lengthen the misery and pain of all he found obstinate or active in opposing his Commands and Pleasure But these Threatnings as well as his Promises in which he was very eloquent and obliging had very little power with us God having under all our Difficulties establish'd us with a Spirit and Resolution above all Fear or Temptation to any mean Compliances we having devoted our Lives to the defence of our City our Religion and the Interest of King William and Queen Mary For fear any one should contrive Surrendring the Town or move it to the Garrison the Governour made an Order That no such thing should be mention'd upon pain of Death Every day some or other Deserted the Garrison so that the Enemy receiv'd constant Intelligence of our proceedings This gave some trouble and made us remove our Ammunition very often and contrive many other Amusements Our Iron Ball is now all spent and instead of them we make Balls of Brick cast over with Lead to the weight and size of our Iron-Ball The Gunners did not pretend to be great Artists yet they were very industrious and scarce spent a Shot without doing some remarkable Execution The Marshal de Rosen orders 3 Mortar pieces and several Pieces of Ordnance against the Windmill side of the Town as also two Culverins opposite to Butchers-Gate He runs a Line out of Bog-street up within ten Perches of the half Bastion of that Gate in order to prepare Matters for laying and springing a Mine He made approaches to our Line designing to hinder the Relief of our Out guards and to give us trouble in fetching Water from Colum kills Well He defends his Line with a strong Guard in hopes to seize our Out-works if we shou'd chance to be negligent in our Posts and neglect keeping good Guards By the Contrivance of our Governour and Colonel Michelburn and the directions and care of Captain Shomberg or rather being instructed by the Working Motions and Example of the Enemy as well as we could observe them We Countermine the Enemy before the Butchers-Gate the Governour contrives a Blind to preserve our Work from the Enemies Battery The Enemy Fired continually from their Trenches and we make them due returns with sufficient damage to them for few days passed but some of the choice and most forward of their Men fell by our Arms and Firing June 30. At ten of the clock at nâ—ght my L. Clancarty at the Head of a Regiment and with some Detachments possesses himself of our Line and enters some Miners in a low Cellar under the half Bastion Capt. Noble Capt. Dunbar and several other Gentlemen fally by Order at the Bishops-Gate and creep along the Wall till they came very near the Enemies Guards our Men receive their Firing quietly til they got to a right diâ—â—â—nce and then thundred upon them Our Case-Shot from the Bastion and small Shot off the Walls second the Salliers Firing so effectually that his Lordship was forc'd to quit his Post and hasten to the main Body of the Enemy and to leave his Miners and an hundred of his best Men dead upon the place besides several Officers and Souldiers were wounded and died of their Wounds some days after this Action as we were informed We were often told That some great thing was to be perform'd by this Lord and they had a Prophecy among them That a Clancarty should knock at the Gates of Derry the credulity and superstition of his Country with the vanity of so brave an Attempt and some good Liquor easily warm'd him to this bold Undertaking But we see how little value is to be put on Irish Prophesies or Courage so supported June 30. Governor Baker dies his death was a sensible loss to us and generally lamented being a Valiant person in all his Actions among us shew'd the greatest Honour Courage and Conduct and would it suit a design of a Journal might fill a great share of this Account with his Character And indeed there were so many great things done by all our Officers and Men and so often that 't is impossible to account them all but certainly never People in the World behaved themselves better and they cannot want mentioning upon other occasion where it may be more to their advantage than to fill this Paper with their Story About this time Lieutenant Gen. Hamilton offers Conditions to the Garrison and they seem to hearken to them till they had us'd that opportunity to search for Provision to support the great Necessity of the Garrison which was now brought to that extremity that they were forc'd to feed upon Horse flesh Dogs Cats Rats and Mice Greaves of a year old Tallow and Starch of which they had good quantities as also salted and dried Hides c. yet they unanimously resolv'd to eat the Irish and then one another rather than surrender to any but their own King William and Queen Mary Our Answer to the Lieutenant General was That we much wonder'd he shou'd expect we cou'd place any confidence in him that had so unwortâ—ily broke Faith with our King That he was once generously trusted thô an Enemy yet betray'd his Trusâ— and we cou'd not believe that he had learn'd more sincerity in an Irish Camp. General Rosen sends us a Letter to this effect That if we did not deliver the Town to him by Six of the Clock in the Afternoon on the 1st day of July according to Lieutenant Gen. Hamilton 's Proposals he wou'd dispatch his Orders as far as Balishanny Charlimont Belfast and the Barony of Inishowen and rob all Protected