Oliver
Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on April 25th 1599. Since his
death as Lord Protector in 1658 his life, ambitions, motives and
actions have been the subject of scholarly investigation and
intense, often vitriolic, debate. Whatever position is taken on
Cromwell, "Chief of Men" or "Brave Bad Man", his importance as a
key figure in one of the most troubled periods of British
history is unassailable
CROMWELL AT CARLOW.
CROMWELL at Carlow!"
the accurate observer of the history of our country may exclaim.
" Surely here is a misnomer—for although at the period of the
Great Rebellion, the castle and town of Catherlough yielded to
the arms of the victorious Parliament—' Oliver the Protector'
does not appear to have been ever personally here." Well, our
critic is perhaps right. Ubiquity is one of the qualities which
have as yet to be added by hero-worshippers to the character of
Cromwell. At the precise period of the siege of Carlow, it is
certain "His Highness" had returned from his Irish campaign, for
the dispatch of "urgent and important business," to England; but
it is unlikely that his watchful eye never rested on that town
in his progress through its vicinity, or that he did not stop to
contemplate the reduction of so important a garrison as that of
Carlow on his marches to Ross and Innistiogue. Be this as it
may, the spirit and genius of Cromwell were ably represented
before the walls of Carlow by the ministers of his policy—Ireton
and Sir Hardress Waller—and so we have selected the alliterative
title, "Cromwell at Carlow," more to point attention to the
period than the person.
Before referring to
the scanty details which history and tradition have handed down
to us of the last actual siege of Carlow, it may not be
uninteresting or unnecessary to take a brief review of the
actual posture of affairs at the time.
The 30th of January,
1649, had been a remarkable era in England. The streets of
London had that day witnessed a scene which was regarded in the
most opposite lights by the two great parties of the time. The
civil war had terminated in the triumph of the Parliament over
the House of Stuart. The execution of Charles was looked upon by
the then dominant party as an act of necessary retributive
justice, while, by the adherents of monarchy, it was execrated
as the very acme of treason and impiety. The axe, according to
some, had descended upon the head of a tyrant; while others
viewed the fatal stroke as the climax of a glorious martyrdom.
And in these distinct
views does the transaction continue to be contemplated even in
our own day. Before this Society, however, where the defunct
politics of former ages, as well as the animated controversies
of the present day, are alike excluded, it would be impertinent
to pursue our reflections upon the theme; suffice it to say,
that the struggle which had convulsed England for some years had
ended in the abolition, for the time, of the monarchical form of
government, and the establishment of a commonwealth, or
republic—that, according to some, anarchy had begun—according to
others, freedom had dawned.
But although the
Parliament had thus effected the subjugation of England,
Ireland—then, as now, the greatest difficulty of English
statesmen—had not been reduced. Whilst the conflict raged in
England, this country had been, necessarily, comparatively
overlooked in the struggle which required all their energies at
home, so that Ireland, under the Marquis of Ormonde, still held
out for royalty. On the death of the first Charles, his son and
legitimate successor was proclaimed in Ireland as king, under
the title of Charles II. Dublin, however, and some other places,
were garrisoned by the friends of the Parliament. Ormonde, on
the other hand, was in the field, with an army of 16,000 men.
Monk, the parliamentary general, retired from Dundalk, which,
with Drogheda, Newry, and other places, espoused the royal
cause, and the affairs of the Viceroy assumed so prosperous an
aspect, that the young King himself entertained the notion of
appearing in Ireland.
In this posture the
Parliament of England began to turn their attention upon
Ireland, and this country afforded so favourable a field for
enterprise and glory, that the post of Deputy, or Lord
Lieutenant, inspired the ambition of more than one of the
leaders of the Commonwealth. Waller and Lambert had both been
candidates for this high commission, and each had many
supporters.
