The Battle of Julianstown was fought on 27 November 1641 near

Julianstown Julianstown () is a village in County Meath, Ireland. It is located near Drogheda on the R132 regional road. In 1641, the Battle of Julianstown was fought here during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Julianstown is situated on the River Nanny ( ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

during the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

. A force sent by the Dublin government to reinforce the garrison of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

was ambushed by Irish rebels and nearly destroyed.

Background

At the beginning of the Irish Rebellion in October 1641, the rebels over ran most of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

before moving south towards

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 ...

. On 21 November, they besieged

and the Dublin government assembled reinforcements to support the garrison.

The battle

The relief force was hastily put together and its soldiers largely untrained, many being half-starved refugees from the north who had been pressed into service. The detachment was commanded by Sir Patrick Wemyss and was composed of 50 horse and around 600 foot, led by Sergeant Major Roper. The rebel forces were led by Philip O'Reilly and Miles O'Reilly, both Irish leaders from

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

. Their force of 3,000 men including 300 horse had experienced commanders and appears to have been assigned to the south of Drogheda to complete the encirclement of the garrison. On the morning of the battle, the rebels became aware of the approach of the government troops and prepared an ambush. When they sprang their trap, Wemyss mistakenly ordered his men to "countermarch" which caused them to move backwards as if they were retreating. The rebels took full advantage of the situation and immediately charged, causing panic and confusion among their opponents, many of whom threw down their weapons and attempted to escape. Although the cavalry entered Drogheda along with three companies of infantry, the rest were killed or captured.

Aftermath

The completeness of their victory was an important morale boost for the Irish troops and helped to spread the revolt throughout Ireland. For the Earl of Ormond, newly appointed commander of the government army, the battle showed the determination of the rebels and the degree of support for their cause.

References

Sources

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Background

The battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources

Further reading