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of these marauders, shewed them every valuable article of furniture, and assisted them in breaking open the cellar.

Another and a last instance will mark the character of the people and the times. "On the 27th of May, Mr. White's house was plundered by his own tenants and neighbours, who had but a short time before surrendered their pikes, and taken oaths of allegiance. Two of the former, for whom he had a strong predilection, were the first who began the pillage. One of them, named Brien, was so great a favourite with him, that though he discovered some time before, that he was concerned in the conspiracy, he merely rebuked him privately. And yet that ingrate frequently pierced the portrait of Mr. White with a pike, and lamented that he had not the original. He entered the apartment of Mrs. White, his sister, an aged lady, and told her she must quit the house; and he was soon after followed by a young woman armed with a pike, who gave her the same orders."

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To ordinary crimes limits are generally assignable-but when the relations which connect the body politic are rudely overturned, the breast becomes steeled to every feeling of humanity, and the man changes to a monster.

* Musgrave.

CHAPTER IX.

FORMATION OF REBEL ENCAMPMENTS-DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION OF THE NORTH CORK DETACHMENT AT OULART-NOTICES OF THAT AFFAIR-RETREAT ON ARKLOW SUFFERINGS OF THE LOYALISTS ATTACK ON ENNISCORTHY — REBELS DEFEATED-GARRISON RETIRE ON WEXFORD-OBSERVATIONS-PROGRESS OF THE INSURRECTION.

THE first consequences of the Wexford rising was the assemblage of two large bodies of insurgents-the one occupying the hill of Oulart, ten miles southward of Gorey, in the direction of the town of Wexford; the second, taking a position nine miles westward of the former place, on a ridge of the Slieve Buoye mountain, called Kilthomas hill. Camps were established on the heights, and an immense number of the peasantry, including every age and sex, flocked immediately to join the rebels.*

Both camps were attacked, but with results painfully different. The garrison of the little town of Carnew, consisting of nearly three hundred yeomanry, mounted and dismounted, marched boldly against the insurgents collected on Kilthomas, roughly estimated at about three thousand men. Although, with favourable ground and an enormous superiority of numbers, it might have been expected that an attempt to dislodge the rebels from their position would have failed, nothing could have been more successful than the attack, and the royalists obtained a bloodless victory. Here again, the unrelenting spirit of the times appeared-and a very gallant and daring exploit was sullied by impolitic severity.t

The attempt to disperse the second camp at Oulart was attended with consequences not only disastrous to the troops engaged, but its mischievous results caused afterwards an immensity of bloodshed. Through the imprudence of an incompetent commanding officer, a very gallant detachment were cut to pieces, while the insurgents, encouraged

* The local description of a county, in which the greater events of the wild and sanguinary outbreak of '98 were enacted, may here be apposite.

From its oblong and narrow form, and the sinuosity of its sea-coast, Wexford enjoys a greater length of it, in proportion to its quantity of square acres, than any other county, a circumstance not only favourable to commerce, but to agriculture, as the sea-sand and sea-weed form an excellent manure. It is also abundantly supplied with fish and sea-fowl. Wexford is bisected by the river Slaney, which is navigable to Enniscorthy, fifteen miles from the sea. Part of the county is bounded on the west by the rivers Nore and Barrow, which unite a little above New Ross, and proceed in a copious stream to Dunbrody, where, being joined by the Suir, they run in a south-easterly direction, and, passing by Passage and Duncannon Fort, discharge themselves into the ocean at Hook Head.

"About a hundred and fifty of the rebels were killed in the pursuit, and the yeomen, exasperated by the death of Lieutenant Bookey, and other violent acts, burned two Romish chapels, and about a hundred cabins and farm-houses of the Romanists, in the course of seven miles march."-Musgrave.

by accidental success, acquired a false but dangerous confidence which involved a fearful account of atrocity, with a reaction, in many cases to be excused, and in more to be lamented.

