The Prince of Orange having driven King James from England, Ireland was now fated to become the scene of civil war, which, as will appear, was conducted with considerable talent on both sides. And very soon a battle was to be fought between two contending sovereigns, and the glorious prize depending upon the eventful issue of the mighty contest was no less than the triple crown of three powerful kingdoms!
At this period England was most critically circumstanced: defeat at home was succeeded by victory of the enemy abroad. The defeat of the fleet of Torrington off the shores of England, was the harbinger of the defeat of the Dutch in the great battle of Fleurus. The reins of government were guided by a woman, whose councils were distracted by two implacable factions. Invasion was impending; rebellion existed in one of the three kingdoms, and was expected in the other two; the king was absent; the army abroad in other countries; and an exiled master returning home, armed with power and vengeance. These combined causes shook the British empire to its centre.
Numerous indeed were the difficulties and obstructions with which the Prince of Orange had to contend; and various the plots, intrigues, and conspiracies, that he had to overcome, which rendered the commencement of his reign (when styled William III.) so very tempestuous, that more than once he had resolved[52] "to abandon his throne, and retire into Holland, and for ever to relinquish the sovereignty of England; distracted, as he found it, with political and religious contentions, and convulsed by party and faction."
However, he hesitated before he carried this measure into execution. He issued a proclamation previous to his departure from England, promising to the Irish who should lay down their arms and return to their homes, that they should not be molested in their persons or injured in their properties; and this he promulgated to some Irish lords, who were at that time in London, at the very moment that Duke Schomberg was departing for Ireland. The discourse which King William gave at a council held was to this effect:[53] "He declared to them, that he had resolved, with the assistance of God, to reduce Ireland to the obedience of England, and not to stop at any measure that was necessary for its accomplishment; but that he loved not the effusion of blood—no, not even of his most implacable enemy; and that he had resolved, so far as human prudence permitted, to extend his pardon and his clemency to all those who were in arms against him, except the Duke of Tyrconnel, the Lord Chancellor Fitton," and about twelve peers more, who were enumerated in this proclamation, and were thereby excluded from the royal mercy; and in this exception some generals and field officers were included.
Intrusting the government of England to his royal consort Queen Mary, the daughter of King James II., he proceeded immediately to Ireland, there in person to pursue the war with vigour; and very shortly landed, as has been already told, at Carrickfergus, where he was expected with impatience, and was met by his army, which in number amounted to forty thousand men, not only well appointed and provided with necessaries, but also well disciplined. They were attended by a commissariat corps, and a train of sixty large cannon, which completed the military force of William. The army consisted of English, Dutch, and Brandenburghers, who received their illustrious leader with shouts and transports of joy. Upon the landing of King William he was received by the Duke of Schomberg, the Count Menard Schomberg (son to the duke), by the Prince of Wirtemberg, Count Solms, Major-General Scravenmore, Lord Sidney, Sir David Bruce, and Sir John Lanier, &c. &c.
As soon as King James had positive intelligence of the arrival of the Prince of Orange, (who, strange to say, had been, as we before noticed, six days in Ireland without King James having been made acquainted with the event,) he then instantly commenced his march; and committing the guard of Dublin to Colonel Luttrel, who afterwards betrayed him,[54] and who then commanded a body of militia, His Majesty set onward in his march, attended by an army consisting of about six thousand foot, old experienced soldiers of the army of Louis XIV., the same which had lately accompanied him from France. These were destined to form a junction with the chief body of his troops, who were then stationed on the banks of the Boyne. These, when they should be united, although considerable, yet, in point of numbers, were still inferior to the army of the Prince of Orange.
Several months previous to the arrival of King James, Duke Schomberg had landed at Carrickfergus Bay, at the head of twelve thousand men; and without any opposition, assisted by six ships of war, he took possession of the town. Upon his advance into the country the position of the hostile armies were thus constituted:—Schomberg then occupied Dundalk, which he was forced to fortify; while Marshal Rosen threatened his right flank. King James had lost previous to his arrival, by the defeat of his forces, the fort and garrison of Charlemont, along with a large store of ammunition, seventeen pieces of brass cannon, &c.; and want of provisions caused the surrender of this important fortress. The troops of Marshal Rosen then found it necessary to march to the banks of the Shannon, until they should ascertain how matters went on at sea. For Louis XIV. had sent them assurances that he would not only fit out a great fleet, but that as soon as the squadron which coasted in the Irish seas to guard the transport fleet, and to secure the Prince of Orange's passage over, should sail into the channel to join the grand fleet of England, he would then send into the Irish seas a fleet of small frigates and privateers, to destroy the transports of the Prince of Orange.[55] This indeed would have proved fatal if it had taken effect; and the execution of the scheme seemed easy, if not certain. It would have shut up the Prince of Orange in Ireland until a new transport fleet could have been brought thither, which would have taken some months to complete; so that England, in the mean time, might have been lost before, by any possibility, he could have repassed the seas with his army.
There can be no doubt whatever that the destruction of the transports of the Prince of Orange must also have caused the ruin of his army; for the stores both of bread and ammunition were still on board, from whence he was to draw his supplies. Conscious of this, he made his fleet sail slowly along the eastern coast towards the capital, spread out in sight of his army as it advanced in its march, to elevate the spirits of his soldiers by the grandeur of the spectacle, and to inspire them with confidence by the idea of security which it presented."[56] Upon all that coast there was not a safe port to cover and secure the fleets and transports of the Prince of Orange; and it was this induced the staff and officers of King James to oppose the measure of bringing the war to a speedy termination. Meanwhile King James's army was stationed on the banks of the Boyne, to defend the capital. King James had now arrived at the head quarters of his army; and with the reinforcements which he brought along with him, as well as by his royal presence, gave hope and confidence to his army. But there was an oversight in King James when an opportunity was presented of totally defeating Schomberg, which, by remissness or want of determination, he wholly lost. Schomberg, upon the arrival of King James, was in the occupation of Dundalk, which he was forced to fortify. Marshal Rosen threatened his right flank at the same time that King James, with thirty thousand men, was stationed on the banks of the Boyne, at Drogheda. It hence appears that King James had thus Schomberg shut up there in a cul de sac, all retreat being cut off;[57] Schomberg's army pining and diminishing by sickness, and enclosed in retrenchments; while King James, with a far superior army, stood in front. But strange to say, he permitted Schomberg to escape, and make good his retreat unmolested by any pursuit.
However, this inaction of King James arose, it would appear, from his positive determination to remain where he was encamped, and defend the Boyne, which he considered to be the key that mastered the pass to the capital. "We must," said the king, addressing himself to his council of war, and principally to Tyrconnel, "couté qui couté defend the Boyne. Not to do this is to abandon Dublin; and by so doing we should lose our reputation, so that the people would desert us, and capitulate; and all our friends in England would be also dispirited; therefore I am fully resolved to have one fair and, I trust, decisive battle for my crown." [58]