Broadside regarding late engagements with the rebels

Transcription

A full and particular Account of some late Engagements with the Rebels, in which
they lost several hundred Men, copied from Letters, lately received from Gentlemen
in the Sutherland Fencibles, with many other particulars respecting the Proceedings
of his Majesty's Forces against the Rebels-also a Copy of a Letter from an Officer
at Wexford, giving an Account of some horrid Barbarities committed by the Insur-
gents before the Reduction of that Place, never before known.

Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman in the Suther-
land Fencibles, to his Friend in Edinburgh, dated
Drogheda, July 22,

" Information having been received by our Gene-
ral, that the rebels were within a few miles of the
town, the General ordered our light company and
some troops of cavalry to meet them. The rebels,
however, were informed of our coming, which made
them retreat; and we marched from six in the even-
ing till five o'clock in the morning, when another
express informed, that the Rebels were within six
miles of us, plundering and burning all the Orange-
men's houses, we set off and pursued them for that day,
and next night, till the morning of the 14th, when they
formed a line of battle, and left their plunder behind
them. They only stood to fire one volley, and then
retreated; when we charged them, and the cavalry
surrounded them; no quarters, no mercy was shewn.
" General Wemyss came up with four companies
of our own Regiment, which encouraged the light
company to pursue the Rebels for the space of two hours.
It is reported there were 400 rebels killed on the spot,
and I believe it to be true, as they had no way to
escape,"

Another letter from a sergeant in the same regiment,

to his Friend in Glasgow.

" Our pursuit after the Rebels was for three days
and three nights without halting ; we, accompanied
by the Dumfriesshire cavalry, at last came up with
them, and engaged them for four hours, and killed a
considerable number, which we could not exactly as-
certain, as the action happened in a corn field and a-
mong mosses. The rebels were supposed to amount
to 600, who were almost all killed ; about 30 of them
only escaped from the action; 10 of these we after-
wards took prisoners, and 4 of them were hanged on
our return home. General Wemyss, and all the Of-
cers, could not restrain our regiment. There was not
one of the Sutherlandmen hurt. The Dumfries ca-
valry had one killed an six dangerously wounded,"

Extract of a letter from Navan, dated July 20, giv-
ing an account of the late engagement with the re-
bels near Trim.

" Information having been brought on Wednes-
day, that a large body of the rebels were ravaging the
country beyond Trim, on Thursday morning, lieu-
tenant colonel Ord of the Durham, or Princess of
Wales Light Dragoons, with his own and captain
Usher's troop, marched from Navan and joined the
forces at Trim; about nine miles from it, they came
up with between three or four thousand of the rebels
?from the nature of the country, the cannon and in-
fantry could not get up, but the cavalry repeatedly
charged them in the rear, killed a great many, and
took considerable booty; in the evening, however,
their main body got away. Our troops having re-
ceived a reinforcement from Drogheda, the rebels
were pursued and overtaken on Saturday forenoon, at
a place called Williamstown ; they were charged by
the advanced guard of cavalry, and drove out of the
town with dreadful slaughter; the infantry attacked
their flanks, and killed a great many; the whole body
of the rebels were completely dispersed and defeated;
no prisoners were taken, The rebels sometimes
fought desperately I saw some of them, when sur-
rounded, and having fired away all their ammunition,
continue throwing stones till they were cut down.

" Near Ballyriggen, it is mentioned, the yeo-
manry of that neihbourhood came up with a party of
rebels, and killed 200 of them."

Extract of a letter from an Officer of the Regi-
ments stationed at Wexford, to his friend in Edin-
burgh, dated Wexford, July 19.
" We have been hard worked for these last six
weeks.   For more than three of these I have not had
off my clothes, and a little straw and a blanket has been,
my constant bed, and that sometimes in the open
fields, and others only with a soldier's tent over me.
We are now tolerably quiet, and hardly expect to be
again troubled with the Croppies- The numbers of
the Rebels under arms in this county were immense,
there could not be less than 60,000 in their different
camps, and these mostly with pikes.    In the different
actions our loss has been very trifling compared to
theirs.    The proportion of Officers to men has been
out of all bounds, they constantly making us their
chief aim.    The aspect of this country is dreadful,
Not a house except in this neighbourhood, either in
the villages or country, that is not either burnt to the
ground or plundered of every thing?the former more
frequently.    I do not think I saw ten men in the
whole county that were not with the Rebels, and not
one person at work in the fields.    The destruction of
cattle has been beyond all bounds; those vagabonds
frequently merely eating one leg of a cow, and leav-
ing the remainder to rot in the fields.    Their cruel-
ties have exceeded all belief in a country called Chris-
tian.    The day before we took this place, they car-
ried from the jail to the bridge ninety-two Protestant-
gentlemen and others, whom they piked with the
most refined cruelty, beginning at the extremities and
joints, and not the vital parts, for a considerable length
of time.    One man in particular they thus piked, and
left him lying in the street all night: In the morning
they found him alive and again begun by stabbing him
in the old wounds before they gave him the mortal
stab.    Another, a Mr. Sparrow, one of the most re-
spectable Gentlemen in town, after murdering him
they threw him over the bridge so at low water you saw
him, mangled in a most inhuman manner,    All this,
however, you will cease to wonder at, when I tell
you that on the morning of the day we took Enniscor-
thy and Vinegar Hill, when they found they were
likely to be driven from the town, to prevent their
sick and wounded from falling into our hands, and
their making discoveries, they set the house on fire,
and left the whole of these poor wretches to be con-
sumed in the flames.    Our garrison is composed of
the 2d and 29th foot, the Dumbartonshire Fencibles,
and Mid Lothian Cavalry.    We are basied daily in
trying and hanging the Rebels    many wealthy men.
have been already tucked up.    Their property, it is
imagined, will go to pay, in part, the losses of the
poor loyalists.?-Gen. Lake having offered pardon to
those Rebels who would give up their leaders and sur-
render their arms, many have taken advantage of this
offer, and returned   to   their common avocations
within these few days, I am afraid more from necessity
than good intentions.    In some of their actions the
Rebels ran up to the very mouths of the cannon and
were blown to atoms.?-This, however, did not deter
others from attempting the same frequently in the
some actions; their Priests, who headed them, by
promising no harm, and a thousand other lies, thus
urging them on.    One of these worthy prelates took
up a handful of dust, and blowing it into the air, told
them, that a bullet would make no more im-
pression on them than that dust.

" This they were soon convinced, however, was
a mistake; for he amongst many others, were left
dead on the field."

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