BATTLES OF SAINTFIELD AND

BALLYNAHINCH.

*

As a report prevailed on the ninth of June, that there was a rifing at Newtownards in the county of Down, colonel Stapleton marched with a detachment of the York fencibles, and fome yeomen cavalry and infantry, and two picces of cannon, towards Saintfield, and was informed between Comber and that town, that there was no appearance whatever of a rifing. The main body of the rebels lay in ambush, in a hollow way, through which he was to pafs, within a quarter of a mile of Saintfield. The hedges on each fide were very high and numerous, and the rebels, who were concealed behind them and in fome plantations, having fuffered the principal part of colonel Stapleton's party to pafs unmolefted, opened a very heavy fire on their rear, confifting of the yeomen cavalry, whom they threw into confufion, as they were expofed to the enemy in a narrow road, where they could not deploy, or make any movement for their defence. The reverend Mr. Mortimer, vicar of Portaferry, his nephew, and feven or eight yeomen, who had juft joined them, were inftantly killed. Those who attempted to crofs into the fields to form, were butchered with pikes. At last, colonel Stapleton, with the most cool intrepidity, difmounted, went into the fields, and formed the grenadiers there. Captain Chetwynd, lieutenant Unit and enfign Sparks, in attempting to follow him, were killed. Colonel Stapleton, having attacked the infurgents with the grenadiers and the cannon which he brought to bear upon them, repulfed and killed three hundred and fifty of them.

The rebels having retreated towards Newtownards attacked, next day, a fmall party, confifting moftly of invalids and old men, who were pofted in the market

* Plate I. 3.

market-house there, to guard a quantity of baggage and ammunition, and who repulfed them; but, expecting next day to be attacked by a much larger party, they capitulated, evacuated the town, and marched to Belfast, eight miles off.

The rebels, flushed with their fuccefs, and with the acquifition of a confiderable quantity of ammunition, formed a committee, and having laid a plan for their future operations, fent a horfeman round the country, to fummon their friends, and by force compelled those to join them who fhewed an unwillingness to do fo.

In confequence of this, a large body having affembled, they, on Sunday, entered the town of Bangor, where they compelled great numbers to join them, and plundered Mr. Ward's houfe of arms. The reverend James Clewlow, with laudable fortitude, and in the most pathetick manner, reprefented to them the fatal confequences of their conduct, and advised them to lay down their arms; but could not fucceed. They then repaired to a hill near Newtownards, where, having disagreed, the Bangor people quitted them, returned and restored Mr. Ward's arms to Mr. Clewlow, in hopes of his getting for them a protection from general Nugent; to obtain which, he repaired to Belfast; but before he could return, two prefbyterian clergymen, meffieurs Townfend and Hull, abufed them as cowards and traitors to their caufe, compelled them to re-affume their arms, and marched them to a hill called Scrabo, near Newtown, and thence to Saintfield, where they took poffeffion of the houfes of meffieurs Price and Clewlow, which they plundered. They fent a party from Saintfield to the house of one Mc. Kee, a farmer in the neighbourhood, and having fet fire to it, he and his whole family perifhed in the flames. He was obnoxious to them, because he had profecuted fome United Irifhmen. He, at firft, with very great bravery, beat off a party of about twenty, but was

over

overpowered by a large reinforcement. Though old, he difplayed great fpirit, having been seen firing at

them in the midft of the flames.

A numerous body of rebels kept poffeffion of Saintfield, till Monday the eleventh of June, when they marched to Ballynahinch, and joined the main body, who were pofted in what they called a camp, on the lawn before lord Moira's houfe, which was a favourable pofition, on a commanding eminence, and fkirted with thick wood. The commander in chief was general Henry Munroe, a linen-draper, and an inhabitant of Lifburn, who had been formerly adjutant to a volunteer company, and acquired fome reputation for military knowledge.

