The Wincanton Skirmish occurred on 20 November 1688 during the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

. A small patrol of the Royal Army led by the Irish officer Patrick Sarsfield, clashed with a detachment of the invading

Dutch Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

in the town of

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. It was one of the few notable actions fought during the campaign which has sometimes acquired the name the "bloodless revolution".

Background

Following the landing of William of Orange in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, forces loyal to James II had assembled on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

. Colonel Patrick Sarsfield was one of the most active officers on the King's behalf, at a time of growing doubts about the trustworthiness of other commanders. Inconclusive reports had arrived that enemy forces had been spotted at

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a market town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 ...

, close to Wincanton. Sarsfield was ordered by his superior General

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 ...

to take out a fresh patrol and investigate.

Skirmish

On the morning of 20 November, Sarsfield rode out from the royal camp with 120 Horse Guards and Horse Grenadier Guards including his second-in-command and fellow Irishman Henry Luttrell. After riding to Bruton, they discovered that the enemy force had marched to Wincanton the previous day. The Dutch troops were in fact a small advance guard of around thirty infantry who had been sent ahead of their main army to secure

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

for military use. They were Scottish troops of Hugh Mackay's regiment who were serving in the

Scots Brigade The Scots Brigade, also referred to as the Anglo-Dutch Brigade or the Anglo-Scots Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the Dutch States Army. First formed in 1586, by the late 17th century it usually comprised six infantry regiments, three recrui ...

of the Dutch Army, and were led by a Lieutenant Campbell. Their instructions were to remain at Wincanton until joined by William's main force. Campbell received warning of the enemy's approach from local inhabitants sympathetic to William, and decided to set an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind moun ...

for Sarsfield's men between Flingers Lane and Ireson Lane just outside Wincanton. Unsure if the approaching cavalry were hostile, given they might be

deserters Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which a ...

, Campbell shouted out a challenge demanding to know who the men supported. Sarsfield replied King James, and after Campbell responded that he was for Prince of Orange, Sarsfield reportedly cried "God damn you! I'll Prince You!" and both sides opened fire. In the ensuing melee Campbell was shot dead. Although Sarsfield's men comfortably outnumbered their opponents, the Scottish troops were in well-concealed positions and their fire took out several of the cavalryman. Many of Sarsfield's men dismounted and fought on foot, returning the enemy fire and hurling

grenades A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...

at them. Henry Lutrell led some of his men to outflank the enemy who were increasingly vulnerable. The fighting was stopped by one of the locals who rushed out of Wincanton warning Sarsfield's men that they were about to be attacked by large Dutch reinforcements in the village. This was in fact a completely false report, brought out by a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

who supported William's cause. A cautious Sarsfield disengaged and pulled his men back out of

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 di ...

range, allowing the remaining Scots time to flee. Sarsfield subsequently occupied Wincanton, having taken six prisoners and some of the horses that the Scottish troops had been gathering. Several of Sarsfield's men had been killed or wounded.

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

John Webb, a future general, was badly wounded and had to be left in the village to recover. A total of twelve Scots, including Campbell, had been killed in the fighting.

Aftermath

News of the fighting quickly spread around the country. Some reports wrongly suggested a major battle had taken place at Wincanton in which the King's forces had been routed. Wincanton was then occupied by the Dutch Army and William spent the night at a house there. The skirmish, along with the subsequent Battle of Reading, proved to be one of only two armed clashes during 1688. Although a major battle between the two field armies was widely anticipated, very little fighting took place. A series of defections amongst his senior officers led James to order a retreat to London; his army gradually disintegrated along the way and was finally disbanded at

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

. William was able to enter London without fighting the expected pitched battle. James fled into exile, while William and his wife were crowned in his place. Patrick Sarsfield subsequently distinguished himself fighting for James 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 ...

(1689–91).

Commemoration

The Orange Way long-distance footpath, created in 2003 to follow William's route from Devon to London, passes through Wincanton.

References

Bibliography

* Harris, Tim & Taylor, Stephen. ''The Final Crisis of the Stuart Monarchy: The Revolutions of 1688-91 in Their British, Atlantic and European Contexts''. Boydell & Brewer, 2015. * Wauchope, Piers. ''Patrick Sarsfield and the Williamite War''. Irish Academic Press, 1992. {{coord, 51.058, -2.405, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1688 in England

Wincanton Skirmish The Wincanton Skirmish occurred on 20 November 1688 during the Glorious Revolution. A small patrol of the Royal Army led by the Irish officer Patrick Sarsfield, clashed with a detachment of the invading Dutch Army in the town of Wincanton in Some ...

Glorious Revolution 17th century in Somerset

Wincanton