Battle of Carrickfergus
| date | November 4, 1597 |
|---|---|
| place | near the town of Carrickfergus (present-day Northern Ireland ) |
| output | Victory of the MacDonnell Clan |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
MacDonnell clan |
English troops |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| circa 1800 | unknown |
| losses | |
|
low |
180 |
Clontibret - Carrickfergus - Yellow Ford - Curlew Pass - Cahir Castle - Moyry Pass - Kinsale - Dunboy
The Battle of Carrickfergus ( English Battle of Carrickfergus , Irish Cath Charraig Fhearghais ) took place in November 1597 during the Nine Years War in the province of Ulster (today's County Antrim , Northern Ireland ). Opponents in the battle were the royal English troops of Elizabeth I and the Scottish clan of MacDonnell . The battle ended in defeat for the English.
background
The north-east of Ulster was highly competitive in the 16th century . The town of Carrickfergus was the focus of a failed attempt at English settlement policy in the 1570s. In the 1580s, the MacDonnells ruled this area under Sorley Boy MacDonnell . When Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone started the rebellion against the English advance in 1595, Carrickfergus was the only English-dominated base within the province. The MacDonnells waited in these first years of the rebellion, but without completely taking sides with the English crown, to end the rebellion.
In 1597, recently appointed governor of Carrickfergus Castle, John Chichester , had some success against the fortifications of the Clandeboye O'Neills and found himself in a dispute with Sorley Boy's nephew, James MacSorley MacDonnell, over a series of raids (and counter-attacks ) in the area. The Scottish clan was angry that several cavalry attacks had taken place in the governor's absence. After some negotiation, an armistice was signed and the Scots allowed to put figures on their demands for reparations payments .
The battle
However, on November 4, 1597, MacDonnell was spotted leading an army approaching Carrickfergus Castle; including 500 Scottish musketeers . To counter this, Chichester marched four miles toward MacDonnell with five companies of foot soldiers, tired from a previous expedition, and one of horsemen. In the meantime, the officers discussed how to proceed. A veteran urged the governor not to jeopardize the truce, but when his troops were in position, Chichester turned to his commander, Captain Merriman, allegedly saying, "'Well, Captain, over there are your old friends. What do you say? Shall we attack them? '"(" Now, Captain, yonder be your old friends. What say you? Shall we charge them? "). Merriman agreed and was assisted by the rider's captain.
The order to attack was given and the Scottish clan retreated over the hills into the terrain. The English horsemen had not properly understood their leadership and so it happened that the governor was isolated with a small troop of soldiers who could keep up with him. The formation of the English troops was divided by a Scottish counter-attack. The governor was injured in the leg in the attempt. But he immediately mounted his horse again, drove his troops again towards the bulkheads, but was then killed by a shot in the head. Another officer was injured in the head and taken prisoner.
The royal troops were now leaderless and desperate. Although the reinforcements from Carrickfergus Castle , for which even the sick soldiers had been called in because of the decimation of the garrison, prevented a worse bloodbath, about 180 English soldiers were killed in this brief battle. Some survived by swimming through Lough Larne (some with their horses) and reaching the Island Magee peninsula .
The English defeat was caused in part by the lack of gunpowder, but was largely due to the governor's ineptitude and behavior. Despite the size of his troops, Chichester only reached a truce with the Scottish clan in advance ; MacDonnell had little difficulty in negotiating with Chichester to enforce his terms.
Literature (in English)
- Richard Bagwell: Ireland under the Tudors . 3 vols. (London, 1885–1890)
- Hiram Morgan: Tyrone's Rebellion . 1993, ISBN 0-86193-224-2
- Cyril Falls: Elizabeth's Irish Wars . 1950; Reprinted London 1996, ISBN 0-09-477220-7
- Gerard Anthony Hayes McCoy: Irish Battles . Belfast 1989, ISBN 0-86281-212-7