The raid on Newry took place in November 1689 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 Franco-Irish force loyal to James II attacked the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. One ...

garrison of

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. The raid was carried out by the French Major General

Alexandre de Rainier de Droue, Marquis de Boisseleau Alexandre de Rainier de Droue, Marquis de Boisseleau (1650-1698) was a French aristocrat and soldier. He is known for his service on the Jacobite side during the Williamite War in Ireland. He was one of many French soldiers sent to Ireland by Louis ...

a French officer serving with James'

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 Ar ...

. It was largely unsuccessful and the Jacobite forces withdrew having suffered casualties.

Background

After capturing Carrickfergus in August 1689 and advancing 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 ...

, the Williamite commander

Marshal Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...

had halted his army at

Dundalk Camp Dundalk Camp was a military camp which served as the headquarters of the Williamite Army under Marshal Schomberg in Autumn 1689 as part of the Williamite War in Ireland. The camp rapidly became notorious for the great loss of life suffered by so ...

during a stand-off with the Jacobite forces defending the capital. In November Schomberg dispersed his forces into winter quarters across

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 ...

. As soon as Schomberg had withdrawn from Dundalk, the Jacobites issued orders to Boisseleau to lead a force to Newry with the intention of rolling-up the various Williamite garrisons in the area. Boisseleau's force, which consisted of 1,700 infantry accompanied by six troops of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

and

dragoons 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 ...

left on 23 November and reached the

River Clanrye Newry River and River Clanrye ( ga, An Rí; Ulster-Scots: ''Clanrye Wattèr'') are names for one of the rivers of Ireland. The river passes through the city of Newry and empties into Carlingford Lough near Warrenpoint. Course The river, whic ...

at dawn on 24 November. Colonel Toby Purcell the commander at Newry, had several companies of

Sir Henry Ingoldsby Sir Henry Ingoldsby, 1st Baronet (1622–1701) was an English military commander and landowner. He was born in Lethenborough, Buckinghamshire, the 5th son of Sir Richard Ingoldsby and his wife Elizabeth Cromwell. She was the daughter of Sir Ol ...

infantry regiment as a garrison. Purcell had deployed his troops by sending detachments to various crossings and strongpoints in the area leaving him only sixty troops in Newry itself, twenty of whom were not fit for duty.

Fight

Boisseleau sent a hundred men to the ford the Clanrye north of Newry Bridge as a diversion, while two hundred men attacked across Newry Bridge. They managed to kill the first sentry before he could sound the warning, but the second sentry was able to discharge his

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

and alert the town. Purcell hastily assembled some of his troops in the

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and around a dozen killed and wounded, as well as some prisoners. Williamite casualties were slightly less, although they had lost two

Captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

as they were coming out of their

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

s during the attack. Although some of the garrison made a half-hearted attempt to pursue the retreating Jacobites, this went no further than Newry Bridge.

Aftermath

Following the raid Schomberg took a number of measures to secure Newry. Cavalry were sent to the area, the bridge over the Clanrye was demolished and an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

set up to defend the ford which the Jacobites had used. Later in November reports were received that the

Earl of Antrim Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of Ireland and both times for members of the MacDonnell family, originally of Scottish origins. History The MacDonells of Antrim descended from Sorley Boy MacDo ...

's regiment at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

were planning a fresh attack on Newry. Brigadier William Stewart led a Williamite force which defeated Antrim's men in the

Moyry Pass The Moyry Pass is a geographical feature in Ireland. It is a mountain pass running along Slieve Gullion between Newry and Dundalk. It is also known as the Gap of the North.Spring p.105 The pass was of historical military importance as it controlle ...

, killing thirty and taking seventeen prisoners.Childs p.181 After the

Duke of Berwick Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...

's defeat at the

Battle of Cavan The Battle of Cavan took place in Cavan, Ireland on 11 February 1690 between forces of Williamite and Jacobite troops during the Williamite War in Ireland. It ended in a victory for the Williamites who captured, sacked and burned the town of ...

in February 1690, the policy of raids into Ulster was discontinued. The following summer the decisive Williamite victory at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

was won.

References

Bibliography

* Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. {{ISBN, 978-1-84725-164-0 1689 in Ireland Conflicts in 1689 County Down Battles of the Williamite War in Ireland