this we issued this following Declaration WE the Inhabitants of Iniskilling with our Associates having regard to the great and eminent danger hanging over our Heads Receiving frequent Intelligence from all parts of this Kingdom of Ireland That the Irish Papists are with all Diligence and Celerity arming themselves as is believed to our destruction and being with the Assistance of Almighty God resolved to stand upon our Guards we thereunto encouraged by a Declaration set forth by the Nobility and Gentry of the Counties of Antrim Down and Ardmagh satisfying us That they have taken up Arms in their own defence we therefore think fit and do hereby admonish all Protestants of this County and the Countrey adjacent to do the same And for their future security and preservation we desire that all the Inhabitants of this County and the adjacent parts may assemble themselves here with their Arms and Horses on Monday next to joyn with us in this so necessary an Vndertaking and there to be inlisted to the end that Men may be appointed to Command them VVe further desire That all the Neighbourhood may bring in their Provisions to be secured for them in this Place as a sure Refuge for them to fly to in time of Trouble And those that do not now lay up Provisions for themselves and families shall not be admitted to inhabit here or relieved from hence hereafter Dated at Iniskilling the 27th of January 1688. A Copy of this together with the following Letter and a Copy of the Declaration of the Lords of the North-East was sent to all the Gentlemen in our Countrey SIR WE have here inclosed the Resolutions of all the Gentlemen of the Counties of Down Antrim and Ardmagh together with what we resolve to do This day we had by Express from an eminent Person in this Countrey Directions to be upon our Guard and ready in Twelve Hours warning Our earnest Request to you is That you may give the same Instructions through your Countrey and to appear here on Monday next with what force you can raise both Horse and Foot to the end they may be inlisted and Officers appointed where we will discover more to you and consult what further Measures may be taken for our preservation according to the Emergency of Affairs Your Diligence and Compliance in this is not doubted by SIR Dated Jan. 27. 1688. Your loving Friends GVST AVVS HAMILTON And the rest of the Inhabitants of Iniskilling According to our defire in the above-Letter we had a General Rendezvous of our whole Countrey that joyned with us where we had a very pretty Appearance Gustavus Hamilton our Governour continued Colonel and Mr. Thomas Lloyd was made Lieutenant Colonel of our whole Forces After this we enjoyed a considerable quiet endeavouring to carry on our Fortifications the most part of January and February notwithstanding the Winter All this time we had frequent Correspondence with my Lord of Kingston who had raised a very considerable Force both of Horse and Foot in the Counties of Roscommon and Sligo and had made Sligo his Garrison which he endeavoured with all diligence to fortifie with a firm Resolution of holding out that Place against all Opposition but Ammunition being scarce with him and receiving in February Encouragement from Colonel Lundy who at that time commanded all to desert Sligo and march his Men to Derry where he should be accommodated with Provisions for his Men and forage for his Horses He left Sligo and marched as far as Ballishanon towards Derry He had no sooner left his Garrison than the Enemy was in it but he brave Gentleman met Assurance at Ballishanon that there was not any forage to be had at Derry for his Horses therefore constrained to continue where he was quartering his Men along the Frontier upon the North side of Loughhearne while April following In March we had intelligence That King James was by the Convention of Estates in England Voted to have Abdicated and had placed King William and Queen Mary in the Throne who upon the 11th of March we Proclaimed with all the Joy and Solemnity we could Immediately upon this we received a Letter from Colonel Lundy with one inclosed from the Lords of the North-East Colonel Lundy's was in these Words Gentlemen THE Inclosed is accompanied with several Letters intimating the March of the Irish Army Northward To oppose which we are making all the Preparations possible altho our Scarcity of Arms Ammunition and Moneys render us not so fit as we ought for the Vndertaking But we will do what we can and leave the Issue to Divine Providence which orders all Events On this occasion it is likely that you and all our friends may be alarmed if not formally attack'd by their Forces were it but to keep you from affording us your help or from giving them diversion in their Attempts wherefore you would do well to be strictly on your Guards and if possible by Espials to open their Counsels and Designs and what you know pray communicate to your friends in this Countrey and round about you who we hope will observe the like Care and continue a constant Correspondence with all friends in these dangerous