CHAPTER XXIII.

FRENCH OCCUPATION OF CASTLEBAR-Humbert'S MOVEMENT TO THE NORTH -SURRENDER OF THE FRENCH ARMY.

DURING the period that Humbert occupied Castlebar-that is, from the 27th of August until the morning of the 4th of September-the French behaved with the greatest moderation, protecting the Protestants from insult, and repressing every attempt at cruelty on the part of their ignorant and useless allies. Invariably the invaders regarded the Irish mob who accompanied them as a pack of senseless savages—and no pains were taken to disguise these feelings of contempt. "The French ate the best of meat and bread, drank wine, beer, and coffee, and slept on good beds. They compelled the rebels to eat potatoes, drink whiskey, and sleep on straw. They beat and abused them like dogs, in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity. A volume would not contain an account of the brutal actions of the rebels; and the women, who were worse than the men, carried off hides, tallow, beef, cloth, and various other articles."

Bad as the peasantry were, the few gentry who had joined the French were even still more contemptible. All were men who, through drunkenness or poverty, had lost caste, with the exception of two or three, who, from imbecility or silly pride, had been led to declare for the invaders-and, wanting both in energy and influence, they were allies but in name.

From the determination exhibited by the better classes to keep aloof from any political connection with the invading army, Humbert had long been convinced that nothing but another French descent upon the coast, and that too, in imposing strength, could, in the present state of Ireland, make any serious impression. On any real advantage which could arise from the co-operation of the priesthood and the peasantry, he had ascertained, by melancholy experience, that no dependence could be placed. Not a respectable person in holy orders had openly countenanced the movement-and such men as Gannon, Macgowan, and Cowley† were a disgrace to their own profession, and hence, their adherence to any cause would be damnatory. No wonder,

* Musgrave.

+ Gannon had been in France for many years, spoke the language fluently, and hence, was useful to Humbert. His character was very bad, and he was grossly immoral. Macgowan was a fellow of very low parentage, and a confirmed drunkard. He broke his neck returning home inebriated from a christening. Cowley was a peasant's son-illiterate and truculent; and, had he not been prevented by a misguided, but most humane man named Barrett, he would have proved one of the most sanguinary monsters of that fearful time. "Though this wretch escaped the gallows,

therefore, that to the Irish priesthood the French officers exhibited a marked antipathy;* and indeed the few who joined them were but a sorry specimen of the order. Frequently, a latent hatred of Protestants became too apparent; but any attempt-and many were made to give a religious turn to the war, was on the French part furiously repelled. The freest exercise of worship was permitted to the Protestants-and, infidels themselves, the faith of others was scrupulously respected by the invaders.

Doctor Ellison, the rector of Castlebar, had formerly been a cavalry officer, and was remarkable for personal intrepidity. Slightly wounded and made prisoner at Killalla, he afterwards returned to Castlebar, and remained there in constant communication with the French officers, who treated him with great respect. On one occasion, while conversing with Humbert and his staff, a drunken priest entered the room to ask the French general's permission to celebrate mass in the Protestant church. Humbert laughed, and replied, "that he might say mass where he pleased, provided that he did not require him to attend it." The priest returned thanks, and was retiring, when Doctor Ellison called him back." So," he said, "Father intend offering mass up in my church?" "I do," was the reply. "I cannot prevent it," returned Ellison, boldly-" but mark what I promise. Offer the insult you intend to my church, and, by heaven! within one fortnight I'll have you hanged upon the steeple!" The threat had the desired effect-but, every thing considered, few men would have been bold enough to hold it out.

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Nor was it alone when under the immediate eye of the commanderin-chief, that person and property were protected. The detachment which was left to garrison Killalla had been intrusted to a French officer called Charost,† and during the occupation of that town,

he suffered a more severe and painful death. Having wandered about the mountains for some months, suffering all the miseries of hunger, thirst, watching, and fear, his friends formed a subterraneous cavern for him, under a corn-field, of which the aperture was covered with a large stone, so as to elude the observation of his pursuers, who often passed close to it. His provisions were let down to him by a rope. At last, he was found dead in his den, and his death was imputed to suffocation from coals, which his friends supplied him with, to correct the humidity of his cavern."-Musgrave.

