Battle of Clontarf

“ Her brother, Maelmordha, was King of Leinster, and he had obtained his throne through the assistance of the Danes. Brian was Gormflaith's third husband. In the words of the Annals, she had made three leaps—"jumps which a woman should never jump"—a hint that her matrimonial arrangements had not the sanction of canon law. She was remarkable for her beauty, but her temper was proud and vindictive. This was probably the reason why she was repudiated both by Malachy and Brian. There can be no doubt that she and her brother, Maelmordha, were the remote causes of the famous battle of Clontarf. ”

“ Nor is there any evidence that the loss of these guns did seriously affect the fate of the action, for at those other parts of the field where the infantry had the full and unceasing support of the artillery the result was not more favourable than at the centre.
So much for Colenso. A more unsatisfactory and in some ways inexplicable action is not to be found in the range of British military history. And the fuller the light which has been poured upon it, the more extraordinary does the battle appear. ”

“ Ralph had his pistols by him, and his cavalry sword, long and heavy, but admirably poised, lay within his reach.
"I have settled it," he said. "You and Connell are to take the guns. Smooth-bores are quickest loaded, and will do for this short distance. Clontarf, who is not quite so sure with the trigger, is to have the post of honor, and guard the staircase with his sabre. Throw another bucket of water over it, Connell—is it thoroughly drenched? And draw the windows up" (these did not reach to within ten feet of the floor) ; "we shall be stifled else. ”

“ Other methods of attack must be found or attacks must be abandoned, for smokeless powder, quick-firing guns, and modern rifles make it all odds on the defence!
The gallant Irishmen pushed on, flushed with battle and careless for their losses, the four regiments clubbed into one, with all military organisation rapidly disappearing, and nothing left but their gallant spirit and their furious desire to come to hand-grips with the enemy. Rolling on in a broad wave of shouting angry men, they never winced from the fire until they had swept up to the bank of the river. ”

“ The bold attack of the garrison, however, aroused the Spaniards, who, quickly repairing their works, opened, on the next day, a warm and powerful fire upon the Rock from 170 guns of large calibre. Nine line-of-battle ships also poured in their broadsides, in which they were assisted by fifteen gun and mortar boats. Considerable injury was thus done to the north front, as also to the Montague and Orange Bastions; the obstructions at Landport were likewise in great measure demolished, and many other works were partially razed. ”

“ The ring [92] of Conall's sword was heard throughout the battalions on both sides at that moment of time. However, as soon as they heard the music of Conall's sword, their hearts quaked and their eyes fluttered, and their faces whitened, and each of them withdrew back into his place of battle and of conflict and of combat.
40 However, it is then that Conall glanced behind him, and he saw approaching him Mes Dead son of Amairgin. "Good my life," said Conall, "O Mes Dead, the battle on thy favour and on thy protection." ”

“ Moving in the enemy's country, he travelled with a wagon train to carry his provisions and munitions of war. His march was therefore slower than that of the enemy, who was moving toward his supplies. Two or three hours' pursuit on the day of battle, without anything except what the men carried on their persons, would have been worth more than any pursuit commenced the next day could have possibly been. Even when he did start, if Rosecrans had followed the route taken by the enemy, he would have come upon Van Dorn in a swamp, with a stream in front and Ord holding the only bridge ”

“ At last came the welcome order summoning us to action; and we were bidden to march on Colenso Heights with 200 men to fill up the ranks, as a fight was imminent. (p. 079) We left under General Cronje and arrived the next morning at daybreak, and a few hours after began the battle now known to the world as the Battle of Colenso (15th December, 1899) .
I afterwards heard that the commandos under General Cronje were to cross the river and attack the enemy's left flank. This did not happen, as the greatest confusion prevailed owing to the various contradictory orders given by the generals. ”

