The Battle of The Boyne, 1690 (part 7 of 14)

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The Boyne, 1690

Both forces withdrew to winter quarters. Schomberg retired as far as Lisburn, where he could muster of his army of August only 7,000 men. The Jacobites removed to Dublin and other garrisons, congratulating themselves that their enemies had been unable to advance. In the following year both sides were reinforced. The Irish received 7,000 French infantry and a small number of gunners under the Count de Lauzun in March. These were sent in exchange for Justin McCarthy, Lord Mountcashel's brigade of five Irish regiments or 5,387 men, who were reformed as three regiments on their arrival in France and who were the first of the Wild Geese, the forerunners of the famous Irish Brigade. Lauzun's force was made up of veteran French soldiers who might, had they served as they were capable of serving, have been a powerful addition to the Jacobite strength; but they came in Louis XIV's rather than James's interest and their mission was to prolong rather than win the war. The Williamites were also reinforced in March, when a Danish contingent of a thousand horse and 6,000 foot led by the German Duke of Wiirtemberg-Neustadt and hired from Denmark under a treaty made in the previous September, arrived in Ulster. These were seasoned troops of mixed nationalities; there were Catholics among them, and even some Irishmen. The cavalry, who brought their horses with them to Ireland and who wore cuirasses, were in three regiments and there were eight regiments of infantry who, as we have said, were probably all armed with flintlocks and none of whom were pikemen. They were quartered on arrival in Coso Antrim and Londonderry. Further reinforcements of English and Dutch regiments came in May, and on 14 June King William arrived at Carrickfergus with more.
William's whole force was soon assembled and he reviewed part of the 36,000 or more men whom he proposed to bring into the field-English, Irish, Dutch, Danish, German and French Huguenot---at Loughbrickland, Co. Down on 22 June. William was anxious to begin the year's campaign as soon as possible and he moved south-towards Dublin---at once. He advanced to Dundalk, partly by Newry and the Moyry pass and partly from Armagh, probably by Newtown Hamilton. The Jacobites had placed a force in the pass 'with the intention of contesting the defiles'. As in 1600, 'a thick mist' reduced visibility among the hills and an advanced party of Williamite foot was ambushed, but the Jacobites soon withdrew and fell back before the oncoming army. They appear to have quitted this position, the strength of which was noted by their enemies and by defending which they could at least have delayed the Williamites, when they discovered that the parallel advance from Armagh by the west side of Slieve Gullion had turned them and that they would be unable to prevent some part at least of their enemy's force from reaching 'the plain south of Dundalk'. They fell back to the Boyne.
To defend the line of the Boyne was the only practicable course open to James if he was to prevent an opponent who had come as far as Dundalk from reaching Dublin. The ground between Dundalk and the capital is in general low lying and easily traversed. The drainage is from west to east, which means that practically all the watercourses must be crossed when moving from north to south, but the Fane, Glyde and Dee, the streams of Co. Louth, were not military obstacles. Neither was the river Nanny in Co. Meath, which at any rate could be by-passed to the west. If James, who had concentrated near Drogheda at the beginning of the campaigning season, were to remove his army altogether and to occupy a position to the westward, on William's flank, he would merely uncover Dublin without threatening William, whose forces might, if required, be supplied by sea and who was under no necessity to protect a line of communication with Ulster. If the Jacobites were out of his way William would certainly move on to occupy Dublin. William's generals had noted as early as March that the defences of Drogheda, the town of the Boyne, were being strengthened and had prepared themselves to fight there.

The history of the Battle of the Boyne, 1690 continues here

Taken from Irish Battles by G.A. Hayes-McCoy, published by Appletree Press. Further reading: A Little History of Ireland by Martin Wallace with illustrations by Ian McCullough. Click here for more information on the book.

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