On the morning of the twelfth of June, general Nugent marched against them from Belfast, with the Monaghan regiment of militia, part of the 22d dragoons, and fome yeomen infantry and cavalry; and was joined by lieutenant-colonel Stewart, near Ballynahinch, with his party from Downpatrick, making in all about one thoufand five hundred men. Information having been received at the rebel camp, that general Nugent was on his march to attack them, a party of five hundred was detached by Munroe, under the command of one Johnson, to annoy the general, and retard his progrefs. They advanced near four miles to Creevy-rocks, at the Ballynahinch fide of Saintfield, but were difperfed by the flanking parties of the army, and did not return to their friends at Ballynahinch.

A numerous body of the rebels were pofted on the Windmill-hill, about a quarter of a mile from the town, but were foon driven from their pofition by the discharge of the artillery, and joined the camp at lord Moira's houfe. On that occafion, one M'Cullogh, a rebel colonel, was taken prifoner, and immediately hanged. General Nugent and his party then occupied the Windmill-hill, where he halted

that

that night, and made proper difpofitions for attacking them next morning.

A council was held in the rebel camp, in which the expediency of an immediate attack was debated with fome warmth. Munroe advised them to wait till morning, and his recommendation ultimately pre

vailed.

Between two and three o'clock on the morning of the thirteenth, colonel Leflie and the Monaghan militia marched into the town, and were vigorously attacked by a detachment of the rebels, and obliged to fall back. They, however, immediately rallied, and repulfed them with confiderable flaughter. The rebels were fo furious in their charge as to lay their hands on the carriages of the battalion guns, and fome of them were almoft burnt to a coal by their explosion.

The detachment under lieutenant general Stewart, confifting of a part of the Argylefhire fencibles, and fome of the 22d dragoons, and fome yeomanry corps, were likewife attacked; but they defeated the rebels, and killed a great number of them. The difperfion now became general, and though the re, treat was made in a confufed and irregular manner, it was much favoured by the woods and the nature of the country, which prevented the cavalry from any long or effectual purfuit. Near five hundred rebels are faid to have been killed. The town of Ballynahinch was burned by the military.

Munroe fled towards the mountains without any guard or efcort, and was afterwards accidentally dif covered and taken by three orangemen, as he lay concealed in a potatoe furrow, under fome litter, in an open field, about fix miles from Ballynahinch. He offered them forty guineas to let him escape; but the loyalty of his captors was not to be corrupted. They brought him to Hillsborough, together with a young man of the name of Kane, taken with him in the fame furrow, and who was formerly employed as a clerk in the office of the Belfast Northern Star. They

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They were fent under a guard to Lifburn, where Munroe was tried by a court-martial, and executed oppofite to his own door. His head was fixed on a pike, and placed on the market-houfe. Juft before he was fufpended, he faid that he wifhed to fettle an account with a neighbour, to whom he was indebted. He accordingly got a pen and ink, and adjusted it with all the coolnefs of deliberation.

The rebel army at Ballynahinch chiefly confifted of prefbyterians, and other denominations of proteftant diffenters, with few, if any, Roman catholicks, as 2000 of them deferted the night before the battle, which inflamed the prefbyterians very much against them.

On the night of the ninth, and the morning of the tenth, the infurrection from Newtownards to Portaferry was general; and a body of rebels, to the number of one thoufand, attacked the latter about four o'clock in the afternoon. They were faid to be chiefly under the direction of one Warwick, a prefbyterian probationer,. fince hanged; and they were headed by one Mc. Mullin, of Portaferry, a fhopkeeper, and two farmers in its vicinity. The town was gallantly defended by that brave veteran, captain Charles Mathews, and the Portaferry yeomanry, who took poft in the market-houfe, and converted it into a garrifon.

Captain Mathews having received intelligence in the morning that the town was to be attacked, had the arches of the building filled up with a dry temporary wall, to prevent the rebels from fetting fire to the loft, which their leaders had refolved to do. Captain Hopkins, being in the river, with the revenue cruifer which he commanded, rendered the most important fervice on the occafion with his guns. The

lofs

They remained about two miles off, on the Seaford road, and could not refrain from expreffing their fatisfaction that the protef tants were mutually deftroying each other. Thefe Roman catholicks belonged principally to the parish of Loughin-island, and the adjoining country.