The story of Ireland

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 22, 17 June 1925, Page 7

The story of Ireland

(By A. M. Sullivan.)

"THE OULLODEN OF IRELAND." HOW AUGHRIM WAS FOUGHT AND LOST. A STORY OF THE BATTLE-FIELD; "THE DOG OF AUGHRIM," OR, FIDELITY IN DEATH! St. Ruth fell back to Ballinasloe, on Ginckle's Road to Galway, which city was now held by the Irish, and was in truth one of their, most important .possessions. The Frenchman was a prey to conscious guilty feeling. He knew that Sarsfield held him accountable for the loss of Athlone, and his pride was painfully mortified.- How often do dire events .from trivial causes spring! This estrangement between St. Ruth and Sarsfield was fated to affect the'destinies of Ireland, for to it may be traced the loss of the battle of Aughrim, as Ave shall see. At a council of war in the Irish camp it was at first resolved to give battle in the strong position which the army had now taken up, but St.' Ruth moved off to Aughrim, about three miles distant, on the road to Galway. The new position was not less strong than that which- had just been quitted. In truth its selection, and the uses to which St. Ruth turned each and all of its natural advantages, showed him to be a man of consummate ability. Close to the little village of Aughrim—destined to give name to the last great battle between Catholic and Protestant royalty on the soil of Ireland —is the Hill of Kilcommedan. The hill slopes gradually and smoothly upward to a height of-, about three hundred feet from its base, running lengthways for about two miles .from north to south. On its east side or slope, looking towards the way by which Ginckle must approach on his march westward to Galway, the Irish army was encamped, having on its right flank the pass or causeway of Urrachree, and its left flank resting on the village of Aughrim. A large morass lay at foot of Kilcommedan (on the east, sweeping round the northern end of the hill) which might be crossed in summer by footmen, but was impracticable for cavalry. Through its centre, from south to north, ran a. little stream, which with winter rains flooded all Hie surrounding marsh. Two narrow causeways, "passes,'' or roads, ran across the morass to. the hill; one at Urrachree, the other at the town of Aughrim ; the latter one being defended or commanded by an old ruin, Aughrim Castle, at the hill base. Along the - slopes of the bill, parallel with its base, ran two or three lines of whitethorn hedge-rows, growing out of thick ' earth fences, affording admirable position and protection for musketeers. It may lie questioned if the genius of a Wel- ; lington could have devised or directed aught that St. Ruth had not done , to turn every feature of the ground and every inch of this position to advantage. Yet .by one sin ,of omission he placed lan the fortunes of tire" day on the hazard of his own life; he communicated his r plan', of battle to no one. Sarsfield was : the man, next entitled and

CHAPTER LXXI.

fitted to command, in the event of anything i befalling the general; yet he in particular was kept from any knowledge of the tactics; or. strategy upon which the battle was' 'to; turn.. Indeed he was posted at a point critical and important enough in some senses,'! yet away from, and out of sight of the part of the field where the main struggle was to take place ;Imd St. Ruth rather hurtfully. gave him imperative instructions not to stir from the position thus assigned him, without a written order from himself. "At Aughrim," says an intelligent Protestant literary periodical, "three apparent accidents gave the victory to Ginckle. The musketeers defending the pass at the old castle found themselves supplied with cannon balls instead of bullets; the flank movement of a regiment was mistaken for a retreat; and St. Ruth lost his life by a cannon, shot. The last mentioned, which was really the accident that wrested undoubted victory from the Irish grasp, would have had no such, disastrous result had St. Ruth confided his plan of battle to his lieutenant-general, and taken him heartily and thoroughly into joint command on the field. I know of no account of this battle, which, within the same space, exhibits so much completeness, clearness, and simplicity of narration, as Mr. Haverty's, : which accordingly I here borrow with very little abridgment: —■ "The advanced guards of the Williamites came in sight of the Irish on July 11, and the following morning, which was Sunday,. July 12, 1691, while the Irish army was assisting at Mass, the whole force of the enemy drew up in line of battle on the high ground to the. east beyond the morass. As nearly as. the strength of the two armies can lie estimated, that of the Irish was about fifteen thousand horse and foot, and that of the .Williamites from twenty to twenty-five thousand, .the latter having besides a numerous artillery, while the Irish had but nine field pieces. "Ginckle, knowing his own great superiority in artillery, hoped by the aid of that arm alone to dislodge the Irish centre force from their advantageous ground; and as quickly as his guns could be brought into position, he opened fire upon the enemy. He also directed some cavalry movements on his left at the pass of Urraghree, but with strict orders that the Irish should not be followed beyond the ' pass,' lest any fighting there should force on a general engagement, 'for which he had not then made up his mind. His orders on this point, however, were not punctually obeyed; the ..consequence.-•: being some hot skirmishing, which brought larger bodies into action, until about three o'clock, when the Williamites retired from" the %ass. V. "Ginckle how held a council of war, alift; the prevalent-opinion seemed to be that tht> attack should be deferred until .an 'early ..hour.:' next morning, .but the-; final, decision-of the council was for an immediate battle\:

