quixotism; and though, if he should fail, and be arrested in striving to liberate the Princess, his own clooia * The subsidies, accompanying treaties with Continental powers, for Hanoverian interests, speak for themselves. At home, it will suffice to cite from Waljioliaiia, under "secret services," with respect to the Hanoverian family. "Some have confidently asserted, that Sir Eoiieit Walpole's /ur(/e secret srrvic inoncy went to iiewspa])ers ; while, ia fact, it vn.s ncccxHary, in order to fix flan family on. tl,e throii,'. Lord Orrery, ^Jecretary to tlie Pretender, ha.d a pension-, fmrn ISir Robert Walpnle, (;/'£20il0 a year.'' This was Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery; and thug was the cause of James in Ensland sod to George! That the unscrupulous news- paper suuporter of HaiioveriauisMi was oAsY> well remembered is apjiarent from tlie ease of Arnall, already uieiitioued, in a note, under tlie battle of Blenheim, ia ^^10 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIOADTCS ir;i|j;lit 1)P death, eitlier upon an Austrian scatiold, or liy lii.s lieiri<^ luiiulcil ftvci- to the Elector of Hanover tor execiition in England, on tlie ))lea (jf liaving been "guilty of high ti-eason " thert^; Wogan, nevertheless, agreed to take the matter in hands, if his Sovereign would ,t;i»'e him such a letter to the Prince Sobieski, as might induce that Prince to write; to his daughter, tliat, with the beai'er of the coininunication. as eijually tlie envoy of her father and her intended husband, she sliould ts(;a])e, if j)ossil»l(!, from Insf)ruck. Wogan, after having had, under a due disguise, H ])er.sonal communication with the Princess Sohieski, and her mother, at ]ns))ruck, to wliom he delivered suitable letters from his young Sovereign, jiroceeded, towards the end of the year 17 PS, to the Prince Sobieski, ab Olilau m Silesia, to obtain the requisite orders from the Prince to his daughtei'. But, from the utttir disbi^lief of the Prince in the possibility of liis daughter being ever rescued nnder the circumstances, it was, wit4i much ditliculty, he could be gotten to put pen to pa|)er on the matter, although he did so at last, in the most satistactoiy manner; presenting, asatistimony of Ids special regard, to Wogan, a uidcpie and beautiful Kuuff-box, formed of a single tui-quois, so admirably enchased in gold as to lie pronounced by jt;w(;llers of an inestimable value; particularly as having formed a portion of the spoil of th(> (Jrand Vizier's sphmdid searif^t j>avilion, in which it was taken, by the great John Sobieski, the day of ins famous ti'iumph at Vienna. Having obti'.ined the documetits reepiested by March, 1719, and Hke- v/ise gotten fictitious passports, Wogan selected, for his enter|)rise, from the oilicers of the regiment of his near relative, Lieutenant-General OiHint Arthur Dillon, 3 kinsmen of his own, namely, Richai-d Gaydou of Jrishtown, its Major, and a Knight of St. Louis, and (Jaj)tains Luke O'Tc.fple of Victoria, and John Mis.set of Kildare. These, with W<»gan luniseb, and a trusty Florentine valet of his young Soveieign, named ]\'iiliil V(//()si, were to Ibrm the men of the party. They were to be iu iduipauicd by 2 women, Madame Missefc, the Captain's wife, then KeNciul months gone with child,* and hei- maid, Jannettun; the former, * T subjoin, as containing various characteristic circumstances, this extract from "Female Fortitude JOxemplify'd, in an Impartial Nyrrativc of tlic Seizure, Esca|>e, ami Marria'^e df the Pi-incess 8ol>iGs!iy," tkc, havn)g inerely "I.cnidon: Printed in tlie Year 1722," at the bottom of the title-page, since it iniylit l)e the riii)i of a EuV)lisher, who should venture to put liis name there, "(jeneral Dillon's i'e;;iment ly tlien in ^urnsnn at Sceietat, within 'J leagues of Strasbour<;li. Mr. Wo:raii went thither, not (louhtinLC but that hesiiould lind some of his,'' Dillon's, " olhcers, who should asr.ist liiin in the undeitaking. U)>on his arrival, he comnuudcaled hi.s dcsiji,n to Major (Jaydon, Captain Tool, and (Ja[)tain Missett, all 3 his relations, find persons who had given sover.il sulhcient proofs of their conduct ami resolution. They i-eadily end)raced the projiosal, and icarudy ein/ngcd to aeriK luiti irit.h t.linr liv/'it and J'ortuiie.f! in si> 'iixirZ/i;/ an cnierprtx, ni)lwi.tlinltind mj an (irdcr iiroluhiJunj all Jri^ih vfficcr/i to lean; l/n-ir jioMs ■upon pa'i.ii ut as she was, on tlu; other Land, timorous in. lo-r nature, of a very toid'-r const tution, unit 4 montliH (joni' iri'k Cn'dil, the greatest dilJiculty was, how to break so nice an a.Tair to her. Tida the luisl.and undertook; laying before her the gloi-}' of the enteiprize, with this ])ro- Viiiliu'c iu'lucenieiit, that he himself was cng.'iued in it. Mr. Woyaa and tlie rd. jwr bacii. d w'iiiiL lie sj,iu, vuLti aU that »us pjuper to be ur^ed on aucli au occas ou. IN THE SERVICE OF FHANX'E. 311 designed to attend upon the Princess Snbieski, during her joui'ney into Italy, after leaving Inspruck ; the latter, to cliange elothes uitli tlie Princess at. luspruck, and occupy hei- bed for some time alter her !light, in order to make the Austrian keepers tiiink, till the substitution shouiil be discovered, that they had her still; and thus i)ostpone the coniuience- nient of a pursuit. But Jannetton, not being made aware of the real object of the journey, accompanied the party merely under an impression, that it was an ai-rangement to enable her friend, Captain Luke O'Toole, (nearly 6 feet high, and the finest man in his regiment!) to rescue a rich heiress, to whom he was engaged, from her relatives who detained her by foi-ce; and, for aiding in which mei-itori(jus design, she, Jannetton, was, of course, not to be a loser. The equij^age prepared at Strasburgli for the undertaking was to consist of a travelling-cari-iage of strong construction to stand the wear and tear of sucli a long and rougli journey, and y)rovided with double braces and S])are tackle of all sorts in ca.ie of accidents; it was to be diawn by G postdiorses, and attended by 3 outriders well-armed. In this vehicle were to l)e M;ijor Gaydon and Madame Misset, with Wogan and Jannetton. The Major and JMadamo had passports, procured by Wogan at Rome, as for the Count and Countess de Cernes, of a noble house in Flanders, travelling, with their family, to visit the Santa Casa of Our Lady of Loretto ; Wogan being included as a Virother to the so-called Countess; the Princess Sobieski, after taking Jannetton's place (as " the girl she'd leave behind her!") being intended to j)ass for the Countess's sister; wdiile Captains O'Toole anfl Misset, with the valet Yezzusi, were to act as the 3 mounted and «rmed attendants, or outridei'.s. Wogan, and his adventurous little party, set out, Api'il Ifith, from Strasl)urgh, where, in passing the bridge, and taking leave of their veteran friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Lally of the Regiment of Dillon, (father of the suV)sequentIy faujous and unfortunate Count Lally) tho Lieutenant-Colonel, "brave as he was," they remarked, "could not I'efraiTi from tears in bidding farewell t > those, whom, from the rashness of their enterprise, there seemed to be no likelihood of his ever beholding again !" Proceeding on their apparent " road to ruin," or "journey," as the Intendant of Strasbnrgh said, " to Wft^e a Jwle m f.Jie iuodil !" they reached, in about a week, the vicinity of Inspruck. There, after a due correspondence with the 2 Princes.ses, it was arranged that, the 27th, at night, Jannetton, having been ])rivately admitted into their apartment, in a shabby ridins-iuiod or female surtout of the English fashion, the Princess Maria Clementina should put it on, and slip down with her Polish Page, Konska, to the door leading into the street, near which Wogan, in waiting to receive tlnun, was to bring them to the inn, and the carriage there; that, the better to deceive General Heister. and the Magistrates of Inspruck, if possilde for 24 hours, the Princess, 2 d;iy.s ]irevious to her elopement, should keep her bed as very unwell, and, Irom the time of her departm-e, Jannetton .shoidd occupy the bed, having the curtains closed the ensuing day, under the pretext of the; patient being so much worse, as to render this nece.ssarv; and, in line, that, the Princess, the 'oetter to pi-otect her mother against the imputMtion of having connived at the escape, slu)uld leave a letter on her toilet asking She heard them all very a'tcntivcly, and, after pausing some tiirie. briskly mae up, and said. What would slic not Uojor a King and QueliN, and a Husband, aht loved 6u wfiiy^' 312 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES pardon for her flight, on the plea of being obliged by all laws, human and divine, to follow her husband, rather than remain with her parents. April 27th-28th, about 1 o'clock in the morning, amidst a tempest of ■wind, hail, and snow, so severe, that the sentinel on the Princess's resi- dence at Inspmck, being without a sentry-Vjox, was obliged by the wet and cold to seek shelter, for inside and outside warmth, in a little tavern opposite, the grand-(hiugiiter of John Sobieski made her way out in the dark to a corner of the street, where the Irish cavalier (or her " Papa Warner," as she used to call him in Germany.) was waiting, beyond the time appointed, in such uneasiness as may be easily supposed, to receive her; and, followed by her Page carrying a parcel of some articles of dress, with jewels to the value of 150, 000 pistoles, she proceeded with her deliverer to his inn. There she put on a dry suit, which Madam Misset had for her; all were on the road by about 2 o'clock; and they were 15 miles from rns])ruck at sun-rise. By the ft)llowing night, they were beyond the danger of any arrest, except what was to be apprehended, should they be overtaken by a special courier from Ins|)ruck, to alarm the Governors of Trent and Roveredo. The Chevalier provided against this, by directing O'Toole and Misset, to keep at a considerable distance in the rear of the carriage, to intercept any such couiier. If necessary, they, after stfi[)ping him of his papei-s, were to kill his horse, and leave himself securely tied, at some place off the road, with ropes, of which they had a supply for the purpose ; but they were not to take his life, if they could avoid doing so. The courier from Inspruck was. however, more easily disposed of by the Irish Captains, 2 posts from Trent, at a village named Wellishmile. There, having ordered supper, about 2 o'clock in the morning, they fell in with the very man, greatly knocked lip by the road ; invited him to supj^er with them; and amused and plied him so well with liquor, that he blaV)bed out the object of his journey, viz., to have the banditti who carried off the Princess Sobieski inter- cepted ; and produced to them his despatch to that effect. Tiiis, they, after making him still more drunk, purloined from him, tore to pieces, and left him in bed in such a state, the wine they gave him having been ■well mixed with eau-de-vie, that he was incapable of travelling larther for 24 hours ! Thus, notwithstanding several mischances, or breakings-down, and delays for horses, which might have been fatal to the undertaking, the Prince.ss was able to proceed on her journey, during which slie charmed her companions by her atlability and cheerfulness. "They otler'd," it is observed, "to place a cushion under the Princess's head, in hopes she might take a little rest; but she seem'd to take pleasure in nothing so much as to inform herself in everything relating to England, liieir man- ners, the most considerable families, the dress and beauty of the ladiis; at the same time learning some English words. Thus she diverted her- self all the journey, and, as she had a very happy memory, she retain'd everything they had told her, to every one's admiration. 8he made Mr. Wogan relate the adventure at Preston (he having acted a principal |)ait in that atl'air,) and tell her the names of all those who suffered upon that occasion, whose misfortunes touched her very sensibly; but, more ])arti- cularly, the Chevalier's," her intended husband's, "voyage into Scotland, ■what passed whilst he was tliere, and the many dangers he ran through, during the time of that adventurous expedition. After this, the Majoi-." Ga^dou, " cutertaiu'd her with the many sieges and battles General IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 313 Dillon's regiment had been engaged in, particularly the battle of Ciemona," and "the ])l('a.sni-e she took in hearing those martial stories showed her to he the genuine off-spring of the great Sobiesky.'' By April 30th, she was safe out of the Imperial, or in the Venetian, terri- tory ; May 15th, entered Rome in great state, amidst the acclamations of all theie, excej)t those of the Austrian or Hanoverian party; and was married, Hejttember 2nd. to the Stuart Prince, as King James III. By him, at her decease, in January, 173.5, (when only in her 33rd year, as born in July, 1702,) she was tlie mother of the 2 last direct, legitimate, male representatives of the royal House of Stuart — Charles-Edward- Louis-Philip-Casiniir, born at Home, in December, 1720, named, at his birth. Prince of Wales, afterwards, or in 174o-6, so famous in Scotland, and deceased at Albano, in January, 1788 — Henry- Benedict-Edward- Alfred-Louis-Ti]on)as, born at Pome, in March, 172-5, Duke and Cardinal of York, Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, &c., and deceased at Eome, ia July, 1807. The Emperor Charles VI., lest he should be suspected by his Han- overian confederate at London, not to have acted with good faith as the bailiff and jailer of his own cousin-gernian at Inspruck, ])roceeded to vindicate his Imperial honour on that jioint. by conduct most worthy of such honour. The 2 Duchies of Ohlau and Bricg in Silesia, which his own uncle and the fugitive Princess's father. Prince James Lotus Sobieski, held, in consideration of a large sum of money advanced to the Emperor Leopold by King John Sobieski in 1GS3 for the war against the Turks — in which, as has been observed, that hero likewise delivered Vienna ! — were sequestered, without any re]iayment of the capital advanced. The Prince himself was exiled to Passau. His wife, the aunt of the despicable Austrian despot, was, moreover, treated so tyrannically by him, that the harassing of body and mind which she endured threw her into a violent fever. And then, we are told, authentic testimonials of all these proceed- ings were forwarded, with due punctuality, to the Court at London, "as a proof of the sincerity with which the Emperor sacrificed the most sacred ties of nature to his politics!" Verily, as Achilles observes iu Homer, . . "Kiiiirs of snch a kind Stand but as slaves before a iioljle mind." , Pope's Homer, Iliad ix., 494-4C5. At Eome, on the contrary, Pope Clement XL, in order to mark Ins admiration of such a bold and singular entei-prise as the liberation of the Princess to whom he himself was god-fVtther,* ordered a patent to be made out, for the gallant Wogan, as a Roman Senator. Wogan, how- ever, being unwilling to receive any title, unless the sanie should Le conferred upon his brave countrymen, who had left tiieir einploynients and risked their lives to share the liazard a\id gh)ry of his undeiiaking, * John Frarcis All)ani was horn in July, 1G49. at Tesaro, in the Dnoliy of Uihino. ITavino: embraced the ecclesiastical state, he was made Secretary of the fiviefs ly there ; that James should be allowed to reside in the t'alace. winch had been assigi.td Li7n ; that the pulsion, which had 1 cen otnnted liini, to niaii.taiu the royal dignit_\- till restoied to liis kincdcnis, should V'e ccntiiiued ; ;iiid that he iiiiyUt Le sui'poited ill all things, against his enemies, Ly the succeeding i ope. 314 llISTOItY OF THE IHIsll I'.IUCADKS |)('titi()iH'(l t.lii' l\))i(' to fcwanl tlii'iii. ill like mainicr. Wo2;an, witli \\''.a (•oin)iaiii(ms, Major (iaydoii ami ('a|itaiiiH (J'Took^ anresenee ol' an immense mnltitu(l(>, were; liononred liy the ( 'oiint 1 1 i|iii(ilil() i\ll>ani, J'liniHi of I lie Senate, with a suitalile oration, in praise of the I'lineess Soliieski, and oi' tln^msi'lveH as her libei'ator.s. 'J'liis title of Konian Senator, though so niueh lessened in iiii)tortane(i i'rom what it ■was of old, was still that of tlu^ liijj;liest civic; distinetion at Itonie; was never venal, nor granted to any lait Kings, I'rinces, nephews of Sovereign Pontill's, or persons eminent for bravery, or otlnu- merit; and each Senator was addressed (hroiighout Italy as " Your Excellency." On the i-etiini of his young So\ ireiL.'n from Spain, VVogan was also received by him as lie deserved to lie. 'I hat I'liiiee, after nuHiting, and salniiiig with trans- jiorts of jo\', his bi ide, on the road lo l\loiitefias(;oiie, where the nii])tials were to l:d--e plare, I uiiied to her deliverer who accompanied her, and said to him, in the kindest and most impiessive, manner —'• VVogan, you have behav((l \ (iiiiscl f in such a way as I e.\pecte(l fiom your /.eal, from your address, and lidiii vour eouiag( ; and yon may feel assiiied, I hat, if I (lesir(» to occupy the tlimne whii'h is my right, it is partly thai- 1 may likewise i"enonded with the illustrious Dr. Jona- than Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, whom he admii-ed, as the .shar[)esb .scourge of the antinational op})ression. then imposed ujion In-land, as government. The Chevalier sent from Spain a present of Cassala wine to the Dean, and a green velvet bag, with strings of silk and gold, con- taining various compositions in prose and verse, for the perusal and criticism of the Dean; who, when he ojiened the bag, "little expecting a history, a dedication, poetical translations of the seven penitential j>salms. Latin poems, and the like, and all from a soldier!" observed iu liis i-eply — " In //tese kingdoms, you woidd be a most unfortunate niili- taiy man, among troops, where the least pretension to leariiing, or piety, or coniniun morals, would endaiLger the owner to he cashiered,. Although I have ')io regard for your trade from the judgment I make of those who jirofess it in these, kingdoms, yet / cannot hut Idghly esteem those genfJemen of Ireland, who, loith, all the disadcantages of being exiles and strangers, hare been able to distinguish t/ie/nselves, by their valour and conduct, in so 'iiiany parts of Europe, I thirdc, above all oth<',r 7iafions."* The Dean sent Dublin editions of his own works, and those of Popp, Gay, &c., to the Chevalier, for his cam]>library. This correspondence took place i'rom 1732 to 173o. The Chevalier printed " Memoiies sur I'Entreprise d'lnspruck en 1719," dated from St. Clement de la Manche, March 4th, 174-) — a well-timed publication, with reference to the design then medi- * Wogan remarks of his brave brother refugees from slavery in their native country — '"'rhey have sliewn a great deal of gallantry in the deence of foreign States and Princes, with very little advantage to themselves, but that of being free; iuid without half the outward marks of distinction they deserved. Tliese southern (loveniments are very slow, i)i advancing foreigners to considerable or gainful jireierments. Their cliief attention is reserved for their own subjects, to make them some amends for the heavy yoke they have laid over them." In Fiance particularly, I tind the obstacles to a due prouiotion of the Irish oiiicers as fi.raiKjei-y were veiy great, from the sujterior interest of the numei'ous ntihlc-i.-ie, who looked for a suitable provision in life to the army. So that, whatever was ttie distinction the Irish accjuired in that service, (and the other services rofcrreii to) si;ch distinction is to be set down, as much infeiinr to that of tlieir actual merit; or to such merit as, in a iialive, would have been far sooner or far higher advar.ced. Engl.sli intrigue, too, in France, was exerted to prevent, the iivcnviiuio. (i Iiii^h f)tf'cer~ ; on wliicli joint, see faither on, or under the year 17 iu the accuuiit ui Sir Ucrard Laiiy. 316 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES tatc'd, liy Prince Clmvles in France, for a landing; in Great Britain — and nn().«t a])[)n,sitely dedicated to the Queen of France, who was a Polish I'lincess, as well as the heroine, rescued from captivity by the wiiter. I liave not ascertained, how long the Chevalier Wogan lived after giving to the world this iiari'ative of his excursion to Insprnck, of necessity only abridged here. I. iinr the people, in tliaX coiudry, were a,ll well' affected to tlie Kokj,^' James HI., '■'•and, w>ouhl have torn him and his men, to peices; and if Ormond liad landed. ///'," the Colonel, "must either have surrendered, or joynd. them loitli his jnen. Having seriously reflected on these orders, he thought it best to communicate them to some of the leading gentry of tlie place; telling them, that he did not know, whither they were design'd as a snare to liim, or them; that, tor all their sakes, he wisht they would keep the peace; for, as lie woidd not perform what w;is i-eqnired, he hoped they would, at the same time, prevent his being brought to trouble. This method was kindly taken, and they assured liira, he should be safe, and free from all insults, unless there was a general insurrection, when they would be glad to have liim Avith them. There wns accordingly no disturbance in that place, tho, at the same time, the people were prepared, and resolved, to take Uie fields, as soon as Onnond landed. This passage I take notice of," adds Lockhart, "as it seems somewhat akin to the affair of Glencoe, and 'tis probable the like orders were given to other ofKcers." Tliat is, '• the like order-s," in the way of burning, shooting, and destroying, " conlrary to laio,''' with a pro- portionable indemnification for doing so, fr'om the Hanoverian! In Ii'eland, about the time that the English Tories, or Jacobites, mutilated George's statue at Westminster, some of tlie same party in Dublin cut in pieces the picture of George, which he had given to the Cor])oration, and which was set up in the Tholsel. Nor were 2 Pro- claiuations, one, fVom the Castle, offering £1000, and another, from the Corporation, offering £oOO, for a discovery on this matter, of any effect. " Such," exclaims a furious Whig, " was the hellish rage and spite of tho Irish Tories!" Meanwhile, Jauu's Francis Edward 8arstield, 2nd Earl of Lucan — already noticed, as distinguished at the reduction of Barcelona, \indev his stepfather, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, — was despatched, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 319 •with sevoral officers, into Ii-pland. to pxcite and orpinize rlue insurrec- tions, among the oppressed Catholics, in favour of the ohl royal taniily; through whose " restoi'ation " alone any relief was expected, from the rJromwello-Williamite yoke of colonial and sectarian o])pression, estaV)- lished there by the so-called "glorious Revolution." A Jacobite song of the day in Irish, still preserved, accordingly refers to the true King, or James, son of James, and his troops, corning, with the Duke,* over the ocean; the priests, as one man, imploring Christ; the bards songful, and their gloom dispelled ; while the poor Gaels of Inis Eilge — i. e., native or Milesian population of the 7whle inland — were antici[)ating the ari'ival of those who were on the sea. The mnin Spanish fleet of .5 select men-of-war, and about 20 transports, with 5000 sohliei-s. "partly Irish," and arms for 30,000 more, horses for cavalry, &c., designed to disembark near Bristol, where the Stuart cause "was moi-e popular than the Hanoverian, sailed in March from Cadiz, nnder Admiial Don Balthazar de Guevara and the Duke of Ormonde; but, when 50 leagues off Cape Finisterre, towards 1 o'clock in the morning, encountered a storm, vvhicli blew with such violence, for 48 hours, that the ships vKve shattp.reil, and disperseiJ, and a quanf/Ui/ of cannon, horses, d'c, had to ^'e thrown over board. Instead of proceeding for England, it therefore laus necessary, to make for snch ports of the Peninsvla, as it vya-t possible to reacii. This gi'eat disaster to Qrmonde, on the ocean, was followed, in Scotland, after a skirmish at the Pass of Strachells, near the Valley of Glenshiel, by the dispersion of the armed Jacobite loyalists, and the capitulation of the Spaniards there; since they had nothing to ]io|)e for, unless through a co-operation with his movements, subsequent to landing. In Ireland, the Earl of Lucan arrived in Connaught, where he was allied, by his mother, to the great family of Clanricarde; and he, with other oilicers, would appear to have laid several trains of insurrection, which, upon Ormonde's reaching the English coast, were to ex])lode throughout the island, as useful distractions to the power of the enemy. But these designs were rendered altogether useless by the failure of Ormonde's enterprise, and became known to the Anglo-Hanoverian administi'ation in Dublin ; where, after an alarmed assemblage, in April, of the Whig Privy Council at the Castle, which did not break up till 2 o'clock in the morning, the ado{)tion of hostile measures towards Catholic ecclesiastics, and the stationing guards of the colonial Militia through the streets Jiy night, a Proclamation was issued to this efi'ect — "That the Gc^vernment having certain intelligence, that Sarsjield, otherwise called Earl of Lucan, and several officers, who had lately landed and dispersed themselves in several pa7-ts of the kingdom, had held conferences with divers Papists of distinction, with design to foment a rebellion in favour of the Pretender ; and that they had certainly concerted a general insurrectiony v)hich was to be in all parts of tJie kingdom the same night and hour, having, to this end, their emissaries in each province; therefore it was thought fit, to give notice thereof to all the inhabitants, that they might take the necessai-y measures to apprehend the said Sarsjield, and all the * A Proclamation, from the Georgeite Lords Justices in Ireland, offered, for an apprehension of the Duke of Ormonde there, alive or dead, £10,000; a like docu- ment agjiinst him being issued in England, where, adds my authority, "the expec- tation of his landing was so great among the Jacobites, tliat they cou'd not help discovering it, in the insolence of their looks and expressions." 320 iiisTanv OF TiiK iiuPH r.;;iGADES officers who trrre come info tlie liiirfdom irifh (hat desuju ; niid a rownrd of dClOOO sterling was promised lor scciii-iiig any 1 of i\\v, said iicrsoiis, witliin tlie space of .'? iiioiitlis. And, inasiinicli as tlici-e was reason t<» believe, that this traitorous dt>sio;n could not liave l)C(;n forniod and f'onientcd except Uy Papists, and otlicr peisous disad'ected to tlu^ (xovern- iiient, excited l)y the Popish Priests of th(! kingdom, all ollicials were required to (ij)/ireJieii(l (ill PopL^h Archhis'io/is, JJishups, Jesuits, Monks, ike, in order that the laws against the Papists, especially those of Ijinierick and Galway, might be |)ut into execution ; all seditious meet- ings, or assemhlies of I'apists and other ill-designing persftns, were likewise to he prevented, and - Prince, whom tJiei/ regarded as their lawful Sovereign. But their counti-ymcMi, wiio were* appointed to serve, with the Spanish army in Sicily, agafnst the (Jrermans, and who thus had a better field for disiJiiction, duly avail(;d tlnimsclves of it; ]iiirticularly at the alfair of Melazzo, wIku'c they behaved wiLli similar valour, to that dis])layed at Cremona against the sanie enemy — " 1 single brigade of them," writes the gallant Wogan to Swift, " having di'iven the whole Cernian army into the town, or the sea, after they had been deserted, by the S[)anish troops, and Generals, to a man !" On this occasion, when 6UU0 Imp(nial iui'antry, and 8UU cavalry are mentioned to have sur- • According to a piihlisliod letter of Lady f!lain'ieanle in •Inly, 1717, to licr graiiilsoii, the Duke of Liria, his stepbrother, the liarl of Lucan, was in audi narrow circumstances notwitlistandiiirf liia post in the Spanish service, the jiension of ;^l)()0 livres a year attaciied to it liaviii;^ Ijccn reduced to 2()()(), and, iroiu 1714, or about i) years, left totally in arroar, that lie was ahove 8000 livres in debt; was con- Bcquciitly obliged to n!(jucst the writer for pecuniary assistance, and to (juit the service of .S)iain foi- that of Fi'auce ; wli(>re ho was maile a supernuinci'ary or refonufd Colonel in the liish lb)rse Jle^iuient of Nugent; tlie pay o which apponitineut was, however, but 2000 livi-es a year. Lady (Jlaiiricarde likewise mentioning, that "he had a most dangerous lit of sickness soone after he. left; K])aine," adds, she intemhid assistintj liini against Christmas tliat year with what; 8he could, " beiin^ ,t20i), though it be very insufficient " The good Lady liiialiy Buggests to the Duke of Liria, tliat his father, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, having so many con.sideralile commands at his disposal, something belter might bo gotten for jioor Lord Lucan, than the small post which he was "left to live and subsist on." Lord Lucan's decease is noticed in the Loudon (jazettc, May, 1719, No. 5747, under a ))aragra[)li from "Paris," thus — " M. Harslield, called Lord Lucan, who had lately been in Ireland, died, at St. Omers, on the 12th instant." The facts of this nobieman having been an officer of the Irish JJrigade in Fivnice f r .sonic time, and of his having been employed as related in L'eland, Iiavi;, through /(i.j ]>(;r.s()ii, connei;t(id th(! Spanish designs in favoiu' of the Stuarts witli th(! history of Ihdl lirigade; though his iiOrdshiji, by acting as he did iu Ireland, nnist have returned to the service of Spam, agaiubt whom France was tliuii allied wiLi» J^iigluud. JAMES lUTTLJCH, (DXJKiE o:f opiiyco3srr)E.) 2te IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 321 prised the Spaiiisli camp Vjefire dny-break, they are stated to have had altont 2200 men, including General Vefcerani, and 37 otficens, killed, wounded, and taken, and the Hilu'iTio-Spaniards not more than 6U0 killed, or wounded, with 2 Colonels, and some other otiicers. Hence, alleges a hostile contem, orary, respecting the Irish military in Spain — "they consist, at present, of 8 ngiments, at least, and are in as great esteem there, upon account of their eminent services to that Crown, especially in the late War of Sicily, as theii- countrymen are in Fi-ance." In a Stuart state jwper of the following year, 1720, from the pen of the celebrated Irish Protestant Jacobite, Dr. Charles Leslie, being au application to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, to espouse the cause of James III., considerable light Is thrown on the feelings of the paitizans of the Stuart family, connected with the preceding expedi- tion from Si)ain under the Duke of Ormonde, &c. Having noted, hovv " the great discontents of all ranks of men, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, have been so visible for these last 5 years," (or since tlie Hanovei-ian accession,) as to be unnecessary t(j d(itail, thougli thei-e was " 1 thing to be accounted for, how the Government in England have been hitherto abhi to support themselves rt^a/Vi^-^ ',) parts in [0 of Ute people,* who not only wish, but would most willingly and vigorously concur, to remove them," the Doctor says — " The security of the Government is reducible to I point, that the people have hitherto been utterLi/ destitute of a small Ividy of reyaUir troops, to give a hey inning to the design, and to Diahe head at fir at, and of anns, and otJier rnditiry stores, to put into the hands of the majority of the ibatiin, who are most ready and impatient, to receive and use tlif.m, for the vecovery of their libertifs. There are a greater number of officers, of all ranks, and degrees, discarded, and dispersed in the country, tiian are at present m the armies of i\\e usurper. These men are equally desirous to appear in the rescue of their country, and only want tlie means of doing it. And no man in England, oi' either party, doubts, but that, if the Duke of Or/nond could have lanAed from ISpain last year, with the forces and arms designed for the expedition, it Would have restored King James, proh'xbly v}ithout a ivar, but certainly wiih a war I f 2 or 3 niont/is at moft. And, it is evident, that the attemjjt miscarried, oid.y from the great distance, and situation, of Spain." Should his Royal Highness, the Pungent i)f France, con.sent to undertake the expedition to England, for another " restoration," in which, it is alleged, Le would easily succee I, then, continues the Doctor, '' at least 2l) of the must cunsif/erabl", 7nen in Engl an I, of opa'erU fortune, are vyiUin.g to come over into France, anl return loith the troops his Royal H tghness loill lend them., and take their fate wiUi th.ein; and liis Royal Higlmess' discernment * This estimate, by Dr. Leslie, of the extent of -Jacobite princi[)les, combiued with those estimates cited in the 1st note to tliis Book, will farilier siiow what very little chance the House of tfuiiover would have had to reign in Great Britain and Ireland, were the contest between that family and the Stuarts to have been sub- mitted for determination to "universal suffrage," or " Vox I opitli, vox Did." Indeed, the year j)revious to Dr. Leslie's writing his aljove-cited state-paper, or in the autumn of 1719, a Jacobite tract, to the effect of this remark, being entitled '■'Ex ort ti((j te. judko. Vox PopuLi, Vox Dei,' cost its printer, John Aiatthew.s, a trial, and condemnation to death, at London ; pursuant to which, though only an apprentice, havi.,g 3 years still to serve, and aged but 19, he was liaiKjcd, at Tyburn, in November! Here was a Whig -Hanoverian or '"glorious-revolution" illustration of lilx-rtii of the press — with a ivni/eaitce ! If the will of the ])eo))le be rejjresented by "universal suifrage," was George L as justly King of Great Britaia aiid Ireland, as Napoleon IIL is Emperrr of France? Y 322 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES must see clearly, that mere disgust against the present Government wnnhl nut induce lliem to put their wliole fortunes upon 1 stake, if tlteij were tidt infaMibly assured of its success. And, as tbey would not desire his Koyal Highness to undertake it without sucli infallibi/itt/ of success, tho' yieihaps a smaller number might do, they desire 10,000 foot, and 2000 liorse and dragoons, with 20. ;agO(l at Arlenx, Denain, J>oiiay, C^)iirsnoy, ami Unmliaiu. In tiit next oi- C(>nehulin<: canipaiijn of tlic war against, tlic I mpnialists, he \\;is at tli(> rednctiDns of Lamlan and j^'i i'aii^li. r>i-i^adi( r, liy lufvclol A|iiil '.h-i\, 1721, he wa.s still Licntcnant ( Vilond of t lie lu'j;inirnt ol' liCc, at. Iii^ dt'cfast\ in January, 17l.'r'. The liigh reptitatidU whii'li llie Irish I'rij^adcs alirnaii liy lliis |i,'rii>il Mttained, and tht* proiiorlionahh' aiiprchcnsion with w hirli, ns aUaclicij i.i» t'le ILonse of Stuart, they vvcrt; rcjjjardi'd l>y tht^ sn|)|Kiit(Ts of llic Ucsolii- tion and Hanoverian dynasty in England, arc liacihly cxiiresscd liy a writer of the latter opinions, Mr. i'orniaii, in a pauiphict, dated intni "Amsterdam. 8th of Antrnst, 1727," and entitled, '• .1 Lettfii' to the /ii(iii him; and he coiisider'd as a Prince, that has a liravc and wdl- (iisciplined army of veterans at his ser\ice; llio' lie wants that oppoi- tunity to cunploy them at present, which he expects time, and I'diiune, will fav(mr him with. Should l''ranc<', wdicn thrown wanton with power, lorget her engagcnu'uts, ami oMigations, to Ihitain, can she anywhero find snch proper instriunents as the Irish regiments to exe(aite sncli enterprizes as she may then undertake, in favour of the Chevaliei-'s pi-e- tensions, when they S(piare with her dwn interest, and ])iiv,ite \icws'{ They are P>i-itish snhjeets, tlu^y -peak the saun^ languagii with us, and ai-o conse(]uently tin; fittest troo])s to invad(! ns witli. They ar(i season'd to (langer.s, and so jxa-feeted in the art of war, that, not only the Serjeants «nd (^)rpo)'als, but even the ])rivate nu'U, can inak<; V(a'y good oHicers, upon occasion. In v}liaf, ptirt of I he arnii/ noarer tlieij luiva been p/aced, theij have ahotu/s niM with nu-cess, and, 'upon .several ocxasious, wait, honour, v:here fhe French, iheinselren, n:a.rlike as they are, hare receirel, an affront. 'J\) thcii' valour, in a. grciit, measure, h'raucc owes, not oidy most of what ti'ophies sin; gain'd in the late; war, imt even her own pre- servation. And, in King William's I'eign, tlu; Duke of Savoy had a fatal proof of their couivige, nmUa- the conduct of t Ik; brave Lord Monnt- cashel, so well known, in the Court of King Charles II., by tlio name of Justin Maccarly. 'I'lnsy wrestinl (/remmia out of the iiands of the great Eugeiu^, when, i)y surprise;, Ik; had mad(! himself mastia- of all the town, except tlu! Irish (|uart(!rs, and s;iw the Marshal Duke de Villei-oy liia j>risoner, who was takeu by Colonel Mac Donnall,* au Irishman in the • 'Nat ColtDi/'l, liiit f'li/it'ilu, as iiicntioiicil in my n;irrativ(! of the aHair of ( !ri;niona. Ill tlic iiai)i|jlilct of Fuuauu, I'loui wliicli i givo tlio uxLiucLs in the text, he inakca IN TIIR SERVICE OF FRANCE. 325 Emppror's service. By that action, liardly to be parallel'd in history, they saved the whole French ai-niy on that side of tlie A1|»h. At 8|jiio- liaek, if mv memory does not fail me, ]\Iajor-Oeneral Nu;^ent's Ilegitncnt of Horse, by a brave charge upon 2 Regiments of Cuirassiers, brought a compleat victory to an army, upon which Fortune was just turning her •back. At Ramillies, the Allies lost but 1 pair of colours, which the Jioyal Irish in the service of France took from a German regiment. At Toulon, Lieutenant-General Dillori distinguished himself, and chiefly contributed to the pre>iervation of that important [dace. To the Irish lifgiments, also, under the conduct of that intrepid and experienced ofHcer, Count Medavi himself very generously attributed his victory over the Imperialists in Italy. And the poor Catalans will for ever have reason to remember tlie name of Mr. Dillon, for the great share he had in the famous siege of J3arcelona, so fatal to tlieir nation. Sir Andrew Lee, Lieutenant-Genci-al, and one of the Great Crosses of the Order of St. Louis, shewed likewise how consummate a soldier he was, when he defended Lisle, under the Marshal Duke de BoulHeurs, against those thunderbolts of war, the Prince of Savoy, and our own invincible Duke of Marll)orough. And Lieutenant-Ger.eral Rothe has, by several memo- I'ablc actions. [>articularly his conduct under the Marshal Duke de Ber- wick, in the late war between France and Spain, acquir'd an immortal lepntation, and shown himself not infeiior to any of the best of the Iii>.+i Generals abroad. In sliort,. Sir, the Irish troops did the Allies the most considerable damage which they received in the la-t war, and will do so again, if another war should haj)pen, while they continue regimented. " I have mention'd a few of the actions of the Irish, to let Britons see what sort of an enemy is still reserv'd in petto against them. And, when you call to mind the late great Earl Cadogan, and several of hia counti-ynieu, who, at the Revolution, took the right side of the question, and served their late Majesties, King William, and Queen Anne, yon will the more readily believe, that I have not been too e.Kti'avagant, ia representing the courage of those of the same nation abroad. They con- sist, at present, of a Regiment of Horse, and 5 Ri^giments of Foot, in F'-ance; all double or treble officer'd ; so that, including the Reform'd Officers, placed a la suite of the garrisons, they can, by advancing some of the pi'is'ate men to be Serjeants and Corporals, and the present Ser- jeants and Corporals to be Lieutenants and Ensigns, furnish, aimmgst themselves, a sufficient number of expi-rienced officers for 4U, or 50,000 men upon occasion. And I believe their number in Spain is equal, if not su[)erior, to that in France, j)rovided they have not sufHr'd extremely by tlie siege of Gibraltar. * " This is as impartial and as full an account of the Iri.sh abroad as the subject requires. Some of them by inclination, but most of thetn by interest, as the case stands, are entirely devoted to the Chevalier; und the hopes of being restored to their estates make the Irish ofKcers Botne mistakes, refjuiriiii; no more notice here, than to remark, that he either corrected them in liis sul'seciuent pamphlet concerning the Irish, or that they will he fuuiid corrected in in;/ accounts of the several occurrences to wliich he lefers. * At the siege of (Jiliialtar in 1727, alluded to by Formaii, we see, in the Spanii-h armj', the lieginicnts of Irlainha and Limerick, with the Colonels and I ons riayniond Bourke, (Jliarles (Jusack, Wilham Lacy, Jaiuea Lelaud, Lewia O'Mahony, and Peter Sherlock. 326 HISTORY OF niK inisii hkmcadics fl.-iily wisli for an oncasion of fxofcisiii'j^ tlicir aversion to tlic jircscnt e.stal)lislmi('iifc. In tli(; year 17io. as many of tluMii as tomid an oppor- tunity slipp'd over to Scotland; amongst whom wei-<; some (jrtMUMal, and s(!V('ral Field, Ollicicn-s; hut they could not ai'i'ive time enough to ht^at tlni battle of Dumhiain. And the French (^>urt, f;ir from shewing any displea- sure at their thus abandoning their colours without leav(% seem'd rather to wink at it. . . . You are sensilde. Sir, and so will every honest Briton bo, wlien he seriously considers the case, that, while tin; Irish regiments an; sutler'd to continue in the service of l''ranc(^ and Spain, tliey will always furnish those nations with instruments to carry on their designs against 'tis, and prove a nursery of inveterate enemies to Hi'itain as long as she continues under the government of the august House of Hanover, which, I hope, will be to the end of time. They daily make reci'uits in London and s(ivcral parts of Ireland, tlio' surrounded with, dilHculti(!s, which, one woidd think, ought to l»e insuperable, under a Ministry, so eelel)rated f )r its vigilance and ability." " His late Majesty* (of glorious and immortal memory) was suddtsidy called from the British throne, to take possession of a better. If, th'-n, through any I'atal aceidtmt, we should fall under a minority (which God forliid!) would not such an unhappy change afford an ample opportunity to ill-designing men for carrying on their wicked schemes against tln^r country^ If, in such a conjuncture, a Ministry, or Juncto, slionld start Tip, with secret inclinations for the Chevalier, coii'd such ])eople have, better engines to set to work, than the Irish troo^is abroad? Or, in thu mean time;, could his friends, were they in power, take a more ]>olitick Btep in his favoui", than to intail Pretendei'ship upon Brit tin, of which those troops are the very vitals ^ Pretendershij), you know, will always pi-opagate plots and cons|)iracies. For tho' the Chevalier shoiditu- lation. In 1734, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, passing the Bhine in April, with the Begiments of Bulkeley, Dillon, Berwick and Fitz-James in his army, and dislodging, with little loss, about 12,000 Germans from the lines of Etlingen in May, proceeded to invest tlie important fortress of Philipsburgh; well supplied with artillery, annnunition and provisions, and garrisoned by between 4000 and 5000 men, under an experienced officer, the Count de Wutgenau. The Marshal broke ground the night of June 3rd-4th, and was killed (as elsewhere more fully noticed) on the 12th. But the operations were carried on by his aV)le successor-in- command, the veteran Marquis d'Asfeld, wdio, though obliged to ])rotect himself with immense lines against Prince Eugene desirous to raise the siege, and though having, at the same time, to suffer much from hardships and disease, as well as from the resistance of the garrison of Philipsburgh, reduced that forti'ess to capitulate, July 18th. At this siege, stated to have cost the Germans about 1200 men and the French above 3000, the trenches were mounted by the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, and Roth; among which, those of Clare and Dillon are specially referred to as distinguished. The rest of this campaign consisted in movements of no general interest. The campaign of 1735 in Germany, the last of this short war, was one of manoiuvres between the Imperial forces and those of France. Of the Irish Brigade, however, Bulkeley's, Roth's, and Berwick's battalions were stationed in Flanders, and only Clare's and Dillon's were employed in Germany. " The Irish regiments," says a contemporary, in reference to these 2 last-named corps thei-e, "bravely secured the retreat of the French army out of the Empire, altho' closely follow'd by the brave Count Seckendorff, who did his utmost to cut off their rear, but was as bravely disappointed, by the intrepid behaviour of the Irish." The year 173G was marked by the decease of a veteran survivor of the War of the Revolution iu Ireland, and of the subsequent campaigns of IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 329 til*' BrifrarTe on t>ie Oontinetit during Louis XTV.'s reifm — thp Comte Cliarles dc Skclton. M:ifecli;il de C;imi> de Cavalerie, or MMJor-General of Jlorsp. He belonged to a race, distingnisbcd, in several branches, abroad and at lioni-e, for loyalty to the House of Stuart. Its principal representa- tive, iSir Bevil Skelton, having been Envoy Extraordinary for King C'iiai-les TI. at various Courts in Germany, tilled the like post for King J.inies 11. in Holland and France. After suffering a temporary dis- credit owing to the Orange treason vvhicii surrounded the throne, he was iTstore.l to the favour he had so well merited; was rewarded, for ])is zealous attachment to his master's interest, by being apjiointed Governor of the Tower of London, and Colonel of a Regiment of Foot; and, retiring to France with the royal family, he was Comptroller of the Household to the exiled Court at St. Germain, till his death, in 169G. Jn 1689, among the persons of consideration who came over with the King from Fiance to Ireland, or followed him soon after, was Lieu- tenant-Colonel John Skeltou, who obtained the same rank in the Infantry Itegiment ot Donough Mac Carthy. Earl of CI '.ncarty. Jame.s Skelton was mortally wounded, as Colonel, in the last co\nliat \)efore Thomond Bridge at Limerick, in October, 1691. Thomas Skelton was a Lieu- tenant in the King's or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards. Charles Skelton, the subject of this notice, entered the French army in 1688. In 1689, passing into Ireland to defend the roy;il cause, he became a Lieutenant in Colonel John Parkei-'s Regiment of Horse; served through the whole of the Irish war. during which he was at the battles of the Boyne and Aughrim, and siege ot Limerick; and returned to France in 1691. Aide-de-Camp, from this time, to the Duke of Ven- donie, he accompanied that i-enowned commander through aU his cam- ]iaigns, till his death. He was commissioned, March 4th, 1703, as a reformed Me.stre-de-Camp to the Irish Horse Regiment of Sheldon. He Avas made a Brigadier, by brevet. March 21)rh, 1710, and Marechal de Camp, by brevet. February 1st, 1719. He then served no longer, and died at Paris, with " the character of an excellent officer, and a very gallant man,'' May 24:th, 1736, aged 62 years. In 1738, died an Irish Jacobite officer, much trusted in Stuart and Bourbon politics, Nathaniel Hooke ; by creation of James II., in France, Baron de Hooke of Hooke Castle, County Waterford. The name, originally La Hougue, fiom the lordship s'>-called in Normandy, wa.s iei)resented among the French conquerors of England under Duke William ; and afterwards among the early settlers from that country in Ireland under Henry 11. in the southern locality above-mentioned, as finally, or by Anglican corru])tion, Hooke. Nathaniel was the 2nd son of an offshoot of the old line of Hooke Castle, (expelled V)y the Crom- wellians.) or John Hooke of the County Westmeath. Having served in King James's Guards, with whom he came to France, and been attached there, as a reformed Colonel, to the Irish Regiment of Galnioy, he was tran.sferred, with the like grade, to the Regiment of S]iaire, by oriler of January 8th, 1703. In this regiment, he served that year with the army of Flanders; in 1704, and, except while in Scotland, in 1705, on the JVloselle; and, in 1706, at the battle of Ramillies. In 1707, he was sent Hgain from Louis XIV., and the Stuart C-ourt at St. Germain, to Scotland, in order to turn to account the national e.xasperation there at the Union, by making anvmgements for the .Jacol)ite invasion from Fiiujce, undertaken the following -year. Created Brigadier by brevet, 33 ") HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES Marcli '^1(1, 170S. lie was 1 of tlie General Officers to accompany liis yoiin<> Sovereinu, as James III. of Eni,'laud and Ireland and JaiiUis VTII. of Scotland, in the ex])edition referred to. On the frnstratii>n of the pro- ]iosed landin^j; in Scotland, he returned to Fi-ance, and was present, that cnnpaiijn, at the Uattle of Oudenarde. Jn 17(>"J, he was at the battle of ]\lMl|ilai|iut. In 17 IC, after having been Agent for the Honse of Stnart with the h'rench Plenipotentiaries at the negociations in Holland for a general peace, he sei-ved with the Army of Flanders. He was Envoy to the Princes and States of the Empire and of the North, in 1711 and 1712; and, (hiring the Regency, was nominated to the Embassy to Prussia. He was created, March 15th, 1718, a Marechal de Camp; was ai)pointed, April -7tii, 1721, a Commander of the Order of St. l,onis ; and died at Paris, October 25th, 1738, aged 75. By his marriage with Eleoiior SusMii Mac Cartliy Reagh, of the direct line of tiie old Princes, or Chief's of CJai'bery, the Bai-on had 1 son, James Nathaniel, slain, tiiiia pra/e, with the Army of Bohemia, in 1741. Another bi-anch of those Hiberno-Norman Hookes, that retired trom the Croniwellian reyiiiie to the French West Indian islands, after having held the position of nolilesse there, and having given officers of the ranks of Ca[)tain and Colonel to the Irish Brigade in the national regiments of Fitz-James, Dillon and Berwick, finally re-settled in Normandy; wiiere a Baron de Hooke was estalilished, in 1814, at (^atteville, as a barony belonging to his lion.se. Of tliose Irish and (J.itholic Hookes likewise were Natha- niel Hooke, author of the well-known History of Rome, (1 of the most honest V)ooks that ever .was written) and other works, born in Dublin about 101)0, deceased in England in 17G3; and his sou, the It-arned Abbe Hooke, Doctor of Sorbonne, editor of the Duke of Ber- wick's Memoire.s, &c., born in Dublin in 171G, and deceased in France, in 179G. Of the ancient family of Plunkett, of Danish origin in Ireland, dis- tinguished 1)y various branches, especially in the Counties of Louth, Meatli, and Dublin, and dignified by "almost every honour which the Crown could bestow," including several Peerages, Robert Plunki^tt, l-'jth Lord Baron of Killeen, and Gth Earl of Fingal, C;iptain of the Infantry Regiment of Berwick in the Irish Brigade, also died this year, 1738, at Paris, where he was interred. By his marriage with Mary, daughter of Roger Macgennis, Esq., of the branch of Deriveagh, County of Down, and likewise an officer in the service of France, his Lordship was grandfather of Artiiur James, 17th Lord Baron of Killeen, and 8tli Earl of Fingal, deceased in 183G; who duly tvstimated his consecpient ])articipation in the most illustrious or old Irian blood of Uladh, or Ulster, through that of its leading name Macgennis, (or Mac Guinne.si;,) compared with which, as sprung from the line, for .so many ages, of the celebrated Kings of Emania, and thus best entitled, in that province, to bear the heroic ensign of the " red hand," other races there, Clan-Colla, or Hy-Niall, were but of yesterday, or no better, in Bardic language, than "adventurers, strange tribes, and foreigners."* In refeience to " Tlie race of I r are related to have reiiiied for ages at Emania over Ulailli, or Ulster, with greater fame, in song and .story, tliau any other dynasty of tlie l^ardic annals of Erin, till a centnrj? previous to the coining of St. Patricia as the national Apostle, or A. 1). 'X.Vl. 'f'iieii, liy the ('laii-Colla invasion, this older Irian r.iee of Ulailh were coiiiincred, and tlieir roy il resuleiice of Emania destroyed; tlie sur- vivors retiring into the separate island, as it were, of the Counties of Antrim and IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 331 Lorrl Fingal's jnst feeling on this point, my friend, Mr. O'Farrell Dorau, writes — " A few gentlemen, of whom my father was 1, passing a day, in the neighbourhood of Killeen Castle, in the summer of 1820, or 1821, went to see the castle and demesne. They were fortunate enough to find the late Earl of Fingal at home, who very politely accompanied them through the various apartments, with the exception of the drawing- Down, situated between the waters of the northern Ban, and Lough Neagh, and the southern Ban, and the sea, with tlie Newry river to the south ; the only, and comparatively small, space, unoccupied by a watery barrier ou the west, or the frontier from the southern Ban to the Newry river, being secured by a fortified rampart, on the principle of that raised by the Romans, against the incursions of the Picts and Scots, in Britain. Eoghan, soa of Niall, the progenitor of the Hy-Niall, or O'Neill sept, who, in turn, or at the expense of the C!lau-Colla, were to attain a subsequent political ascendancy in Uladh. did not hegin to estab- lish himself in that ]»rovince till shortly previous to St. Patrick's arrival, A. D 4',i'2, in Erin, or nearly lUO years offer the fall of the Irian supremacy, and destruction of Emauia. By the descendants of the old Irians, in their little Uladh, or Ulhlia, of Antrim and Down, the Clan-Colla and Hy-Niall races, who held all the rest of Tlladh, were naturally regarded in no better light, than the remains of the ancient Britons, driven into Cambria, or Wales, regarded the Saxons and Normans in England ; or as the uujnst j)ossessors of the better and larger portion of a countrj% wrested, by the intrusion of the stranger, from its rightful, or original owners. Hence, in Ulidia, "the land of hospitality and spears," the Macgennis, as eldest in descent from the royal line of Ir, or the licd Branch, looked upon the more modern Heremonian, or Clan-Colla and Hy-Niall wttlers in Uladh, as comparative " novi homines ;" hh Bards maintaining^ "tliat the red hand of Ulster was derived from the Heroes of the Red Branch, and that, therefore, it belonged by right to Macgennis, the senior representative of Conall Cearnagh," or the Victorious, " the most distinguished of those heroes, and not to O'Neill ; whose ancestors, although they had no connexion with those heroes by descent, had n-tur/ied the sovereignty of Ulster! " The Macgennis territory of [veagh originally included the modern Baronies of Upjier and Lower Iveagh, and half the Barony of Mourne, in the County of Down. The 1st of the name, ennobled after the English manner, was Sir Art or Arthur Macgennis, married to Sarah, daughter of the great Aodh or Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyroiie, and created, by King James I., in 162.S, Lord Viscount Iveagh. By the results of the civil war of 1641-53, the Macgennisea were trreatly shattered in their fortunes, like the old Irish families in general. Had King .James II. been able to maintain himself in Ii-eland, the Macgennises, through the repeal, in 1689, of the Acts of Settlement and Exjilanation, by the Irish Parliament of tliat Monarch, would have recovered what had been their considerable landed possessions, at the commencement of the ti'oubles in 1G41. In the War of the Revolution, James was served with projwrtionate zeal by those of the name; the head of whom, Brian Macgeiuiis, Viscount Iveagh (niiirried to Lady Margaret de Burgo, eldest daughter of William, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, ) was Colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the Irish army. On the unfixvourable conclusion of that contest, which left very few of the Macgennises with estates, his Lordship went into the Austrian service with an Irish corps to fight the Turks in Hungary, and, in 1693, died abroad, without issue. Of Macgennises in the service of France, — besides Bernard the Colonel of Dragoons, and his 4 sons, already mentioned, under the battle of Spire, in 1703, — there were several born in Ireland, who, from the rank of Captain to that of Chef-de-Bataillon, were in the Re<;iments of Bulkeley, Roth, and Dillon, and Chevaliers of St. Louis. In addition to the honourable family alliances of the higher members of the name of Macgennis at home, it was connected abroad with the great house of Justiniani — ennobled by various branches in Venice, Genoa, Naples, the Greek Empire, and France — Prince Francis Justiniani. its head in France, benig married, Septendjer 1st, 1746, at the Church of St. Sulpice, in Paris, says my authority, "a Demoiselle Marie I^'ran^oise Roze Magenis, d'une des plus anciennes Maisons d'Irlande." In our own times, A. C. Macgennis, Esq., has been Minister for Great Britain and Ire- land at the Courts of Stockholm, Naples, and Lisbon; and, under another form of the name as Guinness, instead of Mac Guinness, the sjiirit of an Emaniaa I'rince has been displayed by the late maguificent restorer and preserver of the vener- able Cathedral of our national Apostle, St. Patrick. 332 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES room, which he apologized for nol showing, as the ladies were there. In the ])rincipal diiiiug-room, of which the furniture was all Irish oak, he directed their attention to where the family-arms were quartered; and, in doing so, he observed, evidently with peculiar [iride, that his grand- mother was a Macgennis; at the same time, particularly pointing out the arms of Macgennis, as connected with that circumstance." And, indeed, ■what more honourable recollections could be excited by any connexion than by this, as constituting a family link, between the remote storied celebrity of the Heroics of the Ked Branch, and the modern military renown of the Irish Brigade ? The decease of Charles VI., last Emperor of Germany of the House of Hapsburgh, in October, 1740, without sons, and the consequent hos- tilities by Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony, against Charles's daughter, the celebrated Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, gave rise to the War of the Austrian Succession, which first extended from Germany to France, and aiterwards to England and Holland. But, among the Irish troops in France, the only event of any note this year was the death of Lieu- tenant-General " Matthieu de Coock," or Matthew Cooke — 1 of the i-epresentatives of a name settled in Ireland within the century following the Anglo-Norman invasion— variously emjiloyed, in civil and military service, l)y King James II , in Ireland, in its Catholic branches — and, as such, pi-oportionately marked out ft)r Williamite proscription, or land- spoliation, there. After the termination of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, in 1G91, this gentleman came to France, as an Ensign in the King's or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards. He served, in 1692, on the coasts of Normandy; fought at the battle of Landen in 1693; and continued with the Army of Flanders till the peace in 1697. He was commissioned, March 25th, 1698, as a reformed Mestre-de-Camp to the Irish Horse Regiment of Sheldon. Passing with this corps to the Ainiy of Italy, in July, 1701, he was at the combat of Chiari, in Septem- ber. He served, in 1702, at the battle of Luzzara ; and, in Germany, in 1703, at the successful sieges of Brisach and Landau, and the victory of Spire. He was attached to the Army of Flanders from 1704 to 1707; Jiaving been at the battle of Ramillies, in 1706. Brigadier, by brevet, March 3rd, 1708, he was at the battle of Oudenarde, that year; and, in 1709, at the battle of Malplaquet. In 1713, acting with the Army of Germany, he was at the reductions of Landau and Friburgh. He was made Marechal de Camp, by brevet, February Lst, 1719; a Lieutenant- Geiieral, by power of February 20th, 1734; but did not serve in either of these grades; and died, August 1 6th, 1740, aged 82 years. It was .some time before the Irish regiments in France were generally and actively engaged in this contest, respecting the Austrian succession. In 1741, all the fusilier companies of the several Irish battalions were increased by 10 men each, or from 30 to 40 men per company; all the grenadier companies by 15 men each, or from 30 to 45 men per company; and thei'e was likewise an addition made of 2 officers to every company. In 1742, a British force of 10,000 men having landed in the Austrian Netherlands, for the purpo.se of joining a much larger German force, with whom the Dutch were .solicited to unite, the French, to oppose any invasion on that .side, assembled a suitable army along their northeru Irontier, from Dunkirk to Givet. Against .such an infall as the English Irom Usteiid might make upon the French territory towards Dunkirk, tiie Irish battalions were posted, so as to be specially on the alert there j IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 333 that town, from its port, being tlien snch an eye-sore to English com- mercial jealousy, that its avowed aim was to reduce the })lace, if possible, to a mere " liamlet for fishernien," * But no hostilities occurred in this quartei-. The s'ingle Irish Horse Eegiuieiit of Fitz-Janies, consisting of 3 squadrons, (raised to 4 next campaign) served this year, 1742, under the Marshal de MailleVwis, in Germany. In 1743, ere the French or the English had yet made any official declaration of hostilities — the French professing to act only as auxiliaries to the Bavarian Emperor of Germany, Charles VII. —the English only in the same capacity to that Emperor's Austrian opponent, Maria Theresa — the 1st engagement, in this war, between the aruiies of France and England, took place, June 27th, at Dettingen. The Anglo-Germau force there \inder the Earl of Stair, accompanied by George II., and his son, the Duke of Cumberland, were so outmanoeuvred, and cut oft' from provisions, by the French under the Marshal de Noailles, that the * The English, since their acquisition of Dtmkirk fronj Spain in Cromwell's time, and its unpopular sale to Fiance under Clmrles II., always regarded that place ■with a very hostile feeling, on account of the great facilities whicli its maritime situation aitbrded to France in war, for the anuoyauce of their trade. With the history of the Irish Brigade, (although oj'lcr the breaking up of that force by the ixevolution, ) Dunkirk is remarkably associated, througli its defence, against the English, and their Allies, under the Dulio of York, in I7!).'l Its French garrison was then commanded hy the (Jcncral of Brigade, O'Meara, who had entered the service early in the Irish Bcginient of Both, aiid was 1 of the sons of a veteran Captain of the Kegimeiit of Clare, and a native of Ireland, then aged 76. "He," says a contemporary Allied notice of the defender of Dunkirk, " is a very tine, lusty man, full 6 feet hitrh, and was always beloved as a good officer, and esteemed as a man of general knowledge. He married a young lady of Dunkirk, with a fortune of 80,000 livres. He is about 40 years of age. He has 4 brothers, all officers, and Hue men." The Duke of York sunmioned Dunkirk, as being, he said, "destitute of any real defence," against bis force, then above 35,000 men; and, by another Allied or Bi'itish account, "the works of the place were in a most de])lor- able state, and the garrison, consisting of only 3000 men, Avas totally insufficient to defend the town." However, O'Meara replied, "I shall defend it, with the brave republicans, whom I have the honour to comm.and." And he did so, until relieved ; the Duke having finally to raise the siege ; abandoning 52 pieces of heavy artillery, ■with a great c^uantity of ammunition and baggage. "In the engagement which relieved Dunkirk from siege," writes Mr. O'Conor, "O'Moran, another Irish officer, comnuioded the riuht wing of the French army . . . O'Moran was the son of a shoemaker of Elphin, iu the County of Boscommon. He had risen from the ranks in Dillon's regiment, and, by his conduct and courage, had obtained the Covernmeut of Conde; but he fell a victim to the revolutionary spirit of the times, iip(m a false charge, of having received Biitish gold, to favour the escape of the Brit.sh armj'.' The O'Mearas, or O'Maras, of Tipperary, deduce their origin from Cormac Cas, King of North Munster, in the 3rd century, by Samhair, daughter of the famous warrior-bard, Oisin, or Ossian. Previous to the Revolution in France, various O'Mearas were officers there in the Irish Brigade, from the rank of Sous- Lieutenant to that of Colonel, several of whom were Chevaliers of St. Louis, and M. de la Bonce specifies 4 as born at Dunkirk, from 1752 to 17G3. Of the defender of Dunkirk, who was still living there in 1814, there ■were 2 brothers, Daniel, and AVilliam, both Colonels under JSapoleon I.; the former having- been an ofhcer of the old Irish Brigade, in the Begiment of Berwick ; and the latter rose to be a General of Brigade, and Baron of the Empire. The O'Morans were an ancient Counauyht tcpt, whose territory ■was situated between Belanagare and Elphin, in the County 01 Boscommon. The unfortunate James O'Moran, above referred to as put to (.tath unjustly, (like so many of every rank, age, and sex, by the Jacobin hell- hounds,) was born at Elphin, May 1st, 1739. Before the Eevolution, or in 1784, lit had attained the rank of Mare'chal de Camp, or Major-Ceneral, and was like- V i>e a ( he\alier oi St. Louis, aud of the American Order ot Cincmuatus. From CctoLer, 170-, he was a Lieutenant GeueraL 334 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES approaeliing capture or destruction of opponents thus situated was looked upon as certain in the French camp; when, unluckily, the Mar- shal's nephew, tlie Duke de Graminont, rashly quitted a secure position, to make an attack, under such circumstances, as frustrated all the able au-angenients of his uncle, after a conflict of some hours, ending in success, and a consequent " esca])e," on the part of the Coiifeilerates.* The Duke, in fact, instead of having to deal, as he thought, only M'ith a rear-guard, exposed himself to a struggle against the entire Allied army, and that force having, besides its superior inunbers to his, the fullest use of its powerful artilleiy; while 2 of the French batteries, which had been planted so skilfully as to play with the most destructive effect upon the Allies, were i-endered useless, by the Duke having placed himself, through his misconduct, between those batteries and the enemy! The French cavalry, among whom were the choice Horse Guards of the Royal Household, or Maison du Roi a Cheval, and other j)icked corps, at first carried all before them ; t but their infantry being inadequate to sustain them, the Allies were finally victorious, or able to effect their oVyect of a retreat; ackjiowledging in killed, wounad it in their poioer to rp/proach ns with turning our backs, notvntJt- standing any inequality, till a retreat sliould be commanded* As I was early at the field of battle, / had every Irish and English soldier trans- ported to the hospital, before I suffered an Austrian or an Hanoverian to be moved, and did them every kind office in my power," &c. This last-cited poi-tion of the Irish officer's letter refers to about 600 disabled men left by the Allies on the field, with a letter from Lord Stair, recommending them to the Fiench Marshal's protection ; and whom, accordingly, writes Smollett, "the French General treated with great cai'e and tenderness." Such treatment, indeed, was only what was to have been expected. Captain Parker observes, on an incident of the kind, between officers, in 1711, or during Marlborough's wars ia Flanders — ''This humane and generous treatment is, for the most part, the practice of all European nations, when once the heat of action 13 over. But, it must be allowed, to their honour, tliat none are so remark- able for it as the English and French ; insomuch that, with them, it prevails, even among the common soldiers." In 1794, also, when the infamous Jacobin decree, forbidding any quarter to be given by the French troops to the English, was passed by the National Convention, the reply of the Duke of York to that ferocious enactment was an order of the day, commanding that his army should act as previously towards the French. '" Humanity and kindness," alleged his Royal Highnes.s, " have at all times taken place, the instant that opposition ceased; and the same cloak has been frequently seen covering those who were wounded, friends and enemies, while indiscriminately conveyed to the hospitals of the conqueror.s." The honour-able sentiments and creditable conduct of the Duke on this point " were seconded by the corresponding feelings of the French officers; and the prisoners, on both sides, were treated with the same humanity, as before the issuing of the bloody decree." Our illustrious military historian, Napier, in relating the entry of the French into Talavera in 1809, after the retreat of the British under Sir Arthur Wellesley (subsequently Duke of Wellington) likewise remarks of the French commander. Marshal Victor, Duke of Belluno — • "Thus, the English wounded, left there, fell into his hands, and their treatment was such as might be expected from a gallant and courteous nation ; for, between the British soldiers and the French, there was no rancour, and the generous usages of a civilized and honourable warfare * He glances sarcastically here at the French Foot Guards, of whom he had pre- viously written — "The Foot Guards were the 1st to run away, and lost a .'-{rd of their officers, mostly of the highest quality." The officers had killed numbers of the soldiers, to endeavour to make the rest rally, and stand their ground, but in vain. Connect with this point, and the Irish officer's assertion of himself and his coiiutrynien in reference to it, the following passage from Forman's refutation of Arnall, Sir Robert Walpole's lying Wl>i(j libeller of the Irish, as coicards. "Wher- ever they serv'd, whether they had courage or not, they always had the good fortune to (Hsfhu/idsh themselves: and it may be said, to their eternal honour, that, from the time tliey enter'd into the service of France, to this hour, they liave ntver made the least J ulna step, or have had the least blot in their sculckeuu." 336 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES ■were cherished." Tlie Allied forces, soon after the affair of Dettingen, were incieased l>y several thousand Hanoverians and Hessians, and, later in the season, by a still larger number of Dutch auxiliaries; but, "in October, were discributed into winter quarters," complains one of thei» ■writers, *' after an inactive campaign, tliat redounded very little to the honour of those by whom the motions of the aruiy were conducted." The year 1744 opened with the decease of the oldest Irish officer in France of the rank of Marechal de Camp, or Major-General. whose services in Ii'eland dated from the War of the Revolution there, and ■whose ai-rival in France, from the landing of the 1st Irish Brigade, ntider Lord Mountcashel. This gentleman, "Guillaume d'Oshagnussi," or William O'Shaughnessy, son of Roger O'Shaughnessv, Esq., and Helen, daughter of Conor Mac Donogh O'Brien. Esq. of Ballynue, was, on his father's death, in July, 1G90, the representative of the Chieftaiji branch of his naine in the County of Galway — which is referi-ed to, from its principal residence there, by a learned local authority, as the " prse- clarissima familia de Govt, cujus nobilitatem, antiquitatem, et integrita- tem, qui non novit, Iliberniam non novit"— and which, like so many- other ancient houses, was, for its h)yalty to King James II., stripped of its estates, by revolutionary vengeance and rapacity. Of the heads of this old sej)t, likewise " ever remaikable for their munificence and liberality, a writer, who travelled through Ireland and the Continent, in the times of Charles I., tells us, that the O'Shaughnessys then excelled, in elegant hospitality, all the noV)ility of Connacht, with the sole exception of tlie Marquis of Clanricard." In 1689, or on the commencement of the war in Ii'eland, William O'Shaughnessy, then only about 15, was Captain of a comjnmy of 100 men, with which he served thei-e, till sent to France, in the spring of 1690, in the Regiment of the H(jnourable Daniel O'Brien, (afterwards that of Clare) and July 10th, 1691, was commissioned by Louis XIV., as a Cay:»taiiu in that corps. In this grade, he was, the same year, at the siege of Montmeliau ; in 1692, with the Army of Italy; in 1693, at the victory of Marsaglia in Piedmont; in 1696, witnessed the conclusion of military operations beyond the Aljis by the siege of Valenza, at which he l)ecame Commandant of the 3rd battalion of his regiment; and, in 1697, was attached to the Army of the Meuse. On the reform, in 1698, of the 2nd and 3rd battalions of his regiment, he was made, April 1st, Captain of Grenadiers, in the battalion which was kept on foot. After the t>reaking out of the War of the S[)anish Successi<#n, or in 1701 and 1702, he was em))loyed with the Army of Germany; in 1703, was at the reduction of Kehl, the combat of Munderkingen, the 1st battle of Hochstedt; and, in 1704, was at the 2nd battle there, otherwise known as that of Blenheim. In 1705, he was with the Army of the Moselle; and, in 1700, at tlie battle of Raraillies. By the death, from wounds there, of his Major, John O'CarroU, he became, July 4th, successor to that gallant officer, and September 12tli, Lieutenant-Colonel. He was with the Army of Flanders in 1707; at the battle of Oudenarde in 1708; at that oi Malplaquet in 1709; at the attack of Arleux in 1711; at the action of Deuain, and the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, in 1712; and, in Germany, the foUowing campaign, at those of Landau and Friburgh. Brigadici- by brevet, April 3rd, 1721, he was, by letters of September 15th, 1733, employed with the Array of the Rhine, and at the successful siege of Kehl, in October. In the same army, by letters of April 1st, 1734, he was at the attack of the lines of Etlingen, and the siege of IN THE SERVICE OF FRA«tT.. 337 PInlipsbnrgh; was made Marechal de Camj) by hreveo, August 1st; and liiiished the campaign in that capacity. Continued as Marechal de Camp -with the Army of the Rhine by letters of May 1st, 1735, he was jn-esent ut the affair of Clausen. Attached to the Army of Flan'ders by letters of August 21st, 1742, he commanded at Cambray during the winter; )-emaiued there during tlie CHni])aign of 1743; and having been appointed, November 1st, to command at Gravelines, died, without issue, January 2nd, 1744, aged 70. "The lands of the O'Shaughnessys, forfeited in consequence of their attachment to the cause of King James II.," says Mr. Gilbert, " were granted, for a term of years, by William III., to Sir Thomas Prendergast, whose character has been depicted, by Swift, in the darkest colours, as a sordid betrayer of his friends, and a relentless persecutor of the clergy of the Established Church." By this loss of his projierty in Ireland, William O'Shaughnessy was necessarily obliged to i-eraain in the service of France, as h^s only source of subsistence. "On his death, his cousin, Oolman O'Shaughne.ssy," Catholic " Bishop of Ossory, essayed at law to :£C0ver the property of his ancestfirs. The suit was continued by his brother Robuck, who.se .son, Joseph, assisted by his relatives, took forcible ?!< -ssession of the mansion-house of Gort; on which occasion the bells of ^zaenrj and of Galway were rung for joy. The whole clan believed, taat the strangers were defeated; and the Irish p(.)ets of the locality sung, '.."•^at the rightful heir was restored, and that the old sj)lendour of the C''Shaughnessys was about to be renewed in the halls of their fathers, 'j^jnis triumph was, however, but of short duration. All the efforts of ^'i*^ O'Shaughnessys were rendered abortive by the influence of Prender- ,7ac+/s representatives, who re-obtained possession; and are said, for ct.rxy.ng on their suit, to have borrowed £80('0 from Lord Chancellor Mansfield; which sum was charged on, and paid by, the estate. Having neen th I. 'J stripped of their inheritance, the old clan of 0'Sliaughnes.sy sunt' into obscurity." In the Indian and Australian portions of the P i+.ich empii-e, this ancient name, however, has not of late year-s, l)eeii -v'tbout distinction ; and, from those who derived their possession of the Gort property through the Williamite or " gloi-ious-revolution " .spolia- tion of the O'Shaughnessys, V)e have seen that pr iperty wrested by the Nemesis of the Encumbered Estates Court — which tribunal, in so many instances, added Mr. Gilbert at the time, " is effectually fulfilling the jiredictions of the Irish Jacobite i)oets, who never ceased to sing, 'that Providence would only suffer tliefureiga chfir.'s, who had usurped the lands of the old English, and of the noble Gaels, oj Erin, to hold their while mansions transiently.'' " * Early in 1744, previous to the declaration of war in form by France ngain.st England, the French Court resolved on measures to strengthen the Irish Regiments in Flanders, at theexpenisfe of the British army there ; for which purpose the Comte d'Argen.son wrote as follows^ from Versailles, in February, to the Marquis de Ceberet, commanding in Flanders. "The King, having been informed that several Irishmen present themselves on the frontier, with the intention of serving in the regiments of their nation actually in his service, and that most of these regiments being complete, the supeinumeraries could ouiv tiiid their means of subsistence at the ex- pense of the Captains, if it were not otherwise provided for; his Majesty, •Essay on " The Historic Literature of Ireland." Z 338 HISTORY OP TKE IKISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OP PRANCE. in consideration of the ust^fiil services which he has received in the preced- ing wars, and of those which his Irish troops continue to render him daily, couiniands me to acquaint you. that the Commissioners of War, ap|)ointed to tlie direction of the 5 Irisli Regiments wliich are in his service, are to comprise, in their i-eturns, all the su[)ei-numeraries, capable of serving, \\ ho may present themselves ; taking care to hold a se})arate register of those who shall exceed the full number of each regiment, in whatever number they may come ; and shall see that their |)ay be remitted to them at the rate of 6 sols, 6 decimes per day each, until his Majesty ishall conie to a determinaticni of raising the regiments of this nation, which he maintains, by 1 or more battalions." The letter concludes by reqiuring tiiat the Prefect of Flamlers should be directed to make the iiec€K;'ary linancial arrangements for this object HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK VII. The French cabinet, throngh tlie influence of Cardinal de Tencin, wTn owed his Cardinalate to the Stuart interest at Rome, having decided, in 1743. on undertaking au invasion of England, in 1744, for the "restoration" of the exiled royal family, corn ninnicated this intention to the son of King James II., known as King James III. at Rome. There, or elsewhere within the Papal territory, that Prince had resided, since his marriage with the Princess Sobieski, in 1719; and had kept up a due .correspondence with the numerous friends of his house in Great Britain and Ireland, but, more p;irticularly, in Scotland. Partly, how- ever, from the habits of body connected with his advanced time of life, he being then about 56, and partly from the depressing effects of the ])ast on his mind, James was nnfittiul to act in person, at this important juncture, as the head of his family.* He accordingly devolved that task upon his eldest son, the gallant and attractive Prince Charles, who, from his V)oyhood, was a source of as much hope to the adherents of the House of Stuart, as of natural a])prehension to the partizans, and of restless espionage to the government-agents, of the House of Hanover. Tn 1734, the Duke of Berwick and Liria, (son of the illustrious Marshal- Duke, by his 1st marriage with the widow of Patrick Sarsfield, Lord Lucan.) thus writes of the young Prince, when but 14, at the siege of (praeta.t " Immediately on his arrival, he accompanied me into the trenches, where he appeared quite regardless of the bullets, that were whistling about ns. The next day, I commanded in the trenches. I was in a house, that stood somewhat detached, into which the besieged fired 5 cannon-balls, so that I was obliged to leave it. Immediately afterwards, the Prince came to nie, and no representation of the danger, to which he exposed himself, could deter him from enteiing the house. He remained there, for some time, perfectly cool, though the walls were riddled by bullets. The Prince, in a word, shows that, in men born to 1)6 heroes, valour does not wait on years. From all these causes of tineasiness, I am now relieved," by the surrender of the place, "and * Lf)rd Macaulay correctly eiioucrh I'efers to James, as " born the most tmfortnnate of Priuces, destined to 77 years of exile and wanderino-, of vain jirojccts. of honours more galling than insults, and of hoi)es such as make the heart sick." t That connected with the conquest, from Austria, of the Kingdom of Naples, by Ppniu, and tlie placing of Don Carlos on the Neapolitan throne. "In consequenco o' 'Ivs war " s;iys Hc^i-fii, " .\lberoiii s formerly unsuccessful plans on Italy were, lor ihe 'iiiijtii part, carried into "xecutiou," 310 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES enjdy the gratification of soeiiig the Prince adored by officers and 8(iidieis. His manner is charming; and, be assured, if it were otherwise, 1 wonhi tell you so, in contidcnee. The day after to-morrow, we start for Naples, where, I have nn doubt, his Royal Highness will captivate the ])eoph', as well as the soldiers. The King of Naples thinks hitu fxlrcmely pleasing. He never requires to be [)rompted, as to wiiat he ou^ht to say, or do. Would to God the bitterest enemies of the House of Stuart had been witnesses of the Prince's conduct during this siege! — it would, I believe, have changed the minds of many of them. I remark in him, particularly, a haj.py physiognomy, that is lull of good )ii\)inises." About 8 years after, or in 1742, Prince '•Charles Edward," t-Mvs his future Secretary, Murray of Broughton, in a letter to a lady, "is tall, above the common stature; his limbs are cast in the most exact mould; his conii)lexion has in it somewhat of uncommon delicacy ; *all his features are perfectly regular, and well-turn'd; and his eyes the finest I ever saw. But that which shines most in him, and renders him, without exception, the most sur|niziiigly handsome person of the age, is the dignity that accompanies every gesture. There is, indeed, such an unspeakable majesty dilfus'd through his whole mien and air, as it is impossible to have any idea of without seeing; and strikes those that have, with such an awe, as will not suffer them to look upon him for any time, unless he emboldens them to it, by his excessive affability.* . . . His mind, by all I can judge of it, is no less worth}'^ of admiration. He seems to me^ and, I find, to all who knovv him, to have all the good nature of the Stuart family, blended with the spirit of the Sobieskys. He is, at least, as far as I am capable of seeing into men, equally qualified to preside in peace and war." Then, i-eferring to the Prince's learning, as "exten- sive beyond what cou'd be expected from double the number of his years," including a ))0wer of conversation with ease and fluency, in several Euro- ])ean languages, a masterdom of the different kinds of Latin, a good knowledge of Greek, ai:id even some acquaintance with Hebi-ew, the writer adds — " History and ])hilosophy are his darling entertainments, in br»th which he is well vers'd. The one, he says, will instruct him how- to govern others, and the other how to govern himself, whether in pros- jierous, or adverse, fortune." + Charles, who, on setting out from Rome, ■cid France, for England, was in his 24:th year, received, in the cay)acity of Prince of Wales, and Regent, fnmi his father, the requisite Proclania- tinns foi- England and Scothmd; for the former, in the name of James III., and, in that of James VIII., for the latter; as not acknowledging the validity, and promising a dissolution, of the so-called Act of Union., by which, to exclude the Stuart family from all royalty within the British Islands, Scotland, against her will, had been specially extinguished, til rough such very indefensible means, as a distinct Kinydoin. These ' Cajitain Malcohn Macleod, 1 of Cliarles's friends and com])anioiis in his miseries and concealments after the fatal day of Culloden, has asserted— " 'I"he;e is not a person, that knows what the air of a noble or great man is, but, upon seeing the Trince, in any disguise he could put on, woidd see something about him that was not ordinary, something of the stately, and the grand." t The Whig Edinburgh lleview admits of Charles, that he " spoke Latin, Italian, French, aud Englisli, and was well versed in ancient and modern history." Lord I\bihon, indeed, refers to "Charles's letters," as "written iu a large, rude rambling hand like a schoolboy's," and, "in sjielling, stdl more dehcieut." But, Ivloso justly notes, how these were deficiencies of other eminent men, as well as of t-'harles — Frederick the Great, and Napoleon the Great, included. IN XnE SETIVICE OF FRANCE. 341 docnmPTits are desciibed, as " Given from our Oonvt in Rome, on the 23id of December, 1743, and m the 4-5rd year of our reij^n " — tints igiioiinof the idea of any reign, de jm-e, in (iieat Britain and Ireland, Irorn 1688 to 1701, V)ut that of James II., and treating the entire ])eiiod, from his decease in 1701, to 174:>, as the reign only of his suri, — William, Anne, and the 2 Georges being thereby snnfit-d out, as no better than the mere representatives of revolutionary usurpation — oi- so many Cromwclls, in the place of tbe herelitari/ re[)rest;ntative of the true royal line. An English panegyrist of Charles, on this occasion, admiiin-ly notes — " How, at an ac:e, when Pleasure's cliarins Allure the strijiling to her arms, Nf forni'd the irreafc design, T' assert his injnrd father's cause, Eestore his siiH'i'inj!; country's laws, And prove his rhjkt diiniip !" And, at this period, the state of public feeling in Great Biitain and Ireland was indeed such, as, with reference to the Prince's enterprise, savs Mr. Jesse, " certainly held out a fair j)rospect of success. An influential ])ortion of the English nobility and gentry, at the head of whom was the Premier Duke, the Duke of Noifdlk. were known to be thoroughly disgusted with the reigning (!)■ nasty ; and, though reluctant to risk their lives and fortunes without a tolerable certainty of success, were, nevertheless, secretly pirpossesscd in favour of the Stuarts. The great majority of the Highl-ind Chieftains were enthusiastically devoted to their cause; several of the most influential of the Lowland gentry v/ere known to be well-inclined towards the exiled family; while Ire- land was certain to embaik in a cause, of whirli the watohwceeu well-atiected towards. the existing government; and the very ttrin of ^Ilanoveiian^ is said to have become a bye-word of insult and rejiroaclL" Nor were such sentiments unexpressed in another form. *' Britons, now retrieve your i'lory. And your ancient ritchts maintain ; Drive th' usurp'.nj; race befnre you, And restore a Stuart's reii;ii. L')ad the Brunswick jirancer iloulilp- Heap fin all your care and troulilc. Drive him hence, with all his rabble, i^'ever Lo return a-aiu. 342 HISTOKY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES "Call your injiir'd King to save you. Ere you further iire o]i]iress"(l ; He 's so goot'i, lie will f(irLj;ive you, And receive you to his breast. Think ou all the \vroiii;s you ve done hitn, Bow your rebel necks, and own hiiu. Quickly make amends, and crovvii hiui, Or you never can be blest." "The English,'' concludes the great Protestant Continental historian, Sismondi, with respect to Piiiice Chailes's effort for tlie " re-toratidu " of his family to the Crown, '' liail no attaehment to the House of Hano- ver ; they found it covetous, brutal, ignnrant uf theii' manners, entindy engrossed by German interests, entirely devoted to Austria, and always desirous to drag them into Continental wai-s, in whieli they wei-e called upon to ex|»end their money, still more than their blood. With thes^ causes for discontent were combined, in favour of the Stuarts, the interest which misfortune inspires, the chivalrous enthusiasm of fidelity to an ancient royal race;" in tine, "the irritation of the Scotch, vvlio, since the Union of their country with England, believed they had lost tlieir inde- jieiidence, and flattered themsehes, by replacing njxin the throne the heir of their ancient Kings, to bi-ing back to their country her ancient glory, and to re-establish her (»nce nu)re as a nation." Prince Charles, whose movements it was so essential to disguise from the Whig-HanoverJan spies at Home and elsewhere, pretended to leiive that city, January 9th, 1744, mendy for a boardnmt, as was his custom in winter. Then, under the feignei] name of the Marquis Spinelli. with only a single attendant, he rapidly tra\'ersed Tuscany for a Genoese ]>ort, where lie embarked on the Kith; sailing through a squadron of British ships, landed in France at Antilles; * and after an interview at Avignon, witli the venerable Duke of Ormonde, aged nearly 80, and other Jacob- ites, he reached Paris on the L'Oth. The military force with which he was to sail for England consisted ot 15,(111(1, (if not, accoi'ding to Voltaire, 21-, out),) men, including the Ii-ish and Scotch ti-oops in the service of France; with these were many thousand supernumerary tire-arms, swords, saddles, and V)ridles, tor such Jacobite loyalists as might join after the hniding ; and the whol'^ were tf) be under tl'e command of the veteran Count Maurice Ai'niinius de Saxe, subsequently so celebrated as Marshal. The pas.sage of the tratisports, with the troops from Dunkirk, to the shores of Kent, was ordered to be })rotected by an able and expe- rienced naval officer, M. de Roquefeuille, with a suitable armament from Brest and Rochefort. The intelligence, in February, of these hostile pniparations, occasioned proportionable ajiprehensions and counter-pre- parations in England. The danger from France and "the Pretmder " was announced by the Hanoverian occupant of the throne to his Parliament; oi-ders were issued to assemble as many native regulars and militia as possible, besides the 6000 foreigners stipulated by treaty with Holland to be furnished in support of thft revolutionary succession to the Crown ;t • ''Not far." it is remarked, "from the spot, destined, in the 19th century, to acquire an historical celebrity, by the landing of Napoleon from Elba." t The effective native force, that could be assembled, for the jirotection of London, seems to have been rather small in amount. Horace Waljiole, writing fro!n the House of Commons in February, asserts— "^« the troops have been sent for, in the greatest haste, to London. AVe shall not have above 8000 men toirether, at most. An express is gone to Holland and General Wentworth iuUowed it last night, to demand 6000 men," &c IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 343 tlie Habeas Corpns Act was suspended ; James Barry, 4tli Earl of Barry- more, as an intt-uded General for the House of Stuart, the octogenariaa Colcuiel Cecil, as its local Secr-efcary of State, and several other Jacobite loyalists, were taken up; Captains O'Brien and O'Hara of the Irish Brigade, about to return (no doubt with serviceable news !) to the Con- tinent, vid Harwich, were arrested there ; and Sir John Norris was despatched, with a due naval force, to oftpose tlie landing from Dunkirk, by endeavouring to defeat M. de Roquefeuille, wlio was to cover the transports "over the water with Charlie." But, early in INtar'ch, when the Prince, and the Count de Saxe, having shipped 7000 men at Dunkirk, were actually at sea vnth a fair breeze, far tlie English coast, and protected by their men-of-war, the wind shifted to an adverse point in the evening, and a vidleut tempest of several days' duration commenced, wliich dis{>ersed the fleets of both nations that had been in sicrht of eacli otlier about Duno;eness, and sank, drove back, or /Shattered the French transports in such a manner, that the proposed invasion had to be abandtined. A contemporaiy French historian has observed, Louis XV. might have exclaimed, on this occasion, like Philip II. formei'ly, with i-eference to his Armada — " I did not send my fleet to war with the elements!" The Wliig historian Home, then living, after noting the position, as regards Dunkirk, of the 2 fleets, before their separation by the storm, has remarked — " Both the fleets were far enough from Dunkirk; and, if ti:e weather had been moderate, Marslud Saxe might have readied England, before Sir John Norris could havi returned to the Downs. But, when the storm arose, it stop[)ed the embarkation ; sevei'al transports were wrecked ; a good mimy soldiers and seamen peri.shtid ; a great quantity of warlike stores was lost;" and "the English fleet returned to the Downs." Had this expedition from France efi'ected a disembarkation in England, we ai-e informed of Scotland, that "tlie whole of the disaffected clans, who wer.^ able to bring to the fleld 12,000 men, were prepared to rise," as "the Chiefs were all then united" — instead of not being so, as subsequently, or in 1745. By such pros])ects, the English Jacobites, according to their song. "Come, here's to the knights of the true royal oak!" appear to liave been pro- portionabh' elated — " God bless Cliarlie Stuart, the pride of our land, And send liim safe o'er to Lis own native strand! ]\ly nolile couipaninns, be jiatient awhile, Anrl we 11 soon i^ee liiin back to our lirave British isle; And he, tl\;it for Stuart and rii;lit will not stand, May smart for the wrong, Ijy the Highlantler's lirand!" The song, to(\ of the same ])arty, entitled "the Restoiution," in announ- cing, how, to curb usurpaiion by tiie assistance of France, Charlie, with love to his country, was coming, observed of the Prince — "In liis train, see sweet Peace, fairest queen of the sky, Ev'ry bliss in her look, ev'ry charm in her eye. Whilst oppression, corruption, vile slav'ry, and fear, At his wish'dfor return, never moi'e shall appear. Your glasses charge high, 'tis in great Charles' praise!"' &C. "Ye brave clans, on whom we just honoiu" bestow, (J think on the source whence our dire evils How! Commanded by Chart s, advance to Whitehall, And hx them in chains, who would Britons enthral! Your glasses charge high, 'tis in great Charles' praise ! " &c. 344 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES In answer to a naturally qnenilmis note of MTrch lltli from Prince Cliark's, the Count de Saxe, on the 13th, wrote — ^^Vous ve pouvez, Monseigneur, accuser que les vents et la fortune des contretemps qui nous o.rriventy ITence, also, in referring to the danger escaped by Hanover- ianism in England, through tlie frustration of the intended lauding from France by the interposition of the elements, the Speaker of tlie British House of Lords having stated, how "great preparations were made a::d ready at Dunkirk," added, "but tlie Prornlpuce of God dl!n, or caprice, of his father. Sir Gerard Lally. Deprived of his patroa the Regent in 1723, young Lally had only to look for adv^ancement to liis own immediate services, and no peculiar opportunity for such occurred, during the long pacific rajitne that succeeded the Regency. He em{)loyed this Deriod iu an increased application to the theoiy and practice of the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 347 several liranclies of his profession, to evolutions, to encampments, anrl, al)ove all, to become familiar with the various duties of the Hat mnjor, for which he was suhset|uently so noted, as to be, according to Frederic tlie Great's ai)preciation of such knowledge, the soul of an army. Prtt- vided with a company, or made full Captain, February 15th, 1728, in the Regiment of Dillon, he was appointed, January 2Gch, 17 '2, its Aid-Major. He served, in 1733, at the reductif)n of Kehl, and " wv^ as much distinguished by his brilliant valour there, as by his uncommon nn'litary knowledge." In 1734, he acted very differently towards his father, from the manner in which his father- had acted towai-ds him. During the long peace between France and England under the govern- ment of the Cardinal de Fleury in tlie former, and the Whig-Hanovci'iau adnjinistration of Sir Robert Walpole in the latter country, Walpole, from his natural hostility to the Irish Brigade in France, as entirely attached to the House of Stuart, used his influence with his friend, the Cardinal, to keep back, as much as [)Ossible, the promotion of Irish officers of eminence, particidarly such as were most remarkable for loyalty to the Stuarts. Sir Charles Wogan. aliout this time, or February, 1733, noting of the Irish military in France, how "the arms of Whiggism ai-e extremely long, and reach them to their remotest haunts," adds on that j>oint — "Their principal officers, who have signalized themselves equally upon all occasions, have been advanced to no higher ])referment than that of Lieutenant-General ; whereas Scots, Germans, Livonians, Italians, have been promoted to the dignity of Mareschals of France. Some of the Irish had been Mareschals of France before now : the whole voice of that nation was for them ; but the fear of disobliging the present government of England gave a check to their promotion." One of those officer.s most devoted to the House of Stuart, as acknowledged on its part by his Baronetcy, was Sir Gerard Lally; and his promotion to the ra .k of Brigadier, although amjdy due to his long and distinguished services, as well as actually promised 13 years before by the Regent Duke of Orleans, was retarded, through the intrigues of Whig-Hanoveriaa hostility to the Irish in France.* His son, however, availed himself so "well of his alliance, by his mother, with many French families of con- sideration, and of his connexion with others by education and society, to impress up(m the government the great injustice done to his father, that such a "filial remonstrance" was found irresistible, and Sir Gerard was brevetted, February 26th, 1734, a Brigadier, with the promise of being made, on the next promotion, a Marechal de Camp, taking rank from 1719. In May, 1734, accompanied l)y his son, Sir Gerard, acting as Brigadier, was engaged in the attack on the lines of Etlingen, and being '' grievously wounded, was ujjon the point of falling into the enemies' hands, when his son threw himself between them and his father, * Mr. OX/onor, in his " History of the Irish Catholics," referring to the Jacohit- isni oi the Tories, and the Hanoverianism of the Whigs, remarks — " Of the 2 partie.s, the Whigs were the most implacaV'le enemies of the Catholics. The enmity of the l7-ish Whigs proceeded from a consciousness of injustice, and a dread of retalia- tion ; that ot the English was the result of a spirit of freedom, and ill-judged ]'atriotisni. They cherished liberty, as the first of Ijlessings, and t!ie exaltation and glory of England, as paramount to the laws of nations to all moral or religious obligations. They abhorred Popery, as the jjarent of servile and passive obedieiico, and viewed Ireland, as the rival and competitor of England. To extirpate the atie)it of repose, and an ardent Jacobite like his father, he applied liiniself closely to the advancement of projects, which he had long since sketched out, for the re-establishment in England of the exiled royal Ikniily. In 1737, the year of his father's -decease, he decided on going over liiniself to England, in order to ascertain personally, what was still the strength of the Jacobite [larty there? Nor did he confine his travcds to England. ITe traversed the 3 kingdoms, making observations on the coasts, the points at which to effect a landing, the vnrions lines of march, and the posts for occupation in the interior of the country ; and, after having established connexions and correspondences with the most con- siderable and most discreet partizaus of the son of James II., he I'eturned to France. Following up these projects in favour of the Siuarts, he next aimed to establish a party in their favour in the noi-th of Europe, or llnssia, where the veteran Peter Lacy, of the family of Ballingarry-Lacy in the County of Limeiick, who had served James 11. \)oth in Ireland and France ere he went into Peter the Great's ariiiy, and who was a warm Jacobite, then held the highest militarv rank of any of his countrymen on the Continent, or that of Field-Marshal. Having obtained full powers for this important object from the son of James II., and due recommendations to the Sobieskys and their con- nexions in Poland, as favourable to the Stuart cause, from the marriage between the 2 families,* Lally gave out, that he was going to Russia, in order to make a campaign, as a volunteer, against the Turks and Tartars of the Crimea, with the Ilu.ssiaii force, under the command of his countryman. Lacy. At this time, the Cardinal de Fleurv was looking out, among the foreigners in the service of France, for some officer, whose * The gallant Lord George Murray, so distinguished for the Stnart cause in 1745-S, writing in his exile, or from Cleves. .'^ej)tember, 1748, as liavin'T hecn "lately in Poland," to James III. at l?omo, alleges- " All the Polish nobihty in tfuieral are much attached to your i\Iajesty, and your Pi-oyal House." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 349' name, intcnigence, and courage would at oiice qualify and embolden liiui CO undeitalce a secret and hazardous negociation in Russia; with the double aim of detaching that ]iower t'roui its alliance with England, antl of causing it to contract one with France. Lally, then, or by creation of Febi-uary Gth, 1738. Captain of Gieiiadiers. was recommended for this delicate mission to the Cardinal. At Petersburgh, he fully justi tied this recommendation, having so insinuated him.self into the good graces of the Empress Anne, and her favourite, Biron. Duke of Courland, that th^e adherence of Russia to France, in oppo-sition to England, required only due definitive measures, on the part of the French government; nor were the interests of tlie Stuarts less attendi-d to with the Duke of Courland, Field-Marshal Lacy, and the Sobieskys. But the timid indecision or obliquity of the Cardinal's polic}', in not following up, or completing, what had been so auspiciously commenced, left his envoy so imsupported, and thus so disagreeably situated, in Russia, that, after having entered th;it country as a lion, to use his own observation, he considered himself fortunate in leaving it as a fox! The only fruits of this negociation, successful so far as it depended upon Lally, were his despatches, and 2 Memoires connected with it, which were preserved in the Depot des Affaires Etrangeres, and always referred to, by the best judges of such compositions, as mast(;r]iieces. The 1st of those Memoires was devoted to the internal statistics of Russia. The 2nd Memoire treated of the foi-eign relations of Russia; pointing out such arrangements, as, while terminating her war witii the Turks, might \inite her with Fi-ance against England, and also transfer to France, instead of England and Holland, the extensive comineice with the great northern em])ire, which occupied above G3i) Englisli and Dutch vessels a year. But this bold ])olicy — like Napoleon's a/'ierwr*/Y/v — of aiming to em{)ty the purse, as well as to reduce the power, of England, was too vigorous for the old Cardinal; and Russia, whose friendshij) might have b(;en secured had the iron been struck while hot, was left to be subse- quently gained over to the cause of England and the Allies, and to consequently furnish them with 3.5,000 men against France! Nominated Jlajor of the Regiment of Dillon, November loth, 1741, Lally served, as such, with the force for the defence of Flanders, in 171:2; and the caj)acity he displayed there caust?d the MiM-shal de Noailles to demand him as his Aid-Major, for the campaign of 1743. In that grade, Laliy was pr'\sent at the unfortunate bu.siiiess of Dettingen ; and, writes the Marshal de Noailles, "he there rallied the army several times in its disorder, and saved if in its retreat, through the advice which he laid before the Council of War after the action." Empowered, February 19th, 1744, to hold rank as Colonel of Infantry, he was again employed by the Marshal de Noailles as Aid- Major in Flanders, where he was engaged in the reduction of Menin, Ypres. and Furnes. Then, proceed- ing to Alsace, he was at the affair of Haguenau, against the Germans. October 1st, he w-as commissioned as Colonel of the new Ii-ish Regiment of Irdautry which was to bear his name; and, indeed, says an English notice of him. in Cf^unexioJi with this appointment, "he seemed per- fectly fitted for military affairs; his courage was unquestioned, bis constitution vigorous, and his person very fine; but, to these qiialitica- tions, he added a still more useful talent, he was a person of excellent lUidei-standing." To the formation and in.struction of his new cor|}S, he applied himself with such atteatiua, aud corresponding su-cesd, 350 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES d iiiiig tl)o autumn, winter, and sprinjj of 1744-5, that it was in porfect Didcr for the next campaign, or that of the memorable battle of Fdiitcnoy. Tlie Allied foree, assembled about Bruxelles, or Brussels, in A])vil, for tlie camj)aign of 1745 in Flanders, \inder the Duke of Cumberland, son of George II., consisted, at the Duke's arrival, according to the Eiiijlisli contemporary historian Rolt, of 21,000 British, and 32,000 troo[)s of other nations; of whom 22,000 were Dutch, t^OOO Hanoverians, and 2000 Anstrians; making a general total of 53,000 men. But. afr.er liiiiig ri'viewcd, and reinforced for action, early in May, at Soignies, the {/oiit'cdtTates were estimated, on their own side, or in Holland, as perhay).s r).j,()00, if not 5G OUO, "of the tinest troops in Europe, and all their cor p.s complete."*' The French army, accompanied by Louis XV"., and the Dauphin, and cf)mmanded by the Marshal do 8axe, acconling to the* Contemporary Fiench writers, Voltaire, and Dumoitous. and the other J'\-i nch authoiities consulted by Sismondi, was thus divided — about 18,000 invested tlie very strongly-fortified and munerously-garrisoned Dutch barrier-town of Tournay— (iOOO were employed to guard the biiilges over the Scheld, and the other communications — and 40,0li0 remained, to pi-otect the siege, and give the Allies battle. t With these 40.000 men, including the best corps in the service, were the whole of the Irish, or the infaiitry I'egiinents of Claie, Dillon, Bulkeley, Roth, Berwick and Lally, and the cavalry Begiinent of Fitz-James; for "the Irish, " observed an able French Minister, alluding to their national and dynastic feelings, " are excellent troops, especially when they march ftgainst the English, and the Hanoverians." The Regiment of Fitz- J, lines, iis horse, being necessarily detached from the others, to act along Avilh the cavalry of the army, the Irish Bi'igade, properly speaking, was coiii|)ose(l of the G Regiments of Infantry, appointed to act under Charles O'Brien, (ith Viscount Clare and 9th Earl of Thomond, then Lieutenant- Ceneral, and subsequently Marslud of Fi'ance. under the designation of tlie " Marcichal de Thunumd!^ from that Earldom which was his by lineal ri,L;ht. though he had neither the title nor the possessions annexed to it in Ireland and England, on account of his adherence to the Stuart dynasty, and the Catholic religion. And, could there have been a more appi(>j)riate leader of those gallant exiles, in the cause of their disin- herited princes, oppressed country, and proscribed faith, than suclt, a descendant of the royal conqueror of the Danish invaders of old at Olontai'ft " Remember the i^lories of Brien tlie brave, Tlio' the days of the hero are o'er; Tlio' lost to Mfvnoiiia, and cold iu the grave, He retura.s to Kiiikora no more ! Tiie star of the Heiih wliicli so often has pour'd Its beam on the l>attie, is set; * On this last enumeration, see a ".Journal of the Proceedings of the Army of th-^ Alhes, HI the Low (,'ountries, to the Stli of May, 174.")," in "The Dublin Courant, No. 110," compared with the ])aragrai)li, headed " Haifue, May S. '' t Dumortous, in his "' Histoire des Conquotes de Louis XV.," expensively |)ub- lished witli plates and plans, and dedicated to Louis Idmxclf, calculates the French army at Fontenoy as not above 40,000 men, owing to the considerable number about Tournay, and otherwise detached. Sisinoiidi also refers to the French main army as only 40,000, from the deductions in question. These deductions, Veltaii'e, v.ho had ollicial iuforiuation, si>ecilTes as about 18,001) for Tournay, aud 6U00 for Uiamtamin^ tlie Scheld- bridges, &c., or as 24,000 men in all. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 351 But enoii2;h of its 2:lory remains on eacli ?vvord, To light us to victory yet! " * — Moohe. The position selected by the Marsluil de Saxe, to ti^ht the Allies who approached to raise the siege of Tom-nay, was on tlit^ iinrtli side of the Sclield, along an advantageous slope. That ])ortion of liis troops, wlm were to oppose the British and Geimans, extended ludiind the wood of Barry or Vezon to the village of Rainecroix on the left, and as far as the village of Fontenoy on the right; the .spacg from the termination of the wood to the latter village being the most assailable. The other jiortion of his troops, who were to oppose the Dutch, extended from Fontenoy on the north to Antoin on the soutii. The entire position was protected ia front by redoubts sup] died with artillery, so as to form numerous cross- ing lines of (ire, especially in the direction of the Dutch; the number of cannon employed being officially stated as 110 pieces. In the space between the wood of Barry, or Vezon, and the village of Fontenoy, previously referred to as most assailable, this ])osition was- alone foiind ])enetrable; owing, as confessed by the Marshal de Saxe, after the action, to his having omitted to place 1 redoubt moie between the wood and the village, from his not having believed there were commanders daring enough to risk a ]iassage even in that quarter, such was the laking fire through which it was to be a])proaclied, indejiendent of any extra redoubt! And if, when the English and Hanoverians did pass so bravely and so successfully there, the Dutch had been able to pass elsewhere, it is allowed, that the Allies would unqu<'sti(uiably have been victorious. That the Dutch were not able to effect their objei^t was attril)uted to the indefatigable Lally. "The evening before the day of the battle of Fontenoi," relates his French V)iogra])her, "having been desirous of inspecting, with his own eyes, the field of battle, which was about to be the theatre of such a great action, he discovered a way from Antoin to Fcmtenoi, which had been falsely considered in\practicable, and bjj which the French anny would be infaJlih'y turne:!^ Accordingly, '•this way was completely secured by 3 redoubts and 16 cannon, to which, bet/ond dispiete, the success of the battle vxis due, says a narrative piinted in the Correspondence of the Marechal de Saxe." May 11th, after a severe fii'e of artilleiy, on both sides, from about 5 to 9 o'clock in the morning, the Allies pi-epared to bring the contest to a decision. Brigadier-General Richard Ingoldsby, on their right, was to as-^ault the redoubt, on the edije of the wood of BaiTy, or Vezon. The Dutch General, Prince de VValdeck, with their left, was to break in from Fontenoy to Antoin. The Duke of Cumberland, with the Anglo-Ger- nian troo[)s, was to attack in the centre. On their right, IngoldsV)y could not be gotten to obey his orders; having, in the words of a contem- porary, " smelt too long at the physic, to have any inclination to swallow it " — for which he was subsequently tried Ijy Court-martial, and expelled the service. On their left, VValdeck, though aided with 2 English bat- talions, found such a line of volcanoes opened by the French batteries from Fontenoy to Anttiin and the southern bank of the Scheld, that his * In M. de la Pence's vnlna1)le papers on Irish families, there is, signed London, September Kn-u, 1731, l)y the British Heraldic Officials, and further siyned at Paris, August ISth, i7-{2, by James, Earl of Waldegrave, Amliassador from (leorge 11. to Louis X\"., " (jencalogia autiijuissimffi et olini regia; O'Brieu- ornm fauiili* et doiiuis." setting forth, in detail, tiie descent of Charles O'Brieu, Lova (Jiare, Iroiii the rciiowiied victor of Uloutarf. 352 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Diitcli, «,fter some efforts to advance, showed no greater taste for tliia *' hot woi-k," tliau Ingoklsby did for tlie " [)hysic" of the redoubt. But, in tlio centre, matters proceeded very differently. The Duke of (Jumber- l.uid, wiiose bravery that day merited the highest euhigium, at the Iiead ol' a gieat column of 14,000 or 15,000 British and Hanoverian infantry, accompanied by 20 pieces of cannon, notwithstanding the difficulties of the gnjuiul, and the destructive cross-tire from the guns of the village of Fontenoy, and of the redinibt unassaulted by Ingoldsby, forced his way, Ix'vond both, into the French centre. " There was 1 dreadful hour," alleges the Marquis d'Arg(3nson, a looker-on with Louis XV., ''in which we expected nothing less than a renewal of the aifaii- at Dettingen; our Frenchmen being awed by the steadiness of the English, and by their rolling fire, which is really infernal, and, I confess lo you, is enou<;Ii to stu[)ify the most unconcerned spectators. Then it was. that we began to despair of oar caa.^e.'" * And no wonder they " lieuan to des- jiair ! " Of their infantry, battalion after battalion of the llegiments des Gardes Frangaises, Gardes Suisses, d'Aubeterre, du Hoi, di; Hainault, d«'.s Vai.s.seaux, de Normandie, &.C., of tlieir cavaliy, s(piadron alter sfjuadron, including those of the Girdes du Coijis, (iensflarmei ie, (Jara- biniers, liegiment de Fitz-James, ifec, gave way, shattered by the mus- ketry, or smashed by the cannon, of that moving citaerhaps no retreat even for the King, and the Dauphin. An attempt, indeed, to penetrate t.iat part of the French line, in spite of the murderous artillery-lire from its redoubts, and from a flanking battery of 6 guns, or upwards, on the other side of the Beheld, f was made, at this alarming juncture, with inueh tinnness by the Duteh infantiy in column, similarly aided by their ca\alry ; while, Iroin Touiiiay, a sally was also directed by its still numerous Dutch gar- rison ((uiginally 'JOoO strong) against the French investing force of 27 battalimis, and 17 squadrons. ()r about lS,Ot)0 men, under Lieutenant- General, tiie Marquis de Breze. " When we 2)icture to ourselves," ex- * The letter of the Mai-quis d'Argenson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, from Fontenoy, is ^iven as Xo. 1 in the Aju-encli.x to the '2ikI volume of ''The l^rivate Life oJ Louis XV.," in 4 volinnes, '• tirit!y, "<^ie anjak-jf^iU', the blows, tlie cries, the reciprocal meuiicfs of above IdO.OOO combatants anued for mutual destruction between Tournai and Funtcnoy, the il:uslies end reports of 100,000 muskets, and of 200 pieces of catinon, the terrible tli under of which was 1000 and 1000 times reverberated along the Escaut," or Scheld, "as well as by all t!ie forests about it, we may well conceive, that never has the air, or the s<>a, been agitated by a. more horril)]e terapest,#tha.n that fr.-.^^i "i'r.!irii;u to the iicld of iontency." This attack of the l>iitcli from Fontenov lo Ant(,nn, and the snWy of their gairison from To'j.rnay, were both ris]i -?r.J SiigJish evidence hereafter adducij-l in oppositlun to Volutire., that the Ivisi. pM).y,c'c w-'ib kept altogether in reserve, or vmemployed, ui'til the final charge fcltat. " c.jT''.ii Ir.rf -.-•i;-." •!• Tiio ja^sa^e ab'f.e trsii-si;--. :i"< f"(i.^i Miclielet is in his "Prgcia de I'Histoire de France jusipi'a la Hc-oli-.tioti vrancaise," 1 volume, iird edit'on, Paris, 1838; wL'jre, after notiiio of tc.r Ft-.i'jfc, " Aux Pays Eas, sous le Mare'c'i:il de Saxe, ils gagneut Icj batailies ;ie Fontono- (1745) et de I!a'.:<^oux, (174())" it is a..lded — "La j)ro;;nCre, trvtit celcl'rce, f'tait perdue sans rembde, si Drlaiidais, Laby, inspire' par sa liaiue cor.',f«; Isa Angliis, n'eilt prcpose de romjire leur colciuiie avec 4 jdeces de canon. I'n comtisan adroit, lb Due de Kichelieu, s'apt'Tojiria I'ide'e, et la gloire du succ^s." The IK) Fiendi guns, exeopc i in the rear with the reserve, having been plai).tcd in the redoubts ar.d village of Fontenoy, &c., cor-stituting the fnrtilied vu!v:ard lint of tlroved liimself then, as well as prtviounlij, to ho " tiie ngl.fc Uian, ill iau riiiht piace." 2 A 354 HISTORY OF TIIC WASH BillOADES was after reconnoitring the column near Fontenoi. Having tlins gallo]»erl about in every direction without being wounded, he appears before tlieiii, out of bi-eath, sword in hand, and covei-ed with dust. ' What news do you bring?' said the Marshal to him, 'What is your opinion?' 