“ When the hour of noon arrived, the din of battle raged wild and fierce round the village of Langaffer. The enemies of the land had arrived from the west with false Colin at their head, and were met by the soldiers in the plain, below the Castle of Ravenspur. With a loud war-cry on either side foe rushed upon foe, and the fight began. Horsemen reeled over and tumbled from their chargers, blood flowed freely on every side, shrieks rent the air; but the strength of the combatants appeared equal. ”

“ The whole operation, with its advance over the open against a concealed enemy with a river in his front, was so absolutely desperate that Long may have seen that only desperate measures could save the situation. To bring guns into action in front of the infantry without having clearly defined the position of the opposing infantry must always remain one of the most hazardous ventures of war. ”

“ The officers and crews of all the ships did their duty like men. There was but one man who showed fear, and he was allowed to resign. This was the most desperate battle I ever fought since the days of the old Essex."
The thorough discipline and devotion of the crews is illustrated by an incident on the Oneida. A shot penetrated her starboard boiler, and the escaping steam scalded thirteen men. At this one gun's-crew shrank back for a moment, but when Captain Mullany shouted, "Back to your quarters, men!" they instantly returned to their guns. ”

“ There has been no substantial, visible change in the military situation since the battle of Colenso on December 15th. The actions of General French at Colesberg and of Colonel Pilcher at Sunnyside are valuable mainly as evidence that with sound tactics the Boers are by no means invincible, and that British troops only require intelligent leading to be as capable of the best work as any troops in the world. ”

“ I know they retreated several times, for the barricade was impassable; and while their shots fell harmlessly on the mattresses, every one of ours told—nothing makes a man shoot straight like being short of powder—but they came on again, each time with added ferocity.
I heard Mohun mutter more than once, in a dissatisfied tone, "Why does not that scoundrel show himself? I can't make out Delaney." All at once I heard a stifled cry on my right, and, to my horror, I saw Clontarf dragged over the balustrade in the gripe of a giant, whom I guessed at once to be the man we had looked for so long. ”

“ THE BATTLE OF COLENSO—THE LAST DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE GUNS OF THE 14th and 66th BATTERIES.
Drawing by Sidney Paget.
Sad to state, our ambulances were designedly fired upon. Five shells fell in the neighbourhood of a waggon packed with wounded, and one party of ambulance men was forced twice to abandon their work of succour. The tents of the field-hospitals were no sooner erected than shells fell all round them, and the men were forced to desist from their labours. The heroic conduct of the civilian stretcher-bearers was generally the subject of remark. ”

“ The battle was opened by the French ship Fougueux, which fired upon the Royal Sovereign.
“Engage the enemy more closely,” was now Nelson’s signal, and the English closed in upon the foe. Collingwood broke through the enemy’s line astern the Santa Anna. He reserved his fire until he was almost at the muzzles of their guns, then, with a roar, his port broadside was hurled at the Santa Anna, and four [4] hundred men fell killed and wounded, and fourteen of the Spaniard’s guns were put out of action. ”

“ Whitelock, the parliamentary historian, relating the siege of Clonmel, on the 9th of the following May, eight months afterwards, says "that they found in Clonmel the stoutest enemy this army had ever met in Ireland, and that there was never seen so hot a storm of so long a continuance, and so gallantly defended, wither in England or Ireland." ”

“ Steadily and firmly they advanced met by a crashing and annihilating fire. Every step onwards was retarded by shocks which made the stormers desperate. A few more bounds were attempted, succeeded by another halt that showed the enterprise was impossible; and swept back by a continuous roll of musketry and shells no troops could withstand, the daring men who thrice threw themselves before the enemy, reeled back into the trenches defeated.
But few of the stormers succeeded in reaching the abattis. ”

“ There was only one sapper actually engaged in the battle. Sir Colin Campbell, anticipating an attack, ordered an able sapper to be sent to the Turkish redoubts to superintend any 219repairs that might be needed. Sergeant Dickson despatched private James Lancaster for the duty. At five o’clock on the evening of the 24th, he arrived at No. 4 redoubt, situated close under the hills of the plateau where the corps d’observation of General Bosquet was encamped. All night Lancaster worked with the Turks in strengthening the faces of the redoubt ”