At five o'clock accordingly, the attack;-.was|p| renewed at Urraghree, and.for an hour.' and ;: a half there was considerable fighting in that : quarter; several attempts to force , the pass having been made in the interval,' and the .;■;■ Irish cavalry continuing to maintain their ' ground gallantly, although against double their numbers. 'At length, at half-past six, Ginckle, ,hav-,.;.; ing previously caused the morass in front of *: the Irish centre to be sounded/'ordered'. his " infantry to advance on the point where the -ii line of the fences at the Irish side projected : ". most into the marsh, and where the morass ';, was, consequently, narrowest. This, it ap- |*. pears, was in the Irish right centre, or in H the direction of TJrraghree. The four regiments of colonels: Erie, Herbert, Creighton,.,: and Brewer, were the first to wade through ;j the mud and water, and to advance against i the nearest of the hedges, -where they were received with a smart fire by the Irish, who • then retired behind their next line of hedges, j> to which the assailants in their turn ap- Jf proached. The Williamito infantry were . thus gradually drawn from one line of fences to another, up. the slope from the morass, ~ to a greater distance than was contemplated jj in the plan of attack, according to which ; they were to hold their ground near the jI morass until they could be supported by ,]H reinforcements of infantry in the rear, and H by cavalry on the flanks. The Irish retired ; ji: by 'such short distances, that the Williamites pursued what they considered to be an ad- v vantage, until they found themselves.face to face with the main line of the Irish, who now charged them in front; while by pas-, m sages cut specially for . such a purpose Is through the line of hedges by St. Ruth, m the Irish cavalry rushed down with irre- | sistible force and attacked them in the flanks. m The effect was instantaneous. In vain did || Colonel Erie endeavor to encourage his men by crying out that 'there was no way to ; come off but to-be brave.' They were thrown into total disorder, and fled towards the || morass, the Irish cavalry cutting them down J in the rear, and the infantry pouring in l a j| deadly fire, until they were driven beyondj]| the quagmire, which separated the two-||| armies. Colonels Erie . and Herbert were |p taken prisoners; but the former, after beingi?| taken and retaken, and receiving some v wounds, was finally rescued. ...',..„aa "Whilst this was going forward towards:| the Irish right, several other Williamite regiments crossed the bog nearer to Aughrim, and were in like manner repulsed;' but, not having ventured among the Irish hedges,!; their loss was not so considerable,; although they were pursued so far in their retreat, that the Irish, says Story, '', got almost in a line with some of our great guns,' or, in other words, had advanced into the English battle-ground. It was no wonder that at •this moment St. Ruth should have exclaimed With national enthusiasm, 'The day is" ours, me.s enfantsV '-. '\y II 7 "The manoeuvres of the Dutch general on j the other side evinced consummate. ability, •'-and the peril of his present position obliged him to make desperate efforts to retrieve it. ; His army being much more numerous than ~: that of the, Irish, he could afford to extend

