The Catholic Irish Brigade was a unit in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, largely drafted from the formerly-hostile French Irish Brigade by a series of rare changes in British and French policy.

Context

The success of the Irish Brigade in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1690 to 1791 came to an unexpected end during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, as it had always sworn loyalty only to

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

, and the former kings, as distinct from the French people. Louis was re-titled as "King of the French" and was then deposed on 10 August 1792 and within months he had been tried and sentenced to death. The Irish Brigade regiments lost their distinctive uniforms and were renamed and renumbered in 1791, and some of their officers were also executed, such as

Théobald Dillon Théobald Dillon (1745, Dublin – April 29th, 1792, near Lille) was count of Dillon and an Irish-born general in the French army. He was a distant cousin of general Arthur Dillon (1750-1794), Arthur Dillon (who also had a brother named Theoba ...

in 1792 and Arthur Dillon. As royalists and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s, they were hostile to the

dechristianization of France during the French Revolution The dechristianization of France during the French Revolution is a conventional description of the results of a number of separate policies conducted by various governments of France between the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Conc ...

and the whole concept of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

Establishment

When the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...

included Britain from February 1793, it was not so surprising that many in the Brigade came to think of supporting their ancient enemy. The British Prime Minister

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

had recently tried to end Catholic grievances by promoting the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1793 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1793 (33 Geo. III, c.21) is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland, relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities. The Act was introduced by the Chief Secretary for Ireland, ...

enacted by the Irish Parliament. He supported the creation of

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

in 1795, allowing Catholic priests to be trained in Ireland. These were considerable reforms of the formerly harsh penal laws. Pitt invited several Irish Brigade officers to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1794 and offered to set up a "Catholic Irish Brigade", envisaged as 6 regiments that would be raised in Ireland and led by men such as Count Daniel Charles O'Connell (an uncle of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

). This was agreed and formalised. However, recruitment was hampered by hostility and fear from the

Protestant Ascendancy The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...

at the idea of raising such a brigade, competition from the Irish Militia, whose members would serve at home (see

Militia (Ireland) Act 1802 The Militia (Ireland) Act 1802 ( 43 Geo. 3. c. 2) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied only to the Kingdom of Ireland, with the Militia Act 1802 and Militia (Scot ...

), and also some ridicule from the new and pro-French republican

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

. Other officers, such as Henry Dillon, had no previous affiliation with France, but were cousins of, or descended from, officers of the formerly-French Irish Brigade.

Saint-Domingue / Haiti

In 1792 some regiments from the Irish Brigade were posted to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

(now

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

), a French slave colony in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, to put down a

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedo ...

that had started in 1791. Assisted by local Irish-origin slave-owners they lost a skirmish at Les Plantons, and started local massacres to cow the population.

Léger-Félicité Sonthonax Léger-Félicité Sonthonax (7 March 1763 – 23 July 1813) was a French abolitionist and Jacobin before joining the Girondist party, which emerged in 1791. During the French Revolution, he controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue during pa ...

arrived from France in 1792 as Commissioner, and soon realised that freeing the slaves would be a better policy. This emancipation was effected by him in 1793, after the outbreak of war with Britain. The Irish Brigade units in Haiti then changed sides and assisted in the British invasion of Haiti in 1794-98 under General Thomas Maitland, and were paid for by Pitt. Some former Irish Brigade officers led new regiments raised in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

that were mostly composed of African-origin soldiers. After several years of unsuccessful warfare, during which most casualties were caused by

tropical diseases Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by forci ...

, Maitland signed a treaty in 1798 with

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

promising to leave, and in return Louverture promised not to foment a slave revolt in Jamaica. As well as Haiti, other units of the Catholic Irish Brigade were established in 1795 and posted to safer but more tedious and unglamorous garrison duties in places such as

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Summary

While the Brigade only lasted for 4 years, with a maximum strength of 4,500 men, it demonstrated Pitt's understanding that many Irish Catholics would support his war against the French republican state. Losses from disease, difficulties in recruitment, competition from other formations and the outbreak of the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

all ended Pitt's experiment. It can be contrasted with the Napoleonic

Irish Legion The Irish Legion (french: Légion irlandaise) was a light infantry regiment in service of the French Imperial Army established in 1803 for an anticipated invasion of Ireland. It was later expanded to a four battalions and a depot, the legion won ...

that served France from 1803 to 1815.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Irish Brigade (1794-1798) Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army William Pitt the Younger Military units and formations established in 1794 1794 establishments in Ireland 1794 establishments in Great Britain Military units and formations disestablished in 1798 1798 disestablishments in Ireland 1798 disestablishments in Great Britain British defence policymaking