Battle of Killala
Battle of Killala | |||||||
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Part of the United Irishmen Rebellion | |||||||
Battle of Killala by Edward Seibert | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Irishmen France |
Great Britain Ireland | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lieut. Col. Charost Capt. Bellew Richard Bourke Roger MacGuire Henry O'Keane | Eyre Power Trench | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
900[1]–4,000[2] Irish, 4 French officers | 1,200 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
400–500 dead | ? |
The Battle of Killala was an engagement during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. It was fought on Sunday, 23 September 1798, between forces of the British Crown and a combined force of Irish rebels and a small number of French troops at Killala, County Mayo, Ireland.
Background
On the day before the battle, the advance of a government force led by
The battle
The main body of Rebels occupied rising ground about a mile outside the town of Killala, on the road to Ballina. They positioned themselves behind low stone walls on each side of the road, which acted as breastworks. Other Rebels were positioned elsewhere near the town, correctly anticipating that Trench would split his forces for the attack. The government force approached the town in two divisions, each from a different direction. One of these divisions approached in the direction of where the Rebels were stationed on the Ballina road and a sharp engagement took place when the two sides met. This lasted for about twenty minutes, until the Rebels fell back into the town. They were pursued by government troops as they did so and, as a result, the rebel force sustained heavy casualties – both within the town and in the fields surrounding it.
Aftermath
The defeat was the last major engagement of the
A series of courts-martial began the day after the battle. The proceedings took place at a house in Killala owned by local resident Owen Morrisson.[7] Two rebel commanders, Richard Bourke and Captain Bellew, were tried on Monday evening and found guilty. They were executed the next morning in the park behind the town castle.[8][9] Another prominent rebel commander, Roger MacGuire, was transported to Botany Bay instead, while his father was hanged.[10] Courts-martial and executions of other captured rebels continued for a week.[11] In total, seventy-five prisoners were court-martialled at Killala. The Church of Ireland Bishop of Killala and Achonry, Joseph Stock, left the most detailed eye-witness account of the battle. It was published in 1800.
References & footnotes
Sources
- Gordon, James B. History of the Rebellion in Ireland in the year 1798, &c. London, 1803.
- Gribayédoff, Valerian. The French invasion of Ireland in '98. Leaves of unwritten history that tell of an heroic endeavour and a lost opportunity to throw off England's yoke. New York: Charles P. Somerby, 1890.
- Maxwell, William Hamilton. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798; with Memoirs of the Union, and Emmett's Insurrection in 1803. 7th edition. London: Bell and Daldy, 1866.
- Musgrave, Richard. Memoirs of the Different Rebellions in Ireland. Vol. 2 of 2. Third edition. Dublin, 1802.
- Stock, Joeseph. A Narrative of what passed at Killalla, in the County of Mayo, and the parts adjacent, during the French invasion in the summer of 1798. Dublin & London, 1800.
- Teeling, Charles Hamilton. Sequel to Personal Narrative of the "Irish Rebellion" of 1798.Belfast: John Hodgson, 1832.