After the execution of
the King, the "foremost man of all," Oliver Cromwell, aspired to
the dignity. The unanimous choice of the Parliament fell upon
him, and he speedily set about the discharge of his duties in
his new appointment. He despatched before him into Ireland a
contingent of 4000 horse and foot under Reynolds and Venables,
to the assistance of Jones, who held Dublin for him. This
reinforcement enabled Jones, on the 2nd of August, 1649, to rout
the Marquis of Ormonde at Baggotsrath, near Dublin, with . a
loss of 1000 slain, and double that number prisoners. On the
15th of the same month Cromwell reached the harbour of Dublin,
where he landed a force of 8000 foot, half that number of horse,
with all the sinews of war, including a formidable train of
artillery, and a sum of twenty thousand pounds in money.
Cromwell was received
in the capital with shouts and rejoicing, but he sat not down in
viceregal ease. Tredah, or Drogheda, the nearest frontier town
on the north, where lay the principal strength of his
adversaries, first commanded his attention, and thither he
hastened, resolved to spread abroad the terror of his name by a
signal and bloody example. Ormonde, on his discomfiture at
Rathmines, anticipating an assault on Tredah, had poured into
the town a garrison of 2000 foot and 300 horse, well supplied
with arms, ammunition, and provisions, and had intrusted the
defence and government of the town to a gallant officer, Sir
Arthur Ashton.
Cromwell, with a force
of no less than 10,000 men, soon reached the gates of Tredah,
and surveyed the fortifications. His operations were immediate,
vigorous, and decisive. He summoned the governor to surrender,
and, hardly waiting for his refusal, thundered with his
artillery against the walls. Having made a sufficient breach,
the assault was given. Twice were his troops repulsed by the
valour of the besieged. In the third attempt, headed by the
Deputy himself, the place was taken, and Cromwell and Ireton,
sword in hand, were the first to enter the town. Promises of
quarter were given to all who would lay down their arms—"a
promise," as Leland says," only observed until all resistance
was at an end." No quarter was given, orders having been issued
to put the entire garrison to the sword.
"This execrable
policy," Leland tells us, "had the intended effect." Trim and
Dundalk were immediately possessed by Cromwell. Venables was
detached into Ulster. Carlingford was reduced ; Newry
surrendered; Lisburn fell; Belfast capitulated in four days
after his approach; Coleraine was betrayed; and the whole
country reduced, except the fort of Carrickfergus.
In October Cromwell
stood before Wexford. This place, too, Ormonde had supplied with
a garrison of nearly 2000 men; but all resistance was futile,
and the massacre of Tredah was re- enacted at Wexford. Ross next
surrendered upon articles, but the siege of Duncannon, after a
gallant defence by Wogan the officer in command, was abandoned
by Ireton. Distress now began to be felt by the invading army—an
epidemic spread amongst the troops, who perished in numbers,
while the severity of the weather and the scarcity of provisions
combined to dishearten the survivors.
In the spring,
however, Cromwell, having received reinforcements from England,
took the field again with renewed vigour, and his campaign was
attended with universal success. Having made himself master of
Kilkenny and Clonmel, the only places where he met with any show
of resistance, he resigned the care of the army to his
lieutenant-general, and embarked for England.
The history of
Cromwell's campaign in Ireland as yet remains to be written.
Dr. Wilde, of Dublin, whose pen has illustrated so much of the
topography of his native country, as of other lands, alludes to
this subject in his work on the "Boyne and Blackwater," and
refers to the ample materials which exist for the composition of
such a work in the numbers of unpublished letters, despatches,
orders, and state papers of the time. We hope the fertile genius
of Dr. Wilde may be induced to undertake the task.
Towards July the
invading army approached Carlow.
Catherlough, or
Catherlagh, had been for ages a place of considerable
importance for the English interest, although no remains of
antiquity exist at the present day, except the ruins of its
castle, to attest its former greatness; but this may not seem
strange, when even its natural appearance has undergone a
complete change in the lapse of years: not a drop of the large
sheet of water—which we are told formerly existed here—remaining
to support the derivation of its name—"the city on the lake."
