of Dublin John Jones

“ The Light Brigade, assisted by the Cavalry gained one of the lesser hills, planted their Cannon and played briskly on them: in a short time we possessed ourselves of both—the Rebels made to the top of Vinegar-hill with all possible speed—the 77 Soldiers pursued hard after them, and beat them off it. ”

“ MRS. TYRRELL'S SUFFERINGS WHILE PRISONER WITH THE REBELS.
After the Battle it might have been expected that the little garrison would have given themselves 21 up to an excess of joy; but the breast of their Commander was filled with anxious solicitude——the partner of his heart—his wife, the mother of those three gallant youths, who mixed in the hottest scenes of the day, was absent the whole time, and no tidings of her had reached the garrison. The men sympathised with the husband and the children, and success was thought incomplete, until she was restored to their embraces. ”

“ If History be, as it has been elegantly described, "Philosophy teaching by Example,"—what example more necessary to be held out to public view, and transmitted to posterity, than that which shews the dreadful effects of a Revolution attempted by force? ”

“ About six o'Clock he came up with the Rebel Army, amounting to from five to six thousand men, advantageously posted on a rising ground, in an extensive flat, at Kilcomny, near Gore's-Bridge—nothing could exceed the joy of our brave Soldiers, after so many fatiguing marches, at last to have a pleasing prospect of retaliating; the Officers were constantly obliged to restrain their ardour. The engagement began with a terrible fire of Artillery, which the Rebels returned with quickness, but entirely without effect. ”

“ Examinant is convinced in his mind the only reason why the said Rebels murdered the said Serjeant was his being a protestant; Examinant saith that when the said Rebels had committed the said barbarities, they exclaimed with savage joy "where are the Heretics now? shew us the face of an Orange-man"; Examinant saith that many women, who acting with the said Rebels, used 92 expressions of that nature, as often and as loud as the men, and that some old women who were amongst them seemed to brighten on the occasion, and to shew as much fervent joy as the youngest amongst them ”

“ Such a critical situation required the coolness of a man innured to military danger, and all the exertion, firmness and skill of a veteran soldier. But although Lieutenant Tyrrell never had served in the Army, his own good sense supplied the want of experience, and his native courage furnished resources adequate to the magnitude of the occasion. ”

“ The firing as we have observed commenced from the Turret at the extremity of the garden. About 300 of the Rebel Cavalry lead on by one Farrell formed their advanced guard, and approached the Turret in a smart trot, without appearing to apprehend any danger. The first shot was fired by young Mr. Tyrrell, which mortally wounded Farrell, and being followed by a general discharge from the rest among the body of the Cavalry, threw them into great confusion, in which state they fled out of the reach of the firing. ”

“ The moment of action is not the most favourable to accuracy of detail:—Notwithstanding the purest intentions and the most scrupulous regard to truth, much will remain, for candour to extenuate and information to supply. ”

“ Where the visionary politician enjoys for so short a time his sanguinary triumph—suspected even by those whom he calls his friends, he is superseded by such as are more ferocious than himself, while the fury of Fanaticism equally destroys his prospects in the mad effort to exterminate vi one religion and substitute another. ”

“ By this time the Rebels had collected a very considerable force and every night committed some outrage and depredation. They encamped upon an Island in the bog of Timahoe, and also at Mucklin and Dreihid; they plundered almost every 9 house in the neighbourhood of their respective places, drove away all the fat cattle and horse they could meet, and intercepted the supplies for the Dublin market. ”

“ On the first appearance of the Rebels, (three hours before the attack commenced) an express was sent to Tullamore where the principal part of the 7th Dragoons lay—General Dunne forwarded a Troop about eighty in number—the want of a sufficient force was of the worst consequence, as the Rebels attacked our party in the mountains, and obliged the Fencibles to retreat back to the town—Meantime the Loyalists cleared the streets which were now full of 63 Rebels without the loss of a man—the Cavalry pursued—Sergeant Price alone killed fourteen Pikemen. ”

“ If it be possible to convince those deluded creatures who were then in arms against the peace and prosperity of this Nation, and of their certain destruction, should they again have recourse to such rebellious measures, it must be the event of the above action, where so many were cut off by such an inferior force. ”