Times I am resolved to march hence within a day or two with what force I can raise in this Countrey to Donganan and desire you to have all Men ready to march that were designed for it that as soon as I write for them they may come immediately to the place assigned for our Rendezvous I remain For Sir John Hume and the rest of the Gentlemen of the County of Farmanagh These Gentlemen Your faithful Servant ROBERT LVNDY The inclosed from the Lord Mountalexander and other Gentlemen of the North-East to Colonel Lundy Dated at Lough-brickland March the 9th 1688. was as followeth SIR SInce our last to you dated the 6th we have this day received the inclosed and Mr. Osburne was here himself and confirms the Contents with several Circumstances which perswades us of the Truth of it And therefore we most earnestly intreat you to march up towards Nury with all possible diligence with what Men you can with as much Provisions and Necessaries as can be carried and let us know by Express of their March and their Numbers We remain Sir You are desired to give notice to all Friends To the Honourable Col. Lundy in Derry Your Humble Servants Mountalexander James Hamilton William Cunningham Richard Johnston Mar. Midleton Mr. Osburn's Letter to Lord Mountalexander ON the 6th instant I was introduced by my Lord Granard to my Lord Deputy's Presence in the Castle of Dublin I have his Pass to come and go through and back from Ulster And tho I have not his Excellencies express Commission yet I assure you I am at least permitted by the Lord Deputy to acquaint the Chief and others of the Ulster Association with his discourse to me which was to the effect following Viz. That his Excellency doth not delight in the Blood of the
form Companies Captain Allen Cathcart William Mc-Carmick his Lieutenant Ralph Picking Ensign raising the first and Captain Malcome Cathcart the second most consisting of Nonconformists as they term them that party effectually espousing our interest and never declined us in the most dangerous times The Governour a Company of Foot in the Country where he had lived and a Troop of Horse in and about the Town At this time We were put to great toil in breaking the Ice round our Town every Day it standing in an Island and having no other Walls save the Water which Frose so extreamly up that Both Foot and Horse might March over it with safety Toward the latter end of December we had an Express from my Lord Blany with advice not rashly to admira Garison of Papists into our Town but rather to continue in the condition we were in while we knew what measures were taken by the Nobility and Gentry of the Counties of Antrim Down Ardmagh and Managhan and a Letter inclosed sent to his Lordship from Belfast which was this My Lord WE herewith send you a Copy of the Capitulation betwixt Lord Mountjoy and the City of Derry Whereupon that Place was put into the hands of Lieutenant-Collonel Lundy We also send your Lordship a Narrative of what past betwixt my Lord Mountjoy and a Gentleman we intrusted from hence to manage both with his Lordship and the City by all which your Lordship may perceive that Lord Mountjoy proposeth managing the Protestant Interest by less hazardous means than was intended And we are unwilling to suspect his Lordship's sincerity and think it may be prejudicial to us as yet to thwart his Lordship whereupon we think it most adviseable for us to defer putting any thing in execution till a new notice is given and that in the mean time we may take care that his Lordship be discoursed herein and we thereby judge what are the measures most proper for us to pursue We believe your Lordship hath wrote to Lord Granard and Lord Kingston and we now desire that you will with the utmost speed give them and other our Friends intimation of this our altering our resolutions with the motives thereunto we also desire that you would acquaint Lord Granard that we do however rely so much on him that if he judges our method best and either hath or will make any step towards countenancing thereof so as to think his Honour in the least ingaged that we will all unanimously stand by him Your Lordship perceives that it is likewise intended that Inniskilling submit as Derry hath done we refer it to your Lordship to consider if means ought to be used that they at least delay so doing and for your Lordship to Act therein or Prevent it as you think fit c. Belfast December 26. You see by this it was concluded That the Holding out Inniskilling was thought convenient and indeed we had firmly resolved it but wanting Ammunition Arms and Commissions we in January sent Mr. Hugh Hamilton and Mr. Allen Cathcart into England with an Address to the Prince of Orange hearing King James had left that Kingdom And in their way to Donoghadee where they were to take Shipping for Scotland toward their more secure passage to discourse the Lords and Gentlemen of the North-East to whom we wrote this following Letter My Lord. WHILST we and all the Protestants of this Kingdom groaned under the fear of approaching Misery and there was