The Battle of The Boyne, 1690 (part 13 of 14)

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The Boyne, 1690

The second Williamite column began crossing a short distance downstream, where the Jacobites did not believe the river fordable, about eleven o'clock. It was led by the Duke of Wiirtemberg, who had the Danish regiments and Sir John Hanmer's (mostly Dutch) and Le Melloniere's brigades, or about 12,000 men. The crossing was difficult, even though the tide must then have been low. The bottom was boggy. Some of the troops were up to their necks in the water and probably could not have got over at all any earlier. They were resisted at first only by Dungan's dragoons, who attacked the Danish Guards as they came up the bank, but the tiny and hard pressed force of Irish infantry at Oldbridge managed to send a detachment against them, although this movement soon permitted the Dutch Guards to gain ground. With so many men now over the river, the Irish were heavily outnumbered. Yet more Williamites were still to come. Some time after noon King William crossed with the remainder of his cavalry-Dutch, Danish, English and Ulstermen-at the lowest ford, at Drybridge, a passage that was very deep and that involved a difficult crossing of boggy ground on the south side. Again the Jacobite dragoons and cavalry resisted, but the Williamites now had mounted men to take on Sheldon's devoted horsemen. Their cavalry moved upstream. Their whole infantry force within the loop of the river pressed forward. 'Although', says a Danish account, 'the enemy rallied several times and defended himself against our men, he was driven back each time. In the end, as his infantry were more inclined to retreat than to defend themselves [further] he had to quit the field altogether.' These Jacobite infantrymen, most of whom were receiving their baptism of fire that day, were overcome by overwhelming force after a struggle of nearly three hours' duration. Their enemies accused them of having behaved badly, but the record of their almost hopeless resistance scarcely shows it. As they toiled up the hill at Donore and, after a further struggle on the hilltop, marched off through the debris of their camp-the scattered tents, the abandoned baggage-they must have wondered what had become of their French allies and why, with such troops in the field, they had been left to face alone what was so obviously the main attack of their enemies.
But their cavalry, fighting as no cavalry had fought before in Ireland, or has fought since, stood by them to the end. The men who had already distinguished themselves against Schomberg and Solms turned again on the slope of the ridge and bore down on William's masses. With supreme courage-a writer who was present at the battle calls it 'unspeakable bravery' -and with the recklessness that was such a desideratum in so much of the cavalry action of long ago, the Irish horsemen rode out of the dust, cutting and slashing. Berwick was thrown down and trampled, but he fought on until he had only sixteen unwounded men lef( out of his zoo Life Guards. Colonel Parker's men, who with Tyrconnell's and Sutherland's struck the Williamites again and again, fell about their leader until there were only thirty of them in action out of a full regiment. Lieut.-General Richard Hamilton, the leader of the Jacobite foot, who had been in command at the siege of Derry, was surrounded and captured. Sheldon's losses were tragic, but his men held up the whole Williamite advance for a precious half-hour. The Irish horse, said King James, 'did their duty with great bravery, and though they did not break the enemy's foot, it was more by reason of the ground not being favourable than for want of vigour, for after they had been repulsed by the foot they rallied again and charged the enemy's horse and beat them every charge'.

The history of the Battle of the Boyne, 1690 concludes 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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