;i is' left " wing considerably beyond their right, i and this, causing a fear: that \he : intended them at that.side, St. Ruth ordered! second ,lino., of his left ,to march to the] i right, the officer who received the instructions taking with him also, a battalion from , the ; .centre;-.which;left. a .weak point'not" tin-] observed by .the enemy. St. Ruth had a fatal confidence in the natural strength i of : his left, owing to the great extent of bog, and the extreme narrowness of the causeway .near Aughrimvpa.stle. : ; ; Tho Williamite com-, mander perceived this confidence, and resolved to take advantage of it. "Hence' his movement at the opposite extremity of his] line, which was a..mere feint, .the troops •>which he sent to his left not firing a -shot during the day, while some of the best regiments of the Irish were drawn away ;to watch them. The point of 'weakening ' the -Irish left having been thus gained, the.object ■"of doing so soon became apparent. A. movement of the Williamite cavalry to the causeway at Aughrim;was observed.. .Some horsemen were seen crossing the narrow part of the causeway with great difficulty, being scarcely able to ride two abreast. St. Ruth \ still believed that pass impregnable, as indeed it would have been, but for the mis- : chances which we have yet to mention, and he is : reported to have exclaimed, when he saw the enemy's cavalry scrambling over it, They are brave fellows, 't is a pity they should "be so exposed.' They were not, however, so exposed to destruction as he then , imagined. Artillery had come to their aid, ..and as the men crossed, they began to form in squadrons on the firm ground near the t old; castle. What . were the garrison of- the ■castle doing at this time? and what the reserve of cavalry beyond the castle to -the extreme left? As to the former, an unlucky circumstance ..rendered their efforts nugatory. . It was. found on examining the ammunition with which they had been supplied, that while the men were armed with French, firelocks, the balls that bad been served to them were cast for English muskets, of whichl ..the calibre was larger, and that'.they were, consequently useless! In this emergency the; men cut the small globular buttons .from' their jackets, and used them for bullets, but ; their fire^yas ineffective, however briskly it was. sustained; and few of the enemy's horse' grossing the causeway were hit. ' This was. but one of the mischances, connected.-with the unhappy left of St. Ruth's position." We have seen how* an Irish officer, when ordered with reserves to the right wing/removed a : battalion from the left centre. This error was immediately followed by the crossing of 5 the morass at that weakened point by.three I Williamite Regimen ts, who employed hurdles \ to facilitate their passage, and who, meeting with - a "comparatively. feeble resistance at the !. front line of fences, succeeded in ,making a 1 lodgment in "a corn field, on.the Irish side." ivlt .: was, however—as the historian just ♦noted -remarks- in continuation-—still 'very "%asy" to "remedy "'the"effects" of these errors or mishaps^thus* '•■ momentarily threatening' to render questionable the'-; victory ' already substantially - 1 won by the Irish; and St. Ruth,

|. for the purpose of so-doing—and, in fact; delivering i the coup . grace r to the beaten

foe —left his position of ’ observation in front of-the camp on ithe crest of., the , hill, and, placing himself in joyous pride at the 'head of -hi cavalry brigade, hastened down the slope to charge the confused bodies of Williamite horse gaining a foot-hold below .Vi Those who •saw him 'at this moment say that his face was 'aglow with enthusiasm and triumph. He had, as he thought, "-‘at. last vindicated his name and fame; be, had shown.; what" St. Ruth could do; And, indeed, never. for an instant had he doubted the result of --this battle, or anticipated' for it any other issue than a. victory. . He'; hint: attired himself, we are, told, in his most gorgeous uniform,'wearing all his decorations ami costly-ornaments, and constantly told those around him that lie was to-day about, to win a, battle that would wrest Ireland from William’s grasp. About half-way down the bill lie halted, a. moment, to give, some directions to the artillerymen at one of the field batteries. Then, drawing bis sword, and giving the word 'to advance for a charge, he exclaimed to his officers: “They are beaten, gentlemen; lot us drive them back to the gates of Dublin.” With a cheer, rising above the roar of the artillery—’•which, from the other side, was playing furiously on this decisive Irish advancethe squadron made reply; when, suddenly, louder still* at its close, there arose a cry—-a shriekfrom some one near the general. All eyes Were turned upon the spot, and for an instant many failed to discern the cause for such a startling utterance. There sat the glittering uniformed figure upon his charger. it needed,• with some, a second glace to detect the horrible catastrophe that had befallen. There sat the body of St. Ruth indeed, but it was his lifeless corpse, a headless trunk. A cannon shot from the Williamite batteries had struck the head from his body, as if the Tyburn axe and block bad done their fearful work. St. Ruth, the vain, the brave, was no more!

The, staff crowded around the fallen commander in sad dismay. The brigade itself, ignorant at first of the true nature of what: happened, hut conscious that some serious disaster had .occurred, halted in - confusion. Indecision and confusion in the face of the enemy, and under ‘fire . of -his. batteries, lias ever but ■ one result. The brigade broke, and rode to the right. No one knew on w-lioin the .command devolved. Sarsfield was next in rank; but every one knew.him: to be posted at a distant part . of the field, and it was unhappily notorious that .lie had not been made acquainted with any of the .lost general’s plan. This indecision and confusion was not long spreading from the cavalry brigade ..which St. Ruth had been leading to. other bodies of the troops. The AYilliamites plainly perceived that something fatal had happened on the Irish side, which, if taken advantage of promptly, might, give them victory in 'the very moment? of I defeat. They halted, rallied, and returned. A general attack in full "force on all points was ordered. “Still the Irish centre and right wing : maintained 1 their ; ground obstinately f and - the i fight was renewed with as much vigor as ever. -- The Irish infantry were iL so hotly j engaged; that they were - not -'a ware either of the death of St. Ruth, or of the