'My news,' replied the Duke de Richelieu, ' is, that the battle is g dned, if we will it; and mi/ opinion is, that 4 cannon should be immediately advanced against the front of the column; while this artillery will stagger i\ the Maison du Roi and tlie other troo[)s will surround it; we must f dl upon it as foragers.' " That is, as elsewhere explained, " like chasseurs, with the hand lowered, and the arm shortened, pell-mell, masters, foot- men, officers, cavalry and infantry, all together." Louis at once ai)proved of the counsel of his favourite, Richelieu ; and 20 officers of distinctiou were detached to make the corresi)onding ari-augements. The Duke de Pequigni, to whom the use for the cannon was explained, hastened thefti f(jrward, crying out — " No retreat, the King orders that these 4 jneces of cannon sh ul I gain the victory V Richelieu himself set oif at full .speed to bring uj) the Maison du Roi, and otliers advanced with the several cor[)S of Gendarmerie, Chevaux Legers, Grenadiers a Clieval, Mnusrpietaires. The Marshal de Saxe likewise departed, to take general measures for the final effort to recover the day. Amidst the prevalent hopelessness of succi ss, he had sent 3 several orders for witlidrawing the troops at Antoin to Calonne; to secui-e, at all events, the retreat of the King and the Dauphin there. These re]ieated orders, only suspended on the yjersonal responsibility of the officers at Antoin, would, if acted on, have rendered Fontenoy another Crecy in the military annals of France, by opening such an inlet for the Dutch to co-operate with the successful Biitish and Hanoverians, as had certainly been found elsewhere, hut for the /ortuiiate foresight, and- suggestion of additional redoubts and artdlery there, by Colonel Lally. The Marshal fii-st hurried to Antoin on the right, to countermand its evacuation, if possible; and he was, most luckily in time to stop it, when it was about to take ])lace. He theri quickly traversed the field in an o]iposite direction; ordering that the ^arious regiments should not, as hitherto, make "false charges" — or each attacking on its own account, rather than connected with othei's — but that they should re-arrange themselves for a united assault upon the consolidated discijiline, order, and numbers of the enemy's column, sf) as in front, and on both flanks, to close upon and bieak that column, by a great simultaneous rush of " each for all, and all for each." lu this excursion, the Marshal, ere he lejoined Louis XV., proceeded as far round the hostile column to tiie left, as towards the position of the Irish Brigade. The 6 regiments of infantry, of wliich tliis corps consisted, were stationed behind the wood of Barry, or Vizon. and a z^edoubt, with the Gardes Suisses on their right, ranged, in like manner, behind another redoubt, or that which stopped Ingoldsliy — neither, however, of these redoubts having been manned by Irish, or Swiss, but French troops. Next in line, beyond the Gardes !Suis.scs, were the (Jardes Fran9aises; so that the Allied column, under the Duke of Cumberland, in penetrating the French centre, by breaking tlie (iardes Fianc^aises, liad the Gardes Suisses on its right flank.* Though the Irish, as still farther away to * I t;il\e the respective jiositions, &o., of tine several cnrps of the Freuch army at Fouieuuy from the larije plau of tlie ixtiuii lu iJuiiiwrDuus. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 355 the French left than the Gardes Snisses, were consequently not so poste'l as to be at all in contact with the hostile column when it made its was into the centre, they were disordered by the residts of the coluimrs success. Of the 4 battalions of which the Regiment des Gardes Fran- daises was composed, the effects of a continued residence iu Paris were? .so injurious to the soldiery of 3, that these 3 battalions gave way sooner than they ought, in spite of the utmost endeavours of the officers to lally their men ; the 4th battaliim of the regiment alone behaving well. The Gardes Suisses, which formed the brigade between the Gard<'s Fran^aises and the Irish, being likewise repulsed in such a manner tliat cavalry had to inter|)ose,* so many defeated Guards retired, or were driven back, upon the Irish Regiments of Clare and Roth, that their Brigade was*necessarily put into confusion; and required to be propor- tionably reformed, or restored to order, ere it should be summoned to join in the engagement. The i-anks of the Irish Bi-igade — thanks to the colonial, sectarian, and commercial misrule, which beggared, starved to death, cr di'ove abroad, for bread, so many thousands of tlieir race and creed! — then presented a tine military spectacle of young men, in higli spirits, and discijjline, and "eager for the fray."t Their natural indignation, at what tlieij considered the shameless perjury tlu'ough which, tlieir country was reduced to slavery in s|)ite of a solemn Treaty, was attested by the stimulating cry, in their ancient language, of ''■ Reiaeiuber Limerick and Saxon pp-'fidy !"'\. re-echoing from man to man, as "watch- word and reply." Their feelings of loyalty — douhli/ hostile to those of their foe, fi'om uniting devotion to the House of Stuart, and to the House of Bourbon, as its ally — were also excited to suitable ardour liy the favourite or popular Jacobite air of ''The White Cockade.'' This animating tune, whose allusion to the common colour of the Stuarts and Bourbons was associated with words in favour both of the Stuart dynasty, and of enlisting to recruit the Brigade, was consequently then, * On the misbehaviour of the Gardes FraiKjaises, and its alleged cause, see Barbier's "Journal Historique et Aiiecdoticjue du Rfecrue de Louis XV".,'' and Voltaire, for the heavy /mnis/nnent of the Gardes Fraii9aises, Suisses, &c., by tlie Allied cciluiiu), in its successful advance. f Mr. O'l'oiior, in his "History of the Irish Catholics," remarking, with refer- ence to the reigns of (George I. and George II. in Ireland, how "the Latholic youth sought shelter, from the miseries of famine, in the armies of the Continent," mentions — "The Irish Brigade recruited for the sj)ace of "iO^'ears, from 17-5 to J74!>, by the wretchedness of the people, by the avarice of tiie proprietors, and the severities of the Popery Code;" adding — "Thus the miseries of Ireland became, a military resource to the hereditari/ and implacable enemies of Great L'r tain." And hence the allusion to the Brigade, at Fontenoy, by the Marquis de Tressau — "Exiles d'une ile chene, Viitiiiiexdun sort in/mma'n, Veuez defemlre la patiie. Qui vous a re<;u dans son sein! " t Mr. C. H. Teeling, in his "Personal Narrative of the Irish Eehellion of 1798," gives, as from a journal of his maternal granduncle, who was at Foutenoy, "the stimulating cry," iu Irish, to which the Brigaile charged the British; the words of which Dr. O'Donovan, (whom I consulted on the matter,) would, more correctly, write thus, " Cuimhnigidh ar Luimnech agus feall I'a Sassonach!'' and translate as above. The late learned James Roche, Es'q. of Limerick, who was horn iii 1770, or but 25 years after the battle of Fontenoy, in his " (.Critical and Miscel- laneous Essays by an Octogenarian," shows, from the testimony of officers of tlie Brigade, whose services were "contemporaneous with the battles of Dettiiiijen and Fontenoy,"' and whom he himself kittw, tiiat "Iiish was generally spoken m tLa regiments." ."^SS TIIRTORY OF TIIF II?I!5IT nninADT:?! ftTid lone; nftiM-, int(>rdicfceii "iiscrcinl.iiicy' in hc- 1 iinl.* V>n\ ils t,i-cas(>ii, or its !uy;ilty, was, at Foiitciioy, Itofon^ a fairer tnhimal, or that, of the ojijtrc.ssal, uniied as well as, and /ace fA> fiu-e lokli., the o/i/tressor .' Tlic i;ciicial plan of action against tlio Ant;lo-l ranovci-iaii ooluinii wa'^, tliat, after the I cannon slionUl Ijrcacli it. in trout, i\\c. cavali'y, licaiied l>y ilio JMaison iln IJoi, (Icndarnicric, and ('aral)iniers, slionld dasli in ii|i(in it, llicr.'. 'riic rffoniHid infantry Hrii^ades dn Koi and d'Aubeterrc, rcMtitorced a-iid connected for tJieir lint' of attack willi the ))revionsly v.iienf/ti(/ed i)ii;^ado de la ("'oiironrie, were U) fall U|i(in tiic eiieruy's lei, or Hanoverian tlank. The otht-r infantry l>ri;j;a(les, de Nornianrii,'ad(^ here t\w /res/ie-i§ tini)]is, and tlnis, as it woidd appear, selected to head this niovenient. I" having in eons(M]uence, (it will lie necessary to observe,) the (lar-abiniers TK'arest to tluini of tlie ',\ cavalry corps which were to attack in front. JVlere liiin horse, and the bayonets of this foot, being orchard to 'Conclude the business. The oallunt J^ally, now tliat tiu; Brigade! mere to ect, as "an Irishman all in his glory was there;" and, filled, as he was, with every cause for animosity to the English, on national, family, I'tdi- gious, and dynastic grounds, he made a -speech of corresponding vigour to the soldiers of his regiment — " March against the enemies of France and of 'jio'iirselves, without Jirimj, until you have the points of your bayonets upon their be'lies / " J Words, not less, if not more, worthy of remembrance, for tlunr martial energy, than those, at Bunkers Hill, of the American (leneral Putnam, to his men. against the same foe — " lieserve your fire, till you see the whiles of their eyes ! " § The Duke of (Cumberland's column hitherto presenting the apjiearance of a gi'eat oblong square, kecsping u]) in front, and from both Hanks, a terrible lire of musketry, as well as of cannon loadisd with cartridge-shot, but, by this time, so unluckily circumstanced, that it could not make nse of its cannon without injury to itself, was now within due range (rio;a(le at Fontonoy, and of the tune havini^ been iir(ihil)itc(l in Jrelaiul l)v the dominant oliLjurchy of the day, are known to ns by coiitein|)orary tradition IVom our grandfathers; and the popular or native words to the air, with reference to the iin.;,ade and tlie Stuarts, speak for tlieinseKn s. t The Brigade des Irlandois, with the l'>rit,'a(h; oa the hostile van, unrecovered li-(,m the crushing tire of the artillery. Tlie infantry Brigades du Boi, de la ('ouronne, d'Auheterre marclied against the enemy's left flank; while the (jther reformed infantry Brigailes, de Normandie and des Vaisseaux, headed by the (i fresh regimi^nts of tiie Irish Brigade, under the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, advanced against the right flank. In the language of the national ijallad, — " How tierce the look these exiles wear, who 're wont to V)e so gay, The treasur'd wrongs of ;j(( years are in their hearts to day I The treaty broken, ere the ink wlierewith 'twas writ could dry, Their plunder d homes, their mind shrines, their women's parting cry. Their priesthood hunted down like wolves, their country overthrowu, — Each looks, as if revenge for all were stak'd on Idiii alone. On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, nor ever yet elsewhere, Eush'd on to tight a nobler band, tlian Uit-Hc. proud exiles were I" — Davis. "Soon," adds an English letter from France, "as the English troops beheld the scarlet unitorm, and the well-known fair complexions of the Irish; soon as they saw tlie Brigade advancing against them with fixed bayonets, and crying out to one another, in English, Steady, boys! fur- ward! clmrye ! too late they began to curse their cruelty, which forced 88 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADKS l)t> ft'lt 1)}' a sptH'tator; and, at such a critical jnnctnro. tliat sturiliiif^ shout, and the event of ill omen to the Briti.sli with which it was con- nected, were remarked to have had a proportionalde inrtiicncc^ noon them.* Tiie Brigade being now sufficiently near, the British prepared to <,'ive them that formidable tempest of bullets, which was reserved for the last moment, in order to be discharged with the more deadly etfect. " Whether," observes our illustrious military liistorian, Napier, " fiom the ])eculiar construction of the muskets, the ])hysical strength and codI- iHss of the men, or all combined, the English fire is tlie most destiuctive known." And, by that fire, the Irish snlfered accordingly. Their brave eonunander, the Lord Clare and Earl of Tliomond, struck by '2 bulL'ts, most probably owed his life only to the cuiiass wiiit-h he woi-e, according to the royal army-regulation of the previous year; the Colonel and Chevalier de Dillon (3rd son of the late Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon, and brother of the 2 last Lords Viscount Dillon in Trc;- land,) was slain at the head of the family regiment; and a laige number of officers and soldiers were likewise killed or wounded. But this did not arrest the impetuous determination with which tiuiir more fortunate comrades pushed forwai-d, to the cry, in the old Celtic or (laelic tongue, of " Re>nenil)er Linierih\ awl Sccou perfily!" and 'a I'ainie blanche," or "with the cold steel," to do business more etrectually, in Veudome's language, as '• bouciiers de I'armee," or "butchers of the army." Like their stout countryman in th(; song, represented, in opposi- tion to an English foot-pad with tire-arms, as relying only on coming to close quarters with his honest slick, and as finally exclaiming of the discomfited knight of the trigger, " His pistol it tiasliM, But his head I sniasliM, Oh! siullolah, jjoa mvcr mi^.s'd fiir f^ Avilhout nvj/ volley in reply to the blaze of shot from the column, tlie Brigiide ran ni u]ior) the British with fixed bayonets, thrusting tluMU into their faces 't And, although the Caiabinicrs, in the confusion of the * At the battle of t'asta'la, in Spain, in Aiiril, 181.'}, between the Allies un(h;rSir John Murray, and the French under Mamhal Sucl>et, a like eneounter oecurreil leiween an Irish oHicer oi the 27th Elnniskillen Font, .and one of the enemv'.s etfieers, tlH)nijh with a more fatal result to the olKcer defeated tliere, tluin at i'\);i- teiioy. While the French, says Najiier, " vvero luifoldinr;: their masses, a grenadier (lificer, advancing; alone, challenged the Captain of the "iTth yrcnidiers to siiij^ e coniliat. Waldron, an ai^ile, vigorous Irishman, ami of hoiling courage, instant y ppiuni: forward, the iiostile lines looked on without firing a shot, the swords of the champions glittered in the sun, the Fi'euchn a I's head was cleft in twain, and, the next instant, the 27th, jumping up with a deafening shout, fired a deadly volley, at half ]iistol-shot distance, and then chargetl, with such a shock, than, iiiauore their bravery and numbers, the enemy's soldiers were overthrown, and the siiie o! the Sierra was covered with the killed and wounded.' + "The vicfcory of the French at Fontenoy," says an anin'tatorof Forman in 17^)', or hut t) years after the battle, "is chielly attrihutahle to the Irish; for, when the Allies, in all apjicarance, h:id the advania^e hy the br'avery of their troops, the I'^rencli King order'd tlie Irish to attack the ri-ht wing of the Allies; which they did, with so uiucli resolution and hravery, not firing a slmt till they pnx/i'U tlulr hii'i'iii''ti into 111.!'. J'nc'-n of tlu'ir (nnnuif.s, that, in S]iiuht of the inti'ejiid hehaviour > f the English, they were obliged to retreat." The alleged ciuiduct of the (') regiments of the Irish Brigade here, with res| ect to the "faces of their enemies." re.seinhled th.it of U;x'sar's (i jiicked cohorts of oOOO men at Phaisalia, l>y which the .'ictv.iy t'lere is stated to have been decided against Poiiijjey. See Plutarch's lives of (Jassai and Poni[>ey. morion's Histoire df.^ Conqum's dc Louis XV. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 359 weUe, and from the similarity of uniform between the Brigade and the British, iinluckily charged, and even killed, Fome of the Irish, ere the error could be arrested by the cry of "Vive la France/" or "France /or ever!"* this temporary "mistake among fiiends" was soon rectified, and })venged, in the proper quarter. While the Carabiniers turned their steeds and sabres with due efi'ect elsewhere, or from their brother Celts and fellow-soldiers against the common Teutonic foe, down went, or away aloTig the far slope of the hill went, the immediate opponents of the Irish, before tlieir crimsoned or flashing bayonets. Of the ^0 cannon belonging to the late formidable Allied column, 15 pieces, with 2 colours, were among the recorded trophies of the Brigade; the 1st battalion of the 2nd or Coldstream Regiment of British Foot Guards being s]iecial]y noticed, as losing a pair of colours and 2 horsed guns to the Irish infantry i-egi- ment of the exiled English Jacobite, and brother-in-law of the late Marshal Duke of Berwick, Lieutenant-General Count Francis Bulkeley.f In a word, the enemy, pressed, on one side, by the irresistible vigour of "la furia Francese," and, on the other, where "the wrath of the Gael in its red vengeance found him," was, with great loss, so i-apidly broken, and driven from the field, that his forces disaj)peared, as it wei-e, by magic! — • " On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun, With bloody plumes the Irish stand — the held is fought, and won! " — Davis. *' It seemed," to use the words of Louis XV.'s contemporary biographer, "as if we had been fighting against those enchanted legions which were visible and invisible at pleasure; it was," says he, "an affair of 7 or 8 minutes" — or, as the French Minister, who was present, affirms of tlie time in which victory was achieved by this final attack, "in 10 minute.>< the battle was won ! " Then, we are informed, " the Fi'ench, astonished to meet with Frenchmen everywhei-e, at length took breath; they felt the joy of a victory, so long disputed." Of the Irish, 1 of their poets, in a ballad, "The Brigade at Fontenoy, May 11th, IT-lo," having noted, how "There were stains to wash away. There were memories to ilestroy, In the best blood of the Briton, That day at Fontenoy," • "The bayonet and the sword now came in use," relates the Private Life of lewis XV., of the last general charge ujion the Allied cohmin; "the fray was dreadful; and tlie confusion such, that the Carabineers, taking one moment tlie Irish, who weie cloathcd nearly the same, for English, obliged them to call out, France fur ever ! but, unfortunately, after some of iihcm had been killed." t My French Vv'ar-Olhce memoir of the Marshal de 8;i.Ke makes the n Timber of cannon abandoned upon "le champ de I'atalle,'' bj' the Allies, "20 pieces," as docs also Dumortous. My memoir, on similar otficial aiithrrity, of the Lord Clare ami Earl of Thomond, as Marshal of France having preiiused, how, as Lieutenant- Ceneral at Fontenoy, "a la tetc dv^s Brigades Irlandoises, il tomba sur le tlanc f e !a colonne d'Anulois et d'Kanovriens, qui s'etoit f dt jack with gre^it loss, and were driven otf the field of battle." &c. The English contemjiorary writer KoU, after describing the British soldiery, as so animated by the l>uke of Cunderland. and eiiconrasied by the other Generals, that, on the side of the Fi-ench, "'great part of their inf;uitry Avas broke, sevenvl of their squadrons routed, iind the French Mcmirch shudilered for the fate o^the day," adds, without meutioniui,' aiii/ ])re\"i.>iis eneouuter between the British aud the Brigade — "Such was the furious bravery of the British infantry, that Marshal Saxe was now reduced to his last, sole, and princijial effort, to retrieve the honour of the day. This was in brinaring iqi the Irish Brigade ; a corps, oa whose courage, aud behaviour, he entirely dependevl for a iavouraMe decision of so great, so dubious, so well-contested a battle. The Irish Brii;ude,'' [iroi-eeds IJolt, rfter nainiu:: the regiments, "beiuj; drawn uii, were sustained by the Ee^iments of >sorniandy and Vaisseaux, and marched uj^ to the British line without tiring. The British ranks were now prodigiously thinned, the men wearied, and, whei^ever they trod, obliged to tight over the mangled carcases of their d3ing countrymen, whde their ntw and bi'avest o]>poneuts were f'rrsh fur tiii/ai/.'-ineiU," &c See, likewise, in further refutation of Volt;ure, the statement jireviously given from the Frtncii bio- graphical account of Lally, as to his impatience, at the Irish Brigade not having been called into action he/ore the charge which decided the victory. .r.And, in tine, the large French official account v>f the battle, compared with the engraved plan of the ground and disposition of the troops published by Dumortous. gives «■» s;uictiv>u to Voltau-e's {••itpposition, or inreiition, of a repulsed attack of Irish battalions, or of those battalions having been engaged at all, until the eijcouutei- which teiuunated the Contest. 3G2 HISTORY OF TUE IRISH BRIGADES lie thus entirely disguises, in reference to the Brigade, the actual circumstances of the last charge. "The Regiment de Normandie, the Carabiniers, enter into the first ranks of the column, and avenge tlieir comrades, slain in their former charge. The Irish secund them." But in the French official account of the engagement, the Irish are thus named 1st, as Iteading the line of attack on tlieir side of the field. '■'■Th.e G Irish reginients^ sustained by those of Normandie and des Vaisseaux, being drawn up in 1 line, marched close up to the enemy without firing, and put them in confusion, by their bayonets fixed at the end of their muskets." And, indej)e.ndent of any further authority that might be adduced on this point, of the Irish having headed that attack, the fact of their having done so is placed beyond doubt, by what Louis XY.'s bio- grapher informs us, of the unlucky mistake of the Carabiniei's; from which mistake, the Irish could not have suffered at all, except as heading t\Q attack on the right flank of the column, and as consequently being the 7it-ared infantry to the Carabiniers, who were on the left flank of the 3 iiorse-corps, that constituted the van of the cavaliy, appointed, with the 4 pieces of artillery, to break the column in front. Duke of Cumberland's Column. M IT: > H O H ^ U y, >5 m s o y^ O 1^ ^ te tc 1— 1 CaKABINIEHS. (rENT)\IiME".TE. MaISON I)U Koi. Duke de IUchelieu's Cavalry. But, if Voltaire could write so, at first, to the prejudice of the Irish, though, even then, having such evidence in their favour, as hardly to admit tlie sup|)osition of mere error oti his part, what are we to think of liis subsequent conduct, in allowing his original mis-statement of facts to re.uain unaltered in ail the future impressiuus of his work, notwithstaud- IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3fi3 ing the aclditional and most unimpeachable means for ascertaining ^ind. writing the truth, afforded him by the 2 letters of a gentleman, a sclujUir, and a soldier, like Colonel Dromgold? — to say nothing of the number of other officers, Irish and French, whom he could have consulted. Thus, about 9 years after Voltaire's death, and 42 years after the battle, or in August, 17t>7, Mr. St. John, in his "Letters from Fi-ance to a Gentleman in the South of Ireland," after referring to his having,' at Ptiris, "fre- quently seen, particularly in the Luxembourg Gardens, many of the ancient officers of the Irish Brigade," says — "I met a group of these veteran soldiers, the other day, in the Luxembourg Gai-dens. They talked in raptures of the various battles and sieges they had fought; and, in a manner, having shaken off the burthen of old age, would delineate the ])lans of their encampments and encounters on the sand, and fight their battles o'er again ; imagining themselves in all the vigour of youth, and ready to wee]) on finding it but a dream. I have often heai'd them recount the whole affair of Fontenoy, where the Engli.-h army attacked the French, though posted in the most advantageous situation, with forts to defend them. f the Order of 8t. Loui.s," as "compiling a history of Ireland in the French language. " Other alterations or distigiirings of the Irish officers' names, as pi eseutod to the pulilic in the contemporary printed lists, I correct fi-oni my own knowleage, without further remarks, which would ouly give rise to several tiresome notes. IN' THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3G5 following were the fMinily names of the officers killed and wounded at Fontenoy in the Bi-igade — all Cliristiati names, as only sometiiaes given in those documents, heing hem omitted, for uniformity's sake — and the errors, or obvious niisin-iuts, of each list being amended from the other, and ])ersonal information. — Clare's Regiment. Lieutenant-Colonel O'Neill, Ca))tains Shoitall, Mac Elligot, Kennedy, Fitz-Geiuld, and Mnc- namara, killed; Major Shortall, Captains Creagh,* Grant, Mao4niri!, Plnnkett, Preston, O'Brien, Daniel, Mac Carthy, and Lieutenants O'Neill, Davoren, and 2 O'Briens, ivomided. — Bulkeley's Regiment. None kiJlf.,1 ; Mnjor Mac Sweeny, Captain Morgan, and Lieutenant Burke, woun-led. — Dillon's Regiment. Colonel Dillon, Lieutenant-Colonel Mannery, Captains Kearney, Manning, Nihill, killed; Captains Wogan, liagarty, Cnsack, and Lieutenants Gla.scock, Barry, Moriarty, Flanagrin, and 2 Burkes, vjoundeil. — Roth's Regiment. Captains Windham, St. Leger, Grace, and Christian, killed; Colonel Roth, and Captains Healv, Delany, O'Hanlon, Osborne, Byrne, 2 O'Briens, and 2 O'Sullivaus, wwMWf/fif/. — Beuvvic'k's Regiment. Captains Bourke, Anthony, and Cooke, killed; Captains Hickey, Colclough, and Lieutenants Plnnkett, Carroll, Mac Carthy, Dease, and Nangle, wounded. — Lally's Regimknt. Lieutenants Byrne, Kelly, and Fitz-Gerald, killed; Colonel Lally, Lieu- tenant-Colonel O'Hegarty, Major Glascock, Ca))tains Butler, Warren, Wt)gan, and Lieutenants Creagh, Hennessy, Stack, and Mackey, lyo/z.Weci?. — Of Fitz-James's Regiment of Hohse, as acting in the centre with the cavalry o})|)()sed to and repulsed by the Allied column, in its successful advance, and, as thus suffering severely, especially by the hostile cannon, I merely find, that the Irish officers, killed and wounded, were 2-5, with- out any specification of names. And, consequently, those gentlemen in Clare's having been ID, in Bulkeley's 3, in Dillon's 14, in Roth's 14. in Berwick's 10. in Daily's 13, and in Fitz-James's 25, the whole, (as already stated without these details,) would amount to 98. In this battle, which, from the conmiencement of the artillery-firing to that of the retreat, lasted about 8 hours, or from about 5 o'clock in the inoi-ning to about 1 in the afternoon, the French acknowledged a loss of 533D infanti-y, and, in round numbers, 1800 cavalry, killed or wounded; forming a consequent total of about 7139 men. The Allies pul)lislied their slain, Inn-t, or missing, as 4041 British, and 372G men of (.tlu'r nations; or 17G2 Hanoverians, 1544 Dutch, and 420 Austrians, bein ; altogether 7707 men; but considerably more, it would seem, by contcn- jioraiy English complaint, in the press, of the "printed accounts" *>( Rritish casualties that day having, according to "private accounts," from ''officers on the spot," been "too alleviating." f Of prisoners, the Frencli claimed to have made about 2500, while they alleged, that scarcely any * This Captain James Creagh was so severely "woimded," as to be pnblishcrl amongst the "killed;" which error I accordingly correct. The Captain, we are elsewhere informed, " received a ball in the breast, which shattered his Cross of !St. Louis, and ]>assed completely through his body. Several pieces of the Cross weie extracted from the wound, and h« recovered." He was a native of the County of Cork, born in 1701. Having finally, or in 1771, become a Marechal de Cam}), he retired from the service on a jiension, whicli he still enjoyed in 17S9. t See a letter in the Westnunster Journal of "June 22nd, 1745." A like disagree- ment, between the accounts }mbhshed as official in the London Gazette of July 18th, 1815, and those of the regimental records, with respect to the amount of tlie British loss at Waterloo, is i/ek'cte.d by Captaiu Siborue, m his "Histmyof the War m France aud Belguun in iyi5." rCG HISTORY OF THE IRISH B?JGADKS were tal-:(^n from tliem ; and l«'^2oftlie Allied munition :ui(l ]irovisintTi AVM pressed Mac Donough to rejoin tlie Brigaredecessors of the present 7th Dragoon Guards. "This service," writes a gentle- n)an, who belonged to the regiment at a later period, "was ever remembered by the Princes of the House of Brunswick; and, when a proposition was once made to good old George III., to reduce the 7th, he replied with energy, in his usual abrupt style, — 'No! no! never, never; saved my granl/ather at Dettinfjen. No! no! never hear of it — never!'" A regimental trophy, alleged to have been cajitured from their French opjionents on this memorable occasion, has been presers ed, to our times, by the victorious corps. 3G8 HISTORY OP the IRISII BUIGADES overthrow of an Allied or British detached corps of several thousand men at Melle, the surprise of Gaud, or Ghent, the occupation of Briiges, and the captui'es of Oudenarde, Dendernionde, Ostend, Nieuport, and Ath. Louis returned to France in Septeniher, and, on the 7th, "made his triumphant entry into Paris, with the utmost magnificence. All the streets through which he passed were s]jread with tapestry; the shops were kept shut, by an edict of Parliament, for 3 days; and the fronts of tlie houses were illuminated, and fountains ran with wine in the streets." Nor were these public rejoicings disproportioned to the advantages they were designed to celebrate. "If Louis XIV.," writes Frederick the Great of Prussia, " subjugated a greater space of ground in the year 1672, he lost it, as fast as it had been conquei-ed ; but Louis XV. secured his possessions, and lost nothing of what he had gained." At the operations against Tournay, the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond was wounded l>y a bomb ; and the Irish were more or less engaged in the several sieges down to that of Ath. When Ghent was taken, in which an immense Allied magazine had been established, a quantity of new clothing and eipiipments for the English i-egiments V)eing found among the spoil, Louis XV., the Comte d'Argenson (Minister of War) and the Marshal de Saxe complnnented the Brigade, by deciding, "that these goods should be distributed gratis to the 6 Irish regiments." The notice taken of those brave fellows in their own country, by its ruling sectarian oligarchy, was very diti'ereut. "The peasant here grew pale for fear He'd sutfer for our glory. While France sang joy for Fontenoy, Aiid Europe hymu d our story ! " — Davis. In Dublin, the anti-national representatives of the Penal-Code reglini^ njistermed an "Irish" Parliament, evinced a suitable sjiirit of animosity to the Irish Brigade, for its mortifying triumph at Fontenoy. " It was impossible," observes the historian of the Irish Catholics, " to detach these gallant troops from the French armies. By way of retaliation, an Act passed, that all Irish officers and soldiers, that had been in the service of France and Spain since the 8th of October, 174.5, should be disabled from holding any real or personal property; and that any real or personal jtroperty, in possession, reversion, or expectancy, should belong to the 1st Protestant discoverer." This new enactment, which became " part and parcel of the law of the land" in 1746, was, however, no more heeded, tlian other hostile edicts of the "ascendancy," by the Irish military abroad ; whose sej'vices there so contributed to decide the general event of the war, as "left Great Britain no alternative, but ruin, or an inglorious peace." The year 1745, memorable for the battle of Fontenoy, was also remark- able for the chivalrous attempt of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, to reco'ver, with " native swords and native ranks," the Crowns of his fore- fathers, from the foreign or German dynasty, whom he, and his adherents, looked upon as usur/mig the government of Great Britain and Ireland. Tlirough various sources, including the Irish iuduence of the Lieutenant- General Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, and of Mr. Rutledge, a capitalist in Fi-ance, the Prince, having realized the means for etfecting his passage to Scotland, reached that country at the latter end of July. His principal com]iauions iu the euter^irise, henceforth famous as " the 7 IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3G9 mpn of Moidart," were 3 of British, and 4 of Irish, birth or origin. The 3 Biitish companions of (Jharles, were the illus^trious old JVJarqnis of Ttillihardiiie, but for his Hanoverian attainder, as a Stuart ]<)yalist, in ITlo-lG, lineally, or by right, Dnke of Athol— Mr. apneas Mac Donald, a banker, in Paris, Mac Donald of Kiulochnioidart's younger brother, and an honest man to his I'lince and party — Fiancis Strickland, an Jl^nglitih gentleman, but of such a charactei-, that it was found, his ulisence- would be more desiral)le than his conijiany.* The 4 Irish companions of Charles were. Sir Thomas Shei-idan — Colonel John OSullivan - Sir John Mac Donnell, or Mac Donald — Mr. George Kelly. Previous to the fuller details connected with the history of the 2 former, I subjoin thtj shorter j/articulars known of the 2 latter. George Kelly was a Protestant clergyman of the Nonjuring branch of the Church of England; which, as believing in an indefeasible hereditary right of the House of Stuart to the royalty of Great Britain and Ireland, I'ejected, as no better than usurpers, the Sovereigns, who, in consequence cf the Revolution of 1G88, reigned in these islands, to the exclusion of the eldest representatives, or heads, of that exiled House. Preferring, liow- ever, the exciting path of politics to the comparatively monotonous coursw of the clerical profession, Mi-. Kelly hecanie 1 of the most active agf^i.'^ of his party, for the purpose of bringing about a "restoration" in tii-^ jierson of "James III. ; " on which point, he kejjt up, from Englaiid, v,itii the Continent, a regular correspondence, disguised in one fiirm or ;on, from the promise given by the I'liy of future eminence as a man, was at first appointed to be a Page, or to some ]H)st of the kind, in the royal hou.sehold, at St. Germain. Under tiiat Monarch, ami his son, as James III., he continued to be attached 1o the Stuart Court, removing with it to Italy; and, having hail much leisure at his dis])osal, he devoted him. self to study, particulat'ly in mathe- matics and moral philosophy; his general "literary accomplishments, join'd to his great sobriety, good sense, and fine behaviour," raising him no high in James's favour, as to be made by him Governor to his eldest son, Prince Charles.* This a]ipointment was judicious, proving not lcs3 satisl'actory to the father, than agreeable to the sou; who had such i«i <\steem for his Governor, that "he chose never to be without him;" and consequently could not be ])revailed on to leave him behind, when under- taking the expedition to Scothuid ; though James, in regard to Sir 'I'honia.s's "declining age, and growing infirmities, would have had him remain at Rome. But Charles, who had been used to consult him on all occasions, and could not think of entering upon any acticm of consequence Avithout his advice, foreseeing the many occasions he should have for him, during the pro.secution of his appi-oaching enterprize, resolved to cany liim with him; nor was the latter, who tenderly lov'd his JJupil, at all adver.se to accompany him, and .sharing his fate, let it prove never so adverse." During the suVj.sequent contest in Great Britain, Sir Thomas I'iitained his infinimce as Charle.s's Governor, in the capacity of his chief j'rivy Counsellor; and, after the battle of Culloden, he was fortunately able to effect such an early escape to France, as the bad state of his health, aggi-avated by the hardships of campaigning in Scotland, rendered most iieces.sary. Thence he proceeded to Rome, where he died, November 2-''n.h, 1746, "greatly lamented by all his acquaintance."t In religion, ibir Thomas was a Protestant, like so many other adherents to the Stuart * Lord Elcho, 1 of the Prince's Privy Council in Scotland, with Sir Thomas Slieritlan, the Chevalier de Johnstone in his Memoirs, Norman Mac Leod corres- ponduiu- with the Lord President Forbes, au'i the contemporary London ainio;.ince- ment of Sir Thomas's death at Rome, all mention Sir Thomas, as havinj^ been "Governor" to Charles. This ])()st of "(Governor" should not be confounded, or ideutitied, as it has been by some, with that of "Preceptor," or "Tutor." So many had been intrusted with the education of Charles, that, as K lose notes, ' -fc is im- ])ossiljle to say «'/(ai share furh had in eilucating t!ie Prince." Amonj^ them. Sir 'i'homas is named laat — evidently as Governor, rather than Tutor or Prcceptur — yet liot, it is possd)le, without his having also aided to coniiilete the course of instruc- tion, commenced and continued by so manij predecessors. + As Sir Thomas Sheridan's death was innnediately attributable to the injurious effects, on his constitution, ofwhatheliad suffered campaigning in Scotland, it is rather strange that Lord Mahon and Mr. Chambers could give ant/ countenance to ti>e untenaV)le assertion, how "Sir Thomas, having waited on Prince Charles's father at liome, was so shar])]y reprimanded bj' the latter, for pert^uddimj his son to under- take the expedition in Scotland on no better grounds than he did, that the severity or tlie reproof causeil Sir Thomas to fall ill, and die of grief!" But, it was not at Itoine th;it Sir Thomas ^''fdl ill;" and, if he ever received any such "reproof" as that asserted, it was nndesetveel. Piince Charles's Secretary in Britain, Murrny of liioughton, in his Examination, March, 174()-7. before the Biitish House of Lords, lelatos how he was told by Charles m Paris in 1744, that, even independent of any expedition from France, "he was determined to come into Scotland" — and, whea isiroii'jly represented, that, to come thus, would l)e a desperate undertaking, "not- Wit..ti,andiug which, he insisted upou coining." Theu, continues Murray of this IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 373 cansn, wTio did not allow their creed to interfere with their lovnltv: anrl he was doubly connected with the exiled royal family, as Cliarl .s'sj Governor, and by his wife having nursed that Prince's younger brother the Duke, and future Cardinal, of Yr)ik. The anxiety of (jharles, Mftep his return from Scotland to France, to be rejoined bv his old "guidt?, ])liilosoy»her, and friend," afipears in the Stuart correspondence. Writiu-'' from Clichy, November ()th, 174(), to his father's Secretary, Mr. Ed'^ar, the Prince observes — "I say nothing to Sir Thomas, because I am in hopes he is already set out, for to join me. My waiting on him gives me a gi-eat deal ('f trouble; for, though I have a very good ojiinion of Kelly, and must do him the justice to say I am very well pleased with him, yet neither he, or anybody else niuch less, I would absolutely trust in my secrets, as I would Sir Thomas, which occasicnis in me a great deal of toil and labour." Sir Thomas, 3 days before, had written from Albano, near Rome, to Charles, congratulating him upon his reaching France, ami saying — "I shall not trouble your Royal Highness with representing to you the cruel anxieties under which I have laboured, ever since the un- fortunate day that tore jne from your presence." Secretary Edgar, in a letter of December 2nd, announced to Charles the death of Sir Thomas; forwarding, at the same time, all the papers found in Sir Thomas's repositories, having relation to the Prince and his affairs; among whicli was a sketch of a dying speecli, v)]dch Sir Thomas had prepared, in cast of being taken, and to be executed ! Referring, in fine, to tlie difficulties occasioned by the demise of his lamented Governor and confidant, Charles thus expressed him.self to Mr. Edgar, from Paris, January 16th, 1747 — " Now that my old friend, Sir Thomas, is dead, I am at a vast deal of trouble; being obliged to write everything of consequence with my own hand." Sir Thomas left a son, the Chevalier Michel de Sheridan, or Sir Michael Sheridan, who was an officer in the Irish Brigade, and also engaged in this expedition to Scotland. Born in 1715, he entei'ed tha Regiment of Dillon in 1742, with which he made the campaign of Germany, or that of the battle of Dettingen in 1743; and the campaiga of x''landers in 1744; when he was appointed a Captain. In 174o, he Siiiled with Prince Charles Edward for Scotland in tlie larger of tin- 2 vessels accompanying the Prince, or the Elizabeth, of between 60 and 7') guns; but, ere he c74 nrsTor.Y of the iri'^h brioades |>eriiiit. 1io joinefl tli<^ FrinoH in Rrotlmid; wiio, conferring on liim a })rovet i't, in Anjou.'"" I do not 'know when he died. ( I'luel John O'Sullivan, the most distinguished of the Tri.sh com- panions of the Prince in Scotland, was likewise of Milesian origin, and of 1 of the best of the ancient southern septs of Erin. The O'Sullivans, descended from the old royal line of Muuster, were seated, until the year 11!) J, along the river Suir, in the piTsent County of Tipperary, in the I'ertile territory about Clonmel and Knockgraffbu ; on which last- mentioned eminence was their principal fort, or rath, particularly cele- "brated as the residence, in the 3i'd century, of their famous progenitor, King Fiacha of the broad head., conqueror of the renowned Ard-Righ or Mtmarch, Cormac, son of the Ai-t, who was consequently obliged to send hostages there from Taia. Compelled by the southward progress of the Anglo-Xorm.an invasion to "forsaki; the pleasant regions once their own" for the mountainous districts of Desmond, or Cork and Kerry, the O'Sullivans acquii'ed new possessions in the Baronies of Bt^are and Bantry in the former, and those of Iveragh, Duidvernm, and Glanarougri, in the latter County; and became more famous than ever niuler 2 branches, or those of O'Sullivan More and O'Sullivai] Beare, till the j:eneral submission of Great Britain and Ireland to tlie sceptre of the House of Stuart in il)0.'5. Although, by tlie r(^sults of the long precedin;^ * Fier.ch ini!it;u-y notice of tlie Chovaler de .Sheridan in I^LSS. ou Irish Brigade, givcii to liio oy tiie latu Joha U Coimeil, &c. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 375 struggle then terminated in Ireland, and by the snhseqnent Puritanic and Williamite contests during the same century, those of the name of O'Sullivan were subjected to great territorial losses, that nam« was still not without various respe'^tahle landed ri'|iresentatives at home. It has been honoured abroad, or in S|iain, Belgium, and Germany, with the titles of Count and Baron. It contributed its proportion of officers to the national Regiments of Clare, Dillon, Bulkeley, itc, in France. It was one of note in the service of Na])les. It has also attained high military, administrative, and diplomatic positions in the services of the United States of America, and the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. In the annals of martyred Jacobite loyalty in l71o, after the mention of the arrest, at London, of Colonel Paul of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, as "charg'd" in Whig-Hanoverian language, "with listing men for the Pretetvhr's service," we find Serjeant Joseph O'Sullivan, a native of Munster, of that Colonel's company, and Avho had previously served in the Irish Brigade, named, as imprisoned upon the same account ; and after a due trial by a hostile London jury, as condemned to be " hang'd, drawn, and quarter'd," and to have his head "fix'd to a pole, on Temple Bar!" Tlie companion of Prince Charles in Scotland was a native of Kerry,* of, it appears, a good, though, in point of fortune, a much reduced, branch of the O'Snllivans. " His parents," says the con<- temporary account of him printed in London in 1748, t "being very desirous of his makinj; a tijcure in the world, for which his forward genius soon discover'd that he was naturally well qualified, but yet unable themselves to introduce him upon the great stage, on any other footing tiian that of an extraordinary educaticui, they spared no expence their small estate woidd admit of to n)ake hiu) a compleat gentleman, in every respect, but that of a large fortune; which, they thought, it would be liis business to acquire, after they had furnished him with such amj)ie means. Accordingly, being Roman Catholicks, they sent this, their only son, at the age of 9 years, to Paris, the best place in the world foi- the education of )outh, not only for the sake of cheaidiess, and the excellent methods the French have, of teaching children every thing that can be taught, but, on account of the great sobriety of manners, the sti'ictness of morals, and the early notions of religion and piety, which the tutors are remarkably careful to inculcate. At \o years of age, Mr. Sullivan went to Rome, where his education received a different turn," or towards a preparation for the Priesthood. The death of his fother, who had survived hia mother, rendering it necessary for him to return to Ireland, he did so; but, having no relations living, or any inducement as a Catholic to settle under the yoke of the Penal Code, he only remained there, until he sold his estate. |. He then " went again into France, where, soon afcer his arrival, he had the good fortune to be recommended to Marshal Maille- • The Colonel, with a brief general glance at his military career iu Corsica, on the Ivhine, and in Scotland, is mentioned, among the distinguished Kerry gentlemen in foreign service, by the contemporary writer of the unpublished History of Kerry, forming a portion of the Chevalier O'Gorman's MSS., in the valuable library of the Eoyal Irish Academy. + The memoir alluded to is to be found, with 1, likewise, on Sir Thomas Sheridan, in the Su])plement to "Young Jul)a, or the History of the Young (JlievaJier." I have used hutli. memoirs, checking, or correcting them, where able, from otlier information. :;' Tn those "dark and evil days" of the Penal Code, Mr. O'Sullivan conld only have had this estate, as a Papist, through its having been held for him by soma 376 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES bois, by whom he was tetaiiied as a donicstiL'k Tutor to his son. It was rot long ere tlie Marshal, perceiving in him some symptoms of a genius better adapted to the sword than the gown, encouraged him rather to ap})ly himself to tiie former than the latter profession. This advice waa well relisheil by our young Reveien/] ; he followed it, and that with sucii Success, that. atten(bng the Marshal to Corsica, when t!u^ FriMieli attempted to deprive the ])oor, but brave, inliabitants of that little islan.i of their liberties,* he acted as Secretary to that Genei-al. Maillebois, who was a bou. vivaiit, and used constantly to get drunk every day after dinner, was almost incapable of business the greater ])art of the 24 liours; so that, during the whole time of this General's stay on the isle of Corsica, all the weight of the war, and tiie whole power, devolv'd on Mr. Sullivan, who executed it in such a manner, as deriv'd great honour botli to him- self and his patr(m. In short, here he gain'd a, very high reputation for his military accomplishments in genei'ai ; l)ut, more jiarticnlai ly, for Ivis knowledge in what is called the art of making //■/• y?tW war. After finishing the conquest of C(n'siea, Marshal Maillehois letiirning to France, carried Mr. Sullivan with him into that kingv'd, either in the prosecution, or the end, of his famous ex])e(li- tion. For, to the abilities of this gentleman we ai'e chiefly to attribute the success with which the unexperienc'd Charles, with a handful of raw Highlanders, so long maintaiu'd a sharp, and. for some time, doubtful, dispute with the whole force of his Britannick Majesty, in which he so surprizingly over-run, and (as far as he ]>leased) plunder'd, not only the major part of the Kingdom of Scotland, but also a great part of the rich and powerful nation of England itself A nation which is, or might be, the terror and arbitress of all Europe ! But this (/reat spring^ and first or cliief m'lVir of all the StuaVt army's motions, like that of a clock, or Avatch, (which animates and moves the whole macliine) was unseen, ;in(l all its operations un|)ei'ceiv'd by the gross of Charles's followei\s. Mr. Sullivan's authority and influence over Ciiai-les, as the mUnmica.l sjiring in its box, was so closely conceal'd from the eye of the world, that none 'but the most pi-ying, curious, aitful of the Kighland Chiefs, and those that were the most entrusted, and, as it were, let into the mystery, knew how greatly this gentleman was favoui'ed and conflded in both by Ciiarles and the French Government. Though, in fact, he was the ***** General,* he never openly acted as such; all his advice was given in secret, and his orders never came directly ftoiu himself While he did all, Charles ajipeared as the y)rincipal, and, in his name, was every tiling transacted." The ostensible posts of Colonel O'SuUivan under the Prince were those of Adjutant-General, and Quarter-Master-General. It was the decision of the battle of Fontenoy in favour of France, so attributable to the valour of the Irish Brigade, that determined the Prince to attempt, at this period, as the best opportunity, the vindication, in Great Britain, of the royal claims of his family. And, in this daring enterprise, to be commenced with disadvantagt-s, under which it would be necessary to "strive with tilings im[)ossible, nay get the better of them," he not unnaturally looked, from O' Sullivan's character, for sufth capabilities of service in hitn, as his chivalrous countryman Wogan had formerly displayed, in the a|)parently hopeless, though finally succes.sful, achievement of Inspruck ; but for the accomplislimeiit of which, Maria Clementina Sobieski would never liave V»een the mother of Charh-.s Earatively biglorioits dejiendence of the "glorious revolution," and its dynastic representatives, \i\)on for 1 ni ikH til.', rp.lvH,< run ui.ui; ' Anil yet ihi'v fifli^ wiien tiu'in ^Uey 860, Aud wiuua Ure ti gua, uis for his troo[is, among which were some, yet comparatively few, muskets, * Like Hephnrn, as the annotator of the vScoteh .Tacohite Minstrelsy informs ua, — "Many nitellincnt, well-educated men were known to ha \'e favoured the iusur- rrction of 17-1"). less from attachment to the family of the Stuarts, than from .a hope, that their restoration would lead to a repeal of what was called the ileh'sl'^d, Umon.i' ISee, also, the letter of Burns to Mrs. Dnnlop, April Kith. 1701). + Not, as Mr. Sampson says, a "Colonel Kelly of Roscommon." Who the Kelly was is obvious. But the mention of " Huscommou " is usei'ul. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. SS3 ov-iiig to tlie previous conveyance of stich articles into the Castle; and, rotwitliHtiUiding tiiat many of his men were consequently still most incom[)letely armed, he reviewed the whole, in order to march, on the 30th, against Sir John Co])e, who, by that time, had landed at, and was advancing from, Dnnhar, towards the Scotch metropolis. Cope was joined by his regnlar cavalry, l)esides a uninber of Edinburgh or other Lowland Volunteers, including some armed clerical zealots, or Presby- tei'ian Ministers; and he had written from Banff, on tlie 20th, in due anticipation of victory, — "Though damage may be dune by the quickness of the march, which the Highlanders are much more able to make than we arc, yet a solid body, like ours, must elfectually get the better of them, in the end." With similar confidence, in writing from Perth, on the 21st, how Co])e, instead of fighting at Corriearrack, "escaped to the north, to the great disappointment of the Plighlanders," the Prince had added, of that movement of the English force — " But I am not at all sorry for it — I shall have the greater glory in beating tliem, when they are more nnmerous, and snjiported by their dragoons." The 2 armies were iu sight of, and arrayed against, each other, October 1st, about 7 miles from Edinburgh, for the engagement, variously styled the battle of Preston- Pans, or Gladsmnir. Cope's force had such comparative advantages on its side as to be seemingly invincil»le: the infantry were about 21U0; the cavah-y, 2 dragoon-regiments, 1 on the right, the other on the left, were 700 strong;* and these 2S00 men, generally disciplined and equii)ped as English regulars, had 6 field-cannon, besides mortars ; and were only apfiroachable through a morass, and narrow pass. The Prince's followers, on the contrary, a rural militia, collected within 5 weeks, and, in jiart, very imjiei-fectly weaponed — some having merely a sword, or a dirk, oj- a ])istol, or A bludgeon, or a scythe-bhide fastened straight to a ]»itch-fork handle — were, besides, inferior in number, or, even by the hostile com- ])utation of Home, not 2400 men; t their cavalry, as only about 50, having to be necessarily but a ])arty detached, or in reserve; and the artillery, as but 1 ii'on gun, only adapted for tiring a marching signal, had to be left behind; while, to reach the English, it was necessary "to pass before their noses, in a defile and bog." Nevertheless. Charles, through good l(;cal intelligence, having effected this passage by day-break cm the 2nd, his 1st line alo7ie, of but 1456 combatants, mastered with a rush the enemy's artillery, ere it gave more than 5 shots; next i)ut the 2 di-ago(m- regiments to a rapid and disgraceful flight, compared with that of "rabbits one by one;" and, having discharged and thrown down their musket.s, with a most tremendous shout, closed, target and claymore in hand, upon the hostile infantry. "The English oilicers in Cope's army," says my fontenqiorary London publication, "behavd very gallantly, and did all 11 their power to oblige their men to perform their duty; but the terrible i.gure of the Higl danders, and the irresistil'le fury with wdiich they charg'd them, baffled their ntmost efforts, and struck such a dread into * In March, 1745, the regular complement of every dragoon-regiment quartered in Great Britain was published, as ;^.5-± "effective private men"— i. t above 50 paces behind the 1st, running, as fast as possible, to ovei-take that line, and near enough never to lose sight of it, asserts, "in less than 5 minutes, we obtained a complete victoiy!" Tiie Pi-iuce himself, in his letter to his father, after noting, "oi^ly our 1st line had occasion to engage," adds, "fir, actually in 5 minutes, the field was cleared of the enemies!" General Wightman, who was with Cope's army, not serving, but as a looker on, and who says, he "saw all the dragoons quite out of the field, and the foot surrounded on all sides," alleges, that the entire affair "lasted about 4 minutes, and no longer!" Hence the boast, and witli so much truth, by the Jacobites, that ''■their young Prince could win a battle in 5 minutes!" Charles had, at most, 115 hors de combat, or but 35, including 5 officers, killed, and 70 or SO men wounded. Of Cope's infantry, who were the sufferers on this occasion, as his dragoons fled at once, only 170 escaped, about 300 wei'e slain, 450 wounded,* and between 1600 and 1700, including 70 officers, were returned, by their own Serjeants and Corporals, as ])risoners; so that the Anglo-Hanoverians, or Georgeites, were diminislied between 1900 and 2000 inm by this routing, t Their colours and standards, among which were 7 that had Vjelonged to the runaway dragoons, their artille.rv, consisting of 6 guns and 2 mortars, their camp, their baggage, and their military chest, containing some thousand ponnds, were captured by the Highlanders; whose victoi'ious loyalty, renewing that day the glories of their forefathers under Montrose and Dundee, was rewarded by " a fine plinider.'' The last triumph of Scotch nationality, in the national metropolis, under the representative of the ancient national dynasty of Scotland, and over the forces of her old national enemy, followed this dashing Celtic discomtitui'e of the Saxon, and the Southron. " Tiie Camerons," says my authority, "entered Edinburgh scarcely 3 hours after tiie battle, playing their pipes with might and main, and exhibiting, with many marks of triumph, the colours they had taken from Cojie's dragoons. But the return of the main body of the army was reserved tor the succeeding day, Sunday The clans marched, in one, long, extended line, into the lower gate of the city, with bag-pi[)es exultingly jilaying the cavalier air, '■Hie King sJuill enjoy his own again.' They bore, besides their own standards, tho.se which they had taken from the royal army; and they displayed, with equally ostentatious pride, the • Of Coite's infantry, aViandoned, from the very commencement, by the dastardly dray;oons, Lord Mahon and Mr. Chambers s])ecify those who escaped as but 170; and the contemporary Loudon comi>ikition, "Young Juba," makes their slaiu 300, and wounded 450 — the Ip.tler, to be reckoned, of course, as amomj those takea prisoners. "For 1 that was killed by a bullet, 20 fell by the sword." t Lord George Murray, the Prince's Lieutenant -General, relates that, by the lista he caused the English Serjeants and Corporals to take of their commissioned and non-commissioned fellowcajitives after the engagement, the whole "made between 1600 and 1700 men," or say I6o0; who, with the 170 escaped, and 300 slain, would make Cope's infantry 2120, or, in round numbers, 2100 ; and, adding to these his 700 cavalry, his entire army would be 2620, or, in round numbers, 2800 men. Thi8 coniputation moreover agrees with the contemporary estimate of Cope's force for the action by the English Whig Hay, who asserts, "of the King's troops, there wero about 2800, who .should have fought." He names (so far as I can make thera out) 78 of Cope's olficers as "killed, wounded, and prisoners." In the best Jacobifea and ( jeorgeite publications of the day, those oilicers are summed up aa 83 or 84 iss number. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, 385 vast accession of dress, and pei'sonal ornament, wLicli they had derived from the vanquished. lo tlie rear of their own body, came the prisoners, at least half as numerous as themselves, and then followed the wounded in carts. At the end of all, came the baggage, and cannon, under a strong guard." This important vietoiy rendered the Prince master of nearly all Scotland. exce[)t the forts held by the English in the Highlands, and the Castles of Edinburgh and Stirling, still garrisoned by them. His father was consequently proclaimed, in almost every town, under his national title (as in 1715) of " King James VIII.," and the public monny ■was levied for his service; the previous Anglo-Hanoverian authorities having generally to skulk into privacy, or fly into England. " There is nothing to be seen, in town, and country, but people with wJdte cockades'^ exclaims a contemporary, "and even the ladies have fixed them on their head-dre.ss!" In .short, "the rebels were now absolutely masters of Scot- land," writes a howling Whig there, "and Ihey might, when they pleased, have cut all our throats!" — the designation of '■'■rebel foe," on the other jtand, being already ai)plied to the Whigs, in the exultation of Jacobite Diiustrelsy. "Xow Charles as.serts his father's right. And thus estal dishes his own; Braving the dangers of the tight. To cleave a passage to the throne. The Scots regain their ancient fame, .\n(l well their faith and valour show; Su]>i>orting then- yiung hero's claim. Against a powerful rtbel foe ! " The day after Cope's overthrow, Charles forwarded, to the northern English Jacoliites, intelligence of his "wonderful success" for their deliverance, and of his intention soon "to move towards them," when ^^they loould be inexcusable, before God and man. if llvey did not all in tlieir jmwer, to assist and support him, in such an undeyrtaking ;'''' adding, as to the imperative necessity then for an honest or uncompromising co-opera- tion on their ]jart — " Th.ere is no more time for deliberation — now or never is the word!" * Mi". Kelly, too, was sent to France,, to rejjresent to the Ministers there the expediency of assisting the Jacobites in Scotland; which commission, after a narrow escape of that gentleman from arrest by the Anglo-Hanoverian consular agent at Camp- Veer in Holland, was executed; and Sir James Steuart, (the distinguished writer on political economy,) was subsequently despatched to France, to second the applica- tion of Mr. Kelly. In ''.he course of the month of October, 2 ships from France and 1 frc>ni Spa.n — where, as in France, the brightest hopes were excited among the Irish exiles by the Prince's success — reached the northern Scotch ports, conveying the Marquis d'Eguilles with a letter from Louis XV. to the Prince, £6000, some thousand stmd of arms, 6 tie]d-])ieces, a detachment of French artillery-men, and several Irish officei's m the sicrvices of France and Spain. Of the " Irish officers in the service of France," the principal was a gentleman of the Regiment of • Chai'les, in corresponding, the year before, with the adherents to his family in Great Britain, "soon ]ierceived his Scotch partizans," says Lord Mahon, "to be greatly superior, in zeal and determination, to his English." And, niore recently, oi- in February, 1745, the Prince, -writing to his father, remarks — " The truth of the matter is, that ouv/rtends in England are afraid of their own .shaduw,' &c. 2c 3Sb HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS Lally, "Mr. Graiit, * an able mutheniatician, wlio h:u\ Ijeen em])loyecl for many years with M. Cassini, in the ObsiTvatory at Paris." As "the Act of Union was," observes the German biographer of Charles, *' an object of general aversion in Scotland, and the re-establishnient of Scotland, as a separate Kingdom, was, with a large portion of his adherents, a matter quite as important as the re-establish nient of the Stuart dyna.sty " — so that, remarks a noble English historian, " no saying was more common, among the Jacobites, than that they were bound to restore, not merely the King but the Kingdom of Scotland" — the 1st thought of the Prince was "to summon a Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh" — to which design, however, there were the>i such obstacles, that, as his better policy for the time, he had to relinquish it. But, in his Declaration of October 9th, O. S. (or 20th IST. S.) from the Scottish metropolis, as Prince Regent, warning all "liege subjects, whether Peers, or Commoners,^' from attending the Parliament, which " the Elector of Hanover had taken U])on him to summon to meet at Westminster" that month, Charles more especially prohibited any subjects of his fathei-'s " antient Kingdom of Scotland, whet] wr Peers, or Ci mm oners," to sit and act in "such an unlawful assembly," on ])ain of being " ])roceeded against as traitors and rebels to their King and Conntiy;" adding, ^' the pre'ended Union of the. Kingdoms being ttow at an end^ And, in another Declaration, IVom Holyrood House, next day, to all his father's. aii\)jects — a document of greater length and importance, drawn up by Sir Thom;is Sheridan and Sir James Steuart, aided, not improbably, by Mr. Kelly — the so-called Union was denounced, as, on the part of James, it so well deserved to be, and its repeal was accoi'dingly ])i'omised. " With respect to the 2)retended Union of the 2 nations," says the document, ^^ the King cannot jii'ssibly ratify it, since he has had repeated remonstrances against it, from each Kingdom; and since it is incontestable, that the principal })oint then in view was the exclusion of the Royal Fanbily from th^lr undoubted right to the Crovm ; for which purpose, the grossest corruptioj/s were operdy used, to bring it aboutJ'' Anumg others of the Scotch ari.stocracy by this time attached to the Prince were Alexander Forbes, Lord Pitsligo, an elderly nobleman, from his general amiability and ])rudence "the oracle of the Lowland gentry ; " and tl^e Honourable Arthur Elphiiiston, soon, * The name of Grant — in its Norman form, " le Graiint," or " Grainite "— has Le'^n respectaVile, during the middle ages and suh.seijnenfcly, in Irehind, or iu Kilkeun_y, Waterfurd, and Cork. In the W;.r of the Jlevohition, Jasper Grant, Esq. of Kihnurry, Co\nity Cork, and Gran tstuwn. County Waterford, was a Captain of Dragoons in King James's service; and Walter <_irant of Cnrlody, County Kil- lienny, was, as a Stuart loyalist, attainted l>y the Wiliiamites. The gentleman uf tliis name, in the Regiment of Lally, sent fivim !*' ranee to serve under Prince (,'harles in Scotland, appears, by his Stuart title of " Haron of Iverk," (ir, as Frene.hilied, "Iverque," to have been from the County of Kilkenny, in wiiich "Iverk' is a Barony. He published in France a magniticent map of the British Isles, and a jiortion of the coasts of France, surmounted by the royal aims of Great Britain and Ireland, with the motto " Dieu et mon Droit ' underneath on a scroll; the object of the document being thus set forth. " C.vi.tk otlui- pieces of smaller calibre, which we had taken at tiie battle of Gladsinuir," or Preston-Pans. But the reduction of the place [iroi'tcdcd, continues this account, " ratlier from our tkre(den.i ag to lire red-lmt lialls u|ion the town, and reduce it to ashes, than from the force of our artillery, as we did not discharge a single shot, lest the garrison should becmne ac^quainted with the sniallness of their calibre ; vvliich niiglit have encouraged them to defend themselves!" In short, when no more than 2 of tlu; Scots •At the famous "Battle of the. Standard," in ll.SS, between the Anglo- Norman and Scotch forces, '' Scof/oriim exercitiis," writes Broiupton, of the onset, '■ exclamant A Ihani ! Alhnni!'" — that is, " Alhu/ntckl Albanach /" or men of Alba, the tiaelic name for Scotland. t A letter, dated "Berwick, Septemlicr 2.">tli. 1745," states — "Col. Herchet is landed here from HoHand with 7'--0 Dutch forces ; they seem mostly Pa|iists, use the Romish ceremonies, and ask, Where they may have Mass?" The Dutch were, by treaty, to furnish l)iit (JOOO men, though hi'va we liave so many more, or 7220! On the non-exclusion of Catholics from the military and naval services in Holland, though a Protestant state, see the note in Book ii., under the Queen's Ivegiment of Infantry, or that of Luttrell. IN THE SERVICK OP FRANCE. 38D had been killed, or wounded, the s^hameless Militia, who should Imve supported Lieutenant-Colonel Durand at least to the extent above noted, shiank from their duty; submitting, on the I^Gth, not only to sui'render the town and citadel to Charles, but to walk away without arms, horses, or honours of war; and even agreed, not to serve ao^ninst him for a year! ''The conduct of that city," complains uiy Whi^- Hanoveiian letter from Kendal, " fell much short of what was expected from a place of so nuich strength, and i-eputed loyalty. . . . The rebels have taken above 200 good horses, and all the arms, from the Militia, besides 1000 stand lodged in the Castle !" — to which, from other Georgeite authority, or that of Henderson, may be added, a quantity of powder, military stores, "and the money, [)late, and most valuable effects of the country, for several miles round!" The Prince, having received the keys from the Mayor and Ahlermim on tlieir knees, and having caused his father to be procl*imed in form, as James III. of England and Ireland, &c., and himself as Regent, entered Carlisle on the 2Sth. mounted upon a vvliite charger, and ])receded by a great number of pipers. Leaving a garrison of 200 nun tljere, by which the army was reduced to about 4500, Charles, as the result of a Council which he held, resumed his advance, December 2nd, into England; still reckoning upon a jiroportionable native and foreign, or Jacobite and French, co- operation. Proceeding thi-ough Penrith, Shap, Kendal, Lancaster, and Garstang, he arrived, the 8th, at Preston, whei-e he was tirst welcomed in England, by cheers, and ringing of bells, and obtained, e)i pas-sat/t, some, though not many, recruits. Among these, was his U)ost eminent Englisli adherent in arms, Francis Townley, Esq., who, to literary attainments, united military knowledge, acquii-ed in France, and belonged to a Catholic family of very high antiquity in Lancashire, and remai-kable for its attachment to the Stuarts. " In this County," .says a Whig writer, alluding to the female feelings and fashions there in favour of Charles, " the women are generally very handsome, by which they have acquired the name of Lancashire witches, which ajjpellation they really deserve, being very agreeable. But some of the pretty Jacobite witches chu.se to distinguish themselves, by wearing })laid breast-knots, ribbons, and garters, tied above the knee," &g. By another English account, " if the Lancashire witches could have carried the day for Prince Charles, his success would, indeed, have been certc\in."* From the 9th to the 10th, the Prince, advanced by Wigan for Manchester, amidst ci'owds flocking to see him, and wish him success; but who, wdien offered arms, declined them, on the plea, that " they did not understand fighting !" At Man- chester, the Georgeite Militia " were all discharged, and sent home, befoi-e the Highlanders came," according to the local or Byrom diary, that remarks this was " well contrived." To which its editor adds — " Well contrived indeed; it was just so in Carlisle. The country gentlemen were very valiayit, before the arrival of tlie rebels; hut, as soon as they heard of their approach, they petitioned to be disbanded, on the plea of fatigue ; and disbanded they v)ere^ bevng clearly useless!''^ The sentiments of the Highland army on reaching Manchester, the most commercial town ia * With the attachment of so many of the fair sex to the Stuart cause in England, coTiipjire the very great and intluential enthusiasm of the same sex in Scotland, foi- '■ I'riiice Cliarlie," so pointedly referred to by the Lord President Forbes, aud duly noticed by other authorities. 390 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES England noted for Jacobitism, and the sympathy which existed with their appearance there, have been best conveyed in verse. ** Here 's a health to all brave English lads. Both Lords and Squires of high renown, Who idll put to a helping hand, To put the vile U.surpur * down! For our hrave Scots are all on foot, Proclaiming loud, where'er they go. With sound of trumpet, pipe, and dnim, The Clans are coming, oho ! oho ! &c. ** To set our King upon the throne. Not Church nor State to overthrow, As wicked Preachers falsely tell. The Clans are coming, oho ! oho! • Therefore forbear, ye canting ci-ew, Your bugbear tales are a' for show ; The want of stipend is your fear. The Clans are coming, oho ! oho ! &c. *' Eous'd, like a lion from his den. When he thought on his country's woe, Our brave protector, Charles, did come. With all his Clans, oho ! oho! These lions, for their country's cause, And natural Prince, t were never slow : So now they come, with their brave Prince ; The Clans advance, oho ! oho ! &c. *' And now the Clans have drawn their swords, And vow I'evenge against them a', That arm for the f/swr/y' r'.s cause. To tight against our King and Law. Then God preserve our royal King, And his dear sons, the lovely twa, :J: And set him on his father's throne, And bless his subjects, great and sma' ! The Clans are coming, &c." The Prince's entrance was attended with pealing of bells, popular acclama- tions, an illumination, bonfires, a wearing of tlie white cockade, the ])re- sence of numbers to kiss his hand, and even a celebration, at the * According to the English epigram on the 4 Georges, the 2nd was not less, if not more, unpopular than the Jst. Of George II., Lord Macaulay says -''The interests of his kingdom were as nothing to him, when compared with the interests of his electorate. As to the rest, he had neither the qualities which make duhiess respectable, nor the qualities which make libertinism attractive. He had been a bad son, and a worse father, an unfaithful husband, and an ungraceful lover. !Not one magnanimous or humane action is i-ecorded of him ; but many instances of meanness, and of a harshness, which, but for the strong constitutional restraints under which he was placed, might have made tlie misery of his people." + "The patriarchal system of laws u]iou which Highland society was con- stituted," says Mr. Chambers, on the attachment of the Higlilanilers to the Stuarts, "disposed t/iem to look ui)on those unfortunate Priuces as the general fathers or C/iiefo of the nation, whf>se natural and unquestionable power had been rebelliously disputed by their children "—and, in opposition to the English and Lowland Whigs, that writer adds of the Highlanders, how they 'could jjerceive no reasons for jireferring a Sovereign, on account oi cnu/ peculiarity in his religion." t Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince Henry, Duke, and subsequently Cardinal, of York. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 311 C'lllt^Gjiate Church, of his avvivrtl, hy the Eev. Mr. Chiyton, in au ehiqueiit Mcl(h>\ss, which caused that gentleman to be subsequently clegr;itled by the Hanoverian ruler of England. No more, however, than, between 20U and 300 men had the courage to enlist, who, with their jiredece-ssors, were embodied as the " Regiment of Manchester," under Mr. Towrdey for their C lonel. On the"l2th, the Jacobites left Marv- Chester in 2 divisions, which joined at Macclesfield, and, after marching by Congleton, Leek, and Ashbourn, and dexterously gaining the start, towards London, of the Duke of Cumberland's much superior f]iosed rannihaiixm of the Hiuhiaiiders, is .'-xipjuirted liy a like account of another neiitleujaii in Prince Charles's army, Mr. Haikston oi ItatliiUet. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 393 " Co7j!xir/lfi thus their own inisfortunes frame; By their own feiiininii fancies are hetray'd, And groan beneath those ills thfin-sf/rf-t have made." Howe's Lucan's Pharsaiia, i., 847-9. In tliis iiuainer did such a comparatively small Iiody of Scots, oTi]y between 4()U0 and 5000 fighting nu-n, and the loyal Iiish gentlemen win) had the honour to accom])any them, advance, at a most inclenifnt period of the year, through the 6 Shires of Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Chester, Stafford, and Derby, or above 180 miles into England, and to within 127 miles of her metro])olis ; pi'oclaiining their Prince as they went along; and levying the public money in his name! And this, in spite of 2 English ai-raies, each above double as numerous, or Marshal Wade's, atoned as about 10,000 men, and the Duke of Cumberland s listed as 12,700, of whom 2400 were cavalry, with 30 pieces of cannon — while the Hanoverian occupant of the thi'one at London could, it was announced, assemble, at Finchley Common, 14,000 infantry and cavalry, (including the Guards,) with 32 pieces of cannon — those 3 armies conse- quently forming about 36,700 men.* Such a bold and well-conducted movement, on the part of this handful of Jacobite loyalists, — the lowest number of Scotch invader.s known to have successfully penetrated so far into the "land of the Southron!" — was now, however, found to have been undertaken without auy appearance of receiving from English Jacobitism, or French invasion, that aid, on the prospect of which the movement was based. The Scotch ballad states — "Had English might stood by the right, As f/ii^i/ did vaunt fvll vain, jne ; Or play'd the j^arts of Highland hearts, The day was a' our ain, joe." Nor is this assertion in verse unsupported by due evidence in prose. The editor of the Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs in 1820, from a perusal of the Stuart archives in the possession of George IV., alleges, that Prince Charles " was Jirst invited into Great Britain, and then abandoned, to his fate, hy a great part of the English aristocracy. This fact cannot be denied, as tliere is evidence of it, in their own handivritingy From "these archives, which consist of more than 500,000 documents, equally curious and instructive," we learn, "tlTat the project of the Pretender was not so wild, as, since the result, it has usually been pronounced; and that the conduct of the Highland Chiefs, who staked their lives and properties ujion the issue, though certainly bold, was not so im])rudent, as it might, at first sight, appear to be." For, when those Chiefs had, continues this writer, "surmounted the greatest danger, to which every enterprise of that nature is exposed, namely, the danger of being cruslied in the outset, they could hardly anticipate, when they advanced into England, that the j)owerful party, which had promised to join them, would, vjhen the risk ■ans so much less, be so much nmre regardless of their loord, than they them- selves had been." But the English High-Church Jacobites of the country so chivalrou.sly traversed by Charles, in reliance on their professions and promises, were generally mere braggarts and cowards. On the boastful assurances of many thousand recruits from their party, when constituting * I give the numerical strength of the .3 armies from Georgeite authorities. But, that the " gi-and total' of troops in Crveat Britain was much lay her in amount, wil be seen farther on. 394 nisTORY OF the irisii brigades liy f;ir tlie majoritv of tlie populatiim. such Iligh-Clinrch caball(M's in 171.") liail (liavvii the Scots and the Catholics in arms to Preston, and tlieu left them unassisted against tlie forces of the Whig-Hanoverian Govern- ment! Tlie Catholics, who had honestly taken the field for the Stuai fc cause along with the Sctits, ane7ida7ice vpon them, remained idle spectators of tire danger they had run him, into." From England no correspondence slionld have been held v.'ith, and no pro- mises of assistance shoidd ha\e been made to, the Stuai't family; or when lieM with, and made to, that family, shonld unqnestionably have been fonnd of more value, than they vjere, by Prince Charles, and the Scotch Jacobites. " The conduct of covxirds, who join a movement to gratify their petty vanity," says an Irish writer, "and then, in the day of danger, shrink into concealment, tends to lead brave men to destruc- tion, l)y giving them false notions of the su|)])ort they may reckon on, in a bold enterprise. The blood of the brave, ioh<) perislt so deceived, is on the head of the recreamts, ivho deceive them." While thus unaided by the worthlessness of his English friends on land, the Prince too fatally experienced the efficiency of his English enemies, in depriving him of a.ssistance from the Continent by sea;* the winds also, in this, as on other emergencies, being prejudicial to the Stuart cause! From Spain, where, as early lis August, the Irish refugees had such intelligence concerning Charles, that they hoped for a speedy return to their own country, 4 vessels were despatched, with due supplies for Scotland. Oidy 1 of the.'^e, however, (as previously noticed) arrived there. In October, the Trial privateer of Bristol, of 16 guns and 120 men, took, and brought into that port, the San Zirioco, from Corunna, of 16 guns aiid GO men, with 2500 muskets, as many bayonets, 100 barrels of powder, 150 quintals of mnsket-balls, .several boxes of horse- shoes and flints, and about 24,000 dollars in gold and silver; this ship having an Irish Captain of Horse, and an Ii'ish pilot on board, and being bound for Scotland; but sufficient information respecting it being with- held, by committing a box of pai)ers to the deep; and the Irish Captain, having been brought up to London, was sent to Newgate. Of the 3rd and 4th of those ves.sels from Corunna, 1 was wrecked off the coast of Ireland, and the other not heard of Another (or 5th) Spanish ship, the San Pedro bi-igantine of Corunna, under Don Caspar Guiral, sailed for Scotland, with 2oOO new muskets and bayonets, 110 barrels of powder, 70 cases of ball, each of 400 pounds weight, a great number of flints, and, of mone}', 60,000 pistoles in bags. But she encountered such terrible, contrary winds, that, after Himjing her guns ovei-board, she w.is endeavouring to get back to Spain, when she was taken, in Decem- ber, by the Ambuscade yjrivateer of London under Captain Cooke, and brought to Crookhaven in Ireland; not, however, till she had dis- appointed the English, by sending her jiapers, and all but about 1217 of her 60,0(^0 pistoles, in the same unremunerative direction as her * The Marqnis of Tweeddale, writins, as Secretary of State for Scotland, from "Whitehall, 17th September, 1745,' alleges— "The Channel is now so well guarded by different squadrons, that we are under no a[)preliensions of a visit either from the French or Spaniards, should that ever have been their iuteutiou, tbou;^h nothuig can prevent a single ship passing iu the night." 303 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES cannon. " Tlin-e was aboard," states a contempoi-ary Irish jonrnal, "a vonnjj; t;-('iit]i'iiian who speaks tlie English language perfectly well, and who sms his nanit^ is Lot'tus: that he was boi-n in France, bnt that his iatluM' was born in the County of Limerick; and was, for many years, ;in eminent Banker in Paris. . . . He acknowledges himself to be a Captain of Horse in the King of Si)ain' s service." There was likewise on board a Catholic clergyman, the Rev. James Corbett, a native of Dublin, who, with Captain Loftus, was sent u]) for impr-ison- ment in the Castle there; and George II. rewarded the Captain of the Ambuscade, iov intercepting so much "warlike stores for Scotland, for the use of the rebels," by a present of " 500 guineas."* From France, ■where the exciting accounts of Charles's progress, the presence of his brother. Prince Henry, Duke of York, and the general devotion of the Irish military to the Stuarts, led, especially through the zealous impor- tunity of the gallant Lally, to preparations in her northern ports fo? landing 10,000 men, including the Irisli and Scotch regiments, in Britain, of which expedition the Duke de Richelieu was to be General, and Lally himself Quarter-Master-General t — such detachments as were soonest ready to sail, or those of the Royal Scots under their Colonel, Lord John Drummond, of the infantry Regiments of the Ii-isli Brigade, and the Irish cavalry Regiment of Fitz-James, under Brigadier Walter Stapleton, a Munster veteran distinguished at Fontenoy, on December 2nd, left Dunkirk for Scotland. But, on the 3rd, the ISheeraessoi ^0 guns, under Captain Bully, took, off the Doggerbank, the Es-perancp, and tiie following portion of the Irish Brirrade, &c., with a great quantity of aruis : — Dillon's Regiment. Captains. Charles Ratcliffe, brother to the late lamented Jacobite Earl of Derwentwatei-, and, as such, taking the title, his son, the Honourable Bartholemew Ratcliffe, Murdoch Mac- gennis, and Edmund Reill3^ — Berwick's Rkgiment. Captain, James O'Hanlon.- — Bllkeley's Regiment. Cajjtain, Patrick Fitz-Gerald ; Lieu- tenant, John Reilly; 2nd Lieutenant, William Fitz-Gerald ; Ensign, Cor- nelius Mac Carthy. — Roth's Regiment. Captains, Lewis Shee and James Seatoii ; reformed Captain, Robert Cameron ; Lieutenant, Edwaixl Dunne. — Lally's Regiment. Reformed Captain, Robert Grace; Lieutenant, Thomas Penally. Equerry to Lord Derwentwater, Clement Mac Dermott. — Dkummond's Regiment. Captains, Alexander Baillie, and Alexander Mac Donald; 1st Lieutenant, the Honourable Thomas Nairn, son of Lord Nairn ; Lieutenant, Adam Urquhart ; 2nd Lieutenant, Samuel Cameron. M. Devant, Lieutenant in a Fi-ench regiment. Of which 22 prisoner.s, 13 noblemen or gentlemen, some of them English and Scotch, belonged to the Irish Brigade — exclusive of the Equerry; 5 to Drummond's Scotch corps; the remaining officer was a Frenchman; and 60 privates accompanied them, making, in all, 82 men, besides the ship's crew. About the same time, the Alilford, of 40 guns, under Captain Hanway, took, off Montrose, the Louis XV. of Dunkirk, manned by 27 sailors, and having on board 330 stands of arms, with bayonets, broad-s worsts, * George II. showed the importance he attached to this service; and, from what we are informed of the contents of those Spanish vessels lost to Charles, how very unfortunate it was for Jam, that (like the money, forwarded from the same quarter, for his father, in Scotland, in 1715,) so many valuably -laden ships could not reach their destination ! + Voltaire iuforms us, how much those arrangements to aid Charles were owin"^ to tl.e ardent Jaoobitism of Lally, and his proportionate applications to the French Ministers on the subject. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 397 horse-fnrnitnre, and a 2nd |>orti(»n of the Irish Brigade, thus particular- ized : — Bulkeley's Eegimem'. Ciiptaius, Nicholas Morris and .Richard Nagle; 1st Lieutenant, Patrick Meagher; 2ud Lieutenants, Jolin Ryan, Denis and Darby Mahonyj Cadets, George and Francis Matliews; 2 Serjeants, 3 Corporals, 1 drummer, and 46 privates. — Clare's Regi- ment. Captains, James Conway and Valentine Mervyn ; Lst Lieutenant, Bernard O'Brien; 2nd Lieutenant, John Egar; 2 Seijeants, 3 Corporals, 1 drummer, and 40 pi-ivates. — Berwick's Regiment. Captains, James Macraith, and Stephen Cullen ; 1st Lieutenant, Christopher Plnnkett; 2nd Lieutenant, George Bainwell; 3 Serjeants, 3 Coiporals, 1 drummer, and 47 privates. Surgecms, John Dvvyer* and Thomas Hogan, and 4 servants. Of which latter prisoners belonging to the Irish Biigade, the officers, i-eckoning the 2 Snrge( ns as such, were 18; the other military (excluding the 2 servants) 1.58; and the total of officei's and soldiers, 176. Of about 150 of those conquerors of Fontenoy, thus intercepted at sea, and subsequently ])i-isoners at Hull, a contem])orary letter from that place states — "The men are all cloathed in red, and the officers have mostly gold-laced hats. To speak imjjartially, the officers are as ])roper men as evei- I saw in my life, being most of them 5 feet 10, or G feet high, and between 40 and 50 years of age; and the common soldiers are very good-like men, and, if they had landed, might have done a great (leal of mischief." But some hundreds of the Irish and Scotch military (the former the more numerous,) were destined to sail, from the Frencli ports, with better success. Of these troops, the 1st ])ortion from Fitz- James's Regiment of Horse, and frcmi Dillon's, Roth'-s, and Lally's Regiments of Foot, belonging to the Brigade, with Brigadier Stapleton, and from the Royal Scots, with Lord John Dnimmond, effected their landing in the north of Scotland, where, remaiks a historian of Prince Charles, " all that vast tract of land, from the Forth to the Spey, was possess'd by his friends," and " the very boys appear'd in his interest, by wearing white cockades, and martialing themselves in comjumies, under some young, sprightly leaders ! " i^fter cantoning in parties along the coast about Montrose, &c., the main body of those Irish and Scotch regulars from France were to march ibr Perth, to join Lord Strathallan, stationed there, with the most considerable cor})s of the Jacobite levies, designed to oppose the Anglo-Whig forces, which, since the Prince's inarch to the south, had re-occupied Edinburgh, and were endeavoiiring, in various quarters, to regain po.ssession of the country. About the time of Lord John's and the Irish Brigadier's landing, the Jacobites also made an important acquisition at Montrose in the ca])ture of an English war-slooj), the Hazard, of 10 guns, 24 swivels, and about 80 men, commanded by Captain Hill. That officer, after tiring upon the town, and seizing 3 vessels laden with arms and stores, of which he burned 2, removing their cargoes into and manning the 3rd, was reduced to sur- render with his booty, partly by some Highlanders who boarded him in boats, and partly by the skill with which a battery was raised against him on shore by an able Jacobite partizan, David Ferriei', and Major Nicholas Glascock, of the Regiment of Ogilvy, and previously of Dillon's, in the Irish Brigade. On Hill's suirender, (for wliich he and his Lieutenant were finally cashiered by Court-martial,) the name of his vessel was changed to the Prhice Cliailes, the command of which was * Misprinted, in the Eni/l/sh list, " I'ivier." That a Dvvyer and a Hogan should be together would, not be wondered at iii Tipperary. oOS HISTORY OF TiiK i;;isn r.itio.vDEg given to 1 of tlio olliccrs wliosc sliip liatl liccn l)unuMl, jviid wlio liatl likewise been xvvy iustnimeiital in clitctiiig tlie ca|itiii't'; ami tliis prize Lt'caine most useful from its several suhsequtuit passages botvveeu Seotlaud ami the ( V)utiuent, uotwithstandiiig tlie vi'iy superior strength and num- bers of the Anglo- Hanoverian cruisers. Soon after tiie disiMtibarkation of the pre\ iously-mentioned Jacobite auxiliaries from the (.Continent at Montrose, Peterhead, itc, and the ca])ture of the IJaziml — besides the arrival of another large ship from Dunkirk at Montrose, which coni- l)elKHl the LtuUow Castle, as overmatched, to cat hei- cables at the nu)uth of the river there, and make olf to sea — Hear-A(hniral L>yng, '• vvitii t men of war," says an Knglish account, " came before that "harbour; Imt tlie rebels," it is added, "had planted their cannon so ad\autageously upon the beach, that it was impossibhi to get at them. The Mp/anl lost her bowsprit, and received considei-able damage in her rigging, ifi attempting it." The veteran regulars from France, at Montrose, seem to have understood gunnery too well for tiui h^uglish Re;ir- Admiral. Such, with reference to English and Continental aitl, was the state of tlie rrince's affairs, when he readied Derby. 'I'he conver.sation of (Jharles at su|)per, on the evening of December ITuh, the day of his entering Derby, was about his approaching linal Kuccess, and whether he should enttu- tlui English nietropi.lis on foot, or on horseback, in a Jligliland, or an English dress'l Ihit the vt.'ry natmal uneasiness, which had already )nauifest,ed itself at Miinchestcr among the 8cotch leaders, at finding themselves so Vi^ry far advanciid into England, witli wo visible likelihood of eithei- such Jacobite or French aid as they liud been led to expect, and exjioscd to 3 armies each above twice as inimerons as their own, rendered it im])ei'ative that a Council should be held by the Prince at Derby, tin? following day, or the Kith. There, ill op[>ositiou to Charles, who vehemently argued foi- pushing forward, to make way, through the Elector's army, at Finchley Common, into Jjondon — in which view, he is stated tt) ha\c been at first supp.u-lciiii> of tlie troo]is from France; liaviiig landed lu .Sootiaud, nii^lit uol stiil nioit, if not ait the rest, Lie expected to do so there ? 400 IIISTOUY OF THE IRISIT ERIOADES exclaims a Scotcli (jtlifci-, " tlic grief could not have been greater." Another, in reference to their .situation at Derby, states — "One thing is certain, never was our Highlanders in higher spirit.s, notwithstanding their long and fatiguing inarch; they had, indeed, got good quarteivs, and plenty of ))rovisions, in their inarch, and were well ))aid; so that we judged we were able to tight double our numbers of any troops that could o))])oseu«!; and would to God we had pushed on tlio' we had been all cutt to pieces, when we were in a condition for fighting, and doing lionour to our noble Prince, and the glorious cause we had taken in hand, rather than to have survived, and seen that f;it;ill day of (■nlloden, wdien, in want of provisions, money, and rest, we were oblidgcHl to turn our backs', and lose all our glory." * The English, also, who had joined the Prince, "now saw nothing before them, but the melancholy alter- native of exile from their native land, or an unqualitied submission to the vengeance of the House of Hanover. " Tlie country, moreover, which had been peaceful as the Scots advanced, became hostile as they retired; so much so, in the subsequent couivse of their march, that a village, for .>Jn\'^ attached to the mtuiory of tho^e, ■Whom he overpowered and killed there. IN Tnr. SERV.-CJ" OF FRANCS. 401 the c-cntleiiK!ii, that lie would introduce liev to him next Tnorning. I was of oiuuiou, 110 Pinice, or man, could refuse lier his hand, or lips." For such disaffection, however, as had been manifested, the Prince imposed a contril)ution of ^£2500, ere he quitted tlie place, on the 21st; the rabble, as danger disajipeared, venturing to annoy his I'ear by a desultory fire. Ahead, not only of the Duke of Cumberland with his cavalry and 1000 select mounted foot, followed by Sir John Ligonier, and a Brigade oi Guards, (fee, but likewise so many days in advance of Marshal Wade, that, hopeless of effecting anything with liis infantry, he only detached his horse, under Major-Genei-al James Oglethorpe, to aid the Duke by , forced marches in the pursuit, the Jacobites, whose rear did not leave Manchester till towards 3 in the afternoon, were, notwithstanding frost, snow, and the badness of the road, all at Wigan by midnight. The 22ud, as they were quitting Wigan, a Wliig zealot, in wait to murdcir the Prince, fired by mistake at General U'Sullivan, but, fortunately, without effect. Pi-oceeding, the same day, to Preston, the Scots rested there all the next, or until the 24th; in connexion with which halt, a lady, corres- ])onding from the place, aV)out Pi'ince Charles, his mistress, the famous Jenny Cameron, Sir Thomas Sheridan, and General O'SuUivan, writes — " O'S'illivan, one of the young Pretender's Council, and a very likely fellow, made free with our hou.se, and we were under a necessity to treat him civilly. He returned it obligingly enough. From him, we learned some little anecdotes relating to Jenny Cameron. She is, it seems, tiie niece of a pei'son of some fashion in the Highlands; and was sent by her uncle, to pay his compliments to the young Pretender," with the troops of that branch of the Camerons, a considei-able number of cattle, and other contributions to the Stuart cause. " When," continues the letter, "she a])peared before the young Pretender's tent, who received her very gallantly, she jump'd off her horse, and told him, with great •frankness, that ' She came, like the Queen of Sheba, to partake of the wihdom o^' Solomon.' He answered, 'And thou shalt, my dear, partake of ail that Solomon is master of.' He took her in his arms, and retired with her into his tent; and they were there some time alone. -The re.-t,' Mr. Sullivan says, ' we are to guess !'"* Another English notice, at this time of O'Sullivan, or " a further account (from the True Patriot) of the aforesaid Mr. Sullivan wliom the London Gazette of the 19tli mentions to have care of the artillery,"t after observing, how " the ])iincipal person, upon whom the Pretender's son hath depended in this expedition, is Mr. Sullivan, by birth an Irishman, and educated in a Itomish College abroail, whei'e he entered into Priest's order.s,"|. concludes a sketch of his life (similar to that previously given) thus — "To the abilities of this man, we mny justly attribute the success, with which a handful of banditti have so long been able to overrun and plunder a large part of this opulent and powerful nation." The 24th, about 9 in the morning, the Scots left Preston, for Lanca.ster, where, (the interven- * Jenny Cameron, having accom]ianied the Prince in his march throncrh Enf^latid, and back again to Scutland, was taken l>y the enemy, and subsequently retiring to tlie Continent, died at Ghent, in 17<)7. t A mistake, however, for Mr. Crant of the Irish Regiment of Lal]y. X Sucli a combination, as this, of a I'opi.sh Priest witli a Popish Pretender, was "just t]ie thing," t.> excite the strongest Protestant prejudice in Great Bi-itain, against Prince Cliailes, aniomj; the masses there. But the notion of U'SulJivaus 1,7-ltsthvod lias been ah'eady disposed of. 402 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII DRIOADCS iiig distance being about 20 miles) the rear did not arrive till very late. Tlie same day, about 1, Major-General Oglethor])e, witli liis ea\;iliy desi)atclied from Marshal Wade's army, joined the Duke of CuiuIk rhmd at Preston, after a march of above 100 miles, in 3 days, over snow and ice ! The 25th, Charles halted for the day at Lancaster, a[)i)eaiing to contemplate fighting the enemy; General O'Sullivan, with Lord Gforge Murray, who commanded the rear-guard since the army lelt Derby, Lochiel, and other Highland officers, going out to reconnoitre the country for a good field of battle, or 1 best suited for the Highlaudera as irregulars ; a locality of which kind was found, and 2 or 3 ot the enemy's mounted Rangers picked up as prisoners, who mentioned tlie« lai-ge body of their cavalry that was collected at Freston ; so, it being the obvious aim of the Duke of Cumberland to come n[t with his horse, and detain the Scots, till, by the junction of his iniantry to his cavalry, Ite would j)Ossess an overwhelming superiority c)f force, Cliarles resumed his retreat, at 8 in the evening, towards Kendal. The 2Gth, at 8 in the morning, as the last of the Highlanders were quitting Lancaster at one end, Major-General Oglethorpe and his horse entered at the other, with orders, to refi-esh in the streets, and then |)ursue. But the recei})t of an express from London to the Duke of Cumberland to arrest his advance, also caused Oglethorpe to fall back about 10 miles, to Gartstang. This was owing to " a rej)ort," says my autliority, " that tlie French were actually landed in the south; which gain'd such credit, that the Ministry tliought proper to advise the Duke of it by an express; who thereupon lialted a day, in expectation of further notice. Genei-al Oglethorpe was likewise order'd to halt, till he should liear from the Duke. . . . But the coasts of England were so well watch'd and guarded by Admiral Vernon's fleet, that there was no possibility for the French to stir out of their harbours, without a manifest hazard of perishing, or being taken in the attem])t. And, therefore, the re|)ort of their being landed was current only for a day ; of which the Duke had soon notice by another express, and immediately resum'd his pursuit." Of these 2 ex])resses to the Duke, the one " to halt," the other " to pursue," a con- temporary "letter from London" informs ns — "The 1st ex])ress was owing to an account sent to St. James's, that the French had landed in Essex; upon which, the Privy Council was summoned, and agreed to Bend the above express. But, the next day, the Government had an account, that they were wo^ Frenchmen who had Janded, but a party of armed smugglers, who wei'e conveying their goods into the country;* npon which, the 2nd express was sent, to purstu' the rebels." In doing so from the commencement, or since, as was said, " Foituue turned her face with a smile," the Duke had the great advantage, that "the country people voluntarily supplied his army with horses, carriages, pi'ovisions, and all other necessaries; while the adventurers could get nothing hut what violence forced from the grumbling English, who took all methoils to distress the/ii.'^ Meanwhile, or on the 26th, Charles, with his troops, artillery, etc., entered Kendal. Here, writes Lord George ]\Iurray, "Mr. O'Sullivan * "The fjreat lumiher of snnigglers in England," ohservcs Dr. Tucker, Dean of *;loiiuestc>- in 17;">:^, "are of iatinite detriment to trade. They carry nothing but bniliou, or wool, out of the knigdom, and I'eturn mostly witli the conmiochties of J'rance. 'i'hey are tlie nece.ss iry cause of creaUi-i;' niauy oliiced, miimlamuig sloops, buiacks, &e., to yuaid a^aiust tiieuj."' IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 403 was at Slipper witli the Prince. He had got some mountain Mala^jja, >vhich he seemed very fond of. and gave me a glass or 2 of iv. Tlieie was always a Major, or ])rincipal officer of each regiment, for the order:=, ■wdiich were to be copied, for the different corp'S. It was 11 at nigli!; before I left the quarters, and Mr. O'Sullivan had not then wrote tliPiii out." That Charles and his agreeable Irish companion should enjuv themselves, whenever they could, between their winter-marches, was but natural. " To-niixlit, at le.ist, to-jiio;ht be (ray, Wliate'er to-iuorrow brings. ' — MoOEE. Nor was their rest long. Between 4 and 5 o'clock next morning, the 27th, the drums beat, and the men, in the order they had enteied, inarched out* fi-oni day-break till near 10, for Penrith, but had to stop for the night at Sliaj) ; Major-Geueral Oglethoi-pe, on the report about the Frenrh being coutradicted, having continued, during the day, hi.s cavalry pursuit. The 28tii, Ciiarles, after sevei-al hours' hard marching, carue to Penrith; the rear, nevertheless, under Lord Getjrge Murray being greatly dela^yed by the breaking-down of baggage-carts, by the repairing of them, and even by the necessity of having sometimes to go a cou|)le of miles off the i-oad to procure others us the country- peoyjle had ))ut everything they could out of the way. This day Major-General Oglethorpe, the Duke of Cninlierland, and their van-guard, entered Kendal, with increase[)ed the previous night so far behind as Shap, quitted that place at day-ltreak. The column was headed by Mr. Brown, Colonel en suite to the Irish Regiuient of Lally, with the 2 com- panies appointed to ])recede the artillciy; then came the artillery, under the command of Mr. Grant of the same Irish corjts, again referred to here as selected to act in that capacity, and as Engineer, from his- " great talents ; " next came the waggons, with 2 other companies attached to the artillery; the whole Vjeing brought up by Lord George Murray in person, with the Highland Eegiment of the Macdonalds of Glengarry. Ihe march scarcely commenced when it appeared how much the eneuiy had been able to gain ground, by a large nuudier of their light horse hovering about, though at a sufficiently cautious distance, or Iteyond mu.sket-range. On the van of the column reaching, at noon, writes an eye-witness, " the f(H)t of an eminence, which it was necessary to crf)ss iti our march to Penrith, about half-way between that town and Shap, the moment we V»egan to ascend, we instantly discovered cavalry, marcli- ing 2 and 2 abreast on the top of the hill, who disai)peared soon after, as if to form themselves in order of battle, behind the eminence which concealed their numliers fiom us, with the intention of disputing the ])a.s. waggons, in (he ileep r[), to li)id, insleail uke would have got between us and our ai'niy, and our communication would thus have been cut oil'." The detachment of light hoise here routed were, in fact, piccursors to the great body, or main force, of the Knglish cavali'y, aWout ll)l)(), that; emerging (tho\igh too late) i'rom tin; sid(;-roaord (!eoi-ge Murray's corps from that of Oharles," as night came on appeared before the village of Clifton. The Dukt! (){' Cumberland, from the mass, whom lie kept drawn up in 2 lines at a: due distancu', ordi'reil ."Jl'O of Bland's, ICerr's, and (^)bham"s dragoons, to dismotnit, under lji(mtenant-(-olon(d I'hilip lioneywood. as an attacking part\' ; making a short address to the men ere ihev ad\anced, ill which he referred to the hoiionrahle intrepidity of the I'aiglish at Dettingcai and l''onl-enoy, and iniiinatcd, that, he had no doubt of similar conduct being displayed here. 'I'iie ilelachmeiit of dismounted dragoons, so exhorted and complimented by iJk^ l)iike, and with sucdi further aid as to appear TjIIO strong, proceeded to disloilge fiom its post the Ifighlanil )-ear, then consisting of aJiout 1(10(1 men, under iioid Ueorge Miui-ay. l>ut Lord George, with iiroad sword and taiget in hand, shouting the old Jlighland wai'-cry, " rVay//;,o/'e.' " and leading on gallantly, con)pelled the as.sailants to betake themselves to their corps- de-reserve; he having 17 of is men, and his ojtponents, as they alleged, 40, though pi'obably a much nioie consitlerable n\unl)er, killed and wounded, t including Lieutenant- * See, in the (,'lievalier de Johiistane'a Memoirs, the engraved [il;m, entitled, "Skirmish cit (liftoii Hall, IKth December, 174;"). O.S." t The loss iif the (lisineuuted (IrageoiLS of the I'aiglisli at Clifton has been ])ul)lislie(l, for their tokil there, as 1 1 kiileil, and '1.) woinnleil, or 40 men. iiicluiling Ixi h. ISut, wiLhout going licyoiul i'lnglish evidence, it is certain the Duke of Cumljerland's los.s Was not iunif.eil to his ilr;ig(ions. 'I'lnis, in a list of deaths, for July, 171<>, I lind that c)t' ".laiii's JKiily ot I'reslon, Laiicasliiri!, a Voluntier uikIci' the Diike of Lu.iioeilaiid, vjI'v\ouih.U received, m lliu action al Cii/Coii." Macpheisou of Cluny, IN THE SICaVICE OF FRANCE. 405 Colonel Honeywood, severely gashed, among tlie latter. Lord George reitiai-ks — " It was lucky I made that stand at Clifton; for, otiierwiae, the enemy would have been at our heels, and come straight to Penrith; •where, after refreshing 2 or .3 houi-s, they might have come up with ns, before we got to Carlisle. I am persuaded, that night and next morning, "when the van entered Carlisle, tiiere was above 8 miles from our van to our rear, and mostly an open country, full of commons. I have been the more particular about this little skirmish, because I observed it was very differently i-ehitcd in the English newspapers, as it' we had been beat from our post, at Clifton; whereas I was there, about half an hour after tlie enemy was gone." And again, affirms his Lordship — "It was half an liour after the skirmish, befoi'e w(i went off. I was the last man mi/sef/." Thus, through the i-esolution of Mr. Brown of the Regiment of Lally and of Lord George Murray, the meditated separation, by the enemy, of the Prince's rear-guard from the rest of his force, was prevented; and his army, in consequence, pre.served from tlie general destruction, which must have been the result of tlie cutting ofi' of 1 portion of it from the other. The Duke of Cumberland slept at Clifton ; evincing his une^asiness there, by keeping Iiis ti-oops under arms upon a moor all night, although it was very rainy, and although they had marched that day so far, in such weather, and over such roads. For " orders had been communicated by the Duke to the eouuti-y-people, to l)reak down V)ridges, destroy the roads, and attempt, by all nii-ans in tbfir power, to retard the insurgent army." Yet " while the hardy niountaiiicers found little inconvenience from eitlier storm in the air, or ruts in the ground, these very circumstances served materially to inijx.'de the English di-agoons." The Highland rear, after that check given to the enemy at Clifton which secured an unmolested retreat, joined the Prince, at Penrith, wiience the entire Scotch force, Ity about 8 that evening, proceeded for Cailisle, and, after a very wearisome niai-ch, arrived there, abf)ut 7 next morning, or the 3lJth. The Duke of Cumberland, on the 3(Jth, did not advance 3 miles, or only from Clifton to Penrith, and he continued there on the 31st; as well to rest his harassed cavalry, as, before venturing on any further operations, to wait for the coming up of his infantry, the last of whom joined him by the morning of the 31st, and were halted for that day and night. Tlie Jacobites stoj)ped from the 30th to the 31st at Carlisle, where, after leaving a garrison of about 400 men, and 10 out of the train of 13 held- I)ieces, Charles very late on the 31st, marched for the Esk, which separated Scotland from England; liis route thither being 7 long miles, as, by the nearer road, the winter had rendered the stream unfordable. In passing the river, says my noble Scotch narrator, "we were 100 men abreast, and it was a very fine show. Tiie water was higli, and took most of the men b.-east-high. Wiien I was near cross the river, I believe there were 20J0 men in the water at once. There was nothing seen but their heads and shoulders; but there was no danger, for we had caused try the water, and the ford was good; and Highlanders will pass a water where horses will not, which I have often seen. . . . All the bridges that were thrown down in England, to prevent tlieir advancing in their march forwards, never retarded them a moment" Another Jacobite officer adds — "Fires in his letter, soon after, fz'oin Carlisle, makes the Highland slain or hurt 17 or 18, and, in his Memoirs, computes, that, of the Euglish, "besides those who we>it olf wounded, upwards of lUO, at least, were leit on the sjiot." lie was present, witk bib regiiueut. 4()Cj iiisT(M!V OF Tin; ikisii i;i!I(; vhks vcic Iciiidlcd to i\r\ our )ir, ami tlio li;i'.;|iipt'rs liavinijj coininenced ])layiiig, the 1 1 iLflilaiulci-.s Ucifaii all to tlani-c, cxiacssiim- the iitiiiost jny, on i^eeiria; their eoiintry Hi:;aiii!" Such was the Jacohite march from Scotland to Derby, and from Derby back to Scotland: of wliich, from the participation oi' ao/ne of my country- meii in it, as well as of of/icrs in sup])ort of the ca\ise with which tliat inarch was connected, i havi; '^ivcAi this outline; one, 1 hope, not. among the worst of tliat remarkable event. It. was "an expedition," ol)s(>rves its able Scoteli historian, Mr. OhaniluM-s, "whicli, for boldness and addre.ss, is entitled to tank with the most celebrated, in either am-ient or modern tiiiies. It Listed (i weeks, and was directeil throu-h a country decidedly li.istile to the adventurers; it was done in the face of 2 armies, each (Mpalile of utterly annilulatiuij; it; and tlu- weather was such, as to add ](»(MI personal misei-ies to the genei'al evils of the campaii;n. Yc^t sueh %vas the success which will sometimes jitteml the most ilespi'vate case, if conducted with i-esolul ion, that, from the moment the inimical country Mas entered, to that in which it was abandoned, only 40 men were lost out of neai-lv •")()()(), by sickness, maramling, or the sword of the enemy. A magnaniniit V was prescn'ved e\'en in retreat, beyond that of ordinary sohliers; and, instead of (lying in wild disorder, a ])rey to their pnrsueis, these desultory bands h;ul turned against and smitten the superior army of tli(^ enemy, with a vigour which ellectually checked it."* The great English historian (Jibbon notices the conduct of the English, with respect to this expedition, as, on the contrary, very inglorious. "In the year IT-fT)," savs he, "the ihione and constitution were atta(;ked by a rebellicm, Avhieh does not ivllect much honour on the national spirit; since the J'jiui is]i I'fu'niis of the Pretender wanted coiirage to joht li,is standard, and Ins ciieniies, {/hn balk of the people,) alluived hivt, to adoaitce into the heart of the. kiju/ddiii.." Nay, wome, Gibbon might have added of the Whig- ]Iaiu)verian niass of his countr-ymen, since fhei/, with such a vast Kuperioritv of military numbers on their side, did not prevent the Stuart I'rince, and his litth^ Si'otch force;, getting out of the kingdom, after li.iving niai-ehed so iar tut > it. A i)ublished "letter from (Chester" in ])ecember, IT-If), referring to the successful reti-eat of the Scots, a,llcges — '■ "Tis a pity, and, I thiidc, a disgrace to ns, that they shoidd get away." A\'liich opinion is but too strongly justitied by facts. The ])rinted olhcial talile, in Mandi, 174o, of every corps of the British army, including oHicers, s])ecilies the "total in Great Bi-itain, 'M)/){)-2," the "total in Flander.s, :i7,'.)!).S," or both as making 58,500 regidar troops. The far greater portion of those in Flanders, or as previously stated from Home, all but 2 battalions of infantry, and 4 i-egiments of cavalry, were ordered over to England, to ojjpose Prince Charles; and to these regulars, besides 2 foot regiments from the army in Ireland, landed at Chester in October, and above 7:^00 Dutch, are to be added Militia and Volunteers; so that the Scots, who marched into England with the Prince, did it in of)position to a much larger "grand total" of hostile force, than historians have hitherto soiight to ascertain, and sum up, with anything like due clear- )iess, lor their re.iders. A London jiaper, the Old England Journal, in November, 1745, notes, of the advance of the Scots into England — "At " 'Many tilings," remarks Polybius, "which appear to he heyeiid measure daraj.;-, and full ot danger, are not less safe in the cxecntioii. tli.ui .■iie Patriot, in December, 1745, referring to the Scotch invasion, s|)ecifies it, as occurring "at a time, too, when tliei-e are above G0,0()() regular troops spread thro' the several parts of this United Kingdom," or England and Scotland, "in defence of the present establishment!" Had not, then, a very great deficiency of military energy been displaye be driven and removed 20 miles from the place where the enemy sh )uld attempt to land. . . . Si<:nals were ordered to be placed on the Sussex, Kentisli and Essex coasts, by hoisting flags in the day, and tiring guns in the niglit; by which means, notice of an invasion would be at the Tower and St. James's Park, in a few hours. All the Life-Guards and Horse-Grenadiers wei-e ordered to be ready at tlie firing of some guns, which were to be as a signal. Orders were sent by the Lords of the Admiralty to all Commanders of Sliips in tlie river (Thames) not to fire a gun upon any account, that the signal guns might be the more ])lainly heard, in case of any invasion or insurrection; 3l)00 foot and 1000 horse were ordei'ed for .the coasts of Essex and Suffolk; and 4000 foot and 1500 liorse for the coasts of Kent and Sussex, to be ready to oppose any foi-eign invasion." The state of alarm and vigikince throughoiit the metropolis corresponded with the extent of the jn-e- cautionary measures elsewhere. "Tiie Court of Lieutenancy of London resolved, tliat 2 llegiments of the Tniined Bands should he out every night, and 1 in the day-time. The Court of Aldermen ordered an additional number of Constables and Watchmen, to preserve the peace of the city." The Lord Mayor and Court of Lieutenancy likewise announced, that " his Majesty, having directed alarm-posts to be appointed "with pi'oper signals for the several guards to march on the first notice of any tumult, or insurrection, in the Cities of London and Westminster, the said signals were to be 7 cannon, 1 tired every half minute from the Tower, to be answered from St. James's Park, and vice versa; upon wiiich, every officer and soldier of 6 Regiments of Militia, witliout waiting for beat of drum, or any further signal, shcndd, immediately on hearing said signals, rei)aii', with arms powder and ball, to their respective places of rendezvous; the Red Regiment on Tower Hill, the Green Regiment in Guildhall Yard, the Yellow Regiment in St. Paul's Churchyard, the White Regiment at the Royal Exchange, the Line Regiment in Old Fish Street, the Orange Regiment in West-Suiithtield. Of tlie 2 Regiments of the Tower Hamlets under orders, the 1st was to meet on 'fewer Hill, the 2nd in Sun-Tavern Fields, Shadwell." The money-mai-ket was duly affected by these measures. "The stocks," says a Whig letter of the last day of the year, " have been exceedingly low this week, and the Bank itself in danger;" then observing of " the public disti-ess" which existed, "the dread of the French invasion has occasioned this;" and adding, "our political distresses, I assure you, have I'educed the town to a state of Presbyterian dulness." The same day. Admiral Yernon, who was iu command of 11 ships-of-war mounting 384 guns, besides 15 minor vessels, wrote over to Deal, to warn the people of Kent, to be upf»n their guard, "the Irish troops being inarch'd out of Dunkirk towards Calais," so that, he apprehended there might be "a descent from the ports of Calais and Boulogne, and which," he concluded, "I suspect may be attemj^ted at Dungeness," &c. The superiority of naval force on the side of the English preserved their country, indeed, from any such " descent," yet not from a •considerable commercial loss; for the concenti-ation of their shipping, to ])revent the menaced invasion, enabled the French privateers, in the course of November and December, to capture "160 British vessels, valued at £060,000." In the autumn of 1745, at Avignon, where he had long resided on a pen- IN THE SEUVICE OF FRANCE. 409 sion from the Court of Spain, died the great Irish Tory or High-CI:nrch loyalist, and Protestaut Jacobite cavalier, James Butler, l-'ltli Earl and 2nd Didve of Ormonde, while success still .shoiie in Britain on .tlie lanH] mon of liis a^c) in all his campni,i,nis;* to ■whom lie was (jlciitleiiiaii of tlie Bedchaiuiifi-, C'aptain of Horse-Guards, and a Lieutenant-General; and, in those campaigns, "his ex])enses were so great abroad, that, it may be said, he gained more reputation by hia generosity, than many Gcnierals have by their armies." His generosity to those taken ))risoners with him at the battle of Landen, in 1G1)3, has been previously noticed, with his personal gallantry there. Appointed, after Queen Anne's accession, or in 1702, to command in tlui Allied expedition against Cadiz, which failed not through his fault, he, on hia return, effected, with Sii' George llooke, the imi)ortant d(>structioTi of the French and 8))anish ])late fleet, at Vigo ; and, conse(piently accom])anying the Queen to St. Paul's, for the solemn Te Deam to be chanted there, it then " appeared, how much he was the darling of the people, who neglected their Sovereign, and a])plauded him more, ])erhaps, than any .sul>iect was, on any occasion." Soon after, he was Lord-Lieutenant or Ireland, whei'e, it was observed, "his Coui-t is in greater splendour than eve)' was known in tiiat kingdom." In 1712, he maintained, (as successor to Mai'lborougli.) the dignity of Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in Flanders with such un[)recedented gi-andiur, that, when the Flemings ■went, we are told, to "see the Duke at dinner, they were wonderfully plea.sed with the siglit." One of theni "(h'clared, lu^ never saw any thing to come np to it; lie had often seen Marshals of France at dinner, but never in half that p(tm|)." The Duke's Deputy-Quart(;r-Ma.ster-General, after relating his having ])itclied upon a Priest's house, in its owner's absence, for his Grace's cpuirtt-rs, states- "At our return, the Priest was amazed, to see the Duke's kitcheu-teiits already pitciied in his orchard; 30 or 40 cooks, scullions, turnspits, and other servants, bu.sy at their several enijiloyments; some sjjitting all sorts of flesh and fowl in season; others making jiies, and tai'ts; iuid ntlicrs making fires, and fixing boilers, and ovens. Jn short, in less than '.