In the reign of King
John the town received a charter of incorporation from William,
Earl Marshal, and Earl of Pembroke, endowing it with very
considerable privileges. In the reign of Edward II. it formed
the head quarters of the seneschalship of the counties of Carlow
and Kildare, instituted on account of the disturbed state of the
district. In 1361, under Lionel, Duke of Clarence, son of Edward
III., the King's Exchequer was removed from Dublin to Carlow,
and twenty years later, we are told, the Court of Common Pleas
was held here. The Duke of Clarence expended £600—a considerable
sum in those days—in fortifying the town with walls, which have
long since vanished with the lake (if any such ever existed)
which surrounded them.
By the 2nd of July the
army of the Commonwealth had reached Carlow, and were encamped
before the castle on the Queen's County side of the river—a
field about a quarter of a mile distant being still pointed out
as the spot where they rested.
Edmund Ludlow, a
major-general in these wars, who has left us a brief account, in
his "Memoirs," of the operations, seems to have regarded Carlow
as a place of considerable moment to have gained.
He, however, talks of
our fortress as being merely " a small castle, with a river
running under its walls;" but attributes its importance to the
fact that the garrison was aided by the favour and regard of the
neighbouring country; and he mentions the difficulty the troops
experienced in crossing the river, being obliged to erect
temporary bridges of ropes, hurdles, and straw, to enable the
soldiers to pass over one by one.
With all due respect
for General Ludlow's opinion, we fancy the " small" castle must
have made a pretty considerable figure in those days, judging
from the shattered remains of the building which still exist.
Two of the towers, and the connecting wall between them, still
remain—a conspicuous object, forming, so to speak, the base of
the square of which the entire consisted. The height of
the walls is nearly
seventy feet, and the span of the side, from tower to tower,
will be found to measure one hundred and five feet. From these
data, the veriest tyro in geometry may form a tolerably correct
idea of its complete extent. It is, even in its present maimed
and broken condition, a favourable specimen of the Anglo-Norman
fortress. We have a sort of child's affection for this noble
ruin, and have often deplored the vicissitude which placed the
structure, which had withstood the assaults of time and war for
ages, in the hands of that eccentric physician, Dr. Middleton,
whose unskilful operations, with the design of converting the
castle into a lunatic asylum, effected its overthrow! Any
inhabitant of Carlow, who may be old enough to recollect the
year before Waterloo was won, will recall to mind how, upon one
fine Sunday in that year, the greater portion of the pile fell
about their ears with a tremendous crash, the foundation having
been undermined by the " mad doctor " in the progress of his
alterations.
The era of its
foundation we may with certainty fix in the earlier portion of
the thirteenth century; but to whom we are to attribute the
honour of its erection is a matter on which, like the
birth-place of Wellington in our own day, the records of history
differ. The generally received and most probable account is,
that it was the work of Hugh de Lacy, an English adventurer of
Henry the Second's reign, and the predecessor, and afterwards
the successor, of Strongbow in the government of Ireland. Mr.
Ryan, the historian of Carlow, sums up the authorities upon this
point, and we cannot do better than quote his words. His mention
of De Lacy introduces the subject—
"This very able man
was sensible that in a strange country, and surrounded by
enemies, the English could only maintain possession by superior
skill and means of defence. He therefore castellated his own
district of Meath, and a great part of Leinster. The castles of
Carlow, Leighlin- bridge, and Tullow were built by him. The
erection of the former structure has been attributed to various
other persons; among the rest to Eva, daughter of Dermot Mac
Morrough, to Isabel, daughter of Strongbow, to king John, to
Hugh le Bigod, fourth earl of Norfolk, and to Bellingham, lord
deputy of Ireland. With regard to the first, we do not find that
the statement is supported by any ancient record; Eva, or rather
Strongbow, her husband, was obviously so much engaged in
preserving the existing possessions during his very brief
career, as to be completely precluded from devoting time to the
erection of extensive structures. With regard to Isabel; she was
conveyed to England on tbe death of her father, and remained
there till her marriage in 1189, and we have no positive
evidence, that she returned to Ireland. The castle was certainly
in existence previously to the connection of the earl of Norfolk
with this country. For we find, that William, Earl Marshal, in
his charter to Carlow, mentions ' the castle;' and the earl of
Norfolk first acquired his property in Ireland, by marriage with
the daughter of the said Earl Marshal. Respecting Bellingham,
the assertion is preposterous; as will at once appear, upon
mention of the year of his deputyship, which was 1548.
