The Battle of Carrickfergus took place in February 1760 in

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. A force of 600 French troops landed under the command of the

Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

François Thurot François Thurot (22 July 1727 at Nuits-Saint-Georges near Dijon in eastern France – 28 February 1760 off the Isle of Man) was a French privateer, merchant naval captain and smuggler who raided British shipping during the Seven Years' War. E ...

, overwhelmed the small garrison of the town, and captured its castle. When word of the capture reached

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, a small force of

dragoon 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 w ...

s was despatched by the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

, who feared, incorrectly, that it was a

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

to draw British forces to the north while a main French force was to attack

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

or Dublin. Therefore, the bulk of the

Royal Irish Army Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

remained where it was rather than marching to the assistance of Ulster. Thurot held the town for five days, menacing nearby

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and demanding supplies and a ransom. In the face of the mobilisation of large numbers of local militia under General Strode, and the appearance of a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

squadron off the coast, Thurot re-embarked his force and departed the town. Thurot was subsequently killed during the

Battle of Bishops Court The Battle of Bishops Court, also known as The Defeat of Thurot, was a naval engagement that took place 28 February 1760, during the Seven Years' War, between three British ships and three French ships. The French force under famed commander Fra ...

, but his feat in landing on enemy soil was widely hailed in France and he became a

national hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

, partly because his perceived daring was in sharp contrast to the incompetence shown by French naval officers at the recent

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

.McLynn pp 386-87

References

;Bibliography * Longmate, Norman. ''Island Fortress: The Defence of Great Britain, 1603-1945''. Harper Collins, 1993 * McLynn, Frank. ''1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World''. Pimlico, 2005. * Rodger NAM. ''Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815''. Penguin Books, 2006. ;Further reading * Carrickfergus 1760 Carrickfergus (1760) Carrickfergus (1760) 1760 in Ireland Carrickfergus 1760 Carrickfergus Carrickfergus 1760 French military occupations 18th century in County Antrim {{battle-stub

See also

References