“ It was embarked on the afternoon of the 7th of October in steam-vessels for Dublin, where it arrived on the following morning, and being disembarked, [78] it marched to Clontarf [16] (a village situated about two miles from the capital, on the Bay of Dublin) , where a numerous public meeting had been advertised to be held, but which was prohibited by Government proclamation as illegal. A large body of troops had been concentrated in the neighbourhood in apprehension of a breach of the peace ”

“ The casualties in the English troops this day were very great. Both officers who led the columns on the Redan were killed. In addition to the engineer officers already named, Major-General Jones was wounded in the head by a grape-shot; and his Brigade-Major, Captain Bourchier, received a slight contusion in the arm. The French, in their imposing but unavailing attacks upon the Malakoff, lost 2 generals, 37 officers, and 1544 men killed, wounded, and missing; while the Russians in their sturdy defence, achieved a victory at a sacrifice which counted thousands of killed and wounded. ”

“ And now the great hall was filled with combatants, and a bloody conflict took place, both parties fighting furiously. Collingham and Hornmouth singled each other out, and between the gigantic knight and the huge squire was fought a desperate hand-to-hand fight, no man interfering with them. For a time neither had the advantage, and the rafters rang with the echoes of their blows. At length Collingham’s sword broke, and his fate seemed sealed, but he drew back, grasped his terrible club, and renewed the combat, which grew fiercer and fiercer. ”

“ Colenso is a fortress, which I think, if not taken on a rush, could only be taken by a siege. There is no water within eight miles of the point of attack, and in this weather that exhausts infantry. The place is fully entrenched. I do not think either a Boer or a gun was seen by us all day, yet the fire brought to bear was very heavy. Our infantry were quite willing to fight, but were absolutely exhausted by the intense heat. My view is that I ought to let Ladysmith go, and occupy good positions for the defence of South Natal, and let time help us. ”

“ It was Colonel Clinch's purpose to have the gun-boats shell the fort, while he should storm it on the land side. The work promised to be bloody, and it was necessary to bring all the available force to bear at once. There were no siege-guns at hand, or anywhere within reach, and the only way to reduce the fort was for the small force of soldiers—numbering only one hundred and sixteen men—to rush upon it, receiving the fire of its heavy artillery, and climb over its parapets in the face of a murderous fire of small-arms. ”

“ He then struck southward through Newport and Murruo, crossed the Dead River and its tributaries, and as morning dawned, ambushed in the mountain district, about two miles north of the route from Clonmel to Limerick. Here he threw forward his scouts in the direction of Clonmel, to watch the convoy and give timely notice of its approach; but the day passed on, and the night was somewhat advanced, when the lumbering train at last appeared, and halted at a short distance from the place of ambush. The men were now within seven miles of their own camp ”

“ Collinson’s “Light Bobs” dashed down the slope of the rampart, scaled the mud walls and, followed by the remainder of the regiment, fell furiously on the Tartars, who, after a stout resistance, broke and fled. Not all, however, of the enemy had lost heart. Just as the regiment had re-formed after the charge, a gigantic Tartar rushed towards the line, brandishing a sword in each hand; the officers, unwilling to send so brave a man to his death, made signs to him to retire, but in vain, and he was almost amongst the men when a well-aimed bullet laid him low. ”

“ The number of officers and soldiers killed and wounded were as many as might have occurred in a sharp action. Bugles were sounded to form a general parade, and the troops drawn aside to a neighbouring height looked on in bewildered amazement. The only two of the corps present at the moment of the catastrophe were Lieutenant Brine and sergeant Jarvis, who were inspecting work done at the stables of Captain Travers’ small-arm ammunition brigade. That grave explosion blew down the stables and also those of the Y battery, and let loose some four hundred horses which ran wildly over the hills. ”