ordered in this manner there happened several Skirmishes both between the Enemy at Newry and that part of the Protestant Army at Loghbricklan in some part of which a very worthy Gentleman one Captain Poe was slain with about Nine more as they went a Forraging by an Ambuscade as also several Skirmishes between the Lord Blany's Party and the Enemy at Charlimount and other flying Parties who were Pillaging the Countrey So that scarcely a Day passed without killing and taking some This being about the beginning of March things arrived to a very great pitch and the Irish grew more insolent than formerly Insomuch that many People fled from their Concerns leaving all or most of their Substance behind to the disposal of the Enemy and grew almost impatient for Relief out of England expecting every fair Wind would bring over an Army which would settle that Kingdom And indeed a very small Number of Men with Arms and Ammunition might have effected it when the Prince of Orange the now King his Proclamation came over requiring the Irish to surrender themselves and their Arms by the 10th of April Which Proclamation was sent by the Lord Blany to the Garrison of Charlimount And the said Lord Blany had his Majesty Proclaimed at Armagh with all the Solemnity imaginable which was likewise done at Hillsburrough and several other Places in the North. When the Earl of Tyrconnel had advice That our Present King William was proclaimed in Armagh and several other places he by this time had put his Army into some better Condition than before and ordered some Horse and Dragoons commanded by Collonel Dominick Sheldon with a considerable Body of Foot commanded by Collonel Richard Hamilton who was sent out of England with Conditions for the Irish to march towards the North And having stopt all Correspondence from the Protestants from Newry downwards that Army marched within some few Miles of Loghbricklan before any particular Account came to the Lord Mount Alexander or the Council at Hillsburrough Whereupon it was thought fit to withdraw what Forces were quartered at Loghbricklan and thereabouts nearer Drumore and Hillsburrough and to burn and destroy all the Countrey they marched through to make the same uneasie for the Earl of Tyrconnel's Horse in regard there was not much Forrage in that Countrey However Collonel Hamilton and Sheldon finding the Garrison of Loghbricklan deserted immediately moved forward and having some Troops in the Forlorn marched within some few Miles of Drumore Sir Arthur Rawdon then commanding at Drumore sent out some Scouts to observe the Motion of the Enemy and to discover their Number The Scouts informed him that there could not be above Three or Four Troops of Horse and that they approached near the Town Whereupon Sir Arthur Rawdon drew out about Five Hundred Men or thereabouts to prevent the Enemies coming farther into that Countrey and upon View of the Body of Horse the rest of the Army lying obscurely under a great Hill resolved to Charge them but before there was any Close Engagement the great Army which lay secure behind the Hill moved forward and were much too strong for Sir Arthur's Party Whereupon the Protestants fled and made their way through Hillsburrough the Enemy killing several having the pursuit of them for about Five or Six Miles and getting great Plunder of Rich Portmantions and other things left on the way but finding themselves near Hillsburrough and not knowing but the Body of the Protestant Army were in a Reserve thereabouts thought it convenient to make a Halt until they had brought up the rest of the Army But to give Sir Arthur Rawdon his due he behaved himself with as much Courage as any Man could do in this Engagement and had there been but reasonable Odds he and Major Baker now one of the Governours of Londonderry had defeated the Enemy But the loss of the Protestants was not much considering the advantage of the pursuit the Enemy might have made losing about 100. Upon the News of this most of the People about Hillsburrough fled but some kept the Castle being a place of a reasonable good Strength and having about a Thousand Pound in Money and an incredible Store of Oatmeal and other Provision were resolved to defend the Place but in a very little time surrendred it and all the Money c. to the Enemy Col. Hamilton and Sheldon giving Protections to all People who desired them on his March which was their Policy for thereupon many remained in their own Houses After the Break of Drumore Sir Arthur Rawdon brought what Horse and Foot he could with him to Colerain and thereupon what Forces were in Lisnegarvy Belfast Antrim and other places thereabouts made their way to that Garrison thinking to secure that Pass and prevent the Enemy going over the Ban Water having cut down the Bridge at Porteglanone about Ten Miles from Colerain and ordered all the Boats on Lough Neagh and the River to be burnt which was esteemed the only way to retard the Enemies March into the County of Londonderry and Donegall having no way to pass but by a