Castletown cavalry; and a number of loyalists in coloured clothes, making in the whole upwards of fifteen hundred men.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, information was received that the rebels were advancing towards the town. The drums immediately beat to arms, and the troops repaired to their different stations, and every preparation was made to meet the

enemy.

The Cavan battalion, with some yeomen infantry, under colonel Maxwell, extended from the centre of the town to the Fishery; on the left was the sea; on the right the Durham regiment was drawn in front of their encampment, with two field pieces; detachments of the Armagh and others were placed on the right of the Durham; and the Antrim with other detachments and all the loyalists were stationed in the barrack. The cavalry were placed beyond the bridge, on the Dublin road.

The rebels endeavoured to surround the army, and by that means to have overpowered it by their great superiority of num..bers; but the excellent disposition of the king's forces, sufficiently convinced them of the impracticability of that measure. When they had advanced as far as the charter school, captain Elliot, who was posted there, retreated into the town, on which the rebels drew their cannon to the right, on an eminence that commands the town. The Dunbarton fencibles were then ordered out in front of the Armagh, to line the hedges on each side of the road, where the rebels were advancing. A smart fire was maintained between the Dunbartons and the rebels for some time, when the former were ordered to retreat and join the Armagh, which they accomplished. The rebels then set fire to different parts of the town, to annoy the army with the smoke; but the wind shifted and drove it on themselves. On the retreat being sounded, the rebels pursued, and sent forth most dreadful yells, and one of their officers, waving his hat, called out, “Come on, my boys, the town is our own." At that instant his horse was shot and himself wounded, on which he fell as if killed. A short time after he was observed by some of the soldiers and shot dead. The rebels followed him, but on receiving a welldirected fire of musketry and grape-shot, they fell back a considerable distance. They then extended a long line in front of the Durham regiment, but in a confused manner, endeavour

ing to turn their left flank; but the Durhams keeping up a constant and well-directed fire, they were unable to accomplish it. Some of the rebels, armed with muskets, getting behind hedges, annoyed the army considerably, and their artillery also played briskly on the town; but sergeant Shepherd of the Royal Irish artillery, who was taken prisoner at the Three-rocks and compelled to serve in the rebel army, elevated their guns so high that the balls fell on the other side of the town. At one time he loaded with grape-shot, and turning the gun a little on one side, killed and wounded several of the rebels. One of their officers observing this, galloped up and would have instantly killed Shepherd, had not Kyan, the captain of artillery, interposed and insisted that it was the cannon of the king's army which did the execution. He was then ordered to load with ball and batter the town; but at every opportunity he loaded with grape-shot, knowing it could do no injury. Two of the rebel officers then rode towards the town, to observe the execution of the cannon, and finding that Shepherd was not favouring their cause, returned and informed Kyan of it, on which he levelled the cannon himself, and one of them with such fatal precision, that the ball struck the carriage of one of the Durham fieldpieces, shivered it to atoms, and killed four men: another ball struck the top of a house in the town and did some damage. All this time the royal army was playing upon them with good effect, having killed and wounded a considerable number.

Another body of the rebels made an attempt to gain the lower end of the town, and advanced by the sea side: but in that quarter they were received with great spirit by the Ancient British fencible cavalry, under Sir W. W. Wynne, who made a most desperate and successful charge upon them. They then proceeded in great force to a road that led to the middle of the town, and made a desperate effort to enter it in that direction; but a sergeant and twelve men who were stationed in the markethouse, kept up so constant and effectual a fire that they were obliged to fall back with the loss of many men. A body of them also attempted to ford the river, but this pass was well defended, and they were obliged to relinquish it.

Father Murphy, of Ballycannow, was not in the beginning of the action, having stopped at Coolgreny. When he was com

ing to the attack, he met a number of rebels retreating: driving them back again to the battle, he assured them that he could defeat the king's army even with the dust of the road. When he came into the engagement, he shewed the rebels some musket balls, which he said he had caught in his hands as they flew from the guns of the enemy. Father Murphy, however, after many escapes, fell himself by a cannon shot, his bowels having been torn out, whilst waving a standard in his hand, and encouraging his men to press forward. The rebels who followed him, immediately retreated in great haste from that quarter, exclaiming as they went along "that the priest himself was "down!"

