On 14^th June, 1690, King William ofOrange landed at Carrickfergus to a rapturous welcome from the populace and bonfires were lit on the hills of Antrim and Down.  William and his army commander Schomberg – who had been inIreland since August 1689 – travelled together by coach toBelfast.  The cosmopolitan entourage which accompanied William should have indicated quite clearly to the citizens of the town that the events which were now unfolding had a broader European dimension quite separate from any parochial interests of the Irish.  As Jonathan Bardon remarked:

Never before had Belfast greeted so many men of distinction – Godard van Reede, Baron de Ginkel of Utrecht; Hans Willem Bentinck, the king’s close adviser; the Duke of Würtemberg-Neustadt, the German commander of the Danish force; Count Henry Nassau; Prince Georg of Daamstadt, brother of Christian V ofDenmark; the Duke of Ormond; and many others.

William had been forced to come toIrelandpartly because of Schomberg’s reluctance to confront the Jacobite army.  Schomberg, now in his mid-seventies, seemed to have lost that energy which had sustained him throughout his long military career – he had served with the Dutch, Swedish, French, and English armies.  While encamped near Dundalk, taunting Jacobites had taken this inactivity as weakness, a ‘weakness’ further compounded by the death through fever and disease of over 7,000 of his troops.

William, however, had arrived to do battle, being heard to remark that he had not come to let the grass grow under his feet.  At Loughbrickland inCountyDownhe reviewed an army composed of Protestants from all overEurope– Dutch, Danes, French, Germans, English, Scots, Irish, Swiss, Italians, Norwegians and Poles.  His army also included an elite unit, the Dutch Blue Guards, who were Catholics.  The European dimension was to be completed by James’s Jacobite force of Irish, French, English, Germans and Dutch.

The Williamite army, amounting to some 36,000 men, marched south to find that James, with about 25,000 men, had taken up position on the south bank of  the River Boyne to the west ofDrogheda. William deployed his own army on the northern bank.  It was while he was riding around in open view of the enemy and wearing full regalia – a habit which dismayed his commanders – that his whole enterprise almost ended there and then when an enemy shot tore through his coat wounding him in the shoulder blade.  However, as soon as a dressing was applied to the injury William rode round his dismayed troops to be greeted by their loud acclamations.  Both sides kept up a cannonade the rest of the day, and that evening William made a final inspection by torchlight, giving his orders for the impending battle.  William’s resolution to attack across the river the following morning was not approved by all his commanders, least of all Schomberg, who retired to his tent muttering that he had been more used to give such orders than to receive them.

The next morning, 1^st July, was bright and cloudless, and the Williamites – each with a sprig of green in their hats for identification – commenced the Battle of the Boyne.

William’s strategy was two-pronged:  there was to be a direct frontal assault across the Boyne, while his right wing, under the command of one of Schomberg’s sons, was to march some miles up the river to Slane, in the hope of turning the enemy’s left flank.  The feint succeeded, and many of James’s best troops were drawn away in an attempt to prevent the Williamites outflanking them, or, even worse, cutting off any possible line of retreat.

The centre of William’s army, consisting almost exclusively of foot soldiers, now commenced their frontal assault and marched, ten abreast, into the river.  As they neared the southern bank the difficulties of their task must have seemed only too apparent:  a fortification had been made by French engineers out of the hedges and buildings and a breastwork had been erected close to the water’s edge.  But still William’s troops, led by the Dutch Blue Guards, pressed forward and eventually began to prevail, with the Irish foot, to Tyrconnell’s great dismay, falling back in confusion.  The Irish and French cavalry hurried to retrieve the situation and engaged the Blue Guards in a desperate fight in the bed of the river.  Further downstream they also began to drive the Danish brigade back and assaulted the Huguenot regiments so ferociously they too began to give ground.  The cavalry’s efforts were so vigorous and tenacious that Schomberg, watching from the bank, became alarmed, and  without any defensive armour rode into the midst of the fray.  Close by him the French Huguenots were falling back before James’s French cavalry, and the gallant veteran endeavoured to rally them, by calling out in French:  “Come on, gentlemen: there are your persecutors!”  He was immediately surrounded by a number of the Irish cavalry and perished.  Almost at the same time the Reverend George Walker who had been Governor of Derry during the siege, was shot dead.

Just then William himself arrived with his cavalry.  He rode to the head of a contingent from Enniskillen, one of whom nearly shot him by mistake in the heat of the battle.  “Gentlemen,” he said, “I have heard much of you.  Let me see something of you.”

One of the most remarkable peculiarities of this man, ordinarily so saturnine and reserved, was that danger acted on him like wine, opened his heart, loosened his tongue, and took away all appearance of constraint from his manner.  On this memorable day he was seen wherever the peril was greatest.  One ball struck the cap of his pistol; another carried of the heel of his jackboot; but his lieutenants in vain implored him to retire to some station from which he could give his orders without exposing his life so valuable to Europe.  His troops, animated by his example, gained ground fast.

Inexorably the tide of battle turned in William’s favour and the Jacobites began to retreat, though their cavalry still retired fighting obstinately.  For the Jacobites  the battle was lost, whole troops had been cut to pieces, one fine regiment had but thirty unwounded men left, and their king had abandoned them and was already fleeing to the safety of France.

