The Capture of Waterford took place in July 1690 during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

when a force under the command of

Percy Kirke Lieutenant General Percy Kirke (c. 1646 – 31 October 1691), English soldier, was the son of George Kirke, a court official to Charles I and Charles II. Career In 1666 Kirke obtained his first Army commission in Lord Admiral's regiment, and ...

captured the town of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

from its Jacobite

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

garrison. Full control of the town was not secured until Duncannon Fort across

Waterford Harbour Waterford Harbour ( gle, Loch Dá Chaoch / Cuan Phort Láirge) is a natural harbour at the mouth of the Three Sisters; the River Nore, the River Suir and the River Barrow in Ireland. It is navigable for shipping to both Waterford and New Ross ...

was also taken from its garrison under Michael Burke shortly afterwards. In both cases the garrisons were allowed to march out under escort to Jacobite-held Mallow in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, but were denied the "honours of war" which they demanded. Following William of Orange's victory at the Battle of Boyne, the Jacobite Army had evacuated

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and retreated west towards

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. A cluster of garrisons remained which were now targeted by William's forces. Waterford was a major commercial port, estimated as the second biggest settlement in Ireland. It was one of the last major Jacobite strongholds in

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

after

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

had been abandoned without a fight. Waterford had a significant Protestant population of around three hundred families, and this possibly influenced William's plans for the town. William's main field army was marching towards Limerick from Dublin, when on 21 July William sent a demand for Waterford's Governor John Barret to surrender. When the answer was not satisfactory the King detached four regiments of infantry and artillery under Percy Kirke to march on the town. Although preparations had been made to resist a siege, including the destruction of outlying suburbs which might offer cover to the attackers, the appearance of Kirke's forces shook Barret's confidence and he immediately opened negotiations to turn over the town in exchange for being able to take his 1,400 men westwards to rejoin the Jacobite army. Kirke took formal possession of the town on 25 July. Having taken Waterford, Kirke now switched his attention to Duncannon Fort, a strong position across the bay in County Wexford. Burke, the commander of Duncannon, requested that he be allowed several days in which to send a messenger to Limerick to receive instructions from his superiors. Kirke rejected such an attempt at a delay and began to prepare to his siege forces. Burke responded with defiance. However, when 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 ...

squadron under

Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch Wa ...

sailed into Waterford Bay, Burke changed his mind and surrendered on condition that his men could march out for Jacobite territory, rather than being held as prisoners. Some of the Catholic population of the area took advantage of William's

Declaration of Finglas The Declaration of Finglas was issued on 17 July 1690 by William III of Ireland at Finglas in County Dublin, shortly after his Williamite army's decisive victory at the Battle of the Boyne during the War of the Two Kings. The Declaration was issu ...

which had offered a pardon to Jacobite supporters while others left with the departing troops. Following William's unsuccessful Siege of Limerick, he sailed for England from Waterford Harbour. While some Jacobites advocated an attempt to retake Waterford following William's withdrawal from Limerick this was not practical, and it remained in Williamite hands until the end of the war at the

Treaty of Limerick }), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French ...

.Childs p.259

References

Bibliography

* Barratt, John. ''Battles for the Three Kingdoms: The Campaigns for England, Scotland and Ireland, 1689-92''. Sutton, 2007. * Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. * McNally, Michael. ''Battle of the Boyne 1690: The Irish Campaign for the English Crown''. Osprey Publishing, 2005. {{coord missing, County Waterford 1690 in Ireland Conflicts in 1690 History of County Waterford