commander was unfortunately kill ed by a shot in the head; and his corps, being in a situation where it could not act with advantage, was forced to retire to Arklow, with the loss of 54 men killed, and two six-pounders. Encouraged by this success, the rebel army, on the 9th of June, presented itself before Arklow, where general Needham commanded a considerable body of the king's forces. They approached, in two strong columns, from the Coolgrenny-road along the sand hills, while the whole of the intermediate space was crowded by a rabble, armed with pikes and firearms, and bearing down without any regular order. The position general Needham had chosen was a very strong one in front of the barrack. As soon as the enemy approached within a short distance, he opened a very heavy fire of grapeshot, which, he observes, did as much execution as, from the nature of the ground, and the strong fences of which the rebels possessed themselves, could have been expected. This continued incessantly for two hours and a half, when the enemy at length desisted from their attack, and fed in disorder on eveTy side. The rebels, as usual, lost a great number, while the loss of his majesty's forces, was inconsiderable. Hitherto the king's troops had been able to act only on the defensive; but general Lake now began to advance towards the seat of the rebellion in the south, with large reinforcements. On the 11th of June, major-general sir Charles Asgill attacked a rebel camp at the Boar, near Ross, which he dispersed. Fifty of the rebels, with their leader, were left dead on the field of battle. The main body of the rebels still retained their strong position on Vinegar-Hill; a position from which they could not have been dislodged, had they been well provisioned and possessed of suffi cient military skill. General Lake, aware of the difficulties he had to encounter, of the great disadvantage of a repulse, and desirous of terminating the war in this quarter of Ireland, if possible, at one decisive blow, made his approaches quietly, and with great caution.-A cordon of troops was gradually collected from different quarters, which almost surrounded the rebel station. The 21st of June was destined for the grand attack, which the commander in chief, general Lake, ordered to be made, in several columns, under generals Dundas, Johnson, Eustace, Duff, and Loftus. The rebels maintained their ground obstinately for an hour and a half; but at length, sensible of the danger of being surrounded, they fled with precipitation. The slaughter must have been very great, though general Lake, in his dispatches, said it could not then be ascertained. The rebels lost thirteen small pieces of ordnance, of different callibres. Immediately after this action, a large body of the king's forces advanced to Wexford, which general Moore entered so opportunely as to prevent the town from being laid in ashes. Previous to evacuating the place, the insurgents endeavoured to treat. Captain Keughe, who had served with credit in the American war, and had risen from the ranks to the station of a commissioned officer, had been appointed by the rebels the governor of Wexford. On the approach of the king's troops, a captain Macmanus, of the Antrim militia, who had been taken prisoner in one of the actions in which the insurgents had been successful, and a captain Hay, who who had been taken in a sloop with lord Kingsborough in endeavouring to join their regiment (the Cork), were dispatched by Keughe, with offers to deliver up the town, provided all concerned in the insurrection should have their persons and properties guaranteed by the commanding officer. General Lake, however, only replied, that he could not attend to any terms offered by rebels in arms against their sovereign. To the deluded multitude only he promised pardon, on condition of their delivering up their leaders, and returning with sincerity to their allegiance. On receiving this answer, the rebel troops evacuated the town, which was peaceably taken possession of by his majesty's forces on the 22d of June. Mr. Bagenal Harvey and Mr. Colclough quitted the rebel army soon after the battle of Ross, disgusted, as they declared in their last moments, with the cruelties and oppression which bad been exercised on such protestants and loyalists as fell into the hands of the rebellious mob. They were discovered, and taken in a cave on one of the Saltee islands (or rather rocks) which lie in the entrance of Wexford harbour, on the 26th of June*; and with Keughe, the rebel governor, and Cornelius Grogan, a very oppulent and penurious old gentleman, who declared he had been forced to join the rebels, and some others, were tried by a court-martial and executed on the bridge of Wexford. The conduct of the rebels, even independent of the massacre of the prisoners, was extremely censurable, while the rebellion raged in the * On their landing, Mr. Harvey appeared to be very much dejected, and scarcely spoke to any one. Mr. Colclough, on the contrary, seemed to be in very good spirits. On hearing many persons inquiring which was Mr. Harvey, and which Mr. Colclough, he pulled off his hat, and, bowing in the most polite manner, said "Gentlemen, my name is Colclough." They were then both taken to the gaol. Some of the soldiers, who had been of the party sent to the Saltee-islands to apprehend Mr. Harvey and Mr. Colclough, informed me, that when they came to the island, they found but one house upon it, in which lived an old man and his family; that, upon their landing, they heard somebody holla, as if to give warning to others, and they then saw the old man run across a field into his house.