as well as Vnprotected Protestants that were either related to us or of our Faction and that they shou'd be driven under the Walls of Derry where they should perish if not reliev'd by the Besieged He threatned to burn and lay waste all our Country if there should appear the least probability of any Troops coming for our Relief Yet if the Garrison would become Loyalists as they termed it and Surrender the Town on any tolerable Conditions he would protect them from all Injuries and give them his Favour But the Besieged receive all these Proposals with contempt and some indignation which did produce some heat and disorder in the Mareschal Among the Bombs thrown into Town there was one dead Shell in which was a Letter declaring to the Souldiers the Proposals made by the Lieutenant General for they imagined them Strangers to their Condescensions and that their Officers wou'd not communicate such things to them Copies also of these Proposals were conveyed into Town by Villains who disperse them about the Town but all to no purpose for they will not entertain the least thought of Surrendring and it would cost a mans Life to speak of it it was so much abhor'd July 2. The Enemy drive the poor Protestants according to their threatning under our Walls Protected and Unprotected Men Women and Children and under great distresses Our Men at first did not understand the
Licensed BY Command of the Right Honourable the Earl of Shrewsbury Principal Secretary of State. Sept. 13. 1689. J. Vernon A TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF London-Derry By the Reverend Mr. George Walker Rector of Donogh-moore in the County of Tirone and late Governour of Derry in Ireland The Second Edition Corrected LONDON Printed for Robert Clavel and Ralph Simpson in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCLXXXIX Also published A new and exact Map of London-derry and Culmore Fort drawn with great Exactness by Captain Macullach who was there during the Siege Price 6 d. Sold by Robert Clavel and Ralph Simpson TO Their Sacred MAJESTIES William and Mary KING and QUEEN OF ENGLAND SCOTLAND FRANCE and IRELAND May it please Your Majesties NExt to the Pleasure of doing well there is no greater satisfaction than where the Performance meets with a favourable reception from those for whose sake it is designed I thank God I have this double Comfort in the Testimony of a good Conscience and Your Majesties Gracious Acceptance of the poor services God enabled me to doe for your Majesties Interest and the Safety of those Protestants whom the Fury of the Papists drove into London-Derry Nor am I more pleased with Your Majesties Royal Bounty to me much above not only my Merit but Expectation than with Your Majesties Tenderness for my Poor Fellow Sufferers and Partners in that Action whom I doubt not but Your Majesties will find as brave in the Field and in taking other Towns as in defending that which neither the Number nor Rage of their Enemies without nor those more cruel Ones within of Famine and Sickness could ever make them think of Surrendring The Part I Acted in this Service might more properly have been done by other hands but that Necessity which threw it upon me will I hope justifie me before God and the World from the irregularity of interessing my self in such an Affair for which I was neither by Education or Function qualified Especially since the necessity which called me to it was no sooner over than I resigned more chearfully than ever I undertook the Employment that I might apply my self to the Plow to which I had put my Hand I am not at all angry with the Reflexions that some make as they think to my Disparagement because all they say of this kind gives God the greater Honour in whose Almighty Hand no instrument is weak in whose Presence no Flesh must glory But as the whole Conduct of this matter must be ascribed to Providence alone as it ought this should then give them occasion to consider that God has Espoused your Majesties Cause and Fights your Battels and for the Protestant Religion and by making use of a poor Minister the unworthiest of the whole Communion of which he is a Member would intimate to the World by what Hand he will defend and maintain both your Majesties Interest and the Religion you have delivered from those that were ready to swallow both up That which I here presume to lay at Your Majesties Feet is indeed very unfit for Your Royal View but that since Importunity would have it publick I thought it Sacrilege to entitle any other to the Copy than those to whom the Original was devoted The Picture cannot be commended for the Workmanship but it may possibly be the more acceptable for that because more resembling the Life from which 't is drawn There is little Skill or Art in either but there are Ornaments much more valuable in both natural Simplicity Sincerity and a plain Truth In which character I humbly beg Your Majesties will always consider and accept of the Endeavours of Your Majesties most Obliged Most Faithfull and most Obedient Subject and Servant George Walker A Description of the CITY of London-Derry THE Form of the Town comes somewhat near an Oblong or long Square and its Situation lengthways is N. W. and S. E. or a Diagonal drawn from the Church through the Market-house to the Magazine is near upon a N. and S. Line The Length of the Town