The Battle of Julianstown (Irish: Cath Bhaile Iúiliáin) was fought during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, at Julianstown near Drogheda in eastern Ireland, in November 1641.
Battle
The insurgents, led by Rory O'More moved south from Ulster towards Dublin, hoping to take the capital. An untrained, hastily raised force of Government soldiers, largely composed of refugees from the fighting in the north, was sent against them. The two sides met at the bridge at Julianstown. The British commander gave the order to counter march, which the half trained recruits misinterpreted as a march to the rear. The British army began slowly edging backwards. However, the rebel force believed that the British had shouted contúirt bháis! (danger of death). The Irish, up on hearing this and seeing the panic and confusion amongst the British force let loose with a war cry and charged with unyielding ferocity. What followed was a simple rout. The soldiers attempted to hold them off by firing in volleys, but were unable to co-ordinate their actions and panicked when they saw the rebels bearing down on them. Many threw down their muskets and ran away, the remainder being either killed or captured. One source tells us that the rebels spared the Irishmen in the soldier’s ranks, but killed all the Englishmen and Scots.
Aftermath
The consequences of this skirmish were far more disproportionate to its military significance. The rebel’s victory made them seem much more formidable than they actually were and helped to spread the rebellion to the rest of Ireland. This also was a rude wake up call to the crown forces and showed that untrained troops were far more effective than half trained ones. This indirectly helped to trigger the English Civil War and Confederate Ireland – a short-lived independent Irish state.
References
- Lenihan, Pádraig (2001). Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, Cork University Press, ISBN 1859182445.
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