“ Early on Sunday morning the 27th of May, an express arrived here that the day before an engagement took place between a party of the Camolin Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Buckey, and a large body of the Rebels, that the Lieutenant was killed, but that they had repulsed the Rebels; that they 80 were then (Sunday morning) in great force in the neighbourhood of Oulard, burning the houses of different Protestant Inhabitants in that part of the County. ”

“ On Tuesday the 29th, the Rebels formed two powerful Camps, one at Vinegar-Hill, near Enniscorthy, and the other about three miles from Wexford, at the Three Rocks, on the road between Wexford and Ross, and sent threats in here that 10000 men would be detached from those Camps to attack the town next morning.—On Wednesday the 30th, information was received that a body of the military, (supposed to be the 13th regiment) was attacked by the Rebels near their Camp at the Three Rocks ”

“ The Light Infantry, commanded by Captain Chetwynd advanced with great gallantry to secure an eminence on the right, which having accomplished, 58 he was attacked by a force of at least three thousand Rebels—the front armed with pikes, the centre and rear with muskets, whose fire galled them severely till the body of the Troops and Field Pieces came up, when the Rebels were routed with huge slaughter. The Rebels by their own account lost above five hundred men, among whom were many of their leaders. ”

“ Lieutenant-Colonel Foot with Major Lombard, and six other officers, and 106 men of the North Cork Militia, immediately proceeded from this town, and came up with the Rebels at an advantageous position they had taken on a hill near Oulard. Through the rashness of the Major, in charging the Rebels in an incautious manner, the whole party were surrounded, and not a man escaped instant destruction but the Lieutenant-Colonel and two privates. ”

“ About thirty Rebels were killed in the streets; in the fields, we imagine, above an hundred; their bodies have not yet been brought together.
It is impossible to say too much of the Cavalry and Infantry ”

“ There being no Barrack for Infantry in the Town, the men were billeted upon the Inhabitants; the genteeler sort paying for their lodging, they were in general quartered in the Cabins. The intention of the Rebels was to murder the Soldiers in their lodgings, surprise and take the Horse Barracks, and then make themselves masters of the Town, which in all probability they would have done, had not God brought their designs to light in the manner above mentioned ”

“ They searched the carriage for arms, but did not find any. Mrs. Tyrrell describes the men as a ragged, wretched looking banditti: three of them, armed with musquets mounted the boot of the carriage; three more got behind it—and in this manner attended by a great crowd, the carriage was drove two miles round to the high road leading from Dublin to Clonard: here they kept her a prisoner, notwithstanding her frequent entreaties to be enlarged ”

“ Examinant saith that on looking out of his window, he perceived a great body of people armed with Pikes and Fire Arms, between whom and the Soldiers in the Barracks a constant firing was maintained; That as the balls passed by this Examinant's house, and one of them close to his head, he withdrew and let down the window; That soon after Examinant saw the Barracks on fire and heard the Soldiers exclaim, "The house is on fire; we shall be burnt up or suffocated, we can fight no longer" ”

“ The town (the subject of this letter) has not been remarkable for loyalty—the principal fears of the garrison arose from an apprehension of treachery. There were then under arms sixty of the Northumberland Fencibles, about thirty of the Fertullagh Cavalry, and thirty loyal Protestants, who either belonged to the town or had fled there for refuge. ”

“ We have prepared 73 every thing in case of another attempt—If they do not come forward, we will go immediately and retake Gorey, and storm their Camp. They are greatly discouraged. Blessed be God, notwithstanding I was exposed to a heavy fire I never received one wound. On our side we had about 18 killed and 28 wounded. We are all in high spirits. Capt. Knox of the Yeomenry and two of his men were killed pursuing Rebels. Our men (in a former engagement) kept the town of Gorey when the rest of the army left them. They are worth gold. ”

“ Pole, who had gone forward for intelligence, sent an express to inform Sir Charles Asgill of what he had done, and of our intention to attack the Rebels wherever we found them. At Old Leighlin we met with Mr. Vigars, to whom our intention of attacking the Rebels was made known, and he, seeing our men much fatigued, immediately supplied us with a number of cars to carry them, without which assistance we should have been much distressed ”