tedious march by Charlimount But the great oversight of not sinking or burning these Boats proved very fatal as you shall hear hereafter The Garrison at Hillburrough being surrendred and all the Protestant Forces making their way to Colerain there was nothing left to oppose the Irish Army in all that Country where they got very great Plunder especially in Lisnegarvy Belfast and Antrim besides to the value of 3 or 4000 l. belonging to the Lord Massereen in Money and Plate hid about his House and discovered by his own Servant for a Reward of 10 Guinies and besides this they got all the Furniture of his House as it stood to a very great value And in this plentiful Country the Enemy thought fit for some time to refresh themselves which indeed they did Now I must return to Armagh Monaghar and Glasslogh to give account of the Forces there under the Command of the Lord Blany and the other Forces of the Counties of Cavan and Fermanaugh commanded by Capt. Francis Hamilton now Sir Francis Hamilton who for the good of his Country and Religion deserted the late King James's Army and brought off about 16 or 20 of the best Men in his Troop and forced his way escaping several imminent dangers The Irish of the North-West having advice that the Army had conquered all before them in the North-East Country very violently prest the taking in of strong Houses and Castles wherefore the Protestants thought good to make a fair Escape to Iniskilling where many of them now are to the number of about 10000 of good Men under the command of Gustavus Hamilton some time Cornet to the Lord Galmoy and many of the Protestants got into the Castle of Monaghan but the Irish were so numerous about that place and so very earnest in getting it that the Protestants were forced to desert it and make to Glasslogh But
this was no resting place for them long for one John Macanna came against it with about 600 Men and intended to have seized the Lady Blany and some other Persons of Quality in the Castle if Matthew Auctle Esq a person of undaunted courage had not drawn out what Forces were in that small Village consisting not of above Two Troops of Horse and Three Companies of Foot to fight the Enemy who advantageously lined a large Fort on the Top of a Hill and gauled the Protestants as they advanced but this Gentleman Mr. Auctle very bravely forced his way into the Fort notwithstanding their Fire and put them to the rout where there was about 89 kill'd besides Macanna himself his Son and another Son taken Prisoner and immediately after this passage a Rogue lay behind a Bush and shot Mr. Auctle dead being the only person lost in this Skirmish But the Enemy being thus routed the Lady Blany and the other persons in the Castle with the Two Troops and Three Foot Companies had afair opportunity of making their Escape and quitting that place made their way to Londonderry Then what Forces were left in this Country were at Armagh with the Lord Blany to secure that Frontier Garrison but Coll. Lundy not sending any Men to re-enforce the place as was expected and the Enemy in a manner surrounding the Town before the Lord Blany would stir or quit it was at length forced to make his way to Colerain with about 7 Troops of Horse and 8 Companies of Foot with which his Lordship did narrowly escape for the Garrisons of Charlimount and Mountjoy having notice of his March ordered about 1200 Men on the 16th of March to get the Pass at Ardea-Bridge and if that was done 500 more were to fall on in the Rear and so destroy the whole Party but my Lord marching his Men in good order and with all the speed he could by good Fortune got the Bridge not a quarter of an hour before the Enemy appeared and fired in the Rear Whereupon the Horse and Foot were drawn up and about Two Companies sent out for the Forlorn to the Bridge to make a handsome Engagement of it but the Enemy at the very first Fire ran Upon which the Horse fell on and killed about 155 as was then found on the spot besides several that were drowned And in this Exploit there was not a man killed or wounded of the Lord Blany's Party nor any harm done save Two Horses lost so that Party marched forward to Colerain There was Seven Companies of Foot more which belonged to the Lord Blany but they thinking to make a nearer way to Colerain were all disarmed near Antrim and no other harm done them as I gave you an account before About this time 8000 Arms and 500 Barrels of Powder with 550 l. for Coll. Lundy's good Service arrived at Derry which came most seasonably for the use of the Protestants During this Encounter Hamilton and Sheldon were refreshing their Men in that plentiful Country for it pleased them so well that they did not very eagerly press forward towards Colerain until that Garrison was made very strong by great Bodies of Horse and Foot of the Protestants coming daily to them And the first thing the Enemy did was to secure all the Boats which were drawn up as I formerly told you and then about Two Troops of Horse came to view the place and went so near