nothing but an universal dread of eminent Ruin suggested to our thoughts and that we see our Religion our Laws Liberties Lives and our all at stake so that nothing could be added to our danger but our willingness to lye under whatsoever was imposed upon us the Law of Self-preservation one of the Ancientest of the World constrained us rather to chuse an hazardous Vndertaking than a voluntary Slavery to which we were the more provoked by the Insulting Menaces of those who under pretence of Quartering upon us came to Pillage us and designed to make this their entrance to the Devastation of this part of the Province So that not being willing to be inslaved and help to make others so too this Pass being the only Inlet from Conagh to Ulster from whence as by an Inundation it must have been overflowed we stand upon our Guard and do resolve by the blessing of God rather to meet our Danger than expect it We doubt not but your own Considerations hath suggested thoughts of this Nature to you also which we do believe may induce you to a necessary Defence of your Selves and Neighbours and therefore do humby intreat your candid and sincere advice in the management of this great Affair which is too weighty for our weak Shoulders to bear alone since we are sure to be the first that shall meet with the dangerous and highly incensed revengful Hands of our Enemies our great hope is That God will incline you to our Assistance and give us Courage and Success in this so just an Vndertaking we intreat Credit may be given to our Messengers who are well-acquainted with the Proceeddings of those that shall not fail to continue To the Right Honourable the Earl of Mount-Alexander Lord Viscount Massarine Sir Arthur Reiden or any of them c. Your Lordships most Faithful Humble Servants Gustavus Hamilton and the rest of the Inhabitants of Innikilling We had a very kind and favourable return to this Letter from the Honourable Persons it was sent too we now diligently applied our selves in raising more men Capt. Rob. Clark Capt. Will. Browning Capt. Alex. Archison Capt. Robert Stevenson Capt. Robert Corry Capt. Hen. Smith Capt. Archibald Hamilton each raising a Company Sir John Hume who indeed did from the beginning effectually espouse our Interest raised and armed two Foot Companies and a good Troop of Horse joyning always with us when occasion Fortified and Victualled his own House so that it was capable of containing and maintaining a very considerable Garison and sent into England for his Eldest Son who had been formerly in the Army there a very hopeful young Gentleman who headed his Horse This Garrison was no small support to Inniskilling it lying three miles below the Town on Conaught side of the River and a great defence to the Country about it In the beginning of January we received a Letter sent us by Mr. Charles Lesly from Glaslough a place in the County of Monaghan where he lived it was in Characters and shew'd the Intentions of the Irish Priests and Friars whose restless spirits left nothing unattempted to drive on their Hellish designs against the poor Protestants The Letter was thus M17t27 McK2nn1 945r S2lf2 t4g2th2r 553th R4b2rt 34hn 7t51rt c1pti3n 453nd4n 553ll31m 224rth 1r2 15th4r3726 89 92 c45nc2ll 4f 658l341 t4 72372 5p4n ch1rl2s l27l32 1n6 34hn kn4k7 capt3ne 34hnst4n th2r2 1r2 1ll74 74m2 c4ntr3526 6273gn7 li36 3n pr1ct37 t4 75rpr372 92ch5rch22 4f 1rdm1gh l5rg1nl37n1g1r592 18452 4n 7c4r2 4f 92
all those who left the County of Cavan and were now upon their march to Derry should take their Wives and Children along with them else any that were left should be turned out of Town This occasioned the stay of Three or Four Companies of Foot most of them having Wives and Children and not able to get them off but all the rest both Horse and Foot went off with some of the Officers of these Companies that stayed Our Governour then drew out what Force we had with a resolution to meet Lord Galmoy and fight him upon the intelligence of which he retreated to Crum a Castle holding out for us lying upon the East side of Loughearne Three Miles below Belturbet which he besieged drawing on Two Peices of Battering Cannon as was supposed with great Noise and imaginary Difficulty which coming to our knowledge there was a Detachment of about 200 Fire-locks immediately ordered by the Governour for the re-inforcing Crum-Garrison while the other Forces could be in readiness to march to their Relief These were sent some by Land some by Water marching by Night but Day appearing e'er they got the length of the Castle the Enemy used all their endeavour to hinder our Mens landing firing small shot very thick upon them but killed none save one Boteman Our Men likewise together with those in the Castle fired thick upon the Enemy killing several of them and by force got into the Castle who when they were joyned immediately sallied out beat the Enemy off from their Trenches killing 30 or 40 of them and took their Two great Guns which proved to be Boxes of Tin about Two Foot and an half long Five Inches Diameter well bound