A. D. 1690.

BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.

453

known that William had no desire for such a measure as this oath; and thus, after many angry words and insinuations, the abjuration of king James was abandoned. King William strengthened his throne far more effectually by authorising Carmarthen to present to the Peers an act of grace for political offences. The exceptions to this act were the surviving regicides; thirty of the evil instruments of James; and "George, lord Jeffreys, deceased." The Bill passed through both Houses without debate. The king closed the Session on the 20th of May.

William left London for Ireland on the 4th of June. He had selected nine privy-councillors to advise the queen in the conduct of affairs, an Act having been passed to give her power to administer the government in his absence. William had done everything in his power to ensure success in his great enterprise. He had now in Ireland thirty-six thousand troops, well fed, properly clothed, and not wanting in the munitions of war. Of the condition and prospects of king James, a lamentable account is given by his official biographer. The duke of Berwick had been beaten at Belturbet; Charlemont had surrendered. The French king would only consent to send six thousand men into Ireland. The English were masters of Ulster. There was no corn nor meal to feed the army; no cloth, no leather; "and the brass money put an absolute stop to importation."

On the 14th, king William landed. His army was composed of English, Brandenburgers, Dutch, Danes, and French Huguenots. The spirit of the king triumphed over his feeble body. He was all animation. James appeared equally alert at the call of danger. He left Dublin on the 16th of June. William's army was at Loughbrickland on the 26th of June, consisting of thirty-six thousand men. The troops had manifested a very different conduct from those of James, who had ravaged the country in the preceding year. On the 27th the English army was at Dundalk, forming a camp at least three miles in length, in two lines." * King James still retired as William advanced; but at length, on the 30th, as the English army approached Drogheda, the enemy was seen encamped on the opposite south bank of the Boyne. The army of James was in a strong defensive position. The stream which divided the counties of Louth and Meath was between him and his rival; and his camp on the Meath side was defended by intrenchments and batteries. The fortress of Drogheda, on the south side, was held by the Irish. William, surrounded by his generals, rode along the bank of the river on the morning of the 30th to inspect the position of the enemy. Two field pieces were fired from the opposite bank, and William was slightly wounded in the right shoulder. In the enemy's camp the tale passed from mouth to mouth that the prince of Orange was killed, and on the 2nd of August feux-de-joie were fired in Paris, to proclaim the great triumph. William was soon riding through every part of his army. He had resolved to pass the river the next morning.

The right wing of William's army was the earliest in its movements after day-break on that 1st of July. It was led by the son of marshal Schomberg, accompanied by the earl of Portland. This right wing marched

Journal of Rowland Davies, chaplain in William's army.

towards the bridge of Slane, about five miles from the main camp. The passage was resisted by some squadrons of horse, but they soon gave way. The French general, Lauzun, rapidly moved his best troops to prevent the rear of James's army being attacked, and drew them up on the side of a hill in two lines. Portland recommended the horse and foot to be drawn up also in two lines, intermixing horse and foot, squadron with battalion. Reinforcements of foot having arrived, the two commanders marched the right wing round the bog, and engaged the enemy, "rather pursuing than fighting them, as far as Duleek."

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King William led the left wing, and passed the Boyne about a mile above Drogheda. This division consisted wholly of cavalry. Marshal Schomberg, commanding the centre, composed almost entirely of infantry, crossed the river about half a mile higher up at the ford of Old Bridge. The English foot crossed up to their arm-pits. The Danes and French refugees also waded through the stream at other points. The south bank was bristling with Irish horse and foot. Some attempts at resistance was made by the Irish infantry while the greater part of the troops were still in the water; but at last the columns had crossed, and the Irish foot would not face these resolute soldiers of many nations. But the Irish cavalry, led by Hamilton, fought with desperate courage against the infantry that had gained the shore, or were still in the bed of the river. Caillemot, the commander of the Huguenots, was killed. The veteran Schomberg rushed through the river, and led the retreating Protestants, exclaiming, Allons, messieurs ! Voilà vos persécuteurs." Schomberg fell in the confusion. On the same ground fell the heroic defender of Londonderry, George Walker. At this critical juncture William arrived on the field. He had brought his left wing across the stream, with some difficulty. He drew his sword, and was soon in the heat of the fight. The Irish horse retreated towards Donore, about a mile from the pass. Here they turned upon their pursuers, and William's cavalry began to give way. Again and again "Little Will" rallied his troops, and brought them up to the charge. The fate of the day did not long remain in suspense. Hamilton, the traitorous messenger to Tyrconnel, was taken prisoner. William asked him if the Irish would fight any more. "Yes, sir, upon my honour, I believe they will.” "Your honour !" exclaimed the injured prince; and then directed that his prisoner's wounds should be looked to. When James saw that the day was going against him, he mounted his horse and fled, the French covering his retreat. At nine o'clock that night he arrived in Dublin. The next morning he assembled the magistrates, and said, that he had been often told, that when it came to the touch, the Irish would not bear the brunt of a battle. He had now found the fatal truth of which he had been forewarned. Thenceforward he determined never to head an Irish army, and now resolved to shift for himself, as they themselves must do. He exhorted them to prevent the plunder or destruction of the city; and to submit to the prince of Orange, who was a merciful man. This speech was a complete exposure of the base character of the man for whom the better part of the Irish Catholics had been fighting, out of an honest conviction that they were in arms for the cause of their country and religion. The moral results of

