French were, at 7 o'clock, within two miles of the town, before which our army had taken their position on a rising ground, to receive them. Our artillery at first made such execution among the French, that they instantly fell back some paces. They then filed off in small parties to the right and left, and assailed our troops in flank, who had scarcely fired a second round, when the royal army, seized with a panic, broke on all sides, and fled in extreme confusion through the town on the road to Tuam. Some have asserted that General Lake gave an order for retreating. The force that general commanded at Castlebar fell very little short of 6000 men. They never halted till they reached Tuam, and the same night renewed their march to Athlone. The artillery lost by our army in this defeat, consisted of 14 pieces, of which 4 were curricle guns, besides that of the carbiniers; the loss on either side has been never known. After their victory at Castlebar, the French received great accessions of Irish peasantry to their standard. The advanced guard of the French having arrived at Coloony, met Colonel Vereker, who had marched from Sligo with about 230 men, and 2 curricle guns, who, after 2 hours' fight, retreated back to Sligo, losing his artillery. Humbert directed his march to Drummahair, towards Manorhamilton, in the county of Leitrim, and taking his way by Drumkerim, intending to reach Granard, in the county of Longford; (Crawford's troops hung so close on the rear guard of the French, as to come to action with it on the 7th, between Drumshambo and Ballynamore.) Crawford's troops coming to action with him on the 7th, between Drumshambo and Ballynamore, were repulsed by Humbert with loss. The French army passed the Shannon at Ballintra, and halting at Claone, arrived at Ballina

muck on the 8th of September, so closely followed by the troops of Col. Crawford and Gen. Lake, that its rear guard was unable to break the bridge at Ballintra, to impede the pursuit; while Cornwallis, with the grand army, crossed the same river at Carrick-on-Shannon, marched by Mohill to Saint-Johnstown, county Longford, in order to intercept the enemy in front, on his way to Granard; or should he proceed, to surround him with an army of 30,000 men. In this desperate situation, Humbert arranged his forces, with no other object, as presumed, than to maintain the honor of the French arms. The rear guard having been attacked by Colonel Crawford, about 200 of the French infantry surrendered. The rest continued to defend themselves for about half an hour, when, on the appearance of the main body of General Lake's army, they also surrendered, after they had made Lord Roden, with a body of dragoons, a prisoner. He had precipitately advanced into the French lines, to obtain their surrender. The United men who had accompanied the French to this fatal field, being excluded from quarter, fled in all directions, and were pursued with the slaughter of 500 men, which seems much less to exceed the truth, than the returns of slain in the southeastern parts of the island. Notwithstanding the diminution by desertions on the march, about 1500 United men were with the French army at Ballynamuck, at the time of the surrender of General Humbert. The loss of the British was officially stated at 3 privates killed, 12 wounded, 3 missing, and one officer wounded. The troops of General Humbert were found, when prisoners, to consist of 746 privates, and 96 officers; having sustained a loss of about 200 men, since their landing at Killala on the 22d of August. Some thousands of United men assem

A

bled in the neighborhood of Granard, chiefly from Westmeath and Longford, on the 5th of September, but being defended by Captain Cottingham, they retreated with some loss. Castlebar, which, on its evacuation by the French, had been occupied by the king's troops, was attacked on the morning of the 12th of September, by 2000 United men. The garrison was defended by 57 Frazer's fencibles, 34 volunteers, and one troop of yeoman cavalry, under Captain Urquhart. The assailants were routed battle was fought near the village of Ballynascarty, county of Cork, where, on the 19th of June, 220 men of the Westmeath regiment of militia, with two 6 pounders, under the command of their Lieutenant, Sir Hugh O'Reilly, were attacked on their march from Clonakelty to Bandon, by a body of 3 or 400 men, armed principally with pikes. This was only a part of the United force here placed in ambush, in a very advantageous position. The attack was made from a height on the left of the column, so unexpectedly and rapidly, that the troops had scarcely time to form; but at that critical moment, a hundred men of the Caithness legion arrived on the spot, and by a brisk fire helped to put the assailants to flight. Their loss amounted to between 50 and 100 men; that of the royal troops, only a sergeant and one private. On the 7th of June the town of Antrim was attacked by the United men, commanded by Henry Joy McCracken, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and soon overpowered the troops within it, nearly gaining possession. Major-general Nugent with a body of troops attacked them, but his vanguard, consisting of cavalry, being repulsed, with the loss of 23 men killed and wounded, of which three were officers, Colonel Durham brought the artillery to batter the town, which obliged the United forces to abandon

it, together with a 6-pounder they had brought with them, and two curricle guns they had taken from the army. They were pursued towards Slanes castle and Randalstown with some loss. On this day Lord O'Neil was mortally wounded. A small body of men made an assault on the town of Larne, and at Ballymena and Ballycastle: the main body retired to Donegar Hill, where they surrendered their arms, and almost all dispersed. On the 8th of June, another body of United men in the county of Down, near Saintfield, commanded by Dr. Jackson, set fire to Mackee's house the informer, and the next day, from an ambuscade, surrounded the York fencibles under Colonel Stapleton, and killed about 60; the balance retired to Comber. The United troops occupied Saintfield that night. On Sunday, the 10th of June, the men of Ards attacked Portaferry, and after a hard fight, retired from the town. On the 11th, there was at Saintfield about 7000 United men, commanded by General Munroe, who had, besides, a strong force at Creevy Rocks. The British, under Generals Nugent and Barber, arrived from Belfast to meet him at Ballynahinch. McCance, an officer of great courage, defended Windmill Hill; while Munroe posted his men on the hill of Ednevady. Several battles were fought, where loss was sustained on both sides. Munroe assembled a council of war : the voice of the people declared for instant action; the commander-in-chief alone opposed it. The ammunition was insufficient for to-morrow, but not for a night attack; for the pike and the bayonet were more efficient. To-morrow might reinforce the enemy's ranks; to-night every thing favored an attack. General Munroe said: "We scorn to avail ourselves of the ungenerous advantage which night affords; we will meet them in the blush of open day. we

will fight them like men, not under the cloud of night, but the first rays of to-morrow's sun." This determination was received with discontent by the troops, and many retired from the field. A division of nearly 700 men, and more generally armed with muskets than the rest, marched off in one body with their leader. Such was the romantic character of the man in whose hand was placed the destiny of thousands. On the morning of the 13th, he commenced the attack on Ballynahinch, by a discharge from 8 small pieces of ship cannon, which were drawn up against the town, and well served; these were promptly replied by the heavy artillery of the enemy. Munroe headed a formidable column, while a strong division marched from the hill, and drove a body of troops into the town, having lost their commander. The column led by Munroe consisted of the greater part of the disposable force which remained; and no men could have displayed greater courage and enthusiasm than they evinced in the advance. They bore down all opposition; forced an entrance into the town under the most destructive fire of musketry and cannon; repeated rounds of grape-shot sweeping whole ranks, which were as rapidly replaced. A piece of heavy artillery fell into the hands of the pikemen, who charged to the very muzzle of the guns. Munroe gained the centre of the town, where, exposed to the cross-fire of musketry in the market-square-raked by the artillery-his ammunition exhausted-he pressed boldly on the enemy with the bayonet and the pike. The charge was irresistible; and the British general ordered a retreat. The United troops, unacquainted with the trumpet's note, and enveloped by the smoke which prevented a distinct view of the hurried movements in the British line, mistook the sounded re