about with pitched Canvass and small Cording They had fired one of them with a Wooden Bullet and burst out her Britch Our Men got some Arms two Suits of Armor and several other things of value Lord Galmoy upon this retreated to Belturbet E're Galmoy came the length of Lisnaskey a cursed fellow one Kemp with some of the Rabble of the Country his Consorts burnt that pretty Village to the great loss of the Inhabitants and the worthy Gentleman that owned it as also a prejudice to In is killing it being capable of quartering above a Regiment of Men and of being made a Frontier to us we being much straitned in In is killing for Lodgings But e're the Town was burnt we had brought from thence a many Tuns of Iron belonging to Mr. Belfore and most of the Lead of his House which proved very serviceable to us both to Horse and Foot The Lord Galmoy having retreated to Belturbet sends to Lieut. Col. Creighton Commander at Crum whose House it is he having one Bryan Mac Guier a Captain amongst the Irish Prisoner and intreats that Mac Guier might be sent him obliging himself upon his Honour to send Capt. Dixey in exchange for Mac Guier Lieut. Col. Creighton upon this sends Mac Guier to Belturbet but the honest Lord in place of making good his obliged Honour called a Court Marshal where he had both Dixey and Charlton tried and condemned for levying Men by the Prince of Orange's Commission which was found in their Pockets They as it is said were offered their Lives if they would turn Papists which if they had done I presume they would have been served as formerly these sort of people used to serve Protestants who at any time through the fear of Death would turn Papists for the preservation of their Lives which was to hang them when in a good Mind as they call'd it But they altho young men refusing so to do were both hanged upon Mr. Russel's Sign-post and after their Heads cut off and kickt about the Streets for Foot-balls About this time we sent again a Party of Horse to Derry for a supply of Arms and Ammunition having intelligence that good store was arrived there from England but all we could procure from Col. Lundy he having the sole Command of that Place was Threescore old Musquets most without Stocks or Locks and Five small Barrels of Gunpowder which came safe to Iniskilling We soon fixed up the Arms. Now was the Army under the Command of Lieut. Gen. Hamilton upon their march to the North-East where they met but with small resistance Sir Arthur Reiden being the only man as we were informed that endeavoured to give them opposition at Drummore from whence he was constrained having but a small Party with him to retreat to Hilsborough but coming there and finding that the Lord Mountalexander with those under him had deserted that place and fled to Donoghadee the ready Port for Scotland Sir Arthur made the best of his way to Antrim and from thence to Colraine where Lieut. Gen. Hamilton followed meeting with no resistance while he was there opposed by Major Gustavus Hamilton who beat him back and forced him to retreat to Ballimony but he after with his whole Army past the Bandwater at a place called Portglanone so got into the County of Londonderry upon which Alarm Col. Lundy and the other Officers at Derry held a Counsel of War the Result of which was as followeth Londonderry April the 13th 1689. AT a General Counsel of War resolved unanimously That on Monday next by Ten of the Clock in the Morning all Officers and Soldiers Horse Dragoons and Foot and all other Armed Men whatsoever of our Forces and Friends inlisted and not inlisted that can and will fight for their Country and Religion against Popery shall appear in the fittest Ground near Clady-Ford Lifford and Long Cassiway as shall be to their several respective quarters there to draw up in Battalions to be ready to fight the Enemy to preserve our Lives and all that is dear to us from them and all Officers and Soldiers of Horse Foot and Dragoons and others that are Armed are required to be then there in order to the purpose aforesaid and to bring a Weeks Provision at least with them for Men and as much Forage as they can for Horses Fra. Hamilton Kil Brasier Jo. Richardson Will. Hamilton J. Barry Will. Stewart Nic. Atkinson Robert Lundy Blany James Hamilton Hugh Montgomery This was sent us to Iniskilling accompanied with a very pressing Letter acquainting us of the Enemies passing the Band urging the necessity of our leaving that Place it not being tenable and the inavoidable danger we were in if the Irish Army prevail'd at Clady where he said he resolved to fight them The like was sent to my Lord Kingston who lay 20 miles below us since his being brought off from Sligo with this following Letter My Lord YOu see the Result of our Counsel of War and we hope your Lordship will give us your help and assistance In haste I am Your Lordship 's most Humble Servant April 1689. Robert Lundy We at In is killing resolved not to stir but my Lord Kingston receiving Lundy's Letter about Twelve of the Clock upon Sunday at Night at Ballishanan where his