Siege Of Limerick (1690)
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Limerick, a city in western
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, was besieged twice in the
Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...
in 1689–1691. On the first occasion, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the
Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...
. The
Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. On ...
s, under William III, tried to take Limerick by storm but were driven off and had to retire into their winter quarters.


Strategic background

Following the successful defence of Derry and the Siege of Carrickfergus, the Jacobites had lost control over the north of Ireland by late 1689. Their defeat at the
Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...
on 1 July 1690 saw their forces make a disorderly retreat from the eastern part of the country and abandon the capital,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, in the process. James II himself had fled Ireland for France since he judged his military prospects to be hopeless. The Irish Jacobites still in the field found themselves in the same position as the Catholic Confederates of a generation before in holding an enclave behind the
River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...
, based on the cities of Limerick and
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
. The main Jacobite army had retreated to Limerick after its defeat at the Boyne. Some of their senior commanders, in particular Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, wanted to surrender to the Williamites while they could still get good terms, but they were overruled by Irish officers such as
Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...
, who wanted to fight on. The principal reason that many Jacobite officers were reluctant to surrender was the harsh surrender terms published by William in Dublin after his victory at the Boyne. The terms offered a pardon only to the Jacobite rank and file and not to the officers or the landowning class. The Jacobite French commander, Lauzun, also wanted to surrender, expressed his dismay at the state of Limerick's fortifications and said that they could be "knocked down by roasted apples". There were, however, sufficient Jacobite troops to defend Limerick. A total of 14,500 Jacobite infantry were billeted in Limerick itself and another 2,500 cavalry in
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
under Sarsfield. Moreover, the morale of the ordinary soldiers was high, despite the defeat at the Boyne. That was due to the circulation of an ancient Irish prophecy that the Irish would win a great victory over the English outside Limerick and drive them out of Ireland. That may seem bizarre, but such prophecies were then an important part of Irish popular culture. Williamites mocked such superstition in songs such as ''
Lillibullero "Lillibullero" (also spelt Lillibulero, Lilliburlero, or Lilli Burlero) is a march (music), march attributed to Henry Purcell that became popular in England at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Background Henry Purcell is alleged ...
''. Lauzun's deputy, Marquis de Boisseleau, backed the hardliners in their attempts to defend the city and oversaw improvements to Limerick's defences.


Sarsfield's raid at Ballyneety

William of Orange and his army reached Limerick on 7 August 1690 with 25,000 men and occupied Ireton's fort and Cromwell's fort (built during the
Siege of Limerick (1650–1651) Limerick, in western Ireland was the scene of two sieges during the Irish Confederate Wars. The second and largest of these took place during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1650–51. Limerick was one of the last fortified cities ...
) outside the city. However, he had with him only his field artillery, as his siege cannon were still making their way from
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
with a light escort. The siege train was intercepted by Sarsfield's cavalry, (600 men guided by " Galloping Hogan") at Ballyneety, and destroyed, along with the Williamites' siege guns and ammunition.Sean Ryan
Ballyneety and Sarsfield
accessed 7 June 2008
That meant that William had to wait another ten days before he could start bombarding Limerick in earnest while another siege train was brought up from
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
.


Assault on Limerick

By then, it was late August. Winter was approaching, and William wanted to finish the war in Ireland so that he could return to the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and get on with the main business of the
War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
against the French. For that reason, he decided on an all-out assault on Limerick. His siege guns blasted a breach in the walls of the "Irish town" section of the city, and William launched his assault on 27 August. The breach was stormed by Danish
grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...
, but the Boisseleau had built an earthwork, or coupure, inside the walls and had erected barricades in the streets, impeding the attackers. The Danish grenadiers and the eight regiments who followed them into the breach suffered terribly from musketry and cannon fire at point blank range. Jacobite soldiers without arms and the civilian population (including, famously, the women) lined the walls and threw stones and bottles at the attackers. A regiment of Jacobite
dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...
also made a sortie and attacked the Williamites in the breach from the outside. After three-and-a-half hours of fighting, William finally called off the assault.


Williamites retire

William's men had suffered about 3,000 casualties, including many of their best Dutch, Danish, German and
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
troops. The Jacobites had lost only 400 men in the battle. The worsening weather made William call off the siege and put his troops into winter quarters, where another 2,000 of them died of disease. William himself left Ireland shortly afterwards and returned to London. He then went to take command of Allied forces fighting in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and left Godert de Ginkell to command in Ireland. The following year, Ginkell won a significant victory at the
Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...
. Following the siege, William Dorrington was made governor of the city and preparations began to improve the fortifications. Limerick was to remain a Jacobite stronghold until it surrendered after another Williamite siege the following year. After the loss of the last major stronghold, Patrick Sarsfield led the army into exile in the Flight of the Wild Geese to the
Continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
, where they continued to serve the cause of James and his successors.


References


Bibliography

* Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. * Simms, J.G. ''Jacobite Ireland'', London 1969. * *Wauchop, Piers. ''Patrick Sarsfield and the Williamite War'', Dublin 1992.


External links


Webpage on the Williamite sieges - including good maps and photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick 1690 Sieges involving Ireland Siege of Limerick (1690) Battles of the Williamite War in Ireland 1690 in Ireland de:Belagerung von Limerick (1690/1691)