“ Gordon, commanding at Trim, to march out with a force from thence, and co-operate with the Edenderry detachment—Col. Gordon 30 accordingly left Trim with 200 men and two pieces of cannon, but from some fatality, yet unexplained, did not join in the attack, which Lieutenant Col. Gough, after waiting some time and reconnoitering the enemy posted upon a hill, commenced against them, with only sixty infantry and twenty cavalry. The event of that engagement is well known, the Rebels were compleatly defeated, leaving immense booty of cattle, &c. behind them. ”

“ The communication by the Bridge having been kept open in the manner before related, Lieutenant Tyrrell sallied from the house, and soon effected a junction with this reinforcement. A few vollies completely cleared the roads, and having then placed the Northumberland and Kinnegad men in such situations as most effectually to gall the enemy in their retreat from the garden, the Lieutenant 19 undertook in person, the hazardous enterprise of dislodging them from thence.
At this time, it is supposed there were 400 Rebels in the garden ”

“ On the following morning, the 28th, the Rebels attacked Enniscorthy, and after a severe conflict of three hours, and above 500 of them being slain, 81 they took the town owing to the treachery of some of the inhabitants in setting fire to the town during the engagement, which obliged the Militia and Yeomenry to evacuate it, and they, with all the Loyal inhabitants that could escape, retired on Monday evening to Wexford. ”

“ Kilkenny. The Forces quartered there, consisting of one Troop of the 4th Dragoon Guards and a Company of the Wexford Militia prepared to stop their progress, and in order thereto took possession of the Bridge; but perceiving the Rebels planting their Cannon on the opposite side, and fording the River in considerable numbers 42 (the water being low,) they were obliged to retreat; all the Cavalry escaped, but about twenty of the Infantry were made Prisoners, many of whom were put to death on that and the following day. ”

“ The Soldiers who retreated (except some who fled to Waterford) soon rallied again, and entering the town in a furious manner, obliged the enemy to run. The Battle lasted for near twelve hours—3000 Rebels it is said lay dead in and near the town; many also must have died of their wounds: 40 'tis thought that between fifty and sixty of the Military fell: 'twas too many, but we could hardly expect such a victory on more reasonable terms. B. B. Harvey was commander in chief of the Rebels ”

“ Daniels and mine) put every Protestant inhabitant whom they spared from immediate death (some few excepted that they received amongst them) to prison; but they would not stop here, we were obliged to slaughter each other. The Sunday after they had taken the town, June the third, Pigott, Robson, a Mr. Edwards and I, were dragged from our cells, and forced by the Rebels to put to death a man for being an approver against a Priest of the name of Dixon, who had attempted to swear him to be an United Irishman ”

“ No account having appeared of the attack at Prosperus, 'tis presumed the following affidavit made before the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of the City of Dublin, will furnish the Reader with every particular relative thereto. The Examinant is well known to the Publisher, and favoured him with a Copy of the same for the present Narrative. The Examinant suffered much in the Rebellion, being obliged to desert his house, and property to a considerable amount, which became a prey to the Rebels. ”

“ The Kinnegad Yeomen Cavalry, under Lieutenant Houghton, and a small party of the Northumberland Fencibles immediately marched with Lieutenant Tyrrell to Clonard, and from thence being joined by his own Corps, he proceeded to Fox's hill, where the Rebels were posted to the amount of 600.—The attack was began by the Clonard Supplementaries, who displayed great steadiness upon this occasion ”

“ This happened to be the case with many of his men upon Wednesday morning the 11th of July, on which day, about eleven o'Clock Mr. Richard Allen galloped into the Court, and brought intelligence that he was pursued by a piquet guard of the Rebels, whom he narrowly escaped as they were well mounted; and he was confident a considerable force was approaching. The alarm was instantly given—every exertion was made to collect the scattered men, and parties were stationed in the most advantageous positions. ”

“ Brewer, a respectable manufacturer of said town, who had employed many of the said Rebels, had been massacred by them, and that his body had been mangled with savage barbarity; Examinant saith that they also massacred a poor old man of the age of 70 years and upwards, who served as Serjeant in his Majesty's forces, they having considered him as an Orange-man ”