When news of William’s victory reached Pope Alexander VIII, who was delighted at what was in effect a French defeat, he ordered torchlight processions in Rome in celebration, and Te Deums were sung in the Catholic cathedrals of Austria and Spain.

Waiting in the wings with his own army was a remarkable character named Balldearg O’Donnell.  He had arrived from Spain shortly after the Battle of the Boyne claiming to be a lineal descendant of the ancient Gaelic kings of Tyrconnell in Ulster.  He also claimed to be the O’Donnell ‘with a red mark’ (ball dearg) who, according to ancient prophecy, was destined to lead his followers to victory.  Many ordinary Ulster Catholics had flocked to his standard, causing great hostility on the part of Tyrconnell who saw him as a threat to his own earldom.

Balldearg thus remained aloof from the Battle of Aughrim.  He proceeded to join the standard of William with 1200 men on 9^th September, 1691, and marched to assist in the reduction of the Jacobite town of Sligo.  This garrison surrendered on 16^th September, 1691, on condition that they were conveyed to Limerick.  Balldearg remained loyal to William and later entered his service in Flanders, with those of his men who elected to follow him.

James vindictively blamed his courageous soldiers for his defeat:  “When it came to a trial they basely fled the field and left the spoil to their enemies, nor could they be prevailed upon to rally, though the loss in the whole defeat was but inconsiderable: so that henceforth I never more determined to head an Irish army and do now resolve to shift for myself.”  Yet, the reality was quite the opposite:  “…it was their king that condemned the Irish to hopeless failure.  He called them cowards, whereas the cowardice was really his own, and he deserted them in their utmost need.  They repaid him with the opprobrious nickname of ‘Sheemas-a-Cacagh’, or Dirty James.”  Many of the defeated Jacobite soldiers chose exile, and between 1691 and 1791 almost half a million such ‘Wild Geese’ left Ireland to form the famous Irish Brigades of armies throughout Europe, and of this number 50,000 fell in battle.  James’s general, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, became a Marshal of France; Marshal Charles O’Brien, Viscount Clare and earl of Thormond, fought for the French at Fontenoy; Marshal Roland James Nugent commanded in the Austrian army, and his son Laval became a Marshal in the service of King Ferdinand V of Spain; Marshal Maxmilian von Browne rose in the service of Maria Theresa of Austria and Marshal Peter de Lacy became famous throughout Europe and parts of Asia as a commander in the Russian Army of Tsar Peter the Great.

On 14^th June, 1690, King William ofOrange landed at Carrickfergus to a rapturous welcome from the populace and bonfires were lit on the hills of Antrim and Down.  William and his army commander Schomberg – who had been inIreland since August 1689 – travelled together by coach toBelfast.  The cosmopolitan entourage which accompanied William should have indicated quite clearly to the citizens of the town that the events which were now unfolding had a broader European dimension quite separate from any parochial interests of the Irish.  As Jonathan Bardon remarked:

Never before had Belfast greeted so many men of distinction – Godard van Reede, Baron de Ginkel of Utrecht; Hans Willem Bentinck, the king’s close adviser; the Duke of Würtemberg-Neustadt, the German commander of the Danish force; Count Henry Nassau; Prince Georg of Daamstadt, brother of Christian V ofDenmark; the Duke of Ormond; and many others.

William had been forced to come toIrelandpartly because of Schomberg’s reluctance to confront the Jacobite army.  Schomberg, now in his mid-seventies, seemed to have lost that energy which had sustained him throughout his long military career – he had served with the Dutch, Swedish, French, and English armies.  While encamped near Dundalk, taunting Jacobites had taken this inactivity as weakness, a ‘weakness’ further compounded by the death through fever and disease of over 7,000 of his troops.

William, however, had arrived to do battle, being heard to remark that he had not come to let the grass grow under his feet.  At Loughbrickland inCountyDownhe reviewed an army composed of Protestants from all overEurope– Dutch, Danes, French, Germans, English, Scots, Irish, Swiss, Italians, Norwegians and Poles.  His army also included an elite unit, the Dutch Blue Guards, who were Catholics.  The European dimension was to be completed by James’s Jacobite force of Irish, French, English, Germans and Dutch.

The Williamite army, amounting to some 36,000 men, marched south to find that James, with about 25,000 men, had taken up position on the south bank of  the River Boyne to the west ofDrogheda. William deployed his own army on the northern bank.  It was while he was riding around in open view of the enemy and wearing full regalia – a habit which dismayed his commanders – that his whole enterprise almost ended there and then when an enemy shot tore through his coat wounding him in the shoulder blade.  However, as soon as a dressing was applied to the injury William rode round his dismayed troops to be greeted by their loud acclamations.  Both sides kept up a cannonade the rest of the day, and that evening William made a final inspection by torchlight, giving his orders for the impending battle.  William’s resolution to attack across the river the following morning was not approved by all his commanders, least of all Schomberg, who retired to his tent muttering that he had been more used to give such orders than to receive them.