that their Leader was shot by one from the Garrison which caused the rest to retreat after they had taken a good view of the Situation of the Town and the Fortification of it being a Mud Wall of a considerable height and a deep wet Ditch round Three Parts of the Town and the Ban Water with a Draw-Bridge on it fortifying the other 4th part The Chief Commander of the Place was Major Gastavus Hamilton who did not spare any charge or labour to make the Place tenable The Enemy having thus received the Garrison sent word that they would give them a Visit the next day about Ten a Clock and indeed they were as good as their promise for about the same hour they marched up with five Pieces of Cannon three whereof they planted against the Gate near the River attended with a Body of Dragoons and the other two Guns were planted against King's-Gate attended by a Body of Horse and their Foot drawn up in the Centre They began to play very warmly at the Town and the Town as hotly at them but there being many Hedges and Gardens near the Works the Enemies Foot got into them which much preserv'd them from the Shot of the Town as also did a Water-Mill very near the Town where about thirty or forty of the Granadeers got near night and when they found there was no good to be done with the Town marched off their Foot in a shower of Snow so that the Town could not observe their motion when the Foot were clearly drawn off the Dragoons followed and then the Horse marched but in such confusion and disorder they were that had the Town sallied out with some Troops of House and a brisk Party of Foot they certainly had ruined the Enemy who were so terrify'd at a great Body of Horse being the Lord Blany's Regiment and some Foot drawn out on a Hill beyond the Town that they dropt two of their Cannon on the Road with much of their Baggage and Luggage and the next Morning came and brought them away having lost about sixty Men the day before and several wounded amongst whom Sir Gregory Birne was shot in the Head but recovered of the Wound The Enemy meeting with this Repulse contrary to expectation for they really thought to get the Town on their first appearance marched back to Balymony Balymenagh Antrim and other Towns thereabouts And now since they could not pass the Ban-water at Colrain and the Bridge at Portglanone being cut down as I mentioned before they make use of the Boats which should have been burned and attempted in a few days to get over their Forces but there being some Troops of Horse and Dragoons and about two Regiments of Foot attending their motion along the River-side could not easily make their way Sir Arthur Rawdon taking such great care to prevent them However this matter was not long in dispute for Col. Nugent Son to the Earl of West-meath with about sixty Granadeers on the 10th of April before day came over a little above the Bridge of Portglanone in a Boat and marched his men so close and firing in such good order that he soon gained the Trench where about forty of the Protestants were who deserted the same for want of Ammunition as it was reported and then the rest of the Foot fled Arthur Rawdon Capt. James Magill Capt. Dunbar and Capt. Henly stood and charged Nugent and his sixty men although their men left them and disputed the matter for a short time where Capt. Magill was slain and Capt.
they would be exposed to the Mercy of the Rabble who would not only plunder them of what they had but might barbarously murther them and if they escaped murthering must of necessity perish for Want and therefore of the two chose rather to die on the Walls than run those Hazards so that now all thoughts of surrendring was quite removed from them and a Siege began to grow something familiar The Governors finding the humor of the People and that London-Derry was likely to be some time besieged before Relief was sent from England considered what Places about the Town could annoy them most and from what part of the Town the Guns could most conveniently prejudice the Besiegers The first thing they went upon was the burning of all the Houses clear round the Town without the Walls and levelling their Rubbish and Ditches so that the Enemy might not sculk in them and gall the men on the Walls and also considering that the great Quick-set Hedge round Alderman Tompkins's Orchard and the Orchard it self might be prejudicial likewise to the Walls ordered the same to be razed These things were no sooner thought of and Orders given but the Soldiers as readily and chearfully put them in execution and in a very small time perfected this Work to admiration And as the wise Governors and Officers considered what might be disadvantageous to themselves resolve upon something to be equally prejudicial to the Enemy and knowing there were some Guns to spare which were brought up from the Fort of Kilmore ordered two of them to be mounted on the top of the Steeple of the Church being a great heighth commanding all Places about the Town within Cannon-shot This Work was no sooner ordered but