On the morning of the 27th of May (Whit Sunday), Mr. Turner, of Newfort, arrived in Wexford, and announced that his own house had been attacked and robbed of a quantity of arms, previously surrendered; and that the insurrection had unequivocally broken out. The garrison of Wexford comprised a wing of the North Cork militia, under Lieutenant-Colonel Foote; an infantry corps, commanded by Doctor Jacob; and a troop of cavalry under Captain Boyd.

Intelligence presently came in of the murders and atrocities everywhere committed in the neighbourhood, and also, of the formation of a rebel camp at Oulart. Thinking it advisable to crush the outbreak in its birth, the yeomanry cavalry proceeded to scour the country, while Colonel Foote with a detachment of the North Cork militia, amounting to 110 men rank and file, marched in the direction of the rebel camp; and in his route to Oulart, he was joined by a troop of yeomanry cavalry under the command of Colonel Le Hunt. That addition to his force added nothing, however, to its strength, for most of the yeomanry proved traitors. The movement was judicious and decisive, as it should have been; but the execution shewed that in military movements, to plan is one thing, to effect, another. The detachment left the town at eleven in the forenoon-and brief and bloody was the history of its operations.*

Oulart, where the rebels took up a position, is only some eight miles distant from Wexford, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, the royalists came in presence of the enemy. The main body was drawn up on the side of a hill, with a strong party advanced below, intended no doubt to skirmish with the troops, and embarrass their attack upon the position. In rough numbers, the insurgent force might have been set down at from four to five thousand combatants.

Although the advance was made with every disregard to military caution, accident, more than determination, enabled the rebels to profit from the gross mismanagement of the force opposed to them. Gordon thus mentions the affair:- 66 Contempt of an enemy, which creates incaution, has often proved fatal. The rebels fled at the first onset, and were pursued at full speed by the militia, who were so little apprehensive of resistance, that no rank or order was observed. While the

*"All was solemn silence and anxious expectation! but still encouraging accounts were received of the North Cork militia, before whom the rebels were said to be flying in every direction. But this delusive hope was of short duration; for about the hour of four o'clock, Mr. Perceval, the high sheriff, rode into town with the melancholy account of their total defeat and destruction; and soon after, LieutenantColonel Foote and one serjeant-the wretched remains of that fine body of men-were seen pensively riding over the bridge, and approaching the town. And now the solemn silence of that awful morning was succeeded by a truly heart-rending scene. Most of the North Cork militia who fell in the action at Oulart were married men, and as soon as their fate was known, their widows and orphans ran into the streets, filling the air with their cries, dismaying every heart, and piercing every soul with shrieks of anguish and despair."-Musgrave.

rebels were making their escape with precipitation towards the northern side of the hill, they were apprized that a large body of cavalry had been seen that morning advancing against them in the opposite direction, apparently with a design to intercept their flight, and co-operate with the militia by a double attack. As the Wexfordian insurgents as yet were totally unacquainted with warfare, the onset of cavalry was, in the imaginations of many among them, more terrible than that of infantry. They therefore, ignorantly supposed the cavalry to be still in their neighbourhood; and while Father John exclaimed that they must either conquer or perish, they turned desperately against the militia, who had now arrived near the summit, almost breathless-and charging them with their pikes, killed the whole detachment in an instant, except the lieutenant-colonel, a serjeant, and three privates."

The unfortunate commander of this most disastrous attack thus describes its calamitous issue:- "I marched to a hill called Oulart, where between four and five thousand rebels were posted. From their great superiority of numbers, it was not my intention to have attacked them, unless some unforeseen favourable circumstances would warrant that measure; however, my officers were of a contrary opinion. I met here part of a yeoman cavalry corps, about sixteen, the remainder, with their serjeant, having that morning joined the rebels. I halted with this corps, while I sent a note by their trumpeter to Wexford, with orders for two officers and forty men to march thence to support our detachment, apprehending that the rebels, from their numbers, might intercept our retreat. Afterwards, when I joined the party, I found that they were moved forward by the officer next in command, and the soldiers cried out, that they would beat the rebels out of the field. By this movement we were immediately engaged with the rebels, who fired from behind the hedges, without shewing any regular front. We beat their advanced party from one hedge to another, which they had successively occupied and fired from, killing great numbers of them, till they retreated in much disorder to the main body, which consisted mostly of pikemen. I considered this a favourable opportunity of forming the detachment, for the purpose of retreating, or of receiving the enemy in a good position, and I used every exertion to effect it; but unfortunately, the too great ardour of the men and officers could not be restrained. They rushed forward, were surrounded, and overpowered by numbers. They displayed great valour and intrepidity, and killed a great number of the rebels. Of this detachment none have as yet returned to Wexford, but myself, a serjeant, and three privates. I received a wound from a pike in my breast, a slight one in my arm, and several bruises and contusions."