Authority, collateral evidence and verisimilitude, all fix upon
de Lacy as the founder of the castle of Carlow."—"History and
Antiquities of the County of Carlow," pp. 53-4.
Contemporaneous,
therefore, with the establishment of the English dominion in
this country, the castle, from its infancy, shared the various
fortunes of its founders, and gradually gathered strength with
the increasing stability of British rule. In the vicissitudes of
war it more than once changed owners. In 1494, James Fitzgerald,
brother of the Earl of Kildare, having thrown off the allegiance
of England, seized upon the fortress. So bold a rebel, and so
daring an enterprise demanded the immediate attention of the
Lord Deputy; and Sir Edward Poynings—a name famous in the
history of Anglo- Irish legislation—marched in person to Carlow,
and, after a siege often days, dispossessed Fitzgerald and
recovered the castle. Forty years later, in the reign of Henry
VIII., another of the Geraldines, well known in Irish story as "
Silken Thomas," rose in rebellion. His success was such, that at
one period he held possession of six of the chiefest castles in
the kingdom, of which that of Carlow was one. After an active
treason of three years, he was captured and beheaded, A.D. 1537,
and the castle returned to its former owners.
A structure which had
served the interests of its possessors so well was not suffered
to fall into decay. On the accession of James I., with the
shrewdness proverbial of his nation, we find measures provided
for the maintenance of the castle. In the second year of his
reign that monarch grants to Donogh, Earl of Thomond, the entire
manor of Catherlough, with " the old castle with four turrets,
with the precinct •and buildings thereunto belonging," with
divers lands appurtenant, which are called in the grant "
demesne" lands, and in this document the King expressly provides
that, " in all works made within the castle, the inhabitants of
Carlow are to find six workmen or labourers daily, during the
said work, at their own expense; also each tenant and cottager
to weed the demesne corn yearly for three days, and a woman out
of every house in Carlow to bind the sheaves for one day; each
tenant and cottager to cut wood for the use of the castle for
three days in summer, and each of them having a draught horse to
draw the wood to the castle for three days ; also to draw the
corn out of the fields to the area of the said castle for three
days; to give one cart-load of wood, and one truss of straw at
Christmas and Easter," with other services of a like nature ;
and, by another royal grant of the same date, he confers upon
the Earl, and his son, Brian O'Brien, the office of constable of
the castle of Carlow.— " History and Antiquities of the County
of Carlow," pp. 121, 122.
To return again to our
purpose. Before sunset of that 2nd of July, 1650, Cromwell's
"Ironsides" were seated before the town. Animated by
intelligence which had reached them of the success of the
Parliamentary forces in Scotland, and now resolved upon
immediate and more active service here, the day had been spent
in preparations for an assault upon the town, the planting of
their artillery, and the selection of a suitable position for
the troops. Foremost throughout the scene, directing every
movement, inspecting the slightest operation, and animating his
soldiers by a word of advice, correction, or encouragement, is
observed Ireton, the leader of this expedition—active, vigilant,
and self-denying—"everything," in the words of Cooke, Chief
Justice of Munster, his especial friend, "everything from a foot
soldier to a general." We follow him to his tent.
He orders a trumpet to
go forth to demand a parley with the garrison. He seats himself,
draws forth writing materials, and, lawyer as he was, pens the
following " writ of summons in ejectment:"—
"To the Governor of Carlow
Castle."
"SIR,
We
have been your gentle Neighbours hitherto, doing little more
than looking upon you. But the Time being come now that we
are like to deal in earnest with your Garrison as
effectually and speedily as God shall enable us. That I may
not be wanting on my Part to save any of the Blood which may
be spilled therein, I am willing, upon a timely Surrender,
to give Terms to so fair an Enemy (especially if 1 find you
inclinable to a more peaceable Condition for the Future). I
thought good therefore to send you this Summons, requiring
you to surrender the Castle of Carlow, with the Furniture of
War therein, into my Hands, for the use of the Parliament
and Common-wealth of England, to which I expect your present
Answer."