* "The wonder was, how the zealous papist should come to any terms of agreement with a set of men, who boasted openly in our hearing, that they had just driven Mr. Pope out of Italy, and did not expect to find him so suddenly in Ireland.' It astonished the French officers to hear the recruits, when they offered their service, declare, that they were come to take arms for France and the Blessed Virgin.' The conduct of the several priests who engaged in the same treasonable enterprise was yet more surprising than that of their people. No set of men could be treated with more apparent marks of dislike, and even contempt, than these were by the French, though against the plainest suggestions of policy, which recommended attention to them, both as having an influence over their flocks, and as useful interpreters, most of them, from their foreign education, being able to speak a little French. Yet the commandant would not trust to their interpretation; if he wanted to know the truth, he waited till he could see the bishop.'

+"Lieutenant-colonel Charost had attained the age of five-and-forty. He was born in Paris, the son (as the writer was told) of a watchmaker in that city, who

the chief care of the gallant colonel was, not only to secure his prisoners from insult, but to make them feel their captivity as slightly as circumstances would permit.* Nor was urbanity of manner, and a total absence of dishonesty, confined to those in command. The conduct of the whole was exemplary; and the following testimony from Bishop Stock is, indeed, truly honourable to the character of the French soldiery:

"It would be an act of the greatest injustice to the excellent discipline constantly maintained by these invaders while they remained in our town, not to remark, that with every temptation to plunder which the time and the number of valuable articles within their reach presented to them in the bishop's palace, from a sideboard of plate and glasses, a hall filled with hats, whips, and great-coats, as well of the guests as of the family, not a single particle of private property was found to have been carried away, when the owners, after the first fright was over, came to look for their effects, which was not for a day or two after the landing. Immediately upon entering the dining-room, a French officer had called for the bishop's butler, and gathering up the spoons and glasses, desired him to take them to his pantry. Beside the entire use of other apartments, during the stay of the French in Killalla, the attic story, containing a library and three bed-chambers, continued sacred to the bishop and his family. And so scrupulous was the delicacy of the French not to disturb the female part of the house, that not one of them was ever seen to go higher than the middle floor, except on the evening of their success at Castlebar, when

sent him over early to some connections in St. Domingo, where he was fortunate to marry a wife with a plantation for her dowry, which yielded him, before the troubles, an income of two thousand pounds sterling per annum. By the unhappy war which desolated that island he lost every thing; even his wife and his only child, a daughter, were taken on their passage to France, and sent to Jamaica. His eyes would fill when he told the family that he had not seen these dear relatives for six years past, nor even had tidings of them for the last three years. On his return to France he embraced military life, and had risen by due degrees to the rank which he now filled. He had a plain, good understanding; seemed careless or doubtful of revealed religion, but believed in God, was inclined to think that there must be a future state, and was very sure that while he lived in this world, it was his duty to do all the good to his fellow-creatures that he could. Yet what he did not exhibit in his own conduct, he appeared to respect in others, for he took care that no noise nor disturbance should be made in the castle on Sundays, while the family and many Protestants from the town were assembled in the library at their devotions. Another French officer was Ponson, only five feet and a half in stature, a person of great animal spirits, and incessantly noisy. 'He was hardy, and patient to admiration of labour and want of rest. A continued watching of five days and nights together, when the rebels were growing desperate for prey and mischief, did not appear to sink his spirits in the smallest degree. He was strictly honest, and could not bear the want of this quality in others; so that his patience was pretty well tried by his Irish allies:' but he expressed a contempt of all forms of religion."-Bishop Stock.

"The Protestants of Killalla enjoyed, under the protection of the French officers, the privilege of attending divine service every Sunday in the bishop's palace, commonly called the castle. The cathedral remained shut, and the Romanists often threatened to seize it for their own use; but they were always restrained by the presence of Charost and his men."

two officers begged leave just to carry to the family the news of the battle, and seemed a little mortified that the intelligence was received with an air of dissatisfaction."

No reinforcements had arrived from France-no insurrectionary movement in the other provinces followed the descent at Killalla, and the unexpected success at Castlebar. The game was played-Lord Cornwallis was within thirty miles-another day, and surrender would be inevitable; but still a chance might be "upon the die," and like a brave adventurer, Humbert determined to put it to the hazard. After mature consideration, he decided to march in a northerly direction, as that part of the country he understood to be disaffected: and also, the route leading through Sligo and Donegal, was tolerably free from troops, and consequently, more open to him. Accordingly, on the night of the 3rd of September, he sent off his baggage and cannon, with part of his troops, towards Sligo; and about seven next morning set out with the remainder, about four hundred in number.

With the abandonment of the capital of Mayo, Humbert's Irish career may be said to have closed-and, probably, the most summary but faithful account of his extraordinary campaign, is contained in his own report to the French Directory :

"After having obtained the greatest successes, and made the arms of the French republic to triumph during my stay in Ireland, I have at length been obliged to submit to a superior force of 30,000 troops, commanded by Lord Cornwallis. I am a prisoner of war on my parole." Never was a despatch more brief, nor yet more true.