\ houis, thc^re was as grand a dinner served vip, as if it had come from the markets of London, or Paris. The Priest declared, that, if he had not seen it, lie could n(^ver hav(! believed, that such a dinner amhl be had in a canip, e\i'n for the gi-eat Loxiti QudtoQ'ze. . . . Then we went to s(>i- the diniiig-tc^nts, in tii(! largest of whicih was a table of 24 covers, in anotlier a tal)le of 18, and in a third one of 12, all looking into each oilier, willi a fourth for the niiisiek to play, while iiis (iiaee was at (liiincr. The Priest was as much ehanned, as surprized, at what lu; saw. I ask'd iiini, if he did not think, I had got a good lodger for him'? lie thank'd me. . . . We staid here alxuit 10 days, his Grace shewing a great dt-al of respect to the Priest; for he dined and su]i})ed with him every day. and often sat with him. when at leisure. The night before the army marched, the Duke made him a liandsome jiresent." Of the Duke's ])rincipal family i-esidence in his native country, or the Castle of Kilke ny, and his style of living there, an English tourist writes in IG'JiS — "This Castle may pro])ei'ly be called the Elysium of Ireland, and, were not the Duke and Dutchess better ])riiicip!ed than to forget Heaven for a pcirishing glory, they'd little think of mansions hereatter, who have such a Paradise at present to live in." ■* A Whig wrier, reconUiio; William's eiiili:uk,itii>n, at Oravcsciul, in May, IGO"), for the caiii]iaii;ii on the ( '(Hitiiieiit, "attcudeil l)y the Duke of Onuoud, the E iris of ^lv.^l■x aiul I'ortlaiul," adds, "and so f(W others of the n.ohilitv, tliat it rctlocts ou tie liritish iKuiic, to have no more of tliem to inciitioii in history, aUcuduig their fcsovcic'ii;!!, ill the j)ursuit of true glory,' &u. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 411 T{es](pcting that 0;istle, ifec, we learn, bj' another EnQ;Hsh tour in Irelanrl, soon after the Duke's death — " The many othces liere shew, what the older inhabitants of the city assured us, tliat, while this was the residence of that illustrious family, there was no officer wanting here, that is to be met within the Palaces of Sovereign Princes."* The Duke's English town-residence, in St. James's Square, London, (after his Whig- Han- overian iin[)eachment, and consequent retirement to France,) was sold to JVIr. Hucket, an Irish gentleman, for £7,500. His English country- residence, at Richmond, where "il vivoit avec grande magnificence^ tenoit table ouverte, et sembloit y avoir leve I'etendard contre le Roi George," was bouglit, for £0000, for the Haiiovarian Prince of Wales. The Duke's Irish and English rental, at a ]>eriod when the greatest estates of the British arist(K;racy very little exceeded £20,000 a year, was, after his for- ieiture, o^t6Vrt//y returned (omitting shillings and ])ence) as £21,163 per annum. And, how very considerable was tlie revenue from his public posts, or independent of that from his extensive estates, may V)e inferred from tlie tei-nis irticular a;ra; for I have heard several people say, / have not sfen or done such a thlnij, siiK-fi. the 7'eview at Bfiin>'l'/i-Briil(je; which made me curious in my enquiry. y>y all accounts, this was one of the finest sights ever seen in the kingdoin. The late Duke commanded not only the Military hut Civil Power to attend him, with all the ensigns of his high othi;e as Lord Lieutenant of the Kingdom. These pre- ]iarations drew together the whole nohility and gentry of the nation. Kilkenny and all the neighi,ouring towns were so crouded, that an old Officer told me, he was ob'iged to give an English crown nightly for a truss of straw, to lie in the stable of an inn, in the town. The fields were oversi)read with tents; not meaning those of the army, but for convenience of lodging the multitude, that repaired, from all pans, to be witness of this glorious sight; and, by attendance, added to the splendour. By a moderate judgment, a 5tli part of the whole nation were assembled at this meeting. The master of an inn told me, he gained more, those few days of this review, by his beds only, than cleared his rent for 7 years. This very affair," conebide the tourists in reference to Kilkenny, " makes the memory of that great luifortunate man dear to many of the people of this city; and who can blame their revering such a benefactor, who made their trade fiourish?" t "Dukes and Marquisses of England," says Higgons, "are styled Princes." la a document of 1712, amtain-(jeneral and Connnander-in-Cliief of a^l Iter Mdjestifs Forces by Sea and Land thro'>i,ghi>'ut the British Domrnions, or acting in conjunction, wdJh the Allied Powers — one of her Majesty s Most Honourable Frivy Council in England and Ireland, Knight Gonipanion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and Lord-Lientenant-Genernl, and General Governor of Trehindr At the time of tlie Duke's im])eachment, ■with (ither noblemen of his party, by the Whig-Hanoverian faction in Parliament, even the bitter ])olitical animosity of that faction was not nnmixed with sorrow for the Diike, as such "a noble, generous, and courageous Peer." As Sir Walter Scott justly notes — "i/?s fate was ])eculiarly regretted, for the general voice exculpated }dni from taking any stej) with a view of selfish aggrandizement. Several of the Whigs themselves, who were disposed to prosecute to the uttermost the mysterious, Oxford, and the intriguing Bolingbroke, were inclined to sympathize with the gallant and generous cavalier, who had always professed openly the ])rinciples on which he acted." And a writer of opposite politics to those of the Duke, after expres,siug a like regret for his fall, alleges of him — ■ " He is an Irishman, if there is any such thing in the world; he has been Captain-General of Britain ; and the greatest of his enemies will allow, that, as to personal bi-avery, Caesar,, or Alexander, never had more." Such was the illustrious head of the Jacobite aristocracy of these islands, like another illustrious aristocrat of Athens in her best days, the brave and numiiicent Cimon ; of whose riches, Gorgias, the Leontine, asserted, that "he used them, so as to be honoured on their account;" and whom the poet Cratinus celebrated, as "Cimon, the best and noblest of the Greeks! "Whose wide-spread bounty vied with that of Heaven!" The contemporary Continental notice of the Duke's death in the Mercure Historique informs ns, that the courier despatched from Avignon to Rome ■with that intelligence, also brought several documents of the utmost importance, which the Duke had ordered to be delivered, after his decease, to his banished Sovereign there. "True to the last!" No one sacrificed so much for the unfortunate House of Stuart, as the lamented James Butler, 13th Earl, and 2nd Duke of Ormonde.* While, in this eventful year of the overthrow of England and her Allies at Eontenoy, and of the invasion of Britain by Prince Ciiarles Stuart, the expati-iated Irish signalized themselves in each field of action, their countrymen, the descendants of the old natives or Gaels of Erin, and the representatives of the later colonial population of Norman or English origin, who, as both Catholics, were subjected to 1 common yoke of religious ))ersecution and political slavery under the last Protes- tant intruders from Britain, felt, in such a manner as it was but natural they should feel, at the reverses which afflicted, and the dangers which alarmed, the Hanoverian dynasty and its supporters, from the advance of French conquest on one side of the Channel, and of Jacobite insur- rection on the other. Hence the dread of the local "ascendancy" in Ireland, based on Cromwello-Williamite land-spoliation. Limerick treaty- breaking, and Penal-Code intolerance, that "the Catholics," as their * My chief authorities, besides those above-named, for the several particulars respectino; the Duke of Ormonde, have lieen Mackey, Dr. King, Drake, Duuton, the Duke of Berwick, Oldmixon, Furman, and Lord Macaulay. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 413 historian observes, "wonlrl eagerly seize the opportunity to hnrst their chains, and retaliate on their persecntnrs the, cruelty and injustice ■with which they had been treated for half a cei.tury." This, however, it would have been too hopeless for the Catholics to attempt, without any weapons for insunection, in opposition to the dominant Anglo- Protestant oligarchy, by whose law, since the reign of William III., none but Protestants were permitted to possess arms. For the enforcement of that regulation, sevei-e penalties were allotted; information, if not to l)e ])rocuved by the inducement of gain, or reward, might be extorted by lining, imprisonment, the pillory, and whi]»ping; general and periodical, as well as discretionary and occasional, searches were prescribed ; and, nnder these des])otic v)rovisions. the lai'gest powers were vested in the lowest magistrates.* The regular troops in Ireland, in the spring of this year, wei-e, indeed, no more tlian 9,261 infantry and cavalry, orlicers included ; and, e\en of these, thei-e wei'e 2 regiments of foot despatched to Endand, not loii" after the routing of iSir John Co|)e by Prince Charles. But, so apprehensive wc-re the existing "ascendancy ot Ireland of the fate which menaced them if the House of Hanover should be dethroned and the Stuarts restored, that the regular troops in the country were a mere handful of men, vv'hen compared with tiie hirge number of colonial Militia, Yeomanry, or Volunteeis. that armed iu defence of the order of succes.sion derived from the Revolution. Soon after intelligence of the Jacobite insurrection in Scotland arrived in Ireland, a great Protestant Association was formed, and signed through- out the island, in favour of the reigning dynasty. " A Proclamation," says an English coiitem])orary. Pay, " was issued by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, offering a reward of i..5o,000 for a))prehending the Freteii(ler and his Eldest Son, or either of them that shall attempt to land iii Ireland. Measures were concerted for rai.sing sevei-al independent regiments of horse and foot, to be as well train'd and di.seiiilin'd as the regular forces ; so that there was quickly rais'd an army of G.").0()0 men. who were well clotli'd, arm'd, and discijAinVl, and many of them niarch'd to such places as it was judged they might be of the most service in." The military organization of the Protestants of Irelanil was the more extended at this juncture, since, to the quantity of •weapons already in their possession as the exclusively-armed class ot the country, their Parliament voted an addition of 30,()00 firelocks ami 10,000 broad- swords ; and these were augmented by several thousaml muskets, sent over from England. The muster, in C)ctober, before Loid Chesterlield, of the City of Dublin Militia, will give an idea of the trooi s thus raised. A metropolitan journal, having premised how " the Miiitia of this City were reviewed, in St. Stephen's-Gi-een, by his Excellency, tlie Lord-Lieutenant," adds — "The horse wei-e all very well mounted, made a most noble appearance, and were upwards of 300. The foot, for the * The Penal Code statute law of Ireland with reference to the pos.session of arras was, in brief, according to my legal Protestant authority, the Hououriibie Simon Butler, (son of Lord Mouutgarret) a prohibition to all. ])ersoiis, not Proie^i- tants, to use or keep any kind of weapons whatever. And, arogress in Creat Britain, "Mr. O'l^onor, and liis i'riends, thought it advisable, to see eacli other but seldom. Frequent meetings might give I'ise to frequent cahuany ; and suspicion was so much awake, tliat every thiisg, but perfect solitude, might be construed into combina- tion. . . . Such, to Mr. O'Conor, the vear of the rebellion was. 'Over ns,' says he, in a letter to Dr. Dignan. 'there is a storm gather- ing, which is likely to involve us all iniliscriminatrlv in one common calamity. God hel[) us, when it bursts! For my part, I am endeavour- ing to piepare myself for the worst, and cautioning my friends to do the same. / have not seen the face of a denjijindn these 3 ujeeks, and I knoto ttot what is hecume of our Bishop.' . . . It was apprehended, at this time, that the flames of civil war would spread themselves throughout England and Treland., as well as Scotland," and " wjien oui' interests and ])rejudices are deeply concerned, and our passions involved in a contest, it is not easy to be a frigid spectator." But the mass of the old natives of the country, left, as well by landed spoliation, as by religious and ])oliticaI oppression, with too little interest in the existing order of society to modify or restrain their- feelings of hatred against it, longed for nothing more ardently than for such a change as might overturn the * Charles, or to use his Irish name, f'nthal, O'Conor was the son of Donchadh, or Denis, O'Conor, Esq. of Behinagare, County of Roscommon, '22iid in descent from 'J'eige, surnamed ()f the Three Towerx, King of Connaught, deceased n\ 9.54, through Tnrlough O'Conor tlic (rn'nt. King of Oonnaught, and Ard-lligh of Erui, or Monarch of Ireland, for '2(( years, deceased in II.'H), and tludugh Tnrlou-h O'Conor Don, the last inauguraed King of the Irish of Connaught, slain in 14(U'> But Charles s services to his country, as a patriot, and a .-cholat;, "when all around was drear and dark," retlect more honour upon him, than any line of descent, however ancient, or any property, however ample, could collier. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 415 Oromvvf'llo-Williamite iiionopoly of land and ]>ower foniult'd n])on tho rniii of the pluudered and enslaved Catholics; might enable tiieai to tike due vengeance on the Whigs, as the establishei-s of such an unjust svstem through the Orange Revolution; and might, in fine, reverse that Revolu- tion and all its detested results, by the success of Prince Charle-s, and consequent acknowledgment of his father as James III. These wishes of the naturally-disaffected majority of the populati(JU of Ireland were vigorously expressed by their .song-writers, more es))ecially such as wrote in the ancient national, Celtic, or Gaelic tongue; those successors of the Bards keeping a watchful eye on public occurrences at home and abroad, and consoling themselves and their fellow-sufferers witli pros|)ects of a 2ud Restoration of the Stuarts; to be followed by a sort of millennium of enjoyment to the Catholic loyalists of Erin, in recompense for their Iou'T'- eiiduring fidelity to the exiled royal family.* The obnoxious ruling race of the upstart "settler," at the expense of the old lords of the soil, was thus denounced : — " Tt makes my grief, my bitter woe, To tliiiik how lie our nobles low, Without sweet music, hanls, or lays, Without esteem, regard, or praise. Oh! my peace of snul is lied, I lie outstretchM, Kke one half-dead, . To see our chieftains, old and young, Thvis trod by tlL<' r/unis of ih« disiii.al /oiiguelf Oil ! who can well i-efrain from te irs, Who sees the hosts ot' a thousand years Ex'peU'd from this, their own green isle, And bundsmeu to the base and vile! " Again — "But oh! my wound, my woe, my giief. It IS not for myself, or mine — My ])ain, my pang without relief, Is noting how our nol)les pine. Alas for them, and no; for me ! I'hey wander without wealth or fame, * Wlnle clowns and churls of low degree Usurp their gold, their lands, their name." The following lines are a portion of " A Whack at the Whigs," to the soul- siirring piper's air known as " Leaf.her th^ Wig."-l That is, "Thrash, with all your might, the Wig,^' which, in Irish, is synonymous with Whig. "Oh heroes of ancient renown ! (tOikI tidings we gladly bring to you — Let not your high courage sink down. For Erin has friezids who'll cling to you ! • For the Jacohitism of the Milesian or Gaelic jwpulation of Ireland in the last century, as shown by their popular jjoets or song-writers, see Mr. O'Daly's 2 interesting collections, " Reliques of Irish Jacobite Poetry," Dublin, IS-t-i, and "Poets and Poetry of Munster," Dublin, 1850-1S60. From the able versitications by Mangan of the Gaelic songs in the 1st series of the latter work, my extracts are taken. t The breed of the "settlers" that spoke the English language, and that, in the version of another Gaelic song, are similarly designated, as "Hke sullen tribe of tlie drear}/ tonle to the mf)de in which I have heard it played. According to that mode, every 4 lines of tho words, includ- ing the choriie, should be repealed, or giv«n twice, in singing the air. 41(5 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES n^ose insolent Sassennch hands Shall hold their white mansions transiently; (Jurs shall a'j;.iin be those lands, Long tiird by our fathers anciently! Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, thrashing; Let us be thrashing the |)erriwig! Let us be thrashing, thrashing, Let us be thrashing the perriwigl •We'll muster our clans, and their lords, And with energy great and thunderous, With lances, and axes, and swords. We'll trample the Saxon under us. We'll have bonfires from Derry to Lene,* And the foe shall in flames be weltering — All Limerick hasn't a green, Nor a ship that shall give them sheltering! + • Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. ** Uji ! arm now, young men, for our isle! We have here, at hand, the whole crew of 'em. Let us charge them in haste and in style. And. we'll dash out the br.iins of a few of 'em ! A tribe, who can laugh at the jail, Have found, on the banks of the Shannon, aid— • Oh ! how the blue Whigs will grow pale, * When they hear our Limerick cannonade! J Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. ** Oil ! pity the vagabonds' case ! We'll slaughter, and crush, and batter them — They'll die of atiVight in the chase, When our valorous Prince shall scatter them ! Coming over the ocean to-day Is Charles, that hero dear .to us — His troops will not loiter or stay, Till to Inis-Loirc§ they come here to us! Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. •' Our camp is protected by Mars, ' And the mighty Fion of the olden time,|| These will prosper our troops in the wars. And bring back to our isle the golden time ! • From fhe Lough of Deri-y in Ulster, or the North, to Lough LeiiP, or, the Lake of Killarney in Munster, or the South. O'Connell's expression, "from the Giant's Uauseway to iJape Clear," was better t 'i'lie autlior of this son'.' was a native of the Count,- of Limericlv. X All al usiou to the ilefcat. at the 1st siege of Limerick, in 1G90, of the great chimjiion nf the Wliij Eevuhitiim of Ki.ss, William of Orange. J A h iidiu appsllation fur Irolaml. I, Fion, or Fin. sou of Cumlial. known as Fin of " the golden hair," that " popular Irish hero," as Moore reiiiaikh. has liail ■■along course of traditional renown in his country, where his fame still lives, not only in legends and songs, but in the yet more indi-lible record of scenery conaei-ted with his liieniuiy. ' He is related to have flourished in the ord century, having been son-in-law of tie famous Ard-Kigh, or IVIonaroh, Cormac, and commander of a standing force, styled tlie b'ians. or Fini i.ms, nf Biin. -siill." notes Ur. O'Donovan, '-so vividly rempmbered in the traditions of the people.' In the fine C.iielic poem of -'The Chace," so spii-itedly versilied into English by Misa Jirooke, the yoet OisiiL, or ussiiiii, as 1 of that celebrated body of Wiirriors, says. -" to the Finian race A falsehood was unknown; No lie, no imputation base. On our clear fame was thrown; But, by firm truth, and manly might, That fame establish'd grew. Where oft, in honour h o fight, Our foes before us Hew.'' Tlie Finiana would appear to have been modelled after the Koman legions, then, nni long Biibs<»- Quenily, occupying South Ih-itaiii. which it was the custom of the fiaels of Krin to in . ,ile. of Fion, Or Fiii, and this force orgaaized by him, the Scotch historian, Pinkerton, observes — " He seems to adds — IN THK SERVICE OF FllANCE. 417 Our cowardly foes will drop dead, Whon the French only point their snns on 'era— - And Famine, and SlaUL,diter, and Dread, Will together come down at once on 'em! (Jkorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c." The sympathy of tlie Gaels of Erin with their brother Gruels of Alba, or Scotland, for the cause of Prince Charles, is still more vividly expressed in another song, which, after stating — " We'll chase from the island the hosts of the Stranger, Led ou by the conquering Prince of the Gael! " " And you, my poor countrymen, trampled for ages, Grasp each of you now his sharp sword in his hand! The ivar that Prince Charlie so valiantli/ vmges Is oni that, ivill fihatter the chains of our land. Hurrah for our Leader! Hurrah for Prince Charlie! Give ]iraise to his efforts witli music and song; Our nobles will now, in the juice of the barley, Carouse to his victories all the day long ! " * "The lads with the dirks, from the hills of the Highlands, Are marching with piltrooh and shout to the Held, And Charlie, Prince Charlie, the King of tiie Islands, Will force the usurping old German to yield ! . . . . We will drive out the Stranger from green-valley'd Erin^ King George and his crew shall be scarce in the land. And the Crown of Three Kingdoms shall he alone wear in The Islands— OUK Prince — the man born to command ! " With these extracts before us, (which might be augmented by so many more), what then are we to think of this passage about Ireland, in connexion with Prince Charles's expedition, by a Continental historian of the Prince? — even if the passage did not embody, as it does, such an erroneous notions as that Ireland was "favoured," and that her "agricul- ture and manufactures flourished " in those times, when, and long after, English jealousy was so mischievously careful that they should not flourish ! f " There was no ])art of the British islands," says this writer, " where there was less prospect for the Stuarts than in Ireland. That have been a man of great talents for the ajre, and of celebrity in arms. His formation of a regular staniiing army, trained to war, iu which all the Irish accounts agree, se ms to have beet; a rude imitation of theKomm legions in Britain. The idea, though simple enou>;h, -hews prudenre ; for fiuch a forcn alone could have coped with the Eomans, had they invaded Irelmd." Honest Dr Keating, from the native authorities, states, how, whenever it was requisite to dispatch forces to Alba, or Caledonia, in order to support the Dalriadic settlement from Erin there against the Alm- huraigh. i. e... foreif/ners, (or Romans,) 7 c itha. containing l-'l.OUO men, were under the hero's command; and, it is added, the Fini .ns must have been frequently in Alba, since tlieir names nre hardly 1p,--s as>ociaied with recollections of the "olden tim'^ " there, tlian in Kr.n. The deatli of Fin, 'superior ki all wari-iors m war," is recorded to Ijave occurred iu MiLlhe, or Meath, a.d. 'JSl. Ii was he whom Cisian Macpherson has metamorphosed into Fiugal. * "On salt," observes Voltaire, "de quelle importance il est en Angleterre de boire il la sante d'un Prince qui pretend au trone; c'est se declarer son partisan. II ena coiitc chera plus d'un Ecossais et d'un Irlandais pour avoir bu a la sante des Stuarts." t To the admissions already cited on this ]ioint, I need only add heir, that of Mr. Pitt, addressing the British Parliament, February li'ind, 1785. "The sjiccies of policy, which had boon exercised by the government of England, iu legaid to Ireland, had, for its oVijecfc, to debar the latter from the enjoyment of its ov/u resources, and to make her completely subservient to the opulence and interests of England. She had not been suffered to share in the bounties of nature, or the industry of her citizens ; and she was shut out from every sjiecies of commerce, and. rcdtraiued from sending the produce of iier soil to foreign markets." 2e 418 1II8T0KY OK TllK IlUSIl lUMOADKS; TN THE SKKVICK OF F1!\N('K. irrtilc land liad bciMi inncli more favoured tliaii Si'ufland. AuriouUnre iuid uiauutiU'tuios iUniri.sluHl ; and tln> giMicral wish wliicli sci'nu'd to ]>rovail ainon^'all classes, that traniiuillity might bo niaintaincd, ovcrboro !Uiy fViiMully t'l-cling that still might lingiT among tlu> |km)))1c tbr tho doscondants of Jamos II. In Ireland, therefore, Cliai'les had no prospect of active svipport." This last statement is only so far true, that, owing to the existence of snch a large amount of hostile or Whig- Hanoverian arnu-d force in Ireland, and to the Oatholics having been all disanued, as AV(>11 as destitute of any IHyhUmd advantage for organizing witlionb being immediate!)' overpowered, the Prince, under such einainistanet^s, certainly could not have landed, or hoped to land, in Iri'land, with the effect that attended his landing in Scotland. l>ut it aiipcars by no means true, that, had he disembarked in Indand with anything like due supjilies for standing his ground at iirst, he would lia\c •• had im prospwt of active su])port." The contrary, by the speeinuMis I have gi\iMiofthe ]>opular sentiment in his I'avour, has been sullieiently s/tmrii, and, 1 may add, the (\\istenee and general prevalence of tiiat sentiment was, iu Home, well knoinn.. The dominant Orange authority in Ireland, at this period, might impose, within the imnKuliate spluu'e of its observation, an ''outward and visible" aj^pearance of submission to the anti-national order of things which it represented. But, to that order of things, from its radical i'ottennes.s, or foundation n))on injustice and persecution towai'ds the nation at large, there could be no real, or " inward and spiritual." obetlience on the part of the many, as enslaved by the Jew. 'I'he feeling of the country internally, however disguisi'd e.\tt>rnally, cainiot be better typitied than by the eontem])orary anecdote told of the acHMniplished Whig-llanoverian Viceroy of the day, Lord Chestertield, and a celebrated Irish Catholic, or Tory and Jacobite, beauty. This lady, Miss Ambrose, sub.sequently Lady PalnuM-, who, from her charms, was designatt'd tin; "dangerous Papist," having appeared at the Oastle, wear- ing orange, which was then the necessary etiquette, his Lordship, as he appioached lu'r, exclaimed — " Toll nu>, Aiuliresc, where 's tlio jest Of woariiig iiran^e on the lireast., Wliea, umlenuath. that Ihishiu sliows '.riie whiteiK'ss ef tho rebel rose''" * A^^ alhision to the tl()wer, which, on every anniversary of the birlli of James 1 l.'s son, as Prince of Wales, at St. James's J'alace, ljon(h)n, in .June, 1688, the Tories or Jacobites used to wear in honour of that Prince, as dejxre, though not de facto Kin(; James III. of England and Ireland, and James Vlll. of Scotland. Throughout Ireland, the Orange lily, indeetl, might be ]iresent(>d to the eye; but the whiti; rose bhK)med, with the shamrock, iu the heart of tlie country. • Early iu this century, my father residing at No. 38, (no\v No. 30) Upper (Jlouecster Street, Dulilin, whore I was horn, had, for his ueighhonrs, 2 wurtliy okl ];uhes, the Misses Arelibohl. They were < f the respoetable Catholic family in the County of Kihlare, whose head, in the Penal Code times, owned tho I'audreen mare, so fan.ous upon tho Currauli; but whit^h lie was obliged to run there in the iiniiie of an honoui-alile i'rt)testant friend, lest, as tho law then stood, the valuable animal, if aeknowledi^od to be a I'apist's, might, by sonic scoundrel, calling hiuisolf a I'l'otestant, be made /*/*• prtipcrty for £5 Tw. ()(/. ! liy the Misses Archbohl, who were eousins-german to Lady Palmer, my mother was iutrochiccd to that once "dangerous Pajiist," then extremely advanced in life, and was subseciuently visited V)y her. On such aixthority, the \'icer^ gal couiplimciit iu verse is correctly jjivcu here, iusteud ol' mcorrectly as elsewhere. HISTOEY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FEANCE. BOOK VI I r. EA7»t.Y in January, 174G, tlie Duke of CiiniberlaTid, having Tinitecl and rested his troops, proceeded to reduce Carlisle. Against such a consider- able force and overwhehniug artillery as his, the Jacobites there could ordy make such a defence as was suHfieiently credital)le to them, wlieri contrasted with the conduct of the previous Anglo- Whig garrison, so much stronger, yet surrendering, as they did, to an enemy without any siege-trm'u. "The Didce," notes a Whig contenipoiury ivspecting Car- lisle, "■ was long enough bef»)re it, tf> prove lujw basely, or cowardly, it tons yielded to the rtLel." By the 10th, the besiegin<^ cannon and moi'tars had sucli an eliect upon the ])lace, that the Scotch Jacobite Governor, John Hamilton, lest his little band should "be all massacred, as they certainly would, if they stood the storming of the tosvn," surrendered, on the terms, for himself and his men, of not being put to the sword, but reserved for George's pleasure; at the same time, recjuesting from the cle/iinitcy of the Duke, that he would be pleased to interpose for them with his fatlier. But the veteran English Colonel, Townh-y, who had volunteered, with Ins Manchester Jacoljites, to form a portion of the garrison, was, ,iu onjiosition to Hamilton, for holding out to the last; or for perishing, sword in hand, rather than tiust to the pleasure of tiie Hanoverian, or the clemency of his son. And the doom to which the Colonel, and the otiicers taken with him, were consigned the following August — that of being "hanged, drawn, and quartered," on Kennington Common — too well justified his repugnance to subniit to such pleasure and clemency. With the JacoVjite garrison of Carlisle — consisting, at its surrender, of but 39G of all ranks, or 274 Scotch, 114 English, and 8 natives of different places in the service of France — was a gentleman of Toulouse of old Irisli origin, the Chevalier Francois de Geoghegan, (or Sir Francis Mac Geoghegan,) Captain in the Irish liegiment of Lally, and commander of artilleiy in the town. While the place still held out, this officer of the Irish Brigade sent 2 letters, 1 to the Duke of Cumber- land, and the other for the officer in command of the Dutch troojjs, to demand, that, .siiice these troops were bound, by their recent ca])itula- tions at Tour-nay and Dendei-monde, to abstain from "any military firnction of what natur-e soever," until January 1st, 1747, they should serve no longer with the English. To that application with refereirce to the "per-jui-ed Dutch" — as I elsewhere find tlieni designated, for corning over to figlit for Geor-ge II., under* sack cir-cirrnstarroes, — tiie Duke sent tliis' reply, iu writing, by his Aide-de-Camp, Lord Bury. " To let the French 420 HISTORY OF THE IRI^H BUIOa^d^IS oflficer know, if tliere is one in tlio town, tliat tlicre are no Dutoli troops l".n-(\ Imt enough of tliM King's, to chastisL> tlie rebels, an1ieu demanded liis r'call, leavinr; subsequent measures for the aid of Priace Charles to lie carried out principally by the devotion of the Irish, but more es|)ecially T)V the s])irit of the gallant and indefatigable Lally, who is alluded to as distinguislied by a zeal and a lioldness suited to the achievement of the greatest enterprises. With a view to landing in Scotland, upon tlie earliest o]jportunity that miglit arise, the remainder, or by far the larger ])ortion of the Irish Horse Regiment of Fitz-James and sevej-al great officers of the Brigade, of the houses of Fitz-James, Tyrc(Minel], Roth, Nugent, itc, were, witli Lally's own Regiment of Infantry, to be k(!i)t in special readiness to sail. Meanwliile, to try whether something favoui- able to the Prince might not be elfec'ed in England itself, Lally, in sjtite of the numerous and watchful vessels of the enemy, managed to cross from Bouhigne to Sussex in disguise; though not without the circumstance becoming known to the Anglo- Hanoverian officials, it being thus announced in a letter from on board the Weasel sloop, in the Downs — "Col. Lalley went over to England in a smuggling boat, dress'd in a sailor's habit, where I hope he will meet with his deserts." His plans for creating a diversion there were based on the connexion kept up fioni France witli the smugglers, who, notwithstanding the war, anS tlwir calling being made so great an offence by Parliament, wei-e both numerous and daring; 1 body of them, for example, about Hastings, estimated at above 301), domineering at the expense of the farmers in those parts. Among these bold "free-traders " contrary to law, Lally exerted himself to form a corps, entitled " Prince Charles's Volunteers," till a I'egular force was despatched against them, which caused them to dis[)erse at the time; several of them, nevertheless, openly appearing, aa late as the f dlowing March, under the Jacobite designation which they had ]>revi()usly assumed. " You," complains a letter from Hastings in that month, " will be surprised at the violences of some of the prin- cipal smugglers who appear sometimes in these parts, but live near London. They have the assurance to wear a uniform — viz., the coal and breeches red. lined with the same colour, buttons and holes of gold ; the waist-coat blue, buttons and holes of silver; and insolently call tliemselves P'ince Charle.i'f Volunteers." From the scene of this orga- nization, Lally pi-oceeded to London. There a price was placed upon his liead, and the government-agents having discovered his place of abode, v/ere actually apf)roaching to arrest him, when he had the good luck to escape them, disguised as a sailor. Meeting, in his flight, some smugglers, to whom he was yiersonally unknown, and who were in want of a sailor, they enrolled him among their crew by force. He had not gone far with this gang, when 1 of them suggested, what a good thing it would be, to keep on the look-out for that Brigadier-General Lally, for whom, if Oiiught, they would be so well rewarded! From this, Lally, with due presence of mind, dissented; alleging ht)W much more they wevv likely to realize on the coasts of Fiance ; with which, he added, how ])erfectly he was acquainted. They emliarked accordingly with him as their guide, and he so directed the vessel that it might fall as soon as possible into the hands of the French, and be conveyed to Boulogne ; where the Marquis d' Avai-y, and the Marquis de Crillou, commanding in the province, and thea 422 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES ill the town, joyfully released their adventurons friend find comrade-iu- anns from the strange enrolment to which he had been subjected. So much for Lally's advefttin-es in England;* which ciniitry, although so extensively alarmed at the end of December and commencHinent of Jri-nuary by the preparations that menaced her coasts from France, had less and less cause, as January advanced, to be apprehensive of a French landing. For, as Hoiyce Walpole observed, " we have a vast fleet at sea; and the main body of the Duke's army is coming down to the coast to ])revent their landing, if they should slip our sliips. Indeed. I can't bnlicive they will attempt coming, as they must hear of the destruction of the rebels in England; but they will, probably, dribble away to Scotland, where the war may last considerably." And the result justified Walpole's anticipation, as he was able to add, with reference to England, ere the conclusion of January, " the French invasion is laid aside"- — Fitz-James's horse at Ostend, and Lally's infkntry at Dunkirk, being only embarked, with reference, as already noted, to a landing iu Scotland. Meantime, or after recrossing the border into Scotland on the last dav of 1745, Prince Charles proceeded, in the direction of Dumfries, towards Glasgow. January 3rd he ])assed the night at Drumlanrig, the seat of that James Douglas, 2iid Duke of Queens\)ury, of execrated memory among the Jacobite or old national party in Scotland; since, thouglf his family owed its Dukedom and a large fortune to the Stuarts, yet he was the first to go over to the Prince of Orange at the Revolu- tion ; was thenceforward among the most inveterate enemies of the exiled royal I'ace; and finally rendered himself even still more obnoxious, by taking the leading part he did, in carrying the Union. The portraits of William, Mary, and Anne, presented to him for his " Union " services, were placed on the grand staircase at Drumlanrig; the sight of which, as no better, in Jacobite eyes, than the likenesses of so many Usurpers, or infringers upcm the direct line of succession, and the cau^e f"r the i)resentation of such gifts to him, vvere both so offensive to the Highlanders, that, ere they dejiarted, they displayed the irritation r.f tlieir dynastic and national feeling, by slashing those paintings with their Hsvords — " an outrage," yet " «o<," as remarked, " one of a very serious nature, when the popular indignation against the Duke is taken into consideration."t The Prince entered Glasgow, with his reai'-guard, on the Gth, and he remained there about 8 days, having, in the cour.se of his westward march, and jjarticularly during his stay in that city, refitted his harassed troops for new exertions, by proportionable requisi- tions from those Whig districts, which had evinced an inveterate spirit of Hanoverian hostility to his cause ; a spirit connected, in some localities, with insulting provocations or acts of violence, and, even at Glasgow, with the aggravating circumstances, of a regiment (then * Lally, amongst other adventures apocryphally or traditionally attributed to him, is said to have been at the head of the Irish piquets in the liattle of Falkirk, an assertion, simply refuted by the circumstance, of Brigadier Stapleton having commanded those pitiuets there and elsewhere in Scotland, or from first to last, iu that country. Klose has fallen into thin error with respect to Lally, whom 1 have tracked, in England, through the magazine and newsijaper press. -|- Lockhart of (Jarnwath, after referring to this Duke, as altogether void <^f honour, hiyalty, justice, religion, terms him, "an xin grateful desertei' and rebel to hi<« Prince, the ruin and bane of his country, and the aversion of ail loyal and trtio Scotsmen." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 423 absent) having been raised against him, and of an attempt being made there, as previously at Wigan, in England, to assassinate him. Yet here, as elsewhere, the magiianiniitv of Cliarles appears to have left the guilty altogether uni)anislied ! * This last effort of a murderou.s fanatic to ])istol him was, no doubt, more or less owing to the fact at Glasgow, that "the Presbyterian clergy, one and all. declaimed against him, from their pulpits, with indomitable zeal," alleges his German biogra])her, '' one of them going so far as to declare, that all the marks of the Beast, mentioned in the Revelations, might be traced in the mild and amiable features of the Prince ! "t The Presbyterian clergy of Scotland were generally hostile to Charles in 1745-6; so much so, that some of them did not confine their Hanoverianism merely to the " moral force " of preaching, but resorted to " physical force," in the capacity of armed Georgeite Volunteers. In thus opposing the Prince, they had, as yjre- viously at the Union, a due professional eye to self-interest, under the designation of, says a Scotch writer, ''Christ's cause, the epithet they gave their own! " Oti the 14th, Charles quitted Glasgow, in order to reduce Stirling, which, as fortified and garrisoned by his opponents, to command the chief pass i'rom the Highlands to the Lowlands, prevented a suitable communicatiou between the 2 main or southern and northern divisions of the Jacobito foices, and, if taken, would thus be a very useful as well as creditable conquest. The Governor of Stirling Castle, with a garrison of 600 men, was an Irish Protestant officer, Major-General William Blakeney. He was a County-Limerick gentleman; the place of his birth and fimily- .seat being Mount Blakeney, about a mile from the Borough of Kilmal- lock, which he, for many years, represented in Parliament. A veterau survivor of William's and Marlborough's wars in Flanders, he was now above 75; but in that period of "a green old age," united with such a knowledge of the military profession, especially as a gariison-commander, that, even 10 years later, or when above 85, his conduct in the defence of Foit St. Philip, at Minorca, against the French, gained him the highest * With Prince Ctiarles's conduct on these occasions, contrast that witli respect to the Duke of Cumberland, mentioned in this extract of a letter from Kilmarnock, in February, 1746 — " One John Eiddle, horse-hirer at Edinburoh, was taken at Stirling. He had ofFei-ed 3 guineas to see the Duke of Cumberland, in order to shoot him, and he was hanged Immediatehi I " Or, although he is not stated to have actually fired at the Diike. + There was no act of Charles, during his expedition in Great Britain, indicative of any religious illiberality, or intolerance, on liis part. Nor has liis private cor- res[)oudeuce been found to evince any feelings of the kind, but the contrary. Thus, in writing to his father, from Perth, in September, 1745, and alluding to the efforts that would be made to frighten several against a "restoration," on the plea that the old church and abbey lands in their possessiou would then be resumed, he repiuliates such policy, observing — "You have lived too long in a ( atholic country, and read the history of England too carefully, not to have observed the many melancholy monuments to be seen there of the folly of those jiious Princes, who, thinking to honour religion, have lessened it, by keeping superstitious rit«s in the Church, whereby they have insensibly raised up a power, which has, too ofteu, proved an overmatch for their successors." And he adds — • " I cannot close this letter without doing justice to j'our Majesty's Protestant subjects, who, I find, are as zeahuis in your cause as the Roman Catholics," &c. But, in reference to the vile outcry of viilfja.r sectarianism against Charles, I may remark, tiuit a bigot ciiiiuot conceive an existence without bigotry ; the pole-cat of reliuious prejudice cannot imagine how others can be without a raukness and a raiicuur equal to his owu. 424 HISTORY OF TII"^ IRISH BRIOADES renown at home and abvoarl, and elevated liim to the Peeraannick." But this "glorious show" too soon became a very ingloriosu * Hawley, according to 1 of the coutemporary Georgeite accounts of the action at Falkirk in tlie Marchmont Papers, had 12 regiments of foot;, o of dragoons, 120i) Campbells, lU'JU other Voluuteers — "in all about UOOU." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 425 one. For, with the crpdifa1)le exc(^ptinTi of a single ti-oop. under Licii- tenant-Colonel Shuckhiu-gh Whitney, who was speedily shot dead, and his followers put hors de combat^ Ligoniei"'s and JTaniilton's heroes, after their manner of signalizing themselves at Preston-Pans, wheeled ahout, and galloped off, amidst cries of " We shall all be massacred this day!" as they i)artly ran over, and ]mrtly suffered from the avenging musketry of, their maltreated and indignant reserve of foot,* that weie thrown into irretrievable disorder. Cobham's dragoons, who behaved better, likewise fled ; to betake themselves, however, to another part of the tield, where they miglit be more useful, acting with soldiers than with such poltroons ; some of whom did not pull bridle until they got near Linlithgow, about S miles from the engagement; while others prolonged their flight by a ride of about 24 miles in o hours; or until towards 1), that wet and stormy night, they i-eached Edinburgh, with alarming statements of what they ]iad seen, and sundry additions with respect to what they had not seeti, as usual on such miserable occasions. The infantry of the centre, under Hawh y himself, consequently uncovered on its left flank, and unable in front, from the wind and rain, to make such a fire as could avert the dreaded close of the Highland broadsword, was next, for the most part, ra[)idly broken, and driven away in confusion. But Majoi--General John Huske, wdio commanded Hawley's right, having his own infantry pro- tected Ijy a ravine, and being supported by .some of Plawley's infantry and Cobham's di-agoons, checked by a flanking tire the Highland pursuit of the mass of the beaten centre, and was, moreover, so successful in front, with his musketry across the ravine, against the Camerons and Stuarts on the Jacobite left, which he outwinged, that those clans had to give ground; while, of the Lowlanders with them, (the majority there being Lowlanders,) numl)ei's ran off", as believing the battle lost on their side. + At that critical juncture, Charles, from the rear of his centre, where, for tlie best view of the field, he was posted with his own mounted Guards, and the contingent from Fitz-James's Regiment of Irish Horse, and where he had the foot, as well as horse, of the regulars from France sutKciently Jit hand for action, hastened forward to the left, in order to regain the fortune of the day. These regulars, under Brigadier Walter Stajdeton, consisted of the piquets from the Irish Brigade, or between horse and foot, about 350 men, that united with about 150 men, of Lord John Druramond's Royal Scots in the .same service, would form, in all, about 500 men; whose gallant and orderly advance here, descrilx^d by Haddock, an Irish soldier present, as that of tho.se " who only kept in a body," con- tributed so much to rectify what was previousl}' amiss, by reinforcing the Camerons and Stuarts in front, and, with otlier battalions from the -Ind * Hamilton's regiment was more particularly noticed, to its disgrace, by the publica- tions of the day. A letter on the battle says — " Hamiitou's dragoons, to retrieve the honour they lost at Preston- l^ans, went on Hke furies. But their courage soon CO' "led, and they, as usual, turned t
re back upon the Glasgow Regiment of Militia, it maile such an effectual discharge upou the niounted cowards, as "brought several from their horses!" A newspa])er para- grai>h from London in February also states — "We hear the Court Martial at Edinburgh has already sentenced 2 C'ajitains, 1 Lieutenant, and 6 private men of Hamilton s rrff.ment to he shot, tor cowardice, in the late action.^' " l-*art of (he Iviug's army, much tiie greafcei' pirt," re au'lcs Home, " was flying to the eastward; and part of the rebel army was tiyiug to the westward." 426 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES line, extending:; the front, till then outlined by the enemy, that this move- ment, adds my English writer, Mr. Jesse, "turned the scale iu favour of the Highlanders." A Scotch authority, the Chevalier de Johnstone, referring, in terms of especial admiration, to the conduct of " the Irish piquets" on this occasion, mentions them, as "these piquets, who belinved loitJi the most distinguished bravery and intrepidity at the battle of Falkirk, preserving always the best order, when the loJiole of the rest of our army was dispersed, and keeping tJie enemy in check by the bold countenance which they displayed ! " * The change, in short, ejected by the coming up of Chai'les with this reserve was such, that Hu.ske, too, quitted the tield ; yet, with his men, on the whole, in good order. The beaten Georgeites, fearful of being cut off from Edinburgh, abandoned their camp at Falkirk, retii-ing that night to Linlithgow; and they continued their dreary and mortifying retreat until about 4 o'clock next day, when they re-entered the Scottisli» metropolis, in a plight very different from the state in which they had so recently quitted it ! There, "at no time from the beginning to the end of the rebellion," says the Scotch Whig, Home, " were the real friends of the constitution of their country more dejected, or more apprehensive, • than they were, when they saw the troops return from Falkirk, who had marched against the rebels, a few days before, as they thought, to certain victory/" Which reflection, he remarks, was the sadder, as the men defeated there were, not " raw soldiers," but " the veteran troops of Britain, who had fought the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy!" The Er^gli-sh Whig, H(jrace Walpole, having alleged of Hawley's force of 17 regiments at Falkirk, " we had scarce 3 regiments that behaved well^'' exclaims, "with many other glories, the English courage seems gone too!''' — and he then observes, "the ill l^ehaviour of the soldiers lays a double obligation on the officers, to set them examples of running on danger." Bv this affair at Falkirk, of not above 20 minutes' duration, the Georgeites lost 10 pieces of artillei-y, or 7 cannon and 3 mortars, t 2 pair of colours, 3 standards, 1 pair of kettle-drums, 25 waggons of all sorts of * Haililock, the Irish soldier referred to as nf tlie battle of Falkirk, was born in Dublin, where his lather was I of the Ulerks in the Court of (Jhancery. Made j!ri;^oiier at I^'ontenoy by the French, he joined the Iveu:imeiit of Lally, with the detach mout from which to Scotland, in the autumn of '45, he arrived there. After the affair of Falkirk, getting back to Ireland, rid Belfast, and being taken u]), he gave useful information to (jovernmenc. It is more creditalile to Mr. Jesse to have n,i/iii!ltei/ tile honourable share of the piquets from France in gaining the battle, than for Sir Walter Scott, Lord Mahon, and Mr. Chambers not to have duly noticed a fact so evident from Smollet, Voltaire, Home, Johnstone, — to say nothing, of Haddock's statement, and tjie allusion, not to be in'mtaktn, in the passage hereafter cited, from Lord (ieoi-ge Murray. t Captain Cunningham of Hawley's artillery "was tried for deserting the train in tlie action at Falkirk,'' says nw English authority, and "he was sentenc'd to have hi.s sword broke over his head by tlie Provost, his sash thrown on the ground, and hinuself turn'd out of the army ; which was executed accordingly, at the head of the artillery." After remarking, how, the day following the action, the storm and r.iin continued, so as to keej) all under co\er, the Chevalier de Johnstone writes, in connexion with the captui-ed Ceurgeite artillery, - " Having repaired to the Prince's quarters, about 7 o'clock in the evening, 1 found no one in his anti-chamber; but, when I was aliout to withdraw, Mr. Sullivan issued from the Prince's closet, and informed me, that, from the badness of the weather, the cannon, taken fi-om the enemy, had to be left on the field of battle, without any guard ; and he recpiested me. to go instantly, with a guard of a Serjeant and 20 men, and pass the night beside them. He added, that 1 should liud the guard be.ow, ready to march. I so.- out with this detachment." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE 427 military stores, 600 nniskets, 4000 pounds' weiglit of gunpowder, all the baggage, and the tents they could not burn, the latter enumerated as sufficient for 4700 men ; and, instead of but 280 of every rank, for killed, "wounded, and missing, as officially alleged, are more credibly referred to by other authority, on their own side, as having hai 10 officers, including 1 Colonel and 3 Lieutenant-Colonels killed, and from 300 to 400 privates ; besides 500 made prisoners. The Prince's loss was acknowledged as but 193 killed or wounded : no more than 7 of his officers, or 3 Captains and 4 Subalterns, having been slain ; and 1 officer, a Major, having, by ill luck, or a mistake, become a priscmer. Anting the Irish piquets, fell Alexander Comeiford, Captain in the Regiment of Bulkeley, a gentleman of a name eminent in the service of Spain, as well as of creditable record in that of France, -from the campaigns of Flanders, during the War of the Spanish Succession, to those for the Independence of the United States of America. Of this battle, according to the contemporary history of Charles, entitled, " Young Juba," it was com])]ained, in /lis army, that "the clans, and the French picquets. were the only people that stood the brunt in the late action when the Angus battalions, and those who join'd them at Edinburgh, tock to ihe'ir hpels, alniust as soon as tliP.Jiyht bs'jan!"* As to the officers of the Irisii Brigade in the reserve, whose o|)|)<)rtune appeamnce on the left, under the Prince, decided the victor}', the Jacobite official accduiit of the engagement, written by Sir Thomas Sheridun, for "valour and ])rudence," notices " pai-ticularly Mi-. Stapleton, Brig.ulier in ills Most Christian Majesty's Army, and Commander of the Irish Pickets; Mr. Sullivan, Quarter-Master-General of the Army, who rallied part of the left wing; and Mr. Brown, Colonel of the Guards, and 1 of the Aid-de-Camps, formerly Major of Lally's regiment." This gentleman was appointed to ccmvey the intelligence of the combat to Versailles, and was made a Chevalier of the Order of St. Louis by the King of France. The Mac Donald journal, too, in the Lockhart Papers, after mentioning of the Highlanders, "both our officers and men behaved with the greatest bravery, and our oi-der in marching and attacking wei*e allowed to be far beyond expectation, in the judgement of officers who had been in the wars abroad," has this fui'ther admission to the credit of the Irish from France — "It must be acknowledged indeed, that the Irish ojficers were of yreat use to us, in going through the different posts, and assisting in the severaU dispositions that were •mader Voltaire, in his sketch of this encounter, having duly specified, how, when the Scotch were broken, the "6 piquets of Ftench troops covered them, sustained the combat, and gave them time to rally," adds, how the Prince "always affirmed, that, if he had only 3000 men, regular troops, he would have made himself entirely master of England." And this assertion of Voltaii'e, with respect to the Prince, is quite correct. In the Memoire presented to Louis XV. by Charles, a month after his return from Scotland to France, or in November, 1746, he says — "With 3000 men, regular troo{)S, I would have penetrated into England immediately after having defeated Mr. Cope, and- there was nothing then to oppose my reaching London, since the Elector was absent, and the English troops Lad not yet come back "^ — from Flanders. Charles, indeed, is here so far * Bj' oU accoTUits of this war, the Ediiibiiro;hers anresence, he might have ".struck the iron while hot," by advancing immediately after his victory into England, instead of having to stop, above 5 weeks, to oi-ganize an army for that march — ilons his assertion, as to what he could have effected, through the sujtport of such a small regular force, appear improbable? The zealous English Georgeite, Ray, after exclaiming, of the delay of the Jacobites in Scotland subsequent to their success at Preston-Pans, " hajjpy was it for us, that they stayed so long with their friends at Etlinburgh !" e.xpresses himself to the same effect as Chai'les — " For, had the rebels, flush'd with victory, foUow'd their blow, whilst the hearts of his Majesty's subjects were dismay'd by General Cope's defeat, and very few di.sciplin'd troops iu England, it is hard to say what would have been the consequence; by which it appear-s, that an overruling Providence retarded them ! " The Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland at London, in corresponding thence, notices, even S()me weeks pi'evious to Chailes's jeduction of Edinburgh, the alarm in England, as " the panic, that seems to have seized this nation to such a degree, that it is almost impudence to pray for success, in such a state of trepidation I " Mr. Henry Fox, like- wise, a member of the Georgeite administration, who.se opinion, as a civilian, was countenanced, it will be observed, by that of oUi Marshal Wade as a military man, writes thus confidentially before Charles's victoiy at Preston-Pans — " England, Wade says, and I lielieve, is for the first Comer; and, if you can tell, whether the GOUO Dutch, and the 10 batta- lions of English, or 5000 French, or Spaniards, will be here first, you know our fate. . . . The Fi-ench are not come, God be thank(»d ! But, had 5000 landed in any part of this island a week ago, I verily believe the entire conquest would not have cost them a battle ! " So much for the civil and military opinions of those Anglo-Hannveiian authorities. And, would not the difference between 5000 and 300 ; men be far more than compensated by the very consideralde addition of home aid which Charles would unqueslumably have obtained, had ln^ brought over 3000 regulai-s with him, especially if belonging to tlie Irish an, tliat, \vithont more leisure and time than they conld expect to liavp to discijjline their own men, it wotild not be possible to make them Ici^e)) tlieir ranks, or rally soon enough, upon any sudden emergency; so tliat any small body of the enemy, either keeping in a body when they," the Highlanders, "were in confusion, or rallying soon, would deprive them of a victory, even after they had done their best." The allusion here to the necessity there was lor a larger number of regulars from France, on account o^ the yi-fiat henpfil dfrived from the small number at the battle, is ()V)vious, especially when combined with the conviction expressed by Sir Thomas Sheidnn, in his French correspondence from the "Chateau de Blair d'Athol," February 8th, ^746 — ''Si voits avians eu 2000 hommes Je troupes reylees a la derniere bataille, Vennemi ytauroit jamais pu se retirer ovec rappurence d'une armee." A foreign historian of the Prince, having noted, how, in the line of battle, the "troops, recently arrived from France, formed the reserve," states — "-Tlteij would willingly have occupied a more prominent ])osition; but Charles could not venture to deprive the more important of the Clans of the honour of marching in the van." And how well it was, that, even the small number of regular troo])s from France were forthcoming from the rear, when disaster, menacing defeat, had taken place in the van! Accoi-ding to a letter, in the Culh)den Pajiers, from a General Officer, that saw; Hawley and Cope after their respective defeats, "Hawley looked inost wretchedly, even worse than Cope did;" and, while the countenance of the English savage thus so strongly attested his deep mortification at the unexpected overthrow he had received, he sought to compensate him- self at Edinbui'gh, in the absence of captured Higlilanders for the gibbet, by indulging his "passion for executions." at the expense of his own unfortunate men. Some of them, on his gallows there, known as Hawlfi/s shambles, were consigned to the halter; and others subjected to the lash, to skelp them out of such cowardice as that of the past into mure courage for the future — this last i)laTi of slashing due soldiership, against the Highlanders, into his miserable runaways, reminding one of the shameful discipline inflicted ui)on the Asiatic .slaves of Xerxes at Thermopyhe, to virdce them fight the Greeks there. "Behind each troop," says Herodotus, of the army of Xerxes, "officers were stationed, with whips in their hands ; com])elling, with blows, their men to advance." Meantime, Charles, after a]>propriately issuing, from Bannockburn, the site of the most glorious Scotch victory over the English, his gazette of the last defeat of the saiite enemy, and their adherents, at Falkirk, returned to Stirling, to resume the siege of the Castle. Thei'e, though the food and fuel of the garrison had so decreased when its relief was prevented by Hawley's defeat, old Major-General Blakeney was not discouraged, but replied as before to the summons he received to sui-render; and continued his defence, in the manner best calculated to gain time for his Government to re-organize their strength, for another efTort to save the place. Yet, however well defended by one Irishman, it would, mo.st probably, have been taken by another, Mr. Grant of the Eegiment of Lally, had his counsel been followed. "Mr. Grant," writes tiie Chevalier de Johnstone, "had already com- municated to the Prince a j)lan of attack of the Castle, which was, to ojien the trenches, and establish batteries in the buryiug-ground, on that side of the town which is opposite to the Castle-gate. He assured the Prince, that this was the only ])lace where they could fiiul a parallel, almost on a level with the batteries of the enemy; and that, if a breach. 430 HISTORY OF TllK IRISH BIUGADES were effected, in the lialf-ninon wLioh defoiK.ls the entry of the Castle, from a battery in the bnrying-gronrid, the ndiltish of the work would till tiie ditch, and render an assault pi'acticable through tlie breacli, and the works would be ruined near the gate. He added, that it was eiitii-ely useless to think of making an attack in any other y)lace, fioui the imijossi- bility of succeeding ; that the hills, in the neighbourhood ot the Castle, being 40 or 50 feet lower than tlie Castle itself, our battei-ies could ])roduce little or no eifect, whilst their batteries would coniinand onrs. Besides, supposing it even possible to effect a breach on that side, we could never mount to the assault; the rock, on which the Castle is built, being everywhei'e very high, and almost perpendicular, except towards that part of the town opposite to the buryiug-ground." Such was the evidently just advice of the Irish officer. But the inhabitants of Stirling remonstrating to Charles against its execution, on the i)lea that the« erection of besieging batteries in the burying-ground would cause the town to be laid in ashes by the fire from the Castle, the Prince api)lied elsewhere, or to M. Mirabelle de Gordon, a French Engineer and Chevalier of St. Louis, to learn, if the Castle might not be reduced ti-om some other j)oint of attack, than that laid (iown by Mr. Grant? "It was supposed," continues my authority, " that a French Engineer of a certain age, and decorated with an Order, must necessarily he a person of experience, talents, and capacity; but it was unfortunately discovered, when too late, that his knowledge, as an Etigineer, was extremely limited; and that he was totally destitute of judgment, discernment, and common sense. His figure being as whirasic;il as his mind, the Highlanders, instead of M. Mirabelle, called him always Mr. Admirable. . . . As it is always the distinctive mark of ignorance to find nothing difficult, not even the things that are impossible, M. Mirabelle, without hesitation, immediately undertook to open the trenches on a hill, to the north of the Castle, whei-e there were not 15 inches depth of earth above the solid rock; and it became necessary to supply the want of earth with bags of wool, and sacks filled with earth, brought from a distance. Thus, the trenches were so bad, that we lost a great many men, scmietiraes '25 in 1 day." By other accounts, it appears, that the Highlanders, as irregulars, being equally ignorant of, and averse to, the siege-service here required, the ])iquets of regulars from France, "perhaps," states a Scotch historian, " the best soldiers in their army," had to be specially ordered upon that - laborious, harassing, and destructive duty — such a necessity was there ou this occasion, as in the previous engagement, for those regulars! Hence, too, the severe loss incurred was, alleges the Chevalier, " ])articularly of the Irish piquets," of whom he justly exclaims — "What a pity, that these br-ave men should have beeu sacriliced, to no purpose, bv the ignorance and folly of Mirabelle!" At last, or February 10th, Mirabelle unmasked his battery, whea only, ])roceeds the Chevalier, " 3 embrasures of the 6, of which it was to ha\e been composed, were finished, and immediately began a very brisk fire, with his 3 pieces of cannon; but it was of very short duration, and }>roduced very little effect on the batteries of the Castle, which, being more' elevated than oiu's, the enemy could see even the buckles of the shoes of our artillery-men. As their fire commanded ours, our guns were immediately dismounted; and, in less than half an hour, we were obliged to abandon our battery altogether, as no one could approach it without ineetiug with certaiu destruction ; while our guns, being poiuued IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 431 tipwards, cov.ld rlo no execution whatever. Tlius, a work of 3 weeks, whicli prevented ns tVorn deriving any advantage from our victory at Falkirk, and whicli had cost us the lives of a great number of brave men, was demolished, in an instant, like a castle of cards, and rased as level as a ])onton, and all our guns were dismounted. Justice ought to Vie done to the merit and good conduct of General Blakeney, who perceived o>ir ignorance from the position of our battery, and did not dist\n-b us while constructing it. Convinced that we could do him no injury from tliat quarter, ho remained quiet, like a skilful General, and allowed ns to go on, that we might lose those precious moments which we ought to have employed in pursuing the enemy; well knowing, that he could desti-oy our battery whenever he pleased, and level it, in an instant, with the ground." My contemporary memoir of the Limei'ick veteran, after noting how "his conduct in this service was very singulai'," adds — " He suifered the rebels to raise their works unmolested, and forbid his cannon to tire, till he saw they were ready to begin the assault. The inferior officers, in the meantime, suspected, that as he made no opposition, he intended to give up the foi't. Upon which they held a private consultation, and were just^n the point of putting him under an arrest,* when he sudderdy ordered all the works to be manned, and the cannon to V)e charged, not with their proper shot, but with bags of nmsket-balls. When the rebels were within 10 j)aces of his battle- ment, he ordered a general discharge, which brought down whole ranks, that fell at once, like grass under a scythe." Thus successful was the defence until February 12th, when Charles's army, unable to effect anything against the place, pinched by a scarcity of provisions, harassed by their prolonged winter-campaigning, r-educed by stragglers after the battle, into tlje Highlands with their booty, and elsewliere, to not above 5000 immediately-disposable or effective men, and consequently too weak to maintain their ground before Stirling against such suy)erior numbers as were then advancing to attack them, had to blow up their magazines, abandon their heavy ar'tillery, and retire over the Forth on the ajipi'oach of the Anglo-Hanoverian force of about 10,000 men ; which, dui-ing the siege, had been put into the best order at Edinburgh, and ])laced, instead of Hawlt;y, under the Duke of Cumberland, when the ])resence of the Duke was no longer required in England, with reference to a French invasion. On the 1.3th, about 1 in the afternoon, the Duke entered Stirling, where, being suitably coujplimented by the Governor of the Castle and the officers of the garrison, his Grace in reply expressed a satisfaction, proportioned to the success with which the Castle, as a post of such consequence, had been defended. The London Gazette extraordinary announced— " His Royal Highness is pleased to commend extremely the behaviour of Major-General Blakeney, who, by his conduct, as well as courage, has saved the Castle of Stirling, which is a place of the greatest importance, from falling into the hands of the rebels." When * This imdeserved suspicion of the Limericlc veteran's integrity is further ex- plained liy the statement, in the London slietch of liis life, how he was " mis- rejireseiited, as a disaffected ]iersou, for not coniplj'ing with the views of a certain Lord -Lieutenant" in Ireland; and consequently " i^ept, upwards of 20 years, without a regiment, which lie at length gained, merely by merit, without Parlia- nieutaiy interest." That is, without the aid of such a combined system of legislative and administrative corruption, as, iu those days particularly, was most jjrejudicial to the army and navy. A?>2 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES relieved, it is arlcled, " the provision and firing were almost consuraef]." In Edinburgh, too, where the Anght- Hanoverian party were so naturally alarmed at the defeat of Falkirk, the subsequent baffling of the conquerors bv the Irish Major-General was the subject of due acknowledgment. "The gallant defence," it was published, "which General Blakeney has iTiade of Stirling Castle, reflects the highest honour on that gentleman, as it was so important a service to this country, and tended to weaken and discourage the rebels." A Georgeife contemporary observes, on the motives of the Jacobites for undei'taking that siege, — " What advantages they proposed to themselves by becoming masters of this place (though they were many) might be reduced inider these 3: lst.it would have given them reputation at home and abroad, as Stifling Castle is famous, and reputed a j)lace of greater importance than it really is : 2ndly, if they could have got this place, and fortified Perth," then on their possessioi^ " they might have secured the country behind them for the winter: 3rdly, it would have afforded them means of maintaining themselv^es along the coasts, on both sides of the island, which would have facili- tated their receiving sup[>lies from aljroud." In keeping the Jacol)ites engaged, and baffling them at Stirling, after their success at Falkirk, until the army they had deleated was so reorganized as to be able to raise the siege, and oblige its previous conquerors to retreat, a diversion was effected by Blakcniey, similar in value to that by the brave Diibreton at Burgos in 1812; when, by detaining the British biifore liis post there, and foiling their efforts to reduce it, after their victory at Salamanca, he gained time for his countrymen, the Fi-ench, to reassemble a force sufficiently strong to relieve him, and compel their former victors to retire. On the whole, the recollections associated with the attack and defence of Stirling, and Irishmen, as represented by Grant, Blakeney, and the gallant piquets from the Brigade, are such as to make us regret, that any differences between forms of Christianity — the religion common to all — should have prevented such men being united in arms, under one Sovereign and one standard. In the consultations and arrangements for the retreat of Charles from Stilling over the Forth towards the Highlands, it a])pears how much O'Sullivan was " envied, for having his master's ear in preference to others;" and how Sir Thomas Sheridan's "having, seemingly, the pre- eminence in Charles's friendship and counsels was another cause of dis:;ust to the Highland Chiefs." These discontents the Prince strove to dissijiate, in various ways. "However," it is added, "the 2 Irish ]ioliticians had still the ascendant in the cabinet." On receiving a Memorial, in which the principal Highland leaders represented the necessity there was for retiring to the north, the Prince " sent Sir Thomas Sheridan to argue the matter with the Chiefs," in whose views it was finally requisite to acquiesce. For the manner that movement commenced, which was " e.xtremely discreditaVjle," says Mr. Chambers, " Lord George Murray seems inclined, in his narrative, to throw the blame of the transaction on O'Sullivan, but without showing any grounds fur his surmise." * — The circumstance, referred to as so discreditable, * Tn connexion with ^Ir. Chamlters's just disapproval of Lord George IMurray on thin occasion, I may remark, that liis Lordship seems, f-hrouijhont what he has Mfirien, to liave liad too great an itch to censure 0'>Si;llivan. It is evident that, as regards the Prince's attachment for O'Sullivan, Lord Geurge could "licar, like the lurk, no bi'otlier near the throne." A Georgeite coutem[)orary, noticing the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 433 was, that, thongli it had been resolved, at the Prince's head-quarters, on the night of February 11th, the army should muster on the 12th, at 9 in the morning, and then proceed, with due regularity, across the Forth, the men were so discouraged at their situation about Stirling, and alarmed at the very superior hostile force ap])roaching to attack them, that, without waiting for orders, and in a strag2;ling manner, they pre- sumed to set out at day-break ; thus leaving the Prince and other leaders behind, or exposed, it might be, to a sally from the Castle, as well as to other hazaixls. On the Jacobites, indeed, the general effects of their failure before Stirling were such, that their strength, which had recentlv mustered there to its highest amount, may, fi'om the period of that failure, be regarded as b>it comparatively flickering in the socket, to expii'e at Drummossie Muir, or Culloden. Besides the obvious necessity there now was for a foi'ce like that of Charles, so harassed, diminished, and in want of subsistence, to retire to the Highlands before an ai-my like the Duke's, so much stronger, fresher, and better provided in every respect, as well as soon to be aided by sevei^al thousand veteran foreign mercenaries, or Hessians, it was in the Highlands better quarters and reinforcements were to be looked for by Charles ; and it was there an irregular war of defence against the Duke might be most efficiently managed for the rest of the winter ; at the same time, that a minor hostile force of about 2000 men under Lord Loudoun, and Forts George, Augustus, and William, should be reduced there, if the main contest, by the help of what sup[)lies might arrive from abroad, were to be sup- portea, with any prospect of success, in spring, against the Duke advancing from the south. The Jacobites retired from Stirling, in the direction of Crieff; whence, on the 14th, it was decided, that, for the sake of subsistence, the Highland corps should generally proceed north- wards, under Chai'les himself, by the usual militai'y road ; Mid the Low- land infantry and horse, under Lord Geoi-ge Murray, by the roads along the coasts of Angus and Aberdeenshire; the point for reunion to be Inverness. With the latter troops were Brigadier Walter Stapletou, and the piquets from the Irish Brigade. The Duke of Cumberland did not reach Perth till the 17th, where he quartered his main force, for several days, to i-est his infantry; it being, says an English writer, " to no purpose to fatigue our men with forced marches." Here, observe the Georgeite announcements of the day respecting the Duke, " he has been graciously pleased to pardon the private men ivho ran aioay at the late battle; but the officers are to await the King's pleasure!'' And, it is added — " the Duke has given the soldiers permission to plunder the rebels' houses in and about this town." While the Duke was still at Perth, or on the 21st, the 6000 foreigners in English pay, whom he had expected to reinfurce him, paramount influence of O'SuUivan with Charles, speaks of "the Chevalier, ever observant of Sullivan's counsels, which he looked upon as m many orace.i''' — and, in the little work on Charles's caiijpaigns of 1745-G, eatitled, " Ascauius, or the Youncr Adventurer," Lord George is represented as coynplaliung, "that Sullivan used to carry everything, in councils of war, against him." Yet, when O'Sullivan mitflit subsequently have injured Lord George Murray, he did not do so. James in. writes tlius from Rome, April 25th, 1747, to his son, the Prince, in France, " I am truly sorry to find you in the way of thinking you are to Lord George Murray. I spoke very fully about him to O'Sullivan, who should be with you before you get this; and, by all he said to me, I really cannot see any just reason to sus2)ect his loyalty and fidelity. " 2f 4'^4: HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES landed at Edinburgh. These " Hessian soldiers." according to the Scotch acconiit8, " were reniarkabh'' handsome, g od-looking men." Nor waa their moral character inferior to their external appearance and »nilitary efficiency. " They acquired the affection and esteem of the peo]jle. who had occasion to mix in their society during the ensuing cani])aign ;" and " their good nature and pure manners, loere Javourahly compared with the coarse conversation, andj dissolute conduct, of the Britisk soldiery.''^ * They were subsequently so stationed, as to guard against another Jacobite d. scent from the Highlands into the Lowlands. Leaving Perth on the 2(ith, the Duke proceeded to Dundee; whence he set out, March 3rd, advancing through Angus and Aberdeenshire, till, by 7 or 8 days more, he established himself at Aberdeen. In those districts, he found his j.resence to be detested, in proportion to the old national, or Jacobite and Anti-Union, feelings of the population. Hence, of some officers from the piquets of the Irish Brigade, detached to recruit for Prince Charles, the London . Gazette states — "At Forfar, where each of our 4 divisions lay a night, 3 French-Irish officers were conceal'd in the town the whole time; and, after all our troops were pass'd thro', they were permitted to beat up for volunteei-s there. This," adds the Anglo- Hanoverian scribe, " shews the affection of that |)art of the country for the rebels ! " The Duke determined upon remaining at Aberdeen, until the improving weather in spring would permit him to take the field, in full strength, for the final decision of the contest. Meantime, finding himself so situated at that place, from the want of intelligence, (fee, as to be '•'■more in an enemy's country than when warring with the French in Flanders," he, in the districts subjected to his power, visited with the rigours of military execution, the crime of Jacobitism, or loyalty to the ancient dynasty of the nation ; the pillage and conflagration here, as subsequently elsewhere, including even a destruction of Protestant houses of worshi]>, or those of the Episco])al Church of Scotland, on account of the attachment of the Episco[)alians, as well as the Highlanders, to the Stuarts.t During those occiTrrences, Prince Charles, on his route for Inverness, reduced upon honouraVile conditions, and blew up, February 22nd, the English barracks at Ruthven — held, since the preceding summer, with a few men, against very superior numbers, by a stout Iiish Protestant officer. Lieutenant Molloy — and, March 1st, on the Prince's approach. Lord Loudoun and his forces evacuated Inverness, with the exception oi * Chambers. — The Hessians, employed l)y the Georgite Government in Scotland a;j,ainst Prince Charles, have been varionsly enumerated by writers, at from 5000 to ()00() men. In an official or parliamentary document, I tincl this it^m respecting those foreign mercenaries. "Jan. 22, 1746. For the charge of 6172 Hessian troops, being 12G4 horse, and 4908 foot, from Dec. 25, 1745, to Dec. 24, 174G, together with the Subsidy, i)ursuant to Ti'eatj', . . . £161,007 17s. Ir^d.'" t A/t r the war, or according to a "Letter from Inverary," in June, 174B, the Cathobc, and the Protestant Episcopalian, f(n-ms of religion were tolerated as follows in Scotland. "Several Mass houses, ''which were publickly resorted to in the very face of the law, have been pulled down. The Sonjuiing Meetings are generally shut up through the kingdom." But of Protestant E|)iscopaIian churches, alluded to here, under the obnoxious designation of "Nonjuring Meetings," we know, how few, if anj^, on the Duke of (Cumberland's northern line of march, would rema'ni, to he shut up. Such a cai'Pcr of disgusting sacrilege was but a due j.relude to the wholesale barbarities perjietrated in the Highlands after the l>attle fif (AilliKlen — diversified, according to Loixl Mahon, liy ^' races of naked wuiiien on iiuraebui k, Jor the amuneiHtnt oj the cuvqj, at £vrt Auyudtu6 /" IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 435 its Castlo, called Fort George; in which Major Grant of Tvotliiemurchns was left as Governor, with a garrison of 3 companies, 1 of regulars, tlie other 2 brave and well-affected, IG cannon, as many barrels of powder and ball, 100 barrels of beef, &c. But Grant behaved so badly, that, on the 3rd, he gave uf) the Fort, with its garrison, save his precious self ! as prisoners of war ; for which he was subsequently tried, and broken by Court Martial. From the extreme aversion of the Highlanders to jiave any English garrisons among them, this Fort, which cost £50,000, hud likewise to be demolished by gunpowder. Previous to the surrender of Fort George, the Prince was rejoined at Inverness, by Lord George Murray, and the more advanced jjoi-tion of his division of the army; the rest, with whom were the French piquets, or the Irish and Scotch regulars from France, under Brigadier Walter Stajoleton, and Loi'd John Drum- mond, having yet to come up. The Irish, on their march, were reinforced, the 5th, by a detachment of their fellow-soldiers from the Continent, that, in a French brigantine, the Sophie, putting to sea, at night, from Ostend, were at once so lucky as to ehule the numerous hostile cruisers, and to land at Aberdeen in good time, or but the day before it was evacuated by the Jacobites. This detachment, dt-scribed as consisting of about 130 men and officers of the Regiment of Fitz-James, " cloath'cl with red, turn'd ■up with blue," with horse-furniture, arms, breast-plates, and baggage, was received, by the national enthusiasm of the country-people, with joyful acclamations; the very women running out to welcome the strangers, and conducting the officers' horses by tlie reins!* With the Irish of the detacliment, were incorporated some English troopers, that had deserted from their own army to the French, in Flanders; an Englishman, in those times, who, from Jacobite or other motives, migjit wish to desert to the French, having an additional inducement to do so, in the prospect of finding himself quite at home, in point of language, &c., among some of the regiments of the Irish Brigade, which he would not be in a ])urely Frenclb corps; whence, or so far as tending to promote desertion from her enemies, it was an advantage to France, to have those Irish regiments in her service.f The vessel, that brought this reinforcement to Aberdeen, * "Trois compacfnies du E(?a;inient de Fitz-James," writes Voltaire, "aborderent henreuseineut. Lorsque quelque [letit vaisseau abordait, il etait rec^u avec des acclaiuations de jiiie; les femmes couraient au-devaut ; elles menaient par la bride les chevaux des otficiers. " t That gallant Englisliman, Lieutenant John Sliipp, who fought his way np from the ranks, and was in several British regiments, exjjresses himself, in his Memoirs, as moKt gratihed in serving with an Irish corps, the S7tli Regiment of Foot, other- wise " Fogaboloughs," or " clear-the- way " boys. "I must confess," he says, "I do love to be on duty, on any kind of service, with the Irish. There is a proirtpt- ness to obey, an hilarity, a cheerfnl obedience, and willingness to act, which I have rarely met with in any other body of men; Imt wliether, in this particular case, those qualitications had been instilled into them by the rigid discipline of their corps, I know not, or whether these are characteristics of the Irish nation ; bnt I have also observed in that corps. (I mean the S7th Regiment, or Prince's Own Irish,) a degree' of liberality amongst the men, I have never seen in any other corps, — a willingness to share their crust and drop on service with their comrades ; an inde- scribable cheerfulness in obliging and accommodating each other; and an anxiety to serve each other, and to hide each other's faults. In that corps, there was a unity, I have never seen in any other; and, as for lighting, they wei^e verj^ devils. During the Peninsidar Wai', some (ileneral Officer oV)served, to the Duke of Wellington, how unsteadily that corps marched. The noble Duke replied, — 'Yes, General, they dn, indeed; but they ti^ht like devils.' fSo they always will, while they are Irish. In some situations, they are, perhaps, too impetuous; but, if I know anything of tt'O 436 HISTORY OP THE IRISH EIUG \DES had formed a part of tlie embarkations, at Ostend, and Dunkirk, of what I'eiiiaiiied of the Regiments of Fitz-James ami Lally, with other military ami ])ecnniary supplies; respecting which, in pioportion to Prince Charles's increasing need of assistance, the French Court sent most pressing orders, that no etiort should be spared to get over to Scotland; and the Duke of Cundoerland's a])prehensions became so great, concerning the Ii-ish ready to sail fi-om those harbours, that his uneasiness, on this scoi-e, con- tributed to his relinquishing the intention, which he had previously announced, of re-embarking his Hessians for the Continent. But the remainder of the Regiment of Fitz-James, with some of the most distinguished officers of the Irish Brigade, cavahy-equipments, arms, artillery, ammunition, and several thoiisand pounds, dashing out froin Cstend in the Bourbon and the Charite transports, amidst a hard gale, and by night, the better to escape hostile recognition, were, notwithstand- ing the darkness, perceived oft" that port by tlie enemy thi-ough a glass of recent invention, had to strike to his superior force, and were, on the 4th, brought by the IJasthigs^ Triton, Salamander, and Vulcan, under Commo- dore Knowles, into the harbour of Deal. On board the Bourbon were — the Comte Edouard de Fitz- James, (son of the late Mai'shal Duke of Berwick) Colonel of tlie Irish Regiment of Berwick, MarechalMe Camp, or Major- (jl(nieral, and Commandant — Ca])tain Patrick Darcy of Conde's Regiment of Horse, acting as Aide-vle-Camp to the Comte de Fitz-James — the Comte Charles Edvvanl Roth (son of the late Lieutenant-General and Clievalier Michael Roth of Kilkenny) Colonel of the Irish Regiment of Roth, and Maiochal de Cam]\ or Major-General — Brigadiers-General Richard Fi-aucis Talbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell,* Sir Peter Nugent, Baronet, and Matthew Cooke — M. Nugent, Colonel of Horse — M. Betagh, Major of the Regiment of Fitz-James — Captain Nugent — Lieutenants Nugent, Fahy, and Dowdall — Cornets Nugent and Stapleton— Quarter- JMasters Wolferston, Coghlan, Wickham, O'Brien, Cassidy, Mac Dermott, Betagh, and Rockly — a Chaplain, and 4 French officials, viz., a Commis- sary of Artillery, a Treasurer of the Extraordinaries of War, a Chief Commissary of Provisions, and a Surgeon-Major, besides 6 Gunners, 1 Corporal, 1 Miner, and 1 Labourer — of the Regiment of Fitz-James, 5 companies, making together 199 men. In other words. Officers 22, Privates 199, botJi 221, or with Gunners, Corporal, and Miner 229 military effectives — Chaplain, Officials, and Labourer, 6 non-combatants — total of prisoners, 235. On boaixl the Charite wer-e — M. le Baron de Butler, Captain of the Regiment of Fitz-James — M. Cooke, ditto — Lieu- tenants Bcirnwell, Coulaghau, and Butler — Cornets Byrne, Morris, and O'Farrell — Quarter-Masters Martin, Moore, Gei-non, and 2 Farrells — a French Captain of Foot in the Regiment of Monaco, serving here as a Lieutenant-Colonel — of the Regiment of Fitz-James, 4 companies, making together about IGO men. In other words. Officers 14, Privates ItiO — - total combatants prisoners 174. The list of the 36 officers, connected service, this is a fault on the right side ; and what, at the moment, was thought rashuess and niaihiess, lias gained OM England many a glorious victory." ■" Of this Irish uobleiuan, James Ill.'s Scotch Agent at Paris, Lord Semi^ill, writing to him the ])ieceding autumn, or "2'Jnd jSoveml)er, 1745," says — "Lord Tyreconnel is returned fmni the army, l)y the permission of the Court. There is a Very advantageous marriage proposed to him ; biit, he ;issure.s me, nothing shall retard his going, where he can be of any use to your Majesty's service. Tlie ]\liiiister ot tlie War intends to emjiUiy liim in the English expedition." See the meuioir of Lord TyrconiieJi lartiier on, or under the ^ear 1752, IN THE SERVICE OF FKANCE. 437 with the main ]iortinn of tho T{p2;impnt of Fitz-Jamcs here captured, I're- sents several names, that sntKcieutly show what a hiss Chailes suffered, hy the interce|)tiou of tliis convoy. Aiimiinr tlie 359 troopers of the cor])s, there wei-e 34 Eiif,dish, wlio. havini,'- ilcseitiMl to, or heeij made prisoners by, the Fiench, and having, in an evil lioui-. agreed to take service in this regiment wiiich sntfeivd considei-ahly at Fontenoy, were, after reaching iJeal. recognized there as deserters, se]»arated from their com])anions, as specially disentitled to be considered regular prisoners of war, and rnarched away under a strong guard, to London, to be t)-ied there.* The niilitary chest on board, containing £o()()0, or upwards, and the other supplies, were of much less value to the captors, than' they would have been to Charles; to whom nionev, nuire especially, even when a comparatively small sura, was a desideratum, in proportion as, to use Lord Lovat's ■words, "siller would go far in the Highlands." Kor was the Prince more fortunate, with respect to the remainder of the Kegiment of Lallv, that sailed, in several transports, from Dunkirk, when the other endiar- kation took ))lace Jroni Ostend ; but, being chased by an English man-of- war were only so far lucky as to avoid the fate of the Bourb'in and the Citai-ite, in ct)ntriving to get buck to jiort. According to the communica- tion of Captain Shea, or Sliee,+ of the Regiment of Fitz-James to Charles, the entire Irish convoy destined f r him would have been about 800 men (Fontenoy boys!) besides the money they were to bring — an additional or distinct sum from that with Fitz-james's cor{)S being, of course, embarked with the Regiim-nt of Lally, which had to return to Dunkirk. Yet, about the time of the lauding, at Aberdeen, of the detachment of Fitz-James's men from the Sophie, 20{)() louis-d'ors i-eached Charles fi'oni the Continent by Peterhead, and a piquet of the Irish Infantry Kegiment of Berwick is likewise alleged to have managed to arrive safe at Portsoy. On the whole, however. Sir Walter Scott, alluding to the last capture of men and money by Commodore Knowles, notes how "unpitiably rigorous was Fortune, from beginning to end, in all that might be considered the chances from which Piince Charles might receive advantage. The mis- carriage of the reinforcements was the greater, as the supplies of treasure were become almost indispensable. His money now began to run short, so that he was com])el!ed to pay his soldiers partly in meal, which caused great discontent. Many threatened to abandon the enterprise; some actually desei-ted." Immediately after the fall of Fort George, the reduction of Fort * The first executions ordered in England, after the battle of Culloden, in connex- ion with the civil war, were those of 5 of tlie Foot Guards,, who, having been made ]iriponers at Fontenoy, then listing into the Regiment of Fitz-.Janies, and finally, beino- ^\itll the detachment of that coriis interce[>ted hy Commodore Knowles, were con- demned to be shot, as deserters, in Hyde Park. Of the 5 thus executed, 2 appear to have been Catholics. t Tlie clan of O'Seagha, O'Shea, or O'Shee, — otherwise modernized or anglicized into "Shea," or "Shee" without the " 0' ''—are related to have been of v^ry old royal origin, and to have possessed the Barony of Ivenigh, iu the County of Kerry, down to that general disturbance of tlie ancient order of things in Monster, at the latter end of the 12th cfntnry, which was a result of the Anglo-Norman invasion. .Since then, the race has fiourished elsewhere in li-elaiul, and other countries ; dis] Jay ing, through several of its representatives, respectability or distinction in various stations, or pursuits, including some of the most honourable. For adherence to King James II. in the War of the Revolution, 8 cavaliers alone, of the branch long established in Kilkenny, are mentioned as attainted in KJill, or proscribed for WiUiamite spoliation ; and, to the ditfereut corps of the Irish Brigade, as well i3S IIISTOKY or THE IllISII BRIGADES Angnstns was assij^ned by Cli:u-k>s to Bi-icjatlier Walter Stapleton and 300 of his " Fi-ench Irisli." di- "Irish picqucts," as they are variously designated — in either case, more correctly, than as, in other instances, merely " French troO|)s," and " French piquets." They exe'cuted their task in a few days; an outw(jrk or hanaek, in an old tower, occupied by a Sei'jeant and 12 men, beiijg snon niasti'i-ctl ; and artillery, laboriously brought from a ened at Stirling Casth', whii-h was not so strong." While a body of Highlanders nnnaiued betor*^ the place, to keep the Georgeite gari'ison from devastating the country, the troublesome conveyance of the siege artillery, Arc, was connnitted to the Irish. ''The distance," says Home, "from Inverness to Fort William was Gl miles, and the intervening hilly road, in great part a continuation of steep paths and passes, so retarded the Irish troops with tlieir cannon, that they took many days to reach the Fort." The l)atteries could not V)e raised and lin? opened till Mai-ch 31st; from which time, "by tlu^ Irish and Higidanders united," adds Chambers, "the most \igorous attemjits were made to obtain ]iossession of tin' place, but without avail." These operations, attended with the I'ndiirance of much fatigue and hardship, continued till April 14 til, when the necessity for uniting all the Jacobite foi'ces, against the advance of the Duke of Cundjcrland, caused the siege to be terminated; Brigadier Stapleton spiking his heavy ,7uns, bringing away his tield-pieces, and marching off to join the Prince ao Inverness; "heaving the High- landers and their Chiefs, to follow when they pleased." During this siege, other officers connected witii Ireland and France, as well as Spain, were active in the Prince's cause. March 29th, an advanced detachnnMit of Georgeites, consisting of a Captain of Argyleshire Militia with 70 foot, and a Cornet with 30 of Kingston's Light Horse, were despatched, in the evening, from a consider- able corps of their army, at Strathbogie, towards Keith. After halting in the dark, at a cautious oi- half-way dist;ince from the latter place, for a considerable time, or until assured by a Pres'iyterian Minister, acting as their guide and spy, that none of the Prince's troops were there, the Georgeites, with a due tlourish from their Captain in the shape of orders, that, if ail action should occur, they should neitlier give nor take quarter, about (hivlight, on the 30th, entered the defenceless village, making them- selves snila 'ly unwelcome there l)y breaking ojien shops, and plundering. as to French ie.;iiiients, down to our own days, the O'Sheas, or Shees, have S'ip|ilit'(l ()tlioer>% some of liii^li rank, and several of then 'Jhevaliers of St. Louia. Tlic name, too, has been of uote ni the Austiiau service. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. ' 439 But Major Nicholas Glascock of Ogilvie's regiment, previously of Dillon's in the Irish Brigade, and already noticed at the capture of the Hazard sloop, taking from Fochabers a select party of Jacobite foot, consisting of IG of the piquet-men from France, iJO of Roy Stuart's regiment under a Captain Stuart, a detachment from Ogilvie's regiment, aiul 20 or 30 iiorse of dilferent corps under a Lieutenant Simpson, in all 200 men, aboiit midnight entered Keith, surprised the sentinel, and attacking witJi cries of "God save Prince Charles! — ye rebels, yield or die!" in less than an hour, so disposed of the Georgeite pillageis, that, between the loss they suffered in slain, and in prisoners, the number of whom was about 80, no more than 7 remained, to scamper back to Strathbogie; of whom 1 was obliged to have his shattered arm cut off there. In this enterprise, con- sidered equally bold and dangerous, as directed against a post almost in tlie centre of the places occupied by the enemy's forces, Major (xlascock, who gained much credit by it for prudence and skill, had Ca)>tain Stuart, and a good many, especially of Ogilvie's detachment, wounded, but only 1 man belonging to the piquets, who led the attack, killed. It was an affair, which, says a Scotch Jacobite officer, "had a very good effect, and made such an impressicm on the English, that, conceiving themselves insecure everywhere, they were obliged to redouble their service in" a severe season,* "in that cold and mountainous country; the fatigues of which occasioned so much disease, tliat the hospitals of Aberdt-en, the head-quarters of the Duke of Cumberland, were continually tilled with their sick." Towards the end of March, an expedition against Lord Loudoun, and his Georgeite forces in Sutherland, was undertaken by General O'Sullivan, with the Duke of Perth, Lord Cromarty, and a chosen body of nearly 2000 men. Availing themselves of a dense mist of several days' dura- tion, as well to collect a sufficient number of fishina:-craft for ci-ossinji the Moray Frith, as to elude the hostile vessels there, the Jacobites, on Mai-cli 31st, at 8 in the morning, landed abiiut 2 miles west of Dornoch in Sutherland ; to the proportionate surpi-ise of Lord Loiuloun, who con- ceived that all boats were withdrawn to lois side of the water, and that the English shi[)ping were an additional security to him against any attempt from the utJier side ! The result of this well-effected passage was such a discomfiture and dispersion of his Lordship's followers, attended by a loss of 3 vessels in the Frith of Tain with arms, military stores, j)rovisions, and valuables jjut on board at the evacuation of Inverness, that his Lordship, and his very busy and intriguing Georgeite coadjutoi-. President Forbes of Culloden, were obliged to take refuge, with 800 men, in the Isle of Sk3'e.t But O'Sullivan, and the Duke of Peitli, *I correct the Chevalier de Johnstone's oversight, in writing "the midst of winter." But, what is such a venial lai)se of memory to the comparative "mortal Bin " of Sir Walter Scott's incorrectness, with respect to this matter at Keith. ''A party," he states, "of 100 regulars were suri)rised at the village of Keith, and entirely slain, or made prisoners, by John Ro;/ SUiart!^'' The foot, who formed above "i-Srds of the Georgeites at Keith, were not regulars, and John Roy .Stuart did not command thvre at all. f But for 2 hours' time, which the Jacobites, after their landing in Sutherland, lost, in parleying with the 1st outpost of Lord Loudoun's force ere they obliged it to surrender. Lord George Murray considers, that Lord Loudoun, and most of hie- men, could have been ca[jtured. Lord (ieorge here, a* usual, n'lftlJcs at O'Sullivan, alleging, " I was told the Duke of I'ertli was advised in this by Mr. O'Sullivan." But Mr. Ghambers more ./"s-'/y remarks of the im])olitic delay of the Jacoljites ou this occasion — " It is uot improbable, that this procedure was iu cousec^ueuce of aii 440 H.STORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES having to return to Inverness, and tlie prosecition of the recent snccess, a comparatively easv task, devolving npon J.ord Cromarty, that nohle- nian was \nifortunately so far from being " the right man in the right ))hice," that all previously gained in this quarter was lost, and himself finally, or April 26th, made jiri^-'oner,* after the occurrence, through his remissness, of another loss, more fatal, or irrepai-able. From the comparative narrowness and poverty of the territory, to ■which, since the raising of the siege of Stirling, the Jacobites had been confined, and the increased facility thereby affoi-ded to the numerous and active English cruisers for intercepting vessels attempting to reach that territory with assistance fiom the Cf)ntinent, Cliarles was at last reduced to such straits for money, that his troops had not received any for several weeks. He ex])ected, however, a supply, from Dunkirk, of between j£12,000 and £13,000, which was to be accompanied by a number, als» much required, of experienced engineers and veteran officers, mostly Irish, others Scotch, etc., in the French and Spanisli services, together with a detachment from the Irish Regiment of Berwick, several chests of arms, and some barrels of powder. This cargo, so invaluable under the circuivistances, was to be conveyed in the vessel already mentioned as called the Hazard, when captured at Mf)ntrose from the English, and Tinder its subsequent change of name to the Prince Charles, also referred to as having proved so useful to the Prince by its repeated passages between Scotland and the Continent, notwithstanding the many odds, almost amounting to a certainty, that it would be recovered, on some of those passages, by its former masters. Such dangerous odds being now- greater than ever, at the same time that the importance of the vessel reaching its destination was equally great, the command was confided to a gentleman highly and deservedly in favour with the Lieutenant General, Charles O'Brien, Lord Clare, and Earl of Thomond, whose zeal for the Stuarts could not have made a better recommendation for their service on this occasion. The gentleman so selected. Captain Talbot, an Irishman, was of distinguished reputation anK)ng the naval officers of France as a privateerer ; having been intrusted with several vessels fitted out for that line of action, in which he made many ex{)edi- tions against the enemy, with so much intelligence, valour, and success, that no one a})peared more worthy of commanding the Prince Charles, in this ver}' difficult emei-gency. The orders for sailing were so pressing, and the execution of them was of such consequence, that, notwithstand- ing the nuuiber of the English ships of various sizes, or men-of-war and privateers, on the watch, under Comu\odore Mitchell, along tlie French and Flemish coasts, 5 different attenqits wei'e made by the Irish Captain to leave Dunkii'k, and, as might be expected, all without success. Ou the 6th effort, baffling the British Commodore in a thick fog, Talbot did get out ; yet with no better luck than to be soon after discovered, encountered off Ostend by the enemy's su))erior force, and diiven ashore there, apparently so damaged, that it was published in Loudon, " the anxiety, entertained by individuals in the" Jacnbite "detachment, to avoid, if at all possilile, a hostile colli.sinn with" tlie Geor^eite "troop.s, amongst which were some of their own nearest relatives. The Chevalier Johnstone informs us, that at least Macdonald of 8cothouse, the first cadet of the house of Clanranald, was under feelings of this kind, having a son, an othcer, uiider Lord Loudoun." * The Earl was surprised and taken, by improperly staying be'iind his forces, with some of his officers, at Dunrobin Castle; delaying, we are told, "to see a few bottles out," aud "witnessing, it is said, the tricks of a juggler." IN THK SKRVTCE OF FRANCE. 441 Hazard sloop, which has bpen so nsefiil to the Pretender's affairs, in p.issing and repas^sing fVoni Dunkirk to Scotland, is drove on shore near Usteiid, by 1 of our men-of-war. and destroyed." But, though driven on shore, the Irish Captain managed to get off again, and into Ostend, by tlie same tide, where he repaired the damage he had received. He then hoisted sail, with Fortune, however, still against him, being attacked, in sight of that port, by 2 English ])rivateers, and suffering so much, as to be obliged to \mt l);ick iu order to relit; the enemy, meantime, increasing the strength of their naval blockade. Nevertheless, his vessel was such an excellent sailer, that she escaped the vigihince and pursuit of 6 or 7 English ships, cruising oif Ostend to intercept her. Having thus, at last, gained the o])en sea, the indefatigable Talbot proceeded on his voyage, until, off Troopshead, where 4 British ships of war, the Eltham of 4U, Hound of IG, Shark of 16, and Slieerness of 20 guns, with the Marii, a tender, were at anchor, he was descried, and duly bore away to avoid them. The Eltliam, giving the signal for a counse, the Slicerness, which, under its previous commander, Captain Bully, had, last year, captured some of the Irish Brigade, was, under his successor, an Irish Protestant gentleman, Captain O'Brien,* ready to start in less than .5 minutes; when, a more exciting chase, than that between Achilles and Hector on another element, ensued between the 2 Irish Captains. It continued for above 150 miles, quite through the Pentland Frith; a I'unning fight, against O'Brien's less encumbered or more manageable strength, being kept up, with great skill and courage, for 5 hours, by Talbot, while making signals of disti^ess, to which there was no response from the land; until, after suffering a considerable loss in killed and wounded, he drove the Prince Charles aground, among the shallows of Tongue Bay, in such a manner as to avoid being followed or captured by O'Brien, and yet without sacrificing the vessel and her cargo, in order to escape. On reaching the shore, April 5th, late in the evening, the harassed officers and men of the Prince Charles, (leaving, as in their situation of comparative unimportance to remove, 14 chests of justols atid sabres, and 13 barrels of powder aboard,) landed the boxes of money, the delivery of which was the main object of the voyage; securing the treasure for the night in the house of one William MacKay of Melness, who was thought to be rather favourable than otherwise to the Stuart cause ; and whose son George engaged to do his best as a guide next morning, for a march to reach Lord Cromai-ty. But the MacKays were unfor-tunately a hostile or Georgeite clan, and had not been i-educed to a submission, or neutrality, as they might have been, by that nobleman. The Chief of his name, George MacKay, 3rd Lord Reay, resided so near the Jacobite ]Mnding-])lace, that he soon obtained sufficient information respecting the stranded vessel, and its crew, &c.,whom he accordingly resolved to intercept. His Lordship, though, from his advanced age of above 70, incapable of heading the enter[)rise himself, was able, by day-break, on * O'Brien was a name of note at tins period, in the British navy, in the person of another Captain O'Brien, since 1742, of the Princess Po>/al of 90 guns, after having, as Vice-Admiral in Russia, iu 1740, disciplined the Oronstadt squadron for the Einpress Anne. As he had a son in command of a British sliip-of-war, the Captain of the Sheerr.css may have been that son. Several Irishmen, it may be here observed en passant, attained, during this century, high rank in the sea as well as the land service of France, Spain, aud Russia. 412 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES tlie ntl], to despatch in piu-snit 50 of his own MacKay vassals, headed by the active and courageous factor or agent of his estates, Mr. Daniel Fdrbe.s ; to be followed Ijy his LordsliiiAs own son, a Cajttain-, and by- other officers of tlie Regiment of Loudoun, with about 80 of that corps, who had taken refuge in this quarter, after Lord Loudoiir\'s recent surpi'ise and defeat ; and, in aid of those pursuing parties, expresses were sent tlirougli tlie country, to summon every fighting man to rise. Meantime the officers and men of the Prince Charles had set out early on their march, l)ut were forsaken by their double-dealing guide, George MacKay, and were thus left at a loss how to ]jroceed along the sands, with a mountain before them, when, at about 2 hours after day-break, they received a summons to surrender; adding that, if they did not, n(me of them could pass the mountain before them, as they would be all slain, or made prisoners. This summons was from the indefatigable Forbes, who with 11 of the most active of the MacKays had come np; concealing the smallness of their number behind a hill. The Jacobites refusing to surrender, Forbes and his men tired upon them, and being pursued to their hill, ran from it, with the speed of Highlanders, to another hill, repeating their fire. The contest was maintained in this manner for some time, while the number of the Georgeites continued to increase, till "at length 2 drums were heard from the lofty and steep jiass of Duag, at the west shoulder of Ben-Lyall, the loud echoes of wdiich, from the hollows of the mountain, exceeded the noise of 20 drums," and Ca])tain George MacKay a])pearing with a fresh company, the hai-assofl and betrayed Jacobites, without a guide, in a strange country, about to be closed on in front, flank, and rear, and hampered witli what they had to guard against opponents in their own country, fresh for action, and entirely unfettered in their movements, under such a discouraging state of things, natiu-ally considered a further resistance would be as hopeless as it would be useless, and thus found themselves " compell'd by too sevei-e a fate" to surrender with the treasure, which tliey had made such praiseworthy exertions to convey to its proper destination. My MacKay a,uth(n'ity admits, in reference to their surrender, "they could not at any rate have joined the rebels,''' alluding to Lord Cronmrty; " for the country people from Durness and Edilerachillis would have soon come uj), and some of Loudon's troops were before them in Suthei-- land and Ross." But such would 7iut have been the case, if Lord Cromarty did his duty; since, had he, or any other leader in his place, advanced, observes Lord George Murray, " with 6 or 700 men through Seaforth's country, the way Lord Loudon fled, they would have been joined by many more; and" had "the same number gone to Lord Kea's country to take security from them," the MacKays, " that they would no more carry arms against us, we would have liad tlie good fortune to have saved the money, <£'c." For, even after the success in capturing that money, an attack from Lord Cromarty was so much dreaded by the MacKays, that, says my Georgeite account, " Lord Reay and his friends, being apprehensive of a visit from the rebels, embarked with their treasiu-e and prisoners" for Aberdeen — or abandoned their country by sea, as unable on land to resist an invasion of it, if under- taken by Lord Groinarty ! The following were the officers from France, taken with the money. Colonel Brown of the Irish Regiment of Lally, previous!}' distin- guished in the retreat from Derby, afterwards successful iu escaping IN TIIE SERVICE OP FKANCE. 443 from Carlisle, then, as having signalized himself at Falkirk, despatched vvitii the acconnt of that success to Louis XV., by whom he was made a Chevalier of St. Louis, and finally a])i)ointed to command of all the military from France in the Frince 6'A(X9-/eA'~ Captain Talbot of thot vessel* — Cajitain MacMahon, commandant of the piquet from the Iri.sU Regiment of Berwick — Ca))tain Rogers, and Lieutenants Nugent, IVToriis. and 2 Barnewalls of the same Irish corps — Lieutenants O'Brien and Birmingham, and a gentleman named O' Byrne (rank unspecitied) of tlie liisli Regiment of Clare — Captain MacMahon of the Regiment of Haiiiault in tlie French service — Lieutenant Wyer, and Basil Bai-nevvall (rank unspecified) both of the Royal Scotch Regiment in same service — Ca])tain Gould and Lieutenant Hynes of the Irish Regiment of Ultonia, or Ulster, in the Spanish service — C&ptain MacPherson of the Irish Regiment of Hibernia in same service — Captain St. Clair (or Sinclair) of the Regiment of Virst in that service — Cajitains O'Farrell and Hay of Spanish cor])S not particularized — M. Chabellard of the Gens d'Arnns of the Guard of Louis XV. Of these 21 officers, not less than 16 were Irish, 4 perliaps Scotch, and 1 French, by liirth or origin. The soldiers of the piquet from the Irish Regiment of Berwick were about (SO. The "whole of the ca])tured detacliment, or landsmen and seamen of every rank, amounted to l/)6, of whom but a few were Scotch, and neaily all Irish; scarc(-ly any French being on board, except sailors. The general total originally, or befbi'e sailing from the Continent, was greater; the officers at Ostend, instead of but '1\, being leferred to as 30, and the soldiers of Berwick's piquet, instead of but 80, being noticed as 90 or 100. And, from between 30 and 40, to above 40, being vai'iously stated as killed in the sea and land combats, the ])roportion of wounded would be 'iiiariy more in amount; which propoition, as including such aninnber of those who I'emained, would not be without its effect in causing the final surrender. Some days previous to this most "untoward event" for the Jacobites, we likewise read, in the news])a])ers, under the head of " Hague, April 1st, N. S.," the frustration of a further effort, by a body of the Irish Brigade, to get away, by night, from the Continent for Scotland; the announcement stating, according to "letters from Zealand and Dutch Flanders, that tlie returned ti^anspoi-ts, with the Irisli troops on board, made a fresh attempt, last Saturday night, to stretch over to Scotland; but, falling iu with sf)me of his Brittanuick Majesty's ships of war, were chased, and driven back the next day into Ostend." If Prince Charles failed in his enterpi-ise, it was certainly not from any deficiency of zeal for his interest, on the part of the Irish military in the service of France. The Duke of Cumber'land, since the establishment of his head-quarters, fnmi the earlier portion of March, at Aberdeen, or dui'ing the .sevei'e season, which prevented a general prosecution of hostilities, had directed, his attention to the remodelling of his army, and the collection, by land * The gallant Talbot, after being long prisoner-of-war in England, and at much exT)ense for the subsistence of his crew aud attendants there, met with some obstacles to his reimbursement by the Government in P'l-auce, till he was at last repaid, through the interest of the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond with M. Ilimille, Secretaire d'Etat de la Marine, as I find by that Miuister's letter of Septemlier 27th, 1749. In addition to the information dei-ived from the puhlica- tions of the day respecting the Ii-ish Cajitain's voyage, &c. , with the money, I have consulted the " History of the House and Clau of MacKay," Edinburgh, 1829, by a gentleman of that name. 444 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES and sea, of every essential foi' taking the field in the best condition. "Tl'm Ivoyal Highness," writes a contemporary, "hath applied himself, witli diligence, to reform all abuses in the army; particuiarly he hath lately broke 50 ifficers, some of them for coivardice at the late battle of Falkirk, and some others because tliey weie but boi/s, and such as he looked on to be very rmtit for the command of bi-ave men, and too soft to endure the si'verities of such a campaign.* And he has, in order to till their vacant commissions, advanced such Serjeants and otheis, who, by their good behaviour, have proved themselves worthy of that honour, and from whose ex))erience. in military affairs, his Royal Highness expects better conduct, es])ecially that now they find merit alone briiuja prefennentP By these and other corresponding measures, the Duke was able, April l'.)th, to leave Aberdeen, with everything in the fittest order for bringing the way to a conclusion. His army, by most trustworthy estimates on its own side, could muster, for the day of battle, in round numbers, thus: regular infantry, 15 battalions, with those attached to artillery, ToOO — -militia infantry, 1 battalion, oOO — or total of foot, 8060 — cavalry, 2 regiments of dragoons, and 1 of horse, 900 — total infantry, artillery, and cavalry, for battle, 8960 — besides a militia reserve of nearly 1000, constituting a general aggregate of above 9960 men. His field train consisted of IG pieces, managed by skilful gunners ;+ and a well-stored provision-fleet, with ships of war, advanced by sea, so as to insure the troops against any want of subsistence on shore, in their march for Inverness, the Jacobite metropolis and head-quarters. Meanwhile Prince Charles's resources, for the support of his adherents in a contest against an enemy supjilied with everything, were dwindling away to notliing. In addition to the absence of the detachment with Lord Cromarty, the cessation of all ])ay in money, even for a considerable time preceding the unfortunate capture of the treasure with Ca[)tain Talbot, had caused a dispersion of luauy of the Highlanders, for subsistence, to places too distant from Inverness, to admit of their reaching it soon enough to encounter the a])]iroaching Georgeites; and such a force as Charles could draw together there, for that purpose, were sadly inferior to the CTiemy in number, and still worse off in other respects. The whole — including, among others. Brigadier Stapleton's and Lord George Murray's previously-decached cor|)S — the latter o'bliged to raise the blockade of Blair Castle upon the advance of a body of Hessians, &c. ^ — are alleged, on their side, to have * "To observe some officers, both in the army and fleet," complains an Enolish metro})olitan journal in 174G, "one wonltl be tempted to take rei^iments and ships not only for scltoul , m the literal sense, but even for nurnerles.''' The indio-naut jovu-nalist then descants on how " those who yive commissions ran l>e so mist^iken, or are. so dishonest, as to think they can answer to their country the disposal of them in sucli a manner," &c. t My 2 leading Gleorgeite authorities, for enumerating the Duke's infantri/, are the following : — 1. "Return of the Number of Officers and Men in each Battalion of the Fling's Army the Day of the Battle of Culloden " — with an annexed general computation, or one, in round numbers, of the strength of its militia and cavalry. 2. ''Account of the Distribution of the sura of £-4000 anumgst the Kegiments engaged at Culloden, the Number on the Spot, and the Sums allowed to Each, acc(U-ding to the Apportioinnent transmitted by His Royal Highness, the Duke." Each of these documents supplies .Sirme defect of the other; yet l/ofh leave us in the dark, as to the full amount of the commissioned officers. The Duke's caviilry are taken fiom Lord Mahon as 900 ; and, according to the London printed "Plan of the Battle near Culloden House," the Duke's (lans there were Ui. X I merely allude here to Lord George Murray's lorce, as there were no Irish with it. rs THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 445 heen finally in action not at fMrtbest above 5000 —if. indcod, they were so many, since Cliailes liiniself estiniated tlieni to Louis XV. as luit 4000. Of these, the liorse, consisting one-halt of Fitz-Janiess men, were no nioi-e than 150, and worn out with tlie hai-d day und night duty which neces- sarily devolved upon them, as the on/// cavalry remaining. The artillery for the field amounted to 12 pieces; but, as the result showed, with very inefiiicient gunners; mostly, if not altogether, mere native or Highland substitutes, it would seem, for the trained Frenchmen, killed off at the recent destructive sieges. As regards food, all were on the verge of starvation; even officers of rank being reported as glad to get cabVjage- leaves from farmers' gardens; and the soldiers receiving only supplies, and those not regulai-ly, of meal, or what was called meal, which they had to convert into money, at a rate that went btit too short a way to maintain them; so that the poor fellows grumbled very much, as suspect- ing, though unjustly, that their pay was detained by the officers, and the obnoxious meal substituted. Of this so-called meal, when the army was drawn (mt in a bleak and proportionably hunger-exciting position, the day previous to that on which they were engaged, all the ])rovision receiv'ed was a small loaf, biscuit, or bannock a man, "and so7iie not even that!" Uj)on such a wrek-hed allowance, Mr-. Chambei's, who tasted a piece, "carefully preserved foi- 81 years by the successive members of a Jacobite family," remarks — " It is imjtossible to imagine a composition of greater coarseness, or less likely either to jjease, or satisfy, the appetite; and, perhaps, no recital, however eloquent, of the miseries to which Charles's army was I'educed, could have impressed the reader with so strong an idea of the real extent of that misery, as the sight of this singular 7'elic. Its ingredients appeared to be niereUj the Imsks of oats, and a coarse, unckan species of dust, sinidar to what is found upon tlie floors of a mill!" In a word, the Prince was ultimately so situated, that he should either order his adherents to disperse, and, at the same time, proceed to ])rovide for his own safety, or, with such as were still in a body, should give battle immediately, whatever might be the disadvantages on his side, since he had neither money nor provisions left, to admit of a middle course of action, by any attempt to defer an enga,(jement.