through the middle from Ship-key gate to Bishops-gate is about 300 Paces or 1500 Feet The Wall on the W. side the Town 320 Paces the Wall on the E. about 380. The Breadth at the N. W. End 140 at the S. E. End 120 from Butchers-gate to Ferry-key-gate where the Town is Broadest 180 Paces The Wall is generally 7 or 8 Foot thick but the out-side Wall of Stone or Battlements above the Terra-plene is not more than two Foot in thickness The Four Corners have each of them a Bastion on the long side to the West-ward are two other Bastions and on the side to the East-ward one Bastion one Demi-bastion and two other Works which are commonly call'd Flat-forms There are Four Gates Bishops-gate at the S. E. End Ship-key-gate at the End opposite to it Butchers-gate at the N. E. Side and Ferry-key-gate over against it In the middle of the Town is a Square call'd the Diamond where the Market-House stands during the Siege turn'd into a Guard-House Near the S. W. end of the Town stands the Church on the top whereof being a flat Roof were placed two of our Guns which were of great Use in annoying the Enemy In the S. E. Angle of the Town was the principal Magazine within the Town also were several Wells c. and before Bishops-gate was a Ravelin built by Col. Lundy and the Ground on forwards to the Wind-mill-hill was taken in by the Besieged to the Distance of 260 Paces from the Town and about the same Distance a cross from the River and for fear this Ground should be taken from the Besieged by the Enemy another Line was industriously drawn from the S. W. Quarter of the Town to the River to secure their Retreat The Number of Guns planted on the Bastions and Lines was 8 Sakers and 12 Demi-culverins The whole Town stands upon an easy Ascent and exposed most of the Houses to the Enemies Guns A Diary of the SIEGE of LONDON-DERRY BEing prevail'd on to give an Account of the Siege of London-Derry it is convenient by way of preliminary to take notice how that Town came to be out of the Hands of the Irish when all places of the Kingdom of any strength or consideration were possessed by them It pleased God so to infatuate the Councils of my Lord Tyrcounel that when the three Thousand Men were sent to England to assist his Master against the Invasion of the Prince of Orange he took particular care to send away the whole Regiment Quartered in and about this City he soon saw his Error and endeavoured to repair it by Commanding my Lord Antrim to Quarter there with his Regiment consisting of a numerous swarm of Irish and Highlanders upon the 6 th of December they were on their March in and about New-Town a Market-Town belonging to Col. George Philips 12 Miles distant from Derry Col. Philips having notice of this and joining with it the apprehensions
time Mr. Muckcridge the Town Clark sees it absolutely necessary to give some intimation of Proceedings at the Council of War which tho' every mans concern care was taken not to make too publick viz. That Colonel Cuningham his Ships Men and Provision should return to England and all Gentlemen and others in Arms should quit the Garrison and goe along with him this discovery occasion'd great uneasiness and disorder in the Town which had like to have had very ill effects upon the Governour and some of his Council it did also add much to the rage and violence of the Garrison when they heard some wrong had been done my Lord Kingston and his Party by the indirect measures of some within our Walls their concern for him being as great as their expectations from him The Governour and his Council finding themselves of little interest in the Town and that they could not be further serviceable c. thought fit to retire and not to press the matter further Some of the Gentlemen left us in all this confusion and made their escape to the Ships at Kilmore tho' not without some hazard for the Souldiers were under great discontent to find themselves deserted by those that engaged them in the difficulties they were then under and were not easily kept from expressing it with violence upon some Persons but it was the care of others to keep them in temper and from those outrages as well as to support them against such discouragements Sir Arthur Royden protested against the proceedings of the Council and would not have left the Town but that he was dangerously sick and was forc'd from us by the advice of his Physitian and his Friends Governour Lundy could not so easily make his escape being conceiv'd more obnoxious than any of the rest but sound it convenient to keep his Chamber a Council being appointed Mr. Walker and Major Baker meeting him there desired him to continue his Government and that he might be assur'd of all the assistance they could give him but he positively refused to concern himself any further The Commission he bore as well as their respect for his Person made it a duty in them to contribute all they could to his safety and therefore finding him desirous to escape the danger of such a Tumult they suffered him to disguise himself and in a sally for the relief of Culmore to pass in a Boat with a load of Match on his back from whence he got to the Shipping April 19. The Garrison seeing they were deserted and left without a Governour and having resolv'd to maintain the Town and to defend it against the Enemy they considered of some Person they could have