A.D. 1690.

SPIRITED CONDUCT OF QUEEN MARY.

455

James's cowardly ingratitude were far greater than the material results of the battle of the Boyne. It is remarkable that a victory so momentous in its consequences should have been attended with so small a sacrifice of life. The loss in James's army did not exceed fifteen hundred men, chiefly cavalry. On William's side the loss of men was not more than five hundred.

The departure of William for Ireland was the signal for an attack upon the English coasts, which was to be accompanied with an insurrection of the Jacobites. A fleet sailed from Brest, under the count de Tourville. The English fleet was in the Downs, under the command of the earl of Torrington, who sailed to the back of the Isle of Wight, where he was joined by a squadron of Dutch vessels under a skilful commander, Evertsen. Upon the approach of the French the English admiral quitted his position off St. Helen's, and sailed for the Straits of Dover. When the Council sent Torrington positive orders to fight, he put Evertsen in the van, and brought very few of his own squadron into action. The Dutch fought with indomitable courage and obstinacy, but were at length compelled to draw off. The British admiral left the Channel to a triumphant enemy. This humiliation roused the spirit of the people. The queen was universally beloved; and, although studiously avoiding, when the king was at hand, any interference in public affairs, she took at once a kingly part in this great crisis. She sent for the Lord Mayor of London; and inquired what the citizens would do, should the enemy effect a landing? The Lord Mayor returned to the queen with an offer of a hundred thousand pounds; of nine thousand men of the city train bands, ready instantly to march wherever ordered; and a proposal for the Lieutenancy to provide and maintain six additional regiments of foot; and of the Mayor, Aldermen, and common council to raise a regiment of horse, and a thousand dragoons, by voluntary contributions. The same spirit was manifested throughout the land.

CHAPTER XXXV.

ON the 3rd of July, King James quitted Dublin with all speed, about five in the morning, got to Duncannon about sunrise, and the next day was secure in a French frigate, which landed him safely at Brest. On the day of James's flight from Dublin the camp of William on the Boyne was broken up. On the 6th, being Sunday, he returned thanks to God, in the cathedral of St. Patrick, for the success of his arms. When the news of the disgrace of Beachy Head reached Ireland the king, contemplating a return to England, resolved to secure Waterford, as the most important harbour of the eastern coast. On the 11th of August the army was on its march, and on the 21st, Waterford was in possession of William's troops, the garrison having capitulated. The king then determined to

return to Dublin, with the view of embarking for England. On the road, however, more accurate intelligence reached him, and he determined to remain and invest Limerick, where all the forces scattered on the 1st of July had now gathered together. The shameful discomfiture of the allied fleet at Beachy Head had not been followed up by the French so as to produce any results that should give serious alarm to William. Tourville had lost faith in the assurances of the Stuart courtiers, that all England would be up to aid in his enterprise, for all England was shouting "God bless king William and queen Mary." The French admiral contented himself with burning and ravaging Teignmouth, which Burnet calls "a miserable village." After this feat, Tourville sailed away to France; and left behind him an amount of indignation that was worth more for defence than even the troops of horse raised by the citizens of London.

On the 8th of August king William viewed the position in which the strength of the Irish Catholics was now concentrated. The French general, Lauzun, had declared that the place could not resist the attack of the advancing army, and he and Tyrconnel had marched away to Galway. The Irish, however, had an intrepid counsellor in Sarsfield, their general, who put his own resolute spirit into the twenty thousand defenders of the city. The old town-known as the English town-was entirely surrounded by the main stream and a branch of the Shannon, and was connected with another town-known as the Irish town-by a single bridge. The English town was accessible only through the lower Irish town. The Shannon, in a season of wet, overflowed its flat margin. The eye of the tactician would quickly see the capacity for defonce of this position, even though its walls were not of the most scientific construction. The river approach from the sea was commanded at this time by a French squadron.