* And tlds, though, as * In the " Particular Account of the Battle of Culloden," by " an Officer of the Highland Army," &c., dated from Lochaber, in May, 1746, published at London iu 1749, and republished, iinder another heading, or title, iu the Lockliart Papers, the writer athrms — " I am positively inforni'd, that the whole Highland army did noC consist of above 5000 tighting rcen " — misprinted, by the way, as "7000" in tlie republication — and he states, "there were not above 150 horse, of which one half," i. c, 75, " was of the Regiment of Fitz-James." Of this handful of cavahy, inunediately previous to the action, he adds — "The horse of the Prince's army had been all on so hard duty, for several days and nights before, that none of them were tit foi' patrolling at that time ' — ol ('umberland's advance to engage. In the descri]>- tion we have of the contemporary 2>rint of the battle, it is alleged of the Prince's artillery-men, " aW of whom appear to wear kilts like the rest" — that is, were no better than native or very inferior substitutes for his former French gunners, as intimated in the text. The number of the Prince's cannon in the engagement is given from the jiublished line of battle. Mr. Chambers and Lord Mahon atfree, as to the Prince not having had above .5000 combatants there. According, however, to the memorial to Louis XV., of November 10th, 174(), from Charles hini>ielf, he fought at Culloden with only "quatre mille hommes," or l^ut " 40U0 men." Smollett like- wise makes the Prince's force no higher. In tine, remarks the " Highland otKcer." above-mentioned, of his coinitrynien there — "Another misfortune they lay under wa.-<, a total want of jirovisions, so that then ircre rcdiicpd to the nt'ccxnitji, fitln-r of fijlitiii!/ (1)1 arm;/ a third stroiicin\ fitfirv, nr disp'ruf.." But the (ieorgeite army was, as has beeu shown, mure than "a third stronger." 416 niSTORY OF THE IRISIT BRIGADES Lord George Murray notes, but a day's delay, for that object, would have made the Jacobite force nearly 2000 stronger! The Georgeite army, in its march northwards, April 23rd-24th, reach'^d and crossed the river Spey, partly about Fochabers, "where," writes an English Volunteer, "I observed several good houses, and peo))le of fashion stinding, looking at ns, but," he significantly adds, "not one ]jers(>n to \vish us good success !" Before the enemy's superior force, the Prince's outposts withdrew, to join his other troops, concenti'ating towards Inver- ness. On this retreat, the Irish, as " French piquets, Fitz-Janies's horse, French horse," are thus noticed by the Mac Donald journal. " Clan- ranald's battalion had the rear, together with the French piquets and Fitz-James's horse, to cover us from the enemy's strong advanced guard, our French horse and they often exchanging shots, and once we thought they were to have actually engaged ; upon which, our regiment, and th% Stewarts of Ajjpin, under Ardshiels, were ordered back, to supy^ort the French. Upon our advanceing, Fitz-James's horse formed themselves into the wings of our right and left, upon which, their," the enemy's, "advanced guard of 200 horse, and the Argyleshire Campbells as militia, iinniediatly halted, and drew u]) in order also, but we, perceiving their whole army advanceing, retreated again." In the continuation of the Duke's march, oil the 25th, from Alves to Nairn, some of the Irish piquets are mentioned by Home, a.s, from one end of the bridge of the latter place, exchanging sliots with the British grenadiers at the other; and the Jacobite retreat tlience is also referred to by that writer, as covered by a troop of the Irish, or Fitz-James's, Regiment of Horse, with the 2nd "Troop of the Prince's Horse Guards, till 5 or 6 miles farther on, oi zl the Lough of the Clans, Charles himself, riding up unexpectedly fi-om Inverness, with his 1st Troop of Horse Guards, followed by the Regiment I'f Mac Into.sh, ordered a halt and formation of the entire body to receive the attack of the Georgeite pursuers, who were very near. Upon which, the latter, as then ontiiund)ered, fell back, retiring to their arm}'^, encamped about Naiin ; while the united Jacobite corps proceeded unmolested to form a like juncticm with their main force. Ere evening, the whole were led by t'harles out of Inverness, to bivouack around CuUoden House, where he and his chief officers quartered that night. Next morning, the 26th, about 6 o'clock, they were marched farther off, or between 4 and 5 miles, from Inverness, to Drummossie Muir, and posted in order of battle, to meet the Duke of Cumberland, expected that day from Nairn. The Duke, however, not appearing, since, that being his birth-day, he and his troops Avere spending it in corresponding festivity, a night-attack upon the English, after their carouse, was, as most likely to succeed, proposed by Loid George Murray to Charles; who consented to it, as a measure already conten)])lated by himself — not imjirobably at the suggestion of his military Mentor, O'Sullivan* — and the design was accordingly under- * By an extract, in the newspapei's, of a " Letter from Edinbnrgli," respecting tl e acticn at Cullodeii, we are told, of the Hip;hlaiKl force — "Early on Wednesday 11 cmiiiii: Mr. Sullivan advised, that they should fall upon the Duke, as his army V I uld he overwhelmed with sleep and wine, the day before beiiiu his Koyal High- nss"s liirth-day." It is not unworthy of observation, that 16(j3 3'ears before, or A. D. 83, on the advance of the Koman General, Agricola, auaiiist the Caledonians, m der similarly advautageous circumstances to those of the Duke of Cumberland against the Highlanders, or with superior strength by sea as well as by land, a iioctninal surprise was considered by the ('aledoniaus the best mode of op]>osiDg the invader, vvevious to the more general and decisive engagement at the Grami'ian IN THE SE:!V:CE of FrtANX'E, 447 taken by Lord Crfornjo, with O'Snllivan, and the Princp. to the watch- won! (sf liis liiLiier s naLiorud title, as " King James VIII." But. from various obstacles to the success of the entery)rise, the result of the attempt was nothing better than a long march, to Kilravock and back to Culloden ; necessarily reducing, by proportionate fatigue, hunger, and weakness, the physical efficiency of the unfortunate Jacobite force, that, as if its previous ]>rivatiou and suffering were not enough, had thus, under an agyiavation of those evils, to encounter the Duke of Cumberland. "Strength is derived fi-om sjiirits and from l)lood, And those aui;'inent by ueu'rous wine and food: What boastful son of war, vvitliont that stay, Can Jast a hero through a single day? Courage niay prompt ; hiTt ehliing out his strength, Jlere unsu])])orted man must yifld at length ; Shrunk with dry famine, and with toils declin'd, The droo])iug body will desert the mind.'' Pope's Homer, Iliad, xix., 159-166. About 5 in the morning of the 27th, the di.sappointed, harassed, and famished troops returned from Kilravock to Culloden Moor, and some threw themselves down to rest, and others dispersed several miles round as far as Inverness for food or drink, when, in less than 3 hours, or between 7 and 8, Charles, who, after obtaining with difficulty some bread and whisky, had likewi.se retired to take some repose at Culloden House, was ai'oused by intelligence of the van of the enemy being not above 2, and the rest not above 4, miles off. He consequently mounted for the tield with his General Officers, and the scattered men were signalled by cannon shot, and the trumpet, diami, and pipes, to return for the engage- ment that was ap])roaching; a summons with which though numbers complied, yet too many were unable to do so. O'Sullivan, as Adjutant- General and Quarter-Master-General, drew up the army in a position ag suitable as circumstances permitted; or upon ground less eligible, indeed, than some not far off on the south side of the Nairn, where the High- landers would be most favourably situated, as com{)arativeIy inaccessible to the hostile cavalry and cannon; but a spot, the occupation of which im]ilied "utter ruin," as uncovering or abandoning the last or oidy depot-town of Inverness to the enemy; while the locality selected, in order to cover that town, and the corresponding military arrangements fif the Irish officer, were admitted to be " very good," on the natural su))position, that the Georgeites, from their very superior numbers, would endeavour to dislodge their opponents by assault. That, however, was not to be the case; almost everything seeming to co-operate, on this occasion, for the final ruin of the Stuart cause. Each army was arrayed, in 2 lines, with a reserve. The cannonade, commenced shortly after 1 Hills. "The fleet, now acting for the first time in concert with the land-forces," writes Agricola's biographer, ''proceeded in sight of the army, forming a magnifi- cent spectacle, and addnig terror to the war. ... In this distress, the Cale- donians I'esolved to try the issue of a battle," but afterwards "changed their plan, and, in the dead of night, fell, with their united force, upon the 9th legion, then the weakest of the Eoman army. They surprised the advanced guard, and having, in the confusion of sleep and terror, put the sentinels to the sword, they forced their way through the intrenchments. The conflict was in the very camp " — so that had not Agricola appeared, by "break of day," for the "relief of the legion" in its "distress,' it would probably have been destroyed. See Murphy's Tacitus, Life Ot Agncola 448 HISTORY OP THE inisn brigades o'clock by tlie Prince's artillery, was of little effect; the fire of the Duke"«, on the contrary, being so iuMiipportably galling, that, in about 20 niirnitc*^, the Highland force were obliged to forfeit their only advan- tage, or thit of tlieir ])osition, by quitting it, in order to become, though the weaker, the attacking i)arty ; at the same time, that a strong north- east wind, attended with a thick shower of snow and sleet, made what was bad worse, by blowing the smoke of the artillery and small arms into their faces. Nevertheless, "As near extinct, the torch new liohfc acquires, Revives its Hauie, and in a lihize exjiires; So they, Avheu scarce the blood maintain d its course, With kindled ire reuruit its dying force ; Resolve tlieir last of days with fame to spend, And crown their actions with a glorious end I " HooLES Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xix., M3-I4S.* Led on, by the heroic Lord George IMurray, sword in hand, the right, consisting of the Athol men, the Camerons, Stewarts of Apj>in, etc., rushed, with a loud shout, to engage the English left. So destructive WHS the combined tire of the English nnisketry, and field-pieces loaparently by the Stewai-ts,) had 82 men horti de combat, making, with the 125 men previously mentioned, an admitted total of 207 slain or hurt for both regiment.';, t In the centre, the 1st line of the English had also to yield, especially to the impetuosity of the Mac Intoshes, never before in action ; who, anticipating even their right, under Lord George Murray, in dashing to the charge, ])enetrated far beyond the enemy's cannon; the Major of the clan, John Mor Macgilvra, a powerful swordsman, having brought down 12 men there with his trusty claymore, ere he was despatched by the reinforcements sent against him, and his * An adaptation of a passage in the last noble combat of Tancred and Argantes. + The above })articulars respecting the Kegimeuts of Barrell and Dejean, with the exception of the loss of the colours, are taken from Georueite published authorities, combined with the account of the gallant Dcjmty- Paymaster of the Prince's army, Robert Nairn, communicated to Home. The loss of its colours by Barrell's re^i- ment, hitherto, I believe, unacknowledged in print, is given from a letter, dated Inverness, A]ii-il 22nd, 0. S., 174G, of Thomas Ashe Lee, Captain -Lieutenant in Wolfe s regiment at the battle— for a cojiy of which document, I am indebted to my friend, W. J. Fitz-Patrick, Esq., of Kilmacud Manor, Stillorgan, so well known by his various writings. The (ieorgeite olKcer's words are — " Poor Barrell's regiment were sorely pressed by those desperadoes, and outdanked. (Jne stand of their colours was taken; Collonel Riche's baud cutt off in their defence." Another Gecrgcite olficer's letter from Scotland, to the Honourable Colonel Thomas Butler in Dublin, likewise states, how " Lieut. Col. Rich had his hand cut oti', and a cut ou his head with a broadswci'd," &c. He died lu the enxuing month of iVlay. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. frnllant corps, of whom no -more than 3 oflScers snrvivecl tlip action.* tJad tliis coiuluct of the Prince's right and centre been simnltaneonsly supported by simihir ardour ou the part of his left, the result would, lierliaps, have added another ti'ininph to those of Preston-Pans and Fah kirk; particularly as th<' regiments of the Clan-Colla, or Mac Donalds. + who were on that wing, were aujong t!ie riost chstinguished of the Highlanders for bravery. JJut here tliey behaved rn sucli a manner, as to occasion the immediate ruin of the cause in which they were engaged, and to cover themselves with a disgrace proportioned to tlie general indignation of the Jacobites, and, indeed, of all reasonable men. Partly irritated, and partly regarding it as an evil omen, that they should be placed on the left instead of the right, which, as "the post of honour," they had occupied on, and claimed ever since, the memorable day of Bannockburn, they could merely be induced to advance a little, and fire their muskets, but by no means to make an onset, to the accustomed chai-ging-cry of " Claymore !" In vain the Duke of Perth, endeavouring to ajjpease them, alleged, that, if they displayed their usual coui'age here, they would make the left a right wing, and that he himself would ever after take the honourable surname of Mac Donald. They refused to j)roceed, sullenly enduring the fire of the English, and doing nothing better than expressing their dissatisfaction by cutting up the heath with their broadswords, mitil the other clans were comi)elled to give way. Of those 3 Mac Donald regiments, however, 1 gentleman, a Protestant, Alexander, ''Chieftain of Keppoch, of chivalrous character, and noted for great private worth," acted in a manner suitable to theybr/y/i,e?" I'eputa- tion of the name he boi'e. "When the rest of his clan retreated," we are informed, " Keppoch exclaimed, with feelings not to be appreciated in modern society, ^ My God, have the children of my tribe forsaken me T % * With the Chevalier de Johnstone's 2 assertions, " onr centre had already broken the enemy's 1st line, and attacked the 2nd," and "if our centre, which had jiierced the 1st Une, had been properly siipported, it is highly probable, that the Eii'jhsh would have heen soon put to flight," compare the circumstances of the fall of tlie hrave Major of the Mac Intoshes, &c., iu Mr. Chamhers's history. t The Mac Donalds, or Mac Donnells, were called "Clan-Colla," as descendants of 1 of the 3 brothers Colla, of the royal Heremonian line of Erin, or the eldc?t Colla, surnamed "' Uais," that is, the Nolle, as having heen, from a.d. o27 to .S31, Ard liigh, or Monarch, at Tara. These 3 warlike brothers, in a long and bloody engageuient, al>out Fincarn, in the present County of Monaghan, popularly styled, from them, "the hattlc of the 3 Collas," overthrew the dominion of the old Irian Kings of Uladh, or Ulster, and destroyed, a.d. 3o2, their remarkal)le residence at Emania, so renowned in Bardic tale and lay, for its connexion with the heroic times of King Conor Mac Nessa, the Champions of the Red Branch, &c. By that imjmr- tant success, a large territory was acquired; in the next and subsequent ages indeed (limniislied ; yet, of which a very considerable jiortion, conqirehended withui the present Counties of Louth, Monaghan, Fermanagh, and Armagh, as t>irL'ial, or Orgiel, was, for the most part, held by the Clan-Ckiila, likewise called Oirghialla, or Orgiallaiis, upwards of 1200 years, or until the l(5th century; even the Primacy of Armagh, "the Eome of Erin," having been a "vested interest" in 1 family of the race, lietween the lOth and 12th centuries, for nearly 2J0 years. In Connauglit, too, the Clan-Colla conquered extensive possessions, as early as the 5th century. The branch of the line of Colla " Uais," or tlie Noble, which established itself from Erin in Alba, or Scotland, and became so powerful there in the western isles, and on the mainland, was, in the person of Donald, T^ord of the Hel>ri(les, and Kin tyre, iu the reign of James III., the stock of our Earls of Antrim. X "The Irish word Claim,'" writes Dr. J. H. Todd, "signifies c^'iklren, or descendants. The tribe, being all descended from some common ancestor, the Chieftain, as the representative of that ancestor, was regaixled as the commoU father uf tho Clanu, and they as his clilldren." 2g 450 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES He then advanced, with a pistol in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other, resolved apparently to sacrifice his life to the offended genius of his name. He had got but a little way from his regiment, when a nnisket-shot brought him to the ground. A clansman, of more thaa ordinary devotedness, who followed him, and, with tears and prayers, conjured him, not to throw his life away, raised him, with the cheering assurance, that his wound was not mortal, and that he might still quit tlie field with life. Ke])poch desired liis faithful follower to take care of himself, and, again rushing forward, received another shot, and fell, to rise no more ! " A death, not imworthy to l)e compared with some of the noblest of ancient story — with that of ^milius Paullus at Cannae — with that of Asdrubal Parca at the Metanrus * — and, in the elevated sj)irit of the Homeric exclamation, — " Let future a,G;es hear it, and admire !" Pope's Homer, Iliad, xxii., .388. Meanwhile, on the 2nd line of the English left, the infantry-regiments of Sempill and Bligh — the 1st rank kneeling with bayonets presented, the 2nd stooping, and the 3rd upright, so as to give a double line of tire — received the flushed van of the previously-successful Highlanders with a palisado of steel, and point-blank tempests of lead, insui-mountable by men, who, after 1 discharge, having, as usual, dropped their muskets, to come to close quarters, had only swords and pistols remaining; the regiments of Barrell and Dejean, recently repulsed, also rallied in suppoi-t of their 2nd line, which had protected or covered them; and Major- General Huske, who was in command of that line, detached Wolfe's regiment, to increase the disorder of the Highlanders, by taking them in flank, and raking them there, as they were raked in front, by a vigorous musketr)^ " We marched," relates the Captain-Lieutenant of that regiment, "up to the enemy, and our left, out-flanking them, wheeled ia upon them ; the whole then gave them 5 or 6 fires with vast execution, while their front had nothing left to oppose us, but their pistoUs and broadswords; and the fire from their center, and real-, (as, by this time, they were 20 or 30 deep,) was vastly more fatal to themselves, than to ns. It was," he observes, " sur[)rising they stood so long, at such disad- vantage ! " They consequently gave ground; Wolfe's corps recovering the 2 cannon lately lost, and making many pi-isoners.f The Lowlanders, too, farther back on the Prince's right, having presented no adequate or effective opposition to Lieutenant-General Hawley, in defence of some park-walls between him and them, that officer, by the aid of a party of Argyleshire militia, or Campbells, made such openings as enabled him to pass through, and menace that wing still more, or both in flank and rear, with the entire English left of cavalry. All along the Prince's right and centre, the Highlanders being now repulsed — yet having acted, writes a hostile eye-witness, " with that mixture of resolution and dispair that has scarcely been paralell'd," and having left, we are told, in 1 part of the * On the deaths of iEmilius Paullus and Asdrubal Barca, see Livy and Poly- bius. + Another "Letter from Wolfe's EeQ;iraent at Inverness, April 18," 0. S., pub- lished in the newspapers, after mentioning, how "Barrel's regiment was hard wrought by the rebels, who pushed all their strength against them, and tooh 2 jdecen of cannon frovi them,''' then adds, "but our regiment, being ordered to flank the rebels, we soon made the p.lace too hot for them, retook the cannon, and took A great number of pi'isouers,'" &c :n the service of fuance. 4o1 fielfl, their deaJ and dying, "in layers 3 and 4 dee]» !"* — what remained of the Jacobite force generally dis|5iayed but 1 feeble and disheartened line, as opposed to the Georgeite army, re-forming and consolidating the several lines of its infantry, for a final and decisive effort; while the right of its cavaliy. under Major-General Humphry Bland, advanced to act against the Highland left, as Hawley, and his cavalry, against tlie Highland right. In these hopeless circumstances, the mass, or all but 2 divisions, of the Prince's troops, one on the right, and the other on the left, broke, and fled. Those of the right, who continued together, retired, with pipes still playing and colours flying, by Balvraid, towards the Nairn, to cross it, in order to t-each the mountains of Badenoch, ikc. ; and displayed such honourable firmness in doing so, that the English dragoons, detached to intercept them, "thought it both safest and best" to let them proceed unmolested, " over the hills and far away !" Those of the left, who continued together, marched for Inverness, in which direction, as on ground most favourable to a ])ursuit by the enemy's cavalry, the slaughter, among such of the vanquished as did not keep ia a body, was greatest, and extended over about 4 of the 5 miles from the field of battle to that town. ' In this action, which lasted, in round numbers, 40 minutes, half occupied in the artillery-tiring, and iialf in the closer conflict,f the Georgeites took 14 of the Jacobite colours, with artillery, &c. ; and published their own casualties by the affair as 310 men of all ranks, though 1 of their own officers present says, more, or " about 340." J The Jacobite slain, including sf) large a ))roportion of their best officers as to constitute " the soul of the Highland army, " have been computed, by native authorities, at above 1000, if not 1200 men. § After remarking, in 1840, "the field v/e' bears witne.ss to the carnage of which it was the scene," as, "in the midst of its dark heath, various little eminences ai-e to be seen, displaying a lively verdure, but too nncquivocally expressive of the dreadful tale," and "the way towards Inverness is fringed with many such doleful memorials of the dead," Mr. Chambers adds— "Modern curiosity has, in some cases, violated these sanctuaries, for the purjiose of procuring some relic of the ill-fated warriors, to show, as a wonder, in the halls of the Sassenach ;|| and the * In the national son^, entitled " Culloden Day," the Jticobite author notes, " There wa.s no luck of bravery there, No spare of blood or breat'i ; Foi' ii'if to iv)i) our fo»s we dard, Fur freedom, or for death." But, concludes the poet, " The die was risk'd. and foully cast. Upon Culloden day." ■'I- These particulars, as to the portion of time occupied by the engacjement, are from the corresjjondeut of the Honourable Colonel Thomas Butler, already referred to. X The Georgeite loss, at Culloden, was officially specified as 50 killed, 259 wounded, 1 mis.sing, total 310. But the Captain-Lieutenant, Thomas Ashe Lee, writes, "our killed and wounded amount to about 340;" and, of Battereau's regi- ment, in which he had friends, and to which no loss is assigned in the Government published return, he informs us, a cannondjall " kill'd a man or two" belongirig to it — so that the accuracy of the return in question may be doubted. § According to Smollett, " 1200 rebels were slain, or wounded, on the field, and in the pursuit;" according to Sir Walter Scott, the Jacobites lost "upwards of 1000 men;" and we know, what care was taken, after the action, to put thoae wounded, and those slain, upon a iei'cl ! 11 "Everybody who saw the Highiaaders lying dead upon the tield. " allc,^ 2S a 452 HISTORV^ OF THE IRISH BR:GADES Gael, with nobler sentiment, have been, till lately, in the habit of ]iilgriniising to the spot, in order to translate the bones of their fVicmla to consecrated ground, afar in their own westei-n glens." On tlinse lamented victims of " dark Culloden's fateful tlay," (the Augliriui of tJcot- land,'"\) a native minstrel feelingly exclaims — " Shades of the mighty and the brave, Who, faitlifid to your Stiuirt, feU, No trophies mark your coni;noa s^rave, Nor (btg'js ti> yonr nieiii'ry swell ! But ijeii rnaa hearts will ivcep your fnte^ Wlicnfar ha.s roW'l t w. tide, of time; And bard-'i U'diorn shall rcn rate Your fading I aine, in lufth-st rhyme !" — Ghteve. As to the Irish from France in this engagement, the Lockhart Papers remark, on th.e care taken by General O'Sullivan to arrange the Prince's forces for the conflict, — " Mr. O'Sullivan drew np the army in line of battle (he being both Adjutant and Quartermaster-General), and shew'd every batalion their place." The 2nd line of the Jacobites wa.s, accord- ing to Home, commanded by the Fontenoy veteran. Brigadier Stafile- ton. He was at the head of the infantry ])iqnets of the Irish Brigade, makinof about 400 men. Of the 75 Irish horse of the Regiment of Fitz-James, Captain Shea's troop, with the 2nd or Lord Balmerino's troop of Scotch Life Guards, were letained by Charles about himself, on the small eminence where he stood, behind the right of the 2nd line; and, to the left of that line, detached, or so as to be able to act, if I'equired, with the infantry piquets of the Brigade, was the other ti'oop of Fitz-James's corps. Brigadier Stapleton was duly attentive, to the ]-ight and left of the 2nd line, under his comn)and. On the breaking down, by the enemy, of tlie ]iark wall covering the Jacobite right tlank there, the Brigadier despatched a Lowland regiment, under Gordon of Abbachie, to ari'est the intruders. On the left, when the op]>osing ca\'alry of the English inght were the first to advance, in such a contident manner, as if they were to deal with nothing more formidable than a flying foe, the Brigadier and his countrymen interposed, with sufficient efl'ect, to teach the aggressors, that ardour should be tempered by ])rudenoe. "The horse, on the right of the King's army," says Home, "were the first tliat ])ursued, and they were very near the Macdonalds, when the Ii-ish piqiiets came down from their place in the 2nd line, and tired upon the dragoons, who halted." This check, to the cavalry of the enemy's right, was given, when, there being no hope of I'ogaining the day, Charles had to leave the field ; after " ordering," writes Captain O'Neill, " the Irish piquets, and Fitz-James's horse, to make a stand, and favour the retreat of the Highlanders, which," con- tinues the Captain, " was as gallantly executed." Smollett, too, after noting the final confusion occasioned by the English cavalry among the Prince's force, adds of the latter, " the French piqviet.s, on their left, covered the retreat of the Highlanders, by a close and regular fire." Lord Mahon's injustice in saying no more, with reference to the Irish here, than that "«// the French auxiliaries /i'«^ towards Inverness," contemporary ]ieriodical, " allowed that men of larger size, lai-ger Umbs, and better proportioned, could not be found." * See Moore's lines on Aughrim, in the Melodies, commencing, "ForKf" not the flnUl wipie they t^er-isU'il, The liuest, the la.st ol' tae br^vel " IN THE SEItVICE OF FRANCE. 453 may he Vipst rt^fiitcd in tlie woi-rls of Sii- Wnlter Pcott. Having pre- mised hdw '• the 3 leginients of INTacdonnlds, aware nf tlie rout of their rii^lit wing, retreated, in good order, nnon tlie 2nd line," Sir Walter states, how "a body of (;pa!i-y. fi'om the right of the Kind's army, wh:^ commanded to attack tlieui on tlie'r retreat, hnt was checked by a tire from the Frencli ])icqosition with Charles at CuUoden, after resorting to entreaties in vain, O'SuIlivan, laying hold of the reins of the Prince's hoi-se, and assisted by Sir Thomas Sheridsm, and other Iiish gentlemen, hurried their unfor- tunate master from the fatal s|)ectacle, which was a death-lilow to the royal claims of his race.* Of diarles's s\ibsequent wanderings, hard- ships, and perils, between the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, for the 5 months he was expo.sed to the pursuit of his enemies — scenes, amidst which lie difli/. if not certainlij, have given a dijferent turn to the coufest.'^ A.'ter various adventures on both elements, "enduring privations of * On Na])oleon at Waterloo, compare the accounts of Oenerals (4onriiand and Vaudoi Court, and M. Fleury de L'luiVioulon. Ifesiiectiui;' (.Hiarles at CiiUodeu, according to Home, "The Cornet, who carried the .standard of the 2nd Trooj) of Horse ( Juards. has left a jiaiier, signed with his name, in whicli he says, that the entreaties of Sir Tliom.us Sheridan, and his other friends," to (juit the Held, "would' have been in vain, if General Sullivan had not laid hold of the bridle of Charles's horse, and turned him ahout. " Sir VVaiter Scott adds, how Charles "wasforceil from the Held by Sir Thomas Sheridan, and others of the Irish officers, wlio were about his person." + "Si j'eusse re^u plutot," writes Charles to Louis XV., "la moitie seulement de I'argenc que votre Majeste ni'a envoye, j'aurais combattu le Due de Cumber- land avec un nombre egal, et ;> laurai-s ■suremeiit IxiUn,^' &c. ; since, he goes on to say, so much "vj.s done, bv such a very inferior number as that of the Highland army at Culloden. And they wearied and siarciiiyl 458 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES every kind, fleeing from island to island, and from rock tn rock, tor- mented V)y hunger and thirst, unprotected from the cold, and constantly exposed to every kind of weather," Charles, with " iiis dear O'Sullivaii and his faithful O'Neill," (as I find them designated) and some others, was, towards the end of June, in the island of South Uist, where he, and his coin])anions, were kindly entertained. " For the Mac Donalds in that island," writes a hostile conteinp(jrary, "are a generous sort of people, and being all Painsts,* they cultivate the old Scots' union with France, both in i-eligion and civil jtolicy. Few, or none of them, thougli born with a martial genius, enter into the British army, but rather seek their fortunes abroad, and are much assisted toward prnferment by the Chevalier and his sons." The enemy, being informed of the quarter in which Charles and those who accompanied him had taken refuge, pre- pared such a force by sea and land for the a]iprehension of the part;/ tfcat all the coasts of Uist, Skye, &c., and the channel towards tlie main- land, swarmed with armed vessels, or other light craft, on the watch against any attempt to leave XTist, that, moi-eover, without a.])asspoit, was made " high treastm;'" while the small territory of which Uist con- sisted, only 20 miles long, and at most 4 broad, was to be searched with detachments of a corps of 2000 men, hdping to gain or share the promised government reward of j£30,00(), fir " the young Pretender" by proceeding, in different directions, from tiie coast, till they should so inclose, as to net or dispatch him, in the interior of the country. Among the most odious of those "human wolves" who, although Scotchmen by birth, yet, the better to qualify themselves for further preferment, or additional pay, shrank from no iuliumanity at the expense of their unha|)py Jacobite countrymen, wei'e 3 ruftians, Captains Caroline Scott and John Ferguson, and a Major Lockhart.f (Jf those 3 sanguinary wretches, the 1st, known as " the ferocious Scott," was within a mile of Charles and his conqianions, when O'Sullivan, by what he had suffered, found himself so disabled for travelling any more on foot, that it was necessary he should remain, duly disguised, in the care of some faithful boatmen. On the consequent separation between the Prince and bis General, ray informant, alleges a Georgeite wricer, " declai'ed, that the Chevalier's parting with Sullivan was like teari>u/ his heart from, his budii — for- that was the man's phrase." Charles, then "taking a couple of shirts under his ai-ni," and accompanied only by Ca|)taiu O'Neill, hastened, as it grew dark, to get from South Uist into Benbecula; which, when the tide was out, was joined with South Uist, but, when the tide was in, formed a .sei)arate ishmd. Tliere, "at midnight," relates Captain O'Neill, " we came to a hut, where, by good fortune, we met with Miss Flora Mac Donald," of South Uist, " wliom I formerly knew. * Governor Campbell, too, writing; from Fort William in Auoust, 1745, to Sir Jolni Cope, refers to the Jacol)ite laiKling fnun France, and sympathy with that movement on the vmhilaivl of .Scotland, as having taken place, "in the country of Moidart — inhabited by the Macdcmaiils, all itoman Catholics." And Sir Walter Scott, in mentioning the famous Keppocli, (whose death has been noticed at Culloden,) and hifs Mac Donalds, observes, how, though "Keppoch was a Protes- tant, his clan were Catholics." + Mr. Jesse, in naming "(Captain Caroline Scott, and Major Lockhart," amoncr the vile representatives of otticial brutality towards the luifortunate .Tacobites, remarks — "It is natural, perUaps, as an EiujHs/iiikui, to feel some satisfaction, in recording that 2 out of the number were Snifclrm. n.'' He might have added & 3rd, iu Ferguson. But who employed and promoLeil Llauii i IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 459 I quitted the Prince at some distance from the hut, and went witli a design to inform myself," with respect to the enemy, "'if the Indepen- dent Companies were to pass that way next day, as we had been inft)nned? The young lady answered me, not, and said, tliat they were not to pass, till the day after. Then I told her, I had brought -a. friend to see lier ; and she, with some emotion, asked me, if it was thf. Friiice] I answer^-d her, it was; and instantly hromjht him in ! We then consulted on the imminent danger the Prince was in, and could think of no more proper and safe expedient, than to propt)se to Miss Flora to convey him to the Isle of Sky, where her mother lived." This, as the zealous Ca])tain suggested, Miss Mac Dcjiiald might effect, by obtaining from her brother, who commanded 1 of the Independent Companies, a ])ass, empowering her to return to her mother in that island, accompanied by a female servant, in which character the Prince might be disguised. Miss Mac Donald at tiret very naturally, though " with the greatest respect and loyalty," declining to act uj)on the |iroposal, from the trouble in which it mi;j;ht involve her relatives, "I then," says the noble-hearted O'Neill, " demonstrated to her the honour and inimorla'ity that xvotdd relound to her, by such a glorious action; and she at length acipiiesced, aiter the Prince had told her the sense he would always entertain of so con- spicuous a servic(;." * She promised the Prince and the Captain, to acquaint them when the necessary arrangements should be concluded, and they betook them.selves to the mountains. But, tliough thus far fortunate, it was some time before circumstances admitted of their being relieved from the miseries of their situation. After having been arrested with her servant, as venturing to cross the ford between Benbecnla and South Uist without a |)assport, and been detained longer than was desirable at the adjacent military station, Flora was libeiated by her stepfather, Mr. Mac Donald of Armadale, who like- wise gave her a passport and letter for Skye, empowering her to proceed thither, with a nian to attend her, and "one Betty Burke, an Irish girl," as a good spinner, in which last character the Prince was to be disguised. The means for effecting this disguise were finally attained through the aid of Lady (Jlanranald. or Clani-onald, wife of the jjroprietor of the island. " Lady Clanionald," alleges the Highland journal, "dress'd up the Prince in his new habit, not withotit some mirth and railry passing amidst all their distress and perplexity, and a mixture of tears and smiles. The dress was on purpose coarse and homely, suited to the fashion of the wearer, viz., a callico gown, with a liglit coulered quilted pettycoat, a mantle of dun camelot, made after the Irish fashion, with a hood joined to it." These habiliments were so little ada|)ted to the Prince, that the ap[)earance he made in them subsequently caused 1 of his j)i'otectors, the worthy Mac Donald of Kingsburgh, to remark — "Your enemies call you a pretender ; but, if you be, I can tell you, you are the ivorst of your trade I ever saw." Charles was not ready to depart, with his generous benefactress, for Skye, before it was high tiuje that he should do so. i,s • Bishop Forbes alleges of Captain O'Neill's narrative, on this interesting occa- sion — " In all this, Captain O'Neille is exactly right: for I have heard Miss Mac iJonaUl declare, mure than once, that the Captain came to her (bringing the Prince along with him) when she ha))pened to be in a shealing," or cal)in, "belonging to jier brother ; that fhf Vaptain was the contriver nf the scheme; and that she herself was very backward to engage in it: and, indeed, no wonder, (whatever some niaj' say) when one seriously oousiders the important trust, and the many dan^er.s attendiuu It." 460 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES General Johi\ Campbell of Maiuore (afterwards 4tli Duke of Argyle) had ijot only arrived with a large number of military in Benbecula, but a messenger, with the still moie alarming intelligence, that the infamous Captain Ferguson, and an advanced party, were actually at Orinaclade, the residence of Lady Clanranald, reached that lady, while she was still at dinner, in a hut, near the shore, with her friend Flora, the Prince, and O'Neill, previous to the intended (Mnbarkation. Lady Clanranald had consequently to hurry home, while Charles and Flora prepared to sail, attended liy a trusty Highlander, Neil Mac Echan.* Charles, who had now to part with the "faithful O'Neill," so long hia C(im])anion in suffering and danger, could hardly bring himself to agree to such a se])aration. He requested Floi-a, and was, for some time, most pressingly joined by the Captain in the request, that a/l should sail together; with which proposal, she, however, very sensibly refused to' comply, in as much as such an additicm to the number authorized in her pass, while exposing the supenitiriierary party to a risk that could be avoided, might frustrate the entire undertaking. The Prince, neverthe- less, was so generous, as to decline going at all unless accompanied by O'Neill, until the latter, on due considei'ation, perceiving, how imperative it was, that prudence should get the better of attachment, said to Charles— " If you make the least demur, I will instantly go about my business, as I am extremely indifferent what becomes of me, so tliat your person is safe." Still, it was only with much difficulty, and not until after many entreaties, tiiat Charles would consent to embark, attended only by Flora, and Mac Echan. " Here," exclaims O'Neill, " my hard fate, and tlie Prince's safety, which was my only object, obliged me to share no hmger the fortunes of that illustr oiis hero, whise grandeur of soul, tvith a calmness of spirit partimdo.r to himself in such danyers, iairfasedin iJirse moiii,Hids ivlieji-the gpneral part tf nvnikbid abandon thenisdves to their fate, f I now could only recommend him to God and his good fortune, and made rny way, amidst the enemy, to South Uist, where we had left Colonel O'Sullivan. Next day I joined O'Sullivan, and found (-t days after the Prince ])arted)a French cutter, commanded by one Dumont, and who had on board '2 Captains of the Irish Brigade, with a number of Volunteers. Ifere Colonel O'Sullivan and I concerted what were the ]>ro|>erest mea- sures to be taken. We agreed, that he shoidd go on board the cutter, as lie iiJds so reduced by tiie long fatigues fJuU he had. undergone in the 7n.u'U)ttnins, as not to be able to waJk; and that he sliould bring the cntter to Loch Seaforth, nigh the Isle of Rasay, where the Prince ordered me to join him, by a billet he had sent me, the day liefore, by one ot the bo.it- nien who had rowed liim to the Isle of Sky. After having seen rnv fiieiul oil bo.ird, and ;ifter innnnieralil;' difficulties, I got a boat, and went round the Isle ot Sky to the Isle of Pasay, ])lace of rendezvous; luit, at my landing, had intelligence, that the Prince was returned to the Isle of Sky; * A Mac Doniidl, (as he 'U\m?.eM wrote the name,) or Mac Donald. He v/as father of the celelirated EtienneJacques-.Toseph-Ale.xanclre Mac Donald, previous to ami at the lievohuion, an oftiter of the Irish Brigade, in the Regiment of Dillon ; finally ]\iarshal of France, Duke of Tarentuin, &c. ; and hy Napoleon, at Fontainebleiui, ia is 1 4, so nobly "faithful found, among the faithless." t The rein-eseiitations of Charles hy his Scotch adherents fully support the warm terms in which he is here s|)oken of by the Irish officer. Amonji other circum- stances to Charles's credit, we are told, that "he rcijn^tli'd wore the fl'i.st.ri''i.< of tli.o e who .suffered J\ir adkeriuy to his iiUtrtst, than tlie liardshqjs and dangers /tc was hourly exiJ.jsed to." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 461 whereupon, I hasted to said Isle of Sky again, and there, too, had the grief to learn, that he had departed that island; but, for what ])lace, no- body could inform me in the least. I then repaired to Loch Nanimaddy, in North Uist, where, by our agreement. Colonel O'Sullivan was to come to me, in case that, in 8 days, I did not join him at Lcich Seaforth." Here also the honest and indefatigable O'Neill was disappointed, yet without his explaining why — the reason, however, being, that the French cutter, in wliich O'Sullivan ivas at the appointed rendezvous, having been heard of by the enemy, and, about 3 hours before O'Neill's return, 2 of tiieir armed wherries, with 30 men in each, having been descried approaching to attack the vessel, advantage was taken of a fair wind to escape, and sail for Fr'jince.* " Not tinding my friend there," continues O'Neill, with reference to O'Sullivan at Loch Nanimaddy, in North Uist, "after a delay of 4 days, I returned to the Isle of Benbecnla, where I promised myself greater Safety than anywhere else ; but I met with a quite different usage, for the very ])ersan in whom I had entirely confided, and under whf)se cai'e I was, betrayed me to Captain Mac Neal. (induced thereto by a great sum of money offered for me,) t who was in that country, under the command of Captain Fergusson of the Furnace bomb." The latter, already named as among the most conspicuous of liis detestable species in Scotland, was born at Old Meldrum in Aberdeenshire, and having been reniarkal)le, even in his younger years, or among his school-fellows, for a cruel turn of mind, was the fitter instrument for such unscrupulous exeixises of power, as would be serviceable to the ])er[)etrator, in proportion to their accor- dance with the unfeeling ])Oiicy of a vindictive government. |. "I was taken," proceeds Captain O'Neill, "by this Ca|)tain Mac Neal, in a rock, over a Loch, where I had skulked for 4 days, and brought to Caj)tain Fergusson, who used me with the barbarity of a ])irate, stripped me, and had ordered me to be put into a rack, and whipped by his hangman, * In Fldra Mac Donnld's narrative, I am sorry to see a shameful aspersion soup;ht to be cast upon O'Sullivan, connected with the rleiiarture for France of the cutter in which he was, without waitnig for Captain O'Neill's return. When O'Neill came back "to the place where he had left the cutter," says Flora, "unhapjiily for him, he found, that the timorous O'Sullivan, having a fair wind, and uot having couraue to stay till O'Neill's return, being resolved to take care of numlier 1, obliged the Captain to set sail dii-ectly, lest he should lie taken, and should lose his precious life." Fait, as Flora was nut on hoard the cutter, how could she lti<)n\ that ()'Sullivan, who was nut its owner, was al>le to ohlige its French Captain to sad away? — nn reover, if O'Sullivaa were taken, would not his life, as that of an otHcer in the service of France, or like his friend O'Neill's, he .la/e.?— and, is it not evident, that the French Captain of the cutter would naturally, or of his own accord, deem it only jiiudent to make off, when 2 hostile wherries were actually coming to assail him? — for all he knew, or miti,ht reasonably susi)ect, as precur-ors of a much greater or Completely irresistible force, where the enemy, by the number of their vessels, were masters of the sea. O'Neill, too, in referei:ce to this very circumstance of his having been left behind, styles O'Sullivan "my friend," without attaching any blame to him, for the occurrence in question. In a word, the cutter remained at the place a]ipointefl, untd discovered, and about to be attacked by the enemy; in which case, was it to risk being captured, to nu purpose? since, if captiirtd, huw was Ncill tu //are been taken on hoard, and brought liark to France? t It is a pity, that O'Neill has not consigned his betrayer to everlasting historical damnation, by naming him. t In a "List of Promotions" for 1746, under October, I meet with "Caiitam Ferguson, of the Fvriace bomb," to be "Cnjiti.ni of a newly Jaunch'd 20 gun shi]), on the recommendation of the Duke of Cumberland, for hiis good service during the rebellion." 462 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES because I would not confess where I tliou^lit the Prince was.* As I wag just going to be whipped, being ah-eady stripped. Lieutenant Mac Caghan of the Scotch Fusileers, who commanded a party under Cajjtain Fergnsson, very generously o])posed this barbarous usage, and, coming out with his drawn sword, tlbrpjitened Captain FeryaKsnn,, that he ivould, sa.crifice hinisdf and Ids detachment, ra.tlier than see an offii-er used, after such an infamous 'manner. I cannot avoid acquainting the puVjlic," concludes the Irish Captain, with reference to John Campbell, the future Duke of Argyle, "that 4 days after I was taken, General Cami)bell sent me word, upon his jjarole of honour, that, if I had money, or otlier effects, in the country, ia sending them to him, they should be safe; upon which {always imagitdng, that the word of honour was as sacredly kept in tlie English army as in others,) t I went, with a detachment, for my money, and gold watch, which I had hid in the I'ock, when I perceived the party searching for, me; and sent to General Campbell, by Cajjtain Skif)ness Campbell, 450 guineas, with my gold watch, broad-sword, and ])istols; all which he has thought proper (to be .sure, consistent with his honoui',) to keep from me, \i{>on divers applicaticms made to him.";}; Captain O'Neill was subse- quently transferred, as a prisoner, to the KJfhaia man-of-war, commanded by Commodore Smith, for conveyance to Edinburgh Castle. Meantime, Flora Mac Donald, having accimijianied the Prince through various adventures to Portree, whence he sailed for the Isle of Raasay, was, some days after }-eturning to her home at Armadale in Skye arrested by a party of Captain Ferguson's men, and brought on board the Furnace, but consigned, from his unenviable custody, to that of the kind-hearted Captain of the Eltham. Thus, ob.serves Mr. Chambers, "it chanced, that she here had, for one of her fellow-prisoners, the worthy Ca])tain O'Neal, who had engaged her to undertake the charge of the Prince — and who, \>y tlie way, had made her the offer, on that occasion, of his hand, in marriage, as a protection to her good fame. When she first met him on ixiard, she went playfully up, and slap]ung him gently on the cheek with the palm of her hand, said, 'To that black face, do I owe all my misfortune!' O'Neal told her, that, instead of being Jier misfortune, it was Jier highest honour; and that, if she continued to act up to the character she had alrea-ly sJiown, not pretending to repent of what she had done, or to be aslanned of it, it-would redound greatly to her happiness.''^ Flora, after some detention on board, in Leitli Road, off Edinburgh, was conveyed to London; but was only kept thei-e till dismissed, under the Act of Indemnity, in July, 1747. Then abont 27, she sub.sequently married Mr. Mac Donald of Kmgshurgh, (son of the generous protector, and suflerer for having protected. Prince Charles,) and, in March, 1790, she died in Skye, aged about 70. " Continuing, to the last, a firm Jacobite," she would resent, with the utmost indignation, the presump- tion of any one venturing, " in her hearing, to call Charles, by his ordinary epithet, the Pretender'" — and, "at her particular request, her body vvas wrap])ed in 1 of the sheets, that had been used by the unfortunate grandson of James II., during the night he rested at Kingsburgh!" * Such "vigour beyond the law," as this allotted for Captain Neill by Ferguson, was, however, not *■ Idy assiuiied by him. Scotland under CuDibeflandi.siii in 174(5, Was like Ireland luider Orant/f^ism in 1798. + Connect this damaging reflection of Captain O'Neill with the quotation res- pecting the army previously given from Dean Swift, writing to Wogan. J Was it not only natural, that this Duke, as a Whig, should be opposed to a IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 463 CNeill was sent from EclinV)nrgh Castle to Bevwick-on-Tweed, and I'eniitted to the Continent, according to the cartel, as a French officer — • after which, T much regret to know notliing more respecting him. "These," as Dr. Johnson wonUl say, "were w^t Whigs!" — and, as a member of the same ancient Celtic branch of the human family, I may add, in allusion to the older period of our common affinity, tliey were Gaels, of whom their respective Scotias — or Scotia Major and Scotia Minor,* Erin and Alba — may well be proud. If a true-hearted devotion to what ai)peared the cause of proscribed and distressed right, in opposi- tion to dominant and persecuting might, be worthy of admii-ation. the Irish offioei- and the maiden of South Uist, as representatives of suck devotion, will always be admired in history. •' While rollinrr rivers into seas shall run, And, rouinl the spat^e of heav'n, the radiant siin; While trees the mountain-tops with shades supply, Your houour, name, and jiraise, shall never die." Dryden's Virgil, ^neis, i., 854-8.57. Charles, not many days from his parting with Flora Mac Donald, or about the middle of July, quitted the islands, for the mainland, or western Highlands, of Scotland ; by which change of situation, nevertheless, the dangers that menaced him wherever he went, so far from being lessened, became greater than before, and would, indeed, have been altogether insurmountable, but for the undiminished fidelity of the Highlanders to him, as the descendant of " the Bruce of Bannockburn," and. like that illustrious Prince, in the days of his adversity, hunted for his life, by his enemies. Meanwhile, the French cutter, under Captain Dumont, which escaped the armed wherries sent against her b}' the English, having gotten back to France, General O' Sullivan lost no time in proceeding to Versailles, and representing there, how urgent was the necessity of despatching some vessels, to extricate the Prince, from his equally afflicj- ing and alarming position in Scotland, since the battle of Cullodea. When, ere setting out from Rome for France, in 1743, to join the pro- posed ex))edition for a " re.storation " in England under Marshal Saxe, Charles, then high in hope, took leave of his father, he said, " I trust, by the aid of God, that I shall soon be able to lay 3 Crowns at your Majesty's feet" — to which the affectionate and less sanguine re[)ly of his father was, " Be careful of yourself, my dear boy, for 1 would not lose you, for all the Crowns in the world!" The effects of O'Sullivan's repre- sentations, on behalf of Charles, at the French Court, and of the naturally incieased or intense anxiety of James for the safety of his son, caused 2 frigates to be ordered for Scotland, to bring away the Prince. The command of these vessels, the Heureux of 30 guns, and the Princesse de * According to Archbishop Ussher, there is no instance of the territory known, in modei'n times, as Scotland, having been styled Scotia, previous to the 11th century; in which opinion, the learned Dr. Charles O'Conor follows him; and Mr. Pinkerton, as a Scotch authority, coincides with &oroportiou to the strength of the G Irish l)attalions ! even if the original word "perdit," or "lost," should not be limited to the sense of " killed," but considered to denote those put " hors de comV)at " in a general sense, or that of " killed and wounded." This, indeed, would seem to be the case, from a contemporary London account of the slain and hurt officers of the Brigade; in making use of wjiich, I correct the usual errors of the foreign spelling and printing with respect to the Irish ; insert the mortally wounded under the head of the " killed;" and, for uniformity sake, give only the family names of those included, as the Christian names are in several instances omitted. The document is entitled — " List of the Killed and Wounded of the Irish Regiments in the French Service, at the Battle of Lauffield village, near Maesti^icht, July 2, 1747." The regiments are thus |)roceeded with: — Bulkelev's. Captains, Kennedy, Macgennis, Lee, Mac Carthy, Geraldine, Wollock, and Sweeny, killed — Ca])tains, Kearney, Macennery, MacMahon; Lieuten- ants, Bouike (taken prisoner), Mac Mahon, Nagle, Comerford, and Ensign Butlei*, viouuded. — Clare's. Cai)tains, Grant, Barnwell, O'Brien, Mac Carthy; Lieutenants, Bridgeman, Moore, and Wall, kdled — Capi- tal n^ "1 O'Kriensi, Ryan, Ayimcr, Heigher, O'Meara, Sullivan, Plunkett, IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 471 aTid Fitz-GerfiM. vtoundpd. — Dtllon's. The Colonel, captured rr.ortally disabled, oi- with Caf)tains Prince, Bourke. Lewis; Lieutenants, Niliill, Kennedy, Slieil, and Ensign Moore, Jailed — Captains, 2 Kennedys, O'Connor, Bouike, and Lieutenant Carroll, wounded. — Roth's. Ca]»taia Wivel, hilled — Captains, Sliee. O'Brien, Dalton, and Lieutenant Healy, irnvrided. — Berwick's. Captains, Hegarty, Barnwell; and Lieutenants, Latfin and Dwyer, killed — Captains, Barnwell, Macgratli, and Mac Car- tliy, and Lieutenants, Dowdal and Macgratli, ioo^t/wfeZ.—L ally's. Lieutenant-Colonel, Lyncli, and Captains, Glascock and Geoghegan, /a7/(3(/ — Lieuteriants-Colonel, Hegarty and Dillon, and Lieutenants, Prender- gast and Kelly, xmnnded. Tlien, under the head of "contusions of the same regiment," or that of Lally, are Captain White, Lieutenants Butler, Kearney, and Flahei'ty, with the observation, that "the contusions of the other regiments are numerous, but slight, which occasioned theui not to be mentioned." The officers previously named, (exclusive of those not so, as but slightly hurt,) form a total of 69. The 2 principal officers of the Brigade among the victims of this bloody conflict were the Colonel Count Edvvaid Dillon of that noble race, in this instance referred to even by the Anglo-Whiggish, or Anti-Irish, and Anti-Catholic, prejudices ofVoltaii-e, as " le Colonel Dillon, nom celebre dans les troupes Irlaud- aises," and another gentleman of noted Galvvay origin, distinguished as a Jacobite loyalist, or cavalier, in the recent unfortunate ex|)edition 1o Scotland, Doniinick Lynch of the Regiinent of Lally; the inscription on whose tomb at Lou vain, as copied by Dr. de Burgo iu 17 09, was as follows; — D. 0. M. Hie, nt vohiit, jacefc Prai'iiobilis Domiuiis Dominicus Lynch, Ex Nobili Lyncaeorum Galviensi Familia, Hibernicfe Legionis de Lally Vice Colonelliis, Qui plurimis in Scotia Peractia Facinoribns, Postea vnlneratiis in Pra^lio Laifeltensi, Die II Jnlij mdccxlvii, Obijt Lovanij, Die xxviii Augnsti ejusdem Anni. Pv. I. p. * The Irish are also reported to have lost a ".standard;" on no better authority, indeed, than a hostile or English and Anglo-Irish assertion, yet one necessary to be fully refuted here, in order to obviate any citation of it hereafter, as a supposed proof of such a los.s. The London Gentle- man's Magazine for September, 1747, alleges, under its "List of Promo- tions," that " Thomas Davenant, Ensign in Wolfe's Regiment," was ap[)ointed, " by the Duke of Cumberland, Ensign in the Coldstream Begiment of Guards;" adding, "he took a standard of the French Irish Brigade in the late battle." In Faulkner's Dublin Journal, No. 2138, (September 8th — 12th, O. S., 1747,) it is likewise stated — "His Boyal * This Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Lally was the officer named " T ynch " els-ewhere mentioned among those who accompanied CVilonel Warren to Scotland, to bring away the Prince; subsequently noted as employed l>v Charles "en ]ilusicurs occasion* ;" and likewise set down, among those otHcers who came back with liim to Bretague, as receiving a gratification of " 1000 livres." 472 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Highness, the Duke, has been pleased to appoint Thomas Davenant,* Ensign in General Wolfs Regiment, and nephew to Thomas Boothby Skrymsher, Esq., to be an Ensign in the Coldstream Regiment of Guards. This young gentleman had the good fortune to take 1 of the standards belonging to the Irish Brigade, in the late battle of Val." But, it was impossible for Ensign Thomas Davenant, or for any other officer of the Allied army in that battle, to take a "standard" from the Irish Brigade lliere. A standard is the banner of cavalry, as contrasted with the colours for infantiy ; and the Regiment of Fitz-James, the only regiment of Irish cavalry in France, not being in a condition to serve at all this campaign, was not at the engagement in question, and so cotdd not lose a standard there. Nor can it be objected, that this asserted capture of an Irish standard by the Ensign of Wolfe's Regiment is only a mistake, for a ca[)tui'e of Irish colours from some of the infantry corps of the Brigade. In the English announcement from " Whitehall, July 11," of the "Standards and Colours taken from the French in the late Action," with descri[)tive particulars and mottoes unnecessary to copy here, the standards are specified, as, of Belfond's Regiment, 4 — of Beauf- fremont's, 1 — of Royal Cravates, 1 — or, so far, 6 standai'ds; the colours are specified as, of Diesbach's Swiss Regiment, 2 colour-staffs, flags torn off — of Royal des Vaisseaux, 3 colours, without staffs — of Monaco's, 4 colours — or, so far, 9 colours; and then, after an "N.B.," it is affirmed, another colour was taken by Crauford's Regiment, given in charge to Hussars, but not yet brought in; and a standard was taken by the Hanoverian cavalry, given in charge to Imperialists, but still unre- turned. Among those 15, or, including the 2 last, those 17 colours and standards, none are noticed, either as having belonged to the Irish Brigade, or as having been captured by Wolfe's Regiment. Of this last corps, too, (otherwise the 8th foot, or King's Own Regiment,) the bravery in the engagement is specially eulogized by an eye-witness. "Let me," he writes, "give you one instance of the resolution of our men. which I hiow to be true. Wolfe's regiment carried" into the field 24 rounds a man. This they made use of Afterwards they had a •supply of 8 rounds a rnan more. After this was spent, they made use of ; 11 tlie ammunition amongst the dead, and wounded, both of their own men, and the enemies. When no farther supply could V)e had, they formed themselves immediately, to receive their enemy u])()n their bayonets, and, being ordered to retreat, did it with the utmost regular- ity." This writei- (evidently an officer of the regiment he thus praises) subsequently ivfcrs to colours and standards taken from the French, "which," says he, "I have seen," but he is silent as to the ca])ture of any frcira the Irish Brigade. Under such circumstances, then, it is certain, that no cavalry-ensign, or "standard," of the Irish was, or could be, taken at Laffeldt; and it is anything but certain, that any infantry- ensign, or "colours" of theirs, fell into tiie hands of an officer of Wolfe's regiment. In fine, I am not aware of the existence either of Irish or of French evidence w^ith respect to any loss of the kind by the Irish on this occasion ; so that, it was not at the expense of the Irish Brigade, Ensign William Davenant acquired his trophy. As an additional instance of how warndy the feelings of the late civil * Bhiudered, as "Drvnent," in the original paragraph of the Dahhn paper, but corrected l>y Colonel Mac Kinuon, giving the paragraph in his " Origin and tServicea of the L'oldatream Uuards." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 473 war in Scotland were connected with tliis battle, we read in the payiera oi' the day, on the authority of a letter from the Allied arniy in Flanders to a person of distinction, tliat the Earl of Ancrani, son of the Marquis of Lothian, and Lord of the Bedchamber to the Duke of Cumberland, with whom he had fought in Scotland, and by whom he was selected to convey to England the military ensigns taken at Laffeldt, on being recognized there by a Scotch Jacobite officer in the French service who had likewise fought in Scotland, was singled out V)y the latter exclaiming to his Lordship, "Now I have you, my Lord!" — when an encounter with swords took place, in which his Lordship w^as wounded in the arm, but ran his antagonist through the body, killing him on the spot. Prince Chai^les, too, though itut present, as was commonly supposed, at the battle, was so glad at the defeat given to the Allies, from the ten- dency of such an event to favour hin cause, that he wrote from St. Ouen, July 7th, a letter to Louis XV., expressive of the joy he felt, on receiving the news of his Majesty's having gained such a victory over his enemies. In Scotland, the Jacobites, smarting under the triumphant G-eorgeite government, and wishing proportionably well to France as the friend of " Prince Charlie," gave vent to their satisfaction in song at the Duke of Cumberland's defeat, and the ho])es they entertained, that it would be j)roductive of still greater humiliation to Hanoverianism. Of the song referred to, entitled " The Battle of Val," I cite the following verses, in the order most conformable to the events of the campaign, from its commencement to the battle. " Up, and rin awa, Willie, Up, and rin awa, Willie; Culloflen's laurels you have lost, Your puff d-up looks, and a', Willie, This check o' conscieuce for your sins, It stings you to the saul, Willie, And breaks your measures this campaign. As much as Lowendahl,* Willie. Up, and riu awa, &c. " The Maese you cross'd just like a thief. To feed on turnips raw, Willie, In place of our good Highland beef, With which you gorg'd your maw, Willie. Up, and rin awa, &c. ** In just reward for their misdeeds, Your butchers gat a fa', Willie; And a' that liv'd ran aff wi' s})eed To Maestriclit's Strang wa', Willie, Up, and rin awa, &c. " To Hanover, I pray begone, Y'our daddie s dirty sta', Willie, And look ou that as your ain hame, And come na here at a', Willie. It's best to bide awa, Willie, It 's best to bide awa, Willie, For our brave Prince will soon be back. Your loggerhead to claw, Willie." • "■rturins the whole of this ■campaign." says the annotator of th? S<^ot(^h Jacob'lc Minstrelsy, "Couut Loweiidalil Was eminently auccessful, iu defeating the plans of Cumberland." 474 nrsTO!!Y of the trish brigades As Cuinbcrland, when Charles bad to retire before liim in Scotland, inquired for the residence last occupied by the latter, as "his cousin," in order, hy way of bi'avado. to quarter tliere, the suffering Jacobite would be gratified on seeing the tables tiinicd, in that respect, as well as others, at ''the butcher's" ex[iense, by the success of Louis X.V. at Laffeldt. " Le Eoi, convert dc^ la nouvelle gloire qu'il venoit d'acquerir," writes Dninortous, " se lendit, avec le Marechal de Saxe, a la Commanderie, ou le Due de Cumberland avoit en son quartier, et ils y passerent la nuit." Or, as the Private Life of Louis XV., after mentioning the victory, more simply states — " His Majesty slept that night where the English Prince had slept the night b(if )re." The French, on iinding themselves, notwithstandiri';^ their late victory, unable to besiege Maestricht, tiirned tlieir attention to Bergen-op-Zoom, "the strongest fortiticatiim of Dutch Brabant, the favourite work of tlit; famous engineer, Coehorn, never cc)nquered, and generally esteemed invincible." It was amply supplied with artillery, ammunition, and provisions, and the garrison of 3000 men could be increased at will from about 10,000 of tlie Allied troops occupying military lines, which com- municated with the place, and were protected by a chain of forts, surrounded with water. The condiicting of this very difficult siege, with a force of 30,000 men, ikc, was committeil by the Marshal de Saxe to an officer of JJa,n{sh, as the Marshal himself was of Sax m, blood royal.* This was the illustrio>is Waldemar, Count de Lowendahl, a noVjleman, not less reniarkal)le for the extent of his intellectual attainments than for the diversity of his military experience; being able to speak 14 languages, and having fought under the most distinguished commanders in Europe j as, in the Austi-ian service, under Prince Eugene of Savoy, in that of Russia, under Field Marshal Lacy, &c. During above 2 months, fi'om July to September, aliout Bergen-op-Zoom " nothing was seen but tire and smoke, nothing heard but one continued roar of bombs and cannon. But still the damage fell chietly on the besiegers, who were slain in heaps; while the garrison suffered very little, and could be occasionally relieved, or reiidorced, from the lines." By the diseases alone arising from the unwholesomeness of the situation necessarily occu})ied by the French as the besiegers, not les.s than 20,000 of their men were put hors de service; and, although the losses which occurred were filled up with ])ropoi'ti()nable reinforcements from their main army, yet since, by the middle of Se})tember, there was no practicable breach in the fortifications, the masonry- work scaicely touched, and, where the par'apet ivas injured, 2 men could not march abreast, the place was still in such a condition as, ■with due vigilance and corresponding measures of defence, to be con- sidered quite beyond being taken by assault, or, according to the general rules of war, impregnable. But as, in writing, genius may, says Pope, " From vnt_;ar bounds, with brave disorder, part, And snatoli a grace, beyouJ the reach uf art — " SO, in war, on this occasion, it was remarked at the time, the Count de Lowendahl " fit voir qu'il y avait des occasions, oil il faut s'elever au-dessus des regies de Tart." An assault being unexpected among the garrison, • A curious shamrock of Marshals flourished luider Louis XV. — tlie 3 leaves of which, in the persons of Saxe, Loweudahl, and O'Brien, represented the Saxon, the Dane, and the i\lile.'ikiii — and all from a koyal stem: But the Milesian alone was of leij'Uiiiiule descent. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCR, 475 tliey did not talcn precautions a.ofainst such an attempt; thereby jnr^tifvinc the enterprise, which they might have frustrated. On Septenii)er IGth, all being arranged in the dark, for the French coup-de'/iinin, the Count, at daybreak, caused a sudden and tremendous discharge of bombs to be [mured into the; town, followed by his dashinn' Ptorniers; who, gaining the ramparts in 3 directicms, were, with a loss of but 441 killed and wounded, so sarprisingh/ successful, that, in 2 hoiu-s, the fortress itself, and the adjoining military lines, were captured, the garrison of the formei', and the supernumerary force in the latter, consist- ing between both of aV)0ve 20 battalions, were slain, taken, or routed; the conquerors obtaining more than 288 ]»ieces of brass or iron cannon, a great many mortars, a quantity of small arms, tents, and ammunition, 17 vessels in the port, loaded with supplies of every kind for "olluted by the faithless Gaul." In 1748, the Allies, enumerated, on their side, as 110,000 men, united, and encamped about Ruremond, under the Duke of Cumberland, * As in November and December, 1745, to the number of 160 prizes, estimated at £000,000. See Book VII. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 477 to oppose the French. The Marshal de Saxe — under whom, as con- nected with tlie Irish Brigade, were the Lientenant-General Cliarh-s O'Brien, Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, the Majors- General Count and Duke de Fitz-Janies, Count Charles Edward Roth, Richard Fi-aucis 'Jalbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell, the Count Lally, Brigadier, &c. — had detei'mined on besieging Maestricht, liaving justly observed, that, in it, peace was to Vie obtained. Outwitting lii.s adversaries so com- pletely by his uiasterly or mystifying marches, that he succeeded iu investing the ])lace, the French Commander opened his trenches before the town on the night of April lotli, and his works were so vigorously pushed on, and his artillery so well served, that everything was to bo ready for attacking the covered way on the evening of May 4th ; when, about noon, a letter arrived from the Duke of Cumljerland. announcing the signature, April 30th, of the preliminaries of peace. By these, and the arrangements consequently made, Maestricht, in deference to the glory of the French arms, was agreed to be given up to the Marshal ; at the same time that honourable terms of surrender were to be granted to the garrison. In the operations carried on against the place, the Marechaux de Camp, or Majors-General de Fitz-James, Loi-d Tyrconnell, and Count Roth, are duly referred to, as commanding, on several occa- sions, in the trenches. But the gallant Brigadier Count Lally was most remarkable, as a confidant, ;inel 1 of the chief instruments, of the Marshal de Saxe, iu his admirable measures for accomplishing the invest- ment of the town; as exercising, in conjunction with that very able officer, the Marquis de C.emilles, the functions of Quarter-Master- Gene]-al of the Army ; as being severely wounded ; and, on the day the place was surrendered, as being, for his signal services there, nominated a Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, hors de ligne, or in the .same very honourai)le way that he had been created a Brigadier ! Peace between France and England, as wtdl as the other belligerent European powers, was not definitively arranged, until the general signa- ture, October 18th, 1748, of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In the factious fermentation of a licentious commercial |)rosperity, united with no le.ss j)olitical inconsistency and national conceit, the English, while the basis of their existing legislative system was so rotten that hy corruption alone could they be governed, had clamoured against their alile Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, for governing by corrup- tinn,* and had driven him into war, which (to his credit !) it was a leading object of Jm administration to avoid. " When," writes Lord Macaulay, on the consequent rejoicings in London, " the heralds were attended into the city by the chiefs of the opposition, when "the Prince of Wales himself stop])ed at Temple Bar to drink success to the English arms, the Minister heard all the steeples of the city jii gling a xneri-y peal, and muttered, 'They may ring the bells now; they will be wringing their havids before long I' " Sir Robert's sagacity, as a lover of peace, was justified by the event. Of the war generally, Doctor kdinson remarks — " We pleased ourselves with r/- victor t/ al- DeUnujen, wlieye ive left our wounded men to the care ■•'■' our ene/nies, but our uniiij ivus broken, (it Fontenofi and Val; and though, after the disyrace which we suffered in the Mediterranean, we had su'/>i.e naval success, and an accidental dearth * "Sir Eobert Walpole," according to his sou, "used to say, that it was for- tunate so lew men could be Prime Ministers, as it was best that few should tlioiouglily know the skockimj wicked iiass of uianlciud ! " 478 HrSTORT OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS made peace necessary for tlie French, yet IJiPij preficrihed the comJitinnft, ol>ii(jed us to yivf. kustcyes^ atid acted a.s- cotujuerors, tliomjh as conquerors of viotieriitiony After alhuHiig to tlie cniitewt in tie Netherlands, as one, on tlie part of England, and her Allies, where " i//e// never Iiaziirded a h'rtance, even iioin the* account in these page.s, |)resented to a reader under the gTeat disad- vantage of that coijis never having had any Xenophon or Napier among its oilicers, to do adequate justice to the merits of his countrymen, by recording many ciicumstancas to their honour, necessarily passed over by the writers of otjjer nations, as either altogether unknown, or com- ])aratively uninteresting, to tluni, and so lost to history. But, how high was the opinion in France of the conduct of the Brigade during tliis ■war, for the good discipline or union of the several regiments among themselves, as well as for their bravery against the enemy, is emphati- cally attested by the official Memoire which states, " that union, has pre- vailed, to so great a degree, in the Irish Brigade, since all tlie corps w;ere tlius made to serve togetlier, that the most trijiing dispute, or altercation, ■never took place ; so that it a|)pHared, as if tlie different battalions formed hut 1 single regiinerd, well unitfd, and unanimous. It is considered," continues the document, " that this conduct was as creditable to it, as the exactitude and the willingness with ivldch it served, and as tlie splendid, and transrmdent actions by which it distinguished itself ! "* With this war terminates, as has been previously intimated, the more thoroughly national or interesting jieriod of the history of the Brigade. The Penal Code, indeed, was sul'Iiciently active in Ireland, as briefly, yet abundantly, attested by this signiticant paragraph of the Gentleman's Magazine tor April, 1748. "Ireland — One George IVillianos was convicted, at Wexford Assizes, for being perverted from the Protestant to the Popish religion^ and sentencd, to be out of the King's protection, his lands and tenements, goods and chatties., to be forfeited to the King,, arul his body to remain at th.e King's pleasure !" f With reference, likewise, to increased rigou.r against the (Jatholics in Ireland, next year, or 1749, a Fi-eneh mibtary writer adds of the Irish — ''Can, a noble people be suj/iciently allured into this country,, whom his Majesty has seen, under his own eyes, serve, and expose * See Mr. O'Conor's Appendix. t This inuiiBlunent was incurred, under the following provision of the " glorions- revolutioii' I'enal Code. "If any person sliall seduce a Protestant, to leiioinice the Protestant, and profess the Popish, religion, the seducer and the seduced shall incur the penalty of Pnenumiie, mentioned in Idth Rich. IT , chap. 5. That is, they shall be put out of the Knig's protection, their lands and goods forfeited to the King's use, and they shall be attached, by their bodies, to answer to tlie King and his Council." (Mac Nevin's Pieces of Irish Hist-ncore en asu'-z grand iiuinbre les joindre. Mais les emigrations, en Officiers, n'ont jamais et^ interrompues ; ellcs subsistent encore avec tant d'activit^, que le nombre des sujets nes en Irlande de families attache.es a la religion Catholiqne exccile. dans ce moment mcme, les em|)iois a douner ; qu'il n'y a dans les regimens Irlandois d'autres Officiers, nes en France, que ceux qui sont tils ou descendans d'anciens Officiers de ces rdgimens qui se sout marits dans le pays oil ils sont citoyons. ' See, nioreover, the nxmeft of the officers of the several" regiments of the Brigade, in tiie iiuuu;j voluuiea of the " Eut Miii- taire Ue Frauce," down to the llevolutioui. HISTOEY OF THE lELSH BEIGADES THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK IX. In the period which elapsed from the Peace of 1748 between France and England to the declaration of war between the rival powers in 1756, the annals of the Irish Brigade were illustrated by the deaths of 4 officers of distinction connected with tlie national force — the 1st. Field-Marshal Count Peter Lacy, or de Lacy, entitled to be noticed in this work, at the period of his decease, as having, for several years, belonged to that force, j)revious to his entering the service of Knssia, although, in the latter, he attained his highest honours — the 2nd, Marechal de Camp, or Major- Ceneral, Richard Francis Talbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrc(mnell, and Ambassador fiom France to Prussia — the 3rd, Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, John Nugent, 5th Earl of Westmeath— the 4th, Daniel O'Connor Sligo, a noble veteran of above 9U, deceased a Lieutenant-General in the Austi-ian service, but, like Lacy, included in this list, as having beea originally an officer in the armies of Kings James II. and Louis XIV. Of tiie name of Lacy, ennobled, and eminent for its territorial acquisi- tions among the Norman conquerors of England and Wales, as well as among the early settlers of the same adventurous race in Erin, a Limerick historian observes — "The illustrious and ancient house of Lacy has y)ro- duced many exalted characters. There were 3 branches of this family, seated at Bruree, Bvwff, and Baliingarry, in the County of Limerick. The "loss of their possessions did not extinguish the memory of the achievements of their heroic ancestors." The origin of these Limerick Lacys is deduced from William, son of the celebrated Hugue de Lacy, (the 1st great representative of the name in Erin under Henry II.,) by that nobleman's 2nd marriage with the Princess Rose, daughter of the Ex-Ard-Righ, or Monarch of Erin, and King of Connaught, Ruadri or Roderic O'Conor. John Lacy Esquire of Baliingarry was father- of Peter, 1 of the offspring of whose union with Maria Courteney, was the future Count and Field-Marshal Peter, born at Killidy or Killeedy, County of Limerick, in 1678.* On the conclusion of the War of the Revolution in Ireland by the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, young Peter, then only entering his 14th year, was an Ensign in the Prince of Wales's Regiment of Infantry, of which his uncle, John Lacy, Quartermaster-General and Brigadier, was Colonel; and quitting Ireland, with the remains of that regiment, as part of King James's army, sailed for France. Lauding, in * The Mcarshal's mention of his birth clay a.^ '• '29th September," ancordiutr to 0. S.. which in 1678, and until 175-2, was that 'established ui Gfeat Britain and Ireland, would place his biilh, by ^. S., ou "October 9tu." 2 1 482 HISTORY OP THE IKISH ButcADKS Jannarv, 1G02, at Brest, he pv(X-eeded to Nantes, to entei-, as a Li(^u- tenaiit, the Regiment of Athhmih" With tliat corps, lie, in May, joimd the Marshal de Catinat's arniv in Italy; served to the end of the war tliei'e, in 1696; in 1697, marched to the Rhine; and, in coiisecjuence of the extensive reduction of the Irish Jacobite force in France, subsequent to the Peace of Ryswick, in which reduction his regiment was included, he quitted France, to seek service elsewhere. Disappointed of employ- ment in Hungary, against the Turks, by the Peace of Carlowitz, in January, 1699, between the Porte, Austria, &c., he became 1 of 100 (ifhcers at Vienna, engaged for the Czar Peter of Russia, to discipline his troops. After presentation, with his comj)anions, to Peter, at Narva, he was made Captain of a company, in the infantry Regiment of Colonel Bruce, From this period, 1700, he was involved in the military operations, witl* various fortune, in Livonia and Ingi-ia, between the Czar, his rival Charles Xir. of Sweden, and their subordinate Generals, nntil 1703, when, after tlie snnender of Jambourg in Ingiia, he was honoured with tlie command of a company, 100 in number, styled the Grand Musketeers, cora]>osed of Russian n(;blesse, armed and horsed at their own expense. In 1705, with the Czar in Poland, he was made Major of Scheremetoff's Regiment of Infantry, with which, under that Marshal, he fought against the Swedish General Lowenhanjit; and, in 1706, was nominated, by the Czar, Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Polotzk, and commissioned to instruct 3 newly-raised regiments encam])ed there. In 1707, seno to join Lieu- tenant-General Bauei-'s corps blockading Bucko in Poland, and having to open trenches, in June, at 10 toises from the countei'scarp, he repulsed a sally of the enemy with loss; and, the foi-tress surrendering that month, he was quartered, with his regiment, in Lithuania. In 1708, joining the main Russian army under the Czar, he was a{)pointed Colonel of the Siberian Regiment of Infantry. That army, advancing to Copaisch upon the Borysthenes, intrenched itself there to intercept Charles XII. coming from Saxony, till. Prince Repnin's corps being beaten by the Swedes, it became necessary to retire to Gorigorhi on the other side of the Borysthenes; while Charles marched towards the Ukraine to join the famous Mazeppa. Hetman of the Cossacks; but derived little benetit from the junction, and was still more disappointed at the destruction, or inter- ception, of the greater portion of General Lowenhaupt's force at Lesna, &c., by the Czar. In November, despatched with 2 regiments to Pere- gova, where the Swedes endeavoured to make a bridge over the Desna, Lacy repulsed them in a smart action with such considerable loss, that they had to relinquish the attempt there. On their subsequently endeavouring to pass the river lower down near Mischin, he again foiled them by a redoubt and battery; but, being ordered to descend a le;igue lower, to guard against a reported design of crossing thei'e, and General Gordon being posted at Mischin, that ollicer, not so fortunate, was routed, •The notices of Field-Marshal Count Lacy, in the Continental, London, and Dnbhn periodicals, at the time of his deatli, allege, that his father, and 2 brothers, also left Ireland, iu Ki'Jl, for France. The same notices add, how the father, who was Ca|)tain of a company in the Irish Guards of King James IL, and the Marshal's elder brother (whose rank is not mentioned) both died in the service ot P^ ranee, as well as the younger brother, Uii.cd, when Aid-Major in the Kei;unent of Dorrinpton, (suhseyiiently lvotl)'s) at Malpiaijiiet. Tlie death of the Marshal's iHicle, in the same service, at Marsaglia, has \>ten picviuusly related, under the year IGUiJ. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. ,. 483 and the enemy effected their object. In Deceniher, dt'tachcd with 15,000 men, to assault Kuiiiua, whc'Ve Charles XII. had taken up his quarters, Lacy, with o battalions, a company of grenadiers, a regiment of dragoons, and 600 Cossacks, passing the King, fiossessed himself of, and secur-ed himself in it; a dangerf)us position, as the Swedish army was cantom-d all about the place. In January. 1709, the Czar lurther I'e warded Lacv for his services, by giving him a Regiment of Grenadiers. At the great battle of Pultowa tliat summer, wht-re Charles was irretrievably overthrown by the Czar, Lacy, tliouuh not yet, or till above 3 years after, nominated a Brigadier, was most highly honoured, in being commissioned to act as such in command, on the right wing of the Enssiau army, (under Lieutenant-General Bauer) u])i)ii which occasion, he was wounded. This uncommon testimony to Lacy's ability, by such a good judge of merit, as the Czar, is i)erhaps explained by Ferrar. " It was," he says, "Marshal Lacy who taught the Russians to beat the King of Sweden's army, and, from bfiug the worst, to become some of the best, soldiers in Euro])e. The Ru.ssiana had been used to fight in a very con- fused manner, and to discharge their musketry, betbre they ailvanced sufficiently near the enemy to do execution. Before the famous batde of Pultowa in 1709, Marslial Lacy advised the Czai-, to .send orders, that eveiy man should reserve his fire, until he came within a few yards of the enemy. The consequence vvas, that Charles XII. was totally defeated," and, " in that 1 action, lost the advantage of 9 glorious campaign.s." From 1709 to 1721, 'Lacy, continuing to serve against the Swedes, Turks, ttc, was nominated a Brigadier in August, 1712; in the following mouth, a Major-General ; in July. 1720, a Lieutenant-Genei'al ; distinguishing himself mofet, in 1720 and 1721, through the successful and destructive descents he made by sea, along the coasts of Sweden, to but 12 niiles from Stockholm. At this short distance from that metropolis, he had anchored with 130 gallies, and had encamped his vanguard, when the Swt-des were obliged, in September, to conclude the Peace of Nystadt; thereby I'elinquishing Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Carelia, besides a number of islands in the Baltic, to Russia. In July, 1723, Lacy was summoned by the Czar to Petei-.sburgh, to take a seat in the College of War. In June, 1724, at the cei-emonies connected with the coronation of the Empress Catherine I., he followed on horseback the Empress s carriage, throwing among the peojjle 1500 gold and 11,000 silver medals. From 1723 to 1725, assisting the College of War at Petersburgh with his opinions and advice, he was, in the latter year, honoured with the insignia of the Order of St. Alexander Newsky, the rank of General-in-Chief of Infantry, and the command of the forces about Petersburgh, as well as those in Ingria and Novogorod; to which, in 1726, were added those in Esthonia and Carelia. In 1727, on the election of the famous Maurice Count de Saxe (subsequently Marshal) as Duke of Courland contraiy to the wish of the Court of Petersburgh, Lacy was commissioned to expel the Count from the Duchy, and did so. In 1729, he was named Governor of Livonia, and Commander-in-Chief there, and in Esthonia. In 1733, being ordered to ])roceed, in August, with 30,000 men into Poland, to establish Augustus of Saxony as King in opposition to Stanislas, he marched upon Warsaw, which he entered in October. In 1734, pur.>u- ing the adherents of Stanislas to Thorn, he drove them from it in January ; and, after opening trenches before Dantzick in March, he, in April, 5 miles from that place, at Vizitzlua, with only 2000 men, routed 60UU of 484 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES the Stanislaites, with a loss of .300 of thoir nnmber, and all their hao^ija^e. He besieged Dantzick along wi+h Marshal M\inich ; the reduction of which, after 135 days' operations from the Ist approaches in February to the surrender in June, cos*- the Russians above 8U00 men, with nearly 200 otticers; and Stanislas had to escape from the country in disguise. In acknowledgment of Lacy's services, Augustus this summer presented him with his portrait set in diamonds, valued at 25, 000 crowns ; at the same time declaring him a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle of Poland. The hostility to King Augustus continuing in 1735, Lacy was detained in Poland, till, by the results of his most remarkable achieve- ment, or the attack and defeat, at Busawitza, with only 1500 dragoons, 80 hussars, and 500 Cossacks, of 20,000 of the Stanislaites under the Palatine of Lul)lin, and the surrender, in April, of the Castellan Czerski, ■with tile rest of the refractory Poles, the contest was decided in favour of, Augustus.* After a suitably honourable reception at Warsaw by that Prince, Lacy, with 15,000, subsequently reduced to about 10,000, infantry, v/as directed to march to the aid of Austria, then, in consequence of tlie contest for iA\e crown of Poland, engaged in hostilities with France. Having joined the Imperial army, 6 miles from Manheira, in August, the veteran Prince Eugene avoid 3000 Poles. They beat them in every engagement, or rencounter, they Lad with'them. 7 he Sa.riws trerc ant .so/ortitua e, having come off hy the wornt *//, acvm-al occasions of trial vn/h the Poles, who, at Irnijth, came to ho/d thenj in cniittmpt, icherean they were exi namely afraid of tlie /ivs-sians.''' But, accoicling to a certain class of writers, the Saxous dught to have been at least equal, if not superior, in "phick," or soldiership, to eiiher the fiussians, or the Pfdes, instead of nifenor to Itofh / As to Poland, her ex-king Stanislas, above referred to, writing against the anarchy theie, of which he foresaw the ultimate melancholy result, has, in a work printed so early as 1749, these remarkable words — " Notre tour vieiKlra, sans tbaite, ou nous serous la ])roie de quelque fanieux conqnerant; ^>eut-etre iSL^ine iea i)ut,-)isaiiceti vulsiues succordtroid- eucs d ^lurutgcr uoh etaCtt.^ IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 485 ling tliither, May 2ncl, in his p'»sfc-carriiige, escorted by only 36 dragoons riding some hnudred pares V)elore it, the Marshal, at a desert, aliout 3 leagues in length, whicli it was necessary to pass, was, with his little paity, unexpectedly assailed hy ahoiit 2000 ^"artar marauders. Of the 36 dragoons, 21 Avere ca|)tured, wif'i a domestic, and the carriage; tlie pillage of the vehicle, however, so luckily engrossing the enemy's atten- tion, that the Marshal himself was able to escape on horseback. During May and June he carried on the siege of Az(jph by sap for the greater safety of his men, while his artillery-missiles wpread destruction through the interior of the hostile fortress; the Turks, meantime, making con- stant sallies. At the most important of the.se, June 14th. tlie Turks, 3000 strong, attacking the Russian trenches, beating away the guard of 600 men, and filling uji part of the works, the Maishal hastened forward with a reseive and ])icket, rallied his repulsed troops, and after a shar[) encounter, costing 856 killed or wounded, drove back the enemy, with a considerable loss, to the tov.'n. On this occasion, the Marshal, having advanced too far in order to animate liis men, received a gun-shot about the knee, was enveloped by the Turks, and might have been slain or taken by them, but for the uncommon devotion aiid corresponding exertions of his soldiers; whom, it is remarked, he so "well knew how to spare tipon every proper oppoi-tunity, to preserve, and to guard from over-fatigue, and the want of subsistence." At last, by the beginning of July, so little provision remaine undo," might well add of the latter, " Yet none so cruel as the Tartar foe, To death inurd, and iiurs d iii scenes of woe ! " * The journal of Marshal Lacy, written by himself, ending with the mention of his establishing his headquarters ni October, IToli, at KarUow, for the wiuiei, my reuiainiiig autliorities rcMjiectino- tlie Mavslud's military career, are Alajor-Ueuerid Baioii Maustem, aud the Marshal I'liuce de Li-ne, 486 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES The Marslinl's pni'ties, however, were not without their satisfaction against those Scytliiau banditti; as, in 1 affair, where, of 800, inchuling Sduie Turks, under the brotlier of the Khaun of the Crimea, -'JOO were slain, 50 made |)risoners, 400 of tlieiv horses captured, and 3000 Russian subjects, who had been reduced to shivery, were happily rescued. In 1737, the Court of St. Petersburgh, having decided upon a 3rd expedition to the Crimea — from the 1st of which, in 1735, Lieutenant- General Leontew, with 28.000 men. had to r-etire minus above 9000 men, and at least as many horses — from the 2nd of which, in 173G, Mar.-;lial Munich, with 52,000 men, had likewise to retire minus almost 30,000 men, and nearly all his horses — the renewal of the enterprise was intrusted to Lacy, with about 40,000 men, to be su])ported by a fleet acting under llear-Admiral Bredal, on the Sea of Azoph. Advancing to, and assembling his entire force at, the river Berda, securing h^ redoubts at projjer intervals his communications with Azoph, and con- certing with the Rear-Admiral, anchored at the mouth of the Berda, the operations of the campaign. Lacy proceeded with his armv as closely as po.ssible along 'the shore of the Sea of Azo|)h, and, on reaching the river Molotschnie-Wodi, established a fort Uiere for his sick men, protected by a good garrison. "June 2 5," continues the original military lau-rative, " the army encamped on the .shoi-e of that arm of the Sea of Azoph, wliich joins the lines of Precop ; the fleet did not lie there at above a cann(Ui-shot distance from it. Lacy, who wanted to enter, without loss of time, into Crimea, instantly ordered the construction of a bridge, which was finished by tiie 28th ; and some i-egiments of dragoons, and 3 or 4000 Cossacks, passed over it immediately. By the 30th, the whole army was got over, and continued its march along-shore of the Sea of Azoph. July 2nd, it was joined by 4000 Calmucks. 'J'he Khaun of the Tartars of the Crimea, who had never imagined that the Puissians would enter his country on that side, was astonished at it, Avhen he received the new.s. He had po.sted himself, with all his troops, behind the lines of Precop, which he had taken care to get repaired, and Loped to dispute the pass of them, with the Russians, more successfully than had been done by the old Khaun, the year before. But all this was so much trouble in vain. Lacy was now in full march against Ai-abat, without having lost a .single mail. As the Russian army was obliged to continue its march on a narrow enough spit of land, formed by the Sea of Azoph, which sti-etches as far as Arabat, the Khauu imagined, he might retrieve and rectify everything, at the outlet of that straight. He marched then, with all diligence, in the hope of stopping the Rus.sian army at the lines, which care had been taken to form along the front of that spit of land, so as to compel it, either to a retreat, or even to a battle, if it should obstinately contend for passing. " But Lacy broke all his measures. As soon as he heard, that the Khaun was arrived at Arabat, and that he was there waiting for him, he caused the depth of that arm /if the sea, which sejiarates this spot of land from the rest of Crimea, to be sounded, and, having found a ])lace ]>roper for this purpose, he had rafts made; for the construction of whiclf, all the empty casks of the army, and main timber-pieces of the chficaux- de-frisfi, were employed; and. by this means, cr-ossed this arm of the sea, with the infantry and equipages. The dragoons, Cossacks, or Calmucks, swam, oi- forded it over. It had not been the Khaun alone wlio had judged this a rash enterjjrise of the Marshal Lacy, when he maiched i>a IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 487 the spit of land towai'ds Arabat; for the Generals of bis own army- were of the same opinion. All of them, except Spiegel, waited on him one morning, and i-epresented to him, that he was exposing the troops too much, and that they were all rnnning a risk of jierishing together. The Marshal answered them, that danger there was in all mihtary enter- pi'ises; but that he did mrt see more, in this one, than in others. How- ever, he desired their counsel, of what '•hey thouglit was best to be done. They leplied, 'To return.' Upon which. Lacy rejoined, that, since the Generals had a mind to i-eturn, be would des|)atcb them their pass[)orts for it; and actually called i'ov his Secretary, whom he ordered to make them out, and immediately to deliver them to them. He even com- manded a party of 200 dragcjons to escort them to the Ukrain, there to await his return. It was 3 days before the Generals could prevail oa the Marshal to relent, and forgive them the presumption thei/ had showu, in proposing to hi/m a retreat." " The Khaun, who had imagined he shonld beat the Russian army at the outlet near Arabat, was extremely, surprised at learning, that it had crossed the arm of the sea, and was now in full march towards him. But he did not think fit to wait for it. He reti-eated towards the mountains, harassed with the Cossacks and Calmucks close at his heels. Lacy, having advice of the retreat of the enemy, would not continue his march towards Arabat, but wheeled to the right, in order to get among the mountains in quest of the Khaun, and to give him battle, if the thing was practicable. July 23, the Russian army encamped at the distance of 2G wersts, or 7 French leagues, from one of the best towns of Crimea, called Karas-Bazai-. There it was attacked by a large choice body of troops, commanded by the Khavm in person. These attacks were, at tii-st, very vigorous ; but, after an hour's combat, the Tartai-s were rejjulsed, and driven off the field, by the Cossacks and Calmucks, who pursued them 15 wersts, or 4 leagues into the mountains. The army remained in the same camp, but the light troo])s made an excur- sion on the side of Karas-Bazai', to ruin the habitations of the Tartars. They i-eturned the same day, with about 600 prisoners, a considerable booty, and a great quantity of cattle. July 25, the Lieutenant-General Douglas commanded the vanguard with GOOO men, dragoons and foot, and the greatest part of the light troops, to march to Karas-Bazar. ]\Iarshal Lacy followed them with the rest of the army, having left in camp the equi])ages and the sick, with 5000 men to guard them," under a Brigadier. " All the advanced guards, that sought to oppose the passage of the ti-oops, were repulsed ; and presently there was discovennl, on a rising ground, near the town, a retrenched camp, in which there might be about from 12 to 15,000 Turks. Upon this, the Mai'shal reinforced Douglas with 2 regiments of dragoons ; giving him orders to attack the enemy, and to take possession of Karas-Bazar. Tliis was executed, with all imaginable success ; the Turks having fied, after about an hour's combat. The inhabitants had entirely abandoned the town; so that there were none remaining in it, but some Greek and Armenian families. The place then was taken without any resistance, pillaged, and reduced to ashes. This town, of which above one half was built of stone, contained about 10,000 houses, 38 mosques and Turkish chapels, 2 Christian churches for the Greeks and Armenians, 50 water-mills, and a numlter of other public buildings. The booty the troops made was very considerable ; the inhabitants not having had time to save their 488 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES effects. As the town is situate in tlie avennes to the hills!, v/heve the passes are so narrow that scarce 3 men can march abreast, and tlmt, besides, there was no forage, the Mar-slial measured back liis steps, and encamped at a league distance fnim that place. The Cossacks and Cahnucks had order.s to penetrate as far as they coukl into the moun- tains, and to burn and destroy all tlie liabitations of the Tartars." "July 26, the army marched back, to occu[)y the same camp, in which they had left their equipages, and the sick. Scarce had they got into the plain, before they saw the enemies advancing, with the greatest part of their forces, on the other side of the river Karas. Marshal Lacy instantly detached Douglas, with several regiments of foot and dragoons, and a part of the light troops, to attack them. Douglas crossed the river a league above the enemies, and marclied stiuit to them. They cannonaded one another for near an hour ; after which the* Cossacks came to blows with the enemies. The skirmish was smart ou both sides. The Cossacks were thrice re])ulsed ; but the regular troops coming np, in fine order, ai.d with a steady countenance, obliged t!ie enemies to retreat. The army encamped on the field of battle. During the action, Lacy had ordered the Cahnucks, to take the enemies in rear and flank. After the affair was over, no Cahnucks appeared ; at which the Marshal was rather uneasy, apprehending they miglit have pursued the enemies too far among tlie mountains; so as to liave their retreat to the army cut off, or to have all been put to the swoid. But, 2 days afterwards, they returned to the camp, bringing with them above 1000 prisoners; among them were several Mirzas," or Tai-tar gentlemen, " whom they had taken in an inroad, which they had, of their own heads, made into tlie mountains, as far as Batchi-Serai. July 27. the army resumed tlie camp, which it had occupied, before its proceeding to Karas-Bazar. The Marshal then held there a grand Council of War, in which it was resolved, that, since the plan of operations, prescribed to them, had been executed, and that there remained nothing considerable to be undertaken by them, it would be advisable to di'aw nearer again to the frontiers of the Crimea. It took the army up 5 days to get from this camp to the mouth of Scoungar; in all which time, the light ti'oops had nothing to do, but to reduce to ashes the habitations of the Tartars, that were for 4 or 5 leagues round the army, and of which the number might be equivalent to 1000 villages, or little open towns, the country being extremely populous on that side. They brought also to the camp above 30,000 uxen, and more than 100,0()0 shee|). The enemies, on their jiart, did not cease to harass the army on its march, and sometimes found means to carry off some of the officers' servants, who had ventured to go beyond the ))reciiict of the advanced posts, as also s(mie hundreds of horses of the train and equipages. As soon as the army was arrived at the Scoungai-, a bridge of boats was ordered to be got I'eady, and was finished by the next morning, the 2nd of August; ■when, on the same day, ])art of the army ci'ossed it, and liad scarce the time to form, when the enemies appeared, with their whole force, to oppose the passing. They had been reinforced with some tliousands of Turks from the Kaffa. They attacked several times, with great violence, the light troops, but were constantly repulsed. At length, tired with their fruitless attempts, and with lo.sing so many men by the cannon, they retreated, leaving about 100 killed on the spot. August 4th, the Marshal passed the Scoungar, with the rest of tlie army. There tliey IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 489 remained a few clays encamped ; after wliirh they went on to camp ne;ir the river Molotsclinie-Woili, where the Marshal staid out the whole month of August, having found a country abounding in forage. During that time, he detached several parties of Iiglit ti-oojt-* towaids Precop, and towards the Dnieper, to reconnoitre the mntions of the enemies ; for he had received advice, that the Khann, wjtl) from 30 to 40,000 men, was come out of Crimea, to attempt sonu^ enterprise. August 17. one of the Russian pai'ties Ml in with another of Tartars, which they beat, and brought into the camp several prisoners. These said it was true, th;it the Khaun had come from beliind the lines of Precop, immediately after that the Russian army had passed over the Schoungar, and had encamped several days on the deps; but that, on learning that the Marshal Lacy had posted himself near Molotzchnie-Wodi. he was afraid of his coming to attack him ; which had determined him to re-enter the lines, and retreat to his own country." Meantime, or from the 9th to the 11th of August, the Russian fleet under Rear- Admiral Bredal, and that of the Turks under the Captain-Bashaw, cannonaded each other during 2 days, the Tui-kish armament withdrawing towards CatFa, on the 3rd. "In the beginning of the month of September, Count Lacy quitted his camp of Molotschnie-Wodi, and resumed the route to Ukrain. The Tartai'S, very glad at seeing him take his departure, let him alone, without harassing him on his march. In the month of Octf)ber, he arrived at the frontiers of Russia, and sent his troops into winter- quarters, along the Don and Donetz." Such was the Marshal's expedition of 1737 into the Crimea, respect- ing which it has been remarked thak, " without knowing why he had beeu sent into the countiy, he quitted it with very great glory to himself, and very little sickness to his army" — in the latter most creditable circumstance, showing iiimself to be very superior, as a comtnauder, to his predecessor, Marshal Munich. For, of Munich's treatment of his army in the course of his invasion of that peninsula, the preceding year, or 1736, we are informed, " that Marshal Munich was too harsh. He unnecessarily fatigued his troops too much. In tlie burning heat of summer, instead of making them march in the night, or .some hour.s before daybreak, to take the benefit of the freshness of that time, the army never used to begin its march till 2 or 3 hours after sunrise, which greatly contributed to the distempers that got among th(! troo])s ; and the suffocating heats overcame them so, that some dro|)ped down dead on the march. There were even (jtKcers, that, in this campaign, died of hunger, and misery of all kinds" In 1738, while Marshal Munich commanded one of the Russian armies, against the Intidels, on the side ot the Dneister, Ids brother Marshal, Lacy, was to re-invade tlie Crimea with the other army, not, at most, including the Cossacks, above from 30 to 35,000 strong. "July G, " y)i'oceeds the contemporary account, "he was with his army in sight of Piecop. The Khaun, with 40,000 of his troops, was behind the lines, where he hoped to render the entrance into the Crimea moi-e ditflcult, than it had been the preceding years. He had great confidence in the new lines, which, tlie year befoi-e, the Tai-tars had made before the Palus Majotis. But Lacy disconcerted his project, and entered Crimea, without the less of a single man. For, in summer, tlie heats dry up a part of the Sea of Azoph, and a west-wind keeps back the flood so, that one may u'et iuto the Crimea, almost dryshod. As good luck would have it, this wiud 400 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES becjan to l)low, and the IMarsbal lost not a moment, for the taking the beneiit. of it. He instantly drew up his ni-niy along the shore, iti 1 single line; and haii]>ily crossed the sea, before the i-eturn of the flood. Some, inileed. of the carriages, of the rear-guai'd, that could not come up quirk enongli, were lost, bv the wind having ceased to blow, and the sea returning, just afti'r the army had passed. They seized on a ^imall fort, called the Ozivus-Coula." ()u "July 8, the Marshal marched towards Piecnp, and sat dovx n before it. The siege did not last but till the 10th. The continual lire kept up against the place, and the quantity of shells thrown into it, to great eti'ect, obliged the Turkish Commandant to caj)itulate. Lacy would not hear of his surrender, but as a ])risf)ner of war; which, after several parleys, he accepted. The garrison, consisting of 2000 Janisaries, under a Bashaw of 2 tails, came out of the place, and laid ilown their arms. Major-General Brigui, the youngei-, with 2 regi-* nieuts of foot, entered the place, and took the command of it. He found there to tlu' number of 100 pieces of cannon, most of them brass; but no more than a small quantity of liread. After this expedition, Lacy ])enetrated farther into Crimea, which he found in a wretched condition, and almost a desert." "July 20, there was a very snmrt action between the Tartars, and a ])art of Lacy's army. A body of near 20,000 men came on with suck fury, to attack the Cossacks of the Ukrain, who constituted the rear- guard, that they routed them, and threw into confusion the Azo])li Regi- ment of Dragoons, that had endeavoured to sustain them. Just at that juncture, LuMitenant- General Spiegel came up with -i regiments of dragoons, and the Cossacks of the Don, to stop the runavvays; and, scarce had they had time to recover themselves, before the enemies attacked them afresh, with a great deal of impetuosity. The combat was long and shai-p; but the Marshal, having caused some regiments of foot, who had already entered the camp, to advance, the Tartars were obliged to retreat, having left above 1,000 of their slain on the field of battle. On the side of the Rvissians, there were not above 6 or 700 men killed, including the Cossacks.* General Spiegel was among the wounded; having received a cut of a sabre in the face. Mai'shal Lacy had it in his instructions, to take Caffa, the strongest place of the Crimea, and a sea-port, in which the Turks often kept their fleet; but he found the country every where so ruined, that it was, with great difficulty, the army could get subsistence. Besides which, the Vice- Admiral Bredal, who was to bring him, in his fleet, provisions from Azoph, had met with a terrible storm, that disabled the greatest ])art of his vessels, and dispei'sed the rest ; so that the Marshal, after having made some marches onward, thought it best to bring back his army to near Precop; of which he oidered the foititications to be blown up, and a great part of the lines to be levelled. In his camp here, he remained till towards the f\u\ of August, when he resumed his march l)ack to the Ukrain, where his troops went into winter-ciuarters, in the month of October." In 1739, the last year of this war against the Turks, hostilities with Sweden being also ajiprehended by Russia, the aimy under Marshal Lacy was merely kept quarteied along the Ukraine-frontier as a reserve; the more to be relied on, in case of need, from its regiments having, thi'ough * This was evidently a more serious nffrir, than would a|ii>ear from a mere estimate of those ki hit ou each side; for every 1 ot whom, there would not be fesa than 3 or 4 tvouadtd. IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCK 491 their General's good niaiiagenioiit, "sntfered very little loss." On tliis ])raisew()rtliy economy of his soldiers' lives, contrasted with Munich s loss, during his 4 campaigns, of above 90,01)0 men, exclusive of any slain in action, my author, after exclaiming, "What a difference of conduct, between the 2 Marshals, Lacy and Munich, in this war against the Turks!" adds — "It produced at length such an effect at CVjurt, from the com])hiints, which had been made to it, of the hardships endured by tlie army, and tlie little care taken of it, l)y tlie leaving it to moulder away, at the precise time that Lacy did not lose a man but by the enemy, that the Empress charged the former, to inspect the conduct of tlie lattei-. Lacy's delicacy, however, refused the invidious task; but Munich, having had intelligence of such a commission, reproached tlie meritorious Lacy, on the occasion. Marshal Lacy, however, did not give himself the pains to inform his accuser, that he had declined the office imputed to him as a crime, (an office, which impugned the frankness and amiableness of "his character,) until, after having taken arms in their hands, as antagonists, they M'ere separated by General Lewachef; who, hearing swords clashing in Munich's cliaml)er, ran in, to separate them, declaring he would })ut them both under an arrest, in the name of the Emyiress." In the spi-ing of 1741, Lacy was placed at the head of the Russian force designed to act in Finland against Sweden; where the war-party were so ])resumptuous, timt, with the " pride which goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall," we hear they actually expiected to recover the provinces formerly possessed on the eastei-n sidt; of the Baltic, including St. Petersburgh ! — generally boasting, that, as 1 kime le was enough to drii e 10 Russians bffore Jiim, so tlie Saxihslk army liad only to show itse'f, in order to he victoriuus ! But such swaggerers here, like other I'idiculous self-gloritiers elsewhere, were to learn, by the event, how much easier it is to bawl for war loudly, than it is to con wedes ; the Russians, at 2 in the afterno(ni, advancing accordingly. The Swedes, meantime, "got into order of battle, on the declivity of i lie Windmill-hill, having a battery of cannon before their center, and the.r kft on a ravine, about a musket-shot from the glacis of the town. Their dragoons, on the light, had posted themselves in a small ])lain, on the other side of that hill, near a small village. The Russians, benig arrived on a, rising ground o})posite to the Swedish battery, jilaced there 2 six- ])oiuiders, and some three-pounders; and the action V)egan, with a cannonade, on each side. The Swedish artillery made some havock among the grenadiers. LTpon this. General Keith, ordered 2 regiments of grena- diers to attack the enemy's battery, and the Regiments of Ingermahuid and Astrachan, commanded by Colonel Manstein,* to sustain them. But, as the ground was so extremely narrow, that there was no issuing out of the wood which the Russians had before them, but by marching 2 com- ] 'allies in front, — and even then they had to descend a steep i-avine, ami climb again a hill, in presence of the enemies, and under tlie fire of their cannon and small arms, which was exceedingly severe, — these 2 reginituta * The same, to whose narrative i am so largely indebted. IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE. 493 wert* tlirown into dissorder, and gave way. To hinder, then, these ht'g.nners of a Hight to coiunmnicate their confusion to the regiments that were fonowiiig tlieiii, <'('ii(Mal Keith orih^red Manstein to march to tlie riglit. to get out of tlie wood, and to attack the left wing of the enemies, who were quitting tlie i-avine on which they had encamped, an-l v/ere advancing. This was in.stantly executed, and so happily, tliat, after the 1st volley which the Swedes received, at GO ])aces distance, tiicy wht^eh d al)o\it, and ran straight towards the town, where the 2 regiments followed tlieni to the glacis, which they began to attack. Whilst this WHS |)cissing against the left wing of the enemy, the Generals had restored the order of the other troops, and caused th(! right wing of the Swedes to he attacked ; who, having remarked the confusion into which the Russian grenadieis had l>een thrown, descended from their eminence, and lost, by tills means, both the advantage of the ground, and that which they derived from their battery ; .so that they were soon routed, and the hill carried, by 6 o'clock in the evening. The cannon of the enemy were turned," by the Russians, "against the town, and the Marshal sent a drum to summon it; but the soldiers of the enemy, continuing to tire from the ramparts, killed him. The Russians, extremely provoked at this incident, renewed the assault with fury, and carried the town, towards 7 that evening." Iij. fine, " most of tlie Swedes, who had been in this action, were killed, or made prisoners. Not 500 men escaped." The Swedish prisoners of every rank amounted to 1301; the other captures from them consisted of 4 standards, 12 colours, 12 cannon, 1 mortar, and the military chest. The Russians killed were 529, and wounded 1S37; or, between both, 23Gu olhcers and soldiers. The Russians that day were 9900 strong; the Swedes, by their regimental rolls, 525G in number. Yet, " if the strength of the post which the Swedes occupied, and the disadvantage, to tha Russians, of the ground be considered, it was really astonishing, that the former were beaten. It must, however, be owned, that they themselves contributed greatly to it, by their own fault, in quitting the advantageous jKisition they had taken. The resi.stance they made was extremely obsti- nate, and served to augment their loss; for there remained, of their dead, on the field of battle, above 3300 men. The fire, which was very tierce, on both sides, lasted above 5 hours." Wilmanstrand, the plunder o( which afforded a considerable bot)ty, being soon after demolished, and the inhabitants sent into Russia, the Marshal re[Hssed the Russian frontier; encamping along it, as previous to this invasion. For the success thus obtained, as so auspicious a commencement of I ho war, great rejoicings took jilace at Petersburgh, although ''the ('oiirt had not been pleased, that Lacy returned with the army. 