confidence in to direct them in the management of this Affair and unanimously resolv'd to choose Mr. Walker and Major Baker to be their Governours dureing the Seige but these Gentlemen considering the importance as well as the uncertainty of such an Office acquainted by Letter Col. Cunningham whose business they thought it was to take care of them with this matter and desired him to undertake the Charge but he being obliged by his instructions to obey the Orders of Collonel Lundy thought fit to take other measures They then accepted the Government of the Garrison These Gentlemen chose Eight Collonels and Regimented the men in this order Col. Walker 15 Companies Colonel Baker 25 Companies Col. Crofton 12 Comp. Col. Michelturn 17 Comp. formerly Col. Skivingtons Regiment Col. Lance 13 Comp. Col. Mountro 13 Comp. formerly Col. Whitneys Col. Hamil 14 Comp. Col. Murrey 8 Comp. In all 117 Companies each Comp. consisting of 60 Men. In all 7020 Men 341 Officers This was our complement after having form'd our selves as above mentioned but the Number of Men Women and Children in the Town was about Thirty thousand Upon a Declaration of the Enemy to Receive and Protect all that would desert us and return to their dwellings Ten Thousand left us after that many more grew weary of us and Seven thousand died of Diseases The same day our Governours view the Stores and give other necessary Orders and directions In the mean time they observe the motion of the Enemy and that their Guns were so placed that they could not draw out to their usual place of exercising therefore they divide the Outline into Eight parts each Regiment had its own ground and each Company knew their own Bastion The Drummers were all enjoyned to quarter in one house so that on the least notice they repair'd to the respective post of the Company they belong'd to and upon all Alarms without any parademg all officers and private men came into their own ground and places without the least disorder or confusion There were Eighteen Clergy-men in the Town of the Communion of the Church who in their turns when they were not in Action had Prayers and Sermon every day the Seven Nonconforming Ministers were equally careful of their people and kept them very obedient and quiet much different from the behaviour of their Brother Mr. Osborn who was a spy upon the whole North imployed by my Lord Tyrconnel and Mr. Hewson who was very troublesome and would admit none to fight for the Protestant Religion till they had first taken the Covenant After injoyning all parties to forget their distinctions and to joyn as one man in defence of the interest of K. William and Q. Mary and the Protestant Religion against the Enemies of both we betake our selves in the first place by order to our several Devotions and recommend our selves and the Cause we undertook to the Protection and Care of the Almighty for we might then truly say with the Church in the Liturgy there is none other that fighteth for us but only thou O God. It did beget some disorder amongst us confusion when we look'd about us and saw what we were doing our Enemies all about us and our Friends running away from us a Garrison we had compos'd of a number of poor people frightned from their own homes and seem'd more fit to hide themselves than to face an Enemy when we consider'd we had no Persons of any Experience in War among us and those very Persons that were sent to assist us had so little confidence in the Place that they no sooner saw it but they thought fit to leave it that we had but few Horse to Sally out with and no Forage no Engineers to instruct us in our Works no Fire-works not as much as a Hand-Granado to annoy the Enemy not a Gun well mounted in the whole Town that we had so many Mouths to feed and not above ten days Provision for them in the Opinion of our former Governours that every day several left us and gave constant intelligence to the Enemy that they had so many opportunities to divide us and so often endeavour'd it and to betray the Governours that they were so Numerous so Powerful and Well appointed an Army that in all human probability we
could not think our selves in less danger than the Israelites at the Red Sea. When we considered all this it was obvious enough what a dangerous undertaking we had ventur'd upon but the Resolution and Courage of our people and the necessity we were under and the great confidence and dependance among us on God Almighty that he would take care of us and preserve us made us overlook all those difficulties And God was pleased to make us the happy instruments of preserving this Place and to him we give the Glory and no one need goe about to undervalue or lessen those he was pleas'd to choose for so great a work we do allow our selves to be as unfit for it as they can make us and that God has only Glorified himself in working so great a wonder with his own right hand and his holy arm getting himself the Victory April 20. A part of the Enemy march'd towards Peny-burn hill a place about a Mile distant from the Town N.B.E. on the side of the River there they pitch'd their Tents by that means hinder'd all passage to correspondence with Culmore We sent Mr. Bennet out of the Garrison with Orders to go to England and to give account of our Resolutions to defend the Town against the Enemy Our men were order'd to fire after him