On the day that he evacuated Castlebar, Humbert despatched Doctor Ellison with about eighty prisoners to Lord Cornwallis; and on his route to Hollymount, the doctor fell in with a strong cavalry detachment of Hompech's dragoons and Lord Roden's Foxhunters, under the command of Colonel Crawford, who were in march to make a reconnaissance. On being apprized of Humbert's retreat, Colonel Crawford advanced-and at nine o'clock the same evening, Castlebar was re-occupied by the royalists.

The French were accompanied in their march by a horde of rebels, who every hour deserted by twenties. Their first halt was at Barleyhill-there Humbert remained two hours-and resuming his march, reached Swineford at seven in the evening. Still pressing forward, he halted near the village of Tubbercurry, and after a trifling skirmish, dispersed some yeomen cavalry who had advanced to reconnoitre. At Tubbercurry, Humbert was joined by a mob of rebels, who had crossed the mountains from Ballina. Sligo appeared now to be his first object, and he continued his march towards that town.*

"At Swineford General Taylor divided his force, moving himself on Sligo, and directing the Kerry and Fraser fencibles, with a squadron of the 6th dragoon guards, upon Trenchpark. The day after we reached Trenchpark we received orders to retire upon Sligo, and I was so fully impressed with the extreme danger of such a course, as it would expose the two main lines to the capital, Carrickonshanna and Tarmonbarry, to the enemy, and also enable the counties of Longford and Roscommon to rise, both of which were fully organized for the purpose,

On ascertaining that the French were advancing, Colonel Vereker, with a detachment of the City Limerick militia, a corps of yeomanry, and two curricle-guns, marched from the garrison, and took a position at Colooney, a village five miles from Sligo. His force did not exceed three hundred men, but he had the advantage of a strong positionhis right was on a height, his left rested on the river-and there he boldly risked an action. The result was only what might have been expected from the numerical superiority of the enemy. Vereker's right was turned- and consequently, he was obliged to retreat across the river, after maintaining a sharp and spirited action of an hour.

It was said that, on both sides, there was a misconception. Humbert thought that Vereker's was the advanced guard of a large force, and engaged him cautiously; while the colonel believed he had only the van of the French army before him, when, in reality, the entire was in his front. To the British commander, the action was most creditable— and, although he retreated without his guns, the loss he inflicted on the enemy was most serious* and discouraging. One important result followed.

"This opposition, though attended with defeat to the opposers, is supposed to have caused the French general to relinquish his design on Sligo. He directed his march by Drummahair, towards Manorhamilton, in the county of Leitrim, leaving on the road, for the sake of expedition, three six-pounders, and dismounting and throwing five pieces of artillery over the bridge at Drummahair into the river. On approaching Manorhamilton, he suddenly wheeled to the right, taking his way by Drumkerin, perhaps with the design of attempting, if possible, to

that I ventured, notwithstanding the irregularity of such a proceeding, to remonstrate with the commanding officer against obeying the order, and urged him to refer for further instructions to Lord Cornwallis, at Athlone. After a good deal of discussion, he consented to take the opinion of the field officers of the regiment, who unanimously concurred in my opinion, and I was authorized to draw up a statement explanatory of our decision and forward it to Lord Cornwallis, which the colonel accordingly signed and despatched in duplicate to Athlone. The lord-lieutenant sanctioned the course taken, and we were ordered to assemble, together with the other corps, at Boyle, under General Lake, and immediately advance upon Castlebar. The general, in obedience to these orders, marched with his entire force to Frenchpark, and the following afternoon bivouacked in an advantageous position, to the east of the cross-roads at Ballahadareen. In the course of the night, the French, who had made a rapid movement from Castlebar, exactly in the line we foretold, viz. towards Frenchpark and Carrick, reached the cross-roads, and were informed of General Lake's being halted there. Sarazin, the second in command, strongly urged a night attack upon the bivouac-but Humbert overruled the proposal, suddenly turned to his left, and marching on Colooney, encountered there the Limerick militia. General Lake, informed by his picquets of the French movement, beat to arms, and the troops were on march soon after two in the morning-and he advanced so rapidly in pursuit of the French, as to arrive at Ballinamuck in time to co-operate with Lord Cornwallis, in compelling the surrender of Humbert's army."

* It was said that the French lost twenty-eight killed, and above thirty wounded. Vereker returned his casualties at nine killed, and twenty-two wounded.

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