Your humble servant,"
July
the 2nd, 1650."
"H. IRETON.
This unusually courteous summons was despatched to the
castle by an officer of Ireton's, probably either Major
Anthony Morgan, or Colonel Philip Fernsly, who afterwards
attested the articles of surrender on the part of the
Commonwealth, and was delivered into the hands of the
Governor, Captain Bellew, who gave word that a formal answer
would be sent to the summons on the following morning.
Bellew consulted his companions, Major John Dungan, Captain
George Darcy, and John Wodisson, and it was resolved to meet
the summons in a corresponding spirit of courtesy.
Successful resistance, in the present state of the garrison,
was hopeless, and unless assistance reached them from the
friends of the royal cause in the north, all idea of
maintaining their position against the forces of Ireton
should be abandoned.
Accordingly, the
Governor returned the following answer:—
"For the Lord Deputy and Commander of the Parliament
Forces.
“MY
LORD,
"This being your first Summons, I am not at this Instant
prepared to give any Answer to it. I desire three Days' Time
to acquaint the Lord Bishop of Dromore with your Lordship's
Demands, and in the mean Time that no acts of Hostility be
committed by your Lordship's Army, the like being observed
by the Garrison; by that Time your Lordship shall receive
the Resolution of
Your Lordship's Servant,
M. BELLEW.
“Carlow Castle, 3rd of July, 1650.”
This request was
acceded to, and Ireton proceeded to Waterford, leaving Sir
Hardress Waller in charge of affairs at Carlow, with directions,
if necessary, to prosecute the siege with vigour.
No assistance reached
the garrison, and the sequel is briefly told. Sir Hardress
shortly after drew out two cannon, and battered a tower
belonging to the castle, which much discomfited the garrison ;
after which he cannonaded the town and took it, when Bellew
surrendered the castle upon articles.
The curious inquirer
will find a copy of these articles in Ryan's " History and
Antiquities of the County of Carlow," pp. 185-6, where they are
quoted from Borlase. They provided that the castle of Carlow,
with the artillery, provision, arms, and furniture of war
therein, should be forthwith delivered into the hands of Sir
Hardress Waller; that all manner of persons in the castle should
have quarter for their lives and goods, having one month's time
allowed them for removal, and passes to carry them to what
places they should desire; that all officers and soldiers within
the garrison should march with their horses and marching arms,
and have a safe convoy to Lea Castle, and a pass for ten days'
march to Athlone (one of the remaining garrisons which
maintained the royal cause); that all the "musquets within the
said town should be allowed to march, with each of them one
pound of powder, bullet, and match proportionable;" and that the
inhabitants should have liberty to live in the town, and enjoy
their corn, paying such contributions as others in their
condition. - "History of the Irish Rebellion," Dublin. 1743,
Appendix, pp. 26, 27.
These articles were
strictly observed. The garrison marched out with the honours of
war—the "musquets" with their pound of powder, bullets, and
match—and the townsmen "enjoyed their corn" as theretofore.
This bloodless victory
is said to have been won by treachery. No certain proofs,
however, of this statement have ever been adduced. Carte, the
biographer of Ormonde, indeed, states—" This treachery was now
grown universal, arising sometimes from the fears of the
inhabitants, and sometimes from the corruption, avarice, or
cowardice of the garrisons of the towns, and was the cause of
the loss of the castle of Catherlough."