that the Enemy might think he had deserted us This day my Lord Strabane came up to our Walls makeing us many Proposals and offering his Kings Pardon Protection and Favour if we would surrender Town but these fine words had no place with the Garrison At that very time of his Capitulating with us we observ'd the Enemy using that opportunity to draw their Canon to a convenient stand we therefore desired his Lordship to withdraw otherwise we would make bold to fire at his Lordship his Lordship continued in his Complements till we plainly told him we would never deliver the Town to any but K. William and Q. Mary or their order My Lord having ended all his Insinuations found himself at last obliged to retire Several Trumpets were likewise sent to us from the Enemy but with as little success April 21. The Enemy placed a Demi-culverin 180 Perches distant from the Town E. B. N. on the other side the water they play'd at the houses in the Town but did little or no mischief only to the Market-house This day our Men Sallied out as many as pleased and what Officers were at leasure not in any commendable Order yet they killed above 200 of the Enemies Souldiers besides Mamow the French General and several other Officers whose Names you will fiâ—d in the annexed List. A party of Horse came with great Fury upon the Salliers and forced their retreat which they made good with the loss of four private Men and one Lieutenant Mac. Phedris whom our Men brought off and having leisure and more concern then upon us for the loss then afterwards on such occasions we buried them with some Ceremony We had at this time 50 Horse Commanded by Col. Murry upon whom they press'd so hard at first that some of his Horse were beaten to the very Gates so that Mr. Walker found it necessary to mount one of the Horses and make them rally and to Relieve Col. Murry whom he saw surrounded with the Enemy and with great Courage laying about him In this Action we took three pair of Colours April 23. The besiegers planted four Demi-culverins in the lower end of Mr. Strongs Orchard near 80 Perches distant from the Town opposite to Ship-key-Street these playing incessantly hurt several People in the Houses battered the Walls and Garrets so that none could Lodge safely above Stairs The besieged make due returns to their Firing from the Bastions kill'd Lieut. Fitz Patrick Lieut. Col. O Neale two Serjeants and several Souldiers and besides these two Friars in their Habits to the great Grief of the Enemy that the Blood of those Holy Men should be spilt by such an Heretical Rabble as they call the besieged April 25. They plac'd their Mortar-pieces in the said Orchard and from thence play'd a few small Bombs which did little hurt to the Town all of them lighting in the Streets except one which kill'd an old Woman in a Garret from the same place they threw afterwards many larger Bombs the first of which fell into a House while several Officers were at Dinner it fell upon the Bed of the Room they were in but did not touch any of them forced into a lower Room and kill'd the Landlord and broke down one side of the House and made a large passage for the Guests to come out at instead of the Doors it had choaked up April 28. The besieged made another Sally and killed several of the Enemy at Penyburn-Hill but were forced to Retreat being pressed by the Enemies Horse who charged us on all sides In this Action we lost only two Men had eight or ten wounded which in few days recovered and were fit for Service This day by a shot from one of our Bastions the Enemies Gunner was kill'd and one of his Guns broken May 5. This Night the Besiegers draw a Trench cross the Wind-Mill Hill from the Bog to the River and there begin a Battery from that they endeavour'd to Annoy our Walls but they were too strong for the Guns they us'd and our Men were not afraid to advise them to save all that Labour and Expence that they always kept the Gates open and they might use that Passage if they pleas'd which was wider than any Breach they could make in the Walls May 6. The Besieged fearing that Battery might incommode that part of the Town nearest to it consult how to put a stop to their further proceeding in that work Mr. Walker draws a Detachment out of each Company of Ten men and after putting them into the best Order their Impatience could allow he Sallies out at the Head of them with all imaginable Silence at Ferry-Key Gate at four of the Clock in the Morning One part of them beat the Enemies Dragoons from the Hedges while the other possesses their Trenches The Dispute was soon over and the Enemy thô a very considerable Detachment are so pressed by the forwardness of our Men and discouraged at the sight of so many lying in their Blood that they fled away and left us the Ground we contended for and some Booty besides the plunder of the Dead The Salliers in this Action kill'd Two hundred of their Men most of which were shot through the Breast or Head Five hundred were Wounded Three hundred of them within few days died of their Wounds as we were informed by Messengers and the Prisoners we took afterwards The account of the Officers kill'd or taken Prisoners in this Action you will find in the Bill annexed Our side lost Three men and had only Twenty wounded At this time we took Five pair of Colours We sent a Drummer to desire the Enemy to send