Battle of New Ross (1643)
| date | March 18, 1643 |
|---|---|
| place | New Ross, County Wexford |
| output | English victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish Confederation Forces |
English troops |
| Commander | |
| losses | |
|
about 500 |
low |
The Battle of New Ross ( English Battle of New Ross , Irish Cath Ros Mhic Thriúin or Balinvegga ) was a minor battle of the Irish Confederation War in 1643 north of the city of New Ross in southeast Ireland . In the battle, the English army under James Butler defeated the Irish Confederation forces under Thomas Preston .
background
Thomas Preston commanded the Leinster army , but was unable to raise the money to finance regular troops, so he did not have a large army. Therefore he only tried to repel the attacks of the English. On March 2, 1643, James Butler led an army of around 3,000 infantrymen, 700 horsemen and six guns against him from Dublin . His job was to besiege the town of New Ross in County Wexford , thereby cutting off communications between Kilkenny , the Confederate capital, and the ports of Waterford and Wexford . On his advance, Butler encountered bitter resistance at Timolin Castle in County Kildare , so he did not reach New Ross until March 11th. His attempt to take the city failed, however, so that he stopped the siege on March 16. He expected the Confederates to receive reinforcements from Munster . In the meantime, Preston and his militia had succeeded in blocking the retreat via the Blackstairs Mountains to Dublin, so that on March 18, a battle between the warring troops broke out near New Ross. Butler managed to fight his way free.
Web links
- Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara, c.1585–1655. on bcw-project.org (English)
- The Confederation of Kilkenny (1642–1649) on libraryireland.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Confederate War: Campaigns of 1643-4. at bcw-project.org, accessed on August 24, 2014. (English)