-The soldiers followed him, and endeavoured, by every entreaty, to prevail upon him to discover to them the place where the fugitives were concealed, but without effect. Finding they could obtain no intelligence by this mode of address, and having certain information that the persons they sought for were there, they tied him up and gave him two dozen lashes, when he acknowledged that Mr Colclough and Mr. Harvey were in a cave in a rock close to the sea-side. He then conducted the soldiers to the other side of the island, where they found the cave; hut it was so situated that it was impossible to approach the fugitives without a great deal of trouble and danger. It was then thought most prudent to call to Mr. Harvey, who making no answer, the commander of the party told tho e within, that all resistance was vain, that he had a large body of men with him, and should immediately order them to fire into the cave, if those who were concealed there did not come out. On this, Mr. Colclough appeared, and both he and Mr. Harvey surrendered themselves. The soldiers were of opinion, that if he had defended himself, by firing through the chinks of the rocks, he might have killed several of them before they could possibly have shot at him with any effect. When he was taken, he had an old musket, a pocket pistol, and two cutlasses Mrs. Colclough was with them. There was a very neat feather bed, blanket, and sheets, in the cave, and a keg of whiskey; also a jar of wine, a tub of butter, and some biscuits; a large pound-cake, that weighed above twenty pounds; a live sheep, and a crock of pickied pork; also tea, sugar, &c. Two chests of plate were also found near the cave. These were brought in the boat to town, and placed under the care of a magistrate. Mrs. Colclough was not brought to Wexford with her husband and Mr. Harvey.-Jackson's Narrativ", p. 48.. county 190 At Scollo county of Wexford. • County of Wexford, to wit. circumstance, that though the chiefs of the united Irishmen were evidently hostile to all religious establishments, the people were directly the contrary, and the majority of them engaged in the cause professedly, because they believed that the heretics, who had reigned upwards of one hundred years, were now to be extirpated, and the true catholic religion established." Such protestants as joined the rebel army were obliged to be baptised in the Romish chapels; and even Mr. Harvey, and the other chieftains, were compelled to attend mass, and, at least outwardly, to conform to the rites of that religion *. Though the North had been the first Richard Grandy, of Ballystraco, in the county of Wexford, faimer, came this day before us his majesty's justices of the peace, for the said county, and maketh oath upon the Holy Evangelists, that he this examinant was attacked and seised at the cross roads of Kilbride in said county, on Sunday the third day of June instant, between the hours of nine and ten o'clock in the morning, as he was returning from a farm he had on the lands of Kilbride, by several persons armed with guns, pikes, and spears; that amonst the number were Michael Poor, Thomas Poor, Martin White, Richard Shee, Martin Cothoun, Nicholas Browne, Michael White, John Moran, and Laurence Moran, all of Kilbride aforesaid, with many others, whose names this deponent knows not, though their faces were very familar to him; that examinant was conducted from thence to the rebel camp at Carrick Byrne, in said county, and in the afternoon of same day was brought to Mr. King's house at Schollobogue in said county; that he was introduced into a room where he saw Bagenal Harvey, of Bargy Castle in said county, esq.; William Devereux of Taghmon in said county, farmer; Francis Brien of Taghmon; and Nicholas Sweetman of New Bawne in said county, with a few more, whom deponent did not know, but believes that John Colclough of Ballytiegue in said county, and a son of said William Devereux, were of the number; that deponent was closely examined by said Bagenal Harvey, as to the state of Ross and Duncannon forts, and whether he was an orange man or an united man; that said Bagenal Harvey proffered him to take the oath of an united Irishman, and become one of their community; that at last opponent obtained a pass from said Bagenal Harvey, with which he came as far as Bryanstown, where he was stopped by the guard of rebels who were stationed