The hottest part of the action was maintained by the Durham fencibles, commanded by colonel Skerret, to whose determined bravery the country is indebted for this victory. Colonel Maxwell and the Cavan battalion also acted in a most spirited manner, as did also the whole army engaged on that occasion.

The action commenced about four o'clock and continued till half past eight, when they retreated in confusion to Gorey. It was not thought prudent to pursue the retreating rebels, as it was then the close of the evening, otherwise it is most probable that a great slaughter must have ensued. The military stood under arms till four o'clock next morning, when they cast entrenchments round the camp, and remained in full expectation of another attack.

The loss of the Durham regiment was about twenty privates killed and wounded: that of the other regiments was very trifling, though they had been warmly engaged for a considerable time.

In this important action, the principal attempts of the enemy were directed against the Durham regiment; and it was to the excellent discipline and steady valour of that fine body of men on that day, aided by the magnanimous conduct and military skill of their commander, colonel Skerret, that the British government was indebted for the suppression of the rebellion in that quarter. General Needham had wisely given discretionary authority to Colonel Skerret to act with his regiment according to the dictates of his own judgment. Intimidated by the formidable attacks of the rebels, the general, at one period of

the action, resolved on a retreat, which he would accordingly have put in practice, had not the colonel, when addressed on that subject, made the following noble reply: "We cannot hope "for victory otherwise than by preserving our ranks; if we "break all is lost; and from the spirit which I have seen dis"played at this awful crisis by the Durham regiment, I can "never bear the idea of its giving ground." Shortly after the retreat of the rebels commenced, the body of father Murphy being found, lord Mountnorris ordered the head to be struck off, and the trunk to be thrown into a burning house, exclaiming, "Let his body go where his soul is!" It is an unequivocal proof that ferocity was not confined to the rebels, but displayed itself indiscriminately in the acts of them and the loyalists, that after the head of Murphy was struck off, several of the Ancient British fencibles cut open his body and took out his heart. Afterwards, while the body lay roasting on a burning beam of timber, these very men received the dripping fat and greased their boots with it! Captain Holmes, of the Durham regiment, was not ashamed to avow in the presence of several most respectable persons, that he had been concerned in this most scandalous act of brutality, and that he had assisted to break open the breast with an axe and to cut out the heart! At the time when father Murphy's body was found, the following journal, supposed to have been written by one Bulger, who attended father Murphy of Boulavogue, as aid-de-camp, was also discovered :

Father John Murphy's journal; found by captain Hugh Moore.

Saturday night, May 26, at 6 A. M. 1798. "Began the republic of Ireland in Boulavogue, in the county of Wexford, barony of Gorey and parish of Kilcormuck, commanded by the reverend doctor Murphy, parish priest of the said parish, in the aforesaid parish, when all the protestants of that parish were disarmed, and amongst the aforesaid, a bigot, named Thomas Bookey, who lost his life by his rashness.

"From thence came to Oulart, a country village adjoining, when the republic attacked a minister's house for arms, and

G g

was denied of, laid siege immediately to it, and killed him and all his forces; the same day burned his house and all the orangemen's houses in that and all the adjoining parishes in that part of the country.

"The same day a part of the army, to the amount of one hundred and four of infantry and two troops of cavalry, attacked the republic on Oulart-hill, when the military were repulsed with the loss of one hundred and twelve men, and the republic four killed; and then went to a hill called Corrigrua, where the republic encamped that night, and from thence went to a town called Camolin, which was taken without resistance, and the same day took another town and the state of a bishop.* At three in the afternoon, the same day, they laid siege to Enniscorthy, when they were opposed by an army of seven hundred men, then they were forced to set both ends of the town on fire, and then took the town in the space of one hour, and then encamped on a hill near the town, called Vinegar-hill, where they remained that night.

BRYAN BULGER,

DARBY MURPHY, his hand and pen, dated this 26th day of

"Orange men are men that formed alliance to kill and destroy all the catholics of this kingdom.

"GARET LACEY."

"28th. At three in the afternoon, which was Whitsun-Monday, they marched towards Wexford, and encamped on a hill that night called the Mountain."

* It alludes to the seat of the bishop of Ferns.