[CHAPTER LIII]
JAMES II. AND SCHOMBERG, 1689-1690
Schomberg’s preparations.
Before leaving London, Schomberg had ordered Kirke to relieve Londonderry. If the town could hold out, and if his orders were obeyed, he had no doubt that it would be safe to land in Ulster, but he feared that Kirke could not be depended on (un homme capricieux). The boom was broken on July 30, and the good news reached Schomberg at Chester on August 3, though at first he could hardly believe it. Three days later one of the warships from Lough Foyle came in with the official account, and the captain wanted to go on to London, but Portland, who had come to Chester, preferred to carry the message himself. Kirke’s account got to Edinburgh as early as August 1. Dundee received his death-wound only three days before the breaking of the boom, and after that Schomberg knew that there was no danger on the Scotch side. On arriving at Chester, Schomberg found nothing to his liking. He blamed William Harbord, Essex’s old secretary, who had been appointed paymaster-general, in the belief that he made money unduly by taking advance of the exchange, while the brass coin made all values uncertain. Harbord had a company, but the old general says scornfully that he had seen nothing of it but the colours in his room. It was said that he employed the officers at civil work. As to John Shales, the chief commissary, Schomberg is quite outspoken, and in the end he sent him to England to stand his trial. Shales had great experience, and that was why he was appointed, but the extreme Whigs naturally believed evil of all who had served the late King. Most likely the mismanagement and the peculation were much what the general described, but Shales probably knew that greater men than himself were involved, and the charges against him were never sifted to the bottom. Schomberg had a poor opinion of the English officers generally, and they were particularly unfit to train raw recruits during actual warfare. Cromwell’s plan had been to enlist men in England and to send over half a battalion at a time to join the more seasoned soldiers and to learn the rest of their business from them. Yet even Cromwell lost many men by disease during his first campaign. As it was, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of village lads were swept into the ranks who had never fired a gun, and some who had never seen one fired. The infantry were thinly clothed, and had no great coats. The cavalry were rather better off, but the officers, for the most part, did not mind their men’s comfort, and the privates would hardly take the trouble to groom their horses. Schomberg stayed over three weeks at or near Chester, grumbling much and with good reason, but working hard to make up for the defects of bad administration. In the meantime a fleet of transports was assembled in the Dee with enough men-of-war to guard against possible attack by French cruisers.[239]
Schomberg reaches Ireland.
Weakness of the Jacobite army.
On August 5 Portland arrived with William’s last injunctions, and probably with orders to hasten the embarkation. He had an hour’s private talk with Schomberg, even lieutenant-generals knowing nothing of what was said. The two men visited one or more of the ships. The certain news from Londonderry came next day, and on the third Schomberg went on board. All were ready to sail at a given signal as soon as the wind came south-east. Belfast Lough was their destination, and it was arranged that if any vessels were driven out of their course there should be a rendezvous at Ramsey, in Man. On August 12 the signal gun was fired, the wind held all the way, and the whole squadron were off Bangor, in Down, after thirty-one hours’ sail. The shore was crowded with Protestants of both sexes and every age, ‘old and young falling on their knees with tears in their eyes thanking God and the English for their deliverance.’ In mid-channel a crazy little boat had been picked up containing a poor minister, his daughter, and a servant girl, who were flying to Scotland to escape King James’s men. Schomberg took them on board and carried them to a place of safety. The little harbour of Groomsport was utilised for the disembarkation. Ten thousand men were landed and lay with their arms for the first night. They were not interfered with, though an enterprising officer might have done much, since Schomberg had at first no cavalry with him. The horses of one regiment had all perished at sea through mismanagement. The Jacobites fell back to Lisburn, leaving a garrison in Carrickfergus, who promptly burned the suburbs, and Belfast was occupied by the invaders on August 14 without any resistance. On the 20th, Carrickfergus was invested. Having to leave a good detachment in Belfast and another near the landing-place, Schomberg reported that he had only 6000 effective foot for the siege and no horse. Brigadier Maxwell, who commanded in Ulster for James, was much blamed for not attacking him at once, but he overrated the strength of the English, and feared to be hemmed in between them and the combined forces of Kirke and the Enniskilleners. Avaux wondered that Schomberg did not march straight to Drogheda, where there were scarcely 2000 men ready to oppose him. Berwick says he could easily have taken Dublin, and that the Jacobites were infinitely obliged to him for amusing himself at Carrickfergus. Londonderry and Newtown Butler had destroyed so many that for the moment it seemed almost impossible for James to get an army together. An artillery officer named Dean had deserted from Schomberg immediately after landing, and no doubt his account led Avaux to believe that the invaders were in overwhelming strength. He did not realise that the English regiments, who formed the bulk of Schomberg’s army, consisted chiefly of raw recruits. Before the cavalry from England and the victorious Protestants under Kirke and Wolseley assembled it seemed better to take Carrickfergus, whose guns were an annoyance to the shipping.[240]
Schomberg takes Carrickfergus.
The Governor of Carrickfergus was Charles MacCarthy More, who had never seen a shot fired, but Colonel Owen MacCarthy was the real chief. There were no regular works, no skilled gunners, and no surgeon, but the two regiments of Munster infantry fought well. Approaches were made and batteries with guns and mortars erected on the north, east and west sides, while English men-of-war annoyed the Castle from the sea. The bands played ‘Lillibullero’ to encourage the gunners. A breach was made near the north gate of the town, but the garrison drove cattle on to it. As the poor beasts fell they were piled up to make a breastwork, from behind which the Irish fired. When bullets failed, they stripped lead from the Castle roof. The bombardment of the town did little harm except to certain Protestant inhabitants, but powder ran short and, to save time, Schomberg was content on August 28 to let the garrison march out with the honours of war after a week’s siege. The terms of capitulation were observed by the army, but the Protestant mob, who had suffered much from the garrison, were very violent, stripping the women and threatening the men. Schomberg himself, pistol in hand, exerted himself to protect them, otherwise the country people, says Story, ‘would certainly have used the poor Irish most severely, so angry were they one at another, though they live all in a country.’ Some of the Irish-Scots particularly would have fallen on them in spite of the capitulation. The only excuse for what happened was that the garrison were said to be carrying off private property contrary to the articles, and that the owners recognised it. Carrickfergus once taken, James no longer held anything in Ulster except Charlemont and the eastern portion of Cavan.[241]
Desolation of the country.
Berwick evacuates Newry.