there; that he was conducted back again to Collop's Well, where he met with said Bagenal Harvey and said Nicholas Sweetman; that said Nicholas Sweetman signed the pass he had got from said Harvey; that he had not gone far before the pass had been taken from him and torn, upon which deponent was taken prisoner to Scollobogue House, where he was confined till the Tuesday morning following, with many other protestants; that about nine o'clock John Murphy of Loughnageer in said county, who had the command of the Rosegarland rebel corps, and was the officer of the guard over the prisoners, had ordered them out by fours to be shot by his company of rebels, till thirty-five were massacred; that the rebel spearmen used to take pleasure in piercing the victims through with their spears, and, in exultation, licking their bloody spears; that while this horrid scene was acting, the barn at said Scoliobogue, in which were above one hundred protestants (as deponent heard and believes), was set on fire and all consumed to ashes; that examinant's life was spared because said Murphy knew said agenal first focus of sedition in the kingdom, yet, as was before remarked, they were neither so forward in their operations, nor were the movements of the rebels so formidable in that quarter, as in the South. For this various reasons have been assigned. It has been said, that the protestants of Ulster began before this crisis to distrust the views of the catholics. Perhaps a more satisfactory reason is, that the views and attention of government were more particularly directed to this part of the Bagenal Harvey had given him a pass; and through his intercession with said Murphy Loftus Fressel was likewise spared; sayeth, they were both tied and conveyed within a mile of Ross, where they met said Begenal Harvey, Cornelius Grogan of Johnstown in said county, esq., said William Devereux, and many others, unknown to deponent, retreating from the battle of Ross; saith that said Bagenal Harvey ordered said Murphy to take the prisoners to his lodging at Col'op's Wel, where he gave a pass to Loftus Fressel, but refused to give one to deponent, lest he should go to Duncannon Fort, and report what deponent had heard and seen; saith that he heard and believes it to be a fact, that said Cornelius Grogan had the command of the Barony of Fort rebel troops at the battle of Ross; saith that he was taken to Foulke's Mill in said county that night, where he continued for two days under a guard dressing the wounded; that he was afterwards conveyed to Ballymitty in said county, when he obtained a pass from Edward Murphy, parish-priest of said place, to pass and re-pass through his district for the purpose of curing the wounded; saith that he was sent to Taghmon, where the sitting rebel magistrates, John Brien, James Harper, Joseph Cullamore, and Mathew Commoas, were of opinion that deponent might with the priest's pass have gone back again and remain there; saith that he strolled along the sea-side under the protection of this pass, tili at last he effected his escape across the ferry of Bannow to Feathard, on Friday evening the 22d instant, and from thence to Duncannon Fort this morning; saith that he often heard it reported while he was in custody, that John Colclough and Thomas M'Leard, both of Tintern in said county, were very active in promoting the rebellion; and further saith, that he saw John Devereux of Shalbeggan in said county, jun., at Scollobogue, on Monday the 4th instant, and that he seemed, and he verily believeth he had a principal command in the rebel army; saith that he likewise saw Charies Reily of Ramsgrange in said county, at the said camp at Carrick Byrne, amongst the rebels, very busy and active to promote their cause; deposent further saith, that he attended mass celebrated by Edward Murphy, parishpriest of Bannow; that after mass he heard said Murphy preach a sermon, in which he said, "Brethren, you see you are victorious every where, that the balls of the heretics fly about you without hurting you; that few of you have fallen, whilst thousands of the heretics are dead, and the few that have fallen was from deviating froin our cause, and waut of faith; that this visibly is the work of God, who now is determined that the heretics, who have now reigned upwards of one hundred years, should be now extirpated, and the true catholic religion established." And do ent saith this sermon was preached after the battle of Ross, and saith he has heard several sermons preiched by the priests to same effect; and further saith that he has heard. several of the rebe's who had been at the battle of Enniscorthy, and elsewhere, declare, that Edward Roche the priest did constantly catch the bullets that came from his majesty's army in his hand, and give them to the rebels to load their guns with; deponent further saith that any protestant who was admitted into the rebel army was first baptised by a Roman-catholic priest, and that every protestant who refused to be baptised was put to