The next morning, 1^st July, was bright and cloudless, and the Williamites – each with a sprig of green in their hats for identification – commenced the Battle of the Boyne.

William’s strategy was two-pronged:  there was to be a direct frontal assault across the Boyne, while his right wing, under the command of one of Schomberg’s sons, was to march some miles up the river to Slane, in the hope of turning the enemy’s left flank.  The feint succeeded, and many of James’s best troops were drawn away in an attempt to prevent the Williamites outflanking them, or, even worse, cutting off any possible line of retreat.

The centre of William’s army, consisting almost exclusively of foot soldiers, now commenced their frontal assault and marched, ten abreast, into the river.  As they neared the southern bank the difficulties of their task must have seemed only too apparent:  a fortification had been made by French engineers out of the hedges and buildings and a breastwork had been erected close to the water’s edge.  But still William’s troops, led by the Dutch Blue Guards, pressed forward and eventually began to prevail, with the Irish foot, to Tyrconnell’s great dismay, falling back in confusion.  The Irish and French cavalry hurried to retrieve the situation and engaged the Blue Guards in a desperate fight in the bed of the river.  Further downstream they also began to drive the Danish brigade back and assaulted the Huguenot regiments so ferociously they too began to give ground.  The cavalry’s efforts were so vigorous and tenacious that Schomberg, watching from the bank, became alarmed, and  without any defensive armour rode into the midst of the fray.  Close by him the French Huguenots were falling back before James’s French cavalry, and the gallant veteran endeavoured to rally them, by calling out in French:  “Come on, gentlemen: there are your persecutors!”  He was immediately surrounded by a number of the Irish cavalry and perished.  Almost at the same time the Reverend George Walker who had been Governor of Derry during the siege, was shot dead.

Just then William himself arrived with his cavalry.  He rode to the head of a contingent from Enniskillen, one of whom nearly shot him by mistake in the heat of the battle.  “Gentlemen,” he said, “I have heard much of you.  Let me see something of you.”

One of the most remarkable peculiarities of this man, ordinarily so saturnine and reserved, was that danger acted on him like wine, opened his heart, loosened his tongue, and took away all appearance of constraint from his manner.  On this memorable day he was seen wherever the peril was greatest.  One ball struck the cap of his pistol; another carried of the heel of his jackboot; but his lieutenants in vain implored him to retire to some station from which he could give his orders without exposing his life so valuable to Europe.  His troops, animated by his example, gained ground fast.

Inexorably the tide of battle turned in William’s favour and the Jacobites began to retreat, though their cavalry still retired fighting obstinately.  For the Jacobites  the battle was lost, whole troops had been cut to pieces, one fine regiment had but thirty unwounded men left, and their king had abandoned them and was already fleeing to the safety of France.

When news of William’s victory reached Pope Alexander VIII, who was delighted at what was in effect a French defeat, he ordered torchlight processions in Rome in celebration, and Te Deums were sung in the Catholic cathedrals of Austria and Spain.

Waiting in the wings with his own army was a remarkable character named Balldearg O’Donnell.  He had arrived from Spain shortly after the Battle of the Boyne claiming to be a lineal descendant of the ancient Gaelic kings of Tyrconnell in Ulster.  He also claimed to be the O’Donnell ‘with a red mark’ (ball dearg) who, according to ancient prophecy, was destined to lead his followers to victory.  Many ordinary Ulster Catholics had flocked to his standard, causing great hostility on the part of Tyrconnell who saw him as a threat to his own earldom.

Balldearg thus remained aloof from the Battle of Aughrim.  He proceeded to join the standard of William with 1200 men on 9^th September, 1691, and marched to assist in the reduction of the Jacobite town of Sligo.  This garrison surrendered on 16^th September, 1691, on condition that they were conveyed to Limerick.  Balldearg remained loyal to William and later entered his service in Flanders, with those of his men who elected to follow him.

James vindictively blamed his courageous soldiers for his defeat:  “When it came to a trial they basely fled the field and left the spoil to their enemies, nor could they be prevailed upon to rally, though the loss in the whole defeat was but inconsiderable: so that henceforth I never more determined to head an Irish army and do now resolve to shift for myself.”  Yet, the reality was quite the opposite:  “…it was their king that condemned the Irish to hopeless failure.  He called them cowards, whereas the cowardice was really his own, and he deserted them in their utmost need.  They repaid him with the opprobrious nickname of ‘Sheemas-a-Cacagh’, or Dirty James.”  Many of the defeated Jacobite soldiers chose exile, and between 1691 and 1791 almost half a million such ‘Wild Geese’ left Ireland to form the famous Irish Brigades of armies throughout Europe, and of this number 50,000 fell in battle.  James’s general, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, became a Marshal of France; Marshal Charles O’Brien, Viscount Clare and earl of Thormond, fought for the French at Fontenoy; Marshal Roland James Nugent commanded in the Austrian army, and his son Laval became a Marshal in the service of King Ferdinand V of Spain; Marshal Maxmilian von Browne rose in the service of Maria Theresa of Austria and Marshal Peter de Lacy became famous throughout Europe and parts of Asia as a commander in the Russian Army of Tsar Peter the Great.