'J'hey would ha\e had him g(»ne on to Fredei-icksham, and have defeated the Swedish tro'ips, one l>arty of them after another; they not being as yet assembled. But these things were not so easy to be executed, as was imagined atPetersbuigh. Lacy made it appear, that he could not have undertaken more, without hazarding the loss of all the troo)>s, under his command. The regiments were diminished by the death and wounds of about 2000 men. Tliere ■were great escorts necessary to bring away the prisoners, which weakened liim still more; the other regiments, too, who were on their march to join the army, were not yet arrived, any more than the 3 battalions of Guards, which had been detached from Petersburgh ; besides, the troops had not bread left for above G days; nor couhl tiie horses, employed in carrying the wounded to Wybuurg, have well time to return soon enough; so thaC 404 ITI'-TORY OF THE TRI^TI B"IG\DES the Cnnvt. was oltliged to ap])vnvp of ;ill t'lat liad Ik'pti done." TiCnvIn^ tlur" coiiiiiianil of the ai-my to Lieiitenant-Geiieral Keith, the Marsliah not long after, letunied to Peteislmryh ; where lie extended the benefit of his hospitable residence to his late oV)i)onent, the Swedish Major-General Wrangel. who had been wounded by a gunshot in the arm, and made prisoner at WiJmansti-and. In Decemlu-r. the revolution took place at Petersbui'gh, by which the Princess Eliza'netli. youngest daughter of Peter the Great, was made Empress. C)f the several secret arrangements for effecting this change in the government, it not having been "thought adviseable previously to consult Marshal Lacy, who iiever interfered with the intrigues of the Court, he was afiplied to, at 3 o'clock in the mornin>;, to say, of what pMrty he was?" — that of the Grand Duchess Anne, or the Princess Elizabeth? Peiceiving, on the moment, or "although suddenly awakened out of sleep, that there wm. in fact, an Empress, who had th» reins, but, not being equally satisfied, if it was the Grand Duchess, or the Princess, who had succeeded, he replied. Of tlte party of tlie reigning Empress! At this answer, which discovered a quickness of conception, and a great presence of mind, address, and judgment,* he was conducted to Court, that he might continu.e to enjoy his rank and offices, and even receive new marks of gratitude from the new Empress." On Easter-Sunday, 1742, a mutiny broke out among the Russian Guards, in which the foreign otiicers, es])ccially an Aide-de-Camp of the ]\Iai-shal, named Sauti-on, and a Captain Browne, were nnmercifully treatefl. This movement arose from some villains of the corps, who would have consigned every stranger to pillage, conflagration, and mas- sacre. The Marshal had those ruffians ironed and punished; and, with " a great courage of body and mind," put down the remainder of the mutineers; by which seivice, he is stated to IvAwe '■'■ saved Petersburgh, and, perliaps, the whole Empire!'^ Having noted how "to ])revent farther disorders of this kind, Marshal Lacy had ytiquets of the country regiments posted in all the streets, and ordered frequent patroles by night and by day," my author adds, "notwithstanding which, the whole town of Peterslmrgh was in gi-eat terror; the inhabitants did not think them- selves safe in their houses, nor did any one venture out into the sti-eets after dark. Meanwhile, never were greater precautions taken for keep- ing the gates carefully shut, both night and day, than during that time. Most certain it is, that, if it had not been for the good arrangements made by Marshal Lacy, the disorders woidd have multiplied, and gone greater lengths." Towai'ds the close of May, the Marshal reviewed, at Wybourg, the for'ce for his next campaign against the Swedes. It might amount to 35,000 or 3(3,000 men, of whom 10,000 were to act by sea, in 43 gallies. Among the Generals, under the Marshal, on land, were Keith and Lowendahl — the latter, in connexion with Marshal Saxe's camjiaigns, already alluded to — among the Major- Generals, a Count Lacy t nnd * Thus, under similar circumstances, or when suddenly applied to, and roused from his repose at night, it is stated of the warrior-sagf , Ul^'sses — " He thought, and answer' il: hardly waking yet, Sprung in his m.nd the momentary wit — That wit, which, or in council, or in tight, btill met th' emergence, and cleterminM right." Pope'.s Homer, Odypaey, xv., SlS-oSi. + Besides the Major-Cileneral Count Lacy, Mr. Dalton notices, in the Russian ervice, another General Uliicer of the name, Maurice Lacy, born at Limericfc, in IN THE SERVICE OF FUAXCE. 495 Browne. Within tli<> last week of June, the Rnssi;ins entered Swedish Finhind, having to traverse a desolated country, by "the. woist i-oa'ls in the universe," and in "some places, of sncl) a iiatur ■, tliat l'(H) nu n, behind a good retrenchment, and a l)ariicade of felled trees, miglit lia\e sto))))ed short a whole army." After repulsing some hostile parties, the Marshal, on " Jnly 5," approached Mendolax, a veiy strong ])ost by nature, and rendered still stronger by art, with an intention of arresting his progress, but from which, nevertheless, the enemy retired. Had the Swedes rendered an attack necessary, " the Russians must have lost, iu the attempt, great part of th.eir infuitry, and, probably, have bem obliged to abandon the enterpiise. Some grenadiers were, for e.xj)eri- nient sake, sent to try to clamber up the front of the retrenchment, and em[)loyed above an hour, before they could get to the too of the para))et! But, what must it have been, if they had attempted it, under the warm rece]ition of a brisk tire of camion, and small arms'?" By "Jnly G," the Marshal and his Generals reconnoitred Fredericsham, deciding to open trenches between the 9th and lOth; the eminence for establishing the 1st battery was likewise surveyed by the Count de Lowendahl ; and " in short, all the dis])ositions were ready for beginning the siege, when the Swedes rendered them useless, by abandoning the town. At 11 atnigiit, it was seen all on tire. . . . The Swedes had, in theii- retreat, tilled several houses with ].'owder, bomlvshells, grenades, and loaded muskets, which went off, one after another, in tiie air. This hindered the Russians from entering, and putting out the fire. . . . Three-fourths of the houses of Fredericsham were reduced to ashes. There were fomid, in the place, 10 pieces of brass cannon that were 18 and 24 pounders," with '.'120 iron cannon of different sizes. Almost all the magazines had been consumed by the flames; so that there was but little found of pi'ovisions and ammunition. Only 1 magazine of powder had not been blown np, that contained 400 quintals of powder, and some thousands of baiTels of pitch. . . . July 10, on the Festival of St. Peter, the name-day of the Grand-Duke." afterwards the unfortunate Peter III.,* " the Te Deurn was sung in thanksgiving, that the Russian army had taken Fredericsham, the oidy foititied town in all Swedish Finland, without losing a single man ! " In 2 days after, the Russians reached the river Kymen, from the opposite side of which the Swedish army, with their batteries, upon eminences, galled the Marshal's cuirassier.?, till removing them for protection behind a wood, he brought forward his artillei'y, dismounted, at the 1st fire, 2 of the hostile guns, and soon sik^iced the rest. Next day, when the gi'eatest portion of his forces hatl already ]>assed the rivei', a com-ier arrived from the Court, with a positive order that, after the enemy were driven lieyond tlie Kymen, it should be made a fortified frontier, and the campaign concluded. Lacy thereupon called a Ccunicil of War, in which all the native Russian Generals were for com])lying with the order from the Court; but the foreign Generals, Keith, Lowendahl, ifec, thought it was most desirable, to turn their hitherto uninterrupted tide of success under the Marshal to due account, by penetrating to, and, if possible, reducing Helsingfort. With this latter opinion, the Marshal himself coinciding, proceeded to 1740. He was invited to Kus.'^ia by his relative, the Marshal, where he entered the army, when but a hoy; and, having tought against the Turks, and, uutler buwaiTof, in Italy, against the Fi-eneh, lie died, unmarried, in 182i,f. • teter ill., murdered iu 1702, like his uniortuuaDe sou, Paul I., iu ISUl. 496 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES near Pernokirk, where the Swedes were very adviintageonsly encamped, and remained so for some days, until, afraid of being turned l>y tlie Kussian gallies, they fell back to Borgo ; tlience, after iialting .some days, •with a river before them, retreated to a camp of great strength at Helsingkirk; and then, dreading to be cut oft* from their magazines, retired to near Helsingfort, where there was a retrenched camp prejiai-ed before their arrival; notwithstanding which, they resolved on quitting it, likewise, for Abow. Tlie evening, however, before the Swedes were to march away, as the Russians were drawing near Helsingfort, a Finland peasant requested to see the Marshal, and after acquainting hini with the intended departure of the enemy next day for Abow, mentioned, that this might be prevented, by re-o])ening, through a wood, a road formerly made by Peter the Great, but disused and overrun with bushes for 30 years; which I'oad, when thus rendered pas.sable, would lead, «it the other side of the wood, into the highway from Helsingfort to Abow! The Mai'.shal immediately directed 2 of his Engineers, to see if what the peasant alleged was j)cacticaV)le ; and they rei)orting favourably, he despatched, under Lowendahl, 64 companies of grenadiei's, and 4 bat- talions, to make the ])assage required. Ere the night was over, Lowen- dald sent word that tlie way was < '.eared, and that he was po.sted upon the road to Abow! "By 4 in t ae morning, the whole army was under march, and joined Lowendahl by 6. Scarce was the junction made, when thev saw the van of the Swedish army. The Swedes, terribly surprised, at discovering the Russians in a part where they had by no means ex])ected them, returned, as fast as possible, into their camp of Helsingfort, which they continued to fortify, and strengthened with a number of pieces of cannon." Thus intercejited and invested by the IMarshal on one element, and soon after blocked up by Admiral Misha- kow on the other, the entire Swedish force had, in 15 days, to surrender. "When the Swedish army. capitulated, it was near 17,000 strong; and all the Russian ftu'ces, that Lacy had, at that time, under his command, did not outnumber the enemy by 500. The garrisons of Fredericsham and Borgo, the various detachments they had been obliged to make, and sickiiess, had reduced the Russian army to 1 half; so that there were 2 to 1 odds, that if the Swedes had not submitted to those ignominious conditions, and the Marshal had attacked them, the Russians would have been beaten " — taking into account, on the side of the Swedes, " the situation of their camp, which they had had full time to fortify." All Finland being, by this capitulation, subjected to the Russian empire, the Marshal, leaving a due portion of his army to quarter for the winter in the conquered territory, and sending the rest liome to Russia, returned himself to the Court, with whose orders he had twice so judiciously dis- pensed — in not atlvancwg so far as it had vAshed last year and in advrniciiu/ farther tlian it v;ish.ed this year! The Russian operations against Sweden, in 174.3, were to be con- ducted from a squadron of gallies and lighter craft, joined by a tieet of larger vessels, or ships of the line and frigates. May 14tli, the land- force and jirovisions to sail in the gallies being embarked from Peters- burgh, "the Empress went on board Marshal Lacy's galley, where she assisted at divine service, accoi-ding to the Greek ritual; after which, she made him a present of a ring of great value, and of a suiall golden cross, enclosing some relics; and, embracing him, wished him a happy cam- paign. She went to her Palace, from the windows of which she saw the IN THE SERVICE OF FP>ANCE. 497 gallies move off in a line, who gave her a royal salute, as they passed." This squadron under tlie Marshal steered for, and soon reached, Cron- stadt, where the fleet of men-of-war lay ; and, between 2 and 3 days after, the wind, which had been so far adverse for sailing, becoming favourable, the combined armament, coming out of the port into the roiid, formed a line of battle at anchor. " The Empress arrived fioni Petersburgh, and went on board the Admiral's shit>, where she had a long conversation with Marshal Lacy, and the Admiral, Count Gollo- win; after which she landed, and dined at Cronstadt, and returned, the same day, to PeterhofF. The fleet of war, which the Pus.sians put to sea this year, consisted of 17 ships of tlie line, and 6 frigates ; it was commanded by the Admiral Count Gollowin, who hoisted his flag on boaid the Great Anne, which can-ied 110 guns. . . . The fleet of gal lies, that went out of Cronstadt, consisted of 34 gallies and 70 cantscldbasses ; a kind of small Turkish vessels, that might each contain as far as a crew of 80 men, and a month's provision for ihem." In this latter squadron of the gallies and cantschibasses, there were, under Mai'shal Lacy, 1 General, 2 Lieutenant-Genei'als, 3 Major-Generals, with " 9 regiments of infantry, and 8 companies of gi-enadiers of the Regiments of Wyboui-g, Petersburgh, and Cronstadt," there being also "on board 200 Cossacks of the Don, with their horses, to serve occasionally for incur.sions into the enemy's country." In j)roceeding against the Swedes, "the ice, the exces.sive cold, and strong winds, hindered the Marshal from making way f-;o fast as' he wished to do;" until having, by June 6th, followed the hostile fleet as far as Hangouth, he was able to duly reconnoitre it. Tiien "he who had won so many battles by land, eagerly wished to obtain a victory by sea. He gave ordei-s to the Admiral Gollovvin, to attack, on his pai't. The Admiral directed for answer, tiiat tlie Marshal should 1)0 informed, that 1 ship more was wanting, to comjjjy with his desire; for that he," the Admiral, ''had luit 17 against 12. and that Peter I. had left a standing ordei', that no attack should be made, witli- out the advantageous odds of 3 against 2. Tiie rage of the Marshal may be more ea.sily conceived, than described, at this remark and reply. &'everal Councils of War were the consequence, several viewing, and reviewings of the 2 fleets; and, in spite of all the Marshal could say, nothing was done." On the ISth, at the requisition of Admiral Gollo- win, " the Marshal sent him 14 kandschibasxes (before desci-ibed) as a reinfoi'cement. The Swedes, observing this manoeuvre, weigljed anchor. The Russian squadron took a lai-ge ofRng They brushed each otlier with a cannonade on both sides; neither had the advantage. The Mar.shal, as if practised in the nautical profession, manoeuvred with ccm- siderable address; drove away 2 Swedish ships, which wei-e ))laced in the Plangouth * passage to stop him ; and ultimately obtained an advantage o.'er the enemy, on weathering the cape with his gallies. A thick fog concealed the Swedish fleet, and prevented the Marshal from following Tip his success." June 23rd, the Marshal was joined by Lieutenant- General Keith, who, with his separate squadron, had acted successfully against the enemy ; after this juUv-^-cion, the Swedish gallies made for Stockholm, the combined Russi'An anaHraeiits soon reaching Degerby, an island off Aland; ai\d. by the 29tL., the Marshal had signalled to get under wvigh for a proposed descent ujma the Swedish coast, when this • Manstcin's spelling ofti'.is place iiubstltflted for the Prince do Ligne's, though in It quotatioii from the laoiicr. 2k 498 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES <]«sign, and his long services, were alike terniinaterl, liy the annonnoecl agreement to preliminaries of ])(ace V)etween Russia :ui(l Sweden at A how. The treaty was concluded there in August ; the river Kynieri being appointed the boundary in Finland, by which St. Petersburg!) was rendered secure. In September, the Empress Elizabeth despatched her own yacht to bring the Marshal to Court, where great rejoicings were made, in celebration of the peace ; the feasts and entertainnumts con- tinuing for several days. The Marshal then retiring to his estates in Livonia, of which province he was Governor, resided there, until his decease, in 1751,* in his 73rd year. He was in person tall, and well-made, in mind distinguished by enlarged views, clearness of perception, and soiindness of judgment ; or a due combination of vivacity and vigour, with coolness, secrecy, ar^d the power of varying his conduct, according to the enemies with whom he had to deal, — Swedes, Poles, Turks and Tartars. He was admired and beloved, among his "companions in arms," for the example he gave of intrepidity, endurance of fatigue, and the maintenance of discipline ; accomjjanied by a conscientious solicitude to acquaint himself with the wants of his troops, and an uncommon attention to their health and ])reservation. The zeal and ability he had uniformly displayed in sub- artiuularly naming here all t!ie other Generals who commanded under t)icm, among whom there were some, vlio might have done honor to any service in the world," IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE, 409 the Privv-Coancillor Lieven, and Majors-General Browne. Stnart and Von Witten, besides 2 sons. < !f these, the elder, in the Polisli-Siixoii service, was a Royal Chamberlain and Major of Cuirassiers, as well as Count of the Holy Roman Empire. The younger, in the Austrian service, was a Cf)unt, Imperial and Royal (Jijamberlain, Field-Marshal, Grand Cross Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, &c. Their fatlicr left landed estates of consideralde value, and yiersonal property to tiie amount of 531), 10:2 florins, or between £50,000 and £60,000, Britisli money. As the survivor of his uiotliei- and elder brother, the whole devolved to the Austrian Field- Marshal, born at Petersburgh, in October, 1725, and deceased, at Vievma, in November, 1801.* IJis his- tory, and that of the Lacys in Spain, being unconnected with the annaia of the Irish in the service of France, can be merely I'eferred to h(^rt>, as reflecting, to the j)resent century, much additional military honour n[)on the name abroad. The year subsequent to the death of Marshal Lacy in Russia was marked by the dece ise in Prussia of another distinguished Irish ofli;jer, Richard Francis Talbot, 3rd Farl of Tyrcoiinell — of the name of Talbot. His father, the 2nd Earl, or Willi im Talbot of Haggardstown, County Louth, attainted by the Williamite revolutionists among the Jacobite loyalists who retired to France, lias been noticed as Aiile-de-Camp to the Duke of Orleans, in Spain, at the capture of Tortosa, iu 1708. Richard Francis, successor to the title, born in 1710, and at tirst, or by commis- sion of August 7tli, 1721, a supernumerary or reformed Captain in the Irish Horse Regiment of Nugent, (afterwards Fitz-James) obtained *» company in it, February 1st, 172'). He commanded it at the siege of Kehl in 1733, and at the attack of the lines of Etlingen and the siege of Phili()sburgh -in 1734. Empowered, March 21st, 1735, to hold rank as a Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie, he was with the regiment at the affair of Clausen. Employed, with the Army of Westphalia, as Aide-Marecha!- General des Logis de la Cavalerie, by order of Aprd 21st, 1742, he ])assed, in August, into Bohemia, with that army. He was piesent at the captures of Ellenbogen and Caden, at the relief of Braunau, tiie revictualling of Egra, and several actions in Ba\aria. Returning to France with the army in July, 1743, he finished the campaign in T.Tp[>er Alsace, under the Marshal de Coigny. By order of Februaiy 1st, 1744, Marechal de^ Logis de la Cavalerie in the Army of Italy, he was at the conquest of the district of Nice, the passage of the Al[)s, the taking of Cliateau Dauphin, the sieges of Dcnu)nt and Coni, the battle of Madcma- del-Ulnio; was, from May 2nd, Brigadier by brevet, and was declared such, August 1st. Acting as Marechal General des Logis de la Cavalerie to the Army of the Lower Rhine by order of April 1st, 1745, he had au o|tp()rtunity of signalizing himself at the passage of that river, July 19th ; and, sailing for Scotland with that portion of his corps, the Regiment of Fitz-James, designed to reinforce Prince Charles there, he was captured at sea by the English, in March, 1746. Exchanged in 1747, and attached to the Army of Flanders, he was at the victory of Laflelclt, in July. Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, by brevet of January 1st, 1748, he quitted his comjiany; was commissioned, March lUth, as M.estre-de- * For my information from the Lacy pajiers, as well as from tho.se of the Mac Dounells in Austria, (in connexion with the affair of Cremona.) I am iadelitcd to luy friend, Fdchard Mac Nauiara, Esq., Solicitor, 31, North Great George's Street, Dublin. 600 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Camp Rpforme a la suite of the RpginiPiit of Fitz-James; was employed as Maveclial de Camp with the Ainiy <>f the Pays Bas by letters of A[)iil Ist; and served at the siege of Maestriclit. Soon after the Peace of Aix- la-Chapelle, he left the army, and, not long subsequently, was nominated Ambassador from Louis XV. to Frederick the Great of Prussia. His IjDi-dsliip's decease is thus mentioned, at Berlin, in March, 17-52. ^ Messire Pichaid Francis Talbot, Earl of Tirconel, Peer of the Kingdom of Ireland, Marshal of the Camps and of the Armies of the King of France, Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, anil JMinister Plenipotentiary of his Most Christian Majesty at this Court, has died, the 12th of this month, in the 42nd year of his age, and after a long sickness, extremely regretted, from the general esteem which he liad acquired here."* His Lordship was eminent for his love of good cheer and hospitality; Voltaire, who knew him at Berlin, alluding to him j*a specially believing that God had made man to eat and to di-ink, and as keeping a suitable gastronomic establishment, or open table; and in reference to the respective diplomatic positions of his Lordship as an exiled Irish, and of the Earl Mari.schal Keith as an exiled Scotch Jacobite, likewise ren)arks on the sti'ange destiny which madeJ "nn Irhmdais, Ministre de Fi-ance a Berlin, et un Ecossais Ministre de Berlin a Paris!" AVe now know, that, from personal dislik(! and political resentment against his kinsman, George II., Jacobitism, in 1750, was fomented by Fi-ederick of Prussia; vvlio, as a corresponding sign of his ill-will to George, sent the Jacobite Karl Marischal, as Pr-u.ssian Minister, to Paris. Upon which an Englisli historian, Loid Malion, not duly allowing i'or Frederick having been a DiciST, exclaims — "A singular anomaly, at this time, that a Profeslant Monarch should become the main hope of a liomish Pretender ! " In 1754 died a noble and venerable survivor of the War of the Revolu- tion at home, and a distiiiguislied officer of tlie Irish Brigade abroad, ia the person of John Nugent, 5th P'arl of Westmeath. At first, or as the Honourable John Nugent, a Cadet in the Hor.se Guards of King Jame.s II., and next engaged in the dragoon service of the Irish army, he fought at the battle of the Boyne, siege of Limerick, ic. ; after which, passing into France, he was a Lieutenant in the King's or Sheldon's Regiment of Irish Hoi'se, acting in Flanders, and on the coasts, till the Peace of ilyswick, in 161)7. In February, 1('98, he was attached, as a supei-- iiumerary or reformed Captain, to Sheldon's new Regiment of Iri.sh Horse, formed from his former corps of that descrij^tion, and Lord GMlmoy's, and successively the Reginuuit of NugT>nt and Fitz-Jam s. Accom]ianyiug it to Italy in 1701, he was at the combat of Chiari; and, in 1702, at the battle of Luzzara. Removed to Flanders in 1704, he obtained a company; and was commissioned as full Captain, April 5th, 1705. Pie was at the battle ofRaniillies in 1706; of Oudenarde in 1708; of Malpla.quet in 1709; at the combat of Denain, and sieges of Douay and Qnesnoy in 1712; in Germany at those of I.andan and FriV)urgh in 1713; and at the Camp of the Meuse in 1714. Major of his regiment by brevet of January 3rd, 1720, he was commissioned, February 15th, 1721, to hold the rank of a Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie. He served at the siege of Kehl in 1733; at the attack of the lines of Etlingen and siege of *Tl!e decease of his Lcirdsliip's wife is given as follows, in a Dublin magazine for December, lli.'J. "Nov. 2. ... At I'ari.s, Lady i^L^.^daline de Lys, widow ei' ilichard Taibot, who styled hioiscif Earl of Ty rcounel, of Ireland." IN THE SERVIOK OP FRANCE. 501 Pliilips1)iirg1i in 1734; and at the nflTaif of Clausen in 1735. Licntenaiit- Colonel of liis regiment Ma}' 23rd, 173G, and Brigadier V)y brevet .J;nuiaiy 1st. 1740, he wiis employed, V)y letters of Aiigiit and zejdiv.is, yet infMmously-victiinised, Count Lally. In the distmbed interval, Ironi the Peace of 1748 between England and France, to the declaration of war by those jiowers in ]May and June, 1756, such Cfnii[>laints long existed of French encroachments on the English in North America liy land, and of English cajitures at the expense of the French by sea, that the approaching certainty of an open rupture between tlie 2 tiations was evident for a considerable time, previous to the official proclamations on the suV)ject. As the {)ros])ect of war increased, the )'olitico-religi(nis hostility of the Cromwello-Williamite or Penal-Code "ascendancy" in Ireland to the mass of the population vented itself in louder outcries against Papists, and in stronger deuiauds for a rigorous enforcement of tlie existing laws against them. "The French," it was Klleged, "are prejiaring to invade these islands, and the Papists, designing to join them, are secretly organizing themselves for the ])ur[)ose." The Brigade in France, to which the surviving Catholic nobility and gentry of Iieland sent their j'ounger sons for a provision abroad, since debarred from the sources of a suitable maintenance at home, became the main object of the legislative animosity of the o)i]iressors. This spirit of liostility was, of course, any thing but lesKened by the circumstance, that, in spite of the more stringent measures adopted since 1746 to prevent recruiting lor the Irish regiments in France, — and which measures were, indted, attended, to a great degree, with success, — yet the "flights of tho wild geese," or emigrations among the nati\e peasantry to join the Brigade, could not be entirely arrested. For instance, among the ]>ub- lished aifidavits concerning the Whiteboy disturbances in Munster, early m the following reign, (or that of George III.,) \ve read one, sworn ]\Iarch 3(;th, 1706, in which the deponent certities, that he knew "one J.ames Herbert, otherwise Thomas Fitzgerald, wdio calls himself a French ofticer," and " that he saw said Herbert, at 4 several times, enlist men in KilHunan, and Kilmallock, in the County of Limerick, and ship them olf at Bantry. in the County of Cork, for the French service, in the year 17')(;."'''' Eespeetiiig such obnoxious enlistments, the most remarkable incident, connected with a popular native or Giielic poem known as the "Diige of O'SuUivan Beare," is thus narrated. "In 175G, one of the O'Sullivans of Bearhaveu, who went by the name of Morty Oge, fell under the vengeance of the law. He liad long been a \evy popular character in the wild district which he inhabited, and was particularly obnoxious to the local authorities, who had good reason to suspect him of enlisting men for the Irish Brigade in the French service, in which, it ■was said, he held a Captain's coiumissicm. Information of his raising these ' wild geese,' (the name V)y which such recruits were known,) was given by a Mr. Puxley; on whom, in consequence, O'Sullivan vowed revenge, which he executed, by shooting him on Sunday, while on his way to church. This called for the interposition of the higher powers; and, accordingly, a party of military was sent round, fiom Cork, to attack O'SulIivan's house. He was daring, and well-armed ; and, the hou,se being fortified, he ma«e an obstinate defence. At la-st, a conlidential servant of his, named Scully, was bribed to wet the powder in tlie guns and jjistols prepared for his defence, which rendered him pctwerless. He * We ineet witli greater risk nui, Jnly 1st, 1757, in the case of " Daniel S'vtinv, coiiiinitled to Cork uanl, for einieavom-iiiii- to seduce 2 soldiers of Col. li'iLzwiliiaui'a wiLririieui, to eiilist tlieui iii the Freiicli service." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 503 attempted to escape, but, while springing over a high wall in the rear of his house, he received a mortal wontid in the back. They tied his body- to a beat, and dragged it, in tliat manner, through the sea, froui Bear- haven to Cork ; where his head was cut off, and lixetl on the county jail, where it remained for several years." Tlie following is a translated por- tion of the "dirge" composed on " Morty Oge" by his faithful nurse, iu Irish : — " The sun on Tvora No loiiL^er shines lirightly ; The voice of her imisic No longer is spritrhtly; No more, to her maidens, The light dance is dear. Since tlie death of our darling, Sullivan Beare! *' Had he died calmly, 1 would not deplore him; Or if the wild strife Of the sea-war clos'd o'er him : But, with ropes round his white limba, Thro' ocean to trail him. Like a fidi after slaughter, 'Tis therefore 1 wail him! "In the hole, which the vile hands Of soldiers had maile thee; Unhonoui'M, Titisliroudod And headless, they laid thee! No sigh to regret thee, No eye to rain o'er thee. No dirge 10 lament thee. No fiiend to deplore thee! " Dear head of my darling. How gorv and pale. These ai;ed eyes see thef>. High spik'd on their jail ! That cheek, in the sunimer sun, Ne'er shall grow warm ; Nor that eye e'er catch li'^ht. But the Hash of the storm 1 '' Under these circumstances, a statute was passed in Dublin, through the so-called " /^vs/t Parliament" of the anti-national oligarchy there, " inflicting," says my legal authdrity, " the punisiiment of death on ail natural born subjects iu the French service, who should land in Ireland, and on their abettors, and concealers.* This sentence of ))er))etual banishment deeply affected the Irish-born officers and soldiers of tho Brigade. Their hopes and longings were directed to spend the evening of life in their native homes ; to enjoy the hospitality of the companions " Fieffe, likewise, having premised, how " le Cahinet de Saint James-ralluma la guerre," remarks — " Comme les hlessiires que les Irlandais avaient faites a I'armee Anglaise 10 ans auparavant n'dtaient pas encore cicatris(jes, il juijea pru- dent de ne pas I'exposer de nouveau aux coups de ces terribles adversaires, et se hata de [)uV)lier facte snivante ; " or that making it " high treason," and ))unish- ahle by a suitable dcalh, fur a subject of (jreat Britain to enter the French, service, after JSIay 1st, 175G, without a special written permission from the Crown to do so, &c. Nevertheless, alleges the French historian. — " i.es Irlandais repou- dirent a cette sentence cai'itaie, eu &'eur01aut avec pliis d empressemeut sous lt;d diapuaux de la FiaiiCb,' &<;, 504 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES of their youth ; and, at length, to repose from the toils of exile ! These hopes sofithed the hardships of a military lite." Thus old Arsetes observes iu Tasso, "Sinking now, as middle life declin'd. To hoary age, the Winter of mankind; ***** I loath'd this irksome life, with wandering tir'd. And to review my native soil desir'd ; There, midst my friends, to pass my latter days, Aud cheer my evenings with a social blaze. " Hoole's Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xii., 24S 9, 252-5. But such hopes, on the part of the Irish exiles, were destined to be formed in vain. A clause, indeed, was inserted in the act, that any "returning before the (Hh of August, 17-56, with intent to beconi* dutiful subjects, should be exen)]>fc from the penalties of the statute." This clause, however, " sought to deprive men of employments, without giving them the means of subsistence;" and -is "men of honourable minds prefer death and exile to de))eudence ; nd beggary," and as " the Brigade officers had no means of support but th 'ir commissions," they necessarily continued in (he service of France. Daniel O'Conor. younger brotlier to the venerable Charles O'Conor of Be-lanagare, writes as an officer of the Brigade, or Cajitain in the Regiment of Dillon, from St. Omer's, April 28th, 17o6, on this point — "Banishment is frightful tp every man but a i-oViber, or a murderer, aud what man of common sense would submit to the condition of an exile, on account of a ])o.st in the French .service ? . . . But are we to get any thing for what we are obliged to renounce? or will there be an act passed to prevent our breath- ing?" Indeed, between the flood of demoralization then spi-eading thiough France from the court to the camp, itc, and wiiich continued to increase till it swe])t all before it at the Revolution, and the simul- taneous evil working of the penal enactments against any education of Pajiists in Ireland, Ijy the Irish officer, it is set forth, in the 2nd article of the capitulation— " The noble and vigorous defence which the English have made, having deserved all the marks of esteem and veneration that every military person ought to shew to such actions, and Marshal Eichelieu, being desirous al.so to ,s7if(y 'iiey the rajard dw to the hrave defence he hax made, grants to the garrison all the honours of war, they can enjoy under the circumstance," &c. In c nsequence of this creditable conduct, the Limerick octogenarian, as contrasted with poor Byng, who was condemned to be shot, became the popular hero of the day in England ; and was ennobled, or created Baron Blakeney of Castle-Blakeney, and a Knight of the Bath, by Ueorge II. In Ireland, he was presented with the freedom of several Corporations, especially those of Dublin and Cork, in gold boxes ; his birth-day was o})served with the highest marks of respect ; and a statue was voted, 17oJ, and raised 1o him, 1759, in the Irish metropolis, on Patrick's Day, by the (Jrdcr of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, at their own expense. His Lordship died, Septeinlier 2Uth, 1761, in his 91st year; and was interred, October 2nd, with great funeral pomp, in WestiTiiiKster Abbey. He was, from 1737 till his decrease, Colonel of a diatii.guishcd Ulster corps, the 27 Lh, or Eniiiskilleu Regiment of Foot. 605 HISTORY OF THE IKISII BRIGADES a resort was had to the hiiniiliatitig protection of Hessian aiul Hano- verian mercenaries,* — a due apprehension was evinced, on the part of the Hanoverian rejjresentative of royalty there, at the movements of tlie exiled Stuart heir to the crown, and his friends "over the water." Under the date of ''March 1st, 1756," it was ])roclaimed how "the Master of the Packet-boats at Dover had received orders, to be very cii'cnmspect in regard to the ]>ei-sons they should bring over, because information had been received, that many adherents to the Stnait family wei'e then dispei*sed in different parts of Flanders, and the young Pretender himself was actually at St. Amand." t The emerging of Prince Charles from the secluded life he had long led, and his coming again into France, were, no doubt, in a great degree, attributable to representations on the expediency of his doing so, at this juncture, from the zealous Lally ; who, of 3 measures which he advised the French Cabinet to adopt with refei'ence to England, raentionei one for a restoration of the Stuarts _/zrsi. When intelligence arrived, in 1755, of tlie seizure of the French vessels off Newfoundland by the English, Lally being summoned to Versailles, and consulted respecting what measures ought to be adopted, replied — " Three. To make a descent upon England with Prince Charles — to overthrow the power of the English in India — to attack and conquer their settlements in Americii." But the majority of the assem\)l\' deciding, that it was better to endeavour to obtain satisfaction, and prevent a rupture, ho exclaimed — "You will not obtain tlie one — you will not prevent the other — and you will miss the oppoi'tnuity of destroying your enemy." The result of the Council's deciding, rather on endeavouring to obtaia satisfaction and restitution, was, that a definitive reply to their offiicial communication on the subject did not arrive from England till January 13th, 175(3, which was one in the negative — 2.")() French shi])s and 4000 men being, in the interim, captured by the English ! As to Lally, a plan <» *Aft€r relatina; the ineffectual application, from England, to the Dutch, for 60t)0 men, and the arrival and encampmeut of the Hanoverians and Hessians in different ]>arts of the country, Smollett says — "The Ministry Wixr. execrated, for having reduced the nation to such a low circumstance of disgrace, as that they should owe their security to German mercenaries." t Notwithstanding the failure of Prince Charles's attempt in 1745-6 to recover the crowns of his ancestors, the justice of his cause was still considered by mimliers in England to be only reserved to a future, and ])rohably not distant, period for success. In 1750, a spirit of dissatis!'actiou in England with the Govern- ment was accompanied hy a renewal of Jacobitism there. Among the " signs of disaffection," Lord Mahon mentions the following. " In the neia;hbourhood of Lichfield, the principal geiatlemen clothed their hounds in tartan plaid, with which they hunted a fox, dressed in a red uniform. The romantic adventures of Charles, in his escape from Scotland, were eagerl}- perused, under the name of ' the young Ascauiiis. " His busts of ]>laster were commonly sold in Loudon. The country ladies were proud to sing the ditties in his jiraise ; the country gentlemen to drink his health in deep bumpers." In September, too, that year, George II. being awa\' in Hanover, and the friends of Charles in England having contemplated 6>me design in his favour, the Prince canje over to Loudon, attended onlj' by a Colonel Brett. After survejdng the exterior of the Tower there, 1 gate of which inii;ht. they observed, be beaten down by a petard, they went to a rendezvous at Pall Mall, where aliout 50 of the leading Jacobites, including the Duke of Be^m- fort and the Earl of \\'estmoreland, were asseuibled. Charles said, that, if they could have assembled only 4000 men, he would head them. But, finding that nothino of a practicul or JiijhUiuj nature had been arranged, he. after a f irtnights stay in London, retnrne i to the Continent. Compare these circumstances, with, the favour, alrcssdy noticed as shown to Jacobitism, by Frederick of Prussia, at this period. IN THE SERVICE OF fRAKCE. 507 he sn^imitted in outline of an expedition to the East Tnflies was so iimcli ;ij)i)roved of, tliat he was directed to work at it witli 1 of the Ministers, till it sl)ould be comjileted ; after wliich, he a]>])lie.d himself e:merlv to Prince Charles's service, meeting the Prince sometimes at the rt'sidence of the Duke de Bouillon, sometimes at that of the Ex-King of Poland, Stanislas, and from the coasts of Picardy and the Bonlonais, as Comrnandijnt in those districts, re-opening a corresyjondence with the Jncohites in Great Britain and Ireland, until about the middle of July, when he had to aljandon any further active concern with Jacobite politics. The summons he then received, to repair, from his command on the coasts, to Paris, was with reference to India. The French East India Dompany, f(»undcd under Louis XIV., destroyed towards the end of his reign, and re-established early in that of Louis XV., if judged by its directory, the number of its subordinate officials, and even its apparent military stnsngth, might be deemed flourishing; biit, in reality, it was not so. It was the only European company of the kind, which did not pav a dividend from its trade. It depended, for its subsistence, on secret brigandage, sustained by a royal grant to farm a portion of the tobacco revenue; a grant quite foreign to the pury)ose of the institution. Wliatever else it could realize was retained for its lavish expenditure in India; a great portion of this outlay beijig absorbed in war, partly against the English there, but still more in ])ursuit of territorial aggran- dizement, and jiolitical influence, at the cost of the native ])owers, ginerally divided, and weakened, amidst the vast anarchy attendant upon tlie dis.solution of the Mogul empire. The result of such a dis.satis- factory state of things was, that the Company required considerable jiecuniary, naval, and military aid from France; and that, at the head of the ti-oops to be sent out to India, there should be an officer of well- established reputation, and no common energy, armed with extensive powers for a better regidation of affairs, if the institution was to be ujiheld at all. When the Dejiutation fi-om the Secret Committee of tiie Comjtany applied to the French Minister, the Comte d'Argenson, for 3('00 of the King's troops, to be joined with its own, and commanded by M. de Lally, the equally s:'gacious and well-intentioned Minister, who disap])roved of Lally's acce[)ting that post, said to the applicants — "You do not see your way. I am better acquainted than you are with the worth of M. de Lally, and, moreover, he is my friend; but he should be iett with us in Europe. He is on tire with activity. He makes no c >m[iromise with respect to discipline, has a horror of every pi-oceeding that is not straightforward, is vexed at everything that does not go on rapidly, is silent upon nothing that he know.s, and expresses himself in ti rms not be foigotten. All that is excellent among us; bit what is tlie j)ros)iect of it for you, among your factories in Asial At the fir.-;t act of negligence that will clash with the service of the King, at the fir.st appeaiance of insubordination or knaveiy, M. de Lally will tliunder forth, if he does n(jt resort to rough measures. . They will cause liis o|)erations to lail, in order to be revenged upon him. Pondicheriy will have civil war within its walls, as well as foreign war at its gates. I l)elieve the j>lan.^ of my friend to be excellent; but, in India, a person, different from what lie is, ought to be charged with the execution of them. Leave me, in Older to deliberate on all that, and come to see me again." But D'Aigeuson could no more save Lally, than Laocoou could preserve Troy. 508 History of the irish brigades Had not Heav'n the fall of Troy design 'd, Or had not men lieen fated to be hlind. Enough was said and done, t' inspire a better mind! " Dryden s Virgil, ^neis, ii., 70-72. The Deputation from the Company came back, only to persist the more earnestly in their previous request. "This prodigious activity, tliis severity of discipline, this frankness of character are," they ex- claimed, " precisely what the Compatiy is in need of, to dispel the opposite vices, of which it has, for such a long time, been the victim." The Minister then replied — " Messieurs, you wish for him. I wash my liauils out of it. Regard yourselves as well forewarned, and impress u]i(in vdur agents the necessity of acting correctly. I am going to jiropose M. de Lally to the King; who, I have no doubt, will ai>prov0 of him, with the greatest confidence. It depends on you, not to disai> ]ioint it." " As for us," he concluded, addressing himself to 2 of Lally's brot-iier ofhcers of the Brigade, the Duke of Fitz-James, and the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, who had come there to support the demand of the Company, "let us preach to our friend moderation even in doing what is good, and jiatience even at witnessing what is evil." By November 19th, Lally was created Lieutenant-General for the forc« de.signed to as.sist the Company, Commissioner for the King, Syndic of the Company, and Commander-in-Chief of all the French Establish- ments in the East Indies; by February, 1757, he was granted the honoui-s of a Commander of the Order of St. Louis; and by December Kith, tliose of a Grand Cross of that Order. Previous to his leaving Paris, the Directory of the Company particularly enjoined him, "to re,form. tlie abuses 'withov.t number, the extravagant prodigality, and the vast disorder, whiclo swallowed up all its revenues T^ * — an injunction, however, that, in proportion to the very urgency of the necessity which dictated it, would be sure to occasion disobedience, and excite enmity, against him, owing to the "vested interests" of so many othcial vermin in a continuance of the Augean mass of corru[)tion, which lie would have to denounce and expose. As tu Lally's merit, considered per se, for tliis command to which he was raised, his previously high professional charactei-, and especial hatred of the English, natui'ally recommended him to the heads of the Compan^^ And there was this strong additional rea.son ior calculating on his spai-ing no pains to render the institution prosjKM-ous that, it was only by effectmg sucl> a regeneration of its ali'airs, he-C(Utld liope to recover what had been the half of his own y)roperty, unfortunately tor him, (as he tells us) vested in the funds of that body, witjiout any return, since 17i!U. For this enterprise, Lally, with an annual salary of several thousand pounds while he sho\ild be in command, and the guarantee of a subsequent lai-^;' pension for life, was ])laced at the head of a bi'illiant staff", including (ittiicis ot some of the most illustrious names among t\m military nobles'e of France. He was to have had what would have been a considerable * 'i'he Directors likewise alleged, in their instructions to the General — "As the troiililes ni lnany's affairs? — the account of which was too like what might be expected from the "very bad omen or augury" that had attended his arrival. "Through the capture of Chaudernagore by the English, owing to the * "Cette etrange meprise, ou cette mpxhanccte de quelques subalternes," oViserves Voltaire, "fiit d'un trfes mauvais augure pour les riiatelots toujours siiperstitieux, et nienie pour Lalli, qui iie I'etait pas." I italicize " mUchana-.tS," as seeujiiig lo iii.licate a suspicion, by Voltaire, of nome. "foul play," on tl)i.s occasion. Lally's miinclcome character, as a discipliuarian and relurmer, liad, no doubc, preceded Inui! I', rb. aap. 510 HISTORY OP THE lUISH CrJOADES long voyage, or delay in tlie p'lssngp, of tlie armament from France, the C-ompany," he was told, "had sutieted a loss, to the amount of 75,0U0,000; the tactory at Pondicherry was in d^ht 14,0(10,000, without being able to borrow 1,000,000; and the Governor and ( 'ouncil were conseqtiently after writing to the Company in Europe, that all succour, in men and ships, •would be only thrown away, niiloss accompanied by 10,000,000 in Ciish!"* This was an exti-emely discouraging announcement for Lally, ■who had brought with him but :i, 000, 000; he had been also disappointed "with respect to the number of his men; he could not dispose of a single vessel; while, in the establishments he came to preserve, there did not appear to be adequate magazines, or other availal)Ie resonrces. Never- theless, influenced by the principle of '■'■ fovtl et JiJeli nildi difficile" or undepressed amidst so much that was calculated to depress him, he was only the more determined, to remedy so many deficiencies, if possible, by« the greater energy of spirit, and rapidity of action, on hin part. "Not finding," it has been observed, "the same means and facilities for military operations as he had been accustomed to in the armies of Euro])e, he resolved, to create them, as it were, in spite of nature.'''' B}' the evening of the day he landed at Pondicherry,- or April 28th, he accordingly_began to invest Cuddalore, or (rondelour, and reduced it early in May. He next proceeded to liesiege Fort St. David, styled, from its great strength, the Bergen-op-Zootn of India. Protected, on its only assailable quarter, by several out-forts, that place was furnished with 194 ])ieces of artilh^ry. Its garrison consisted of 2136 effectives, of whom l(iOO were Sepoy or native troops and 536 Europeans, including 250 sailors from the Tritini and the Bridf/etmUer (that had been run ashore and burufd, to avoid capture by the French fleet, at its first appearance «)H"the coast) besitles 83 pensioners, or intirm. To commence his opera- tions against such a furmidable strong-hold, he could, he says, draw to- gether, between Europeans and Blacks, only 2200 nirn, with 28 pieces of artillery; his supplies, even for tliat force, being by no means what they ought to have been; though, according to English accounts, he was able to assemble, ere the conclusion of the siege, above 2500 Europeans, with about as many Sei)oys, and 34 pieces of artillery. t In contending against the varions it)ternal annoyances and external obstacles bv which he was surrounded and harassed on this occasion,;}: his zeal, activity, and deter- * " I'm not," like Cassio, " an arithmetician," and so leave the sums of French and Indian mnney, that generally occur in this narrative, as I have found them, or to ue turned into British money by "ahlei' hands." t Here, as elsewiiere, 1 ace on the principle of giving the numbers of the French fro'n French, and of the Enghsh fro;n English, accounts, whenever 1 can get at enumentions on liotli sides. 'J'here is "sometliing of rascahty," or shameless un.'air- iiess, in the o );io Ue practice of too many national zeah)ts, mistemied "historians." J On tlic almost incredible worthlessness (to use no harsher term) of the riihng powers at Pondicherry, as to.) bitterly experienced by Lally, from the outset of these military oj)erations, Mdl justly remarks —"There is no doubt at all, that the neglect of all prepai-ation to enable him to act with promptitude, though they had been expecting him at Pondicherry for 8 months, was extreme, and, to the last degree, C'dpable. ' It a[)pears to have been taken fir granted at Pondicherry, "that the e.\pected armament was to do every thing, and that those who were there before liad no occasion to do any thing ! " He likewise shows what good reason Lally liail, to complain of the know-nothing and do-notliing (Jovernor and Coiuicil there. "They could nut tell him the amount oi the English forces on the coast; nor whether Cuddalore was surrounded with a dry wall, or a ram])art ; nor whether there waa any river to pass betv^ een Pondicherry and Fort !St. I)avid. He complains that he lojst 4S hours at Cuddalore, because there waa not a man at Pondicherry wIjo could IN THE SEKVICE OF FRANCE. 511 mination were most conspicuous. At the assault upon the hostile on*- forts and their batteries, wliich commenced in the evening, continued during the night, and was attended with general success, he reserved the storming of 1 of those posts and its artillery "for himself, at the head of his veteran Irish grenadiers." He then puslied forward his trenches, "without a moment's interruption, even thi'oughout the burning day iii the hottest season of the year," and "he was every where present, shrink- ing from no exposure to the tropical sun, and restricting himself to the smallest portion of rest during the calm sultry night, when tlje works were carried on by the light of torches and lamps." To the great difii- culties with which he had thus to struggle on land, was added a refus;il from the navy to aid him by sea, partly owing to the disinclination of the Admiral, partly to that of the men, whose pay was in arrear; till, by at»i)earing in Pondicherry at the head of his grenadiers, to arrest that officer in case of a further refusal to sail as required, and by distributing G0,000 francs, out of his own ])ocket, to the sailors„the fleet had, between compulsion and shame, to weigh anchor, and show itself before tlie Fort, thereby excluding all relief from the English.* At last, or June 2nd, after 17 days of o])en trenches, the fire from the French batteries was so e+iective against the place, that the greater part of its embrasui-es were ruined; above 50 of its guns dismounted; the well, that chietly supplied it with water, was destroyed by a bomb; and this Bergen-oi)-Ziiom of India had to surrender at discretion, under such a retrospect of dis- advantages on the side of him to whom it surrendered, that a(-eording to his fellow-soldier, the Comte d'Estaing, "nothing but the success of the undertaking could convince one of its possibility!" There were taken in Fort St, David — or exclusive, it would seem, of the previously storuied outworks — 180 cannon or mortars, with a quantity of other military materiel, ])rovisions of every kind, which were very welcome at Pondi- cherry, and, what were yet more .so, 300,000 livres in specie, with mer- chandise or effects to the like amount. The captin-ed Ft)rt,which, as mined, countermined, and callable of containing 300 guns upon its ramparts, must have cost a vast sum to build, was destroyed, after the 1-emoval of its contents for Pondicherry; the 300,000 livres in coin, and the goods for as much more, being specially forwarded to the Treasurer of the Company. teli him, that it was open on the side next the sea ; that he was unable to find 24 hour.s' provisions at Pondicherry ; and that the Governor, who promised to forward a portion to him upon the road, hroke his word ; whence the troops were 2 days without food, and some of them died." As to the siege of Fort St. David, Voltau-e alleges — " Tout s'opposait dans Poudich6ri a I'entreprise du General llieii n'utait pret pour le seconder." * The French author of the Private Life of Lewis XV., who writes in a hostile spirit to Lally, adds of the conduct of the French Admiral, d'Ache, &c., ou this occasion— "He had resisted the solicitations that wei-e made to him, to go ovit of harbour, under pretence of inability. He contented himself with forming wishes for the success of Count Lally at Fort St. David, by writing to him, 7'/(e oiili/ iking I think terrihle is, that we cannot assist one another. Count Lally was obliged to go in person to Pondicherry, and to force the Commodore to weigh anchor, by heading the grenadiers, and by giving orders to arrest him, if he refused to show himself before Fort St. David, in order to deprive the besieged of the hopes of receiving any succours. . . . We do not know, whether M. de Lally had any riariy likewise too strongly countenanced , (ir c mfiyined, the very unfavourable impression, which Lally had received, from, ifficial authority, in France, of the character a.nd conduct of tliose coriwcied. witJt the Company s f nances. A further I'esult of such financial mismanagement, (to say no worse,) more unequivocally appeared in the announcement of Ijeyrit, Governor of Pondicherry, that, beyond 15 days, he would neither be answerable ibr the payment, nor for the feeding, of the army ! The General's extremely natural denunciation of such a discreditable .state of things, and its causes, in his own veiy energetic manner of exy)ressing him.self — yet, surely, not more so than was but too glaringly provoked, or merited! — only served, as was foreseen, to create that inveterate hostility towards him from ofiicial peculation or delin- quency, which would scruple no means, however dishonourable, to ruin him, as an avowed or uncompromising o]iponent. Under tlnse most Untowaid circumstances, — rendering it, on the whole, imperative, that since, in spendtlu'ift phraseology, mattei'S could not remain as they were, " something should be done to raise the wind 1" — a militaiy expedition was IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 513 STiwgested to the General against the Rajah of Tanjore, or Tanjour, to entoj'CP ])ayment of a bond, in the Company's possession, from that Prince, for 5, 000,000 rupees. " Lally was, of course, obliged to trust to the infiiriiiation of those acquainted with the conntiy;" and the pai'ties iu ])Ower, who recommended this Tanjore enter|)rise to him, diminished, or *' extenuated, beyond measure, the ditBculties of the undertaking, and made him set out, upon representations which they knew to be false, and promises which were never intended to be fid filled." In reference to which official knavery, and the other or subordinate ruinous concomitants of such a system, my English authority remarks, how very hard (or rather i/iipossible) it was for the General, " to counteract the malignity, to stimu- late the indifference, and to supply the enormous deficiences, by which lie was surrounded." The route from Pondicherry to Tanjoi'e was about 50 leagues, or 150 miles, with several riveivs to be crossed, &c. Lally, with 2500 men, took the field, the 18th; but, as before, unprovided with the various attendants, considered requisite, in th.it country, for an army's regular subsistence — the HI unitionaire- General, moreover, soon absconding, with ilie v)hole fund for that purpose! Hence vei-y great distress, discon- tent, and disorder among the troops, necessitating a recoiirse to new and severe measures, on the General's part, in order to " make war support war," and proportionately operating to retard his advance. Proceeding, nevertheless, as soon as possible, in spite of a swarm of active native irregulars, and of 7000 regulars opposed to him, he, by July 18th, approached Tanjore. A negociatiou ensued with the Rajah. He was menaced, through Lieutenant-Colonel O' Kennedy, with the utmost vengeance, in case of non-comjjliance with the demands of the French; who, meantime, took possession of the suburl)S of Tanjore. The Indian not submitting, Lally commenced battering the place at close range, August 2nd; and, against the evening of the 7th, a breach was effected, which only 24 hours' firing would have rendered practicable. By this time, however, he had no other balls for his artillery than tho.se shot from the town, of which but few suited the calibre of the guns; of powder for them he had but 150 charges; his infantrj- had not 20 rounds a man; and provisions were running very low in his camp, without the ])rospect of a further supply, owing to the great number of the Tanjorine hoi-se. Next morning, or the 8th, these misfortunes were aggiavated by the purport of the letters he received; 1 from Carical, the only place whence any relief could be expected before Tanjore, mentioning the repulse, on the 3rd, of the French fleet, and the English being in conse- quence anchored off, and threatening a descent at, Carical; another from Pondicheri'y, announcing its being menaced by the reported march of 1200 of the English troops from Madras ; another from the Mahratta jiotentate, Gopal Row, denouncing invasion against the territory of the French, unless theirarmyshould immediately retire from Tanjore. Lally thereupon summoned a Council of War, at which the great majority of the officers necessarily voted for raising the siege. The wounded were to be removed with a due European escort on the 9th, and to be followed by the anny on the 10th; the batteries meantime occasionally firing, to awe the garrison of Tanjore. Information of this resolution reaching the Tanjorine commander, Monacjee, he appointed the morning uf the 10th for a general assault on the French camp, to be prefaced with a treacherous attempt on Lally's life; of which assault the better hopes were entertained, from the timely arrival iu Tanjore of the last of 2 detachnients of select Sepoys, 2l 514 HISTORY OF THE lUTSII BRtGADES consisting of 1000 men with 50 Enropeana, forwarded to tlie Rajah's airl by the English Governor of Tritchinoiioly, Captain (subsequently BrigJi- dier-Geneial) John Caillaud, an able oHicer of Huguenot origin. The entire force of Monacjee, computed as very superior in number, or 1G,000 men, including 4000 cavalry, were di-awn out by night and posted so as to remain undiscovered, until ready to fall most effectively upon the besiegers, before sunrise. The party to assassinate Lally was composed of 50 Black horsemen. At dawn, riding from the city, at a leisurely pace, to the French camp, and being challenged by the outguard, they started, that they came to offer their services to the French General; and, accordingly, required to be conducted to him. Nothing wrong being suspected, they were conducted towards his quarters, about half a mile in the rear of his camp. Lally, informed of their approach, got out of V)ed, and merely in his drawers, and luckily with a thorn-stick in his hand, went, accompanied by but 1 attendant, to meet them. At about 100 yards from him, the troop halted, their Captain coming forward on horseback ; and being now near enough, to make sure, as it were, of their intended victim, and in order, apparently, to signify to their main force about the town, that the assassination-business was in hand, 1 of the Black troopers galloped to an ammunition-tumbrel, fired his pistol into it, and blew himself up with a suitable ex))losion, at the same time that the Captain of the troop rode in upon Lally, making a cimetar-cut at his head. Lally, not losing his presence of mind, parried the blow with his wooden life-preserver; his stout and faithful attendant instantly des- j)atching the baffled mui'derer. The General, nevertheless, was trampled down and stunned by the onset of the rest of the Black troo]), till his guai'd rushing up, he came to himself, and, sabre in hand, at their head, gave the villains, who charged twice, their deserts; 28 of them being shot dead, and the remainder forced to ride into a pond, where they were di-owned, his guard losing but 2 men in the encounter. At the noise of the exploded ammunition-tumbrel, and the succeeding musket-shots in the French camp, Monacjee assaulted it, at once so unexpectedly and vigorously, with his whole force, in part directed by English officers, that all seemed lost there for near an hour, or till the French soldiers being rallied, and restored to their usual discipline and efficiency, the assailants were beaten out, with a loss much larger than they inilicted. Of the English Sepoys, more especially, by whom 3 guns within the camp were captured, 75 men were killed or wounded ; and the guns wei-e recovered. Tliat night, Lally, spiking his battering-artillery, and lightening his baggage as much as y)Ossible, retired from Tanjore. Between having to keep Monacjee's pursuing troops at bay; in sncli a hot climate to march 15 or 20 miles a day; sometimes to subsist only on cocoa-nuts, and not enough of them ; at other times to suffer cruelly from a want of water; V)esides the difficulty or ti'ouble of transporting the ai-tillery and carriages across rivers; the retreat of the French was most hai'iissing, and in the privations of it the General fully bore his part. By this expedition to Tanjore, (though imsuccessful, yet not tlu'ough /m' fault,) the French forces were maintained for about 2 months at tlie enfnny's cost, and nearly 500,000 francs were similarly realized; which, remarked a French officer, was effecting much in a country, the resources of which appeared to be so little. From Carical, where at. his ari'ival on the 18th, he saw the English squadron still anchored off the mouth of tlie river, and, alone: \\iLh & iuller account ot the Fieucli rx TIIR SKRVICE OF FK. \NCE. 515 Admiral's repnl'^e, hoard of that officers api>roaHiincj intention to loave the Indian coast i'or tlie Isle of France, Lally rapidly took horse, with a small cavalry escort, for Pondicherry, to prevent, if possible, such a departure of the navy. He readied Pondicherry the 2Sth, and imme- diately summoned the Council there, to support him in remonstrating against such a desertion. And the Council did so. But the French Admiral would have his way; and, merely leaving 500 marines or sailors to serve on shore, he set sail, September 2nd, with the entire fleet, for the Mauritius. An intercepted French letter from Pondicherry to Masulipatam, dated the following day, gives these particidars respecting the recent expedition to Tanjore, or Tanjour, and the naturally depi-es- shig departui'e of the fleet. " We laid siege to Tanjour, and made a breach, but were obliged to retire, for want of provisions and ammuni- tion ; leaving behind us 9 ])ieces of cannon, 8 of which were 24 pounders. The army has suftered greatly from hunger, thirst, watching, and fatigue. We have lost near 20(3 men, as well by desertion, as by death. This check is very detrimental to us, as well with regard to our reputa- tion, as the real loss we suffered. . . . Poor French, what a situation we are in! What projects we thought ourselves capable of executing, and how greatly are we disappointed in the hopes we conceived, upon taking Fort St David! I pity our General. He must be extremely embarrassed, notwifltstanding his extensive genius ; without either money or fleet; his troops very discontented; his reputation declining; and the bad season approaching; which will ol)lige us to subsist at our own expense, being unable to form any enterprize for procuring us other funds. What will become of us? . . . Above 20 officers of different corps have gone on board the fleet; and, if M. Lally had given permis- sion to depart to whoever desired it, the greatest part of them would have emV)arked; so greatly are these gentlemen disgusted with the ser- vice." A paragraph from a French journal, dated " Versailles, Decem- ber 20th, 175D," and deriving its information concerning this enterprise against Tanjoiir, from the express forwarded to Europe even by the Admiral d'Ache, after observing, how the ill turn the French affairs in India had taken was " imputed neither to M. Lally, nor to the troops," but entirely to " the ConpVany's Directors on the Coast of Coromandel," then alleges of those Directors, how they "^br iJie sake of private interests, and personal resentments^ injudiciously turned again.st the King of Tanjour those forces, tliat should have been employed, only against the English settle- ments; and, moreover," concludes this Versailles authority, '■^ had tha,t Prince been prof>erly dealt unth by the Company, he would have sided with us against the English." On re-entering the Company's territory from that of Tanjore, Lally had written to the Governor of Pondicherry, how disorder and rajiine had attended the march of the ai-my from that city, and would accom- pany his return there ; rioting, with reference to the general official corruption and administrative inefficiency which had been the origin of his complaints — "In all this, a change must take place, or the Conpiany be overturned." To which the Governor's warning ^'eply was — "He ■v^ ho would wish to establish order, in the financial as well as the commissariat department, wdl make himself many enemies." The co.-c, hy the way, in a nutshdl, (f Lally and his f")ieniieti I Meanwhile, it being, after the failure of the Tanjore enter])i'ise, additionally iiuperai i\e tImC something else should be done to meet the existing pressure iur " nn)io 51 G HISTORY OF THE IKISII CrJG.\DT:S money," attontinn was directed to an acquisition so desirable as that of Arcot, then iiiidei- a native rnler, in tlie E))t;Iish interest. It being requisite jireviously to reduce the secondary forts of Trivalore, Trinr>- nialee, Curann;oly, and Tiniery, Lally divided liis army into 4 parts. The 2 former pkicea were surrendered without opposition; the 2 latter V. ere carried by assault; and, by an agreement with the Governor of Arcot, according to which he was to receive 10,000 rupees, and be taken with his troops into the French service, Lally, amidst the thunder of artilh'ry, entered that metropolis, October 4th ; thus insuring the revenues of the nnbobship so-called to the French Company. He would next have attacked the fort of Chinglef)ut. But the English, awake to its iui])ortance, as covering the country, whence, in case of a siege, r'.Iadras sliould chiefly be provisioned, and, being reinfoi'ced, about the middle of September, by a fleet from England with 850 European regulars, to whom were joined all those from Trichinopoly, strongly garrisoned Chingleput, previous to the fall of Arcot. Lally's applica- tions to tlie Government at Pondicheiry for 10,000 rupees, as necessary to ])ut his forces in motion for Chingleput, met with the usual reply of the officials, as to the "exhaustion of tlieir resources;" so that he was " obliged, for want of funds, to place the troops in canton- ments," and returneil, naturally disa])pointed and chagrined, to Pondi- cherry. After the fall of Cuddalore, Fort St. David, and Devicotah, it having been the intention of Lally next to reduce Madras, and thence march for 13engal to sweep the English from India, he had resolved on consolidating, as far as possible, under his personal command, the French forces through- o>it the Peninsula; such a consolidation being absolutely requisite if tlie English were to be expelled, and any partial loss of territory, or diminu- tion of influence in particular districts, that might result from the sub- ordinate removals of troops which he contemplated, being consequently of com|)arative unimportance; since if the English power was to be crushed, it could not be so but by the French en inasse; and, when crushed, not only whatever had been relinquislied tor a time, in order to effect the ruia of that power, would be easily recovered, but the entii'e Peninsula would be at the feet of France, as the dominant European nation in Hindostan. Nor should such hopes, by Lally, of rooting out the English, be deemed too sanguine, had he been but fairly secunded, especially in a financial way, by those he came to defend ; of whom so many, as having made foitunes, would not be without a )iro|n)rtionaV)le credit. "The land- forces," says Smollett, "belonging to the" English " East-India Company were so much outnumbered by the reinforcements which arrived with M. Lally, that they could not pretend to keep tlie field, bict were obliged to remain on the defensive, and provide, as loell as they could, for the sicurity of Fort St. George^'' at Madras, " and the otlier settlements in that part of India!'' Of the French General's landing on the Coromandel coast, Lord Clive testified in 1772 — "Mr. Lally arrived with such a force, as tltreafeiied not only the destruction of all the settlements there, but of alTj THE East India Company's possessions; -axA nothing saved Madras from sharing the fate of Fort St. David at that time, but their," the French, " want of money, widch gave time for strengthening and reinforcing the place!^ Even before the fall of Fort St. David, the British histoi'ian. Mill, likewise adniits, " the English were thrown into the greatest alarm," as, "so much was the uo.ver of the enemy now supei'ior to their own, that they IN TUE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 517 scarcely anticipnted any other refiuJt, than their expuldon from the c iv.n- Iry'' — and, had Lally been backed by such a finaiiciei- as Dupleix, i!i may consequently be added, in this historian's woi'ds respecting the English in India, " it is more titan j)robabJe, that their nwt>t ylooiay ap/ire- lensioits would have been realized!'' With such grounds, on Lally's })art, for the hopes he entertained, strengthened by "a contemptible 0|iiniou of the English troops in India," on account of the circum- stances under which Fort St. David was taken, he had written to Messieurs de Bussy and Moracin, the former commanding in the Deccan, the latter at Masulipatam, to come and join him. In hia letter to Bussy, after the reduction of Fort St. David, he stated — " It is the whole of British In'/.ia, which it now remains for us to attack. I do not conceal from you, that, having taken Madras, it is my reso- lution to repair immediately, by land, or by sea, to the banks of the Ganges, where your talents and experience will be of the gn^atest importance to me." In another coimuunication to those gentlemen, he adds — " All my policy is in these 5 words; they are sacramental: No English in the Feaim^ula." Shortly before his entrance into Arcot, Lally was joined, at Wandewash, by Bussy, from the Deccan. "Tiie characters of the 2 men were very different. Bussy was an excellent soldier, an accomplislit;d gentleman, a polished courtier, and a cool diplo- matist ; he was anxious for tlie glory and supreiiiacy of his country in India; but he was not likely to embark his fortune, in any hazardous attempts to forward or secure them. Lally thought only of the ruin of the English ; and. to that 1 end, were sacrificed, at all times, his every interest and emolument ! " Duly attached, as a keen self-seeker, to that separate command in the Deccan, where, by turning to account the discordant politics of the native i)otentates, he had " feathered his nest," and, if allowed to return, miglit continue to feather it, far better than he could expect to do, if acting merely in a subordinate position under tlje scanning eye of Lally, Bussy naturally jtreferred to be, as the sayingis, "oa his own hook," in the more remote and remunerative quarter. He conse- quently used every effoi-t, even holding out most personally advantageous or lucrative inducements to Lally, in order to be permitted by him, to go back to the Deccan, with a 3rd part of the French troops. Lally, oa the other liand, though refusing such a permission, did his utmost to reconcile Bussy to the opposite course of proceeding against JMadras ; with that view raising him, from the rank of a Lieutenant-Colonel, to that of a Brigadier, as well as gi'anting him a seat in the Council, and a residence in the Palace of the Government, at Pondicherry. For these promotions, Bussy at first expressed himself grateful; but, remain- ing as bent upon getting back to the Deccan for liis own purposes, as Lally was intent upon inarching against Madras for the overthrow of the English, the 2 men were irreconcilable. Thus 2 parties were formed, even in the army; the King's troops being for Lally, and those of the Company for Bussy. To strengthen himself still further, Bussy did not neglect to secure powerful friends, or partisans, in Pondichcrrv, ■with money, by which, to his equal vexation and surprise, he had found Lally was not to be teni|)ted ; at the same time that Lally could not prevail upon this man, with money for such purposes, to accommodate the treasury with any loan for the public service ! Bussy was defined, by the late Governor ot Pondicherry, to his successor, as a man to be mistrusted; Lallv had brought a bad oj)iniou of him fi'om France ; and, 518 HISTORY OF THE IRTRH BRIGADKg from what ffhice occmrpil between them, had Lally any reason to enter- tain any better in^pression of ttvch a character?* The wortlile>;s a(]ministration at Pondicherry having, by November, declared, (as before) its inability to sid)si8t or pay the army, a Council of War was called, at wljich Comte d'Estaing a'nd the other officers wero of opinion, it would be l)etter to die by a bullet at M:idras, than perish by hunger at Pondicherry ! To reduce Madras, indeed, by a regular siege, since Lally first contemplated doing so, had become an undertakinii;, so much above the resources at his dis])osal, as to be generally reckoned impi-acticable. Yet things could not remain in statu quo, some move- ment should be made ; and, by an advance against that j)lace, the English might be driven into the Fort, and bombarded there; while the black town could be pillaged, and the surrounding country be laid wast^ — the more easily, as the monsoon season would be an obstacle to a i-einforcernent, or relief of the enemy, by sea. There being no fund to enable the troops to march excejjt what might be raised by contriljution, Some Members of the Council at Pondicherry, and other individuals not lost to all sense of shame, were induced to advance 34,000 rupees — ijally himself subscribing 60.000 of his own money, and the shabby fox, Bussy, not 1 sous ! With this sum of only 1)4,000 ruj)ees. the Cleneral prepared to take the field. The force under his command amounted, by accounts on their side, to 3000 Europeans ; of whom 2700 were infanty, and 300 cavalry. They were attended by oOOO Blacks, of whom only about 1500 seem to have been military, or Sepoys; and their train of artillery consisted of 30 pieces, or 20 cannon, and 10 mortars. The i-ainy season not i)ern)itting Lally to advance early in November, as he might otherwise have done, he did not come before Madi'as, after taking 4 places on his march, until December 12th, when he was without money to suV)sist his army, even " for a single week ! " The main force of the English, under the veteran Colonel Lawrence, having made such movements as might delay the French approaches yet avoid an engagement, in which a defeat would be " the certain loss of Madras." retreated into its citadel, or Farty of Sepoys, under a gentleman of Irish birth or origin, Ensign Cn)\vley,+ though then absent, yet subsequently contriving, much to his * Bussy is best " shown up" in the French memoir of' Lally, rejieatedly cited. Here, as elsewhere, on the sultject of Lally, I likewise make use of the histories of Orme and Mi. I, together ^^•ith a work, pulilished at Calcutta, in 1855, entitled '• European (Jonijietition in Lulia, from the Earliest Times, to the Establishment of the Honorable East Lidia Com])any's .Supremacy, by the Fall of Pondicherry, in the year 17G1, by Daniel O'Oallaghan, Esq., Bengal Medical Service," since 8urgeon -Major, Officiating Garrison Sui'geon, Fort-William, Calcutta, and Deputy Lispector General of Hosjiitals, Lucknow. I have also availed myself of British, Irish, and Couiuental contemporary periodicals, Voltaire, and the Private Life of Lewis XV., previously specified, besides Smollett, .Sisniondi, Lord Mahon, and the East India Military (.Calendar. So far, with respect to the main authorities, consulted for this Indian j)ortion of my task. t The Crowleys, of Heremonian origin, and at first located in Connaught, afterwards possessed, in the County of Cork, the woody and mountainous terri- t()ry of Kdshallow, west of the towu of Baudon, and ou the river so called. They were in ]ieace subject to, and in war among the foHowers of, Mac Carthy Eeagh, Prince or Chieftaui of Carbery, in which Barony the clan-district of Kilshallow lay. The name of O'Crowley has been anglicized into Crolii, and, as such, is nut without note in our modern literature. Whatever may have been the religion of the Ensign above mentioned, I lielieve it would lie no oVyection to his serving tlie Luiiiisii East inuia Company, in a vi'uitary way. lu France, the name, ditfereutiy IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 510 credit, to join the rest of the garrison, in opposition to a European detachment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Murphy of the Regiment of Lally. When the French wei-e proceediug from a place called "the Mount" towards Madras, writes Orme, " '600 Europeans, with 2 twelve- pouudcTS, had been sent off, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Murphy, against Pondamalee. They arrived at noon, and Mnr[>hy sum- moned EnsigTi Crowley, with threats, as resisting in an untenaV)le post, although the fort was of stone, and surrounded by a wet ditch. On Crowley's refusal, the twelve-pounders were einployed until night, when 20 of the French detachment had been killed or wounded, and little damage had been done to the waU. But the Sepoys within, ex[jecting neither snccour, nor quarter, began to waver. On which, Crowley marched with them out of the fort, in deep silence, at midnight, and })assing where he was apprized the enemy kept slight watch, got out of reach before they were ready to pursue ; and, knowing the country, came in, the next morning, by the north of the bUick town. The number was 500, in 5 companies, of which 3 were the garrison of Pondimalee, and 2 had retreated hither from the Fort of Trii)assore. Their arrival brought in the last of the troops, stationed in distant out-[)osts, and completed the force with which Madras was to sustain the siege." The garrison of Fort St. George, by their own accounts, amoiuited, between Europeans and Indian mercenaries, to upwards of 4320 men, the former above 175 ) in number.* They were well officered, and wei-e ani]jly sni)plied with artillery, ammunition, and provisions. The Governor of the Fort for the Eijglish East India Company — a gentleman of French, as Lally was of Irish, origin, both thus serving on ditfei'ent sides from what they would have done, but for the intolerant legislation so often before alluded to — was Mr. Pigot. He showed himself to be worthy of the high ]iost he held, by a judicious deference, in the more specially military depart- ment, to the professional knowledge of Colonel Lawrence, and other experienced officers; by an unremitting attention to the other or nuina immediate duties of his own station as a civilian ; and, not least, V»y his animating the garrison, to make the best defence in their powf^:-, with a ])romise, should they do so, of 50,000 rupees.t Moreover, from the well-furnished treasury at his disposal — besides, it may be remarked, the great wealth of individuals in the Fort, which was far more than would have'" defrayed all the expenses of maintaining the ])lace — the Governor remitted 70,000 jKigodas for the formation of an additional force, eventually above 5900 hor.se and foot, |, with some Europeans and 6 pieceg of light artillery; which force, under Captain Preston, Mahomed Ls.soof, and Majoi' Caillaud, were, in aid of those invested in the Fort, to act against the communications, ravage thq territory, and distract the siege operations, of the French. wiitten O'CrcAvley, or O'Croly, is to be seen under Lrmis XIV., XV., and XVI., from the yoiis-Lieutenant to the Lieutenant-Colonel, iu the (Jenilarmes Anglois, Gendarmes Ecossois, Eegiment cVAunis, and Regiments of Bulkeley and Walsh, in some instances with the rank of (Jhevalier of 8t. Louis. •Namely, 1605 European military, with 1 5U European assistants, or attendants, 1755 — Sepoys 'and irregular horse I'-ii^O, with 153 select Indians attached to Euio- pean military, 257.'-? - general total of Europeans as 1755, and of Asiatics as 2573, having consetjuently liceu 4.i28. + "Celui qui recompense ainsi," notes Voltaire, " est mieux servi que celui qui n'a point d'argent." :^The ;^ highest amounts of this vnriilng lovce ai'pear as 4380, as 4803, and a3 SUoO. The guns increased from 2 to 6. 520 IIISTOKV OF THE IRISH EHIGADES Early on the 14th, the French army, crossing the Trii)licane river, and dislodging such English and Sepoy outposts as remained to make a shov*- of opposition around the black town, entered Madras. Wliile Lallv and his staff were engaged reconnoitring Fort St. George, a lai-ge proportion of the troo])s, with some thousands of the inhabitants of Pondiclierry •who had followed the army, dispersed, on all sides, to avail themselves of Buch a great booty as the contents of the city presented; and, to that disorder, the qiiantity of strong liquors found there added intoxication, ■with its numerous attendant evils. The Regiment of Lorrain was, to its honour! alone uninfected by this brutal indulgence; in which other corps, though distinguished, were, nevertheless, surpassed, to its disgrace! by the Regiment of Lally. Meantime, it was reported to the English on Fort St. George, " tliat the French troops were all emjiloyed in. ransacking the houses, and that they had discovered sevei-al warehouses filled with arrack, with which most of them had already got drunk ;" ■while such of them as were perceptible " appeared staggering under their loads, and liquor; on which it was resolved, to make a strong sally, before they could recover themselves." It was undertaken by Lieutenant- Colonel Draper with oUO picked men, sup[)nrted by 100 more under Major Brereton, with 2 field-pieces. As might be expected under the circumstances, the attack was successful at first, but was finally repulsed; the English having had 212 officers or soldiers, and the French (as taken at a disadvantage) 219 killed, wounded, or captured. In this affray, accoi'ding to Lally's biographer, the Regiment of Lorrain, mistaking the English for the Regiment of Lally, allowed the enemy to approach ou the i^ight, till only undeceived by receiving his fire. D'Estaing, fighting at the head of his corps, was wounded, unhorsed, and made ])risouer. Bussy proceeded to the left, where the gallant Chevalier do Crillon, at the head of the Regiment of Lally, was eager to take a decisive part in the contest. Lally, galloping up to the Regiment of Lorrain, which had lost its cannon, and was fallen into disorder, lallied it so effectively, and supported it so well with cavalry, that the cannon which had been lost ■were regained, and those of the English were seized, and turned against them. The English, then driven from street to street, were compelled to hasten towards the bridge, by which alone they could re-enter their Fort, when Crillon, seeing the o})portunity of intercepting them by a dash for the tete-du-2W7it, -proiMsed making it to Bussy; who objected to it, on the ])lea of their being without cannon. Crillon replied, " This is an affair of bayonets," ordering the regiment to follow him ; but was Btoj)ped by Bussy, as his superior ofhcer, or a Brigadier, to which he adverted, and his consequent riy/d to stop Crillon. But Crillou ex- claiming, "No, by God, you shan't stop me!" rushed forward with the comparative few that ventured to accompany him; and though, from the delay to which he had been sul)jected, he could cmly come up with the last of the beaten English hastening to the Fort, he was able to kill 50, and take 30! — and, had he l^een aided with all that he miglit have been, it is alleged, "rtoi 1 Englishman would have re-entered the Furt, and the aieye would, not have lasted 15 days. Lally remained persuaded," adds liis biographer, "that Bussy, and lus party, were unwilling to allow hiin to take AJadras!''' Of his own counti'ymen, and Bussy 's conduct at tJiat .wr//e, Mill states — "They ])enetrated into the black town, before the enemy were collected in sufficient numbers ; but were at last o])))osed by a iorce, which they could not withstand; and, had the division oj the eudiLj^ IN THR SERVICE OP FRANCE. 521 irhich was under the comnui.iul of Bussy, advanced -with siifftninit prnm/iti- tiide to cut off their relreut, it i^ highly probable, fJiatfew of them v)ould have wade tlieir escape. Lally adduces tlie testimony of officers, who commanded under Biissy, that they joined in urging him to intercept the English detachment; but that lie, allegiiij^ the want of cannon, ahsohitely refused. Mr. Ornie says, tliat he justified liimself by the deUiy of Lally'.s orders; without which, it was ctrntrary to his duty to advance. To gain, however, a great advantage, at a critical tnoment" concbides Mill, " a, zeaJous officer will adventure somewhat, under some deficiency both of cannon, and of orders." We likewise learn from the English on this occasion, that, "notwithstanding the ardour of the onset, it left no advantageous impression of the iirnmess of the garrison with the French officers ; and Murphy, 1 of the most experience, proposed, that a general assault shonld be made on the town in the ensuing night in 4 divisions, and offered to lead the j)rincipal attack himself It was lucky for them," affirms the English narrative, "that his advice was not followed." Next day, the 15th, though there remained in the army-chest but 4000 livres, preparations wei-e made for placing in batteiy againsr. the Fort the heavier artillery.; which, having been embarked as for a siege, "was still far off at sea, except a 13-inch mortar, that, coming by land, ■with but 150 Sepoys, had its escort intercejtted and defeated by a much superior detachment, or 4 companies, of the English Sepoys, under Lieutenant Airey, between Saddrass, and Cobeloug. When a captured jjlace becomes the soldier's prey, says the poet, " all engage In qnest of sjxiil, and, ere the tiumpets sound, The plunder'd city 's scarcely to be found. They fell, they hear away, they load the cai-s ; IScarce such a din attends the work of Mar.s." Lewis's Statius, Thebaid, vi., 157-1G2. Thus, the unfortunate pillaging of the black toion absoi-bed, or diverted to other channels, so much of what might have constituted no small fund for military operations, that the place, continues my English account, "furnished to Lally for the demands of the service only 80,000 livres, lent him by an Armenian merchant, whom he had saved from plunder; and to these were added 12,000 livres, furni.shed by an Hindu partizan. With these fnnds, he began to construct his batteries, in the intention, as he repeats, of only bombarding the place, when intelligence was brought, on the 21th of December, that a frigate from the islands had arrived at I'ondicherry with 1,000.000 of livres.* It was this circumstance, he says, which now determined him to convert the bombardment into a siege. With only 2 Engineers, and 3 artillery officers, excepting the few who belonged to the Company, all deficient, botli in knowledge and * The Chevalier de I'Eguille, an enterprising and indefatigable naval officer, of au accommodating disposition in the sej-vice, having been desjjatched from Europe for India with 4 ships, 1100 troops, and 3,000,000 of livres, had put in, for a short stay, at the Isle of France, antl was about proceeding for Pondicherry, when, as ill luck would have it, the Admiral d'Ache detained him there, with the troops, 2-3rds of the m(mey, and all the vessels but 1, which he jiermitted to sail, only with l-3rdofthe money, or the 1,000,000 of livres above-mentioned! How very differently matters J/u'i/AMiave turned out at Madras, Jiad L'Eguille been allowed to jdln Lally titer t, with the whole o/ the vesseU, truopi, and luoiicy, senc jroin France 1 522 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES enter])nse; with officers in geiuM'al dissatisfied and ill-disposed, \vith only the common men on whoui he could depend, and of wi)ose ulacniy he never had reason to complain;* he carried on tlt,e .iir.r/e with a v'ujour and activity, which comiiiandfd the rfspect evert of th,H besieijed, thoiti/h tJifif W'Te little acquainted witJi the dij/ica'tien under which he toded." For these operations, against an enemy abounding in all the means tor making a good defence, and inspired witli proportionable deteriuinatiou to do so, the 2 chief batteries of the besiegers in the bl(i,ck toivn were that of the Eegiment of Lorrain, on the right, or the more inland, that of the Regiment of Lally on the left, or towards the sea — the latter being tiio quarter from which the most destructive fire of shot and shell ivas ■inaat- tained against the Fort, as loell as the approaches most successfully pushed on, to the effecting of a, breach. Of this siege of above 9 weeks, pi-onoiinced, l:)y its minutest British chronicler, " without doubt the most strenuous and regular that had ever been carried on in India," and consequently thus detailed by him as "an example and eneitement" for posterity, I merely notice such circumstances as may convey a fair general conception of its difficulty and importance; anything like a full narrative of it being incompatible with the limits of this work. The consumption of militaiy viateriel l)y the For-t was returned as 26,5-H rounds of cannon-anniiuni- tion, 7502 shells, 1990 hand-grenades, 200,000 musket-cartridges, 1768 barrels of gunj)ovvder — the besiegers being computed to have expended as many, or more cannon-balls, with 8000 shells — and, while so warmly engaged in front, had likewise to be vigilant and active against the mixed force of several thousand infantry and cavalry, previously men- tioned as employed to interru])t the. progress of the siege, by harassing hostilities elsewhere. These constantly-annoying enemies were, "like flies," alleges Lally, " no sooner beaten off in one place, than settling ia another." The predatory parties of that supernuniei-ary force in English pay were, indeed, extremely detrimental to the French. Thus Mahomed Issoof and his subordinate officer Ivistnarow, with 1000 foot and 350 horse, attacking, in December, the Fort of Elvanasore, occupied by 7 French military and 2 companies of Sepoys, with 2 field-pieces, com- pelled it to surrender, burning a village in sight of Fort St. David ; some days after, strengthening their invading corj)s with 1400 more foot and 250 horse, reduced the fortified Pagoda of Tricalore, held by 3 companies of French Sepoys; and then spread their army, to ravage all the terri- tory tributary to the French, .as far as the sea. "On the 15th," asserts the English narrative, " they ap})eared at Villenore, within sight of Pondicherry, and brought so much terror, that the inhabitants of the adjacent villages took shelter in crowds within the bound hedge," which extended about that metropolis. " On the 18tli, they cut the mound of the great tank at Valdoor, and let out the water, to destroy the cultiva- tion it was reserved to fertilize. The sword was little used, but fire every where, and the cattle wei'e driven away to Tricaloor." Again, or January 25th, (1759,) Mahomed Issoof, who, besides his infantry, had * Orme, also, in noting of Lally's soldiers, at the close of the siege, how long their })ay was in arrear, and how very iil-siipplied they were in otiier respects, aarty, in addition to other booty, i-etiunin^ " with 3000 sheep and oxeu, which liad been collected from the coiuiti-y, and were kept, imder the protection of the garrison, in the common round the Fort, to supply the Fr'ench array before Madras." By the 27th, the same active Anglo-Mahommedan partisan, with a body of his horse, approaching Madi'as, came to the place, but " 2 miles north-wesb of Fort St. George, where most of the oxen belonging to the Frencli army were kept, under t. .) care of a guard of Sepoys and Black horse," whom he "put to flight, and seized most of the cattle." Altogether, ifc is noted, on the side of the British, " the attention to this army, since tl)eir arrival in the neighbourhood, diminished the activity of the enemy's opei'ations against the Fort, by the detachments they were obliged to send, and recall, on difterent reports, and alarms. Their appi-oach, just as the enemy's works were advanced so near the defences, increased the alacrity of the garr-ison." On 4 occasions, when more serious demonstra- tions to relieve the Foi't were threatened by the advance of that army, to the niimber, as was estimated, of 5000 strong, Lally in person, or through his leading officers — among whom was his 1st cousin, Michael Lally, Colcmel-Commandant of the 2nd Vmttalion of the family regiment and Brigadier,* — had, according to the French accounts, to make propor- tionate diversions of force from the siege, by which the enemy, although very superior in number, was always obliged to retire. At length, or in spite of so mucli opposition on all sides, a breach in Fort St. George was effected, "and the mind of Lally was intensely engaged with preparations for the assault, when he found the officers of his army altogether indisposed to second his ardour." He alleges, " that the most odious intrigues were carried on in the array, and gi'o\iiidless apprehensions were propagated, to shake the resolution of the soldiers, and prevent the execution of the f)lan;" that his situation as " General was thus rendered critical in the highest degree, and the chances of success exceedingly diminished; yet he still adhered to his design, and only waited for the setting of the moon, which in India sheds a light not much feebler than that of a winter sun." At this d( cisive juncture, or February 16th, 6 English vessels arrived, for the lelief of Madras, with 600 regular troo))S, and other supplies. "Words," continues Lally, "are inadequate to express the effect which the appear- ance of them produced. The officer, who commanded in the trenches, deemed it even inexpedient to wait for the landing of the enemy; and. 2 hours before receiving orders, retired from his jjost." In the existing state of their affairs, any further operations against Fort St. George would be hopeless, and might be ruinous, for the besiegers. "The officers and soldiers had been on no more than half-pay during the first 6 weeks of the expedition, and entirely destitute of pay during the remaining 3. The expenses of the siege, and the half-pay, had con- sumed, during the 1st month, the 1,000,000 of livres whicii had arrived li-om the islands. The officers were on the allowance of the soldiers. * Michael Lally, son of Michael Lally and a Miss O'CarroU, was born in July, 1714, and entered the Hegiment of Dillon, as a Cadet, in January, 1734; in whicii, he became a supernumerary or i-efomned Captain by January, 1744. A full Cap- tain in the Regiment of Lally the following October, he attained the grade of Colonel in March, 1747. He was appointed Commandant of the 2iid Battalion of the Regiment and a Brigadier, November 19th, 17o(). Reformed, with the Regi- nieut, af.er his return from India, he died at Roueu, iu 1773. 524 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES The sul).sistence of the anny, for the last 15 days, had depended almost entirely u])on some rice and batter, captured, in 2 small vessels, from Bengal. A very small quantity of gunpowder remained in the camp; jind not a larger at Pondiclierry. The bombs were wholly consumed 3 \\ eeks before. The Sepoys deserted for want of j)ay, and the European cavalry tlireatened, every hour, to go over to the enemy." In tine, even "the defence of Pondieherry rested upon 300 invalids; and, within 12 liouis, the English, with tiieir reinforcements, might land, and take jjossession of the ])lace!"* After a hot fire against the Foi-t till about 3 in the morning of the 17th, and the blowing up of the enemy's i-edoubt and ])owder-mill at Egmore outside the black town, which woi-ks had cost t!ie English East India Company " £30,000, and could not be restored in a 12-inonth," Lally consequently raised the siege, having to leave behind him 52 pieces of artillery, besides ammunition ; the abandon- ment of which "he imputed to tlie want of serviceable bullocks ; .and tJiis deficiency to the ra.pacitij of the contractors, leagued ivitli the Council of Pondiclierry!'^ His entire loss, in this enterprise, is not specified in any account that I have seen. The killed, wounded, and sick, in Fort St. George, dui-ing the siege, where " all, in general, did honour, by their behaviour, to the name of Englishmen," were retui'ned as 1378; of ■whom the European portion detieient was more than tilled up by the troops, that came, on the Kith, in the ships. " General Lally left Madras, in the utmost transports of rage and despair, which a man of honour and ability can feel, who is," .says my contemporary English annalist, " neglected by those who ought to sup- port him, and cheated by the villainy of contractors, and of all those who turn war into a low tratHc. . . . And certainly, it is worthy of remark, that every where there should appear something more unac- countably wrong and weak in the management of the French, th;ia has been in the conduct of that of almost any other nation, at any time." t In a letter to a friend in the Ministry, Lally had already "vritten from India, on account of the awful want of principle, or probity, there — " / liace not yet belteld tlie shadow of a.n honest man. In the name of God, vrithdrav) me from this country, for w/iich I am not made! " And liis still further grounds for indignation and complaint at his situation theie are energetically set forth in his corre.spondence from Madias, during the siege, with the corrupt administration at Pondieherry. December 27th, 1758, he says — "■ IJell has vomited me into t ,is country of iniquities, and I wait, like Jonas, fur the ivltale, vildch will receive me into its belly!" February 11th, 1759, he states — "If we should fail at Madras, in my ojiinion, the jnincipal reason to which it should be attiilmted is, the pillage o/ 15,000,000 at lejist, whereby as much has been lost, m what has been wasted, as in what has been dispensed among the soldiery, and, 1 am ashamed to say it, among the officers ; who hare not /if'sitated even to ninke use of my na,me, to avail thenhselves of the Vipayx, Chelingues, aud other's, in, order to transfer to Vondicherry a booty, uihich it was your duty to have detained, on perceiving tlie enor/nous quantity of it! " February 14th, attributing his discouraging situation before Madras * The e.-isier, too, since we elsewhere learn, that the prisoners there, taken from the English, were so many as ; UUO ' t la this extract from the Annual Eegister, I omit, after " who is," the words, "ill seconded by his troo/M," as too general an expression. It has been shuwu, that " ill seconded by his ojjicers " would be more correct. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 525 to the bad conduct of some of the Company's officers, and misapj)]ica- tioti, among them and others, of so many of the native forces and cam]>- attendants for purposes of TH'ivate rapacity, all more or less associated with the iniquities and treachery of the administration at Pondicheny, he expresses hin^self to the Governor there, with not less resentment than previously. Of the disreputable behaviour of officers of the Com- pany in command of the Expedition, the Bristol, tkc, he remarks — " A good blow might be struck here. There is a ship in the road, of 20 guns, laden with all the riches of Madras, which, it is said, will remain there till the 20th. The Expedition is just arrived, but M. Groriin is not the man to attack her; for she has made him run away once before. The Bristol, on the other hand, did but just make her appearance before 8t. Thomas ; and, on the vague report of 13 ships coming from Porto- Novo, she took fright; and, after landing the provisions with which she was laden, she would not stay long enough, even to take on board 12 of her own guns, which she had lent out for the siege. If I was the judge of the point of honour of the Company's officers, / would break him like glass, as loeJl as some others of them. The Fldelle, or the Ilarlem, or even the aforesaid ^-mto^, with her 12 guns restoi-ed to her, would be sufficient to make themselves masters of the English ship,* if they could manage so as to get to windward of her, in the niicture of those wlioni he thus arraigns be rendered at once more disgiisting and justi- fiable, than by adding what he tells us % — " that the i-etreat of the ai'my from Madras jiroduced at Pondicherry the strongest demonstra- tions of joy, and was celebrated by his enemies, as an occasion of triumph !" This disgraceful rejoicing was the infamous satisfaction taken by the unprincipled official clique there, for the keen, indeed, and galling, though certainly not more keen and galling, than abundantly provoked or incontrovertibly merited denunciations, from Lally, of their shameless misconduct, or scandalous corruption and rapacity. Instead, however, of being at all amended, or induced to " turn from their evil ways," as * The "English ship " had, it has appeared, but " 20 guns," and the BrUlnl, with her /«7/ complement of artillery, would have, as we eisevvbere learn, ";:!;) guns," and was "manned with Europenns." Her ninie of " Bristol" would show, tiiat she was originally English, but taken by the Freuch. irlo HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES tliey sLonl'l have been, in consequence of sncli denunciations fvom their superior, that ini})uclent clique presumed to make a grieixiyice of those denunciations, on account of their sharpness ! — just, no doubt, as the 40 tliieves of the Arabian tale, if restored to life, after having been so deservedly scalded to death in their jars by honest 'Morgiana, would have made her boiling oil, in proportion to its disagreeable temperature for their guilty carcasses, a very great si^ource of complaint against her, without at all noticing the main point at issue between her and them — or how far she, as a " good and faithful servant," in order to arrest robbery, was excusable in treating them, as ])ractitioners in that line, to such an unwelcome, indeed, but amply-earned application of the burn- ing fluid at her disposal. Voltaire, who knew, and was, for some time, a fellow-labovn-er of, Lally, in 1745-6, with respect to the arrangements for sending a reinforcement of 10,000 men from France to Prince Charlea* in Britain, notices the "douceur de moeurs," or suavity of manners, by Avliich Lally was then distinguished ; the alteration of which the histo- rian naturally attributes to the various causes for irritation in the ill-fated (leneral's suV)sequent unhap])y position. The instructions he had from the Court and from the Directory of the Company in Paris, to have a vigilant eye upon the conduct of the Council at Pondicherry ; and those instructions, Imcked by memiu-anda on the several abuses connected with the administration of Council, would, it is admitted, have rendered him odious to that body, were he the mildest of mankind ; and he had received equally obnoxious directions with respect to the insubordination, want of discipline, and avidity for plunder, among the Company's European troops, or those of the " Bataillon de I'lnde." It was not for tlie interest — i. e., the private or personal interests — of the Council, the Battalion of India, " et hoc genus oniiic," that such an uncompromising " lioinme du lioi," or " King's man," as Lally was invidiously desig- nated, slionld be tliere from Europe, to discountenance or check that nianagejnent of affairs, which had been so suited to the taste of those floiuisliing, or hoping to ficnirish, by a continuance of the system, " All in the family way, All with the strictest propriety! " or as free as possible from any external interference and economizing control. It was likewise, of course, anything but right in their eyes, that this very " homme du Roi," already too distinguished by the i-('duction of Fort St. David and Arcot, should capture Madras, and slioidd then ])robably conquer Bengal ; in as much as he might thereby become both a reformer too powerful in India, and an accuser too irre- si.-tible in France. Such were the grounds for the hostility between Lally and his colonial opponents. That of Lally was warm, frank, too often, ])erha|)s, venting itself in terms more bitter than discreet, yet always ready to "let bygones be bygones," on any manifestation of an anieiidinent, and desire to pi-omote the service of the King. That of his enemies was cold, crafty, underhand, and unscrupulous, not hesitating, fur tli(^ destruction of an obnoxious individual, to risk the ruin of the public int*'rest. Thus was D'Argenson's too-well-grounded prediction in process of verification ! After retiring fiom Madras unmolested by the enemy. Lally found his health so impaired by the various harassing toils and numei'ous vexations he liad undergone, that, early in March, he was obliged to quit the camp IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 527 for Pondiclierry,* and devolve the cdmnirttid of the force opposed fco tli« English on M. de Soupire, Marechal de Cainp; leaving it well yiosted at Conjeverara, with orders not to risk any general action, but remain ou the defensive. The troops there were in much distress. From I'ondi- cherry nothing was to be gotten ; " what monies could be collected from the country between Conjeverara and Arcot, or borrowed in the camp, scarcely furnished the expenses of the day; and the inhabitants of the neigiiboui-ing villages, finding that the English jiaid punctually, and at better prices, evaded, as much as possible, to carry any yjrovisions to the French camp." In Aj)ril, the English, in order to entice the French to a suitable distance from Conjeverara, appeared V)efore the Fort of Wande- wash, on which Lally ]jroceeded ftom Pondichei-ry to join Soupire for the purpose of saving Wandevvash; when the English, decamping thence at night, by a forced march, returned to, fell upon, and captured Conjeveranj with its garrison, by assault. The following month, the French were so badly ofi" for every kind of su])i)ly, pay included, that Lally was deterred "from trusting their good will in action, until he could satisfy their complaints." With this view, "he went to Aicot, and, having detected various frauds in. the management of the Amuldar, or renter, who firmed the districts, fined him 4(.*,000 rupees; raising 10,000 more, with the promise of some provisions, from a native ])otentate of Velore, by agree- ing not to molest his country. Satisfying immediate wants with these lesources, the General, on the 6th, led the army from Covrepauk to 7 miles west of Conjeverara, where he stationed them advantngeouslv opposite the English, who, under Colonel Monson, from the 12th to the 15th, drew out of their lines to offer battle. But the money and pro- A isions recently obtained being now nearly exhausted, the soldiery renewed their complaints, which, too many, if not most, of their officers, from pei-sf)nal or factious motives, " were little solicitous to repress.'.' Aware of these feelings, says my British authority of Lally, "he would •not venture the battle he otherwise wished (for he was always bmve and i/)tpptuous,f and had 2000 Europeans in the field.) before he had tried how far their prejudices might influence their duty, and made sevei-al motions, tending to no great consequence, which convinced him, that, in their present mood, they would not fight with ardour under his command." He consequently broke np his encampment, on the 15th, to march for Trivatore, dispersed the troops into different quarters, and returned him- self to Pondicherry; resolving, in such a verj'' unsatisfactory condition as his army were for money and sup[)lies, and, aided from Eui'ope, as the English had been, not to meet them again en masse in th(; field, until he should be better enabled to do so by " the arrival of the French .squadron, which was daily expected with reinfoi-cements." The English did nob go into cantonments tilltlie 28th, when this sjn-ing campaign for 1759, of 100 days, terminated; wherein " the principal object of both sides was to protect their respective territory, and not to risque an engagement witliout j)Ositive advantage, which neithei" gave." * "On se decliaina contre le Glengral,'' adds Voltaire of Lally, and his shameless enemies, "on Taccabla de leproches, de lettres anouymes, de satires. 11 en tomha uialade de cliauriu : quelqne temps apres, la fievre et de fre'qnens transports au cerveau le troub^erent pendant 4 mois; et, pour consolation, on lui insiiltaib encore! " •f" " To tread the walks of death he stood prepnr d ; And what he greatly tlionnlit, be nobly diii-M.' ruj?ii's HoMKii, U.i^ssey, ii., 311-312. 528 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Lally brought back from the camp to Pondicheriy "more reRentinpnt than ever against the Governor, the Council, and all who were em ployed in the civil administration of the Companj^'s affairs; imputing to t/ieir malversations all the obstacles and impediments, which obstructed tlie success of his arms. The Council, he alleged, 7-f.ceived -preserds from tJm renters of all the districts, ivho, emboldened by tJie knowledge of their pecula- tions, contimially evaded' the regular ■payments, or insisted on remissions, in the terms of their leases; * and, ivhUst the Treasury was thus disappointed or defrauded of its incomes, its issues, he insisted, vmre squandered loith equal prodigality ; because the Council, and their dependants, held sliares, in aU the supplies for the public service, whether in the camp, or city.'" This w^as tracking the thefts of Cacus to his den, and letting in light as alarm- ing, as it was unwelcome, to the unkennelled robber, whose " detected fraud appear'd in view," when — ^ " Expos'd to sight the monster's dungeon lay, And the huge cave llew ojien to the day ! " Pitt's Virgil, ^neid, viii., 315-316. The vile faction of peculating civilians, and their interested upholders, or roguish understrappers, at Pondicherry, in proportion to their just or guilty dread of Lally, as disinterring and dencmncing their financial male practices, became additionally exasperated against him, and rallied the more closely about his enemy, Bussy. From illness, (and, doubtless, o'her reasons,) Bussy had retired to Pondicherry since the retreat from Madras, and to him the junta of branded corruptionists, and their subordinate jobbers, paid especial court; constantly expressing I'egret at what they designated the indiscretion of the Ministry in having appointed Lally, rather than Bussy, to the supreme command; a regret, with their "auri sacra fames," unquestionably well-founded; Bussy, who had made such a fine fortune in India, (and was no less resolved to heep it,) being much the more likely man not to interfere with thfni in making their fortunes too; and being consequently the character with whom they could best sympa- thize, on the good old principle, that •'A fellow-feeling makes us wond'rous kind !" and that " Birds of a feather Flock together ! " During June and July, or since going into cantonments, nothing of more consequence than the detachment of parties to collect preys of cattle occurred between the French and English, with the exception of a blood- less acquisition, July 7th, of the Fort of Covrepauk by Colonel Monson. * See, in Mr. Mill's work, under the year 1765, the vast extent to which corrup- tion and extortion were carried, under the head of "presents," as received by the Eiiih East India Company's servants. According to ancient custom, it is stated, " a person in India, who had favours to ask, or evil to deprecate, could not easi'y believe, till acce])tance of his present, that the great man, to whom he addressed himself, was not his foe." On which the same historian subsequently observes — " Besides the oi)pression of the people of the country, to which the receiving of presents prepared the way, this dangerous practice laid th' foundation of iierj>elual perftdy in tkc Jiervants of the Company to the interests of their employers. Not those plans of policy -which were calculated to produce the happiest results to the Com- pany, but those which were calculated to rnu'tiply t/ie occasions for presents, and rentier them most effectual, were tlie plans recommended, by the strongest motives of interest, to the ageiits and represeutatives of the Company in India." IN THE SERVTCE OF FRANCE. 629 '•'The distresses and discontents of the French continued as urgent as ever, even after the expense of the cainjmign was diminished hy their reti-eat into quarters. In the beginning of August, the whole of Lally's regiment, excepting the Serjeants and Cor])orals, and 50 of the soldiei's, mutinied, and marched out of tlie Fort of Chittapet; declaring, that they would not return to their colours, until they had received their pay, of which many months was in arrears." However, " their officers, by furnishing their own money, and engaging their honour for more, brought them back, excepting 30, who dis])ersed about the count ry." TxTeverthe- less, "this defection, which the cause exem|)tod from rigorous punish- ment, shook the discipline of the whole army." The dis.seusiou, also, between Lally and Bussy was still in full operation, when, on the 20th, a fiigate from Fi-auce " brought orders from the King and Ministi-y, recalling all the intermediate officers, who had been acmt with commis- sions superior to Bnssy's, and a])pointing him second in command, and to succeed to it after Lally." This caused a more civil intercourse to take place between them, and an assent by Lally to a measure }>roposed by Bu^sy, although about the most ol>noxious that the latter could have proposed — or tiiat he should retin-n to the Deccan. It was not till Se])tember 2nd, that D' Ache's tieet from the Mauritius, whose arrival was so long and eagerly looked for by Lally, and the Fi-eneh generally iu India, was descried off" Ceylon by the English Admiral Pococke; between whom and D'Ache, as soon as the wind admitted, or on tlie 10th, an engagement ensued. In this action, no ship was lost on either side; the English, who acknowledged a loss of 569 killed or woundi'd, ])roved unable to efi'ect their design, of ])reventing the French reaching Pondi- cherry; and the latter consequently anchored there, the V-)\\\. On the general result of this and the preceding naval encounters b;''.\veen the French and English in India, "it has been observed," .says ti.e Annual Register for 1760, "that history can hardly produce an insbmce of 2 squadrons fighting 3 pitclied battles, under the same commanders, in 18 mouths, witiiout the loss of a ship, on either side !" Had D'Acho been the bearer of iar more assistance than he brought, such as.si.stance would all have been needed. The resources of the Government at Pondicherry were too nearly exhausted, as well by the length of the war, as, according to Lally's com])laints, "by the misapjMcat.ion of the public funds ; a calamity, of which the violent passion of iadivvhials for private ivealth v:aH a copious and perennial fnintain,." He " had, from his first arrival, been struggling on the borders of despair, with wants, which it was altogether out of his power to supply. The English had i-eceived, or were about to receive the most imjjortant accession to their power ; and nothing but the fleet which had now arrived, and the supjilies which it miyht have brought, could enable him, much longer, to contend with the dilliculties which environed him." Under these distressing circumstances, we read, with a mixture of cont^nipt and indignation, how '• M. d'Ache had bi-ought, for the use of the colony, £16,000 in dollars, with a quantity of diamond?