The consequences of this unfortunate disaster speedily evinced

*"It appears, that the rebels were rendered bold and desperate by intoxication; and that from twelve to fifteen of them singled out and attacked each of the soldiers, who did not resign their lives but at a dear rate to their assailants."—Musgrave.

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themselves. Numbers of the peasantry, who had hitherto remained neutral, repaired to the camp, and joined the rebel standard; and in the same ratio that the confidence of the insurgents increased, the spirit of the loyalists was abated. Fearful of an attack by numbers of savage men, under the intoxication of a first success, the little garrison of Gorey determined to retreat at once on Arklow; and the movement was conceived and executed with a celerity that caused the most afflicting distress to crowds of helpless loyalists, who, dreading the ferocity of the rebels, abandoned their homes, and followed the retiring garrison as they best could.*

Flushed with success, the Priest of Boulavogue now turned his attention to the town of Enniscorthy,† six miles distant from his encampment. Its possession would be important-and as the garrison amounted only to about three hundred men, of whom a hundred were North Cork militia, and the remainder local yeomanry, there was every reason to believe that an open town, accessible in many quarters, and protected by a feeble garrison, would offer to the overwhelming masses which should assail it, a short and unavailing defence. Accordingly, Murphy determined to attack the place, and he carried his resolution into effect early on the afternoon of the 28th of May.

From its dangerous vicinity to the rebel encampment, the garrison of the town apprehended naturally enough, that the first effort of the victorious insurgents would be directed against them, and they were obliged, in consequence, to be vigilant and prepared. The duty of pa

"As the order to retreat was very sudden, on account of the imagined approach of a resistless and ferocious enemy, a melancholy scene of trepidation, confusion, and flight was the consequence; the affrightened crowd of people running in all directions for their horses, harnessing their cars, and placing their families on them with precipitation, and escaping as speedily as possible from the town. The road was soon filled to a great extent with a train of cars loaded with women and children, accompanied by a multitude on foot, many of whom were women with infants on their backs. The weather being hot and dry, the cloud of dust raised by the fugitive multitude, of whom I, with my family, was part, rendered respiration difficult. The reception which we found at Arklow was not well suited to our calamitous condition. Almost fainting with hunger, thirst, fatigue, and want of sleep, we were denied admittance into the town by orders of the commanding officer of the garrison, Captain Rowan, of the Antrim regiment; and a great part of the poorer fugitives retiring, took refuge that day and night under the neighbouring hedges; but the better sort, after a little delay, were admitted on condition of quitting the town in half an hour. The loyalists, on permission to enter Arklow, were obliged to deliver their arms at the gate of the barrack to the guard, who promised to restore them, but, instead of this, they were formed into a pile in the yard of the barrack, and burned. A man named Taylor, clerk of Camolin church, who made some scruple to surrender his arms, was shot dead by a sentry."-Gordon's History.

The town is bisected by the river Slaney, over which there is a stone bridge. The market-house, the court-house, and the principal streets, are on the north side of it. Two suburbs, called Templeshannon and Drumgoold, lie on the north side, immediately at the foot of Vinegar-hill, a mountain close to the town. Enniscorthy is twelve miles from Wexford, fifteen from Ross, eighteen from Gorey, eight from Taghmon, six from Ferns, and nine and three-quarters from Newtown-barry. As the tide ebbs and flows to the bridge, the river is navigable for vessels of easy draught of water. Before the insurrectionary outbreak, Enniscorthy was a very flourishing

town.

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