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Battle of Castlebar

Coordinates: 53°51′39″N 9°17′56″W / 53.8608°N 9.2989°W / 53.8608; -9.2989
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Battle of Castlebar
Part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798

1887 illustration of the battle
Date27 August 1798
Location
Castlebar, County Mayo
53°51′39″N 9°17′56″W / 53.8608°N 9.2989°W / 53.8608; -9.2989
Result Franco-United Irishmen victory
Belligerents
France
United Irishmen		  Great Britain
 Ireland
Commanders and leaders
Jean Humbert Gerard Lake
Strength
1,100[1][a]
Casualties and losses
  • 200[1]–220[b]
  •  • 40 killed
  •  • 180 wounded

The Battle of Castlebar was a military engagement of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 which occurred on 27 August 1798 near the town of Castlebar, County Mayo. A combined force of approximately 800 French troops and 2,000 United Irishmen rebels commanded by Jean Joseph Amable Humbert routed a British Crown force of 3,000–4,000 men led by Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake in what would later become known as the "Castlebar Races" or "Races of Castlebar".[3][2] During the battle, the French, although they had veterans in the ranks, fought in an exhausted state after long mountain marches, and the United Irishmen were exhausted for the same reason; Lake's army was in an advantageous defensive position[2] but at the same time had a significant number of untrained Irish militiamen in their ranks, which routed in the face of the Franco-United Irishmen assault.[4]

Background

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On 22 August 1798, almost 1,100 French troops under Jean Joseph Amable Humbert landed at County Mayo to assist the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule in Ireland. Although Humbert's force was small, the remote location ensured an unopposed landing as the French were far from tens of thousands of British Crown troops concentrated around Leinster who were engaged in mopping-up operations against remaining pockets of insurgents there. The French quickly captured the nearby town of Killala after a brief resistance by local yeomanry troops. Moving southwards, Humbert's troops occupied Ballina two days later following the rout of a cavalry force sent from the town to oppose the French. Following the news of the French landing, local Society of United Irishmen volunteers began to trickle into Humbert's camp from all over County Mayo.[citation needed]

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Cornwallis, requested urgent reinforcements from England but in the interim all available forces were concentrated at Castlebar under the command of General Gerard Lake, the victor of the Battle of Vinegar Hill. The build-up of British Crown forces at Castlebar had reached 6,000 soldiers with dozens of artillery pieces and large caches of supplies by dawn of 27 August.[citation needed]

Leaving about 200 French regulars behind in Killala to cover his rear and line of withdrawal, Humbert took a combined force of about 2,000 Frenchmen and United Irishmen rebels on 26 August to march on and capture Castlebar. The obvious nature of Humbert's objective presented Lake's troops there with the apparent advantage of being able to deploy their forces to face a head-on attack from the Ballina road and their forces and artillery were accordingly arranged. However, locals advised the French of an alternative route to Castlebar through the wilds along the west of Lough Conn, which the troops at Castlebar thought impassable for a modern army with attendant artillery train. This route was successfully used and when Lake's scouts spotted the approaching army, the British Crown forces at Castlebar had to hurriedly change the deployment of their entire force to face the threat from this unanticipated direction.[citation needed]

During the French march on Castlebar, the tenant at Gore castle, James Cuff, put up a rear guard action against them. The castle was strategically placed along the river Deel, close to the road to Crossmolonia and Castlebar. The castle was originally attacked by United Irishmen rebels. After a sustained attack, French columns were sent in for a frontal assault, the door of the castle was breached and the castle subsequently fell. The few defenders were summarily executed by the French. Cuff and his family escaped the estate, but were not able to warn the troops at Castlebar of the flanking manoeuvre. The estate house was significantly damaged, many if not all the items which had not been taken to England prior to the invasion were looted, the main stairway was also burnt down leaving the house incredibly damaged but not destroyed. Cuff would go on to join with the British Crown forces at Castlebar, giving rearguard defence allowing many troops to escape capture by the French. He would also take part in the arrests of suspected rebels and had many convicted and hanged for their part in the rebellion.[citation needed]

Battle

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A plaque commemorating the battle

Lake's troops at Castlebar had barely completed their new deployment when Humbert's army appeared outside the town at about 6 a.m. The newly sited British Crown artillery opened up on the advancing attackers and cut them down in droves.[5] French officers, however, quickly identified an area of scrub and undergrowth in a defile facing the centre of the artillery line which interfered with, and provided some cover from the defender's line of fire. The French launched a bayonet charge, the ferocity and determination of which unnerved the infantry units stationed behind the artillery line.[6] The defenders began to waver before the French reached their lines and eventually turned in panic and fled the battlefield, abandoning the gunners and artillery.[7] Several Irish militiamen of the Longford and Kilkenny militias ran to join the rebels and even joined in the fighting against their former comrades.[citation needed] A unit of Irish cavalry and British Army infantry attempted to stand and stem the tide of panic but were quickly overwhelmed.[citation needed].

In the headlong flight, the defenders of Castlebar abandoned large quantities of guns and equipment, among which was Lake's personal luggage. Although not pursued a mile or two beyond Castlebar, the fleeing troops did not stop until reaching Tuam, with some units fleeing as far as Athlone in the panic.[8] The panic was such that only the arrival of Lord Cornwallis at Athlone prevented further flight across the Shannon.[9] Although achieving a spectacular victory, the losses of the French and United Irishmen were high, losing about 150 men, mostly to the cannonade at the start of the battle. Lake's army suffered over 350 casualties of which about 80 were killed, the rest either wounded or captured, including perhaps 150 who deserted to the rebels.[citation needed] Following the victory, thousands of Irish volunteers flocked to join the United Irishmen, who also sent a request to France for reinforcements and formally declared a Republic of Connacht.[citation needed]

Aftermath

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On 31 August, the rebels proclaimed a "Republic of Connaught" – which lasted 12 days before being retaken. On 5 September, a British Crown force was defeated at the Battle of Collooney but, after that, the rebellion quickly unfolded. More troops gathered and by 8 September their strength was over 15,000. On that day, Cornwallis defeated Humbert at the Battle of Ballinamuck, with Humbert surrendering. The United Irishmen rebels fought on briefly until they were scattered; 200 were captured and 500 killed; Killala was re-taken on 12 September. More French warships sailed for Ireland, but were defeated by the Royal Navy at the Battle of Tory Island. With that the 1798 rebellion ended. Captured French soldiers were sent to England and eventually repatriated to France, but French officers of Irish origin were hanged in Dublin with rebels.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ 800 French and near 2,000 Irish rebels (the latter were little used in combat).[2]
  2. ^ fr:Bataille de Castlebar
  3. ^ fr:Bataille de Castlebar

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Bodart 1908, p. 325.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Gordon 1813.
  3. ^ Guy Beiner, Remembering the Year of the French: Irish Folk History and Social Memory (University of Wisconsin Press, 2007)
  4. ^ Quinn, James (2009). "Lake, Gerard". Dictionary of Irish Biography.
  5. ^ Smith, Mark (2014). The History of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Lulu Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-291-82249-6.
  6. ^ Ryan, David (2012). Blasphemers and Blackguards: The Irish Hellfire Clubs. Irish Academic Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-908928-03-0.
  7. ^ Smith 2014, p. 48.
  8. ^ Wood, Stephen (2015). Those Terrible Grey Horses: An Illustrated History of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard. Osprey Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-4728-1062-5.
  9. ^ Smith 2014, p. 49.
  10. ^ Valerian Gribayedoff, The French Invasion of Ireland in '98, 1890.

Bibliography

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