-, valued at £17,000, which had been taken in an English East Tnui^iman; and, having landed these eflects, together with 180' meai, he declared his resolution of sailing again for the islands! * Nothing," it may well be * Was despatching a fleet like D'Ache's to India, with no greater assistar.ce than £16,0U(), and so few men, anything Vietter than appointing an eJejiliaiit to carry aa iiilaut ? Much ado about comparatively nothing ! The single Euyliisk East ludia- 2 M 5.0O inSTOllY OF TITK IRISIf BRTGADES helit'ved, " coukl exreed tlie surprise and consteriiMtion of the colonv iifiou tins unexpected and alarming inteliiiience. Even those who were the most indifferent to the success of affairs, when the I'eputation of Lally, and the interest of their country alone, were at stake, now hegau to tremble, when the very existence of the colony, and their interests along with it, were threatened with inevitable destruction. All the principal inhabitants, civil and military, assembled at the Governor's house, and formed themselves into a National Council. A vehement ])rotest was signed against the departure of the fleet. But the resolvition of the Admiral was inflexible; and he could only be induced to leave 400 CaflVes, who served in the fleet, and 500 Europeans, partly marines, and partly sailors." Having landed these, he, on the .30th, sailed away, never to return! The value of the African ])ortion of D'Ache's parting piTsent speaks for itself; the European portion of it, or the marines ami Bailors, were designated merely as ''the scinn of the sea'' by Lally; "and, indeed," says my English historian, "most of them, for a while, could be lit for little more than to do duty in the town, whilst the regular ti'oops kept the field." The other contents of the fleet, or the des])atches which it brought from Europe, were calculated to render Lally 's position worse than it jiieviously was. Those documents, indeed, contained, Jbr the Council at Pondlclierry, rfpi'inio,nds, and even menaces, of the severest kind; fur Lally, tJte highest ommendations of his achievements, and Jus ■fjrincijjles ; with special instructions, that he should cause an account to be rendered of the administration; the despotism of the government of the Council to be corrected; an inquiry to be instituted into the origin of the existing abuses, in order that they might be cut uj) by the roots; and, in tine, pj'oceedings to be taken, by the Procureur-General, with respect to every Member of the Council, and other official, who should be found any way interested in the collection of the revenues of the Cora])any. To intrust him with such a commission implied, as he observed in his correspondence, that he should he art object of general horror in tlie colony, — or, in other words, among such knaves as it was composed oJ\ — and, accordingly, from this time, is to be dated an offensive and defensive league, or conspiracy, of all the Members of Council and inferior employes against him, as receiving such (n-ders — hateful, in pro- portion to the dishonesty, which had so much to appi'ehend from tJieir enforcement, and from him as empowered to enforce them. In short, what situation could now be more unhappy than his? Long jirevious to the autumnal season for again taking the field, the English, at Madras, in addition to the European recruits which they received, were encouraged with intelligence of the 8-lth regiment of lOOO men being at sea to join them, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre Coote, famous, as Majoi-, for his services in Bengal, and who was coming, with a commission to command in chief A further advantage pi'esented itself, in the circumstance of the French force nearest to Madras being weakened by a considerable detachment, which it had been found necessary to despatch elsewhere, or to the south. With such apparently favoitrable jirospects for striking some decis ve blow, and proportionably importuned to do so by Major Brereton, who was most eager to distinguish himself before he sho\dd be supeiseded in command hy Coote, the I'residency at Madras consented, that an attempt sho\dd be made to reduce Wandewash, man, wliich the French Admiral cxptiirerl by chance, fii vi>:/(if/ . was more valuable thau ali ihe trcasuie ke had |a"e\^oably on board, tor Pi^iulicherry ! IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 531 tlie lie;id-quarters and in'inci]ial post of the Fi-eiich between Madras and Pondiclieny. Accordingly, on September 26th, or as soon as it was possible to march, after the heavy rains. Major Brereton set out from Conjeveram for Wandewash with 4080 foot and 800 horse; of whoi* KiOO ■were Europeans, and the rest, 3280, Sepoy or other mercenaries. At "Wandewash, the Fort was held by a native Kellidar, or Governor, and liis garrison, that woidd admit none of the French beyond some gunners; ;«. state of things, in which, nnder the delicate circumstances they were j)laced, the latter, in order to avoid worse, had to acquiesce. The Fnncti etiectiv(^ force there were quartered mostly under the walls of the Fort, and the rest about the town. They were then but badly off, as well as inferior in runnber to the English, or only 1100 men, and under the command, pro tempore, of a veteran officer of the Irish Biigade, named Mac Geoghegan, a gentleman of very old and illu.strious race. Of the 4 sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, Ard-Kigh or Monarch of Erin from a. d. 379 to 400, known as the pi-ogenitors of the Southern Hy-Niall, or offspi ing of Niall, in Midhe, or Meath, &c., Fiacha, the 3rd, ■was ancestor of the sept of Mac Geoghegan, hence originally styled Kinel- Fiacha, or kindred of Fiacha,* but taking their subsequent designation of Mac Geoghegans from a Prince, the Gth in descent from the great Niall. The territory of the descendants of Fiacha anciently extended from Bir, in the Kings County, to the noted liill of Uisneach, in VVestmeath ; iu later times, or down to the Elizabethean age, the country of Mae Geoghegan was generally limited to the district of Kinaliagh, 12 milea long, and 7 broad, or coextensive with the Barony of Moycashel. Brought comparatively low at first, by the Anglo-Nornuxn obtrusion into Meath of De Lacy and his feudal land-adventurers from Britain in the 12th century, this warlike sept, nevertheless, very soon, or early in the 13th, showed they had only fallen like Antaeus, to rise the stronger; "erected, and long maintained the possession of, various castles, the chief being at Castletown-Geo^hegan, near Kilbeggan, whose extensive site is marked upon the Ordnatjce Survey;" and, tliroughout the middle ages, ranked among the most dreaded neighbours to the aetllers of the Pale; of whose defeats it might be said — ".Swim at midnight the Sliannon, heard w(il\es iu their den, Ere you ride to Moycasliel, on forays again ! " In the Elizabi thean war, the heroic Captain Richard Mac Geoghegan of Moycashel, as Constable of the Castle of Dunboy, will rievei- be Ibrgobten, from his noble resistance and death tiiere; respecting which, alleges the enemy, "so obstinate and resolved a defence hath not bin scene within this kiiigdome!" In the Parliamentaiian or Cromwellian contest, the gentlemen of this sept ujjheld its previous reputation for gallantry. The Secretary of the great Owen Eoe O'Neill, noting how no family behaved so well as the Geoghegans, states — "Never a one of them was ever killed other then like a brave souldier, and in comannde in action;" and theu naming 10 Geoghegans as officers, fioin the ranks of Lieutenant-Col. nel and Major to those of Captain and Lieutenant, and s])ecifying where they were distinguished, he adds— " These 10 Geoghegans comaunders perished to the world, but to luture ages lett sufficient matter of honorable • Cam, in the Barony of Moycashel, and County of Westmeath, wns formeil/ called Carn-Fiachach, or the earn oj Fiacha, from tiie earn, or sci>ulchral liea^) of stoues tlieie, to lu^ memory. f)32 HISTOr.Y OF THE IRISH BRIGADES imitation," Szc. In the snccoediiig unequal struggle ag.iinst the Anglo- Orange invasion of Ireland, and its numerous Continental and colonial auxiliaries, tlie members of this old clan duly sujiported King James I', lirian Mac Geoghegan, Esq. of Donoi-e, and Charles Mac Geoghegan, Esq. of Sionan, sat for the Borough of Kilbeggan, in that Monarch's national Parliament at Dublin, in 16S9; and several gentlemen of the name were officers in the royal army, especially among rhe cavalry. The luanch of Sionan, as represented by the above-mentioned Chailes, and liis 7 sons, fought for the King in Ireland, and afterwards on the Cou- tinent. Of these, Conly, the eldest, having, previous to the Williamite revolution, .served in France, and acquired the character there of a good officer, was made a Colonel in Ii-eland; where he fell, greatly regretted, at the battle of Cavan. between the Duke of Berwick, and Colonel Wolseley, in February, 1690. In the course of the same war, 4 of his brothers were also slain. The 2 remaining followed the King to France, where the elder. Anthony, was created, by that Prince, a Baronet. Charles, the younger, died a Captain of Grenadiers in the Regiment of Berwick, leaving 3 sons; of whom, the survivor, Alexander, likewise a Captain of Grenadiers, w-as the officer in tem])orary command of the French here at W--indewash. He is tirst mentioned as in the Regiment of Berwick in 1733; when he served at the siege and reduction of Kehl. A Sous- Jjieutenant of the same corps in 1734, he was at the siege of Philips- burgh; and at the atlair of Clausen in 1735. He was at the battle of Dettingen, and nominated a Captain en Second in 1743. In 1744, at the siege of Menin. he \vav> subsequently transferred, with the like rank, into the Regiment of Lally. In 1745, having been j)resent at the successful sieges of Tournay, Oudenarde, Deiidermonde, and the victory of Fontenoy, he jiassed into Scotland, to the, aid of Prince Charles; com- manded a cor])s of his hussars; and was at the sieges of the town and citadel of Stirling, and battle of Falkiik, in 1746. Between this, and tlie general termination of the war on the Continent, in 1748, he was made a full Captain or obtained a company, was created a Chevalier of St. Loui.s, and was jiresent at the reduction of Maestricht that year, l)y Marshal Saxe. After the breaking out of the war in 1756 between France and England, he .sailed for India, as "premier factionnaire" to ]iis regiment, (u- that of Lally. By the death, on the passage, of his eider brother, a Major and Captain of Gi-enadieis in that corps, is; each of the 3 supplied with 2 tiiio brass six-pounders. About 2 in the morning, the 1st or Monson's division of SnO Europeans, thi^ majoi-itv grenadiers, besides a company of lOj Sepoys, in all 460 men, reached Wandewash, at a portion of the wall, out of repair, and with neither ditch nor palisade before it; so that the 1st party of grenadiers were able to scramble np, drive away the guard, ami open the gate for the rest of the division. In 3 columns, with 2 field- pieces at the head of th;it in the centre, this division then proceeded through the 3 principal streets; silenced the opposing tire by which they were most annoyed, or that of 2 tield-pieces pointed by the French from the esplanade, to swee]) the central street; and, having advanced to the openings upon the esplanade where the main body of the French were stationed, then deemed it most prudent to halt, raise a barricade, and •wait for daylight; as being disappointed of the co-opei-ation expected from their 2iid, or Gordon's, division. But this minor division of 200 Euro- peans, 80 Black mercenaries, and 2 tield-jMeces, at tlie angle of the ram- part where they had approached to enter the town, having been duly- discovered, and entirely exposed to view, by blue lights thrown up, were so warmly received by the French fire there, that they were totally defeated; Brereton, to rally the fugitives, having, "in the strong impulse of indignation," vainly "i-an tlie 1st man he met through the body," pour encourayer les atttres ! Meantime, as day broke, the hre n])on Moivoi'n division from the main body of the French at the esplanade, aided b; thi"; from the Fort, became too hot to bear. "The gunnei-s," notes dm , "whom the Kellidar had adinitted into the Fort, plied the cannon on the towers opjjosite to the 3 streets, to the head of which Monson's division had advanced; and, with the tield-pii'ces on the esplanade, their fire was from 14 guns, all within point blank; from the Fort at 300, from the field-pieces at 100, yards. The return was from the 2 field-|)ieces at the head of the center-street, and from platoons of mu.sketry in the other 2. The disparity was severe, and could not be long maintained." Under these favourable circumstances. Mac Geoghegan, in order to decide the contest as soon as possible, or before Monson could be effectively reinforced from without, assailed the intruders with such sj)irit and activity, that he finally drove them out of the place; sending his 300 cavalry to watch their retreat, but not risking his 800 infantry in any pursuit beyond the walls of the town, against an enemy, whose reserve of 460 men, under Brereton, was fresh, or untouched, and whose European and Black horse, amounting to 800, were stationed but a mile to the rear of Brereton ; besides the still greater force of that officer at his camp, or head-quarter.s — the whole, compared with the French at Wandewash, making nearer 4 than 3 men to 1. In this affiiir of about 5 hours' duration (much inter- rupted, however, by the darkness, ifec.,) the English admit a loss of 207 killed, wounded, or missing. The French specify their killed and wounded, at but 114. The English claim a capture of \r> prisoners from the French. Tlie French claim to have captured English officers, 56 soldiers, 4 cannon, and 2 ammunition- uaggons from the English. As an otf-set to the general depression of mind among the French, so naturally associated with the wretched mockery of assistance brought by, and the sailing away of, D'Ache's fleet for the ]\lauritius, this repulse, by the Irish officer, of the English at Wandewash, was made the most of at Pondicherry, with a diticharge of 100 guus from the ramparts, &c. The advauLage ubtuiued ■53-1 HISTORY OF THE IRISH RR:GADr:S l)v Mac GeogliPijfan saved, in fact, tlie French, in India, for the time; thoiig'\ situated hs they were, it cduid only l)e tor a time.* To tlie iiunieroiis difficultie.«, with which, as "a sea. of troubles," the Fieiicli in India were left hy D'Aclie to contend, unaided, and, as there wiis but too uuich reason to suppose, iu vain, 'a greater source for alarm, tlian ever be/ore presented itself was added, October 16th-l7th, by tho di.scoutent and insubordination which ai)peared in the army. "Nor is tlii.'=i i'a?;e tlio nnniil)liiicr of a crowd, Tliat .slum to tell tlieir (liscniitents aloud; Where all, with gloomy lonks, .saspicious go, And dread of an informer chokes their woe : But, hold in niunhers, proudly they ai)prar, And scorn the liashfnl, mean resti-aints of Tear. For laws, iu great rebellions, lose their end, • And all go free, wheu nudtitndes offend." Eovvi'/s Luc.\n's Pharsalia, v., 357-304. Other outbreaks, of which there naturally had been several, among the putil'ring sohlieiy, were partial ; but this mutiny was general, and, all circumstances consideied, excusably so. Not less than 10 month.s' pay- was due to the ti'oo|)S ; what money they had gotten was in.stead of provisions, which were by no means regularly furnished ; the men were also very badly ofl" for clothing ; they were the more indignant at the distress to which they continued to be subjected, even alter tiie bravery lately shown at Wandewash ; they ctuiceived that a much larger sum, tliaii that merely announcetf as brought by the fleet, had actually been reiiiiUed from France; and, wor.se than all, they were led to believe (evidently from a quarter, whose infamous nature is sufficiently marked by the calumny of the assertion,) that so many evils were greatly owing to the criminality of the General, who, at the public cost, had beea amassing and secreting a vast amount of wealth ! The exasjierated soldiery of the Regiments of Lorrain, Lully, and the Battalion of India con.sequently quitting their quarters, and choosing 2 Serjeants for their Generals, declared, that their an-ears of pay should be cleared oil in () days ; after which, if not satisfied, they would go over to the English. By a subscription, however, at Pondicherry, to which Laily liimselt contributed 50,000 francs, the gallant Crillon 10,000, and others what they could, a sufficient fund was raised to appease this most dangerous commotion; the troops, on condition of receiving wdiat was due them, for half a year, in hand, the rest in a month, and a coini)lete amnesty for the past in writing from the General and the Council, Agreeing to retui-n to their duty ; which, except 30 deserters, all accord- ingly did, by the 21st. As the only mode for continuing to subsist the army, and for a satisfactory collection of the ap])roaching revenue to be e:xpected from the country, Lally, soon after this )-econciliation, decided upon dividing the forces into 2 portions; tliat for the north, to consist of 800 men, stationed at Arcot or Wandewash, and which by nu)ving to the aid of any of his gariisons attacked in those jiarts might keep tho English, for a certain period, in check ; that for the south, to reaf ze as * Orme, Voltaire, and Mill, %it sup. —Mac (4eoghegan ]>edigree, &c., in Miscellany of Irish ArchaH)logical Society, vol. i.— Irish and English jiulilished annalis-s , TT'a.M/w on Mac Oeoghegans — O Neill M.S., in Trinity College, Dublin— \ 1)1)6 Mac {;cogiie,'nn's note, at battle of Cavan, in 1(190— French memoir of Ca[)tain Alexaniier L. ;ic (;eoi>hegan m iate .lohn < 'Connell's M.S. collectii'iis at I'afisdii [ri.'-h Brigade — Aiciii-h ivuiLicUiurs of lontest at VVaudewash, iii Meiture lli^toiu^ue lor 17ol>. IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 535 great a supply as possible from tlie corapai-atively untouched or (iourish- ing districts between Outatoor and Tritcliino|K>ly, iiichuling the ricli and feitile Islo of Ser'ingham, and tlien be ready, in dne time, to march to the assistance of tlie division holding the English at bay in the north. The Governor and Council at Pciiidicherry, we ai'e told, opposed such a " se|)aration of the army as fraught with the most dangei'ons conse- quences ;" a danger, indeed, "which could no^. be concealed from Lally himself," as that of "dividing the army in the presence of a sujieriop enemy ; but," it is added, " they pointed out nn dipjihs by trJilcli, d vms possible to preserve it logefher." Lally im])uted tht; opposition he met with, respecting such a disposition of the aj'my, to a disappointed s])irit of peculation on the pai't of his opposers; since, with reten-nce to the better getting in of the revenue, he likewise announced his intention of having the several collections farmed under his own eye — by which, of course, the usuid comfortable jierquisites, or snug deductions, " so sweet for the gain " of the jobbing officials, who-m he had such abundant reasons for distrusting, would be cut off from those knaves — and hence an outcry, from the hungry spite of their frustrated rapacity, that Jie was acting thus, oidy with a view to personal emolument ! But the real character of Lally could not be affected by snch an accusation from those, whose praise would have proved him as deserving of censure, as tlieir censure "would ini))ly that he was worthy of })raise. While ])i-epariiig to draft; away, nnder Crillon, the stronger division intended for the south, the General caused s(< many parties to be S(;t in motion, as niiglit dill'nse an impression ot his being altogether bent upon maintaining himself along the northern line of defence, afibrded by the stream of the Paliar. lu the course of these varied movements, 50 men of his regiment haviri"' ]tiet with, and ventured to attack, 3 conijianies of the enemy's Sepoys, or about .■)()() men, posted at the village of Cherickmalore, on the southern side of the river, opposite Conjeveram, are alleged, by the English, to have been beaten, with a loss of 5 soldiers killed, and 3 taken, besides an oilicer, mortally wounded.* As to Crillon's march, it was so well jilanned, and, for a time, concealed or disguised, that, between November 11th and 2l)th, he was able to anticipate any effective eflbi-t, on the part of the English, in the south, to prevent his crossing the river Coleroon into the Isle of Seringham, imd, on the 21st, reducing the garrison, in a, fortified pagoda there under Captain Smith, to surrender, to the number of 3l0 Sepoys, 500 CoUeries, or long-lance-armed men, and 2 field- pieces, with European gunners. But such success in the south could not compensate for the dispai'ity, in point of numbers, under which Lally, in the north, had, by this time, to confront the English from Madras, strengthened, as they were, by the arrival of the last of tho reinforcements they expected from Europe, with the very able Irish- ofiieer who was to command against him. That gentleman, Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre Coote, was the 5th son of the Eev. Dr. Chidley Coote, of Ash-Hill, Connty of Limerick, by hi.s marriage with Jane, 3rd daughter of the Right Honourable Georgo Evans, of Caharas, or Caras, in the same County, and sister of the 1st * This rare success by Indians, as o])posed to Europeans, wo?/ have been owin^ to I t/tcr circumstances, as well as numbers, liaving heen much to tlie advanta!;e of the futiner, on this occasion. I liave tlion'j.ht it \n\t fair, in mentionincf the matter, t.i ', hmce at tlie fact of luU men having been the yeuerul complement of a company of tiepo^B. 536 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Lord Carbery.* Young Cojte was born in 1726, and appears to have entered the British army early, in which he is stated to liave been an Ensign in Scotland, in the civil war of 1745-6. In 1754, he sailed, with his regiment, from Ireland, for the East Indies; and, as Captain, and Major, throughout the suVisequent operations in Bengal, or the reduc- tions of Calcutta, Hoogley, Chandernagore, and the battle of Plassey, in conjunction with Admiral Watson, and Colonel (afterwards Lord) Clive, was much distinguished. The victory of PJasst-y, by which the English East India Coujpany ii%-st rose to be a great jiolitical, and military, or sovereign power in Hindostan, instead of a corporation of merely tolerated foreign traders, would, in fact, never have been gained, if the irresolution of Clive had not, on second thoughts, been brought to reject its original misgivings, for the sujierior determination of Coote. " What^ ever confidence he might place in his own military talents, and in the valour and discipline of his troops," writes Lord Macaiday of the situa- tion of Clive before the afi'air of Plassey^, "it was no light thing to engage an army 20 times as numerous as his own. Before him lay a river, over ■which it was easy to advance; but, over which, if things went ill, not one of his little band would ever return. On tliis occasion, for the first and for the last time, his dauntless spirit, during a few hours, shrank from the fearful responsibility of making a decision. He called a Council of War. The majority declared against tighting, and Clive declared his concurrence with the majority. Long afterwards, he said, that he had never called but 1 Council of War, and that, if he had taken the advice of that Council, the British would never have been masters of Bengal." Elsewhere, in ccmnexion with this topic, after designating Coote, as *' conspicuous among the founders of the British emjjire in the east," Lord Macaulay, indeed, admits, of the Irish officer, "at the Council of War, which jireceded the battle of Plassey, he earnestly recommended, in opposition to the majority, that daring cour.-^e, which, after some opposition, was adopted, and which was crowned with such splendid success." But, for a fuller or more satisfactory idea of this memorable consultation, we are indebted to the historians Orme and Malcolm; authorities, unobjectionable in what they admit with respect to Clive, as hoth friendly to him. According to their narratives, Clive, nnder the alarming circumstances above described, called a Council of War to decide — Whether, in their situation, it would, without further assistance, or merely on their own bottom, be prudent to attack the Nabob of Bengal, or whether they .should wait, until joined by some extra native aid % Although it is a proverbial saying, that a Council of War rarely fights, being generally summoned only when a Commander is at his ■wit's end, such appears to have been Clive"s nervousness at the ]nos|)ect of attacking the Nabob, and his proportionate anxiety to secure, as it ■were, a decision, in correspondence with his feelings, from the Council, that he eA-en went out of the customary course, observed at such assem- blie.s, of taking the opinion of the youngest officer first, and ascending, •The Eev. Chidley Coote, D.D., was married in 1702, and died in 1730; and his widow survived liim till 17C3. when she died at Cork. On their gallant and accomplished son E_vre, compare Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, under Coote, Earl of Mountrath, and Evans, Lord Carbery, with the biographical sketches of the (General m the East India Military Calendar, Eyau's Worthies of Ireland, kc. Fcrrar thus refers to Ash-Hill, in 1787— "The ruins of Kilmallock are well con- trasted V)y Ash-Hiil, the seat of Chidley Coote, Esq., which joins the town, and ■where there is an excellent shrubbery, with a well-improved demesne. " IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 537 in due grfirlation, from tli.-it to tlie Preaident's ; he liimsclf, on flie coiitr.iiy, giving his own opinion, as against attacking, firat, or in order to indicate what he wished tlie votes i)\' others to be, and then descending to the opinion of tlie h)west, according to snccession of rank. Of tlie Council, as might he expected, a niajoiity, or 9, inclusive of, and headed liV, himself, decided against ])roceeding to engage. But the 7 others, inclusive of, and headed by, Major Coote, were of an ojiposite ojiinion; tiie Majoi', as spokesman of the glori(.us minority, arguing— that such a delay, to act in presence of the enemy, wonhl aV)ate the existing ardour and confidence of success in the soldiery, v/hicli it wonhl Ix; difficult to T-estore — tliat, through such a delay, the enemy might be both ])hysicaJly and morally strengthened, Vjy a French reinforcement — that the Englisli force could likewise be surrounded, its communication with Calcutta cut f)ff', and thus as effectually ruined by delay, as by the loss of a battle — and, therefore, that an immediate advance, to decide the contest, should be resolved on, or an immediate return to Calcutta. The ccmsequence was, that, though Clive was necessarily successful in the Council of Wai-, as seconded by the majority of votes, he, after the assembly brcjke up, reconsideied the matter, and became so convinced of the erroneous course he had advocated, and had led others to advocate — or to remain where they were, instead of pushing forward to fight -that his better sense came round to, and acted ujion, the opinion of Coote, in issuing orders to pass the river next morning ; by wiiich movement, and its result, in the overthrow of the enemy, he reaped tlie fruits of superior advice to his own. The conduct of Coote in the council was duly supported by him in the field, or in the part he took at the ensuing discomfiture of the Nabob, which laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. To the comparative merits of Coote and of Clive on this important occasion, the remark of the Roman Greneral in Livy would consequently apply, " that he is the first man, in ])oint of abilities, who of himself forms good counsels ; that the next is he, who submits to good advice." And the application of the remark is the more requisite as regards Clive, since he showed himself so unfair, in his snb.sequent parliamentary evidence on this subject, that he emleavoured to shift fVom him^el/' to others every connexion with the very decisicm, which he had done his utmost to procure from the/ii. " This," he said, '' was the only Council of War that ever I held ; and, if I had abided by that Council, it would have been the ruin of the East India Company ! " But was it not he who had influenced the majority of the Council tt> come to the decision they did 1 — " In all you speak, let trutli and candour shine." — Pope. Such, in the person of Coote, was the able adversary whom Lally had now to meet, under most unequal circumstances; or with every advan- tage on the side of that adversary, in the way of honest political support, and superior military and naval resources, for the campaign ujion which he was to enter. The English Governor and Council at Madras, to profit by the weak- ness of the French in the north, and thei-eby prevent them making any further use of their strength in the south, assembled, liy November 25th, at Conjeveram, a superior force, of 1700 Europeans, including cavalry, 3000 Blacks, and 15 ytieces of artillery, with which Coote, that day, took the field. Having: led the French to think he designed attackinjr A root 538 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES first, althongli his real olject was to reduce Wandewash, he appeared before, and raised his batteries against, the latter, on the 27th, and efFeeted a breach by tlie 30th ; when the native Kellidar, or Governor of the Fort, who had 500 men, being desirous of submitting on terms advantageous to liiinself, and the French contingent there consisting of but 68 Europeans and 100 Sepoys, a surrender took place. Tiie p'in- cipal French force at Chittapet being too small to intercept Coote, he next, or on December 3rd, invested Carangoly; by the Gth and 7th, opened fire from 2 batteries, likewise carrying on his approaches; and, on the 10th, being near the crest of the glacis, and having dismounted all the guns of the garrisovi but 4, the place was given up by the Irisli officer in command there, named O'Kennelly,* of the Regiment of Lally; to whom, owing to his gallant defence, as well as a wish to gain time, and the fear of incui-ring the disgrace of a repulse, almost ail that wa% asked, or favourable terms, were granted. The loss of Arcot, and of such an important territory as would accompany it, being n(.w but too obviously at hand, if Coote's career could not be checked, Lally recalled in due haste the laiger portion of his ti-oops from about Seringham in the south ; to which, as alread}' observed, he woidd not have detached them fniui the rest, could he have maintained the whole together in the north; oi- if his onh/ hope of any relief from his great distress for money had not aiisen from the prosjiect of such an amount of revenue as might be drawn (Iree of oiKcial ])eculation) from the south. The tnjops thus recalled, otheis to arrive under Bnssy, at Arcot, and those hitherto obliged to keep on the defensive about Chittapet, vvonld form as many as could be assembled, under the General himself, to deal with Coote; and that olllcei's further advance was, from the I'ltli, most effectively diverted, tlirough a cloud of pi-edatory horse, principally Mahrattas, engaged by the French to harass him. Of those mounted ravagei's, "which," writes Coote himself, "put me to the greatest distress for want of provisions, as they plundered all the country," another British authorit}' more fully informs us, how every sort of jjillage and devasta- tion was extended, even on the north, or British side of the Faliar, to within 20 miles of Madras itself; and how thousands of cattle were swept away, which the enemy "sold to the 1st purchaser at 7 or 8 for a rupee, and then made them the booty of the next excni-su)n. With fJtis experience, the inhabitants would no longer redeem them; after which no submissions exempted themselves fi-om the sword ; and all abandoned' the villages and open country, to seek shelter in the woods, forts, and hills, nearest their reach. Not a man ventured himself, or his bullock, with a bag of I'ice, to the camp, which, for 3 days, were totally deprived of this staple food." That destructive diversion by the hostile cavalry, the falling of such heavy rains, for a couple of days, as no tents could resist, ami a consequent necessity of affording his men some shelter and repose, compelled Coote, on the 19th, to canton his ai'ray in the Fort of Covrepaid'C, and the adjoining villages; and, having also to consult with the Presidency at Madras, he was not able to take the field again liefmo the 2Gth, when he removed 6 nules from Covrei)auk to Chinasiuiundrum, as presenting the site for "a very advantageous encampment." By that • The O'Keniiellys were of the best old Ulster, or Irian, origin. Tlie Lieu- teiiaiit-C()lor,el liecanie a Rrioadicr in 17(i9, and died jn-evioiis to ]77->. His wife, a MadeuKiiselle yusaii Darcy, is mentioned, as, in consideration of his services, pensioned, in J780. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 539 timf^, tV,* ii/creased Frencli force, intended to act under Lally, with Bn<-:y ?.-! next in command, was collected abont Arcot, wliei-e Lally liiniself arrived on the following day. In this condition, or encamped *^ut 5 miles fi'om each other, though neither, for sutRcient reasons, as yeb .•eady to pnsh matters to a decision, the 2 armies remained to the en;l of the month, and of the year 1759. On consulting with Bussy respecting the best plan of action to be adopted against Coote, the leading measnre jidvocated by Lnlly was the recapture of Wandewush. " Bussy, on the other hand, was of oy)inion. as the French were superior in cavalry, which would render it (hingerou.s for the English to hazard a battle, except in circumstances of advantage, that they should avail themselves of this superiority, by acting upon the comnnniications of the English, which would soon compel them either to fight at a disadvantage, or retire for subsistence to Madras: wheiea.s, if they besieged Wandewash, the English would have 2 important advantages : one, that of fighting with onl}' a part of the French army, while another ])art was engaged in the siege; the other, that of choos- ing the advantage of the ground, from the obligation of the French to cover the besiegers. At the same time, the motives of Lally were far from groundle.ss. The mental state of the soldiei's required some bril- liant exploit, to raise theiri to the temper of animated* action. He was de[)rived of all means of kee])ing the ai'my for am/ consideraV)le time in the field. By seizing the P^nglish magazines, he counted upon retarding, for several days, tlieir march to the relief of Wandewash ; and, as the English had breached the Foit, and taken it in 48 hours, he counted, and not unreasonably, upon rendei-ing liiraself master of the place, before the English could arrive." Accordingly, from Jannai-y 9th, artfully manoeuv- ring in such a manner as drew Coote from Chinasimundium, and caused him to resort to other ])recautions as in appreliension for the innnediate safety of Wandewash, Lally, by the 12th, overreached him in arriving at Conjeveram, where, though disappointed in the expectation of finding magazines of I'ice for the English, the French met with, and carried off, 2000 bullocks, and other booty, on their march for Trivatore; and, the 14th, with a select division of European and Asiatic troo|)s, and 4 field-guns, the General proceeded thence for Wandewash ; leaving Bussy \sith the main body at Trivatore, as the best, or most central point, from which the division to attack Wandewash might be joined, it the English should march after it; or might be oppf)sed and intei-- rnpted, should they menace Arcot, as a set-off against; or divei-sion from, the siege of AVandewash. After I'eaching that ])lace, the same day, Lally lost no time in his arrangements to carry the pettah, or town, previous to assailing the Fort. The soutliern quarter, garrisoned with 330 men, (or 30 Euro])eans and 300 Sepoys,) by the Governor, Ca))tain Sherlock, was to l)e assaulted, at 3 in the morning, by all the Generafs infantry, in 2 divisions. Of these, the infeiior, or that whose Europeans consisted of the Marines, already mentioned as designated by Lally " the scum of the sea," was to act against the western rampart, merely as a diversion to the real attack in the opposite direction, "where the Europeans were of Lally's i-egiment," and to be " led by himself." Both divisions, being perceived by the garrison ere they could reach the foot of the wall, were suitably opposed, when the Marines venfiei the bad opinion which had been expressed of them, in breaking, and running round to the General's division; by which, being mistaken, in the dark- 540 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Tiess and confusion, for enemies, they were not undeservedly treated as such, until the error was detected. This disaster, through tlie miscon- duct of tlie Marines, caused nothiufj more to be attempted till 8 next inorniu"'. The whole of the infantry liaving then to advance, with 2 field-pieces at their head, against the south side, in 1 column, were exyiosed to such a fire, that the front of the column halted, without orders. Upon which, Lally rode up, got ofi" his horse, called for volun- teers, rushed to tlie ditch, was himself the 1st man to mount the wall, sword in hand, after 3 of the 7 volunteers who followed him had fallen about him; and his entire column, pouring into the town, obliged tlie ganison to escape through the streets into the Fort. Had siiificient ex})edition been used in forwarding the heavy guns requisite for battering the Fort, and, could the eiigineers have aftei-vvarda. been gotten to dispense with professional technicality, or pedantry, by hastening to direct a proper fire against the ))lace, Lally \s design of reduc- ing it woidd seemingly have been accomplished, in ample time to antici- ])ate C'onte's arrival, for Sherlock's relief Unfortdnately, the siege artillery from Valdore took several d;iys to come up, or until the 2()th, when tJie General ordered the engineers, says Mill, "to batter in breach, with 3 cannon, upon 1 of the toweis of the Fort, which was only pro- tected by the fire of a single piece, and which, 5 weeks before, the English, with inferior means, liad breached in 48 Iiours. But tlie engineers insisted ujjon erecting a batteiy, in exact conformity with the rules of the .schools;" so that even "the soldiers, in derision, asked. If they were going to attack the foi-titications of Luxembnrgh ? " And well might the soldiers have thus expressed themselves, since, adds Orme of Lally, "he had reason to expect greater industry and s[jirit in the artilleiy, officers, and engineers, who might have breached the ])]ace in ha// the time." These circumstances enabled Sherlock to hold the Fort, until Coote could arrive to rai.se the siege ; for which j)urpo.se. he appeared, with his army, on the morning of the 22nd, in view of the French camp. His approaches were so skilfully directed, that, after pro'-eeding along the foot of a mountain, until op])osite the Fort of Wandewash, and then making a conversion of his lines to the right, his army " would immediately be formed in the strongest of situations ; their right protected by the fire of the Fort; their left by the im])iis.salilo ground under the mountain, and with the certainty of throwing any number of troop.s. without opposition, into the Fort ; who, sallying with the garrison to the other side, might easily drive the French from their Ijatteries in the town; from whence, the whole of the English army might likewise advance against the French camp, with the choice of attacking it either on the flank, or in the i-ear; where the main defences, which had been prepared in the front of their encampment, or arose from the usual dispositions on this side, would become entii-ely u.seless." * Lally no sooner saw this march commenced along the bottom of tlie mountain, than equally detecting the drift of Coote's operation, and re.solved upon interru))ting it, he left 150 of his Europeans and 300 of his Sepoys to man the siege-batteries, and attend to Captain Sherlock in the Fort; drawing off the rest of his troops, disposable for action, to the ground in front of his lines, or the direction in which he designed tt engage the enemy. * In tliis quotation from Orme, the 2 itaUcizel words are adaptive substitutiou for " enemy " aud " jpettah," in the original. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, .0-1 1 The comparative strength of the French and EuL^lish, for the ensuing battle of Waudevvush, lias been computed as ioUow.s : — - French. Mon. Foot 9i)0t^ Marines, 300 j" Horse, 150 Europeans, . . . 1350 Sepoys, 1800 l.'OO Total, 3150 Artillery, 1 (3 pieces. Enoltsh. Men. Eiir'-peans, of whom 1()20 foot, and 80 horse, . . 170Q Sepoys, 2250 ) .^oa Black horse, 1250 ) "^'^" Total 5200 Artillery, 15 pieces." From aliout 7 to lietween 11 and 12 o'clock, there was much prelim- iiiai-y nuuiaMivring ami skirmishing. The cannonade th'^n became t!inarter, as both sides advanced to the more serious business of the day. When the English, towards 12 o'clock, were coiwiug forward, Lally, from his right, thought he could perceive such an unsteadiness upon the hostile left, which he attributed to the effect of his artillery, ■that he yiroposed, by a wide and dashing sweep over the plain, to pet round to, and fall upon, the horse of the English, in the rear, or 3rd line. He acc.itcli of Coo'f, to w'loso alleged totals of lu8 own men and guns, should we iioi adliere, " coulc c^ui couie ^ " ,5-12 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIG.ADES keeping tlieir ground. Bnt, in less than a miiinte, upon 10 or 15 of tlie approaching men and liorses being hronglit down by the fire of BaikeVs guns, the rest of the French cavalry tell into disorder and panic, wheeled about, and went otF at fnll gallop, followed by the small number of the Anglo-Enropean horse who had stotured, exclusive of a further diminution unascertained, but that * The words, "altliough vot in roitt, as Lorrain's before," are areqnisite aiiditii-v,, from oiioilicr jjortion of Oi-me's narrative, to tha sentence ending in tLe original, at the word '"lield." IN THE SKUV.'CE OF Fr.ANCE. 5-15 wiinlfl malce tLeir entire deficit by tlie contest, perlmps, 600 men* Among iL'/se tajcen prisoners, were LientetiauL-Colonel Mnrpliy,|- 2 Ci)pt;iins, und 2 Lieutenants of the Ee_2;iinent of l.ally. 'J'he En^^llsli killed and wounded were, of Coote's, 53; the Company's. 41); Draper's, as engaged witli Lally's, most, or 89; Eniopeau horse and artillery, G, Sepoys and Black horse, 70; total, 2G7. " Except the battle of Plassey,| followed by the revohition in Bengnl," remarks the contenipoi'aiy Annual Register, " this action was the most considerable, in its consequences, of any in which our troops had ever been engaged in India. This was fought in ]»ait against European troops, headed by an able General. The disjjositioiis for the battle, and the conduct of Colonel Coote in the engagement, merit every honour." § And Coote's European troops were worthy of liim as a Commander. " During the whole engagement," he writes, "and ever since I have had the honour of commanding the army, the officers and men have shown the greatest spirit ; nor can I say too much for the behaviour of the artillery." Very diiferently here from. Coote was Lally circumstanced, with a force, whose available, or European portion, was the smaller in number, comy)ared with its opponents; in 1 respect, or, at least, a.s regards the Marines, verj' inferior in quality; and which was otherwiso found too deficient in its conduct, as might be expected from the various bad effects on discipline, or obedience, of long irregularity of j)ay, accom- • These details respecting Lally's lo.«s— inclusive of 73 men wounded iu the action, caud suhseqnentiy fonnd at Chittapet — are taken from Orme, as I have iiofc seen any Fi-£iich data on the subject. t The sejU of O'lMurchiidha, prononr.ced O'Murraglioo, at first Anglicized OMmclide, and finally Murphy, were likewise designated Hy-Felnny, or descen- dants of Felisny ; from their progenitor, a son of the celebraied Enna Kinsellai;Ii, liing of Laigliin, or Leinster, c(jutemporary of St. Patrick, in the 5tU century. The territory of the sept consisted of the Murroos, or Barony of Ballaghkeen, m the County of Wex.ord; the seat of the Chieftains being in the locality now called Castle-Eliis, where, in 1G34, Conall O'Murchudlia, the head of the race, died, and was interred ; and, till within the present century, a resjieetable branch still jjossessed a cnnsiderable estate at Oulartleigh. To be a Murphy is to be prover- bially associated, at home and abi'oad, with old Irish or Milesian extraction, even withdut the prctix of 0' ; "Don Patricio Muiphy, the stewai-d of the Duke of Wellington's estate in Sjiain, being," writes Dr. O'Donovan. in IStU, "the only man living, who retains the 0' in this name." During the War of the Eevolutiou in fieland, the Murphys were re]iresented in the Jacohite army among Hamdtou'.s, Kenniare s, Tyrone's, fellevv's, Ivilnial lock's, and Hunsdon's infantry, by several officers, from the raidc of Major to that of Lieutenant ; and 7 of the name, iu Wexford alone, besides many more in other Counties, arc to be seen in the attain- ders of the Jacobite loyalists, by the Urange revolutionists. From the sailiu'g of the Irish forces for France, after the Treaty of Limerick, in lO'Jl, to the reign of Louis XVf. , there were various Murjiliys, also, from the rank of Major to that of Lieutciiaut, in the Lish Eegimeiits of Charlemont, ('lancarty, Limerick, Fitz-ljlerald, G;dmoy, Dillon, and Clare, besides those in Fn'iich regiments ; tlie Lieutenant- Colonel of the Pegiment of Lalij' having been, so far, the highest iu rank of his name. J Corrected from the misprint of " Paissy." § How iulerior in point of millarij merit seems the success of Clive at Plassey over the miserable Surajah Dowla, underminetl Ijy treadiery, anotli, with united invincibility, rather resembling Achilles and Patroclus, in the happier days, when "Thuii' swords kept time, and coiiqiici''d side by side." Pope's Homkk, lli;ul, xviii., 401, 402. The axiom that "knowledge is power" cannot be better exetn|)lified than by a contrast of what Cot)te did uot do after his success at Wande- wash with what he might have done, but for his ignorance of how very badly tlie Frencli were situated. Had he immediately marched to Pondi- cherry. he could, as we learn from Lally, have decidel the contest between the 2 Com])anies, by making himself master of that meti-opolis within 8 days ! Notwithstanding the repeated letters, entreaties, orders, and menaces, from Lally to the Governor during 2 years, to collect, at all events, a su])ply of rice there, so far had that functionary been from even commencing the establishment of a single magazine of the kind, that, it is Kaid, "il n'y avoit pas nn grain de ris dans la place!" But the English, having had no sus{)ici()n of the existence of a state of things which would have enabled them to give a wound at once so rapid and so mortal to their enemy, only proceeded to deprive that enemy of his limbs befn-e striking at his head, when, by striking, as they nn'ght have struck, immediately and effi'ctively at his head, the limbs would have fallen as a matter of course. Coote's attention was thus directed to a reduction of the sub- ordinate places subject to the French, previous to any attack upon their metropolis. Lally meanwhile withdrew his troops successively by Chit- tapet and Gingee toValdore, in order ''to prevent the English from taking post between them and Pondiclierry, and to protect the districts of the south, from which alone provisions could be obtained. The diillculties of IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCK. 547 Lally, which," continues in\' ho^itile authority, " had so long heen great, were now approaching to extremity. The army was absohitely without equipments, stores, and provisinns, and he was destitute of resources to supply them. He repaired to Pondicheiry to demand assistance, wliich he would not believe that the Governor aTid Council were unable to afford. * Amply justified, as he considered himself to be, in this impression, anct jiroportionably provoked at their refusal to aid him, " he represented tliem, as embezzlers, and peculatoi's." in reply, this "knot of I'ogues," with the audacity of the robber, and the b:a.ss of the yjrostitute, abstained from no imputation of folly, dislionesty. and even "cowardice" (credifg posteri!) at his expense. The outrageous iiisuboi'dinatiim of those insolent officials was aggravated by a mutiny of the cavalry, for want of pay; who, when drawn out, in order to retaliate upon the enemy for some devastating and ]ilundering hiu'se- incursions to the country about Pondicherry, whereliy 84 villages were burned, and 8,000 head of cattle swept away, not only refused to march with the General, but made dispositions as if they all designed to go over, like 27 who actually did so, to the English j several of the more violent or ruffianly troopers, on the night of February 11th, being even heard to propose what they termed bringing the General to reason, by turning the guns iipon the i^amparts of the town against the Government House! On Lally's re])resentation of the depositions to this alarming effect to the Governor and Council, they did nothing better than propose expedients, which, as connected with a ])reservation of their authority in the administration of the revenues, implied, (as might be ex])ected,) that, whatever they or theirs might receive, he was to get no- thing ! To 2 of their agents, European inhabitants of the colony, a large tract of country was let (or rather umhrAei) for a rent of 1,450,000 rupees a year; from whom, on^Iie plea of a diminution of receipts in proportion to recent losses of territory, the aiiswer, like the Couucil't^, was, that "they had no money;" wliereas a Malabar, to whoni Lally had previously rented the districts around Arcot, agreed to advance 50,000 rupees in 10 days, and 80,000 more in 20 days, on condition that what was left of the districts let to the Council's 2 Europeans should be leased to him, with other territory, south of Pondicherry, for 1,750,000 rujoees a year. This offer (opposed, of course, by the Council, as keeping tlieir linger out of tlie financial pie.) was necessarily accepted by lially, since it would furnish him with some money, inst^ead of leaving him, at such a critical juncture, without any; though it may be added of this pecuniary aid so obtained from tiic Malabar capitalist, that it, like whatever assist- ance of the kind had been received in India, could enable the General to do little, if any thing, more, than "stop a ga]) for the present," or barely keep him afloat, as on a mere temporaiy plank, amid.st the ocean of difficulties which raged around him — Ids position, if any body's ever was^ being that, in Po[)e's words, of " A brave man .struggling in the storms of Fate ! " Between the ably-directed sujieriority of foreign power, and the unscru- pulous spirit of domestic disaffe::ti(ni. against which, like Hercules o])])Osed to the 2 serpents he had at once to contend, the only wonder is, Jtow he could so long conti'ive to resist the former, while in every way crossed and worried by the latter! Since the victory of the English at Wandewash, the pro^jvess of their ariiis by land, seconded by the presence of a considerable sc^uaehon ai act, 518 UISTORY OF TIIK IRISH BRIGADES was SO great, that, previous to March ISth, tlieir advancecl milifary out- posts approaclied and .skirmished with those of the Fi-encli around Pondi- cherry; while the naval ai'uiainent showed itself oil" the jjort, causing the »)ore alarm, from the absence of any force of the kind there. In this t-nicrgency, Lally, to impose u[)on the English, by making them think the French troo])S to be many more than tliey really were, issued his orders for a general review, to be held, the 20th, outside the town, along the sea sliore, or in view of the hostile squadron; at which display, the regnl;u* soldiei-y were to be a))parently augmented by the [)resence of 1100 Euro- })r'ans; 600 of whom were invalids only fit for gai'rison-duty, and the remainder, 500 inhabitants of the place, including the civil servants of tlse Company, all in uniform, the material for which was supplied. Ou the order, of which it was so foul a source, was not to reign triumphant, and thus occasion the destruction of the colony much sooner, V\y the jirevalence of a scandalous anarchy within, than it could l)e accomplished I'V jdl tlie enemy's {)owa'r from without. During, indeed, but a few daya before, 2 other outbreaks of sedition, t>r mutiny, had been directed against * 6ee Pitt's version of the scornful speech of Nuuiumis, in Virgil's 9tb .(Eneid. IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE. 543 tlip General. In 1 of tliese outbreaks, according to Voltaire, a compnny O nveiiadiers armed with sabres, penetrated into the chamber of the (.(iieral, insolently demanding some money from him. Although alone, his replv was, to charge them sword in hand, and chase them out of the room. Yet this was the man, remai'ks Voltaire, of wjiom we have subso- qiiently seen it stated in print, that he was a coward! From January to May, the accpdsitions, at the expense of the French, by Coote and bis subordinate officers, supported by Admirals Cornish and Steevens, continued to draw the fatal circle closer and closer about Pondicherry; as including the I'eduction of Chittapet, Timery, Ai'c t, Dcvicotah, Seringham, Velore, Trinomalee, Fermacoil, Alamparvah^ Villaporum, Carical, Valdore, Chillambrum, Cuddalore, Verdachidam. In the operations connected with those conquests — which Lally, incapa- citated from keeping the field with a pro[)er force, and having no tleeti to aid him against an enemy so snpeiior on botli elements, was unable to interrupt — nothing appeals to have occurred with respect to the Irish, but at Arcot and Fermacoil. The former place, vvitli a garrison of 247 Europeans, nearly as many Se])oys, 2'1 pieces of cannon, 4 mortars, jilenty of ammunition, and military stores, when not 3 of the defendei-s bad iallen, and 10 days befere a stoi-niing could have been risked, wan given uj), February 10th, to Coote by the Governor, designated by Orme as " the French otlicer, Ca))tain Hussey " — one, I slinnld think, of tho vlheiwise resjiectable Irish family of Anglo-Norman origin,* — who. how- ever, " extenuated the early surrender by the Cf.itainty of not being relieved," on account of the bad condition to which tlie French were reduced, by their recent defeat at Wandewasli. The defence of the latter pla-^e, or Fermacoil, was more creditable to a Milesian veterau attached to the Regiment of Lally, Colonel 0'Kennedy,t then lame of * The " Barun Huge de Hose" was among; Henry II. 's earliest Anglo-Xormana jilaiited ill Midhe, or Meath. 'J'liere that iiohleuuui olitained " large possessions,'' tir "all the hinds of Dies, which ScachUii held," othervv.se "the Barony of Deece, the ancient estate of J*Ielaghliii, or Alelscachliii." From the locality of Galtrim, Huge de Hose s successive senior representatives, under the ultimately corrupteil or anglicized name of "Hussey," have been known as Palatine " Barons of (jai- trini. ' The titular "Baron of Galtrim," in 1S6U, was "Edward Horatio Hu.-sey," grandson of John, likewise " Baron,' deceased in 18(j3, a Captain in the Austriau fccrvice, in which several Husseys have been officers. During tlie war of the lleviJution in Ireland, 3 Husseys sat as Members in King James's national Par- liament of 1GS9, at Dublin ; and, in the Jacobite army, there were Hussej s, from tlie rank of Ensign to that of Colonel, among the infantry Pegimeuts (if -Sir Maurice Eustace, of Lords Gormanstown and Louth, and of Mac Elligot. Variouij gentlemen of the name in Leiuster and Munster were likewise attainted by tho V\ ilhamites. M. de la Ponce specitie.s, among the otiicers of the Iri-rih Brigade, (} Hus.'^eys of the rank of Captain in the Eegimeuts of Clare, Berwick, and Dillon, '2 of wlioia were Chevaliers of St I/)uis. t Tlie O'Kenuedys were of Dalcassian origin, being descended from the brave Kennedy King of Thomond, or North Munster, deceased in 951, through his son, (and elder brother of tlie great Brien Boru) Dunchuan. The original Country of the O'Kennedys was Glenonira, coextensive with the Parish of Killo- kennedy, iir the County of Clare, whence tlie^' were afterwards generally driven ill the civil wars of Thomond; though, writes Dr. O'Donovan, in ISOtJ, "some of tlie race remained hehiiid. and their descendants are still e.xtant iu Glenomra, and its vicinity, in tlie condition of small farmers and cottiers. ' The clan t'lea settled to the east of the Shannon, in Tijiperary, or the district of Ornioud, anciently much more extensive than it is in modern times, or as merely com- jiiised in the 2 Baronies of Upper and Lower (^rmond. There the sept liecame pubd.ivided into 3 bnaiches, or these of Kennedy Finn the Fair, Don, the lii\,aii, and iiuadh, the lied. Their liead, the O'Keuuedy sometimes with aiore, 650 HISTORY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES old wounds, and not long after obliged 1iy his failing sight to rotnrn to Europe; mIio, with a littie garrison of only about 145 men. of whom Ixit 15 gunners were Eui'Opeans, did not surrender, March 5th, to Coote, until there was neither cannon nor musket anuiiunition to withstand the final assault about to be given, nor provisions left for more than 2 days; (\>ote himself, at a previous re])ulse thei'e, having been wounded in the knee.* An Irish otficer, on the other hand, of the Regiment of Laliy, luerely alluded to as such, or anonijiaoudy, and as "supposed to ha much in his favour," is noticed to have brouglit censure upon the Central iVom his enemies, as at fault, for not having advanced, with a Considerable reinforcement of men and st(n"es, to succour Permacoil, iti such an expeditious manner, that it miylit have been relieved. But we should know more of the circumstances of this " shoit-coming " attri- |ijuted to the anonymous Irish officer by the enemies of Lally, before admitting that officer to be censurable, on an imputation from so preju- diced a quartei". The English, by the commencement of May, had 10 sail of the line at sea, and were encamped under Coote oi)posite to the partly natural, j)artly artificial, outwork before Pondicherry, called the bound-hedge. Like that of other towns in India, it was formed of the strong prickly jsiirubs of the country, as a sufficient hairier against any sudden ])lun- dering incursion of irregular cavalry; it was also strengthened at different ])oints by redoubts ^ and included, besides Pondicherry, an area of nearly 7 squaie nnles about it. To the protection of that meti'ojjolis and little territory, with the principal force he still contrived to keep together, the attention of Lally was now directed as well as it could be, HUiidst the hostility of those whose contributions to the public d>'fence. were too little known beyond misrepresentations of Idni as the cause of evei'y reverse; while he more justly "retaliated with sarcasms on tlheir Sureness for the loss of their own peculations, out of the districts which he had been obliged to abandon ! " Continual supplies reaching, and DKUv iH'ing on the way to, the l)esiegers, "the early pait of May," wi'ite.s Dr. O'Callaghan, "was occupied in skirmishes and attacks on the French Oiitpdsts, in which, the Bi-itish being almost invariably successful, the besieged were driven, by the 20th, within the bound-hedge, and Coote ponunenced the regular investment of the place; whilst Lally found himself surrounded, and at bay, and shut up in the town with a deficient {supply of provision.s, and many useless non-combatants to be provided tor. In this extremity, deserted by those who ought to have su])ported jiim, and thwarted, opposed, and maligned by the Council and Officials \vithin the walls, he had turned his eyes everywhere around, seeking for the aid and alliance of the Indian Princes." Among them he m-uiaged to set on foot, with "the famous Hyder Ali, then rising into power iu the Mysore country," a treaty for the relief of Pondicherry. " These soTnetimes with less, power, according to the fortune of war, was known as a Prnice, Lord, or Chief of Ormond till the I'eign of Elizabeth. In the War of the devolution, the name appears among the infantry, horse, and dragoon otiicers of King James's army; and the Williamite outlawries exhibit due proscriptions of Kennedy i)ro]irietois, as Jacobite loyalists. To the Uegimeuts of Lee, U'iSrieu, CLu-e, Bulkeley, Dillon, Berwick, &c., in the Brigatle, the O'Kennedys supplied officers, including some Chevaliers of St. Louis. "(old el ( tfu," says Crme, "by constantly ex])osing his own person witli t.lip Sepi'ys, had brpulsed ; but the r((loulit on the hillock was carried ; the Lieutenant of tiie artil- ]er\', and M gunners, we)'e made ])risoners there, and the rest of the guard driven out ; noi' did they rally." This gave the French "time to cany off a bra.ss three jjonnder, destroy the carriage of another, s])ikeup ii 3rd, and burn down the battery. At the retrenchment in the Oulgarry road, the at'ack and defence were mo)-e tierce. Colonel Coote himself brought down ti-oo])S to that in the Villenore avenue and Barthelmi's garden, and instead of wai,ting to be attacked, advanced across to sustain the other ledoubt ; against which LoiTain'« and Lally's persisted, until y Serjeants, besides ci.mmon men, were killed ; when the oflicers, hearing no signs of the iinmi attack, on the right and i-ear of the Englisli cam]), drew off. This division, by some unaccumUable eiror, instead of aJvana- IN THE SEIIVICE OF FRANCE. S-iS incf to the villages under the Fort of Villeiiore, halted in another, a iniiu to the south of it, not far from the river" Ariancop mg, "and in a lino with the village of Oulgany. At this erroneous distance, they liad nob time, after the sky-rockets were fired, to reach the ground of their attack, before the 3 others were cither repulsed, or ceased. They were led by D'Haranibure, who had always Ijehaved hitherto with gallantry." though, concludes this Anglo-Indian writer,* " Lally, with the usual severity of his ])rejudices, imputed the failure to a design, as the Com- mander of the Company's troops, of frustrating the honour which would have redounded on himself, had the hardy effort he was making succeeded to his expectation." How nuuiy I'easons there were for this asse'-ted "severity" of Lally's " y)reju()ices," in reference to the Company's officials and ])artizans, need not be recapitulated here, since " wh;it so tedious as a twice-told tale!" But, considering that the Coni]iany's Battalinn of India were so iinlmod with the hostile feelings of their masters to the Geneial — that their leader, D'Haranibure, was a military ni-.ii of ex|ieiience and didtiuction in that service, years befoie the Geneial's ai rival in India — tiiat, after such a long professional career thei'e, he can scarcely, if at all, be supposed anything but very well-informed with respect to tiie country about Pondicherry — that he, and the Com])any's troops, or the Battalion of India, with which he was best acquainted, and the straru/est in the army, would thus seem the fittest to act where ap])ointed, and where a spirited assault would V)e most likely to render the general o|)erations against the English effective — that, nevertheless, it was ojv/// the Coui])any's officer and the Company's troops who were not uj) at thtj time and at the point required — considering all these " ngly-looking circu instances,'' and the very nnscru])ulous character of Lally's enemies, lie cannot. I thiidc, be fairly censured in this instance, any more than in others, for what is termed "the usual severity of iiis preju- dices." The Company's officers and troops were among his s)iecial adver.saries, and to the absence from, or non-performance of, their task by them., through what is unsatisfactorily de.signated " some unaccountable error," though the rest of the foices were {)resent to act as had been designed, the frustration of tlu; General's confessedly wcll-l.ud plan against the enemy, without a fair trial of it, was unqutstioiiably owing. If evea " trifles, li;j,lit as air. Are, to the jealous, cnnHruiations strong, As proofs of Holy Writ," did not Lally here mei^ely feel, as any body else, in hi:^ position, must have felt? — and how much more was lie acquainted with, than /re are acquainted with, to justify "the usual .severity of his prejudices" in the culpable direction, where that alleged " severity " was n\ade a grievance of? — as if the jjrovocation for such, and far greater "severity," were not but too abundant, and too intolerable, to admit of any other than the very worst opinion being entertained of tho.se, from whom that provoca- tion proceeded ! The necessarily brief duration of this broken-off nocturnal affair, between the French and English, was attended with • Mr. Orme was a native of India, having been bora in the territory of Travan- core. To this circumstance, the minuteness of local details in his work is ajttiar- eiitly attribntahle ; a raiuuteuess, that makea the book so much more valuable, than generally readable. 554 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES little loss to eit'i<'r jiafty, or. apynireiitly, not 50 men a side; the Rogi- ments of Laily and Lonain being the principal sufferers, on that of the French. From the 4th to tlie 13tli, tlie Eiiiilisli, under Colonel Monson, (hy an nnseasonalilc order i'voiw Turope. raised to command, instead of Coote.) having made arrangements hy niiilit to break tlii-ough the bound-hedge and its redoubts, succeeded in doing so; the French forces, except some in the fortified out|)Osts of Arianco|)ang and Madras, i-etiring towards the glacis of Pondicherry; yet being jc»ined there by several small escorts, with ])rovisions fi'oni the interior trf the country, that contrived to elude tlie English. In cari-yiug tlie bound-hedge, Monson was so eeverely wounded by a cannon-shot, and thus disabled from commanding, that Coote, who was about to sail for Bengal, had to take that officer's place, and arrived before Pondicherry, on the 20th. By October 1st,* thiough the construction of several wcn-ks, and the reduction of the Arianco[)ang and Madras redoubts, he acquired '"the entire possession of the bound-hedge," consequently turning " against the town, with every advantage, the line of circumvallation intended for its defence;" and, soon aftei', prevented a ]'?>rty with bullocks from entei-ing the ])hice by night. In the night, also, between the 6th and 7th, 2 vessels, the Balelne and Ilerinione, were, by 26 ai'med boats" from the English fleet, cut out of the rfiad of Pondicherry; and the decrease of provisions was now so much felt tliere, that Lally called a council to propose the ex])ul- sion of all the Black inhabitants; which proposal, however, thiough the opposition of Messieurs, the Euroj)eans, who would be thereby deprived of their domestics, was negatived. Nevertheless, sevei'al of those recus- ants requested permission Irom Coote for their families to retire Irom the town, as l)esieged, to the neutral or Danish and Dutch settlements on the coast, and obtained his permission to that eifect. On the 7tli, when the expulsion of the Blacks was jiroposed by Lally, (which it would have been the better jiolicy to adopt then, as it had to be executed after- wards,) and on the 8th, the refractory and demoralized crew whom he was making such exertions to defend, acted in such a manner as to justify the wcu-st portion of his subsequent general denunciation of them in France, as "rogues, or villains tit for the i-ack." Hating him, in proportion to every measure which he was obliged to adopt for the preservation of the jdace, they, on the former day, threatened to assas- sinate him, (apjiarently on account of the inoiivenience which their "high mightinesses" were unwilling to suffer from the ejection of the Blacks !) and, on the latter day, even proceeded to make that threat good, by an attempt to pu-i.-^un liiin !* Between the 23rd and 25th, the English Admirals, from apprehensions respecting the weather, and in order to refit, liaving to witluhaw for a time, on their unexpected disap- pearance, the Cdmpacpiie des hales, and a sloop in the road of Pondi- cherry, were directrd to turn this lucky absenteeism to account; or be ready to set sail by the 3()th, in oider to obtain ]irovisiotis, partly from the Danish settlement at Tranquehar, and ]iartly by intercepting some of the native grain-boats; which, at that season, came down, witli wind and tide in their favour, from north to south, mostly keeping in sight of • Lally's son (most probnlily from prndential considerations) is rather concise, in merely referrinu' to his father, as "plus hai a, chaqne mesure ijuc lai \\v.- 1>i!sait le saint de la villc; menace d'assassinat le 7 Uctubre; atteiui de poison e8." IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5o5 the shore. At sea, towards which, from the prevention, hy the great rains, of any hind-operations of consequence, tlie chief attention of both Bides continued to be directed, the English armed boats, November 7th, captured 1 boat from TranqueViar, with grain for Pondieherry, and another, freighted thence, with effects of value. Then, learning that the Compngnle des Indes, a schooner, and several smaller vessels, were taking in provisions at Tranquebar for Pondicherry, the enemy dis- patched 2 men-of-war to seize them ; which 2, with the Salisbury of 50 guns, already at Tranquebar, obliged, on the 8th, the (Jonipagnie des Indes to strike; the schooner, laden with 400 bags of wheat, and some barrels of salted meat, running ashore; and the rest having to disperse, and escape, as well as they could. "The news of this loss," we are told, " was received at Pondicherry, with as much concern as a disaster in the field." The 9th, a ricochet-battery of 4 eigh teen-pounders, planted by Coote amidst the ruins of a village, 1400 yards to the north, to harass the garrison of Pondicherry by a ])lungiug tire against the east side of the town, wtis hotly answered by 12 pieces of cannon from the place; and the batterv, proving ineffective, had eventually to be broken up. The 10th, according .to the preparations which had been made at Madras for con- vertinc: the blockade nnto a rejjular attack on Pondicherry, the Eni^lish began to land stores, and otherwise arrange for pi-essmg the siege with vigour. The 12th, information being received, that a convoy of 24 European and 100 Black hf)ise, escorting 100 bullocks laden with salted btief, besides a parcel of the same at the croup of each riders sadtlle, designed to enter Pondicherry l)y night, Ct»ote, in conseqrence of those horsemen losing time by attempting to augment their stock with 300 bullocks met on the way, had tlie party intercepted, near the Fort of Ariancopang, on the 13th, at 4 in the morning, by a stronger detach- uu lit of 240 horse and foot; but 12 European norsemen of the defeated escort escaping into Pondicherry, by the ferry, under the guns of Fort St. Thomas. On the IGth a vessel, the Admiral Wa/soii, of 500 tons, came from Madras, with all kinds of supplies nn board, in furtherance of the measures for closer o^ierations, mentioned as commenced b}'- Coote on the 10th; and on the 18th, Mr. Call, the Chief Engineer, reached the besieging camp, to conduct the trenches. To proti-act the means of subsistence at Pondicherry, too much le.ssened by the grain which the cavalry-horses consumed there, and turn to better account some of his best troopers, by sending them to join 1 of the 2 divisions of his forces, that, from Thiagar and Gingee, yet in their pos.session, at once subsisted themselves, and gave employment to the enemie.s' ])arties in the interior of t\u) country, Lally, on the 21st, ordered 50 of his horsemen to make a dash tlirough the besiegers' lines; and, at 2 in the morning, ])i'otected by the fire of 200 grenadier.s, they thus escaped, with the exception of 13, who were captured, from the inability of their horses to keep pace with the others. The heavy rains ceasing by the 2Gth, Coote, in order to harass the defenders of Pondicherry, by rendering the garrison duty as fatiguing as possible, directed 4 batteries to be raised in such })Ositions, that the .shot from them might enfilade the works of the place; at the same time that the men and guns of those batteries might not be exposed to any certain or effective tire from the town. Since the frus- trated attempt of the last convoy to enter the ])lace, the block ide was most vigilant, or strict, by laud; while, at sea, several armed boats, 556 •» HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES t with arrack and salted provisions for the besie^'od, were inieircppted hy the English. On the 27tli, the proportionably inci'etising distre.-^s r to anything but the stern dictates of necessity, be caused all the Blacks in the town, amounting to about 1400, to Ij* turned out, exce[)t a few, who were domestics to the princi[)al inhabitantt!,; and he had to put the soldiery upon an allowance of only a pound of rice a day, with a little meat at intervals. At the beginning of DecemV)er, the General was compelled to reso)-t to the stronger measure of ordering every house in the town to be searched for ])rovisions; that whatever should seem superfluous under the ciicurn- stances might be brought to the citadel, to be equally divided between the garrison and inhabitants. The search was to include, and commence with, the General's own residence, that otliers might, if possible, hnvo no grounds for complaining of a regulaticm, from which he did nob claim :>ny exemption. It was yiretended, however, that tho.se charged with, the execution of this unwelcome task, did not act with sufficient discretion, in reference to officers of distinction. The ill-disposed exclain)ed against what they termed the t/jranni/ to which they weie subjected ! M. Dubois, as Intendant of the Army, the leading enforcer of this order, was specially held up to genei-al execration. " When conquering enemies command a search of the kind," remarks Voltaire, " noUody dares to murmur; when the General ordered it, to save the city, all rose up against him." At the head of this impiident clamour were 2 aristocratic Colonels. These military exquisites, according to my British authority, " lately arrived from France, men of family, deemed the search in their apartments an affront,* and sent word to Mr. Lally, that they would no longer act as officers, but, on every occasion, as Vctluuteers. But," it is added, "the event justified the severity." Aa au illustrious ruler writes — " When teTni)ests rise, and blacken on the view, fV) steer the bark is a/l that 's left to do: Tho' Envy liiss, and loud Eesentmeut swell, Be tlieir's to raije, and ours to (jovern well." Frederic the Great. On the 2nd and 3rd, 2 vessels, a sloop and a pinnace, which remained at Poudichei ly, wcve despatched for Tranquebai'. Of these, the ])iiinace was eventually taken, though not till after she and her com] infantry, whom Lally sent away, to lessen the consumption of his |)rovi- sions, ami contribute to the accomplishment of another design, he had for some time in contemplation. Relying but little IdiiDidf cm the too dubious assuiauces ht> had received of a relief by sea, though, from jiolicy. of course, not discouraging the expectation, in otliers, of such aiti ; and, at any rate, determined upon defending himself so long, tliat, should a naval iclief ap[>ear, it would find him, if possible, still holding out to ])rotit by it; he had been for some nioiiths in correspondence with a Mahratta ]ioteiitate, Vizvazypuut, to prevail on him, with his own numernus birce, to join the French troops still abroad, or about Gingee and Thiagar, and thus united, coajptd the English to i-aise the sit-ge of Pondiclierry. Of tUe French so detaciied, or not shut up in Pondicherry, * As if sa I ordinate officers could ever be justified in I'esejiting, as an aff'rniil, what their (Ji'iieral iiiiLclit order for the public good, and submit to luniat-if, beTora rei-[uinii^ tAt'/;i to do no'. IN THE SERVICE OP FRAKCE. 557 tliose "asspm1)1ed at Thiagar," says my English account, "were so much siijierior to tlie little posts around, tliat they became tlie terror of the codiitry, and their smallest parties brought iu provisions in j)lentv, and without risque." With this force at Thiagar was IMajor Luke Allen, of the old family of St. Woolstan's, in the County of Kihlare. The son of a. mother who had 21 childien, he passed into France in 1735 to enter the Irish Brigade; rose to be a Major in the Irish Regiment of Bulkeley ami a Ciievalier of St. Louis; then served with the same rank in the Regiment of Lally; was likewise nominated an Aide-Major-General to the army for India in 1757; and particularly signalized himself thei-e in escalading the Fort of Sarzamalour, by forcing his way into it, accom- panied only by 1 officer and 20 soldiers of the Regiment of Lorrain. On the night of December 3id, taking with him all the cavalry at Thiagar, the Major posted himself in the hills westward of Trinomalee, with the view oi' joining Vizvazypunt in marching for Pondicherry, should the pending treaty for that purpose be concluded with him ; and, a few days after, these cavalry, uniting with the 100 European infantry last Imided from Pondicherry at Tranquebar, and acting as a guard to the Envoy from Lally, empowered to conclude the n^'gociation foi- the relief of Pondicherry, the Envoy, thus doubly protected by hi)rse and foot, succeeded in reaching tlie Mahratta's camp. The 4 batteries, which Coote, since November 21th, had ordered to be constructed, were ready for service by December 8tli. The 1st, or Prir)ce of Wales's, of 4 guns, was from the beaeh on tlie north, to enhlade the great street, running nortli and .soutli, through what was called the wit. te toivn of Ptmdicherry ; the 2nd, or Duke of Cumber- land's, of 4 guns and 2 mortars, was, from the north-West, to enfilade the noith face of a large counterguard before the north-west bastion ; tiie 3rd, or Prince Edward's, for 2 guns to the southward, was to entlhide the streets from south to noi'th, so as to cross the tire from the northern battery; the 4th, or Prince William's, of 2 guns and 1 mortar, to the 8outh-west, was to destroy the guns in St. Thomas's I'edoubt, and any vessel or boat near it. The 4 "opened at midnight, between the 8tli and 9th, firing all of them at the same time, and in vollies, on the signal of a shell." On Coote's approaching, with 2 other otHcer.s, sutBciently close to the place to perceive the effect of this fire upon the besieged, he found, that dispositions suitable for the occasion had been made by Lally; the garrison on the alert, beating to arms witiiout confusion, and evei-y- thing being right along the bastions, while blue lights a|»peared in different parts of the town. This fire of cannon and mortars, with cessations at uncertain periods, was kept up through the rest of the month by Coote, and answered with corresponding vivacity by Lally. The loss of the besiegers, as well as tlie besieged, in killed or wounded by the artillery, was but small; the former, however, not the le.ss attain- ing the object "of wasting the garrison with fatigue, which their scanty allowance of provisions little enabled them to endure." For, though Some supplies of food were able to run the blockade, or enter the place by sea during the month, yet, by the end of it, the sto(;k in the ])ul)lic magazine, even scanty as the allowance was for each jierson, would not suffice for above 3 days; it being further ascertained, that no search could procure what would suffice beyond 15 days more. And to such a low scale was the later sulisistence of the garrison brought, that, accord- ing to Voltaire, " the officer was rednceil to a half-pound of rice a day, 558 HISTORY OF THE rrjRii dpjgades the soldier to 4 ounces." Lally, as "Gl-eneral, had 2 rations, and 2 little loaves," respecting which it is added, that "a ])oor woman, burtliened with children, having ajjiiealed to hiin for assistance, he ordered that, evtirv day, the half of what was rcservfd for himself sliould he given to her." Thtis any objection which niigtit he directed against him l)v tlie nialice of disaffection, on the ground that he might well persist in defend- ing the place so long, as having a donV)h' ])Oi'tion of food comjiared with others, was forestalled, since he reserved i)ut half for himself; and he acted, at the same time, in a meritorions f)r cliaritahle manner, liy daily allotting the other half, to sustain the poor woman and children. That nialice of disatfection, referred to, as but too corrui)tly anxious for a surrender, is duly admitted, even by a French contemporary writer adverse to Lally; who, in mentioning, how "he had been sent to India bv the Company, as much to defend them against their domestic, as their foreign, enemies," observes, " the tirst were their most devoted servants, who, enriched by their spoils, and hai-incj nothiwj more to gain from, the distress to which they had reduced tJcem, V)ere inwardly desirous of falliiaj into the hands (f the Uvglish; in order to cover their pa7-ticidar dr-predations, tinder tlie general system, of pillage, lohich always attends conquest." On the 29th, for closer or more decisive operatiims against the defences than those of the 4 batteries previously specified, which were erected at from 1000 to 1200 yards distance of the town — a new battei-y, called the Hanover, of 10 guns and 3 mortars, was com- menced to the north, at 450 yards from the walls, against the north-west counterguard and curtain of the place. Dnring the remainder of the month, communications reached Lally from his agents with Vizvazypunt, exjjressing hopes of success in the negociation with that potentate for raising the siege; and it was even rejjorted in the English camp, that a large Mahratta force, with all the French cavalry, were actually on the march to Thiagar. " whence they intended, at all events, to ])ush, with provisions, to I'ondicherry." The year 17(J0 ended, and the year 1761 commenced, around Pon'ii- cherrv, amidst a teitible storm of wind and rain, which i-aged, vvith corres])()nding effects on sea and land, from 8 in the evening of December 31st. to between 3 and 4 in the morning of January 1st. The English blockading squadron, then consisting of 8 ships of the line, 2 frigates, a fire-shi]), and a store-vessel fVom Madras, in all 12 sail, were generally dispersKl, shattei-ed, or run aground; 3 being sent to the bottom, with 1100 men. Allowing foi- the difference between the 2 elements, the ravages of the tempest by land were p)-oportioned to the destruction by sea. Having noted how all the temporary barracks of the besiegers' can^p and its outposts were swept away, and the ammunition aijroad for immediate service rinned, nothing, exce|tt under masonry (as the ])rincipal store (»f gnn|ow(ier was) being undamaged, my British his- torian adds — " The soldiers, unable to cairy off their muskets, and i-esist the stoiin, had lelt them to the ground, an.d were diiven tf) seek shelter wherever it was to be found. Many of the Black attendants of the camp, from the natural feebleness of their constitution, ])erished by the inrlemencv o( the hour. The sea had everywhere broken over the beach, and overllowcd the country as far as tlie bound-hedge; and all the batterii^'s und renonbts which the army had raised were intire'ly ruined." C)n the (ith-r hand, " the town of Pwtidicherry beheld the storm, and it.s etIecLs, as a riehverauce sent from Heavcu. The sua rose clear, and IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 559 shewed tlie havoc sin-ead around. It was projjosod l>y some, to march out immediately, and attack tlie English ainiy; l»ut this o|)erati()n w^.a ira]n-actical)le ; becaiise no artillery coiiLl move through the inundation, nor could the troops carry th(dr own ammunition dry; otherwise 300 men, properly armed, would not. for 3 hours after day-light, have ni«t with 100 together, in a condition to resist them." Now, or " in the interval before the English ships in the road were repaired, or others joined them from the sea," might a naval relief have securely entered the harbour with supplies, and saved the place, "even in the 11th hour." But no such relief ap])eared. To profit, nevertheless, to the utmost in his ))Ovver, by such a disaster as this tempest was to the enemy, Lally, on the 2nd, hurried away letters to the French Residents at Tranquebar, Puliacate, and Kegapatam ; urging them, in the most; pressing terms, to avail themselves of the opportunity, afforded by the dispersi(ui of the English fleet, to forward him provisions. To effect this tlie more readily, he wrote, "offer great reward.s. I expect 17,000 Morattoes within these 4 days. In shorty lisk all, attempt all, force all, and send us some rice, should it be but half a gar.se at a time." But the superior i-esources, and characteristic energy of the English, in naval matters, so soon repaired the damage inflicted by sea, that, "in a week after the storm, which had raised such hopes of deliverance in the garrison of Pondicherry," the blockade of the harbour was resumed, by Rear-Admiral Steevens, with II sail of the line, and 2 frigates; whose " boats, continually cruizing, intercepted, or drove away, whatso- ever embarkations came towards the road, with provisions." After using every diligence to restore the various works and stations of his lines and encampment to the condition they were in before the hurricane ; the more so, as the menacing reiiorts continued with i-espect to the Mah- rattas, who. if such repaii-s were not made, would h;ive the best 0[)por- tunity of provisioning the town ; Coote resolved, on the 5th, to endeavour to surprise St. Thomas's redoubt, furnished with 4 twenty-four pounder.s, and the only outjinst of consequence still retained by Lally. That redoubt stood in reference to the as.sailants on the opposite side of a channel connected with the river which sup])lied water to the ditches of the town. " After it wns dark," .says my English account, " a French officer, with 3 troops of his nation, who had taken service in the English army, crossed first, whilst Colonel Coote himself, with the rest of the detachment, halted on the nether .side of the channf-l. The officer was challenged, and answered, that he came froni the town with a party, which Lally had .sent off in haste,, on intelligence that the English intended to attack the redoubt this very night. He was believed and admitted ; and Colonel Coote, hearing no bustle, or firing, immediately sent over the front of his party, who, as soon as their numbers were sufficient, declared themselves and threatened to put the whole guard to death, if a single man made the least noise, or attempted to escape. All obeyed, excepting 1 Caffre, who stole away unperceived. They con- sisted of 1 Serjeant, 5 gunners, 5 GaffVes, and some Sepoys" Notwith- standing that the alarm was given at Pondicherry, (no doubt by the Caffre who escaped) upon which blue lights appeared there at 1 in the morning, as if in expectation of an attack, and a well-aimed fire of single shot was also directed thence at tlie captured post, from 2 to 4 all seeming quiet, the place was secured with suitable works ; and left by Coote in the custody of a Lieuteuauc of Artillery, who, witli 40 Euro- SCO HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIOADE3 peans, and as many Sepoys as marie his party 170 in number, had orders to defend himself to the last. Lally, however, to give the enemy a partui"' blow there, ordered the veteran Alexander Mac Geoghegan, (who had beaten Bi-ereton at Wandewash) to recapture the surprised post with 2 companies of grenadiers, supported by volunteers from tlie garrison of Pondicherry. Advancing through water breast-high, tlie Irish officer and his men reached the fort at 5 o'clock, and assaulting it, according to tlie English, "on every side at once, few tired, and all pushed, with fixed bayonets, through the ditch, over the parapet. The resistance was not equal, either to the strength of the post, for it was closed on all sides, or to the number of the guard, which were, including the Sepoys, 170 men. Some escaped, by jumping over the parapet; a few were killed; and the greatest part, with the officer, surrendered themselves prisoners.* At noon, Lally sent back all who had been taken to the English camp, for want of {u-ovisions to feed them; but on condition, that they should not act again. This discovery of the distress of the garrison could only be required or warranted by the utmost necessity." From the Gth to the 9th, the besiegers worked at a commanding redoubt, on a sint of sand, to mount 16 guns and contain 400 men; and laboured to complete the Hanover battery, which the artillery from the town strove to interrupt, though with little etiect; and sn])plies of siege-cannon, ammunition, and stores, to replace recent losses by the storm, were forwarded by sea from Madras. By the 9th, too, information reached the English, which freed them from any further alarm with i-espect to Vizvazypunt, and his Mahrattas; that potentate, on being offered so much better terms for agreeing to leave Pondicherry to its fate, than the French could offer to induce him to aid them, having definitively declared, they were to expect nothing from him. Ui)on this, Major Allen, and his 200 Eur-o- pean hoi'se, and 100 foot, quitted the Mahratta camp, and a return to Pondicliei-ry being then impossible, marched away to enter the service of Hyder Ah at Bangalore : the Major, with his companions in arms, being thus the only portion of the French force in India enabled by circumstances to act on the principle of "no surrender."t And now, or from the 10th to tlie 15th, the combined fii-e of the Hanover and Royal batteries^ including 21 cannon, of which 17 wei'e 24, and 4 were IS, pounders, besides 6 mortars— added to the vigour of the besiegers in making their approaches, became as destructive to the defences, as exhausting to the defenders, of the town ; where, in order to give the utmost time for the possilile ap])earance of a relieving fleet, the wretchedly inadequate remains of the usual sources for subsistence were eked out by the con- s\im]ition of camels, elephants, cats, and dogs ; the flesh of 1 of the last-mentioned animals selling, in the extreme scarcity, for 16 rnpees, or half-crowns, otherwise £2! For a resistance beyond the 15th, even of such food as did exist, there would be, in 2 days, none ! Meantime, the situation of him, who was charged with the preservation of all, bad as it had been before in the atmosphere of that comparative • Of Alexander Mac Geoghegan, connected with this last success on the part of the garrison of Pondicherry, my manuscrii)fc memoir merely states, that "le lioi bii accorda, au commencement de I'anaee 1774, le brevet de Colonel, a. J3nve-la- Gaillarde." t Memorandum on Luke Allen in the late .Tohn O'Connell's French MS3. oa Irish Brigade, coini)ared with Mr. Orme's history. There was a " Liiled destruction liy, piisatt. The eni.ployes " op.ened the ball" of outrage and sedition by posting up intl;(Tnmatoi-y placards against liim, breaking the windows of lijs ivsidence, and uproariously designating him traitor and villain. Befoi-e noon, a trooii of officers, mostly (>f the factious dorps above-mentioned, audaciously ascended the steps of the Government-House in the direction of the General's apartments, and, on meeting his Aide-de-Camp, proceeded to insult him, but were driven awav by the guard, who luckily came up in time. The troo)), then reassembling, waited below at the gate of the citadel, till 1 o'clock. Tiie gieat object, however, of their rebellious hatred did not come forth, for his journey to Madras, until late in the day. He then a|)peared. borne, as he was very ill, in a ])alaiiqiiin, accompanied by 4 fiithful troopers of his guard, and followed, at some distance, by 15 trusty English hussars, whom he obtained, and, as the event showed, was but too well justitied in having obtained, from Coote, as an escort. There were about the gate, V, ith the worst intentions, 100 villains, generally otKcers of the battalion before specitied, headed by 2 Members of the Council, Moracin and Courtin — 1 of whom was afterwards admitted to be a witness against, or accuser of, the General, at Paris ! As soon as Lally wap seen, a universal outcry, accompanied by the most violent gestures, hi.sses, and every sort of abusive name, was raised against him; and so alarmingly was even his palanquin approacheil, with exclamations of insolence, and menaces of death, that the English officer — who, at such a disgusting spectacle, miglit have congratulated himself on 5io< being a Frenchman! — asked permis- sion, from the sick man, to charge the rascals. But Lally, contented with presenting, in each of his feeble hands, a loaded pistol, had the generosity to spare the lives of those desircuis of taking his; and, merely directing his escort not to interrupt their march, thus fortunately passed uninjured through the midst of the nefarious gang, letting " The scattering dogs around at di.^tance bay.'' * Pope's Homer's Odyssey, xiv., 40. Not having murdered their General and Viceroy, or representative of their King, in the person of Lally, those wretches compensated themselves fiis;i[)))r(>l)atioa in writino; upon every questioualile act of the corrupt aduiinistratioii at Pondicherrv, and its representativrs, siiico lie came there, bvit trom his having preserved those numerous writings, or dncuments; which, if not destroyed, would be ])roductive of very nn])leasant consequences in France to tlie officials thereby criminated, for their various misdeeds in fndia. Dubois, as long ])ast the period for effective tield-seivice. or, at this time. 70 years of age, had been app'r to any one! — n]ion which, a ruffian, ii;jnied Defer, step))ed out from the crowd, both drew, and, at the 2ud j)ass, poor old Dubois was leit dead on the spot! " \ eenerons foe reLi'ards, with piryino; eye, The iu;iii, wlioui late has laid, where all must lie." Dr. Johnson. But .such was not the case here. The body of the nnfoitunate "homrae du Roi" (in seditions language) was ,vtripj)ed and pillaged; and his death, *• violent and ini(]uitous as it was," being "treated as a meritorious act," there was ''no one would assist his servatits to remove and bury the corpse," which was at last interred in a gaiden. Of his writings, which, according to the Satanic nia.xim of "evil be thou my good," were, for yood reasons, [)oU(nced upon, at his residence, immediately after his fall, "it was known," observes my authority, "that he had, ever since his arrival in Pondicherry, composed protests, on the part of the King, against all the disorders and irregularities which came to his knowledge in any of tlie de})artinents of tlie government, and the collection was very Voluminous; but," it is aointment and vexation, merely in "a mare's ne.st!" Nothing was gotten beyond a small quantity of plate, clothing, or household stuff, and pa]>ers of no consequence; which effects were not obtained by Lally from the Engli.->h cu.stom-house, till lie di.scharged the debts, contracted in his Dauie, for the defence of Pondicherry. IN Till-: SKKVICK OF FRANCE. 5{)5 Pnrsnant to Ihe directions frf»ni Enrojic to I.;illy, intercepted at sea, tl)at he should destroy sncli Kn<>-lisii settlements a.s he might capture, the English now resolved to repay the French in their own coin, hy demolisli- iiig Pondicherry — of which, as a Sodom, it will lie recollected, that Laliy had predicted the destruction hy the Kniiiish, if not liy Heaven! Tluj ijentleman appointed Governoi-of the -place until it shonld be de!noHshe'elings suitable to its importance. The public aiiuounce- ment of it on July 21st, after mentioning the ari-ival from the Ea-it Indies of Captains Hughes and Monckton with the accounts of the event, adds of the ivception of such gratifying news by the young King George III., who had only ascended the throne in the ])receding October — " The expi'ess reached the King, just as he was going to take bis morning ride, which, on that account, he declined. At noon, there Avas a great Court on the occasion; and the Park and Tower guns were fl red. At night there were bonfires, &c., and the East India House, in particular, was finely illuminated." What honour Ireland might claim on iy^A sides of the contest, in the persons of Coote and Lally, was, of course, unmen- tioned in England. Yet how considerable was that honour I The best Anglo-Ir;dian chronicler of that war notes of the battle of Wandewasli in connexion with the merit of Coote, " he fought it with the inexplicit disapprobation of the Presidency in his pocket; but his dispositions liad secured resources against mischance. Before this important s\iccess, the views of no one liad extended to the reduction of Pondicherry; but, instantly after, all were po.ssessed with the flrmest persuasit)n of this termination of the war. This "fortunate confidence," lie continvies, "led to the most vigorous counsels," — with consequences, I may add, corresponding to the poetical axiom, that "They can conquer, wlio hr-lieve they can." Dkyden's Vn;oiL, ^neis, v., 300. On the other hand, to the military energy and ability which so long delayed the accomplishment of Ids labours, Coote bears this high testi- much in the right, and the French all so much in the wrong, in India, as might be inferred here, if no native view of the English, when tliey gob tlie upper liand in tlie reniiisula, were fortlicoming, siich as the Seer Mutaliliareen, in which it id oli!=er\ed, and but too truly ohserved, of the latter — "77<. O God ! mnip. tu I he (isfiixfrnii-e of ililne iifjli.df.il Hervdvfs. and deliver thnn fmni the o^ [.resalons lUcif •*'(/^'ty .'" Our couatryiuan Edmund Burke amply couliiins tins. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5G7 mony, " Nobody has a higher idea than I have of General Lalhj, ivlio, to my knowledge, has struggled against obstacles, lokicli I believed uaconqw-r- ahle, and has conquered them; iioViody, at the Kame time, is more his enemy than I, as seeing him achieve tli,ose trinmphs to the prejudice of my nation^'' — that is, the nation in whose service he was. " There certainly is not^^ concludes Coote, " a secand man, in all fiidia, ivho could have managed to keep on foot, for so long a 2Jeriod, an army ivithout pay, and without any kind oj' assistance." * The treatment which Lally, as a prisoner, expeiienced from his enemies, first with respect to his removal from Pondieherry for Madras, and next with iTgai'd to his conveyance thence for England, was any- thing but in the spirit of his conduct towards his wounded and captured English opponents at Fontenoy; anything but indicative of such honour- able feelings as would have suggested, that when hostility is carried beyond a certain point, or " Against a yielded man, 'tis mean, ignolile strife." Dryde.n's Virgil, /Eneis, xii., 1359. Pigot, the Governor of Madras, whose power, as rejn-esenting tiiat of the English East India Company after the surrender of Pondieherry, was predominant there, refused the request of the sick General, tha', iii consideration of the circumstances to which he was reduced, he might be allowed to stay where he was for 4 days ; in this refusal ap[)arently * The handsome and generous tribute of Coote to the merit of his opponent, Lally, is given by Lally's son in French, which I translate into English, not hav- ing seen iltat, in which, I sup[iose, Coote wrote. In my preceding account of Lally in India, as au officer of the Irish Brigade, I have necessarily avoided any details respecting naval warfare, operations in the Deccan, &c. , where he and liis regi- ment, or the Irish, were not immediately engaged ; considering such det;'ils to be no better than so many "episodes," calculated to interfere with, or diveit due attention from, the "main action" oi iny subject, though, of course, circumstance.<} that should be fully descrihed by historians of England, France, and India. Li taking leave of Coote here, I may note of him, that, as Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, he, at his decease, April, 178.3, in his 57th year, generally respectetl and lamented, was considered to have been, "perhaps, the ablest otiieer in the British army." He was Commander-in-Chief of the East India Company's Forces, Knight of the Bath, and Member of the Supi'eme Council of Bengal. Nor was he merely a soldier. Dr. Johnson, whom he invited to dinner in Scotland in' 1773, meutions himself, and his companion, Mr. Boswell, to have been, on that occasion, "entertained by Sir Eyre Coote with such elegance of couversatiun, as left ttiem no attention to the delicacies of his table." Having had no issue by his lady, daughter of Charles Hutchinson, Esq., Governor of >St. Helena, whom he married m 17(59, his jiroperty, nearly £200,000— his appointments having amounted to about £10,000 a year— was inherited by his brother. Dr. Charles Coote, Dean of Kilfenora. in Ireland. With reference to Sir Eyre's last victorious campaigns against the formidable Hyder Ali — though under such disadvantages in numbers, &c., opi)osed to Hyder, as Lucullus opposed to the myriads of Mithridates and Tigraues — Lord Macaulay alleges of the "glorious memory " of the Irish officer, among the Sepoys, even to our own day, or 1842 — "Mor is he i/et forgotten by them. Now and then, a white bearded old Sepoy may still be found, who loves to talk of Porto-Novo, and Pollilore. It is but a short time siuce one of those aged men came to present, a memorial to an English officer, who holds one of the highest employments in India. A print of Coote hung in the room. The veteran recognised at once that face and figure which he bad not seen for more than half a century ; and, forgetting his salam to the living, halted, drew himself up, lifccd his hand, and, with solemn reverence, paid his olieis;nu-e to the dead! " In Anglo-Indian history, iiuleed, the iame of Coote, as the gainer of the ('arnalic fiom Lally, and the rogaijier of it from Hyder Ali, wdl last. What oppuneut of Ciivc, by the way, could be cumparrtl eit.ier with Lally, or Hyder Ali? 668 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES actuated by the desire of revenge for a previous offence given to him ia the General's corresj)oii(lence, and for the General having paid some visits to Mr-!. Pigot, after she absconded from the matrimonial roof. At Madras, the jiatient. from disease of body, ;: .i-.ivated by chagrin of mind, was barely convalescent <>n March 10th. in consequence of which, he requested his dei)arture, on a voyage so long as that for England, might be ))Ostponed for G weeks. But he could no more obtain this favour at Madras, than that of the 4 days, for which he had applied at Pondicherry; and, on the 10th, says Voltaire, " they carried him by force into a merchant-vessel, the Captain of which treated him with inhumanity during the entire passage. He was gi'anted no comfort beyond pork-broth. This English Captain believed," adds Voltaire, "that it was in this manner an Irishman in the service of France ouglij; to be treated!"* As if, even apart from the respect due to the high rank Lally held, he, as having bien born in France, and, so far, a Frenchman, was not entitled, by every law, to serve the government of the country in which he was Ijorn ! — and, as if, even though a nacive of Ireland, he could be worthy of such intamous treatment, tor being iu the service of France, when excluded, by English law, from the service of England ! Yet undepressed, it would seem, by such conduct towards him, as merely what was to be expected from a brute, incapable of any better, " it is remaikable," observes an English contemporary notice of Lally, *' that, during the whole voyage, he was ever inquisitive, and eager after in- structions ; enquiring after the uses of every part of the vessel, even from the lowest sailor." Having ai-rived, September 20th, in the Downs, the General, on the 23rd, reached London. There he was informed of the storm already brewing against him in France ; his unpr-incipled or lying enemies, as the best means of at once deluding the public, and exas- perating it against him, having given out, that he had betrayed or sold Pondicherry to the English ; while the late administrative body for the East India Com])any at Paris was changed ; Bussy was strengthened by a matrimonial alliance with the family of the Premier, the Duke <''i Choiseul ; and the Admiral DAche, who had left Pondicherry unre- lieved, was likewise protected by high political intiiience. Proportionably anxious to i-eturn to France, to bring his maligners to a suitable account there, Lally addressed the following letter to Mr. Pitt, (subsequently Earl of Chatham,) whose ability, as a Ministtn-, in conducting the war (if his couutry against France, had identiiied the flag of England with victory by sea and land all over the world. "London, 8p]dcm\,i-r 'I'yii, 1761. "Sir,— Since my departure, now ;ilmo.st 5 3 ears, from Europe, for the Asiatic climates, I am historically acquainted but with 2 men in this world, the King * Lally writes, " Mr. Pipot refuses mo, with the m^- st nnheard of violeuce, a Btay of () weeks, which is nccessaiy for the re-cstal)lis]niient of my her.kh ; and I am to be conducted on board, like a criminal, liy a detachment of soldiers ; having positively declared, by the annexed notice, that I will not depart otherwise." Pigot, the Governor of Madras, whose conduct thus apjiears so reprehensible, ended his life unhappily. Being, iu 1776, as Lord Pigot, again Governor at tladras, he was audaciiaisly dejiosed by a mutinous Council and Commander of the Forces there, and imprisoned u])wards of 8 mouths ; the morlitication of which, and bad effects on his constitution, at his advanced period of life, caused his death, before an order for his release and restoration could come from Luroi)e. In Ihix contiii^meut, did he ever think of Nemesis, along with his own liarsuiicoa towards Lallij? IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 569 of Prussia and Mr. Pitt; tlie one by a series of distress, the other of success; the former suatchiug at fortune, the latter directing lier. But, when I shall have seen and heard here of Mr. Pitt all I have already read of him, T shall always remember I am his prisoner, and liberty to me, though a Frenchman, is of an inestimable value; therefore I earnestly beg your interest, with his Majesty, to grant me leave to repair to my native soil, either upon my parole, or upon the terms of the carte!, in accej^ting n^y ransom. Nothing, but my sense of gratitude for this favour, can add to the high regard, with wliich I am, sir, your Excellency s " JN'Iost humble and most obedient servant, "LALLY."" In reply to this application, he received a permis.sion, through the Admiralty, to return to France, on his parole of honour; and, having first taken care to repay whatever he had borrowed for the public service, he set out for that country. October 5th. On landing there, he, j)revious to pursuing his route for Paris, paid a visit to his old friend and brother Jacobite, Kobei't Mac Carthy, Earl of Clancarty, residing at Boulogne. "The Earl," says my account, "received him with great hos|)itality. and kept him 3 days for the purpose of persuading him to return to England, in order to save himself from the machinations of his enemies. Lally, however, was positive, and would go on; he relied on his services and integrity ; and could not bear the imputation of guilt, which would attach to him by his residence in England. ' Their malice,' said he, 'can but cashier me at the worst.' When the carriage was ordered on the 4th day, in order to proceed on his journey, the Earl followed him to the door of it, and again renewed his entreaties not to go on. He even brought out a bottle of Burgundy, which they drank together at the side of the carriage, to prolong the time, in the hope of some inoment of conviviality ])rodncing a favourable effect — ^but in vain. At last they shook hands and parted ; with a promise, from Lally, of again visiting him, in the course of the ensuing summer. To this the Earl shook his head, and, in his strong, energetic manner exclaimed — ■ ' Never, my friend ; you and I are doomed never to meet again, but in another world'" — and, it is added, " tlie evtut justified the Earl's pre- diction." He but too clearly saw " Coming events cast their .shadows be''ore." — Campkell. Lallv, on reaching Paiis, presented himself to the Government, to denounce, as an officer of the Ci\)wn, the misdeeds of Jiis subordinates; to offer personal proof of what he alleged on that head; and to abide by tlie result of what accusations might lie directed against himself The Duke of Choiseul, Minister of War mul of Foreign Affairs. aiisw<'icd, that justice should be done him. Yet. as a veteran politician, and as also recently connected by marriage with Bussy, the Duke wished that the e.xisting contest, instead of being permitted to go any further, should be coni])romised, through a reconciliation of the General with Bussy; and public advances, for a like object, were made, in full court, at Versailles, by the Admiral D'Ache to Lally. But Lally, who believed himself to be as much in the right as his adversai'ies were in the wrong, was, like Achilles of old, unmoved by any overtures of the kind; the contest had thus to proceed on the terms marked by Bussy when lie said. "Either Lally's head must fall or mine;" and things were then apparently so * ('hatham Correspondence. Had it been Lally's "better destiny" to serve under Mr. Pitt, they were just the men to have uiidtrstuud one another. 670 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES settled, or put into such a tiain by tlie hand of power, that Bussy's head should be the safer of the 2!* For a year, during which Lally was promised justice by the Government, silence was imposed upon him; while, on the other hand, a petition and memorial against him were j)rivately gotten up by the late Goverjior and Council of Pondicherry, and a multitude of writings from members of the same party were like- wise circulated in Paris, to ])rejuilice or poison public opinion the more efiectually with respect to him, from whom no reply could proceed, since he was officially muzzled. Tlie hostile petition and memorial having been pi-esented, August ord, 17G2, in the highest quarter, Lally, on learning, after some time, how injurious were the effects, at court and elsewhere, of those documents tojiis character, and unable to endure any longer such very unfair or one-sided treatment as he had been subjected to, ref)aired to Fontainebleau on the subject, when — matters being nov) evidently- arranged for duly "turning the tables against him" — he met with no more satisfaction foi- his pains, than to be told, "It was in agitation to commit him to the Bastille!" He, however, was too firmly convinced of the justice o{ his cause, and had too much of the "gens flecti nescia," about liira. to be thus intimidated. Previous to this, 1 of the agents of his enemies had offered to reveal to him all their intrigues, but he refused, with contempt, to avail himself of that offer; and, respecting the last attempt to overawi- liim by a threat of the Bastille, he addressed the following characteristic or uncompromising letter, November 3rd, to the Duke of Choiseul : — "My Lo>!D, — The nnnonrs, whicV prevail in Paris, have brought nie here. My enemies will never be able to terrify nie, since 1 de|iencl on my own innocence, and am ¥ensil)le of your equitj'. The King is master of my hberty, biit my honour is nuder the safeguard of the laws, of which he is the protector. I do not ask you, my Lord, who are iny slanderers; I know them; but what their slanders are, that I may obviate them ; and repel them with such ]iroofs, as will cover the authors of them with shame. I have brought here niy head and my innocence, and shall continue hei-e to wait your orders. — 1 am," &c. A Jpffrp.-de-cdclifit had, in fact, been signed, on November 1st, by the Duke of Choiseul. for committing the General to the Bastille; of which circum- stance, lie, through the Minister's friends, was informed, in order that he might make use of this information to escape. But, scorning not to "stand his gi-ound "' against this ])olitical manoeuvring, at once to get rid of and ruin him — through first fi'ightening him to fly, and ne.xt making flight to be a. virtual proof of guilt, — he, by the above letter, manfully defied such double-dealing hostility to do its worst, and then acted in compliance with what he had stated in that letter, by voluntarily giving himself up on the 5th, to be confined in the Bastille. He claimed, and rightfully claimed, that, as a General Officer, he should be tried by a board composed of those of the like military rank, who, and not civilians, would necessarily constitute the fittest tribunal for passing judgment on his conduct in command. But it was perceived, that a concession of this riglit would too clearly amount to an acquittal for him ; while, with that additicmal advantage on his side, he would tlten be able to direct his attention to a suitable exposure and conviction of those, * In reference to those overtures for a reconciliation rejected by Lally, his son states of him, "il n'etait dans son caract^re de fiechir, et il etait dans sa destinee d'etre victimc. " Or, as (Joldsmith would sa^', he was "too fond of the right to pursue the expedient." Arc noD such the characters we iiiu-si admire V IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 571 cons])itnig to destroy him. His demand for sncli a military trial was consequently evaded, and he remained in the Bastille during this and the ensuing year, (17G2-3) ere his enemies could determine vipoii the ]ilan by wliich they should begin with etFect "to work their wantonness in form of law" against him. To the honour of Louis XV.'s [)rime mistress, and, to a corresponding extent, ])rinie ministress, of the day, Madame de Pompadour, acting in co-oi)eration with the Minister of Finances, M. Bertin, it seems evident, that, had she lived, the captive would have been "released from prison with glory, or, at least, with imi)unity" — as he deserved to be. By July, 1763, indeed, the Attorney-General l)roughb forward charges against Laily " of extortioits, op])ressi(>ns, abiises of authority, and even of high treason !" Nevertheless, by subsequent royal letters jjatent of January, 1764, the fairest mode of proceeding, as that which should be followed with reference to the misfortunes of the East India Company, was intimated to be the institution of a compi-ehensive judicial inquiry, which, instead of being pointed against any jieison in j)articular connected with the Company, should have for its object an examination of all the crimes committed in India with regard to the administiation and commerce of that body, pi'evious to, as well as since, the sending of the troops there under Lally. Such an equitable inquiry, as singling out no special scape-goat on whose head the sins of others should be visited, but as designed to render any one who might be guilty only accountable for his own misdeeds, would have been all that Lally requii'ed; but was not, of course, what tlip.y required, who wanted to save themselves, by making Aiwi the scape-goat to be condenmed for the results of the malpractices of others. And here his enemies, as, in the expressive language of the proverb, "the Devil's children, had the Devil's luck!" For Madame de Pompadour falling sick not long after, and dying in A|n-il, the nature of the inquiry to be held was then so unfairly altered or restricted, that it was merely to be directed against Lally,"' as, forsooth, the great culprit, or others only as Ids accomplices, or adherents! " This," writes even a hostile contemporary of Lally, " was an essential point gained by his enemies, who, by this contrivance, invalidated the inibrmation of abuses made by the General, and, from being accused, became thus the accusers. The i-eason of this was — that they were at liberty — that, being better acquainted than he with the use that could be made of the enormous sums they had either acquired or purloined, tJiey had didrdnited their gold with profusion — in a word, that, being united in a powerful motive of personal defence, they formed a confederacy, not to be destroyed. It cannot otherwise be accounted for, that, among the multitude of dishonest servants of the India Company, — who, most of tlievi, returned immensely rich, when the Cumpany itself was ruined — who were, most of them, indicated to Count Lally, at his departure, by the administration in Euro])e, as pi'evaricators, in the memorial, containing interesting particulars upon the character and qualifications of the several jiersons, with this clause at the end of each article, He does not forget himself there — who were, most of them, acknowledged to be corrupt — who were informed against by the Chief, and denounced to that same Company for dejnedations, of which the Count pretended he had obtained pioofs — it cannot otherwise, let us repeat, be accounted for, that, among * "Till the period of Maclaine de Pompadoin-'s death," accordiii^,- to Louis XV.'s biographer, "the Duke de t.'lioiseid had only governed tlie King secoudarily; l)ut tliea he ruled over him eutirely.'' And, consequently, so much the worse lor Lally ! 5<3 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES ihi^ muJiitude, n.ot 1 7nan of them should have been punisJied — and tliat t!ve sword of jitstice should only have fallen upon him, before whose arrival tkoae enormities existed, and icho was sent to discover, and chastize them!" i^fjaiust this odious cabal for the iinjnuiity of guilt, and the ]muishaient of innocence, Lally, who, we are told, "had never once anticii>ated the })ossil)ility of any other sentence than that of an honourable acquittal, defended himself with an ability and vigour of tongue and pen, that, Avliile duly vindicating his own conduct, likewise " stung his foes to wiath," and would have triumphed over them, and their so-called " witnesses, as rogues," if he had V)een arraigned anywhere el.se, or before aiiv tribunal beut upon administering justice, instead oi making a victim for tlie executioner. From the vague and frivolous nature of the iniputa- ticms brought against the accused — not 1 of them amounting to a crime, vet, by legal sophistry, argued, on the w-hole, to constitute him criminal ! ■ — he appears, upon a fair allowance for all the trying circumstances of his most unenviable position in India, to have only merited condemnar tion, by not having contrived to be, in the jioet's words, "A faultless monster, whom the world ne"er saw I " — Buckingham. As Mr. Mill, (who cites the French documents of both sides on the sub- ject) observes of the persecuted General — " Nothing whatsoever was jiroved, except that his conduct did not come up to the very perfection of prudence and wisdom, and that it did display the greatest ardour IN THE SEHVICE, THE GREATEST DISINTERESTEDNESS, FIDELITY, AND PERSE- VERANCE, WITH NO COMMON SHARE OF MILITARY TALENT, AND OF MENTAL BESCURCES!" His imprisonment of between 3 and 4 years in tlie Bastille was termi- nated, in May, 176G, by a sentence, to the effect, that "Thomas Arthur Lally should be decapitated, as duly attainted and convicted of having betrayed the interests of the King, the State, and the Company of the Indies, and of abuses of authority, vexations, and exactions upon the subjects of the King, and strangers resident in Poudicherry." As to the charge of having "betrayed the interests of the King, the State, and the Company," it was in no sense applicable. "Within the bounds of fair liostilitv, Lally had always shown himself to be a most inveterate enemy of the Engli.sh ; he could not, as was mendaciously re])orted, have obtained money fiom the English for Pondicherry, a })lace they were so sure of reducing gratis, or merely by fandne ; and, had he made any bargain of the kind with them, he would as certainly have remained in England to enjoy the wages of such perfidy there in safety, instead of returning to France, as the American traitor Arnold afterwards remained in England, rather than return to America. If having "betrayed the intei-ests" be taken in another sense, of |)ecuniary breach of trust or peculation, it does not apjiear how such a charge — although too applicable to others — could im])li- cate Lally, since he was not intrusted with the custody of the King's or the Conipanv's money. Under the vague objection of "abuses of authority, vexations." it was impossible, without more ])recise penal legislation, and coi respcmding ciiminatory ))roofs, than existed to affect him. that he could be capitally condemned, unless by such a system of absurdity, as would have exposed every Commander of an army, or Marshal, on hein:.; Bimilarly arraigned before any court in France, to have his head taken ()ir his shoulders! Lallv, indeed, among the too numerous and too serious causes fur loss of temper, by which he was alternately disgusted ard IX TTTK SEIVrCK OF FRANCR. 