"The Crimson Banner" is a traditional Irish song, also known as "The Eighteenth of December" and "No Surrender!". Written by

William Blacker Lieutenant-Colonel William Blacker (1 September 1777 – 25 November 1855''Burke's Peerage'' gives information for two contemporaries named William Blacker. Page 103 gives and brother of Valentine Blacker with 1776 as birth and 20 October 1850 as ...

in 1818, it is part of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Loyalist tradition.Blackstock & Magennis p.68 The song celebrates the closing of the gates of the

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 ...

city of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

to the approaching 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 Ar ...

on 18 December 1688. Its lyrics also cover the subsequent

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

in 1689 when 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 ...

forces held out until being relieved. The siege popularised the term "No Surrender!", which had previously been used by the defenders of Bandon earlier the same year. The song's title refers to the crimson banner, a traditional gesture of defiance during sieges, which flew throughout the Derry campaign.

Bibliography

* Allan Blackstock & Eoin Magennis. ''Politics and Political Culture in Britain and Ireland, 1750-1850: Essays in Tribute to Peter Jupp''. Ulster Historical Foundation, 2007.

References

Irish songs 1818 songs Orange Order {{song-stub