Tradition, however,
indulges its freaks with regard to this supposed perfidy, and
makes it the act of an old serving-woman of the castle. The
legend is given in a note to Mr. and Mrs. Hall's work on
Ireland, from Avhich I here quote it with the less reserve,
having myself supplied it to the authors. It is given in the
words of agos- sipping old man I had the good fortune to meet as
I one day stood to take an admiring view of the venerable ruin:—
Do you see that
large round breach in the wall opposite there, sir?' was the
question demanded of us, in reply to an inquiry respecting
the origin of its present dismantled appearance. 'Yes,' we
answered. 'Pray can you tell us how or by whom it was
effected?' 'To be sure I can. 'Twas Crummel—Oliver Crummel,
sir, who did it,' replied the man, warming as he spoke, and
assuming a tone of no small importance, as it were to show
how fully he was acquainted with the subject. ' Now, sir, if
you were to see the castle on the other side, or to enter it
and climb its walls, as I have often done in my youth, you
would see that the spot in which
|
In two or
three years after the surrender of Carlow the
disbanding of Cromwell's army took place, and many
of his "Ironsides," finding Carlow pleasant
quarters, settled here. On the trial of William
Hulet, one of the regicides, in 1660, the following
evidence was given by a Captain Sampson Toogood:—
"In the year 1653, there was a disbanding of the
army in Ireland ; this gentleman [meaning the
prisoner] was then continued captain-lieutenant in
Pretty's regiment: I discoursed with Pretty
concerning him, and one part of it, I remember, was
about the King's death; and he did tell me that he
was assured by Colonel Hewson, that Hulet either cut
off the King's head, or held it up, and said,'
Behold the head of a traitor;' Colonel Pretty would
not tell me which of the two it was; but I saw the
person that |
did it,
and me thought he did resemble this person. About
twelve months after I came to live near the prisoner
in Ireland; once, I remember, at one Mr. Smith's, at
the White Horse, in Carlow, I met him there,
and I was asking the prisoner at the bar the
question, whether he was the man that cut off the
King's head, or not? Saith he, 'Why do you ask me
this question? I told him, I had heard so by
several, namely, by Hewson and Pretty; upon that he
said, 'Well, what I did I will not be ashamed of; if
it were to do again, I would do it.' Once since that
time, about half a year afterwards, I was in the
same place, and there talking with him about the
King's death; he was telling me it was true, he was
one of the two persons that were disguised upon the
scaffold."—Hargrave's " State Trials," vol. ii. p.
387. London, 1776. |
the breach is,
is the weakest and least thick of any in the en tire
building; and well the crafty, cunning Crummel knew that
when he planted his cannon right fornenst that very part.'
'But how did he become acquainted with the fact of its being
so?' we asked. ' Why, then, I'll tell you that, too, sir,'
rejoined our friend. ' Well, you see, when the castle was
besieged, the poor fellows who were shut up within it, after
a short time, had nearly consumed all their provisions; and
water, which, you know, will not keep fresh for any length
of time, was the first to fail them. There happened to be in
the castle two or three old women, servants of the governor,
and as the loss of these was to be preferred to that of a
single soldier, of whom there were barely enough to maintain
the siege, recourse was had to the sending one of them
during the night to the river, which, as you may see, runs
hard by, for the purpose of drawing water to the castle.
Well, as chance
would have it, some of Crummel's soldiers wandering about at
the time, fell in with the old woman, and carried her off to
their camp, determined to have some sport out of the "
Hirish hag." Learning, however, the object of the errand in
which they had surprised her, and that she had been an
inmate of the castle, they resolved to turn the circumstance
to their best advantage, and accordingly promised her
restoration of freedom, and a reward, provided she could
conduct them into the fortress, or inform them of any way by
which they would be likely to succeed in their designs.
Frightened almost out of her wits by their threats, and now
encouraged by their promises, she acquainted them with the
fatal secret that that portion of the wall to which, on the
inside, the staircase was fixed, was, in fact, the only
point that would yield at all to their artillery. In short,
after some time, they agreed on the following terms: that
she, being sent back to the castle, should, about the middle
of the ensuing night, ascend the stairs that conducted to
the battlemented parapet surrounding the summit of the
walls, and, standing by its edge, should hold forth a
burning torch to signify the place where the frailty lay.
Like a fool, as she must undoubtedly have been, and like a
wretched dupe, as she proved herself, she kept her word, and
exhibited, at the appointed hour, the signal agreed on; and
Crummel, who had been most anxiously awaiting her
appearance, instantly discharged his shot in the direction
where the light
was seen, and
continued the battery until he succeeded in compelling the
garrison to surrender. And now, let me tell you, that she
was the first to meet her death on that occasion, the old
hag, as she deserved, having been blown to atoms—the
victim of her own treachery.—"Ireland, its Scenery,
Character, &c.," vol. i. p. 404.
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