573 agonizerl in India, may have offended too nmriy, even nfPj-crs, V>v a seventy of remurk, and a deficiency of deconuu or respect towards tlieni; of which, before his nature was changed, we knovv, he was incapable else- where, or in Europe. Yet such "abuses of authority, vexations," couhi tiot V)e deemed worthy of the headsman's axe, unless by what many were impartial enough, even at the time, to consider a far greater "abuse of authority" on the part of the Parliament of Paris, in passing such a sentence. " Some faults must be, that his misfortunes drew. But such as may deserve compassion too." — Buckingham. It is certain, that the officers, who were his severest accusers, in reference to those causes for personal offence, would have moderated the tone of tlieir evidences against him, had they imagined, that what thev stated coit'd contribute to consign the unfortunate Genei-al to the scaffold! They would rather have made such allowances, for the verij tryiu" circumstances in which he was placed, as to excuse him. With respect to " exactions," Lally had not only never imposed the contribution even of a single penny at Pondicherry on the Council or inhabitants, but, while he subscribed largely from his own means to forwai-d tlie pulilic cause, he never tron,bled the Tnsasury of the Council for the payment of his appointments as General; post])oning his demands on that score till his return to Paris — where his reward was caluauiy, imprisonment, and death ! If any circumstance could ])lace in a specially damning light such at once shameless and cruel ingratitude towards him, it was this, whici), more tlian anything else, eventually served to open the eyes of the public to the abominable injustice of his fate. A hypocritical portion of his nefarious sentence — "lugging in i-eligion," as it were, " bv the head and siioulders" — provided that, from his confiscated jirojjertv, 100,000 crowns sliould be set apart for the poor of Pondicherry! It had been lyingly given out, that the fortune he had managed to amass was one of an enormous amount, and afterwards as lyingly reported, that tlie returns he had furnished of his means were falsified by the discovery of a large sum, which he had placed where he believed it would have escaped detec- tion by the Government. The actual fortune, however, of the maligned and, murdered veteran was found to be so inconsiderable, that, when liis debts were paid out of it, there would not remain 100,000 crowns for the poor ! — although the infamous Council of Pondicherry had accused him of having realized a treasure of 17,000,000'!!* But, if he were not condeunied, peculation should account and suffer for its evil gains abroad; ministerial culpability or want of success in the late most dis- astrous war should be without a victim, against whom to divert public discontent at home; or a sort of Jonas to cast overboard, that the state-vessel, instead of having to encounter a tempest too great for " the pilot to weather the storm," might pi-oceed as i-equired by the political steersman ; and such a combination of interests, as so influential, was necessarily aided, to make sure of its prey, by lawyer-sojjhistry. the • "Ce qui coutribua le plus a retablir sa memoire dans le public," writes Voltnire, "c'est qu en etfet, apres bien des recherches. on ti'ouva qu il n'avait laisse qu'uiie fcn'tune mediocre! L'arret portait qu'on prendrait sur la coiitiscatiou de ses l)ieji3 11)0,000 ecus pour les pauvres de Poiidichen. 1] ue se trouva pas de (juoi payer cette somme, iettes pre'alables acquittues ; tt le Couatll de, Ponllchcri avaU, dau,-< st» iiquittb, fact rnu/Uer ics tresuvs a 17 ludiious.^'' 574 HISTORY OF TIIIC TliTSH I'.KinAnKS too fi'oqnf'iit prostitute to powi-r, as pi-(>sentiiiG: prospects of jtroflt or pi'ornotion. "By one of tliose acts of imposture and villainy, of which," notes my well-informed authority, "the history of ministries, in all the countries of Euro])e, affords no lack of instances, it was resolved, to raise a scn^en between the Ministry and popular hatred, by the cruel and disgraceful destruction of Lally ;" and, as to the co-opera- tion needed from lawyei's for the ])urposi!, "the grand tribunal of the nation, the Parliament of Paris, found no difficulty in seconding the wishes of the Ministry, and the artificial cry of the day, l)y condemning him to an ignominious death." Over the long and disgusting farce of the politico-legal formalities that were to terminate in such a melancholy tragedy, 1 pass to the mf)re immediate preliminari(?s of the final catastrophe, and its heartless perpe- tration. For the inteirogatories that were to precede his sentence, the pri.soner was ordered to be removed, in the night between the 4th and 6th of May, 17()0, from the Bastille to the i)rison called the Concier- gerie; whence there was, by several flights of stairs, and through dif- ferent halls, a communication with the great Court of J'arliament. 'Jliough it was not more than 1 o'clock in the morning when he arri\ed, lie wonld not go to bed. About 7, he was brouglit before liis Judges, and soon found he might make up his mind for the worst. Pie was first divested of his honours, or commanded to give up his Grand Cross and lied Riliand of the Order of 8t. Louis. This he did with such power over his feelings, as not to (ivince any apparent concern. He was next told, to .scat liiuisclf upon a stool ; an indication that the sentence to he passed upon liiui would at least involve coi'poral ])unisliment. " He could not," says an enemy. " beai- up against this decree of infa-my. Covered with 14 scars, how hard was his destiny, to fall into the hands of the execu- tionei'!" Accordir)gly, "then, and imt before;, he discovered gi'eat euiotion," unco\-ered his head, displaving the giev locks of age, bared Ills luiMst iiiaiked with the wounds of hoiioiu', anil joining his hands, and lo(jking upwards, as if ajjpealing from earth to heaven, exclaimed — " //ere, then, is the reward of so many years' services! " * P'he interroga- toi-ies to which he was subjected lasted 6 hours, duiing which, being greatly fatigued, he was allowed a glass of wine and water. Prom this examination, he was reconducted to ))rison. Next day, the (ith, to the sur- Jiriseand horror of all not interested in such a decision, the sentence of con- oemnation (already set forth) was j)ronounced, with a reluctant deferring, by the Pailiament, of execution till the !Jth. A characteiistic de{)uta- tion from the same iniquitous tribunal to Louis ^V. recommended the ]ving to show no mercy, or, as they metajiliorically expressed it, "to enchain his clemency!" — that shameless request being made, in order to inistrate the efforts, in Lally's favour, of his connexions and friends, who, in opposition to the meditated murder of the General, loudly demanded what they knew, that, on his b(dialf, they were so well entitled to demand, "not pardon, but justice!" The Parliament, with their t>lher reasons (such as those reasons were!) for thus hounding Lally to death, had, it should be observed, a special motive for being intent on making hivn an exam])le — namely, that, as in their contentions on several occasions with the Crown, a General Officer had been deputed to break u]) their refractory sittings, they, with ])roportionable irritation, ' For tlie " nf) years" of one account, and tlic "45 years" of anotber, I sub- etilutc "su viuni) years," as aiiplicable to eltlitr ^n'riod passed iu tlie service. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 575 anrl de'^ire of revenf^o for sucli niortifying exercises of nntliority at tlieir expense, were anxious to have sutislaction against some re])resentative of the like military grade, and more ])articularly against Lally. Not that he appears to have been such an instrument of the Crown lor dissolving them; but that the trium])h for which they longed would, they con- ceived, be the greater, if ol)tained over him, sijice he was not only of the rank in the army obnoxious to tliem. but had also exercised vice- regal sway; and thus the oliending military and sovereign power would, as it were, be botli rendered accountable toi' the ])ast, in his person, in opposition, however, to this cor[)orate spirit of ])ersecution, so strong a feeling was excited in favour of Lally among those of his own ]>rofession, that, on the 8th, at the rising of the Council of State, the Marshal de Soubise threw himself upon his knees before the King, beseeching his Majesty to gi'ant, " in the name of the army, at least the pardon of General Lally!" With the treacln^rous and hy|K)critical effrontery of a master-politician, the Premier, or Duke of Choiseul, as if //,e had no hand in the al)oiniual)le treatiuciit of Lally, followed tlio example of Soubise. Louis raised up tlu! Iionest Marshal, and fixing his eyes pointedly on the double-dealing Duke, said to him — "It is you who • have caused him to be arrested. It is too late. They have judged him. They have judged him." And, long after, his Majesty remarked, that Buch an execution was, indeed, a massaci-e, though it was others who were answerable for it, and not /te — an attempt of the King to excul- pate himself, which, however satisfactf)ry lie may have deemed it, seems anything but so to u>^. The evening of this last incfl'cctual appeal to tlie (h'own for mercy, the unfortunate Count was talaiti from the Bastille, as too honourable a place of confinement, to a jail for common ci'imin;ds. Notwithstanding tiuit sufficiently ominous removal, and his being aware of the decision against him, he is said to have still clung to the notion, that there would be some posti)onenient of his fate. Next day, however, (jr the Dth, at noon, he was summoned to the chajjcl of the prison, there to learn, too surely, that he had now only to prepare for death. The officer appointed to read his sentence to him, the attendants to take possession of his person for the executioner after the reading of tliat sent(nice, and a confessor, appeared before him. On hearing the unjust doom, lie si)ecially denounced, as. utterly false, the allegation of his " having betrayed the interests of the King," and naturally devoted, in the strongest terms of indignant despair, the political and legal authors of his unmerited, destruction to general e.^ecration here, and divine vengeance hereafter. Then, seeming to recover from this vehement outburst of passion, or become more collected in himself, and pacing to and fro for some time, while directing one hand, beneath his dress, towards his heart, and with the other seeking a pair of compasses he had been using for geogra- phical purposes, he affected to kneel down as if to pray, and suddenly attempted to wound himself uioitally with the compasses, which pene- trated 4 inches, but without effecting his oVjjcct; a movement he made in lowering himself having preserved the heart. He was, of course, not allowed to re])eat the blow, and the blood-stained compasses were handed to the Confessor, the venerable Aubry, Cure of the Parish of St. Louis f^n rih'; who did his utmost to console the unhappy General, and bring hiu), from this state of distraction, to a dilferpeas'd the slaughter'd sire ! " (Pope's HomeiVs Odyssey, iii., 23S-241.) so, liliewise, was it, that the son of Lally acted with reference to Ids deceased father, although through the different course implied by the nature oi' his case. To that son, but a minor at college, as only born in March, 1751, his father, by the la.st words he wrote previous to his death, committed the vindication of his memory ; and this mournful injunction was accei)ted with such filial ])iety, and carried out with such a very creditable combination of zeal, perseverance, and ability, that, at length, or in May, 1778, the King (poor Louis XVI.!) in Council, by the nnaninums opinions of a large number of Magistrates, and for reasons equally demonsti'ating the injustice and illegality of the fatal sentence of the Parliament of Paris 12 years before, pronounced that sentence, and w hatever resulted from it, to l>e of no authority, and cancelled accordingly. By this cancelling decision, the memory of the unfortunate Count wa.s cleared from every aspersion cast upon it by law; the fact of his innocence, and of his consequent butchery, merely through the formation of a detest- able cal'al against him, having, ever since his death, been generally IN THR SERVICE OF FRAN'CE. 579 fif^mUtPfl 1>y pnlilic opinion. On the promulgation of the royal <]ecre9, A'^oltaire, who, (whatever may liave been his errors.) in this and (tther inenioral)le instances, so lionourahly lent the aid of his keen and hrillianti pen, to defend tlie right against the wrong, or the weak against, the stroii!.'; and who, after the fullest consideration, had specially branded the e.xecii- tion of Laliy, as "a murder committed with the sword of justice;" from liis death-bed, May 2()th, or but 4 days previous to his decease, sent the following lines (the last he ever wrote) to the Count's son, to congratulate Lini on his success. " The dying man revives, on learning this great news. He embraces very tendei-ly M. de Lally. He sees that the Kingjs the defender of justice. He will die contented." Of the younger Lally, as not being an officer of the Irish Brigade, the subsequent distinguished political and literary career can only be referred to here. — by adding that^ at his death, in March, 1830, he included among his titles and dignities those of Count and Marquis of Lally Tolendal, Peer of France, Minister of State, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, Chevalier Comm.uuler and Grand Treasurer of the Order of St. Es[)rit or the Holy Ghost., ^Member of the Royal Academy of France. He left by his marriage but 1 daughter, Elizabeth Felicitc Claude de Lally Tolendal, through whom the family Peerage was conveyed to her husband, the Count d'Aux. While the Kegiment of Lally was engaged in Asia, the rest of the Irish Brigade had their share in Europe of the great contest between France, England, and so many of the Continental ]iovvers, from 1756 to 1763, hence termed the Seven Years' War. But, owing to the extensive demoralization of society, from the palace to the camp, in Franfe * at this degenerate period, the day ff)r military achievements like the past was ovei-. Dui'ing this unpropitious era of the Seven Years' War, the Irish corps, employed on the Continent, were gener- ally attached to the French forces, appointed to serve in Germany. With the army, that, under the successive commands of the Marshals d'Etrees and Richelieu, peneti-ated into Hanover in the summer of 1757, and, aftei- dislodging the Duke of Cumberland, in July, from his best ])osition at Hastenbeck. finally reduced him, and his 38,000 Hanoverians, erland. On the morrow, the French attacked his left, by gliding through this I'avine at the bottom of the wood, and carried the centre battery of the Allies. This the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick i-ecovered, sword in hand; by which iirst essay, he showed Nature had destined him a hero Meantime, a Hanoverian Colonel, Breitenbach, took nj)on himself to collect the first battalions he met, entered the wood, fell upon the French in the rear, expelled them, and seized their cannon and colours. Everybody supposed the battle gained. D'Etrees, who saw his troo|%s routed, had given ordei's for retreat. These the Duke of Orleans opposed. At length, to the gre.at astonitshriient of thf, whole FrencJi, army, they learned that the Duke of C mnherland toas on tha Jull niarclb. retreating to Haindn. The Hereditary Prince was obliged to abandort, the battery^ he had, wdh so much glory, recovered; and the retreat tons made with such ^precipitation, that the brave Colonel Breitenbach even, whose merits were so conspicuous on that day, was forgotten. Tins v:orth.y ojficer Tem,ained singly the master of the field, and. departed by night tojoia the army, bringing his tro/jhies to the Duke, wJio wept in despair, to perceive he had been so hasty, to quit afield, vfrich was no longer disputed* Not all the remonstrances of the Duke of Brunswick (August) and the Generals of his army could dissuade him from continuing to retreat. He niarched first to Nienburg, and afterward to Verden ; whence, through Rotenburg, and Bremervorde, he took the road for Stade. //v/ this false miinoiuvre, he abandoned, t/i.e vjliole country to the discretion of thii French,. Hameln was immediately occupied by the Duke of Fitz- James."* Then mentioning the arrival of the Duke de Richelieu to Command the French, and stating, how the Duke "took Hanover, the Duke d'Ayen Brunswick, and M. le Voyer Wolfenbuttle," itc.,the King ]»nicee(ls — " The Duke himself juirsued the Allies, ])assed the Aller, and encamped at Yerden. D'Armentieres nicaiitime seized on Bremen, on the 1st of September. The French army advanced toward Rotenburg, with an intent to attack the Duke of Cumberland, but did not lind hiui * What a general theme, for ridicule and invective, a scene like this, in the life of a Suiart Piince, wouid be, among ctrtaai writers! We shall hear of the brave Bitiieiibuch a^aiu. m THE SERVICE OP PRANCE. 581 there. He had already retreated to Bromervorde; avfjiding, after the battle of HastenV)eck, all eiiga,s;(!ment with the enemy. No sooner did the Kins;" <.i Prusyia "perceive, hy the maiiofiuvi-es of the Duke of CiUTi^i'-i laud, that he confined himself to tlie defence of the Weser, than hn foresaw what would be the result, and recaUed tlte 6 batt-alions lie had hi that army, to throw them into Mac;debonrg; whrch lie did very season- ably." Of "the famous Cotivention, signed, by the Dnkes of Cumber- land and Eichelien, at Closter-Seven," soon after-, or early in September, the King observes — " It was sti[)ulated. that hostilities should cease; that the troops of Hesse, Brunswick, and Gotha, should be sent back into their respective countries; that those of Hanover .should remain quiet at Stade, on the other side of the Elbe, within a given di.strict. Nothing was regulated concerning the Electorate of Hanover, either respect- ing contribations or restitutions; so that this country ivas abandoned to tlia discretion of the French. Scarcely was the Convention concluded, before the Duke of Cumberland, without waiting for its ratification, returned to England. . . . This disgraceful Convention completely deranged the aft'aiis of the King" of Prussia. "The Duke of Cumbei-land," alleges another contemporary Continen- tal writer, " returned to London, discontented and disgraced, and wad turned into ridicule at Paris, where, in a grotesque caricature, he was represented on foot, with a white stick in his hand, going away with Ids back turned, and in the attitude of shame and despair." An English newspaper announcement, under October 12th, of the Duke's arrival from Hanover at Harwich, adds, "and, in the evening, his Highness pass'd over London Bridge for Kensington," his. father's residence, "in a very private manner! " The moi-c "private," indeed, the better] For, according to Lord Mahon, " when the Duke first appeared in the Toyal presence, the King never addi-essed a word to him, but said aloud, in the course of the evening — "• H(^re is my son, who has ruined nse, and disgraced himself!'" Soon after, "he resigned all his military employments!" A rather unsati.sfactory termination, or tail-piece, to the martial career of the vaunted victor of Culloden, and merciless devas- tator of the Highlands! — I'eminding us, amidst "grinning Lifamv and hi.ssing Scorn," of the ludicrous retirement of the baffled wolf in the poem, as away "lie flies. And cla^js liis quiv'ring tail between his thighs." " Drvdem's ViKGiL, iEneis, xi., 1185-118(3. On November 5th, 1757, was fought the battle of Bosbach, ia Thnringia, between the Prussians nnder Frederick the Great, and the Imperial forces, or those of Austria and the Circles, nnder the Prince of Hilderburghaiisen, and the French acting as auxiliaries, nnder the Prince of Soubise. The victory of Frederick there, and its I'esnlt-s, excited a great sensation at the time, and nowhere more than in England; the * "I shall not, I ■f^rusfc, be nccii'^ed of supe'stition," writes Gibbon, "but, I must remark, that, even in this word, the natural order of events will somi-thriPH afford the strdncj appenrances of m ral retribntio,)." And could anv glory (such as it vvas I) acquired, with tire surname of "the butcher," by the Duke in Scothmd, ciimpeusate for liis final nhame, in, .-ind after his return from, Hanover? He died. in October, 17()5. In our day, or IStlG, Hanover, under the line if another Cum- berland of unenviable notoriety, lias been swept by Prussia from the list ol uatioua. "And so farewell, Hanover!" as the Jacobite song says. 682 HISTORY OF THE IRISH Br.TGADES effects of wLich were of correspondiug impovt.ince. from their inflr.enco on the measures of its governnieiit for carrying on the war with vigoni* in Grermany, nofcwitlistanding the Duke of Cumberland's recent wretched Lreak-down at Kastenbock and Ch)ster-Seven. Through disadvantages in jioint of Generalsliip, and other prejudicial circumstances, the Austro- Gallic forces, notwithstanding their having been 50,000 strong against some thousands less than half that n>iniber of Prussians, wore, in about an hour and a half so ontmanoenvred, and beaten, that tliey lost, iu every way, at least 10,000 men, with 63 ])ieces of cannon, 22 colours or standards, itc. ; the Prussians having had comparatively few, or, as tliei; Said, not 30(), killed or wounded! And it was only the shortness or" the days, or early setting in of darkuf^ss at that season of the year, which saved tlie vanquislied Confederates a diminution in prisoners of ])erha])s 20,000 men ; such was theii- general dismay, and disarray, at the close of the action! Among t'.se French cavalry, "in that day of desolation," was the Irish Horse ReMjiment of Fitz-James; whose Colonel-Connnandant (for tiie Colonel-Proprietor of the Fitz-James family) was the Chevalier , Thurot was to get out, and. sailing round Scotland, make such an attempt on some j)oint of the northern coast of Ireland, as would, in the way of a diversion, be serviceable to the main design in hand, or that of landing a * See the account of Thurot in the Annual Register for 17G0; ami liis "Irish extractiuu" is admitted in the Private Life of Lewis XV^. The O'Farrells, or O'Ferralls, "a very celebrated race in all ages," says Charles O'Conor of Bolanagare, and of Irian origin, through Fergus Mac iloy. King of Uladli, or Ulster, in the heroic times, were, for centuries, the ruling sept o; the territory of Anghaile, or Annaly, m the jx-esent County of Longfoid. This territory was imt reduced by the English into a County till the reign of Elizabeth. By the iniquitous plantation system at the expense of the old natives, from the time of James I., the O'Farrells were very great sufferers. During the War of the Revolution from liiSS to 1G91, 2 gentlemen of the name sat for the C^ounty of Longford, a 3rd for that of Leitrim, and a 4th for Laneshorough. in the national Parliament at Dublin in 1GS9 ; more were officers in the army for the sn])]iort of King James against the invasion of the Prince of Orange; and, in that Priuc 's consequent attainders of O'Farrells, were included, with others, the 2 Members for the County of Longford. In France, several O'Farrells, or O Ferralls, were officers of the Brigade, iu the Re^iuieuts of FitzJames, Lally, .Dillon, Berwick, and Walsh. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 585 large force from France in the southern part of tlie island. MeantirnH England, from Nornuindy, the country of her oLl Continental conqueror.s and contiscators, was generally menaced with tlie di.semhai'kation of a formidable army, at least 53,000 in number, containing some of the choicest corps in the French sei'vice; of which large force, the Prince de Conti was announced as Comninnder in-Chief, with the Prince de Soubise, and the veteran Charles O'Br-ien, Lord Viscount Clare and Eirl of Thomond, under him, as Field Marshal. Of the Iiisli and Scotch troops of King Louis, the battalions were stated as 9 ; those of the former Bi-igade being the Regiments of Berwick, Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon and Iloth. The field and siege artillei-y was to amount to nearly 90 pieces; and they were to be accompanied by several thousand extra stands of arms, and great stores of other military necessaries. The ))rincipal French fleet, or that of Brest, under M. de Conflans, was looked to tis specially intended to cover the menaced descent upon England. But the actu;il o' 'ect of the French was, a landing from Bretagne in Munster, to be pn-tected by Conflans in autumn, when the chief British blockading squadron, under Sir Edward Hawke, should be driven by the usual winds, at that season of the year, off the French, tf> the English, coast. Tiie lai'ge portion of the French army, and its supplies, designed to sail for li eland, with the Duke d'Aiguillon, and the Lord Marshal de Thomond, having been drawn towards Vannes, and Hawke's fleet being, as was foreseen, obliged, by the weather, to make for Torbay, Conflans sa'led, Noveml)er llth, frou) Brest, with his entire armament, in oixler that, after sweeping away a snuill squadron, under Captain Duff at Quiberon Bay, he might protect the conveyance of the Flench, Irish, and Scotch troops to Munster. And Duffs very inferior force could have been duly disposed of by Conflans, ami the rest of the French Admiral's mission, as regards Ireland, would have, most probably, been accomplished, were it not for one of those providential or casual, but, at any rate, most fortunate or op]joitune, interventions of the elements, by which England, in the course of her history, has been so frequently, or remarkably, befriended.* For, observes a London contem[)orary with reference to the English admiral at Torbay, ">'/ Ilawke had been vnnd-bound 48 hours longer than he was, tke troops froia Varines, under convoy of Conjians, had certainly sailed for the destined port;^' and, "therefore, it was a kind of accident that saced us, ■in the zenith of oar power" (or even when so sti'ong at sea !) "from the ruiscJdef of an embarkation." Conflans, meanvvhile, as apparently delivered by the wind from the only opponent of sufficient strength to cope with him, was, on the morning of the 20th, proceeding, with due confidence, to chase away or cut off Duff, when Hawke unexpectedly "ttn-ned up" fi'om Torbay, whence he, too, sailed on the 14th, thereby arriving in time to save Duff. The com[)arative strength of the opposing fleets was then as follows: — French, sail of the line 21, with 1486 guns; frigates 3, with 8G guns; total of vessels 24; of artillery 1572 ))ieces. English, sail of the line 23, with 1666 guns; frigates 9, with 352 guns; total of -See, on that point, this work, uniler the years 1G92, 1G96, 1719, 1744; and, with respect to invasion of Ireland from the Continent being frustrated by the weather more recently, it was observed by Tone, in August, 1797 — "Twice within 9 months has England been saved by the wnul." As contrasted with England's very exjiensive foreign confederates, the wiuda were likewise termed iu Parliament^ " her only utisubskiiaed allies ! " 586 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES vessels 32; of artillery 2018 ])ieces. The English thus hnrl 8 ships and 44G camion more than the French; the former, nevertheless, having bnt 15,G80 men. while the latter had 1(1,740, besides those iu anme of their vessels not enumerated.* On Hawke's reappearance. " Conflans had 2 choices, either to fly, or to stand, and Jight it out. But he followed neither ]ierfectly." He "made the signal for a line of battle." Yet, having fewer sjiips, and being considei-ably inferior in weight of metal, he sought, he tells us, "to avoid hazarding a general engagement at that time, and rather to train on the enemy through the shoals and rocks in the entrance of the river Vilaine." Unable, however, to carry out this well iniMgined design for the destruction of the English, the Fienchman, Tinder circumstances of much discredit to French and much honour to English seamanship, was defeated by Hawke, with the loss of 7 ships of the line, and other unfortunate results, which rendered the ])rojecte(? disembarkation of the army from Bretagne in Munster no longer prac- ticable. In a "Loyal Song, viz., Admiral Hawke's Welcome to Old England, on his completing the Ruin of the French Navy, November 20th, 1759 "j— to " the Tune — the Rocat Beef, &c.," the exultation of the English, at that event, is thus expressed — " With the thanks of the Kinc;, this irreat action was crown'd; With tlie thanks of the L'omaions, their H(aise difl resound; Aud the voice that pronoimc'd them will ily the woild round. .,,, J Welcome, brave Hawke ! to Old England — (To Old England welcome, brave Hawke I "All hail onr Ijright ajra, the fam'd tifty-iiiue! All hail Hawke s companions, how greatly they shine! All hail, George the Second, what glory is thine ! ^,, \ Welcome, brave Hawke ! to Old England — cnorus. ^ rp^ ^^^ England welcome, brave Hawke! In Ireland, the English Viceroy, or Duke of Bedford, communicated October 29th, to the Dublin colonial and sectarian legislature, the danger that menaced the existing order of things there, which tliey were so interested in upholding. He announced, how, according to the special despatch of Mr. Secretary Pitt from England, " there was a strong jtrobability, in ca.se the body of troojis, c(msisting of 18,000 men. under the command of the Due d'Aiguillon, assembled at Vannes, where more than sulKcient transports for that number were actually prepared and ready to receive them on board, should, as the season of thi3 year was growing less favourable for cruising, be able to elude his Majesty's squadrons, Ireland would not fail to be one of their objects." The force, however, from France, designed to land in Munster, with the Duke d'Aiguillon, and the Lord Marshal of Clare and Thoinond. appears to have Ijeen considerably ■mure than 18,000. An English private letter, descriptive of the defeat of Conflans, &c., and written from on board the vessel of 1 of Hawke's Captains, Lord Howe, or the " Magnanime, Portsmouth, December 27th, 1759," note.s, in connexion with this matter. — "On the 28th, liis Lordship went on shore, in a fla^' of truce. to demand the officers and men of the ship that struck to ns. for whom he got ciedit, and to treat of an exchange of prisoners. He staid 2 days * These useful details respecting the 2 fleets are dcriveil from Sir Edward Hawke's dcs])atcl), dated " Uoyal George, oil' Peiins Poinc, iSovemher 2iLh," iloO, and the valuable libts oi' ships annexed. IN THE SKRVICE OF FRANCE. 5S7 on shore, and diner! witli the Dtike d'Aignillon, 2 Princes of the Blood, and several other General OlKcers. On the 30th, his Lordship cauw. on l)f>iinl the barge, and brought with liim a French General. He is an Ji-islnnan, as I am informed, and wore a Blue llibbon of the Order of St. Louis,* and is Second-in-Command of the expediticm destined against Ireland. He had a great deal of respect paid to him. and was receive,0il0 men in camp at Quilieron Bay." Another "letter from an officer in Sir Edvvai'd Hawke's tieet to a person of distinction at Dublin, and dated at Quiberon Bay," says — "I take this opportunity to congratulate you, and your whole country, on the success of his Majesty's arms, on the 20th of November last; for, had M. Conflans reached this place, and escajted oui- squadron, the whole strengtli of tlie Duke d'Aignillon 's army, consisting in all, here and at Rochefort, of 25,000 effective men, were to be landed on the western parts of Ireland, with at least 20,0i'0 stand of arms; there to be left, to try their skill." Then, alluding to the 5 Regiments. of the Irish Brigade previously named, and their Scotch conii)anions, the writer add.s, they, "it is said, had, among themselves, divided all the estites of the nobility and gentry of the Counties of Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, and Galway, and such parts whei-e they expected to meet most friends. Contlaus was most assuredly ordered to leave them there, and the Duke, and those with him, were to make a conquest of the whole island, or lose their lives in the attempt; it is certainly true, that the Duke d'Aignillon has now in his ))ocket a commission from the French King, as Viceroy of Ireland. All this I had' from a Lieutenant-Colonel, seemingly a very modest, ])retty, well- behaved man, and who (for his behaviour) has been genteelly tre;ited by the Admirals, and all the Captains of tlie squariron. He cominano|)ulation of the country, is pretry clear from the contemjxu-ary Gaelic song, referring to a "return of the wild geese," or the national Brigade, for emancipation from .Tohii Bull's oilious, or Penal-Code yoke, as that of Shawn Bui, i.e.. yellow oi- oramje Jack. After promising, how the Saxon chains should then be shivered for ever, how the natioij^ should be victorious, and from south to north wage a "war to the death" against Shawn Bui, the compo.ser of this Bpirited effusion exclaims — " The Wild Geese sh.T,ll return, and- we'll welcome them homo^ So active, so arin'd, and so Highly A flock was ne'er known to this i^hiiid to come, Since the years of Prince Fi,.ii ihe mighty - f * N'l't of the Oi'der of St. Louis, hut of St. Esprit, or the Holy flhost; to the latter of which, it has appeared, in Book b, that the L ird ALu-shal belonged. The Eibbou of the Order of St. Louis, as incntioiici in poor Lady's case, was fed, nob blue. t On the old hero, Fiou, or Fin, see Book VIL, under state of irelaail iu 1745-6, 688 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Thfv will waste, and flostroy, overturn, and o'erthrow-^ They'll accoin]ilish whate'er may in man he ; Just Heav'n ! tliey will brinj!; desolation and woe Ou the hosts of the tyrannous Shawn Bui." ** And oil ! maj' tlie God, who hath kept evermox-e This isle in His holy protection, Bring bacli to His teinjiles His priests as before, And restore them to Erin's affection ! To end!— may I sooner be slauohter'd in war, Or lie sunk in the waves of the grand Lee, Than, with spirit for Freedom, e er cease to abhor The detestable statutes of Shawn Bui." * The leaders of this powerful army were, indeed, such as, after landing, ■would have recruited it abundantly,! in pr<)))ortion to the confidence* which would be naturally in.spired by their established reputation; that of the Duke d'Aiguillon, as having so recently beaten the English invaders of his country at St. Cass; but that, still moi'e of the Second-in- Commaud, if not virtual General, for this expedition to the "land of Lis fathers," the veteran Charles O'Brien, Lord Marshal of Clare and Tlionioiid, who, as so distinguished against the Saxon at Fontenoy and Laffeldt, and undoubted descendant, and i-epresentative, of the royal hero of Munster tliat crushed the Danes at Clontarf, would embody the full ;oo;w//ar conception of a true Liberator for Erin.;!; ^^ all events, the landed "ascendancy" of the Croinvvellian and Williamite revoluti(nis in Ireland had, as above hinted, but too good reason to congratulate itself, that so very formidable an invasion did not take place. And, what a vast shock to Eugii.sh power, at home and abroad, must snch an invasiou have been, amidst an unprecedentedly extensive and expensiv.e war from Germany to India and America ! Certain it is, that never before do we read of so large a force being designed to land from the Continent in Ireland as 25.(i00 regular.s, including a famous body of national veterans like tlie Brigade, compai-ed, by their admiring countrymen, to the Einian heroes of antiquity, designed to guard Erin against the Eoman legions. The secpu'l of those great arrangements in France for a landing in Ireland extended beyond 1759 into the following year, as connected with the fate of the lesser expedition, nnder the brave Thurot. Though his orders liad been signed, June 17th, 1759, he was so closely blockaded at Dunkirk by the su])erior stiength of the English, that he was unable to leave that ])ort till October ISth. He had acquired such previous celebrity by his privateering exploits in the Belleisle—haviu^, for ex- am))le, taken within 1 year above GO vessels from the English— that the intelligence of his departiu'e from Dunkirk, with his small squadron, occasitiiied much alaini to the enemy. Thus, "though several squadrons * O'Daly's Poets and Poetry of Munster. t A par;)giapii in Faulkner's Duldin Journal, No. 3416, mentions, on the author- ity of '• a young Irish lad," who left a French vessel in which he was a sailor, how that vessel "carried off great numbers of men from the north-weat of Ireland, this year, to Brest." . t " Je ne dissimulerai point," a Jew is made to observe, " que, dans nos temps de calamite, nous avons attendu un libe'rateur. C'est la consolation de toutes les nations malheureuses, et surtout des peuples esclaves " The Irish Catholics were among the latter, not, indeed, by conquest, but violation of treaty. Had they been simply conquered, thei'e would not have been any trtaty with them — lo IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 589 were despatched in quest of him, such was the apprehension entertained of his being at sea, that we are told, "the magistrates of Liverpool assembled on the occasion, anil entered into an association for the defence of that opulent town," when " it was proposed to raise 20 companies of 100 men each, to be armed and paid by the inhabitants, and to erect batteries to mount 50 pieces of cannon." Steering so tar to the north as to elude the English, j'et, at such an unfavourable period of the year in that latitude, and, in such a very tempestuous sesison, exposed to suffer propoi'tionably, Thurot had to put in tirst at Gottenberg in Sweden, next at Bergen in Norway; and, for some months, was obliged, V>y scarcity of food, to ply about among the northern islands of Scotland for such provisions as might be gotten there, before he could sail directly for the coast of Ulster. At last, or January 24th, 1760, being able to do so, in a few days he discovered land, or Toiy island,* off the coast of Donegal, and had ])repared to disembark the following day, when a most violent storm prevented him. He then steered for Derry, and had made the like arrangements for a descent, when, as he was doubling tiie point of the harbour, he was blown away by a shifting of the wind, turning to such a tempest, that all had like to be lost ! By this time, the 6 shi[)S he had at tirst were reduced to but 3. extremely shattered; and the men necessarily much diminished and dispirited, as so long subjected to the greatest hardships,' on very insufficient sustenance. The day after the storm, the Captains of 2 ot the vessels, and the Brigadier in command of the land-force, consequently pressed upon Tliurot, that, in consideration of all they had endured, tossed about, and at so short an allowance, he ought to return to France, lest they should ])erish by famine. Thurot, however, positively refused to return, until he should etfect something in reference to the immediate object of the expedition with which he was entrusted; yet, to refresh tlieni, he would steer, he added, for the island of Islay. A letter from that place, in mentioning hf)vsr 200 soldiers of the French fleet were sent on shore to get provisions, observes — "We may judge of the situation of this squadron from the conduct of these poor creatures, who had no sooner touched dry land, than, with their bayonets, they fell to digging up hei'bs, and every green tiling they met with. At length, they came to a held of potatoes, which tiiey very eagerly dug; and, after shaking off" the earth, and %vi|)ing them a little on their waistcoats, eat them up, raw as they were, with the greatest keenness !" Here, Thurot met with the further discouragement of learning the defeat of Conffans V)y Hawke. Nevertheless, " he per- sisted in his resolution to sail for Ti-eland. Indeed, he had scarce]}'- any other choice; for he was so poorly victualled, that he could not hope, without some refreshment, to get back to France. And he was further urged on by his love of glory, no small share of which he was certain to add to his character, if he could strike a blow of never so little impor- tance on the coast of Ireland ; for, by this, he might make some ap])ear- ance, of having revenged the many insults which had been offered to the coast of France." After a stay at Islay sufficient to obtain so much, or rather, so little, food, as, at the rate of 6 ounces of oatmeal, with a pint of water, per day, to each man, would support existence to the Bay of Carricktergus, Thurot sailed thither. He anchored off that place, Feb- * "This island," says Dr. ODonovan, "is situated in the sea, about 9 miles from the nearest coast of the Bamiiy ot Kibnacrenan, iu the Couuty of J)onegal.'' It is, he adds, amoug the earliest places noticed m the Bardic history of Eriu. t)"jO niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS rnary 21st, and tlien, distribntinp; wliat Avine he had al»oard to enconrac^e liis extremely harassed and enfeel)led fbllowers, landed 600 soldiers — or all that I'emained of his original 1270! — which (300, with so many sailors as might form a body of abont lUOO, advanced to make tliemselves mas- ters of the town. The state of Carrickfergns, at this time, was too indicative of a goi-ern- went, anij fh'nig but duly attentive to the protection of its subjects / The ■walls of the town wei'e rninous in many places; the Castle was untenable, having a broach from 50 to 60 feet in extent, and easily accessible; the gates wei'e so out of order, that they might be soon knocked open; the edifice, moreover, was neither provisi(med, nor ammunitioned, for a siege, nor had it a cannon fit for firing; in short, it was, in the words of a local contempoi-ary, "a Castle, wliich had only the name of one, having nothing therein to offend, or defend, everything being neglected for many* years." The oHicer in command there, Lieutenant-Colonel John Jennings of the 62nd Regiment of Foot, had, at his disposal, only 4 newly-raised companies of Ulster Protestants, mentioned as "all young Irish lads, wlio had not been iidisted moie than 3 or 4 months" — and furnishing, with 4 artillery-men, but 201 officers and soldiers.* Hence, says a writer from Bnlfast to a coi'respondent in England — '' It is but fit, tliat the public, on l/nur side of the water, shonhl know, hniv little care has been taken to put the Jdngdom into a state of defence, not/withstanding our House of Commons have granted ever// thing that -was asked for that purpose ! '^ Under those disadvantageous circumstances. Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings had to retire through the town before the French ; making as good an opposition as he and his handful of young recruit.s, deficient of ammunition, could be exy)ected to make, till they got into the Castle. By that time, bullets fell short among them, " from which," says the official letter to the Lord- Lieutenant, " the enemy finding our fire so cool, attacked the gates, sword in hand," when, " from the battering of the shot on both sides, the bolts were knocked back, and the gates opened, and the enemy marched in. But Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings, Lord Wallingford, Captain Bland, Lieutenant Ellis, with some othe. f'entlemen, and about 50 men, repulsed the enemy, and beat them back." Here was seen "great resolution in a few Irish boys, who defended the gate, after it was opened, with their bayonets; and those from the half-moon, after their ammunition was gone, threw stones and bricks." This stout defence so checked the French as to lead to a parley, with respect to a surrender of the Castle as untenable, though a surrender u])on honourable terms; 1 of the lieads of agreement being, "tliat the Town and County of Carrickfergns, should not be plundered or burnt, on condition the Mayor and Corpora- ti(jn furnished the French troops with neces.sary provisions." And could "provisions" be more "necessary" than they then were to the long weather-beaten and .starving French? like the tempe.st-tossed followers of Ulysses, when, amidst " famine and meagre want," 1 of them ex- claimed, — "A thousand w.nvs frail mortals lead To the cold tomb, and Jreailful all to tread; Bub dreadful must, when, by a slow decay, Pale hunger wastes the manly strength away. * * * :J: * * * * The emrl amount of the garrison, as derived from the dt tails given in the 1st o* the "Articles of Capitulatiou." IN THE SERVICE OP FRAXCR. 591 Better to nish at once to sh.ades below, Thau linger life away, and nourish woe ! " Pope's Homer, Odyssey, xii., 403-403, 415-416. But the civic functionaries of Carriekfergns, not complying with the Btipulatioti for the provisions which were so much required, and whicli it was in their power to fui'uish. the French, who, nntwifclistaiiding the very great ])rivations under which they were sutfeiing, had, since their landing, observed reguhir discipline, so that not 1 of the gentlemen's houses along the line of march was eritered or molested by tlie.m, now- very natui'ally plundered tiie town; justly alleging, that the Magistrates •were to blame for this, since the j)rovisions required were found in the place, and, hs found, should have been supplied, when demanded. Those unaccommodating corporators ought, indeed, to have reflected, that "hunger will, break through stone walls," — and to have coiiducted them- selves accordingly, when it was actually in arms within their walls. By the ])illaging that ensued, considerable damage would appear to have been inflicted u|)on the iiihabitants of Carrickfergus, to the amount, it was estimated, of above <£-)000; altliough, on complaints being made to the French ofHcers, redress was given, as far as, they alleged, it was practic- able, "by collecting j)art of the plunder from the men, and returning it to the inhabitants." Orders, too, were issued, "to restore everything to the townspeople;" in consequence of which " some people, who tied from thence, returned to claim what had been taken from them." Thi'ough this successful visit to Ireland at Carrickfergus, although with only Ji.fdf the vessels of the little armament that had been contided to him, Thurot, says an English account, "gained as much rei)utation aa couhl be expected from a fleet, which was no more than a sort of wreck of the grand enterprise," connected with the proposed landing in Mnnster; so, having victualled, and, by 4 in the nioi'iiing of February 26th, embarked all his men, he set sail for France. Meantime, however, r? English ships of war, {not specially appmintel to guard thp. coast of Irehmd, but vdiich merely happened, froin stress of if.eather, to liave put in at Kinsale.) were des])atched to intercept him, by the English Viceroy at Dublin. Thurot's 3 vessels, the 1st under his immediate comuuind, were the Belleisle rated at 44 guns, the Blonde at 32. and the Terpsicore at 2^5. Those of the English otlicer opposed to him, Captain John Elliott, were the jEoIus of 32 guns, his own ship, the Pallas of 3G, and the Brilliant of 36. "These frigate-s," states the Marquis de Bragelonne, Major to the land-force with Thurot, and who wi'ites of him in an unfa voui able spirit, " were incomparably stronger and better manned than ours. For, though the Belleisle had 44 guns, her strength was not equal to this; and the stormy weather, we had experienced at sea, had obliged ns to put some of them under the hatchway, jiarticularly our 18 pounders, and M. Thurot did not heave them up again for the action ; so that we had no moi-e thaa 32 or 34. It was the same thing, in proportion, with our other frigates. Besides, the English had a great many good sailors on board, and we had rone, or scarcely any." The French, indeed, if able to avail themselves u*' all the gnrs on boaixl their 3 vessels, or 102, would have been about equal to tlie Ei'.glish, who had only 2 more in their 3 vessels, or 104; but the English had a great advantage in artilleiy, since they could enqdoy all theirs, while the French could not. If the French, on the other hand, had more men, they v/ei-e landsmen; whereas, ot seamen, the English had the hu-ger number, and iu a superioi- couditiou. The bad state, too, 502 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES of the French ships, since "on stormy seas nnnnmber'd toils they bore,** was a circunjstaiice much in lavonr of the English. Ou the i8th, at 4 in the morning, Captain Elliott, having got sight of the French, {)roceeded to give chase. Thurot, who, after fultilling tlio purport of his mission to Ireland, was naturally intent only on getting back to France, and who, besides, with a squadron "so much the worse for the wear '' as his, could have no motive for fighting one better ])re- pared for action, endeavoured, if possible, rather to outsail, or escape from, such an enemy; and, amidst his efibrts for that purpose, did not, it .seems, give the signal from the Belleisle ibr the Blonde and the Terpsicore to join him, till he w^as obliged to make the final dispositions for defending himfeelf in the Belkisle against the English, who came up with him off the I.sle of Man, after a pursuit of 5 hours, or at 9 o'clock. The engage- ment, in a few minutes, began, at first between Thurot's and ElliottVs immediate -vessels, the Belleide and the yEolvs, tlie latter, however, being joined by the Pallas and the Brilliant, and thus being 3 against 1 ; Thurot's 2 other ship.*!, the Blonde and tlie Terpsicore, whether from the distance at which they were when signalled, flora a want of zeal in their Caj)tains to assist their Commander, or from some other cause, not coining up in due time " to the re.seue ;" and, when they did come u[), making " but a j)Oor fight," or striking so soon, that their presence by no means compen.sated for their absence.* The Belleisle, in this combat ■which lasted "about an hour and a half," suffering terribly by the enemy's extremely superior fire, lo.st her bowsprit, muscu-mast, and main- yard ; was otherwise so shattered as to be hardly kept from sinking; and had a ])roportionably large number of her men killed and wounded. l"et sucli an exceedingly unequal contest was maintained by Thurot under a still further disadvantage. It appear-s, that between him and his gunners there unfortunately existed such bad feeling, that " most " of tiiem, (m this occasion, alleges my French authority, " forsook their posts and hid themselves, without a possibility of bringing them back Tlie defection of his gunner's rendering the artillery useless, he endea- vouud to board; but, having neither grenades nor graj)pling-irons pre- pared, he failed in the attempt. The frigate then being in the most deplorable state, and the crew defenceless, exposed to the continual fire of the English, he was solicited to strike, but was determined to receive 1 more broadside; that is to say, to give himself a chance for the last stroke of good foituue which he expected, that of being killed upon the spot, without being expo.sed to the re])roaches of the jMinistry, or to the deri- sion of the enemy ; and fortune at least granted him this last wish. Not- withstanding his disaster, Thurot," concludes this French writer, " was regretted by the Court; they were sensiblxj of the want they were in of * Captain John Elliott's letter, from " Earn say Bay, Isle of Man, February 29th, 17(JU, " is not calculated to give a correct view of the circumstances of his engagement with Thurot. " On tlie 2Sth," he writes, "at 4 in the iin)rning, we got sight of them, ai.d trave chase. About 9, I got up along side their Commo- diire, (off the Isle of Man,) and, in a few minutes after, the action becarae general, and lasted about an hour and a half, when they all 3 struck their colours." Yes! — but without the aid of other intelligence on the writer's side, including tljat of his own ]»ilot, as well as information on the side of his oppo- nent, or from a French source, could we, by the above extract, know anything of Thurot's 1 vessel having ever had to contend against the Captain's 3 vessels! To such writing, the line of the song would be applicable — "Ton my toul 'tis true!- a,ni what will you say 'tis a /(«/" IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 593 Biich men, for the safety and snjjply of their colonies." A London narra- tive of the event, although expressing its natural satisfaction at the occurrence as an Englisli success, yet adds — " The pul)lic, indeed, ianiented the death of the brave Thurot, who, even whilst he com- manded a privateer, fought less for plunder, than for honour ; whose behaviour was, on all occasions, full of humanity and generosity; and wdiose undaunted courage raised him to rank, and merited distinction. His death secured the glory he always sought; he did not live to V)o brought a prisoner into England; or to hear in France those malignant criticisms, which so often attend unfortunate bravery." Among those of his own profession in France, we are informed, that he was extremely regretted; they who knew him intimately being boundless in their eulogiums of him; affirming that, if he lived some years longer, he would have equalled, or even surpassed, the Barts and Gue-Trouins ; having, amidst such a distinguished career, been cut off so early, or when only about 33. His remains did not fall into the hands of the enemy, having been committed, by his own followers, to the waves; or ap|)ropri- ately consigned to that element, on which he acquired a renown that will not fade from the page of history. The successful landing of Thurot in Ireland, as indicative, it was hoped, of a visit from the French, in greater strength, at another time, was regarded with corresponding satisfaction among the mass of the oj)pi-essed Catholics there, who, to the close of the century, had a song, in which, alluding, with just pride, to Ids old natlA'^e or Milesian origin, it was said — "Blest be the day that O'Farrell came here!" * In 1760. the Irish resuming service with the French in Germany, 'though \vitho\it having, it seems, any op])ortunity for special distinction there against the Allies, are merely referred to, as at the affairs of Corbach and Warbourg, with different results, in July, and the victory of Clostcrcamp, and consequent relief of Wesel, in October. They ])assed the winter between 1760 and 1761 in quarters between Mar- bourg and Giessen. " At the commencement of 1761," writes Lieutenant- General Count Arthur Dillon, " 7 piquets were drawn from the Irish regiments, forming a detachment of 350 chosen men. Their destination was to proceed to relieve a portion of the isolated garrison of Gottingen; but, in passing by Fritzlar, M. de Nai-bonne, who commanded there, retained them, because he knew, that he was about to be attacked, and that he had with him oidy a battalion of the Royal Grenadiers. M. le Comte de Narbonne, who, after the manner of the ancients, since assumes the name of the locality of his triumph, has always rendered to the Irish detachment the justice which is due to them for the share which they had in this handsome defence, tiiat [)artly saved the French army. In the meantime General Bredenbach," or rather Breitenbach,+ * On the naval enterprises of Conflans anrl Thurot, I have availed myself of Bar- bier's Journal Historique et Anecdotiqne du Uegne de Louis XV., Mercure His- torique et Politique, Private Life of Lewis XV., Faulkner's Dulilin .Tounial, the Annual Registers, Exshaw's and Gentleman's Ma'jaziiie<, the article Thurot in the Biographie Universelle, and traditional family iiifoi-mation (lieie as elsewhere) from my dear mother, deceased March 2Sth, I8o9, in htr Sotli j'ear. + The stout Hanoverian officer, already mentioned, so much to his credit, at Hastenheck, as contrasted with the wte//iii(j victor or CuUoden, who '-ieit liim lu the lurch!" 594 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES "at the lipud of 10,000 men, attacked Marliourg, wbirTi was (Icfi^ndt'd by all the Irish Brigade. At the report of the march of the enemy, tlie Regiments of Clare, Rothe, and Berwick set ont from Giessen. and got bt'fore him to Marbourg, where, reunited with their countrymen, they opposed a re.sistance that was invincible to an attack of the most vigorous description. General Bredenbach was killed, and his troops retired in disorder; leaving behind them their dead, wounded, and 3 pieces of cannon. The conduct and courage of the defenders of Mar- bourg and of Fritzlar secured the rallying of the French army." According to my special French notice of a lirave officer of verv noble Scotch origin, or the Conite Louis Drummond de Perth, who conunenced his military career in France i« the Irish Brigade, January 2."5rd, 1734, as a reformed Cai)tain in the Regiment of Berwick, fought for "Prince Charlie" in 1745-6, was afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel ff the Regiment Royal-Ecossois, and finally a Lieutenant-General, thi.s defence of Marbourg — as distinguished from that of Frit/Jar — w;is iiimiIb by the Irish under his immediate or personal conduct tliere ; lie being then a Brigadier. "He," it is said, ".signalized himself particularly, Februar}' 14th, 17G1, at the defence of Marbourg. where he comuiandeil the 4 battalions of Bulkeley, Clare, Billon, and Roth. Attackeil 3 times in succession at the barrier of the town, he fought with the greatest valour ; repulsed all those hostile attacks; and completely overthrew the enemy in the 3rd. General Brc^ttemback, the commander in these attacks, was killed in the last, along with his Major, his Aide-de-Cam|), and 7 other ollicer.s of his Etat-Major ; the Comte de Drummond making himself master of 3 pieces of cannon, which he presented to the Comte de Rouge, the officer in command there. This brilliant action," it is added, ''obliged the enemy to abandon the siege." In advancing to that enterprise, which-, unfortunately cost him his life, Lieutenant-General Breitenbach, whose death, lemarks an Allied account, "is extremely regretted," had reduced Rosenthal with a magazine of 40,000 rations. Soon after his defeat, however, or February 15th, the Allies i)roceeding more cautiously, and with such a train of heavy artillery against Fritzlar, as, in a ]io.st .so weak, and witliout a single serviceable piece of cannon, rendered the hojie of a successful resistance impossible, that place, with a good magazine, had to be surrendered. Yet it was only given up on hf)nourablp terms, the garrison consisting of the 7 piquets of the Irish Brigade, 9d5 of the Grenadiers Royaux, with 105 sick and wounded, having permission to march awav, merely on condition of not serving against the Allies fcr the rest of that campaign. Subsequently, Lord Granby having estab- lished himself between Lahne and Omh, we read of his light troops capturing, at Amoeneburgh, " some pickets of the Irish Brigade." At the combats, July 15th -IGth, before Filingshausen and Scheidingen, between the Allies under Prince Ferdinand, Lord Granby, and the Hereditary Prince, under the French under the Marshals de Broglio and de Soubise, the Irish were with the lattei- Marshal in the direction of Scheidingen, and participated, on the 2nd day, in the early successful operations there, which would have been followed up, but for a despatch from Broglio announcing his repulse, with severe hjss, from Filingshausen, to SouVjise, and consequently directing a retreat to be jnade from Scheidingen ; which accordingly took jjlace, though in a verv different style from Broglio' s, or in such good order, that the enemy did not attempt to interfere with a movement so well executed. The Irish IN THE SEaVICE OF FRAVCE. 595 are also alluded to, as at the affairs of Snest and Uiina, and as stat!ori(?cl in the autumn, or October, along the Eder.* The year 1762. the last of the Seven Years' War, was that of tlse decease of 2 veteran officers of the Irish Brigade — the 1st in r.iiik *' Mattliien de Coock," or Matthew Cooke, Mareclial de Camp, or M.ijnr- General. of Horse — a double namesake of, but I cannot say if rehit^'d to, the Lieuteuant-General who died in 1740 — the 2nd, Thomas Shortall, Lieutenant-Colonel of Foot. Matthew Cooke commenced his njilitary career July 18th, 1714, as a Mousquetaii'e ; was made, June 22nd, 1717, a reformed, or supernumerary Lieutenant in Nugent's Irish Regiment of Horse; was appointed, on September 3rd, 1727, a full Captain; com- manded his com])any, as such, at the siege of Kehl, in 173'5, in which war the I'cgiment became that of Fitz-James ; was at the passing of the lines of Etlingen, and the reduction of Philipsbm-gh, in 1734 ; and at the affair of Clausen, in 1735. Commissioned to hold rank, March 2Gth, 173G, as a Mestre-de-Camp-de-Ca Valerie, he acted, with his com|)any, from 1741 to 1743, in Westphalia, Bohen)ia, and Bavaria. Thenceforward to 1743, he was employed between Flanders and Scotland; attaining the grade of Brigadier by brevet, May 1st, 1745; and Marechal de Camp by brevet. May 10th, 1748. He then quitted his company and the service; and died July 19th, 1762, aged 63 years. Thomas Shortall was the representative of a name, for centuries, of eminence in the County of Kilkenny; where the memory of the race in yet attested on the maj) at " Shortallstown," and the remains of sovenil of their castles ai-e still pointed out. In the middle ages, during wliich the colonial and native aristocracy (jf Ireland made war on one another, like the feudal nobility in the various kingdoms of the Continent. t the Shortalls were among the confederates of the very distinguished Anglo- Norman family of Grace ; descended from one of the most famous chevaliers who settled in the island under Heiny II., Raymond, sur- named le Gras, more generally written le Gros; from which surname of le Gras came the native Irish designation of GraKcicli,^ and the more modern one of Grace. The heads of the house of Grace were Palatine Barons of Courtstown, Avhere their castle stood ; their territory, known as ''Grace's country," included 80,000 acres; and their slogan, or war- ci-y, was " GuASACH-AEo !" or " /;//e Grace for ever 1 " The military connexion of the Shortalls with those powerful Barons is thus alludeJ to, in the old song on Courtstown : — " Courtstown ! thou home of the great and renown'd, Thy bnlwaiks, what heroes of battle surround, — The Shces. Kooths, and Slmrtalh, whose bosoms still glow To join in the couHict with Gkasach-abo ! " The chief of the Graces, at the breaking out of the War of the Revolu- tion in Ireland, was the accom[)lished and high-minded John Grace, as Baron of Courtstown. In the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian civil war, he had been one of the Council of the Catholic Confederates of Ireland; yet, during that most trying j)eriod. acted so unexceptionably, that he was restored to his estate of 32.870 acres in Kilkenny and Tipperary, even by Cromwell himself; or "as," it is said, "a token of * Dillon and Ponce French MSS., Courcelles under Drummond, and ]iub'ie,i« tions of the day previously cited. t See Note 55, to edition of Macariu:: Excidium for Irish Archifcolo^ica! Society. 596 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGAD7:S fiersonal admiration for his manly and generous enemy, who never failed o ]ierforni the offices of hnmanity, even to the soldiers who were in «rnis against him." On the success of the Orange intrigues and invasion in Great Britain, to detiirone the reigning Sovereign there, and the preparations to do the same in Ireland, tlie old Baron of Courtstown, ticcording to the family historian, " raised and equip])ed a regiment of foot, Hud a troop of horse, at his own expense, for the service of King James; whom he farther assisted witli money and plate, amounting, it is said, to £14.000 sterling. Posses-^ing a high character, and great local inlluence, lie was early solicited, with splendid promises of favour, to join King William's ])ftrty ; but, yielding to the strong impulse of honourable feelings, he instantly, on perusing the proposal to this effect, from 1 of tlie Duke of Schomberg's emissaries, seized a card, accidentally lying mar him, and returned thia indignant answer upon it — 'Go, tell yoiu* master I despise his offer; tell him that honour and conscience are dearer to a gentleman, than all the wealth and titles a Prince can bestow.' 'fhis card, (the (5 of hearts,) which he sent uncovered by the beaver of the rejected offer, is, to this day. very generally known by the name of ' Grace's cai'd,' in the city of Kilkenny." B iron John Grace, dying in 1590, or wliile the war was going on in Ireland, left as his heir, and Colonel of the family Regiment of Foot, its pi-evious Lieutcniint-Cohmel, Baron Robert Grace ; in which corps, among the Captains and Lieuten- HTits, the name of .Shortall is to be tound ahnig with that of Grace, "as of old." Of the conduct of this regiment on the fatal day of Aughrim, where its gallant Colonel was so severely wounded that he died the fame year, when he would, under other circumstances, have been still "in the vigour of life," we are told, — '"The noble enthusiasm of Grace's re^iiment in this action, evinced a [>atriotic devotion, that might dignify ji .Spartan band. Of that fine body, selected from the flower of the youth of Grace's country, not 50 returned to their homes, where they were received with scorn and reproaches, till their chieftain's testimony confirmed their claim to the same heroic intrepidity which had distin- guished their falhm comrades. The plaintive strains excited by this event Avere the aspirations of a whole people. They are still preserved," concludes my authority, Mr. Sheffield Grace, in 1823, "and still elevate the peasant's breast, with sentiments of hereditary pride, and national feeling." Though thus almost annihilated at Aughrim, the Regiment of Grace was recruited so quickly as to serve against the Williamites Ht the 2nd siege of Limerick, where Thomas Shortall was Orptain of a company in it, stronger than usual, or of 100 men. He accompanied the remains of the Irish forces to France; at length, in his 8Sth year, or June 10th, 1745, attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Regi- ment of Clare; and did not leave the army till in his 9()th year, (»r January 31st, 1747. After quitting the service, he fixed his residetice, MS a "soldier tir'd of war's alarms," at Landi-ecy, in French Flanders, living above 14 years longer, apparently with as much happiness as was ]ios.silile at his vei-y unco nmon ])erio(i of existence; since we are informed, tluit, " the day before his death, he eat and dr.mk with his friends as usual, and had no ailment but old age." His decease occurred Octol)er 'Ji'ith, 17<)2, when he was 104 years, 10 months, and 4 days old ; having been born at Kilkenny December 21st, 1G57. He was believed to be the last sur\ivor of aliove 30 000 of his counti ymeu who went to France alter the Treaty of Limerick, as well as uf many tliousands who more IN THE SERA'ICE OF FRANCE, 537 recently did po. There was found among the deceased veteran's pajjers — with reference to the day, when, in the words of tlie Scotch Jacohi^.i song, each " loyal bonny lad " might " cross the seas, and win his aiu" — a due "schedule of his estate, on which were ses'eral fine seats." In Germany, whence the Irish regiments of infantry wcn-e withdrawn at the clcse of 1761, the only occnn-ence of the campaign of 1762 requisite to be noticed, as connected with the fate of the national cavalry Regiment of Fitz-James, was the action which took place, June 24th, at Gi-aeben- stein, where the French, under the Marshals d'Etrees and de Soubise, were so ably surprised by the Allies, under Prince Ferdinand, Lord Gvanby, and Generals Luckner and Sporken, that they were very rougld)r handled, " The French army," says the contemporary British annalistj^ "was most advantageously [losted, both for command of the country, and for strength, near a place calU?d Graebenstein, in the fi-ontiers of Hesse; their centre occupied an advantageous eminence; their left wing was almost inaccessible by several deep ravines; and their right was covered by the village of Gi-aebenstein, by several rivulets, and a strong detached body, under one of the r best otficers. . . . In tliis situation, they imagined they had nothing to fear from the att:-mpts of Prince Ferdinand; ■whose army, besides the inferiority of its numbers, was se])arated in such a manner, and in such distant places, that they judged it impossible it could unite in any attack. But, whilst they enjoyed themselves in full security, the storm was preparing to fall u[)()n then), from all quartern. A considerable cor[)S of tiie Allied army, under General Luckner, wivi posted to the eastward of the Weser." Skilfully deluding and eluding Prince Xavier of Saxiniy appointed to watch him, and "marching in the night, with the utmost speed, he crossed the Weser, turned the right of the French army, and, without being discovered, placed him.self upon their I'ear. General Sjjorken, at the same time, jdaced himself so, as to attack the saitie wing in flank. Prince Ferdinand cros.sed the Dymel, in order to fall upon their centre. The attack on the enemy's left was commanded by Lord Granby. These ])reparations were m ide with so much judgment, celerity, and good order, that the French had not perceived the a,pproac;!i of the Allies, when they found tliemselves atfacked, loith infinite intpebuotiiti/y in front, fianh, and rear!''' The consequence to the French of such a rousing early in the morning, '■'■before they hail the least appre'iension of being attacked," was a general scene of alarm and confusion, that would have occasioned a total rout, but for the interi)osing gallantry of 2 coi-ps, under M. de Castries and M, de Stainville, who made such a vigorous stand, though it cost them dear, that their army was enabled to retire under the cannon of Oassel, and over the Fulda; losing, however, exclusive of .slain, military ensigns, guns, and baggage, 2570 prisoners, of whom 162 were otticer,s, while the Allies had not above 897 of all ranks, killed, wounded, or missing. The severe disadvantage, by which the French suffered so much on this occasion — a disadvantage causing the greatest |)art of the French otiicers made prisoners to express themselves so bitterly, "that the Allied army Avas much scandalized at the niHuner in which these gentlemen spoke of their Commanders-in-Chief" — proveil the ruin of the Regiment of Fit:4- James. " M. Reidesel," says an account of the surpri.se in the London Gazette, "attacked, beat, and totally overthrew the Regiment of Fitz- James, took 3(10 of their horses, and their 2 standards" — tlumgh but 1 standard of that corps, amon^ other captured ensigns, is subseqvientlv' 598 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES specitied as hroni::;lit to St. James's by Caftain Sloper, Aide-de-Carap to Ptiaco Ferdinand.* Those of tlie regiment made prisonev.s amounted to 70. By another English narrative of this affair of Graebenstein. it wonld }i])pear, that the annihilated regunent acted, in thi.s last scene of its service, HO as to excite a respectful regret on the part of its opponents. " We." it is remarked, "cannot help, in this place, lamenting tlie fate of Fitz- Jaines's horse, tho' in the service of our enemies; thiiy proved fJiemselres our brethren, though misled. Is it not a great misfortune, that, throiigli a liilse ])rinciple of policy, we suffer so many gallant men to eidi.st in our tMiemies' service?" A contemporary English letter on this subject also observes — "I am soriy to say, that, our nation has found from sad, nay almost fatal, experience, the injury and prtjudice we have suffered by it, (if Inaiiig battles may be so termed) throiigli such unhap])y men beii^ employed in the armies of our enemies. . , . To me it is very odd, that Britain shf)nld, upon several occasions, hire Roman Catholic troops to figlit her battles, and yet neglect to employ her own subjects of the same religion, when it is admitted, on all hands, tliei/ are as good soldiers as (tnij in the toorld. . . . For my own part. I like a man much bett:ed — is, it will l)e remarked, the oiili/ ascertained loss of the kind connected with the annals of the Irish Brigade. t l^inard, article (.'oock, Grace's Memoirs of Family of Gra-e, Gilherts Historic Literature of Ireland und'r liead of Grace's Annals, I)alt>v«'< Irish Army Lisfc 99 meiicement of a diffei'ent policy from the past Vf-^j'Tds' the r.ufferin"' Catholics; and, as regards the uriforcunate situation of so aiany of the jiTiiior members of the higher families of that faith, then debarred from a piofession, the raising of such regiments "would have alforded che means of a decent livelihood to many of the unemployed younger sons of tha Catholic nobility and gentry, whom it was the studij of the ascouJancy to let-el to plebeian obscurily" But the pernicious position occupied, Vietweeu tlie English cabinet and the enslaved people or Catholics of Ireland, by the ruling colonial and sectarian party there, was such, that, as far mora of wjiat was evil had been inflicted by England u{)on the country than ever was requisite except for their ends, so whatever was good, except for the same ends, was opposed; and this measure, among the rest, for levying the Catholic regiments, which accordingly fell to the ground. "The English government," notes Lord Charlemont's bit/grapher, Mr. Hardy, ■with respect to the proposed organization of those regiments for Portugal, "was resolved to do something with regard to the Catholics, and the Irish legislatui-e, at this time, was resolved to do iio/hiny! " — which is explained by such a legislature, though termed " Ii-ish," being no better, with but too few exceptions, than the legislature of aii odious oligarchy of "Protes- tant Bashaws," that, in the exercise of their baleful supremacy "lent," it is added, "to a sanguinary code, new terrors of their own!" These "terrors" were connected with the rack-renting oppression, as well as the sectarian persecution, of the enslaved Catholics. " The Popery laws," writes Mr. O'Coiior, "had, in the course of half a century, consummated the ruin of the lower orders. Their habitations, visages, dress, and des- pondency, exhibited the deep distress of a people, ruled with the iron sceptre of conquest. The lot of the negro slave was happiness, compared with that of the then Irish helot; both were subject to the capricious cruelty of mercenary task-masters, and unfeeling proprietors; but tho negro alave was well fed, well cloathed, and comfortably lodged. The Irish peasant was half-starved, half-naked, and half-housed. . . . Th« fewness of negroes gave the West-Indian proprietor an interest in tho pi-eservation of his slaves. A supei-abundance of helots superseded all interest in the comforts or preservation of an Irish cottier; the Code had eradicated every feeling of humanity; and avarice sought to stitle every sense of justice. That avarice was generated by prodigality, the hei-editary vice of the Irish gentry, and manifested itself in exorbitant i-ackrenta ■wrung from their tenantry, and in the lowest wages paid for their labour." Thus, in Ireland, as elsewhere, (or in Ithaca of old, with reference to the rapacious luxury of the intrusive suitors,) it might be observed — "Xo profit springs beneath usurping pow'rg; Want feeds not there, where hixiiry devours, Nor harbours charity where riot reigns : Proud are the lords, and wretched are the swains." Pope's Homek, Odyssey, xv., 404-407. The grinding injustice of such landed oppression, and the proportionable suffering amongst those affected by it, including some of the dominant faith, nattirally gave rise to those outbreaks of rural exasperation called the Whiteboy disturbances; for which no better remedies were adopted by "ascendancy" legislation, than enactments of the sanguinary school of Draco; while the outrages of distress and despair were attributed, by those whose exactions had provoked them, to the convenient raw-head coo IIISTOUY OF THE TllISII BKIGAnKS IN TIIK SERVICE OF FliANCE. tind-l)I()0(ly-l>oii('s of " I'opoiy," as tlio ;i!l-.sulllcient ;il;inu-ci_y Lo juslify pcrssccuLioii uiiil plunder. "Be to tlic poor like onic wlinnstnno, Aiul h;ui(l their no'-es to tlio gruiistane; Ply ev'ry art o' k\ij;al thigviiiii; ; No matter, stick to souikI believing!" — BuitNS. But tlie Gov(>fiin\(Mit in EiiLjland, c;ro\vti too intcUiLjcnt to 1)(> infliKHicod, on tills oc'C!isi( n, by :iny bunilioozliiig bawl of that buij^licai- of bigotry from tlio sectiuian and agrariiin oppressors of their country, justly t('sti- fied, with 1-eference to the unfortunate Whiteboys, in the London Uazetto of May, ITCilJ, "that the authors of those disturbances consisted of ])ersons oi dijj'ereiit ])ersuasions" — or the conunon suHei-ers by a common tyranny in tliis world, whatever might be their crecul about aitother. Goldsmith, •with his Jacobite sympathies, too clearly alludes, iti his '■ Ti'a\(dler," to this unnatural state of liis own country, under tht^ oligaichical yoke of her BO-calk'd "glorious-revolution" ascendancy, "wlu'ii," he says, " 1 behold a factions band agree, To call it fretMloin, wi en themselves are free; Each wanton judge new |ienal statntes (lia.\\-. Laws grind the poor, and rich men ndi; the law." * But, on the Continent, all the infantry corps of the Irish T"iiigade, already noticed as removeil from Gerniany, were marched to l''laiidi'rs, iihd encamped about Dunkirk, during this campaign of 17('j, as part of an army to menace Lngland with an iuvasiiui, till the prtliminaiies of j)eace were signed in November, which led to the tleliuitive Treaty of Paris, in February, 1763.t * At the close of the session of I'arliament ])revinna to his departure from Ireland, J^ord Halifax, it is observed, "in the mild language ot adviee, reproached the aristocracy witli their cruelty to the lower orders," by noting how "the mere oxecuiuiu of the laws, without the example of those who execute them, must alvvays be defecl,ive."' Of the Whitebojs, Arthur Young atiirms, that "acts were jiasscd for their pnnislinient, which seemed calculated for the meridian of Barbary ; " and, though soon after repealed, as too shameless, yet others remained " the law of the land, that Mould, if executed, tend more to raise, than quell, an insurrection;" so that, it was too manifest, the landed despots "never thought of a rail.cal cure, from overlooking the real cause of the disease, which, in fact, lay iu tUtmstiLoes^ and not; iu- the wretches they ddonicd to the gallows." t Dillou aud i.'oiice A18S., aud news^a^tera of the day. HISTOEY OF THE lEISII BRIGxiDES I* THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. BOOK X. ALTnoUGH, from the different circumstances previously noticed, the reputation of the Iiish Brigade in the service of France could rK>t be compared, durinc^ this last war fiom 175G to 17G2, with what its celebrity had been down to the Peace of 1748, yet the still high character of the corps, as represented by its officers, comV>ined with the eminent distinc- tion of so many Irish in other Continental services, continued to reflect more and more discredit on the so-called " glorious-revolution " or "penal-code" system of administration in Ireland, based on tlie ruin of the proscribed mass of the population. " It is not," writes Dr. Charles O'Conor, "from the hunted remains of a conquered people, thus jterse- cuted, that we are to form an idea of its genius, or its manners. To have a fair view of the native Irish during tiie reigns of the 2 first Georges, we must follow tiieii- nf)bility and gentry in their exile to those countries, where they were allowed to exercise their abilities. Thei-e we find them, whether in an ecclesiastical, military, or mercantile cajjacity, triumphing over indigence, and rivalling the most illustrious g(MUUses of France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, without riches to command notice, or patronage to create esteem." * Thus, to the merit of those Irisii exiles in a military capacity, beyond which the subject of this work does not extend, we have this r'-markable testimony from the Emperor Francis I. of Germany, as found anioii<; Ids jKip'-rs after his deatii, August 18th, 1765. "The more Irish officers in the Austrian service the better; our troops will always be disciplined ; an Irish cowaril is an uncommon character j and what the natives of Ireland even di.slike from • In describiug the miserable condition to which the (Catholics in Irf-lanfl were reriuced by the i-esults of William's success there, Lord Macaulav, too, says — " There Avere, indeed, Irish Roman Catholics of great ability, eneri'y. and ;unl>i- tion: but they were to be found every where except in Ireland, at Vers ulles, and at St. lldefonso, in the armies of Frederic, and in the armies of Maria Tlie esa. One exile," Lord Clare, " became a Marshal of France. .Another," (General Wall. " became Prime Minister of Spain. If he had staid in liis nat ve land, he would have been regarded as an inferior, by all the ignorant and worthless squireens, who drank the glorious and immc^rtal memory. In his Palace at Madrid, he hid the pleasure of being assiduously courted by the Ambassaflor of Cenrge II., and of bidding defiance, in high terms, to the Ambassador of (George III. Scattered overall Euro] :e were to be found brave Irish Generals, dexterous Irish diploma- tists, Irish Counts, Irish Barons, Irish Knights of St. Lewis, and of St. Leo- pold, of the White Eagle, and of the Golden Fleece, who, if they had remained in the house of bondaire. could not have been ensigns of marching regiments, of freemen of ^jetty corporations." 602 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES principle, tlipy generally perform thrnngh a desire of glory." Tlie eiilogiiini of the Emperor is well sustained by the following paragraph from a eontemporary I-ondon periodical in March, 170(i. "On the 17th of this month, his B^xcellency, Count Mahony,* Aml^assad or from Spaia to the Court of Vienna, gave a i;rand entertainuKint in honour of St. Patrick, to which were invited all persons of condition, that were of Irish descent; being himself a descendant of an illustrious family of that kingdom. Among many others, were present Count Lacy, President of the Council of War, the (>enerals O'Donnel, Mc Guire, O'Kelly, Browne, Plunki't, and i\Jc Eli^ot, 4 Chiefs of the Grand Cross, 2 Governors, several Knights IMilitary, 6 Staff Officers, 4 Privy- Counsel- lors, with the princi|)al Officers of State; who, to shew their respect to the Irish nation, wor'e cro.sses in honour of the day, as did the viho^a Court." + In connexion, too, with a remarkable anecdote of an Irish officer in the service of Naples, Mr. Boswell, the biogra])her of Dr. Johnson, in his " Account of Corsica," refers, about the sann; ]:>eriod, or in 17()0, to the generally honourable o]»inion entertained of the Irish abroad. " Duiing the last war in Italy, at the siege of Tortona, the commander of the army which lay before the town ordered Carew, »u Irish officer in the service of Naples, to advance, with a detachment, to a particular ])ost. Plaving given his orders, he whispered to Carew — 'Sir, I know you to be a gallant man. I have therefore put you upon this duty. I tell you, in confidence, it is certain death for you alh 1 place 3'on there, to make the enemy spring a mine below you.' Carew uiade a bow to the General, and led (ni his men ir) silence to the dreadful ])ost. He there stood with an undaunted countenance, and having called to one of the soldiers for a dfaught of wine. ' Here,' said he, ' I di-ink to all those, who bravely fall in battle! ' j Fortunately, afc that instant, Tortona capitulated, and Carew escaped. But he had thus a full opi)orturjity of displaying a rare instance of intrepidity. It is with ])leasure,"' concludes Mr. Boswell, alluding to the prejudices of the English, and, in too many instances, of his own countrynu^n, the Scotch, against Ireland, "it is with ])leasure, that I record an anecdote so much to the honour of a gentleman of that nation, on which illiberal reflections are too ofren thrown, by those of whom it little deserves them. Whatever may be the rough jokes of wealthy in.solence, or the envious * Ah-eady noticed, in tlie account of his gallant father, at the affair of Cremona, ill 170-. The 2 quota' ions res])ectiiig the Irish iu Austria are from the Annual lle,y,isters of l7()5 and 17()(). f At the County of Dublin Meeting for Catholic Emancipation, hold at Kilman- hain, in .Septeniher, 1811, a veteran officer, Colonel '>'>>hea, after stating his having been recently in the Austrian army, at the battle of Wagrani, the "Colonel commanding a regiment of upwards of .i()i)0 men, ' furtlier alleged of the numbers, and hii^li character of his countrymen who had been in that service, and of the opi liou of tlie Austrian ('ommaiuler-iii-Chief, the Arch- Duke Charles, on the subject — " Such is our established rejjutation, that Ar>h-L)uke Charles said to me ■ that never was the House of Austria Ijetter olficered, than when possessing 80 many Irish; of whom, at one time, upwards of .SO were (ienerals.' " Of Irish soldiers, as well as Irish officers, in the Austrian army, it may he mentioned here, that a similarly creditable character has been given. " It is worthy of remark," says Ferrar, the hixtoiian ot Limerick, " that nor, one Irishman deserted from the Emiieror's service on the frontiers of Holland, although large bribes were offered for recruits, to fill the Dutcli levies." :,': 1 his toast of ( 'arew, umler the circumstances iu which lie gave it, reminds us of the .illegcd reniaik of l,eonidas to his Spartans, before the last Struggle ab Theniio[)yhe, that their next repast was to be iu another world! IN THR SERVICK OF FRANCE. b 6 sarcjisms of needy jealousy, the Irisli have ever been, and will continue to be, liiglily regarded upon tiie Continent." This opinion of the exiled Irish, with a proportionable regret at what a loss their services were to England, and an them by marks of true friendship. The King of France, nor any Prince in Europe, cannot boast of troops better disciplined; nor is the King insensible of their merit, for I have lately eeen a letter, written by tho King's command, from (Jomte de St. Germain, addres.sed to the officers of one of these corps, whereby it ap|)ears, that the King is truly sensible o" their distinguished merit; for braver men there are not in any service. What an acquisition to France! what a loss to Britain!" When the unfortunate Trojan.s, from their "sweet homes and ancient realms expell'd," requested, according to the Roman poet, an asylum iiom Latiuus in Italy, their ambassador representetl to the King: *' Nor our admission shall your realm disgrace, Nor length of time our gratituile etl'ace — Besides, what endless he nour you shall gain. To save and shelter Troy's unhappy train! " Dkyden's Virgil, ^Eneis, vii., 317-320. And the asylum opened by Louis XIV. in France to the expatriated adherents of James II. from Ireland, and to their successors, was attended with no less honour and gratitude. The Duke of Fitz-James has noted of Louis, and his reception of the Irish, how "all France a|)plauded, and the greatest and most powerful Monarch crowned the eulogies of this brave and gallant nation, by his styling them, sea braves G04 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES Ir/andois.'" And the Duke's contemporary, Lientenant-CJeneral Connt Artluir Dillon, statcil to tlie National Assembly of Franco — " It rnav l>e said, without partiality, that there is no example of any nation having done for another what the Irish Oatliolics have done for France. She had great claims upon their gj'atitnde ; but they have acquitttnl them- selves of their debt, in the most noble mannca-." On December 30th, 17G5, died at Rome, in his 7Sth year, a»t('r 3 years' conlincmient to his residence, during 2 of which he hardly left his bed- chamber, James Francis Edward Stuart, by hereditary right, as con- tr-asted with revolutionary regulation, James III., King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was interred in the Papal ca[)ital, J;uiuary, 17GG, with all the pomp and solemnity due to the royalty, of which he, and his sou Prince Cliarles Edward, not merely by the old or Catholic Irish, and especially the Brigade, hnt by numbers of British Protestants, were regarded as the legitimate representatives, in oj)j)osition to the intrusive House of Hanover. Even so far within the reign of George III. as the year 1777, in a conversation "as to the inclinations of the people of England, at that time, towards the Royal Family of Stuart," Dr. Johnson, although in receipt of a pension of =£300 a year from the reigning Monai-cli, observed — "If England were fairly polled, the present King would be sent away to-night, and his adherents hanged to-morrow." And the Doctor furtlier alleged — "Sir, the state of the country is this: the ])eople, knowing it to be agreed, on all hands, that this King has not the heredi- tary right to the Crown, and there being no hope tlnit he who has it can be restored, have grown cold and indifferent vipon the subject of loyalty, and have no warm attachment to any King. They would not, thenifore, risk any thing to I'estore the exiled family. The}' would not give 20 shillings a-piece to bring it about. But, if a mere vote could do it, there woidd be 20 to 1 ; at least, ther-e would be a very great majority of voices for it. For, Sir, you are to consider, that all those who think, a King has a right to his Crown, as a man has to his estate, which is the just opinion, would be for restoring the King, who certaiidy has the hereditary right, could he be trusted with it; iu which there would be no danger now, when laws and everything else are so much advanced : and every King will govern by the laws. And you must also consider, Sir, that there is nothing, on the other side, to oppose this; for it is not alleged by any one, that the present family has any inherent right; so that the Whigs could not have a contest between 2 rights." The cere- monial of the interment of the deceased Prince was as follows. "Uu Saturday, the 15th of January, 17CG, his body, after having lain 5 days in state iti his own Palace, was removed, in gr.tnd cavalcade, to his parish church, the Church of the Holy Apostles, dressed in royal robes, a crowti upon his lu!ad, a sceptre in his hand, and, upon his breast, the arms of Great lUitain, in gold and jewels. The whole Court, and the members (if almost every Order and Fraternity at Rome, as well religious as secular, IG of them with colours flying, attended the cavalcade; lUUO wax-tapeis, besides those borne Viy other attendants, followed the body; 4 ginitlemen'i, ]iarticularly distinguished by the deceased in his life-time, su])p()rted the pall. At this church, which was hung with black from one end to the other, and tilled with s'^eletons holding wax-tapers, a solemn rp.qmenh was performed by Cardind Albani in his pontificalia, assisted by 20 other Cardinals; the music by the musicians of the Apostolic Palace. The I'ojie intended to have assisted, but was prevented by the coldness of the IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. COS weatlior. The bed of state was illuminaterl with 1100 wax-tapers; and over it was this inscription, Jaoubas, Ma'/iue Britannice Rex, Anno AJ DCCLXVI .^ with diveivs mcduUions in front, representing the several Orders of Chivalry in (ireat Britain; the 3 Crowns of England, Scotlmd, aiid Ireland, to which were joined the royal insignia, viz., the purple robe lined witli ermine, the velvet tunic ornamented with gohl, the gh)be, tlio sceptre, the crown, and the crosses of St. Geoi'ge anci St. Andrew, ifec." After lying there during 3 days, the body, on the evening of the 3rd, was lenioved, in tlie same bed of .state, to St. Peter's; which being done in grand procession, and the obsequies again celebrated there, the corpse was conveyed to the vault appointed for it previous to final interment."' The exclusion of James III. from the sceptre of these islands, as attended with tlie enslavement of all those of his religion in Ii'eland, was popularly lamented in the beautifully wild and pathetic air or song of "The Black- bird," which, with Allisdrum's March, the Flowers of Edinburgh, the White Cockade, &c., was a favourite tune among the old Jacobite native.s, e.'jpecially in Munster; and ))layed, with corresponding enthusiasm, on the harj) and ])ipes, when there was no "dastard" by, to "say 'twas for- bidden." t After the true, though disinherited King, allegorically termed "the blackbii-d," being mentioned, in the words, as "all her heart's trea- sure, her joy, and her j)leasui-e," by "a fair lady" (needless to specify), and she accordingly resolving " in fair or foul weather, to seek out her black- bird wherever he be," she says — "In Scotland he's lov'd, and dearly approv'd ; In England a stranger he seemetb to lie ; But his name I'll advance, in Britain or Franco; .Good luck to my blackbird, wherever be be ! " And she concludes, by exclaiming of her favourite, though jiarted from her — " His right I'll proclaim, and who dares nie lilanie? Good luck to my bkickbu-d, wherever he be ! " :J: The absence, I may remark, of this fine air from Moore's Melodies is a crying "sin of omission," when some of such very inferior Uierit have obtained a place, and been "married to immortal verse," in that generally admirable collection. In 1708 and 1769, France added but too largely to her di.sgraces under Louis XV., or tlie Lewd, by her most unjust war to subjugate Ci-etended claims to Corsica, Franc© so infrimously assumed a right to attack and suVidue the Corsicans. "Their s^■stem," writes Mr. Boswell of those detested mercantile op])re.ssors, the Genoese, "was not to render the Corsicans hai)pier and better, but, 6y keepiiiy them in ignorance, and under the most abject submission, to prevent their endeavotiritig to yet free; ivldle Genoa drained, the island of all she could possibly (jet, chofsimj rntlier even to have less advantage by tyranny^ than to have a. much greater aiirantage, and. risque (he consequences 0/ per- mitting the iiduibitants io enjiy t/ie blessings 0/ freedom. . . . What shewed the Genoese policy in the worst light, and could not but be very galling to the Corsicans iii/io 'remained at home, was, that many of these islanders, vho had gone over to the Continent, made a distinguished figure inmost of the European states, both in learning, and in arms." The English Whig Hoj-ace Walpole, exclaims of the Genoese, in reference to their oppression of the Corsicans — "I hate the Genoese: they make a commonwealth the most devilish of all tyrannies!" But, what might not a Genoese have retorted Mg;iinst England, with respect to Ireland, in those days. In 1770, on apprehension of a rupture with England respecting the Falkland Islands, the Regiment of Clare was sent to India, where it was equally noted for its discipline and bravery. In this year, also, died a distinguished ofticei- of the Irish Brigade, whose entrance into military life dated from the age of Louis XIV. — the Marechal de Camp and (Chevalier Richard Edmond de Cusack. He was descended fi'om an ancient and illustrious family, originally of Guienne, whose progenitor passed into England with her great conqueror Duke William from Nor- mandy, in 100(5. In 1211, Geolfroy and Andre de Cusack came to Ireland with King John, and behaved tiieinselves so well, that John made theui large grants of property there. In tlu; reign of Elizabeth, Nicholas Cusack was beheaded for the zeal he evinced in defence of his country and religion. Patrick Cusack and his family having been eminent for bravery in the army of the Confedeiates of Ireland during the great civil wai-, or Parlia- nientarian and Cromwellian rebellion against Charles I. and II., Crom- well seized upon those gentlemen's estates, whicli, after "the Restoration," in.stead of being given back to their right owners who had lost them in defence of the Crown, were shamelessly granted, with those of other Iri-^li Catholic loyalists, to James, Duke of York, and other English lord.s.t • Coant Arthur Dillon's Memoire. f During the next war in Ireland, or that of the Eevohition, the name of Cusack continued to be one of note ; 4 of its representatives sittinti' as Members of the national Parliameut, under Iving James 11., iu l(ii>9, at Dublin; and several being IN THE SERVICE OF FllANCE. G07 lliehard Oiisafk, after the l<ine. He served at the sieg(!S of Menin, Y[)res, Furnes, and Fort Knock in 1744, condVxcted under King Louis in person; and finished that campaign, at the Camp of Cour- tray. He behaved, at the victory of Fontenoy, May 11th, 1745, with such distinction, that he was granted a royal pension of 600 livres; and was at the ensuing reductions of the town and citadel of Tourna}', of Oudenarde, of Dendermonde, and Ath. Brigadier of the armies of the King, by brevet of March 20th, 1747, and stationed at the bridge of Walheim, a j)ost among the most important to be guarded during this cam])aign, he maintained himself there, for 6 weeks, with but 600 men. At the battle of Laffeldt, gained by the King on J\ily 2nd following, lie displayed such additional proofs of valour and good conduct, that his ])revious royal j)ension of 600 livres was increased to 1600. He serv'ed at the ca])ture of Maestricht in 1748; at the Camp of Aimeries in 1754; at that of Calais iu 1756; and in Flanders in 1757 and 1758. He officers of infantry, horse, and dra2;oons, in the Irish army, or the Regiments of Dorrington, Mountcashel, Shine, Tyrconnell, Galmoy, Maxwell, OHlford; 1 of whoni, Colouel Nicholas Cusaok, of the branch of UsmuUen, was an executing party to the Civil Articles of the Treaty of Limerick. As defenders of their legitimate sovereign and native country in this contest, the Cusacks were also duly marked out for land- spohatiou, iu the Williauiite attainders of 1G91. 608 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES o))tainefl this last year, October 20tb, the government of the towns of Guerande, of Croi.sick, and Port-du-St.-Nazaire in Bretagne, and was sworn accoi-dingly, March, 18th, 1759. Created a Marechal de Camp by brevet of February lUth, 1759, he gave up his Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Eegimcnt of Roth, and served no more. He was a Chevalier of the Order of St. Jago, or of the Red Sword, of Spain; and obtained, by a royal brevet of August 1st, 1758, the Commandery of the Hospital of Manceid, in Armagnac, a dependency of that Order. His death, as above-mentioned, in 1770, took place at Corbeil, in his 82nd year, after a life of uninterrupted military service for 56 years. By his 1st wife, Isabella Bridget Fitz-Gerald, he left an only daughter, married to the ]\Iarq\iis rEspinasse-Langeac, Marechal de Camp.* As the quarrel of England and her North American Colonies, which commenced not long after the Peace of 17G3, progressed to an extent rendering it every day more evident, that, between the foimer deter- mined to tax, and the latter not to be taxed, a war should be the result, it was no less evident to the English Government, that the Irish Catholic element, *for supplying soldiers to the army, and sailors to the navy, of the Empire, shf)uld be more r'esorted to than ever, whatever might be the Penal-Code or No-Popery prejudice to the con- trary. Even in the preceding Seven Years' War, or so soon as tlie ruling povvers in England conceived, that, from tlie decisive defeat of the last attempt to restore the House of Stuart in 1745-G, and from a further la])se of several years, it might be possible to recruit, though as \ret "under the rose," among Irish Papists, without a prospect of such wholesale desertion, as, in the former days of Jacobite fervour, rendered levies of the kind no better than "ftiiry gifts fading away," it had been resolved, that trials should be made, of how far those Papists could be trusted, in tlie military and naval line. Thus, in 1757, "the English regiments enlisted Roman Catholic soldiers in Limerick for the 1st time since the Revolution," alleges the Protestant historian Ferrar, adding, " since that time, the nari'ow, impolitic system has l)een aban- doned of employing only English and Scots' soldiers. Ireland l:as furnished thousands of brave men to fight the battles of tlie British Empire, who, before this time, were a bulwark of strength, and a tower of defence, to our natural enemies, the French. Several regiments have been recruited and discijilined in Limerick." In equal ignoring of the existing "ascendancy" law in Ireland, by which no Papist was ])(n-- iriitted to bear arms, simultaneous levies were made for the English arinv from members of the proscribed creed, elsewhere in Munster, as we learn from leferences to the matter several years after, or in 1774 and 1775, by 2 officers, as Irish Members of Pailiament. The former. Major Boyle Roche, said — "He must observe, in tlie late war, several recruits were raised in Cork and other parts of Munster in the year 1757, vnllwut any scrupulous exandnafAon in respect to their relujtun: that a greater number of Papists were raised, and went to America; and lie called on every military gentleman in the House, who had been iu that service, to declare, whether any men had behaved better 1 And, though they fought against Papists, the French, yet their religion did not iniluence them to desert; but they did their duty, and were as amenable to discijiline, as any men in the army." The latter officer, • Courcelles, Ponce MSS., personal collections on Irish families. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. GOD Colonel Browne, affii-med — " In my opinion, Papists can be, and are, an loyal as any others; of which I will give an instance. In the time o< tiie late war, I recruited the regiment, in which I served, with above 200 Pa])ists raised about Cork. They went to Canada, behaved br-avely, and when in garrison in a Popish town, and surrounded with Papists, whilst many Protestants deserted, not 1 of these Papists ran away." * Towards the conclusion of the same war, or in 1762, the liberal Protestant Lord Primate of Ireland, Dr. Stone, also spoke in the Parliament, at Dublin, of " the gallant conduct of the Irish Catholic sailors at Belle-Isle, aiid at the recent conquest of Martinique." + The ■necessity of having to resoi't to the same aid is subsequently, or in 1769, alluded to by Sir William Draper, as a military authority, in his 4th letter to Junius. " The troops in the Mediterranean, in the West Indies, in America," writes Sir William, "labour under great difficulties, from the scarcity of men, which is but too visible, all over these kingdoms," or England and Scotland. "Many of our forces are in climates unfavourable to British constitutions; their loss is in proportion. Britain," he concludes, " must recruit all these regiments fi'oin her own emaciated bosom, or, more jyy'ecariously. by Catholics from Ireland." And precarious, indeed, woidd England's situation be under such circumstances, or if the intolerant legislation to which the Irish Catholics had been so long subjected should be allowed to continue, while the existence of her empire was to dejiend more and more upon Irish Catholic soldiers and sailors! Hence, in 1774, the 1st move towards a breach in the ice of the Penal Code was made, even in the "ascendancy" Parliament at Dublin, through an admission of members of the persecuted faith to qualify themselves, in a recognized form, as subjects to the Crown, by a {^'articular Oath of Alle- giance for that purpose; dispensing, in their favour, with the merely exclusive, or Protectant terms, upon which alone, a jjledge of the kind had hitherto been admissible. JBy the oath in question, those taking it bound themselves to be loyal to King George III., and his heirs, as Sovei-eigns of Great Britain and Ireland, in opposition to any claim of tlie kind, on the part of "Charles 111.," (or Prince Charles Edward Stuart, tlius I'egidly designated since his father's death,) and the depon- ents, at the same time, abjured several obnoxious, or intolerant and anti social, doctrines attributed to their Church.;}: * In a ])ailiamentary debate of May, 1864, when, accordinc; to Mr. Macgnire, refeniiig to Ireland, "for every single Protestant, or Presbj'terian, who ejilisted in the Queen's army in that country, there enlisted 5 Catholics," Colonel North said^ " Diuino- the tune lie had served in the arnij', he had, for the most ]iart, been connected with regiments which were composed chiefly of Homan Catholics; one of the very last being the Pioyal Irish Fusihers," or S7th, " in which, out of 1000 men, there were not more than 70 or 80 Protestants; aud he detied any man to point out an instance, in which the Poman Catholic soldier, in those regiments, had not done his duty most nobly, led by Protestant officers, in the service of a Protectant Queen." t Tiie extracts of the parliamentary speeches of Major Eoche, Colonel Browne, and Primate Stcne, are taken from Walker's Hibernian Magazine for 1775, and ( "Conor's History of the Irish Catholics, under the year \1&2. On the large jii'oportion of Irish soldiers and sailors in the army and navy of (ireat Britain and Ireland, see the various authorities (suggestive of so njauy more) in my Creen Book, cha])ters ii.-iii. , 2nd edition, Dublin, 1844. X ]\lr. U'Df)noghue, in his learned " Historical Memoir of the O'Briens," having ■jr- iiiised, hnw, until 1774, "no Poman Catholic could take the Oath of Allegiance, vithoiit disclaiming the spiritual sujiremacy of the Head of his Church," but that then "this auomalous and dangerous state of things was remedied," wntea as 610 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES The next year, 177-5, when blf)0(l was first unfortunately slv^d hetwoeu tlie English and tlie AmericaTis, is otherwise remarkable for the birth of Daniel OConnell, l>y whose exertions the last links of the Penal Code ■were to be broken; a reference to whose orioin, in some detail, is idlowal)le here, if only as that also of a distinguished officer of the name in the Irish Brigade and his relative, to be more particularly noticed fai-ther on. The sept of O'Conghaile, or O'Connell, is deduced in Gaelic genealogy from a very remote i-oyal source, or that of Conary I., Ard- Righ, or Monarch of Erin about the commencement of the Christian era. The OConnells, and their clan-territory in Kerry, primitively, or down to the 12th century, consisting of the Barony of Magunihy, are mentioned as follows, by the old bardic topographer O'Huidhrin, or O'Heerin — " O'Connell, of the slentler swords, /.s over the bushy-forted Magunihy; A hazel-tree of branching ringlets, In the Munster plain of horse -hosts." • In the disturbed niicrocosni, or "little world," of Erin, after the Anglo- Norman invasion, there was a similar state of things, in a minor sphere, to that in a gi-eater, upon the Continent, at the fall of the Roman empii'e; the Goths, who invaded the Romans, having done so, as com- j)elled to retreat from the Huns, who wei'e themselves obliged to retire irom other Tartar enemies farther eastwards, or towards China. " The wave V)ehind imjtels the wave before," as the poet says. Those attacked, and forced to abandon their country, by a stronger race, had to indem- nify themselves at the expense of another race, still less powerful. lli\der such circumstances, the O'Donoghues, driven by "the stranger" from their original territory in Magh-Feimhin, on the plain of Cashel, or the Baronies of Iffa and Offa East, in the County of Tipperary, and liaving consequently to seek a fresh establishment more to the soiith, did so in Kerry, where others of the name were previously located. + To tliia follows — "The oath, which Eonian Catholics were, by this Act, enabled to take before the Judges, or a Justice of the Peace in the country," was — "To liear true allegiance to the Sovereign, and defend him against all attempts and conspiracies against his .authority, to disclose all treasons which the i)arty may he informed of against his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, and to sup])ort the succession of the Crown in his Majesty's family, renouncing any allegiance, or obedience, to the person assuming the title of Charles IIL, t)r any other {lerson claiming a right to the Crown : that the sweai-er rejects the impious doctrine, that it was lawful to murder persons on ])retence of their being heretics, and the doctrine, (equally impious,) that no faith was to be kept with heretics : — renouncing the O|nnion, that Princes, excommunicated by tl>3 Pope, might be nnudered by their subjects; — declaring that neither the Pope, nor any other Prince, had, or ouuht to have, any trm po7riI or ciwi/ jurisdiction within this realm; and that the declaration, thus made and subscribed, was made without any equivccation, mental reservation, or dispensation already had from the Po])e, or any authority of the See of Rome. . . . In accordance with this Act, in the next year, (iO of the most einineut of the Eonian Catholic merchants and gentry of the city of Dublin, headed by Lord Triinlestou, took the Oath of Allegiance in the Coiu-t of Kind's Bench, iii presence of the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Annally, and their examjile was followed ;/ mrall)/ throughout the Kingdom." * For " UConchaile," and "Magh O'g Coinchinn," I substitute the modern equivalents, " 0'( 'onn-ell," and "Magunihy," in this qnatraiu. The O'Connel 3 were more anciently located in Kerry, than they conimonlj' su]iposed their sept to Ijiive been. Truth makes the i-a,cejur older there tlian fiction. t The O'Donoghues were descended from Dul)h-da-blioire;m, King of Munster, killed in 9.^7. whose son, Dondmall, commanded the troojjs of Desmond, or Sonth Munster, at the famous battle of Cioutari, la lOi-1. In the War of the ivevoliuiou. I^' THE SERVICE OF F.'JANOE. C H. anq;mfnt;ition of O'Dono'jjhnos there, t1ie O'Coiitiells became victiras, li. ing attiicked, and ex|»ellecl tVoiii tlie. Barony of Magmiiliy ; atid t.liey, liaviiig to " make np tor tJieir V>»h,'' fell upon their neighlioiirs. the O'Seaghas, or O'Sheas, of the same Conariati origin, and stri|)|)ed tljeiii of tlieir ancient patrimony, tlie Barony of Iveragh, or Ui-Hathach, from ■which the O'Seagha, or O'Shea, was, in better days, entithnl " King of IJi-lJathach." The chief seat of the O'Contiells, in this newly-acquired district, was at 13allycarbery, near Cahirciveen ; and. in the capacity of hereditary Castellans, or otherwise, they wei-e followers to Mac (-artliy More, till the 17th century. The head branch of the O'Connells was transplanted by Cromwell into the County of C!lare; which family, with those of the name in Kerry, supplied distinguished officers to King James II., during the War of the Revolution in Ireland; the principal of tlie latter being the stout Colonel and Brigadier, Maurice O'Connell of Iveragh, and of Ash-Tower, a i)rt)perty of £G()0 a year in the County of Dublin, who was killed at the battle of Aughrim.* Of O'Connells, sul)sequent to this war, several appear to have had good estates; and, among such as saved their property under the Articles of Limerick, was ^'aptain John O'Connell, of Aghgore, and Derryt)ane, after serving throughout the contest, or from the campaign of Derry in 1680, to that ot Aughrim in 1691. This gentleman, by his son Daniel, and grandson Morgan, was the progenitor of the great Emancipator, born at Carhyn, near Cahiiciveen, August 6th, 177o. In the interval from the Treaty of Limerick to this period of the 1st move towards a relaxation ot the Penal Code in Ireland and the com- mencement of the war in America, the O'Connells, in Kerry, to what- ever remnant of the "good estates" they could contrive to retain, in ppite of the " Protestant discoverer," — or sectarian informer, privileged to rob Catholics by law of such landed property worth having, as he could prove them guiltii of possessing! — added the profits of a lucrative C(mtraband trade with France ; carried on, in jimt or natural elusion of the detestable policy of those days, to oppress Ireland commercially, as ■well as to enslave her religiously. Of the circumstances of this trade, as connected with the " flights of the wild geese," or periodical emigra- ticms to join the Irish Brigaile from the different hai'boui's of Kerry, but eH|)ecially that of Valentia, our late learned Protestant countryman, Dr. there were only a few O'Doiio^hiies of the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant, and Eii.-ign, in tlie Irish army; and I also tind hut few to have been otHcers iu the Irish Brij/ade. The name was most eminent al>road, in tlie service of Spain. * This Maurice, sou of JelFery O'Connell, of Ibrahagh, or Iveragh, was nephew of John O'Connell, a lawyer, noted for his good sense, and agent to the Duke of Ormonde ; which John left, l>y will, his Dublin or Ash-Tower estate, of £6()(> a year, to Maurice as tenant for life, and to his legitimate mal,e heirs in succession. By his marriage with an English lady, Catherine, dnughter of Sir Edward Langtou, I^laurice lett, as his sole heir, Iticliard, a minor. Thronoh a VVilhamite outlawry Of Maurice post mortem — or when ho could nu longer forfeit, as having been but a tenant for life! — the estate of Ash-Tower was claimed a« forfeiteil to the Crown, Kpquestered accordingly, aud thus, for .several years, unjustly withheld from its Tindoubted heir, the minor. Tliat heir, Iiichard, was, in the meantime, reared up a Protestant with his English or mother's conne.xions ; liavuio;, by the seizure of liis [iripprty, been, sa^'s his printed case, "'left a destitute orphan, without support or fritnds; his relations' in Ireland, it is alleged of tlie O'Coiuiells, "who are lloiiiaii Cathol.cks, oi (/ovd estatf.% iu the aforesaid kingdom, nogiectiug him, as being bred up in the Protestant religion." 1'he pnqierty of Ash-Tower, liowe\er, se('i,.j t) have been restfired; the allegations, iu support of the Petition to that etiect, bei^g reported as true. • 612 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES William Cooke Taylor, in bis " RerniuisceTices of Daniel O'Connell " as " hy a Minister Fanner," writes — " In consequence of this form of inter- course, what the law called snin;£;iilin,ii, and what those engaged in it called /'/ei? trade, was very active between the French ports and this part, of Ireland. Morgan O'Connell's store, or shop, at Cahirciveen, received niany a cargo of French laces, wines, and silks, which were sold, at an immense ])rofit, in the south and west of Ireland, and enabled him rapidly to accnninlate a large foi'tnne. English crnisers avoided the iron-bonnd coast of Kerry, which then had a repntation even worse than its reality. It was said, that the men of the Kerry coast combined wrecking with smnggling; and that, for both pin-poses, they had organ- ized a very complete system of ])osts, and telegraphic signals, along the blutf headlands. When a susj)icious sail was annonnced, nice calcula- tions were made, to ascertain her probable position after nightfall. A. horse was then turned out to graze, on the tields near that jiart of the shore opposite to which she most probably -was, and a lantern was tied to the horse's head. Viewed from a distance, this light, rising and fallirig as the animal fed, jiroduced pi-ecisely the same effect as light in the cabin of a distant sliip. The crew of the stranger-vessel, thus led to believe that tlit^re w;is open water before them, steered boldly onwards, and could not discover their error, imtil they had dashed against the rocks.* There is no I'eason to believe, that tht^ O'Connells ever engaged in such treacherous transactions; but there is indisputable evidence, that they were largely practised in this ])art of the country, and that they afforded great protection to smuggling, by deterring the Engliili crui.sers fr(»m tlie coast. Daniel O'Conneirs infancy was thus jiassed amid scenes likely to impress his mind with stern hostility to the Pro- testant ascendancy, and the English government Ijy which it was snp- jiorted. In the name of that ascendancy, he was taught that his ancestors had been plundered ; in tlie name of that ascendancy, he saw his religion insulted, and his family opjiressed ; for the Penal Laws op]io.sed serious impediments to his father's investment of the profits of Lis trade in the acquisition of land.t All around him were engaged in a ffscal war with the English government, and, in the code of Kerry ethics, a seizure by the officers of the Oustom-House was regarded as a jobbery, and the defrauding of the revenue a simple act of justice to one's self and family." While such was the .situation of the O'Connells at home, abroad, in the Regiments of Clare, Berwick, and Walsh, belonging to the Irish Brigade, as well as in other corps of the French army, or the Regiments of Royal Suedois and Salm-Salm, the name was repi'esented, down to the French Revolution, by officers, from the grades of Sous-Lieutenant and Captain to those of Colonel and Marechal de Camp, including some Chevaliers of St. Louis.;}: * With such evil-doings in Ireland towards unfortimate vessels and their crews, conij'are, liowever, these likewise ])raetised ia EikjUhuI, as ah'eady noticed in Book 11. , wliere treating of the exiled Earl of Claiicarty ; and see the account of the "wreckers" of Bretagne, ui Mii.