flight of r? the cavalry,? until they * themselves were almost - surrounded. A panic and icon-, fused flight were the result. The. cavalry of the right wing, who were the first in action that day, were the last to quit their grounds Sarsfield, * with the reserve horse of the centre; had to retire with the rest without striking one blow, ‘ although,’ says the Willianii '• Captain ‘•’Parker, ‘‘ he had the greatest and best 1 part of the cavalry with him;’ St. Ruth fell about sunset; and about nine, 'after 'three hours’ bard fighting, the last of the Irish army had left the field. The cavalry retreated along the high road to Longhrea, and the infantry, who mostly flung away their arms, fled to a large reel bog oil their left, where great numbers of them were massacred unarmed and. in cold blood; but a thick misty rain coming on, it cl the night setting in, the pursuit was' soon relinquished.”.

The peasantry to this day point out a small'- gorge on the hillside, still l called “Gleann-na-Fola,” where two of the Irish regiments, deeming flight vain, or scorning to fly, halted, and throughout the -.night waited their doom in sullen determination. There they were found in the morning, and .were slaughtered In a wan. , The .slogan of the, conqueror was: “No quarter.” ; , T i;

Above 500 prisoners,. with 32. pairs of colors, 11 standards, ami a large quantity of small arms, fell into the hands of the victors.' The English loss in killed and wounded was about 3000; the Irish lost over 4000, chiefly in the flight, as the AAhlliamites gave no quarter, and the wounded, if they were not, in comparative mercy, shot as they lay on the field, were allowed to perish unfriended where they fell. • "

To the music of one of the most plaintive of our Irish melodies—" The Lamentation "of Aughrim"—Moore (a second touched by this sad theme) has -wedded the well-known, verses here quoted : ' r Forget not the field whore they perishedThe truest, the last of the brave; -.. i r All gone—and the bright hopes we cherishedGone with them, and quenched in the ......... grave....... ...;,- ..,........,.-.-,-...- .-. •,......-,.,-.-. Oh! 'could we -from, death but recover •Those hearts as they bounded before,".: In the face of high Heaven to fight' over r The combat for freedom once = more; Could the,chain for a moment be riven -- Which Tyranny flung round us then - No! —'tis not in Man, nor in Heaven, - --To- let Tyranny bind it again ! - ■—<•"*•- 4 - v . - .But 'tis past ;*, and though blazoned in story The name of our victor may be; !j... -..Accurst". is the -march. of that glory - -- - - Which treads o'er the hearts of the free 1 Far dearer the grave or the prison U Illumed by one patriot name, ' ■ Than the trophies of ; all who have risen On Liberty's ruins -to-fame! ,-Jpf"+--S t ;ff "We cannot take leave of the field of Aughr rim and pass unnoticed an episodeconnected with that scene which may well l claim a place

in, history, a true story, which, if it rested on: any other authority than that of the -.hostile and, unsympathising Williamite chap-i-lain, might die deemed either the creation of poetic fancy or the warmly tinged picture of exaggerated fact. : /,'• '" ..'' ; t ' | The bodies 'of the fallen Irish; as 'already' mentioned, swere* for -the 1 most :. part :t"Hin?s buried on the ground, "a prey to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field." ''There* is," says the Williamite chronicler; "a true and remarkable story of a greyhound belonging to an Irish officer; The gentleman was; killed and stripped in the battle, whose body the dog remained by night and day; and though he fed upon other, corpses with the rest of the dogs, yet he would not allow them or anything else to touch that of his master. When " all the corpses were consumed, the other dogs departed; but this one used to go in the night to the adjacent

villages for food, and presently return to < the place where his master's bones only were ' !then left. And thus he continued (from July when the battle was fought) till. January following, when one. of Colonel* Foiilkes's sol- % ■ diers, being quartered nigh hand, and going ;' that way by chance,'the dog fearing he dime '"' i to disturb . his ' muster** • hone's;- flow uponthe'.'.-:" I soldier, who, being surprised at the. sudden- ; riess of the thing, unslung his piece then ■ upon his back, and shot the poof ; dog." "He '"'. expired;" adds Mr. 6'Callaghan,v "with the same fidelity to the remains of his unfortu-■•■': nate master, as that master had shown. devotion to the cause of his unhappy country. In the history of nations there are few spectacles more entitled to the admiration of the noble mind and the,sympathy of the generous and feeling heart, than the fate of the gallant men and the faithful dog of Aughrim." (To be continued.)