in Arklow, ordering him to dispatch immediately to Gorey that part of the Gorey cavalry who remained in Arklow, and informing him, that on their arrival at their place of destination, they should find an officer to command them, and a large force with which they were to unite. By the same express the Gorey infantry were ordered to remain in Arklow; but these, and the refugee inhabitants of Gorey, hearing of a large force to protect their town, were so impatient to revisit their homes, that they followed the cavalry contrary to orders. This body of cavalry, amounting to only seventeen in number, found on their arrival at Gorey, to their astonishment, not an officer or soldier. They, however, had the courage or temerity to scour the country in search of rebels, with the assistance of some others who had joined them, and killed about fifty men whom they found in their houses, or straggling homeward from the rebel army. On the twentysecond, a body of about five hundred rebels, under the conduct of Perry, retreating from Wexford, and directing their march to the Wicklow mountains, received information of this slaughter, and the weakness of the party committing it. They instantly ran full speed to the town, determined on vengeance. On intelligence of their approach, lieutenant Gordon, a youth of only twenty years of age, who had the command, marched his men (consisting of fourteen infantry, beside the cavalry), out of the town to meet the enemy, and took post in an advantageous position. near a place called Charlotte-grove, where they fired some vollies on the rebels, seven of whom they killed; VOL. II.

K

but finding that they must be immediately surrounded and destroyed if they should attempt to maintain their post, they retreated, and each horseman taking a footman behind him, fled through the town toward Arklow. As by this motion the refugees, who had returned from Arklow, and were now attempting to escape again thither, were left exposed to the pursuit of an enraged enemy, the officer attempted to rally the yeomen on the road, to cover, if possible, the flght of these unfortunate people; but the yeomen galloped away full speed to Arklow, in spite of his remonstrances, and the refugees were slaughtered along the road to the number of thirty-seven men, beside a few who were left for dead, but afterwards recovered. No women or children were injured, as the rebels, who professed to act on a plan of retaliation, found on inquiry that no women or children of their party had been hurt. This was owing to the huma nity of a young gentleman of seventeen years of age in the yeoman cavalry, who had by his remonstrances restrained his associates from violence with respect to the fair sex. In the action of this day, which will be long remembered in Gorey under the title of Bloody Friday, only three of the yeoman infantry were killed, and none of the cavalry. The rebels having accomplished their purpose of revenge, their only motive for deviating from their course to visit Gorey, resumed, after a short repast, their march to the Wicklow mountains.”

After the signal advantages gained by the king's

troops, and the expulsion of the rebels from Wexford and Enniscorthy, those of the latter who remained in arms, were compelled to make mountains and other devious recesses their only places of abode. These seem now to have confined themselves merely to attempts to prolong the war, till the arrival of a French force to their assistance, by eluding the vigilance of the royal troops by rapid movements from one strong position to another,

CHAP. XI.

THE rebel columns which evacuated Wexford, on the twenty-second of June formed a junction in the mountains between the counties of Wexford and Kilkenny, where they continued and spread desolation for some time, burning the houses of protestants, and murdering such of the occupiers as fell into their hands. The first achievement they endeavoured to perform, was an attempt to destroy Hacketstown, in which they succeeded, though not without considerable loss. The rebels made an attack upon this town on the twenty-fifth of May; but were defeated by the yeomen and a party of militia.

The column of rebels under the command of general Perry, father Kearns, Garret Byrne, and William Byrne of Ballymanus, marched to Hacketstown early in the morning of the twenty-fifth of June. The garrison of that town consisted of fifty of the Antrim militia, lieutenant Gardiner; fifty of the Talbotstown cavalry, captain Hume; twenty-four Shilelah cavalry,

Kieutenants Bradwell and Taylor; forty-six Hacketstown infantry, captain Hardy; and thirty Coolatininfantry, captain Chamney. This little army marched a short distance out of town, at six o'clock in the morning of the twenty-fifth of June, to meet the rebels, who were upwards of four thousand strong. Before they had advanced far, they perceived the enemy, who immediately began to file off on each side of the road, for the purpose of surrounding them. In consequence of this manœuvre, the cavalry were obliged to retreat by the Clonmore road, and could not return to assist in defending the town. In this retreat captain Hardy and four men were killed. The infantry were also obliged to retreat, and one hundred and twenty of them took post in the barrack, and the remainder defended the front..

A clergyman of the name of Magee, and nine protestants, took their station in a house which commanded the principal street, determined to defend it to the last extremity. Mr. Magee's family, all the protestant women of the town, and even the wife of the rebel general Byrne, took refuge in this house; the lower part of which was barricaded, four men placed in the rear to prevent it from being fired, and five in the front, partly for its defence, and partly to cover the adjoining barrack, which being a thatched building, could not be defended by the troops inside.

Soon after this, the town was completely surrounded by an immense body of pikemen, who immediately