death, and that many to save their lives suffered themselves to be baptised. Sworn before us his majesty's justices of the peace for said conuty, this 23d day of June 1798, at Duncannon Foit. Bound in the sum o^ two hundred pounds RICHARD GRANDY. (A Copy.) GEORGE OGLE, Report of the Irish House of Commons, App. XXXV. Whatever the kingdom; more troops were maintained there, and greater vigilance and circumspection were used by the officers and other persons employed to quell the rebellion. In the counties of Down and Antrim, however, some alarming commotions were observed about the be ginning of June. On the 7th of that month, general Nugent, who commanded at Belfast, received information of an intended insurrection in the county of Antrim, which had for its first object the seizure of the magistrates, who were to meet that day at the county Whatever might have been the real views of the politicians whose harangues and writings tended to produce this dreadful rebellion, which, professedly, they denominated reform, toleration, &c. the very reverse would have been the effect of it. The intolerant prejudices of the catholics, it was soon proved, had no bounds. The extinction of the protestant religion was the favourite idea of the great mass of the rebels, and their strongest motive to action. Reform was never thought of by them, nothing less than breaking off all connexion with England, and a total change of the established government in Ireland; and even an expectation of being able to attack England as an enemy was warmly encouraged by them. So far from toleration in religious matters being allowed, Mr. Bagenal Harvey, and their other protestant leaders, thought it prudent to attend mass in their camps. In the town of Wexford, protestant men and women were obliged to recant; and, with their children, were required to be baptised in the catholic chapel, after the Roman-catholic manner, and to attend mass. Even the protection, granted by the priests to the protestant men and women, after they had been thus baptised, was Protect, in the name of Jesus Christ, A. B. he or she having been made a christian, ⚫ and a member of the catholic church.' (Signed by the priest.) But here I must, in justice to many excellent priests, make a distinction between them and such others as fomented the disturbances. It was not by desire of the priests of the town of Wexford, that the protestants were forced to yield to this necessity; but it was owing to the ferocity of the mob, who could not bear the name of a protestant. The conduct of the Roman-catholic clergy of Wexford cannot be too much commended. Dr. Caulfield, the titular bishop of Leighlinand Ferns, Father Curran, Father Bore, and, indeed, the whole of the priests and friars of that town, on all occasions, used their interest, and exerted their abilities in the cause of humanity. Every Sunday, after mass, they addressed their audience, and implored them, in the most earnest manner, not to ill-treat their prisoners, and not to have upon their consciences the reflection of having shed innocent blood. I wish I could, with truth, speak as favourably of other descriptions of the catholie priests, as I am bound to do of those of the town of Wexford; but greater monsters of iniquity than some of the country priests I believe never existed. Every deception that could influence the minds of the infatuated people was practised by them. It will hardly be credited, in this country, that thousands of the Irish are in such a state of ignorance as easily to believe the most extravagant reports and delusions. At the battle of Three Rocks, before the town of Wexford was taken by the rebels, a priest, of the name of Murphy, marched at their head, telling them to follow him, and not to fear; for, if they took up the dust from the roads, and threw it at the king's troops, they would fall dead before them. The rebel-camps were constantly attended by numbers of these priests, saying mass every day, and pretending to give charms which would prevent the balls of the sldiers from injuring them. To this cause principally may be attributed the undaunted manner in which the rebels often faced the cannon. You might see hundreds of them, with cords round their waists, ou which were seven knots, which they were persuaded to believe would effectually preserve them in the day of battle. That no compunction might rise in their breasts, on account of the murders they were daily committing, their priests assured them it was ordained by God, and that it had been prophesied there should be but one religion, and that was to be the Roman-catholic; so that, in destroying the protestants, they were performing a duty to heaven. It may here be asked, Were there no protestants among the rebels? I answer, Some few protestants there were; and they found it necessary to assent and to accommodate themselves to the humours, the prejudices, the vices, and cruelties, of the mob of catholics, and by that means prevented disunion. Jackson's Narrative. p. 36, &c. town. |