-helet's }Iistor>- of t'lanre. + Aitliur Youiig, alter alluciing to tlie discraira^enieiits, nudcr the Penal Laws, to Catholics engaging in ai:y legidar tiut'e, ic(iiiii-iri'j Ixitli mdnstry and cajiital, fxclaims — " ]f they .succeed and make a fortune, v liat are they to do with it? 1 !iey' can neitl er buy land, nor take a luortgage, i;or even tine down the rent of a Icai-e. . Where is there a people in the world to be loui;d industrious under such circiiiiistances? " X Under this year, 1775, as the latest to which I have any knowledge of a IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 613 It wns; liigli time, the year Itefore O'Oannell's birtli, or in 1774, tliafc the en-ilaved Catholics in Ireland shonkl have been athiiitted by .st;itnte to qualify themselves as subjects to the Crown, when, iti October, 177-1, it WHS acknowledged, in the Britisli House of .Lords, how imperative it was for England to avail herself openly of their assistance, if the great strength of the insurrection in North America were to be duly opposed. On seconding the Address to tlie Throne, fnmi that assend'>ly. Lord Townsend, in dwelling upon the projiriety of taking foreigners into the ]my of England, added, " and Irish Pa]>ists into her .service. He said, Pa]nst.s might be as good soMiers as any others; that it was only by England, that any distinction was made; that France, however rigorous, bigotted. or despotic, made no diiference between Protestants anil Catholics; that the Hollanders acled in the same manner; that, so men were good soldiers, it was very little matter what might be their creeds." And -the recent move, in the right direction, by the English Government in Ireland, with regard to the Catholics, had a corresponding effect upon recruiting there for the service in America, even through such an unpre- cedented co-operation, as that of a Catholic nobleman, in the person of Lord Kenmare; respecting which, we have this contemporary announce- ment, under the date of Augu.st 20th, 1775. " Major Sir Boyle Roche, Baronet, attended by his Captain, and a grand ])rocession, beat up for rt^cruits in Limerick, and met with great success. This was the 1st man of rank, who, when the war broke out in America, with an honest zeal in his Majesty's service, beat up in person for recruits. Lord Ken- mare gave half-a-guinea additional bounty to every recruit." It elsewhei-e appears, that the Major, "in 1 week, raised 500 reci-uits, for the King's army." The increasing reasons, from 1775 to 1778, for a further or more substantial relaxation of the Popery Code, suggested by the con- tinued necessity of drawing away troops fi-om Ireland to America, led, very distinguished officer of the Irish Britrade, I insert the best account I have found of him; which, if extendint;- to the exact date of his decease, woulil he given in the text at that period, instead of in t'lia note. The Chevalier Pierre de !Nngent, or Sir Peter Nugent, Baronet, was tirst, or in 1717, a Lieutenant in Nu gent's Regiment of Irish Horse, suhse<|uently that of Fitz. lames ; was a reformed Captain a la suili', October 14th, 171S; and, having raised a coni}>auy l)y c.immissioa of Febriiary 2nd, 1727, he commauded it at the reductions oi Kehl and Philipsburgh, in 1733 and 173-t. He was empowered to rank, March 21st, 1731, fis a Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie. He serv^ed, luider the Marshal de Maille- bciis, with the Army of the Lower Pdiine, in !September, 1741; passed, with that army, into Westjihalia and Bavaria, in 1742; after being ac several actions there, reciuned to France, in July, 1743; and finished the campaign, with his regiment, under the Marshal de Noailles, in Lower Alsace. He did not serve in 174-1. Created Brigadier of Horse by brevet of May 1st, 1745, he signalized himself, t'ne 11th, at the battle of Fontcnoy; and obtained the same day letters of service to V)e employed in the rank of Brigadier. After being present at the reductions of Tournay and Oudeuarde, he was chosen, in December, to .act as Brigadier in the force designed to assist Prince Charles Stuart in Britain ; but, being among the select Irish detachment, that atcempteih early in March, 174(5, to reach Scotland from Ostend by sea, he was ca[)tured by Commodore Knowie.s. ll.iving been exchanged as a }irxsoner, and returning to France, he was at the rt'duccion of Mae.striclit in 1748. Marcchal de (."amp. or Major-(Jeueral, by Ijrevet of May 10th, that year, he became Lieutenant-Colonel of his regim.'ut, June 2.")t!i, foUownig. Employed with the Army of Germany, under the Prince de Soulnse, by letters of June 15th, 17.>7, ho fought valiantly at Rosbach. Engaged, by letters, of November 29th, for the winter, in Germany, he re-entered France with liis regiment, in April, 1758. He resigned the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Cdi-iK in 1759; and "was created Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the Kin^ (■3 power of July ".iSth, I7li2. 014- HISTORY OF THE IIU.SH P.llTG ADKS towards the conclnsion of tliat periorl, to a motion in ParlianiPiit, hy a Mr. James Fitz-Uerald, that Oathulics mii^lit be permitted to take leases ot l.-mds for (il years; wliiclj j)roj)i)sal, however, though so fair aiil moderate, was negatived by the nsnal majority of intolerance in tha Dnlilin "ascendancy" legislature. But. soon after, iu 1778, when tlie ugly intelligence from America arrived, how " Buro;oyiie, opposing all the fates, At Saratoga fought witlj General Gates," Mild consequently had to surrender, with his entire force, to the mortify- ing accomi)aiiiment of " Yankee Doodle." * the same Parliament, under a I>i-essure from Government — the stronger, as aware that France wouhl join America — passed an act to enable Catholics to take leases for 99^ years ! The terms, too, in which this measure was expressed, as tending to excite still higher expectations with reference to the fature,t occa- sioned much satisfaction on the ])art of the Irish Catholics at home and abroad; a satisfaction, at the same time, with which the feelings of French policy could not sympathize, inasmuch as the military interest of France in Ireland should be injured, by whatever might be calculated to serve that of England there. A British contemporary writer, justi- fying " the conduct of the Government in mitigating the Penal Laws against the Papists," after remarking, that, to the harassing legal dis- abilities, under which the Catholics lal)oared at home, " France owed some of her bravest Brigades, and Austria her most distinguished Generals," so that the British " Government was not insensible of all this, and, therefore, prudently resolved to give them," the Catholics, " some indulgence," thus proceeds — " Perhaps there never was a period when a step of this kind was more solidly political, or better calculated to promote the common weal. After the surrender of Burgoyne's army, what an alarming prosfiect appeared to the eyes of the nation ! The distres.ses and dangers of the nation called aloud for the assistance of every source of power which is within us; whilst an appli- cation to foreign aids," or German mercenaries procured at an enorn)ous cost, "too forcibly proved a decay in our own vital princi|)le. Nothing, tliei-efore, could be better judged, under such circumstances, than to * Of the name of "Yankee," and the air of "Yankee Doodle," the Enghsh translator and anuotator of "Travels in North America in 1780, 1781, and f7S2, by the Marqnis de Chastcllux, Meniher of the French Academy, and Major- (ieneral in the French Army, under the (Jonat de liochanilieau,' says — "'I'liia is a name, given by way of derision, an I even simple ])leasantry, tn the inhabi- tants of the 4 eastern States. It is thought to come from a savage people, who lormerly occupied this country, and dwelt l)etween the Connecticut river, and the State of Massachusetts. . . . The English army serving in America, a:id Eng- land herself, will long have i-eason to reineralier the contemptuous use they made of this term in the late unhapjjy war, aud the severe retort they met with on the occasion. The hiif/li.sh army, at Banker's Hill, marched to the iustilting tune of ' Yankee Dooile;'' but, from that period, it became the air of triumpii, the lo Paean of America. It was curhio to the British ear. ' Our honest country- man, Serjeant Lamb, in his " Jottrnal of the Avnerican War," in wliich he served imder Burgoyne, accordingly, mentions how, when the Biitish troops were marching down, from the heights of Saratoga, to the vei'ge of tlie river, whore they were to give \\\i their arms and artillery, "the American drummers and tifers were ordered by General Gates, to play the tune of 'Yankci/ Domicile."' + ( )n the rejection of Mr. Fitz-Gerald s motion, and the subsequent parlian)eii- truy L,rant of so much more than he had moved for, compare Parnell's Hi>tory (if tlio I'enal f^aws a^raiust the Irish Catholics, from the Treaty of Limerick to tha L'liiou, \\ ith i'iowden s Historical lieview. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 615 ronnite to the state such a minierons bnrly of faithful subjects. But," coTitinnes this writer, "the more Britain rejoiced at this happy event, tlie nioi'e France was confouiwleil ! Political France! whose ey(?s are always open to her own interest, well saw the fital tendency of such a step to her. No sooner was it seen there, that tiie act was jiassed in favour of the Roman Catholics, than an universal damp was seen in every countenance; and the general cry was, ' Volla! deux cens wille hornmes amies contre nous!' — ' See 200,000 men armed against us! ' They lamented to think, that their Irish Brigades must now fall to the ground, and that they could no longer expect to be supported by a disaffected party among ourselves, in case they should invade us; and, to show to w])at length they carried their regret, the students of the English College at Douay wanted to give public thanks to God for the hapjjy event, but. they durst not do it! Of all this," he continues, " I am informed by gentlemen of the utmost veracity, who were in France at the time, and wdio were eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses of what ]>assed." * And " these unquestionable facts," he concludes, " show, * The Emperor Napfileon, trio, alle'j;e(l to our countryman, Dr. O'Meara, at St. Helena --" When the Catholic (jnestion was hrst seriously auitateil, 1 would have given 50,000,000 to be assured, that it would uut, be granted; for it would have entirely ruined my projccU itpon Ireland." Napoleon likewise lamented to Las Cases at St. Helena, that, in 1798, he did not go to Ireland, instead of to Egypt ; as well he might, from the military strength subsequently derived from Ireland by England, to put him down. On this point, the Duke of Wellington, in 1829, addressing the House of Lords in favour of Catholic Eiriancipation, obsei'ved - "It is already well known to your Lordships, that, of the troops which our gracious Sovereign did me the honour to entru.st to my command at various periods during the war— a war undertaken expressly for the purpose of securing the hajjpy institutions and independence of the country— that at least onedialf were Roman Catholics. My Lords, when I call your recollection to this fact, I am sure all further eulogy is unnecessary. Your Lordships are well aware for what length of period, and under what difficult circumstances, they inaintaiued the empire buoyant u]>on the flood, which overwhelmed the thrones and wrecked the institu- tions of every other people; how they ke[)t alive the only spark of freeilom which was left unextinguished in Europe; and how, by unprecedented efforts, they at length placed us, not only far above danger-, but at an elevation of ])rosperity, for which we had hardly dared to hope. These, my Lords, are sacred and im- perative titles to a nation's gratitude. My Lords, it is become quite needless for me to assure you, that I have invariably found nij' Roman Catholic soldiers as patient ruader privations, as eager for the combat, and as brave and determined in the held, as any other jiortion of his Majesty's troops ; and, in pcnnt of loyalty and devotion to their King and country, I am quite certain they have never been surpassed. I claim no merit in admitting, that others might have guided the storm of battle as skilfully as myself. We have only to recur to the annals of our military achievements to be convinced, that few. indeed, of our commanders have not known how to direct the unconquerable sjiirit of their troops, and to shed fresh glories round the British name. But, my Lords, while we are free to acknowledge this, we must also confess that, without Catholic blood and Catholic valour, no victory could ever have been obtained, and the hrst militaiy talents in Euro[)e might have been exertsd in vain, at the head of an army. My Lords, if on the eve of any of those hard-fought days, on which I had the honour to com- mand them, I had thus addressed my Roman Catholic troops: — 'You well know that y(uir country either so suspects your loyalty, or so dislikes your religion, that she has not thought proper to admit yow amongst the ranks of her citizens; if on that account you deem it an act of injustice on her part to require you to shed your blood in her defence, you are at liberty to withdraw ' — I am quite sure, my Lords, that, however bitter the recollections which it awakened, they woidd have spurned the alternative with indignation; for the hour of danger and glory is the hour in which the gallaiit, the L:enerous-heaited Irishman best knows his duty, and IS most determined to perform it. But if, my Lords, it had been otherwise; 616 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII lUUGADKS beyond reply, the y)ropriety of the repeal " in the Penal Laws, " and the advantages that may he expected fi-om it to this country." So much for those measures of English policy, calculated, along with the extinc- tion of any hope of a Stuart " restoration," to he more and more i)rein- dicial to the Irish Brigade from 17-")7 to 1778, or down to the ])erind which we now a])proach, when the 3 last corps known as Irish, out of the number tliat foi-merly existed in the service of France, were to act with her against England in the American Wai-. The Court of Versailles, having concluded at Paris a treaty of amity and commerce with the United States of America as an independent powei', early in February, 1778, the result was necessarily war between England and France. Like the gallant Lafayette, however, a number of the Irish military in France anticipated its Government, in taking ujj thQ cause of America. Among them, there were, so early as 1776, several of the supernumerary or reformed officers of the Brigade. "As this corps," says the announcement of the sailing of those gentlemen for America, "is known to contain some of the best-disciplined officers in Euro])e, there is no doubt, but that they will meet with all suitable encouragement." The next year, 1777, we find officers of higher rank, or Colonel Conway of the Brigade, and Colonel Roche de Fermoy, in commands of note; the former, after an English allusion to him, as "a Colonel of the Irish Brigade," being furtlier referred to, as "one of that numerous train of officers in the French service, who had taken an active part against Great Britain, in this unhappy civil war." When hostilities broke out between France aiid England, the Irish regiments in France, who considered themselves entitled to serve bffure other corps against the English — a claim more especially advanced, on this occasion, by the Regiment of Dillon — were not long left unemployed.* In 1779, the Regiment of if they had chosen to desert the cause in wliicli they were embarked, though the remainder of the troops would undoubtedly have maintained the honour of the British arms, yet, as I have just said, no ettoi-ts of theirs could ever have crowned us with victory. Yes, my Lords, it is mainly to the Irish Catholics that we all owe our proud pre-eminence in our military career ; and that I, jiersonally, am indebted for the laurels with which you have Vieeu pleased to decorate my brow — for the honours wl\ich you have so bountifully lavished on nie, and for the fau* fame (I prize it aliove all other rewards) whicli my country, in its generous kind- ness, has bestowed upon me. I canuot but feel, my Lords, that you yourselves have been chiefly instrumented in jjlacing this heavy debt of gratitude upon me — greater, perhaps, than has ever fallen to the lot of any individual; aud, however Batterdig the cu'cuinstance, it often places me in a very jiaiuful position. When- ever I meet (aud it is almost an everyday occurrence) with any of those brave men, who, in common with others, are the object of this bill aud w'.io have so oficn borne me on the tide of victory; when I see them still branded with the imputa- tion of a divided allegiiince, still degraded beneath the lowest menial, and still proclaimed unlit to enter withiu the ]tale of the constitution, I feel almost ashamed of the honours which have been lavished ujion me. I feel that, though the merit was theirs, what was so freely given to me was unjustly denied to tliem ; that I had reaped, though they had sown; that they had liorne the heat and burden of the day, but that the wages and repose vv^ere mine alone. My Lords, it is a gi'eat additional gi'atilication to me to advocate these ])rinciples in conjunction with a distinguished member of my family, so lately at the head of the G ivernment of his native country — a country ever dear to me from the recollections of my infancy, the memory of her wrongs, and the bravery of her people. I glory, my Lords, in the name of L'eland ; and it is the highest pleasure 1 can ambition, to be thus united wdtli the rest of my kindred, in the grateful task of (dosing the wcuiiids which seven centuries of misgovernment have inflicted u]ioa that luilor- tunatc liind." * Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon thus commences his account of the IN THE SE[?V[CE OF FRANCE. 617 Bprwiclc was attached to tho Rqnadmii of the Coutit fl'Orvilliers. Of the Eeginient of Walsh, a oonsidevalile portion was likewise appointed to act in detachments as marines ; of which detachments, a ))iqupt. with the squadron of the Marquis de Vaudreuil was present, early that year, at the captui-e, from the English, of Seiieg;il, in Africa, where it remained in garrison. April 5th, at Brest, in the squadron of M. de la Motte Piquet, the 1st battalion of the Regiment of Dillon, in number 1000 men, subsequently made HOO, embaiked for the West Indies under its ('olonel-Proprietor, Count Arthur Dillon the younger, grandson and namesake of the 1st Colonel- Proprietor, who brought the regiment from Ir-eland to France in 1690, and nephew of the 2 other Colonels, slain in command of the corps, at the victories of Fontenoy in 1745, and Laffeldt ill 1747. The junction of this squadron from Brest with that of the Count d'Estaing at Martinique strengthening him sufficiently to nnder- take the long-meditated design of a conquest of the Isle of Grenada from the English, he set sail, June 30tli, from Martinique, and, by July 2nd, in the evening, anchoring off Grenada, " immediately landed," says my author, " 2300 men, for the most jiart Irish, in the service of France, under the conduct of Colonel Dillon." The Governor of this island for England was an Ulster nobleman, more recently of Scotch de.scent, but originally of Irish or Milesian blood, (ji'eorge Macai'tney, 1st Lord Macartney, born in 1737.* Ap- p<)inted Envoy Extraordinary from George III. to Catherine II., Emj)ress of Russia, in 1764, he, on taking leave at St. James's, was knighted by his Majesty. Thenceforward, to 1767, he acted so satisfac- torily in his noi'thern mission, that, besides receiving from Stanislas, King of Poland, the Order of the White Eagle, he was advanced to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the British Coui-t to that of St. Petersburg. In 1768, he was elected a Member of Par- liament, both in Great Britain and Ireland; in 1769, was made Chief Secretary for, and Member of the Privy Council in, Ireland, under the adaiinistration of Lord Townseud; in 1772, was created a Knight of the Bath; in 1774, sat in the British Pailiament for several Scotch borovighs ; in 1775, was nominated Captain-General and Governor-in- Chief of the Islands of Grenada, the Grenadines, and Tobago; and, in 1776, was ennobled as Lord Macartney, Baron of Lissanoure, in the County of Antrim. From his connexion with the Isle of Grenada, as attacked by the French, till his death in 1806, his Lordship is most services of liis own and the other Irish reciments in this war. " Guerre d'AinC>r- itjiie, ]779. On a vu que les r^girueus Irlandois ont e e constammeut employCs dans toutes les guen-es precedentes ; ils ont ton jours rechuiie le ]irivileje dc niar- cner les premiers contre les Anglois dans tons les cliniats oi'i la France leur I'eroit ia guerre. C'est d'aprbs ce principe que le Regiment de Dillon denianda et ol.tiut de l)asser en Ani€rique au coniniencenient de 1779." * Lord Macartney's origin has been traced from a son of Douogh Mnc (Jartliy, styled " Cairthanach," or the Friein/li/, King of Desmond, in the 14th century. I'his son, Prince Donal, after having joined the gallant Edward de Brus, or Bruce, as " King of Ireland," in order to drive the English out of Ireland as they had been driven out of Scotland, served Edward's brother, the great Ilobert, King of Scotland. From him, he received a grant of land in Argyleshire, whence his descendants branched into Galloway, and linally into Ulster, where the name became connected with the Peerage. On this point of his Lordsh'p's Milesian origin, compare M. Laine's Pedigree of the Mac Garthys in French with Mr. 1!. F. Gronnelly's Irish Genealogies, under tliat name. See likewise, Archdall's Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, and Ryan's Worthies of Ireland, under " Lord Macartney." 618 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES linnnin'al)ly known as Governor of Madras, in the East Indies, wliere he iiiiijlit liHVL' been Governor- General of Ri'ngal, and for his interesting en)bassy to China; having displayed, throughout life, qualities ci-editable "to his talents as a statesman, and his feelings as a man." On the landing of D'Estaing's troojis, Lord Maeartney retired with what foi-ce he had. about 700 men — of whom not 200 were regulars, ami the rest militia, sailors, and volunteers— to the eminence entitled Morne de rH6])ital. This height, which commanded the town of St, George, the fort, and the harbour, besides being very steep by natui-e, was ren- dered more difhcult of access by rude walls of stone, raised at intervals for that purpose; and the passage ujiwards was further barred by a strong palisade, behind which were 3 in trench men ts, rising one above the other in due gradation. D'Estaing, the day after his landing, or oi^ the 3rd, having reconnoitred the hostile post, and made corresponding dispositions of his troops, summoned Lord Macartney to surrender; whose reply was, that he "was ignorant of the strength of the French, but knew his own, and would do his utmost to defend his island. The French' commander, anxious to ])roceed as ex])editi(uisly as ])ossible with liis enterprise, lest Admiral Byron might arrive with his squadron to relieve Lord Macartney, had 'brought no artillery with him; and, as to iinshiji and bring up any might take too much time, he could only carry his point by a antj) de inain. He accordingly arranged that the enemy's stronghold should be stormed that niglit (between the 3rd and 4th,) by 3 columns; Count Dillon and other othet'r.s being connnissioned, ere it was dark, to examine, as nearly as possible, the ap])roaches by which each column might advance to the ]ialisade and intrenchments. About midnight, the troops vv'ere in motion, and, bt'fore 2 in the morning, they, at a quarter of a league from the ])osition to be assailed, were arrayed ia 3 columns, at the respective directions they were to take. The column on the right, under the Vicomte de Noaiiles, having with him, among other officers. Lieutenant- Colonel O'Dunn* and Major Mac Donnell, consisted of 300 men of the Reginumts of Champagne, Auxerrois, Mar tinique, and the Artillery. The column in the centre, under the Count Eiiward Dillon, with a Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major O'Moran, con- sisted of 300 men of the Regiment of Dillon, and 10 of the Artillery. The column on the left, under Count Arthur Dillon, with M. Browne as Colonel-en-Second, consi-sted of the grenadiers of the Count's own reginient, the I'est of the same corps, and 10 of the Artillery. The direction for this column, in its ascent, exposed it to more danger than the others, fVom the fire of an English vessel, the York. At the head of the grenadiers marched the Count d'Estaing himself; knowing the Irish well, if it were only as having formerly served with poor Lally. * The O'Duinns, O'Dimns, or Dimnes, of Iregan, the present Barony of Tinna- hincli. Queens County, were descended from Cafhair the Great, Ard-Eigh or Monarch of Erin, in tlie 2nd century. From the reign of Louis XIV. to that of Louis XVI., there were 0' Dunns in the Irish Brigade, in the Eeaiments of O'Doniiell, Clare, and Walsh, from the rank of Lieutenant to that of Lieutenant- Colonel and Chevalier of St. Luuis. James Bernard ODunn, born in 1714, having bften P^nvoy from l^ouis XV. to the Court of Portugal, was pensioned for diplo- r*atic services in 17^9; and his son Humphrey, born in 1742, Lieutenant-Colonel of Infantry, and Connnandant at Grenada, in the West Indies, was likewise pen- sioned in 1780. The head of this ancient name in ISijii, with an estate from time immemorial in his race, was Major-General Frar.cis Plunkctt Dunne of Britta-s, in the Queen's ('ouuty, and its leiirescntative iu Parliament; whose great-graud- lather was killed at tlie IjaLlle of Au-lirmi. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 619 r<) tliis liody Ihcre was, under tlie Count de Duras, ColoTicl-enScfond oi' the llegiinent of Cauil»i-esis, and another experienced otficci-, an advanced guard of 50 Volunteers, with 130 more men from the Kegi- nients <>f Hainanlt, Foix, and Martinique; and, to contribute to th« success of the 3 real attacks, by making a false one, anotlier party was assigned to the Count de Pondevaux, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regi- ment of Auxerrois, a 2nd Lieutenant-Colonel, and 2 Majors, amounting to 200 men of various French cor|)s. At 2 in the morning, the false attack having commenced, and a vessel under the Marquis de Vaudreuil likewise making a useful diversion by its cannonade, as a set-off" against the fire of the York, the 3 columns marched to scale the Morne by the ascents ap])ointed. The cartridge-shot from, the York greatly incorti- nioded the colnmn under Count Art?hur Dillon. But neither this tire, nor that of the musketry and artillery from the intrenchments, the darkness of the night, nor the other im])ediments in the way of the assailants, ])revented the advanced-guard under the brave Duras, with the grenadiers under the Genei'al, from bursting through the ])alisade, and cairying the intrenchments; D'Estaing himself being among the first who entered them. Count Arthur Dillon is likewise jjarticularized, by the Count de 8egur, as greatly distinguished at the head of this column, and wounded; yet, as not withdrawing, on that account, till after the actic n. In tine, although the defendants claim to have repulsed the assailants at first, and may have done so, the post was mastered in less than an hour according to tht; French, or in about an hour and a half according to the English, by the arrival of all the attacking columns at the stimmit of the Morne, where they found 11 jneces of cannon and () mortars of various calibres. As soon' as it was day, a 24-po>mde)' was ])layed from the top of the Morne against the Fort which it conunanded, and into which Lord Macartney retired, who had to surrender at discre- tion, having acted as well as he could, under the circumstances; so that, on his release, and reappearance at Com t, he was well received by King George. By this success, all the ])Iate and most valuable effects of his Lord- ship and ])rincipal officers, as well as those of the wealthy inhab'itants of the island, that had been conveyed to his |)ost as the safest depository, became a \nty to the French; and they gained a not less considerable booty in the harbour, where there were 30 vessels, of which 20 were nierchantiiien well-laden, and the remaining 10, ]irivateers. Tiie English prisoners were 700 (of whom 195 regulars of the 48th Regiuient and Boyal Artillery), the standards taken were 3, the artillery 102 cannon and 16 morfais. The French loss was returned as 106 men, or 35 killed, and 71 wounded. Of Irish names among the officers slain or hurt were those of Mac Sheehy, Duggan, and Morgan ; the Isfc of these only, or Patrick Mac Sheehy, Lieutenant in the Regiment of Dillon, having been mortally wounded by a cannon-.shot ti^wards the close of the conffict. In this state, he could merely speak, with much jiuiu, a few Words, worthy of the great days of S]»irta and Athens. " Is the Morne taken?" he inquired. "Yes," they rejjlied. "Well, then," he rejoined, *' I die content! " and expired.* That, in a place thus conquered, there * The Mac SLeehys, a martial sept, that ap])ear to have been of Ulster oripin, and Claii-tJolla race, furnisbed ofticers to the Irish Brigade while it existed. For the rlaxsic death of the tiallant Patrick, 1 am indebted to M. de la Pimce. Patriclv's nei)hew, Beruaid Ma,c ISheehy, horn in 1774, was Adjutant-General, under the G20 HISTORY OF THE HUSH CRIGADKS shovild be some irrppulaiities, affdidirig grounds for coinplanit agamst the successful soldiery, niny lie admitted; though by no means to tlie degree, that English prejudice, or misinformation, would represent. "Nothing," says the coutemiiorary Annual Register, "couhl be more unfavourable to D'Estaing's character than the accounts of his conduct in his new acquisition, which were spread aboiit this time. His con- tinuance in the island of Grenada has been represented as a constant scene of severity and oppression. It was said, that his soldiers were indulged in the most unbridled licence ; and that, if it had not been for tlie humanity and tenderness sliovvn by the officers and private men of Dillon's Irish regiment to the inhabitants, their condition woidd have been too deplorable to be endured, or described." But Botta," who had more authorities before him than this London periodical, which he also^ consulted, alleges — " If the French, in this assault, displayed a valour deserving of eternal memory, the moderation and humanity which they manifested, after the victory, merit no inferior encomium. The capital was preserved from pillage, to which it was liable by the ordinary rules of war. The inhabitants were protected in their persons and pro])erty. Dillon, in ])artieular, distinguished himself by the generosity of his behaviour." Thus, the good-nature of the Irish is admitted on all hands, and, as to merit of another kind, about 2-3rds of it was theirs ; nearly the wliole of 2 out of the 3 storming columns having been formed from the Regiment of Dillon, including the column accompanied by D'Estaing, whicii first carried the intrenchments. The intelligence of the reduction of Grenada, with the standards taken there, was forwarded to France, in the Dili(/ente frigate, Ijy Captain Sheldon of that regiment, and a relative of the Count, its Colonel. It was well that D'Estaing had been so prompt in making himself master of Grenada. On the 6th, Admiral Byron, having IS sail of the line, and a frigate, with a number of transports conveying tioops under General Grant, a])proached the island, under the impression, that Lord Macartney still held out. D'Estaing, who had 25 sail of the line, accordingly gave battle, with a loss, indeed, of the larger amount of men, but counterbalanced by the greater injury done to the enemy's ships; 1 of which, a transport, was taken. " The British Admiral, in conse- quence of the disabled condition of his fleet," we are told, '' foimd it necessary to take shelter at St. Christopher's, where he w;is decided to jemain, until the enemy should become weaker, or him.'^elf stronger. His retreat s])read consternation among the inhabitants of all the British isl.inds," in the West Indies, " who had not for a long time, nor, ]itrliaps. ever before, seen the French masters at sea. A short time after the action, D'Estaing, having repaired his ships, set sail afresh, and Linperor Kapolcoii I., at the bloocby battle of Eylaii, in Febmary, ISO", when lie fell by a caiiuon-sliot, greatly rcL^retted, as uniting, with bravery, and iniiitury l..l('iit, of the lir«t order, a vast erudition, and capability of speaking and wriiin^ several languages. John Bernard Louis iMac Sheehy, born at Paris, in Decenibe'-, 178.S, and attached when a bo3% as a gentleman Cadet, to the Regiment of iJillon, attained high Loiioui's in the same Imperial service, and subsequently. He served 12 caiiifiaigns, received wounds, had 2 horses killed under him, and became a, Chevalier of several Military Orders. The leavii' d Ilcereu desigi ates the " History of the W.-ir of the Imlependouc ; of theUnited States of America, " by Carlo Botta, (the einiiient hist irian, also, of h:s ou'ii country. Italy,) as "a history of the revolution, compiled, fi'om the Lest uutiioriLies, witii care, and well written. " IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 621 paracfed, with liis whole force, in sight of St. Cliristopher's. Byron hiy ftember, and the earlier part of October, being joined by 3000 of the Americans, under General Lincoln, pushed on operations against the hos- tile gai-rison of 3000 men in that metropolis. By the close, however, of this ])eriod, the season had become too dangerous for the French fleet to remain any longer off that coast ; the besieging works, meantime, were not advanced enough to promise success in a direct a.ssault upon the |)lace, and yet the Fi'ench and the Ameiicans should separate; so that, it ap])eared the only chance left them, (unpromising as that was,) to efi'ect anything, would be, through a vigorously-combined effort, before parting, to storm the town. Such an attempt was consequently made by D'Estaing and Lincoln in person, October 9th, before daybreak. The French and Americans thus headed, according to Seijeant Lamb in the English .service, " resolutely maiched up to the lines; but the tremendous and well-directed fire of the batteries, joined to that, in a cross direction, from the gallies, threw their whole columns into confusion; not before, however, they had planted 2 standards on the British redoubts. . . . Meanwhile it was intended, that Count Dillon should secretly pass the edge of the swami).s, the redoiibts, and batteries, and attack the rear of the British lines. The troops were in motion before day-light ; but, a heavy fog arising with the morning, they lost their way in the swamp, and were finally exposed to the view of the garrison, and the fire of the batteries ; which was so hot and tremendous, that they in vain attempted to form, and their wdiole design was defeated." The French had about 700 slain or hurt, of whom above 40 were officers; and, among the latter, the intrepid D'Estaing, who, exposing himself so much here, as elsewhere, had a horse shot under him, and was injured in 3 ))laces. Of Dillon's corps, its Major, Browne, an excellent officer, fell that day; and, of its grenadiers, 63 suffered in life or limb, exclusive of the fusiliei-s. The Americans are alleged under both heads to have been 7iti/<-«6' '• about 400;" while "the loss on the * Besides the anthoiitics thnt have been mentioned on the conquest of (ivenada and deteat of Byrou, 1 ni.ike use of French a^joounos of the day, respecting those e\ eiiLb. 622 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES Brit'.sh side, as they fought seonre, was inconsiderahle." Of other reports, or misstatements, from tlie same side, the accounts from Paris, after D'Estaing's return there, assert — " Malgre tout que ]es Generanx Anglois, ont mande a leur Cour du pen d'intelligence qui a regne entre les Francois et les Aniei'icains hjrs de I'expedition de Savannah, jusqu'au jtoint dSnventer que M. ()-Duiie se seroit servi dn mot de Idclie en nom- mant le General Lincoln, M. d'Estaing soutient le contraire." At tills siege, according to Ferrar, a "Colonel Browne was Aid-dn- Canip to the Count d'Estaing," as previously "in America;" and, on the Count's deciding to attack Savannah, contrary to the opinion of the Colonel and other officers, " the brave Colonel remarked to the Count, though he disapproved his opinion, he should have no cause to com- plain of his conduct. Accordingly, he marched his regiment imme- diately to the attack, planted the French colours twice on the walls oi Savannah, and in the 3rd attempt was killed." He was " of the family of Moyne," likewise highly represented in the Austrian service. Ou this occasion, too, the Count de Segur thus refers to his "friend Linch," a distinguished officer of the Brigade, as subsequently Colonel-en-Second of the Regiment of Walsli. " I will i-elate an anecdote of my friend Linch, that will give an idea of his singular bravery, and of the original ity of his disposition. Lincli, after being engaged in the campaigns of India, served, before he was employed in the army of Rochambeau, under the orders of the Count d'Estaing, and distinguished himself ]>articularly at tlie too memorable siege of Savannah. M. d'Estaing, at the most critical moment of that sanguinaiy affiiir, being at the head of the right column, directed Linch to carry an urgent order to the 3rd column, which was on the left. These columns were then within grape- shot of the enemy's intrenchments; and, on both sides, a tremendous firing was kept up. Linch, instead of passing through the centre, or in the rear, of the columns, ])roceeded coolly through tlie shower of balls and grape-shot, which the French and En,^lish were discharging at each other. It was in vain that M. d'Estaing, and those who surrounded him, cried to Linch, to take another direction; he went on, executed his order, and returned by the same way; that is to say, under a vault of flying shot, and where every one expected to witness his instant destruc- tion. 'Zounds!' said the General, on seeing him i-eturn unhurt, 'the Devil must be in you, surely ! Why did you choose such a road as that, in which you might have expected to perish 1000 times over?' ' Because it was the shortest,' answered Linch. Having uttered these few words, he went, with equal coolness, and joined the group that was most ardently engaged in storming the place. He was," adds Segur, ''afterwards promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and com- manded our infantry, in the 1st engagement we had with the Prussians, on the heights of Valmy," in 179^. The last event of note in the annals of the Brigade for 1779, was the death of the Count and Chevalier Patrick Darcy. Of the clan-territory of Partraighe, or Partry, in western Connaught, the ancient possessors were the O'Dorchaidhes, otherwise O'Dorcys; in reference to which, the Bard, early in the 15th century, writes — " Well has O'Dorchaidhe of tlie lofty iiiind Defended that laud of heroes, The country of Partraighe of Hne ha/.eltrecs, With a yellow-knotted spearshaft in tlie battle." * "On this old JVlilesiuu name, claii, and tcrntoiy, bee Dr. U'i'onovan's learned IN THE SE-RVICE OF FRANCE. C23 From this sept came the founder of tlie race, subsequently Anghi- Normanized, oi- colonially rnetamoi-phosed. into D'Arcjjs, ov Darci/s, in Galway, where Patrick, born Se])teniber 27th, 1723, was the son of Jolin Darcy, by his marriage witli Jane Lyncli. Exchided at home from respectable modes of advancement in life, as of a Catholic family and attacheuuishing of our insolence.' '' 2.S G26 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES effocted, there was no apprelionsion entertained of a hostile disembarka' lion. But a French refugee, who, having been settU>d in the island Avhen possessed by the Dutch, Was well acquainted with the conntiy, itifirmed the Marqnis de Bouille, that at Jenkiu's Bay, in the back of the island, notwithstanding the great api)arent obstacles there by sea to boats safely reaching the shore, and by land to men getting over the I'ocks, a descent was practicable, if attempted in the absence of any military opposition, or by sni'}H"ise; especiall}^ since the English engineers, recently directed by the Governor to ])rovide against the possible danger of a hostile disembarkation in that quarter, had prononnced it to be unneces- sary, on account of the obstacles referred to, either that any defensive work should be constructed, or that even any guard shonld be statioiH d there ! .Under these circumstances, and the absence of the Count de Grass^'s fleet in America, the sense of security on the part of the Govemior and garrison of St. Enstache was as complete as could be desired for effect- ing their downfall. The Marqnis de Bouillo, whom his countr3'man, the j)lundered refugee, in addition to the useful intelligence he had given, offered to serve as a guide in surprising the English, sailed from St. Pierre's, in Martinique, on November ir)th, with 3 frigat(\s, 4 corvettes, and 3 armed boats, accompanied by 300 men of each of the following regiments, Auxerrois. Royal Comtois, Dillon, and Walsh, or 1200 so far, besides 300 grenadiers and chasseurs of different corps, making in all 1500. Lest any alarm should be given to the " stupid peace " of the English at St. Eustache, he caused it to'be reported, that he was sailing in a different direction, or going to join the fleet of the Count de Grasse. From the contrarieties of the winds and currents, the Marquis was not able to sight St. Eustache till the 25tli, and that night issued orders to land. But, through a mistake of the pilots, in the 1st place they assigned for the descent, the cMitire enterprise might have been frus- trated. With great difhculty. Count Arthur Dillon, and 30 chasseurs of liis regiment, contrived to reach land, in the 1st boat which attempted to do so. Tlie Marquis de Bouille, and the men he had with him in the 2nd, were as successful, though their boat was lost. This loss, and that of others, made it necessary to look for a less difficult landing-place, at ■which, in the course of the night, the troops continued to effect their object, by aiding one another with ladders and ropes to ascend a rock. But, about an hour before daybreak, the winds and currents had become so hostile on this perilous coast, that the larger vessels were driven from the shore, and the I'oats which remained were unserviceable; 80 that, when but 400 were disemliarked, they had to shift for them- selves, where they were, as well as they could, since no more could join them. They might then exclaim with the ancient warrior, "See on what fnot we stand ! a scanty .shore — Tiie Sea behind, our enemies before!" Duyoen's Virgil, .rEneis, x., 527-S. Cut off from any retreat, having no artillery, and with only 400 men, out of his 1500, to assail a bixly of regular troops so considerably superior in number, and provided with artillery and a fort as the English were, the Marquis de Bouille had no possibility of exti'icating himself from the j)redicament in which he was involved, but by advancing, attacking, and vanquishing his opponents; a resi;lutiou to which lie IN THE SERVICE OF FRANX'E. G27 was the more encnnraged, from the excellent spirit he observed in his Boldiers. It was now about half-past 4 in the morning; the distance from the English fort and bai-racks being al)out 2 leagues, or 6 miles; and " tiio way not only extremely difficult, but intersected by a defile in the hill-<, where a handful of men could have stopped the approach of an army." Count Arthur Dillon was ordered, with the Irish, to j)roceed directly to the barracks, and to seize the Governor. The Chevalier de Fresne, Major of Royal Comtois, with 100 chasseurs of his regiment and that of Auxerrois. was to rush for the fort, and, if he could not ent(;r by the; gate, he was to attempt it by escalade. Tlie Vicomte de Damas, with the rest of the troops, was to suppoi-t that attack. Dillon's Iri.sh, marching in silence, and with lowered arms, were met by several inhabi- tants of the island, who took them, by tJK'ir red uniform, for some of the English. They reached the barracks by 6 o'clock, where a portion of the garrison, " nothing fearing," were on parade, going through their exercise. Dillon and his men, under tlie advantage of the red uniform, were allowed to approach, when a hmd shout, a point-blank volley bringing several to the ground, and a close, with fixed bayonets, had naturally Buch an effect on men so assailed, as rendered resistance impossible.* The Goveia:ior, Lieutenant-Colonel Cockburne, coming up after an early ride, was made prisoner on horseback, V)y the Chevalier O'Connor, Cap- tain of Ciiasseurs in tne Regiment of Walsh. "I can never forget the day," writes the learned Dr. Charles O'Conor, in 1796, " when Monsieur de Mombre, who travelled in 17S7 with Mr. O'Naghton of Lisle, hear- ing my name mentioned in a long company, went to his port-feuille, and, after exhibiting to every person present a beautiful engraving, in which the Chevalier O'Conoi-, Ca])tain of Chasseurs in Welch's regi- ment, is represented in the attitude of making Governor Cockburne prisoner, he politely presented it to me, .saying — ' Sir, you see the French delight in paying compliments to every Vjrave and faithful nation.' " t The remainder of the enemy were rapidly disposed of, by the Chevalier de Fresne of Royal Comtois reaching the fort as an attempt was marie to I'aise the draw-bridge, which was arrested by M. de la Motte, Captain of Ciiasseurs in the Regiment of Auxerrois, with a well-timed di.schai-ge of musketiy ; upon which, the entrance being forced, and the bridge drawn up, the consideraide portion of the garri- son inclosed there laid down their arms, and those dispersed in quarters * "The troops landed M'ere," notes the contemporary Annual Register, "among the best in France, being ])rincipally composed of Count Dillon's regiment, a part of that Iri.sh Brigade, which lias Vieeu .so long and so highly distinguished for its vaLiur, and the excellency of the. troops, and which the ill ]iolicy l)oth of England and Irehmd has driven into the French service. The red uniform of these troops, being the same as the English, contributed greatly to facilitate, and give effect to, the enterprise." ■f This capture of Governor Cockburne by O'Connor, and that of Marshal Villeroy by Mac Donnell, would be 2 good subjects for pictures V)y Irish artists. Of poor O'Connor, a French M.S., given to me !<•/ the late John (Joimell. adds — " Le Major O'Connor, du Regiment de la Ouadeloupe, an commencement de la Revolu- tion, fftt fait prisonnier par les Republicains, sur un batimeut marc'iand, oil il cherclioit a passer dans une ile tranquille des .•\ntille.s. II fdc iuhumaiuemcnt fusille avec des circonstances atroces. II etoit p^re de 10 jenues enfants, et aveit servi avec beaucoup de distinction da'is le Regiment de Walsh, oO. il avoit des frferes, je crois. Ce fut lui qui se signala lors de la ]>nse cheva'ere que de I'Ue de St. Eustache par le Marquis de Boudh?. II est fait mention de lui dans les Voya^ua du Ca]-.itaiue Landolphe, et dans la llevue Maritime de Jules Lecoute." 628 niSTouY op the irisii brigadhs dsowhere came in, and surrendered. The Frencli are said to have lost \>nt 10 men at most, and these by di-owning; tiie English to have liad a i)nnd)er killed, besides (J77 made prisoneis. One of my English narratives, after ol)s(M'ving how a garrison so numerous constituted " a I'oree, which, in less unfortunate times, coiiiil not have been safely a])])roaolied by an equal, much less an inferior, enemy," alleges, " it iias not often happened that Eiiylitilt, troops have, met so signal a disgrace." The truth, however, seems to be, that aiiif w\e.x\ in the world, if surprised, or taken so com])letely ofFthei-r guard, a.'* th(!se troojis were, wouhl have been equally disgraced; if such a misfor- tune, as left no room for a regular display of valour, can he termed "a disgrace." Moreover, a great propoition of these so-called " English troo])s" consisted of " Irish Catholics," according to Count Arthi^r Dillon; who, having ])remised what an advantage it was for France to liave Irish regiments, since, th(! nunnent such i-egiraents were opposed to the English, the Irish Catliolics in the English service would desert in crowds to join their fellow-countrymen in the French army, remarks — " We have seen this in all our wars, and again, of late, in that of America, in which, on a single occasion, above 350 Irish Catholics, made ])risoners at St. Eustaciie in ti)e 13th ar)d 15th English regiments, enlisted themselves into those of D.Uon and VValsh, in which the greatest jiart of them exist still " — that is, at the commencement of the French IJevolution. " Eacii snidier thus gained for France," continues the (Jount, " is worth 3 men to her ; she has an enemy the less, a defender the more, and the blood of a citizen saved." Yet, while making every fair allowance for the defeat and capture of the gai-rison of St. Eustaclie under the above-mentioned circumstances, the reduction of the island, in sucji a dashing and oti'-hand manner, by the French, was very creditabh^ to the Marquis de Bouille and his little band of 400 men ; nor was the Marqui.s's subsequent behaviour there less worthy of liis noble character. The sum of 1,000,000 in cash, sequestered by the Court of London, and lodged in the Governor's house, was restored to the ])lundered Dutch, as the Allies of Fi-ance, on their proving it to lie their ))roperty ; and, to the Governor (Jock- burne himself, 264,000 livres, claimed by him as his own money, were, Avith similar liberality, awarded. The remaining sum of 1,600,000 livres, belonging to Admiral Rodney, General Vaugiian, &c., as the produce of their unconscionable seizures, and the contents of 6 or 7 hostile vessels in the road, making fi-oin 1,800,000 to 2,000,000, was reserved as a fair prize for the, conqueror-s. Of tliis, the Marquis de Bouille had 180,000 livres, his cousin the Count de Bouille, (to both of wdio.se accounts I am indebted in this narrative,) had 30,000 ; and, 80 on, in proportion, down to the soldiery; all of whoui got 100 crowns; having consequently no reason to envy their jolly represea- taLive in the song — "How h.ip])y the soldier, who lives on his pay, And sjieiids half-a-crowu out of si.xueace a day ! " Thus, between 24 English vessels, laden with the spoils of this island to the value of above £700,000, which were intercepted in the spring at sea by the French, and what the Mai-quis de Bouille recovered with the island itself in autumn, Messieurs Rodney, Vaughan, ife Co. wei'e much inoie uisgraced than enriched by tlieir acquisition of St. Eustache. .Nor IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 629 was that acquisition, to which no o])position could be off Ted by the Dutcli, and the temporary retention of it tVoiii February to November, a source of any credit to the English arms, to compensate for a hiss, which was looked upon as having occurred in a way but too much to their discredit. The Marquis de Bouille. in stating liis inability to do justice to the very good conduct, and mi'st exact .discif)line, of his troops, on this occa- sion, alleges of Count Artliur Dillon, " le Comte de Dillon a donne de nouvelles preuves de son z^le et de son activice extremes." The adjacent little islantls of Saba and St. Martin, with another English detachment of 03 men and officer.s,* immediately submitted to the conquerors of >>t. Enstache; and the Count de Bouilie, Colonel of Infantry, was despatched to France, in the Aiy/e cutter, with the gratilying news, and 4 flags of the 2 English regiments. Early in 1782, in an ex])edition to wrest the Tsle of St. Christopher from the English, the Regiment of Dillon was employed. It acted there, under the Marquis de Bdiiille, at the siege of Brimstone Hill, styled tlie "Gibraltar of the Antilles;" the capture of which, with 173 pieces of artillery, in Febriuii y, after 31 days of open trendies, rendered the French masters of the island. Count Arthur Dillon being made it.s Governor,! his regiment renuiined there to garrison it in great part, or ■with the exception of a detapliment of 600 men, sent to St. Domingo. Towards the end of the year, the 2nd battalion of the Regiment of Berwick ai-rived at Martinique; when, however, the prospect of a termi- nation of hostilities caused jireparations for furtlier military or naval enterprises to be laid aside. The preliminaries of tlie ex|)ected peace, ;i3 regards America, were signed in November, by which England was to ackriowledge Amei-ican inde[)etidence. In 1783, peace was deHnitively signed between England and F'rance, as well as Ameiica; the English troops altogether evacuated the American teri-itory; and the French forces, having accomplished their honourable mission in America, bade adieu to their liberated allies. With this war, terminated the strictly military career of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, although the break-up of what remained of a national element in that corps, to such an extent as to disconnect it with the jiast, was not to occur until the French Revolu- tion. The vast change for the better eiiected in the condition of Ireland, by the acquisition of Free Trade, and Legislative Independence, thiough the eloqneiice of Grattan and the arms of the Volunteers, from 1778 to 1782, attended by further relaxations of the Penal Laws against the Catholics, ^n the latter year, contributed so much to keep the Irish at home, (instead of reducing them, like the previous system of mis- • The numbers of this, and tlie larger English garrison, are given, as specified by Major-General Christie, in his letter from Barbadoes, Decenil>er loth, 1781, to Lord Oeorge Gerinaine, sent, by the Raiujer sloop, with intelligence of the Marquis de Bouille's success. t When, after the peace, and restitution of -St. Christo|)her's to the English, Dillon ai)ijeared at a levee cf George lit., the Lord Chancellor, crossing the circle to where the Count was, said to him--" Count DiUou, we knew you to be a brave aud able soldier, but we were not aware that you were so good a lawyer. W's have investigated, and have continued, all your judgments, cimt all your decrees, delivered during your go\eriuueat." In connexion with Dillou having been (iovernor of the Isle of St (.'hristopher, it may be reninrked, that Lienteuanfc- Colunel Thomas Fitz-Maurice, of the Briuade, was Governor of the Isle of St. Enstache, and Lieutenaiit-Colouei Hiiiiiplirey O Dunn was Commandant in the Isle of G renada. 630 ni.STOUY OF tiik irish crigadks govorament, to oinic^vate, from want, in large numbers, every vear,) that but too few of the .suldieri/ of tlie Brigade wei'e, hy this time, Irish; as distinguished from tlie officers, already noted to have been so, either by birth, or origin, to tlie last. Of the great domestic revolution referred to, and the extensive ]>rosperity resulting from it, the illustrious orator \vho did so much to elfect that revnlution. gives this picture. "The power of the British Parliament, to make law for Iieland, was relin- quished. The power of the Irish Pai-lianient, who before could only originate Petitions, not Bills, was i-estoi-ed, in full, complete, and exclu- sive authority. Nor were these acquisitions a barren liberty. The exports of Ireland increased above one half; her population near a third ; and her agricultui'e, that was not before able to feed a smaller number of inhabitants, (for we were fed by corn fi-om England,) supplied a* increased population of 1.000.000, and sent a i-edundancy to Great Britain. The courtier was astonished. He had contemplated such prosj)ects as the fi-enzy of the enthusiast. He read that frenzy regis- tered in the public accounts. Nor was all this wealth slow in coming. The nation started into manhood at once. Youno; Ireland came forth, like a giant, rejoicing in her strengtli. In less than 10 years, was this increase accomplished. In ll&l. we exported »£ 3,300,000 ; in 1702, what would now be valued at near £11,000,000; in 1784-, 24,0..0,0()0 of yards of linen; and, in 1792, 45,000,000 of yards of linen. Public prosjierity so crowded on the heel of the statute, that the jiowers of Nature seemed to stand at the right hand of Parliament. The leading cau.ses of this were as evident as the fact. The country became cultivated, because the laws tliat depi-ived the Catholic of an interest in the soil wei-e repealed, and an opportunity was given to the operation of lier corn laws ; her trade increased, because the prohibitions on her trade were removed; and the jirohibitions were removed, because she asserted her liberty." Within the period affected by these influential circumstances, or in 1785, we tind the 3 Regiments of Dillon, Berwick, and Walsh, to have been each of 2 battalions and 1552 men, or, in all, 465r) strong. The soldiers then, and down to the Revolution, were nio.stly French, who, having been de.serters, but wishing to get back to tlie.i- own country, represented themselves as strangers, or foreigners, tlirough the languages they had acquired, and attained their olyect, by engaging to enlist in the Irish regiments; which, as thus comprising so many reformed and experienced men, under excellent officers, ranked h'gh in the army to which they belonged. Of those oflicers, on the contrai-y, it a))pears, that, down to the Revolution, their nationality was unimpaired; tlie military service in Great Britain and Ireland being Btill unopened to Irish Catholic gentlemen; and applications for commis- sions in the 3 regiments of the Brigade having accorduigly been much beyond the number required to be lilled.* The years 1787 and 1789 — the latter ever memorable as that, in which the great Revolution, destined to be fatal to so many, commenced ■ — wei-e marked by the deaths of 2 brothers of a name, thus distinguislied, in the service of France, from the earlv to the closing days of the liistory of the Ii'ish Brigade. Jacques-Hyacinthe, tirst Chevalier, and afterwards Vicomte, de Sarstield, was descended from a branch of the Sarshehls eitttled at Limerick, the line running thus: James Saislield of Limerick, * MS. on French Army in 17S5. in llnyal Irja'i AcaJeiuy, Couui Arthur Dillon, as iilieady cited, Etais 2dilitiiires du France. IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. C31 father of Panl, father of James, who married, in Febrnary, 171G, Marie- Jane Loz de Beaubun. Of this marriage Jacques-Hvaciuthe was the eklest son, and began his military career as Gentilhomnie a Drapeau iu the Eegiment of the Gardes Fi-an(;aises, A])ril 10th, 1740. He raised, and was commissioned as Captain-Proprietor of, a company in the Regi- ment of Andlan, (subsequently l5oui-bon-Busset,) January 1st. 1743. He commanded it in Alsace, and vvith the Army of the Lower Rhine, in 1744; at the camp of Cliievres, and the siege of Ath, in 1745; at the siege of Bruxelles, and the battle of Rocoux, in 1746; at the battle of Laffeldt, and the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, in 1747; at the siege of Maestricht, in 1748; and at the camp of Sarre-Louis, in 17;j4. Having parted with his company in October, 17oG, he was attached, the 23rd of that month, as a reformed Captain to Fitz-James's Irish Regiment of Horse. He was made Mestre-cle-Camp-de-Cavalerie October ilst, 1757, and fought, No\ember otli, at the battle of Rosbacli. Appointed, May 1st, 1760, Aide-Maiechal-Oeneral-des-Logis of the Army of Germany, he was present, that year, at tiie victories of Corback, of Warburgh, and of Ciostercam)). He was created Brigailier of Cavalry, February 20th, 1761 ; Marechal-General-des-Loi;is-de-Cavalerie to the army of the Prince ot Soubise, April 15th following; and took part that campaign at the combacs of Soest, of Unna, and of Feliiighausen. He was continued in the same post with the Army of Germany by order of April loth, 1762, and was at the afl'airs of Graebensteiu and Johannesberg. He was declared in Ma}', 17G3, Marechal de Camp, with rank from July 25th, 1762, the date of his brevet. He was nominated Inspector-General of Horse and Dragoons and Lieiitenant-General, December 5th, 1781. At his death, in 1787. he was Governor of the Citadel of Lille, and Com- mander for the King in the province of Hainault and the Cambresis. By his marriage with Marie de Levis, March 26th, 1766, he had an only daughter, jNIarie Gabrielle, who became the wife of Charles, Baron de Danias. The brother of this Lieutenant-General, Yicomte de Sarsfield, or Guy-Claude, Count de Sarsfield, born in 1718, became Colonel of the Regiment of Provence, and died, without issue, in 1789. I may add here, of the Sarsfields of Cork, that Edmund Sarsfield, born there in 1736, and a gentleman Cadet in the Regiment of Roth in 1752, in 1791, or after the cor|is had become that of Walsh, and, finally, the 92nd of the Line, was its Lieutenant-Colonel, and a Chevalier of St. Louis. As if every circuujotance tended about the same time to the com- mencement of a "new order of things" in the political world, on the eve of the great event by which the Irish Brigade in France was to be broken up, the representative of the exiled dynasty, to which they were so loyal, was likewise destined to pass away. In January, 1788, the year pi-evious to that in which the French Revolution began, and about a ceu- tiiry from the dethronement of James II. in England by the Pi'ince of Orange, the grandson of James, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, or, as he claimed to be, " Charles III. of Great Britain and Ireland," died in Italy, in his 68th year, the victim of ruined hoi)es and a mined constitution — in too great a degree through intemperance, at first brought on by the necessity of resorting to diams, amiilst the terrible hardships he had to endure alter the battle of Culloden in the Highlands and Western I.slands of Scotland — and subsequently welcomed, in order to alleviate tiie mental misery ai-ising fVom the (lis;!])y>ointnient of all the "longings suLLuje, and as[)iratioiis hi^h," which he Lad bceii bred up to entertain, G32 HISTOHY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES as those of his jnst or n;\tni-al position.* After the p^rfniMTsanoe of the fiiiiera] rites by his brother, Prince Henry. CKnlinal of York, at Fi-ascati, tlie coffin was conveyed to i^t Peter's at Rome, where Geoif f^ai'dinia." * Tlie diy.solution of the Irish Brigade in Fi-ance dates fi-nm 1791. By a decree of the National Assembly, July 2Lst, all regiments, excepting the Swiss, which had hitherto been named, clad, and paid, as foreign corjts were no longer to be distinguished from, but placed in every respect on the footing of French regiments. In this decree concerning the " troupes etrangeres au service de France," the Irish regiments were included ; amongst whom, however, such a division of opinions and feel- ings had already arisen from the turn which the Revolution had taken, tliat the consequence was a secession of numbers from the service of the new regime. Thus, we have, from the dissident refugees of the Regi- ment of Berwick, assembled at Coblentz, the following address to Louis XVI. 's brother, then Count de Provence, and afterwards Louis XVIIL, who, " from the wrath to come," under " madden'd crowds, with fiends to lead them," had retired to that city. " The otlicers, non-commissioned ofhcers, and soldiers of the Irish Regiment of Berwick, tilled with the sentiments of honour and of fidelity, which are hereditary among them, entreat Monseigneur to jjlace at the disposal of the King the devotion ■which they make of their lives in order to support the royal cause, and to employ their arms with confidence on the most perilous occasions." To which the Count de Provence replied :— " I have received, Gentle- men, with a genuine sensibility, the letter which you have written to nie, 1 will cause to be forwarded to the King, as soon as possible, the expres- sion of your sentiments towards him. I answer you, by anticipation, that it will alleviate his troubles, and that he will receive with pleasure from you the testimony of fidelity, which James II. received 100 yeai's ago from your forefathers. This double ejioch should for ever form the device that shall be seen on your colours, and all who shall be faithful suVyects will read theii- duty there, and recognize thence the model they should imitate. As for myself. Gentlemen, be well con- vinced, that your last act will remain for ever engraven on my soul, and that I shall reck(ni myself happy, as often as I shall be able to give you proofs of the feelings with which it inspires me towards you." t While one jxn'tion of the officers of the Brigade had. decided on emigrating, rather than continue to serve under a power so hostile to the throne and the altar as France had become, the other j'ortion preferrei to remain in France as tlteir country, notwithstanding the change which had occuned in her government. t)f the officers, who, on this occasion, shared the exile of the emigrant Bourbon Princes, in order to aid more effectively, as was hoped, the royal cause from aliroad, than circumstances would admit of its being aided in France, a modern writer on the subject observes — " The fidelity ofthe.se nol)le courti- aaus du malheur was pui'e and cliivalrous, and they are worthy of our respect and admiration. On the other hand," he adds, " it would be e(pially unju.st and blameable to condemn the brave men, who, consider- ing themselves as the soldiers of France, remained faithful to her des- tinies, and offered their swords to the service of the Republic and the Empire." Those emigrant officers were taken into her service by * On the 2 last Stuarts, see Lord Malion and Klose ; and, on the family in general, some good remarks iu tlie letter of honest llobert Burns, No. Lxiii., or November 8th, 1788. t Fielie. C34 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES England, as also desirous to restore the Bourbon dynasty in France; and were consequently ])rovided for in a new Irish Brigade, consisting of 6 regiments of infantry.* • After the fall of Napoleon in 1814-15, and the restoration of the Bourbons, in the person of Louis XVIII., that Monai'ch, as so much attached to the old recollections of his dynasty, was not unmindful of the Irish Brigade. Above all, he could nofe forijet how, in 1792, he himself conveyed the final expression of the gratiti;de of his family to the representatives of the 3 last regiments of the Brigade, or those of Dillon, Walsh, and Berwick, with a " drapeau d'adieu," or farewell banner, emblematic of their national deserts, and accompanied by these words — "Gentlemen, — We acknowledge the iiia]ipreciable services that France has . received from the Irish Brigade, iu the course of the last 100 years ; services that we shall never forget, though under an imjKJSsibility of reijuiting them. Eeceive this standard, as a pledge of our remembrance, a monument of our admiration, and of our respect ; and, in future, generous Irislimen, this shall be the motto of your spotless dag — ' 1G92 — 1792,' 'Semper et ubique fidelis.'" The banner for the Brigade represented an Irish harp, and was em- broidei'ed with nhanirocks and fleurs de lis, or lilies. In 1814, the officers of the old Irish Brigade in France requested the Duke of Fitz- James to present them to the King; which rtquesfc, the Duke, after thanking them for the honour thei-eby done him, complied with, in these few words, "which are a summary of the Irish character, in all its chivalrous sublimity," says my French authority — "Sire, — I have the honour of presenting to yoixr Majesty the survivors of the old Irish Brigade. These gentlemen only ask for a sword, and the privilege of dying at the foot of the throne."t Louis, however, was too deeply indebted to England for the recovery of his Crown, to do anything directly 02)posed to the wishes of her Govern- ment, and it particularly pressed upon him, through Lord Castlereagh, that there should be no restoration of an Ii'ish Brigade in France. "This fact is certain," alleges a contemporary in 1814, "and very Tincommon exertions must have been used to procure this concession from Louis ; because, independent of the general claims of this body on the gratitude of the French monarchy, 1 of these regiments had i-eceived a promise fi-om the present King— that, in the event of his restoration, the regiment, for its fidelity, should be promoted to the rank of the Guards of the King.'''' I have now only to conclude with notices of 2 venerable survivors, for many years, of the gallant corps to which they belonged — the one, an officer of equally high rank and merit — the other, the last who died on the Continent. 1. Of the former suivivor of the old Brigade, who was uncle to the celebrated Daniel O'Connell, this memoir, from a member of the family, is given, with some slight alterations and compression. "General Daniel Count O'Connell, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of * The 6 were those of Dillon, Fitz-James, the 2 WalshSerrants, Conway, and O'Connell. t These 2 last incidents respecting Louis and the Brigade, in 1792 and 1814^ are taken from 1 of tlie French AISS., given to me by the late John O'Connell. IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. G.3.5 tuip Holy dinst, and Colonel of the late 6th Regiment of the Irish Lfigaile in the British service, entered the French army at the age of 14, in the year 1757, as 2nd Lieutenant m the Regiment of the Irish Brigade, commanded by, and called after, the Earl of Clare. He was the yonngest of 22 children, of 1 marriage, and was born in August, 1743, at Dan-inane, in the County of Kerry, the residence of his father, Daniel O'Connell. His education had, at that early pei'iod, been con- fined to a thorough knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages — a knowledge which he pi-eserved to the latest period of his life — and to a familiar acquaintance with the elements of the mathematics. He served liis tirst campaign during the Seven Yeai's' War in Germany, aud became res])ected by his superior officers, from his strict attention to all his military duties, and beloved by all his companions, from the unaffected grace, gaiety, and generosity of his disposition. At the conclusion of the war, instead of devoting the hours of ])eace to idleness or })leasure, he dedicated th(tn, witii the closest attention, to the study of literature generall}'', but especially to that of the blanches of military engineering. He was attached to the Corps du Genie in its early formation, and soon became known to be one of the most scientific of the military engineers of France. He distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Port Mahon, in Minorca, from the English, in the year 1779, being at that time Major in the Regiment of Royal Swedes. He received ])ublic thanks for his services on that occasion, and a recommendation, from the Commandei'-in-Chief to the Minister of War, for promotion. That; jiromotion he immediately obtained, and served at the siege of Gibraltar in the year 1782, as Lieutenant-Colonel of his Regiment, the Royal Swedes, but attached to the corj^s of engineers. Everybody remembers tiie attack made by the floating batteries on Gibraltar on tlie 13th September, 1782, and the gloiious and trinm])hant resistance of the English garrison, under Genei'al Elliott. Lieutenant-Colonel O'Cininell was 1 of the 3 engineers to whose judgment the plan of attack was submitted, a few days before it was carried into effect. He gave it, as his decided opinion, that the plan would not be successful. The other 3 engineers were of a contrary opinion, and the attack took place accord- injily. The event justified his judgment. Upon a point of honour, i-('Cognized in the French army, he claimed a right to share the perils of an attack, which was resolved upi-n against his opinion. When the attempt to storm Gibraltar was resolved on, it becanie nece.ssary to ])rocure a considerable number of marines, to act on board the floating batteries. For this purpose, the French infantry was drawn up, and being informed of the urgency of the occasion, a call was made for vohin- leer-s, amongst the rest, of course, from the Royal Swedes. Lieutenant- Colonel O'C/onnell's regiment was paraded, and the men having been infoi'nied that /t with him they volunteered, but with the other Lieutenant-Colonel, who had always commanded, and always protected them. With a genero*;ity which does him honour, Ferzen immediately declared, that he would not attempt to deprive Colonel O'Connell of the honour he so well deserved ; but that, in making way for him, he would say, that he hoped, when tlie regiment knew .so 'much of hiiti. they would be equally ready to follow him. Colonel O'Connell was named 2nd in command of 1 of the floating batteries, and this battery was among tlie first to come into action. He had, in the (larly part of the tight, a portion of his ear taken off by a ball; about the pei'iod when the batteries began to take fire, a shell from the English mortars burst close to his feet, and severely wounded him in no less than 9 places. Although almost covered with wounds, his recovery was not slow, and, being placed high on the list of those recommended for promotion, he was, in the ensuing year, appointed Colonel commandant of a German regiment of 2 battalions of lOOU men each, then in the French service, but belonging to the Piince of Salm-Salm. The regi- ment, when Colonel O'Connell got the command, was in the most lamentable state of disorganization and indisci])line; and it was announced to him, by the French Minister of War, that one reason for giving him tliat regiment was the expectation, that he would remedy all its disor- der.s. Nor was that expectation disa})pointed. There was, in 1787, a grand review of upwards of 50,000 French infantiy in Alsace, and it was admitted, that the Regiment of Salm-Salra was the regiment in the highest state of discipline in the whole camp, and its Colonel received ■|iublic thanks, on that account. He was soon after appointed to the high and resf)onsible office of Insi)ector-General of all the French Infantry, and he attained also the rank of General Officer. In this capacity he was intrusted with the organization of the general code of militaiy discipline, especially as relating to the interior regimental arrangements; and as his suggestions and book of regulations were ado]ited into the French armies after the Revolution, and imitated by other nations, the advantages derived from them are still felt by every army in Europe. We have thus traced his career from his enti-ance in tiie French service as a 2nd Lieutenant. From that rank, unaided by :inv interest, without a patron, or a friend, save those he attached to himself by his virtues, he rose to the command of a splendid regiment, and to a rank but little below the highest in the service of France; and he attained that station, at a time when the bigotry of the Penal Code j'lvcluded him from holding the most insignificant commission in the Ri-itish army. Still more brilliant prospects lay before him; but tlie French Revolution, overturning thrones and altars, oV)literated from T-eoollection tlie fate of private individuals, in the absorbing nature of national interests which that mighty movement involved. He was, it may be well said, stripped of his lame and fortunes by that Revolution; but he miglit have retained both if he could sacrifice his principles, because both Dumourier and Carnot pressed him, more than once, to accept the command of 1 of the revolutionary armies. He totally declined any such command, feeling it a duty to remain near the perc>on IN THE SERVrCE OF FUAXCE, G37 of Louis XVT., and to share, as lie did, some of his f^i-eatest perils in the days of tumult and anarchy, until that ill-fated, but well-nieanini,'; Monarch was hurled from his throne, and cast into prison. Unable any hmfjer to serve the Bourbon cause in France, General O'Connell joined the French Princes at Coblentz, and made the disastrous campaign of 1792, under the l)uke of Brimswick, as Colonel of the Hussars de Berchiny. In 1TP3. General O'Connell was, on his return to his family, in Ken-y, detained in London, with other Fi-ench officers, by the British G(jvernment, to lay and digest plans for the j-estoration of the Bourbon fumily. Upon this occasion, he sent in a i>lan for the cam])aign of 1794:, which attracted so much attention, that Mr. Pitt desired an interview, HTid received with thanks many elucidations of the plan." Soon alter, the Ministry, having detei-mined to form an Irish Brigade of 6 i-egiments in the British service, " this determination was carried into effect, and 1 of those regiments was yilaced under the command of Genei-al O'Connell. It was stipulated that the Cohmt-ls should not be raised to the rank of Generals in the British service, but should receive full pay for life." General O'Connell, during the peace of 1802 returiu'd to France, to look after a large property, to which his lady was entitled; he became a victim of the seizure of British subjects by the then First Consul; and remained a prisoner in France until the downfall of Napoleon, and the restoiation of the Boui-bon.s. That event restored him to his military lank in France; and he enjoyed, in the decline of life, amidst the affec- tionate respect of his relations and friend.s, the advantage of full pay, as General in the service of France, and Colonel in the .service of Great Britain — an advantage which circumstances can, perhaps, never again ]»rodnce for any man; but which he enjoyed with the full knowledge and a|)probation of both powers. During the peace of 1S14, Genei'al O'Connell met Marshal Ney at dinner, at the house of one of the then Ministry. A good deal of conversation passed between them, and at length Ney stated, that he had known General O'Connell before the Bevolution, and mentioned in jiarticular having frequently seen him in the year 1787. "My memoiy," replied the General, "is particularly good; I have seen few officers whom I do not recollect, and I do not think I could have seen a person so likely to be remarkable as Marshal Ney, without recollecting him." "General," returned Ney, "you could not have remarked me; you then commanded the Regiment of Salm- Salm; I was a corporal of hussars; our Colonel and you were fast friends, and frequently exchanged guards; and 1 have often, as corporal, jHisted and relieved the hussar sentinel on your tent, while one of your corporals was going through the same duty at my Cohmel'.s." The Revolution of 1830 deprived him, however, of his ])ay as French General. He refused to take the oath of fidelity to Louis Philippe, and was, of course, destituted. He retired to the country seat of hi.s son-in-law, at Madon, near Blois — a beautet)us sy)ot on the Loire, which he had himself ornamented in the mo.st exquisite style of Engli.sh plant- ing — and there, in his declining health, he waited with resignation the cull of his God, which occurred on the 9th of July, 1833, he having then nearly completed his 90th year, and being the oldest Colonel in the English service. " He had never, in the season of his jirosjierity, for- gotten his country, or his God. Loving that country, with the sti-ongesb allection, he retained, to the last, the full use of her native language; and, although mabter of the l^.[a ish, Italian, German, Greek, and Latin, C.3S HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. fis well as French and English languages, it was, to him, a source of the j,'reate.st delight, to find any person, citable of conversing with him in the pure Gaelic of his native mountains, There never lived a more sincere friend — a more generous man. His charities were multiplied and continuous; and it was the surpi-ise of all who knew him, how he couM afford to do all the good he did to his kind. He was, all his life, a practical Catholic, and had the comfort of dying, without a pang, amidst all the sacred and sweet consolations of that religion, which he had not forgotten in his youth, and which did not abandon him in the days of darkness and death. — Requ/'e-foat in pace.'" 2. Of the latter survivor of the old Brigade, the family announcement of his death to nie — exclusive of an additional memorandum as to the deceased having been descended from " Richard Nugent, -Sth Baron of Delvin, and the last officer of .the Irish Bi-igade in the French service" — is as follows: — ^/ La C™'"''=- de Nugent, le C™- et la C^-^''^- Charles de Nugent, M^li-e. Marie de Nugent, le C'^'=- et la C^'^^he. j,e Lenzbueg, M"^- Eichard, Pierre et Patrice de Nugent, Melles. Jane et Henrtette de Nugent, M^u-e- Marie- Antoinette DE Lenzburg, ont l'honneur de vous faire part de la perte douloueeuse qu'ils viennent de faire EN LA PERSONNE DE MONSIEUR |l'0UiS, JVilUCOiS, 'glll.'^ik, ^ntoinc, ^imc, 6*=^ U lupnt, Ancien Officier de la Brigade Irlandaise au service de France, ancien Pre- fet et ancien Maitre des Requetes, Chevalier des Ordres de la Legion d'Honneur et de St. Maurice et St Lazare de Sardaigne. leur epoux, pere, beau pere, AIEUL ET BISAIEUL, DECEDE LE 8 JuiLLET 1859, DANS SA SP ANNEE, AUX MeSNULS, MUNI DES SACREMENTS DE L'EgLISE. ChAteau de ISIesnuls pres Montfort l'Amaury. "^Vjth the disappearance of this noble veteran from the stage, the curtain falls on the history of the Irish Brigades in the service of France — not, it is hoped, without some honour to the industry, which has raised such a iijunumeut to their memory, that ' ' long as valour shineth, Or mercy's soul at war repineth, So long shall Erin's pride Tell how tkey liv'd aud died." — Moorb. INDEX. Abi>tcatto.v, 80 called, of Jamea IT., 2. Aberdeen, Irish detachment, for Prince Charles, lands at, 435. Alijuration, oath of, refused by Irish Cathohcs, 259. A bow, Swedish army cut otf from, oldiged by Marshal Lacy to surrender, 49o. Peace of, 498. Acts of Settlement and Explanation justly repealed by Irish Parliament under James II., 4, 45, 157, 158, 58'2, 58:J. Aire, Irish officers distinguished there, 274. Aix-la-Chapelle, I'eace of, an exjiensive and inglorious war for England terminated by, and decline of Irish Brigade from, 477-479. Albani, Hippnlito, Prince of the Senate? at Eome, eulogizes Irish liberators of Princess Sul)ieski, 314. Cardinal, celebrates requiem for James III. there, 604. (See, also, Pope Clement XI.) Albemarle, Henry Fitz-James, Lord (jrand Prior. Duke of, and Irish regiment of, 107, 108, 142. Under its Lieutenant-Colonel, distinguished at battle of Lnzzara, 218. (See, also, Keppel. ) Alberoni, Cardinal, measures of, from Spain, to restore Stuart dynasty, 316-320. Albeville, son of Sir Ignatius White, Baronet, and Marquis of, falls nobly at Villaviciosa, 89, 279. Alcoy, Count O'Mahony baffled before, 250. Finally takes it, 261. Alcyra, reduced by Count O'Mahony, 249. Alicant, honourable defence and capitulation of, under Count O'Mahony, 242. Alcoy and Muchemiel relieved from, 250, 251. Recovered from Allies, 262. Alison, refutation of, respecting Irish Brigade at Blenheim, 228, 229. Allegiance, oath of, Irish Catholics, in violation of Treaty of Limerick, excluded till 1774 from taking, 159, 609, 610. Allen, Luke, Aide-Major-Ceneral of French in India, distinguished there, 557. Enters service of Hyder Ali, 560. Allies, force of, under 'William III., in Ireland, for War of Eevolution, 6, 7, 8, 17.3, 189. Almanza, battle of, and distinction of Irish at, 245-249. Altenheim, Irish and English at combat of, 34. America, England's want of recruits against, leads to Lst relaxation of Penal Code in Ireland, 60S 609, 613-615. Officers from Irish Brigade early join America, 616. Count Dillon's cori)s with Americans at siege of Savannah, 621, 622. Anne, Princess, afterwards Queen, joins William of Orange against her father, 2. Her servants rejoice for William's defeat at Steiukirk, 167, 168. Communi- cates with Sir Patrick Lawless, deputed, by her brother, to arrange for his succession, as James III., 286, 287. Her dying expression respecting .James, 294. Her decease, before a due remodelliug of the army, alone prevents James's accession, 296, 297. Arabat, Tai'tars dislodged from, by a bold enterprise of Marshal Lacy, 486, 487. Arcos, Duke of, dishonourably outmanreuvred by Lord Peterborough, 241, 242. Arcot occui)ied by Count Lally, 516. Surrendered by Captain Hussey, 549. Ariza, rout of Austro-Carlist party thei'e by Irish, 249. Army, Irish, of James II. in France, 61, 141, 142. British, under George II., very demoralized and brutal, 315, 434, 462. Arnall, pensioned English newspaper liar, and libeller of the Irish, 229, 309, 335. Athlone, infantry regiment of, 135-139, 142. Atterbury, Bi.shop of Rochester, proj)oses to proclaim James III., 297. Plots dethronement of George I., 369, 370. Aughrim, battle of, how lost, 137, 138. Number of Williamite or Allied regi- ments there, 173, 189. Augsbnrtr, League of, against Louis XIV., 1, 5, 6, 54, 165, 181, 185. Dissolved by Peace of Rjswick, 18S. C40 INDEX AuiiUBtns of , Saxony estalilished as Kins; of Poland by Marshal Lacy, 4S3, 484. ustiia, liisli ottiecrs of lii^'h repute iii service of, 601, 602, 6J4. /o[»h, sie-e and capture of, from Turks, by Marshal Lacy, 485. Baoxasco. Marqims DE, his hrave defence and honourable surrender of citadel of iSIo. tmelian, besieged by French and Irish, 56-57. Barbets, hostilities between, and L-ish, 182-18.3. (See, also, Vandois.) Barcelona, reductio i of, by Duke of Veudonie, and h s creditable notice of the Irish there, 187-188. Ueduction of, by Marshal Duke of Berwick, 291-292. BAniwf'lls, of French oriv;in, amongst the conquerors of Ku^dand, ennobled in lieiand, and represented by officers in War of llevolntion and Dish Briaade, 77, 169, 22i), 397, 44.3, 4.54,' 469-471 Barrett, family of Norman race, settled in County Cork. Its he id. Colonel John, of Castlemore, after serving in Ireland, falls gloriously at Landen, 172-174. Bart, Jean, ce'ebrated French naval officer, escapes from Plymouth, as Lord Mount- cas'iel from Erniiskillen, 23-24. Bay, Marquis de, General of Philip V. of Spain,- defeats, with little loss and inferior numbers, English and Portuguese, at battle of Guadinna, or Gudina, and supjiorts his army at expense of Portugal, 2 1-272. Beaten, by superior force of Allies, at l>attle of Sai-agossa, 275. Decis^^ely repulsed by Major-General Hogan, in Portuguese service, at siege of Cauqjo-Mayor, 288-289. Bellew, family of Norman blood, among the conquerors of England, of eminence in Ireland, ennobled under James LL, and of note in War of Pevolutiou, &c., 79-81. Bergen-op-Zoom, remarkable siege and capture of by French, at which Count Lally distinguished, 474-i76. Bernex, Count de, routed in Savoy by St. Pvuth with the Irish, 54-58. Berwick, 1st Duke of, and Marshal. His parentage, titles, and military posts, 105- 106. Memoir and regiment of, 142-149. Capture of, at Landen, 174-175. Secret Jacobite mission of, to England, 183- 184. His son, 2nd Duke of Berwick and Liria, &c., previously Manpiis of Tnimouth, 148, 152, 291 292, 303, 339-.34(). Eegiment of Berwick, address from, to Count de Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII., at Coblentz, and his re|ily, He, 633-634. Betagh, ancient family of Moynalty, County Meath, robbed of their estate by Anglo-sectarian perjury, and gallantly represented in Irish Brigade, 45-46, 436, 582-583. Bethune, excellent defence of, against Allies, by Lieutenant-General Vauban and Major-General Michael PotlC 274. Blakency, Lieutenant-C^eneral William Lord, of Mount Blakeney, County Limerick, defender of Stirling Castle against Prince Charles, and of Fort St. Philip against Duke de Richelieu. 423-424," 429 -4. i2, 505. Blenheim, battle of, Irish, especially Kegiment of Clare, conspiciious there, 224- 229. Boisselot, Major-General, defender of Limerick against Prince of Orange, and Governor of Charleroy, 11-12, 176. Bolingbroke, Lord, as Minister of Queen Anne, favours succession of James III., instead of George I., 74-75, 296-297. Bouille, Marquis de. conquers Island of Tobago, in West Indies, aided byEegiments of Ddlon and Walsh, 62,5. Recovers Island of St. Eustache, accompanied by Eegiment of Dillon, and shames the English rapacity there by his honourable conduct, 625-629. Also reduces Island of St. (Jhristo]iher, 629. Bourke, otherwise Burke, du Bourg, or de Burgo, family of Norman origin, ennobled, and very powerful in Connaught and Ulster, 136-137. Colonel Walter, granted a 2nd regiment (see Athlone) in France ; finally dies a Major-General in Spain ; and reference to other officers of the name in Irish Brigade, 151. Breitenbach, Colonel, discreditaV)ly abandoned at Hastenbeck by Duke of Cumber- land, 580. As Lieutenant-General, repulsed and slain by Irish, at Marbourg, 593-594. Briai^on, intrenched camp at, for defence of Dauphiii§, well maintained against Allies by Lieutenant General Arthur Dillon, 272-274. Brigades, Irish, in France, commenced under Lord Mountcashel, 7-9. Nund)er of Irish corj'.s there, why so long kept up, and how recruited, 157-164. Decline of Brigade, from about 1748, 479. Dissolution of, by results of Is"- French Eevolution, 633. Services of, to France, during a century, ]ironounced invalu able by Count I'e Provence, subsequently Louis XVIII. ; old officers of, presented ivni?x. ^ nil to him after his Restoration ; and English opposition to re-esta1)lishment of such a farce there, 633-()34. r>rilinega, Lientenant-(Jeneral Stanhope oblined to s-mrreuder there, 277. brisaoli. takeu by Fiench, and preserved by au [risluiiau from buin" retaken by stratagem, 221, 229-231. Browne, Colonel, en suite to Regiment of Lally, w ith Prince Charles's rear <:uard, saves it on march for Penrith, 403-4IM. K.sca]je.s from (Jarlisle, 442443. .As distinguished at, sent with account of, battle of Palkii-k, to Louis XV., and made a Chevalier of St. Louis, 427. With a detacluneut, conveying momy from France for Prince Charles, intercepted by Mac Kays, (fee, 4:(:i)-i43. Colouel Browne of Moyne, and Major Browne of Regiment of Dillon, at reduction of Grenada, and slain at Savannah, 617, (518, 621-t)22. Bulkeley, ennobled British family of, 35. Francis and Francis Henry, Lieutenants- General in France, and regiment of, there, 3(5-38. That corps most distingnished against British at Fonteno^ and Lafl'eldt, 359, 470. Bullock, recruits for Irish Brigade sail from, at niuht, 160-16L Bully, Captain of the S/ieerness, takes a party of the Irish Brigade, &c., at sea to join Prince Charles, 39G. Burgoyne, Liexiteuaut-General, his surrender m America beneiicial to Catholics in Ireland, 614. Bussy, the enemy of Coiint Lally in India, and subsequently in France, 517-518, 520-521, 52S-520, 538-639, 513 544, 568-570. Butler, family of Nonnan origin in Ireland, ennobled, and otherwise eminent, in several branches, 149. Statement of Laf lyetto respecting that name, 150. Byron, Atlmiral, beaten at sea by French in \Vest Indies, 62J-G21. Calcinato, defeat of Imperialists at, by Duk« of Vendome, where Irish present, 240. Oanierons, among earliest supporters of Prince Charleys, 3'iO. So(mest in Edtn- bixrgh, after routing of Cope, with captured flags of his dragoons, ',i'J2. Their chief, Lochiel, undeceives English, as to Highlanders being camd-'aU, 392. Jenny Cameron, mistress of Prince Charles, 401. Canierons, in front of Prince's left M'ing at Falftirk, roiheved by piquets of Irish Brigade, fcc, 425.. At Culloden, break the Regime. .t of Barrell, and take its colours, and 2 pieces of cannon, 448, 450. Camisai'ds, or Huguenots of the Cevennes, religious ]>ersecution oP, and war a::ainst, l)y French government, 2!9-22i.). Campbell, General John, of Mamore, 4th Dulie of Argyle, disgraceful charge against, by Captain O'Neill, 462. Oantiiion, Norman family of, settled at Ballyheigh, Co. Kerry, and highly con- nected in Ireland, till exiled for loyalty to Stuarts ; interniarr.evl with Bulkeley family in France, and bear title of Baron of Ballybeigh there, 37 38. Gkn-ious death of Captain James Cantillon at Malpiaquet, 2,58-2JJ. Braveiy of his son, Chevalier Thomas de Cantillon, at Lnfi'eldt, 4" >. Carabiniers, distinguished French cori)s of, savcil at Luzz;' a by Irish Regiment of Albemarle, 218. Kill some of Irish Brigade, by misti...e, at Fontenoy, 3.JS- 350. Caran-^oly, good defence of, by an Irish officer, O'KenncHy, of Regiment of Lally, 5.38. Carleton, Captain George, his Memoirs cited, as undoubtedly authentic, 242, 246, 250. Carlisle, cowardly surrender of, by English militia, to Prince Charles, 388, 389, 414, 419. Carrickfergus, captured by Thurot, 589-591. Carthagena, Count O'Mahony made Governor of, by Philip V., 243. Cassano, battle of, where Irish under Duke of Vendome very distinguished, and jiroportionably eulogized by him, 233, 234. Custalla, battle of, gallant act of Captain ^Valdron of 27th or Enniskillen Foot there, 358. Casteiar, brigade of Irish infantry of, in Spanish service, praised at Saragossa and Villaviciosa, 275, 278. Castiglione, victory of, gi'eatly owing to General Arthur Dillon, 240. Catholics of Ireland, well governed bv, and corresponding suppm'ters of, -Tames TL, agninst the Itevolntion, 3-7. P'ublic iaith broken with them, under Kev .hi- tiou, by substitution of a persecuting, impoveiishing, and ensluviu^ i'eual 2 i' C ^ 2 # INDEX. Code, for a fulfilment of the Treaty of Limerick, 158-160, 216, 217, 220, 246. 257, 258; 308, 'A4\, 344, 355, 367, 368, 375, 376, 412, 413, 478, 502-505. .58^S, 598-601, 611, 612. A Stuart restoration thus loner the o;on them, chiefly connected with the iifcctoHii for England's recruitiuir in Ireland against America and France, 608, 609, 613-616. Catinat, Lieutenant-General, and afterwards Marshal cle, appointed by Louis XIV. to command against Luke of Savoy, 54. Highly extols inti'e[)iditj' of Irish under him at victory of Marsaglia, 177. Despatches 8 battalions of, against Vaudois, with great efi'ect, 180. Eewards a ]>arty of, for its conduct against one of Barbets, 182. In reducing Ath, has the Regiment of Lee of 3 bat- talions, 186. Cavalier, the gallant Camisard, or Huguenot, leader in the Cevennes, &c., 248. Clialandreu, M. de, courage of Irish with, at (4uillestre, 171. (_'harlemont, infanti-y regiment of, 120, 131, 132, 142. Charles of Austria, Archduke, claimant to Crown of Spain, set up by Allies, as Charles III., 145, 234, 2.35. Gets possession of Catalonia, &c., 240. And, through English naval aid, of Sardinia aud Minorca, 262. His army gaining battleof Saragossa, he enters Madrid, but is badly received there, and has to quit it, 2', 5 277. As (.'harles VI. of Aiistria, unnecessarily continues war against France, till beaten, and forced to make peace at Rastadt, 289-291. Unjustly imprisons his near relatives, the Piincesses Sobieski, to o'otain naval protection of George I. against S])ain ; exhibiting further meanness and tyranny, on the frustration of that impri-sonment policy hj success of Sir Charles Wogan's enterprise to Inspruck, and its result, in marriage of James III., 308-313. By combining with Russia to force a foreign or Saxon King on Poland, i)rovokes war with France, 327, 328. Death of, occasions War of Austrian Succes.sion, 332. Charles Edward Stuart, Prince, birth and description of, 31.3, 339, 340. His Isfc design of landing in Great Britain, with Frencli aid, under Count, afterwards MarsJial, Saxe, and with best prosjiects of support there, frustrated by the weather, 341-344. His 2nd enteri)rise, from his landing in Scotland till his return there from England, 368, 379-406. Sequel tif that enterjirise to his escape to France, 419-465. Additional allusions to him on the Continent, or in British Isles, 72, 370-374, 376-378, 414-417, 469, 47.3, 475, 505-507, 609, 610, (524. His death, &c., 631, 632. Chesterfield, Lord, his review and praise, as Viceroy, of the Georgeite militia in Dublin, 413, 414. His complimentary verses at the Castle to "the dangerous Papist," of due political sigrtilicance, 4l8. Cliiari, Irish, at re})ulse of French there, described as acting most bravely, 195, 196. Clan or patriarchal system of society, traits of, in Ireland, 127-128, and among Highlanders of Scotland, 390, 449. ^.■lancarty, Donough Mac Carthy, Earl of, his extensive property, loyalty to Jamea II., capture, Iniin-isonmeut, and spoliation by VVilliamites, escape to France, appointment there by James to command of 1 of his Tioops of Irish Horse- Guards, return to England, exile thenc", on a WiUiamite i)ension of £.'J00 a year, and death abroad, 10, 11, 64-70. His son and successor. Earl Robert, in British navy, assisted by Duchess of Mai-lborough to recover his family property, but, illegally prevented doing so by the " ascendancy" legislature in Dublin, joins the Stuart cause in France, 70-72. Curious account of his mode of life and opinions there, 72-75. Remarkable interview with his friend Count Daily, en route for Paris, 509. Clancarty, infantry regiment of, 139-142. Clan-Colla, conquerors of greater portion of ITladh, or Ulster, in 4th century; of whom Mac Donalds of Scotland a leading branch, 330-331, 449. Clare, O'Briens, Viscounts of Clare and Karls of Thomond, connected with Jacobite cause in Ireland, or Irish Brigade in France, and infantry Regiment of Clare or 0' Brien, 26, 27, 38-46. Clement XL, Pope, (John Francis Albani) sends presents, by Duke of Berwick, for James II., his Queen, and the young Pi^ince of Wales, (or James III.) at St. Germain, as well as a subscription for the exiled Irish Jacobites, 144. God- INDEX. 643 fitlier of Princess SoT)ieski, sul)seqneritly Queen of James III. • honours iT^r Irisli lilierators from her Austro-Hanoveriau captivity; and, to the last, a zealous friend and supporter of James, 313, 314. Clifton, skirmish at, between English and Hitfhlanders, 404, 405. (Jlive, Lord, dishonourahle, or untruthful, and, as an officer, unworthy to be com- pared with his Iiish contemporary, Sir Eyre (Joote, 53t), 537, 545, 5G7. Oockltnrne, Lieutenant-Colonel, English Governor of Isle of St. Eustache, or EustMcia, taken prisoner by the Chevalier O'Connor, of the Regiment of Walsh. Treated with noble liberality by the Marquis de Bouille. That cap- ture, liy the Irish officer, the subject of a fine engraving in France, 6'.i5-G27. Comerford family, of note in Ireland from reign of King John, and subsequently in French and Spanish services, 275, 427. Conilans, M. de, French Admiral, through a shifting of the wind, intercepted and defeated by English Admiral Hawke, whereby the landing from France, iu Munster, of 25,000 men, including Irish Brigade, prevented, 585-587. Cooke, Matthew, Lieutenant-General, and Matthew, Major-Ceueral, iu service of France, memoirs of, 332 and 595. Coote, Lieutenant-Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General, Sir Eyre Coote, son of Eev. Dr. Chidley Coote of Ash-Hill, County Limerick; appointed to command against French in Carnatic, 530, 535. His honourable career, from memorable Council of War before affair of Plassey, to surrender of Poudicherry, with otlier ]iarticulars res])ecting him, 5315-5157. Cope, Lieutenant-Ceneral Sir John, Georgeite Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, »)ut-manneuvred, and utterly routed by Jacobites at Preston-Pans, or Glads- muir, 380-385. Corsica, Irish serve with French there; most unjust or disgraceful subjugation of, by French; opjjression of, by Genoa, like that of Ireland by England, «&c., 375-376, G05-6l)u. Cox, Sir lUchard, Judge, and author of Tliliernia Ain/'lcana, endeavours to subject all the Irish Catholics, or Jacobites, with estates, to conliscation, after battle of the Boyne ; succeeds in procuring the landed proscription of Earl of Clan- cart}-, of whose property and that of King James, he yets a portion; illegally imprisons for a year an Irish writer, Mac Curtin, for exposing his misrepresen- tations respecting the old Irish, previous to the Anglo-Norman intrusion ; active in trying and hanging Irish engaged as recruits for Irish Brigade; and thus duly interested in Hanoverian succession, (57, 295, 2i)G. Creagh, family, respectable in Limerick for centuries, a branch of O'Neills of TVadry, Count}' Clare; Sir Michael Creagh and his regiment of infantry iu War of Itevolntion, afterwards that of Dublin, in France, &c., 132-135, 142. Captain (linally Major-General) James Creagh of Irish Brigade, at Fontenoy, 3G5. Cremona,, famous surprise of, by Pi'ince Eugene, and his exi)ulsion, afier a contest of about 11 hours, most- honourable to Iri.'^h there, 197-217. C'riniea, cam [taigns of Marshal Lacy in, 48u-490. Crofton, Henry, Colonel of Regiment of Irish Dragoons, in service of Phili]> V. of Spain, made Brigadier, for his bravery at Daroca, and soon after taken pi'isonei-, but released, 242, 243. Distinyuished, with his i-egiment, in routing Portuguese cavalry, at Marquis de Bay's victory over Anglo-Portuguese, for which created Major-General, 271-272. Transfers his regiment to Lord Kilinallock, 277. At Brihuega and ViUaviciosa remarkable for his ardour against the English and Germans, 278. Further services of, in district of Cervera, against (_ arlist miquelet-leader Chover, &c , 283. Dies a Lieutenant- General in Sfiain, to the last a zealous Jacobite loyalist, 283. CuUoden, battle of, its ruinous antecedents for the Jacobites, 443-447. General account of the action, 447-452. Particulars respecting piquets of Irisli Brigade there, 452-455. Cumberland, Duke of, son of George II., commands Allies in Flanders, and breaks thnmgh French centre at Fontenoy, though finally defeated, 350-353, 35G-359. Foiled between Shap and Penrith, and before (Jlifton, iu atte iq)ting to cut off rear-guard of Highland army, retiring to Scotland, 403-405. In ])roceeding to recover Carlisle, from its little Jacobite garrison, with an irresistible force, indulges in unbecoming swagger and equivocation ; and selects the barbarian Hawley there, to command ior hnn in Scotland, 419-420. After Hawley's defeat at Falkirk, assumes that command, and relieves Stilling Castle, 431. Advances by Perth to Aberdeen, marking his routa G44 INDEX. with plunder .ind sacrilo^, 4o3-434. Thence proceeds to engage Highland army at Ciillodeii, with every advantage of numbers, condition, &c., on his side, and thus defeats them, 443-4')l. Acts very comniendaVjly tovvania pi(juets of Irish Brigade that surrender after the engagenicnt, 45;3-45(j. C'oin- niandiiig Allies in Netherlands, is defeated by Fi'ench at Lalfeldt, and most prol)ably saved, only by Sir John Ligonier, from being eitlier killed or made prisoner there by Irish Brigade, 4(K)-4(jO. His defeat rejoiced at by Jaciil)ites in Scotland, 473. His mortihcation at French cajitnie of Bergeii- op-Zoom. 475. Ontgeneralled by Marshal Saxe, who consequently invests and takes Maestricht, 47G-477. Breaks down most wretchedly in Germany, at Hastenbeck and Clostcr-Seven ; is, ou returning to iingland, received with corresponding dis])lcasure by his father, George II. ; and closes his professional career with a resignation nf all his military posts, 579-581. Cusack, family of French origin, established in Ireland under King John, attached to tlieir country and religion, and iiroportionable sufierers, from reign of Elizalieth to Williamite revolution. Bichard Edmond de, of Irish BriL;ado, Marechal de Camp, Chevalier of St. Louis in France, and of St. Jago in Spain, &c., OUG-GUS. D.\NFS aid England airainst Ireland, in 1090 and IG91, with 11 regiments, 189. Elnewliere mentioned, '21 S, 2"24, 22(i. Darc}', I'atrick, Count, Chevalier, Marechal de Camp, &c., memoir of, G22-G25. i^aroca, b'ish distinguished at, 242, 243. JJavenant, EngUsh Envoy at (jenoa, and Ensign Thomas Davenant, lies about Irish coniiceted with, 314, 471, 472 Derby, Highland army, under Prince Charles, arrives there, 391. Causes for retreat from, 398, 399. J)'Estaing, Count, in East Indies with Count Lally, 511, 518, 520. In West Indies and America with Iri.^h, G17-G22. Dcttingen, battle of, 333-335. George II. and the Black Horse there, 334, 3G7. Hevijs, Irish remarked to light like, 435, 4G9. Uilioii, family, and regiment of in Irish Brigade, with successive Colonel-Proprieton of the name, 27, 28, 40-53. Other Hillons, 94, 212, 213, 215, 245, G18, 021. Dorrington, William, Lieutcnant-General, and his regiment, at first Boyal Irish Foot Guards, 89-98. Dragoons, a phd, or dismounted, 2 Irish regiments of, or King's and Queen's, in France, Gl, 142. Kind's, 77, 84. Queen's, 84-89. Distinguished in Italy and Spain, at Marsaglia, the Ter, &c., 179-181, 185-187. Drake, Cajitain Peter of Drakerath, County Meath, in Irish Brigade, Memoirs of cited, 77, 82, 188, 190, 237, 257, 258, 204, 2G5, 270. Drom.cld, Colonel, exposes Voltaire's (jross injustice to Irish Brigade at Fontenoy, 3o0-3i)l. Dublin, regiment of, in France. (See Creagh.) Dudenhoven, in Germany, Irish signalized at, 169-170. Dunkeld, Lord, Brigadiei-, lea.\Mi, in Ireland found so unjust, as to be considered only worthy of distrust, 1 19. (.See further under Catholics of Iieland, and Irish Brigades.) Enniskillen, unsuccessful expedition of Lord Mountcashel against, 12-21. Eugene o; Savoy, Prince, 170, 171, 195-214, 217-219, 224-234, 240, 2-14, 245, 259 ^ 2oO, 203-2GO, 274, 285, 289-291, 328, 484. F.\i.kii;k, battle of, and good service of Irish piquets there, 424-427. lingal, Itiibert Plunkett, Gtli Earl of, and Captain of Begiment of Berwick, in Irish "Brigade, &c., 33(»-332. Fitz-Cierald. family, of Continental origin, ennobled and powerful in Ireland, !!(»• ii9. (Jliiccrs named, in Irish Brigade, 44, 45, 107, lOS, 119, 120. INDEX. i'i'.^ Fltz.T.imo^ Trisli liorse regiment of, 155, 333, 350, 352, 3')5, 3!)r>. 397, 425, 435.;:J7. -l-!-5. 44(5, 452, 453, 45(5, 457, 4(j(i, 472. 571), 582. 5#^, 597. 5<)S. Fitz-M:uiriec, family, of Norman race and high rank, in Irclaml, of w hum sevcial ( liicer.s in Irish Bris^ade, 38, G29. Fontenoy, victory of French at, greatly owing to Irish Brigade, 350-3G7. Friburgh, siege of, and Irish tliere, 289, 290. Galmoy, Pierck BtJTLER, 3rd I^onl, Lieutenant-General, and his 2 Irish regimoiita, of horse and of foot, 149-150, &c. Gaydon, Chevalier Eichard, Mnjor of Regiment of Dillon, I of Princess Sohieski'3 liberators, 310-314. Major General John, his brother, 322, 323. Graebenstein, surprise of French at, fatal to Regimeat of Fitz-James, 597, 59S. Grant, Irish officer of Regnnent of Lally, Engineer, and (.Colonel of Artillery to Prince Charles, &c., 385, 385, 388, 401, 403, 429, 43a. Grattan, Henry, his description of tlie great prosperity in Ireland from Free Trade and Legislative Independence, G29, 631). Guards, Irish Foot, regiment of (See Dorrington.) Guards, Irish Horse, 2 Troojw of, 61-76, 142. Distinguished against Germans in Flinders, KJS, 169. Hamiltons, of Irish branch of house of Abercorn, brothers, in service of France and James II., 14-17, 33, 'A4, 183, 25ij. Hanover, house of, niajonty of jiopulation of Great Rritriin and Ireland. long opposed to, 252, 254, 256, 299-301). 307, 317-319, 321-322, 3il, 342, 604, 624. Ilanway, Captain, o{ Milfovd, takes some of Irish Brigade at sea, 393, 39;. Hawley, Lieutenant-General, Henry. (See Cnmberiand and Falkirk.) Hochstedt, 1st liattie of, or defeat of Imp rialists Vjy French, with high honour to Irish Brigade, especially Regiment of Clare, 222. (See, lilcewise, as 2ud battle of Hochstedt, Blenheim, and 2.".4.) Hooke, Nathaniel, Baron de, of Hooke Castle, County Waterford, Major-Geuoial, Commander of Order of St. Louis, &c., 329-330. Tndetendent Compnnies, 3, of Jacobite army in France, 141, 1-12. India, Avar between French and English there, 507-567. TAComTFS, Irish, fidelity of, 28-32, 16L 162, 164, 189, 190, 19.']. 194. English, t cons. 3i>9-371, 373, 3S.J, .352, 3^5. Keppel, Joost Van, created Earl of Albemarle by William III., granted all liord Clare s estate, 40. Kilmallock, Dominick Sarsfield, 4th Lord, Colonel of Infantry and Cavalry in Ireland, 1st Lieutenant of 2iid 'J'roop of Irish Horse (iuards, and Ccjloiiel of King's Regim'jnt of Dismounted DragooJis in Fi'ance, 82-84. David, 5th Lor-.l^ Governor of Badajos, and Colonel of Irish Regiment oi Dragoons, killed ab Villaviciosa, 277-279. Kuowles, Commodore, intercepts greiter jiortiou of Regiment of Fitz-Jame5, &c., sailing to join Prince Charles in Scotland, 43.), 437. L.VCY, family, of Norman origin, in County Limerick, 178. 481. Field Marshal C'ount Peter, of Ivis'i Brigade, and in service of Russia. 481-499. Laffehlt, battle, defe.it of Allies there, and bravcrv of Irish Brigade. 467-474. La Hogue, battle, loss of prevents resfcor.iiion of James II., 165, 166. Lally, or O'Mullally, family of old Mdesian origin, 345-34(). Lieutenant-General Count, and regiment of till Peace of 1748, 346-351. 353, 354, 3'i6, 360, 3(1 1, 3.15, 396, 397, 437, 454, 465, 470, 471, 475-477. Till return from I||^tia, to France, execution, and vindication of there, 505 579. LaU'lau, reduction of. and Irish at. '.'89, 290. Landen, battle, deleat 01 Wilbaiu ill., and ga lantry of Irish there, 171-176. C iC) INDEX. Lawless, Sir Patrick, Liente»nant-Genei-al, Am1)nssailnr from Spain to England, and Ai;ent to Queen Anne from her brother, '2,>5, "JSC), 287. Lee, Andrew, Lientenant-Cieneral, Commander of Order of »St. Louis, and his re^-i- ment, 33-0.3, 38, 39. Distmgnished in ,Savt)y Germany, and Flanders, 56, 222. 224, 2o0, 20 1. Lisle, gallant defence of, by Marslial de Bonillers, with Lieutenant-General Andrew Lee and otl)er Irish, &c., 2(5i), 261. I>ondon, panics there, 2.38, 29.3, 399, 407, 408. Lucan, Patrick Sarstield, 1st Earl of, Major-General, memoir of, & :, C2-G4, 10.3, 108, 174-170. His son, .James Francis Edwai'd. 2nd Earl, Knight of the Golden Fleece, and Ca])tain of Body Guard to Philip V. of Spain, reformed Colonel to Irish Horse Pegiment of Nugent in France, &c., 291, 292, 318 320. Luttrell, family, of Norman origin, settled at Luttrell's-town, County Dublin, fic, 98-99. Simon, Privy (Counsellor, Lord-Lieutenant, and JVl.P. for that (."ounty. Governor of City, and Colonel of Drauoons under King James in Ireland, and in France, Colonel of Queen's Peuiment of Infantry, &c., 100 1U3 Luxembourg, Marshal de, defeats William III. at Steinkirk and Landen, &c., 167- 108, 171-172. Lxizzara, battle of, and Irish present, 21/-219. Lynch, Captain, at Cremona, 213-215. Lominick, Lieutenant-Colonel of Pegiment of Lally, noted in Scotl.and and at Latl'eldt, 471. Colonel en Second of Regiment of Walsh, and Lieutenant-General, 022. Macartney, Gkokge, Lord, Governor of Isle of Grenada, I'educed by French and Irish, 017-019. Mac Carthy. (St-e Clancarty, and Mountcashel. ) Mac Douaiih, or i\lac Dont.ugli, Sligo se[it, and Clare branch, officers of, in Iri.sh Brigade, 95 97, 210, 215, 3.37, 301, 3J6-307. Mac Donald, clan of Scotland. (See Clan (^>lla. ) Among earliest followers of Prince Cliai'les, 38n, 381. Bravery of, at Falkirk, 424, 425. Ruinous mis- conduct of, at CuUi'den, yet noble death of Alexander, Chieftain of Keppocn, there, 449, 4-30. Flora, adventures of, with (Captain O'Neill a..d Prince Charles, 458, 459, 402, 403. Duke of Tarentuni aird Marshal of France, officer in Irish Brigade, 400. Mac Donnell, of Mayo race, Francis, son of Henry, in Austrian service, capturer ot Marshal de Villeroy at Cremona, &c.. 200-21)2, 207-2i)9. Mac Elligot, Roger, of County Kerry, Colonel of Foot, in Ireland and France, &c., 1.39-141. Macgennis, or iNlac Guinness, sejjt of highest Ulster or Irian blood, represented in Irish Brigade, 330-332. Mac (jeoghegans, of W estmeath, various officers of esp'cially Chevalier Alexander, distinguished in India, 419, 420, 531-534, 559, 500. Macuuircs, Barons of Enniskilleii, and others of the name in Irish Brigade, 270. Mac Sheehys, of (Ian Colla origin, in liish Brigade, 019, ()2l». Mac Swiu)', or Mac Sweeny, of Ulster race, Knights of St. Jago and St. Louis, 249. Ivlaestricht, reduction of, and Irish at, 477. Malplaquet, battle of, and gallantry of Irish Brigade and James III. there, 203-270. Marlborough, Duke of, 105, 140, 223-229, 235, 23G, 243, 244, 2.39-201, 203-271, 274, 28:5-28^5, 289, 305. Melazzo, in Sicily, defeat of Germans there by Irish, 320, 321. Mountcashel, Justin Mac Carthy, Lord, commander of 1st Irish Brigade, &c., 7-24. His regiment, and services on Continent, 32, 33, 54 59, 170. NuGKNT, farailj^ of Norman origin, ennobled, and numerous in Ireland. Christopher, of Dardistown, Major-General of Cavalry, and his Regiment, of Horse, &c., 153-155. Chevalier, or Sir Peter, Baronet, Lieutenant-Colonel of Regiment of FitzJames, and Lieuteuant-Geuerai of Cavalry, 013. Chevalier Louis Francis, last officer, in France, of Irish Brigade, 038. (See, also, Westmeath. ) O'Bfiuxe, Connanght se]»t, members of, distinguished abroad, 230, 243, 404. <) Pri^s, 441, 40.3. (Sec Clare.) 0'( V.haii, (J Kcan, or O'Kane. Ulster sept and Clare br inch, officers of, noticed in I'-iench and F,n':lish services, 2.->S, 2t)0-208. Rory Dall, and James \'I.. 12i). Ca laghans of Munstcr, in Si-anish, French, and English services, 279, 280. ixnKx. 647 O'Carrolls of Ely, of lioiinnraMc aiiti([nity, and eminent for bravery at home and abroad, 84-bG, ITU-IT.S, LM7, -J.Sl', 2;U/239, •24->-243. 245, 24'J, ;«7, &c. O'Connells, amongst oldest races in Kerry, offii-ers of the name in France, GlO-Ol'* Major-General Count Daniel, &c., of Irish Brigatle in French and ilntisli services, G;:i4-()38. O'Crowleys, or O'Crolys, from Connaught, suhsequently estahlished at Kilshallov/, County Cork, officers in France under Louis X[V., IvV., and XV' I., &c., 518, 51".). O'Donnells of Tir-Connell, celehrity of, &c.. lOS-llo. Brigadier Daniel, in Iris i Brigade, 113-1]."). Less noted clan of County Clare, 114. Hugh, or Ball-dearg, EarlofTyrcunnell, ISO, 181, 1S3. O'Drisuol!, sept of Alunster, of Ithian origin. Officers of, Stuart loyalists, plundered as such hy Crom\\ellian and VVilliamite revolutionists, and distinguished, in Ireland, and on the Continent, 250, 251, 2(51. O'Dunnes, of Iregan, Queen's County, chief officer of, in Irish Brigade, Humphrey, Lieutenant-Colonel and Commandant at (Grenada, West Indies, &c., 618. O'Dwyers, of Kilnamanagh, County Tipperary, officers in Jaciliite war; in France, including several Chevaliers of St. L^uis; in Austria, and in Pi,ussia, 24S-249. O'Farrells of Annaly, in Wrt of Revolution, and Irish Brigaile, &c., G.3, 5S4. O'Gara, sept of Coniiaui^ht, connected with native liteTatme, and Stuart loyalists. Oliver, Colonel of Infantry ni [reland under .James 11.; on Continent, Lieu- tenant-Colon' 1 of Kiuii's Foot Guards, and (Jolouel of Queen s Disniuunted Dragoons, &c., 8G-SS, 9G, 2 12. O'Kennedys, of Dalcassi.m race, &c., contribute officers and Chevaliers of St. Louis to several corps of the Brigade, 549, 550. O'Mahony, family of Munst^r, of doulily royal origin, &c. Chief officer in French an2;i, 224. Scotland (See references under James III., his son. Prince Charles Edward, and Union.) iScron, castle of; successes of its Irish garr'son, 245, 240. Slicldon, Doaiinick, Lieutenant (jleiieral, his Irish regiuients, &c. , 76, 152, 153, 620. Klieridan. or O'^lieridan, fauiilv. origin of. Sir Thomas, Governor, &c., to Prince Charles, aiul Sir Michael, "his Aide-de-Camp, &c., 369, 371-374, 382, 386, 383, 401, 427. 432, 457. Shii>, Lieutenant John, his experience of serving with, and character of, the Irish, as soldiers, 4."j5, 4.'}v). Short dl, Lienteuant-Colonel Thomas, of Regiment of Clare, and old Kilkenny faujily of, 595-597. Sijily, preserved by Count GMahony for Philip V., 262, 273. (See, also, Melazzo.) Skelton, jNIajor-General Charles, and other Jacobite officers of that loyal name, 323, 329. Smugglers in Ireland, 162, 4G5, 61 1, 612. In England, 402, 407, 421. Soliieski family, connexion of, with Stuarts, 308-314. S])ire, 1 attle of, defeat of Allies at, and bravery of Irish horse there, 221. Stapleton, Brigadier Walter, commander of piquets from Irish Brigade with Prince Charles in Scotland, distinguished, and deceased there, 39o, 397, 422, 424, 425, 427, 433, 435, 438. 452-455. iSt. Christo]»hcr and St. Eustache, isles of (See Bouille.) 8t. David, fort, reduced by Count Laily. 510-512. ^t. George, fort, siege of, by Count Laliy, 518-524. St. Ruth, Lieutenant-Genera!, successful campaign of, in Savoy, with French and Irish, 54-56. Sweden. (See Lacy.) Talbot, Brigapier Rtoitard, Colonel of Regiments of Limei-ick and Clare, 39, 116. Captain, oi Frhirc ('hiir/c--<, with supplies for Scotland, 440-443. Thurot, his expedition to land in Ulslcr, reduction of Carrickfergus, and death, 584, 585, 588 593. Toulon, siege of, and Dillons distinguished at, 244, 245. Tournay, sieges of, and Irish there, 263, 307, oCrant, family, in France, origin of variously represented, and regiment of, 94-97. Wauflewiish, Encrlish beaten out of, by French, undor Thevalier Alexander Mac Geo,;>lieffan, of Irish Brigade, 530-534. Taken by Ooote, 537, 538. Town retaUeu, fort besieged by Lally, and conse([uent battle there between him and Coote, 53y-54G. Warren, Colonel, of Irish Brigade, in Scotland with Prince Charles, and conveys him back to France, 463, 4(>4. WaMchop, Brigadier John, and Colonel Francis, Scotch Jacubite officers in Irel.and and on Continent, 105, 151, 152, 170-178. Wellington, Duke of, his testimony rebj.'ecting obliijations of England to Irish Catholic recruits, 615, 616. (And see note, [*], 609.) Wcstnieath, John Nugent, 5th Earl of, ami Majorlieneral, memoir of, 500, 501. Whiteboys, victims of landlord ojipression, 158, 150, 599, 600. Wild-geese, flights of, or emigrations to j( V. « » s • * 0^ * "o V -^^ c" ^< ^^•^^. .0' 4 °^ \ ^^MS J'\ ^^':^i^^ ^^^\ ^'?^^' J^^- ^ ■y ^^d^ ST. AUGUSTINE ^^^32084 oV^ .-V^^^ •T* DOBBS BROS. LianARr BINOIM .^'%