in a manner finished and indeed to the satisfaction of the whole Garrison for those Guns exceedingly gall'd the Enemy in the Battery on the other side of the Water insomuch that their Battery was several times broken and at length when they discovered a Gun to be fired from the Steeple the Soldiers would either run out of the Works in great disorder or fall flat on their Bellies to avoid the Shot Now the Town being a very strong Place by its natural Situation built on the extream North-point of a long Tract of Ground environed on the East-side with the River about 300 yards broad on the West with a Bogg or Marsh Ground and on the South is the Way leading to it which is but very narrow and a sort of a Fort cast up at the Wind-mill to secure that entrance Besides this the Town is oval in its Form and a regular Fortification being built by the Londoners in the time of Queen Elizabeth or the beginning of the Reign of King James the First the outward Wall being about 21 or 22 Foot high and of a great thickness and the inward Wall rising as high or near the heighth of a Man of the outward Wall and between these two Earth filled up in the middle whereon eight or ten men may walk in Breast so that no Gun can batter it to make a Breach to storm There are four Gates belonging to this Town viz. Bishopsgate Ferry-Key-Gate Ship-Key-Gate and Butchers-Gate they stand directly opposite to each other there being a Square in the Centre of the Town in which Square the Market-House stands and a large Street answering every Gate from this Square at every Gate there is a Gun planted within twenty yards of the Gate and four Guns planted at the Market-House one directly against each Gate to clear the Streets There are nine Bastions about the Town and about three or four Guns on each Bastion besides this there is a dry Ditch round the Town over which there are two Draw-bridges one at Bishopsgate and the other at Ferry-Key-Gate but in some places this Ditch is filled up not being kept clean for a long time But to satisfie the Reader 's Curiosity of the Place I have here given a Draught or Map of the Town But to return to my former Discourse I must again proceed to give some Account of the Trouble the Governors and the Officers were under fearing His present Majesty would not send Relief to them in the time they were really able to maintain that Garrison for it was but reasonable to think His Majesty would imagine the Place was either lost or not able to hold out long in regard Col. Cunningham and Richards had returned with the Relief they brought thither And now the Fort of Kilmore being surrendred which commanded the River and the Irish Army lying round the Town on both sides of the River a Council of War was called and a Proposal made by the Governors That it was absolutely necessary to give the King an Account of the State and Condition of that Garrison but there being no manner of way to effect this but by sending some person who durst adventure to make his Way through the Irish Camp and take shipping at the next Port he could compass which Service was undertaken by one then present and by a contrivance in making some of the Townsmen posted at the Windmill fire some loose Shot after him in view of the Enemies Scouts was received by them as a Deserter who afterwards as I have been informed made his way into Scotland and so to England escaping several imminent Dangers and after his departure from London-Derry the ensuing Action happened in the County of Downe The Irish Army having run through all the North and many of the Protestants having taken Protections from Lieut. Gen. Hamilton all the Ards-Isle of Kele and the lower part of the County of Downe were forced to give a certain quantity of Oatmeal and other Grain out of every Parish to be delivered at the Garrisons of Charlimont or Carrickfergus before they could get Protections and upon delivering such Meal c. they were not to be disturbed in their Dwellings and that those who did molest them should be deem'd as common Robbers The poor Protestants being filled with great hopes of Peace immediately sent in their Composition-Meal c. and indeed before the time limited although some of them wanted to support their Families thinking to get the greater favour But this Agreement was not unlike the Articles with the Protestants at Kilmore which were broke as soon as the Castle was surrendred for the Lord Evagh's Regiment of Mountaniers newly rais'd in the upper Part of the County of Downe of meer wild Irish came down and plundered all the Ards and Isle of Kele notwithstanding the Conditions which were exactly performed by the Protestants At this time one Hen. Hunter one of the seven Captains disarm'd near Antrim as I mention'd before being in the County of Downe when those Outrages were committed by the Lord Evagh's ragged Regiment informed the People That it was lawful to kill any Person who should rob or plunder them after their Conditions were fulfilled and having some acquaintance in that Country and troubled for being