The

On the 9th, the main body of William's army advanced, and took up a position partly on the space between the windings of the Shannon, and partly on the south bank, near the Irish town. For several days the siege was not actively prosecuted, for the battering train had not arrived. On the night of the 10th, Sarsfield, with about five hundred horse, passed out of Limerick, and came suddenly down upon the train of artillery and a supply of military stores and provisions, which had arrived within eight miles of the English position. He killed most of the escort, the rest flying for their lives; loaded the guns to the muzzles, and half buried them; heaped up the barrels of powder around the guns, with a pile of waggons and stores; fired a train; and was safe in Limerick before the dawn. loss of the cannon and stores was partially repaired by the arrival of two guns from Waterford. But the success of Sarsfield's exploit gave new courage to those who resolved to defend their city against an army not greatly superior in numbers to themselves. The besiegers were propor tionately depressed, for they knew that the materials for a bombardment were insufficient. On the night of the 17th the forces of William entered the trenches of the besieged; and the same desperate work went forward till the 27th, when a general assault was determined upon. The attack was unsuccessful. After four hours of desperate fighting, the besiegers retired, with fearful loss on both sides. At a council of war on the 29th, it was determined to raise the siege. There was a reason for this deter

A.D. 1691.

CONFEDERACY AGAINST FRANCE.

457

mination even more powerful than the gallant resistance of the Irish. Evelyn writes in his Diary, "The extremity of wet causes the siege of Limerick to be raised." On the 30th, king William was on his way to Waterford; and the next day the besiegers had quitted their trenches, and the camp was broken up. On the 22nd of September, an expedition, under the command of Marlborough, disembarked near Cork. These forces were soon joined by a portion of the army from Limerick, under the duke of Würtemberg. Cork capitulated, after a struggle of forty-eight hours. Marlborough then marched to Kinsale; and his cavalry arrived there in time to save the town from destruction, it having been fired by the Irish. The garrison, after a short resistance, also capitulated. Marlborough accomplished these successes with no great loss of men in action; but many perished from the diseases incident to the season and the climate.

The king opened Parliament on the 2nd of October. The Houses testified their belief that the support of the Confederacy abroad was a national object, by voting, in less than a fortnight, more than two millions and a half for maintaining an army of nearly seventy thousand men; and a further sum of eighteen hundred thousand pounds for the navy and ordnance. This supply was to be raised by a monthly assessment on land, by doubling the excise duties, and by increasing the customs duties on certain articles imported. The English people well knew that it was better that the nation should be heavily taxed for the purpose of a continental war, than that the country should have peace and dishonour under the tutelage of Louis of France. On the 5th of January, 1691, the king closed the Session of Parliament, and on the 18th he set out for the Congress at the Hague, where his reception was most enthusiastic.

The emperor of Germany, and Charles II. of Spain, were both repre sented at the Congress. These great Catholic sovereigns had not been hostile to the prince who had ejected the Papist king of England; for at the time when the Revolution of 1688 was maturing, pope Innocent the Eleventh was not indisposed to encourage any opposition to his oppressor, the French king. His successor, Alexander the Eighth, had the same disposition to make common cause with those who opposed Louis. The chief of the princes who joined the alliance with a zeal for the cause which William represented as the sovereign of Protestant England and the first magistrate of Protestant Holland, was Frederick the Third, elector of Brandenburg-subsequently king of Prussia. Of other German princes at the Congress, there were the elector of Bavaria, and the landgraves of Hesse Cassel and Hesse Darmstadt; there were princes of Luxemburg, of Holstein, of Würtemberg, of Anspach. Victor Amadeus, duke of Savoy, had already joined his fortunes to those of the Confederacy. At the period of the Congress he was defending his own dominions against the arms of France. The first military operations of this young prince were unfortunate, and many an anxious thought of William must have been turned to Piedmont. The dangerous position of the duke of Savoy enabled the English king to stipulate successfully that the Waldenses should be allowed to exercise their religion in peace.

Whilst the king of England was infusing his spirit into his allies, some eager and confident, others tardy and lukewarm, Louis suddenly appeared