Battle of Scarrifholis
| date | June 21, 1650 |
|---|---|
| place | near the town of Letterkenny , Ireland |
| output | Victory of the parliamentary troops |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish Confederation Forces from Ulster |
English parliamentary troops and Protestant settlers |
| Commander | |
|
Heber MacMahon (Bishop of Clogher) |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 4,600 | 3,000 |
| losses | |
|
approx. 3,000 |
about 100 |
The Battle of Scarrifholis ( English Battle of Scarrifholis , Irish Cath na Scairbhe Soilse ) took place on June 21, 1650 during the reconquest of Ireland in County Donegal (Ireland). Opponents were the Confederate Irish Army from Ulster under Heber MacMahon (Bishop of Clogher ) and the English Parliamentary Army under Sir Charles Coote consisting of troops from the New Model Army and local Protestant settlers.
background
The Irish Ulster Army was formed by the Irish Catholic Confederation in 1642 to organize the uncoordinated rebel forces that had operated in Ulster since the Irish Rebellion . Until 1649, the army was commanded by Owen Roe O'Neill , a professional soldier who had previously served in the Spanish army. After O'Neill's death, the Catholic Bishop Heber MacMahon of Clogher became the new leader. MacMahon, despite his military inexperience, was chosen by the Ulster officers to avoid political gimmicks in their own ranks. The signing of the treaty between the Confederation and the English royalists divided the army. Owen Roe O'Neill had therefore resigned from the Confederation, but returned shortly before his death when Oliver Cromwell began his invasion of Ireland in 1649 .
On the other hand, the Scottish Covenanters and the English Royalists lost the leadership of the British (Protestant) forces in Ulster to the parliamentary forces under Charles Coote . In 1649, a parliamentary army under Robert Venables and Theophilus Jones was sent to Ulster by Cromwell . The Scottish and Royalist troops besieged Coote in Derry but were defeated by Venables at the Battle of Lisnagarvey in Antrim .
MacMahon now assembled the Ulster Army in Loughal (south of County Armagh ) - 4,000 infantry and 600 cavalrymen . The infantry, however, had an extreme shortage of ammunition, and half were armed only with pikes . The normal ratio of pikes to muskets at the time was one pike to two muskets. MacMahon's plan was to separate Coote's garrison in Derry (to the west) and Venable's army in Carrickfergus (to the east). While the parliamentary troops were locked in by ongoing guerrilla activity, the Ulster Army marched to Ballycastle , on the north coast of Ulster. On the way from south to north the army set up various garrisons. From Ballycastle one approached Coote's army, which was in Lifford (near Derry).
After fending off an attack by the English cavalry when crossing the River Finn , the Irish troops rested south of Letterkenny on the road to Donegal (near the hills at Scarrifholis and the River Swilly ). The local Protestant settlers fled to the fortified cities as the war so far in Ulster has often been marked by atrocities on both sides (including against the civilian population). In the meantime Coote had received reinforcements from parliamentary troops from East Ulster, which increased his troop strength to 3,000 men - the Irish troops consisted of approx. 4,600 men. But the British troops had more ammunition and more cavalry units than their opponents. MacMahon's officers warned him not to leave his good defensive position and venture into a fight as the parliamentary forces were tactically superior to the Irish. But instead of the recommended siege tactic, MacMahon opted for an open fight.
The battle
MacMahon's inexperience was also evident in the preparation of his troops for battle. Except for a small vanguard, he had the entire army line up close together, which meant that it was difficult to move and that many soldiers were trapped within his own people . Coote, on the other hand, divided his men into small and agile units that could support each other and move quickly.
The battle started when Coote sent an infantry unit to meet the Irish Army. This was followed by the exchange of musket fire from close range and finally hand-to-hand combat with pikes and muskets. Coote regularly sent reinforcements to his infantry and was ultimately able to push back the Irish troops. Because of the unfavorable formation, this meant for the front rows that they were virtually enclosed from the front by the oncoming English troops and from the rear by the advancing Irish troops. Coote took the chance by sending more infantry units to the flanks to finally encircle the Irish troops. Although they were still in the majority, they were no longer able to seriously endanger the parliamentary army - also due to the shortage of ammunition. This meant that the parliamentary soldiers were able to fire at the Irish troops from a safe distance with almost no resistance.
In panic, the leaders and horsemen fled the battlefield, pursued by the English cavalry and the local Protestant settlers, who took the chance to avenge the massacres during the 1641 rebellion. After a bitter fight, almost 3,000 Irish soldiers were dead - two thirds of them on the battlefield, only one third of them while fleeing.
Aftermath
The battle was a major success for Coote and the English MPs. More than 3,000 Ulster Army soldiers were killed - approximately 75% of total strength. In contrast, parliamentarians only lost around 100 soldiers. Coote ordered that wounded and captured Irish soldiers be killed - including Henry O'Neill , the son of Owen Roe O'Neill, who surrendered. MacMahon was captured and hanged at Enniskillen a week later .
In this battle the Ulster army was crushed. Not only because of the loss of soldiers, weapons and equipment, but above all because many experienced officers lost their lives. In addition to O'Neill and MacMahon, the Ulster Army lost 9 colonels , 4 lieutenants , 3 majors , 20 captains and hundreds of other low-ranking leaders.
This bitter defeat also meant a major setback for the Irish Catholic landowners - far more than the famous escape of the Counts ( 1607 ). For this reason the battle is also known as "Ulsters Aughrim ", alluding to the battle there, which wiped out the original aristocracy there and strengthened the Protestant settlers.
literature
- Pádraig Lenihan: Confederate Catholics at War, 1641–49. Cork University Press, Cork et al. 2000, ISBN 1-85918-244-5 .
- Éamonn Ó Ciardha: Ireland and the Jacobite Cause, 1685–1766. A fatal Attachment Four Courts Press, Dublin 2002 ISBN 1-85182-534-7 .
- James Scott Wheeler: Cromwell in Ireland. St. Martin's Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-312-22550-4 .